I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 45

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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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045-Special Tour
45. Special Tour.
“Director, please clear all tours for that day.”
– Pardon? You want to cancel all the tours?
“Yes. Don’t accept any bookings that day.”
– That would be quite a loss, wouldn’t it?
“There’s something I need to do regardless.”
– Understood.
After finishing my call with Jang Yun-mi, the director in Seoul,
I turned to Sandro beside me and spoke.
“Sandro, you heard that too? Don’t accept any tour bookings that day.”
“What? We’re doing so well right now—why skip a day of tours?”
“I’m inviting some people.”
.
.
.
Late at night.
Bohol Panglao International Airport
Five luxury vans from Candy Tour pulled up at the entrance.
I waited in front of the arrivals hall, holding a sign.
When I spotted familiar faces, I waved enthusiastically.
“Sister-in-law, over here.”
Though it had been a while, my sister-in-law greeted me warmly with a smile.
“It’s been so long, In-bae.”
“Thank you for coming, sister-in-law. Ho-jin, come here. Mom, Dad, thank you so much for making the trip. It must have been tiring.”
“Tiring? You sent us business class tickets, so the journey was comfortable. This is my first time traveling so easily. Ha ha.”
“Still, it must have been exhausting. Shall we head out? I’ve booked us a hotel.”
We headed to the Amalaya Resort, known as Bohol’s finest resort, in the van.
It was about a fifteen-minute drive from the airport to the resort.
As I felt the distinctive tropical heat of Bohol, Philippines, we arrived quickly.
“Here are your room keys. I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning. Rest well until then.”
.
.
.
I had invited my family.
I had invited the families of our Second Platoon, Okapi Sting.
Lee Won-jun’s sister-in-law and his son, Ho-jin.
Sung Gyu-tae’s sister-in-law.
Oh Jae-beom’s mother and father.
Kang Dong-chul’s mother and father.
Kwon Jong-o’s mother, father, and older sister.
.
.
.
Im Deok-su’s wife and child as well.
They all attended.
My heart swelled just seeing them there.
Truth be told, I had wanted to invite them from the very beginning.
So I told them.
I work here.
I’d love it if you could visit sometime.
I mentioned it several times, but they kept refusing.
Don’t worry about the cost. I’ll take care of everything.
Just come as you are, I said, but they still declined.
So eventually,
I told them I was starting a business in the Philippines,
and asked if they wouldn’t even come to celebrate.
You said you thought of me like a son—was that all a lie?
Once I pressured them like that, they finally agreed to come.
After coordinating for so long, we finally managed to align our schedules.
I was determined to make this trip the most memorable one possible.
I prepared everything—the food, the sights, the activities—all at the highest level.
.
.
.
We spent our time productively.
We went out to sea on a luxury yacht, snorkeling and free diving.
We shopped at Alona Beach and ate Filipino cuisine.
We strolled through the gardens of the six-star Amalaya Resort and enjoyed the beach.
And then.
Emerald Canyon.
“Wow~~ a place like this actually exists in the real world?”
“Honey, this place is absolutely stunning.”
“In-bae, how did you even find a place like this?”
“This is your land? How much did you pay for it?”
After passing through Emerald Canyon, we arrived at Lumina Lake.
“This place is truly magical. It feels like we’ve stepped into a fantasy world.”
“Right? Like fairies might appear here at any moment?”
“Exactly. Exactly.”
We had dinner with grilled meat and seafood barbecue,
I was nursing a beer when it happened.
The sky was full of stars, and hearts were beginning to open.
“In-bae. Thank you for inviting me like this.”
“Not at all. It’s only natural. Whenever you say you’re coming, I’ll prepare. Please feel free to visit anytime.”
“Hahaha. So I should just move in here?”
“That would be wonderful. Should I prepare a condo for you?”
“Really?”
“In-bae, you’re becoming quite the smooth talker. When I first met you, I thought you were a wooden plank.”
“That’s right. I remember when you first came home. Back then you really did seem like a private.”
