Dear Comrade - Dear Comrade chapter 20

Chapter 5. Shenzhen (4)

Chapter 5. Shenzhen (4)

“Yeah, that must have been a lot of hard work.”

“thank you. Then please get on board. I have booked accommodation in the center of Tokyo. There, there will be a detailed explanation of the revolutionary operation prepared by our Chongryon for the task the general has ordered.”

“……I see.”

Soon after boarding, the wheels began to roll.

As if lying on a bed, he sat on a soft leather seat and watched the runway receding away from behind him, and Jang Seong-taek couldn’t help but be surprised once again, unable to settle his embarrassment.

He tried to hide his surprise and asked Kim Yong-geon, who sat in the seat next to the driver in front, announcing their departure with a cordless phone.

“Comrade Manager, are you going to leave the airport right now and go to downtown Tokyo?”

“That’s right. Wouldn’t every minute be precious to key workers who carry out the party’s most important work, like comrades in the vice-chairman?”

“……”

Unlike Jang Seong-taek, who was silent at Kim Yong-geon’s words, which was difficult to refute, Hyun Young-sook, the agitation manager, who accompanied him, asked the question again with a mixture of surprise and half interest.

“…I heard that there is a dedicated terminal, can I get out of the airport from the runway right away?”

It is only natural for Hyun Young-sook to ask such a question, unless it is a runway dedicated to the few wealthy people who own a private plane, no matter how arrogant a diplomat may be, it is impossible for a guest to drag a vehicle onto an airport runway, an important security facility.

Especially if it is an unofficial diplomatic envoy from North Korea, which has bad diplomatic relations with Japan.

However, Kim Yong-geon’s subsequent answer surprised Jang Seong-taek and Hyun Young-sook, who were aware of these customs.

“The Japanese side forced them to go through the terminal they had prepared, but we refused. Before negotiating, do you know what tricks the wicked Japanese scoundrels can do to bring the two generals to such a place?”

“…so you mean that the Japanese side gave permission to bring a car directly onto the runway, comrade? As far as I know, Japan is very strict about entry procedures and inspections for outsiders…”

“As the leader and general have always taught, diplomacy is war. Getting out of control early on can lead to defeat in diplomatic battles. Fortunately, the revolutionary diplomacy strategy that the leader passed down to the diplomats paid off, and we were able to overturn the efforts of the scoundrels and carry out the protocol and security of the two comrades according to the conditions we demanded.”

“……It’s amazing. comrade.”

In fact, Hyun Young-sook responded only briefly to Kim Yong-geon, who spoke thoroughly and thoroughly as an exemplary Labor Party member, but left out the specifics of task performance.

Of course, I had a gut feeling that all of this couldn’t have been as easy as Kim Yong-geon said, but now I don’t seem to want to make much of a fuss.

Eventually, as the car entered the city of Tokyo and got closer to its destination, the Tokyo skyline, which gradually changed shape day by day, was revealed.

Although they have heard of it and know it through words and documents, in Pyongyang, it is impossible to even dream of a prosperous and wealthy display of prosperity and wealth, and Jang Seong-taek and Hyun Young-sook had no choice but to secretly harden their faces.

And soon the car entered the forest of buildings like the Baekdu-daegan and stopped in front of a splendid hotel.

“It is here. Please get off with caution, Comrade Vice President!”

Jang Seong-taek and Hyun Young-sook’s accommodation was the most expensive hotel in Tokyo and a central hotel with strict room security.

Surrounded by the walls of the attendants in black suits and sunglasses, the two executives headed to the room to avoid the gaze of other guests who looked at them curiously as they got out of the car.

“Comrade Kim Yong-geon, why is there no one on this floor?”

As soon as he got off the elevator with his attendants, Jang Seong-taek, puzzled by the strange sense of silence, asked Kim Yong-geon, who was directing them to the room.

Although it is a luxury hotel that values privacy, it is a bit too quiet, that is, to the point of death.

And at the answer that Kim Yong-geon gave as if it was natural to those words, Jang Seong-taek was once again astonished.

“It is because there are no guests on this floor except for the comrades of the deputy chief executive. comrade.”

“How is that possible? I know this is a hotel in central Tokyo, but…”

“Because our Chongryon rented out the entire floor. We had a few reservations before us, but we charged the hotel several times the penalty and made them all empty.”

“………………”

“This was unavoidable for security reasons, as there was a risk of exposing the republic’s negotiating strategy to the Japanese side. comrade!”

