Chapter 120

<Healer>

***

The secure phone that Moon Seok-il had obtained was unique.

No, it was more appropriate to say it was one-of-a-kind.

First of all, it was peculiar because it could only make calls.

It was similar to the City Phone that briefly appeared in the late 20th century, but unlike the City Phone, there was no need to loiter around a public phone booth to make a call.

The sound quality wasn’t clear, and there was a hissing, boiling noise. Since the only people he had called so far were Moon Seok-il and Kim In-rang, it didn’t matter, but the call quality wasn’t great anyway.

On a Saturday afternoon, Jin Hyuk and Moon Seok-il walked along the urethane track by the waterway. Since they needed water for this year’s farming, they didn’t fill the new waterway, using the existing one instead. Thanks to that, the bottom of the waterway was covered with lush green grass, making it less desolate.

Jin Hyuk looked at the phone and said, “This is amazing. I didn’t know such technology existed.”

“When you’re working in the shadows, you have to do all sorts of things. I don’t even know the principle behind it,” Moon Seok-il shrugged.

They had obtained a Nokia 1011, a mobile phone modified into a secure satellite phone somewhere in Seattle, USA, and then further modified it at a radio shop in Cheonggyecheon to make it usable domestically.

“They do that kind of thing in Cheonggyecheon?”

“If you pay, they’ll even make gun parts. You just need to assemble them.”

Wow— Jin Hyuk let out a sigh of admiration like an old man.

There were other reasons why the phone was special.

“Is it really untraceable?”

“It’s more accurate to say it can’t be traced.”

Moon Seok-il didn’t bother explaining that the calls were routed through North Korea. He mentioned something about frequencies and analog signals, but since he wasn’t an expert, he couldn’t answer all of Jin Hyuk’s questions. Moreover, once Jin Hyuk started asking questions, they just kept coming. Sweating from the effort of answering, Moon Seok-il had no choice but to become even more reserved.

“Just think of it as a walkie-talkie.”

Jin Hyuk nodded with a blank expression.

As they talked about the phone, Jin Hyuk remembered a recent conversation with Min Yong-rak.

Last year, Seokyeong Mobile Communications announced that the number of mobile phone subscribers nationwide was less than 800. To use a brick-like phone weighing over 700 grams, one had to spend over 5 million won, including the device cost and activation fee, which was roughly equivalent to the rent for a house on the outskirts of Seoul.

Regardless of the cost of living, this was also an indicator that led Seokyeong to abandon its mobile communications business and contributed to the birth of Sain Telecom. While it was partly due to the large assets transferred from the Sain Group, it was also because Seokyeong had prematurely judged the business’s viability.

For some reason, Daejeong and Seokyeong faced difficulties in developing follow-up devices, and Jin Hyuk was the only one who could guess that Hong Ki-jun’s machinations were behind it. After Hong Ki-jun became the president of Sain Electronics, Sain didn’t hesitate to poach key engineers from other companies with hefty offers.

‘The pager era might pass quickly too.’

According to Min Yong-rak, Sain Electronics and Sain Telecom were already preparing digital-based mobile communication services. He mentioned something about CDMA, but since Min Yong-rak wasn’t an expert, he just explained it as some kind of communication technology.

Looking at the plan to miniaturize the devices, Jin Hyuk thought, ‘He’s planning to make other companies obsolete.’

It was a simple method.

Wait until other companies’ devices hit the market, then release a groundbreaking product in large quantities. This way, the existing companies that couldn’t attract consumers would struggle with excess inventory and face financial difficulties.

‘He’s going to absorb them.’

It was a way to inflict internal damage without direct confrontation. It was like a race between a child and an adult. The adult starts late but eventually overtakes the child. If the companies were of similar strength, it would be normal to compete to release new products faster, but why engage in a bloody competition when there’s a good way to make competitors fail without breaking the law?

From a distance, Jin Hyuk could see Hong Ki-jun’s movements as if he had already started his world conquest. Only Jin Hyuk could see these moves.

“I need to talk to Manager Min.”

After parting ways with Moon Seok-il in front of the bear statue, Jin Hyuk walked across the lawn.

The scorching summer sun hitting his left cheek was partially blocked by the occasional zelkova trees.

There was no need to go to the mole’s house to meet Min Yong-rak.

