Chapter 784: Negotiations at the Kremlin

I got out of bed, drank a glass of water, and pressed the bell to summon a servant.

“Please prepare a warm coffee and some light bread.”

The servant bowed and left. I took a quick shower, changed my clothes, and exited the bedroom.

Igor and Manager Kim, who had been waiting outside, approached me.

“Boss, did you sleep well?” Manager Kim asked first.

Manager Kim was the first to speak.

“Did you get some rest too, Manager Kim?”

“Yes, I slept soundly.”

“That’s a relief. Any calls from Korea?”

“I spoke with Manager Ma. He said he would call again in an hour.”

I nodded and turned to Igor.

“Any calls from the Kremlin?”

“Medvedev’s Chief of Staff said to contact him when he wakes.”

“Then, let’s head to the study.”

I entered the study with the two of them.

A servant followed us in, placed the requested food on the table, and left again.

When I glanced at them as if to ask if they wanted to join, both indicated they had already eaten.

I took a sip of coffee, then tore off a piece of bread and put it in my mouth.

“Igor, give me your report.”

I finished my meal while listening to Igor’s lengthy report.

“The situation in China seems quite urgent. It appears Zheng Qinghong has successfully persuaded Hu Jintao.”

If Zheng Qinghong, a member of the Zhang family, sided with Hu Jintao, Jiang Zemin would be politically hamstrung.

No matter how powerful Jiang Zemin was, fighting with all his advantages removed would make victory uncertain.

Jiang Zemin might be a setting sun, but Hu Jintao was the rising one.

I wiped my hands, hoping Hu Jintao would be more aware of things after this assassination attempt.

“Both of you, please leave.”

After sending Igor and Manager Kim out, I took out my phone.

I called Medvedev first.

—Boss Kim.

“Medvedev, are you able to talk?”

—Just a moment. I’ll move to a different location.

After a short pause, Medvedev’s voice came back through the receiver.

—Go ahead, Boss Kim.

“Any new news from North Korea?”

—Yes. Kim Jong-il is currently detained at a villa. Also, Choi Ryong-hae’s condition is unknown.

“At least we’ve secured Kim Jong-il. Have you made contact with Jang Seong-taek?”

—No, we haven’t been able to reach him.

“Hmm. They must know I crossed the Russian border…”

If even Russia couldn’t reach him, there was little chance he’d answer me.

They must be busy suppressing the coup and cleaning up the mess.

I deliberately pushed the random thoughts out of my head and asked Medvedev about the schedule.

“What about today’s meeting with the President?”

—He’d like you to complete all your appointments and have dinner together. He will send a car.

“Okay. I’ll wait for it then.”

After ending the call with Medvedev, I began to calmly organize my thoughts.

‘I need to persuade Jang Seong-taek and use this opportunity to clean up North Korea.’

It was partly to stabilize North Korea, but also for my own benefit.

I didn’t want to go through something like this again.

“Boss, it’s Manager Ma calling.”

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and Manager Kim’s voice called out.

“Come in.”

Manager Kim opened the door and handed me the phone.

I lightly cleared my throat to indicate I had taken the phone and Manager Ma started talking immediately.

—Boss, how are you feeling?

“I’m not doing too badly. How about you, Manager Ma? Is everything going well in Korea?”

I mentioned the reason why I hadn’t brought Manager Ma on this trip to North Korea.

—… It’s going to get a little noisy.

“Is that so? What’s difficult about it?”

—There have been ongoing minor and major conflicts while preparing for the general meeting. That’s why I’m calling to inform you that I might use some more aggressive methods.

“Hmm…minor and major conflicts.”

They can’t hide their true nature. Even in a fancy suit, they’re still back alley thugs.

“Are you saying they won’t accept the side we’re pushing?”

—Because Chairman Yoo Sung-jin didn’t directly appoint his successor, there’s a lot of internal chaos.

“How noisy do you think it will get?”

Manager Ma’s cold voice came through the receiver to answer my question.

