Chapter 1460: Testing (5) |
“Geez. We’ve gone through a… weird incident this time, haven’t we?”
Lee Hyeon-Su attempted to change the mood in the suite. Delicately, of course.
“Yeah, we have,” said Kang Jin-Ho. He, too, was being extra cautious as he waited for Choi Yeon-Ha’s response.
None of the men in this room had experienced harassment of such nature before, so they couldn’t even imagine how Choi Yeon-Ha must be feeling right now. As such, they had to remain cautious with their conduct around her.
“Still, haven’t they displayed enough sincerity by going this far?” Lee Hyeon-Su asked again. “I mean, objectively speaking? An incident like this would’ve usually resulted in some fines and not much else. So, the chief of police personally showing up here was, well…”
That was when he noticed the corners of Choi Yeon-Ha’s lips distorting strangely. As befitting a quick-witted man, Lee Hyeon-Su promptly clamped his mouth shut.
The mood in this room, at least for the foreseeable future, would be decided on what Choi Yeon-Ha said next.
“Oh, well. You experience all sorts of things in life, right? I guess today was one of those things.”
Keuh~!
“Still, I think I’m a lot less enthusiastic about this country now,” said Choi Yeon-Ha. She rested her chin on her hand, her face still filled with signs of dissatisfaction. “This might sound strange, but I’m still not sure if what I experienced was sexual harassment or racism.”
“Mm…!”
Choi Yeon-Ha reclined against the cushions and groaned loudly. “I keep getting reminded of this thing, right? Maybe Koreans should just stay in Korea forever, that whole thing about Hell Joseon or whatever be damned. And also, why am I going through this nonsense in another country? It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Wiggins sneakily joined the conversation. “Many countries around the world do their hardest to police any and all forms of racism. However, when you flip that notion on its head, it means their societies are ripe with hidden racism. It’s the same idea as you wouldn’t need to outlaw robbery if you had no robbers, to begin with.”
“I guess so…” Choi Yeon-Ha helplessly shrugged.
She heard many times that racism was a sensitive topic in first-world countries like the United States of America. Naturally, she took that as a sign of those countries being socially more conscious and culturally well-developed. However, now that she had experienced the truth herself…
Right. People here are sensitive about it precisely because incidents of racism happen pretty frequently…
She had a moment of clarity just then.
“I’m not trying to defend America, but the truth is… The issue of racism in America is fairly tame compared to other countries. Considering the diversity of all the races here, it’s quite remarkable, really. Or maybe that’s the reason.”
Wiggins casually shrugged.
“Honestly, I can tell you that racism is much more rampant in Europe. For now, being openly racist toward the people of African descent is heavily frowned upon, but against Asians? Some consider that a fair game, actually.”
Lee Hyeon-Su slowly nodded in agreement. “Right, right. I remember the crowd in football matches openly chanting racist slogans toward their players in Europe. They have no problem doing that in such crowded areas, so I’m sure they are just as shameless about it everywhere else.”
“Indeed,” Wiggins replied. He chuckled softly while explaining like a kind grandfather. “Racism, in reality, is no more than small fries being sour losers. Only those who have nothing to boast about in their lives resort to their supposed racial superiority. Those who possess true confidence in themselves and pride over their achievements don’t use race to disparage others.”
Everyone in the room nodded in sync.
Those with high self-esteem never really paid much attention to other people, never mind their skin color. They were too busy with their lives and their careers, after all.
Lee Hyeon-Su furrowed his brow. “When you put it that way… Let’s be honest here, everyone. Korea also has its fair share of racism, no?”
Wiggins chuckled softly again. “Indeed, indeed.”
Choi Yeon-Ha casually shrugged. “Oh, well. Whatever it is, it’s how I feel about this situation. As I’ve said before, I’m not as enthusiastic about being here, so…”
She then stared at Kang Jin-Ho next.
“When are we going home?”
“To Korea?”
“Of course.”
Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly as he thought about his reply. He had to admit that his stay in this country had unexpectedly been extended. And it was about time they returned to Korea, but…
“Mm, I can’t say for sure, since our business with the Americans has not concluded yet. Actually, tomorrow morning’s meeting might help us decide what we do next.”
“Oh… I have to get back soon, though. There’s this ad shoot I’ve been postponing until now, you see?”
Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “I see. Then let’s decide what we will do after the meeting with those people tomorrow.”
“Okay, got it!” Choi Yeon-Ha lightly got up. “Then, I’m going back to my room. I gotta get some shuteye quickly, otherwise I might have skin trouble tomorrow. Stress does that to women’s delicate skin, you see?”
“…”
Men in this room couldn’t quite understand that logic, but they had no choice but to accept it as the Truth.
Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “Got it. Sleep well.”
“Okay. You, too.”
Choi Yeon-Ha left the suite first. Han Eun-Sol bowed at the trio, then followed her out of the room.
Once the two of them were gone, Lee Hyeon-Su groaned deeply. It felt like a category five storm had blown through this place. Even as he was thinking that, he didn’t forget to gauge Kang Jin-Ho’s mood.
As the lone professional Kang Jin-Ho analyst in this room, Lee Hyeon-Su could say for certain that his boss wasn’t feeling all that… happy about this development. Even though the incident had wrapped up satisfyingly enough, Kang Jin-Ho didn’t feel refreshed or relieved about it since, well, he didn’t get to beat up the bad guys. At least, that was the conclusion Lee Hyeon-Su had arrived at.
Damn. This is gonna be bad.
If they left America right now, things should settle down on their own. Unfortunately, Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t leave this country just yet. Worse still, he had agreed to unleash his powers in the coming days, too.
The American duo must’ve patted themselves on the back while thinking that they had done an admirable job of wrapping this situation up, but…!
Sorry, but that won’t be the case!
Lee Hyeon-Su knew Kang Jin-Ho better than anyone, so he could tell.
People often mistakenly thought Kang Jin-Ho was a shockingly broad-minded person. Technically speaking, they were right. Technically, that was!
Sometimes, he could be open-minded and gracious about things. But in other times? Lee Hyeon-Su had to wonder how a grown man could be so petty and small-minded! And he had absolutely no doubt that Kang Jin-Ho’s response to this incident would firmly belong in the latter category!
Click…
Kang Jin-Ho lit up a fresh cigarette, then reclined against his couch. “Chief Lee.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you made sure we’re getting everything we can out of them?”
Sure enough! Here was Kang Jin-Ho, subtly probing to see if there was more he could squeeze out of this deal!
“Yes, sir. I’ve made sure.”
“Good, good. Then…”
Kang Jin-Ho relaxedly puffed away at the cigarette.
“…All that’s left is for me to do my thing.”
The corners of his lips began curling up.
***
“Are you serious about this?”
Phil Burton, the undersecretary to the current United States Secretary of Defense, chuckled hollowly while looking at Reynold Spencer sitting in front of him.
“Look, Spencer.”
“Yes, sir.”
“This matter? This isn’t about what’s right or wrong, but more like the question of what’s logical or not.”
A smirk of derision floated up on Burton’s face.
“Look, I’m not trying to downplay the importance of the work you do. Believe me. However, different things have their own dedicated uses. Even if a team of SWAT officers went against the army and got themselves wiped out, no one’s gonna call them useless. No, the one who will get blamed for that nonsense will be the SWAT commander. SWAT was never meant to engage in combat situations like that, after all.”
“Yes, that’s… true,” Spencer replied while frowning slightly.
“So, it should be the same story for the fine soldiers of the SOB. Without a doubt, they are a part of our proud military. Even so, it makes little to no sense to pit the SOB against the firepower of our military. Do you understand why I’m saying this?”
Spencer clamped his mouth shut. Not because he couldn’t think of something to say, though. No, he had plenty of things he’d like to get off his chest right now. However, he also knew it’d be pointless to say something here.
This man was Phil Burton, one of the undersecretaries currently serving in the Department of Defense.
Some might look at his job title and think that, since he was a mere undersecretary and not the “actual” secretary of defense, his authority might not be all that impressive. However, at least when it came to the matters of the SOB and the American martial society, Phil Burton exercised the level of authority surpassing that of the secretary of defense.
The nature of the SOB program meant it required someone to oversee it long term. In other words, this project couldn’t be entrusted to secretaries whose on-the-job duration depended heavily on the election results.
