WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 371: Each One's Homeland (5)
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The Korean president met Gyeoul at a park restaurant with outdoor tables. It had a fine view, good enough to see the Washington Monument beyond the green lawn and red cherry trees, but even so, very few people came. Citizens were afraid of the water that flowed beside the park. Sturdy fences had been built along the Potomac River, and an acoustic surveillance system had been installed on the riverbed, but that kind of vague fear was not easy to erase completely. Whatever the case for living by the river, it was only natural that its popularity as a picnic spot would fade. It was not as if there were nowhere else to go for recreation, so the place was really only suitable for high-ranking officials who went everywhere with a large security detail. That was why the riding club could use the park exclusively without drawing much criticism.
From the restaurant's point of view, this was probably not a bad arrangement. Special guests made up for the losses, like the Korean government, which had rented out the entire restaurant at this hour. The walls were packed with signatures and photographs from the many heads of state who had visited. At this rate, it would likely become a famous spot before long.
With cheap coffee with unlimited refills in front of him, President Woo Jung-young gave a sociable smile.
“I don't seem to have much talent for horseback riding. It feels as if the horses reject me.”
“That can happen.”
Gyeoul nodded.
“They say one of the most important virtues in Riding is connecting with the horse. That's why people say that when you choose a horse, you should look for a friend, not a vehicle. A good breed isn't everything.”
So 「Riding」 as a correction strengthened affinity before it strengthened the technical skill of handling horses. Having spent quite a long time in the country of cowboys, Gyeoul had picked up a good deal about the subject.
The president accepted the words with a gentle smile.
“That is advice worth remembering. As expected of a renowned cavalry commander.”
Roughly twenty minutes had passed since the conversation began. President Woo Jung-young maintained a moderate attitude. He asked about Gyeoul's past experiences, listened closely, and was generous with admiration and praise. Up to this point, it was all quite ordinary. If he differed from others, it was only in showing a deeper interest in the realities faced by Korean refugees, and in expressing respect and gratitude to Gyeoul for protecting them.
Compared to his frequently smiling face, however, his body was somewhat stiff.
He had not touched the coffee or refreshments at all.
As Gyeoul sipped the astringent black tea, a voice that did not leak outside whispered by his ear. It was Kowalski, relaying the Intelligence Agency.
「This conversation has no substance. If he has some kind of plan, it's about time he got to the point.」
Although he did not look like someone who had lost his reason to anger, it was clear that the Korean president was probing Gyeoul. On the surface, this place might not seem suitable for a secret conversation, but because on-site security involved dozens of countries, it was much safer than it looked.
That was meaningless when Gyeoul was cooperating with the Intelligence Agency.
Still, someone plotting something dangerous could not always choose only safe roads.
“Mm. I hesitate to ask this sort of question...”
At last, the president broached the subject.
“During that difficult fight, were there moments when you missed your family?”
According to the investigation, Gyeoul's family relations existed only in American paperwork. No siblings, only parents.
There was no need to invent a longing that was not there. Gyeoul thought of Gaeul, and of the younger sibling who had not yet become summer. Closing his eyes for a moment and opening them again was enough for recollection.
“May I ask why you're asking?”
“Because there is a fact the Lieutenant Colonel should know.”
The president had been staring fixedly at him. Now he spoke heavily at last, like someone who had reached certainty, or like someone taking a gamble.
“This is a story about the unjust deaths of hundreds of thousands of citizens.”
What followed was the same secret the Intelligence Agency had told him first. Some parts were exaggerated now and then, but they did not stray far from the truth.
As the outpouring went on, the president could no longer pretend to be calm. In dry, tearless sobs, he stated his resentment toward America.
And then, at last, the words came.
“Your parents may have been among the people we failed to protect back then.”
“...I see.”
Seeing the emotion Gyeoul allowed to show, the president went a little further.
“America owes us a debt.”
How did he intend to collect that debt?
“Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul. For your parents' sake as well, please help your homeland.”
After deliberately taking a deep breath, Gyeoul feigned resolve and asked,
“What do you want from me?”
“I want to improve the unfair treatment our government receives from America.”
“...”
“Like other countries, America collects a set quarantine contribution from us as well. It reduces technology royalties and satellite rental fees, and partially charges us for food and material support... Even the Republican Party is seeing arguments that the amount should be increased.”
This was unfolding differently from the scenario the CIA had predicted.
“Considering the wrongs of the past, that should not be happening. We should receive more support for the same price. More economic compensation should be given. A higher refugee acceptance quota than we currently have, and more work visas, should be permitted. Most of all... better treatment should be promised for refugees of Korean descent. I believe this is the minimum price America should pay.”
What the indignant president wanted was not catastrophe.
“I understand that the Lieutenant Colonel is acquainted with prominent figures inside America. Please represent our government's position through them. I beg you.”
“When you ask me to represent your position, do you mean you want me to go beyond introductions and reveal that truth on your behalf?”
“No.”
At the question Gyeoul had thrown out just in case, the Korean president shook his head with difficulty.
“In the public eye, you must not look as if you resent America. Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul must always be on the side of Americans. You have lived in refugee zones, so you know better than anyone how valuable that image is.”
“Then you have no intention of exposing it yourself either?”
“None whatsoever. The risk is too great.”
“Risk?”
“In the short term, we would certainly gain something. But if that fact were made public, think of how many people would be enraged. There is nothing stopping a terrorist from emerging among Korean citizens or refugees. If such an incident occurred at a time when anti-refugee sentiment is running so high... there is a strong chance that our refugees' treatment would worsen. From there, the vicious cycle would begin again. I absolutely do not want that.”
A strange sense of deja vu came over him. In that unexpected moderation, Gyeoul saw the suffering President Woo Jung-young overlap with Kramer.
