Chapter 90
Japan was in a festive mood after hearing about this incident.
They were happy not only about the situation in Korea, but also about the death of Yu Ji-ha, who had been challenging Japan.
Of course, the government had its own headaches.
All the secret deals they had made with Yu Ji-ha became null and void.
They had to hope that the situation in Korea would stabilize as soon as possible, but they were busy preparing to pull out.
It was getting harder to supply goods to Terra Island because of the uncertainty of the nuclear fusion plant.
They had to get out of there while they could.
While the government was racking its brains, the Yushin Association, which claimed to represent Japan’s far right, raised its voice.
—The current political situation in Korea is foggy. The bureaucrats are at a loss in the midst of severe chaos.
—The military is also greatly confused by the southward movement of the Russian Pacific Fleet. They want to respond strongly, but they don’t have the resources or the person to take responsibility after the war.
—If we act boldly at this point, we can get Takeshima and black metal.
—Maybe someone with charisma will appear soon.
Japan was already convinced that Korea had interfered with their nuclear test.
The far right concluded that they had to teach Korea a lesson so that they would never look down on Japan again.
It was even better that Korea had gone back several years after Yu Ji-ha’s death.
The Yushin Association stepped forward and the Maritime Self-Defense Force responded.
They had been secretly active even after Prime Minister Ozawa’s purge, recommending their faction and so on.
It was easy to form a fleet to reclaim Dokdo.
Russia’s Pacific Fleet was nearby, putting pressure on Korea.
—It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There’s no chance if not now.
That’s how three fleets set sail from Maizuru at once.
This fleet had been defeated by Kim Gu ship in the previous Second Korean War.
The top of the Maritime Self-Defense Force decided to avenge their past failure by sending them again.
It was even more so because it was the Takeshima recapture operation.
The entire self-defense force members were determined to do their best.
Before they left, the maritime commander emphasized:
“Remember. Takeshima is part of Shimane Prefecture. We are only reclaiming our territory.”
In fact, Prime Minister Ozawa was very worried about the self-defense force’s unilateral action, but he had no power.
He was so unpopular that he was called a vegetative regime and a paper doll Ozawa.
Even so, he didn’t hold a general election because the Yushin Association thought it was convenient to use him.
They took the good things and made the prime minister responsible for the bad things. How nice?
The Maritime Self-Defense Force had received full support from the Yushin Association since the nuclear test, and now they had no hesitation in acting on their own.
Japan itself was divided in half.
That’s how three fleets appeared near Dokdo, and instead of the Coast Guard, the 1st Combat Squadron came out, but there was too much difference in power.
“Izumo-class helicopter carriers are also mobilized. Japan has attacked Dokdo!”
An urgent report came to Blue House through the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Japan attacked Dokdo by surprise and occupied it, and after a slight skirmish, captured many civilians and guardsmen.
Acting President Han Seungjae lost his balance for a moment from such a big shock.
“Why now… What should I do?”
Why are you asking me?
Bae Seong-min, chief of staff, looked at him with a cold eye.
It was a time when the leader’s decision was important, but he had neither courage nor ability to do so.
“Representative, there is a report from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
“Give it to me.”
Acting President Han listened to the report of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and got excited.
“What’s that? There’s a ship with a railgun! Shoot it!”
“Representative, just in case you know, that would be war.”
“Oh, what about missiles with anttron warheads…”
“Do you mean to stop Japan’s nuclear power plants?”
His hand holding the phone trembled.
He could drive away Japan’s fleet with a railgun.
But that would be a definite war.
Of course, Japan’s actions this time were also close to being prepared for war.
The difference was that Korea’s situation was very bad.
If they went to war at this point, Korea would definitely default.
Acting President Han didn’t want to be recorded as a great idiot who ruined Korea in just a month that had been doing well enough.
He immediately summoned Japan’s ambassador, but he only spouted nonsense.
“We will release the civilians soon. But we cannot withdraw our troops from Takeshima. According to the ordinance of Shimane Prefecture…”
“Get out of Dokdo right now!”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t do that. Takeshima is Japan’s inherent territory.”
Acting President Han gritted his teeth at his brazen attitude, asking him to expel him quickly.
