The Blue House, Republic of Korea.
I had come to the Blue House, but
I didn’t look around.
After having been here once, it no longer felt that surprising.
Nor was it especially fascinating.
“You’re here.”
As I entered the waiting room, Hwang Onyu, who had arrived first, spoke to me.
Hwang Onyu.
He wasn’t a team leader anymore.
He was a director now.
He had been promoted.
“You told me to come.”
I glanced at Hwang Onyu and answered curtly.
“I’m not the one who told you to come. The President asked for you.”
Hwang Onyu made an excuse, as if worried about what I might say.
We went straight into the presidential office.
“Welcome.”
President Kim Minsu rose from his seat and greeted us.
Perhaps because a major problem had been resolved, he looked far more relaxed than last time.
Back then, he had seemed incredibly prickly.
“And thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to resolve a major issue.”
The President looked at me and bowed his head slightly in gratitude.
I bowed my head in return.
“I’m glad I could be of help.”
“You were truly an enormous help. If this matter hadn’t been resolved… the thought alone is chilling. I think we might have ended up like Japan is now.”
That was probably true.
Japan had attacked our logistics but failed,
and I had succeeded in attacking Japan.
Our logistics had not stopped, but Japan’s logistics had ground to a halt.
Of course, the President didn’t know I had done it.
Hwang Onyu didn’t know either.
There was nothing good about the government knowing that.
It was enough for them to know that I had established Taerim Insurance
and had APRC provide reinsurance.
As for what had collapsed beyond that, and what kind of fight was unfolding, only the people fighting needed to know.
If the President found out, it would only become a burden.
Everyone just had to play their own role from their own position.
.
.
.
President Kim Minsu gazed steadily at the man before him.
The expression that honey seemed to drip from his eyes suited him perfectly.
It was a strange thing to say, but honestly, the man was lovable.
Not because he was tall, or handsome.
Not because he had a solid build.
That man was fascinating.
How could someone be like that?
He couldn’t understand it.
He was a type of person Kim Minsu had never seen before.
As President, and as a lawyer, he had seen countless kinds of people.
Ambitious people, bluffers, schemers, cowards, people who were all talk.
But that man was different from them.
He was a type of person he had never seen even once.
His first meeting with Gong Inbae was still vivid in his mind.
Even with the President sitting before him, he had not been nervous or intimidated in the slightest.
Instead, he had calmly presented an alternative.
He said he would handle the dogfight himself,
and told the government not to get involved.
It was too much confidence to be dismissed as bluffing,
and his gaze was too firm to call it baseless confidence.
The nation’s logistics were at stake.
They couldn’t simply sit back because he told them not to get involved.
They had to help with whatever they could.
But without asking for help,
without asking for support, that man had single-handedly wrapped everything up in no time.
It would not have been easy even if the government had put all its strength into it.
But Gong Inbae had done it.
Far more brilliantly, elegantly, and smartly than the government had expected.
No one was hurt, and no one was ruined.
Creating such a result was never an easy task.
And yet that man had done it.
What was even funnier came afterward.
Even after doing something so incredible, he said nothing at all.
He could have asked for help now that he had solved the problem,
or asked for benefits,
or asked for protection,
or at least asked to be connected with someone. But he said nothing.
There was no contact from him at all.
Kim Minsu could not allow things to simply pass like this.
If one received help, one had to repay the favor.
That was Kim Minsu’s principle.
He ordered his secretary to investigate the man named Gong Inbae.
If they looked into Gong Inbae’s life, surely they would find some way to help him.
But.
“It’s strange.”
“What is?”
“He’s too clean.”
“Clean?”
“He has no employment history, and no records whatsoever of card usage or economic activity.”
“Nothing at all?”
Kim Minsu found it strange.
A person capable of doing such things had no economic activity whatsoever?
He had said he had an insurance company.
He had said he could move Taerim Insurance.
And yet he had no economic activity?
“There are no bank transactions, real estate, or vehicles under Mr. Gong Inbae’s name.”
“He could simply be a recluse.”
Kim Minsu tried to make an excuse.
