The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 214

214. Jang Song-thaek’s Secret

Construction Site Cafeteria.

At the manager’s dining hall, construction managers shook their heads in amazement at Director Park’s dedication.

“It’s unbelievable! A politician, especially a president who was always waited on, is teaching laborers how to use shovels!”

“What’s there to say? He even completely changed the blueprints! He straightened out the winding roads by elevating them. It’s not just book-learned engineering; it’s experience from years of practical work!”

“This can only be explained by innate knowledge. Isn’t it possible that a legendary construction master was reincarnated as president? How else could a construction novice be such a veteran?”

“It’s truly a mystery!”

They didn’t realize that Director Park was in his element.

With Director Park in charge, the construction time was reduced by more than half.

*

The entire nation was watching the general election results.

Around midnight, the winners and losers were decided, except for a few closely contested districts.

Citizens watching the election coverage all had something to say.

“Look at the North! It’s all blue [the color associated with the ruling party]!”

“Wow, the ruling party won all but one seat! This is practically a one-party state!”

“The ruling party has more than half the seats in the South too. They’ll be able to push through a constitutional amendment!”

“This president is really lucky. He’s benefiting from the afterglow of the previous president and even Jang Song-thaek’s influence from the North. It’s a piece of cake for him.”

“That’s right. I wonder if a dictator will emerge?”

“The biggest task is North-South unification, so we need charisma. It’s not the time to complain when we’re full; we still need to tighten our belts.”

*

Director Park’s office.

A call came in that morning.

It was Jang Song-thaek.

– Director Park, now that the elections are over, how about we have a drink?

“Sounds good!”

– I know a fantastic place I frequent. It’s near Kaesong [a city in North Korea, close to the border], so it’s convenient.

*

Splash!

The water of Pakyon Falls cascaded down refreshingly.

They were developing the North’s natural scenic spots into tourist attractions.

Construction of access roads and accommodations that wouldn’t damage the scenery was in full swing.

Director Park and Jang Song-thaek were meeting in a pavilion with a clear view of Pakyon Falls, with a simple table of snacks and drinks in front of them.

Jang Song-thaek skillfully poured Kaesong soju [a type of Korean distilled spirit] and said,

“It’s nice to meet outside of official duties, without ranks, and enjoy a drink.”

“Indeed. Drinks at official events don’t even get you drunk.”

The two exchanged drinks and chatted.

They were intoxicated by the alcohol and the beauty of the waterfall.

Then, Jang Song-thaek emptied his glass and suddenly asked an unexpected question.

“Director Park, are you perhaps a regressor from the future?”

“Excuse me?”

Director Park was stunned by the sudden question.

“A, a regressor?”

The alcohol wore off instantly.

“Hahaha, don’t try to deny it. Just be honest with me.”

“Oh, geez, how should I explain this…”

Director Park was at a loss, as if his deepest secret had been revealed.

Jang Song-thaek said,

“I’m telling you this now, but I was certain that the South was secretly developing nuclear weapons. That’s why I brought nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union.”

“…….”

It wasn’t a move to check China, but an attempt to balance the power between North and South.

Director Park felt a sense of foreboding.

The thought that this guy might know his policies like the back of his hand if he knew he was a regressor sent shivers down his spine.

Director Park emptied his glass, grabbed a spicy chili, and bit into it, trying to stimulate his senses to regain his composure.

It was no longer a stage to gloss over the situation.

But on the other hand, he wondered.

Why is this guy bringing this up now? What about the Security Command coup, the Chinese invasion, and the nuclear attack? Why did he support absorption unification with South Korea and volunteer to be a kingmaker?

There were countless questions.

Director Park, as if he were a criminal caught by a detective, tried to reverse the situation by focusing his energy and launching a counterattack.

“How did you know I was a regressor?”

Jang Song-thaek flinched.

“Hmm, I was hesitant until then. But after receiving the report about the North’s underground tunnels, I was convinced. Ah, he already knows we were digging tunnels towards the South! Knowing about unfinished tunnels means he knows the future.”

“…….”

“After reviewing Your Excellency’s political trajectory, I became convinced that you removed Kim Je-gu and are always preemptively responding to events that will happen in the future.”

“….”

Listening carefully, Director Park noticed something strange in Jang Song-thaek’s words.

Could it be….

He asked a question.

“How did Chairman Jang determine that I was preemptively responding to the future?”

“…….”

“That means you already knew how the future would unfold, right?”

Jang Song-thaek flinched at Director Park’s sharp question.

He emptied his glass without a word.

“Madam, the bottle is empty!”

Jang Song-thaek, who ordered a new bottle of soju, replied.

“Because, because… I am also a regressor from the future!”

“A regressor!”

Director Park felt a jolt as if struck by lightning.

Strangely, the waterfall seemed to be flowing backward.

The alcohol in the glass he was holding sloshed.

Was he not the only regressor in this world?

Unlike Director Park, who was in shock, Jang Song-thaek was full of composure.

“I was just as shocked as you are now when I was convinced that Your Excellency was a regressor. So, it’s tit for tat, hahaha!”

