Dear Comrade

Dear Comrade the Leader Episode 325

At the end of those words, Jeonghwan kept his mouth shut as if he was just leaving it to his daughter.

And Hyein didn’t say anything either.

For a moment there was only silence in the dark clerk’s room.

How much time had passed, Hyein was the first to speak.

“… … While staying abroad for a long time… … I heard a lot about my father from people outside the republic. Aren’t you curious what I’ve been told?”

“I don’t think you’ve heard good things, but tell me. I was just doing what I thought was absolutely necessary for this country, no matter what I heard. In the first place, I don’t really care about other people’s evaluations.”

“The opposite is true. Of course, there were also bad reviews that the brutal dictator suppressed democracy, but… … The evaluation that he was the most needed leader for this republic more than anyone else was not easy. He said that he has brought peace and stability by suppressing the chaos and violence that often occurs during the transition period, bringing order and prosperity to the motherland, and ultimately ending the confrontational structure on the entire Korean Peninsula.”

“It seems that the tutors who taught you were well-educated comrades. After all, I was chosen by those people.”

“It’s not just the tutors or the drivers. After a bit of a headache, I met the teachers of Singapore International High School, university professors, case study materials I saw in the Department of Business Administration, articles from foreign newspapers, and even the Korean students I met in Singapore… … Most of them had a positive evaluation of my father. Although he is a dictator, he is far from self-interested and is a capable leader who has led his country to the path of prosperous and prosperous nation under his own beliefs.”

“… … .”

“and… … Do you know what my first thought was when my mother and grandmother convinced me that Kim Jeong-hwan was my father after hearing such evaluations?”

Rarely, Junghwan kept his mouth shut for a moment, not knowing what to say.

And fortunately, Hyein didn’t wait long and answered the question with her mouth.

With tears welling up in her beautiful eyes as big and beautiful as jade, just like her mother.

“… … My father was proud. I was proud to be a father’s daughter.”

“… … Really?”

“Yeah, even though you fled the young me abroad and kept me away from my mother for over 10 years… … I think I can forgive all of that now. It’s impossible to forget right away, but at least… … I understand all the actions and choices my father made. Forgive my father.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … Thank you.”

Jeonghwan couldn’t help but say the same sigh.

The couple, who had vomited all the words accumulated in each other’s hearts, stared at each other for a moment in a dark room.

And, without anyone saying anything, they got up from their seats and hugged each other.

“father… … .”

“Really, thank you, all I can say is that. Thank you, Hyein-ah, for understanding this father.”

“… … .”

The two women hugged each other for a while, feeling each other’s body temperature.

It was Jeonghwan who had felt the strange feeling of being a family and a bond between blood and blood after a long time.

For him, being a family was virtually non-existent, or something he couldn’t reveal if he had it.

And it was only after some time had passed that the two women fell apart again.

After a moment of awkward silence, it was Hyein who spoke first again this time.

“… … So what are you going to do now? That you brought me back to the republic means… … .”

“Are you trying to match? I heard you’re pretty smart.”

At her father’s light question, Hyein blinked for a moment, put her finger on her chin, and thought deeply.

Hyein herself thought that it was like the first test given by her respectful father, so she quickly rolled her witty head and tried her best to come up with an answer that was not disappointing as much as possible.

In fact, Junghwan himself felt a sense of satisfaction just by looking at his daughter like that.

And as if proving the good brain she inherited from her father, it took only a few seconds for Hyein to come up with the correct answer.

“My father has always tried to keep me as far away from the Chinese threat as possible and from the domestic crowd who seek to gain political advantage from my background. Until the end of the hereditary system and my safety is assured. Although the threat from China has been virtually resolved recently… … It means that you took the risk of letting me into the country when my father’s approval rating was the highest among the people… … no way… … .”

“Every new year. Now is the time to retire.”

“… … When?”

“Not right now, but it will be ready soon. Your mother already knows. The day will come when I will step down from the position of general secretary and be faithful to my role as your mother’s husband and your father.”

Because it was a shocking content in a calm tone, Hye-in’s eyes were complicated several times when she heard it.

But soon after, she cleared her messy mind, wiped the tears from her eyes for a moment, got up from her seat, and declared in a confident tone.

“I told my father earlier, he forgave me, but it won’t be easy to forget. When you step down, you’ll have to pay back the father’s role you’ve been neglected for a very long time. Me and my mother… … At least I have a lot of things I want to receive from my father.”

“It’s a promise. In fact, personally, I am waiting for that day to come as soon as possible.”

When Jeonghwan smiled and said that for the first time, Hyein turned her head with a sullen face and strode towards the door.

Just before she opened the door to the secretary’s room and went out, she turned her head back to Jeonghwan and asked, as if she had just thought of something.

“There is one more thing I want to ask you. Well, actually, there are a lot more than this, but first of all, I’m satisfied with this one. So, can you answer me?”

“Ask anything.”

“My grandfather… … Who was former President Kim Il-sung? When the tutors asked about him, they were just confused and confused… … What did he mean to you?”

At the tone of Hyein, who was cautiously asking the question while looking at her father whether she had already realized that it was a sensitive question even before asking, Junghwan smiled bitterly and told her honest feelings about Kim Il-sung. .

“You mean Kim Il-sung? Thanks to good luck with the bad luck, he was a common man who had things he shouldn’t have for too long and enjoyed things he shouldn’t have for too long. He’s a human being who deserves to be praised for being pitiful enough to give to any dictator in the later years of his life. I don’t consider him my father. Personally, I hope you do too.”

“… … It is, too. So what about grandma? What do you think of your father’s mother?”

