The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 234



Only Krnovel

234. An unexpected gift (3)

Three fighter jets on display at a secure facility.

Two of them were old Sukhoi fighter jets that I had often seen, but the remaining one was unusual.

Exterior painted black.

A design you would only see in a game.

I never understood why this fighter jet was here.

As I was staring blankly at the black fighter jet, General Lee Ho again expressed his gratitude.

“I never even dreamed that I would be able to bring the Berkut to Korea. That the Su-47 Berkut, which can be called the pinnacle of Russian aviation technology, could be owned by the Republic of Korea Air Force! Thank you so much.”

“Did you say Su-47?”

“That’s right. It’s the Su-47 Berkut, an ultra-high-spec stealth fighter of which only one was produced in Russia!”

Are my ears strange?

I didn’t hear any details about which fighter jet was coming.

But how did the latest fighter jets, which must be kept extremely secure even in Russia, come to Korea?

I didn’t even spend a lot of money.

Even after including the cost of purchasing the fighter jet, transportation costs, and other miscellaneous expenses, only $200 million was paid.

But I never thought they would send the latest fighter jets, which are difficult to convert into money.

It’s probably a hugely downgraded version.

In reality, I was convinced that it was impossible to fly or that it was a warplane with various systems missing.

“…It may be difficult to use it for anything other than wartime, but I am glad that it is helpful to the Air Force.”

“It is not for display. It is a fighter jet that can actually fly. It is equipped with all radar equipment and is even equipped with an internal weapon bay, which is the lifeblood of a stealth aircraft. It is a model that can be used for practical purposes!”

crazy!

I could barely suppress the swearing that was about to come out of my mouth.

No matter how good my relationship with Russia is, they hand over the latest model, which is no different from a country’s secret information.

Rather than being happy, I was more scared.

I couldn’t understand what Russia’s intention was for doing this, and no matter how much I thought about it, I especially couldn’t figure out what Roman’s agenda was, who led this incident.

But there was no need to reveal my inner feelings like this.

In front of General Lee Ho, he acted resolute and continued talking.

“…I went a little too far for the development of the Republic of Korea Air Force.”

“Thank you so much for creating the best opportunity to dramatically develop the Republic of Korea Air Force’s technological capabilities!”

“Can I make a quick phone call? I need to say thank you to Russia for sending me such a nice gift.”

“Of course you can. I will guide you outside the secure facility.”

We moved to a quiet place under the guidance of General Lee Ho.

After looking around for a moment and making sure no one was there, I called Governor Roman.

“Didn’t you send the wrong item? I received something unexpected.”

[Did you spend too much money? I also heard that they were sending a fighter jet that was abandoned at the airport.]

“A neglected fighter jet?”

[I was told that there was a fighter jet sitting abandoned at the airport due to maintenance costs, so I asked them to send it along. For the sake of our relationship, please just let this matter pass.]

Could it be that the abandoned fighter jet is a Su-47?

I understand that it costs a lot to maintain it because it is a very modern fighter jet, but I can’t believe it was left unattended at the airport.

And it was Roman who even asked for a favor.

He didn’t even know that it was me who was asking for the favor, not him.

“Would you both… agree not to make this a problem?”

[Of course. If it is not a problem in Korea, there will be no problem in Russia. In fact, there are only a few people who know that three fighter jets were sent to Korea.]

“Then I’ll see you next time I visit Russia.”

[Please visit often. I’ll be waiting.]

This is how the call ended.

No matter how shitty Russia is, they can receive the latest fighter jets like this.

Well, it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

Even before the return, Korea had purchased rocket models from Russia.

However, since Russia did not have the funds to create a new model, a previously made real rocket was sent to Korea.

Thanks to this, Korean rocket technology was able to develop dramatically.

This time the Su-47 fighter jet would play that role.

… … But, is it really a mistake?

No, it’s not something to worry about now. Anyway, the goods were received, and Russia remained silent.

Whether it was sent by mistake or not, let’s eat it first.

I quickly gathered my thoughts.

“The call has ended. Russia is being very condescending. Because of their close relationship with me, they sent Su-47 fighter jets, but they ask me to maintain thorough security.”

“Of course we have to do that. That’s why we have increased the number of security personnel at the Defense Research Institute to more than twice the usual number.”

“It should be used only for research purposes. If you do a test flight for no reason, a big problem may occur.”

“I will! How are we going to send this precious thing up to the sky? We don’t have enough time to disassemble and study all the parts.”

It was General Lee Ho, who was thinking about chewing, tearing, and tasting.

Since Russia also has the latest fighter jet, of which only one was produced due to cost issues, there must be many things they would like to try.

“As you know, it was very difficult to obtain. The Taewoo Group put in all their efforts and managed to obtain it. The funds used unofficially alone are enough to change the Air Force runway more than twice.”

“I have nothing to say. I will personally come forward and persuade the Ministry of National Defense regarding the issue of Taewoo Group’s new headquarters. I promise that the Republic of Korea Air Force will never raise any issues in the future.”

