[Breaking News—President Donald Confirmed to Attend Gyeongju APEC!]
[Was It All a Bluff...? Contrary to Initial Expectations, a Long Four-Day, Three-Night Schedule]
[White House: “The Asia-Pacific Economic Community Is a Major Partner for America as Well; We Must Seek Strategies for Mutual Prosperity”]
D-1, one day before the APEC summit.
Donald’s visit, which had been the subject of a tense war of nerves over whether he would attend, was confirmed. Unlike his initially lukewarm stance, his schedule was longer than expected, and the media’s interest and speculation continued over the background behind it.
[Will the U.S. Settle Smuggled Imports and Rare-Earth Controls?]
[U.S.-China Summit Scheduled Three Times... Foreign Media Flooding In with Questions]
But I had no room to pay attention to all this noisy news.
“...”
It was strange. If my memory was right, this was something that had barely been agreed upon near the end of the Republican administration. So why was it being settled in Gyeongju? Could the small microeconomic changes I had made have influenced the flow of the vast macroeconomy as well?
“...”
Without even having time to examine the cause, I was busy thinking about the future.
The post-Ukraine-Russia War... The world after the war ended would change into something completely different from the world we knew. Should I say the debate over hegemonic powers, which had been ambiguous, became much clearer?
Britain and France, which had waged the Second Middle East War, could not withstand pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union and ended up fleeing Egyptian soil. It was a tremendous event. The Soviet Union threatened to fire nuclear weapons, and the United States sided with the Soviet Union, saying it would look the other way.
In the end, Britain and France had no choice but to withdraw from the Suez Canal without so much as a peep, and this plainly showed that the European hegemony that had ruled for hundreds of years had come to an end.
It wounded their pride so deeply that Britain and France succeeded in developing nuclear weapons even while suffering all kinds of military and economic sanctions.
If my memory was right, the post-Ukraine-Russia War was similar.
The global order was perfectly divided between the U.S. and China, and Russia’s status plummeted to a degree incomparable to Britain and France.
This was not simply because Russia had performed poorly in the war. Just as the Nazis had issued Mefo bills, Russia had also recklessly issued a considerable amount of bonds, and all of it came back as a boomerang.
The newly reorganized postwar order was a winning hand for China.
Following the strategy of “using barbarians to control barbarians,” China pressured surrounding countries with Russia when dealing with Europe and with North Korea when keeping Northeast Asia in check.
Of course, Putin, who had quite the temper, occasionally clashed with China, but the leash was far too tight to overturn a hierarchy once it had been established. Fundamentally, they had no industries capable of beating China. And so they were almost becoming a satellite state.
“Welcome, Representative Ming.”
Early in the morning.
I rushed out to greet Representative Ming, who had come from Beijing.
“I’m sorry for suddenly asking you to come to Korea.”
“Not at all. I was planning to stop by Korea anyway because of the outsourced managers’ meeting. From Jeonju to Gyeongju, it’s only a twenty-minute difference. Haha.”
Representative Ming, who had been laughing affably, looked at me and his eyes changed.
“But it seems to be something serious, judging by how suddenly you called me.”
“Yes, it’s very important.”
“What is it?”
“Representative, I think the war is about to end.”
“Pfft—”
Representative Ming spat out the coffee he had been drinking.
“W-what?”
“The Ukraine-Russia War. I think an agreement to end the war will come out of Gyeongju this time.”
“T-that’s impossible. Russia and Ukraine still have far too many differences in their positions. Even from a political-engineering perspective, the leaders of both countries absolutely cannot end the war in its current state.”
“The current positions of Russia and Ukraine aren’t very important.”
“...What?”
“It seems the U.S. and China have reached a considerable agreement. It’s reliable information I heard from above.”
Representative Ming, who had been wiping the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, asked no more.
Though Russia and Ukraine may have started it, this war had already long since turned into a proxy war. If the Western countries led by the United States cut off the supply of weapons, Ukraine could no longer continue the war, and if China stopped its indirect export routes and bond purchases, Russia could no longer raise war funds.
“Then... what will the terms of the war’s end be?”
“I don’t think they’ll be much different from the current situation. A ceasefire line will be drawn around the contested areas.”
“...You mean a ceasefire without security guarantees?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s a decision victory for Russia.”
Though I could not agree, I nodded appropriately.
Strictly speaking, it was Russia’s defeat. Thank heavens Russia’s second invasion was not in my memory.
Putin’s ambition toward Ukrainian land had not changed, but every time ominous movements appeared, China yanked hard on Russia’s leash. Because of that, in the newly reorganized postwar order, Europe also had no choice but to be quite conscious of China.
“So that brings me to something we need to discuss now.”
“You mean the Russian bonds, don’t you?”
I nodded and asked.
“How much in bonds has Changcheng Fund purchased at present?”
Representative Ming searched his memory and said,
“I’d have to calculate it to know the exact amount. We thought buying it all at once would draw the authorities’ attention, so we’ve been buying under borrowed names through subsidiaries and the like.”
“Even a rough estimate.”
“The last time I checked, it was about thirty billion dollars. We swept up as much as possible of the government bonds Russia issued in yuan.”
My palms grew slick with sweat.
In truth, Russia’s total bond issuance could not be confirmed through any indicator. But one could infer the body from the tail.
