EP 36- Lost Capital
opening gate. The first Gate avalanche hit major cities in the world.
When the foundations of politics and industry collapsed, humanity collapsed in an instant, and while the government managed to rebuild, so much had disappeared into ruins.
If the Gates incident had not destroyed the metropolitan areas of each country, at the very least, if it had occurred sequentially, the prediction that mankind would not have collapsed helplessly is a popular opinion in the academic world.
But why are gates open to major metropolises? There are many interpretations of this.
Those who call the Gates incident ‘God’s judgment’ insisted that the original sin and karma of man bring about monsters.
Those who call the Gate incident an ‘invasion of aliens’ claimed that the monsters had hit a major base of mankind.
The Gate Avalanche was “a scientific, periodic and inevitable occurrence that occurred while the sun orbited the Milky way galaxy once in 250 million years at 200 km/s, passing through the magic distribution zone that exists in a specific part of the universe. Phenomenon”, they claimed, because humans can harbor magical powers, so they invite predators from outer space who want to hunt magical creatures.
Of course, none of the theories have been practically proven. Rather, it is closer to the political circumstances that made these interpretations.
Whether it’s encouraging the judgment theory and craving for donations, or bringing the invasion theory and invalidating the election and extending martial law indefinitely because it’s a wartime situation… … .
However, it was certain that the population density would trigger the gate crisis.
And the southern part of the Korean Peninsula was now one of the most densely populated areas on the planet.
* * *
“Are you going to do politics? Aren’t you going to do it?”
“Oh, I won’t. I’ll never do it again… … .”
Seol Jin-woon was finally able to get out of Yeo Do-yeon’s grip after he announced that he would not run for office. His eyes were red and he was dead.
Hong Seon-ah, who achieved her goal, giggled for a while, then rummaged through her bag. She handed me a card adorned with a floral design.
“Oh, right. Take this.”
“What?”
Hong Seon-ah smiled without saying a word and looked at Seol Jin-woon as if embarrassed. His eyes were a bit dark and sullen.
An eerie feeling rises up your spine. Is this what it feels like to see a snake eating a little rabbit in the animal kingdom?
He hurriedly opened the card.
It was a wedding invitation.
* * *
The next place I met Hong Seon-ah was at a wedding venue near Gangseo-gu, Busan.
As she was walking around the bridal waiting room, she found me and waved with a smile.
“Senator. Did you finally return home?”
“Don’t laugh. Because I want to hit one.”
Hong Seon-ah was not wearing a white dress, but a beige coat. It means you are not a bride.
In other words, giving Seol Jinwoon a wedding invitation while looking at him with a mysterious expression was a heinous vain thing.
“You know how surprised I was then?!”
“I’m sorry for joking you.”
It wasn’t an expression of regret at all.
“But is there any reason why I shouldn’t marry Jinwoon? The Hunter Association president and vice president were together all the time?”
“Wasn’t Seol Hunter a high school student when they first met?”
“But?”
It was my fault for responding to nonsense. Hong Seon-ah left looking for a new prey as the fun was lost when she responded with indifference. Pi Chae-won was arrested.
I was able to visit the bride’s waiting room only after I abandoned Pi Chae-won, who was staring at me desperately.
At the entrance to the waiting room, large bodyguards and people who looked like secretaries had gathered and blocked the entrance.
The bride she met was wearing a very neat and frugal dress for a wedding dress. In any case, it seemed that there was nothing to be blamed for by reporters.
The bride who was so thorough was Lee Ho-jeong. He looked exhausted and was half lying on the sofa, banging on his smartphone.
“hey. Why are you ordering Hong Seon-ah Hunter to bring you a wedding invitation?”
“uh? When did you come?”
“Don’t you know that the basic requirement for a wedding invitation is to submit it in person?”
“When I called, the number changed. I don’t even reply to KakaoTalk wedding invitations. He said he was going to France, but he didn’t even tell me where he was. Oh, looking at what he’s talking about, it seems he hasn’t checked the KakaoTalk wedding invitation yet?”
The skill of asking questions was still there.
“Uh, um. It must have been that the number changed when the Blue House security phone was thrown away. There must have been a mistake in the secretariat.”
“To blame Chae-won… … .”
Ho-jeong Lee shook her head. Fortunately, no one was in the bridal suite, and no one was watching my former secretary peck me.
“Anyway, Oppa, fix the habit of not contacting people around you. When you receive calls from your superiors, even ringtones are separated, you do not communicate well with your acquaintances and family members. Isn’t that subtly divided up and down?”
“You and Ilho also have exclusive ringtones. I just don’t call often.”
“Okay, so let’s go. Didn’t you stop me from coming in?”