That comment must have stirred memories of that leave when I’d visited home.
And the person who had been with me then.
Though not beside me now, the person I couldn’t bear to let go of—my eyes grew red at the thought of them.
That’s when it happened.
“In-bae. You left money behind back then, didn’t you?”
“Pardon? Money? What money?”
“I know everything. I’m saying this knowing full well.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I wanted to say thank you. I don’t know what that money was for, but I wanted to express my gratitude. I was too overwhelmed back then to do it, but I’m glad I can do it now. In-bae, thank you.”
“It was team expenses. I just shared it, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Just a moment ago you said you didn’t know what money I was talking about?”
“Pardon? … Ah… yes, that’s right?”
Just as the atmosphere was becoming tender, Kang Dong-chul’s father, slightly drunk, began to speak.
“In-bae. I’m sorry to bring this up, but honestly, I hated you. My son is dead, but seeing you doing well made me so angry I could barely stand it. If my son had lived, he probably would have been like you, and that thought infuriated me. My wife told me not to say such things, that you must be suffering too, but my heart wouldn’t listen.”
“I didn’t say it out loud, but I harbored those feelings too. The desire to direct anger at someone. Even knowing it wasn’t your fault, I wanted to vent my frustration on someone. It was all my own inadequacy and shortcomings. I’ve wanted to apologize to you for a long time but couldn’t. I apologize now. I’m sorry, In-bae.”
“If I’m being honest, I resented you too. Even knowing you weren’t at the scene, that you were on a business trip, I still found someone to blame. And that someone was you. As an adult, I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry. That’s how our hearts are. Our minds understand, but our hearts couldn’t follow. It’s shameful, but I’m grateful I can apologize now.”
“What are these people doing right now? They brought me all the way to the Philippines, fed me, gave me drinks, showed me wonderful sights—and now they’re saying they hated me? Is this something a person should say? Don’t they have any shame?”
“But they’re apologizing.”
“Then apologize properly while sober. What’s the point of an apology that flows out while drunk? That’s just for their own comfort. If they hated In-bae who did nothing wrong, and now they’re ashamed because things turned out this way, then don’t apologize at all. Yet they had no problem taking and spending the money.”
“Ugh…”
“I think what Jae-beom’s mother said is right. We all lost a family member, but In-bae actually lost eleven family members. In-bae treated his unit members like family, so we really did go too far.”
“We lost our son too.”
“I lost my husband. My entire world disappeared. But I don’t blame In-bae. What did In-bae do wrong?”
The adults’ voices rose against each other.
Over the quiet, mystical waters of Lumina Lake, their voices clashed.
Harsh words could be heard, and sobs echoed.
The profound sorrow of those who had lost family members poured out.
I couldn’t tell whose tears these were.
Whether they were mine or theirs.
How long did it go on like that?
How long did I cry?
Did I pour out everything that was bottled inside?
Silence returned to Lumina Lake.
Now, without screaming, I began speaking quietly.
Not stories about me, but stories about my brothers.
Stories from childhood, from school, from my time at the Military Base—
trivial, ordinary little stories.
Stories of mischief,
stories of getting scolded for playing games the entire vacation.
Stories of crying for days after being dumped by a girlfriend.
Stories of getting beaten for wanting to ride a motorcycle.
I spoke carefully, as if opening an old photograph album.
Stories about my brothers that I had never known.
We spent the entire night reminiscing about those who had left us, and we greeted the dawn together.
Though dawn arrives 365 times a year, today’s dawn felt somehow different.
.
.
.
The trip had ended.
I escorted everyone to the airport,
and only after embracing each and every one of them did that long, lingering farewell finally come to an end.
And then I returned home.
“I brought some side dishes in case the food didn’t suit your taste, but we never got a chance to eat them. Since it’s hard to throw away, you eat them.”
My home was filled with side dishes given this way.
They said they brought them to eat.
But anyone could see they were clearly prepared for me.
Neatly packed in containers—it was obvious they were meant for me.
