Chapter 262: The Reason It Can’t Be Seized

As soon as the gold bar transaction was completed, Director Griffin and Director Jean-Philippe hurriedly left.

They were probably heading to the hospital to get information from Hyeon Songja.

After seeing them off, we returned to the living room and took our seats.

“Leader, you don’t look well. Did something happen?”

“Chief Secretary Kang, allow me to answer for him.”

At Chief Secretary Kang Inhan’s question, Agent Hong Jongsu answered before I could.

“Chief Secretary Kang, you know that Kim Jonghun owns real estate through nominees, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Director Griffin and Director Jean-Philippe are planning to seize that real estate.”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan seemed to understand why Cha Jiham was in such a foul mood.

After all, we were the ones who had taken 12 tons and 750 kilograms of gold bars from Kim Juchol’s house.

And we were the ones who had covered Kim Juchol, Kim Jonghun’s eldest son, in scratches as a warning against potential risks.

On top of that, we were planning to arrange for nearly forty elite North Korean soldiers to defect to South Korea and the United States.

In a situation like this, if they started making a fuss over the property, there was a high chance our presence would be exposed.

If that happened, North Korea would turn its blade of vengeance against us.

Cha Jiham had raised this point with Director Griffin and Director Jean-Philippe and opposed the confiscation of the real estate.

He asked Agent Hong Jongsu what he thought of his reasoning.

“Chief Secretary Kang’s assessment is absolutely correct.”

“But why do I get the feeling Director Griffin and Director Jean-Philippe are being petty?”

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean, Chief Secretary Kang.”

“Is the real estate Kim Jonghun owns through nominees really valuable enough for them to covet it?”

Agent Hong Jongsu shook his head and answered Chief Secretary Kang Inhan’s question.

“Your assessment is incorrect, Chief Secretary Kang.”

“Are you saying the real estate is worth a great deal?”

“That’s right. The real estate he owns through third parties is worth around 4.5 billion dollars.”

“That’s more than I expected. If they seize his real estate on top of everything else, won’t he simply faint from the shock?”

“Probably not. The chances of actually being able to seize the real estate are extremely low.”

“Why is that?”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan asked again with a puzzled expression.

“The real estate is owned by Hyeon Songja, Kim Juchol’s aunt.”

“But she merely lent her name, didn’t she?”

“Even so, she’ll insist that the property belongs to her personally.”

“But she bought the real estate with money she received from Kim Jonghun, didn’t she?”

“Of course, but the CIA and FIS will have to prove the source of those funds.”

I immediately grasped the implication behind Agent Hong Jongsu’s answer.

Kim Jonghun had most likely laundered the money before giving it to Hyeon Songja to purchase the real estate.

For the CIA and FIS to confiscate the properties she had purchased, they would first have to obtain evidence of the money laundering.

And unless Kim Jonghun was an idiot, there was no reason to expect him to have used some crude and careless money-laundering scheme.

Therefore, the CIA and FIS would face considerable difficulty trying to seize the real estate Kim Jonghun held under other people’s names.

I gave Agent Hong Jongsu my opinion and asked what he thought.

“You’re absolutely right, Leader Cha.”

“Then we don’t need to worry about the real estate Kim Jonghun owns under other people’s names.”

“On that point, I completely agree with you, Leader Cha.”

Leaving Agent Hong Jongsu’s answer at that, I turned to Team Leader Seo Donghun.

“I haven’t seen Saho since this morning. Where did he go?”

“When I told him we were returning home tomorrow, he made a face like he desperately needed to relieve himself and bolted outside.”

“Does he want to hunt wild animals to his heart’s content before we leave?”

“That’s what I think too.”

“Well, let’s talk about something else. What is Kwak Cheolhun doing right now?”

“Leader Cha, I’ll bring him down.”

Agent Hong Jongsu sprang up from the sofa and ran upstairs.

Watching his retreating back, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan spoke with a restrained grin.

“Agent Hong certainly knows how to read the room.”