—I’m planning on showing them real force. That way they’ll never try to crawl over us again. I’ll make sure they never even think about it.

“Okay. Talk to the police and prosecutors and clean everything up.”

—Yes, Boss. When are you planning to come back to Korea?

“I’m not sure yet. I’m thinking of going sometime this week.”

—Then, please come back when everything is settled. It seems like it’s safest for you to stay in Russia right now.

It seems the situation is quite serious. Manager Ma is asking me to delay my return.

I asked, my voice unintentionally showing my concern.

“Is it that bad?”

—It’s not that. I’m just worried that you might get caught up in it. That’s why I’m saying this.

“Well, alright. Let’s do that then.”

It seemed like he was worried about me after everything I’ve been through, so that’s why he said that.

Delaying my return to Korea wasn’t a problem, so it would be alright to agree.

“Clean it up as quickly as possible. I’m counting on you.”

—Yes. I will make sure they realize exactly who the Boss is and what kind of person you are.

Manager Ma’s voice was resolute.

He was using his old way of talking, so it seemed like he was quite angry.

“Don’t overdo it.”

After reminding Manager Ma, I ended the call.

I handed the phone to Manager Kim and asked.

“It seems like the Heavenly Group is quite chaotic, so find out what’s going on and report back.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Manager Kim left, and I was left alone in the study.

I fiddled with my phone for a moment, thought about it and then pressed the call button again.

—Oh, Mu-hyeok. I heard there’s been chaos in North Korea. Are you okay?

Han Gyeong-yeong picked up the phone before it could even ring a few times and asked about me first.

“I’m okay and not okay at the same time.”

—What does that mean?

At her bewildered question, I briefly explained what had happened.

—It’s a real stroke of luck. You can’t take any mercenaries into North Korea, so you have to be even more careful.

When I finished my story, Han Gyeong-yeong let out a deep sigh and began to nag about how I need to be more careful with my safety.

Since I was in the wrong for worrying her, I just listened for a while.

“Okay. I’ll be careful. By the way, what’s the atmosphere like in Washington and on Wall Street?”

The place that reacted most quickly to the sudden events in North Korea was Wall Street.

—They seem to be analyzing the situation. There isn’t any significant movement yet.

“That’s a relief. I’m planning to stay in Russia for a while. Contact me immediately if there’s any unusual movement.”

I told Han Gyeong-yeong to keep an eye on Wall Street and ended the call.

Just by making a few phone calls, I was able to understand the general situation.

I tapped the wooden desk as I organized my plans in my head.

Late afternoon.

The car sent by Medvedev arrived.

I headed to the Kremlin with only Igor.

Even though the driver’s seat and the rear seats were separated, it was obvious the conversation we were having would be heard.

“Igor, it seems like we’ll need to stay in Moscow for quite a while.”

“Yes, Boss. I will make the arrangements.”

We arrived at the Kremlin as we talked.

“Welcome, Boss Kim. He is waiting inside.”

Medvedev greeted me.

I followed Medvedev’s guidance and entered the Kremlin.

As we stood in front of the President’s office, Medvedev looked at me.

“Igor, wait here.”

I ordered Igor to wait nearby and entered the office.

“Welcome, Mu-hyeok.”

The President, who was talking to someone, smiled and raised his hand.

“Mr. President, it’s been a while.”

I bowed slightly and looked at the man he was talking to.

“This is the Chinese Ambassador.”

The President introduced the man first.

The Chinese Ambassador stood up and walked towards me, greeting me.

“Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Yes, I’m Kim Mu-hyeok. It’s nice to meet you, Ambassador.”

“That’s enough with the greetings. Everyone, take a seat.”

The President gestured, and we all sat down. He was the absolute ruler in this place, so that was the natural response.

“I thought this was just a meal together.”

“That’s what I was planning. But the Chinese Ambassador insisted on meeting me. Since it seemed like it might involve Mu-hyeok, I called you too.”

I nodded and looked at the Chinese Ambassador. He got straight to the point without any formalities.

“We would like to restart the suspended China-Russia gas pipeline construction.”

