Chapter 113: That Time I Got an Investment Offer in South America (2)

TL: Skye

The moment Ambassador Liu left and the door closed behind him, I leaned back against the sofa and let out a sigh.

‘So it finally came.’

I had always known this day would come eventually.

Considering San Marcos’s location, it was only natural.

The southern edge of the Caribbean.

America’s backyard.

Near the Panama Canal.

There was no way China, which was competing with the United States for global hegemony, wouldn’t try to extend its reach here.

In fact, China was already pouring investment into countries all across Latin America.

Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, and more.

There was no way San Marcos would be left out of those investments.

They had probably just been waiting for the right moment.

Besides, something like this had happened before.

Back when President Juan was in power, the Soviet Union had invested a great deal of effort into San Marcos during the Cold War.

Economic aid, military assistance, technical cooperation.

It had been an attempt to establish a socialist foothold in America’s backyard.

But then the Soviet Union collapsed, and President Juan refused to repay the loans, eventually leading San Marcos to sever diplomatic relations with Russia.

That history proved one thing.

There was hardly a better location than San Marcos for keeping the United States in check.

“What are you planning to do?”

Isabella asked as she sat down across from me.

“Frankly, accepting everything would be too much of a burden.”

I looked at the proposal on the table as I spoke.

“If we let China handle the port expansion or high-speed rail project, Chinese construction workers will come in, and they could end up with the operating rights as well. That absolutely cannot happen.”

“Then you intend to reject it...?”

“But it would also be a waste to reject everything.”

Isabella tilted her head.

“Considering trade with China, we can’t shut the door on them completely. China is the world’s second-largest economy. Our trade volume with them is negligible right now, but they have value as a future export market for San Marcos products.”

I gathered my thoughts for a moment before continuing.

“Let’s only take the low-interest loan.”

“Only the loan?”

“Two percent annual interest, with a thirty-year repayment period. The terms themselves aren’t bad. We borrow the money and pay it back. We reject anything like ports or railways where Chinese companies would come in and build the projects themselves, and just take the cash.”

Isabella narrowed her eyes.

“We accept the loan, but don’t allow them to participate in the infrastructure projects?”

“Yes. We only borrow the money and decide how to use it ourselves. Tortilla Construction will handle the construction too.”

“Will China accept those conditions?”

“Whether they accept them or not, that’s our position. If they don’t, we turn them down.”

Isabella thought for a moment before asking.

“What do you plan to tell the Americans?”

“We’ll tell them everything. Transparently.”

“...You’re going to tell them?”

“Yes. We’ll tell them China made this proposal, and that we intend to accept only the loan and reject the rest. Hiding it would only make things more complicated later. It’s better to tell them first and preserve their trust.”

Isabella’s eyes widened slightly.

“Are you trying to make the United States and China compete with each other?”

“Rather than making them compete, I’m just showing them that we have other options.”

I took a sip of coffee before continuing.

“Until now, San Marcos has only had eyes for the United States.”

“......”

“But if China becomes another option, won’t they pay more attention to us?”

Isabella stared at me for a long moment before speaking.

“Classic tightrope diplomacy.”

“It’s one of the few ways a weak country can benefit.”

Isabella nodded and made a note.

“Then I’ll arrange a meeting with the U.S. Ambassador.”

“As soon as possible. It only means something if we tell them before they find out on their own.”

“Understood.”

*

The following afternoon.

Presidential Palace, reception room.

Frank Miller, the U.S. Ambassador to San Marcos, entered.

A white-haired gentleman in his early sixties.

He carried the gravitas that came from a long diplomatic career.

“Please, have a seat, Ambassador Miller. We have some excellent coffee.”

Once Frank sat down on the sofa, Isabella served the coffee and quietly withdrew.

I got straight to the point.

“Ambassador, yesterday the Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela, a man named Liu Weiming, came to see me.”

Frank nodded as if he already knew.

“May I ask what business brought him here?”

“He proposed that we join the Belt and Road Initiative.”

“......”

Frank nodded calmly.

“You were expecting it.”

“Yes. In fact, we were already keeping an eye on their movements.”

He looked somewhat puzzled as he asked.

“Though I didn’t expect you to tell us first.”

“That’s because...”

I don’t want to get Maduroed.

“Ahem. The United States is San Marcos’s most important ally, after all.”

Frank looked me straight in the eye.

The eyes of a veteran diplomat.

He was weighing how sincere my words were.

“Are you going to accept?”

“I intend to reject most of it.”

Frank’s shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.

“Most... meaning not all of it?”

“The loan terms are extremely favorable...”

Frank’s eyes sharpened again.

“We’ll only be borrowing money. There will be no Chinese influence entering San Marcos.”

Frank remained silent for a moment.

Then he asked carefully.

“Your Excellency, let me ask you frankly.”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything in particular you want?”

“No. Nothing. I simply wanted to inform you that we had received such a proposal.”

“...I see.”

Frank rose from his seat.

“I’ll report this to Washington. As quickly as possible.”

“Thank you, Ambassador.”

“Your Excellency.”

He spoke before leaving.

“Thank you for telling us first. I’ll take this as a sign of trust.”

“...If you see it that way, I’m the one who should be grateful.”

