Chapter 72: Who Else Would It Be?

Senior Specialist Woo Changhun, who had been silently watching the scenery passing outside the window, suddenly broke the silence.

“Hey, Cha, don't you think this is getting a little excessive?”

“What brought that on?”

“This car we're driving. Where did it come from?”

“Oh, this car?”

“If you've got a luxury car like this, why have you been hiding it all this time?”

The sedan I was driving wasn't actually mine.

It had been assigned to me as a company vehicle for my work at Korea Investment.

Knowing that explaining everything would only lead to a long discussion, I decided to keep it simple.

“It isn't my personal car. Korea Investment assigned it to me solely to improve work efficiency.”

“And they have a special reason for giving you a company car?”

“The fund plans to acquire a 9.5% stake in the new joint venture.”

“...I hadn't thought of that. Anyway, where exactly are we going?”

“I need to ask the police for a favor.”

“The police? What kind of favor?”

“We're almost at the National Police Agency. Just wait a little longer and you'll see.”

Woo Changhun forced himself to suppress his curiosity.

He knew perfectly well that Cha Jiham could keep a secret when he wanted to.

“Fine. At least tell me who we're meeting.”

“Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong.”

“What?!”

Woo Changhun froze, his eyes widening in disbelief.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“How could I not be? We're meeting the head of the entire national police force!”

“The position of Commissioner General only carries a two-year term. There's really nothing to be afraid of.”

“Are you serious, or are you joking?”

“I was only saying.”

“Still... have you met the Commissioner General before?”

During the operation to dismantle the Korean branch of the Chinese Triad, I had crossed paths with Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong several times.

Of course, I could have played dumb and claimed this would be our first meeting.

Instead, I chose not to.

I was completely certain that Choi Dongyeong would welcome me warmly.

That said, I wasn't about to reveal the whole truth either.

“Yes. We met while I was working at Korea Investment.”

“And why did he come to the fund?”

“As far as I know, he's had a close friendship with Chairman Park Yeongil for many years.”

While I satisfied Woo Changhun's curiosity, our car pulled up to the main gate of the National Police Agency.

As soon as I stopped, the police officer on duty approached and asked the purpose of our visit.

I introduced myself and explained that I had an appointment with Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong.

The officer hurried back to the security booth and soon returned with a man dressed in full police uniform.

“Director Cha, welcome to the National Police Agency. I'm Superintendent Oh Yuntaek.”

Woo Changhun still had no idea what my actual position at Korea Investment was.

Unfortunately, Superintendent Oh Yuntaek, completely unaware of that, had unintentionally revealed it.

Since there was absolutely no benefit in letting my senior colleague learn the truth, I hurried to fix the situation.

“Superintendent Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Senior Specialist Cha Jiham from Hangang Group. This is my direct supervisor, Senior Specialist Woo Changhun.”

As though he had instantly understood my intentions, Oh Yuntaek gave an almost imperceptible nod before playing along.

“Ah, my apologies. I must have mistaken you for someone else.”

“No problem. It happens.”

“The Commissioner General is waiting for you. Please park the car and follow me.”

***

At that very moment, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong was waiting in his office for Cha Jiham's {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} arrival while chatting with Superintendent General Hong Ingi.

“Superintendent General Hong, why do you think Director Cha wanted to meet me?”

“No idea. Should we call Chief Secretary Kang and ask?”

“Forget it. He'll be here soon enough. We'll ask him then.”

Bzzz.

At that moment, Hong Ingi's phone vibrated.

After reading the text message, he immediately reported,

“A message from Oh Yuntaek. He says Director Cha has just arrived. But he introduced himself as an employee of Hangang Group.”

“So we're supposed to play along and avoid revealing that he's actually a director?”

“I believe so. Still... why hasn't he resigned from Hangang Group yet?”

“That's a long story. From what I've heard, Chairman Yoon is personally refusing to let him leave.”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A polite knock sounded.

The office door opened, and Superintendent Oh Yuntaek entered with Cha Jiham and Woo Changhun.

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong and Superintendent General Hong Ingi both rose to greet their guests.

“Hey, Cha. How have you been? It's been a while.”

“Thanks to your concern, Commissioner General, I've been doing very well. Allow me to introduce the person who came with me...”

After brief introductions, everyone settled onto the sofas.

“Well then, Cha, I'm eager to hear what important matter brought you here.”

“This evening, Chairman Clark Bongard of Bongard Investment Group and Chairman Michael Hudson of Endivia will be arriving in our country.”

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong was already aware through confidential channels that Hangang Electronics, Endivia, Bongard Investment Group, and Korea Investment were preparing to establish a powerful joint venture.

However, hearing that Clark Bongard and Michael Hudson were personally flying to South Korea came as a complete surprise.

He immediately asked why the visit had been kept so secret.

“The U.S. government—especially President Melvin Douglas—is strongly opposed to the creation of this joint venture.”

“I see. But if President Douglas himself is against it, will the company even be established?”

Naturally, I already had a clear strategy for neutralizing any interference from the American president.

Still, every plan carried the possibility of unexpected complications.

There was no need to reveal everything.

“Chairman Bongard will personally handle President Douglas.”

“Oh. If that's the case, then there's nothing to worry about. Go on.”

“Chairman Bongard and Chairman Hudson are flying here on a regular commercial flight...”

“Wait a second.”

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong suddenly interrupted me.

Not understanding what was wrong, I looked at him in confusion.

Seeing my expression, he quickly explained.

“But both of them own luxurious private jets, don't they?”

“You're absolutely right, Commissioner General. They deliberately chose a commercial flight so news of their visit to South Korea would spread as quickly as possible.”

“They want the rumors to spread? Why?”

“My apologies, but I can't explain that strategy at the moment.”