“Are you hiding it? No, if you’re going to block the bridal waiting room, why are you holding a wedding?”
“I did this because I thought if the waiting room was full of lawmakers, I would be exhausted before I even entered the ceremony. So I just pushed them all toward Ilho. I even served as minister of portrait management and then retired, so it might be more nutritious.”
“Hey, you’re still on active duty… … .”
Lee Ho-jung was a member of the National Assembly. Even though it was short, I even served as the floor leader. Even though you borrowed the value of my name.
I’ve been through a lot of hardship, and I’ve lost a lot of weight while I haven’t been able to see you. Her beauty was still there, but she thought it would break if she hit it because she had lost weight.
Even his eyes, which had been gleaming with ambition for power, seemed to have faded. It was a bit too much to just leave it in the waiting room, so I added more words.
“Hmm. I heard that Ilho would get married when he retired, but I didn’t know if he would actually do it. The atmosphere in the country is also dark, so I thought it would be delayed a little longer.”
“I don’t think I will be able to do it forever if I procrastinate a little while watching people. I don’t even pay attention to the house because I live like a worker, but I have to catch it when I can.”
“Where is Ilho going to run away?”
“I do.”
Ho-jeong Lee laughed helplessly and brought up an unexpected story.
“And no one knows what the country will be like when the gate opens this time, right? Maybe this will be our last chance.”
“… … Did it spread all the way to the National Assembly?”
“It’s strange that the Blue House is making an evacuation plan all day and you don’t know.”
The ominous prophecy of the United States was well-known among high-ranking government officials.
Since the ROK-U.S. Joint Command is only running war games every day, it should be said that an unusual atmosphere has spread to the military.
The reason why the crisis approaching on the Korean Peninsula did not spread to the private level was because President Won Ok-bun took full control of the media at the same time he took office.
It is said that during the Yang Pan-seok administration, a media company, whom I did not meet very well, sent an order to Andromeda. It’s like dancing swords in the days of acting.
It was a case where the phrase ‘prepared president’ written on the election poster proved in many ways.
Hojeong Lee added.
“I think it is a matter of time before the media control is lifted, so I think it should be announced slowly, but the government is doing well. Including the follow-up to the Jecheon incident.”
“okay. When I went to the Jecheon-si Joint Incense Office as soon as I started working for the president, it seemed that my political sense was alive.”
“I am running with a clenched fist because the approval rating has been low since the beginning of my tenure due to the Jecheon incident. This time, I had a personnel hearing with Yoo Hyeon-jong, commander of Gangwon-gun-gu, as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Did you know that the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command commander was brought by the ROK military, not the US military?”
President Won Ok-bun made use of his experience during the acting period to quickly and swiftly allayed chaos in the country. In fact, it calmed public opinion.
Media play and military personnel execution. And the transfer of operational control to the ROK-U.S. CFC through negotiations with the United States, which wants to leave Korea.
In fact, it was only an imaginary stability achieved through compromise and fabrication, but such stability succeeded in fending off a bank run and an economic crisis.
However, it could not prevent the confusion between people who knew enough.
The faces of government officials gathered at the wedding hall all looked dark and anxious.
* * *
For politicians, as congratulatory and condolences were an extension of their work, the wedding venue of Ho-Jeong Lee and Il-Ho Yang was close to a political platform, reminiscent of the National Assembly.
Since Yang Pan-seok was officiating, I sat down with no close friends and listened to stories from the surrounding area.
“If the gate is going to open because of a lot of people, why leave eastern China alone… … .”
The Minister of Security and Public Administration, seated in the back, chatted with an unknown public official. I only remember being in the Office of Government Policy Coordination during the Yang Pan-seok administration.
“Do you believe the propaganda that 700 million people survived?”
“I don’t believe the Chinese government literally, but there are probably 200 to 300 million. Then it should be open there. Why is it open here? … .”
“Did you say it was okay there? While we were fine, in China, new gates kept opening. Besides, geographically speaking, we are also in eastern China. Just different nationalities… … .”
“We are in eastern China. What are you talking about?”
“No, on the map… … .”
“Huh huh. You have to get caught by mistake and be beaten before you come to your senses. Didn’t you see that the Yeouido Research Institute sent a note? Public opinion is not the problem, but if you make a mistake and lose votes, from above… … .”
“Oh, sorry.”
It wasn’t a nutritious conversation to overheard like that, but it was meaningful that the yangbans were talking carelessly enough that they could barely be heard around them.
Those who knew enough seemed to have the information. At this point, it should have been said that all of the hidden funds had gone abroad.