“Then I expect we’ll be seeing each other again soon.”

Frank left.

His steps were quicker than usual.

I stared at the closed door and muttered.

“He’s no pushover either.”

*

That night.

Presidential Residence, bedroom.

At two in the morning, the hotline rang.

There were only a handful of people in the world who could call this number.

Still half asleep, I picked up the receiver.

“...Hello?”

“Hey, my friend!”

I was instantly wide awake.

That voice.

That energy.

There was only one person on Earth capable of calling a hotline at two in the morning with this much enthusiasm.

“Mr. President, it’s two in the morning...”

“I know! But this is important!”

Drump’s voice was bursting with excitement.

“I heard those Chinese guys approached you?!”

Looks like the report had already reached him.

Fast. Really fast.

“Yes. Yesterday, the Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela came and...”

“I heard the details! They asked you to join the Belt and Road Initiative, right?!”

“That’s right. But I’m going to reject...”

Drump cut me off.

“Forget that loan! Don’t take Chinese money! We’ll give it to you!”

“...What?”

“America can do it! No, America can do much better!”

Drump’s voice grew even louder.

“Mr. President, hold on...”

“There’s no time to hold on! This is urgent!”

Drump paused to catch his breath before continuing.

“Yu-jin, the United States considers San Marcos an important ally.”

“......”

“So we’re planning to get congressional approval and provide up to a hundred billion dollars in loans. We’ll let you use it freely too. Infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, whatever you want!”

For a moment, I was speechless.

A hundred billion dollars?

San Marcos’s GDP wasn’t even anywhere near that, and he wanted to lend us a hundred billion?

“Mr. President, don’t you think that’s a little excessive?”

“It’s not excessive! China is reaching out to you! America can’t just sit back and watch! We’re allies!”

Drump launched into an impassioned speech.

“Yu-jin, you’re my friend. And San Marcos is an important partner of the United States. Don’t take Chinese money. We’ll take care of everything.”

Drump sounded serious.

No, more than serious.

Desperate.

‘Something’s off.’

Of course the United States would be wary of expanding Chinese influence in the Caribbean.

But to this extent?

There had to be another reason Drump was going this far.

“Mr. President, I truly appreciate the offer... but I think I’ll need to convene a Cabinet meeting and review it first. Of course, I’ll consider it positively.”

“That’s my friend Yu-jin! Don’t forget! America is the best partner!”

“Of course.”

“Good night, my friend!”

The call ended.

I put down the receiver and stared at the ceiling.

‘What was that about?’

Was there really a reason for Drump to be in that much of a hurry?

It didn’t feel like this was only about keeping China in check.

There was definitely something else going on, but my two-in-the-morning brain had reached its limit.

“...I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

I pulled the blanket up and closed my eyes again.

The next morning.

I found out why Drump had been in such a hurry to make that deal.

[Breaking News: U.S. Launches Airstrikes on Iran, Supreme Leader Khamenei and Family Killed]

“......”

I didn’t even notice my coffee going cold.

On my phone screen, a Korean news anchor reported in an urgent voice.

“The United States launched a large-scale airstrike against Iran early this morning. The U.S. Department of Defense has announced that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and members of his family were killed in the strike. President Donald Drump stated...”

And Drump had already posted on social media.

[@realDonaldDrumpf]

Iran has threatened peace in the Middle East for decades! They supported terrorism, developed nuclear weapons, and threatened our allies! America will not tolerate it any longer! Today we made a historic decision! Iran’s Supreme Leader and his cronies have been eliminated! This is justice! America has the most powerful military in the world, and our enemies will pay the price! True peace will come to the Middle East! Together with Israel and Saudi Arabia, we will build a new Middle East!

Apparently, he had called me after already deciding on the strike against Iran.

He had made that offer because he was about to start a war in the Middle East and wanted to make absolutely sure his own backyard, San Marcos, was locked down.

“...This guy really turns politics into an art form.”

I put down my phone and looked out the window.

Bombs were falling on the other side of the world, but the Caribbean was peaceful as ever.

‘Nothing I can do about it.’

The United States had struck Iran.

The situation in the Middle East would be turned upside down, oil prices would skyrocket, and shock waves would ripple through the global economy.

San Marcos would probably be affected too.

But that wasn’t something I could do anything about.

We didn’t have the strength to get involved in a war between great powers, nor did we have any reason to.

‘I just have to focus on doing my own job.’

Drump’s hundred-billion-dollar offer, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the strike on Iran.

Those were all moves on some enormous chessboard.

And right now, San Marcos was nothing more than a pawn on that board.

There was only one thing a pawn could do.

Move forward one square at a time.

If it kept going, maybe one day it would reach the other end.

“Your Excellency.”

Isabella opened the office door and came in.

“It’s time for the Cabinet meeting.”

“What was today’s agenda again?”

“The labor shortage in the industrial complexes. One hundred eighty-one companies have requested additional workers.”

Iranian airstrikes or not, San Marcos’s most urgent problem right now was that we didn’t have enough people to work.

The factories needed to keep running, but there weren’t enough workers.

That was the problem I needed to solve right now.

“Then let’s go.”

I rose from my seat and took the Presidential ceremonial long sword hanging on the wall.

*****

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