As the aide asked me with a voice in which a slight sense of tension could be felt, I replied with a smile.

“That is right. I am Lim Hyunjun.”

“The President has requested a brief meeting. Would you please follow me?”

“Yes, I shall.”

At that moment, Choi Seo-jun’s eyes grew wide.

He stepped backward as if he could not believe it and even stumbled.

His legs had given out as surprise and tension continued.

Thanks to General Hong, who was next to him, quickly grabbing his arm, he narrowly avoided an embarrassing scene.

General Hong whispered lowly while holding him.

“Director Choi, pull yourself together. Right now is an important moment.”

I placed the glass I was drinking from on the table and stood up from my seat.

My gaze shone even more sharply and a meaningful smile was drawn on my lips.

Focus was concentrated on me again.

It was a reversal that no one expected.

They seemed very curious about what on earth I had done for the President to personally request a meeting.

A buzz filled the entire hall, but I moved my steps composedly.

Director Choi Seo-jun and Advisor General Hong followed behind me.

At the end of the path I moved along while receiving the aide's guidance, a solemn air was lingering.

The place they were going was the White House West Wing, which was as good as the symbol of American power.

Countless national decisions and history were born there, and even at this moment, the flow of the world was being determined.

When the door finally opened, the President was already sitting inside.

He waited for someone with a stiffened expression.

I entered boldly without hesitating even a little.

Even though a heavy current was flowing, not a single trace of shaking could be found in my steps.

Choi Seo-jun and General Hong followed inside while maintaining their tension from behind.

As known, Christmas decorations were faintly shining beyond the half-moon shaped window, but in the center, there was a magnificent mahogany desk.

On top of it, neatly placed documents and ornaments symbolizing the national flag were placed.

On the walls, paintings capturing America's historical moments along with portraits of former presidents created a quiet atmosphere.

I introduced myself along with a polite greeting.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lim Hyunjun from HJ Partners, having come from Korea. This is Director Choi Seo-jun, and Advisor General Hong.”

The President scanned me with a sharp gaze.

His expression was still stiffened and was heavily stained with displeasure.

A short and resolute word flowed out from him.

“Sit down.”

An icy coldness could be felt intact in his way of speaking.

Because of that, Choi Seo-jun even swallowed his breath.

However, I, the party concerned, was composed.

I only wore a smile that was even relaxed on my lips while sitting on the chair.

The President opened his mouth first.

“Is what you left through Chairman McCain the truth?”

At the question that was heavily on edge, the air in the room instantly settled down colder.

I answered without hesitation.

“It is the truth.”

The President's eyes flashed.

After silence flowed for a moment, a deep displeasure brushed past his face.

“That the armed rebels Al-Jahad have kidnapped Americans and are holding them hostage, and that they will contact soon.... Is it correct that this is what you left?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

At my resolute answer, the President leaned his chair back and let out a rough breath.

“Hmph.”

A low and heavy hollow laugh burst out from his mouth.

However, it was by no means something that came out because he was joyful.

The President's voice was chilly.

“You are quite arrogant.”

He stared at me with eyes of suspicion.

“Did you make up nonsense rumors in order to meet me? Or is it a simple prank for attention-seeking? Whichever it is, you will have to pay the price for making me waste my time.”

Choi Seo-jun’s face turned pale the moment he heard those words.

His fingertips trembled, so he tightly gripped his hands placed on his knees.

On the other hand, I did not shake at all.

Rather, I looked at the President with a sunken gaze and quietly raised the corners of my mouth.

“I gave a warning in advance for your sake. Whether you accept it or not will be up to you, though.”

The President's eyes narrowed even more sharply.

He, who was heavily tapping the desk with his finger, said in a firm voice.

“You warned me? You are beyond arrogant.”

His cold gaze pierced and landed on me as if to penetrate.

The air in the room froze one step further, and Choi Seo-jun, sitting next to me, found it difficult to even breathe properly as if his throat were parched.

The President asked while leaning his body against the chair.

“Just what are you believing in to be able to be that thick-skinned?”

In his voice, it was revealed intact that he was barely suppressing his anger.

“Were you intending to even blackmail me? Or do you hold some kind of secret?”

In fact, the President gradually became curious about the words and actions I had done.

There was no way I would commit such a thing unless I was crazy.

He felt like calling the guards right away and dragging this rude young man out, but at the same time, he also felt like checking what kind of card I was hiding.

As the President's finger tapped the desk, tension gradually hovered in the room.

Silence flowed and he gave a threatening warning in an even lower voice.

“If you have wasted my time... I will make you pay the most expensive price in your life.”

