novelraw Chapter 57 : I Planned and Executed It Myself
Chapter 57 : I Planned and Executed It Myself
Chapter 57: I Planned and Executed It Myself
Seoul Station was already teeming with people early in the morning, all rushing to catch their trains.
But the place I headed toward wasn’t the platform for the regular local train.
It was the special platform where the latest state-of-the-art express train — the Reconstruction — awaited, a symbol of the nation’s rebuilding efforts that had recently been unveiled.
Carrying only an old leather bag, I pushed through the crowd and boarded the sleek, streamlined Reconstruction.
“Wow…… that’s the Reconstruction.”
“They say it gets from Seoul to Busan in six and a half hours!”
Ignoring the voices of envy around me, I sat down in my assigned seat. Plush velvet seats, wide windows, and neatly dressed female attendants — it was all quite a sight.
Compared to the KTX of the future, it would be lacking in every way, but in this era, there was no finer train than this.
I took a seat by the window and gave a light nod to Ma Dong-jin and Lee Cheong-ho, who had come to see me off.
Bwooo–!
With a brisk and powerful whistle, the Reconstruction began to glide smoothly away from the platform.
The gray scenery of Seoul slowly receded.
The rooftops of the shantytown clustered together, the buildings still bearing the scars of war, and the faces of people whose expressions mixed both hope and despair.
That had been the stage where I had fought fiercely for the past few months.
Inside the train, a calm and composed atmosphere filled the cabin. Most of the passengers were well-dressed gentlemen — likely government officials or businessmen.
A female attendant rolled a cart through the aisle, handing out coffee and newspapers, while the passengers spoke softly among themselves or admired the passing scenery outside.
I kept my gaze fixed on the swiftly passing landscape.
‘When I come back, many things will have changed.’
Because of the recent stock market upheaval, the current power structure would soon be drastically reshuffled.
Director Kang Byung-woo would eventually be sent abroad on a forced “vacation,” and Jeong Tae-soo would take his place.
As I mentally reviewed the events that would soon unfold, I calmly organized what I needed to do within them.
‘It won’t be many years until the plans for developing Gangnam begin to take shape. Until then……’
I vowed that in this life, I would never live as I had in my past one. I would never again suffer the miserable fate of being discarded after being used.
‘Right. I need to gain a power so absolute that even authority itself won’t dare touch me.’
Sometimes, wealth could be even more terrifying than power. I intended to seize the strength called “chaebol.”
Once the train crossed the Han River Bridge, the scenery of Seoul quickly vanished, replaced by wide green fields and farmlands.
The young rice plants in the paddies, freshly transplanted, swayed in waves with the wind, while students in black uniforms pedaled their bicycles down the dirt paths between them.
Then, I heard the sound of someone sitting down in the seat across from me — a seat that had remained empty until now.
I slowly shifted my gaze from the window forward. The train had already been running for quite some time — and only now……
“Are you Baek Min-woo?”
The man sitting across from me spoke my name.
A deep, composed voice, a cold gaze, and the overwhelming air of authority that radiated from him — there was no mistaking it.
The man before me was none other than the Director of the KCIA, Kang Byung-woo.
Feigning calm, I asked quietly,
“……I’m afraid we’ve never met. Who might you be?”
“Heh. Playing dumb? There’s no way you don’t know who I am.”
Kang Byung-woo laughed as if amused. I glanced around.
As I expected, burly men had appeared out of nowhere and were quietly ushering the other passengers out of the car.
At first, some had protested, but when the men subtly revealed something from inside their jackets, everyone stood and left without another word.
Such was the power of the name KCIA.
Both doors connecting the car were already blocked by the men. Among them, I spotted the familiar face of Chief Choi Min-jun.
With that, this car had become a perfect sealed room.
“Now we can talk quietly.”
I turned my gaze back to Kang Byung-woo. In his eyes, there wasn’t hostility or anger — rather, it was pure curiosity, as though he were observing a rare creature.
“No matter how I think about it, Jeong Tae-soo isn’t the kind of man to pull off such a daring scheme. But this time, what he did was completely out of character for him. You’re the one behind all of it, aren’t you?”
