Chapter 16
“I’m curious. Tell me. (Мне любопытно. Скажите.)”
Putin knew what Lee Seon-su meant by his dream.
To become the emperor.
To become the President of Russia.
“Right now, Russia is in total chaos. Economically as well. (Сейчас в России царит полный хаос. Экономически тоже.)”
“Are you just repeating what you already know? (Вы опять говорите о том, что знаете?)”
It was something he had heard from Lee Seon-su before.
“This is another realistic method. And also a request. (Это еще один реалистичный способ. И еще просьба.)”
The mention of a request piqued Putin’s curiosity.
The Lee Seon-su he knew was not someone who easily made requests.
“Speak. (Скажи.)”
“Russia has loaned a lot of money to other countries. And among them… (Россия одолжила много денег другим странам. А еще…)”
In 1990, as part of diplomatic efforts to resolve Cold War tensions, South Korea had agreed to provide 3 billion dollars in economic cooperation loans to the Soviet Union.
At that time, it was a substantial amount, representing 10% of South Korea’s foreign reserves. Nevertheless, it was justified as a diplomatic benefit.
By the end of 1991, South Korea had disbursed 1.47 billion dollars.
However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the remaining amount was not sent.
For Russia to be recognized as the successor state of the Soviet Union, it had to assume responsibility for this debt.
Thus, Russia was left with the responsibility of repaying 1.47 billion dollars in loans to South Korea.
“I didn’t know. (Я не знал.)”
Putin was unaware that Russia owed money to South Korea.
Perhaps it was because the amount seemed insignificant to him.
“Are you asking for that money? (Вы просите эти деньги?)”
“Something like that. (Похоже.)”
Putin’s expression turned perplexed.
The money that Lee Seon-su mentioned was a debt that the Russian government had inherited.
It wasn’t something that the city of St. Petersburg could decide to repay.
But Putin found Lee Seon-su’s suggestion strange.
“Why would giving that money have anything to do with achieving my dream? (Почему предоставление этих денег связано с осуществлением моей мечты?)”
“There’s no need to provide cash or resources. (Нет необходимости давать деньги или ресурсы.)”
Putin thought the difficulty lay not just in his political position, but also in Russia’s current economic situation.
Given the poor state of the economy, it would be impossible to provide cash.
Neither could they offer resources, which were practically equivalent to cash.
“Explain in more detail. (Расскажи подробнее.)”
“Alright. (Ладно.)”
If Putin was showing this much interest, it meant I was almost successful.
“Instead of cash, pay it back with surplus weapons. (Вместо денег отдаю оставшееся оружие.)”
I noticed the corners of Putin’s mouth curl up slightly.
It was clear that he thought it was a feasible solution.
“Indeed. (Так и есть.)”
I knew he would quickly grasp the idea.
“We can conduct the weapons sale at a national level. (Мы можем продавать оружие по национальному признаку.)”
Putin’s reaction seemed a little unusual.
It was as if the scale was getting larger.
“What you want, my friend, is for me to sell weapons to South Korea? (Что хочет друг, так это продать оружие Корее?)”
“No. He said he would pay back the debt to South Korea with weapons and asked me to grant him the authority. (Это не так. Он сказал, что вернет деньги, которые он взял в Корее, оружием и просит у меня разрешения.)”
“You have big dreams for a friend. (У меня большие мечты о друге.)”
Suddenly, Putin was telling me to have bigger dreams.
“It wouldn’t be difficult to tell South Korea that I’ll give them weapons instead of cash. (Не трудно сказать Корее, что я подарю ей оружие вместо денег.)”
I supposed so.
If Russia just outright said they couldn’t pay and demanded South Korea accept weapons instead, what could South Korea do?
“Why don’t you take this opportunity to sell weapons as well? (В этот раз друг также продает оружие.)”
“What? (Что?)”
“Sell weapons too. (Продать оружие тоже.)”
“No, I only need the authority to sell in South Korea. (Нет. Мне нужно только разрешение продавать в Корее.)”
“If you refuse my suggestion, then I refuse to honour your request. (Если вы откажетесь от моего предложения, вы откажетесь просить друга.)”
This was troublesome.
He wanted me to become an arms dealer.
Wouldn’t this turn me into an international criminal?
“And gas and crude oil are out of the question. (Газ и сырая нефть тоже закончены.)”
The threat was chilling.
He was effectively cutting off the lifeline.
Do I have no choice?
