Chapter 729: A Petty Loss

“Boss, the situation in Korea has been resolved,” Manager Ma reported.

I set down the newspaper I was reading and asked, “It seems things wrapped up nicely.”

“Yes. Black Bear has reported on Han Hyun-soo’s movements. I’ll include the related documents with this report.”

“Very well. There’s still the investigation and trial but we should ensure the Heavenly Church issue doesn’t cause any more noise. Make sure everything is ready to be handed over once we return to Korea.”

“Understood, Boss.”

Han Hyun-soo had ultimately killed his entire family with his own hands.

I’d been worried he might waver but my concerns were unfounded.

It seemed that he’d made up his mind the moment he learned Han Hyun-jin had tried to have him killed by hiring Korean-Chinese assassins.

“Han Hyun-soo may be an idiot but he made a wise decision this time. I’m glad there won’t be any more bloodshed.”

If he’d tried to handle it softly again, I would have dealt with him myself.

Just then, my personal phone rang. The caller ID showed Prime Minister Koizumi.

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

— Boss Kim, let’s stop now.

Koizumi jumped straight to the point, cutting out any pleasantries.

“What do you mean, stop?”

— Please cease your actions of leaking information to the media. If you keep adding fuel to the fire, things will spiral out of control. Even if you stop now, the fire won’t be easily extinguished.

Koizumi clearly didn’t appreciate me continuing to publish articles of suspicion through the Yomiuri Shimbun.

“I’m afraid I haven’t achieved the result I want yet.”

— What exactly is it that you want? Hiroyuki is dead. Isn’t that enough? What more do you hope to gain by going this far? The Cabinet is shaking. You’re not just undermining Hiroyuki but our entire Liberal Democratic Party.

When I responded indifferently, Koizumi raised his voice.

“Prime Minister, why haven’t you arrested the leaders of the Heavenly Church? The evidence has already been made public through the media. Yet despite promising a thorough investigation, you haven’t apprehended the leadership. Thus, I have no choice but to keep adding fuel to the fire.”

— That’s…

“Perhaps you share Hiroyuki’s views, Prime Minister?”

I asked coolly, and Koizumi replied after a slight pause.

— What are you talking about?

“I’m asking if you wish to take control of the Japanese denomination of the Heavenly Church during this opportunity. If that isn’t your goal, I cannot understand why you’re acting this way.”

— …Dealing with religious organizations is quite a burden.

I knew it. Koizumi had other intentions.

“Don’t be greedy, Prime Minister. If you arrest all the leaders who collaborated with Hiroyuki, those who seize control of the denomination will naturally support you.”

— Are you certain? Will they really support us?

Instead of agreeing, Koizumi questioned me instead.

Typical of the Japanese, they never learn even after being threatened.

“What are you hesitating about? The suspicions between Hiroyuki and the Heavenly Church leadership are already too obvious to ignore. Do you think you can cover it up now? If you refuse to settle this, I have no choice but to continue adding fuel. If that’s not enough, then a bloodbath in Japan is inevitable. Is that what you want?”

— …

“You’re being penny wise and pound foolish. Why are you acting like this when you know better? It’s disappointing. I shared my plans with you beforehand. Though you opposed putting the Heavenly Church in the spotlight. But if I decide to do something I do it, the sword has long been drawn. If it comes to it, I will cut something with it.”

My resolute words caused Koizumi to sigh.

“Did you ask me to stop? Then you should finish everything before that. I don’t want to stay in Japan either. Putting aside all my other business to focus on this is a major loss. The only reason I’m seeing this through, despite all the losses, is because if you don’t untangle this mess it will only get worse. You know what kind of person I am, so why are you acting like a child? Tell me what you want, and what you can do for me.”

— …Boss Kim. I want the Heavenly Church to support me.

So his goal was the church’s support. Typical politicians.

I chuckled and opened my mouth.

“Very well. I’ll ensure both the Korean and Japanese denominations support you.”

— Then let’s wrap this up in a few days. So please stop now.

“It’s not difficult, so alright. But can you handle it? You still have the issue of diplomatic relations with North Korea to deal with. Do you have the confidence to suppress that?”

