Chapter 152: < Protect – Episode 151 – Korea Shock [3] >

“Again?”

The Chinese head of state, Yuhaipung was enjoying his tea when he knitted his brows at his secretary.

“It fell in the East Sea.”

“Why do they keep firing?”

“The reports claim that it’s to bring America to the table… but it appears that Chairman Kim has lost control.”

“He must want to be remembered as a foolish dictator.”

After inheriting his late father’s power, he had more greed than ability. Even though he spent some time in Europe, his way of thinking was still from the Middle Ages. That might have been why he was obsessed with ruling harshly. China and America were always battling over world power, but the possibility of war breaking out between them was very low.

Why? Because there wouldn’t be enough profit. However, the possibility of war between North Korea and South Korea wasn’t that low.

‘Mr. Guardian’s force only works on those who know his true ident.i.ty.’

The North Korean ruler, who was humiliated in Pyeongyang even when his father was alive, didn’t know Ahn Soo Ho’s true ident.i.ty. It was possible that what he was doing was a type of revenge against him.

“What about our men in Pyeongyang?”

“There are a few military authorities in Seonyang.”

“Can they exert some power?”

“It’s hard to say.”

Yuhaipung stroked his chin.

“What if Chairman Kim suddenly dies?”

His secretary flinched.

“Are you talking about… an a.s.sa.s.sination?”

“No, what if he died naturally while eating or sleeping?”

“Since there’s no heir, their hereditary monarch would end.”

“Right?”

The first thing that the third dictator did after taking the throne was to purge. They didn’t let any extended family members who they saw as a threat to live on. If any escaped abroad, they sent an a.s.sa.s.sin to kill them, and within the country, they used all sorts of excuses to execute them.

In contrast to America who criticized them for this, China just stayed quiet. As long as they listened to the Chinese Communist Party, what they did to their own people was none of their business. However, once North Korea obtained some power, they talked back. The Chinese Communist Party was bewildered by this.

“It’d be nice if that dumb Kim fires a missile on Seoul.”

“Pardon? Then that would start a war.”

Yuhaipung shook his head in response to his secretary’s worrying.

“America’s probably hoping that would happen, too.”

“Do you mean war?”

He was frustrated that his secretary was slow, but he didn’t get mad.

‘This is interesting.’

How would Ahn Soo Ho respond to North Korea’s provocation? It wasn’t just China who was curious about that.

“Does the chairman of the National Defense Commission know about Ahn Soo Ho?”

“He probably does. Mr. Guardian has visited Pyeongyang over 20 times already.”

“Since he studied abroad, maybe they never met. Where did he study again?”

“Switzerland.”

“Oh yeah. Maybe they ran into each other.”

Between the American government departments, they would often make negotiations and then b.u.t.t heads. In recent years, they b.u.t.t heads more than negotiating. After all, the White House’s declaration of war was done without consulting the State Department. So it was understandable that the Secretary of State was furious. Many relevant authorities were dissatisfied with President Olsen’s behavior of not being understanding with the cabinet, which could be of great strength to the White House.

‘Is it because he didn’t appoint them himself?’

Since he was a vice-president before becoming president, it was true that he didn’t sympathize with the cabinet.

‘This could be his way of telling them to resign.’

The problem was that Americans no longer had faith in the Democratic party. At this rate, the owner of the White House was going to change very soon. That was how it was possible for the Republican party to take over. However, did that mean they would give up? In politics, there was a loss, but not forfeit.

‘If he’s rebuking them just because they’re not his people, President Olsen isn’t cut out to be the president.’

If the Democratic party didn’t resolve this right away, something serious was bound to happen.

“They’re going to make a critical statement about North Korea’s missile at the White House.”

“Are they telling us to just sit back then?”

“It appears so.”

The Secretary of State laughed bitterly.

‘So they want the spotlight all to themselves.’

One’s greed for power was the same regardless of age.

“Connect me to Amba.s.sador Woods.”

The Secretary of State’s facial expression was mixed. Pamela Woods wasn’t an authentic diplomat. She was actually a militarist with deep connections to the Ministry of National Defense. National defense and being diplomatic might have sounded very different but they both shared the common characteristic of putting America’s profits first.

“Pamela, it’s me. I need you to meet with Mr. Guardian. I know he’s retired. I’m only asking after thinking of it for a long time. This is a sensitive issue related to America’s gain. Please.”

******

Ahn Soo Ho visited Kim Dae San as he promised, but when he got there, there was a business meeting going on. Did he schedule it like that on purpose? Kim Dae San glanced over, and it wasn’t hard for him to read the old man’s mind.