It was no use telling the international community, they wouldn’t intervene much, and the US was the same.
They lost interest in Korea after Yu Ji-ha’s death.
Their biggest enemy, China, was trying to make Xinjiang Uyghur independent or something, why would they bother to get into Korea’s mess?
The US was a satiated lion who just wanted to exert some influence in East Asia with Japan as a shield.
Meanwhile, as the news of Japan’s occupation of Dokdo spread, Acting President Han and his supporters were cornered.
Even so, politicians and companies who announced their support for him did not withdraw their support.
Rather, they tried to blame Yu Ji-ha, who was already dead.
—He always antagonized Japan by imposing sanctions and shooting down reconnaissance planes. Isn’t this what happens? We need to re-establish relations this time.
—A prominent person who knows Japan well said that if we give up Dokdo, Japan will join us.
—Just give up that worthless reef. Instead, Japan will be on our side.
They tried hard to erase the fact that there was a black metal deposit near Dokdo.
On top of that, it was not the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office but the Maritime Self-Defense Force Commander who issued a statement.
—It is clear that Takeshima is Japan’s inherent territory. We cannot accept any objections to this. Also, there are 100,000 North Korean prisoners of war and Korean prisoners on Terra Island. Japan has no responsibility to feed them. Take them away immediately.
The families of the prisoners who heard this news started a rescue campaign.
The Han Seungjae regime was cornered.
…
Korea was suffering from the boiling public sentiment, the pressure from Russia, and the attempt of Japan to occupy Dokdo.
There was no clear way to overcome this crisis.
Han Seung-jae and Colonel Jang Ik-hwan tried to contact various parties, but they only received cold responses.
—If Chairman Yu Ji-ha was here, maybe we would help you. But why should we help you?
—You have regained your freedom and human rights. It is a historic victory for you. Congratulations.
Except for Germany, Europe only congratulated them verbally, but they had no intention of taking action.
Because there was no benefit for them.
There might be something left in the Silla Group, but it was too small for other countries to intervene.
Therefore, most countries chose to ignore the situation.
Now Korea would go back to the previous state of 2026, when the economy collapsed and it was threatened by North Korea and China.
The neighboring countries thought so, and finally the anger of the people exploded.
There were several small and large protests, and eventually a massive demonstration took place in Gwanghwamun.
Their slogans were as follows.
—We can’t live like this. Let’s change!
—Han Seung-jae, step down and bring Yu Ji-ha back!
The citizens did not hold candles like before, but fists.
It was a protest that meant they would hit them with their fists if they did not come up with a solution quickly.
Han Seung-jae, who was under a lot of stress, ordered Colonel Jang Ik-hwan, his confidant, to suppress the protest.
Because the police force was not enough.
But it was too much to ask the soldiers to suppress the protest.
They had no proper tactics, and their equipment was poor, so they were pushed back by the angry crowd.
Colonel Jang Ik-hwan, who was very angry, scolded his subordinates.
“If we get pushed back by these thugs here, what will happen to my image? Suppress the protest with tear gas! I’ll take responsibility.”
What responsibility could a colonel who had nothing but being a confidant of the acting authority take?
The subordinates were skeptical, but they had to follow the order anyway.
Bang! Bang!
Tear gas was fired, but it did not suppress the protest. It only added fuel to the fire of public opinion.
The citizens misunderstood it as live ammunition.
“They’re shooting guns!”
“Are they crazy? Is this May 18th?”
Even Yu Ji-ha did not shoot at the citizens.
The citizens who misunderstood chose to confront the troops instead of running away.
It was an explosion of anger over the current situation and hatred for the regime that killed Yu Ji-ha.
That night in Gwanghwamun, the protest lasted until after midnight and there were many injuries.
Rumors circulated all night long.
—The soldiers fired at them with aiming.
—The police sharpened their shields and tried to kill them.
—Some people died from being trampled too much.
These rumors caused national outrage.
—They killed Yu Ji-ha and took power. What is this? They can’t do anything right.
—Hurry up and create jobs and drive Japan away. Are they going to give up Dokdo like this?
—We can’t just talk to these bastards. Let’s rise up! Let’s go to Blue House!
