Dear Comrade

Chapter 3. bubble (2)

Chapter 3. bubble (2)

‘What the fuck did this bastard’s snout just say? Honey, guys, I’m sorry. Oh mani, the illegitimate child goes first like this.’

At Jeonghwan’s response, which sounded like a messenger from hell, Yonggeon Kim spit out abusive language and clenched his teeth.

In an instant, a flashlight passed in front of me.

And in the next moment, the faces of the families, the angry faces of the guards, and the entire scene of the Kyohwaso passed in turn.

He felt the limit of his patience with Jeong-hwan, who suddenly came to him in a car that was mentally exhausted and was acting stupid, and he moved his mouth at will.

Even in the face of the Baekdu bloodline, who should be the most arrogant and hide his inner heart!

“I, comrade Jeonghwan! Just now, comrade Kim Yong-geon made a mistake that would not be enough even if he died a hundred times! Please, even if you see the work your comrade has done outside the republic, please report to the central government what you just said…”

“Please leave your seat for a moment, Master Yu?”

“All right. comrade.”

Kim Yong-geon’s secretary, who had lost the blood from his face, got down on his knees and begged for Jung-hwan, but Jung-hwan, thinking what he was thinking, sent him away with his aide.

Eventually, when only the two of them were left in the office, Jung-hwan unexpectedly spoke to Kim Yong-gun in a calm voice that was completely different from before.

“The manager has a good secretary, and usually, in this case, in order to save his life, he would throw away his family or a work mate who had worked with him for half his life as a devoted partner.”

“…………??”

“Believe that you are a worker who is good at managing people to the point of having such a good secretary, and continue to listen to my supervisor comrade. Let’s continue what we said earlier. Do you think that Japanese products are superior to those of the Republic? In what way?”

‘…What is this comrade talking about now?’

Kim Yong-geon tried to follow the changing circumstances of the situation in front of him, but his head did not turn properly.

Perhaps this is a test of the party’s perseverance, trying to test itself with capitalism by working abroad for a long time.

But right now, there was an earnest and earnest wish that I wanted to die and say what I wanted to say even if I died.

In a republic that actively implements the system of association, teasing your mouth is a direct road leading to the extinction of the entire family, not just one’s own life.

“If the National Security Agency listens to what I said in this place……”

“Haha, don’t worry about that, comrade manager. The first person I met when I came to Chongryon and exchanged foreign currency was the National Security Council member here. You probably think I’m asking my comrade to show off the hem of a geisha skirt in Ginza.”

Seeing Jeonghwan’s smiling face as he said that, Yonggeon Kim felt an unknown trust in his heart.

Comrade Jeong Hwan Lee, at least, is someone who can see the reality of the republic.

You may be of the same kind as me.

And, what could be worse on the plate that even put out the gossip of General Kim Jong-il in the first place?

With that in mind, Kim Yong-geon swallowed one saliva and carefully unraveled what he had been thinking about.

“Let me start with the conclusion, Japan’s economic system is far superior to the republic. As is the case with the general life of the people, but especially in the case of industry, the current production and development capacity of the Republic is well over ten times higher.”

“Only ten times? Aren’t you overestimating our republic, comrade?”

In response to Junghwan’s sober evaluation, Kim Yong-geon was convinced that he had finally met a person who had the same situational awareness as him, and moved his mouth quickly with a hundredfold of courage.

“Maybe more than twenty times. Just look at this Walkman. Most of the parts used here are manufactured in Japan and assembled at Sony’s factory in Saitama. The Republic may be able to make something similar, but most of the parts are imported, literally only the shell is from the Republic. Moreover, in the case of steel, the rice of the industry, the difference is even greater.”

Kim Yong-geon took a Japanese missionary from his desk and continued, pointing to the lower part of the archipelago, the upper part of Kyushu.

“The amount of steel produced here in the Kitakyushu Industrial Zone alone is greater than all the industrial parks in our republic combined. Here, take a look at the collective industrial complex that stretched from Kanto to Northern Kyushu. The largest steelworks located here is the Yahata Steelworks, where the factory of an enterprise called New Nippon Steel is located……”

“This is where Pohang Steel, the current state-owned company in South Korea, started by transferring its technology from New Nippon Steel.

