Do you think I'm consulting you now?
Yamaguchi-gumi owned a restaurant in Kyoto.
Because it was a strictly membership and reservation-based restaurant, no one knew who owned the restaurant's membership.
Even Yamamoto, the president of the Yamaguchi-gumi, maintained tight security to the point where he did not know who the members were.
When I first started the restaurant, I knew who owned the membership, but as time went by and the restaurant grew in size, it became difficult to figure out who owned the membership.
That is why many political and government officials used Yamaguchi-gumi's restaurant as a place to have secret conversations.
I decided that restaurant would be the place to kill Hiroyuki.
If it was there, there was a high possibility that Hiroyuki would readily agree to the meeting.
Besides, now that he thought Han Hyun-soo was dead, he had no reason to refuse when Takayama asked to meet him.
Mercenaries and Cheonha Group's strike force were already waiting around the restaurant.
If by any chance Hiroyuki were to come out alive, they would move and kill him.
Hiroyuki will never get out of there alive.
I had planned to tell Prime Minister Koizumi about all these plans before.
"What did you say?"
As Koizumi talked to me over lunch, shock came into his eyes.
I was so surprised that I dropped the chopsticks I was holding.
"······Are you saying you're going to kill the Chief Cabinet Secretary right now? The second-highest ranking official in the Japanese cabinet?"
"Yes, I think so."
"What the hell! Is that what you're talking about to me right now? Are you crazy?"
It's a plan so terrifying that Koizumi would swear at it.
I looked at him, one corner of my mouth raised.
"Wouldn't it be better for the Prime Minister if Hiroyuki disappeared? There's no need for him to wear a mask in front of me."
"It's true that Hiroyuki is my political enemy. But that doesn't mean I'll let the Chief Cabinet Secretary die. Cancel this operation, President Kim."
"I will kill you no matter what. If I can't kill you today, then tomorrow. If I can't kill you tomorrow, then the day after. Someday, I will kill you."
When I firmly refused, Koizumi slammed the table hard.
His speech also became harsher. It seemed like a performance to show that he was angry.
"Damn it! President Kim Moo-hyuk! I respect you. But this is not it. You committed murder not once, but twice on Japanese soil. Isn't this a case where I can arrest you if I want to?"
Contrary to my expectations, Koizumi vehemently opposed it.
I didn't answer and just looked at him.
Koizumi spoke to me in a more gentle tone, as if trying to appease me.
"Let's bring him down in another way. If it's Mr. Kim, he can use any other method, right?"
It wasn't that difficult to bring him down in another way.
The recordings he already had were enough to send him into the abyss.
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But I wanted his death, not such a lukewarm result.
"Of course I can. But what I want is for Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki to die. I want to see that with my own eyes. The reason I'm telling you this is to minimize the repercussions for you later. Do you think I'm consulting you right now?"
Koizumi seemed to be under some misconception. He thought that just because we sat at the same table and ate together, we were on equal footing.
Koizumi raised his white eyebrows at my provocative remark.
"Are you notifying me now?"
Koizumi fired back in a sharp tone.
"It depends on how you accept it."
"I can't accept it. No matter how static it is, that's not right."
"Do you really think I would kill for Prime Minister Koizumi?"
"······Then what on earth is the reason?"
"Because that man tried to use me. I will never forgive anyone who tries to use me."
As he spoke coolly, Koizumi took a deep breath.
"You know, Mr. Prime Minister, I am a businessman, a man of transactions. Whatever the product, whoever the other party is, if they give me what they need, I will give them what they need. Mr. Prime Minister, you know what I mean, because you have a partnership with me."
"I know because I had that kind of relationship with President Kim."
"But it seems like Hiroyuki didn't know much about me. He only saw fragments of me and thought he could use me. That's why he has to die."
"What the······. For that simple reason?"
"Just that?"
I furrowed my brow without realizing it.
"It may be nothing to the Prime Minister's eyes. But precedents are scary. If I ignore this incident and forgive it, many people will try to use me. Since Hiroyuki tried to use me, I will use Hiroyuki to warn people who know me not to use me and to do business with me. That's what I want."
After finishing speaking, I locked eyes with Koizumi. There was a fire burning in his eyes.
We stared at each other in silence for a long time.
The first person to speak was Koizumi.
"Does it really have to be that way, Mr. Kim?"
"Have you gathered your thoughts?" Koizumi asked politely.
"Yes. If it weren't for my relationship with the Prime Minister, I wouldn't have met him and talked to him like this. I'm taking a big risk by telling you this. All preparations for execution have already been completed, and if I give my order, Hiroyuki will die. However, since the Prime Minister will not be free from the repercussions that will occur after that, I'm telling you this and discussing countermeasures."
Koizumi let out a deep sigh.
It was Koizumi who knew me better than anyone in Japan.
I was the one who helped him gain power, and he was the one who knew more in detail than anyone else what I did in Japan.
It meant that he knew very well that I would accomplish what I set my mind to, even if it meant suffering losses.
"Tell me more. What exactly is going on?"
"Do you know about the Church of Heaven?"
"I know. How could I not know?"
"Hiroyuki is trying to eat the Heavenly Church right now."
"What did you say?"
Koizumi froze, perhaps because he had not expected it at all.
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But I didn't care and continued explaining.
Hiroyuki planned the kidnapping of Han Hyun-soo and even tried to take over the Church of Heaven.
Koizumi touched his forehead after hearing the circumstances. It seemed that he finally understood why I wanted to kill him.
"Hiroyuki, you idiot. Politics and religion are inseparable, but you should still maintain a proper line."
"Does your Excellency also have any connection with the Church of Heaven?"
I asked this question because Koizumi had also given a speech in support of the Church of Heaven in his previous life.