— It’s better to divert attention externally. There’s even been extreme talk within the Cabinet of diverting attention through Takeshima.

The internal strife must be worse than I thought.

Well, Hiroyuki wasn’t just a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he was the head of a faction.

No matter how much the Liberal Democratic Party tried to cut their losses, they couldn’t escape responsibility.

But that didn’t give them the right to get on my nerves.

“You should get your facts straight. It’s not Takeshima, it’s Dokdo.”

— …

Instead of replying, Koizumi coughed lightly. I hadn’t said that to get a response.

It was merely a warning because he was trying to cross the line.

“I would appreciate it if you would never speak of Dokdo in my presence again, Prime Minister Koizumi.”

— Ahem. Very well.

Whether it was to test me or an unconscious slip, I drew a firm line.

Sensing my discomfort, Koizumi quickly changed the subject.

— So will you stop leaking information to the media now?

“If you wrap things up quickly, the information I have won’t be leaked to the media. I will hand it over to you. Inside it is not only Hiroyuki’s information but also the dark side of the faction. You can decide how to use it. I’ll end the call now.”

I hung up before Koizumi could even respond.

“When will Prime Minister Koizumi ever grow up? He’s always trying to test the waters.”

Koizumi had called to ask for the Japanese denomination to support him once the Heavenly Church issue in Korea was settled.

But because of his nature, he beat around the bush and ended up irritating me.

What an amusing fellow. I shook my head and said to Manager Ma who was standing next to me.

“Manager Ma, let’s stop feeding the media for now. Koizumi said he’ll take care of things. Let’s wait a few days and decide whether to leak more information or hand it over to Koizumi.”

“Yes, Boss.”

I suddenly felt a wave of fatigue wash over me. I really need to rest when I go back to Korea.

Suppressing a sigh, I picked up the newspaper again.

* * *

Several days passed.

Korea concluded that Kim Seon-ja’s death was a suicide and dropped all charges against her.

More than half of the charges were due to Han Hyun-soo’s actions but most people would never know.

Han Hyun-jin and Han Hyun-woo were neatly disposed of by the Heavenly Group.

And the Japanese denomination of the Heavenly Church saw its leadership arrested for a variety of crimes, including the kidnapping and murder of Han Hyun-soo.

The main faction didn’t miss their opportunity. They moved quickly in close collaboration with the Korean headquarter and seized control of the Japanese denomination.

And just like that, everything was coming to a close.

With no more new reports, public attention shifted to the summit between North Korea and Japan.

“You don’t look well.”

At my words, Yamamoto massaged his temples and replied.

“The damage is considerable. Prime Minister Koizumi deliberately shook us up.”

In just a few days, Yamamoto looked several years older.

“Even my close aides have been arrested. I’ve lost all my hands and feet. If someone suddenly stages a rebellion…”

Yamamoto wasn’t worried about his captured subordinates but was rather worried about a rebellion.

“That won’t happen. Even if it does, Prime Minister Koizumi won’t abandon you.”

Koizumi would not abandon Yamamoto.

He was just trying to show him what happens when a pet tries to bite its owner.

Yamamoto seemed to understand and silently nodded.

“I know. But there are quite a few voices of discontent within the organization. Many businesses have closed down.”

Yamamoto continued to whine.

“Did you receive the money from Han Hyun-soo?”

“…It arrived a few days ago.”

“Distribute it to your subordinates to quell the discontent. Now that things are mostly settled, it’s time to start stretching your wings again. The reason I came to see you today, Yamamoto, is because I felt you suffered losses because of me and I’m here to offer compensation.”

“Compensation?”

I gave Manager Ma a look, and he pulled out an envelope from his coat and placed it on the table.

I pushed it toward Yamamoto and said.

“This is a payment for your efforts. There were some mistakes along the way but thanks to you we were able to solve things easily.”

Yamamoto looked back and forth between the bankbook and my face.

He seemed to be wondering if he should accept it.

“You can accept it. It’s been laundered cleanly, so there are no issues with its source. Inside is a Swiss bank account number, customer number, and password. It may be a small amount compared to your losses but it’s by no means a small amount. It’s also your money, not the organization’s.”

