Chapter 142: I Like the U.S.

As I entered the study, my grandfather was sitting in front of his desk with his eyes closed.

The sunlight streaming in from behind created a shadow over his wrinkled face. He looked warm and somewhat ephemeral.

“Grandfather.”

My grandfather slowly opened his eyes.

“Mu-hyeok.”

“Did you take a nap?”

“I guess I dozed off for a bit.”

My grandfather smiled warmly as he looked at me.

“Is everything going well?”

“I got the approval for Taesan Financial yesterday. I won’t tarnish your name.”

“Hahaha.”

Though he didn’t say anything, I could tell he was worried about me.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. I wouldn’t have achieved this without your support.”

“Oh, not at all. I can tell you would have succeeded eventually, even without my help. I merely shortened the time it took to get there. By the way, I offered the presidency of Taesan Financial to Myung-hoon.”

“Yes.”

“Good. You worked hard.”

A hint of nostalgia flickered in my grandfather’s eyes.

He fell silent, possibly reminiscing about the past.

“…Myung-hoon suffered a lot because of me. You should look after him when I’m gone. Understand?”

“Of course. He helped me a lot, too, after all.”

My answer seemed to please my grandfather, who nodded.

“Taesan Financial, huh… that sounds nice.”

Then my grandfather waved his hand.

“You should go now. I need to rest.”

“Yes.”

I left the study, noticing that he must have been quite tired.

Chief Ha, who had been waiting outside the study, lowered his head at me.

“Taesan Financial has received its approval. I left the presidency vacant.”

“…Thank you.”

“Thanks for staying by the President’s side.”

“I would serve him even without any reward.”

“Still…”

Chief Ha always brought a natural smile to my face.

“Is your grandfather eating well?”

He hadn’t even been able to eat breakfast lately, even though we used to have it together every morning.

He had started eating alone in his study.

“He’s eating regularly, though his portions have decreased. He’s having a hard time digesting it, though.”

I noticed the hint of worry on Chief Ha’s face.

“I’ll leave it to you then.”

“Yes, Boss.”

As I walked past Chief Ha, I heard some faint music coming from the study.

Chen Ji-young recently started her career under the stage name Elle.

I wondered if that was why she seemed more confident lately. Maybe it was because, even when she first appeared on a music program, she hadn’t seemed that nervous. She had been such a bright and bubbly girl, and she was the same Chen Ji-young I knew.

These days, my grandfather constantly listened to her albums in his study, possibly comforting him in his old age.

Chen Ji-young, who had recently become busier, came to Pyeongchang-dong less often than before. Still, she visited at least once a week.

I should tell Ji-young to visit more often.

* * *

No one, not even the U.S. government or any other nation, expected Putin to be appointed Prime Minister.

The American and Western European countries, which had insufficient intelligence on Putin, sent prominent figures to Russia on the day of his inauguration party.

The Korean government also dispatched the Minister of Foreign Affairs to Russia along with a letter from President Kim Hak-gwon.

“Welcome, Boss.”

“Igor, it’s been a while. It must be uncomfortable staying in Russia.”

“I’m alright.”

Even after several months, Igor’s Russian accent hadn’t changed at all.

For some reason everything was a lot easier than before.

“Power is nice, don’t you think?”

“It’s only natural to treat someone invited to the Prime Minister’s inauguration as a guest of honor.”

As soon as Yeltsin appointed Putin as Prime Minister, he was re-admitted to the hospital. Once Putin gained power, he announced a big celebration in honor of his appointment to tell the world about himself, and the hotel in Moscow must have been blocked up with your diplomatic delegations right about now.”

“We arrived, Boss.”

Another difference from before was the mansion I purchased in the outskirts of Moscow through Igor.

Since it was still undergoing renovations, we were going to stay in the annex reserved for guests.

As I got out of the car and looked around, a small gasp escaped my lips.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. I’m surprised I was able to find a place this big.”

“Berezovsky helped a lot. The house used to belong to one of the oligarchs who stood by Yeltsin.”

Those who followed politicians often ended up bathing in their bed of blood. After all, Primakov, who had been Yeltsin’s rival, would soon make a comeback but his followers, the businessmen who had supported him, were purged and suffered huge losses.

“When the renovation is complete, it will be stunning to behold.”

“You can look forward to it, Boss.”

Igor was confident that the place would look good once the renovations were done, and I couldn’t help but look forward to it.

The annex I was going to stay in seemed to be much better than a suite at the hotel in Moscow.

“Eva would have been thrilled to see this place.”

Exhausted from the long flight, I quickly fell asleep.

#

The next day, Putin’s inauguration party was held at the same venue as the one where the party for foreign investors was held.

The hall was fairly noisy thanks to everyone that had gathered there.

I grabbed a wine glass and, feeling a headache coming on, went to the terrace with Manager Ma.

“It’s pretty chaotic, don’t you think?”

