Chapter 201: < Protect – Episode 200 – Stateless Person [3] >
Chapter 201: < Protect – Episode 200 – Stateless Person [3] >
“Haha!”
“Stop laughing!”
Ahn Soo Ho pointed and laughed while Ahn Da Sol put on her sunglasses. She had one black eye. She looked like a panda.
“How did that happen?”
“Hm.”
Ahn Da Sol closed her mouth as if she didn’t want to tell him, but Ahn Soo Ho got the idea. She might have been an alpha organism, but she was unable to replicate herself. When she abandoned Fantastic 4 and followed him to Nigeria, she left a huge hole in the group.
Disco Bang Bang!
Funk Funk Revolution!
“I doubt it was the manager who hit you. Was it Emily? Or Rachel?”
“Emily.”
“That punk... She must have a hard slap.”
Emily, who got to be famous in Korea thanks to her uncle, David Cox, also known as Lee Chul, was very skilled at Taekwondo.
“You must have liked her.”
It appeared that the one with supernatural powers let her off easy.
“They still have good manners.”
“Both of them?”
“Both of them.”
Ahn Da Sol complained a lot, but she cherished Emily and Rachel. Ahn Soo Ho looked at her with a deep gaze. Why was it that he cared for Ahn Da Sol a little more than the other alpha organisms?
“Isn’t it time that you tell me the secret now?”
“What secret?”
“Don’t be like that.”
“There’s no secret, Soo Ho. Oh, if you want to know about my first time, I can tell you that part. The sex methods of the Roman times...”
“Fuck! Not that.”
Ahn Soo Ho shook his head. Seeing how Ahn Da Sol still played innocent, he needed more time. He didn’t pressure her further.
“I guess you have to be a panda for the time being.”
“Oh well.”
It was good to avoid behavior that could be misunderstood. Since all the attention was on Ahn Soo Ho, just being near him called upon the notice of intelligence agencies, reporters, and investigators.
“But I didn’t get caught.”
“On the way to Africa?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m no match for Issac or Michel, but I have people of my own, too.”
“Aren’t you tired of playing the game of secrets with everyone?”
“We had to make that choice in order to survive.”
“Come to think of it... I think I heard something about J-Law making a big mistake.”
“I don’t know. I consider it more of a need of the times.”
“And what’s that?”
“Karl Marx.”
“What?”
“Karl Marx is J-Law.”
“Haha! You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Ahn Soo Ho laughed loudly out of absurdity.
“Why?”
“At the time, he was hung up about his sense of duty.”
Just as the name Justice-Law suggests, he had a fantasy about legal justice. And the passion of the pained citizens swayed him.
“Thoughtless passion is dangerous. And the circumstances of the generation was so poor that even J-Law fell for it despite knowing that better than anyone. The empire was thriving while the people were not. That’s how the utopia of socialism came about.”
“Just because of that?”
“No, there was someone who went against J-Law. Guess who that was.”
“Hitler?”
“Good.”
“Who’s that?”
“Issac.”
“Haha. What a sight. What about you? Were you Japan? And Michel was America, right? Haha. Hahahaha.”
History was normally a boring subject, but when the truth finally surfaced, it was more entertaining than anything. Ahn Da Sol was the enemy of Koreans. And she was a real son of a bitch at that.
Ahn Da Sol, also known as Kumiko, worked for the Japanese empire. Back then, her name wasn’t even Kumiko.
“So? Why did the circle that ruled the world suddenly hide in the darkness?”
“Because mankind wasn’t afraid of us anymore after getting a taste of freedom. And the new god called science brought us down.”
“I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
“Oppenheimer.”
Ahn Da Sol smiled at Ahn Soo Ho’s mumbling. Nuclear weapons were the only weapon that threatened alpha organisms. The heat energy emitted from it couldn’t be blocked even with supernatural powers. If Ahn Soo Ho got hit by one, he couldn’t survive either.
‘It’s not a force that alpha organisms can endure.’
But there were probably even stronger forces in the universe.
“Back in the day, just a few words controlled people, while today, science is the only thing that’s left.”
“Then you can use science or scientists to your advantage. Don’t you take pride in being smart?”
“That’s a good point. You’re right. We pretended to believe in the new god, science.”
Those with supernatural powers weren’t only superior in terms of physical strength.