“Undersecretary, sir.” Spencer sucked in a deep, deep breath. “As I’ve said this before many times already… We must never underestimate their strength. Honestly, I don’t understand why I’m forced to sit through these meaningless meetings again and again. Sir.”
Burton furrowed his brow. “What was that?”
“All they have to do is prove it, is it not, sir?”
“Huh. It sounds like you’ve forgotten about what your job is. Tell me, Spencer. Who are you? What do you do for a living?”
“I work for America’s department of…”
“No!” Burton abruptly cut Spencer off. “You are a civil servant, Spencer. A civil servant! Your salary comes from the American people’s tax money! So, what do you think you must watch out for the most as a civil servant?”
“I… am not sure, sir.”
“It’s wasting taxpayer’s money for no good reason! I don’t care if you blow a fortune in casinos or get high on drugs, as long as you’re doing that with your own money. But that’s not what’s happening here, is it? We’re spending our nation’s budget for this event!”
“…”
“To create a combat situation you have in mind, we need to mobilize at least two divisions. Do you have any idea how much money we need to throw away in order to mobilize two divisions as if they are entering a real war? It might cost us less if we replace all the bullets with dollar bills instead!”
Spencer subtly bit his lip. He didn’t want to admit to this, but Burton was right.
A country’s military, any country in fact, was like a hippo that gobbled up money like there was no tomorrow. And what if you wanted a division to unleash their firepower? The entire annual operating budget for that division during peacetime could be gone in the blink of an eye.
“Yet, you want us to spend that much money on proving something you feel is necessary? Fine, let’s do it. We’ll humor you, alright. However, what’s your plan once you fail to prove its necessity? Who’s going to take the fall for your failure? Don’t tell me, were you thinking of washing your hands off while saying, Haha, looks like things didn’t work out as I thought, sir? Is that it?”
Spencer subtly gritted his teeth while sitting through Burton’s rebuke.
“Sir. I will take responsibility if we fail.”
“Really now? How?”
“I’ll resign.”
“Hah. Hahaha! You seem to overestimate yourself. A little too much, as a matter of fact. Do you think everything will be okay just because you resign, Colonel?!”[1]
“…”
“How about this? Bet the future of the entire SOB program.”
Spencer’s eyes powerfully quaked. “W-wait, undersecretary, sir. That’s not…”
“Let me be frank with you, Spencer. I’ve never been a fan of the SOB program. Don’t get me wrong, I’m on board with the idea of increasing the… versatility of our troops and tactics we can employ. However, that’s not how things have turned out. You’ve become too invested in the SOB program to the point of forgetting the big picture! The goal of this program was to strengthen our military, not the SOB!”
“Sir, I must strongly protest!”
Spencer didn’t back down and stared at Burton in sheer determination.
“I genuinely believe our military will become stronger when the Special Operations Brigade becomes stronger as well! That is why I’m trying to prove the worth of the martial artists through this battle!”
“Is that right? But that’s not a good enough reason to humor you.”
“Sir… Aren’t you saying all this because you’re scared?”
“Say what?”
Spencer chuckled helplessly. “My apologies, but let me be frank with you, too. In reality, mobilizing divisions doesn’t cost a lot of money. No, the actual expense comes from utilizing our powerful weapons. You said we might waste a ton of money. Doesn’t that imply that even you know our side must unleash an incredible amount of firepower on the level of two divisions just to stop one man?”
“…!”
“Which also implies that… Even you acknowledge the power of the martial artists. Isn’t that right?”
Burton’s face grew flushed in anger. “So, that’s how confident you are?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Fine! Let’s do it, then! However, remember this, Spencer. If you fail to prove, once and for all, this worth of martial artists you keep harping on about…!” Burton growled menacingly. “I will use whatever means necessary to dismantle the SOB program. You won’t be the only one losing his job, but everyone else will follow you, too! My advice? You better start looking for your next employment before it’s too late.”
“That’s not going to happen, sir!”
Burton shot up to his feet. “Let me know once you figure out when and where this thing will go down. Congratulations, Spencer. You’re finally getting what you want.”
When the undersecretary spun on his heels and left the office in a huff, Spencer spat out a deep sigh of relief.
He had done his job. The board was now set.
The time to prove their worth was fast approaching.
1. Yes, the raw really says “Colonel.” TLed as is. ☜