Soho

Chapter 24: < Protect – Episode 23 – Kim Soo Jung [1] >

“I... I think I’ve heard. Please hear me out.”

“You didn’t believe him, did you?”

Cranky Carl Raider, who was escorted by the U.S. military, looked at Ahn Soo Ho with an awkward smile. There were many jargons referring to Weeaboos who were obsessed with Japanese culture. If Cranky wasn’t caught up with the cyber strategy headquarters for his hacking skills, he would have been a naturalized Japanese by now.

“Where should we start? Your toes? Or your fingers?”

“Gasp!”

Ahn Soo Ho cracked his knuckles.

“Haha. Pl... please calm down. What is it that you want? I can even get you the Wi-Fi password to the White House if you want.”

“I already know that.”

“You know their Wi-Fi password? Haha. Th... then what about the Kremlin?”

“I know theirs too.”

“Gasp!”

Cranky was surprised that Ahn Soo Ho knew everything.

Some might ask why it was so surprising, but having the key to the White House or the Kremlin was a pretty big deal. It would seem like the cyber world was extensive, but figuring out the patterns humans came up with was pretty simple. Anyone could figure out a consumer’s taste as well as their future purchasing patterns by using big data. What that means was quite surprising.

“The next steps of humans can be predicted.”

What would happen if the future of mankind could be drawn up with numbers? What if we could prevent certain events and accidents before they even happen? Preparing for a cyber war wasn’t the only reason why the Ministry of National Defense was interested in cyber strategy. They predicted that beyond making future wars a button war, they would one day be able to look into people’s minds.

“The mindreading program. That’s what I want to know.”

Mindreading, but it didn’t refer to finding out a person’s feelings through expression, telepathy, or a sixth sense. There was a new cyber mindreading that existed in the 21st century.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand me. I don’t want the source code. That’d be treason against your own country.”

Cranky who had stopped breathing, let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Whose mind do you want to read?”

“That’s right.”

Ahn Soo Ho handed him a slip of paper.

“There’s a total of a hundred and forty-five people.”

“Hm, that’s a lot of people.”

“You can’t do it?”

Cranky saw him grin, to which he sighed again. He had a feeling he would lose both his arms and legs if he said no.

“If I want to monitor more than a hundred people, I have to report it to the superior officer.”

“That’s none of my business.”

Ahn Soo Ho was overly chill.

“Okay. I’ll do it. But!”

Cranky threw in his own condition while he pretending to surrender.

“Please make it so that I’m not responsible for any issues that arise.”

“You want to be pardoned? Okay. That’s not hard. What else?”

“I want to stay in Japan.”

“Hm?”

He was confused about Ahn Soo Ho’s request. Cranky looked sincerely restless.

“Please don’t let them take me back. There’s an animation festival in Tokyo in a few days...”

“This won’t do.”

Ahn Soo Ho cracked his knuckles again.

“You need a beating first.”

This white pig.

******

“You’re an unpredictable man.”

Oh Joo Kyung made a sound that sounded like a moan or an exclamation. An executive of Daesan Group would be expected to be a businessman, but the guests that came to visit Ahn Soo Ho in Okinawa were all in military uniforms. They were generals with shiny badges on their uniforms at that. The last person they met for the day was a commander of the Pacific Command.

She didn’t know much about how ranks worked in the military, but she knew more badges meant higher rank. She had never met anyone with more than four stars. If they were any higher than that, wouldn’t they be the Secretary of Defense or the President?

“I did drop out, but I used to be in the Naval Academy back in the day.”

“That wasn’t in the U.S., but in Korea, right?”

“Oh! You knew.”

“Then it doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t think I have a reason to explain.”

That was true. There was no reason to explain to Oh Joo Kyung.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Don’t be sad, Ms. Oh. There are things you’re better off not knowing in life.”

“I’m not sad.”

“Come on! It’s written all over your face.”

She lost her smile and went back to having a firm expression that seemed to signify sadness. Ahn Soo ho changed the subject.

“What’s the plan for today?”

“Nothing special. Your plane leaves at four o’clock this afternoon.”

“We have five hours. Hm. Let’s get something to eat.”

Traveling around the world and enjoying different foods was the greatest happiness in life. If he ever got married and had a child, he wanted to recommend traveling the world. Most things could be seen through the internet, but food could only be experienced in person. No one could beat the original no matter how hard someone tried.

“I didn’t expect to have Korean food in Okinawa.”

“It’s not run by Koreans. They took Korean food and put a Japanese twist to it. It’s not bad.”

“Japan is good at that sort of thing.”

The curry Koreans ate was like food that Japan reinterpreted. Ahn Soo Ho was shocked when he first tried curry in England a few years ago and, was surprised how the curry there tasted so different with what he used to eat. His shocked face looked like Kevin in the movie Home Alone when Kevin was shocked after putting on his dad’s skin lotion. Korea was unable to get rid of all of Japan’s influence even after the liberation. And it was that much clearer once he went abroad.

