Dear Comrade

Chapter 7. Ryugyong Hotels (1)

Chapter 7. Ryugyong Hotels (1)

“Wait? Does Junghwan and him contribute to the success of this meeting? What kind of talent does the old man have?”

“I don’t know about Myeonbaro (exactly), but it seems that he made quite a bit of foreign currency by using the foreign currency the general gave him as seed money. As the general knows, these days, the prestige of the jockeys is not great.”

“…Gone, somehow, because the goal has been going well since the old days.”

Kim Jong-il did not hide his discomfort and got up from the massage bed after hearing the words of Jang Seong-taek, an aide who carefully reported in front of him.

This was a guesthouse located somewhere in the republic, or a so-called ‘special palace’, dedicated to Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung, and Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung used to spend time here for recreation.

Until now, Kim Jong-il had placed Jang Sung-taek in front of him, and he had been lying down and receiving a massage, listening to his report.

With the exception of President Kim Il-sung, who is now treated similarly to a mythical figure in the republic, it was truly rude to face Jang Seong-taek, deputy head of the Youth Business Department, the second most powerful person after Kim Jong-il, but that was Kim Jong-il.

Rather, Jang Seong-taek seemed worried that he might have offended him.

“Go.”

“I will accept it, General.”

When he waved his hand without looking at him, the beautiful young masseuse who had been massaging Kim Jong-il, who had been lying on his back, immediately bowed his head and walked away.

But neither Kim Jong-il nor Jang Sung-taek seemed to care about her existence.

They now had another major problem.

“Girae, are you saying that you used Girum foreign currency to help host this summit?”

“Yes. And he also made a request to me to take this opportunity and return to Pyongyang to look after the general in close proximity. There is no such thing as greed for a seat or anything, so I only asked for one piece of aesthetics so that I could prove my loyalty.”

“I want to prove my loyalty… Tell me, Vice-Chairman Jang. How much do you think the foreign exchange amount is?”

“Gorgeous… that…”

For the first time, a little hesitation appeared on the face of Jang Sung-taek, who had been answering without interruption.

Also, if he said too much about the size of Jeong-hwan’s fortune he judged, he could lose all the credit for this secret contact between North Korea and Japan.

And no matter how much he was the second-in-command in the party or the brother-in-law of Kim Jong-il, deceiving him was an act directly related to death.

In the end, Jang Seong-taek, who was thinking about it, called for an amount that he thought was appropriate.

“I don’t know for sure, but I think it will be around 100 million US dollars.”

“…… Wait? Jeonghwan is good at being late, but Abai must have had a strong child in his later years.”

Kim Jong-il’s eyes lit up after hearing Jang Sung-taek’s words, and for the first time he had a slightly surprised expression on his face.

Needless to say, $100 million was a money that was hard to imagine even for the absolute North Korean leader.

However, his vigilance towards Jung-hwan could not but increase.

Although he was (nominally) the leader of the communist country of North Korea, Kim Jong-il knew the power of money very well than anyone else.

About 100 million dollars was enough money to buy most, if not all, of the loyalty of the generals and party officials who were still worshiping in front of him.

“…Going goals so well is sometimes the reason why I can’t keep up with my name. Isn’t that right, Vice-Chief Jang?”

“Two words, it’s nagging. Your words are a hundred times correct, but please reconsider just one more time.”

“……?”

It was Jang Seong-taek who knew the meaning of cold in Kim Jong-il’s words better than anyone else, but when he shook his head and asked to reconsider, Kim Jong-il looked down at him with a questioning expression for a moment.

It would have been impossible to dream of any other executive, but at least it was possible because of Jang Seong-taek.

“Ji, as you know now, the Ryugyong Hotel construction is not moving forward at all. Above all, the construction period is extended like hell due to the lack of usable materials, and Comrade Jeong Hwan confirmed that he could help in this area. So I beg you to give it one more thought!”

“……Wait? Ryugyong Hotel?”

“That’s right! Comrade Jeong Hwan told me that it is a pity that the Ryugyong Hotel project, which was scheduled to open on the occasion of the President’s birthday in Pyongyang, is delayed. I promised to do it. If we can import materials from Japan, it will be of great help to the construction of the Ryugyong Hotel, so please give me one chance, General!”

“…………”

At Jang Seong-taek’s township, Kim Jong-il had a rare, troubled expression on his face.

Certainly, as he said, it was already a known fact that the completion of the Ryugyong Hotel, the tallest hotel in history (if completed) currently being built in Pyongyang, could not be completed within the deadline.

Ryugyong Hotel.

In 1984, Kim Jong-il himself saw the 63 Building in South Korea and gave a construction order for the propaganda of the superiority of the regime.

The original plan was to start construction of this modern pyramid, which boasts 105 stories above the ground and 3 stories below the ground and a height of 330 meters, in August of last year, but it was already revealing numerous problems as soon as construction began.

It was a secondary problem that many soldiers (read as workers) and civilians were killed during the construction because they did not care about safety rules and facilities.

The most important thing was money.

“Hagisa, if you look at Koraji now, even if the sky turns upside down, it’s hard to say that the original schedule will not be able to open in time for Abadi’s birthday.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Considering Comrade Jeong Hwan’s business skills and finances in Japan, giving Comrade Jeong Hwan a chance to prove his loyalty to the General at least once…”

“I am loyal…”

Kim Jong-il’s eyes gleamed like those of a beast as he rolled those words into his mouth and pondered something.

I thought I had a good idea.

“The thing you should never believe in this world is a two-legged, black-headed beast, didn’t our Abaddy say? There is only one way to prove your loyalty. Do you know what that is, Vice President Zhang?”

“……Mom, I don’t know.”