“Very well. I won't press the issue. Continue.”

“They're scheduled to land at Incheon International Airport today at around seven in the evening.”

After laying out the situation, I finally made the request that had brought us here.

“...I'd like to ask you to provide them with official government security throughout their stay in Korea.”

“You know, Cha, I'd gladly help you with almost anything else, but assigning security isn't a decision I can make on my own.”

“May I ask what's preventing you?”

“If I independently deploy state security resources to protect private individuals, it could trigger a major political scandal.”

“So what you need is an official justification and authorization from above. Is that correct?”

At that moment, Superintendent General Hong Ingi joined the conversation.

“Cha, how about taking this matter directly to Chairman Park?”

“You're suggesting we use Korea Investment's security team?”

“No. That's not what I mean. Chairman Park has extraordinary connections throughout the highest levels of government. Among his close acquaintances is the Minister of the Interior and Safety, who directly oversees the national police.”

In other words, he was suggesting we go through the Minister.

“Ah... I understand what you mean.”

“We'll prepare our special units in advance and simply wait for the official order.”

“Excellent. Then let's proceed that way. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today.”

After seeing Cha Jiham and his companion off, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong and Superintendent General Hong Ingi returned to their discussion.

“Commissioner General, considering Chairman Bongard's international stature, couldn't we assign him protection without all these formalities?”

“In theory, yes. But there are far too many people waiting for an excuse to attack the police. Under the circumstances, it's better to prepare for the worst.”

“I understand. Who do you think Chairman Park will approach?”

Choi Dongyeong sighed before answering with faint irony.

“Who else would it be?”

***

“Why has Director Cha suddenly decided to come see me?” Chairman Park Yeongil asked Chief Secretary Kang Inhan with mild curiosity.

“He says it's an urgent and important matter that needs to be discussed in person. He also brought a colleague from Hangang Group.”

“Ah, so I need to play along and pretend he's an ordinary employee while concealing his position at the fund?”

“Exactly, Chairman.”

“Very well. Bring them in.”

After receiving permission to enter, we respectfully greeted Chairman Park Yeongil.

Once we had taken our seats on the sofas, Chief Secretary Kang immediately served us freshly brewed tea.

After taking a sip, Chairman Park turned toward my companion.

“Mr. Woo, tell me why you've come.”

“To be honest, Chairman, Mr. Cha knows far more about this matter than I do.”

“As far as I know, Mr. Woo, you're his direct supervisor in the department. Am I mistaken?”

The old man's words clearly carried another meaning.

Stop wasting time with formalities and get to the point.

Woo Changhun hesitated briefly before speaking.

“As you're probably already aware, Chairman Clark Bongard and Chairman Michael Hudson will be arriving in Korea this evening because of the joint venture. Concerned about their safety, we requested police protection from the National Police Agency, but our request was politely declined.”

“And what reason did the Commissioner General give?”

“He said they were private citizens, so the police had no authority to provide official government protection.”

“Tsk, tsk. This concerns the strategic interests of the entire Republic of Korea, and he's worried about a little criticism from the press.”

Chairman Park shook his head before immediately turning toward Kang Inhan.

“Call Chief of Staff Lee Jihun.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Kang Inhan quickly placed the call, exchanged a few words, then handed the phone to Park Yeongil.

“Chief Lee, I hope I'm not interrupting important government business.”

“[Not at all, Chairman Park. I'm available to take your call twenty-four hours a day.]”

“Good. I have something highly confidential and important to discuss.”

“[I'm listening.]”

“This evening, Chairman Michael Hudson of the American company Endivia will arrive in South Korea.”

“[I see. But what does his visit have to do with you, Chairman?]”

“Our fund plans to acquire a 9.5% stake in the new joint venture, so it concerns us directly.”

“[Ah... I understand now.]”

“Now listen carefully. This is the most important part.”

“[Yes.]”

Sensing that the conversation had become extremely serious, Lee Jihun's voice immediately grew more focused.

“President Melvin Douglas is firmly opposed to Endivia establishing this joint venture with Hangang Electronics.”

“[Yes, I'm well aware of that geopolitical complication.]”

“Good. In order to completely neutralize his interference, we've brought Chairman Clark Bongard into the project.”

“[Surely... Chairman Clark Bongard is coming to Korea personally?]”

Lee Jihun's voice carried unmistakable surprise.

“That's exactly right.”

“[Remarkable. But are you certain Clark Bongard's influence is enough to withstand pressure from President Douglas?]”

“I don't usually enjoy making bets, but if you doubt it, I'll wager on it anytime.”

“[I don't think that'll be necessary. I trust your judgment.]”

Knowing Chairman Park's competitive personality, Lee Jihun wisely backed down.

“President Douglas certainly won't sit back and watch this joint venture come together.”

“[But didn't you just say Chairman Bongard would block his interference?]”

“That's true. But it's always better to be safe than sorry. Every possible risk must be accounted for.”

“[I completely agree.]”

“If anything at all happens to our distinguished guests while they're on Korean soil, it'll deal a devastating blow to our country's international reputation. To eliminate even the slightest chance of such a disaster, they must receive first-class government protection. What do you think?”

“[I completely agree with your position, Chairman Park.]”

“So I can count on you?”

“[Absolutely. I'll personally ensure that every possible measure is taken to guarantee their safety.]”

After discussing a few more practical details, Chairman Park ended the call.

He returned the phone to Kang Inhan before looking at Woo Changhun with a sly smile.

“Mr. Woo, I imagine you're dying to know who I was just talking to.”

“I won't deny it, Chairman. I really am.”

“That was Lee Jihun—the President's Chief of Staff and President Cho Seokchin's right-hand man.”

“...W-What?!”

Woo Changhun's cry of complete shock echoed throughout Chairman Park's spacious office.