Chapter 114.1: I’ll Follow Your Orders (1)

With the strong feelings caused by the Eurasian Rail announcement now subsiding, the request for the underwater tunnel’s construction immediately caught public attention.

As a result, the requests to interview Kang Chan basically disappeared. However, since Yang Jin-Woo rapidly became the center of attention, it was difficult to do anything to him right now.

Around Lunch on Saturday, Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho visited Kim Hyung-Jung’s office at Samseong-dong.

“Let’s order tangsuyuk today as well.”

“Sure.”

Kim Hyung-Jung happily accepted Seok Kang-Ho’s request.

After their meal, Kim Hyung-Jung prepared tea and cigarettes for them, then handed over a report to Kang Chan. “That’s the data that the National Intelligence Service has analyzed. As Yang Jin-Woo said, if the highway and the rail that will be using the underwater tunnel get connected, then almost all of the profits from the Eurasian Rail will go to Japan.”

“Can’t we show things like this on TV or in the press?” Kang Chan asked.

“It’s difficult to do that right now.” Kim Hyung-Jung sighed as he extinguished the cigarette on the ashtray as if he was stabbing it. “Japan has already reported on TV that they lost to South Korea. Moreover, the public has heard that Yang Jin-Woo’s children were murdered because their lives were used to blackmail him into canceling the underwater tunnel. As a result, Yang Jin-Woo has been receiving a lot of sympathy. We describe situations like this like the wind. No matter how much objective data we show, there wouldn’t be any no point if it’s windy. This strategy has been proven to be effective for election campaigns.”

“What if South Korea doesn’t give them permission to connect the highway and the rail?”

“Japan will still proceed with the construction of the tunnel, and we will have to face civil resistance whenever their progress gets reported on the news. What’s worse is that there’s also the National Assembly elections next year, so if we make the wrong move, we won’t even be able to protect the Eurasian Rail.”

“This fucker is a powerful enemy,” Seok Kang-Ho’s comment seemed to be the most appropriate description of Yang Jin-Woo.

“Taking any measure right now is also difficult. If Yang Jin-Woo suddenly dies, we have no idea what the public sentiment will turn into,” Kim Hyung-Jung glanced at Kang Chan.

“Mr. Manager,” Kang Chan said.

“Yes?”

“Don’t you find this too stupid?”

Seok Kang-Ho glanced at Kim Hyung-Jung, perhaps because he felt that Kang Chan was coming off strong.

“We have the President and many government institutions, including the National Intelligence Service, yet you’re saying that we’ll still just stand by and watch something like this happen?”

“That’s our current reality.”

Smirking, Kang Chan shook his head. “That’s funny. Not only is there no evidence that Yang Jin-Woo blatantly tried to kill the President and the Prime Minister but you’re also telling me that we can’t stop him from trying to sell the profits of the Eurasian Rail to Japan because you’re scared of public sentiment.”

Kim Hyung-Jung tightly gritted his teeth as he glared at the cigarette.

“Is my criminal immunity still valid?” Kang Chan asked again.

“Mr. Kang Chan.”

“Can’t I use it against Yang Jin-Woo?”

“Mr. Kang Chan! We shouldn’t deal with this using our emotions.”

“Then how do you plan to deal with this without using our emotions?”

Kim Hyung-Jung didn’t answer.

“He blatantly attacked my father, hired a foreign hitman to kill my mother, and killed two pitiful sisters. Please don’t say that I don’t have any evidence.”

Kang Chan knew that Kim Hyung-Jung wasn’t the decision-maker, but it was difficult for him to accept that they just kept being stupidly attacked.

“What should I do? Get naturalized in France with my parents because my parents’ lives are in danger here and I can’t even do anything about it because my opponent has a lot of money and power? Do you really think they’ll be okay just because close to twenty National Intelligence Service agents are protecting them?” Kang Chan asked.

“Hmm.”

Kang Chan took out a cigarette and bit on it. “If there really isn’t a way, then I’ll take care of Yang Jin-Woo myself and go to France.”

Chk chk.

“Whoo, this is the best that I can do. What happens to the Eurasian Rail after that is completely up to the South Korean government. Had I known that we wouldn’t be able to find a way to fight back against a plot this obvious, I never would have started this,” Kang Chan added.

“Understood. I’ll pass on your thoughts to the Director.”

The atmosphere was heavy.

“Mr. Kang Chan,” Kim Hyung-Jung called.

Kang Chan just looked at him in response.

“The Intelligence Bureaus of France and the United States both commit assassinations only during emergencies. We’re not staying put because we can’t do that. Rather, we’re worried that methods like this could be used to maintain the regime in the future.” Kim Hyung-Jung deeply exhaled cigarette smoke. “That’s what Russia is like right now. They commit political manipulation and assassinations. Our President is not afraid of the public sentiment’s estrangement. He’s simply worried about developing the country and settling democracy.”

