Chapter 90 – Subversion [Overthrow]

“Welcome, Chairman.”

Siguk smiled and extended his hand. Gu Seongguk shook it, then followed his lead into the penthouse in Cheongdam-dong.

“This is… I apologize for not being properly prepared to receive you, as you said you were coming urgently on short notice.”

“Not at all. It’s fine. I’m the one who should apologize for suddenly requesting to see you at such a late hour like this.”

“Haha. Please, come in first.”

Gu Seongguk entered the kitchen with Siguk.

The host invited his guest to sit at the round table.

Once the guest was seated, the host poured black tea into his cup and his own, then sat across from him.

“So, what is the urgent matter you wished to see me about at this hour?”

Gu Seongguk did not answer immediately.

He merely took a sip of tea, savoring its aroma.

Siguk simply watched Gu Seongguk with a calm smile.

After a sip, Gu Seongguk carefully set down his teacup and spoke.

“The aroma is exquisite. Personally, I have many occasions to drink black tea and have tasted many varieties, but this is among the top tier.”

One might have found it absurd that he had come claiming an urgent matter only to suddenly start praising the tea’s aroma, but Siguk merely smiled in silence.

“Though I am the Chairman, financially I am not that well-off. So, except for when I happen to receive high-quality tea like this, I don’t get to enjoy it often.”

“Please visit more often. There’s plenty of good tea. Well, since you’re here, I can also pack some for you to take.”

At Siguk’s words, Gu Seongguk gave a bitter smile.

After taking another sip of tea, he looked at Siguk with a rather serious gaze and spoke.

“Money, honor, and youth. Hunter Lee Siguk possesses all of that.”

Siguk chuckled lightly and took a sip of tea.

Gu Seongguk’s words continued.

“Let me be direct. Please stop this turmoil.”

Even at Gu Seongguk’s words, Siguk did not bat an eyelid.

Siguk took a sip of tea, then, holding his teacup, looked directly at Gu Seongguk and spoke.

“Isn’t resolving political chaos ultimately the role of politicians? Well, if you want something like a public appeal issued in the name of the National Hunter Federation, I can manage that much.”

Looking at Siguk speaking so nonchalantly, Gu Seongguk let out a light sigh.

“The fact that the JH Group is backing Assemblyman Kwon Jeongyong—President Hyeon Woongryeol already knows.”

“Well, like other conglomerates, shouldn’t we also have a line in Yeouido by now?”

“…….”

“Well, Assemblyman Kwon hasn’t complied with any of our requests yet, haha. To be precise, after being elected, he hasn’t had the leeway to entertain requests.”

For a moment, Gu Seongguk felt confused by Siguk’s brazen demeanor.

‘…Did the President misjudge?’

Siguk was far too composed. That attitude muddled Gu Seongguk’s thoughts.

‘Is this also a deception? Can a young man barely twenty-five display such seasoned composure?’

With a slightly trembling hand, Gu Seongguk picked up his teacup and drank the tea in one go.

Siguk refilled his empty cup.

After briefly looking at Siguk with trembling eyes, Gu Seongguk took a deep breath and spoke again.

“President Hyeon Woongryeol is convinced that Hunter Lee Siguk is behind this incident.”

After all, his opponent was an A-Rank Hunter.

Moreover, he was someone who, since his early twenties, had served as Vice Chairman and General Planning Manager of the JH Group, handling all sorts of illicit affairs.

If such a person was determined to feign ignorance, extracting a sincere conversation would be impossible.

With that judgment, Gu Seongguk spoke directly.

Gu Seongguk quietly observed Siguk’s expression.

Siguk merely continued to smile, showing no particular change in expression.

After taking a sip of tea, Siguk asked Gu Seongguk in a leisurely tone.

“Do you… also think so, Chairman?”

At Siguk’s somewhat ambiguous response—neither affirmative nor negative—Gu Seongguk wavered again momentarily.

After briefly closing his mouth and looking at Siguk, Gu Seongguk soon nodded and replied.

“I think there is sufficient possibility.”

“If I were the mastermind behind this incident, did you come here alone at this hour to try to persuade me?”

“…Yes.”

“Then you’ve come in vain.”

At Siguk’s words, Gu Seongguk’s pupils trembled violently for a moment, as if struck by an earthquake.

“It seems both the President and you, Chairman, are looking for the cause of this turmoil in the wrong place.”

“…”

“Please relay this to the President. Instead of suspecting the wrong Hunter, tell him to lend an ear, however little, to the voices of the protesters.”

“…”

“There is only one mastermind behind this incident. The absurdity rampant in this society.”

After drinking his tea in one go and refilling his cup, Siguk concluded.

“If you, Chairman, are truly concerned about this country’s present and future, rather than spending time seeking me out, it would be better to somehow urge the President and the National Assembly members to come up with measures to resolve this situation.”

As if having said all he needed to, Siguk averted his gaze from Gu Seongguk, took a sip of tea, and savored its aroma.

Watching that, the pupils of Gu Seongguk’s eyes trembled uneasily.

On November 4, 2029, as a security martial law was declared nationwide, cautious voices hoping for the situation to calm down also began to emerge in some quarters.

However, even two weeks after the declaration of martial law, on November 18, gunfights between armed protesters and martial law troops continued in major cities.

“We can’t live like this! Let’s change it!”

“Let’s end the ’87 system!”

“The 7th Republic by the people’s hands!”

The slogans of the armed protesters, now indistinguishable from insurrectionary mobs, had shifted beyond simply overthrowing a specific regime to demanding a transformation of the Republic of Korea’s system itself.

As the slogans changed, so did the methods of struggle.

“Occupy the city hall!”

“First, seize the local broadcasting stations!”

