Sooho

Once he got back from visiting Kim Dae San, he ran into an unexpected guest in front of his house.

“Pamela?”

“Sorry, Soo Ho.”

Since they brought around a lot of people, they couldn’t help but stand out. Ahn Soo Ho led her to the yard. Mrs. Park Ok Nam wasn’t into gardening or horticulture, but she liked potted plants. The two sat on the swing in the front yard.

“This is my first time on a swing since I was 10 years old.”

“And when on earth was that? When the tiger smoked cigarettes?”

“Tiger?”

Pamela was reasonably fluent in Korean, but she didn’t know the old sayings and idioms. It was obvious why she came to find Ahn Soo Ho in secret.

“North Korea?”

“Yeah.”

“Why are they being so sensitive about a yearly custom? If they just make one critical statement, they’ll back down again.”

“They usually would have.”

Following the terrorist war against the States in the early 21st century, North Korea became another foe along with the Islam terrorists. What was funny was that despite the sanctions, the States insisted North Korea as a tourist destination. The wave of capitalism that hit in the late 20th century changed the lives of those living in communist countries, and the world’s economy no longer depended on the politics and block logic.

“If North Korea continues to provoke, the White House might order a preemptive strike.”

“Why?”

“Because President Olsen is old-school.”

Whether it was the Democratic party or the Republican party, old-school politicians were similar. And it was different from the old state of things.

“To be honest with you, the president hates you. His family might be Swedish, but the president himself is a Texan at heart.”

“That’s why it’s tiring every time the one in power changes.”

Humans not only had a lot of doubt, but they were selfish as well.

“So? Are they trying to screw me over with the North Korean problem?”

“They won’t go that far…”

“That means they do want to screw me over.”

“Just know that a capitalist has been mobilized.”

“Vulture fund?”

“Huh? You knew?”

Pamela pretended to be surprised, but her acting was awkward.

“Don’t ever try acting, okay? You suck.”

“Hmph!”

“Who is it?”

“Pilgrim Heyward.”

“K-Bank?”

K-Bank was short for Casa Blanca Neuro Bank. Many people got Casa Blanca confused with an extraordinary playboy, but it actually referred to a North African economic union based in Morocco. In contrast to a tribal nation like Central Africa and a black-and-white conflict-ridden nation like South Africa, North Africa had been receiving benefits from Europe for quite some time.

It was also where the assassination group, Angola was based as well. People would ask why a group called Angola wasn’t located at Angola? However, there was no logical answer to that.

‘Barbarism that has been reasonably civilized.’

When both concepts overlapped, it made for the most optimal environment for assassins to be. Strict laws and regulations, as well as safety, only restricted the assassins’ movements.

‘Another name for K-Bank is Blood Bank.’

Angola’s money laundering went through multiple international banks, but they especially used K-Bank quite a bit. The mistake that the executive committee of Angola made was handing over some shares to an outsider in hopes of making a little more money.

‘United Industries could be the outcome of that.’

Thomas Chenyabin, also known as Issac’s United Industries was highly likely to be Angola in disguise.

“Does the president know?”

“I’m not sure actually.”

“Thomas Chenyabin.”

“Huh?”

“You should pay sharp attention to United Aircraft.”

After that, they chatted about various topics. Pamela didn’t make any requests of him, but Ahn Soo Ho already knew. Once he was left alone, he sat on the swing by himself.

‘He wasn’t at the White House for no reason.’

It was hard to see the visit of the vice president of United Aircraft as well as the head of the assassination group—Angola, also known as Issac—to the White House as just a coincidence. He couldn’t exclude the possibility that the series of events were planned and predicted. Even if Ahn Soo Ho hadn’t interfered, Scott Davis could have still failed and Allen Davis could have still lost his position.

‘But that wouldn’t be any fun…’

He felt like someone was fooling around with him.

“What are you doing over there, Soo Ho?”

The three besides Lee So Hye, who got back from their schedules spotted Ahn Soo Ho on the swing. It was right for them to find their own places to live, but they downright refused.

“You’re late.”

“We’re on the verge of death!”

They started to complain.

