Chapter 517: Juyoung Hong (44) |
As if she was at a loss for words, she didn't respond to what I said.
Then she responded with a smile a little later.
"I believe that you can take over the Seventh Mining Area, given your capabilities. If a glacier twice the size of the Korean Peninsula formed in the Arctic appears off the coast of Tokyo, Japan, it will be hard for Japan to resist, no matter how strong they are. However, the joint development agreement is between the Republic of Korea and Japan. If Myongjin develops it alone, it will cause a big commotion. Since you wore a hat, sunglasses and a mask when you robbed Chaesan Lee's mansion, I don't think you will like such a commotion."
"Well. I don't understand why you point out the possible commotion when you already mentioned a glacier twice the size of the Korean Peninsula off the coast of Tokyo, Japan. Don't you think that's contradictory?"
"Our government will be responsible for any trouble. In return, we'll share all the sweet fruits with you and the Myongjin Group. In other words, if we retrieve the Seventh Mining Area from Japan, our government will first grant Myongjin the right to develop it for three years. And we will give you 50% of the stake in the Seventh Mining Area. If our government takes the lead and Myongjin backs us up, don't you think it will cause more trouble for Japan which has to face a huge glacier?"
"Hmm… you're being more generous than I thought."
A three year monopoly of the Seventh Mining Area and 50% stake.
It was by no means small because the crude oil and natural gas buried in the Seventh Mining Area was comparable to that of Saudi Arabia.
If Myongjin Oil Refinery obtains that right, it will become a global oil refinery on par with ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, and BP.
Deputy Director Han replied, "Myongjin is a Korean company, isn't it? As Myongjin grows, it will hire more employees, and if it makes a lot of money, it will pay a lot of taxes. That is the social role of a company. I, or our government, fully support the further growth of Myongjin as well as yours because it's directly related to South Korea's further growth. And I don't think Myongjin will evade taxes, given its track record. Ah, I am a descendant of the family of independence fighters."
"…"
I felt she got me at the moment. So I was at a loss for words.
But she continued without caring about me, "You don't have to give me an answer right now because there are still a few years left for the solution of this problem. Of course, I think you can solve it within a few days, given your capabilities."
She said she still had plenty of time.
So I responded quickly, "Well, let me accept your offer."
It was my grandfather's dream as well as that of Myongjin Oil Refinery.
So I had been thinking about it from the very beginning.
And I now have the ability to do what I couldn't do back then.
But it was Japan that was being a stumbling block.
So I thought of breaking it confidently.
I pulled out a business card from my pocket. It was Taesok Oh's business card.
"If you call this number tomorrow, a man will pick it up. He keeps the documents I've taken from Chaesan Lee's mansion. If you tell him about me, he will hand them over to you."
"I hear that even the rebels in Sierra Leone grovel in front of him. I feel jealous because my dream is to live high and mighty like that."
"Really? You might have such a chance someday because I still need people who can assist me close at hand."
After wrapping up the meeting with her, I got up.
I didn't move immediately the next day after the meeting because there was still quite a bit of time left.
In the meantime, something trifling happened to me.
In the living room of my house in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul.
I hung a new painting in the living room right after I brought in a fish tank with diamonds worth tens of billions of won scattered on the bottom.
It was a painting by Picasso.
"This is not a fake, right?"
Looking at the picture, my sister asked in a low voice, who already knew that not only the shiny things in the fishbowl, but also the stones I had given her before were real diamonds.
So I replied casually, "Yeah, that's what I heard. But no matter how much I look at it, I don't know if this painting is worth that much."
"Well, sometimes it's more important to know who owns the painting or who is its painter than the painting itself. That determines the value of the painting. I don't mean that all Picasso's paintings are like that."
I nodded slightly.
Obviously, the fact that Picasso's works were pretty expensive showed that they had a lot of value, including outstanding artistic value, but it would be difficult to deny that the effect of Picasso's name also played a role in increasing the value of his paintings.
Anyway, starting with the Picasso painting in the living room, I took out various art pieces including a blue and white porcelain from the Yi Dynasty of old Korea and placed them in my father's study and other places in my house.
I didn't buy them with my own money, but they were duly recognized by the government as mine. Of course, I didn't need the government's approval.
Anyway, I spent a few days sorting out and displaying the artworks when Friday night arrived.
"Blink."
I left my room using Blink with zero cooldown.
Of course, my destination was Japan, which was so close to Korea, yet so far.
Over the Korean Strait.
While traveling to Tokyo, Japan using Fly, I remembered the documents that the National Intelligence Service handed over to me.
'After all, the key figure is Prime Minister Abezo.'
He is the current Prime Minister of Japan, who has been successfully elected for three consecutive terms. And he allegedly has a 99%, or even 100% chance of being elected for the fourth term.
Because of that, Prime Minister Abezo has the greatest influence in Japan than any other prime minister.
As for the Seventh Mining Area, even if I succeed in reaching out to the parliamentary members, cabinet ministers and even the King, they are not as influential as the Prime Minister, according to the documents.
In other words, the person I was going to meet this time was none other than Prime Minister Abezo.
In front of the Prime Minister's Office in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, Japan a little later.
"…"
Naturally, the security around the Prime Minister's Office was quite tight because it was like the Blue House or the White House.
But I had no problem breaking through its tight security.
"Blink."
Shuuuuuuuung-
At first, I thought of visiting it in person.
Since not only the United States, but South Korea, including its National Intelligence Services already knew about my robbery of the Debius headquarters as well Chaesan Lee's mansion, it was highly likely that Japan also knew about me.
But I didn't come here with good intentions, so Japan had no choice but to believe my visit was a pain in the neck because they would inevitably be forced to return the Seventh Mining Area, in which they had invested a long time, back to me.