“Tit for tat….”

For a while, the two silently emptied their glasses and stared at the waterfall.

Jang Song-thaek broke the silence first.

“There’s a story in a fairy tale called ‘The King has Donkey Ears!’ I’ve always felt suffocated, as if a gourd was hanging in my chest, unable to tell anyone. But meeting a regressor like this makes me want to shout out loud that my ears are donkey ears.”

Director Park knew the lonely feelings of a regressor well.

Director Park said,

“We are in the same boat. It’s like suffering from a silent, internal illness of not being able to shout out the king’s ears.”

“Internal illness! Hahaha, that’s right! That’s exactly the illness! Hahaha!”

Jang Song-thaek, who burst into hearty laughter, shared his pent-up feelings as a regressor.

“Your Excellency knows well how I met my unjust end before the regression.”

“…….”

“I was hit by anti-aircraft fire by a young punk, my insides were torn apart, and my head was cut off and displayed on the steps of a high-ranking building.”

Jang Song-thaek’s eyes, filled with resentment, flashed with a blue light like a beast’s eyes at night.

Instead of speaking, Director Park closed his eyes and nodded.

Jang Song-thaek revealed the process of his regression.

“I was looking down at my own miserable corpse from the sky. And I made a decision. If I am reborn, I will annihilate this regime!”

“…….”

“And after passing through a tunnel of light, I opened my eyes and was back as a young Jang Song-thaek.”

“Indeed, a strong desire became a wish.”

“The first thing I did was to remove Kim Jong-un to avenge my enemy. But Kim Jong-un wasn’t even born yet. I waited with bated breath for Kim Jong-il to take power and for Kim Jong-un to be born.”

“…….”

“But suddenly, Kim Jong-il died in Eastern Europe.”

“…….”

It was Director Park who had removed Kim Jong-il.

“Since Kim Jong-il died, Kim Jong-un could not be born.”

“…….”

“I married Kim Pyong-il’s sister. I rose through the ranks without ever falling out of the top five in the North Korean power structure. But I knew that the North Korean system was a pre-modern hereditary dynasty. I tried to change it. But Kim Pyong-il noticed this and realized that he was trying to purge me.”

“…….”

It was more exciting than any novel.

“I was in danger of being purged again as miserably as before. I was helpless before the regression, but this time it was different. I’m a regressor who has experienced it once. Besides, the South was strangely helping me at this time. The director of the National Intelligence Service warned me that I would be purged.”

“That’s right.”

“Until then, I never dreamed that Your Excellency was a regressor like me.”

“Hahaha, I didn’t even know that Chairman Jang was a regressor until just now.”

“That’s how it is, hahaha.”

Jang Song-thaek emptied his glass and said,

“I suspected that the director of the National Intelligence Service might be a double agent.”

“…….”

“This time, I made the first move. I used Kim Dae-jung’s connections to create the Guard Command, suppressed the State Security Department, and finally blew up the helicopter carrying the Number One. As you know, the coup was a great success. The State Security Department was also sent back to their hometowns. I became the supreme leader, so I thought everything was over.”

“…….”

“But unexpectedly, the State Security Department coup occurred. That was something that didn’t exist in history. Well, it was a new history that I became Number One.”

“…….”

“I thought, ‘Oops.'”

“So you readily agreed to nuke Pyongyang?”

“Of course. Unless I was crazy, which supreme leader would collectively defect to a hostile country and fire nuclear missiles at their own people?”

“That’s right!”

“At this time, I was deeply 고민했다 [gominhaetda, Korean for ‘agonized’] whether to defect to the South or to counterattack strongly. But there was nowhere to retreat. Even if I defected, they would find me and assassinate me in the end. I had no choice if I wanted to live.”

“Hmm, now I understand everything!”

“Besides, the moment I was convinced that Your Excellency was a regressor, I pressed the nuclear missile button in the North. I judged that you were a person who could fully control the future of the Korean Peninsula without the North and South perishing in war. The North Korean regime had to disappear forever.”

“Now the whole picture of North-South unification has been revealed!”

Another bottle of alcohol came in.

There were no more barriers between the two people who were in the same boat.

Jang Song-thaek munched on a 빈대떡 (bindaetteok, mung bean pancake) and said,

“Your Excellency must have had great regrets when you passed away from your subordinate’s bullet in Gungjeong-dong [the location of the presidential residence at the time], right? So you regressed to resolve that resentment, didn’t you?”

“Well, you could say that.”

There was still one thing Jang Song-thaek didn’t know.

That Jung Joo-hyun and Park Jung-woong had switched places and regressed.

Jang Song-thaek thought that Park Jung-woong had regressed as President Park, just like himself.

Director Park 잠시 고민했다 [jamsi gominhaetda, Korean for ‘hesitated for a moment’].

Should I confess that I am actually Jung Joo-hyun, not Park Jung-woong?

The two 풀어놓았다 their 회포 [pureonoeatta their hoepo, Korean for ‘unburdened their hearts’] until dawn.

The next day, Director Park reported to the President while still not fully recovered from the 술 [sul, Korean for ‘alcohol’].