Chapter 222: KBH Investment

Director Volasky called an emergency press conference on his own initiative at noon, Ukraine time.

He announced that, as a warning to North Korea for supplying soldiers and weapons to Russia, the railway, freight trains, and key facilities at the port of Rajin had been destroyed.

At the same time, he claimed that the Russian naval base located at the port of Vladivostok had also been destroyed.

To support his claims with evidence, he played videos one after another showing the railway and other facilities being blown up.

"Fuck!"

Commander Sergei, who was watching the footage on a laptop, suddenly burst into profanity.

Unable to contain his boiling rage, he grabbed the laptop on the table and hurled it with all his strength.

Bang!

However, after striking the wall, the laptop fell to the floor, still largely intact.

"Fuck!"

Commander Sergei cursed viciously again and began mercilessly stomping on the laptop with his military boots.

Before long, the laptop had been crushed beyond recognition.

Kicking the mangled laptop aside, he returned to his seat and ordered his adjutant:

"Bring me some water."

The adjutant soon returned with ice-cold water.

Commander Sergei drained it in one gulp and slammed the glass roughly onto the table.

The ice cubes inside scattered in every direction.

Some of them flew straight at the generals sitting before him.

However, fully aware of the gravity of the situation, the generals didn't so much as flinch to avoid the flying ice.

With his face taut with tension, Commander Sergei addressed General Chirkov.

"How the hell did those Ukrainian intelligence bastards film this?"

"Ukraine doesn't possess high-altitude reconnaissance drones equipped with infrared cameras."

"Are you saying another country filmed the footage and provided it to them?"

"We should consider the possibility that another country loaned Ukraine a high-altitude reconnaissance drone."

"Well, that's certainly possible. Have you determined why the warships and submarines sank?"

"The thing is... They were struck by torpedoes manufactured by our own country and sank..."

"What?!"

Commander Sergei cut General Chirkov's report short.

As though unable to think of anything else to say, General Chirkov fell silent.

A moment later, Commander Sergei broke the brief silence.

"What fucking bastard..."

"The torpedoes supplied by our country have been exported to dozens of nations, so we still don't know exactly who was responsible."

"Phew, fine. Tell me what I need to know in order of importance."

"It has been confirmed that the warships, submarines, and three cargo vessels were struck simultaneously. Considering that, we believe the enemy deployed three submarines."

"Wait. Could Korea be responsible?"

General Chirkov shook his head and answered Commander Sergei's question.

"Our country has never exported torpedoes to Korea."

"Then who the hell did this?!"

"The FSB is investigating, so we should soon find out who was responsible."

"This is hopeless. What about the pursuit of the enemy submarines?"

"We've mobilized every anti-submarine aircraft available and are scouring the Sea of Japan from end to end, but their traces seem to have vanished."

"What if they tried to outsmart us and the enemy submarines are heading north toward Sakhalin Island?"

"I-I'll check immediately!"

Cursing himself for the oversight, General Chirkov grabbed his cell phone.

***

I had an arrangement requiring me to work at Hangang Group from Monday through Thursday.

That meant today, Monday, I was heading to work at Hangang Group.

On my way to work, I received a call from Chief Secretary Song Dosok and headed straight for the Chairman's office.

After receiving permission to enter, I stepped inside and was greeted by an unexpected sight.

The key figures of Korea Investment were seated there: Chairman Park Yeongil, President Cho Myeongsu, and Chief Secretary Kang Inhan.

While I hesitated, trying to figure out what was going on, Chairman Yoon Jongu spoke to me.

"Team Leader Cha, Chairman Park merely dropped by to keep us company, so you can pretend he isn't here."

"Pretend I'm not here?"

Just as expected.

Chairman Park Yeongil immediately flared up and went after Chairman Yoon Jongu.

While the two traded jokes and bickered, I couldn't even sit down and was left standing off to the side.

"Chairman Park, why are you taking a joke so seriously?"

"Ha! A joke, you say!"

"Yes, a joke. Team Leader Cha, hurry up and sit down."

I gave a slight bow to Chairman Yoon Jongu, Chairman Park, and the others seated in the places of honor, then quickly sat down on the sofa.

Chairman Yoon Jongu looked at me with a sly expression.

"Team Leader Cha, you understand why I called you here, don't you?"

"I assume it's because of what happened in North Korea and Russia."

"As expected, you're already aware. We'll talk about that a little later. President Cho?"

At his cue, President Cho Myeongsu immediately spoke.

"Team Leader Cha, what do you think we should name the investment company being jointly established by Korea Investment, Hangang Group, and Bongard Investment Group?"

I had assumed Chairman Park Yeongil, Chairman Yoon Jongu, and Chairman Bongard would decide that among themselves.

But for some reason, President Cho Myeongsu was asking me to choose the name.

I asked him why.

"All three of them delegated the decision to you, Team Leader Cha."

"I see. What names made the final shortlist?"

"Here you are."

With that, President Cho Myeongsu handed me a transparent folder.

I opened it and reviewed the names that had been selected as finalists.

The company name was simple, but quite good.

"I think 'KBH Investment,' formed from the first letters of Korea Investment, Bongard Investment Group, and Hangang Group, would be the best choice."

Chairman Yoon Jongu immediately spoke with an extremely dissatisfied expression.

"Team Leader Cha, why did you settle on 'KBH Investment'?"

"I took the ownership structure of the investment company into consideration: 40% for Korea Investment, 35% for Bongard Investment Group, and 25% for Hangang Group."

"If you put it that way, there's nothing I can say. President Cho, continue."

"The KBH Investment office will be located in the Korea Investment building..."

