After listening to my full explanation, Putin said nothing.

“Mr. President. Are you listening?”

— ...No, I’m listening. Go on.

“So I’ve been thinking about what to do. To be honest, I’ve already made up my mind to some extent. But this isn’t something I can decide on my own, so I contacted you like this.”

— Right. Chairman Hu is greedier than I thought.

At the President’s words, I unconsciously gave a small nod.

The Hu Jintao I knew had never originally been an ambitious man.

He was the type to let things flow however they flowed, bland and colorless.

Maybe my existence had awakened desires Hu Jintao had buried.

Then again, this was also the first time I learned in this life that he had ties to the underworld, so what did I know.

No matter how much you know the future, you can’t know everything.

“Now that Jiang Zemin has completely stepped back and he’s taken hold of power, I think he wants to play the role of retired kingmaker later on. And to do that, he needs money, so I think that’s why he planned this project.”

— That does sound like it. People say power comes from the barrel of a gun, but that only applies in the beginning. Later on, money becomes the greater force. So, Muhyuk, what do you think? Would it be better to join?

At the President’s question, I answered without hesitation.

“Yes. Hu Jintao made the offer first, but it’s a good opportunity. The railway construction project itself will be profitable, but if we can also secure the transportation rights that come after, I think it’ll become an enormously lucrative business. I think we should do it.”

— And what if I oppose it? Muhyuk. Before I’m your friend, I’m the President of Russia. I have to put national interest first.

“It’s not a bad thing for Russia either. And it’ll be good for you as well, Mr. President.”

— It’s not bad for Russia, and good for me...?

“Yes. Because in the end, you’ll be entering it as an investor too.”

— Hm. This doesn’t seem like something to decide so easily over the phone.

The President let out a low sound. It was a matter so huge that even Putin, of all people, couldn’t decide easily.

“Then I’ll come to Russia.”

— No. Let’s discuss it where everyone can gather. Muhyuk, let’s meet in Busan in two months.

“I’ll do that. For now, I’ll respond positively to Hu Jintao. Even if you end up not joining, Mr. President.”

At my words, the President burst into hearty laughter.

— Hahaha! Do that. It’s not as if you’re my subordinate, Muhyuk. Even if I told you not to, you’re not the sort of man who’d obey. I’m only saying we should discuss then whether I’ll participate or not.

“Thank you for understanding.”

— Then I’ll see you in Busan.

After ending the call with Putin, I set the dead satellite phone down.

Then I slowly moved to the window to organize my thoughts.

Unlike before, Pyongyang was overflowing with vitality.

It felt strange thinking that this was all the changed face of North Korea, changed by me.

Just then, I sensed someone behind me.

“Um...”

I turned at the young, still unfamiliar voice and saw Junho blinking at me.

“You’re up now? You slept a long time.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For everything.”

“We haven’t even started yet. Since you’re awake, let’s talk first. Sit over there.”

Even though I had brought the boy with me, I still hadn’t really had a proper conversation with him.

After sitting down, I called for Chief Ma and asked him to bring some simple food.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. It was my first time ever sleeping so comfortably. Thank you.”

A child who had always slept trembling in anxiety on the streets had rested without a single worry in the finest luxury hotel in Pyongyang. It wasn’t hard to imagine how comfortable it must have felt.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“But... why exactly are you trying to take me with you? And how are you even going to take me to South Korea? Is that even possible?”

“Hm. Looks like formal speech has stuck.”

The awkward honorifics were slipping out of him pretty naturally now.

I turned my head to look at Chief Ma, and under my gaze, he said,

“I had one of the men educate him a little.”

“Haha.”

A laugh slipped out before I knew it. It seemed Chief Ma hadn’t liked Junho’s awkward half-and-half mix of casual and formal speech toward me.

He must have been busy enough assisting me already, but the fact that he’d even had another guard teach the boy said it all.

“I already got permission to take you.”

“Permission?”

“Yes. From the highest authority in this republic.”

Junho’s eyes widened. He only opened and closed his mouth without being able to continue.

“Th-then...”

For someone living in North Korea, the name of the highest authority was an object of fear.

Even if Jang Songthaek was not Kim Ilsung or Kim Jongil, fear built up over decades didn’t disappear that quickly.

Seeing Junho stammer like that made me smirk.