And so Gwanghwamun gathered more than a million people according to police estimates.
As you can see from the fact that it was a police estimate, the actual number was much higher than that. It was so large that the media declared it as the largest ever.
The reporter on the helicopter reported the situation with a trembling voice.
—Right now, the area around Gyeongbokgung Palace is full of people. They are calling for Yu Ji-ha, but their voices are only empty…
Among the crowd were even intellectuals and religious figures who had opposed Yu Ji-ha before.
—We thought everything would be fixed if we drove out Yu Ji-ha. But it wasn’t. It was our arrogant mistake.
—The North Korean region is on the verge of famine and the political situation is chaotic. Korea needed someone like him.
But he was dead now and there was no way he could come back.
When the citizens sang a song for the dictator and headed for Blue House, Yu Ji-ha was looking down at them from the bridge of Settler.
“It’s time for you to appear. The citizens’ longing has reached its peak.”
It was Arma’s advice.
He had been on Settler for 45 days, checking on the megacity of Terra Island and increasing its power.
Now the United Human Federation had the minimum power to defend the island.
It was not a waste to spend 45 days for that, but there was a need to sort out the internal situation of Korea.
He couldn’t go on with the opposition forever.
Yu Ji-ha asked.
“How many active participants are there?”
“261 in total. The rest are those who declared their support reluctantly after the trend was decided.”
“Let’s end it by dealing with 261 people. It’s hard to clean up all of them.”
The incompetence of the regime that took power was revealed enough, and Japan threw a bait, so it was time to appear.
He stretched his body and put on a suit. Arma tied his tie for him.
“Let’s go.”
…
So Yu Ji-ha appeared with Arma and the heroes among them.
The people who saw him murmured.
“Isn’t that Yu Ji-ha?”
“No way… He’s dead.”
“They announced that he was dead, but they didn’t confirm it, right?”
“His face is too similar… and his physique…”
When Arma stood next to him, the people finally realized.
That Yu Ji-ha had returned.
The murmurs grew louder among the people, and someone said with a sobbing voice.
“Mr. President, you’re alive…”
They didn’t know how he survived, and that wasn’t important either.
Yu Ji-ha was more than a simple dictator to the people.
The true leader of Korea.
He came back.
The Great Purge
Yu Ji-ha came back.
Of course, Han Seung-jae and his subordinates did not want to believe this fact.
Because they had confirmed his death themselves.
“Then who is that guy walking among those people?”
“…”
No one could answer.
Especially Colonel Jang Ik-hwan, who had confirmed Yu Ji-ha’s face himself, was so absurd that he wanted to die.
No, did that guy become a ghost or something?
“Sir, I’m telling you for sure, I confirmed it! His face was exactly the same and his fingerprints were identical!”
“Then that guy must be a fake…”
Han Seung-jae said with a face that was beyond description.
He frowned and licked his lips without rest. His eyes were fixed on Yu Ji-ha.
He probably felt inferiority complex filling his mind.
Yu Ji-ha shook hands with the citizens and hugged female fans as he headed for Blue House.
Even among the countless crowds, he made his way and created a wave of support.
Even the sound of “president” from the helicopter shooting could be heard here.
“Yu! Ji! Ha!”
“Our president is back!”
“Han Seung-jae, get out! Jang Ik-hwan, death penalty!”
Nearly a million citizens shouted like that and marched.
When the number reaches this level, any means are meaningless.
The police just stared at their procession, and the number of citizens increased as time went by.
Bae Seong-min, the chief of staff, looked somewhat relieved.
Neither Yu Ji-ha nor Han Seung-jae were legitimate leaders, but he couldn’t help but be drawn to the former.
At least he had proven his ability.
He didn’t care how he survived, but he felt like crying just by the fact that he came back.
He asked, trying to hide his excitement.
“Sir, what are you going to do?”
Colonel Jang Ik-hwan interrupted.
“What do you mean, what are we going to do? We have to block them with barricades and water cannons! And we have to catch that guy and I have to check him myself.”
“I’m asking the congressman, not the colonel. What are you going to do?”
“…”
He was silent for a long time.
He must have thought of the Blue HOuse security guards, but it was obvious whose orders they would follow.