Unlike Kim Yong-geon, who said so proudly, Jang Seong-taek began to notice something strange in earnest.

Regardless of the protocol at the airport, this was not possible with the budget of Chongryon and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which are extremely poor by anyone.

However, when the door to the guided room was opened, Jang Seong-taek and Hyun Young-sook had no choice but to forget the suspicions in their hearts and refrain from admiration.

“As directed, we have prepared as many luxurious rooms as we can afford. Even if you are a little shabby, it seems that it is not enough to lie down for a few days. Due to the tight preparation period, we ask for the understanding of our comrades with an open mind, even if there are shortcomings!”

“Um… you mean lack? Comrade manager, isn’t that an Italian chandelier?”

“Oh, yes. After all, people from the Central Party have a different perspective.”

“I’ve only seen such high-quality items in the special place where the general is resting… Oh, no, I was wrong.”

To the manager Hyun Young-sook, who was rushing to fix things after speaking out, Kim Yong-geon gave a bitter smile and bowed his head.

“Then I will unpack my luggage and report on my schedule here as soon as my loneliness is relieved. We have prepared rooms for the attendants on both sides of the room where the two of you are staying, so please call us anytime if you need it.”

“…Thank you, Comrade Kim Yong-geon. Perfect business acumen, which is rare even in Pyongyang. To be honest (to be honest), I didn’t know you could handle it with this skill. When I get back, I will tell the center well.”

“Thank you, deputy chief comrade!”

“Then let me go back. My comrade at the current manager and I have things to take care of before negotiating.”

“Okay, comrade deputy chief. And since we’ve checked all the rooms you’re staying in in advance that they haven’t done any tampering, including eavesdropping, feel free to talk!”

Kim Yong-geon, showing the side of a thorough party diplomat until the end, closed the door of the room with his attendants and went out.

As soon as he confirmed that there were only the two of them left, Jang Seong-taek asked Hyun Young-sook.

“Comrade the current manager, what do you think?”

“For now, let’s put aside the assumption that all of this was prepared by collecting money from Chongryon, because it’s a no-brainer. There is someone behind you.”

At Hyun Young-sook’s sharp words, Jang Seong-taek also smiled and nodded his head.

“It’s no wonder, the question is who that someone is. And the intention of planning this. My guess is that one of the influential people in Japan might have hired someone from Chongryon to make a back pocket. What do you think?”

However, at Jang Seong-taek’s speculation, Hyun Young-suk shook his head and expressed his denial.

“Is there anyone in the world who has been subsumed by the enemy for money and shows it to their superiors like this? A person with a family left in Pyongyang… I don’t think such a stupid person would have even managed to get over to the foreign ministry chief.”

“It might be possible. If you come from a good background, and above all else, if there is someone in the Republic who looks after you from behind, doesn’t the current general manager know that well?”

At the light provocation of Jang Seong-taek, Hyun Young-sook’s fine eyebrows frowned slightly, and then a cold voice leaked out of her mouth.

“I wonder what you mean by that. Are you questioning my ability to perform my duties as a party worker right now, Comrade Vice-Chairman Jang?”

“Heh heh, literally. To be honest, if the current director, who is the father of the current manager, had not been on Mt. Baekdu, would he have been able to become the head of the propaganda and agitation department at such a young age? Oh, but don’t get me wrong, comrade of the current manager. Because the leader’s father-in-law, I am also a common man. I mean, let’s just consider it as one of the possibilities that someone in Pyongyang is behind Chongryon…”

“Comrade Deputy Director Jang! I can’t ignore what I just said.”

“…………”

At Hyun Young-sook’s sharp shouting, Jang Seong-taek kept his mouth shut.

Hyun Young-sook, who had been wearing a mask of calm and coolness from Pyongyang to the present, showed genuine anger for the first time, even a little, at Jang Seong-taek’s words.

“I have come to this position with my loyalty to the Party and the leader, and my dedication to the republican system and revolutionary ideology. So please refrain from making anti-party remarks that cause internal strife in such a hostile area!”

“Haha, okay, okay. I’ve only done it once. You’re reacting too harshly. It’s my fault, so calm down.”

‘What did I say wrong? Like a girl, I don’t have a wide stomach.’

On the outside, Jang Seong-taek said he was hot and picked up words he didn’t know if it was an apple or something, but on the inside he kicked his tongue and shook his head.