“Enter the military bases!”

Nationwide organized armed protesters systematically planned and executed occupation plans for government offices, broadcasting stations, and local army divisions.

Since almost all armed protesters were reservists or civil defense personnel skilled in handling firearms, once they had a central focus and became organized, their efficiency increased tremendously.

“We did not become soldiers to point guns at our own people.”

Moreover, starting with local divisions, frontline commanders began to disobey orders, and armed protesters easily took over local division headquarters through these gaps.

“Our goal is to eliminate Hyeon Woongryeol and his remnants, and with our own hands, re-establish a constitutional assembly to achieve the establishment of a second Republic of Korea government. Fellow soldiers, you and we are all comrades.”

Leaders guiding the armed protesters in each region demonstrated political acumen by not only taking over division headquarters but also integrating military personnel into the protest ranks.

In an instant, the Army’s 53rd, 50th, 39th, 31st, and 35th Divisions joined the protesters, while the 32nd and 37th Divisions locked their gates, deliberately avoiding clashes with the protesters.

“These rebel bastards! What’s the Air Force doing! Bomb their division headquarters now, I said! What’s the Navy doing! Are you saving missiles to trade for rations?!”

Enraged by the behavior of the regional defense divisions, Hyeon Woongryeol attempted to mobilize the Air Force and Navy as well.

“The Air Force will not take separate action until instructed by the Northeast Asia Combined Command.”

“Recently, the movements of the Chinese Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force in the waters near Jeju Island are unusual. We do not have the capacity to spare additional forces.”

However, the Air Force refused Hyeon Woongryeol’s orders, citing agreements with the Northeast Asia Combined Command, i.e., the U.S. military, and the Navy refused, citing security reasons.

Of course, that was merely an excuse, and Hyeon Woongryeol knew it, but there was nothing he could do.

“Pull the frontline divisions! Those North Korean bastards are split in two anyway, they can’t come down! Damn it, the U.S. military is stuck in Pyeongtaek anyway, how would they come down?!”

In the end, Hyeon Woongryeol even attempted to call Army frontline divisions to Seoul.

“Recently, the movements of the East-North Korean military along the Military Demarcation Line in the Gangwon-do sector are unusual. While no separate movements by the West-North Korean military have been detected along the Gyeonggi-do sector MDL, coastal artillery gates open for about an hour every weekend, so we cannot let our guard down. Withdrawing frontline divisions is impossible.”

But the frontline divisions also refused the President’s orders.

Hyeon Woongryeol was furious to the core, but no clear solution emerged.

Despite Korea’s turmoil, which began in September 2029, escalating to the brink of civil war, the Korean government did not take measures such as closing the stock exchange or halting economic activities.

“If we take such measures, we’d only be sending a message externally that we are unstable. No matter how much it falls, it doesn’t matter. Just keep it open! This is nothing more than an illegal violent protest and riot. It’s not a civil war!”

This also stemmed from Hyeon Woongryeol’s stubbornness to demonstrate his resilience both domestically and internationally.

And surprisingly, Korea’s securities market, while declining, did not crash.

Initially, the KOSPI briefly slumped to the 1700s, but thereafter, even as the situation reached the brink of civil war, the KOSPI index maintained between 1700 and 1800.

“See! The majority of the people still consider me President. That’s why the economic impact isn’t that great. Right?”

Hyeon Woongryeol interpreted the indicator that way.

But foreign experts’ opinions differed.

“The Korean economy is fundamentally not so weak that its potential would be easily eroded by such political unrest. While there may be some downward adjustment due to the current political burden, stock prices are expected to recover once the political situation stabilizes.”

Wall Street securities analysts unanimously forecast that the Korean economy would not be easily shaken.

“While it’s a situation comparable to civil war, compared to civil wars in the Third World, it’s more accurate to call it a localized disturbance rather than a civil war. There haven’t been as many casualties as one might think, and apart from local government offices being occupied, there has been no looting of key infrastructure or corporate assets.”

“Koreans’ civic consciousness is high. They do not engage in radical actions that would completely shake the nation’s foundations, like Third World rebels.”

“Given its strong nature as civil resistance against the Hyeon Woongryeol regime, once the Hyeon Woongryeol regime collapses, Korean society will soon return to normal.”

American Korea experts and former senior State Department officials also uniformly presented positive forecasts that Korea would soon recover.

“Hoping this turmoil is resolved quickly, we will lead by example first.”

Chairmen and directors of major conglomerates vied to implement wage returns, expressing their will to share the pain.

“The key is the belief that this situation will end soon. If this belief is betrayed and President Hyeon Woongryeol holds on, the Korean economy will ultimately sink.”

“President Hyeon Woongryeol’s term lasts until May 2032 anyway. There are less than three years left. A wise leader would have already made a decision by now.”

Statements made by the U.S. and Russian ambassadors to Korea in media interviews drew unfiltered protests from the Blue House, but they weren’t wrong.

December 5, 2029.

Even the Capital Defense Command, the core of the martial law troops, turned its back on the Hyeon Woongryeol regime, and the armed protesters—the National Resistance Army—stationed in southern Gyeonggi-do entered Seoul.

Having merged with regional defense divisions and bringing tanks and armored vehicles into Seoul, the National Resistance Army seized the National Assembly Building and the Government Complex without encountering any resistance.

“Until the East Sea’s waters and Baekdu Mountain dry and wear away… May Korea and Koreans be preserved forever!”

No one knew who started it first, but around the time the armed protesters entering Seoul occupied the main assembly hall of the National Assembly Building in Yeouido, the protesters naturally began singing the national anthem.

Some, perhaps overwhelmed with emotion, shed tears, while others, holding back tears, sang all four verses of the anthem to completion.