George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 111

Kim Jong-il was almost speechless, struggling to regain his composure. Bush had already offered nearly everything he could have asked for, leaving little room for further demands. He was offering to revitalize businesses and rebuild infrastructure; what more could he possibly want?

Of course, he wanted to shout, ‘Screw your meddling and get out of our country!’ but he had to grit his teeth and bear it if he wanted to survive.

After Bush’s departure, Kim Jong-il ended up bedridden. Some speculated he might die of frustration. The news of Kim Jong-il’s condition even made Bush feel a twinge of guilt. However, when he considered the countless lives lost under North Korea’s regime, his guilt subsided.

Following his meeting with Kim Jong-il, Bush visited Nampo Port. Fortunately, there were no major issues. It would have been surprising if any problems arose in a location practically guarded by an aircraft carrier strike group. Still, it was important to make a ‘consolation visit.’ While the greatest consolation for the troops would have been to leave them undisturbed, he went in person to address public perception and satisfy his own curiosity.

“It doesn’t seem like there are any major problems. It’s always a great symbol of peace.”

It was deeply ironic that a weapon capable of immense destruction was considered a symbol of peace simply because it deterred war.

Honestly, if war didn’t exist, there would be no need for an aircraft carrier strike group. He wondered how much good could be done with the money spent on building such a force.

Bush’s stomach churned as he vaguely imagined dozens, even hundreds, of beneficial projects that could have been funded. The United States, with its enormous budget, still faced shortages in many areas.

Recently, the chronic budget issues had been somewhat alleviated thanks to funds and gold from China, but large-scale national projects were underway everywhere to rebuild infrastructure, leaving little financial flexibility.

Given the critical nature of infrastructure, halting investment or construction midway would be disastrous, so Bush was determined to complete these projects quickly. Perhaps that’s why it felt like they were pouring in even more money.

However, there was still some room to spare, allowing for gradual improvements in welfare, particularly in impoverished slums where state authority was weak, and in remote mountain areas rarely touched by aid.

“Still, if we can achieve peace with this kind of fleet, it’s a bargain. Or is it?”

“Yes, it is,” the chief of staff replied, walking behind him. Bush felt incomplete without his chief of staff and tried to keep him close, even when abroad. Having him constantly by his side, even domestically, solidified the chief of staff’s reputation as the second-in-command of the Bush administration and Bush’s right-hand man.

This position unintentionally brought the chief of staff considerable perks. In politics, one often gains advantages whether desired or not. Even in North Korea, the chief of staff was treated almost as Bush’s equal among the staff.

In any case, the inspection of Nampo Port proceeded smoothly.

“Hey, Chief of Staff, what’s this?”

The problem surfaced at the light-water reactor. Already anxious, Bush wanted to be thorough and spent a significant amount of time examining everything. He felt a bit guilty for keeping people at work, but this matter was paramount.

“It seems fine to me.”

“Yes, if it were just this report, there would be no problem. But you see…”

The documents themselves were flawless, indicating no corruption, at least in the ‘construction’ phase. This suggested that even if workers left a minute or two early with some flexibility, they hadn’t cheated on cost reduction.

In reality, it wasn’t so much that they didn’t cheat, but rather that they couldn’t dare to cheat, given the close scrutiny of the presidents of the United States and South Korea. Moreover, the entire world was watching in real-time because of the bombing incident [referring to a previous event]. Would they even consider committing fraud? Furthermore, the guards here weren’t civilian guards, but actual U.S. soldiers.

However, the problem was the existence of two reports: one from American technicians sent to the United States, and another from Korean technicians sent to South Korea. This was natural, given the involvement of two countries. When Bush requested to see the Korean report, they readily provided it.

“Look at this. This.”

“I can’t read Korean. When did you learn to read Korean, Mr. President?”

Bush flinched momentarily at the chief of staff’s reply but quickly regained his composure.

“No, I can’t read it specifically either. But there must be parts that you can read too. Take another good look.”

“Hmm.”

The chief of staff began to carefully examine the report filled with unfamiliar characters. Only after comparing it with the American report, which he was intimately familiar with, did he realize the issue.

“Ah, there are some inconsistencies in the use of metric and U.S. customary units in some parts.”

This problem arose because American personnel had taken over the project after the bombing incident in the arena set up by South and North Korea, adding their own input. The confusion in units in many parts of both reports was causing chaos.

“You son of a bitch! Didn’t you learn your lesson from launching a spaceship into space three years ago [a reference to a past incident where unit conversion errors led to a space mission failure]? Are these guys trying to cause a meltdown on the Korean Peninsula after the spaceship?”

