Sooho

Chapter 111: < Protect – Episode 110 – New York Festival [3] >

Ahn Soo Ho—the head of Hosoo Entertainment—went to New York in order to participate in the advertising festival. Advertisement and entertainment industries were industries that had always stood side by side; just like how makeup techniques were crucial to the fashion industry. The advertisements his celebrities got was just as important as their movies and dramas.

That was because there were more stars that made it through advertisements than movies or dramas. Newspapers, magazines, and other advertisements where celebrities had to leave strong impressions during a short commercial or one photo needed a great deal of creativity.

The public liked predictable things just as much as they liked new things. If an advertisement company tried to be overly creative by using fat or ugly models, they were bound to fall in the eyes of the public and advertisers. Respect and praise for beauty was something that was never going to change in the generations to come.

“Whether it’s fashion or electronics, anything that people consume depended on branding. You have to show it to them one more time for it to sell well. There is no other reason why they spend so much on holding fashion shows. It’s all for the advertisement.”

“Didn’t you say you majored in fashion design?”

“To be more exact, fashion business administration.”

Was there a major like that in Italy? But then again Kim Na Hee wasn’t just the trendsetter of beauty; she also cultivated the best advertisement company in Korea through brand promotion. Even though Daesan Group wasn’t an affiliated company, Kim Na Hee’s company took most of their advertisements. Other advertising companies criticized her for using internal dealings. However, at the end of the day, Kim Na Hee was the queen who made Daesan Group’s image into what it was today.

And Han Chae Kyung—the one chosen to be the successor of the kingdom—was bound to be compared to the originator. The way Ahn Soo Ho saw it, Han Chae Kyung was proud in a different way from Oh Joo Kyung.

‘They’re both intelligent... but she’s more voluptuous.’

Was she just born that way? Or was it acquired? The way Han Chae Kyung smiled with her eyes had a way of making men misunderstand her. If she didn’t have the refinement that Jang Seol Hyun had as well, people would have thought she was just easy. Ahn Soo Ho and Han Chae Kyung talked about all sorts of things during their ten-hour flight.

She was very enthusiastic for a girl who was framed for murder and went to court for it. It was possible that she was trying to forget her pain by living a busy life. However, they were accompanied by emergency personnel and a psychiatrist just in case. No one could really say how mental illness could escalate.

They finally arrived at JFK International Airport in New York.

If they had used a normal airline, they would have gone through a lot of trouble getting through, but they both had American visas and they were also led out by ambassador Pamela Woods. So for them, getting out of the airport was no problem.

“Soo Ho.”

“Adam?”

A bald man in a suit.

When a person has distinct characteristics, they were bound to remain in a person’s memory even if there was no reason for it. The reason why Ahn Soo Ho remembered Adam Laroche wasn’t because he was the deputy director of the FBI or was formally in the delta forces. It was because Ahn Soo Ho noticed that Adam’s head would get red along with his face whenever he got overexcited. The bald police officer with rage? Ahn Soo Ho remembered hearing that Adam dreamt of entering politics.

“Go on without me.”

“Okay.”

Han Chae Kyung glanced at the bald man and then left as Ahn Soo Ho told her to. Since she had an entourage, she was pretty safe. Ahn Soo Ho and Adam sat on a bench that overlooked the beach.

“Is that the woman that got framed in Italy?”

“Yeah.”

The FBI didn’t only focus on domestic matters. After the twin tower incident in New York went down, they focused more on foreign affairs than the CIA. The friction between the FBI and CIA were always tense, but it got worse after that.

“You were a lot of help in Europe. Thank you, Soo Ho.”

Adam Laroche was indeed an American. However, his surname was French. His relatives lived in France too. Patriotism and love for the family were two different things.

“I’m guessing you didn’t wait for me just to say hello.”

“You’re right.”

“Is there a problem?”

“There are always problems. This country is like a tree with lots of branches.”

In Ahn Soo Ho’s opinion, the States’ problem was that they thought they were managing the entire world and meddled in just about everything. They weren’t just meddlesome, but cocky as well. Most American citizens thought that their president and civil control were firm, but that wasn’t actually the case.

Among the military operations that underwent secretly behind the motto—America’s enemy was the world’s enemy—included those that not even the parliament could mess with. There were many secrets that were capable of making America disappear if they were used incorrectly. The former director of FBI had also once misused his power under what they called national security.

“About the Empire Konzern case... thank you once again, Soo Ho.”

“If I hadn’t thrown the feed, I would have gotten dragged in too.”

“I can’t say you’re wrong.”

It took half a year to rip apart a company with 60 billion dollars in market value. The FBI started to get involved after almost everyone got ripped to shreds and there was nothing left. The Davis administration was criticized by the public, but they got through it quietly in the political and financial world.

Except for one person.

“Fitzgerald is probably the only excited one.”

“He was the star of the hearing, after all.”

Alexandro Stanish Fitzgerald sounded like the name of a comedian, but that was his real name. He was also a respected American senator.

“Is he going after the next election?”

“As a Republican, he can’t lose this opportunity.

In contrast to his funny name, no one could look down on his political ability and ambition. Republicans campaign about putting the public’s interest first; it worked well on foolish white people. Were there lots of black ghettos in America? Or were there more white ghettos? In reality, there was reverse discrimination against the whites.

“There are only two choices for a white trash that never graduated high school. Jail or...”

“Military?”

“That’s right. One-third of the American military is from the ghetto. The reason why they have degree programs in the military is to cultivate more capable officers, but it’s also to make the soldiers feel motivated to study. As you already know, dumb soldiers are needed more in their own forces.”