Despite his composed tone, a sharp edge lingered in his voice. I looked out the window again and replied calmly.
“I don’t know what you mean. I’m simply on my way to Busan by train.”
“Listen to this guy, huh?”
Outwardly, I seemed unbothered, but inside, I was anything but calm. My mind raced quickly.
‘Why Kang Byung-woo? Why now? He should be too busy keeping Jeong Tae-soo in check.’
In my past life, I had interfered with his affairs several times under Jeong Tae-soo’s orders, yet he had never once taken direct interest in me.
And now, in my new life, after the very first operation I carried out, Kang Byung-woo had come to find me himself. No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out why.
“Chief Choi!”
At his call, Choi Min-jun hurried over. The stiffness he always carried was gone; he bowed with surprising deference.
“Yes, Director.”
“This fellow’s pretending not to know me. What do you think I should do about that?”
Choi Min-jun’s cold gaze turned toward me. I met it briefly before turning my head away.
“It’s been a while, Chief Choi.”
“The man before you is the Director of the KCIA. There’s no way you don’t know that.”
“I’m just an ordinary civilian. How could I possibly recognize the Director’s face?”
“Still acting innocent? You really must have a death wish.”
“Chief Choi, lower your voice.”
Kang Byung-woo stopped him. That amused smile still lingered on his lips.
With just a wave of his hand, he silenced Choi — a man who, to most civilians, was no different from a grim reaper — and then turned his attention back to me.
“I didn’t come here to interrogate you today. I was simply curious.”
His tone dropped lower, even as he smiled pleasantly.
“I put a lot of work into setting up this operation. But then suddenly, Jeong Tae-soo jumped in and tore everything apart. And in the middle of it all, an unidentified group made an enormous profit……”
Just how much did this man already know? My mind, already tangled, grew even more complicated.
Kang Byung-woo looked me up and down, then went straight to the point.
“Why do you oppose me?”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean.”
“There’s no reason for you to side with Jeong Tae-soo just to interfere with my work. If anything, you should hate him, not me. After all, he’s the one who sent all those friends of yours from that shantytown to the facility. Ah, don’t tell me you didn’t know that?”
A sly, calculated question — one meant to probe my reaction.
“I know. But I only stayed with them for a few days. I have no reason to hate Deputy Director Jeong Tae-soo.”
“So you’re not pretending ignorance?”
“How could I possibly fool the Director of the KCIA?”
I answered casually, and once again, he chuckled under his breath before speaking.
“Then why did you do it? What was your real reason for sabotaging our plan?”
“I had no intention of sabotaging anything. I merely noticed something odd in the stock market and decided to take advantage of it to make some money. And before Deputy Director Jeong got involved, I had already made a considerable profit and was planning to withdraw.”
“You were even dragged into KCIA interrogation, weren’t you?”
“Yes. It was quite frightening.”
“Frightening? I heard Senior Noh pulled some strings to get you out. And then?”
“But then, Deputy Director Jeong Tae-soo suddenly approached me. He wanted to work together. So I cooperated for a short while, and when he no longer needed me, he cast me aside.”
Kang Byung-woo narrowed his eyes, studying me as though comparing what he knew with what I was saying.
“It sounds like you’ve skipped over quite a bit in the middle…… but fine, keep talking.”
“But I was already involved at that point, wasn’t I? I couldn’t just ignore the gold glittering right before my eyes. So, I simply took the chance to make another profit midway.”
It was pointless to play ignorant before someone who had already come fully informed.
The only way out was to make it impossible for him to tell what was true and what was false. I blended truth and lies together skillfully as I answered.
“I heard that during the meeting presided over by His Excellency, the president of the securities firm allied with you made a proposal favorable to the government. That was part of your plan as well, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. I believe things should be wrapped up neatly. Ah, and it was also at my suggestion that President Park Jeong-ho went to see you.”
A flicker of light flashed across Kang Byung-woo’s eyes.
“Really? President Park never mentioned that.”
“Of course he wouldn’t.”
“I see. And what was your reason for persuading him?”
“Because someone has to take responsibility.”