Even while hating me so much, they prepared side dishes for me,
worried I might go hungry in a distant foreign land,
and brought them all this way—my heart swelled at that kindness.
I heated up a single instant rice packet and ate it with the side dishes.
I wasn’t hungry, but I felt like I had to eat.
Tears kept flowing, so I couldn’t taste anything, but I just ate anyway.
I felt like I had to finish every last bit of these side dishes.
So I put them in my inventory.
To keep them from spoiling.
To keep them from changing.
Whether it was my heart or the side dishes, I wasn’t sure.
I forced myself to eat the rice.
As I ate, I felt only warmth.
There was something oddly comforting about it.
*******
“Young Boss, I’ll have one jjajangmyeon and a small serving of sweet and sour pork, plus one bottle of soju, please.”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
Dae-hun, with his cap pulled low, casually pulled out his phone and placed it on the table, playing a YouTube video while inserting a Bluetooth earbud into his ear.
But from the Bluetooth earbud came something entirely different from the YouTube video.
I could hear someone’s conversation.
It was a short-range eavesdropping device I’d recently purchased.
The price was cheap, but it couldn’t transmit over long distances.
I had no choice.
Disguised as a restaurant customer,
I was eavesdropping on the conversation of people eating in a private room.
“Why has the atmosphere been so bad lately?”
“Why? Money, of course. The money coming down is too little.”
“That’s true. Lately it’s been hard to even give the kids their allowance.”
“These days the younger guys seem to be shaking down high schoolers?”
“Really? I told them not to do that… Anyway, those bastards just won’t listen.”
“Ha ha ha. Did you hear that? Weren’t you famous for not listening at that age too?”
“Why are you bringing up the past? Let’s just move on. Anyway, we need to be careful about that—if we get caught, it’s a red line immediately.”
“We tell them not to do it too. But what can we do? The kids have no other way to make money, so they’re just trying to scrape together some change.”
“But why isn’t money coming down lately? I’m dying here too.”
“It seems like they’re running some new business. All the money seems to be getting sucked into that.”
“What kind of business?”
“I don’t know exactly. They’re being super secretive about what they’re preparing. But seeing them constantly going to Japan, China, Hong Kong and places like that, it seems like they’re trying to import something, or maybe export something… I have no idea.”
“Can’t they at least tell us what they’re doing? This is driving me crazy.”
Dae-hun focused intently on the men’s conversation.
If I sat still, I’d raise suspicion.
While my ears listened to their words,
my eyes pretended to watch YouTube as I ate.
Naturally.
I ate the jjajangmyeon, ate the sweet and sour pork, and drank a glass of soju.
To anyone watching, I looked like a weary laborer
who’d stopped by for dinner on my way home from work.
.
.
.
“Crazy bastard. What a mess.”
That’s what I’d heard from In-bae when I asked him to help me get revenge.
I’d clearly heard him curse,
but rather than feeling hurt, I felt oddly satisfied.
Was that really what I wanted to hear?
What had I truly wanted from In-bae?
My father had passed away.
In a suspicious accident.
What were the odds that a 25-ton dump truck would crush a sedan on a rural road?
Yet the Police Officer concluded it was the driver’s negligence—drowsy driving—and closed the case.
It made no sense.
I petitioned for a reinvestigation,
begging them to reopen the case from the beginning, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.
I was simply sent to the Orphanage and forgotten.
To file a complaint or appeal, I needed a guardian—but my guardian was dead.
How could I file a complaint when the person I was supposed to complain about was gone?
Even at the Orphanage, I continued raising the issue, but nothing changed.
If anything, the harassment only intensified.
“You? The new kid? We need to give you a proper initiation.”
“Damn, you look like a beggar. Look at that face.”
“What shoes are those? They look nice. Mind if I borrow them?”
“Me too, me too. I’ll take your bag.”
“No. Damn it. What are you doing? Get lost!”
I fought back fiercely, baring my teeth,
but as a middle schooler facing high schoolers, I was nothing but easy prey.
“Haha, look at this bastard whining. Now we’re going to educate you on the rules of our Orphanage. Pay close attention. Beat him.”
