I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 28

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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030-Scout
30.
A barbecue restaurant somewhere in Gangnam, Seoul.
Seo Dae-hun, whom I hadn’t seen in ages, had changed considerably.
His once scrawny frame had bulked up dramatically.
It seemed he’d been training hard.
“It’s been a while. How have you been?”
Seo Dae-hun greeted me first.
I set aside the slight awkwardness I felt toward the transformed Seo Dae-hun and returned his greeting.
“I’ve been well. How about you?”
“I’ve been good too. This is our first time meeting since getting stationed at the base, right?”
“That’s right. I got assigned to my unit and was deployed not long after.”
“How was the deployment?”
How was it?
Should I tell him about the deployment stained with blood and vengeance?
But unlike what I felt, Seo Dae-hun seemed oblivious to everything.
About me, or about my team.
I didn’t think there was any need to tell him.
It wasn’t a story I wanted to bring up anyway.
“It was just… deployment is grueling, you know? Harsh conditions, difficult work. Even now, seeing the kids preparing for deployment makes me feel sorry for them.”
“Haha. Our Gong In-bae has really changed. I never thought I’d hear pity coming from your mouth.”
“Huh?”
“Back then, you were the most pitiful person in the world. I was second.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
It was true.
Back at the Special Forces School,
I was the most miserable and pitiful bastard in the world.
But go to Congo once and come back.
Your standards for pity, misery, wretchedness, and sorrow change.
After going to Congo, I was no longer a pitiful child.
And having received so much love from the senior soldiers in the military, I was no longer a miserable child either.
An ordinary,
soldier receiving a steady monthly salary.
I was becoming a normal adult worrying about employment and housing after discharge.
An adult who could occasionally hand out candy to young children.
An adult who could offer advice to the young soldiers heading out on deployment.
It had only been three years and seven months,
but the Gong In-bae from back then and the Gong In-bae of now were very different.
We sat at Gangnam Station, crowded with people, drinking soju and eating beef neck,
reminiscing about our days in basic training.
Stories about the instructors at the training camp.
Stories about Special Forces extreme training.
Stories about airborne training.
As I recounted the hardships I endured,
it was entertaining in itself.
Looking back now, it was training that was absolutely necessary,
and if I received it now, I feel I could handle it better,
but why was it so grueling back then?
I found myself reflecting on it once more.
Though the stories had already passed,
devoid of any real substance, they were enjoyable.
I could simply laugh.
It’s only been three years, yet it feels like ancient history.
Seeing my past self kept surfacing, which embarrassed me somewhat.
We moved to another place for the second round of drinks.
A chicken restaurant in an alley that sold beer.
A place that looked so old I wondered if such a spot even existed near Gangnam Station.
An old-established shop, you might say?
Seo Dae-hun, who was taking a sip of beer, suddenly asked.
“Are you going to re-enlist?”
“No. I said I wouldn’t re-enlist.”
“Really?…”
“Why?”
“Then what are you going to do after discharge?”
“I’m still thinking about it. I haven’t decided yet. What about you?”
“I’m going to discharge too.”
“What are you going to do after you discharge?”
“What else? I need to reclaim what belonged to my father.”
What belonged to his father?
His father was a gangster, wasn’t he?
He said his father passed away in a suspicious accident.
It was an accident that raised many suspicions,
but being young and powerless, you couldn’t investigate the incident,
so you enrolled in the Special Forces School to build strength and learn, didn’t you?
For revenge.
Seo Dae-hun’s nearly flawless personal statement still seemed vivid in my memory.
Yet in the eyes of this bastard speaking of revenge,
of reclaiming what was stolen from his father,
there was no anger.
The kind I had seen in Poapi’s eyes,
I don’t feel the rage I once did,
the kind that makes you want to kill someone.
My Father came from the Gangsters,
and to reclaim that, I’d need to prepare thoroughly.
Even with perfect preparation, charging in alone wouldn’t guarantee success.
Maybe it’s because intelligence and operations are my specialties.
Gathering intel before an operation, laying out a plan—it was second nature.
Setting up Plan B, preparing contingencies up to Plan C was automatic.
Lee Won-jun,
or rather, Won-jun hyung now, taught me that way.
