Past Life Returner

Melissa White Goldstein. There were only four in her family who knew that name. The guy’s promise that he would soon call her kept ringing in her head. She returned to her hotel room without even attending the seminar with the European members. Her brother, Colton, realized something was wrong as he noticed the tense look on her face.

“What happened?” he asked.

Cassandra looked at Colton. “There was something going on in Seoul, but it didn’t work out well.”

“Who did you send?”

“Samuel.”

Colton frowned, because Samuel was one of the best agents in their family. If he stepped up, everything should have worked out without problems.

Cassandra sat on the couch and pointed to the seat in front of her.

“It’s okay.”

She sounded like she was giving him a command. Colton had never gone against his sister, but he was now more cautious than ever. If he got involved in her work, he could be executed after just being used. Cassandra had won her place by eliminating her brilliant cousins, so to Colton, his only sibling looked like a bloodthirsty vampire—even more so since she didn’t seem to age at all..

“It’s private stuff, so only you and I should know about this,” Cassandra said firmly.

Colton’s heart pounded—his instincts were warning him. She had sent Samuel, but it hadn’t worked out, and now she was trying to tell him about it. Whatever her intention was, Colton couldn’t resist. He sat across from her.

“There is someone we need to kill,” she said.

“...”

He had expected this from the moment he had found out that Samuel had gone there. However, it was a totally different story when Cassandra told him in person. She was about to force her evil ways on him. As he turned ghastly pale, she subtly smiled.

“Can I ask you to finish Samuel’s work?” she asked.

“What about Samuel?”

“He disappeared.”

“But how… how could Samuel be…”

“Jeon-il Group.”

Colton questioned again in surprise, “Ms. Jamie is your target?”

Jamie used to be an ordinary employee of Walsher Land, but she was now leading the speculative force that dominated Korea. Although she only stamped a rubber seal on papers, she had gone through the turbulent six year period of the East Asian economy since the end of the IMF crisis. She was a most important figure, and no one could ever talk about the East Asian economic situation without mentioning her.

“Oh, gosh… This is not a private matter. Also, it’s rather fortunate that Samuel failed. If the president of Jeon-il got murdered, the repercussions would be devastating, Cassandra,” Colton said.

“I know how Korea is doing,” she replied.

“No, you don’t. Jeon-il is much more than ‘Carlos Halim’ in Korea.”

Halim was the richest man in Mexico and dominated their economy. Mexico was his empire, and his relationship with Mexico was similar to that of Jeon-il Group and Korea. When both countries were suffering from a currency crisis, they had completed their empires by purchasing stakes from major firms at dirt cheap prices.

Mexicans were born in hospitals that Halim owned and were employed by companies where Halim invested his capital. They ate their food, drove their cars, enjoyed their hobbies, shopped, and ended their lives within the realm of Halim. The Halim Empire took only ten percent of Mexico’s GDP and was still praised to that extent, so Jeon-il was basically worshiped in Korea. The twenty major companies in Korea that had Jeon-il Group as the largest shareholder not only made up eighty percent of the country’s GDP, but their domestic market share in their industry had also exceeded seventy percent.

Colton shook his head at Cassandra because the Halim Empire was limited to the Mexican market, but Korea’s Jeon-il Group was intertwined even with the global market. Their directly affiliated companies, like Daehoo Group, Il-sung Group’s semiconductors, Daehyun Xia Group’s automobiles, and Daehyun’s shipbuilding business were pushing into the world market after Korea had overcome its crisis. They proceeded as if they were trying to regain their reputation as an ‘Asian Tiger.’[1]

“Why Ms. Jamie? What is the benefit of getting rid of her?” Colton asked.

However, he changed his line of thought as he noticed Casandra’s expression turning cold..

If it’s not just Jamie, is she targeting the entire Jeon-il Group?

“There’s no room for us to squeeze into Korea. This has been concluded after many reviews. During the Asian financial crisis, our predecessors shouldn’t have stepped back like that. I can’t do anything right now,” he said.

“Hoho. Why are you misunderstanding and getting so surprised? I told you it’s private.”

Cassandra told him about ‘Na Seon-Hu,’ though excluding the information about Awakened and quests.

Why do we have to kill that Korean? 

Colton was itching to ask this question, because the whole thing didn’t make sense. He couldn’t find any connection between Cassandra and the Korean man named Na Seon-Hu.

Where is her resentment toward him coming from?

“Why do we have to have such a conversation? Can’t you just leave me alone? There are so many guys besides me. I beg you,” Colton said.

“Because I can only trust you, my beloved brother,” she replied.

“Cassandra.”

“When are we going to stop talking about the old childhood stories?”

“Stop. That’s… We couldn’t do much about it.” He lowered his head.

Cassandra shrugged helplessly.

“The job involves a lot of interesting factors. I can’t tell you now, but you’ll find out one day.”

“But you said it’s private.” Colton looked at her with his eyes wide open.

“Oh, did I? Hoho.”

“Do you really have to do this?”

“Just get a hold of him. It’s the same as back then. If you hold him, I’ll push him,” she replied.

Colton grimaced. He still had nightmares of his cousin, whom they had killed together when they were young. He dropped his head down with a face drawn with pain.

“Cassandra, I’m… not a murderer.”

Cassandra got up, pulled Colton close, and whispered in his ear, “You’re not, but you are the brother of a murderer. Unfortunately.”