Kang Chan saw enthusiasm in Kim Hyung-Jung’s eyes.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

.

Kim Hyung-Jung went to Mongolia to willingly sacrifice his life for his country, and despite enduring horrible pain, he refused to disclose his identity and the country he belonged to.

“I’m sorry if I spoke harshly,” Kang Chan apologized.

“Don’t be. Honestly, I will use you as an excuse to outright tell the Director what I have in my mind.”

Kim Hyung-Jung spread out his hand and stroked his face. Kang Chan could clearly see his frustration about the reality that he couldn’t have his way.

“Can we stop the underwater tunnel if Yang Jin-Woo dies?” Kang Chan asked.

“Yang Jin-Woo has ten security guards with them. Based on how they move, they clearly received special training.”

Now the situation had really become difficult.

“We should be able to momentarily stop the underwater tunnel project. I also thought about breaking up the Suh Jeong group, but if things go wrong and Japan sends in funds and acquires the Suh Jeong group, then there will no longer be any way to stop the tunnel. Another problem that we have is that the opposition party that holds the majority of the National Assembly is supporting Yang Jin-Woo,” Kim Tae-Jin explained.

“What about Yang Jin-Woo’s movements?”

“He only goes to and from his house and company. He also strictly moves within the range of CCTVs, so covering up his death as an accident will prove difficult.”

“Tsk!”

Shooting Yang Jin-Woo and killing him was impractical in South Korea. It would be very difficult to clean up the mess because the nation’s attention was focused on him.

“How much time do we have until the construction of the underwater tunnel officially starts?” Kang Chan asked again.

“If our government doesn’t approve of it, then it'll be absolutely difficult to connect it. However, if we take everything into consideration, including the opposition party impeaching the President and the public sentiment backing them up, then we probably have about a month to spare.”

The situation was so absurd that Kang Chan couldn’t help but laugh. To think that this time, they had to stop the people that did everything they could to stop the Eurasian Rail.

This wasn’t a soccer or baseball game, but they now had to switch places between defense and offense.

“Killing Yang Jin-Woo could lead to the President’s impeachment, which is the worst thing that can happen. The opposition party will put forward the reason that we failed to protect a citizen. If that happens, the underwater tunnel’s construction will proceed again,” Kim Hyung-Jung said.

“What’s with the people who are supposed to be National Assembly members?” Seok Kang-Ho expressed his anger while complaining.

“To get this matter approved, Japan will release an enormous amount of funds even if it would require mobilizing all of the economic power they currently possess,” Kim Hyung-Jung added.

“Making Japan pull out of this matter is ultimately the best way to stop this from happening, then,” Kang Chan commented.

“If that actually happens, I’ll take care of Yang Jin-Woo myself,” Kim Hyung-Jung said.

Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho couldn’t help but dejectedly laugh when they felt Kim Hyung-Jung’s desperation to stop the underwater tunnel.

“Let’s put some more thought into this,” Kang Chan said.

They wouldn’t be able to find an answer right now anyway, so they ended their discussion there.

***

Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho left Kim Hyung-Jung’s office and headed to the specialty coffee shop at the intersection in front of their houses.

As soon as they arrived, Seok Kang-Ho went to the counter to order their drinks.

Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—

.

Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—

.

Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—

.

Kang Chan held up his phone when it rang. The call was from an unknown number. He wasn’t getting that many calls requesting an interview anymore, so he answered it.

“Hello?”

- It’s me.

Kang Chan had heard this voice somewhere before.

- It’s me, Eun-Sil.

Ha! Is something about to happen again?

Kang Chan looked around his surroundings before answering.

“Why did you call me?”

- Can we meet for a bit?

“What’s going on? Just tell me on the phone.”

- We have to talk in person. It doesn’t matter where—just give me a location and I’ll meet you there.

To Kang Chan, it was as if she just said, ‘It doesn’t matter where you are. I’ll bring trouble to you.’

Thinking Heo Eun-Sil wouldn’t just back down, Kang Chan told her where they were and to come here in an hour.

“Who was that?” Seok Kang-Ho asked. Despite having voraciously eaten all of the tangsuyuk by himself earlier, he still brought over patbingsu that was as big as a washbowl again.

“Eun-Sil. She told me she has something to say, so I told her to come here in an hour.”

“Eun-Sil? You mean Heo Eun-Sil?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s up with her this time?” Seok Kang-Ho ate a spoonful of patbingsu as he cocked his head. “There’s nothing to worry about. Let’s take care of the problems in our way.”

“If I could, I would have already organized mercenaries and gone to Japan.”

“That’s also a good idea—urgh!” Seok Kang-Ho hit his head. “Wow! I’m getting brain freeze! I ate way too much patbingsu in one go.”

Spending time with Seok Kang-Ho was worth it since Kang Chan got to laugh whenever they were together.