But Dae-hun doesn’t look prepared at all.
It’s like he’s just chasing clouds—”I’ll make lots of money later.”
“I’ll be successful later.” That’s all it sounds like.
“What?”
“I told you. I’m going to kill everyone involved in Father’s death.”
Why does that sound like pure bluster to me?
Have you ever killed anyone?
I killed people in Congo whether I liked it or not,
and I took revenge in anger,
but I never want to do it again.
Yet Dae-hun speaks of death so casually.
I hate even mentioning death.
“Really, how?”
“Just go in and kill them all.”
What?
Is that supposed to be a plan?
Please tell me there’s more to it.
There has to be something.
Please say there is.
“How? Who are you going to kill and how?”
“Just go in and take them all out.”
This is ridiculous.
This isn’t it.
“You’re just going to walk in and take them out? Seriously?”
“That’s why I built my body like this. I trained insanely hard for four years.”
Yeah, I know you trained hard.
I was going to order pork belly, but Dae-hun changed it to neck meat instead.
He said I needed to manage my diet.
But this isn’t something you can accomplish just by training hard.
You need at least some intelligence on your opponent.
“What’s the name of that organization?”
“Ah… the organization’s name? Hold on…”
Seo Dae-hun paused in thought before finally answering.
“The Geumho Gang. It’s the Geumho Gang. The name changed from my father’s time, so I got confused.”
“So you’re saying you’ll just walk in with a single blade and slaughter them all. Is that it?”
“It’s the fastest and most effective way. Gangsters have their own methods. This is how gangsters operate.”
“What if you die in the process?”
“No way. Do you know how intensively I’ve trained? These are just street thugs from my hometown. With a blade at my side, it’s a guaranteed 100%.”
This isn’t right.
My anxiety and worry are becoming reality, piece by piece.
“And then what?”
“Huh?”
“If you go in with a blade. If you kill them all. What comes after that?”
“After that? Once those bastards are dead, I come back to my father.”
“If you just kill those bastards and reclaim what belonged to your father, wouldn’t it be better to just plant bombs instead? Much easier and simpler, wouldn’t it?”
“Why are you like this? Gangsters have their own way of doing things.
“But what if the man who killed your father isn’t even there? Then what?”
“Then I go kill again.”
“And if the police catch you? You’d just become a murderer.”
“I’ll avoid them carefully…”
“The reason our police don’t investigate is different. But once they actually start investigating, it’s no joke. They find everything.”
“…”
“And let’s say you kill them all and take over as the boss. Won’t the men under you come to kill you? Won’t they seek revenge? You’re doing the same thing.”
“What about the organization members? The businesses? They’ll just listen to you and follow a twenty-three-year-old kid?”
“If the organization fractures, how will you handle internal conflict?”
“What about rival organizations? Will they just sit back and watch an organization suddenly weaken?”
“Damn it! Then what am I supposed to do? I’ve been thinking about this the whole time. Are you telling me not to do it?”
“Who said not to do it? I’m saying you need to prepare properly if you’re going to do it.”
“Damn it, what preparation is there? I just need to shove a blade into their throats.”
“Do you really believe that? Do you think that’s enough?”
Seo Dae-hun’s eyes waver.
He seemed to know it too.
That this approach won’t work.
Yet he can’t abandon revenge either.
If he doesn’t pursue revenge, he’d have to deny everything he’s lived for, everything he’s relied upon.
His mind tells him to stop.
But his heart won’t listen.
So he speaks of revenge only with his lips.
Those clear eyes tell the truth.
The eyes of one consumed by revenge,
Eyes resolved to death don’t look like that.
I understand.
It must be terrifying.
The more you know,
the more you try to plan, the more reality becomes visible.
Terrifying and paralyzing with fear.
You must have wanted to run away.
If you abandon revenge, everything that has sustained your life crumbles,
but pursuing revenge means the odds of success are far too slim.
Failure means death.
So you speak of revenge only in words.
You had to justify it to yourself somehow.
I’ll have my revenge.
I’ll kill them all without exception.
It’s nothing.
Just go, take what I need, and come back.
That’s all it takes. Like this.
Otherwise, living would have been unbearable.
Thinking that way, Dae-hun appears different to me again.
