21st century Goguryeo

Chapter 362

November 17th, 2023, 10:00

The North State, Pyeong-yang, Potongkang-ku, the Peace Park near the station

The Corean central and federal government was busy attending the Memorial Day ceremony while the chairman nomination for the People’s Labor Party was going on at the Peace Park.

The People’s Labor Party’s chairman Kim Hyung-won changed the party’s policies as he saw fit. The changes were something that would not be acceptable during a democracy. He changed the voting process from one decided by a majority vote to one elected by the representatives instead.

Kim Hyung-won nominated Kim Jong-un as the Labor Party’s new chairman, and his nomination ceremony was being held rambunctiously at the park.

The People’s Labor Party’s congressmen and senators were all from the North State, so their influence over the state was supreme. The nomination ceremony for Kim Jong-un was crowded due to the party’s influence. It was as if Kim Jong-un was back to being a supreme leader as before.

Meanwhile, the press agencies all criticized the party’s internal system for recreating a dictatorship under a communist regime and the central government also expressed its concerns as well. However, the party carried on with its undemocratic process.

The national sentiment also started to express its concerns and some citizens gathered in protest to express their opposition. However, the People’s Labor Party and Kim Hyung-won ended up nominating Kim Jong-un as the party’s leader anyway.

Soon, ex-chairman Kim Hyung-won announced Kim Jong-un as the party’s new chairman. When he did so, the other senators and congressmen all stood up and started applauding in the North Korean fashion.

Kim Jong-un got up from his seat and waddled his fat body up to the podium.

Whoooooooo!

In the crowd, 100,000 people all raised their hands and cheered. Kim Jong-un waved his hands to respond to the crowd greeting him.

Kim Jong-un seemed to be choked up from being greeted by an applauding crowd and took a moment before making his address.

“Dear citizens, hello and thank you. I am honored to be selected as the People’s Labor Party’s chairman while being greeted by such a large crowd. I am truly grateful.”

Despite losing his position as supreme leader 8 years ago, Kim Jong-un spoke in his authoritative tone while grasping the podium with his hands.

* * *

November 17th, 2023, 10:30

Seoul, Yongsan-ku, the Baekbum Memorial Center

President Choo Un-hee, who was avoiding public appearances due to the threat of an assassination looming over her, visited the Baekbum Memorial Center to commemorate the veterans.

After Corea’s reunification, the government decided to honor the men and women who joined the independence movement on August 14th, 1945, or fought for the nation throughout contemporary times. They honored those who died in service by holding a large ceremony.

The ceremony went in the order of saluting the flag, a moment of silence for the veterans, and a speech about the status of the surviving veterans, visits from families, a singing ceremony, and finally the closing ceremony. The opening ceremony and address by the president were about to begin.

Special forces men from the 707th special forces command had surrounded the Memorial Center in a 3km radius to protect the president. Security was intense and at an all-time high.

The general public, who was unaware of the assassination attempt on the president’s life, complained about security constantly.

President Choo Un-hee stepped up to the podium.

When the president with a 70% approval rating appeared at the podium, the crowd greeted her with thunderous applause and cheers.

President Choo Un-hee walked up to the podium and bowed to the descendants and families of the veterans before speaking.

“We are now celebrating the 84th anniversary of Memorial Day. In the past and today, our young men and women were taken away from their families to go to Manchuria and go under forced labor...”

* * *

November 16th, 2023, 11:00

A shelter somewhere at the North State, Yongsung-ku

-Are we ready to make a break for it when I get back?

Oh Ji-wan’s voice came through the speakers.

“That’s right. The preparations are ready, so all you need to do is return, sir.”

-All right. Keep communications open and keep listening. Wait two minutes, you will hear an explosion. When you do, grab our equipment and get ready to move.

“Yes, sir, understood,” Goo Sang-sik answered the captain and swallowed. He was nervous as well.

An event that will shake up the entire Corean peninsula was about to happen in two minutes. The ex-North Korean agents who had installed the IEDs every 50m along the underground passageways finally met up with Oh Ji-wan and reported back to their captain.

Oh Ji-wan was looking at the ceremony through his binoculars. Then, he spoke in an anxious tone, “Kang Tae-woo! Go! Light it up!”

Kang Tae-woo pressed the button on the detonation device. Then, an explosion occurred from 1km away and a dust cloud swept the area.

Boom! Boooooooooom!

Oh Ji-wan checked the explosion from the IEDs installed underground with his binoculars and nodded. “It’s a success! Let’s get outta here!”

Goo Sang-sik, who heard Oh Ji-wan’s voice through the communication device, placed the equipment and the laptop into the box. Then, he spoke to Nam Gyu-tae while smiling, “Comrade Nam, the mission was a success. Pack the bags!”

