Chapter 183: < Protect – Episode 182 – Shotgun[1] >

Korea’s organized crime functioned quite well. Just because they didn’t shoot guns like the Yankees or was seen to the public eye didn’t mean they disappeared. Koreans’ responses to foreign organized crime were lukewarm, and with all things considered Korean police’s marketing skills weren’t too shabby either.

Korea’s safety was on the high side, and there was no intention to jeopardize that. However, there were cases where certain figures were fabricated. In particular, when It came to murder and missing cases, many adjustments were made. Also, Korean police avoided investigating organized crimes of foreigners.

If they ended up investigating foreigners, they would have to work with the embassy, and not a single government wanted to confront a diplomatic problem. Korea’s politicians and government workers shrunk in front of diplomatic issues. This country was very afraid of foreigners.

While there were police officers dedicated to making the country safe, there were also those trying to avoid troublesome cases. This was more rampant as they elevated in rank, and they wanted to be promoted without any trouble more than anything. Therefore, they avoided the words ‘organized’ and ‘foreiner’.

Was that why? It wasn’t just the civilians who were cheering on Bridal Mask. The police were also angry at the criminals that got away with crimes due to their lawyers or lack of evidence. Some of the media even questioned if Bridal Mask had to be caught because of the gap between the rich and the poor when it came to the law.

Despite the many incidents and scandals, President Lee Joong Hyun’s ratings were at 60%. The remaining 40% weren’t opposed but rather wanted to watch the situation, so the results of the reformation of the rich were going to yield the final results. The media also criticized whether the current president was Lee Joong Hyun or Ahn Soo Ho, but the Blue House continued to work hard at establishing a reformation.

“Watch out for Lee Joong Hyun. He knows how to use Ahn Soo Ho well. Seeing how he can do that, he must have quick wits.”

“But why did Soo Ho accept his unreasonable request?”

“Unreasonable request? Do you think accepting the chairman position was too much?”

“Don’t you think so?”

“Not at all! He had already talked to Daesan Group, and since Soo Ho has nothing to do with vested rights himself, he’s more than suitable.”

“Nothing to do with vested rights? What about his Naval Academy classmates?”

“I don’t know. Didn’t he succeed by effort alone? Of course, it really depends on how you define vested rights. What’s for certain is that you can’t say Soo Ho grew up in Korea.”

A group of students was talking about Ahn Soo Ho as if they were his friends. Ahn Soo Ho became someone with a name that was mentioned all over the country. His Hosoo Entertainment Group was a part of the reason why, but it also had to do with the fact that his celebrities were close with their CEO.

People were infatuated by him, who kept good relations with his employees making Oh Joo Kyung and the other executives give him scoldings. This was a great example of good cop, bad cop. Since even the most famous celebrities claimed Ahn Soo Ho was a good person, all Koreans believed it. After all, being rough with words and being a good person were two completely different things.

“So evil!”

Once Jang Seol Hyun heard about the plan that Ahn Soo Ho was going to unfold, she was shocked by how wicked it was. Even though she wasn’t the female lead that only found out about the true identity of her lover after everything was done, she was still happy.

The fact that he shared a secret was a great thing.

However, the truth that Ahn Soo Ho was Bridal Mask made her worry.

“What if the resentment comes back to bite us?”

“That won’t happen. I won’t let that happen.”

Jang Seol Hyun also knew that the world of the upper class wasn’t all that beautiful.

The upper class was rampant with illegal and cheating ways. She wasn’t so weak that she would tremble in front of it though. If she was, she wouldn’t have become a top celebrity in the first place. Just like the upper class, the entertainment world was also full of jealousy, betrayal, and exposure.

Considering that fact, Jang Seol Hyun was no ordinary person either.

“I want to be a woman that suits you. I’ll work harder.”

“Stop that nonsense. The only woman I’ll ever love is Jang Seol Hyun. I just want you for you. So don’t make any useless effort.”

“Soo Ho… you really don’t understand women, do you?”

She didn’t expect him to be touched, but she wanted to hear a compliment, but Ahn Soo Ho scolded her instead. She was a little sad. But on the other hand, she was relieved that he was still the same. Jang Seol Hyun pretended like she didn’t care about the women around Ahn Soo Ho, but she did.

“I don’t know women? What are you talking about? I was Giovanni at one point!”

“Yeah right!”

“Wow! Too many people underestimate me these days.”

He pounded his chest out of frustration.

“Okay, I’ll believe you.”

“Yeah right.”

After a long dispute, they started looking through the wedding catalogs. It was a Korean custom to leave the wedding preparations to the groom’s mother, but he didn’t want to completely be out of it either. Jang Seol Hyun was stressed about wedding preparations. He had a hard time adjusting to her way of speaking that switched back and forth between formal and informal.