“No matter how quick-witted he is, he still has a long way to go before he can catch up to you, Chief Secretary Kang.”

“Ha ha ha! Is that so?”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan burst into hearty laughter, clearly pleased by the compliment.

When his laughter subsided, Agent Hong Jongsu returned with Kwak Cheolhun.

I addressed Kwak Cheolhun in a friendly tone.

“Kwak Cheolhun, how have you been finding your stay here?”

“Everyone has been very kind to me, so I’ve been quite comfortable.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I called you because our schedule has changed.”

“How so?”

“The RRGB agents who were pursuing you left for our country on a special flight this morning. So you’ll be returning home on the special flight we’ve arranged.”

“Phew~ What a relief.”

Kwak Cheolhun placed his right hand over his chest and let out a visibly relieved breath.

“Was flying to our country with CIA agents really that difficult for you?”

“I won’t deny it. When exactly are we leaving for Korea?”

“The special flight transporting the RRGB agents is scheduled to arrive here tomorrow morning.”

“Then should I expect us to depart tomorrow afternoon?”

“Unless something unexpected happens, yes.”

“Understood.”

Everything up to this point had merely been the appetizer. Now it was time for the main course.

“Kwak Cheolhun, do you know that Kim Jonghun has an illegitimate child?”

“If you mean Kim Juchol, then yes, I do.”

“Have you ever met him?”

“A year and three months ago, that brat summoned me, so we met.”

“He summoned you?”

“Yes. That little bastard was so rude and arrogant that I never want to see his face again!”

In North Korea, Kim Jonghun was a figure comparable to a king.

The more than twenty-five million people of North Korea were nothing more than slaves to him.

His eldest son, Kim Juchol, was fully aware of that and looked down on Kwak Cheolhun.

“I understand exactly how you feel. What happened when you met Kim Juchol?”

“That little bastard said he would become the next ruler of North Korea after Kim Jonghun and told me I should start bowing to him in advance.”

“Was it really worth getting so worked up over the words of a twelve-year-old boy?”

“There was a woman sitting beside him, his aunt. She kept saying exactly the same thing.”

Hyeon Songja was the biological sister of Kim Juchol’s birth mother.

It seemed she firmly believed that Kim Juchol would become Kim Jonghun’s successor.

“I see. What else happened?”

“He complained that he was under a lot of stress because the bastards at his school were bullying him.”

“Do you know why his classmates were bullying Kim Juchol?”

“He said he was being subjected to severe racial discrimination because his eyes were smaller than buttonholes. But I think the real reason was something else.”

“What was it?”

“That little bastard was about 135 centimeters tall, but he clearly weighed more than 70 kilograms.”

For a twelve-year-old boy, the average height was around 150 centimeters and the average weight around 45 kilograms.

But Kim Juchol was not only shorter than average, he was also severely overweight.

There was a high probability that immature children had teased him by calling him a “pig.”

And that was exactly what Kwak Cheolhun was referring to.

“Ah, I see what you mean.”

“That little bastard said several times that he wanted to kill every last one of those racists.”

“I’m aware of that as well.”

“How?”

Once Kwak Cheolhun arrived in Korea, he would live with his father, Commander Kwak Taesu.

So it was obvious that news of the incident at Kim Juchol’s house would eventually reach his ears.

Even so, I couldn’t reveal every last detail to him.

“The members of Unit 974 who were providing close protection for Kim Juchol have decided to defect to the United States.”

“...What!?”

Kwak Cheolhun’s eyes widened in genuine astonishment.

“It sounds unbelievable, but it’s true.”

“Why did they decide to defect to the United States?”

“There was an incident recently that left Kim Juchol covered in scratches from head to toe.”

“So they’re fleeing to the United States to avoid punishment?”

“That’s one of the reasons. Let’s end the discussion about them there.”

Kwak Cheolhun had plenty of questions, but he couldn’t continue asking them.

Once he had been made to understand that I didn’t want to discuss the subject any further, it would have been tactless to keep pressing.