“As you all know, this is CEO Ahn Soo Ho, who will be leading the next generation. Say h.e.l.lo.”

In response to the overwhelming introduction, the rich and their heirs smiled as they approached Ahn Soo Ho.

“You look even better in person. Haha. My name is Park Chan Soo .”

“What a talented young man. I feel like I’m looking at my younger self. My name is Jung Moon Young.”

“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Who do you think you’re comparing yourself to? I’m more like him than you are. Haha. My name is Oh Chang Jin, CEO Ahn. I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

The older men approached him while the younger men kept their distance. Even the third son of Esther Group’s Chairman Oh Chang Jin, whom Ahn Soo Ho taught a lesson, was there, but Ahn Soo Ho still didn’t know his name. What was memorable was that his whole head was shaved. When he met eyes with Ahn Soo Ho, he flinched, but he didn’t seem to have any ill feelings.

But as for Chairman Oh Chang Jin, he was known for having a temper.

As soon as he heard about his son, he put him in the military right away. This wasn’t a normal decision to make, and that was how scared people were of Ahn Soo Ho. Most people knew by now. The scale of foreign currency brought in by Hosoo Investments was beyond anyone’s imagination. What was known was just the tip of the iceberg, and with the entertainment agency just being a sh.e.l.l, they had a fund of 100 billion US dollars.

It was uncommon for a person to be just fine with just being the tip of the iceberg. Money meant nothing to Ahn Soo Ho. That was because he was able to control people who were capitalists.

Ahn Soo Ho relocated.

“Long time no see.”

“Indeed.”

Chairman Oh Chang Jin’s third son tried to be brave, but he kept gulping down his saliva at the thought of his memories with Ahn Soo Ho.

“Are you on military leave?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“You look good.”

He wasn’t making fun of him. He meant it. And Oh Joong Geun wasn’t so stupid that he didn’t realize that. Since praises even made whales dance, he felt confident all of a sudden.

“I’m sorry about what happened that day.”

“It’s okay. You’re young. I got into a lot of accidents when I was young, too.”

“Oh, I’ve seen you on TV.”

“TV?”

Ahn Soo Ho tilted his head.

“I saw the doc.u.mentary about how you grew up with the Do brothers.”

“Those producers must have nothing to do if they made a doc.u.mentary about that.”

Oh Joong Geun didn’t feel like telling him that it was on HBS—which was a good thing to do.

“How’s the military? Is it okay?”

“It’s hard.”

They naturally changed the subject to the military. There were lots of things to talk about such as what happened when they waited to enter, what happened during training, the horrible trainers and training, overtime training, Choco Pie, and how they adjusted to the environment. There were lots of heirs who wanted to talk to Ahn Soo Ho, but the only one with military experience was Oh Joong Geun.

Oh Joong Geun and Ahn Soo Ho had a good time chatting.

‘How sad.’

He purposely picked Oh Joong Geun and started talking about the military. But why couldn’t anyone else say a word about it? That was the sad part. There were very few Korean men who actually wanted to go to the military. Actually, it was more like they didn’t exist.

‘If they could, they would all skip the military.’

Ahn Soo Ho had no desire to cuss at the rich for it. Does the n.o.blesse oblige? That was bulls.h.i.+t. Not a single rich person had perfect ethics and conscience. If there was someone like that, they would have been appointed as a saint.

“The military isn’t that bad. If you think of it as a waste of time, that’s what it’ll become, but if you think you can learn from it, you will.”

The military’s rank culture wasn’t all bad. One could only find out about a person’s true nature once they had been pushed to extreme hards.h.i.+p. By forcing young men into the military and keeping them confined, their true patience would be tested. The kind of things that was absurd in the outside world took place inside the military.

People weren’t that rational.

And people weren’t that reasonable either.

War was the most irrational thing a person could do. And Korea’s military, who was always preparing for war, was the most irrational of all. It was comical to expect common sense from a violent group that was created for barbarism. Not having a war was the best case scenario, but if they had to, they had to do whatever it took to win.

That was what Ahn Soo Ho believed.

Oh Joong Geun was in the middle of a fun conversation when someone poked him on the side. A woman who normally would have avoided him as if he was a bug stood there with a smile.

“You look good, Joong Geun.”

“Oh, hey.”

“Oh! h.e.l.lo, CEO Ahn.”

She pretended to greet Oh Joong Geun and then went right to Ahn Soo Ho. She wasn’t the pretty type, but her face that had light-makeup had beautiful Asian features.

‘She’s the second daughter of s.h.i.+lla Group. Was her name… Lee Yeon Jin?’

