I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 31

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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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031 – Military Discharge
31.
A cafe in Incheon.
I’m meeting with a man who appears to be in his early forties.
“Good afternoon. I’m Hwang Byung-il from AllDayGuard.”
“Hello. I’m Gong In-bae.”
“Thank you so much for taking the time to meet me.”
“Not at all. I should be thanking you for coming all this way.”
The man treated me with respect.
Short hair,
sun-darkened skin.
Muscular frame hidden beneath a suit.
Calloused hands.
This man must be military too.
“Your discharge is coming up soon, isn’t it? Congratulations in advance.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“The reason I reached out is because I’d like to bring you into our company.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why me?”
“I’ve heard you’re exceptional. We’d very much like to recruit you.”
“I’m just ordinary, really.”
“Top graduate from Special Forces School. Two years deployed, served as an instructor in the Congo. Fluent in English and French. Multiple medals and commendations. You’re far from ordinary. Most people can’t manage even one of these things.”
“That’s just luck.”
“I don’t think it’s luck at all. And even if it were, why does that matter? Why not share that good fortune with AllDayGuard?”
“What kind of company is AllDayGuard?”
Hwang Byung-il’s impression wasn’t bad, so I asked about the company.
“Oh, I apologize. I was so eager to bring you on board that I skipped the introduction. We’re a close protection firm specializing in VIPs, both domestic and international. We primarily handle security for executives, celebrities, and sports stars.”
“Don’t most of those people already have security?”
“Of course. Most have personal bodyguards. But here’s the thing—when a VIP visits from abroad, they bring their security team with them. The question is: can that team handle Korean security operations? They can certainly provide close protection for the principal, but when it comes to route planning, pre-reconnaissance, communications, emergency protocols—those require partnership with a domestic firm. And trustworthy partners are rare.”
“Can’t you just manage it?”
“Fundamentally, you need someone who can do both close protection and speak a foreign language. We sometimes assign interpreters, but communication breakdowns happen constantly because the interpreter doesn’t understand protective tactics. We have some university athletes who speak foreign languages, but they don’t fit our needs either. Protection isn’t about fighting—it’s about safeguarding.”
“I’m weak in that area too.”
“Working with us, you’d undergo four weeks of intensive close protection training. From our data, former special forces operators learn extremely quickly.”
“Really?”
“We’d like to bring you on as a Team Leader position. AllDayGuard needs you, Sergeant In-bae.”
“Team Leader? I have no experience.”
“We’re looking at a six-month timeline. You’ll receive a month of training, serve five months as vice team leader in our top team—Alpha Team—and then we’ll spin off a new unit for you to lead.”
“I don’t understand why you’d do all this for me.”
There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
He must be angling for something in return.
“There’s no hidden agenda. The person who recommended you gave a strong endorsement, and looking at your record, you’re exactly the talent we need. We’re simply eager.”
“Can you tell me who recommended me?”
“I’d like to, but they asked me to keep it confidential.”
“Would it be all right if I think about it and contact you later?”
“Of course. Here’s my business card. I’m on standby twenty-four hours, so feel free to call anytime.”
“Ha. I have that much courtesy myself. I’ll make sure to call during daylight hours.”
“Ha. I’d be even happier to hear from you then.”
.
.
.
A month before discharge, offers came pouring in from everywhere.
As for Dae-hun,
I’ve warned him countless times not to do anything reckless.
I told him if he’s planning something, let me know first.
Brief me on how you’re planning to handle it.
Then I’ll decide whether to help or stop you.
Plans require information.
Gathering that information is harder than you’d think.
Sorting through it is even harder.
Taking the vetted intelligence and forming an operation,
then executing it—that’s grueling work.
If gathering intelligence alone is difficult, you can hire people, but
I told him those hired hands could get him killed.
I explained how hiring a private investigator to dig into someone
could get him killed before he ever draws his sword—I’ve said it over and over.
Those circles are all connected anyway.
Walk into a detective agency and say “Investigate the Geumho Gang for me,” and by evening you could be in a drum with concrete poured over you.
Reading Dae-hun’s plan reveals his heart.
How he’ll infiltrate, how he’ll escape,
who he’ll target.
How he’ll cover his tracks.
What resolve he’s bringing to this operation.
I can tell it all at a glance.
That’s why I’m waiting to see his plan before deciding whether to help or stop him.
My only friend is walking into hell—I have to get him out alive.
Ah.
That day at the chicken restaurant, Dae-hun said something.
“If I die, you handle my funeral.”
“What the hell, why would you die?”
“It’d be nice if my only friend handled my funeral. Not that I have anyone else anyway.”
“Are we actually friends?”
It’s a question I’ve wanted to ask since Special Forces School,
and now I asked it carefully.
“If we’re not friends, what are we? Lovers? You little homo.”
He might have just been joking,
but it felt good anyway.
The word—friend.
My first friend in twenty-four years.
