Chapter 498: Juyoung Hong (25)

Foreign Minister Sangsu Lim had never formally met Harrison, the US Secretary of Commerce, face-to-face, but he had encountered him briefly in the past. So he had no choice but to feel uneasy at Harrison’s remarks.

He visited Korea along with the top oil companies from not only the United States but also from around the world, but then he said he would visit the Blue House later.

But Foreign Minister Lim did not question him at all because he would be prone to the people’s anger if he upset Harrison.

Anyway, Foreign Minister Lim just stared blankly at the US delegation passing by him.

He then said to his chief secretary, “Call the Blue House right now. And monitor their movements and report to me every minute, or every second!”

“Yes, sir!”

Of course, Foreign Minister Lim had more troubles waiting for him.

“Minister Lim, why don’t you move with the US economic delegation?”

“Aren’t they supposed to head to the Blue House with you?”

“Are they heading to the hotel right now?”

“Did they visit Korea to solve the crude oil problem?”

“Netizens are praising our government for solving the problem that even America’s closest ally Japan could not solve. And the government’s approval rating is going up too. What do you think?”

“Can you import enough crude oil from now on? Can we expect the price of gasoline, which has nearly doubled right now, to stop rising?”

Foreign Minister Lim could not answer the reporters’ questions at all because he was left alone, not knowing what to do, after the US economic delegation left the airport.

So he replied as best he could.

“Our government is doing its best to resolve the current oil crisis. The US economic delegation has visited here in that respect. I can’t give you a definite answer to your questions, but our government is trying its best to bring about good results. Thank you.”

Having said that, he quickly left the airport because he knew that he would be in more trouble if he stayed there any longer.

***

At the Myongjin Group headquarters.

“…”

For the first time, Chairman Hong stared at his younger son Juyoung sharply.

Nonetheless, Juyoung was reclining against the sofa sipping tea as if he didn’t care.

So Chairman Hong brightened his hardened expression, looking at him, because it was useless to rebuke his son who would not budge a bit.

Then he said in a low voice, “You mean they’re coming here now?”

Those Chairman Hong referred to as ‘they’ were the US economic delegates, who were in the media limelight right now.

Chairman Hong heard the same answer from Juyoung.

“Yes, correct.”

“Why are they coming here?”

“Because I called them.”

“…”

Chairman Hong was once again dumbfounded.

But Juyoung continued, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in advance. I pushed them a bit hard. As you know, the United States is a huge country, so there were a lot of processes I needed to go through to get my message to the top leader . Moreover, it took a while because they were supposed to supply us with a huge amount of crude oil in dozens of oil tankers, and I was going to tell you about this after all the dust settled. But in the end, things worked out like this.”

“…”

“First of all, you don’t have to summon any staff right now urgently. Once they make an offer, you can review it and tell them you’ll give them an answer later. Of course, you can accept their offer because it won’t do any harm to the Myongjin Group, but please have our professional staff review it just in case. And don’t hesitate to make demands to the US delegation if you need to make any changes to the contract. Okay, I’m going to school, so I will leave it to you.”

“…”

Having said that, Juyoung left the house casually, and his father could not hold him back.

Then, Chairman Hong said to Director Sok, who was seated next to him, “Where is Taesok Oh right now?”

Of course, Chairman Hong also knew about Taesok because he was briefed about his activities in advance. Besides, he was one of the most promising employees of the Myongjin Group.

Director Sok said, “I understand he’s in Sierra Leone at the moment. He went there accompanied by seven elite staff from Myungjin’s secretariat. Of course, I didn’t stop him because he was working closely with Juyoung.”

“What is he doing out there?”

“He’s involved in lots of things. All I know is that Debius is taking care of him very much.”

“Debius is THE diamond company, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Hearing it, Chairman Hong recalled a large fish tank in the living room.

According to the butler, the fish tank was brought in by his younger son. But there was something sparkly at the bottom of the tank instead of sand.

He wondered for a moment if it’s all diamonds, but he shook his head because when converted into money, the diamonds could be worth tens of billions of Korean Won or maybe even more.

And nobody would be stupid enough to puts such precious diamonds at the bottom of a fish tank for decoration.

‘If the US economic delegation really comes to Myongjin…’

After he thought about such a possibility, he opened his mouth gently.

“Prepare to meet them.”

“Yes.”

Chairman Hong was still skeptical, but he had his staff make the appropriate preparations just in case they visited the Myongjin Group.

***

At the Blue House around that time.

“Where the hell are they moving? What’s their destination?”

“Currently, they are passing through Incheon International Airport via Yeongjong Bridge, so it is difficult for us to figure out their exact destination. But it seems certain that it is Seoul.”

“Damn it! Watch them carefully!”

“Yes, sir!”

At the Mirae Group at the time.

“They didn’t head to the Blue House?”

“No. The Blue House dispatched Foreign Minister Lim to greet them at the airport, but the US delegation refused his offer to escort them, and left for their destination.”

“Then what is their final destination? They don’t have any reason to decline our government’s escort service even if they are headed for a hotel, right?”

“Well, I really can’t figure it out because they have not left Yeongjong Bridge yet.”

“Um…if their destination is not the Blue House…”

Director Sungyop Yu could not get the words out properly.

The US Secretary of Commerce, the Deputy Secretary of the Interior as well as the US President’s right-hand man visited Korea, along with the chairmen of the world’s top two oil refinery companies.

In his mind, there was nobody in Korea but the Blue House who could invite them.

How come they refused the escort service offered by the Blue House?

Yu could only think of one scenario.

In other words, the US government didn’t inform its South Korean counterpart about their visit in advance.

‘Then who is it? Who the hell called them here? Can anybody do that in Korea aside from the Blue House?’

Even the Mirae Group could not do that.

But he had no choice but to frown at the fact that there was somebody in Korea who made Washington dispatch its delegation here.