***

Colton had planned to enter Korea with utmost secrecy and had gotten confirmation from a Korean VIP. However, there was a problem during his entry procedures. Not only was he unable to go in through the back door, but there were also too many people at Incheon Airport, so police officers had to be called in.

“Thank you for coming all the way here.”

When Hong Ju-Hwan, the Minister of Economy and Finance, asked Colton for a handshake, camera flashes burst out from every direction. Even a press conference had been prepared for him.

“Everything is different from what you told me.” Colton looked displeased.

“The government tried, but it was difficult to suppress the reporters’ passion. I hope you understand.”

This was obviously not a diplomatic event. Colton realized that things had been messed up. When he sat down, reporters poured out torrents of questions.

“Would you consider this as an official visit from the European Council?”

“Did you visit to resolve the problems of the EU's impact on Korea’s FTA[2]?”

Colton stated that he was here on a personal visit and replied with brief answers. The conference lasted only ten minutes, and he expressed his foul mood toward Hong Ju-Hwan when he got in the escorted car.

“Is the VIP aware of this?” Colton asked curtly.

“I was about to tell him. The VIP is attending an external meeting regarding the dispatch of troops to Iraq. Please be understanding in regards to the change in today’s schedule.”

Colton stared at Hong Ju-Hwan. Since the official purpose of the visit was personal, he knew other important matters had to be prioritized.

‘But I can’t believe they would treat me like this…’ Colton gritted teeth inwardly.

Colton couldn’t understand, because, on top of his position in the EU, he was a member of the Goldstein family. He changed the topic.

“I heard you’ve been working extremely hard.”

“Which work are you talking about?” Hong Ju-Hwan asked.

“Dealing with the speculative force that entered Korea six years ago. They must be troublemakers to you guys since Korea is an economic powerhouse that should develop further. I still remember the day I heard about Korea’s situation in detail. We all thought it shouldn’t have happened.”

Hong Ju-Hwan personally agreed, but he couldn’t chime in. The presidential election campaign fund that came into his party and the boxes of money he personally received from the Daehoo Group were still stacked in the basement of his mansion. On top of that, there was a high possibility that the ‘ledgers’ that Daehoo had managed had fallen into Jeon-il as Daehoo was incorporated. That was a nuclear bomb, and for some reason, the Goldstein family wanted to detonate it.

Hong Ju-Hwan reached out his hand to the passenger seat, pretending not to know about it.

“The VIP is also taking that issue seriously.”

His secretary handed him a file of articles he had collected lately. Then, Hong Ju-Hwan said while giving the file to Colton, “Since you can’t read Korean, I’ll explain briefly. This case is called ‘Jeon-il Gate,’ and the VIP pulled out a knife against the Jeon-il Group three days ago.”

Colton slowly turned over the file book, and his gaze was fixed on the article that reported Jamie and Director Park appearing at the prosecutors’ office. Then, Hong Ju-Hwan said as if he had been waiting, “In fact, the VIP is on the hook. As you know, the Jeon-il Group has become the symbol of Korea’s business. Going against them practically means baring your fangs against the entire business industry.”

“Our group will fully support your government,” Colton replied.

He had even brought strategies that would help the Korean government. For instance, he had planned to attack Jeon-il by pointing out problems they had caused while taking over the former KEB[3]. Then, he was going to stop Na Seon-Hu from acting further.

“Thank you, but it’ll be contradictory if an issue caused by foreign capital gets resolved with the power of other foreigners. That’s not what I’m trying to talk about now. Can I please explain a bit more?” Hong Ju-Hwan said, and Colton kept quiet and listened.

“As I mentioned previously, the VIP has focused on reforming the business industry. However, that’s not the only thing he wants to reform. Before the Goldstein family made this request, he had already pulled out a knife against the prosecution.”

Hong Ju-Hwan reached his hand toward the file book while directly referring to the word ‘request.’ Then, he opened a page that had an article called ‘Conversation with Prosecutors.’

“The Korean prosecution’s opposition is formidable to the point that you might think they are reckless. I wanted to ask the Goldstein Group for their understanding regarding that point. The VIP is having difficulty handling the prosecution and reform at the same time.”

Hong Ju-Hwan spoke politely, but he was outraged inwardly. He was upset and depressed that Korea now had to obey these foreigners without a whimper. It was like the end of the Joseon Dynasty[4]. Korea was now helplessly stuck in the middle of the fight between the Jeon-il Group and Goldstein family, similar to how they had been swept away by the war between the Qing and Japan in the past.

“Chief Hong.”

“Yes.”

“The Goldstein family will fully cooperate with the Korean government.”

Colton had changed from ‘support’ to ‘cooperate.’ Hong Ju-Hwan’s face stiffened, as he knew what Colton meant. He hadn’t known anything about the Goldstein family before he had started working in his current position, but now he knew that they were the people with fancy masks working from behind the scenes.

“Thank you for saying that.”

Srrr-

The car slowed down, and when it completely stopped, Hong Ju-Hwan left after a brief nod. The driver and the government secretary in the passenger seat also hurriedly left the car. This was very unusual behavior, and Colton’s eyes widened as he felt danger. He opened the door to get out, but a man pushed him back into the car.

“Let’s talk for a bit.”

1. The Four Asian Tigers are the high-growth economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. ☜

2. Free Trade Agreement. ☜

3. Korean Exchange Bank. ☜

4. In 1910, the Joseon Dynasty fell as Japan occupied the Korean Peninsula. ☜