RR 17
[017] The Era of Ordinary People 2.
“Oh, my! You’re giving me a huge assignment, aren’t you? Haha.”
The boisterous laughter of this Park assemblyman.
It was a laugh that revealed he was in a very good mood.
“Since the Chairman has made such a generous decision, a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Excellent. I will draft a preliminary plan at an appropriate level.”
“I’m prepared for a certain extent… but our esteemed Assemblyman, you must avoid the wrath of the Blue House. Draw a picture that His Excellency will be satisfied with. Hoho.”
Another concession, a step back. What exactly was Grandfather’s real intention?
“This, this. I’m so dull-witted… I only just realized it now. Please, tell me, Chairman.”
Oh, I was dull-witted too. There was a separate reason for such a concession!
I couldn’t tell for sure, seeing only his back, but Grandfather must have been smiling.
“Then, shamelessly, I will say something. Last year, there was all this talk of democratization, and now even laborers are taking to the streets, aren’t they? It’s like when the squid jumps, the mudskipper jumps too. Just when we’re finally able to make a living…”
“Ah, that issue, you mean?”
“Yes. With all the talk of general strikes and what not, no factories are running properly. If companies close down, it’s those very people who’ll be out on the streets… This is truly…”
Riding the wave of democratization, workers also poured into the streets to claim their rights.
What Chairman Jin was saying now was a request to stop them.
“Hmm… that issue is also our top priority. Don’t worry too much. We are refraining from strong suppression in the early days of the administration, but we will resolve it before the Olympics.”
“Enduring for a few months won’t be a problem, will it? Just steer us in the right direction.”
“You don’t have to worry about that part. Is there anything else?”
“I suppose the NIS (National Intelligence Service) is also frantically busy these days?”
“Have those guys ever not been busy? Ah! Oh, my, I’m being dull-witted again… Haha.”
Assemblyman Park slapped his head and burst out laughing.
“It seems the labor unions are causing a lot of trouble.”
“I’ve received several reports that their movements are quite unusual.”
“I heard Sunyang’s intelligence is on par with the NIS, so what can our guys do that’s so special?”
“Comparing a few swift-footed employees of a merchant to a national intelligence agency… It’s simply preposterous.”
Mobilizing even the NIS? Just to grasp the movements of labor unions?
Being able to use powerful state agencies so privately like this is the power of the money that has been invested so far.
Just how much election money did he hand over?
“I’ll get three or four lines running. You’ll receive the results soon.”
“This, I am deeply grateful for such great consideration.”
With Grandfather’s final farewell, the secret conversation ended. They exchanged pleasantries, then I heard the door open and footsteps fade away.
And then.
The sliding door opened with a drrrrrk, and Chairman Jin appeared.
“Do-jun, you waited long, didn’t you? Did you eat a lot?”
He pulled a dining chair close to me and sat down.
Although it had only been two months since I last saw him during winter break, Chairman Jin questioned me about the past two months as if we hadn’t met in years.
Studying diligently was all the correct answer I could give.
While I was speaking, Chairman Jin checked the table.
“Do-jun.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me honestly. Did you hear everything your grandfather said in that room just now?”
There were hardly any empty plates or reduced food. He immediately noticed that I had neglected my meal.
This time, he’d probably like it if I said I heard everything, right? It was obvious that the slightly ajar sliding door was deliberately left that way so I could hear well.
But eavesdropping wasn’t a good thing. I instinctively acted like a child caught doing something wrong, lowering my eyes and bowing my head.
“You rascal. Lift your head. A man shouldn’t bow his head at every turn.”
I felt Chairman Jin’s hand stroking my bowed head. A hand devoid of warmth. This man was growing old.
“Did you understand everything in the conversation this grandfather had?”
His eyes were filled with anticipation.
If I nodded now? That anticipation would turn into joy, but I couldn’t do that. I shook my head.
I had already given him enough joy. Joy doubles when given out little by little when needed. And the political content was too complex for an eleven-year-old to understand.
But I wanted to give him a small gift. Because I wasn’t so heartless as to completely ignore that disappointed look.
“But there is something I’m curious about.”
“Curiosity is a good thing. What is it?”
“The person who was with Grandfather earlier, was he the president’s subordinate?”
“Subordinate? Something like that.”
Chairman Jin showed full curiosity, wondering what my next question would be.
