“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 Arica to the table... but it appears that Chairman Kim has lost control.”
“He must want to be rembered as a foolish dictator.”
After inheriting his late father’s power, he had more greed than ability. Even though he spent so ti 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 Arica 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 identity.’
The North Korean ruler, who was humiliated in Pyeongyang even when his father was alive, didn’t know Ahn Soo Ho’s true identity. It was possible that what he was doing was a type of revenge against him.
“What about our n in Pyeongyang?”
“There are a few military authorities in Seonyang.”
“Can they exert so power?”
“It’s hard to say.”
Yuhaipung stroked his chin.
“What if Chairman Kim suddenly dies?”
His secretary flinched.
“Are you talking about... an assassination?”
“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 mbers who they saw as a threat to live on. If any escaped abroad, they sent an assassin to kill them, and within the country, they used all sorts of excuses to execute them.
In contrast to Arica 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 so 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.
“Arica’s probably hoping that would happen, too.”
“Do you an 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 tis already.”
“Since he studied abroad, maybe they never t. Where did he study again?”
“Switzerland.”
“Oh yeah. Maybe they ran into each other.”
Between the Arican governnt departnts, they would often make negotiations and then butt heads. In recent years, they butt heads more than negotiating. After all, the White House’s declaration of war was done without consulting the State Departnt. 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 Aricans 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 an 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, sothing serious was bound to happen.
“They’re going to make a critical statent 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 sa regardless of age.
“Connect to Ambassador Woods.”
The Secretary of State’s facial expression was mixed. Pala 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 Arica’s profits first.
“Pala, it’s . I need you to et with Mr. Guardian. I know he’s retired. I’m only asking after thinking of it for a long ti. This is a sensitive issue related to Arica’s gain. Please.”
******
Ahn Soo Ho visited Kim Dae San as he promised, but when he got there, there was a business eting 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 hello.”
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 na is Park Chan Soo .”
“What a talented young man. I feel like I’m looking at my younger self. My na is Jung Moon Young.”
“You bastard! Who do you think you’re comparing yourself to? I’m more like him than you are. Haha. My na is Oh Chang Jin, CEO Ahn. I’ve been wanting to et you.”
The older n approached him while the younger n 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 na. What was morable was that his whole head was shaved. When he t 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 Investnts was beyond anyone’s imagination. What was known was just the tip of the iceberg, and with the entertainnt agency just being a shell, 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 ant nothing to Ahn Soo Ho. That was because he was able to control people who were capitalists.
Ahn Soo Ho relocated.
“Long ti 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 mories with Ahn Soo Ho.
“Are you on military leave?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You look good.”
He wasn’t making fun of him. He ant 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 docuntary about how you grew up with the Do brothers.”
“Those producers must have nothing to do if they made a docuntary 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, overti training, Choco Pie, and how they adjusted to the environnt. 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 ti 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 n 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 Noblesse oblige? That was bullshit. Not a single rich person had perfect ethics and conscience. If there was soone 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 ti, that’s what it’ll beco, 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 extre hardship. By forcing young n 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 soone 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! Hello, 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 Shilla Group. Was her na... Lee Yeon Jin?’
Ahn Soo Ho managed to rember the na of the woman. As soone who didn’t know many rich people besides Kim Dae San, this was a special case. The reason behind it was simple. Before Hosoo Entertainnt ca along, Shilla Group controlled the entertainnt industry of Korea. So they were competition.
“It’s nice to et you, Ms. Lee Yeon Jin.”
“I’m honored that you know my na.”
“I should know the nas of my competitors 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 Shilla Group and Hosoo Entertainnt Group, the second was a new relationship between the rich and Ahn Soo Ho, and third was the resentnt of why he could coexist with re employees and not them.
‘This bitch is fresh.’
He laughed without aning to.
“Yo! Soo Ho!”
Kim Dae Chan found Ahn Soo Ho just in ti.
Since he beca 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 beco 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 co 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 bitch 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 welcod 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 so presidents and vice-chairn 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 ti 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 ant they didn’t want a war to break out.
“There are lots of ways.”
“Oh! Tell us.”
Their eyes sparkled.
“First, mobilize the Arican carrier strike group and make a sneak attack. Arica 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 Arica these days but that was ridiculous. If Arica decided to start a war, China wouldn’t stand a chance. As of right now, the US army was 10 tis 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, Arica and China can hold hands and act together.”
If the first and second options took place, China and Arica were bound to fight. If Arica 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 Arica or China, the end scenario wasn’t going to be good. The best way was for Arica 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 agreent.
“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 n urged him like little kids. Kim Dae San must have wanted to make Ahn Soo Ho an army of the rich.
“.”
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 soone running over.
“North Korea did it again!”
And this ti, people were hard.
‘Is this pig out of his mind?’
< Protect – Episode 151 – Korea Shock [3] > The end.
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