“Fine. But there’s one condition. (Хорошо. Но условия есть.)”
“Good. Tell me anything. (Хорошо. Расскажи что угодно.)”
“Aircraft carriers must also be included. (Авианосцы тоже должны быть возможны.)”
Putin frowned for a moment but soon nodded.
“Does it matter if they’re old? (Не имеет значения, что старое?)”
I nodded.
We had received decommissioned aircraft carriers before anyway.
“And stop providing weapons to North Korea. (И прекратить поддержку оружия Северной Корее.)”
This was the biggest condition.
It wasn’t until 1995 that Russia finally accepted this condition.
But it took numerous negotiations to reach that point.
Honestly, stopping arms support to North Korea was more beneficial for the South Korean government in the long run than repaying the debt with weapons.
“I’ll do that. (Я так и сделаю.)”
Putin didn’t see it as a difficult request.
The Soviet Union had disbanded, and Russia was in no condition to provide military aid to other countries.
“Is that all? (Конец?)”
Somehow, it felt like I had been led into Putin’s plans, but I had no other requests.
“Officially grant me the authority. (Официально дай мне власть.)”
“Alright. And… (Хорошо. И…)”
What now?
Putin pulled out a document as if he had prepared it in advance.
He looked at me, signalling me to read it.
I unfolded the document.
“This. (Это.)”
“This is a gift. (Это подарок.)”
It was truly a surprising gift.
It was a new contract with Gazprom to sell an additional 40 million CBM at the same price as the existing contract.
“Because it’s a company whose contract has expired. (Потому что это компания, контракт которой закончился.)”
Putin intended to support Lee Seon-su even more.
It was thanks to the 20 million dollars that Lee Seon-su had sent over.
Of that, 5 million dollars had been used on matters related to Gazprom.
Thanks to that, it was possible to secure this 40 million CBM contract.
“You can sell it to the existing company or to another company. (Его можно продать существующей компании. Его можно продать другой компании.)”
The existing company was French.
The unit price was 18.57 dollars.
I understood what Putin was implying.
“You want me to make more money. (Вы зарабатываете больше денег.)”
“Exactly. (Верно.)”
If handled well, it could be sold at a higher price to the existing German gas company, Ruhrgas.
“You can live comfortably here, work, and rest. What you’ve asked for will take some time. (Я живу здесь комфортно, работаю и отдыхаю. То, что я попросил, займет некоторое время.)”
Of course, it would take time.
It wasn’t something Putin could decide on his own.
He would have to move multiple influential politicians.
“Alright. (Ладно.)”
“Don’t forget, aside from your friend Korea. (Не забудьте, кроме друга Кореи.)”
I knew what Putin meant by “Don’t forget.”
I had to state it clearly.
“Half of it belongs to a friend. (Половина принадлежит другу.)”
I hadn’t even thought about weapon sales.
I had no idea how much it would be.
Splitting it 50-50 was the cleanest way.
After all, I could earn more through crude oil deals.
But Putin’s reaction was…
“As expected, you’re amazing. Half. Don’t you have any greed? (Как и ожидалось, Классно. Половина. Нет ли такой жадности?)”
Simply put, logically speaking…
“He’s a friend. Like a man. (Он друг. Как мужчина.)”
Putin laughed heartily.
He approached me and patted my shoulder.
“Yes. We’re friends. (Да. Мы друзья.)”
Putin felt that meeting Lee Seon-su was a stroke of luck.
To settle Russia’s debt inherited from the Soviet Union with practically useless weapons.
It was something that both the Russian people and several politicians would approve of.
Putin chatted a little more with Lee Seon-su and then left.
He had a lot of running around to do.
Lee Seon-su, too, needed to send the new contract over to Lee Jeong-seok.
A month had passed since Lee Seon-su stayed in St. Petersburg.
The South Korean government received an unexpected notification from the Russian government.
The first person to receive it was Foreign Minister Lee Han-se.
It was still the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until it was restructured into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1998.
Lee Han-se muttered as he read the diplomatic document from the Russian government.
“Who is Lee Seon-su? Who is this person that they’ve given full authority over the loans?”
It was the first time he had heard this name.
And it was even clearly stated that he was a South Korean citizen.
“This is absurd.”
They were currently negotiating with Russia on repaying the 1.47 billion dollars.
The negotiations were at a standstill.
Russia claimed it didn’t have the money and couldn’t repay.
In response, South Korea proposed drafting a document stating that Russia would repay once the situation improved.
