Chapter 76

EP 13 - International Hunter's Perspective (3)

Sitting on the old bench at the rest stop, I suddenly thought to myself,

Being an aide is really a tough job.

You get a government pension after 20 years of service, but if you fall out of favor with the legislator, you might lose your head. On the other hand, if you get too close to the legislator, you might end up in jail instead. Of course, whether they save you or not is entirely up to the legislator.

I reflected honestly.

"Looking back, I don't know how I managed to survive. I had to pick up the youngest son of Representative Yang from a club when he got into trouble."

"Ah, that... roofie incident?"

"Shh!"

In simple terms, these are people whose lives depend on the legislator. Similar jobs include a knight's squire, a slave in the Joseon era, and a secretary in a chaebol family.

Yang Il-ho and Lee Ho-jeong suddenly reminisced about old times. Though they were somewhat embarrassing, they still reminisced.

"Come to think of it, I even gave free tutoring. To three of them."

"Our boss really wanted to see them succeed."

No matter how ridiculous, you have to endure and do as you're told, so people in similar positions tend to become close. That's how I, Yang Il-ho, Lee Ho-jeong, and Kang Seok-ho became friends.

The aides often gathered on the benches in the National Assembly parking lot to cook and eat cup noodles. Spilling the broth when a legislator's call came during the meal is a fond memory.

Feeling the sentiment of those times, I sighed. The smell of the noodles was particularly fragrant.

"Man, damn... This... smell. The taste of the noodles we used to cook in the smoking area next to the parking lot—"

"What's so memorable about that?"

Yang Il-ho pouted, but Lee Ho-jeong chuckled and poked his side.

"Back then, there wasn't a hole in the sky, right?"

"Those were good times!"

The three of us, dressed in suits, giggled without a care, but it was indeed a pleasant spring afternoon.

The weather had warmed up, the sunlight was warm, and the melted snow made the asphalt glisten. On the old bench, three cup noodles were waiting to be cooked.

...They should have been four.

"...Bro, have you heard anything from Seok-ho yet?"

It seemed the others had similar thoughts. I shook my head.

"No."

"...Sigh."

"Apparently, they found CCTV footage of him heading to the government complex, but we can't send a search team into the heart of the government complex for one missing person..."

Kang Seok-ho, who should have been with us to cook the cup noodles, was now missing. He had lost contact around the time of the government complex incident.

"It seems he got separated when the gate opened and he tried to escape..."

"...Somehow, it feels like we always leave Seok-ho behind when we run away."

His younger brother, Kang Si-ho, is in the care of Il-ho and Ho-jeong. Lee Ho-jeong sighed and twirled a strand of hair.

"I'm worried because Si-ho seems very depressed lately."

"Why is that...?"

"It's partly our fault for not paying enough attention to him..."

"I'm partly to blame too..."

Of course, they are aides, not proper caregivers. I could see how much they were overworked, with overtime and weekend shifts being the norm.

"Usually, Mr. Gamsi takes care of him while we're working. He used to play with kids his age..."

"Wasn't he close to Ji-yoon?"

"Yes, to some extent. But Ji-yoon doesn't come around much anymore. He just stares at the front door."

"The front door...?"

"He keeps asking when his brother will come back..."

It's a bitter story. The waiting of a war orphan. Even politicians can do nothing about death, so I could only sigh in sympathy.

Lee Ho-jeong suddenly snapped, trying to lighten the mood. He's usually quite irritable.

"Damn! Why is the mood so dead all of a sudden?"

"The world is a mess, so the mood is dead."

"...Bro, you call that a joke?"

"The noodles are ready, so stop being dramatic and eat. You were whining just a moment ago—"

Just as I was breaking the wooden chopsticks that were stuck to the cup noodle lid,

- !

My phone rang.

I dropped the chopsticks.

It's a habit. I set different ringtones for important people.

I developed the habit of crawling out of the shower to answer a call from Yang Pan-seok, but thanks to this, I could immediately tell who was calling.

It was Won Ok-bun.

"...Hello?"

- Representative Han. The Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, Li Zhongbin, wishes to have a private meeting.

* * *

The situation in China was dire. To be precise, the situation was dire in most countries.

This is because there is no front line. In other words, you fight mixed in with the monsters.

We were a peninsula country, so we could establish a defense line in Chungcheong, but most countries had to deal with rampaging monsters both inside and outside their borders.

Naturally, the military's power weakened.

In the early stages of the crisis, the national army struggled against the monsters because they were mixed in with civilians. This was the most serious problem in the war against the monsters.

When the military is mixed with civilians, it falls into chaos.

If Cha Jae-kyun hadn't taken control of the military and made the unilateral decision to confine the monsters to Seoul, we would have been in a similar situation.

In any case, all countries were given a choice.

Whether to shoot the monsters mixed in with civilians or not.

Democratic countries chose not to shoot, leading to greater material damage, while authoritarian countries chose to shoot, leading to greater political damage.

China is the latter.

That's why they tried to use propaganda against us. They asked us to send Gam Ji-yoon to protect nuclear power plants, expecting us to refuse, to stabilize the political situation. At least, that's what we assumed.