“Do you mean to say that we will build two new headquarters buildings?”

“I won’t have a problem even if we build 10 runways instead of 2. …But you will cover the cost of relocating the runway, right?”

It was General Lee Ho who suddenly thought of the cost of relocating the runway.

For the defense of the Republic of Korea, we need to invest that much.

“Of course, the relocation costs will be fully borne by Taewoo Group. We also plan to make a small donation to the Ministry of Defense.”

“You are really different from anyone else. There was a very bad group who told us to move the runway without giving them a penny for the cost of the relocation.”

I think it’s the Charlotte Group story.

The Charlotte Group had been trying to build a new headquarters on the Charlotte Group site for nearly 20 years, and of course it caused a huge conflict with the Air Force.

Maybe that’s why General Lee Ho still had a grudge against the Charlotte Group.

“Aren’t we a Korean group? Aren’t economic development and national defense inseparable?”

“Of course! I hope that the relationship between Taewoo Group and the military continues as it is now!”

Would you act like this when you meet a lifesaver?

Speaking of generals, they were people with sky-high pride.

The Air Force, especially with its small numbers, was bound to be overflowing with pride, but General Lee Ho dealt with me in a completely calm manner.

“Then, I’ll see you again next time. And if you ever need help from Taewo Group, please contact me at any time.”

“I will pray every day for the endless development of Taewoo Group. Thank you so much.”

I can’t stay any longer because it’s uncomfortable.

As if running away, I left the Defense Research Institute and moved to the company.

* * *

The issues of the Air Force and the Ministry of Defense were resolved to some extent.

Now all that was left was for the negotiations between the government and Seoul City to be completed.

I left this matter entirely to my grandfather, and went to the chairman’s office to hear the interim situation.

“Are negotiations with the government going well?”

“You bastard! Do I even have to report it?”

“I came here to report that the issues with the Air Force and the Ministry of Defense have been resolved to some extent. It was never my intention to peck at or criticize my grandfather.”

Actually, I came here for that purpose.

Since the grandson has already resolved the air force issue by importing fighter jets from Russia, the grandfather is also pressured to quickly proceed with negotiations with the government.

“Negotiations with the government have been completed to some extent. We were in the process of coordinating how much money should be donated to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the government.”

“Where should I make my donation?”

“I am not the mother bird, and there are too many places to feed it. I think I should give it to the government, the city of Seoul, and the district where the new headquarters will be built.”

Grandpa made a sound of pain.

However, there were more than one or two places where I really needed to give money.

“Wouldn’t it be roughly 100 to 200 billion won in total?”

“Whose dog’s name was that? We, the executives and employees of Taewoo Group, couldn’t just give away the money they had earned with their blood and sweat.”

“If you try to save a little money, if there is a delay, you may end up costing more money.”

“But if you say they will give you everything at once, they are the ones asking for more. It takes some negotiation to reach an agreement at an appropriate level.”

It was the teachings of an old veteran.

The teaching is that if you give money while acting as generous as possible, the giver can show condescension and the receiver will also feel grateful.

“So, how is the agreement going?”

“It’s not that difficult because I only have two cards. I might have to discard one card, but somehow I’ll be able to break ground on the new building within the next year.”

“Are you saying that if I discard one card, I can only get permission from one place?”

“Wouldn’t that be the case? If you try to kill two birds with one stone, you could end up losing both.”

Anyone can see that what my grandfather said was correct.

If you are trying to kill two birds with one stone, both locations may not be approved.

But how much effort did it take to acquire two sites?

I wanted to obtain permits for both places in order to compensate for my efforts.

“First, please obtain permission for only one location and leave the other location to me.”

“I guess I thought of a useful method.”

“If negotiation is difficult, shouldn’t we at least threaten?”

“Threats against the government have never led to good results.”

“If the subject of the threat is not the Taewo Group, there will be no problem. They say the United States or Russia are putting pressure on them, so how can I stop them?”

First, the site for the new building will be resolved through negotiations.

For the remaining site, it was a matter of obtaining permission using a little trickery.

“Can you handle the matter so that it has nothing to do with Taewoo Group?”

“Of course we have to do that. We will take care of this so that Taewoo Group is not revealed at all. First, we must resolve the issue of permission for the new headquarters site.”

“It looks like it will probably be chosen as the site for Charlotte Group. This is thanks to the fact that Charlotte Group has been doing preliminary work to build a new headquarters for nearly 20 years.”

He was an old man who said things that made the Charlotte Group feel sick to their stomachs when they heard it.

Still, it wasn’t wrong. Thanks to the Charlotte Group’s hard work for nearly 20 years, we were able to negotiate with ease.

“Then, I will leave the issue of the new building to my grandfather and I will go on a business trip to the U.S. for a while. I have to meet several people to resolve the remaining site.”

“I will resolve all issues regarding the new building site permit before I return from my business trip.”

The business trip to the U.S. was not just about resolving the land issue.

In order to secure new sources of food for Taewoo Group, it was necessary to go to the United States at this point.