Chapter 286: Does This Bastard Think I’m a Pushover?

NIS Director Om Giyeon proposed to Director Griffin that they intercept the three North Korean submarines. He openly relayed everything he had heard from me to Director Griffin.

— ...If we proceed that way, we should be able to seize those submarines without much difficulty.

[There is some merit to what you’re saying. I’ll take your advice into consideration, Director Om.]

At that moment, NIS Director Om Giyeon’s mood soured. Director Griffin’s response clearly implied that the United States intended to seize the North Korean submarines on its own.

‘Does this bastard think I’m a pushover?’

— Director Griffin, don’t you think you’re going a little too far?

[What exactly do you mean?]

Director Griffin’s voice turned prickly in response to Om Giyeon’s own sharp tone. However, NIS Director Om Giyeon wasn’t worried in the slightest. He had a reliable trump card up his sleeve.

— The idea of intercepting the North Korean submarines came from Chief Cha. The latest intelligence on them was also provided by our country. Yet instead of showing even the most basic gratitude toward our country and Chief Cha, you, Director Griffin, intend to take all the credit for yourself.

[Ahem! I’m sorry it turned out that way.]

The head of the CIA, standing at the very pinnacle of the world of espionage, was an immensely proud man. Because of that, he never apologized unless he had made a fatal mistake. Yet for some reason, he chose to apologize immediately after the protest. That could only mean one thing: he considered the complaint justified. And once the other side had backed down, it wouldn’t be gentlemanly to keep pushing.

— I accept your apology, Director Griffin. How about our country and the United States conduct a joint operation to seize the North Korean submarines?

[I accept your proposal, Director Om.]

— Haha. Thank you.

[Now, let’s move on to another matter for a moment.]

There was no point in provoking Director Griffin any further under the current circumstances. Om Giyeon had been looking for a good opportunity to change the subject, and fortunately, Griffin took the initiative himself. The NIS Director breathed a sigh of relief and continued the conversation.

— I’m listening.

[I’ve finalized the schedule for our meeting with Philippine President Gonzalez for Tuesday afternoon next week.]

— May I ask why the meeting was moved up?

[President Gonzalez has no idea what kind of elaborate scheme Abu Sayyaf is plotting. We moved the meeting forward so we could bring him up to speed and give him time to devise countermeasures.]

— I understand what you mean.

[I’ll stop by Korea on Tuesday morning to pick up you and Chief Cha.]

— There’s no particular need for that.

[The only reason I want to stop by Korea before flying to the Philippines is Saho.]

Only then did NIS Director Om Giyeon understand. Saho was a wild animal and had never been vaccinated, so he couldn’t travel on an ordinary commercial flight. That was why Director Griffin intended to take Saho aboard his private jet.

— Are you planning to use Saho in the operation to eliminate Abu Sayyaf?

[I’m considering it, but we need Chief Cha’s permission first.]

NIS Director Om Giyeon covered the phone with his hand and looked at me, silently asking for my opinion. I nodded in agreement.

— Director Griffin, Chief Cha has given his approval.

[Haha. Excellent. We’ll talk again later.]

Click.

After hanging up, NIS Director Om Giyeon turned to me.

— We’re flying to the Philippines on Tuesday morning next week.

I had only just returned from my business trip to Hong Kong today, Saturday, at around six in the evening. And now I was being told that in just three days, I had to leave on another business trip to the Philippines—and take Saho with me, no less.

— Director Om, I’m merely a company officer tied down by my work at KBH Investment.

— Chief Cha, you’re going to the Philippines as President Cho Seokchin’s special envoy.

In other words, he was telling me not to even bother trying to refuse.

— Phew~ I guess there’s nothing I can do.

— But why exactly does Director Griffin want to take Saho to the Philippines?

— As you know, Saho has a unique talent for reconnaissance inside an enemy stronghold.

— Ah, right.

NIS Director Om Giyeon nodded in understanding.

***

— Aren’t you tired?