” Why is it so expensive here?”

“Just change it.”

“We should probably get a big bed, right?”

“That would be nice.”

It wasn’t easy having someone get angry with her and agreeing to everything she liked, but his friends told him to go along with it. The climax was making the decision for their wedding venue.

“Isn’t it too much to rent a chartered plane all the way to Hawaii?”

“We can’t put them all in the private jet. Should I just buy another one?”

“Are you crazy? That’s too expensive! No way!”

Jang Seol Hyun slapped Ahn Soo Ho on the arm. Even when they told their parents that they were going to get married in Hawaii, both parents seemed hesitant. As people of an older generation, they felt uncomfortable seeing a bunch of Yankees. It wasn’t about the language barrier but just their physiological rejection to them.

It was easier to get married in Korea, but it was likely going to be crazy no matter how hard they tried to keep it a secret. So they were better off just going abroad. Some would probably still stalk them there, but if they acted how they acted in Korea, they were going to end up in jail.

“If we invite all our friends and family… Yeah, there isn’t enough room.”

There was no guarantee that she was only going to get married once, but women had fantasies about their weddings. Just because Jang Seol Hyun was luxurious didn’t mean she wanted an extravagant wedding. She just wanted to be congratulated by a lot of people.

“But what about your public career?”

“My public career?”

“You’re a chairman of something like that now.”

“Oh, I think you’re mistaken.”

What most citizens didn’t know was that the chairman of the reformation committee wasn’t a public figure, but he wasn’t a public official that needed to report his wealth and personal information. That was how he could tell that President Lee Joong Hyun was a clever man.

Ahn Soo Ho wasn’t a hands-on-staff.

If he was, he would have resigned. There was no way he would volunteer to bury himself in documents. The proposal that he received only required him to be the face of the committee, but it was Ahn Soo Ho’s job to be in charge of Daesan Group. However, the huge tsunami called the reformation of the rich hid what was really taking place behind the scenes.

‘Power with an expiry date fears retaliation.’

Same went for Lee Joong Hyun. The reason why the president was messing with the NIS was because he knew the power of information. The only way he could control the hyenas that will be lurking around even after his resignation was to hold on to the opponent’s weakness. There wasn’t a single Korean president that ended up well after resigning from their post.

Lee Joong Hyun was a fairly upright head of state.

However, what about his friends and family? Was it possible that he received support in an upright manner? Corruption wasn’t only about the acts that he committed. Behind the mask of the reformation of the rich, Lee Joong Hyun was actually going toward obtaining more information. The reason why not much could be done about Bridal Mask was also due to lack of information.

Ahn Soo Ho and Lee Joong Hyun

A businessman and the president

This was also a relationship between business and politics.

Everyone was sensitive when it came to their own profits. Unless they were some saint with morals and wisdom, they were always going to interpret things in a way that it would benefit them. That was normal. Jang Seol Hyun finished filming her film, but it hadn’t premiered yet. Considering the post-production processes, it was going to take between 6 months to a year before it was released.

‘We should have a wedding before her belly shows.’

He had no intention of hiding the pregnancy. It was something to be congratulated and nothing to be embarrassed about. If anyone decided to mess around about Jang Seol Hyun’s pregnancy, he was going to send them straight to hell. He didn’t care if he was acting childish and immature.

The secretary entered and looked for Ahn Soo Ho.

“Chairman Ahn.”

Seeing how he interfered despite the do-not-disturb notice, it must have been important. He excused himself and left the room. When he got out, he was faced with the troubled face of someone from the government. Today was a weekend which meant government workers had the day off.

“What is it?”

“I apologize, Chairman Ahn. We received orders to escort you to the Blue House immediately.”

“For what reason?”

“All I can tell you… is that the NSC has been summoned. I apologize.”

“Let’s go.”

“Ye… Yes, Sir!”

Ahn Soo Ho led the way.

NSC

Short for National Security Council. Since the six-party talks were in the works, he didn’t consider North Korea’s provocation as a possibility. If this was really Pig Kim’s doing, he was ready to go to Pyeonyang and cook him alive.

He thought about looking into it himself, but since he didn’t get a call from Alexa or Kosino, that meant it didn’t have anything to do with Bridal Mask. He arrived at the Blue House and went through a quick search before heading to the bunker. He heard that the bunker wasn’t open unless there was an emergency.

‘Alexa! Kosi! Where are they?’

Were they slacking off somewhere?

“Chairman Ahn!”

President Lee Joong Hyun, who was talking to the NSC members, spotted Ahn Soo Ho and ran over.

“Did I startle you? I’m sorry for the sudden call.”

“Is it okay that I’m here? I don’t know if I’m qualified, Mr. President.”

