Chapter 738: Because I Didn’t Have Time

The mother of my daughter is a high-ranking member of the Communist Party? I thought, my surprise hidden.

‘Was there a woman among the current top brass of the Communist Party?’

I didn’t recall any such woman.

Sensing my puzzled look, Woo Young-shik added,

“Ah, I misspoke. To be precise, her mother’s father is a high-ranking member.”

“Is that so? That’s unexpected. Considering the age of Chief Secretary Min-jung, that would have been before Korea and China established diplomatic relations.”

“That’s right. It was like that back then. We couldn’t be together.”

I could sense a deep longing in Woo Young-shik’s eyes.

“That’s fascinating. Did you meet her while studying in France?”

Woo Young-shik asked with a surprised look.

“How did you… There was a rumor that your information network was better than the National Intelligence Service and it seems it’s true. Yes, we met during our studies. We fell for each other at first sight. But it was not to be. I returned to Korea, and she to China… Only later did I learn that she had given birth to my daughter.”

Woo Young-shik slowly revealed his story.

After returning from his studies, he married a woman arranged by his family and had two sons.

“The suspicious circumstances you mentioned must have been traces of my attempts to find her. But I couldn’t.”

It was a story that fit together quite well.

In fact the story being so believable made it even more suspicious.

“I see. Then, have you met your daughter?”

Woo Young-shik shook his head.

“What good would come of meeting her? It would be better for her to live without knowing…”

At least, I couldn’t find any falsehood in his eyes.

The regretful darkness in his eyes was genuine.

“So? When did they first approach you?”

“It’s been a while. It was when I was working for the Prosecutors’ Office, maybe right after we established diplomatic ties. A man came to see me. That’s when I heard about her. They said she was already dead. But instead, I learned of my daughter’s existence. From then on, I searched high and low for my daughter. And then I found her.”

There was a record of Woo Young-shik going to China, just once.

His actions after that were unknown, but that record was what suggested that Woo Young-shik might be a spy.

Because there was no other reason for him to suddenly go to China.

“That’s when I met my daughter’s grandfather.”

“Who is her grandfather?”

“……Ye Xianping.”

“What? Ye Xianping?”

He was an even bigger figure than I expected.

Ye Xianping’s father was Ye Jianying, one of the ten founding marshals of China.

“Do you know him?”

“Yes. To some extent. To be honest, I know his father better than I know Ye Xianping.”

“That’s right. Ye Jianying, the Standing Committee member. His son is Ye Xianping.”

“I understand now why you weren’t worried about your daughter’s safety.”

“Ye Xianping also asked me to act as a bridge between Korea and China. In return, he said he would let my daughter know of my existence.”

“I assume you refused.”

Woo Young-shik nodded.

“That’s right. I don’t want my daughter to know about me. So, I refused. However, I didn’t refuse the proposal. I wished for good relations between China and Korea, where my daughter was born and raised. That thought hasn’t changed even now. But I didn’t leak national secrets to China. That’s a completely different matter.”

I already knew that Woo Young-shik was on the side of resolving this issue amicably.

Though I didn’t know these specific details.

Which is why I was even more suspicious of him.

“I see. I’ll investigate the truth of your words separately. Would you tell me your daughter’s name?”

“……”

“I can find out within a few days even if you don’t tell me. But you’ll have to stay here until then.”

“……Ye Xiaotong.”

“Ye Xiaotong.”

A strange sense of familiarity washed over me.

It was a name I’d heard somewhere.

‘Ye Xiaotong. Ye Xiaotong. Where did I hear that name?’

Then, a memory from my past life flashed through my mind like a bolt of lightning.

‘Ye Xiaotong. China’s top lobbyist.’

She was a lobbyist who traveled the world with her outstanding beauty and eloquence.

‘There was even a rumor that she was Xi Jinping’s lover. But she was Woo Young-shik’s daughter?’

As I was lost in thought without answering, Woo Young-shik asked with a puzzled voice.

