Chapter 89

Boardwalk Empire (2)

I feel like I’m dying.

I’ve thought before that it’d be nice to have two bodies—but that was wrong. I’d need at least four.

In this age of madness, one wrong step and everything collapses into nothing. That pressure alone was enough to drive a person half insane.

Of course, there was an easy way to make money. Just keep buying stocks of companies anyone would recognize by name. Without even thinking, you could just cling tightly to something like U.S. Steel and enjoy incredible profits all the way up to the Great Depression.

But my goal isn’t just making money.

“General, here’s today’s schedule.”

“How long do I even have left with that ‘general’ title? Come on, call me ‘Lieutenant Kim!’”

“About six months, right? It’s obvious you’re just whining because you don’t want to work, so get to it already.”

“Cruel bastard. I raised a tiger cub.”

“Anyone who rides around in a division commander’s car and fires a gun across the Amiens plains ends up this bold.”

Oh my, look at him talking back so neatly. Terrifying. At this rate, he’ll kidnap me in the middle of the night and force me to work.

But I’m a reasonable adult, so I obediently decided to work. It’s not like I got scared when Haji suddenly took on that martial arts stance or anything. I’m simply fulfilling my duty as a soldier.

Being a soldier really is inconvenient for external activities.

Even I’m juggling roles in politics, business, and even within the Korean community—but I can’t even freely hire a personal secretary. I can’t assign this kind of work to Haji, my adjutant, either.

At least after work, Dorothy helps support me, so I’m barely managing a workload a human can handle. If it weren’t for her, I’d have hanged myself long ago. Damn it, thinking about it again makes me resent not having a status window. If only I had one, I wouldn’t have to suffer like this!

Grumbling as I worked, at last—glorious quitting time arrived.

“You may head in, General.”

“Alright. You should get going too.”

Getting out of my new official car, I stepped into my home, filled with happiness. I’d managed to secure the Black Lotus and had it safely stored in my garage. Now that’s what you call a souvenir.

The moment I got home, the joy of my life came running toward me with quick little steps.

“Welcome baaack!”

“Oh my! Our Henry even comes out to greet me now!”

“Me! Me! Buy me a toy!”

Damn it. So that’s why he came running.

Kids have terrifyingly sharp instincts. Maybe he doesn’t realize that I feel a bit guilty every time I see his face—but he does know that if he tugs at his dad’s pant leg and shakes it, something—food or toys—will come out.

“I told you not to keep pestering your dad, right?”

“But! But!!”

“Alright, alright. Good children don’t throw tantrums at their fathers like that. Honey, a whole pile of telegrams and letters came today. You should check them.”

“I will.”

Without even changing clothes, I went straight into the study and began going through the letters one by one.

The most urgent matter: the funeral hall expansion.

We plan to establish additional Ubok locations in Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and New York.

Compared to my preconceived notions, major cities in 1920 haven’t yet evolved into massive megacities. So I’m also carefully considering real estate positioning—so that even after the Prohibition boom ends, they’ll still generate solid profits.

To make that happen, I’ve been busy greasing the wheels, and results should start coming in soon in several places.

This is what you call a win-win for everyone. The elites get a classy place to drink, Koreans get dignified funerals along with visits from important figures, I get money, and my veteran friends get new jobs.

If that’s not noblesse oblige, then what is?

Then there’s The Sun.

The various stocks and company shares I’m planning to acquire next.

The Democratic Party’s massive internal conflict—and the fierce power struggle within the Republican Party over what is practically a guaranteed next presidency. I should meet Congressman Curtis about that.

When I suggested to Dorothy that we take Henry and visit my father-in-law, her reaction wasn’t great.

“Why my dad?”

“Hm? What’s wrong with visiting my father-in-law who lives nearby?”

“You’re lying. It’s about work again, isn’t it?”

“Well, after stirring things up this much, you think your father won’t be curious?”

Dorothy thought for a moment, then sat down beside me.

“You’re going into politics?”

“Are you crazy? Why would I go into politics? You’d have to be someone like General Pershing for that.”

“You’ve seemed pretty interested in politics lately.”

“I’m not that interested in politics—but politics seems very interested in my life.”

After bringing down Wilson, the political stance of the United States had fallen into complete uncertainty.

The acting president—the vice president—had effectively given up on domestic politics, seemingly deciding that his sole goal was to maintain the status quo until the next president was elected. Being betrayed by Wilson must still be weighing heavily on his mind.

A significant number of those esteemed congressmen in Washington were now eager to impose restrictions on immigration. Chinese immigration had already been banned, and now they clearly intended to block immigration from Japan, other parts of Asia, as well as Eastern and Southern Europe—while increasing immigration from WASPs: White Anglo-Saxon Protestants.

However, the one who had most strongly pushed for the new immigration law was Attorney General Palmer—and with Palmer’s catastrophic downfall and the administration effectively paralyzed, discussions about immigration law had completely stalled.

And my goal, no matter what, is to exclude Koreans from those restrictions. If that proves difficult, then Plan B is to bring Koreans into the mainland via Hawaii.

If this succeeds, we could absorb a large portion of Koreans fleeing to Manchuria and the Maritime Province after losing their homeland. This is where public good and private interest align.

