Chapter 173: < Protect – Episode 172 – Korea National a.s.sociation [3] >

A parliamentary hearing wasn’t something a person could choose to do or not do. The controversies began ever since President Lee Joong Hyun announced the foundation of a national reformation committee. Even if he was the country’s president, in order to have the authority to go past the Board of Audit and Inspection, they had to get permission from the National a.s.sembly.

That was how it was for any governmental organization.

The media didn’t let Ahn Soo Ho, the new chairman, alone. His background had already been sucked up dry, but he was under a second round of attention once more. His former cla.s.smates, distant relatives, and neighbors all reappeared to say the same thing over and over again like parrots.

Ahn Soo Ho’s hometown was talking nonsense about creating a road under his name or even a memorial hall, but the ones leading it were leaders from the local and provincial a.s.sembly. It was unfortunate to look down on the mayors and governors, but in Korea, most of the groups in the countryside were incapable and pathetic.

It had been a year since Ahn Soo Ho’s retirement.

While he ordered Alexa, Kosino, and Cranky to monitor the key persons of Korea and expose their ident.i.ties to the public, which led to a shocking report. The report that the three hackers reported contained the corruption and abuse of authority of hundreds of high officials, politicians, as well as the rest of those leading the country of Korea.

In other words, this country was a nation of corruption.

Bribes were basic with utilizing connections being a routine, and the ones with power were treated well while the ones without it were treated harshly. Those with criminal records had their past follow them around for life. However, for the National a.s.sembly and the rich, it was just a useless lesson. Most normal people were ashamed of their criminal records, but members of the national a.s.sembly and the rich bragged about it.

Since they were commoners who were afraid of the court of law, they weren’t the types to tremble in front of prosecution. They actually talked the talked and asked if they knew who they were. Were the prosecutors unable to put them in jail because they were submissive to power? Not at all. Of course, there were those who were worried about their power, but if all prosecutors surrendered to power, Korea wouldn’t have been able to escape from dictators.h.i.+p.

‘The reason why Korean prosecutors are weak to high officials and the rich is…’

Because the law was c.r.a.p.

The public made simple judgments only based on results, but the high officials, politicians, and rich were certain that there was always a way out because they were the ones who created the system. Compared to before, Korea was very democratized. But they were still unable to escape from some characteristics of a dictators.h.i.+p country.

It wasn’t easy fixing the law.

However, that didn’t mean it was impossible either.

‘It’s all a matter of will.’

The const.i.tutional lawyers’ criticism toward the controversy made sense as well, but it also meant that the law was so c.r.a.ppy that a lot of effort was needed to get anything done. And today, Ahn Soo Ho started a new controversy.

“Are your accounts in the Bahamas and Cayman Islands doing all right today?”

In response to his question paired with a smile, 1/3 of the members were shocked, 1/3 were angry, and the remaining 1/3 had no thoughts in particular.

“Look here, CEO Ahn! What nonsense are you spewing out right now?”

One of the long-term lawmakers pointed his finger at him with a very red face.

“You’re just here to answer the questions that you’re asked! Not to give us that kind of nonsense!”

“I don’t understand why you’re so angry, Sir. I was simply worried that some of you might be involved in the claim that’s being made on the internet right now.”

“What are you talking about?”

The member of the national a.s.sembly was going to call him out again when his colleague tugged on his sleeve to stop.

“Hey! Stop it!”

“What?”

It didn’t make sense to leave Ahn Soo Ho alone and let him talk nonsense in a public hearing. If he didn’t shut him up, the politicians were going to take a big hit. However, when he saw the expressions on his colleagues’ faces, he was even more shocked.

‘Come to think of it… You’re all…’

Their eyes were shaking like crazy. Seeing how even the reporters were losing their focus, something must have happened.

It was true. Korea found itself in shock once more.

People wondered if it was possible for there to be another scandal following the spy scandal and the scandals of the past, but what woke them up from their complacency was the Asia profile that the three hackers exposed. The slash funds of the upper cla.s.s in China, j.a.pan, Korea, Australia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and more were revealed.

The tax haven was convinced that no information was going to be given even if America threatened them. Honestly speaking, the White House was capable of doing anything if they decided to use threats, but in order for them to use strength to threaten a foreign country, the president had to put their political career on the line. Most importantly, half of the clients of the tax haven were American, and it was an American company.

If they hadn’t limited things in just Asia, Cranky wouldn’t have cooperated. And the list of the VVIPs was hidden. The slush fund list exposed on Hacker Try Net wasn’t sound. The problem was that neither a political party nor the rich or middle-enterprises could secure transparency.

