Chapter 93

The Bear Kingdom is Now Mine Chapter 93

Chapter 093: The Blue House Could Not Demand / Olga's Fate

Foreign Minister Kono Yohei, who came to the Blue House at the instruction of the Japanese Prime Minister, widened his eyes and retorted in response to the words of the South Korean President.

"Why does Russia have the decision-making power for the undersea tunnel?"

"Well, the Trans-Siberian Railway will pass through the undersea tunnel to reach Japan, right?"

"That's true, but..."

"It's written in the agreement. All rights to the Trans-Siberian Railway belong to Russia."

From the perspective of the South Korean President, even if unification could not be achieved immediately, there was no reason to refuse the connection between the North and South. Moreover, the agreement included North Korea's declaration of denuclearization, so he signed it.

Of course, during the East Asian financial crisis, South Korea became a debtor and had no power to reject Russia's demands for various reasons.

"So, go to the Kremlin."

"Do you mean I need to meet President Zahar?"

"Since he is the President of Russia, it's natural that you should. However, there is a chief responsible for this matter."

"...?"

"You need to meet Economic Advisor Nikolai."

"Nikolai...?"

The Foreign Minister, who left the Blue House, hurriedly returned to Japan.

Meanwhile, the new South Korean President was holding a meeting about the undersea tunnel.

This meeting included not only the ministers of various departments but also representatives from the opposition party.

"The undersea tunnel is a matter between our country and Japan, so why does Russia have the final say?"

In response to the question from the opposition representative, the President frowned and said,

"Have I not repeatedly told you? If we hadn't met Russia's demands, North Korea's denuclearization would not have happened."

"Even so, this is tantamount to giving up our sovereignty."

"Are you saying I should have opposed Russia's demands?"

The President raised his voice, but the opposition representative did not back down.

"That's not what I'm saying. We should have made our own demands, not just accepted everything."

"Indeed. What demands should we have made? During the East Asian financial crisis, the country that helped us was not our ally, the United States, or Japan, but Russia."

Thinking back to his days as a presidential candidate, the President still felt bitter.

Japan had recalled all short-term loans and the United States had turned its back on South Korea.

If Russia had not defended the exchange rate and South Korea had borrowed from the IMF, South Korea would have ended up like Thailand or Indonesia.

Even though Thailand and Indonesia had only borrowed part of the IMF funds, they had to bend to their demands.

When the President reviewed the country's finances, he found no solution.

However, Russia was different from the United States and Japan.

Although Russia had acquired well-known South Korean companies, they operated them under a dual system.

They left the infrastructure in South Korea and only built factories targeting the West in Russia.

Thanks to this, South Korea was recovering its economy faster than Thailand and Indonesia.

Moreover, Russia, while repaying the loans it had borrowed during the Soviet era through the Bear Kingdom project, had paid off all the overdue amounts at once.

Despite this, Russia proposed joint weapons research with South Korea's Defense Science Research Institute, and the project is now underway.

The President recalled the words of Economic Advisor Nikolai.

- The two countries are partners, not competitors. We should accept South Korea's strengths, and South Korea should accept ours.

How moved he had been by those words.

The President also knew what kind of person Nikolai was, so he had asked him when he came to South Korea,

- How can our country develop further?

To this question, Nikolai had firmly replied without hesitation,

- Actively support the IT and cultural sectors. Of course, support should be given only after thoroughly verifying the qualifications of the relevant companies. Also, factories in the manufacturing sector should not be built abroad.

There was also this additional content.

Creating a foundation for foreign companies to do business comfortably in the country, like in Russia.

So, the President had corrected and removed various regulations in South Korea.

Thanks to Russia's help and Nikolai's advice, South Korea is now recovering to a normal track in a short period.

One of the things Russia proposed during the East Asian financial crisis was the deferred sale.

Although there were many concerns, they are now building apartments as a pilot project for the black hole construction.

As a result, South Korean construction companies had no choice but to build apartments to the level of black hole construction.

Now, with the improvement in the quality of South Korean apartments, the satisfaction of the people has significantly increased.

Not only that, but Russia also connected the long-separated North and South through the Trans-Siberian Railway, in addition to North Korea's declaration of denuclearization. Should a debtor suddenly make demands?

'If I were the President of Russia, I would be flabbergasted.'

Despite the President's thoughts, the opposition representatives continued to speak their minds.

"We know Russia has been a great help. However, we cannot understand why all the decision-making power for the undersea tunnel has been handed over to Russia. We should have made demands, even if it was late."

"So, what exactly do you want to demand?"

"We should be able to make the final decision in consultation with Japan."

"Are you saying we should dig the undersea tunnel to Japan?"

"It's not impossible. This could be a way to resolve all historical issues."

"You seem to be thinking about Dokdo and the comfort women issue. But those problems won't be solved by digging an undersea tunnel."

It's a very dangerous thought.

Although Nikolai, the economic advisor, said that the undersea tunnel would involve close consultations with South Korea, he did not explicitly say they would dig it.

However, the idea of digging it and linking it to historical issues with Japan is something Russia would not like.

The President, realizing this, concluded the meeting with a strong tone.

"This issue is entirely up to Russia, so understand that."

"Then why did you call us here?"

"If I hadn't, you would have complained later, wouldn't you?"

"..."

The opposition representatives were speechless, taken aback by the President's sudden strong stance.

* * *

The Foreign Minister, who returned to Japan, reported to the Prime Minister about his conversation with the South Korean President.

"All rights belong to Russia?"

"Yes. Theoretically, digging the undersea tunnel would connect the Trans-Siberian Railway."