To be honest, I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Although North Korea is a communist country where equality between men and women is one of the important values, in reality, it is still a contradictory country with pre-modern Confucian ideas, succession to the firstborn, and gender equality.

As such, among the (male) cadres of various parties and counties, including Jang Seong-taek, she was the so-called ‘Baekdu Mountain Stem’ father, who worked as a partisan with Kim Il-sung, and, if it were not for the current rank, propaganda, the second most important department within the party after the organizational and leadership department. There were many people who viewed it with prejudice that he would not have been able to rise to the position in charge of the agitation department.

Of course, I admit that I did not even get married until I was of that age and was absorbed in developing my own abilities, but North Korea is a country where background and background are more important than individual efforts and abilities.

Right now, Jang Seong-taek’s position is the Youth Business Department, which is also a ‘deputy manager’, but it was purely thanks to his brother-in-law, General Kim Jong-il, that he took over the position in charge of this contact, beating out Hyun Young-sook, an obvious superior who was the ‘director’ of the propaganda and agitation department, which is the core department.

“The story went sideways for a moment, but it seems that the two sides have reached an agreement that there will be someone behind Chongryon. And that too, not in a foreign country, but in Pyongyang. But who is it? Jang Seong-taek knows everyone who spends a lot of energy in Pyongyang, but I wonder who the hell would have poured foreign currency so generously into the Chongryon, which was managed by chaepo (Korean-Japanese).”

“Maybe… this is just my guess…”

To Jang Seong-taek’s question, Hyun Young-sook answered with a frown on his forehead as if he was recalling a faint memory of the past.

“A few years ago, I heard that the leader’s resuscitation was on a business trip to Chongryon… umm… ‘dispatched’. Was his name Kim Jung-hwan…”

The reason Hyun Young-sook changed the word from ‘business trip’ to ‘dispatched’ in the middle was because he knew well that it was actually ‘deportation’.

Although she is not sure of the circumstances after the war, she could easily guess that, like all the other side branches, she was sent as if to flee abroad under General Kim Jong-il’s checks.

“I think I heard it too. It was around the time I became the deputy chief… But what kind of talent did that comrade Jeong-hwan have to prepare for all these things?”

“When I was dispatched to Japan, I heard that the general was taking a lot of foreign currency with me. Could it be that he is asking the general to take this opportunity to treat us well so that we can return to Pyongyang?”

“Hmm.”

‘That makes sense.’

Jang Seong-taek was immersed in Hyun Young-sook’s prediction, which was likely to be possible.

Hosadama, I met unexpected luck, but at the same time, one more troublesome problem arose.

Of course, Jang Seong-taek didn’t want to take the risk of making a request to Kim Jong-il for an unheard-of kid named Kim Jeong-hwan.

But the truth is that once you eat, you have to vomit as much as you eat.

Besides, I couldn’t just openly refuse this unexpected cooperation as I had to borrow a cat’s hand to achieve anything on this business trip.

‘I’ll have to wait a little longer. It’s not yet clear how resourceful Jung-hwan’s comrade will be, and how many of those achievements I’ll be able to cut in the middle.’

“Let’s take a little bit more time and see. The talks haven’t even started yet. If we don’t get any results in this project, it’s the same with Jung-hwan and us, it’s going to be difficult. First of all, I have to save my mother’s branch first, so I’m not going to do it whether I want to save someone else’s branch or not, right?”

In response to Jang Seong-taek’s words of deferring judgment, Hyun Young-sook did not answer anything and just quietly nodded.

However, not even Jang Sung-taek could see that there was still a deep suspicion that had not completely disappeared from her eyes.

Meanwhile, at the same time, when Sung-taek Jang and Young-sook Hyun were struggling with the identity of an unknown collaborator, Yong-gun Kim, who guided them to their room, was riding in the hotel elevator.

After taking the elevator down to the first floor, he confirmed that there was no surveillance eye, and then took the elevator back to the room.

The elevator Kim Yong-geon rode stopped right below the top floor, one floor below the VIP floor where Jang Seong-taek and his party stayed.

Kim Yong-geon got out of the elevator and approached a room, located just below the room where Jang Seong-taek and Hyun Young-sook were staying, and knocked on the door carefully.

As soon as the door opened as if waiting for him, Yonggeon Kim politely bowed his head and said to the person who had been waiting for him inside.

“Everything went as directed. Comrade Jeonghwan .”