“Is it a familiar name?”

“No. I just found it interesting that she took her mother’s last name. Ye Xiaotong, I understand. I think I can determine if your story is true in a day.”

“You are more capable than I heard.”

I responded with a smile instead of an answer.

Woo Young-shik, who had been staring at my face, said,

“Let me ask you just one thing.”

“Yes, please ask.”

“Was this task entrusted to you by the President? Or was it your own initiative?”

“Does that matter?”

“If it’s something you did on your own without the President’s approval, then you and I will become enemies. So tell me.”

I never imagined someone would say something like that to my face.

I looked at Woo Young-shik with an intrigued expression.

“The President did request it. But the reason I used such aggressive methods was because I didn’t have time. The President suspected there was a Chinese spy in the Blue House.”

“I see. Understood.”

“Aren’t you going to ask more?”

“If the President asked you to do it, what can I say? That’s all there is to it.”

He was more loyal to the President than I had expected.

“I heard you were close friends with the President but, your belief is quite strong.”

“He has his reasons. I thought it was over when my friend Yoon Chang-ho went down to the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office. But he survived and became the President. I believe in him. I also knew you were helping him from behind the scenes. So perhaps, I turned a blind eye.”

Woo Young-shik’s file stated that he had a considerable lust for power.

He was fiercely contending with Choi Tae-min, the Minister of Justice, to seize control of the Prosecutors’ Office.

And Yoon Chang-ho was aware of that and yet left him to it.

I decided I needed to look into Woo Young-shik in more detail.

“I’ll let you go after I’ve confirmed the truth of your story.”

“Very well.”

I turned away from him and got up. He seemed different from Ban Jang-woo in many ways.

* * *

Yoon Chang-ho was talking with his Chief Secretary.

“Chief Secretary Ban Jang-woo was a spy.”

“What? Is that true?”

Lee Gi-ho was shocked and put down the teacup he was holding.

“Yes. He made the statement himself yesterday.”

“If Ban Jang-woo, the National Security Chief Secretary, was a spy then quite a lot of classified information must have been leaked to China. Isn’t this a big deal?”

Yoon Chang-ho nodded with a bitter smile.

“I don’t know the specifics yet. Kim Mu-hyeok was the one who found out about it.”

“If it was Kim Mu-hyeok, then it must be the truth. He is not one to do things carelessly.”

“Yes. He said he had three Chief Secretaries in custody at the same time. The Chief Secretary for Civil Affairs, the Chief Secretary for National Security, and even the Chief Secretary for Public Relations.”

“What? So, that’s why they didn’t come into work today…”

Yoon Chang-ho nodded again.

Lee Gi-ho’s expression became even more serious.

“This isn’t something we can just cover up, is it? It’s not common for three Chief Secretaries to be absent at the same time. If the information leaks…”

“I know. But that method is the fastest and surest. He also suspects there are other Chinese dogs among the secretaries, besides Chief Secretary Ban Jang-woo.”

“Do you know who they are?”

Yoon Chang-ho shook his head.

“Not yet. He said he’ll let me know after confirming the details. He said there isn’t any solid evidence yet.”

“To detain three Chief Secretaries without any evidence. Kim Mu-hyeok is even more unconventional than I’ve heard.”

Lee Gi-ho said in surprise, and Yoon Chang-ho burst into a hearty laugh.

“Unconventional? Hahaha. You don’t know that man Kim Mu-hyeok very well. He’s being quite gentle compared to his usual methods. If he were serious about it, even I wouldn’t be able to stop him.”

“But…”

“Why? Can’t you believe it? That the President can’t stop him.”

“Still, you are the President.”

“That’s right. But Kim Mu-hyeok isn’t the type of person who cares about that.”

Yoon Chang-ho saw a thin layer of wariness cover Lee Gi-ho’s eyes.

“Isn’t it too dangerous?”