“What? Sounds like a lie?”

“......”

The vicious edge he’d had was gone now, and the way his eyes darted around nervously was just childlike.

He must have sharpened himself like that to survive with a group in the harsh marketplace.

“What? Want me to introduce you?”

“No!”

“He’s a person too. You don’t need to be that scared.”

“No. No way. I don’t want to see him.”

The sight of him even waving both hands in refusal made me laugh again, and I shrugged.

“Fine, then. Why am I taking you? Well. A whim? Or maybe meddling? I don’t know the reason either. I just liked your eyes and the way you acted. So I wanted to take you. That’s all.”

“......”

“If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I don’t want to force you.”

Junho answered immediately.

“I’ll go. Anywhere would be better than this hell.”

“Good. Then come with me. We’re leaving tomorrow, so if there’s anything you need to sort out, do it.”

“Yes.”

“Chief Ma. Let him do whatever he wants to do.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Go on. Get rid of whatever lingering attachment you have left.”

After hesitating for a moment, Junho stood, bowed his head, and left.

“Boss.”

As soon as Junho was gone, Chief Ma called out to me.

I nodded for him to continue, and he carefully opened his mouth.

“May I ask why you intend to take that child in?”

“I don’t know the reason myself. Was this how Grandfather felt?”

At the mention of Grandfather, Chief Ma’s body flinched slightly.

I watched him for a moment, then continued,

“He just caught my eye. That’s all. I don’t know how this choice will come back to me in the future. Why? Don’t you like it?”

“No.”

“Then raise him properly, Chief. Who knows? Maybe one day that brat will take your place.”

I said it jokingly, and Chief Ma answered with his usual firmness.

“That won’t happen until the day I die.”

“Haha. Fine. We’ll think about that boy’s future slowly.”

After a brief pause, I spoke again.

“I’m meeting Jang Songthaek and Hu Jintao tomorrow, and then I’ll return immediately, so prepare accordingly.”

* * *

The next day.

I moved to meet Hu Jintao and Jang Songthaek.

“Welcome, President Kim Muhyuk.”

Maybe because it was the final luncheon, both men were already seated first. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

“You’ve had the naengmyeon here before, haven’t you, President Kim?”

“Yes. I’ve had it a few times.”

“Then let’s eat first. We can talk afterward.”

“Sure.”

During the meal, only trivial small talk passed between us, and we finished the naengmyeon in front of us.

“So, have you made your decision?”

Hu Jintao, who set down his chopsticks first, asked.

“I still don’t know whether Russia will join. President Putin wouldn’t give me a definite answer.”

“Hm. If Russia drops out, this project will become quite complicated. So what do you think, President Kim?”

“Mr. President. Before that, let me ask just one thing.”

“By all means.”

Hu Jintao smiled and held both hands out in front of him. The easy smile hadn’t left his round face.

“After you, can you support Bo Xilai?”

“......”

“No matter how I think about it, this isn’t a project that’ll end in a few years. The next Chinese leader is the key to this project. If that’s the case, I think it would be best if the next president were someone I can trust.”

“President Kim. Don’t you think you’re going too far? You would decide China’s next ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) leader?”

Hu Jintao’s gaze turned sharp in an instant, changing the mood at once.

A cold atmosphere spread, but I couldn’t back down here.

“If we do this project together, all of us will become bound by fate. This is a request born of necessity, not coercion. But if you can’t give me a definite answer, then I won’t do this project. I need at least one safety device to feel secure.”

I didn’t want to start an uncertain business while carrying that kind of risk.

Even the railway linking the Korean Peninsula and Russia alone was more than enough to be called a Eurasian railway.

South Korea would indeed gain the greatest benefit from this project.

But the country that would benefit next most would not be anyone else. It would be China.

And all of that would naturally be dressed up as Hu Jintao’s achievement.

Once he stepped down and his successor came into office, it was obvious what that successor would do first.

He would lay hands on this project too, to erase Hu Jintao’s traces.

Whether in democracy, authoritarianism, or communism, rulers in every political system were always busy erasing the marks of their predecessors.

“President Kim! Are you saying you’d let this good opportunity slip away?”

“Of course it’s a shame. It is a shame. This is a project with enormous rights and profits attached to it. Money matters, but the power to be gained from this railway is also too valuable to lose. But it’s better not to start a project that feels unstable.”

