100. What was your name?
A hotel in New York City.
Late at night, I was covertly escorted to Joe Biden’s room.
It was mutually agreed that my identity would not be revealed.
“I’m Alex Kang from Karma Investments.”
“Welcome, I assume you know my name?”
“Of course.”
“hehehe, Joe, call me Joe. You deserve it.”
“Thank you, Joe.”
I’ve earned it by spending a billion dollars.
“Here, have a seat.”
“Sure, thanks.”
“Yeah, I’m very grateful for your help. I mean, I’ve gotten a lot of donations from rich people, but I’ve never had anyone give me the kind of money you’re giving me.”
“I just want Joe to get elected.”
“hehehe, are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious, I have a lot of money, but a billion dollars is a lot of money, even for me.”
“I’m sure it is, but I thought you were supporting Trump at first.”
“You thought that because of the quarantine supplies and vaccines?”
“Yeah, because they’re actually giving Trump a big boost in the polls.”
“You would have supported those supplies and vaccines no matter who was president, and it was the right thing to do.”
“Of course, I’m an American citizen and a presidential candidate. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame him for that.”
In other words, why did you support him so much, and to the point of excess?
Biden is going to be president, and he should be.
I figured I might as well tell him now what he’s going to find out when he’s president.
“Isn’t that what Joe is wondering? That it was a little too much, even given the special alliance between South Korea and the United States?”
“Exactly. I know we’re allies and blood brothers, but your support was beyond the pale. And coincidentally, your support of the vaccine coincided with the rescission of the U.S.-ROK Missile Directive.”
“The U.S.-South Korea Missile Directive was very close to being scrapped. The last restriction had been removed.”
“That’s true, but the timing is coincidental.”
“You want to hear my honest opinion, don’t you?”
“Can you do that?”
“Only if you keep one thing in mind.”
“What is it?”
“What I’m saying is that I want you to know sooner rather than later.”
“As long as it’s not illegal or against the national interest of the United States, I’ll do it.”
“It’s not illegal, and it’s not against the national interest of the United States.”
If anything, it’s a benefit because it gets Americans vaccinated faster.
“Then let’s keep it between us.”
“Okay, well, getting supplies and vaccines to the U.S. was always a priority. The countries that participated in the Korean War, especially the United States, were unconditionally prioritized. Even though I’m not a U.S. citizen, I felt a responsibility as a permanent resident.”
“Well, I can appreciate that, hehehehe!”
“Yeah, but like Joe said, the intensity of that support got a little stronger. You know, after I met with President Trump?”
“Hmm? You met with Trump?”
“Yes, President Trump asked to see me first.”
“Hmm, so, what did you talk about that made the meeting more intense than you had planned?”
“I got a little bit of blackmail, nothing major.”
“For what reason?”
“Nothing really, just that Trump was going to expose me to the press, which probably wouldn’t do anything, but I’m extremely reluctant to have my identity exposed.”
“Well, it’s unusual for a reject with a phenomenal investment track record like yours to barely get a mention in the press.”
“Yeah, because I don’t like to make a lot of noise.”
“So what happened, did you give in to the blackmail and increase your support?”
“Well, I didn’t cave, I just decided to be a little more vocal about my support. After all, you’re dealing with the sitting President of the United States. I can’t just go around flirting with him all I want.”
“Uh-huh!”
Damn it, the President of the Federation of Earth is called the President of the United States.
Realistically, who’s going to disobey him?
“Well, I thought it would be a bit unfair to just be dragged along for the ride, so I made a little deal.”
“Like what?”
“Nothing personal. I’m just a guy who’s invested and gotten to this point with my skills. What more could I ask of the President of the United States, except maybe a tour of Area 51 out of interest, or to let me know if there’s a real Kennedy assassin out there?”
“Poohahahaha, that’s right, that’s right!”
Do I really want to ask him?
Are there aliens in Area 51?
“Well, I suppose I should get something for being blackmailed, but I mean, there’s nothing I could possibly ask for from President Trump, and I can’t just blow off the right to ask for something from the President of the United States.”
“Exactly! You can’t just throw away your right to demand something from the President of the United States!”
“So I consulted with my staff back home to see what they could come up with, and they couldn’t think of anything, but the guy who runs security had an idea.”
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘If we’re going to blow this opportunity, why don’t we do something good for the country?
“Hmm? Country? What country?”
“Well, I’m Korean, so of course I mean South Korea.”
“Oh, I see. You said you’re a permanent resident, right?”
“——.”
What is wrong with this guy?
How many times have I said that here?
I glared at him, wide-eyed, and he threw up his hands in recognition.
“hehehe, with all the campaigning I’ve been doing lately, I forget sometimes, but it’s not important.”
“Yeah—.”
A little suspicious, but let’s move on.
“Anyway, he said—.”
“Him?”
“Oh, he was my superior in the army, a retired admiral in the navy.”
“Oh, Admiral, but what do you mean by army, are you from the military?”
“I’m an ensign in the Navy Reserve.”
“Heh, heh, heh, heh, you’re amazing, a military guy who’s so successful?”
“——.”
What, people from the military aren’t supposed to be successful?
Also, it’s really weird.
Biden has been a senator for decades, a vice president of the United States.
And now he’s the presumptive next president.
Shouldn’t he have been informed about me beforehand?
I’m a guy who’s worth a billion dollars and is comfortable with himself.
Maybe that’s why he asked to see me, because he felt uncomfortable with a foreigner doing this.
Biden is getting more and more suspicious.
“Anyway, the admiral asked me to do something that would benefit South Korea, which of course would also benefit the United States.”
“What is that?”
“The first is the scrapping of the U.S.-South Korea Missile Directive, which you know about.”
“I knew it!”
“Yes, Joe’s right, because with the nuclear threat from North Korea, not to mention China’s military escalation, it was clearly unreasonable to continue to tie our hands.”
“I admit it. If I were president, I would have set them free.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
“So what’s next? That’s not all there is to it, which is why you asked me to keep it secret?”
“Yeah, there’s something else.”
“What is it?”
“The U.S. authorization for our country to have nuclear-powered submarines.”
“What! Nuclear-powered submarines? Trump authorized that?”
“Yes, he authorized it.”
“Huh! That’s going to be a problem, no, and Trump wouldn’t approve something like that easily, no matter how much of a dick he is, so what’s the deal?”
“He emphasized the threat from China. That the day they invade Taiwan, we’ll be drawn into a war with China along with them, and that our conventional submarines are no match for them, and that’s a fact, isn’t it?”
“Hmmm—.”
Biden looked serious and thoughtful for a moment, then spoke up.
“You have a point, Mr. Trump, and you’re right that the Chinese threat is one we can’t afford to ignore any longer. It’s the only one of Trump’s policies I agree with.”
“Exactly, Joe.”
So Democrats and Republicans are united on China policy.
“And you’re right that if China invaded Taiwan, the South Korean military would be involved. Obviously, we in the United States would mobilize U.S. Forces Korea. They’re the closest ground and air power to China on the Taiwan front.”
“That’s what I think, too.”
“However, the authorization of nuclear-powered submarines is not a decision to be made lightly, and Mr. Trump was imprudent, but he is imprudent.”
Really, you inspirational guy?
You’ve been agreeing with me all this time, and now you’re taking a piss?
Especially after spending a billion dollars of my money?
“Joe, it’s absolutely in the U.S. interest to have a strong South Korean military, especially as China moves toward outright hegemony.”