Since they weren’t a domestic bank, even with the slush fund list exposed, it was difficult for Korea’s National Tax Service to pressure the tax havens in the Bahamas or the Cayman Islands. They probably weren’t going to confirm the already exposed list of the slush fund history either. There were suspicions, but no evidence to prove it, so it was impossible to punish them by law. As a result, in the case that the party wanted to recover their image, they often strategized to make the most suspected member into their scapegoat.

‘Ahn Soo Ho’s not what’s important right now!’

If they wanted to continue tasting the sweet flavor of power, they had to get on the right side. The leading congressman listened to the whispering of his a.s.sistant before he spoke up.

“Let’s end it here for today! The next meeting will be announced in the near future!”

They normally would have cheered, but this time, both the members and reporters were not entirely present. They all left the room with only Ahn Soo Ho remaining. This was the first time he was so ignored after his presence in the media, but he wasn’t that sad about it.

Once he got out of the a.s.sembly hall and got into his car, he accepted the tablet that Kosino handed over.

Former Congressman Yoon Chang Ryul had tens of billions of slush funds in the Bahamas!

Former prosecutor General had over 8 billion in the Cayman Islands!

Current Commissioner-General built a residence of over 1000 pyeong in Malaysia!

Is there a dark connection between the members of large corporations?

Considering the high officials had tens of billions in slush funds, the scale of that of the businessmen were at a whole another level.

IOS company in the Virgin Islands is actually a paper company of Sunil Group! A slush fund of over 680 billion!

Daemyung and Jungjin Group also created paper companies to launder money! A total of 850 billion in slush funds!

Korea comes in 6th as the country with one of the most slush funds compared to its population!

A nation of corruption and slush funds! Korea has a dark future ahead!

Suspicions were simply suspicions.

Just because a list was revealed didn’t mean there was going to be a trial anytime soon, and it probably wasn’t going to happen sometime in the future either. However, the reason why Ahn Soo Ho decided to expose it was in order to gain sympathy from the public as Bridal mask. Bridal Mask, who punished evil that couldn’t be punished by law, was a hero among the public, but also a criminal.

“What about Cranky?”

“He said he can’t do it anymore.”

“I understand… Okay. Tell him he can stop.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Cranky was still his otaku, but he had to worry about America’s profits first. No debt remained following this incident. So Ahn Soo Ho let go of Cranky in an easy-going manner.

“What about Alexa?”

“She’s busy having fun.”

Kosino didn’t sigh as if she pitied anyone, but as if she was relieved. Cheongdamdong’s F4, Fantastic 4 debuted as Ahn Da Sol, Lee So Hye, Emily, and Rachel, and they took off as soon as they started. In particular, Lee So Hye, who was the least talented in terms of singing and dancing, really took off in popularity, and that made Hosoo Entertainment’s strategy team, promotions team, and managers very taken aback.

Experts predicted that Ahn Da Sol was going to be the most popular, but every member ended up being pretty similar. Some in the industry tried to undermine them by claiming that it was all thanks to Soo Ho, but Fantastic 4 became the most popular girl group in the country within just months of debuting.

The strong big sis and killer rapper, Emily

The all-around talent, Ahn Da Sol,

The s.e.xy and charismatic girl, Rachel

The cute Korean leader, Lee So Hye

The synergy between the girls with blue and brown eyes was astronomical. Alexa decided to work as Fantastic 4’s manager, and she also became famous in the media for her stunning good looks.

Kosino wanted Alexa to take his hands off of the criminal world, but she loved Ahn Soo Ho as a family and her savior, so she couldn’t do that. She liked Ahn Soo Ho while also hating him at the same time. That was because Ahn Soo Ho was the only comfortable home where Alexa could rest.

“Why don’t you just confess your feelings?”

“I don’t want to ruin our relations.h.i.+p.”

“Are you just platonic? You’re half j.a.panese, you know.”

“I’m insulted, Soo Ho.”

Kosino was half j.a.panese and half Filipino. She hated j.a.pan, but she didn’t consider the Philippines her home either. She hated both. Just like all mixed people, it wasn’t that easy for her. Especially after the Second World War and the economic revival in the 70s, the mixed-blood problem of j.a.panese and Southeast Asian people became serious.

j.a.pan was still repulsed by immigrants. Those with mixed blood couldn’t step into the country, and those who were born in j.a.pan and grew up with its culture but weren’t of full j.a.panese blood were never treated like their own. j.a.pan wasn’t the only country that was like that.

“Once Korea settles down, please take care of j.a.pan as well.”

“Hey.”

“When you do it in j.a.pan, you should wear the Hannya mask…”

“Stop!”

Ahn Soo Ho cut off Kosino.

“Don’t even think about dragging me into this, Kosi. And take it easy with the cyber attacks.”

“Did you know?”

“It’s not easy playing dumb.”