Since the year before last, Russia had issued yuan-denominated bonds instead of dollar bonds, and the scale of that was sixty-three billion dollars. “Yuan-denominated bonds” in itself meant they were intended to be sold to China, so the Russian bonds held by the Chinese authorities were probably approaching at least two hundred billion dollars.
“Thirty billion dollars. Thirty billion dollars...”
And once again, I found myself facing a future I did not know.
Originally, Korea had disposed of almost all Russian assets in accordance with Western financial sanctions, but now the situation had changed.
“What’s the interest rate on those?”
“We started sweeping them up from when they were in the double digits, so the interest should be substantial. Most of the bonds are long-term bonds. Just holding them would probably give us the highest yield for the next ten years. Though I don’t know if we’ll be able to collect...”
I laughed bitterly.
If my memory was right, Russia could not handle the bonds. In the end, just like when the Soviet Union collapsed, they chose to pay in kind, but with China they did not even have technology to transfer, so relations between the two countries became uncomfortable for a while.
“I see. Then please gather them now.”
“...To Changcheng?”
“Yes. Please properly launder the bonds purchased under borrowed names and gather them all, then hand them over to NPS as soon as possible.”
“B-but then you’ll be in trouble, Team Leader. Most of the bonds we purchased were gathered without the principal even knowing. If bonds that weren’t on the books suddenly appear... and if it becomes certain that it’s money that can’t be collected, all the responsibility will fall on you, Team Leader...”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take full responsibility for that.”
Representative Ming checked my face, then nodded.
“You’ve already made up your mind... Understood. Then at this outsourced managers’ meeting, we have to report our asset list to NPS. If we’re going to hand them over anyway, shall I just add the Russian bond holdings too?”
“That would be best. Please do that.”
“Understood.”
Representative Ming left with heavy steps.
Left alone, I smiled bitterly. The outsourced manager’s sudden jackpot in returns(?)... But tens of trillions in money that could not be collected...
“...”
I could already vividly picture Manager Oh clutching the back of his neck and collapsing.
*
“Rutnik, what is this?”
“Yes. They say it’s a gold crown made during the Silla period. Silla was the first unified kingdom, something like Korea’s progenitor.”
“A kingdom... a kingdom.”
“Yes. I thought it might be the gift most fitting for Your Excellency, more than anyone else.”
D+1, the day after the APEC summit began.
Donald, who had received a tremendous(?) gift from Korea, wore the gold crown the entire time he was in the car, looking satisfied.
“I am king of the world! What do you think, Rutnik? Do I really look like a king?”
“You look not like a king, but an emperor. I think you’re far more handsome than DiCaprio! Haha.”
Rutnik, an opportunist by birth, kept flattering Donald at his side.
He knew what Donald liked most.
Donald was a rich young master who had been raised like a crown prince from birth, and perhaps because of that, he loved this kind of protocol so much he was almost helpless before it.
“Hahaha. This feels good. That’s right, this is the kind of empire I want. America shouldn’t be getting shaken down by its allies; it should rise as this kind of empire!”
“Yes, exactly. If an empire is established in America again, then naturally Your Excellency should become its first emperor. To be honest, in every respect you have far more dignity than King Charles of Britain.”
“No, you’re wrong. I’m greater than Elizabeth, not Charles.”
“Ah, yes, yes. That’s right. Your Excellency’s achievements have long since surpassed Washington and Lincoln.”
After enjoying his mood for a while, Donald’s expression hardened as soon as he arrived at the conference hall.
“That nasty Winnie-the-Pooh bastard... Rutnik, do I really have to meet him in person?”
Donald began whining again like a child whose vacation had ended.
“People are already laughing at me and calling me a coward because I’ve been loosening too many regulations on China lately. Do I really have to meet this Winnie-the-Pooh?”
“Your Excellency... smuggled imports are retaliation that directly strikes our support base, so we must approach it strategically. Likewise, rare earths are also an issue we absolutely must resolve.”
“Fine, let’s say that’s true, but this ceasefire negotiation. The way I see it, this is a problem that would be solved if we dropped a single nuke right on the place where Putin and the power brokers are gathered. So why are the generals in our War Department opposed to this great idea?”
“...Yes, that would be good too, but.”
“I don’t like it. The way I see it, weak Baidon’s image encouraged Russia’s invasion. Not more, not less, just one shot. If we drop a single nuke when the Russian leadership is gathered, this war will end tomorrow.”
Donald’s pride was wounded.
He was currently about to meet President Xi ahead of negotiations to end the war, and the very sight of that seemed to highlight China as their rival.
“Your Excellency... But that’s also...”
Rutnik, who had been floundering for a while, had no choice but to bring up the topic Donald liked most.
“What? A peace prize?”
“Yes... They say the Royal Swedish Academy is discussing it very seriously.”
“Really? If I really end the war, it’s the peace prize?”
“That’s right... Unlike Obama’s false peace, Your Excellency truly deserves the peace prize. If they still don’t give you the Nobel Prize after you’ve done this much, then it will be a scheme by the UN and the Democratic Party.”
“Well, in that case...”
Donald, who had been thinking for a while, got out of the car.
And just as he got out, his eyes met President Xi’s, who had happened to be walking ahead first.
As flashes burst from all around them, Donald gave his characteristic relaxed smile and waved.
“Hello, Mr. Xi?”