“You have to take out your heart and offer it. If you want to win the favor of this Kim Jong-il, you have to bring out the heart that is most important to Zui (self) and bring the fluttering heart in both hands. Did you say that Junghwan’s orphanage in Japan ran out of money and totaled 100 million dollars?”

When Jang Sung-taek was speechless and nodded his head, Kim Jong-il concluded with a sinister smile.

“Girum, put it on a silver tray and bring it. In hindsight, it was all made with the wealth of this republic and the seed money brought from the Central Bank of Korea, so it’s a natural base. no?”

“…that’s a sensible thing to say.”

“By the way, if Jeonghwan doesn’t do that, then that bastard is definitely a Kiya who has a repulsive heart inside him. In a word, if I don’t bring the late 100 million dollars to this Kim Jong-il in ancient times, I can’t believe Jung-hwan for the rest of my life. Got it?”

“Yes, yes, General. Then I sent a telegram to Comrade Jeonghwan soon…”

“No, no. Vice-Chairman Jang still misunderstood what I was saying.”

“……?”

As Jang Seong-taek tilted his head, Kim Jong-il immediately gave further explanations.

“You have to bring it with your own hands. That’s important. Is there anyone who won’t bring it if I force it and give it away? Even though I give it all kinds of sacrifices, it is a person who smiles on the outside and counts that it will always slap me in the back. I can’t believe this. Isn’t that right, Director Jang?”

“General, those words…”

“Don’t tell me. Junghwan should test if he can give his feet all the fortune he worked so hard for even if I don’t tell him. I once tried to find out if this guy is loyal to Kim Jong-il and the Republic, or if he is trying to do some trickery behind the scenes.”

“Ah……Yes! What a great ploy, General!”

‘Evil bastard!’

Jang Seong-taek bowed his head in front of Kim Jong-il, who was smiling contentedly at the good number he had come up with while pouring out all kinds of swearing inside.

Come to think of it, Jang Seong-taek realized that Kim Jong-il had planned this from the beginning.

From the beginning, Kim Jong-il was planning to take Jeong-hwan’s fortune somehow.

Because it was Kim Jong-il’s human way that he would not leave even the strength to lift a finger to an existence that could threaten his power.

(Of course, greed for 100 million dollars also played a big part.)

The problem was that if he did such a thing openly, it would greatly damage the face of Kim Il-sung’s enemy and the leader of the next republic.

The money was taken from a half-brother, who was not yet 30, forcibly, so there was no way others would see it.

You might be wondering why Kim Jong-il, who can do anything in this republic without hesitation, except for his father, Kim Il-sung, already cares about his face, but Jang Song-thaek’s long experience showed that power is not that simple.

Face is a form.

And form is authority, and authority is another word for power.

Therefore, loss of face is a detriment to Kim Jong-il’s own power.

Of course, everyone knows that it is only a formality, but that’s why Kim Jong-il wants to take the form of ‘consecrating to the republic with his own feet’ rather than ‘taking away’ the property of a side branch named Jeong-hwan.

“As directed, I will watch over Comrade Jeonghwan’s sympathy.”

“Girae, stop leaving, and as you go out, ask Kim Young-ryong, head of the Security Department, to come in.”

The head of the National Security Agency refers to the head of the National Security Agency, an organization that is literally the same as the SS, which protects and defends the power of the Kim family through counterintelligence and ideological police activities.

Kim Young-ryong, the current security chief, did not officially take over the position of security officer Lee Jin-su, who had recently retired, but was an ambiguous form of acting, and he was even more blindly loyal to Kim Jong-il in order to prove himself.

As soon as Kim Young-ryong, who came in as a shift with Jang Seong-taek, who left the room, saw Kim Jong-il, he bowed his head deeply and bowed.

“Did you hear everything about the story with Vice-Chairman Jang?”

“four! General!”

“I ordered the overseas spying station under Director Kim to search thoroughly for any money that Jeong-hwan had left him abroad. Starting with Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Monaco, and Sagri. Cooperate with Room 39 to conduct a thorough search.”

“I got it, General!”

Room 39 refers to the department that manages Kim Jong-il’s slush funds created through various projects by the Workers’ Party of Korea.

Kim Jong-il gestured again, thinking, “If you don’t get caught in the investigation of Room 39, you can really trust Jung-hwan….”

Kim Young-ryong, who quickly recognized that the gesture meant that the business was over, and that it was a signal to bring in the masseuse again, bowed his head once more and went out of the room.

Soon, when the young beautiful masseuses, no, the ‘five-team members’ came back in, Kim Jong-il turned around again and nodded his head.

These women, who belonged to Division 5 of the Workers’ Party of Korea and a place more famously known as the ‘Joy of Joy’ outside the republic, immediately guessed Kim Jong-il’s intentions, as always, and took off their clothes and dropped them on the floor.

‘Heh heh… If there was any doubt, I immediately blew the raven out, isn’t this eating pheasants and eating eggs?’

If Junghwan comes with 100 million dollars in his hand, that is a good thing in its own way.

Because there is no organization or power in the republic, and if he loses money as he has only foreign exchange to rely on, Jeong-hwan becomes a goose without wings.

Even if you don’t bring 100 million dollars or you hide money somewhere, the result is the same anyway.

It is enough to recover the money at any cost and to wipe him out with the dew of a prison sentence for having dared to lie to him.

In other words, confident that he would not suffer any loss, Kim Jong-il shed a satisfying smile that is rarely seen as he felt the hands of the 5th class members groping his whole body.

However, the scenario that even Kim Jong-il expected most unlikely occurred just two days later.

Just two days ago, his half-brother Kim Jung-hwan, who he had ordered an investigation into, returned to the Republic of Korea with a Swiss bank account containing US$130 million and gave all of his fortune to Kim Jong-il .