I heard that a resourceful South Korean named Park Tae-joon built it with the support of the South Korean government based on the funds obtained from the claim to Japan on an empty land. That was the starting point for South Korea to catch up with the production capacity of our republic and finally overtake it.”

“…………”

When an accurate explanation came out of Jeonghwan’s mouth, Kim Yonggun looked at Junghwan with a surprised expression once again.

As with a sober assessment of the situation, it was something that should be avoided, at least externally, to speak of South Korea’s superiority over the republic without hesitation (even if it is a foreign country where surveillance is loose).

Of course, this fact is already a established fact among the Ministry of Finance officials who know the reality, but because of the party, military, and security guards who are trying to deny the reality, meaningful officials, including Kim Yong-geon, are on the verge of dying from frustration. I casually ignored it.

Feeling that he may have entered a turning point in his life unexpectedly today, Yonggeon Kim swallowed his saliva and ended his speech.

“That’s right. In other words, the answer to Comrade Jeong Hwan’s question earlier, ‘Is Japanese-made products superior to those of the Republic?’… Of course, yes. In fact, the industrial capacity of the Republic is ridiculous to compare with Japan, and it is considerably inferior to that of South Korea. Moreover, if you look at the development of the Japanese economy now, this huge gap will widen over time and will never close.”

“If it goes like this, of course it would be, under the current system, so comrade manager…”

With those words, Jeonghwan leaned forward and looked directly into Kim Yonggeon’s eyes.

At that time, Kim Yong-geon thought that Jung-hwan’s eyes were those of someone who was looking somewhere other than here.

Not now, 10 years later, no, 20 years later…. Just as Kim Yong-geon thought that it was like the eyes of a certain person as if he had already seen the future, Jung-hwan finally spoke out what he really wanted to say.

“What do you think of the system of this republic now? Do you think the leader and general are the right people to lead this system well as the leader of the republic?”

– Take care of yourself even when you go out and have a good trip.

Leaving behind the worries of his mother, Kim Myung-ae, Jeong-hwan left the Republic.

If you look closely, Jung-hwan, who can be said to be another person occupying the body of his own child, is greeted with a warm request, and Jeong-hwan is deeply moved.

It was a ‘house’ where he had only lived for a few months since his return to 1985, but it was surprisingly Yoo Hye-rim that made him take his step, which does not come off easily.

“Comrade Jeonghwan, I will risk my life to assist you, so don’t worry and leave it to me, Comrade Kim Myungae. With all my heart, I will surely help Comrade Jeong Hwan to become a proud worker of this republic.”

“Oh, thank you, comrade Hyerim Yoo… I thought that our relationship with Jeonghwan had just ended (I thought it was sad) for being so open-minded… but this old man trusted me and entrusted me.”

After saying goodbye, Jeong-hwan and Yoo Hye-rim boarded the plane bound for Japan at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport.

As a result of Kim Jong-il’s special order, foreign currency had already been transferred to a designated account, and the Cho Chongryon had also been informed that they would go.

Nothing was said between the two of them on the flight, but Jeonghwan couldn’t help blushing at the hesitancy he had just seen inside.

And above all, the person who managed to deal with his hesitation was a woman named Yoo Hye-rim, who looked down on her as a snobbish person in her heart.

‘I’m not even my mother, and I’m delaying time because I’m swayed by the tears of a middle-aged woman I’ve lived with for only a few months! Only then can I become a human being who can do anything about iron man politics.’

Another thing that caught Junghwan’s heart was the reason why Hyerim Yoo suddenly decided to stay by his side at the last banquet hall.

In the end, he thought about carefully asking the question on the plane, even if he had not yet received an answer, but somehow he seemed to show weakness to Yoo Hye-rim, who should be serving as a subordinate in the future, so he did not say a word until he finally arrived at Cho Chongryon.

“Welcome, Comrade Kim Jeong-hwan, this is the diplomat in charge of our Chongryon, Comrade Kim Yong-geon.”

‘Kim Yong-geon, graduated from the University of International Relations, has a position as a manager, but he also serves as the head of the United Front Department, so he is treated as a deputy chief, and he is an elite foreign official who has lived abroad for a long time.’

Listing the information obtained through Yoo Hye-rim’s personal network in his head, Jung-hwan looked up and down at a man in his 40s who was making a ‘baekdu bloodline only’ smile in front of his eyes.