Ahn Soo Ho managed to remember the name of the woman. As someone who didn’t know many rich people besides Kim Dae San, this was a special case. The reason behind it was simple. Before Hosoo Entertainment came along, s.h.i.+lla Group controlled the entertainment industry of Korea. So they were compet.i.tion.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Lee Yeon Jin.”

“I’m honored that you know my name.”

“I should know the names of my compet.i.tors as a businessman.”

“That’s a scary thing to say. We have no interest in competing against you. We just want to coexist.”

There were many intentions hidden behind the word ‘coexist’. The first was cooperation between s.h.i.+lla Group and Hosoo Entertainment Group, the second was a new relations.h.i.+p between the rich and Ahn Soo Ho, and third was the resentment of why he could coexist with mere employees and not them.

‘This b.i.t.c.h is fresh.’

He laughed without meaning to.

“Yo! Soo Ho!”

Kim Dae Chan found Ahn Soo Ho just in time.

Since he became the chairman of Daesan Group, he was above the heirs, but he wasn’t the type to care about that. If he was the type to keep face, he wouldn’t have become friends with Ahn Soo Ho in the first place. Daesan’s reputation never suffered.

“Hey, Yeon Jin. Seeing how Chairman Lee isn’t here, you must have come in his stead. I’m sorry, but I need to borrow him for a second.”

“Oh, sure.”

Kim Dae Chan pulled Ahn Soo Ho out and put his arms around him.

“You almost got in trouble back there.”

“Why?”

“That b.i.t.c.h might look nice, but she’s a total devil.”

He smirked in response. They then arrived at a gathering with much older people. The rich including Kim Dae San welcomed Ahn Soo Ho with open arms.

“I was wondering where Chairman Kim went. He went to kidnap CEO Ahn.”

“I refuse to die alone.”

“Haha.”

Kim Dae Chan was very young for a chairman. There were some presidents and vice-chairmen in their 40s, but the big captain of Daesan Group was Kim Dae Chan, not Kim Dae San. He was confident he would do well, but he wasn’t completely sure just yet.

Kim Dae San had a strange look on his face.

“Yeah. Since CEO Ahn was mostly active abroad, he might know better than we do.”

The person who responded was none other than Chairman Oh Chang Jin of Esther Group.

“I see! You’re right. Look here, CEO Ahn. Us old folk have a little bit of an issue. Can you answer our question?”

“Sure.”

Ahn Soo Ho willingly nodded.

“It’s because of those commies. Every time they cause a fuss, us shareholders can’t deal with it. Is there a way to resolve this?”

“If you’re talking about North Korea… what kind of solution are you pertaining to?”

“To incapacitate Pyeongyang.”

The fact that they only pointed out Pyeongyang meant they didn’t want a war to break out.

“There are lots of ways.”

“Oh! Tell us.”

Their eyes sparkled.

“First, mobilize the American carrier strike group and make a sneak attack. America has an attack plan ready for Pyeongyang already.”

They caused a fuss about the missiles, but since the possibility that they would actually get involved with the war was low, they just needed enough courage to handle the fingerpointing from the international society. A lot of people compared China and America these days but that was ridiculous. If America decided to start a war, China wouldn’t stand a chance. As of right now, the US army was 10 times stronger than that of China.

“Second, China can destroy Pyeongyang from the inside.”

North Korea was much friendlier with China. Pig Kim had been provoking China a lot in recent days, but if they really got irritated, China was capable of mobilizing their agents in North Korea and start a coup d’état.

“Third, America and China can hold hands and act together.”

If the first and second options took place, China and America were bound to fight. If America attacked North Korea, China wouldn’t have held still, but if China decided to attack North Korea, the UN was going to dispatch the US military by using liberal democracy as an excuse.

‘If we pick sides, that’s it for all of us.’

Whether they picked America or China, the end scenario wasn’t going to be good. The best way was for America and China to work together.

“But the problem is… those three options have a low probability of actually taking place.”

Since politics, international diplomatics, national pride, and history were all tangled up with it, it wasn’t going to be resolved with just a few people coming to an agreement.

“That’s not all, is it, CEO Ahn?”

Ahn Soo Ho sighed in response to Kim Dae San’s question. The old man had been waiting for a specific answer from the start as if the answer was already there.

“There is one more option.”

“Oh! What is it?”

The old men urged him like little kids. Kim Dae San must have wanted to make Ahn Soo Ho an army of the rich.

“Me.”

If they were worried about the aftermath of threatening North Korea, he could just wipe them all out. However, Ahn Soo Ho had no interest in putting in all that effort to…

“Huh?”

He saw someone running over.

“North Korea did it again!”

And this time, people were harmed.

‘Is this pig out of his mind?’

< Protect – Episode 151 – Korea Shock [3] > The end.