I Will Stage A Coup D’état

At 6:30 PM, a military vehicle carrying General Oh Gwang-se arrived at the 'Tsukihime' club in Daebang-dong.

Major General Oh Gwang-se, commander of the 1st Guards Division, arrived 30 minutes early, assuming his junior Lee Sung Joon would be there already, not wanting to keep him waiting.

"Welcome, Your Excellency."

Madam Jeong, the owner of the club, greeted him with a deep bow.

"Where is General Lee?"

"He has not arrived yet, Your Excellency. He informed us he might be delayed due to official duties, and requested we attend to you with utmost care."

"Ha! That Lee. What am I to do when the host himself is late?"

"Perhaps it would be more comfortable if you waited inside with some refreshments, Your Excellency?"

"No, Lee Sung Joon won't be too late."

Just then, Major General Ha Jung-yeon the Director of Operations at the Army Ministry, entered Tsukihime and spotted Oh Gwang-se.

"Ah, my friend! Why are you out there in the cold? You should be inside."

"Lee Sung Joon sent word he'd be slightly delayed, so I'm awaiting his arrival here."

"My friend, I cannot bear this chill. Let us proceed inside for now."

"Sigh-. Very well, very well."

Madam Jeong guided the generals to an inner annex filled with lavishly prepared meals.

Rightfully,  the generals were taken aback by the extravagant feast.

"Lee Sung Joon has truly outdone himself with this time."

"Indeed! That Lee Sung Joon, he never appeared in any gatherings until a few months ago. I wonder what prompted him to organize all of this. “

“Heh! The young Royal must be feeling the pressure of his position these days.”

“Huh…You might be right on that.”

“Well, let’s just sit and wait for him.”

The generals sat down, exchanging knowing glances.

Young women entered the room to attend to their coats.

"Shall we enjoy a drink, my friend?"

"Let’s wait until Lee Sung Joon arrives."

“You know…That stiffness of yours can be quite troublesome at times.”

“Generals, please enjoy our hospitality. Ladies, please serve them.”

At Madam Jeong's subtle gesture, the young women gracefully took their places beside the generals.

"Oh, well..."

“Just drink and relax my friend, just drink and relax…”

Oh Gwang-se, not wishing to appear discourteous, decided to indulge in a modest sip of alcohol.

While the generals were seated in the restaurant, awaiting a host who would not arrive, Colonel Jeong Sun-jin, the Chief of Staff of the Defense Security Command, received an alarming report while on duty.

"What? What do you mean the MPs are suddenly moving?"

"There was word that an MP company was being deployed for an investigation."

"What are you talking about? We haven't heard of any investigation. Wait a minute…Let me check this.”

Jeong Sun-jin picked up the phone, calling the MP headquarters, seeking answers.

"Military Police Headquarters. Ah, Colonel Yu? This is the DSC Chief of Staff. Yes. What's this about an MP company being deployed? Investigation? You were reported that from below? I see. Okay. Good work."

Jeong Sun-jin hung up the phone, looking perplexed.

Meanwhile, his aide had apparently taken a call and was holding out the receiver.

"Sir. It's the Army Security Unit Commander."

"Ah, General Chae. This is the Chief of Staff. Yes. What? You say the Criminal Investigation Unit and the Planning Office from the Army Ministry have mobilized? Is it a company-sized force? I understand."

The strange behavior of the MPs was snowballing.

Jeong Sun-jin knew the situation was not normal.

MPs moving in unit strength without any report was a clear sign of anomaly.

"Sir. What should we do?"

"First, locate the Commander and tell him to come to headquarters as soon as possible."

"Understood."

Jeong Sun-jin dialed again.

"This is the office of the Provost Marshal General? Ah, General Oh Jung-gu? This is the Chief of Staff of the Defense Security Command. The reason for my call is that the Military Police are mobilizing for an investigation that's not in our intelligence reports. Yes. Yes. I request your prompt action on this matter."

Jeong Sun-jin hung up and sank into thought.

The MPs were moving while the Provost Marshal was kept in the dark.

Ring ring.

Before he could continue his train of thought, the phone rang again.

"DSC Chief of Staff speaking. Yes. Yes. What? A company from the 22nd MP Battalion has been deployed? I understand."

The call from Colonel Seok Dong-chul, commander of the 22nd MP Battalion, confirmed his worst suspicions.

He couldn't be 100% certain, but it was most likely a coup.

But how?

Who could be leading this coup?