To make that happen, it would be better if my father-in-law’s political power grew stronger—but that’s… complicated.

“Oh, and there’s something else I wanted to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“My older brother contacted me. He wants to meet.”

“Come to think of it, I’ve never met him. What does he do?”

“He’s been away from home for a long time. He had a huge fight with Dad.”

“What kind of issue was it?”

“She said he went off to sea. But since he contacted me, it seems he’s come back.”

Great. Another complicated family matter.

And a brilliant commander like me never fights on a battlefield I don’t understand. The only correct move here is retreat.

“You should at least meet him once, shouldn’t you?”

“Uh… yeah.”

But sometimes, you have no choice but to face things head-on. Now I had even more to ask my father-in-law about.

After roughly organizing my thoughts, I pulled out the next thick letter. It was a report from a trading company I had invested some pocket money into.

Of course, that was just a cover. In reality, it was one of the channels I used to stay in contact with Syngman Rhee—and by extension, the Provisional Government.

It was a legitimate company operating across Asia, but among its employees were Filipinos, and one of them happened to be an acquaintance of my senior Vicente Lim. Since they’d received some investment, they must be quite pleased.

Rhee was carrying out my instructions faithfully.

I had given him a clear deadline of twenty years, and now that his strongest backing—Wilson—had fallen, Rhee abandoned his diplomatic independence line as soon as he arrived in Shanghai and shifted to a capacity-building strategy.

• Why is it that, despite the declaration of national self-determination, the Korean people still suffer under Japanese bayonets while Ireland stands on the brink of independence?! It is because of the heroic struggle of the Irish people!

But their struggle has lasted 800 years—so why are they on the verge of independence now? Because they have received full support from Irish-Americans!

• Raise an army of one hundred thousand! Only when we can feed, clothe, arm them, and fire cannons can independence be achieved! Above all, we must establish Korean capital and foundations in places beyond the reach of the Japanese!
• Didn’t you advocate for diplomatic independence, Mr. Rhee? Are you admitting your previous claims were wrong?
• Not at all! Through the Paris Peace Conference, I realized something. The Czechs, Poles, and Arabs who were promised independence all earned recognition by fighting the enemies of the Allied Powers! For diplomatic independence, we must have achievements to present to the great powers!

For independence activists, methods and strategies are matters of faith and ideology—things that are not easily changed.

But for a politician, promises are something that can be swapped out three times a day. To begin with, how many people could beat Rhee in a battle of words? With the dollars I had provided as well, his consolidation of power within the Provisional Government was proceeding smoothly.

He could probably hold things together for about ten years. And when the Prohibition era ends, I’ll just create a new source of funding for the Provisional Government. Whether Rhee survives or someone else takes power, restoring my influence will be easy.

Just like Putin maintains discipline by turning off the gas valve, I can simply tighten the flow of money and they’ll listen to me.

I’ll take care of all the troublesome political matters, while Yushin focuses on making money. As for Yuin… well, at least one person in this family should live however they want.

Even if he pretends otherwise, Yushin always had a knack for making money. Out of the three brothers, he was the only one who sold drinks in front of the church on Sundays to earn cash.

All that constant complaining? That’s just his bad habit of speaking. He’s the type who’s too embarrassed to say he likes something, so he acts all prickly instead.

If I just bought him a major corporation and stuck him in the CEO’s chair for twenty years, he’d probably say, “I had no idea talking with my brother could be this enjoyable!” and even fix that nasty attitude of his. Honestly, I still can’t figure out how someone like him ended up in our family.

As I worked through tasks one by one, the sun had already set again.

Damn it… is my life really going to end like this—just working nonstop? Did I take on more than I can handle?

Only when night had fully fallen did I finally leave the study.

And then it would repeat—going to work at dawn, working all day, coming home, then working again in the study. I thought I’d be enjoying easy gains with my future knowledge and expertise, but I didn’t expect that “honey” to be hidden inside a hornet’s nest.

After changing into pajamas and lying down, I found Dorothy still awake—rare for her.

“Are you okay? You look exhausted.”

“I’ll feel better after some sleep.”

“Don’t push yourself so hard. During the war, I only worried you’d die out there—but now it looks like you’ll die here instead.”

“...Yeah… but there’s just too much to take care of.”

Dorothy’s warm hand touched my cheek.

“This isn’t a battlefield. Nothing’s going to collapse just because something gets delayed by a day.”

“…Yeah. That’s true.”

“How about taking a break this weekend and going out? A movie sounds nice.”

“Is there something you want to watch?”

Honestly, what kind of fun could movies from this era offer me? If I closed my eyes, Hollywood blockbusters played in my head—black-and-white silent films didn’t really move me.

“If you watch something serious, you’ll just stress yourself out again. Something light, maybe? There’s a Charlie Chaplin film showing—hey, where are you going? Don’t tell me you’re going to work again?!”

“Wait! Just five minutes, I’ll be right back!!”

“I swear, I can’t live like this! Just marry your work and die with it!”

No, wait—I just heard the name Charlie Chaplin. You think I can just sit still without making a move in Hollywood? Yeah, that’s not happening.

I rushed straight to the study.

A new idea had just come to me.