Most of them were insults towards their trainers and manager. Ratting on them probably wouldn’t have changed anything, but they weren’t complaining out of ill intent either. What men had a hard time doing was sympathizing. Rather than trying to reason, just going along with it was enough for an issue like this. Once Lee So Hye, Emily, and Rachel finished ranting, they went inside, but Ahn Da Sol remained outside.

“Scary face.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah.”

Ahn Da Sol sensed a peculiar vibe with Ahn Soo Ho.

“I feel like someone’s fooling around with me.”

“The missile fired from North Korea?”

He didn’t answer, but she knew his answer.

“North Korea… doesn’t like to give up, but it’s not like anyone can get rid of them. However, letting them be isn’t ideal either. Soo Ho, aren’t you close with the director of the Ministry of National Defense?”

“Not really.”

“That’s weird. I heard you were.”

“Me and that pig? There isn’t anything I want from him.”

“Maybe, but if you consider the balance of East Asia, North Korea can be useful in a lot of ways.”

The four countries surrounding Korea which included America, China, Russia, and Japan were always fighting in a fixed manner with no one country winning. He didn’t know about North Korea, but it was a good thing from South Korea’s point of view. There was still the issue of how the political and cultural differences could be resolved between North and South Korea, but both sides agreed that they wanted to avoid war.

“They want to avoid war? That’s a question I need to ask myself.”

******

Ahn Soo Ho built safe houses and dungeons all over the world. There were ones in the countryside, one in the Himalayas, one in the African desert, and one in the Amazon jungle as well. He even made them in places that people couldn’t step foot on, and there was no reason to not build one in Pyeongyang.

Pyeongyang was 200 kilometers away from Seoul.

‘Has it been 2 years and 8 months now?’

Pyeongyang hadn’t changed 10 years ago or even 2 years ago. Pyeongyang operated through the privileged class, but there was a big gap between the rich and the poor within that class as well. Ahn Soo Ho visited the Mansudae apartments. The economic superiority now completely belonged to South Korea. The only thing that North Korea had an upper hand with was their access to the world’s black market.

The younger generation of Korea currently believed that North Korea was on the verge of doom, but the profits they made from their business in the black market were astronomical. And they had the perfect slush fund that wasn’t on any map or statistics. The people of North Korea might have been uneducated and poor, but the upper class was the total opposite.

In that sense, perhaps ideologies and system didn’t matter. That was because whether they were capitalists or communists, the top 0.01% had more than half of the country’s assets.

And neither socialists nor Democrats could 100% resolve inequality. It was possible that the 21st century was the most unequal era of all.

Among the scenery of Pyeongyang, there was one that was the best of all.

Being able to live in the Mansudae apartments meant that a person succeeded as an upper-classman of North Korea. Lee Yong Hee studied at Berlin University and Beijing University before being put in charge of a project for earning foreign money. The Rising Up Against the Revolution gathering was similar in status to the Crown Prince Party of China.

‘The Republic shall become an advanced civilization!’

The reforms always believed that they would lead North Korea to its collapse. In all honesty, thinking this way in North Korea was no different from treason.

“Long time no see.”

Lee Yong Hee, who was on his way into his apartment, heard someone’s voice in the dark which made him flinch.

“Soo Ho?”

Once he confirmed Ahn Soo Ho’s face, he let his guard down and took off his tie.

“What brings you here?”

“You lost a lot of weight.”

“I’ve been having a hard time because of someone.”

“You’re not talking about me, are you?”

Lee Yong Hee shook his head.

“I’m sure you’re not just here to say hello… Is it because of the missile?”

“I’m here for various reasons.”

“South Korea wouldn’t have ordered you to do this… Was it America?”

He was misunderstanding the situation, but he didn’t try to clarify. Lee Yong Hee took out two beers and handed one to Ahn Soo Ho. Asahi beer. They were drinking Japanese beer in Pyeongyang? Considering their anti-Japanese independence movement, this was something to laugh about.

Lee Yong Hee read Ahn Soo Ho’s eyes and tried to explain.

“Tsingtao doesn’t suit my taste.”

“What about Daedongkang beer?”

“Tsk!”

North Korea also made a beer called Daedongkang, and it didn’t taste half bad.

“There’s a complicated story behind the missile launch.”

“Wasn’t it ordered by the high command?”

Lee Yong Hee shook his head.