“That doesn’t quite fit, considering he is listed as a shareholder of Candy Tour’s Seoul office. And he has quite a few records of leaving the country.”
“Then maybe it’s because he spends a lot of time overseas? If he’s abroad, that could happen.”
“There is no card usage even during his overseas stays.”
“Maybe he used cash? It’s overseas, after all.”
“He would need income to use cash or cards. There are no traces of tickets or hotels being used either.”
At the secretary’s words, his mouth shut tight.
‘There must be some circumstances behind it.’
Even as he thought that, he felt uneasy.
“Are there any other records?”
“He enlisted in the military right after graduating high school and was discharged as a staff sergeant. One notable point is that he spent quite a long time deployed in Congo.”
“Deployed?”
“Yes. When I asked the relevant people, they said he was fairly famous.”
“Then why did he leave the military?”
“All of his team members died in Congo.”
“Oh… my. And their treatment?”
“They are buried at the National Cemetery.”
“Look into whether those men can be awarded medals.”
“Understood.”
Kim Minsu fell into thought.
Gong Inbae was someone who spoke directly with the President of China.
That meant he was a major figure.
And yet such a person did not have a single card under his own name?
No economic activity at all?
It made no sense.
“He is like someone who exists, yet does not exist.”
President Kim Minsu thought to himself.
There was some story behind it.
There was definitely something.
It was not a matter that could be understood through documents.
Meet him. Meet him and ask.
If he was running away because he had committed a crime,
and that was why he was living in hiding, he could help him.
He could help him receive punishment now and live openly.
It would be best if he were punished while Kim Minsu was President.
That was why he had called him.
He wanted to convey his gratitude, and if there was anything troubling him, he wanted to resolve it.
As President, it was only natural to repay someone who had helped the country.
If he could not help him,
then he should at least lighten his burden.
.
.
.
“Is there anything you need?”
“Pardon?”
I had come to the Blue House, and out of nowhere, he was asking me what I needed.
Something I needed?
I didn’t think there was anything in particular.
When my silence stretched on, President Kim Minsu spoke.
“You have given us such great help, and I don’t think we can simply let it pass. If there is anything you need, Mr. Gong Inbae, I would like to help within the limits of what I can do.”
Hearing that, I understood.
It was a ceremonial remark.
Then I should respond ceremonially too.
“No, it’s all right. It’s not as if I did it to make money. Besides, marine insurance turned out to be more profitable than I expected. The stock went up a lot too. I’m actually troubled because I made money for no reason. Mr. President, do you have anywhere to spend money? Should I make a donation?”
“A donation?”
“Yes. I have nowhere to spend the money…”
No bank transactions, yet a donation?
Kim Minsu could not understand it, but he refused for now.
Government ministries could not accept donations.
“Ahem. No. Donations are something you should decide on your own, sir, and not something the government should receive. More importantly, is there really nothing I can do to help you? Perhaps…”
“Perhaps…”
“If there is some inconvenience domestically that makes you stay overseas, I can help with that as much as I am able.”
“An inconvenience domestically? The fine dust is a bit inconvenient, but I can endure that much.”
“Pardon? Fine dust?”
The President was momentarily flustered.
Gong Inbae thought for a moment, then continued.
“Ah. I remember now. There’s a project I’m doing with a friend. It’s called ‘K-ORIGIN.’ I would appreciate it if you paid a little more attention to that.”
K-ORIGIN?
Kim Minsu knew it well.
He had heard about it in reports.
They had called it a social syndrome.
When he visited a market, he wondered why people were gathered in one place.
They said it was a shop selling burnt yakgwa jelly.
They said it was a shop opened by K-ORIGIN.
Kim Minsu had tried it too.
After one bite, he understood.
Why it was called burnt “devil” jelly.
He was at an age where he had to watch his blood sugar, but shamelessly, he had no idea how many pieces he ended up eating.
That was why he could not forget it.
He had briefly visited heaven.
But to think the person who created that K-ORIGIN was Gong Inbae.
He was utterly impossible to figure out.
He seemed like a fugitive.
Yet he had Taerim Insurance, had created K-ORIGIN, and spoke with the President of China.
“Don’t worry. I will continue to keep an eye on that matter. Is there anything else?”
