21st Century Goguryeo

"....and I'm done reporting."

Over the past 30 minutes, the senior secretary for social studies had been reporting on the events that took place during the protests in seven federal states and one county.

"I don't know how large-scale demonstrations can happen this fast across the whole country," Chief Secretary Lim Jong-won, who heard the report, shook his head from side to side and said, discouraged.

Then Oh Kuk, senior secretary of civil affairs, replied confidently, "I'm sure they've prepared in advance."

"Yeah, you can't do this if you haven't prepared in advance. The problem is that we need to find the organizers as soon as possible. The more we wait, the worse the internal chaos will be."

Oh Jang-soo, the national security director, also felt the same way as senior secretary of civil affairs Oh Kuk.

The problem was that the center of all the cases and the main suspect, Kim Hyung-won, died with Kim Jong-un earlier, and his death had caused them to lose contact with the lower-ranked organizers, making investigation difficult. Fortunately, Jo Myung-rok had been apprehended, and Oh Ji-wan, the actual perpetrator of the assassination, was arrested early this morning.

Even though they managed to obtain approximate information from Jo Myung-rok during the interrogation through drug administration, they failed to find the most important information: the list of sympathizers who shared Kim Hyung-won's sub-organization and intentions.

"Madam President! First of all, why don't you make an emergency arrest for Deputy Director Kim Hyung-chul through the Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation?" Oh Kuk said cautiously. Even though no conclusive evidence had been legally secured, the evidence obtained illegally had strongly linked him to the assassination.

"Arrest him without evidence? It may cause severe damage to the president," Chief Secretary Lim Jong-won was surprised and gave opposite opinions.

Senior secretary for civil affairs Oh Kuk continued, "At times likes this we should make quick decisions."

"Even arresting without evidence?!"

While the chief secretary and senior secretary for civil affairs were arguing, President Choo Un-hee closed her eyes and started to think.

Soon after, she quietly opened her mouth and said quietly with determination, "Call Director Park Joo-wan from Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation in this afternoon."

* * *

November 18, 2023, 14:30 (Iraq time 08:30)

The 11th Marine Corps Brigade located 20 kilometers north of Altun Khuprish in Kirkuk, Iraq

Over the course of two days, the 11th Marine Corps Brigade had recovered Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish Autonomous Government (KRG), and had now moved on to Kirkuk, the final recovery area.

The 113th Marine Corps Battalion, the brigade's subordinate unit, was placed at the center while the 111th and 112th Marine Battalion were placed on the left and right. At the rear, 18 C-9A1 Lightning self-propelled artillery units were radiated, ready to fire immediately upon request for artillery fire.

The restoration of the Kirkuk oil field, one of the three largest oil fields in Iraq, meant the successful independence of the Kurdistan Republic in the future. As for now, 70 percent of the territory that was recovered by the Republic of Kurdistan was rugged mountainous areas or desolate areas that were unsuitable for growing various crops. As a result, agriculture, which was considered one of the bases of the national industry, was difficult to revitalize. So, securing the oil fields was the only way to support the Kurdistan Republic's economy and, thus, the key to independence.

Currently, the 13th, 15th, and 17th Panzer Division of the Iraqi security forces were defending Kirkuk against the Peshmerga groups, the Kurdish government's militant group that had been engaged in guerrilla tactics throughout the Kirkuk oil field.

In other words, the only major forces resisting the 11th Marine Corps Brigade were the 13th Panzer Division and the 15th Vehicle Infantry Division.

They were more advanced than the Iraqi Army's 7th Panzer Division and 9th Photoshoot Division, which were defeated by the 11th Marine Corps Brigade in Arbil.

The Iraqi government had urgently deployed the Golden Division, the elite unit in charge of defending Baghdad, to Kirkuk Province.

The Golden Division, the first elite division, appeared unexpectedly in November 2014, when it was known as the Special Republic Guard during the Hossein administration. It appeared to be similar to the rebirth of the Soviet Guard during the War of the Control States. Many people suspected Iraq had purchased PMC, and there was a rumor that the ISOF had begun its operations in earnest. The Golden Division was not externally identified as Iraq's special forces until 2018.

The Golden Division upgraded its version of the M1A1 tank to the upgrade project in 2023, particularly by purchasing various cutting-edge weapons from Russia. With four brigades and six armored brigades under its command, the Golden Division was roughly the size of a corps.

By putting the best forces in Iraq, the Golden Corps, into Kirkuk's defense, the Iraqi government was adamant that the Kirkuk oil field would not be taken away.

The tanks and armored vehicles of the 11th Marine Corps slowed as they approached Altun Kupri, which lied on the border between the states of Arbil and Kirkuk, amid several kilometers of hazy dust.

The Spider-II drone deployed earlier had detected various tanks and armored vehicles of Iraqi security forces outside Altun Kupri.

Currently, it detected 190 T-72 tanks and 230 different types of armored vehicles, including M113. In addition, more than 200 armored vehicles and transport vehicles were waiting at the rear.

* * *

November 18, 2023, 14:30

Nam Joo National Intelligence Service (Investigation Office of the Foreign Intelligence Service) in Gangnam-gu, Seoul

"Team Leader Park! Shouldn't you go to the hospital first?" Assistant Manager Oh Hyuck-soo said in a worried voice after seeing Team Leader Park Gi-oong's face.