The chief of security had appointed an outsider to get rid of the bad water, but he had not yet established his command properly.
It meant that the guards could ignore the chief and have other thoughts.
It would have been nice if he had kicked them all out, but he had no choice but to hire some of them because of the limited number of professional security personnel.
What would they think when they heard that Yu Ji-ha, whom they failed to protect, had returned?
And the drones…
After Yu Ji-ha’s death, more than a million drones returned to their containers at once.
He tried hard to destroy them, but they were made of black metal and all his attempts failed.
If these drones flew again, it would be hard to stop them even if the entire Korean army was mobilized.
Han Seung-jae’s palm, which was holding the back of the chair, became moist. Then he heard new news.
The reporter on the helicopter shouted excitedly.
“Do you see that? Drones are flying all over Seoul!”
The sight of hundreds of thousands of drones breaking the seal and flying was truly spectacular.
Finally, Han Seung-jae and Jang Ik-hwan realized that Yu Ji-ha had returned.
“Please step out for a moment.”
Everyone in the office knew what he had decided.
When the people left, Colonel Jang Ik-hwan began to get excited.
“We need to take hostages! Hostages!”
“What are you going to do with hostages? Do you think the people will accept that? Do you think he will spare us because he’s worried about hostages?”
He was not that kind of person.
He was generous to ordinary people, but he never forgave those who crossed the line he set.
How many people had been taken to Terra Island so far?
And especially, the two were directly involved in his death or non-death.
If they were caught this time, he would probably order their execution even at the risk of friction with Europe.
The sponsors would be in a similar situation.
Han Seung-jae gave up and stood still. Colonel Jang Ik-hwan grabbed his shoulder and dragged him.
“Let’s go. We can’t just die quietly! We have to get out and plan for later!”
“How are we going to fight back? The AI is probably monitoring the internet now.”
“So you want to die like this?”
“Why didn’t you confirm his death properly in the first place!”
“I did! He said it was certain!”
“Then is that guy out there an android!”
It was natural for internal strife to occur in a crisis situation.
Especially when what connected them was not something strong but a shallow lust for power.
It wouldn’t matter if their support base was solid, but it was so weak that it was rated as the worst ever.
So there was bound to be division.
Colonel Jang Ik-hwan tried to do something by calling the sponsors.
—The customer’s phone is turned off…
“Rat bastards.”
The phone slammed on the floor and Han Seung-jae smirked.
“It’s rats that detect danger first when a ship sinks. They’re smart in a way. Now we have to draw a line with Yu Ji-ha…”
Then a gunshot was heard outside.
The two instinctively looked at each other and ran away quickly.
Even Han Seung-jae, who seemed to have given up on his life, ran hard while panting.
There might be a way to live if he could get out of here.
“Over here! This way!”
It was impossible to escape from drones.
They had small ion thrusters that made them faster than cars and more accurate night vision than wild animals.
And as if to prove that, bright lights shone on them soon.
What came out of the light were dozens of armed androids without skin.
Colonel Jang Ik-hwan grumbled as if spitting out.
“Fuck, are they terminators or what?”
Tatatata―!
Yu Ji-ha and Arma walked into the messed-up main building while hearing gunshots.
When they went up to the second floor office, Bae Seong-min, the chief of staff, was waiting for him.
“You’re alive…”
“Let’s explain the details later, and do what we have to do first. Tell the Russian ambassador to contact me and connect the hotline.”
This is it.
A leader should show this kind of attitude.
Not asking the chief of staff for a solution!
“I’ll contact him right away.”
When he left his seat, Arma said.
“We captured all 261 instigators alive. Seven people were injured in the process.”
“Keep them alive and transfer them all to Terra Island. And activate the group again.”
“Yes, I understand.”
While Arma was handling the instructions, Yu Ji-ha looked at the TV.
A huge crowd of citizens were chanting his name in front of Blue House.
“Yu Ji-ha!”
“Yu Ji-ha!”
There was hardly any voice opposing him in the enthusiastic cheers.
Once he purged the instigators, there would be only a handful of people who opposed him.
“It’s over.”
Now Korea was his.
Yu Ji-ha sat in the office chair.
< He Came Back! >
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