“Hoo...”

At my firm answer, Hu Jintao let out a deep sigh, clearly troubled.

“It wouldn’t be bad for you either, Mr. President. If the next power joins us, you’ll be able to hold power even more firmly for decades. You wouldn’t have to step back and become a behind-the-scenes kingmaker like Jiang Zemin. So what will you do?”

“...Does it absolutely have to be Bo Xilai? There’s a limit to how far I can push him as the next president on my own. No matter how much power I hold, this is not a system where I alone decide everything.”

“There isn’t another suitable candidate, is there?”

“Do you happen to know Li Keqiang?”

Since he rose all the way to the premiership in the original history, of course I knew him.

I gave a small nod and said,

“A politician from the Communist Youth League. Also the man people praise as China’s youngest regional leader.”

“That’s right. What about him? If it’s him, I’ll help.”

I shook my head. His background wasn’t the issue. The problem was what surrounded him.

“It’ll be even harder for him to make it. Neither the Shanghai faction nor the princelings would accept that. The Shanghai faction’s power has weakened, but if those two groups join forces, even you, Mr. President, will have a hard time. That’s why I chose Bo Xilai, a man from the princeling faction.”

If the Communist Youth League produced consecutive top leaders, the Shanghai faction would naturally fight to the death to stop it.

And then, just like in my previous life, Xi Jinping might rise into the spotlight. That alone had to be prevented.

Aware of the risk I’d mentioned, Hu Jintao pushed another name.

“What about Xi Jinping? That man can draw support from both the elders and the princelings thanks to the legitimacy of being Xi Zhongxun’s son. He’s in a far better position than Bo Xilai.”

“Well. Maybe in the past. But at present, isn’t Bo Xilai the more likely next candidate? There’s no reason to make things more complicated.”

“President Kim! Was this your aim all along? When you insisted on sending Bo Xilai to become Shanghai Party Secretary, was it so you could manipulate the next power as you pleased?!”

As I kept bringing up Bo Xilai, Hu Jintao finally turned openly hostile.

“Well. I didn’t have that thought at the time. In the first place, wasn’t it you, Mr. President, who proposed this project, not me?”

“......”

“For the sake of our business, we have to push Bo Xilai. And of course, he must be brought into this project as well. So what will you do? Can you promise it?”

Even if Hu Jintao pushed him, no one knew whether Bo Xilai would truly become the next ruler.

Power was a living thing, and no one knew how it would flow until the moment came.

In my previous life, Xi Jinping and Bo Xilai had clashed fiercely over succession, and in the end Xi Jinping won.

But this time, I intended to raise Bo Xilai to the throne.

For my own sake, and for the sake of our project, it was right that he be the one.

“...If I promise, will Russia participate?”

“We’ll create a place for everyone to meet and talk together in Busan. All decisions will be made there. I’ll persuade the President.”

Putin had been the one to suggest meeting in Busan first, but there was no need for me to mention that.

Since I would normally be the one arranging such a gathering, Hu Jintao only nodded without suspicion.

“If President Putin and Russia participate, then just as you said, President Kim, I won’t spare my support for Bo Xilai.”

“Good. Then I’ll join this project. We can discuss the details in Busan. The timing is appropriate since all the heads of state will be gathered there for APEC.”

“Good. Let’s do that.”

Once we reached an agreement, Jang Songthaek burst into loud laughter and cut in.

“Haha. So this is how it turns out in the end. I won’t be participating in APEC, but I’ll follow President Kim’s decision. So, Mr. President, please think of him as my representative.”

Even Jang Songthaek threw his weight behind me.

I only thanked him with my eyes and rose from my seat.

“Then I’ll be going first. I’ll return to South Korea and start drafting some plans for this project. We should at least have something to discuss in Busan.”

“We’ll prepare as well. We can’t leave it all to President Kim alone, can we?”

Hu Jintao rose with me and held out his hand.

“Honestly, every time I negotiate with you, President Kim, I feel like I’m the one taking the loss.”

“That can’t be true. It’s just your imagination, that’s all.”

Well, he was taking the loss. It was just that I’d be giving him a reward big enough to match it.

I clasped Hu Jintao’s hand and shook it with a bright smile.