“I’ll respect your decision, Leader Cha.”

“Think carefully about the time you met Kim Juchol. Was the entrance to the basement blocked by an iron door?”

“I don’t remember anything like that. Why do you ask?”

The fact that the basement entrance had not been blocked by an iron door meant that Kim Jonghun had not yet converted his slush funds into gold bars one year and two months ago.

“It’s just that something valuable was discovered in the basement of Kim Juchol’s house.”

“You must have found gold.”

“How did you know?”

“I read the classified materials my father gave me.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll erase the contents of those classified materials from my memory forever.”

“That would be better for your own well-being.”

“If you have nothing else to ask me, I’ll go back upstairs.”

Rising from the sofa, Kwak Cheolhun gave me a slight bow and went upstairs.

The moment he was gone, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan spoke up, clearly having something he wanted to say.

“Leader, how about going out for dinner and buying some gifts before we return home?”

If I went out, Korea Investment employees and NIS agents would have to accompany me.

I had no desire to drag them out to dinner and interfere with their rest.

“I prefer Korean food to Western food.”

“I anticipated you might say that, so I already picked out several Korean restaurants in downtown Zurich.”

“You’re very thoughtful.”

“Ha ha. I’ll take that as a compliment. Hurry up, get changed, and come out.”

Bzzz—

At that moment, the phone lying on the table vibrated.

Glancing at the screen, I saw that Director Griffin was calling.

After asking everyone to remain quiet, I pressed the answer button.

“Director Griffin, I’m listening.”

[Leader Cha, there’s something I urgently need to discuss with you.]

I hadn’t wanted to leave the house in the first place, so the call couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Is that so? How quickly can you get here?”

[We could discuss it over the phone.]

“Oh, come now. We can’t do that. I’ll be waiting, so hurry over.”

Click.

After hanging up, I turned to Chief Secretary Kang Inhan.

“You heard him. Dinner at the restaurant is postponed.”

“Well, it can’t be helped.”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan replied in an indifferent voice.

***

“Director Jean-Philippe, how are Kim Juchol and Hyeon Songja doing?”

“According to the doctors, it’ll be at least four or five days before they’re discharged.”

What a relief.

If Kim Juchol had been seriously injured, the families of the Unit 974 soldiers would have suffered greatly.

“That’s fortunate.”

“You think so? North Korean embassy personnel from all across Europe have already taken over the hospital.”

“Of course they have. Have the police questioned Hyeon Songja yet?”

“They questioned her, but she refused to answer a single one of their questions. What should we do about this problem?”

At that moment, I understood exactly what Director Griffin had wanted to discuss so urgently.

“We also had a serious discussion about seizing the real estate Kim Jonghun owns through nominees. But we came to the conclusion that it would be impossible to seize it.”

“I’d like to know why you reached that conclusion.”

“First, you would have to prove that Kim Jonghun is the true owner of the real estate held by those third parties.”

Without holding anything back, I recounted my conversation with Agent Hong Jongsu to Director Jean-Philippe and Director Griffin.

And Agent Hong Jongsu naturally filled in the details wherever my explanation was insufficient.

“...On top of that, there’s the problem of having to obtain evidence of money laundering.”

“Then what should we do in this situation?”

‘They already know the answer perfectly well, so why are they asking?’

“There’s a saying in our country: ‘A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step.’”

“Are you saying we should prepare for a long game?”

“I believe that would be the best option.”

“What do you think, Director Griffin?”

“I agree with Leader Cha.”

After answering, Director Griffin turned to me.

“When are you planning to return to Korea?”

“Hangang Group’s private jet is scheduled to arrive here tomorrow morning.”

“I’m planning to return to the United States this evening. We can drop you off in Korea on the way.”

“But wouldn’t that require you to make a detour?”

“Consider it my way of thanking Leader Cha for all the help you’ve given us.”

And just like that, the time to leave for Korea arrived unexpectedly.