“That’s all right. The information will be revealed soon anyway. Right, this way.”

The place that the president escorted him to was filled with influential people who began to stare at him. Some looked at him favorably while others looked at him with curiosity or puzzlement.

“Please brief us again, Minister.”

The minister of National Defense glanced over at the officer beside him to which he began the briefing.

“One hour ago, dozens of war correspondents along the border of Nigeria and Niger were kidnapped.”

The U.S. military’s plan to invade Nigeria didn’t pass through the UN, but on the outside, they made it seem like the US Navy got the permission from the Nigerian government to bring down the rebels who were committing terror. No matter the reason, there was no way the residents of Africa would be happy to see the US military. Since it was possible for a country’s government to not be able to completely control a region, they wanted the US military to take down all its reactants.

However, in the 21st century where everyone had phone cameras, it probably wasn’t easy to wipe everyone out with a tank. Most importantly, the diseases that were going around in Africa reminded the American soldiers of their nightmares from the Vietnam war. However, even that was a difficulty that the command expected.

‘The problem is that the base of the terrorist group, Boko Haram isn’t certain.’

This was a war, but it wasn’t a simple war where it was over once one side claimed land. In other words, occupation didn’t mean anything. Boko Haram invaded Niger, Chad, and Cameron and harassed the US Military and Nigerian government. They probably wanted to trace them down and kill them, but the US military was unable to go against the rules for any reason.

‘Dilemma.’

There was nothing a superpower thug nation couldn’t do. However, if the allied forces of America and Nigeria passed the borders of Niger, Chad, and Cameron, it was no longer going to be a rebel sweep. At that moment, it would become an African war or an Islamic war. The American assembly was so worried that another black hole would form in Africa that they were busy putting pressure on the White House.

As soon as Ahn Soo Ho raised his hand, the officer nodded.

“What is it, Chairman Ahn?”

“Is the US military being protected?”

“The Marine Corps escorted them, but they were annihilated.”

“What about the US military rescue unit?”

“They’re in the middle of negotiating a plan.”

Negotiation? As someone educated as him, he somehow didn’t know how the military worked. If the kidnapping happened 1 hour ago, the US military should have gone in to rescue operation and yielded results already. But the US military and the Pentagon had no reason to put England and France aside to yield to the Korean National Defense.

Ahn Soo Ho looked through the list of kidnappees.

’85 kidnapped, most of them are Americans while some of them are French, British, German, Spanish, Italian… and a lot of Japanese, too.’

There were only 3 Koreans. Ahn Soo Ho tilted his head. Did the Korean government suddenly feel a mission to protect the lives of Koreans abroad?

‘What a joke.’

There had been quite a few kidnapping cases abroad, but this was the first time the Blue House summoned the NSC in under an hour.

“There must be a pretty important person among the kidnapped, Mr. President. If not, why were such busy men summoned like this?”

“I’m embarrassed to say this, but you’re right, Chairman Ahn.”

Lee Joong Hyun laughed bitterly in response. The president gestured for the officer to put up a profile on the screen.

“Choi Ye Won.”

She was pretty, but she had the sharp eyes and stubborn lips of Kim Soo Jung. Did all female journalists turn into fierce lions? If so, he was going to stop his little sister from becoming one herself. What woke him up from his thoughts was hearing a familiar name.

“She’s the daughter of Chairman Choi Han Rim.”

“Choi Han Rim?”

He remembered the name. He heard it from his classmate not long ago.

“Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff?”

Chairman Choi Han Rim of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Ahn Soo Ho’s head naturally turned sideways. There, he noticed a 4-star general sitting with a miserable look on his face. There were many who looked down on the joint chiefs of staff, but no one could look down on Chairman Choi Han Rim.

Ahn Soo Ho got up and saluted him in respect.

The other soldiers wouldn’t be surprised by his random act and got up to salute him as well. He dropped out of the Naval Academy, but the habits he got there remained for life. After his classmate mentioned Choi Han Rim, Ahn Soo Ho looked into the name as well. He first became a commissioned officer in the 80’s and naturally gained stars by not making any errors. Some might have criticized his complacency, but he was the most respected man in this whole place.

‘The number one mission of commanders should be to return all military personnel safely to their family.’

That was what Ahn Soo Ho believed when he was a mercenary.

No matter what kind of military, it was difficult to be in command. There were many horrible things that had to be done. By concealing incidents and pushing the blame of mistakes on his underlings, Choi Han Rim stayed loyal to his duties as a military officer.

“Let me make a promise to you, Chairman Choi.”

He hated being overly patriotic, but he followed his true feelings this time.

“Your daughter will be safe.”

< Protect – Episode 182 – Shotgun [1] > The end.

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