Then, on the office desk behind Kim Yong-geon, Jung-hwan found a familiar object.

Exactly, it was an object I was familiar with in my previous life.

‘It’s a Forbes magazine. Seeing that there are several copies of the last issue, I didn’t read it in a day or two, but the story of the head of the Chongryon Cho, who is regularly subscribing to a magazine that is like the advance guard of the American capitalists….”

I don’t know if it was because I was in a hurry to prepare for the hospitality, so I didn’t know what to do, but Junghwan felt it was worth trying.

A test to determine whether this person named Yong-Gun Kim, who is in front of him right now, is someone who can jump into a big job and become the new power of the republic, or is just a person who is desperate to take care of his own life by being complacent with reality.

And Kim Yong-gun passed Jung-hwan’s test with better grades than expected.

Now is the time to make a Scout offer.

“Gee, what are you thinking about the system now… Comrade Jeong Hwan, the words…”

“As you have heard, as my comrade foreman and I just agreed, our republic is seriously ill. The name of the disease is ‘President Kim Il-sung’. If you let it go a little longer, it will evolve into more severe terminal symptoms, ‘General Kim Jong-il’.”

“…………”

Kim Yong-geon’s body trembled as if struck by lightning at Jeonghwan’s naked expression.

But he either ran away or said, ‘I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear you!’ The same words were not spoken.

While staring directly at Kim Yong-geon, Jeong-hwan turned his gaze to the city of Tokyo, where the darkness outside the window had begun to fall.

Like beer bubbles inflated endlessly, Tokyo’s buildings were lit up even at night and were rising high in the sky without realizing it.

However, only one person in the world, Jeong Hwan, knew well that the time would come when this bubble would soon burst.

“To avoid misunderstanding, I am not talking about introducing democracy to the republic. We want to maintain the framework of the system, but change the most important part. That’s the part of the leader.”

“…if I say no, what will happen to me? And my family…”

“Nothing is wrong. I can’t just live the way I used to. With or without Comrade Kim, my plan will go ahead. There is only one choice for the manager comrade. Either join me to serve the true leader and raise the glory of the Republic… Or just buy a Walkman here and send it to Pyongyang. Please choose.”

“……”

Kim Yong-geon looked down and hesitated for a moment.

Then he lifted his lowered head, looked out the window, and stared at the skyscrapers of Tokyo that appeared out of the Chongryon window for about 10 seconds as if possessed.

And he answered in a calm voice as if he had finished thinking about it.

“To Comrade Jeonghwan… I want to make one request…”

“Tell me.”

“Please allow such prosperity as here in Tokyo to come to Pyongyang, the capital of the revolution, in our republic. And I want you to join me in that prosperity.”

“That is my goal, Comrade Kim Yong-geon.”

When Junghwan’s answer fell, Kim Yonggun took his eyes off the window and stared at Junghwan with his eyes twinkling.

Now, there was no helplessness or despair in his face before.

“What can I do?”

“First of all, we have to wait, we have to gather our strength. Comrades who share a common purpose…. Not just comrades, but real comrades, comrades who will make a real revolution in the republic, and raise funds for the day that will come soon. The socialist paradise is collapsing. Money is everything. Capitalism can be called a new war. And this Chongryon will become a forward base for that war.”

“That’s why you brought foreign currency. But, as you know, it will not be easy for a republican to manage money here in Japan.”

“Then you can have a representative. We need someone to be our face here. Senior comrade.”

“Who would you like to be?”

In response to Kim Yong-geon’s question, Jeong-hwan said without hesitation as if he had already thought about it.

“First of all, of course, you must have Japanese citizenship. Networks in Japan, family registers, social status, etc… But more important than that is greed. A greedy person, a person who does not hesitate to do risky things if he can make a lot of money, who does not hesitate to do anything by any means, It is good to have a connection with politics, he can communicate with us, and most importantly, we have our weaknesses so that we can throw it away at any time. It has to be the person holding the .”

At Jeonghwan’s request, Yonggeon Kim rested his chin for a moment and pondered.

And he immediately nodded.

“……Is it possible, comrade manager?”

“There is a person who is just right for the conditions that Comrade Jeong Hwan asked for .”