“We did it? All right! I’ll start packing!” Nam Tae-sik, who had divided up about 200,000 dollars’ worth of cash into four large bags, started to hoist two of the backpacks onto his back. When he turned around, his face was grim.

“Hey, what, what, what are you doing, huh?” Nam Gyu-tae stuttered while looking at Goo Sang-sik, who was pointing a pistol with a silencer at him.

“What am I doing? I’m taking all the money for myself. Didn’t you know it would turn out like this? Fu fu fu,” Goo Sang-sik laughed wickedly and placed his index finger on the pistol’s trigger.

“You son of a bitch, how dare you!” Nam Gyu-tae swore and a gunshot filled the air.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Smack! Smack! Smack!

Nam Gyu-tae threw the backpack he had at Goo Sang-sik. Luckily, the pistol round hit the bag of cash. Nam Gyu-tae did not miss the chance and pounced on Goo Sang-sik.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Goo Sang-sik and Nam Gyu-tae, who had gone through special forces training, started fighting for their lives.

Pew!

However, Nam Gyu-tae’s luck soon ran out. While the two of them were brawling with each other, a gunshot rang out. Red blood started to spout out from Nam Gyu-tae’s chest.

“Out of my way, you son of a bitch. I’m getting out of here!” Goo Sang-sik shoved Nam Gyu-tae, who grasping his chest, and got up to fight back.

“Ugh! You bastard! How could you do this to me?”

“Comrade Nam! Make peace with your maker quietly and die already!”

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Three bullets precisely struck Nam Gyu-tae in the head.

“You son of a bitch! Just die quietly...,” Goo Sang-sik, who did not bat an eye as he killed his comrade of decades, dusted himself off, and muttered to himself.

“I should get out of here quietly before anyone returns.”

Goo Sang-sik grabbed his bag of cash and dialed 112 for the police with his smartphone.

“Hey! I have information about the explosion that has just happened, so come to the warehouse with a blue roof on the north side of Limwon-dong! I’m hanging up now!”

Goo Sang-sik hung up the phone and placed it on top of a box. Then, he moved to get out of the warehouse but noticed strange shadows moving outside the building. He quickly ducked and pulled out his gun.

“What was that? Are they already here? It hasn’t even been a minute. No, it can’t be the cops!” Goo Sang-sik tried to figure out who could be outside. However, there was no way to know.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

Suddenly, bullets from automatic rifles came flying into the warehouse.

“Argh! Who the hell was that?”

Goo Sang-sik tried to duck behind the closest pillar and took a deep breath. The bullets did not come from a single direction. He used the bags of cash to shield himself.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

Multiple bullets struck the bags full of cash.

“I am screwed, damn it!” Goo Sang-sik regretted calling the police. Since the exit was blocked, he was as good as dead or arrested. If he had not called the cops and just ran, he would have had a chance to make it out alive instead of being pelted by bullets.

The backpacks full of cash that he was using as a shield had been riddled with holes. As he was checking his surroundings, he saw something that made his eyes gleam. There was a slight crack at the back wall of the warehouse. Since the building was at least 70 years old, he could break through the wall and escape.

“Yes, I’ll get out of here by breaking through this wall. I think it could work.”

Goo Sang-sik did not miss his chance and abandoned the bags of cash to break through the wall.

Smack! Crack! Smack!

It was just as he expected. The crack on the wall caused the warehouse to break down and he managed to escape. Goo Sang-sik rolled through the dirt and started to run for his life towards the mountainside with his backpack on.

Meanwhile, the suspicious men who had been pelting him with bullets saw him make his getaway and started to give chase.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

Smack! Smack, smack!

The bullets flying towards Goo Sang-sik continued to rain down on him and fragments of bark and rocks shot up into the air. The debris pelted down on Goo Sang-sik, but he was too busy running away to feel any of them hit his body.

Meanwhile, Team Leader Park Gi-oong’s agents, who had been searching houses 2km away, heard the faint sound of gunshots and started to head in that direction.

As the strangers chased after Goo Sang-sik, Team Leader Park Gi-oong and his agents chased after the gunshots and the agents behind the terrorist bombing Oh Ji-wan and his men committed. He didn’t know he would meet up with the men who had just committed the bombing that would cause an enormous shock to the Corean peninsula once again.

The radio and news channels across the world were busy making emergency news broadcasts about the bombing. All major broadcasting networks were busy reporting about what happened 10 minutes ago. There was a large explosion that occurred near the Pyeong-yang Peace Park where the chairman was to make his nomination address. Kim Jong-un, 30 party members, and 300 citizens nearby had been killed or severely injured.

Kim Jong-un, who had miraculously woken back up from his 8 year-long coma from the terrorist bombing in 2015, ended up passing away from another terrorist bombing that happened at the same spot.