"Indeed. It seems we need to negotiate with Russia. Is that possible?"

"...There are some issues."

"What issues?"

"The issue of the Kuril Islands."

"...!"

"We need to be prepared for that issue to come up."

"Oh, here we go again..."

The dispute over the Kuril Islands (known as the Chishima Islands in Japan) between Japan and Russia.

After Japan's defeat in World War II, the Soviet Union and its successor, Russia, have controlled the southern four islands of the Kuril Islands, leading to a territorial dispute.

It's similar to the dispute over Dokdo between South Korea and Japan.

"If Russia clings to this issue, it will be even harder to reclaim the Chishima Islands."

"That's right. If we don't meet, it's fine, but if we go, Russia will likely bring up the issue."

The Foreign Minister's words made sense, so the Prime Minister fell into deep thought.

After about three minutes, he spoke.

"We can't give up on the undersea tunnel just because of the Chishima Islands issue. Meet them first. We need to know Russia's position to formulate our own strategy."

"Understood. I'll go to Russia."

* * *

July 20, 1999.

Moscow GUM Department Store Black Hole Office.

"The construction around the Mirny diamond mine is complete. This means that all necessary buildings, including apartments, schools, government offices, and U-Mart, are now in place."

This will further increase diamond production.

In response to the report from the construction vice president, Nikolai smiled contentedly and asked,

"Are there any special issues with the Irkutsk gas field and the Sukhoi Log gold mine construction?"

"Thanks to accumulated experience, everything is progressing smoothly without major difficulties."

With new cash cows growing steadily, Nikolai's smile deepened.

"The Ussuriysk Museum is scheduled to be completed next month?"

"Yes, it is expected to be completed by the end of next month."

"Good."

Now, they just needed to prepare to receive tourists.

"I heard that a semiconductor factory will be built next to the Ostar TV factory in Kaluga."

"That's correct. Since the chairman has made the decision, start the construction in consultation with Ostar."

"Understood."

The TV factory alone already employs 30,000 Russian workers.

With the addition of the semiconductor factory, Kaluga will become a city specialized in the electronics industry.

Nikolai called Ilya, the head of Yandex.

"How much has been raised for the Gobi Desert project?"

"Converted to dollars, about 7 million dollars have been raised."

"Wow, that's quite a lot."

"I didn't expect it to be this much either."

"By any chance, do you know the countries and names of the donors?"

"Yes, we can find out. Why do you ask?"

"I want to engrave the names and countries of the donors on the railway tracks."

"...?"

"Since the Trans-Siberian Railway was launched in the Gobi Desert, I want to leave a symbol that the train was built with the help of people from around the world."

"Ah, that's a great idea."

Nikolai, looking at the construction vice president who was blinking, asked as if it were a given,

"Is it possible to engrave names on the railway tracks?"

"That's no problem. We just need to assign more technicians."

"Great. Once the list is secured, pass it to the construction vice president."

"Understood. I'll secure it as quickly as possible. And what about posting this content on the internet?"

On the internet?

"The Trans-Siberian Railway, running with the support and donations of people from around the world. If this image is created, it might help if there are any issues with the train's operation in the future."

Indeed, Ilya.

When you give him one idea, he comes up with two.

"That's a great idea. Do it."

"Understood."

Nikolai, feeling very good, headed to the Kremlin.

Upon entering the President's office, he found Sergei, the Chief of Staff, Yuri Yusupov, and Ivan already there.

Yuri, with a somewhat tense expression, asked,

"Why was GUM Department Store continuously incurring losses?"

Ivan, with a wry smile, replied,

"Olga changed the system that Nikolai and I had worked hard to establish."

As a result, the 10 GUM stores that Olga operated continuously incurred losses.

"Why did she change it?"

"Perhaps she wanted to show that she could run it better."

"Indeed."

Yuri looked exasperated.

Seeing this, President Zahar, who had been listening quietly, spoke up,

"Father-in-law. I have some information I'd like to share. Is that okay?"

"Go ahead."

"Olga's family encouraged her. She had no choice but to follow. Also, they diverted a significant amount of operating funds, which worsened the cash flow and led to bigger problems."

"Such a complex issue..."

Indeed, the 10 stores continuously incurred losses due to these combined issues.

What were they thinking?

Olga, the daughter of the Unicorn Group chairman, is also the President's in-law.

How could she do such a thing, knowing the situation so clearly?

"Can I take some action?"

"How so?"

"Since there are issues with fund embezzlement, investigating her family might reveal many problems."

After a moment's thought, Yuri nodded.

"Embarrassing, but I'll leave it to you."

"Don't worry. This should be resolved legally. Also, Olga and her husband are almost like strangers now."

"Hmm."

It seems the time has come to make a decision.

Even if they had a good relationship, it would have been a difficult decision, but now that they are like strangers, there's no reason to delay.

Yuri made his decision.

"It seems a divorce is necessary."

"I cautiously agree."

"Father-in-law, I know Olga well. A divorce would be best. What does the Yusupov family have to gain by continuing a relationship with such a family?"

"I apologize for bringing a family matter here."

"No need to apologize. We are not just acquaintances."

After a moment of silence, Sergei, the Chief of Staff, spoke to lighten the mood.

"Father, the Japanese Foreign Minister is coming to meet us."

"Why is he coming here from Japan?"

"He said he wants to discuss the Trans-Siberian Railway and the undersea tunnel."

Everyone's gaze turned to Nikolai.

"Since you are the chief responsible, you should handle it."

President Zahar, with a subtle expression, said this, and Nikolai, like a predator about to pounce, curled his lips into a smile.