Bush’s raw criticism visibly paled the faces of those present. Those remaining in the office hurriedly began comparing the reports and blueprints, searching for the discrepancies.

Meanwhile, the chief manager of the light-water reactor construction was tasked with the unenviable job of appeasing the enraged Bush.

“Mr. President, we can fix everything.”

While one might expect someone in his position to ramble incoherently, the chief manager spoke relatively logically, attempting to minimize the appearance of their mistakes.

“If we readjust the dimensions, we can rework the parts that haven’t been ordered yet. We can also make sufficient use of the existing budget with some design changes to the parts that have already been built.”

The chief manager continued to explain how they could rectify their errors. As if to prove he hadn’t obtained his position through nepotism, his eloquence was considerable. However, stories can’t flow endlessly from a person’s mouth, right? Eventually, his seemingly infinite stream of words began to dry up, and his eloquence faltered. As pauses lengthened and his vocabulary became clumsy, the chief manager anxiously watched Bush, who had been listening quietly.

“Oh, is it over?”

Upon hearing those words, the chief manager engaged in a fierce internal debate over whether to continue speaking or stop there, finally settling on the most appropriate answer he could devise.

“Yes.”

It was the answer he chose because he had nothing more to say.

“Now, do you want to hear my answer?”

The chief manager groaned inwardly and reluctantly gave the same answer again.

“Yes.”

“Then, I’ll give you my answer.”

Bush took a deep breath, his expression serious, and shouted with unrestrained emotion as he exhaled.

“Fuck Off!”

“Excuse me?”

“Do you think you can make up for almost blowing up the entire East Asia just by talking a little? The only reason you’re alive right now is thanks to the American criminal justice system. Got it?”

“Mr. President, please calm down. The selection of somewhat passionate and raw words can be problematic.”

Thanks to the chief of staff’s intervention, the chief manager avoided suffering Bush’s private sanctions, but it goes without saying that he was immediately removed from his position.

“If something like this happens again, I’ll throw you all into the reactor!”

Even with the chief of staff trying to restrain him, Bush’s strength from working out made it difficult. The chief of staff was quite embarrassed, as he had never seen Bush so angry, not even during 9/11. Still, Bush seemed mindful of the chief of staff’s age and didn’t resist too strongly, allowing himself to be guided.

The problem was that even though he didn’t resist very strongly, this was only according to Bush’s standards, and the chief of staff had to exert all his effort to move him. This resulted in the unusual spectacle of bodyguards joining forces to escort the incumbent president into the car.

“No, please don’t speak so vulgarly. You are the President of the United States. You must maintain your dignity.”

“Hey, you son of a bitch, Chief of Staff. Am I an American or a North Korean? Just because the hat on my head is a bit heavy, does that mean I can’t curse at a guy who almost caused a major accident that would endanger humanity? The land of the free, my ass!”

The chief of staff’s only consolation was that the car was soundproof. The disturbing part was that the reporters following Bush had witnessed everything. Bush could act impulsively and be done with it, but the chief of staff was left to deal with the consequences.

Who would appreciate someone who creates more work?

“That’s what the position of president is all about. You’re not some neighborhood gangster, so why are you cursing so much?”

“There’s no such thing as ‘originally’ in this world. When you look into traditions, they’re just unnecessarily rigid.”

“There’s always a reason why people act that way. Frivolous and rash words and actions don’t give people confidence. Those who stand above must be serious and weighty.”

“That’s because that person isn’t holding a gun. People will develop trust even if they didn’t have it before if you point a gun at them and talk.”

“That’s sophistry.”

“But isn’t that actually the case? There’s nothing that works better than this in diplomacy. North Korea is being handled in this way right now.”

The chief of staff confirmed that Bush’s emotions, while still present, had cooled down enough for a normal conversation. It was truly a display of professional dedication.

“Of course, we can’t do this to the public, but that’s then and this is now.”

“We’ll take care of it on our end for now.”

“Don’t. That’s media manipulation.”

“Then do you really want those unspeakable words to spread widely around the world?”

“Why are you so stubborn when it comes to conscience when you’re someone who does all sorts of bizarre things?”

As expected, Bush’s appearance was featured in all the news and newspapers the next day. Since the only device that could be used in North Korea was a camera that could take pictures, all media except for the radio attached pictures and explanations, but the content was mostly as follows, except for a few anti-American media outlets overseas.

「President George W. Bush, righteous anger filled with love for humanity over sloppy reactor construction.」

「Another near-miss due to the American customary units. Is this okay?」

Of course, the chief of staff’s expression was subtle when he saw these headlines.

“No, they’re packaging it like this?”

“People who are meant to succeed will always succeed!”