Their fists and kicks came raining down.
No matter how hard I tried to dodge and block, I couldn’t defend against multiple attackers striking simultaneously.
I sacrificed flesh to protect bone.
Even as I threw myself at them with the resolve to hit back no matter what, the strategy failed.
Under the relentless barrage of blows, I finally collapsed,
and all I could do was wrap my arms around my head and curl into a ball.
I was helpless.
All I could do was minimize the impact,
curling my body like a shrimp and bowing my head.
The violent assault finally ceased.
Beaten so thoroughly, tears streamed down my face.
But they weren’t tears of pain.
They were tears for the sudden collapse of everything I had been.
If my father were still alive.
Those bastards wouldn’t have dared meet my eyes.
I would have beaten them senseless instead.
To stop the tears from falling,
I had to reclaim everything I had lost.
I swore that no matter what, I would avenge my father,
and reclaim everything that was his.
Every night I wept as I made that vow.
But before each night’s promise could even finish, I’d have to go out and take another beating.
I didn’t understand why,
but the people at the Orphanage never let me pass without incident.
They beat me as part of their daily routine,
and even just brushing past me earned me a blow to the back of the head.
When I went to the director and told him I’d been hit,
he pretended not to hear.
He spouted nonsense about how a respectable adult was someone who could solve such problems on their own.
I decided things couldn’t continue this way, so I tried to build my body up.
But the moment I was alone, those bastards would come and beat me.
There was nowhere safe for me.
If I went to the Orphanage, those bastards would be there.
If I went to School, the delinquents made my life miserable.
So I either didn’t go to the Orphanage or arrived late.
Then the director warned me that my attitude was poor.
Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
I couldn’t win either way.
I endured the daily beatings, waiting only for high school graduation.
I dreamed of revenge, counting the days until I could leave the Orphanage.
The moment I graduated high school, I submitted my application to the special forces.
There, I could sleep peacefully,
and eat enough food to satisfy my hunger.
Now I had to prepare for my revenge.
I built my body and learned combat techniques.
This was exactly what I needed.
There are many martial arts academies outside that teach combat,
but that’s merely sport.
They don’t teach the techniques to kill a person.
But the military is different.
It teaches the most certain and efficient ways to end a life.
That’s why I enlisted.
And specifically in the special forces.
“Today we’ll practice marksmanship.”
“Today is airborne training.”
“Tactical movement is crucial.”
“You have to read the situation. You can’t move independently on your own.”
I was mistaken.
These days, they don’t conduct combat training as intensively as before.
Instead of one-on-one sparring, they focus far more on tactical training and marksmanship.
They tell you not to rely on your body—use your gun instead.
Hand-to-hand combat comes second, they said.
I had no choice but to train alone.
I built my physique on chicken breast, and I continued training by myself relentlessly.
Whether I was at the special forces academy or assigned to the Military Base, my routine never changed.
I thought of revenge and kept training.
But while stationed at the Military Base, I gradually began to see the world more clearly.
Stepping back to observe my father’s case, I realized it wasn’t a simple incident.
I came to understand it might involve the Police, Gangsters, and possibly even politicians and regional power brokers.
My initial plan was to capture the driver and beat him down,
follow the information he provided, and solve everything—
but I learned that killing those bastards wouldn’t restore everything to how it was.
Yet I couldn’t abandon my quest for revenge.
Revenge was everything to me.
But I couldn’t just charge in recklessly with a sword.
That would be nothing but a dog’s death.
While I was struggling with this, In-bae told me something.
“Gather information. Investigate those bastards thoroughly—find out what they’re doing. Then make a plan. That’s the only way to succeed.”
For a year, I did nothing but collect information.
Gradually, things began to take shape.
I understood how their Criminal Organization was structured.
I learned where the money came from and how it flowed.
In the process, I came to know certain people.
We moved together, doing this and that.
We helped those who asked for our aid,
and we did what needed to be done.
People began calling us the Dae-hoon Faction.

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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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