As one of the most leisurely people in the neighborhood, Min Yong-rak spent most of his time, apart from helping Jang Jin-nam prepare food, teaching Yoo Jin numbers and letters on the porch, building rapport.

“Uncle, why is your belly sticking out?”

“Ah! Ah—.”

He spent more time being criticized by Yoo Jin than teaching, but since the criticism was based on facts, Min Yong-rak was always at a loss for words.

“Why does the number ‘5’ look like an ‘S’?”

“Ah—.”

There were too many questions he couldn’t answer, making him sweat and lose weight.

Jin Hyuk knew that Min Yong-rak was doing this to meet him. While he had no sense when it came to romance, he was sharp when it came to business motives.

“Manager, you should change your notebook.”

Jin Hyuk teased as he looked at Min Yong-rak’s densely packed notebook.

While he understood the importance of note-taking, it was a habit Jin Hyuk wasn’t familiar with. He preferred to keep things in his head, recalling past events bit by bit and focusing intensely to maintain clarity. He didn’t take separate notes, as someone else might find them strange.

“Is it really necessary to introduce GSM? The same goes for the devices. If the pace of technological advancement is fast, shouldn’t device development keep up with it as a market-leading strategy?”

This was his response to the memo about Sain Telecom considering introducing GSM, a mobile communication system standard not yet adopted domestically. The memo had the name of a National Assembly member in parentheses, suggesting a request from the political sphere.

Min Yong-rak’s eyes were filled with confusion, as he had no understanding of the terminology.

“Do you understand all this?”

“No.”

Jin Hyuk’s answer was firm. He really didn’t know. If he had to know every trivial term, he’d be a computer, not a human.

How can you give an opinion without understanding the meaning? Min Yong-rak’s eyebrows furrowed.

“I treat it as an unknown variable.”

“Unknown variable?”

“When I don’t know a term, I set it aside like an X or Y in an equation and look at other terms first.”

Min Yong-rak’s face gradually turned blank.

As Jin Hyuk continued to explain, Min Yong-rak leaned forward, adjusting the pen in his hand.

“It would be nice to know the details for persuasiveness, but when making decisions, it can also be a hindrance. You might dig too deep without realizing it, and your logic might go in the wrong direction. Ultimately, the answer is either yes or no, and the businessperson’s role is to consider whether it will generate profit or loss. The technical aspects are the engineer’s domain, and the convenience is the responsibility of the PR team.”

Jin Hyuk shrugged as if it were no big deal.

Min Yong-rak nodded, scribbling notes.

Surprisingly, Jin Hyuk’s demeanor wasn’t unfamiliar. It felt like watching a cousin who had graduated from a science high school.

Jin Hyuk pointed to the notebook.

“Here, it says CDMA, a digital mobile communication method developed by Qualcomm? Since Sain Telecom has already decided to adopt it, there’s no need to bring in the European standard, GSM. I don’t understand why GSM was proposed.”

This was a test from Hong Ki-jun. Jin Hyuk suspected as much.

Of course, it was also possible that a politician, who often failed to keep up with trends or went against the times, had pressured the company for performance. So, perhaps a way to refuse without offending the politician was needed.

But as far as Jin Hyuk knew, no one could match Hong Ki-jun’s ability to negotiate between acceptance and refusal. When it came to walking a tightrope, there was no better diplomat on Earth.

“We’ve started, so we should aim for perfection, but right now, it seems more important to strengthen our foundation rather than expand externally.”

It was definitely a test. Looking at the vaguely described M&A materials under the name of group restructuring, Jin Hyuk nodded inwardly.

Even if he spoke vaguely, Hong Ki-jun would understand, so there was no need to explain in detail to Min Yong-rak. If it were Hong Ki-jun, he would know about the upcoming financial crisis, so why engage in aggressive M&A? It didn’t make sense. By then, even the dinosaurs would stumble. Frankly, they could swallow one of Daejeong’s main companies, so there was no need to overreach.

‘It would be nice to erase Daejeong, dreaming sweetly, from the 21st century.’

Sain Heavy Industries, Sain Machinery, Sain Chemicals—looking at the semiconductor production plant construction, equipment, and drug development charts, it seemed Hong Ki-jun was thinking the same.

Nyaaa—.