The President was listening with an intrigued expression, while Medvedev next to me just smiled.

“This is a national project agreed upon by our countries. Unilaterally stopping it without any reason can’t be good for friendly relations.”

“Unilaterally…”

The President mumbled the word ‘unilaterally’.

Medvedev spoke up on behalf of the President.

“China moved their troops without notifying us. In response, our government suspended the construction as a form of protest.”

“That was a normal military exercise. There was no reason to notify Russia.”

The Chinese Ambassador and Medvedev were exchanging sharp words.

“Withdraw the Chinese troops from the area then we’ll reconsider the resumption of the construction.”

“By that logic, wasn’t Russia building a naval base in North Korea without any discussion with us?”

“Is Nakhodka Chinese territory? Why should we discuss it with the Chinese Government? We already discussed it with the North Korean Government and reached an agreement.”

The Chinese Ambassador hesitated for a moment at Medvedev’s firm rebuttal.

“Still… Nakhodka is like the lifeline of our northeastern region. If a Russian naval base is built nearby, for us…”

“It’s not as though we’re blocking China from using the port.”

As their conversation grew longer, the President raised his hand.

It was a small movement, but I could sense the tension between the two.

“Medvedev.”

Medvedev closed his mouth as the President called his name.

“Ambassador, stop. The decision to restart the construction is not up to me, but up to the person sitting here.”

“…….”

He had created this place, but now he was passing the responsibility to me, and I chuckled inside.

“As long as the Chinese Government continues to unjustly attack me, there will be no resumption of the construction.”

“Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok.”

“As you know, I invested a significant amount of money in China. But what I received in return was illegal tax audits of the companies I invested in and pressure on their executives to stop receiving my investment.”

“That’s a misunderstanding.”

The same old tired excuse came back. I raised one eyebrow and spoke.

“Really? Former Chairman Jiang Zemin told me that himself over the phone.”

“What?”

“He asked me to surrender. Then he’d stop all the attacks. Since you threw the first stone, there’s no reason for me to just get hit, is there? That’s why I asked the Russian government to suspend the construction. Since I’m in charge of this entire project, I thought I was at least allowed to do this.”

The Chinese Ambassador didn’t seem to know about that. As I continued to speak, his face grew more and more pale.

“You wanted me to withdraw from China, and you thought I would leave something favorable for the Chinese government?”

“That’s…”

“I have no intention of making concessions first. So, if you want to resume the construction, the Chinese Government needs to show a proactive attitude.”

“…”

The Chinese Ambassador was speechless. I watched him for a moment before speaking to the President.

“Mr. President, this seat is uncomfortable for me.”

“Is that so? If Mu-hyeok is uncomfortable.”

The President nodded and spoke to the Chinese Ambassador.

“Ambassador, please return. I will make another time later.”

“…Mr. President.”

“To me, this friend is more important than the Ambassador. So, please tell the Chinese Government why I decided to risk a diplomatic dispute with the Chinese Government. You can go now.”

The expulsion order was given once again, and the Chinese Ambassador reluctantly got up.

“I will see you again tomorrow.”

The Chinese Ambassador, not letting go of his lingering attachment, bowed and left.

“I’ve felt this since before, those Chinese bastards are so weird. They do as they please, and if it doesn’t go their way, they stick to their ways, geez. Don’t you think so, Mu-hyeok?”

“They don’t consider their own actions at all and only blame others.”

The President laughed heartily at my response, seeming amused by my words.

“Hahaha! That’s right. They don’t know you well enough, Mu-hyeok. You aren’t the kind of guy who will just stand there and get hit.”

The President stopped laughing and patted my shoulder.

“I heard you went through a lot. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. Thanks to your help, I was able to safely escape from North Korea.”

“That’s nothing difficult. If Medvedev hadn’t stopped me, I was planning to send troops myself.”

“…Thank you.”

I need to be more careful to avoid this happening again. When this man says something, even if it sounds like a joke, it sounds real.

“Well, since the eyesore is gone, let’s move and have dinner while we talk.”