That too was rejected.
Russia argued that they didn’t know when their situation would improve.
It was an entirely ‘take it or leave it’ stance.
Even though the Soviet Union had collapsed and it was now Russia, Russia was still a major power.
South Korea couldn’t exactly demand repayment forcefully.
It lacked the strength.
“Find out who this Lee Seon-su is. Request cooperation from the National Intelligence Service.”
The secretary standing in front of Minister Lee Han-se replied.
“I’ll get on it right away.”
Once the secretary left, the phone on Minister Lee Han-se’s desk rang.
“Yes.”
[Minister, the Russian ambassador is requesting a meeting.]
He had been thinking of meeting the Russian ambassador anyway.
“Ask him when he has time.”
After a brief wait, a response came through the receiver.
[He says he will come to wherever you decide, whenever you decide.]
“He’ll come? I don’t have to go?”
[Yes.]
Normally, they met at the Russian embassy.
Except when meeting the president at the Blue House.
“No, tell him I’ll go there.”
Minister Lee Han-se looked at his watch. There was a meeting scheduled.
But he was curious as to why the Russian ambassador was being so accommodating.
“I’ll head to the embassy within an hour.”
[Understood, Minister.]
***
Is it finally time to return after a month and a half?
“Sir, I still think Korea is the best.”
It was a comment from CEO Im Kang-min.
“You miss the food?”
“Ugh. I miss kimchi.”
After staying in St. Petersburg for about a month and a half, it was only natural to miss Korean food.
Most of the food here was greasy or overly burnt.
Even tomatoes were grilled until the outside was black. Though they only ate the insides after peeling off the burnt parts, the burnt smell was unavoidable.
And most of the meals consisted of meat.
“Next time we go, let’s take some kimchi and ramen with us.”
“We should. Oh, there they are.”
Super Guard’s security personnel had come out to greet them.
But a few men approached them before the security guards could.
“Mr. Lee Seon-su?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I’m Prosecutor Park Hoon.”
“A prosecutor?”
“Yes. I’m arresting you for violating the Industrial Confidentiality Act.”
Prosecutor Park Hoon presented a warrant.
“It must have been difficult to get evidence for this… Was it a forced warrant?”
Prosecutor Park Hoon’s face twisted.
It seemed I had guessed right.
“That’s none of your concern. Let’s go. Cuff him!”
CEO Im Kang-min shouted.
“This is an illegal arrest. Stop them!”
The security guards rushed forward.
Prosecutor Park Hoon shouted back.
“You’ll under arrest for obstructing government duties! Stand back!”
But the security guards did not back down.
“Sir, please step back for a moment. I’ll call Attorney Kang.”
“I’ll just go with them.”
“Sir.”
It didn’t matter if I was taken in.
It was clear that there wasn’t enough evidence.
And even if there was, I could find a way out.
“Everyone, stop!”
A police SWAT team and men in suits appeared.
With the SWAT team surrounding us, there was no choice.
“You’ve come just in time. Arrest all these guys.”
Prosecutor Park Hoon shouted.
A man in a suit who had just appeared looked at him incredulously.
“Prosecutor Park Hoon. That warrant has been revoked, so step aside.”
“What?”
“Or come along to the NIS (National Intelligence Service) with us.”
The man in the suit took out his ID and threw it at Prosecutor Park Hoon.
“NIS Deputy Director?”
Prosecutor Park Hoon’s eyes widened.
This was the second-in-command of an organization with far more power than his.
“Do you want to be dragged along and confess that you got this warrant illegally, and then face disciplinary action?”
Prosecutor Park Hoon shook his head.
He handed back the ID with both hands.
The man then approached me.
“I’m from the NIS. Please come with us.”
“Sir…”
CEO Im Kang-min’s face hardened.
It wasn’t just any organization—this was the NIS.
“I’ll let Attorney Kang know and see if I can pull some strings.”
The NIS Deputy Director spoke up.
“Pulling strings won’t help. He’s being accused of violating the National Security Act.”
What?
I didn’t expect that.
Things weren’t going to be easy.
But it didn’t matter.
After all, I held the knife.
“Is that so? Then let’s go.”
The Deputy Director seemed taken aback by my confidence.
The accusation was of violating the National Security Act.
It was the same as being accused of espionage.
Once caught under that charge, there’s no getting out.
“Alright. Make sure to treat him carefully.”
The NIS agents took hold of my arms.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Comment