With those words, Jeonghwan put away the cold cynicism he had once had when he talked about Kim Il-sung for a moment and fell into silence.

And when he opened his mouth again, his expression of Kim Myung-ae was filled with bitterness and longing that was hard to erase.

“… … I miss you, but I’m always sorry. After your mother, she is the person I feel sorry for. He didn’t do very well, but he died too early. At the end of the day, I was fortunate to be able to show you your face in person.”

“I see… … . In fact, I also remember that he was a very warm person just from the vague memories of seeing him as a child. When you first saw me in Singapore, you held me for a long time and just cried… … .”

“Not far from Pyongyang is his grave. I really want to go with you soon.”

“Yes, I will be waiting. … … Now I really need to quit. It’s a holiday today, but it seems like I’m eating too late for the agents who brought me here.”

With that said, Hye-in entered this room, no, it was the first time in Jeong-hwan’s memory, she actually smiled broadly.

Jeonghwan, who had been watching her daughter for a while with eyes that were difficult to express in words, this time really opened the door and caught her as she was about to disappear out of the secretary’s room.

“Hye-in.”

“Yes, father?”

“… … Wear some thick clothes. I guess I couldn’t afford to buy clothes because I was in a hurry to enter the country… … It’s still January. Unlike Singapore, this republic is a cold country.”

“… … !!”

Hearing Jeonghwan’s worried voice for the first time in his life, Hyein looked at her father with bunny eyes, startled for a moment.

But then she smiled brightly again and nodded her head vigorously.

It was probably not an illusion of her eyes that the tears she had wiped away a while ago were again glistening around her eyes.

“Yes, father. See you again soon.”

* * *

A few weeks later, Jeong Hwan made his first historic field map to Yanbian Special Autonomous Prefecture, which is now part of the new Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Since the civil war, no, the war of independence that had just been a few months ago, had not gone away, large tower cranes and freight trucks were moving back and forth to lift up the wreckage of buildings, install temporary structures, and do everything in their power to restore it.

At least in Yanji, the busiest city in Yanbian, only low-intensity street fighting continued, and Ando County, where ballistic missiles fell like rain, was a sparsely populated rural area.

-… … Now, there are no Koreans or Han Chinese in this Yanji and even in Yanbian as a whole. There is only one people united under the name of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

An impressive speech of encouragement from the Workers’ Party of Korea held in front of City Hall in Yeongil, which had not yet filled the bullet holes, was talked about by many people, including foreign media.

And quite unexpectedly, Jeong-hwan’s encouraging words, which most people expected to be about a quick post-war recovery, were about the national harmony between the Han Chinese, the Korean-Chinese, and the North Korean people.

He aroused nationalist sentiments out of his own needs, and even fought a war for that reason, but it was Jeonghwan’s idea that the most urgent task was to prevent conflicts caused by nationalism that could happen again as long as they belong to a country. .

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Not so long ago, he even aimed a gun at his ethnicity and ancestry, saying, “Now that this is Joseon land, you are a half-Han Chinese, I am a half-Korean-Chinese yangban.” It could be an excuse, so I had to close the conflict as quickly as possible.

-… … I make it clear that only severe punishment awaits under the name of the Workers’ Party of Korea for those who break the equality and harmony before the law. Only the united Yanbian and the united Democratic People’s Republic of Korea can bring peace and prosperity to Yanbian again.

After the fireworks, pro-Korean community leaders and pro-Chinese community leaders until recently shook hands with each other awkwardly.

Among them, Lee Seop-ki, who recently became the first governor of Yanbian Special Self-Governing Province, was included.

“Congratulations, Governor. In the future, I hope that he will show his capabilities as a true member of the Workers’ Party of Korea who treats all Yanbian people fairly.”

“Second, cho, comrade general secretary… … !! To have such a happy day come in my lifetime, this, this, all thanks to the leadership of Comrade General Secretary… … .”

“I am more grateful for the hard work of this governor. But, speaking from the old woman’s heart, Bio once again asks all Yanbian people to be treated fairly and fairly. That way, the two-fold Hero Medal of the Workers’ Party of Korea on this governor’s chest will not be ashamed. I will always be watching you from Pyongyang.”

“Hey, maybe there is! I will treat all Yanbian residents like my own family! In the near future, I will show the general secretary comrade Yanbian where the former Goguryeo prosperity has been restored… … .”

Leaving behind Lee Seop-gi, who was crying with emotion as he sang loudly enough to shake the medal he had hung himself, Jeong-hwan went into Yeongil City Hall and sat down at the top of the conference room.

Officials of the Party Politburo, who had already attended today’s event, were waiting for him.

They were all admiring the vast landscape of Manchuria seen from the view window of the city hall conference room.

“Really, Yanbian is the territory of our republic. I still can’t believe it easily. When I see the republican borders appearing at the beginning of our propaganda department periodicals and YouTube channels have changed from before, I am still sometimes surprised to find out that the publication is wrong. I have to make new textbooks too… … .”

“Have you heard that the Department of History at Kim University is already applying for permission to excavate the Goguryeo site in Yanbian, Director Hyun? When our ancestors saw it, they were really proud. The office of the ambassador of the embassy of the Republic of Korea in each country also took down the old map of the republic and uploaded a newly drawn map. … .”

“I agree with you, Comrade Foreign Minister Kim. Although the sacrifices of the soldiers and fighters of the People’s Army were great… … The remains of Republican warriors who died in this war are planned to be buried separately in a separate tomb. … .”

“I will retire as general secretary in a few years. So let your comrades know that.”