Jeong Sun-jin thought for a moment, then picked up the phone again.

"Inspector General's office. Ah, this is the Chief of Staff. How's the tracking of Lee Sung Joon's movements going? Is he currently moving around the city? Please continue surveillance."

Jeong Sun-jin put down the phone.

If someone were commanding a coup, they'd normally be setting up a command post and preparing to execute their plans by now.

But Lee Sung Joon's actions didn't fit that pattern.

Then, was it someone other than Lee Sung Joon?

In any case, there was a need to hasten the response.

"Connect me to the Army Minister's residence."

Jeong Sun-jin decided to urgently inform the highest authority in the country of the entire situation.

This was at 7:15 PM.

*

At 7 PM, Taechang Stadium in the Capital.

I arrived at Taechang Stadium in civilian clothes. MP officers already there flashed an oak leaf at me.

With a nod, I had Captain Mo distribute pre-prepared mission plans to the officers.

After handing out the plans, I gave a brief instruction,

"Gentlemen. Today, we begin a revolution. In this process, we may see blood spilled, and people hurt or killed. But these sacrifices stem from loyalty to our motherland. Act boldly, without hesitation. The Empire's fate is in our hands."

I harbored no illusions about glorifying this 'decision to save the country'.

A coup is a coup, no matter how it's dressed up.

But it didn't matter.

I might not write history books of the distant future, but I'll write those of this era.

While I'm alive, they would remember this day as, the Military Revolution of December 8th.

That was enough.

After my speech, the officers dispersed in perfect order.

Having finished at Taechang Stadium, I prepared to leave for the Training unit command, however…

Suddenly, an MP officer ran towards me, his face pale.

"General."

"What's wrong officer?”

"The Provost Marshal ordered everyone back to their original units."

"General Oh?"

Oh Jung-gu's reaction was quicker than I'd expected.

Then again, it wasn't surprising for Oh Jung-gu, sitting at Army Headquarters, to respond immediately.

"What should we do?"

"Ignore it. Once we deploy troops, Oh Jung-gu will be powerless."

It was an order to disregard the Provost Marshal, but the officer before me was an excellent coup member.

"Yes, sir."

I despatched Captain Lee Sung Myung and slid into the civilian car driven by Captain Mo.

While we were en route to the Training Division command, I couldn’t help but think.

Oh Jung-gu's response time is unnervingly quick.

The culprit had to be the Defense Security Command.

Naturally, it was impossible to completely evade the watchful eyes of the DSC, the military's intelligence arm.

Even Chun Doo-hwan pulled off his coup with ease because he was the DSC Commander. As a mere field division commander, he'd have been powerless.

Ordering the car to stop, I quickly headed to a private residence near the Taechang Stadium and made a call.

The risk of DSC interception was real, but situation assessment took precedence now.

"Put me through to the Training Command. Ah, Colonel Baek? Deployment status? Everyone's out? Understood."

I hung up, satisfied.

With even plainclothes units deployed, the Provost Marshal couldn't halt us with his immediately available forces.

The Guard Division remained the primary concern.

I'd lured away their commander, but that didn't render the division impotent.

Neutralizing the primary targets takes priority over dealing with those bastards for now.

I harbored no illusions of accomplishing everything at once.

Overreaching leads to failure.

Wasn't that true even for Hitler, who once had Europe in his grasp?

The car pulled up to the Training Command entrance within 10 minutes.

Key officers, including operations chief Colonel Baek Dong-seok, stood waiting

Then, the good Colonel flashed me the oak leaf and said.

"General, welcome to the Training Command."

After brief greetings, I followed Baek Dong-seok to headquarters.

From this moment, the Imperial Army Training Command became the rebel army's core unit under my, Lee Sung Joon's, command.

Entering the meticulously organized situation room, I saw a massive map of the Capital plastered with chaotically arranged unit tactical symbols.

This 'battle situation map' reflected the Training Command's current picture of the coup.

Indeed, the formidable Guard Division, coiled in the capital's eastern sector, posed the greatest threat.

If the Provost Marshal was our immediate foe, the Guard Division was the ultimate enemy to overcome.

"Status on the 16th and 17th Reserve Divisions?"

"All clear, sir. They await your deployment orders. I'll connect you now."

An officer promptly handed me the phone.

"Colonel Gil? Lee Sung Joon here. Deploy your units immediately. Yes. That's all."

I began mobilizing troops in earnest to overthrow this nation.

The time had come to raise the rebel flag and subvert the Empire.

***

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