“Has anything that friend of mine has done turned out badly for us? It might be aggressive but in the end it always benefited me. Our relationship with North Korea, the oil pipeline business with Russia, thanks to all that, I’m basically just getting a free ride and maintaining a high approval rating.”

Lee Gi-ho couldn’t hide his shock.

It was an incredibly trusting statement, perhaps too trusting even.

“That’s because of the President’s policies and governance…”

“It would have been difficult if I was alone. You know that as well. Not just Japan, but China, Russia, and America. All the powerful nations surrounding the Korean peninsula only care about their own interests. We were always the nation that was trying to keep them happy. But what happened these last few years? Kim Mu-hyeok did some truly unbelievable things.”

Yoon Chang-ho recalled the first time he met Kim Mu-hyeok.

When he went to the police station after receiving a call from the Cheon Tae-san Chairman, Kim Mu-hyeok’s face was a mess, but his eyes were burning fiercely.

‘I knew back then he was no ordinary person, but I never imagined he would become this great.’

At that time, Yoon Chang-ho wasn’t even a prosecutor, he was a person who had been demoted.

But because he had ambition, he accepted the hand that Kim Mu-hyeok extended. At the time, it was a hand he took to get the support of Kim Mu-hyeok’s grandfather, the Cheon Tae-san Chairman.

However, Kim Mu-hyeok had built his strength more firmly than the Cheon Tae-san Chairman.

He had brought down the Cheongpung Group, and shattered the Conservative Party.

And he had made him president.

“I never want to be on the opposite side of my friend Kim Mu-hyeok. Make sure this situation is handled quietly.”

Lee Gi-ho had no choice but to nod at Yoon Chang-ho’s instructions.

“By the way, what should we do about Ban Jang-woo?”

“It will be difficult to apply the charge of espionage. Since China isn’t an enemy nation.”

“That’s right. There’s a reason why Chinese dogs are running rampant through Korea. We have to expand the scope of espionage charges this time.”

Lee Gi-ho also agreed with Yoon Chang-ho’s words.

In Korea, the charge of espionage was difficult to apply unless it was against North Korea.

Now that the Cold War was over it was time to revise the law, but for various reasons, they had not been able to do so.

Yoon Chang-ho planned to push through the revision of the espionage law this time.

Most countries apply espionage charges even if the nation that receives the leaked information is a friendly nation.

“I will ask the Senior Political Secretary to discuss it with the Party.”

Yoon Chang-ho nodded.

“Even if we can’t apply espionage charges, we need to dig deep into Ban Jang-woo’s past and completely bury him in society. So, contact both the Prosecutors’ Office and the National Intelligence Service.”

“Understood.”

“Go now. I need to rest until my next appointment.”

Yoon Chang-ho sent Lee Gi-ho out and sank into deep thought alone.

* * *

It was late the next night when the information investigated by Black Bear arrived.

The stories of the three men were mostly revealed to be true.

“Ye Xiaotong. She’s a more unique woman than I thought.”

I listened to Manager Ma’s words as I reviewed Ye Xiaotong’s file.

“She is the actual owner of the high-end bar frequented by high-ranking Chinese officials. They say that members of the Standing Committee also frequent the place.”

“That means she has considerable influence.”

“It appears so. Though she is unknown to the outside world, Black Bear has determined that her influence is more significant than expected.”

It seemed Ye Xiaotong was currently laying her foundation.

If that was the case, it meant there was still some time before she became the woman I knew.

“What about Ye Xiaotong’s parents?”

“Her father is unknown, but her mother is indeed Ye Xianping’s daughter. She died over 20 years ago. They say Ye Jianying cherished his granddaughter greatly. We’ve also confirmed that Woo Young-shik’s study abroad period coincided with her study abroad period. There’s a high probability that Woo Young-shik’s story is true.”

I nodded and closed Ye Xiaotong’s file.

“Contact Chairman Murdoch and ask him to come to Korea.”

“Understood.”

I got up from my seat.

It was time to let those who had to go, go. Before that, I wanted to have a deeper conversation with Woo Young-shik.