"Yeah, go to the hospital! We'll start the investigation and let you know when we get the results," his colleague, Team Leader Youn Tae-jin, said in a worried voice.

"Never mind! Never mind! I'll interrogate him myself!" Team Leader Park Gi-oong said angrily as he stared at Oh Ji-wan through the glass in the interrogation room.

"Hey! He's half-dead! He needs to be treated first before he can be interrogated, so you should go to the hospital, as well!"

At that moment, the door opened, and Manager Lee Ja-sung came in.

"Team Leader Park! You still haven't gone to the hospital?"

"Let me interrogate him, manager!"

"What? Team Leader Yoon? Didn't you tell Team Leader Park?"

"Oh! I did. But he's being stubborn," Team Leader Youn Tae-jin said with an embarrassed look on his face.

Manager Lee Ja-sung offered a cigarette to Team Leader Park Gi-oong and said, "The medical team has confirmed five broken ribs, a fractured ankle, and right arm, a broken cheekbone, and a cavity in the head."

Team Leader Park Gi-oong took the cigarette and put it in his mouth, and Manager Lee Ja-sung helped him to light it up and continued, "With all these injuries, will you be able to interrogate him right away?"

Manager Lee Ja-sung then put a cigarette in his own mouth and lit it, and inhaled the cigarette smoke deeply.

"Phew, he needs at least a week to recover! So, there's no interrogation in the meantime! You know what I mean, right? So go to the hospital, take a break, and come back to work next week! Well, if you have time, you can visit Manager Lee!"

"Oh, right. How's she?"

Team Leader Park Gi-oong, who was all concerned about Oh Ji-wan, was now worried about the condition of Manager Lee Hye-jin.

"Fortunately, it's not a life-threatening injury! The problem is that she needs long-term care because of severe thigh gunshot wounds."

"Oh! I see. I'm glad to hear that. I'll visit her."

"Team Leader Park! Treat your ugly face before you go! Manager Lee will be shocked."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

November 18, 2023, 16:00

Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jung-gu, Seoul, South State

The only thing on TV all day was the coverage of the weekly protests. It was the first time since the Republic of Corea's founding that various politically oriented protests took place at the same time, and the entire country was in chaos. There were occasional news reports of different political protesters colliding with each other, resulting in horrific bloodshed.

As a result, President Choo Un-hee's previously high approval rating had dropped sharply. Even though different research institutions' surveys yielded different results, the majority of surveys revealed that approval ratings had fallen below 50%.

Deputy Director Kim Hyung-chul watched the news with a happy expression. He even shook his shoulders with excitement.

Beep! Beep!

At this time, the intercom rang.

"What is it?"

- Manager Kang Chul-joong from the Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation wants to see you, sir.

"Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation Kang Chul-joong? Why has he come?"

At that moment, noises from the secretary's office were heard, and soon after, the doors of his office were opened, and a man's loud voice was heard announcing, "Deputy Director Kim Hyung-chul! We are urgently arresting you for personnel corruption and national subversion. "

The man who had opened the door and listed the charges was Kang Chul-joong, the second manager of the Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation at the National Bureau of Corruption and Investigation.

"What? Personnel corruption? National subversion charges? You bastards, don't you know where you are? You want to go to jail?" Kim Hyung-chul stood up from the sofa and shouted while pointing his finger at Kang Chul-joong.

"Ah! You will know after the investigation. Here's the arrest warrant. Why don't we go quietly?" Kang Chul-joong said, showing his ID and arrest warrant.

"You're talking about arrests. What are you doing in the secretary's office? Take those bastards out of here!"

When Kim Hyung-chul shouted through the intercom, the secretariat investigators rushed into the deputy director's office and tried to stop Manager Kang Chul-joong.

"Hehe! Look at this. Can't you see it? It's a legitimate arrest warrant. How dare you interfere with the Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation duties? Would you all like to be arrested?"

The Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation, which had broad investigative powers against high-ranking officials, including Congressmen, was the agency's highest authority. As a result, the Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation was audited quarterly by the Board of Audit and Inspection, preventing the abuse of power.

The secretariat investigators who attempted to restrain Kang Chul-joong failed. After beating the investigators, the team members who came with Manager Kang Chul-joong approached to handcuff Kim Hyung-chul.

"What are you doing? What kind of corruption did I do? You bastards!"

He struggled as the members of the Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation tried to handcuff him.

Then a man's voice said, "Get away from the deputy director, you bastards!"

It was Woo Byung-hoo, who had received an urgent call from the secretary's office and rushed into the office holding a laser pistol in his hand.

"Oh, you're Special Inspector Woo Byung-hoo, aren't you?" Despite the laser pistol pointing at him, Manager Kang Chul-joong turned around and said while walking toward Woo Byung-hoo.

"Don't move! Son of a bitch!"

"Well, aside from obstructing justice, that's a lot of nonsense from people who betray the country."

"Do you think I'm joking? One more step and I'll put a hole in your body."

Woo Byung-hoo grabbed the laser pistol with both hands and pointed it at Kang Chul-joong's chest. As a result, the Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation agents and the agents of the Federal Investigation Bureau took out their laser pistols and pointed them toward each other.

"Whoa! Oh my God!"

The deputy director's office was tense as dozens of men pointed guns at each other.