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nThe next morning, Chairman Hong listened to the news on TV while reading a newspaper. Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the terrorist attacks against Saudi Arabia dominated the news these days.

nOf course, Chairman Hong was well aware of that because of his position as one of the top business leaders in South Korea.

nBut that didn’t mean he ignored all the news because he hit upon good ideas sometimes while watching the news.

nAt that moment, he stopped reading the newspaper and turned his full attention to the TV news because he noticed something completely unexpected.

nDo you see that? This is the Victoria Glacier, one of the largest glaciers in the Arctic. Of course, you don’t have to be surprised because this is the Arctic, and there are so many huge glaciers there, but if you look at the picture on the right side of the screen…

nAs the TV anchor said, Chairman Hong looked at the photo on the right of the screen.

nIt was a very little glacier, most of which was blue sea.

nIf the anchor had not mentioned it was the Arctic, nobody would have recognized it.

nThe anchor continued.

nThe picture you see on the right is the Victoria Glacier. In other words, it is the same location you see now. And this picture was taken yesterday. So, just overnight, a glacier bigger than the Korean Peninsula was created here in the Arctic.

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n“Um…”

nChairman Hong shook his head slightly, wondering if today was April Fool’s Day.

nThe two places were simply so different from each other.

nSo much so that it would be absurd to say it changed so much overnight.

nCurrently, several meteorologists say they can’t comment on this bizarre phenomenon at all because they have no explanation. Some say it’s been created by an alien or it’s the result of Earth’s anger, but nobody knows the reason for sure.

nChairman Hong turned his gaze back to the newspaper, thinking that it was more likely the result of Earth’s anger.

nObviously, it was surprising and interesting to him, but his top and immediate concern was how to secure crude oil.

n‘Our government says that if we can secure crude oil, they will subsidize it to some extent. But the problem is I can’t.’

nWithout crude oil, it was inevitable for Myongjin Oil Refinery to stop operating, not to mention the South Korean economy as a whole. People would no longer be able to drive cars.

nAnyway, Chairman Hong started the day worrying about the crude oil matter.

nMyongjin Oil Refinery had only 10 days of oil reserve.

n***

nEven though all the news on TV was about the sudden creation of a huge glacier in the Arctic and people’s avoiding driving cars because of skyrocketing oil prices, I went to school as usual because I was a high school student.

nExactly at the end of the first period, my cell phone rang, but it was from an unidentified caller.

nBut it didn’t matter, so I picked up the call.

nSomebody spoke to me in English.

nHello, Juyoung Hong, I’m a special adviser to President William…

n“I will go to your embassy at the same time as I did yesterday. I forgave you once, but I won’t forgive you again.”

nI interrupted the other party and told him what I had to say, then hung up the phone.

nI didn’t shed blood, sweat and tears in the Arctic yesterday to get a call like this.

nAfter my class was over, I cautiously left the house at dawn like yesterday.

nI didn’t forget to say something to the roots on the way.

n“Hope you take good care of my house.”

nWiggle, wiggle.

nThe roots had grown a little compared to before.

nThanks to the roots, I was more confident in taking action because the roots could protect my family from any danger.

nAnyway, I arrived at the US Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

nWhen I reached the iron gate, the security guard opened it like yesterday.

nIf there was something different from yesterday, it was that quite a few people greeted me at the entrance today.

nAt the same time, one of them walked up to me and said, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Juyoung Hong. I’m Anderson, Director of the National Intelligence Service.”

n“Oh, you are Director Anderson. I hope you are not a fake this time. I don’t like fakes at all.”

n“I’m not a fake this time. Sorry for disrespecting you before. We won’t do it again.”

n“Good. Making a mistake once is more than enough.”

nAs soon as I responded to Director Anderson’s apology, I stepped inside the embassy.

nThis time I went up a floor, not to the underground.

nI stepped into the reception room on the second floor.

n“Nice to meet you, Mr. Juyoung Hong.”

nFinally, I finally met someone whose face I knew well. It was none other than President William of the United States. He was waiting for me on the second floor.

nSo I said, “Hi, nice to meet you. To be honest, I would have regretted it if I had not come here.”

n“Hahaha! You have forgiven our rudeness generously, so I would like to have you here.”

n“Thanks.”

nAnyway, I shook hands with him, then sat down on the seat reserved for me.

nWe talked in a friendly atmosphere because of the way that our conversation was carried on. If I compared it to a company meeting, I was like the director talking to my deputy while I was talking with President William.

nSince I didn’t come here to have a frivolous conversation with him, I brought up the main topic right away since my counterpart mentioned it yesterday.

nI said, “You can lift Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, right? Of course, I can do it, but it is a little annoying…”

nOf course, Iran, which has been blocking the Strait of Hormuz, would not believe me.

nIn that case, I would have to show my mighty power as I had done in Sierra Leone, but I didn’t want to. It would force me to kill them all.

nPresident William replied, “Of course, we can. In fact. Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz after consulting with the United States in advance.”

n“Oh my God…”

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nIran consistently argued that Iran’s economy collapsed because of the United States, which it called the axis of evil and a thug country in the international community.

nSo Iran openly said they would never surrender to Washington’s bluffing and intimidation.

nNonetheless, President William just said Iran and the United States joined hands together to block the Strait of Hormuz.

nSo I responded, “Well, that makes my work easier.’

nI didn’t blame him for their brazen actions because that was the reality of world politics.

nBut I had no choice but to frown at his reply to my question.

n“Sorry. Of course, we can lift Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, but we cannot do it this time.”

nObviously, he said that Washington could lift the blockade, but added they could not do it this time.

nIn other words, he clearly suggested that he could not accept my offer.

n“….”

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