Chapter 198: < Protect – Episode 197 – So What? [4] >

There were 7 million Koreans living abroad, but that wasn’t even the right term to describe them. There was no reason to still address people who took on other citizens.h.i.+ps as Korean. The priority of the emba.s.sies abroad was to protect those with Korean citizens.h.i.+p. But their main force went into Korean immigrant communities and communication with overseas Koreans.

But why was that? Why did they prefer Korean immigrants with other citizens.h.i.+ps over those with Korean citizens.h.i.+p? They were technically no longer Korean. But did they still step up to do things that helped Korea? Perhaps. But objectively, those who chose to immigrate to another country usually did it for their own personal gain than to help their country.

The patriotism of missing one’s home country and the patriotism of caring for one’s country were two different things. For that reason, rather than 7 million Koreans abroad, it should be 1 million Korean nationals abroad. Citizens of other countries belonged to those countries.

Bae Sang Chul

His grandfather worked as a Korean war veteran who went over to America right before the ceasefire. Bae Sang Chul lived with his grandfather since he was little and heard all sorts of stories. He imagined the tragic reality of Korea, which fell apart due to a horrible war.

During the 70s, he endured getting discriminated against as a Yellow and being terribly poor, but would living as a Korean have been any better? Bae Sang Chul’s childhood wasn’t a happy one. That might have been why he always dreamt of going to Korea one day.

In the 90s, South Korea’s military regime backed off and a civilian government came in. Despite that fact, the reason why Bae Sang Chul decided to enter the Naval Academy was to benefit off of his grandfather’s connections. Although Korea put on a great performance of switching to a civilian government, Korea was still full of corruption. Just because the president changed didn’t mean a country could change overnight.

Although he dedicated 11 years to the Korean military, he was still treated like an alien. That was because Bae Sang Chul, who abandoned his great American citizens.h.i.+p and came to Korea, was a great topic of the news and advertis.e.m.e.nts. He was simply put up for display. After that, he abandoned all hope.

Bae Sang Chul, who entered the mercenary world at a similar time as Ahn Soo Ho and Seo Jung Wook, wasn’t good at fighting. But he did know how it worked between an employer and a mercenary. Bae Sang Chul then realized what it was that he really wanted to do.

“Andy.”

“Jim.”

As soon as the white man with white hair saw Bae Sang Chul in a prison uniform, he sighed.

“Are you crazy?”

“No, Jim. I’m completely fine.”

The law firm representing the front line was a global law firm that had countless PMC clients all over the world. Since mercenaries committed violent acts for a living, many lawsuits naturally followed. To the eyes of the civilian groups that were against war, they just looked like money-chasing and evil lawyers. However, everything always had two sides.

Bae Sang Chul, or more like Anderson, felt his forehead throb. If it wasn’t for Jeon Taek Joong’s special request, they wouldn’t have agreed to represent someone who was labeled as a terrorist by an entire nation. No matter how much they liked money, these lawyers were not terrorists. They would have rather represented child molesters.

“I wouldn’t have come to this small Asian country if it wasn’t for the chairman’s request.”

“Wow! You haven’t changed one bit!”

“You smelly monkeys!”

“Please don’t use such vulgar language in the courtroom, Jim. The judge could decide to give me the death penalty right then and there.”

“I don’t know Korean. A Korean lawyer will be there, anyway.”

“The judges and prosecutors can speak English these days.”

Bae Sang Chul laughed bitterly. Jimmy was a skilled lawyer, but as a human being, he was questionable. He was a sc.u.mbag lawyer who was racist, s.e.xist, and violent toward children.

“Anyway, I can’t believe you were a commie… I’m disappointed.”

“Who says that these days? Call me a revolutionist.”

“Tsk! I should have framed Cuba for carpet bombing. I knew I should have killed Castro.”

“What a fascist!”

“Look here. Both fascism and n.a.z.ism are based on socialism, Andy. Did you call me a commie? If you keep doing this, I could just drop everything and go home.”

“Sorry.”

Bae Sang Chul backed down. He might have been an old white man with harsh words, but he had skills that were trustworthy.

“How much did you get paid, Jim?”

“Hm. That’s a secret… but it was 100.”

“Whoa! I don’t have that kind of money.”

“You cheap a.s.s! Who said I was going to charge you? The chairman will pay for it.”

“The chairman?”

Jimmy covered his mouth and whispered,

“There are rumors that there’s someone even bigger behind you, Andy. Who are you working for?”

“Watch your mouth, Jim. There are many ears listening.”

Bae Sang Chul put on a straight face.

“What about the confidentiality clause between lawyers and their clients?”

“Someone could be listening as we speak.”

“So this is how timid Asian people can be.”

“If you look down on us, you’ll get the hut.”

Jimmy laughed and stuck up his middle finger.

“Come to think of it, Asian women were the easiest to bang. There might be nothing to grab, but they’re nice and tight.”

“You’re still getting accused of s.e.xual hara.s.sment, aren’t you, Jim?”

“Those d.a.m.n b.i.t.c.hes! Why do they talk so much? Back in my day…”

“Okay, Magic Hands. I’ve already heard that story a thousand times.”

“I’m just going to leave.”

“Sorry.”

Bae Sang Chul apologized again. Jimmy put his legs on the table. He wasn’t in a normal reception room posture.

“Okay, now tell me. Are you looking for an acquittal?”

“No.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I just want you to drag it on as long as possible.”

“You want to become a star, huh?”

Bridal Mask had the attention of all the media in the nation. As of right now, the rescue operation in Nigeria got more attention, since it was revealed that the cruel terrorist was a former mercenary and special agent of the Korean military, people couldn’t look away from that either.

