86. President?
March 1.
New York State confirms its first case of COVID-19.
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announces that a woman in her 30s living in Manhattan is in home isolation after being infected while traveling to Iran.
Cuomo urged caution, saying the risk is low in New York.
However, the governor’s words would soon become public knowledge.
On March 6, the number of confirmed cases in New York State rose to 13.
So far in the US, the outbreak has been concentrated in states like Washington and Texas, with only one or two cases in really dense metropolitan areas.
In Europe, as with any densely populated region, there have been multiple outbreaks, most notably in northern Italy, where the number of confirmed cases exceeded 3,000 and the number of deaths exceeded 100, making it the first country outside of China to have more than 100 deaths.
March 11.
Suddenly, the WHO officially declared a pandemic, the highest level of disease alert.
It was pathetic to watch.
WHO, the World Health Organization of the United Nations, had already turned into a corrupt, incompetent, Chinese ass-sucking organization.
Ever since the last Director-General, Dr. Lee Jong-wook, died of overwork.
The next Director-General, Margaret Chan, a Hong Konger, made WHO a pro-China organization, but her successor was an even worse one, and she’s been cheapening human health ever since.
Theodorus Adhanom Gervaisus.
This asshole from Ethiopia with a dirty, complicated name was so bad at what he did that the more you looked into it, the more you realized he was like an onion.
The more you look at him, the more he’s an asshole.
Since he took office in 2017, he has been shouting about supporting “One China” in his inauguration speech.
I mean, what is WHO, the World Health Organization, and why would he make such a statement?
Isn’t he crazy?
The Ethiopian guy even had a Chinese name.
What? Tandersai (谭德塞)?
This is crazy.
That’s a lot of sucking, isn’t it?
Yeah, I’ll give in a hundred times and suck up to the Chinese, but if I’m doing my job right, I don’t say anything.
To this asshole’s credit, he’s managed to get a disease code registered for a video game under negative Chinese direction.
Crucially!
This asshole is not only derelict in his duties, he’s contributing to the spread of the coronavirus.
As early as last year, experts warned of a pneumonia epidemic in China, but he ignored it and defended the country.
On January 14, he said in Chinese that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus, and on February 5, the day of the mask scare, he said there was no evidence that wearing a mask protects against infection.
On top of that, he blocked the declaration of an international emergency on January 23, and only reluctantly declared it a week later on January 31, telling us not to restrict trade and movement.
Isn’t this not just neglect, but the main culprit?
What kind of human being is this?
“Filthy bastards!”
As Jeffrey and I sat in my office watching the WHO’s belated pandemic declaration, the expletive came out of my mouth.
“What kind of assholes are they?”
“Not the WHO. I wonder if that crazy Trump is going to warn them that he’s going to pull out of WHO if they keep this up?”
“Heh, is this a battle of the assholes versus the lunatics?”
“Something like that.”
“…”
Crazy.
By the end of March, the Northeast of the United States was devastated.
New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston have been hacked to pieces.
March 29.
Italy becomes the first country in the world to exceed 10,000 deaths.
The northern part of the country is completely covered in death.
Masks are already a strategic commodity.
A global shortage began at the end of January, and by February, money couldn’t buy them.
A day before April, I chaired a meeting in my office with a video link to South Korea.
“How’s it going? South Korea? How’s the mood?”
“We’re doing incredibly well. Compared to other countries, it’s a paradise because we’re quarantined and screened with diagnostic kits upon entry.”
Chairman Nam Jung-won replied on behalf of the company.
“Whew, that’s good to hear. The U.S. is not in chaos, at least not here in the west, but the east has been harpooned.”
“You should be careful, Mr. Chairman. Maybe you should have stayed in Korea.”
“No, my main job is here. By the way, what’s the status of medical and quarantine supplies?”
“I turned my phone off.”
“What? You turned off your phone?”
“Our country has stabilized the supply of all supplies, and thanks to the president’s insight and hard work, there is no shortage of masks, protective clothing, and liver.”
“But?”
“The problem is the other countries. The chairman has been distributing them according to a pre-determined policy, and there’s an uproar that there’s not enough. We can’t save the whole world in the first place, can we?”
“Ah—.”
It’s not like I didn’t set up the allocation policy in advance.
It’s bound to be a mess for a while anyway.
“The embassies are actually camped out in front of our company. The police have been mobilized and the head of security, Lee Sang-cheol, has sent security personnel, so we’ve managed to get in and out, but it’s not a normal struggle. We’re getting solicited through all sorts of channels, and it’s no joke.”
“You must be having a hard time.”
“Mr. Chairman.”
“Yes, go ahead, Mr. Nam.”
“Isn’t it possible that you fled to the United States because you knew this would happen?”
“…”
I felt hot inside, but I can’t say that.
“Humph, no. How could I do that?”
“I think it’s suspicious. From the way you’re coughing?”
“Uh-huh! What are you talking about!”