The ones who caused the G7 terrorist attack were Issac and the other hardliners, but the ones who let them go through with it was Kosino’s hacker organizations. The Philippines was on its way to its doom without the need to do anything, but j.a.pan was once a strong nation that threatened America, so they weren’t going to go down easily.

Kosino didn’t like that.

“If you get rid of Korea National a.s.sociation, that will be in conflict with j.a.pan. Don’t you know that Soo Ho?”

“I do.”

The reason why past scandals were still existent in this country was because its traitor behavior wasn’t settled yet following its liberation.

“The pro-j.a.panese of today are different from that of the past. Do they call them j.a.p Fans? It’s not right to treat them as villains. There aren’t that many pro-j.a.panese people from the past that are still alive. It’s shameful that they didn’t pay the price for their sins, but it’s wrong to point at people who like j.a.pan and claim that they should be killed.”

“That’s not how Koreans think, Soo Ho. Shouldn’t all pro-j.a.panese be killed?”

It sounded like Kosino was siding with Koreans, but she actually mocked them for being foolish. If she transferred just 1% of Koreans’ hatred into action, j.a.pan wouldn’t have insisted on claiming Dokdo for themselves. Even with America as a shared ally, it wasn’t normal for j.a.pan to be so ambitious toward a friendly ally. Where did j.a.pan get such confidence?

‘They must have some of the Dresden File.’

Before k.u.miko became Ahn Da Sol, she was active in the development of j.a.pan. People who didn’t know her probably believed she was held hostage by j.a.pan and treated her like a slave, but Ahn Soo Ho knew as soon as he saw her.

‘This woman… is dangerous.’

His first impression of her was similar to Barbara, but Ahn Da Sol’s situation was different. It wasn’t j.a.pan that used her, but she used the j.a.panese government to her advantage.

What was the Dresden File?

He thought he knew, but he wasn’t so sure anymore.

It was first revealed to be doc.u.ments containing secret information regarding Hitler. However, England used that to learn more about those with supernatural powers. And what about j.a.pan? They used it to threaten pro-j.a.panese people scattered all over Asia. j.a.pan certainly lost that war, but looking back on it, they might not have been losers after all.

Was this all because of America who sided with j.a.pan?

‘Maybe.’

Seeing how j.a.pan wasn’t reflecting on their past actions, America might have settled their past crimes for them. And that was true. They must have had some kind of influence over it. However, there was no certainty that that was all there was to it.

‘For permanent neutrality to take place, I have to make sure neither China, j.a.pan, or America act up.’

Premier Yuhaipung was laying on his belly and rolling around. America was also minding the situation. And Russia? It had already been a long time since the most powerful offered a handshake. It was just j.a.pan that didn’t make any kind of gesture. The chief cabinet secretary did appear on Korean television and make it look like the relations.h.i.+p between the two countries were better, but that wasn’t the reality. Just last year, Ahn Soo Ho had taken countless won in slush funds that j.a.pan hid in Korea.

‘If j.a.pan wants to counterattack, this might be the time.’

Korea National a.s.sociation was cornered, and a mouse with nowhere to run tended to bite the cat. It was possible that Korea was in too much chaos to act accordingly. The hunting dog was on the loose, and it was barking in celebration of finding its prey.

Ahn Soo Ho picked up the phone.

“Leeper.”

“King!”

He sounded excited.

“Jabs dispatched a large-scale army to catch Bridal Mask.”

“How many?”

“187 men!”

‘That’s it?’

Considering he wiped out 5000 all by himself in one night, 187 was nothing. But then again, j.a.pan suspected Ahn Soo Ho to be Bridal Mask, but they weren’t sure. They couldn’t dream that Ahn Soo Ho could teleport here and there while he was starring on television.

As soon as Leeper attacked the leaders of the Korea National a.s.sociation, the responses came almost instantaneously. They couldn’t believe Youngjin Group lost it all many times because of Bridal Mask and put out their best hand. There was no point in differentiating the pro-Chinese from the pro-j.a.panese. The upper-cla.s.s elites of all three countries were strongly united in the 21st century.

Ahn Soo Ho declared Korea as a complete neutrality zone. Yet j.a.pan sent over combatants? That was a declaration of war.

‘Hey! I was getting worried that this would end in a boring way!’

He was hoping someone would rebel.

“They’re ignoring my warning.”

In contrast to his words, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Kosino flinched beside him. She wanted j.a.pan to go down, and it seemed like that was going to happen, but she still felt chilly. Ahn Soo Ho had many nicknames until now, but there was only one that wouldn’t leave Kosino’s head.

‘Satan!’

The King of Slaughter, who was born to kill!

< Protect – Episode 172 – Korea National a.s.sociation [3] > The end.