“Yes.”

I looked up at the night sky of Moscow, and someone walked into the terrace.

“Charlie?”

I turned to look at him a beat late.

“I’ve heard so much about you from Rubin.”

She was a little old woman with perfectly white hair and small stature.

I instantly recognized who she was.

She was Madeleine Albright, the first female Secretary of State in U.S. history.

“I’m so glad to meet you.”

“It’s an honor to meet you.”

She became Secretary of State as Bill Clinton began his second term, and she was his partner throughout his presidency.

I had always wanted to meet her and came here because I wanted to know what kind of person Rubin was defending so much.

Hahaha.”

There was definitely a hint of something more to her words.

When she was pressuring President Kim Hak-gwon and shaking up the Japanese economy, she had been the one in opposition to Rubin.

I could see a seasoned politician behind her smile.

“I’ve never harmed America’s interests. I like the U.S.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“I see. Well, I’ll be watching you closely. I didn’t realize you had such strong ties with Prime Minister Putin.”

“I purchased Gazprom bonds last year. That’s why I was invited by the Russian government. I’m honored.”

She knew perfectly well that I knew that she said that solely for appearances.

“But…”

“Madam Secretary!”

Just as she was about to continue speaking, the U.S. ambassador walked out onto the terrace.

He glanced at me before speaking to Madeleine.

“It’s time for your meeting with the Prime Minister.”

“Has it already been that long? Let’s go.”

Madeleine smiled at me as she was about to leave.

“I hope we can meet again when you visit the U.S.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

I exchanged light handshakes with Madeleine.

“Next time, let’s sit down and have a good conversation. My throat is sore…”

Joking, Madeleine left the terrace.

I’d rather have a gun pointed at me than take on a snake like that. No matter how powerful they are, they are usually very difficult to deal with.

This was especially true for the ones that wield that much influence.

Looking around to cool my head, I suddenly heard someone speak Korean.

“Kim Mu-hyeok.”

I turned to look in annoyance and saw the Korean ambassador to Russia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs standing there.

I exchanged glances with the ambassador earlier, but I didn’t feel like acknowledging them.

“I was surprised to see you here.”

“I was invited.”

This isn’t a party you can just get invited to. Look at the guests. It’s practically a little UN.”

The people inside were each representative of their own countries.

I was not unaware that he was trying to use this situation against me.

“If you have something to say, just say it. I need to get some air to relieve this headache.”

Please watch your tone with the Secretary of State…”

The ambassador raised his voice.

The minister raised his hand to stop him from speaking.

“What did you talk about with Secretary Albright?”

“I just greeted her.”

“You must have spent quite a long time together…”

I found myself laughing because of how ridiculous his statement was.

“Are you reading the news? Is there any reason I should tell you?”

“Wow!”

The Russian ambassador frowned and stepped forward.

This time, the minister didn’t stop him.

“What are you doing speaking to the Secretary of State like that?”

“Have I made a mistake?”

“How dare you speak to her that way?”

“What’s that?”

“Enough!”

“Minister, this bastard treated me with little respect!”

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

I could feel something unpleasant in the air. Manager Ma took a step towards me.

“I suggest you apologize, Ambassador.”

“…I’m sorry, Kim Mu-hyeok. I don’t think it ws right for him to be treated as if he was being ignored, though. Please understand.”

The Russian ambassador’s mood was clearly dampened and it seemed that he didn’t understand the situation at all.

“This is an interesting situation. What does this have to do with how I’m treated? Are you like that towards the other guests at this party?”

Everyone, including powers in the world, tends to coddle stations in their own country and neglect their own countrymen.

Completely missing the point, they made it seem like I kept giving them problems.

Don’t blame me for your insufficiencies. Just because your house of cards is falling apart doesn’t mean that I will fix it.”

A feeling of frustration surged in me as I was convinced that their criticisms would provoke the wrong kind of reaction from me. However, now, I felt the situation might get out of hand.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs stepped forward, as if trying to make things worse.

“What you just said to Kim Mu-hyeok is extremely reckles.”

“This is exactly why I couldn’t…”

“What are you… no… that type of attitude may be common in your country, but it’s not the same in South Korea!”

None of them seemed to know how to deal with people properly.

A feeling of frustration surged in me as I was convinced that their criticisms would provoke the wrong kind of reaction from me. However, now, I felt the situation might get out of hand.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs stepped forward, as if trying to make things worse.

“What you just said to Kim Mu-hyeok is extremely reckles.”

“This is exactly why I couldn’t…”

“What are you… no… that type of attitude may be common in your country, but it’s not the same in South Korea!”

None of them seemed to know how to deal with people properly.

They were overlooked because they neglected those who were supposed to help promote their people. Rather than being punished for it, however, I was the one labeled as trouble.

“I’m going back.”

“…”

Disregarding the Ambassador, I turned to leave.