I was able to attend the comfortable seat only after congratulating him once and reciting a few compliments in front of the reporters in front of the wedding hall.
Without hesitation, I opened the door of the newlywed house and slammed it open.
“Congratulations to you guys.”
“came?”
The bride was lying on the sofa with her makeup removed, and the groom in a suit was counting money with his gift box lying face down.
I sat next to Yang Il-ho with a painful sound and separated the 50,000 won and 10,000 won bills. Neither of them has a family, so the country has to help too.
“Aren’t you going on a honeymoon?”
“What is travel? If you leave in the middle of this, you run away.”
“Are you going to Jeju Island?”
“The plane takes off this Saturday. It doesn’t open every day like in the past, so I can’t go right away.”
Yang Il-ho looked up at the ceiling with a tired expression and lamented.
“Marriage is a job. work.”
“Still, today is your wedding, so straighten your face. Aren’t you newlyweds?”
“We’ve been together for too long… … .”
Ho-jeong Lee was lying on the sofa, not having the energy to criticize, and kicked Yang Il-ho on the back. I looked at it and smiled. I feel like my fantasy of marriage is shattered.
“You guys are all going to be here in a little while, and Gam’s family will come, are you okay? You should also organize the house in advance. If you’re going to grill meat.”
“What about Jiyoon? You just need to lift one finger.”
“He’s a teenager these days, so he doesn’t listen well.”
“Jiyoon has been in puberty since elementary school.”
“Well, there was never a time when I wasn’t a teenager.”
Ho-jeong Lee, who was lying in a state of green onion kimchi, shouted.
“Oh, deliver it! delivery!”
On the evening of the wedding day, it was also jjajangmyeon.
* * *
“Cheers!”
“Let’s make it a hundred years old!”
The aftermath of the wedding was small. Although the former president was involved.
At the time of the opening incident, it was a home party with a few hunters and members who were running away on a yacht in the Han River, but since they were all acquaintances, it was not flashy, but had a pleasant taste.
“Jiyun found a new monster this time.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. What do you look like?”
“Pikachu who has been on drugs for 20 years… … ?”
Gam Gam-yoon, who occupied Pi Chae-won’s lap, unraveled the tide against the Hunters. Kang Si-ho also sat in the middle with an interesting expression and listened.
Yang Il-ho and Lee Ho-jeong, who had recovered to some extent, sip coffee in the kitchen and exchanged subtly gazes at each other.
Seol Jin-woon was introduced to people around a bit awkwardly, and Hong Seon-ah was smiling, but with a strangely lonely expression, she went out on the veranda alone and was blown away by the night wind.
And I was pouring alcohol between Yang Pan-seok and Gamja. There was a feeling that only the slightly older people were chattering with each other.
“Whether you have Hunters all over the country. attract international organizations. If you stay idly like this and get beaten… … .”
“But we can’t tell the people to wipe our feet and pray, because we could all perish. The security is sure to collapse.”
“you’re right. We should know someday, but at least not now. I’m not talking about a reporter, but… … Korea’s finances faltered in one blow from the Jecheon incident. Real estate derivatives were completely wiped out. I had no idea that our economy would collapse so easily.”
“but. We don’t have enough time to prepare, but if the security is overturned, the answer will be lost. Let’s restore the economy somehow… … .”
“Still, since we have secured the Horus system, we can issue an evacuation order in a timely manner.
In fact, the reporter also resigned from public office, so there were no public officials among them. So, the current conversation was almost half-drunk. It was half serious though.
There wasn’t much of a story about people who were drunk, but a lot of useful information came and went. It was mainly the story that came out of the mouth of the reporter.
“Are US PMCs targeting the Korean market?”
“Yes. It seems that information leaked out of that neighborhood.”
“A high-ranking gentleman must have spilled it to play stock. Somehow, Jaekyung Yoo goes in and out of the Financial Supervisory Service… … .”
With this gathering, I tried to bring out the voice of bringing in China and Southeast Asia.
This is because the US could become self-reliant, but Asian countries were unable to become self-reliant. Food and economy were too deeply dependent on each other.
So, if you go to each one and persuade them, you may be able to get a positive sign. It was about the moment I was about to start a story like that.
“Well?”
Yang Pan-seok’s cell phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen, which he did not know whether it was a text message or a Kakao Talk, and pointed a finger with a cold, firm expression.
“Turn on the TV.”
“Yes.”
turned on the tv An entertainment show where a hunter and a few celebrities appeared to find separated families was being broadcast.
Then suddenly the screen changed. Red breaking news texts filled the bottom of the screen.
It read, “Mr. Yang Jeong-seok announces an emergency press conference.”
On the first day of my tenure, the gate opened. Episode 234