To sum up President Cho Myeongsu's report in a few words, the establishment of KBH Investment was proceeding exactly according to plan, without a hitch.

"President Cho, there's only one week left, isn't there?"

"Now that the company name has been finalized, one week is more than enough."

"Understood. When should I start working at KBH Investment?"

"I think you can begin next week."

President Cho Myeongsu answered my question sincerely and without hesitation.

As soon as I ran out of questions, Chairman Yoon Jongu moved on to the main subject.

"Team Leader Cha, now let's hear what happened last night."

"Yes, sir. Everything I'm about to tell you must remain strictly confidential."

"Chief Song, check outside and come back."

Chief Secretary Song Dosok went outside and only returned after quite some time.

"Chairman, I've taken every possible precaution. Not even a fly will get through."

"Good. Team Leader Cha, let's hear it."

"Vice Chairman Tang Guochang, in order to regain Chairman Xi Jinping's lost trust..."

I began explaining in exhaustive detail the background and entire sequence of events from the previous night.

However, Chairman Yoon Jongu and Chairman Park Yeongil kept bombarding me with questions, causing my explanation to drag on longer and longer.

"Team Leader Cha, why was the railway connecting North Korea and Russia blown up?"

"North Korea was using trains and freight trains to transport soldiers and weapons into Russia."

"But North Korean troops and weapons can also be transported to Russia by ship, can't they?"

"That's why key facilities at the ports of Rajin and Vladivostok were destroyed as well, along with three cargo vessels."

"North Korea and Russia can simply use other ports and cargo ships to transport troops and weapons, can't they?"

"Director Volasky of Ukraine issued a stern warning that if North Korea and Russia use cargo vessels to transport soldiers and weapons, those ships will be sent to the bottom."

"But couldn't that just be an empty threat?"

I instinctively glanced around before lowering my voice to answer Chairman Park Yeongil's question.

"Our country and the United States have already decided to deploy submarines to sink Russian cargo vessels."

"I see. Let's pretend that conversation just now never happened."

"That would be for the best. Continuing on, the Chinese special forces successfully completed their mission to destroy the main facilities at North Korea's port of Rajin. As for Russia, the result was the destruction of eight warships, five submarines, and three cargo vessels."

"North Korea is one thing, but Russia must be absolutely furious right now."

"According to Director Griffin, Russia has declared a state of emergency."

Bzzzt...

At that moment, the cell phone lying on the table began vibrating.

I glanced at the screen and saw the caller's name.

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang.

The reason for his call was obvious, so after excusing myself to Chairman Park and the others, I answered.

"Vice Chairman Tang, I'm listening."

[Team Leader Cha, thank you very much for your help.]

At dawn today, I had received an emergency call from Vice Chairman Tang Guochang.

The gist of it was that Russia had deployed an armada of anti-submarine aircraft over the Sea of Japan to sink the Chinese Navy submarines.

He told me that the Chinese submarines were fleeing from the anti-submarine aircraft and asked for permission to travel south along our territorial waters.

I immediately contacted NIS Director Om Giyeon and passed along the request.

Thanks to Director Om Giyeon's swift response, the Chinese Navy submarines had been able to travel safely south along our territorial waters.

That was why Vice Chairman Tang was calling to thank me.

"Vice Chairman Tang, shouldn't you be thanking Director Om instead?"

[I plan to call Director Om immediately after I finish speaking with Team Leader Cha.]

"I see. The Chinese Navy submarines will be able to return to base without incident, correct?"

[Of course.]

After exchanging a few more words with Vice Chairman Tang Guochang, I ended the call.

As expected, Chairman Yoon Jongu immediately bombarded me with questions.

"Team Leader Cha, what happened at dawn?"

"After completing the operation, the Chinese Navy submarines were pursued by anti-submarine aircraft deployed by Russia."

I gave Chairman Yoon Jongu and the others a detailed account of the tense situation that had unfolded at dawn.

"...Thanks to our side's swift response, the Chinese Navy submarines were able to escape the danger."

"I see. But shouldn't we charge Vice Chairman Tang for the favor?"

Chairman Yoon Jongu was suggesting that we demand payment for allowing the Chinese submarines to pass through our territorial waters.

"NIS Director Om Giyeon will personally handle that matter."

"I understand. Let's discuss something else. What do you think about North Korea sending troops to Russia?"

"I think Kim Jonghun and President Putin's respective interests happened to align."

"Explain in more detail so I can understand."

"Kim Jonghun desperately needs money, food, energy resources, and modern weapons. President Putin, meanwhile, needed mercenaries who could fight Ukraine in place of Russian soldiers."

"Hmm..."

Chairman Yoon Jongu drew out the sound vaguely, as though deep in thought.

Fortunately, his contemplation didn't last long.

"Team Leader Cha, how will this affect our country?"

"Rather than give you my own opinion, it would be better to relay Director Om's assessment."

"And what did Om say?"

"The more surviving North Korean soldiers return from Russia, the worse it will be for our country."

"Why?"

"The North Korean soldiers will accumulate an enormous amount of combat experience. They'll pass that experience on to the rest of the North Korean military, which will become a serious negative factor for us in the long run."

"Hmm, that makes sense. Are there any other consequences?"

"In exchange for sending troops, Kim Jonghun demanded that President Putin provide modern weapons and the technology to manufacture them. That will also work against us."

"Hmm, when it rains, it pours."

"The only consolation is that China, after being stabbed in the back by North Korea, is beginning to draw closer to our country."

At that moment, Chairman Park Yeongil, who had apparently become curious about something, joined the conversation.

"Team Leader Cha, then how can we minimize the impact on our country?"

"The best option would be to bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end as quickly as possible."

"But is it actually possible to end the war quickly?"