The owner didn''t respond.


    But I ignored him and continued because I didn''te here for coffee.


    "Enough. Just tell them toe out. You guys were anxious to see me, right? Oh, since the shop has a coffee shop sign, you must have coffee ready, right? Give me an iced coffee."


    "Sure."


    Less than a minute after I ordered a cup of coffee, a woman in her 50s, who seemed to be the real owner, came to serve me coffee.


    "Here you are. And the one who wants to see you is also here."


    "Really? Have a seat then."


    "Thanks foring here. In fact, I was a little worried because I thought you might not turn up even though I wanted to meet you."


    "Well, it''s good that you acted carefully. I don''t like peopleing to see me all of a sudden. People like that are not good, generally speaking."That was true when I looked at my experiences.


    "Phew! I''m d to hear that. Since those at the top are being impatient, I''m really hard pressed."


    "Alright. Tell me why you want to see me."


    "Man, I''m being absent-minded at the moment. Let me introduce myself. My name is Sojung Han, deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, and I''m the head of the 3rd Bureau in charge of foreign affairs."


    "I''m Juyoung Hong."


    She must already know who I am, but I introduced myself briefly anyway.


    She immediately responded, "It is very unfortunate that I did not know your name sooner. By the way, as an NIS member, I am very grateful to you."


    "Why?"


    "Because Myongjin Refinery Oil has stabilized oil prices by importing arge amount of crude oil from the United States without being overcharged like a certainpany. At the same time, Myongjin has saved Mirae Oil Refinery, Daesung Oil Refinery, Hanil Energy and Maseok Caltex."


    I could easily figure out whichpany she referred to when she mentioned ''like a certainpany.''


    The rumors were already widely circting that Daesung Oil Refinery had bought crude oil at five times the normal price in the futures market.


    Deputy Director Han continued, "Besides, you cleaned up the waste called Chaesan Lee this time? In fact, it was really hard to get rid of him because he bribed so many government officials and politicians. What''s more, he didn''t hesitate to serve as Japan''s puppet to make money. That''s why I felt so happy as if a rotten tooth had finally fallen out when I watched him get ruined."


    "Hmm, I didn''t do it to please you guys, but it''s good anyway. By the way, you are not here to praise me, right?"


    "Hahaha! Of course not! I came here to help you and receive help in return. Oh, let me be clear on one thing. I''m not here to ask for your help to promote my personal interests or for somebody else''s benefits."


    "Tell me then."


    Since I didn''t have to decline her request, I responded while holding my iced coffee.


    As soon as I replied, she said, "First of all, our government has decided to recognize everything you took from Chaesan Lee as your own property. You must have gotten a lot while sorting out his assets."


    I frowned a bit at that.


    Then she quickly added, "As you know, Chaesan Lee amassed his wealth through illegal means. In other words, most of his assets are criminal in nature, and in principle, any criminal funds should be returned to the state. I don''t want to force you to follow thew because there are loopholes in anyw. From my perspective, thew should be applied to everybody flexibly. I just said this because I wanted you to understand the government''s considerations for you. So…"


    "Good. What''s next?"


    Since she didn''t want to make an issue out of my intrusion into Chaesan Lee''s mansion and taking his assets, I didn''t ask her anymore.


    She continued, "You must have gotten quite a few ount books or ledgers. We will make every effort to recognize the validity of the documents or ount books and at the same time we will make sure that his financial obligations are properly executed."


    "So, you want to collect the money for me?"


    Even though she beat around the bush, that was her point in the end.


    In other words, her point was that the government would collect the money for me.


    She said, "Yes, that''s right. Our guys at the NIS will collect the money for you. By the way, our President has said on the record that the government will provide various conveniences to you because there is nothing more important than good human resources like you in this country where we don''t have many natural resources."


    "Hmm... I''m not so bad as to refuse someone else''s recognition. Oh, don''t worry. I don''t feel offended, and I''m not that narrow-minded."


    She hardened her face at my words, but I spoke to her with a rxed voice to shake off her worries.


    Aside from the first and third points, I was attracted to her second point.


    At first I recalled America, but I felt ufortable about leaving such a trifling matter with the United States because it happened in Korea.


    But the National Intelligence Service, or the Korean government, wanted to solve my problem.


    I didn''t think it was that bad.


    So I quietly said, "Good. Tell me what kind of favor you want to ask me."


    "Sure, the thing is…"


    Deputy Director Han finally started to bring out the main topic, which was rted to Japan. She exined to me about it for a long time.


    ***


    Thend where we live is so important in many ways.


    In ournd, we build houses, harvest grains, and provide most of the food, clothing, and shelters to maintain our lives as human beings. That is why the three elements of a state includend, along with the people and sovereignty.


    But these days, there is something that is more important thannd.


    It''s the sea because 71% of the Earth is ocean.


    Sond upies less than 40% of the Earth, and it is surrounded by the ocean.


    As national economies develop, and trading among countries bes more active, there are all kinds of transportation means such as trucks, trains, or nes, but they are no match for ships.


    In fact,mercial ships are responsible for more than 80% of the global transport volumes. Moreover, seafood only used to be caught near the coastlines in the old days, but numerousrge fishing boats catch a huge amount of seafood in the middle of the ocean these days.


    Besides, there is something more, namely, the enormous resources under the deep sea. Iron, nickel, and other very expensive and rare elements as well as enormous amounts of natural gas and crude oil are buried in the sea.


    Of course, nobody could ever dream of drilling them in the past due to the limitations of technology.


    However, with the passage of time, technology has gradually improved, so it''s possible to obtain various resources from the depths of the ocean.


    As a result, it has been quite some time since crude oil was extracted from sea beds, ranging from the North Sea oil fields, to the oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico and the Persian guild, which exceeded 30% of the total crude oil production on the Earth.


    As technology continues to advance in the future, it is obvious that oil production will only increase as the oil fields in the deep sea be more essible.