It would be fine to feel relieved at this point, but one thing still bothered him.
If he really believes it would be dangerous for that fact to become public, shouldn't he normally have worried about the possibility that I might go out of control after learning it?
President Woo Jung-young had seen Gyeoul's longing and anger, yet still chose to tell him the secret. At first glance, it was a decision that did not make sense.
The Intelligence Agency agents shared the same doubt.
「If we try to guess what he's really thinking, two possibilities come to mind right away. Despite all that background, his real goal may be to incite you, Lieutenant Colonel. Or perhaps he decided that Lieutenant Colonel, with too much to lose, would never take that kind of risk. He may also have investigated the person called Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul in his own way.」
Talbot added weight to Kowalski's opinion.
「The former is also an understandable scheme. He has plenty of room to feel conflicted between dangerous revenge and safe silence. If even his own mind is uncertain, it wouldn't be strange for this to be bait he threw out while thinking it didn't matter whether you bit or not, Lieutenant Colonel.」
After turning it over, Gyeoul concluded that either way, all he had to do was stay silent.
President Woo Jung-young simply was not as great a concern as the Central Intelligence Agency had assumed. Gyeoul smiled bitterly inside, hoping the dangers he would face from now on would also prove this trivial in reality.
'Somehow... I feel like I've become more of a coward than before.'
He would take as much happiness as he could get. Since changing his mind that way, this world had reached Gyeoul at every moment with a different meaning than before. It would not be wrong to say he had become afraid of the twenty-seventh death he would experience in 「Days after Apocalypse」.
“Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul?”
Perhaps the silence had gone on too long, because agitation colored President Woo Jung-young's voice as he called Gyeoul.
But just as Gyeoul was about to answer, a small commotion came from outside. Rising from his seat and approaching the window, Gyeoul spotted sporadic movements in several parts of the park. Some bodyguards and mercenaries were moving while protecting their employers.
“What is going on...?”
“Is there something outside?”
There was no need for Gyeoul to answer the uneasy President Woo Jung-young.
The sound of sirens began coming from the direction of the city.
“Sir!”
Anne came in almost at a run, accompanied by different security teams, and delivered the news while keeping the others in mind.
“A situation has developed. Both of you need to return immediately.”
The flustered president asked,
“A situation? What situation, exactly?”
Anne answered in a hard tone.
“As of now, martial law has been declared across the entire United States.”
“Martial law?! Has a military rebellion broken out?”
Gyeoul also thought first of a coup, but Anne denied it at once.
“It is not a rebellion. Martial law has been declared due to a biological contamination threat.”
“Biological contamination...”
“I'm sorry, but I don't have the authority to give any further answers. I can only tell you that the situation is under the authorities' control. There will be an official announcement from the federal government soon, so please understand.”
Anne firmly cut off the questions that followed and urged Gyeoul on.
“Lieutenant Colonel, I'll escort you to the vehicle.”
Gyeoul nodded quickly and bowed his head to the president.
“Please take care on your way back. I will think seriously about what you told me today.”
Then he turned away before hearing an answer.
The armored vehicle he always rode in was already waiting with its engine running. As soon as Gyeoul got in, he asked Anne,
“What is happening? Is it a secret even from me?”
“No, it isn't, but I still only know the broad outline myself.”
“Then tell me the broad outline.”
A shadow fell over Anne's face.
“From late September to early October, we confirmed that at least dozens, and at most hundreds, of mutants crossed the western border of Nevada, meaning the former Western Blockade Line. Martial law was invoked because their current locations have not been confirmed. Considering the dates, it wouldn't be strange for them to be hidden in any state by now.”
Was it because she was tense, or because of the anger rising in her? Even when speaking to Gyeoul, Anne's tone had stiffened without her noticing.
Still, crossed and hidden? The nuance was strange. With a flash of 「Insight」, Gyeoul asked, hoping it was not true.
“Do you mean... someone intentionally brought live mutants in?”
He wished that were not the case, but Anne confirmed Gyeoul's suspicion.
“Yes. It's information obtained by interrogating the militia executives arrested at dawn.”
“How is that possible?”
“There were sympathizers of the Unholy Alliance among the Quartermaster Bureau's Civilian Transport Division and the civilians hired to escort them. On top of that, five checkpoint chiefs were recruited. They took bribes in exchange for not inspecting returning cargo. As soon as this was discovered, the mobile strike force and military police were dispatched, but they say they ultimately failed to find the one suspect who had been most actively involved from the planning stage.”
Anne paused, then added,
“That man. Gyeoul probably knows him too.”
“Someone I know?”
To the confused Gyeoul, Anne ground her teeth and gave him a name he had not expected at all.
“The shame of Paso Robles, Lieutenant Warner A. Markert. When you first met him, he was a Captain. He was demoted and reassigned for serious failures of command, abuse of authority, crimes committed against refugees, and more. If the trials hadn't been backed up, he would have been thrown into a federal prison long ago...”
“...”
Come to think of it, when he had been acting commander of Fort Roberts, he had once received information on Lieutenant Markert in connection with complaints from Chinese refugees. The hearings were backed up, so the trial was scheduled to open three months later.
In other words, he had been in a position where being relieved of duty and detained at any time would not have been strange.
'No matter how cornered he was, to get involved in something this insane.'
The conditions that made that insane act possible did exist. An army expanded to a scale impossible to maintain with the existing military logistics system. Civilian transport personnel mobilized as an unavoidable result. Mutant hordes hidden in a state of Metabolic Suppression across the three West Coast states. Even the anti-Chinese sentiment and religious extremism making trouble in the South.
Even so, to drag a plague inside the front line.
Gyeoul swallowed a deepening sigh.
Footnotes:
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