The wave caused by Ahn Soo Ho’s return wasn’t small. In particular, the footage from the press conference at Incheon International Airport went viral all over the world. It became the material that was used to create parodies that screamed, “I’m this world’s CESCO!” On top of that, Jang Seol Hyun’s premarital pregnancy became revealed which put Hosoo Entertainment Group in endless trouble.
If it was just insults, he could have hung up, but it was hard to hang up on congratulatory calls. Knowing Korea, they should have received lots of hate calls, but there were actually more messages cheering Jang Seol Hyun on.
“They’re sympathy votes.”
“Sympathy votes?”
“Sympathy that her marriage to Soo Ho won’t be an easy one.”
“That’s not for them to worry about.”
“People are always more interested in other people’s family affairs.”
Ahn Soo Ho spoke with Kim Dae San in private.
It was awkward to meet with him when he was the chairman of the Reformation committee, but that was past them now. The reformation committee that he left was going downhill, and the reformation of the rich wasn’t progressing either. They did their best to move forward with the help of the fair trade committee, but following Ahn Soo Ho’s resignation, some of the rich got together and started their own scheme. And along with that downfall, national sympathy was declining as well.
Kim Dae San looked at Ahn Soo Ho in the eye.
“You quit on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Pardon?”
“The chairman position. You never intended on staying for long, did you?”
It was hard for him to play dumb with the old man. Ahn Soo Ho agreed with a peculiar face.
“Old man. You’re still not dead yet.”
“Is it because of the Comradery Association?”
“Unlike Korea National Association, they have some force.”
“So you think they’re more threatening than Ultra or whatever they’re called.”
“Hey! It looks like you did some digging on your own.”
“I probably know more about this country than you do.”
“I agree.”
He didn’t know how the information department of Daesan Group operated, but it was possible that they knew more about Korea than the NIS. Daesan Group’s information team was so knowledgeable that they even knew what Pig Kim wore and ate today.
“You’re gathering your colleagues and did a favor for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff... Are you planning to bring them down?”
“Not yet...”
“Then when?”
“I’m not sure. That depends on Korea.”
“You gave up your citizenship so you can negotiate with North Korea, right? Because you can’t do that with a Korean nationality.”
“Whoa! You’re scaring me.”
Kim Dae San wasn’t an old man to be messed with.
“Around when?”
“Don’t press me. I was going to do that right now.”
“Right now?”
“Yup.”
Ahn Soo Ho looked at his watch.
Daniel and the legal team advised him to wait a little longer, but he thought differently. He was going to renounce it anyway, so why wait? If they wanted money, he was willing to pay.
It was 6 o’clock in the evening, which was when the public office closed. What was a relief was that Koreans didn’t need to pay an initial fee that Americans needed to pay.
“From this point forward, I’m no longer a Korean.”
That evening, Hosoo Entertainment released an official statement confirming Ahn Soo Ho’s citizenship. As always, they announced something that people assumed would take at least another year. But that evening, Ahn Soo Ho’s nationality announcement was unable to take the highlight spot.
That was because North Korea made a shocking revelation of their own.
“We will cooperate with CEO Ahn for the peace of the Korean peninsula!”
“We are happy to announce that we will work for the peaceful development of the Korean peninsula!”
Joint construction of Han River and the Imjin River will take place for the development of peace! The negotiator was CEO Ahn Soo Ho!
Han River and the Imjin River will become exclusive industrial zones! The land will be leased to CEO Ahn Soo Ho for 200 years!
A storm swept over Korea, China, and Japan.
******
“You managed to avoid getting deported thanks to the UN.”
“They couldn’t do that anyway just because I renounced my citizenship. There’s usually a time period.”
“Didn’t you say the sin of disgrace was the scariest crime in South Korea?”
“Are you American or Korean?”
“I’m American, of course.”
While a storm blew over East Asia, Ahn Soo Ho arrived in Hawaii. That was because he couldn’t just leave Jang Seol Hyun in Korea. So they arrived in Hawaii early to prepare for the wedding. People were less interested in them abroad.
Asians and Westerners couldn’t tell each other apart. Ahn Soo Ho became very famous over the last year, but that didn’t mean he was a Hollywood star. So the reason why they drew any attention was because of Lila who just finished her North American tour.