“Got it.”

Jimmy put down his legs from the table and got up.

“Do you have any advice for me as my lawyer?”

Jimmy gave him a short answer.

“Just keep your mouth shut.”

“Pardon?”

That wasn’t a normal advice to give.

“What about some professional advice?”

Jimmy was leaving through the door when he said one last thing.

“Just keep your mouth shut.”

******

Just because Ahn Soo Ho announced that he would renounce his citizens.h.i.+p didn’t mean he was suddenly not Korean anymore. And for those who possessed a lot, renouncing their citizens.h.i.+p was a complicated process.

“This is why I pay you so much for your lawyer fee.”

“You shouldn’t say such a thing with a straight face, Soo Ho.”

After leaving the headache to James and Han Kyung Il, Ahn Soo Ho was in a helicopter flying through a desert headed north. He received an invitation. And he wasn’t going alone. Beside him was Angelica who no longer looked like Ahn Da Sol and Hector who came back to life after almost dying.

“What about your daughter?”

“I’m sure she’s fine.”

“Don’t you have any paternal love?”

“She’s lived fine without me until now, so I’m sure she’ll be okay.”

“What a cold father.”

He didn’t talk like it, but he was a father who even mobilized an a.s.sa.s.sination group to protect his daughter.

“What happened to Eduard?”

“Dakoma and Eduard were best friends, Soo Ho.”

“Oh.”

Ahn Soo Ho let out an awkward groan. The New York terrorist was an American, but the one who put it in action was Jacob Smith, A.K.A. Dakoma.

“They were thinking of killing all the hostages.”

“That’s why they got in conflict with the top management.”

“Looks like there’s now an opportunity to mobilize Allayas.”

“It’s not just disabled people they accept as members.”

The intelligence tasks of today a.n.a.lyzed, categorized, and regulated people, but humans were an organism that couldn’t be categorized. People always said they knew others well, but that was never true.

“Is it out of wanting revenge?”

“Maybe it’s a simple but intense motive. It’s a pure emotion that cold people like us can’t understand.”

“What are you talking about? I cherish my men, old man.”

“Are you talking about how you played house in America?”

“Playing house…? Logan, what do you think?”

“If the kids hear that, they’ll get mad.”

Logan smirked from the side.

“What about you?”

“I’m not a kid.”

“Wow, you’ve grown up.”

Hector snickered.

The helicopter landed in the middle of the Sahara desert. At the few oasis points of the Sahara were the strongest tribes. Of course, the ranking of tribes could always flip. Back in the day, tribes with the biggest numbers were the strongest, while these days, the ones with good sponsors were at the top. It wasn’t just celebrities that needed sponsors.

The wind storm stopped with the propellers.

The people greeted Ahn Soo Ho and his team with a smile.

“Soo Ho.”

Issac and J-Law faced him together as if they had never fought. The crazy religious lunatic, Michel stood in the distance. His party was accompanied to huge barracks.

“Okay, let’s end it quickly, my friends. If not, we’ll end up having to divorce before we even get married.”

Once they learned their G.o.d’s real name, they no longer had an interest in mankind. To those who lived 3000 to 4000 years, human history was nothing more than a game of house.

“Starting today, all of our external activities are prohibited, Soo Ho.”

“Our?”

“All the angels below me.”

“Do you call people with supernatural powers, angels? Come to think of it, your name is Angelica.”

Ahn Soo Ho looked back at Ahn Da Sol. She was looking at her fingernails as if she had no interest and then shrugged in response to Ahn Soo Ho.

“I was against it.”

“Who was it? Was it Michel’s doing?”

Even the lunatic that called himself an archangel shrugged.

“The dumb humans were always our feed.”

“I don’t know. We haven’t been able to use much power after the modern era.”

“That’s…”

When Michel trailed off, J-Law coughed.

“Ahem!”

“Someone stupid made a big mistake.”

“I have no interest in your situation. What do you mean all external activities are prohibited?”

“It’s how it sounds. The immortal reputation that we’ve acquired…”

“Oh. So you’re saying you’re going to retire.”

Ahn Soo Ho cut him off.

“Why do you keep dragging it on? Let’s just make it quick and easy. So what would happen if you disappeared?”

“Chaos would ensue.”

“In more detail.”

“Hm, first of all, half of this world’s relief groups and funds would close down. Then…”

“A war would break out.”

“Yeah.”

It wasn’t common for conspirers to blatantly wring people dry. The relief fund that the a.s.sa.s.sination group, Angola partic.i.p.ated in, was equivalent to that of the UN, and there were many more funds that came from United Industries.

“What else?”

“The angels that were controlled by London will find freedom. And if that happens…”

“A war would break out.”

“Yeah.”

“What else?”

“United Industries would split up. If the anti-trust that we’ve been maintaining collapse, the companies will…”

“Go into war.”

“Yeah.”

“So war will break out no matter what.”

“We wanted mankind to exist for a long time.”

“Huh? What? Then that makes me sound like the bad one.”

In response to Ahn Soo Ho’s remark, Issac, J-Law, and Michel all shrugged their shoulders. They had no interest in mankind, their life, or their history.

‘It should have always been this way.’

It was time to release the human instinct that had been suppressed under a strong power. It was irresponsible, but that was none of his business. But that didn’t mean there was going to be a nuclear war the next day. If small efforts to protect humanism disappeared, chaos was certainly going to ensue.

‘I’m sure it’ll work out!’

< Protect – Episode 197 – So What? [4] > The End.