“Why would Grandfather meet a subordinate? If you’re the chairman of the biggest company in our country, shouldn’t you be meeting the president?”
I was genuinely curious. No matter how much of a Crown Prince of the Sixth Republic he was, he wasn’t at a level that the chairman of Sunyang Group needed to meet directly.
I wanted to hear the reason.
“Do-jun.”
“Yes.”
“When you go to school, you hear all sorts of rumors, don’t you? Someone is very kind, someone is standoffish, someone is good at fighting. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes. I hear a lot.”
“Especially if the friend who delivers the rumor is very close to Do-jun or a trustworthy kid like the class president, you’ll think the rumor is accurate. That’s the trap.”
The trap of accurate rumors. No, the trap of trusting the messenger.
“You shouldn’t believe what others say. No matter if they’re a friend. Especially for very important matters. You always have to verify it directly.”
“So you verified it directly?”
“Yes. I confirmed how grateful he was for my help. And… it was for various other reasons as well.”
“Yes.”
Chairman Jin, who had been carefully watching me nod in response, confirmed again.
“Do-jun, do you remember what this grandfather told you before? The thing I said was important?”
I quickly racked my brain. What would he want to confirm at this moment?
“You said I don’t have to understand what Grandfather says, but not to forget it. And to remember it whenever I need it. Is that right?”
“Yes. That’s right. Likewise, you must not forget what I just said and remember it.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“And one more thing. You should be a listener, not an explainer.”
One more, you should be the one who listens, chooses, and decides. Today, Chairman Jin did not surrender to the real power of the current regime.
His statement about following the government’s grand plan is also in this context. It’s not too late to listen to Assemblyman Park’s plan and then decide. If he doesn’t like it, he can simply plead practical difficulties and change it.
Chairman Jin’s tone was only polite; he was instructing Assemblyman Park to submit a plan, just as he would a subordinate.
The one who proposes first is the weak one, the subordinate.
A smile naturally came to my face as I grasped Chairman Jin’s true intention. I had no way of knowing how he interpreted my smile, but Chairman Jin also looked satisfied.
“It’s a pity, but today I’ll have to be content with seeing our Do-jun’s face. This grandfather is a bit busy, you see. Instead, be sure to come to Grandfather’s house on Children’s Day. Let’s play together.”
“Yes!”
I had to reply as if I was very happy. After all, no child dislikes Children’s Day.
.
.
.
Post-Meeting Analysis
After sending his grandson home, Chairman Jin re-entered the main room. He didn’t know when he had appeared, but a middle-aged man who had been sitting on the sofa immediately stood up when Chairman Jin entered.
“Just sit down. You’re too rigid, it’s a fault. Why do you fuss so much about etiquette?”
“No, sir. It’s a habit, perhaps? Haha.”
“Did you escort Assemblyman Park well?”
“Yes. I escorted him to the private room downstairs. I also assigned a new female singer to him so he could relax and enjoy the fragrance of a woman.”
“Good job. That man loses his mind when it comes to women. How’s the banquet hall?”
“We handed out a copy to each of the first-term assemblymen present. And…”
The middle-aged man’s lips curled slightly as he added,
“We also identified those who were hitting on the models placed in the banquet hall. I’ve instructed them to arrange meetings as soon as the banquet ends.”
This was a place where one could simultaneously identify those who liked money, those who liked women, and those who liked both.
Of course, there would also be those who shunned women and refused money.
This was the advantage of widespread bribery. A list of those who needed to be filtered out was quickly created, and targets for focused management emerged.
It had only been a few days since they were elected, and they were already readily accepting money and drooling over women?
Such careless individuals would only be National Assembly members once. There would be no second term.
Targets for focused management needed to be nurtured and turned into docile sheep. Weren’t these the vanguard of Sunyang?
“Well done.”
Today’s work seemed to be mostly finished. Chairman Jin, feeling much more at ease, picked up his teacup.
“What do you think? What will Assemblyman Park come up with?”
“Does it matter what he comes up with? All we need is for Sunyang to secure natural gas resources from the Soviet Union.”
“Are you confident?”
The middle-aged man did not avoid Chairman Jin’s steady gaze.
“LNG is coming in steadily. Since Sunyang set the table, we should monopolize it. I am confident.”
Chairman Jin’s eyes, as he looked at the middle-aged man who answered with a subtle smile, held boundless trust.
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