“In-bae.”
“What?”
“Help me.”
“With what?”
“Finding my father.”
“You crazy bastard. What the hell are you saying?”
******
With just over a month left until my discharge,
I’m still doing fine organizing supplies at the Supply Warehouse.
Of course, I’m not the one actually doing it.
“Keep the damaged items separated. It’ll be a headache if they get mixed in later.”
“Yes, sir.”
I’m stacking more work on top of the soldiers who are already working hard,
when someone comes rushing over frantically.
“Sergeant Gong In-bae, the Commander is looking for you.”
“Me? Why?”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“Got it.”
Knock, knock, knock.
“Come in.”
I step into the Commander’s Office.
The Commander and two men in black suits are seated.
Even at a glance, they don’t look ordinary.
“Please, sit over here.”
Following the Commander’s instruction, I perch lightly on the edge of the sofa.
“Then I’ll step out for a moment. Please, speak freely.”
The moment I sit, the Commander leaves, and the man in the black suit opens his mouth.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. We’re from the National Intelligence Service.”
“Excuse me? The National Intelligence Service?”
I’m caught slightly off guard by the unexpected words.
Why would the National Intelligence Service want me?
Do I have espionage charges against me?
I can curse out Kim Jong-un without hesitation.
“We monitor soldiers who are discharged from service, and Gong In-bae caught our attention. Your performance has been exceptional. Wouldn’t it be a waste to discharge you as is? There are still many opportunities to serve your country. How would you feel about seizing one of those opportunities to work for your nation?”
What kind of bullshit is this?
If the National Intelligence Service simply asked me to work, I could consider it.
If the conditions are right, I could work for them.
With decent pay and benefits, the National Intelligence Service isn’t bad.
It has prestige too.
But an opportunity to serve your country?
What the hell has the country ever done for me?
Work for the country.
When I was starving from hunger, they turned a blind eye.
Now they’re offering me an opportunity?
Do they only give opportunities to people with full bellies?
“I believe I’ve already fulfilled my duty and service to the country sufficiently.”
I express my polite refusal.
That’s a sophisticated response.
Perhaps they didn’t anticipate such a refined answer from me?
A look of bewilderment crosses the face of the man in the black suit.
The man beside him adds to the conversation.
“Rather than making such a hasty decision, wouldn’t it be better to think it over a bit more before deciding?”
“What are the conditions?”
“Conditions? What do you mean?”
“Things like salary, benefits, vacation days.”
“Those follow the standards established by the state…”
“Take what you’re given?”
“Rather than putting it that way, there are regulations in place, so we follow those regulations.”
“What about the duty station?”
“That can vary depending on the situation. In your case, Gong In-bae, you would operate as a black operative, so your duty station would change according to the mission.”
“I must decline.”
Not a single one of these options appeals to me from start to finish.
If I were going to accept those terms, I would have requested a long-term commission.
I already have plenty of service points accumulated.
There’s no difference between this and the military.
Why would the National Intelligence Service specifically want a Black operative?
A Black operative—someone who doesn’t even have a name in death?
They seemed to expect loyalty to the nation. Patriotism. Things like that.
I don’t have any of that.
My parents weren’t around to teach me such things—they abandoned home long ago.
And my Teacher was too busy striking me to have time teaching me about loyalty.
How could someone like me ever have the opportunity to learn loyalty or patriotism?
These two have completely misunderstood who I am.
They must have thought my good performance came from loyalty.
They should have read my personal statement more carefully.
Ah, I suppose writing it too much like a novel could have caused the misunderstanding.
“In any case, please think it over once more and contact us.”
The man in the black suit seemed to realize that continuing the conversation wouldn’t be beneficial,
so he hastily wrapped up the meeting and handed me a business card.
The card read Hae-gwang Industrial.
********
On my way back to the dormitory after the National Intelligence Service meeting.
My phone rings.
A number I’ve never seen before.
“Hello?”
“Hello? Are you Gong In-bae, Sergeant?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Good day to you. This is Hwang Byung-il, representative of 【All Day Guard】, a security specialist firm.”
“A security specialist firm?”
“Yes. I have something I’d like to discuss with you, Sergeant. Would you have some time?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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