As soon as I returned from Hong Kong, I had gone straight to NIS Director Om Giyeon’s summons. After spending a considerable amount of time at the safe house where Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol was being held, I didn’t make it home until midnight. Naturally, Mom greeted me with a worried look.

— I had to urgently report the results of my trip to Hong Kong, so there wasn’t much I could do about it.

— You’ve really got it rough, son.

— You can say that again. Did you have a good time with your friends who came up from the countryside?

— Of course.

— Have they already gone back to Taebaek?

Mrs. Sun Jisuk recalled everything that had happened that day. To give her the opportunity to run her own restaurant, Cha Jiham had purchased housing owned by Hangang Group. Since it was impossible to run a restaurant alone, they had decided to hire her friends from back home as staff.

While they were inspecting the building together, a man in his fifties approached them. He introduced himself as the employee from Hangang Construction in charge of renovating and finishing the premises. About an hour after they began discussing the interior, Chief Secretary Song Dosok unexpectedly appeared at the building. Insisting that he had to treat her and her friends to dinner, he took them straight to the Hangang Hotel without another word. After dinner at the hotel restaurant, they went to karaoke and had a wonderful time.

— Well, you see...

Mom gave me a detailed account of everything that had happened that day.

— ...Anyway, I came home, while my friends stayed overnight at the Hangang Hotel.

— Chief Secretary Song certainly gave you the royal treatment.

— He really did. Make sure you give him my heartfelt thanks.

— I will. Oh, right! I’m leaving for a business trip to the Philippines next Tuesday.

Something unexpected happened at that moment.

The instant he heard me, Saho came racing down the stairs from the second floor. Wearing a pitiful expression and making it obvious with his entire body that he wanted to come with me, he plopped himself down right at my feet.

‘I was already planning to take you with me, you dummy.’

I picked Saho up and stroked his head as I said,

— If you stay quiet and don’t cause any trouble until we leave, I’ll take you with me.

Saho gave an emphatic, vigorous nod. Mom could only shake her head in amazement as she watched a cat behaving exactly like a human being.

— Mom, I’m going to my room.

After freshening up with a shower and stepping out of the bathroom, I found that Saho was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, he had gone out for his nightly stroll.

I changed into comfortable clothes and picked up my phone from the table. There was a missed call from Vice Chairman Wei Chen on the screen. Figuring that now was as good a time as any, I called him back.

After several rings, his apologetic voice came through.

[Chief Cha, were you asleep?]

— No. I was in the shower, so I didn’t hear the phone ring, Vice Chairman Wei.

[That’s a relief. This afternoon, Politburo member Liu Peiqi stormed over to Chairman Zhen Weiliang to raise hell.]

Politburo member Liu Peiqi was desperately trying to grab the vacant seat on the Standing Committee. After buying $15 billion worth of diamonds from Chairman Zhen Weiliang, he had presented them to Chairman Xi Jinping as a bribe.

However, because of my intervention, Chairman Xi Jinping rejected the gift, squeezing Liu Peiqi dry and leaving him in an utterly miserable position.

Naturally, Liu Peiqi had gone to Chairman Zhen Weiliang to vent his anger.

— I expected him to show up tomorrow or the day after, but it’s already happened.

[That just shows how furious he was.]

— So how did the showdown between Chairman Zhen and Politburo member Liu go?

[That bastard threw a fit, shouting that Chairman Zhen had deceived him. Chairman Zhen simply showed him the contract, just as you advised.]

— And how did Liu respond to that counterattack?

[He seemed to lose his fighting spirit completely. He just sat there staring blankly into space. Chairman Zhen took pity on him after seeing how pathetic he looked and offered to buy the diamonds back.]

It wasn’t difficult to guess what happened next.

Politburo member Liu Peiqi must have tried to unload the diamonds for as much as possible. Chairman Zhen Weiliang, on the other hand, would have tried to drive the price down as far as possible.

In the end, Vice Chairman Wei Chen stepped in as mediator and brought them to a deal at $7 billion.