I quickly change the subject.
“Anyway, so what?”
“First of all, as per policy, we are allocating supplies among the countries that participated in the Korean War, taking into account their relationship with Korea and the status of the virus. Naturally, the top priority is the United States, and we are sending supplies to the United Kingdom, France, and Turkey.”
“Well done.”
Currently, the cold wave was blowing around the world like a typhoon.
Especially when we announced that, in consultation with the government, we would prioritize the countries that participated in the Korean War.
The participating countries cheered and mobilized all means of transportation, including military transport planes, to send supplies to Korea.
Naturally, Korea’s prestige went through the roof.
This is especially true with KPOP stars like BTS and Blue Pink.
“The problem is the second-ranked countries.”
“Why?”
“The most problematic ones are Italy and Germany. They’re key countries in Europe, they’re friends of ours, they’re not part of the war, you know, but they’re the ones that are being hit the hardest by the coronavirus right now, and Italy in particular seems to be going crazy. The other day, the Italian ambassador stormed into the office, and he grabbed me and cried.”
“…”
With good reason.
The gates of hell are open in Italy right now.
“So, given the urgency of the situation, Italy is supporting us almost as a participating country.”
“Good for them.”
“And then there’s Japan.”
“What about Japan? I know there’s a shortage of masks there, but it’s not as desperate as other countries, and they don’t have as many cases yet?”
“Japan is desperate for masks, but they’re also desperate for diagnostic kits. They’re clamoring for them from our government, which of course is embarrassing because we’re the ones who are entitled to them.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“What do you think we should do? Mr. President?”
For a moment, I thought about volunteering, but I knew I wouldn’t get much appreciation if I did.
From nob le mt l. co m
Japan hasn’t been hit hard enough yet.
Besides, that son of a b*tch Abe was still around as recently as January of last year to cause the initial incident and blame it on us.
However, Korea and Japan are so politically and economically intertwined that I didn’t want to antagonize them too much.
Besides, other countries are developing diagnostic kits one after another, and Japan is doing the same, so theirs will come out sooner or later.
So, should I be embarrassed at this point?
I thought about linking this to the initial incident and trying to get an apology, but I don’t think they’re going to respond because the damage in Japan isn’t that bad yet, and it would only hurt their feelings more.
It’s ridiculous to make a deal with someone whose life is at stake.
Come on, let’s just give them a little.
There was a really important vaccine left, and the deal could wait.
“Mr. Nam.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Apply in moderation. Come to think of it, I don’t think it would be a good idea to pretend too much.”
“hahahahaha! I see.”
“Oh, and make sure you put on your best face when you apply?”
“Of course!”
This must be the right decision.
“Also, how’s the support for Korean War veterans going? I thought they were still being sent to the US?”
“Organized by the Chung Hwa Foundation, the shipments have all been sent to our embassies in each country. We sent 5,000 masks and sanitizers in packages, including one for each family member.”
“There shouldn’t be any delivery mishaps with those, should there?”
“hahahaha, don’t worry. I had the embassy officials hand-deliver it, and I also put a nail in their coffin that if they mess with it, there will be no future support.”
“hahahaha! Good job, then—. Um, President Lee Jae-ha!”
“Yes, Mr. Chairman.”
“Can’t you increase the production of masks?”
“We’ve been steadily securing facilities, so we’re currently producing twice the amount we said we would at the beginning. We’re producing 2 billion dental masks a month, and over 900 million KF94 masks a month. That’s the limit, and in three or four months, there won’t be any shortages anyway because other countries are rushing to produce.”
“Hmm, I see, so when are we going to walk away?”
“I think we’ll run it for another three months or so, and then get ready to sell it.”
“Okay, let’s do that then.”
“Got it.”
Next up was the all-important vaccine.
“Mr. Min, how is the vaccine’s Phase 1 clinical trial going?”
“We’re on track.”
“Is it difficult to shorten the timeframe? We’re going to need a vaccine to solve this mess anyway, right?”
“Even if it doesn’t, we’ve talked to the government about doing a three-month phase I and phase II, and they’re willing to skip phase III and approve it, so we’re almost done with phase I and getting ready for phase II.”
“Oh, that’s great news, so when do you think we’ll be able to start vaccinating?”
“We’re planning to start mass production in July, so we can start in Korea from then.”
“Please prepare thoroughly for mass production.”
“Yes, sir. Oh, and now that it’s almost certain, why don’t we make an official announcement? Haven’t all the multinational pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer already started developing it?”
“Well, let’s do that.”
“Okay.”
They say the vaccine is only three months away.
Now there’s a glimmer of hope.
I push myself a little harder.
Boom!
From nob le mt l. co m
John bursts through the door with a bang.
“Boss!”
“Why, what’s going on?”
“The president over there wants to see you.”
“What? The president? What country?”
“The president of the United States, of course, right? Trump, I mean.”
Ying? Trump wants to see me?
That crazy man?
No. Why?