It was quite common to see a foreigner who loves Japan as much as Cranky. It was also common for lovers of Japanese culture to hate the neighboring countries like Korea and China. Was it possible to understand how people who knew nothing about Asia could hate Korea and Korean people? Frankly, Japan would win over foreigners with just their sushi.

“Korea will forever be a second-class nation as long as they don’t value national branding.”

There were people who didn’t know Korea, but everyone knew the States. They stirred up both positive and negative issues until they became the most powerful country in the world.

Ahn Soo Ho and Oh Joo Kyung, who were having coffee after lunch, saw a strange sight. Was it a parade? The lion mask looks like something that would have come from China. Okinawa was Japan, but it wasn’t like Japan. It was common to see protests against the Japanese government or the U.S. troops. They were full of emotional expression.

“Wow!”

As soon as a gigantic gold boat appeared, flower petals flew everywhere. The theme of the festival was uncertain, but seeing how there were uniforms everywhere, it must be field trip day all over the country. It was almost as if they were watching a school uniform fashion show.

“Aren’t you staring too much?’

“You can’t beat school uniforms.”

“Clang, clang!”

Oh Joo Kyung rubbed both wrists together and made a weird sound. Ahn Soo Ho tilted his head.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

Ahn Soo Ho only laughed once she put on an awkward expression. Oh Joo Kyung realized that she was tricked once again.

“Not all men like young women, you know.”

“But most do.”

“That’s true.”

That was the case, especially in Japan.

They tend to be obsessed with craftsmanship as well as tradition and culture, but in the countryside, there was still a caste system that differentiated the warriors from the common folk. No matter what kind of country Ahn Soo Ho visited, the world was hung up on bad habits and old customs. Was it bad to like younger women? It doesn’t sound like a problem at first. However, there was a clever pun hidden within.

“Ms. Oh. The world isn’t as civilized as you think.”

Only 20% of the 7 billion people on earth live with modern conveniences.

“So Korea’s a decent country to live in.”

Compared to Syria, Somalia, and Honduras, Korea was Heaven and even compared to countries in North America and Europe, Korea was a decent place to live. Only Koreans call Korea Hell Joseon. As long as they didn’t have capabilities that were superior to the average, Koreans were the happiest on the Korean peninsula.

“Of course, there are many irrationalities and problems. But think about it. It’s delusional to think that countries with strong welfare such as Norway or Sweden will accept us as immigrants with big happy smiles.”

Racism was harsher than any of them could imagine.

“It’s not about whether or not we’re capable enough to immigrate.”

In a capitalistic society, it was true that money could get you everything you want. But even the rich were discriminated because of race. If everyone was rich, you couldn’t deny that the rich white person had an advantage over the rich black person.

“If you take a good look at China’s irrational policy, you can see why they insist on it.”

In the international community, China’s image was closer to thugs than gentlemen.

“You’ll see how different their approach is when it comes to diplomatic issues with the East and the West.”

The countries in the States and Europe thought of diplomacy as an agenda for negotiation, but China assumed a war would follow. For the States, where they stress civil control, appropriate restrictions to rights, and legal responsibility, they saw following proper procedures as a must. So if there was a problem and the proper procedure was followed, they wouldn’t be at fault. In other words, they could propose a shitty plan and carry it through, but as long as they followed the procedure, they didn’t have to pay for the consequences.

“Even if you were subjected to racism if you can’t prove it, it never happened.”

Ethics and the law were two completely different things. The key was the true intention of China’s leaders, who overissue the out-of-body technique. They knew that they were pushing the limits too, it was just that they didn’t think humanity and justice were important in carrying out of a war.

“We think China is really pushing it, but they think they’re just fighting to protect their rights.”

“Was their invasion into our country’s territorial waters their right too?”

“They probably think so.”

If the world functioned based on common sense, there wouldn’t have ever been a war.

The sudden sound of a bell made the seriousness disappear. Oh Joo Kyung checked the caller and minded Ahn Soo Ho.

“Answer it. It seems important.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

She answered it, and a heavy voice followed.

“Vice-President Kim Kang Woon of Daesan Consulting has passed away.”

Kim Kang Woon was the one in charge of South America, whom Vice-Chairman Kim Dae Chan took by the neck after hearing Ahn Soo Ho’s advice. He must have been holding the key to a case. Whoever it was, they must have been pressed for time.

“Yeah. Now we’re talking.”

The world was far from common sense.

“The dead can’t talk.”

The fastest and most definitive method was killing, but if done incorrectly, things could get messy.

“Did they say anything else?”

“Vice-Chairman Kim Dae Chan would like to see you at the head office.”

< Protect – Episode 23 – Kim Soo Jung [1] > The end.