I looked straight into his eyes as I said,
“Do you think the senior official at the KCIA who planned this operation will take responsibility? Or Deputy Director Jeong Tae-soo? No. None of them will. In the end, they’ll use Park Jeong-ho as a scapegoat and slip away. Meanwhile, powerless ordinary investors will be the ones shedding tears of blood.”
“Hm. So you’re saying you did it for the sake of ordinary investors?”
“Of course not. I’m not that much of a humanist. Everything I did was for the complete ruin of President Park Jeong-ho. Any small consequences along the way were of no importance to me.”
It wasn’t that I intended to interfere with him — I simply had my own goal. When I spoke with that intent, Kang Byung-woo’s eyes narrowed.
He listened silently for a moment, then gave a faint chuckle.
“You’re still not mentioning Yang Sobo’s name, I see.”
“……”
“Wasn’t it ultimately Yang Sobo’s order that led you to side with Jeong Tae-soo? Yet you’re leaving that part out and making it sound as though everything was your own doing.”
“Mr. Yang only provided the funds. Everything else was planned and executed by me personally.”
At my firm reply, Kang Byung-woo shrugged lightly.
“Well, fine. I’m not trying to place blame on Yang Sobo for something that’s already over. Still, I didn’t expect you to be the type to show loyalty to your superior. Quite unexpected……”
Trailing off, he looked at me again — this time, a clear glint of greed in his eyes.
“In that case, Min-woo. If you didn’t side with Jeong Tae-soo, how about joining forces with me?”
He extended his hand toward me. I stared at it quietly.
It was an irresistible offer — the sweet temptation of power itself.
But I couldn’t take that hand either. Just like Jeong Tae-soo, this man too saw people only as tools to be used and discarded.
“No. I no longer wish to get involved in the struggles of the powerful.”
“Hm…… so you’re saying you’ll reject the hand I’m offering?”
As expected, his voice instantly turned cold.
“It’s not rejection. If there’s ever a matter where I could be of help, I’d be glad to assist. But what I mean is, I don’t wish to take sides anymore — to help one person destroy another.”
“You think I desire Jeong Tae-soo’s downfall, don’t you?”
“Yes. I do. And I believe Deputy Director Jeong also wishes for your downfall. That’s simply the nature of power, isn’t it?”
At my daring reply, Kang Byung-woo stared sharply at me — then suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Hahaha! You speak as though you’ve lived a hundred years and seen the world, though you’re barely twenty. If only I had met you sooner…… what a shame.”
He dusted off his seat and rose to his feet, leaving me with a final warning.
“This time, I came just to see your face. But if you interfere with my affairs again, next time we won’t be meeting like this — with a smile. Understood?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll keep that in mind.”
The Director of the KCIA himself had come to see me — just to give a warning. I had no reason to disregard it. If things ended here, it wouldn’t be a bad outcome for me.
Still, I had no intention of letting this valuable meeting end without gaining something.
“Director.”
I stood and called out to him. He stopped mid-step and turned silently to look at me.
“Besides the assets that President Park Jeong-ho pledged to hand over, he still has quite a lot of hidden slush funds. And I believe Deputy Director Jeong Tae-soo is aiming for those.”
He continued to watch me without saying a word. The emotionless, icy gaze carried a weight befitting the head of the KCIA.
“……I just thought it would be better for those black funds to be used for the nation, rather than fall into Deputy Director Jeong’s hands. That’s all I meant by it — nothing more.”
“Heh……”
A bitter smile curved Kang Byung-woo’s lips.
“You’re quite an unreadable fellow. For your information, we’ve already identified that much. We’re not so incompetent as to overlook it.”
Leaving those last words behind, he walked out of the car without another glance at me.
Left alone in the now-empty car, I gazed out at the swiftly receding view of Seoul.
‘You know, do you? Not a chance.’
Park Jeong-ho’s hidden fortune wasn’t something easily found unless one had the skills of a true shadow expert. There was a reason it was called hidden.
By now, Dan Tae-geon was probably moving quickly…… and if the KCIA acted upon what I’d just said, things might become quite troublesome for him.
One by one, the passengers who had been moved to other cars returned to their seats.
The train sped southward without hesitation.