“There’s nothing else.”
Feeling as if he was hiding something, Kim Minsu asked once more.
“It makes me feel uneasy.”
“Then buy me a meal.”
At Gong Inbae’s answer, Kim Minsu smiled faintly.
It was only a meal.
Still, the fact that he had answered with something put Kim Minsu at ease.
“Haha. Very well. If there is anything you would like to eat, I will treat you.”
“Shall we have samgyeopsal?”
“Excellent. I will gladly treat you.”
“But now that I think about it, someone is missing.”
“Pardon?”
“Hyung Wei Zhonglin helped too. Wouldn’t it be a bit wrong to eat without him?”
Wei Zhonglin?
Why was Wei Zhonglin coming up here?
“Pardon?”
“It’s fine if I call him, right?”
Kim Minsu froze.
This was not summoning a high school classmate who lived nearby.
This was not calling out an unemployed friend.
He was going to call the President of China by phone?
But the man picked up his phone.
“Hyung? What are you doing?”
“Work? You? I know you don’t do any normally, so what work?”
“Come over. Let’s have a meal together.”
“President Kim Minsu says he’ll buy us samgyeopsal.”
“You saw Japan go down this time, right? We should raise a toast together.”
“Of course it’s because you have a stake in it too, hyung.”
“Let’s eat together.”
“What do you mean you don’t have time? If you take a private jet, you can be here in two hours.”
“Should I send my private jet? Ah! You have one too?”
“Then just get on yours and come.”
“If you don’t come, I’ll be hurt.”
“I’ll give you three hours to land in Seongnam.”
“Okay? Then see you later.”
The call ended.
The room was silent.
No one could close their mouth.
President Kim Minsu realized it.
This man was not someone who had helped a nation.
He was someone who moved nations.
.
.
.
The Blue House, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was turned completely upside down.
No, it was not chaos; it was closer to a disaster situation.
A top-secret visit.
Normally, for the head of state of a country to visit, coordination began at least two months in advance.
Security, protocol, lodging, schedule.
Routes according to the schedule.
Controls according to the routes.
Even responses according to those controls.
Perfect preparation was the baseline.
But those two months had been compressed into three hours.
No, to be exact, there were 2 hours and 58 minutes left.
“Seongnam, clear the runway. Got it?”
“There’s training scheduled? Cancel it all.”
“Police, lock down every traffic signal from Seongnam to Hannam-dong.”
“It can’t be done because it’s Gangbyeonbuk-ro? What do you mean, it can’t be done? Control all of it.”
“Protocol team. Set things up right now.”
“I don’t know. Anyway, set it up at the highest level for now.”
“Menu? They said samgyeopsal.”
“…Yes. Samgyeopsal.”
“But why is President Wei Zhonglin coming? There was no consultation.”
“How should we set the agenda?”
“Is there even an agenda?”
“Contact the Chinese side first. We need to know something to prepare.”
.
.
.
Exactly three hours later, Seoul Air Base.
Seoul Air Base was in a complete panic.
All they had been told was that a “top-secret guest” was coming,
and no one had told them who it actually was.
But anyone could tell.
The call sign appearing on the control screen.
CA1.
An aircraft flying in from China.
And the call sign CA1.
Unless the President was aboard, the call sign CA1 would not be attached.
There was no need for further explanation.
They also understood why he was being called a top-secret guest.
No one said it out loud, but they knew.
They engraved the scene into their eyes.
A little later.
CA1, the private plane of the President of China, touched down on the runway.
The sound of the engines subsided, and the enormous fuselage came to a stop.
The aircraft door opened, and hyung Wei Zhonglin appeared.
I was standing before him.
Wei Zhonglin came down the stairs, gave me a light hug, and whispered in my ear.
“You really think you can summon me like this?”
That was what he said, but his face looked somewhat amused.
As President, it was an unprecedented deviation from the norm.
“It’s nice to get some fresh air at times like this. Let’s go. To my place.”
I shrugged as I spoke.
Wei Zhonglin laughed briefly.
That single laugh made everyone feel lighter.
The security vehicles formed a massive convoy and began to move.