"I regret the controversy surrounding the previous request. I didn't intend to cause trouble, but the situation was urgent, and there were communication issues."

Not really.

Li Zhongbin, the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, which controls the Chinese Communist Party, laughed lightly as he mentioned the previous incident.

"Using a foreign incident to intimidate him is not Chinese politics."

He laughed too politically for a military man and had too many medals on his uniform to be a politician.

But it was hard to judge. Despite the many medals on his uniform, he smelled strongly of suits, especially when he laughed while lying.

However, it was also hard to relax. This small, thin old man, who had reportedly killed at least a million of his own citizens, made it impossible to let my guard down.

Somewhere between a politician and a military man,

Vice Chairman Li Zhongbin was there.

He smiled softly, as if to prove he was a political officer.

"I hope the provocations of a puppet state do not harm the cooperation between our two countries."

He meant to blame everything on North Korea and move on. Whether it was the propaganda they carried out or our use of North Korea as a puppet to strike China.

Of course, I wouldn't say no.

In the international community, where the logic of power is more important than ever, it would be foolish to stick to principles and get hit. We also used force, not diplomacy, to reduce North Korea to a half-crippled state.

I brought an interpreter, but I answered with decent pronunciation.

"Why listen to a small-minded person when we have important matters to discuss?"

"As I've heard, you are straightforward, Representative Han."

Learning a second foreign language is a virtue of a university student.

Li Zhongbin was surprised by my fluent Chinese and quickly showed a pleased expression.

"I didn't know you spoke Chinese."

"We are neighbors."

"I wish it were truly so."

It seemed it was too early to call us neighbors. Given his strong opening, it didn't look like it would be an easy conversation.

However, Li Zhongbin laughed and tilted his teacup. His manner of speaking and his eyes suggested he was very experienced in dealing with people. He had to be.

He made a light joke.

"I thought I would resign due to lung disease from living in Beijing. The world is much clearer now."

"The air is indeed better without the fine dust."

"The air is clear, but the smell of blood is a problem. Don't you agree?"

"......Ha ha."

Honestly, it was predictable that China would seek additional contact. If anything, it was a bit late.

Considering the presidential election, it made perfect sense. There's no point in building diplomatic relations with a caretaker when the next president is unknown.

Recently, Won Ok-bun's candidacy for the next presidency has become a fait accompli. If we see this as China proposing diplomatic relations with South Korea under the Won Ok-bun administration, it's not a sudden move.

Diplomacy is usually avoided during election seasons.

The problem was,

"By the way, Representative Han, you look thinner."

"In these times, it's a bit strange for a politician to be healthy."

"I've heard about your circumstances. I respect your dedication to the people."

"I'm flattered."

Why did he specifically ask to meet me?

Li Zhongbin smiled warmly and gently tilted his wrinkled eyes.

"......Personally. I am truly grateful for your fluent Chinese, Representative Han."

"Ha ha..."

"No, I am truly grateful."

He lightly gestured to one of the suited men standing behind him. The man flinched.

"He is the interpreter for Representative Han. I planned to kill him on the way back to China to keep him quiet."

For a moment, I thought I had misunderstood due to my poor Chinese.

"Thanks to Representative Han's consideration, a Chinese person's life was saved. How can I not express my gratitude?"

We were in a thoroughly screened room by both countries' intelligence agencies. There were no bugs, and no noise could be heard in the quiet reception room.

Thus, the silence was deafening.

I didn't move a muscle, only rolling my eyes to check the interpreter's expression. He looked pale, suggesting it wasn't a setup.

There was no need for me to comment. The other side had initiated the conversation.

I answered cautiously with silence.

If you want to talk, don't beat around the bush and get to the point.

Li Zhongbin laughed lightly and broke the silence.

"Only Representative Han, I, and the interpreters on both sides know what will be discussed here, right?"

"Should I send them out?"

"Please indulge an old man's request."

There must be a reason for the second-in-command of China to come this far. I lightly nodded to my interpreter.

"Wait outside the door."

"Yes, Representative."

As she calmly turned and left the room, the Chinese interpreter also fled in panic.

"......"

It seems this communist is also a bit crazy. I have a deep connection with communists, even though I haven't done anything.

I reflected on the communists I've encountered in my life.

Lee Chul-jin, the original communist leader who smuggled the Baekdu bloodline across the 38th parallel.

Lee Yong-soo, the new communist leader who staged a coup and tried to kill 100,000 defectors.

And now, the communist battalion leader from next door, Li Zhongbin.

I firmly resolved never to associate with 'Lee' surnamed people in a communist country and forced a smile.

"Is it ready now?"

"Ah, thank you."

Vice Chairman Li Zhongbin tilted his head and scratched his chin.

"Do I look cruel?"

Nah.

"......I'm not sure yet."

"You are cautious. That's a good attitude."

The Vice Chairman crossed his legs, carefully placed his teacup down, and rested his clasped hands on his knee.

"Although we have a custom of not bringing up important matters hastily, I will get straight to the point with Representative Han."

"Please proceed."

"Ultimately, I want to establish an East Asian Federation to counter the United States."