"None. I have had several requests to meet with religious groups, but I have never had any separate meetings with religious groups since becoming prime minister."
"That's fortunate. There are two religions that have a great influence on Japanese politics, right? One is the Church of Heavenly Faith, and the other is the Soka Gakkai. I understand that most of the political people who were attached to the Church of Heavenly Faith were purged during the last purge."
Japan has been relatively tolerant of religion.
Perhaps because of this, pseudo-religions have become rampant, and at one point, a terrorist attack occurred in which poison gas was sprayed in the subway because of one of these pseudo-religions.
Although cults have developed into terrorist groups, there are still countries where cults are active.
Among them, the two religions, the Tenkyo Church, which believes in God, and the Soka Gakkai, which worships Buddhism, were deeply involved in politics.
"Yes, that's right. Most of them were purged. But politicians can't ignore religion. They are voters too. That's why Hiroyuki······."
"No. He was a believer who was enthusiastic about the Church of Heaven from the beginning. However, his intentions were different. He probably didn't like the fact that it was a religion rooted in Korea. While sorting that out, he was greedy and wanted to eat up the Church of Heaven for himself. That's why this current situation has arisen."
"······."
"What would happen if the Japanese branch of the Church of Heaven falls into Hiroyuki's hands? Can you guarantee that those fanatics will not commit terrorism against the Prime Minister?"
Koizumi would also have been well aware of the terrorist incidents committed by that infamous cult.
So, why didn't his face turn so pale? I kept on urging him on.
"You will eventually be pushed out by Hiroyuki. You will eventually lose power and step down."
"But there's no need to kill them, right? Just to the extent of exposing the relationship between the Heavenly Church and Hiroyuki······."
"Then it will just be swept under the rug. The people are not very interested in politics, and they don't care who becomes a politician as long as it doesn't harm them. Isn't that Japan?"
"······."
"If you are determined to keep your position, you can do so even if various scandals occur. So killing them is the surest way."
Koizumi sighed deeply again.
He picked up the cold tea placed before him and drank it all at once.
"How? Are you trying to snipe me like last time? That is absolutely not possible. It was a special situation then, but not now."
"Of course. I won't use that method. Hiroyuki and the vice-chairman of the Yamaguchi-gumi will meet."
I told him the plan slowly. Then, when the Yamaguchi-gumi story came up, Koizumi's face distorted.
"Yamaguchi-gumi was trying to give Hiroyuki a line?"
"yes."
"These are the bastards who don't even know grace······."
"Don't hate them too much, it's their way of survival. But now you know. If you try to hold on to two lines, you might lose both."
"I guess I should give him a scolding this time."
"If they don't arrest Yamamoto, the Yamaguchi-gumi will suffer some damage. That's the extent of it, so the Prime Minister's reputation won't suffer too much."
And he also told me about the scandal that would occur after the incident.
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Koizumi also listened to my explanation and immediately came up with a solution.
We parted ways after coming to a certain conclusion.
"We can't afford to have too many victims."
"I know. I don't want innocent people to get swept up either. You'll get a report tonight. No matter how late it is, you have to move immediately."
"Okay, I guess so. See you next time."
After Koizumi disappeared, I said to Director Ma.
"Let's go back too. Everyone, please wait in your respective seats, okay?"
"Yes. The operation will begin the moment the order is given."
As I went outside, the sun was slowly setting and the streetlights were coming on.
I moved to Kyoto with Chief Mashil, following the streetlights that illuminated the way.
* * *
Late at night, when darkness had fallen.
Hiroyuki's face was full of complaints as he arrived in front of the restaurant.
"This is why you shouldn't get involved with yakuza kids······."
Although he didn't like the idea of a yakuza daring to come to him, Hiroyuki couldn't bring himself to refuse the offer to meet him.
No, to be exact, I didn't refuse. I needed to make it clear to him who was above and who was below.
Hiroyuki entered the restaurant and was guided by the manager to the innermost room.
Takayama arrived first and was waiting. He stood up and bowed as Hiroyuki entered.
"Chief Cabinet Secretary, are you here?"
Hiroyuki waved his hand as if greeting someone and sat down.
Hiroyuki poured green tea into the teacup in front of him and emptied it in one go.
He put down his glass and got straight to the point.
"Yeah. Why on earth did you ask to meet?"
"I guess it's time to talk about our future."
"we?"
"Yes. Mr. Chief Cabinet Secretary, you become the ruler of the Empire of Japan and rule the sunny side, and we rule the dark side. Wouldn't that be good?"
Hiroyuki snorted at those words as if they were funny.
"Takayama. I think you're mistaken. I'm the type of person who can rule both the sun and the dark."
"······."
"I am different from Koizumi. I have no intention of leaving Yamaguchi-gumi alone."
"But, Chief Cabinet Secretary. The promise······."
"Does it have to be Yamaguchi-gumi?"
Takayama was taken aback by the meaningful words. He knew what Hiroyuki meant, but Takayama pretended not to know and asked back.
"Huh? What is that······?"
"The Yamaguchi-gumi is too big. And it has a very deep relationship with Kim Moo-hyuk. Do you know a man named Kim Moo-hyuk?"
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Takayama felt a pang inside, but he pretended to be calm and said.
"I know. He is the one who helped the president take control of the Yamaguchi-gumi."
"Yes. That's why Yamamoto can never betray Kim Mu-hyeok. But I have no intention of watching the great Japanese Empire's heroes being manipulated by Koreans. That's why I plan to build an organization that will follow my orders. And I plan to place you as the head of that organization. What do you think? My proposal?"
Hiroyuki was trying to make a new board.
"I, Hiroyuki, will make you the boss of the yakuza bosses."
Hiroyuki's words were such a sweet suggestion to Takayama.
< Do you think I am consulting you now? > End
< It's over when you kill me >