In civilian life, people say you can get backstabbed by someone you’ve known for twenty-four years.
Taking a hit for a friend—that’s not hard.
I can handle that much.
I told Dae-hun to investigate the details as thoroughly as possible.
How many people are in the Geumho Gang, where they operate, how they move money and launder it,
whether they had tonkatsu or spicy stir-fried pork for lunch, whether they ordered extra rice—find it all out.
Based on that data, plan how to take them down.
Only then did Dae-hun seem to find a way forward, scribbling notes earnestly.
Dae-hun finally seems to grasp Seoul National University’s teaching method.
I feel proud.
As for the National Intelligence Service,
I rejected them outright, but deep down there’s an unexpected pull to say yes.
Not for the invisible cause of serving the nation,
but the title itself—National Intelligence Service—is tempting.
Honestly, I feel a bit guilty riding on the reputation built by other agents’ loyalty,
but the name “National Intelligence Service” carries real weight.
How impressive it would be to have that on a business card.
Wait.
Hold on.
Speaking of business cards, that just reminded me—
those guys carried Hae-gwang Industrial cards too.
Not National Intelligence Service.
Black said the Service guys can’t even tell people they work for the Service, right?
I’d just be an employee of Hae-gwang Industrial.
……
AllDayGuard is an entirely new field.
Close protection.
They said they need me,
but I don’t know how much help I’d actually be,
and there’s the burden of retraining.
The Team Leader title too.
But the field of protection does intrigue me.
Not killing enemies and attacking,
but safeguarding someone, protecting them—it feels kind of noble.
A bit corny maybe, but heroic, right?
And more than anything, being told I’m needed—that pulls at something.
I was never someone anyone needed before.
But I wasn’t useless either.
I was invisible.
Whether I existed or not,
nobody cared.
Now someone says they need me.
It feels like I’ve become someone important.
There’s an excitement to trying something new.
Different clients, not the same one over and over.
Different people, different environments, different conditions—protecting clients.
There’d be no room for boredom.
It sounds fun, actually.
I’ll think a bit longer before deciding.
There’s still time before discharge.
********
“Sergeant Gong In-bae is hereby discharged effective today. I make this report.”
“Well done. Stay in touch after discharge, won’t you?”
I was giving my discharge report to the Commander in the International Peace Unit office.
The Commander patted my shoulder with a warm smile, telling me to keep in touch.
I didn’t even do that while I was serving, so wouldn’t it be strange to start after discharge?
But my answer always goes against my actual thoughts.
“Yes, sir. I’ll be in touch.”
“How about re-enlisting right now? Think about it one more time.”
“Sir, I’m discharged as of today. Isn’t everything already done?”
“It’s easy to change. I can arrange it. Should I call headquarters?”
“Ha. That’s all right, sir.”
All right, my ass.
Here’s a soldier on his discharge day, and you’re pushing re-enlistment on him.
Cold bastard.
Bring up re-enlistment one more time
and I’ll strip that corn clean off the cob.
.
.
.
I left the base quietly, leaving behind the soldiers waving goodbye.
My heart is complicated.
I remember when I transferred to this unit four years ago.
I was such a kid back then,
but now I feel like I’ve grown some.
Just four years,
and I’ve covered all the growth I missed in the twenty years before.
On a day like this, there’s somewhere I have to go.
I caught a taxi.
“The National Cemetery, please.”
.
.
.
“Brothers, I’m here.”
“Your favorite youngest has come, brothers.”
The moment I see their names on the polished marble, tears start streaming down.
This shouldn’t happen.
I came here to be congratulated.
Made it through unscathed, thanks to you,
safely discharged—ask me to be proud.
That’s how I came, but seeing their names breaks me.
“Congratulate me. I’m discharged today. I’m a civilian now. Sob.”
“If you were still here, I’d have re-enlisted without hesitation. But the army’s so cold without you.”
“I’m still wearing thermal underwear. It’s ridiculous. I’ve never worn it even in the dead of winter before.”
I laid out the liquor, fruit, and flowers I’d prepared on the gravestones.
“Eat well. I brought your favorites.”
“You’re lucky. You’re still together, aren’t you?”
“I wish I could be with you… how could I not?”
“Even the cold there would feel warm.”
“It was always warm with you.”
I lay down on the cold October ground of the National Cemetery.
The chill seeps through my back.
And yet I feel a warmth.
“The bastard who did this to you—I turned him to dust.”
“That bastard shouldn’t even remain as dust in this world. So I erased him completely.”
“I’ll erase even his name. That’s why I don’t even speak it—because it’s a name that should cease to exist.”
“Sorry I’m late.”
“I wanted to come right after returning, but I didn’t have the strength to face you.”
“My heart was too complicated then.”
“But seeing you again feels good. I’ll come often.”
That’s how I spent the whole day, lying on the grass of the National Cemetery, murmuring.
Words no one else could understand.
But my brothers would hear every word.
And so my military service came to an end.

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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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