However, I did not shake even an inch and rather quietly wore a relaxed smile on my lips, then slowly met the President's gaze head-on.

In my eyes, something like fear could not be found.

“Since the President says so, I rather become very curious about how you will treat me afterward.”

My voice was surprisingly peaceful.

Like a lighthouse that does not shake even in the middle of a storm, I did not succumb to the power holder's intimidation.

“What I said to you is not blackmail, but the truth.”

The President's face stiffened further.

It was a completely different reaction from the appearance of numerous people bowing while trembling before him until now.

Looking at me, the thought that I was no ordinary person occurred to him.

At first, he was filled with rage and his anger flared up, but as time passed, his mind strangely settled down.

He dismissed it as being because it was so absurd and ridiculous.

However, the current radiating from the young man in front of him was too heterogeneous to say it was simply a mood.

‘What on earth is he believing in to act like that?’

He tilted his head back slightly and looked straight at me.

It felt as if maintaining a composed appearance was not a bluff.

Such an attitude touched the President's heart instead.

A smile was drawn on the lips of the President, who had been silent for a moment.

He said in a low voice while still slowly tapping the desk with his finger.

“Fine. If you are that confident, how about trying a test?”

My eyes sparkled.

The President continued speaking as if to intentionally heighten the tension.

“If what you said is a lie, hand over the entirety of HJ Partners that you are leading. It is light for a price for deceiving the President, but I shall let it go at that much.”

The air in the room became still.

Choi Seo-jun’s eyes widened as he swallowed his breath, and even General Hong unintentionally put strength into his hand.

The President was very curious about how I would come out.

He himself knew that it was effectively a nonsensical demand.

However, he became wanting to see how far this fellow could hold out and in what way I would crumble.

“Well, what will you do?”

The President urged me as if pestering me.

“I told you to prove it if your words are real. Or prepare to lose everything.”

As if I had been waiting, I accepted the President's proposal and a chilly smile was drawn on my lips.

“Very well. If my words are the truth, then at that time, you must grant my request, President.”

The President's eyes narrowed thinly.

He instantly let out a snort and said as if ridiculing.

“A mere request like that. If your words are the truth, I shall grant anything. I promise.”

His voice was full of confidence.

He was certain that I would soon crumble.

However, I replied while wearing a mischievous smile.

“President, you might end up regretting it soon. Will you still be okay with that?”

At my words, the President thought it was a final struggle.

He retorted resolutely.

“There will be nothing for me to regret, so do not worry. Let us see just how far you can hold out.”

I wore a meaningful smile at the President's words and slowly raised my wrist.

I checked the time while looking at the luxurious watch, I said.

“My words will be proven soon.”

It was at that moment.

The President's aide opened the door urgently and entered.

His complexion turned extremely pale.

He said while holding out a tablet to the President.

“President, it is an emergency.”

At those words, the President's eyes turned sharp.

The aide continued the report while catching his breath.

“The armed rebels Al-Jahad have just sent a message.”

All eyes in the room focused on me all at once, not the aide.

The President held out his hand while wearing an expression of disbelief.

“Show me.”

He saw the video flowing from the tablet screen.

There, an American who was made to kneel in a place like a dark basement with both hands bound was sitting with trembling eyes.

In the back, several Al-Jahad members wearing black masks were standing while aiming guns.

A voice with a foreign accent echoed sharply.

“America will pay the price for ignoring us! If you do not accept our demands, the hostage's life will disappear first!”

As the face of the man in the video was zoomed in, an ID card revealing that he was American was also seen.

The inside of the room became quiet as if even the sound of breathing had been swallowed.

The President's expression was distorted and Choi Seo-jun closed his mouth in shock.

Even General Hong swallowed dry saliva.

In the meantime, I looked at the President composedly and said.

“Do you believe my words now? It seems I have won the bet.”

The President said to me while standing up from his seat.

“I do not know how you did it, but I shall go settle the situation first. Be waiting.”

The President stood up and went out, and the remaining aide was guarding my group.

Probably, the President will not be able to return quickly.

I leaned my body comfortably against the chair and let out a long breath.

My neck was to the point of being stiff due to the tension of facing the President as well.

Choi Seo-jun, sitting next to me, looked at me with a face that could not hide its astonishment.

His lips were parched.

Choi Seo-jun stuck close to me and whispered.

“Representative, how did this happen? Al-Jahad?”

I only wore a smile instead of an answer.

Inside it, leisure and confidence were full.

If only the aide were not watching them, Choi Seo-jun would have pried even by urging me already.

I closed my eyes for a moment then opened them and said slowly.

“He will return soon. And from now on will be the real start.”