It wasn’t just once or twice that a soldier fired at their own on a crazy battlefield.

“Jina Davis’ suicide must have been the trigger.”

“There are lots of soldiers who believe the military is loyal to the country, not the government. In particular, special forces even risk their own lives for their fellow soldiers. But since that sacrifice was done in vain, it’s no wonder they’re going nuts. President Davis made a big mistake.”

The American special forces were known for charging in even for the sake of one American citizen. They took pride in that. Even if they lost their lives during the mission, they felt proud to die for the sake of the country. Their officers and men were active in society, and since they took pride in the fact that they led their country to become a leading country, the current American president had put himself in danger by harming that pride.

Many cases of terrorist attacks were actually led by anti-government activists and anarchists. If for some reason the military got involved with terrorists as well, that would be political suicide for the Davis administration.

“That’s why New York has been alert since Fashion Week.”

“Are they expecting a terrorist attack?”

“They believe there’s a new leader in Moscow behind the terror attacks in Europe.”

“Vitali.”

“No one thought an ambassador would take over the Kremlin. The CIA was surprised too.”

“They all probably think he’s a foolish bear... but he’s actually a scary guy.”

KGB—a group that suddenly disappeared in history—was a powerful intelligence agency more than anyone knew. They possessed a scary spy program that was capable of obliterating mankind.

“Our national security committee is deeply sorry to you about Djorkaeff, Soo Ho.”

The Brazilian government ruled Maxim Ivanovich Djorkaeff’s death as suicide, but the States didn’t believe it. That was because the person who saw him the day before he died was Ahn Soo Ho. It was likely that there was some kind of negotiation between the two. What did they talk about? If Maxim was someone else, Ahn Soo Ho would definitely catch Maxim and conduct the interrogation himself.

“There are people suspecting that you got Vitali’s back.”

“That’s crazy.”

“It is, but there are quite a few in the national security committee that believes it, too.”

“Are you trying to find that out from me?”

“Yeah, and I have a request for you, too.”

“I’ll answer your two questions right now. No and no.”

Adam nodded in response to Ahn Soo Ho’s stern refusal. It was as if he had already expected to hear that kind of answer.

“That’s what I wanted to hear.”

“You seem to be in a good mood even though I turned you down.”

“I’m actually happy you’re retired, but don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that because I hate you Soo Ho. You’re an incredible negotiator. I admit it, but the reason why the States is superior is because they respect the system and follow the procedures. That’s one of our country’s values.”

“So?”

“You’re unfair... just like a cheat sheet. That’s considered a violation in the eyes of Americans.”

Adam believed that in order to achieve an objective, a personal or societal sacrifice had to be made.

“Terror is a bad thing. It’s horrible. Just think about what it does to women and children. But in America, whether the terror can be stopped or not, we go through the process of overcoming the pain to understand each other Soo Ho. And for over ten years, you eliminated that process. Now we’re experiencing the consequences of it.”

It was possible that Sao Paolo was one of those side effects.

During that time, there were terror attacks and hostage negotiations that took place but was not revealed to the media because Ahn Soo Ho secretly took care of it. Even wars were resolved pretty quietly. To those in power in each country, they liked that he could yield any result as long as he was paid well. The problem was that since they were relying on one person, they had no way of knowing if they fooled around in the middle of it.

The greed that was used to be suppressed had exploded in all four directions as soon as Ahn Soo ho retired, and that was normal. Greed should have always existed. However, the greed of countless monsters was being suppressed when Ahn Soo Ho was around. This was not expected by America’s national security committee, who thought they could keep it under control even without an arbitrator.

J-Law and Issac’s war was just the beginning.

There were conflicts regarding religion, humanity, commerce, and more. The rate of human trafficking increased dramatically. Letting that greed free caused a huge quarrel all over the world. Again, this was how it should’ve been from the very beginning.

“You’re dragging it out for too long. Make it short, Adam.”

“We got a report that a huge attack is going to take place in New York within the next 48 hours. This is a national security emergency.”

“It’s so peaceful right now though.”

If it was an emergency, the ports and airports would have been closed down first.

“This happened during the 911 too. A terror attack was reported, but it wasn’t announced to the public. A bigger problem would have probably occurred if it was announced.”

New York was inhabited by over 20 million citizens, not including all the tourists. If a terrorist attack was reported, no one could say what would happen next.

“Come to think of it. You’re a Republican, aren’t you Adam?”

Ahn Soo Ho stared at the bald head in front of him.

Adam Laroche.

He had the blood of France, but he was just some white trash from Brooklyn. He chose to enter the military instead of going to jail. He was well-suited for it, so he climbed his way up to the FBI. He was a late bloomer.

“Are you in on it with Fitzgerald?”

Adam wasn’t asking Ahn Soo Ho for help like Italy or France. He wanted to stress it to him that the States would handle their own matters without him.

“In order to be reborn as a strong America.... we need a strong leader.”

“You expect the president to take the hit.”

“I’m not saying that we should just watch the terrorist attack happen. But there’s nothing we can do about collateral damage.”

Ahn Soo Ho wanted to ask him how that trashy belief was any different than that of terrorists, but this was none of his business. All he could do was to convince himself that he visited New York on a bad day. Adam was beating around the bush to tell him not to get involved.

Ahn Soo Ho shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t worry about me and keep doing what you were doing.”

Ahn Soo Ho had to finish everything and get out of there by the end of the day.

< Protect – Episode 110 – New York Festival [3] > The end.