The Yamaguchi-gumi earned trillions of won annually.

Even if they suffered great losses from this incident, they had the power to recover quickly once they stabilized.

But that was the organization’s money, what I gave him was a slush fund. Yamamoto picked up the envelope and placed it beside him.

“I will make good use of it.”

Even if one had their own pockets, it wasn’t easy to create blind money.

Yamamoto knew this well, so his face brightened a bit.

“Come to think of it, I heard a strange story through the Heavenly Group.”

“What story did you hear?”

“I heard that drugs from Japan are circulating in Busan.”

“What? What are you talking about? We absolutely do not allow drugs to be brought into Korea. That’s our agreement with the Heavenly Group.”

“Is that so? Are you sure?”

“That is…”

Yamamoto trailed off.

“Don’t try to recover your losses from this incident through Korea. Also, Busan is where I was born and raised. I think you know what I mean.”

“…It’s unlikely to be one of our subordinate organizations.”

“Whether it’s one of your subordinate organizations or not, what matters is that drugs were smuggled into Korea from Japan.”

“I will investigate and take immediate action.”

He finally understands. If the Yamaguchi-gumi put their mind to it, they could quickly find the organization that smuggled the drugs.

“Good. I will trust you, Yamamoto.”

“Thank you for your trust.”

My business was concluded. As I put down my teacup and stood up, Yamamoto also rose from his seat.

“There’s no need to see me out.”

“No, I must. Are you going to Korea?”

“I have to. It’s been a longer stay than planned.”

It was finally time to leave Japan and return to Korea.

* * *

An old man sat on a rocking chair with his eyes closed.

Then, a knock on the door was heard, and the old man opened his eyes.

“Prime Minister.”

“What is it?”

Li Peng said, rising from the rocking chair. His wrinkled face was showing signs of illness.

“What is it? Why does your face look so grim?”

“You should take a look at this.”

The secretary opened a laptop and turned it towards Li Peng.

“What’s this? Why is my picture here…”

Li Peng couldn’t finish his sentence. The headline had caught his eye.

[The Butcher of Beijing. The Two Faces of Li Peng]

“What? The Butcher of Beijing? Those bastards! Where is this? Where did this article come from?!”

“It’s from the UK.”

“The UK? Why are the British suddenly attacking me?!”

“I don’t know. I rushed here as soon as I saw the article.”

“Find out what’s going on…”

Li Peng stopped speaking.

Upon hearing the name Murdoch, a name suddenly came to mind.

“Kim Mu-hyeok! That damn Korean bastard!”

“What do you mean?”

The butler asked in confusion at Li Peng’s sudden outcry of Kim Mu-hyeok’s name.

“It’s him. It’s definitely him! How dare he… how dare he!”

Li Peng gritted his teeth as he remembered Kim Mu-hyeok’s face from Shanghai.

“Prime Minister! Prime Minister! You shouldn’t get so worked up. It’s not good for your heart. You need to calm down!”

To calm Li Peng, who was screaming and thrashing about, the butler grabbed him firmly.

“I’m not sure what’s happened, but please take a deep breath, Prime Minister. You need to calm down.”

After the butler’s repeated and earnest attempts to persuade him, Li Peng finally began to regulate his breathing.

“Hah… Hooo…”

Having calmed down somewhat, Li Peng spoke in a weak voice.

“Is this your way of attacking me because I refused a meeting? Tell Luo Gan to come see me immediately. Tell him to get in here right now!”

“Yes, I’ll contact the Standing Committee member immediately. For now, please try to calm your nerves…”

“Enough. Stop treating me like I’m some kind of patient.”

Having quelled his anger, Li Peng was calmer than ever.

However, his eyes were as fierce as could be. The butler flinched at his chilling gaze.

“Tell Luo Gan to come in here now.”

“Yes!”

The butler hurried out of the study.

Li Peng’s gaze was fixed on the laptop monitor.

Gritting his teeth again, Li Peng muttered.

“Kim Mu-hyeok…”