“Political director Kim Tae Sun ordered it. He doesn’t like the idea of South Korea and China getting friendly. He also doesn’t want South Korea’s advancement to speed up.”

It was human nature to want what others wanted.

“Would shooting a few missiles make Korea and China distant though? China will probably be more against North Korea for throwing a fuss.”

“From the outside, it may look that way. But think about it. Do you really think Kim Tae Sun acted alone?”

He wasn’t asking expecting Ahn Soo Ho’s answer. Lee Yong Hee continued to talk to himself.

“If there wasn’t a person in power in China who supported it as well, it would have just ended with a few gunfights.”

North Korea’s military wasn’t so wealthy that they could shoot missiles as if they were having a yearly event.

“Who of China?”

“I don’t know.”

Ahn Soo Ho started thinking about China.

It wasn’t the Chinese premier, Yuhaipung. He had no intention of getting involved with North Korea’s crazy behavior and getting in trouble with America. Even with the Davis scandal making America’s image suffer, the US military was still strong. With China’s current way of operating the premier couldn’t just do whatever he wanted.

“They might have suffered under the Western powers, but they’re still a strong nation, Soo Ho. Have you ever thought about how many talents are hidden all over the continent? Not even the revolution could drag all of them out.”

This wasn’t just the case for China. Even in Korea, elite gatherings such as the Korea National Association and the Comradery association had the most power. The invisible hand that controlled the world behind the curtains. Among them, one of the most famous ones was Rosechild.

“Whether a war breaks out or not, whether there’s another recession or not, and whether or not the world gets more dangerous or not, the capitalists will keep getting richer.”

“What about North Korea?”

“Us? We’re in the same boat just with a different title. A system that uses up the public is very different from socialism.”

“Sounds like the words of a true traitor.”

“I’m only saying this to you.”

He felt like it was just yesterday when the struggle for classes was overthrown. However, once that mentality had gone for a while, they thought it truly ended the caste system that was revived once again. Was he unable to acknowledge it? It had nothing to do with democracy or socialism.

“The caste system is back. Actually, it never disappeared, to begin with, Soo Ho. What changed about our money?”

He felt like he had heard this before. Even North Korea, who fiercely attacked the concept of capitalism couldn’t be freed from money.

“Kim Taek Sun didn’t act with some kind of grand vision, but he was simply employed by someone with money. And it’s possible that whoever hired him was hired by someone else with more money. In the end, it’s all about money.”

Even this year, there were all sorts of protests all over the world against inequality in capitalism and demanding a resolution as a result. But how many rich people would have actually listened to the peace protests under the titles—constitutional government and democracy? One of the methods of controlling the public included testing their limits under one of the rules they set down. And as soon as they lost control and exceeded their limits, they were punished with a revolution. Among the thoughts and ideologies that ruled the 20th century, it wasn’t people who were in the center, but money instead, and it wasn’t that different in the 21st century either.

The extreme followers of capitalism didn’t like the idea of linking equality with societal justice. Why? Because they didn’t understand why the rich had to be responsible for why they couldn’t be educated enough, fed well, or dressed adequately. Because they were sociopaths? Not at all.

“Both communists and capitalists have the premise and ideology of wishing their people to prosper… but it’s the people who are using them, and people make mistakes. So it’s hard to avoid any kind of inequality. Even in a communist rule where all wealth is redistributed, there was inequality.”

If the price to pay for prospering was inequality, then who was the civilization developing for? There was nothing people could do about inequality in talent, but if there was inequality in opportunities given, inequality was going to exist no matter how hard people tried. Tax dollars were spent in order for the country to operate. If there was no tax revenue or if the standards were not met, it meant that they were being irresponsible and telling people to survive on their own means.

And North Korea was already headed toward its end.

“This country will soon stand at an important crossroads. They have to either get out or die. And I’m certain that there won’t be a fourth hereditary monarch.”

No matter how much they suppressed people with fear and how much they brainwashed them, they couldn’t force them to have the will to survive. Once Ahn Soo Ho finished listening to Lee Yong Hee’s venting, he finally spoke.

“Where does Kim Taek Sun live?”

Lee Yong Hee pointed upward at a higher level without a word.

“Thank you.”

< Protect – Episode 152 – Korea Show [4] > The end.