Son Yoo-jin, who had been listening nearby, let out a long yawn.

‘Oppa’s talking about boring stuff again.’

While her brother was talking to Min Yong-rak, Yoo-jin was brushing Hongshi’s fur. Born in winter, Hongshi had grown so much that she was now larger than Jang Gun-i, her mother, and even Choi Mi-kyung’s yellow dog. When it was hot, Jang Gun-i would hide under Hongshi’s chest to avoid the sun, making Hongshi look like the mother.

Even now, while brushing, Jang Gun-i was playfully biting Hongshi’s chest fur.

“Hongshi’s fur is long. Longer than Jang Gun-i’s.”

Her appearance was exactly like the Pomeranian they had seen in Seoul.

Jo Il-hun had said it.

– “Hongshi looks just like Jang Gun-i’s mother.”

It was absurd for a mutt to produce a retriever, and he even suggested they might have picked up someone else’s puppy. Then he got bitten on the calf by Jang Gun-i and limped around. Hongshi was gentle, but Jang Gun-i was fierce, and though small, she often punished the neighborhood uncles who underestimated her.

‘We shouldn’t let the uncles who ignore Jang Gun-i get away with it.’

After a long brushing session, Hongshi, who had looked like a furball, now displayed a noble demeanor.

A scratch on her nose caught Yoo-jin’s eye.

Son Yoo-jin glanced at her brother and Min Yong-rak before gently touching Hongshi’s wound.

Her hand warmed, and the warmth transferred to Hongshi.

‘Hehe—.’

Hehehek—.

As she smiled at the clean wound, Hongshi licked Yoo-jin’s nose.

Nyang nyang—.

Jang Gun-i, lying flat on the ground, rolled her eyes upward, looking pitifully at Yoo-jin.

She extended her right front paw, as if to say it hurt. Why was she like this when she had been fine?

‘Twice is too much.’

This is awkward.

There’s a way in times like this.

Puckering her lips, she aimed at her palm. As her eyes focused, something popped out of her mouth.

Ptoo—. Free grandma medicine.

***

With the family growing, there was more to do even on Sundays.

But Yoo-jin was still the top priority. Jeong Won-i was still a newborn and needed to stay in his mother’s arms.

After covering Yoo-jin, who had fallen asleep while playing next to the baby, with a thin blanket, Jin Hyuk went up to the rooftop.

Checking if anyone was watching or listening, he took out the phone.

Since July, there was something he had been doing regularly.

Ahem—. As he cleared his throat, a young man’s voice came through the phone.

Jin Hyuk quickly shaped his mouth like a duck’s and opened his throat, slightly protruding his lower jaw.

“Uh-, Mokpo Airport?”

The North Korean accent he had learned from Jeong Sang-tae wasn’t easy. But the appropriately mixed noise and modulated voice would hide Jin Hyuk well. Location tracking would, of course, be impossible.

“I’m at Mokpo Airport. I’ve planted a bomb.”

Making a prank call of this magnitude made his heart race, but it was a necessary choice. He had to stop the plane heading to Mokpo Airport.

It wasn’t exact, but he remembered an accident happening around summer vacation. The weather had been consistently hot, but it rained on the weekend of the vacation, causing chaos in the newspapers. The shock had been so great that he could barely recall the season.

“You damn idiot, are you listening to me with your nose?”

Jin Hyuk gave an apologetic look to his dog friends who had quietly followed him and crouched down. He felt bad for Jang Gun-i and Hongshi, but the only curse words he had learned from Jeong Sang-tae were these.

He needed to stall.

He had to make the police or military track his signal. By doing so, he hoped the authorities, realizing the caller was untraceable, would take measures like closing the airport.

‘I’m sorry to the passengers.’

North-South tensions? No need to worry. Neither side had the intention to go to war, and they wouldn’t find any evidence of terrorism. Even if evidence surfaced, they couldn’t hastily assign blame, given the nature of their relationship.

But this was a big problem.

‘Damn, I’m out of material.’

He hadn’t thought enough about what to say.

Then—

– Waeangalaeng······.

Good, they asked for demands on the other end of the phone.

Huh? But what should he demand?

Without a script, being a terrorist wasn’t easy.

‘Ugh-, nothing in this world is easy.’

There’s a way in times like this.

Thud-.