I asked Wei Chen whether my guess was correct.

[You hit the nail right on the head, Chief Cha.]

— Good. I’m glad there weren’t any surprises. Has Liu already returned to Beijing?

[We’re meeting him again tomorrow morning.]

— Didn’t you say the diamond deal was already settled?

[It is, but Chairman Zhen is planning to sell him gold.]

Politburo member Liu Peiqi’s train of thought was painfully obvious.

Having not yet given up hope of securing a seat on the Standing Committee, he was undoubtedly planning to present Chairman Xi Jinping with an offering of gold.

‘The thirst for power really is terrifying.’

— Does Chairman Zhen have that much gold?

[Chairman Zhen has 7,000 kilograms, and I have 2,000 kilograms.]

Chairman Zhen Weiliang ran a major jewelry business in Hong Kong, so putting up 7,000 kilograms of gold was no problem for him.

What surprised me was that Vice Chairman Wei Chen had 2,000 kilograms of gold himself.

I cautiously asked where he had obtained such a stockpile.

[I still have some of the gold bars you seized from Liu’s villa in Macau.]

Back then, I had seized 5,150 kilograms of gold bars from Politburo member Liu Peiqi’s villa in Macau. Afterward, I sold them to Vice Chairman Wei Chen at a 7% discount from the LBMA price.

Apparently, he had resold 3,150 kilograms to someone else and kept the remainder.

— I see. But won’t that cause problems later?

[Just to be safe, we melted those bars down and recast them, so there won’t be any problems.]

— Then that’s fine. How do you think Liu will react when he finds out he’s buying his own stolen gold back?

[He’ll probably faint while foaming at the mouth.]

— Haha. I’d love to see that. Still, if he presents Chairman Xi Jinping with nine tons of gold, will that be enough to secure a seat on the Standing Committee?

[Not even close. He thinks he needs to give him at least twenty tons.]

— Buying the remaining eleven tons would cost around $9 billion, right?

[That bastard was counting on squeezing the rest of the money out of former CEO Go Yeongjun.]

— If he wants to squeeze money out of former CEO Go, he’ll have to go straight to the afterlife.

[Hahahahaha!]

Just imagining it sent Vice Chairman Wei Chen into a fit of genuine laughter.

I waited for his laughter to subside before continuing.

— Vice Chairman Wei, allow me to change the subject.

[I’m listening.]

— The submarines carrying North Korean missiles are scheduled to arrive at the Port of Iligan on Mindanao Island next Thursday.

[That soon?]

— You know that North Korea sent troops to Russia, correct?

[Of course.]

— In return, Russia upgraded North Korea’s submarines.

I openly told Wei Chen the information I had received from NIS Director Om Giyeon and other sources.

— ...It has been confirmed that North Korea deployed those upgraded submarines.

[That’s trouble.]

Deep concern entered Vice Chairman Wei Chen’s voice.

— Don’t worry. The latest American submarine is already shadowing them without being detected.

[Phew~ Thank goodness.]

Wei Chen’s voice returned to normal within seconds.

— We’re planning to arrive in Manila, Philippines, on Tuesday afternoon. Vice Chairman Wei, adjust your schedule and come to the Philippines as well.

[Could it be...]

Vice Chairman Wei Chen trailed off as though he had realized something.

Of course, I knew perfectly well what he was thinking.

— It’s exactly what you’re thinking.

[But is there any need for me to meet President Gonzalez?]

— You’ll be eliminating Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui and his henchmen. If you don’t obtain authorization from Philippine law enforcement beforehand, you could be charged with murder if something unexpected happens.

[Ah, I hadn’t thought of that.]

— Then we’ll meet in the Philippines on Tuesday.

[It seems I don’t have much choice. It’s already late, so we’ll talk again later.]

Click.

After hanging up, I sprawled across the bed and muttered aloud,

— Just when did my life become this hectic?

The scale of everything happening around me just kept getting bigger and bigger.