“This wasn’t why we came to Hawaii.”
“Huh? What are you talking about, Soo Ho?”
After signing autographs and taking photos with fans, she looked at Ahn Soo Ho with wide eyes.
“Never mind.”
There was no point in saying anything to such an attention whore. He just kept it in.
“Where’s Seol Hyun?”
“In the hospital?”
“Why? Is she sick?”
.
Lila was shocked that a pregnant woman went straight to the hospital after arriving. However, Ahn Soo Ho shook his head with a calm face.
“No, it’s just for precaution.”
“Phew. You scared me.”
“People will think you’re the pregnant one.”
“I want a child, too.”
“Scott would swoon if he heard that. Why didn’t you do that earlier?”
Unlike Korea, single mothers were common in America, and among the pregnant in France, half of them were unmarried. Since it was common to just live together, they didn’t need to particularly get married. And since society made it possible for women to raise kids on their own, it was not a stretch.
“Soo Ho!”
Speaking of which, Scott Warren came over with both hands waving.
“You’re not a gentleman, are you?”
“Hey, what?”
“Sit down.”
It was a brilliant idea to rent out the entire pub overlooking Waikiki Beach.
“I heard the news, Soo Ho. Are you going to become an American now?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You can’t be stateless forever.”
“It’s been pretty nice the first few days though.”
“Haha, you’re funny... Wait, you’re serious. Are you going to establish a country on the land North Korea’s giving you?”
Scott flinched at Ahn Soo Ho’s calm tone. He didn’t seem to be joking.
“How could I build a country on such small land? Maybe just a city.”
“President Olsen will cry if he finds out.”
“Why?”
“The White House made half of the Americans believe that you’re going to be American soon.”
After helping Ahn Soo Ho with the rescue operation in Nigeria, they didn’t deny the news of Ahn Soo Ho’s renouncement of his citizenship. No matter how scheming this could have made them look, Ahn Soo Ho was worth it.
It was only embarrassing for a moment.
“So pathetic.”
“It wasn’t the president’s matter, to begin with. He was too greedy. Since the democratic party messed up big time this time, it’ll probably be a Republican president next time.”
“But Hollywood usually likes leftist presidents.”
“Yeah, but not Olsen.”
“Hey, stop it with the heavy talks!”
Lila got fed up and stuffed toast in Scott’s mouth.
“Do we have to talk about politics in Hawaii? I’m sick of you old men!”
“If you’re sick of it, just get married.”
“Hmph!”
Lila stuck out her tongue at Ahn Soo Ho. She took off her shirt and ran toward the waves. From afar, they heard the sounds of cameras of the paparazzi.
“Is the company doing well?”
Scott was pouring whiskey in his mango juice when he gave Ahn Soo Ho a thumbs up.
“Thanks to the owner.”
“But that doesn’t mean you’re going to engage in illegal solicitation, right?”
“What are you thinking? I’m Scott Warren.”
“You divorced four times and now you’re poor.”
“Hmph!”
Scott copied Lila and stuck out his tongue, but he ended up getting kicked.
“Agh!”
The chair tipped over, but thankfully, they were on the sand.
“Ptooey! Shit!”
“Try that again and I’ll cut off that tongue of yours.”
“Haha. You’re funny... Wait, you’re serious?”
Scott looked serious and then started laughing. He let it go after seeing his smile.
“If you’re going to build a city, make it a travel destination, Soo Ho. I want to live there after I retire.”
“It’s different from LA and Hawaii. There are seasons there.”
“But won’t it be safe at least?”
Safety right in between North and South Korea? Those who knew Ahn Soo Ho’s secrets firmly believed that that was going to be the safest place in the world.
“If you need land... Hmm, I can’t help you.”
America was unable to lease any land for 200 years. That was only possible for a dictatorship country like North Korea.
“Come to think of it... being stateless might be better for you, Soo Ho.”
There wasn’t a single person or country that would look down on Ahn Soo Ho for having no nationality.
“Did you decide on a name?”
“A name?”
“The original name is too hard to pronounce.”
“Only for Yankees.”
But on the other hand, there would be problems with using the original name.
“I can think of the perfect name.”
“What’s that?”
Scott flinched at his cold smile.
“Emerald City.”
A city ruled by the great magician.
“The Wizard of Oz?”