Chapter 171: < Protect – Episode 170 – Korea National Association [1] >

The crime planning group—General Ashford—had one rule.

‘Don’t stand against the mutant king.’

It was a cruel rule since the members of this crime group were bloodthirsty bastards. However, when they were faced with Code Name K, they weren’t willing to help each other. No matter how genius the members of General Ashford were, there were limits. If they wanted to live long, they were best off being active at least 500 kilometers away from the mutant king. There was always that crazy guy that wanted to test his luck though.

The rising star of this field—Shay Leeper—couldn’t understand the decision of the high masters.

‘The mutant king is still human, so he must have a weakness.’

They acknowledged that he had superpowers that made him more powerful than an army. But if it was a strong army like the US army, wouldn’t they stand a chance? Once Code Name K retired and returned to his homeland, Shay Leeper completed requests in China and Japan. However, his eyes didn’t come off of the Korean peninsula that was situated between China and Japan.

‘The mutant king… has grown weak.’

The true face of K that the members were afraid of was strong enough to go beyond the best criminal plans. However, once K retired, he didn’t use his force. He did use some of it in Indonesia and Borth America, but he kept it to a minimum. Shay Leeper reported this to the superior office numerous times that they now stood a chance against Code Name K. However, their response was always the same.

‘Never face off against the mutant king!’

The high masters were still afraid of K.

‘Those frustrating old men!’

Nothing lasted forever in this world though.

No one was forever strong or forever weak. Time had the power to make the weak strong and the strong weak. Shay Leeper decided that this was their opportunity to strain the feared king or make him weaker. So he secretly hid between the small country squeezed in between China and Japan.

‘I can’t believe 50 million people live in this small country.’

His first impression of the small country wasn’t too bad.

‘Gangnam? Is this the capital of this country?’

He had to scout out the land before looking for K.

Shay Leeper went all over Korea. As soon as he pretended to be a naïve blue-eyed foreigner who tried to speak some Korean words, Koreans soon let their guards down. ‘Who are these fools?’ They were too naïve themselves. While he went around, he tried Korean food, and he liked it more than he expected.

When he first tried the rich soybean paste stew, he thought they put poison in his food. He still wasn’t used to the smell or taste, but after eating it more and more, he grew to like it. He felt like he was getting healthier. He couldn’t help but eat a lot of meat and bread, but he also started to look for more stews and wraps.

‘I love you, earthen pot bulgogi!’

Shay Leeper fell in love with earthen pot bulgogi. It was so good that it couldn’t be described with words. Despite being racist against Asians, he grew to love Korea. It wasn’t Koreans he liked, but the country as a whole. Internet was fast, and thanks to the ban on guns, it was pretty safe.

‘This country has the nightlife that we all dream of!’

Not even New York’s nightlife stood a chance against that of Gangnam.

‘But there’s probably more beautiful women in New York…’

Korea was definitely safer than America. It was comical for a criminal professional to talk about safety, but it was even difficult for a criminal mind to dodge or block bullets. Supernatural powers weren’t almighty. Unless an individual was like K, guns would still kill or wound that person.

‘Even the king himself uses a gun.’

J-Law was the best sniper in the world, but K was still the best gunman. The more Shay Leeper got to know Korea, the more he understood why K retired there.

‘Korean gangs are trash.’

The way he saw it, the Korean organizations were weak.

There were some drugs circulating in the black market, but they were in limited amounts. This place was nothing more than a pit stop for drugs between South East Asia, Japan, and Russia. Even in the fights that took place between organizations, the only weapons that were used here were knives. Since only the bosses carried guns, they probably looked like pathetic thugs in the eyes of the international mafias.

Shay Leeper was suspicious about something.

Korea was actually a rich mine with substantial buying power. So why weren’t the international mafias and global corporations taking advantage of Korea’s market? They weren’t even a socialist nation like China. Was it because they were afraid of K? Only a few knew his true power while most just saw him as a rich man.

‘It was a miracle that he took over an entertainment company.’

Shay Leeper was marveled by K’s behavior.

In this field of work, retirement meant to live in solitude. That was because grudges against him that were created during his years of service were going to bite him in the ass. As a result, people even said that it was hard to live for even a year after retirement. Retirement meant death. It was different for K though. Once he retired, he lived more actively, and more people grew to know him.

‘But only a select few know his true identity.’

Shay Leeper admired that. However, exposing oneself meant that there would be more weaknesses to take advantage of. Shay Leeper managed to find a decent lady at a Gangnam club to have a one-night stand with, so he was whistling with joy and headed to the parking lot when he heard a text notification from his phone.

The phone that was linked to the black market bulletin board was 10 times more expensive than a regular phone, but it was worth it. As soon as he entered the bulletin board, many announcements popped up.

Mr. K is setting up a neutrality zone in South Korea!

Patching up clients! All members below A rank will be withdrawn!

Combat will not be allowed! That will count as hostile action!

Advising breach of contract with everything related to Korea! Withdraw in 48 hours!

Shay Leeper was shocked.

‘A complete neutrality zone?’

Then why did he retire in the first place? Wherever Ahn Soo Ho was at, that place tended to become a half-neutral zone automatically, so there were only two times that he declared complete neutrality.

‘And they were usually just small cities…’

This was the first time he declared an entire country as neutral.

“What is this? Is he thinking about war?”

“Yeah.”

“Gasp!”

Shay Leeper pulled out his gun as soon as he heard a voice responding to his rhetorical question, but his wrist got twisted at a strange angle.

“Agh!”

Ahn Soo Ho picked up the gun that he dropped.

“A Luger, huh? You have interesting taste.”

“Ugh!”

He plopped down while grabbing his broken wrist, he still managed to use his head.

‘How?’

He hadn’t done anything in Korea to draw any attention. So how did he find him? Ahn Soo Ho looked at Shay Leeper’s suspicious gaze and smirked.

“Cranky.”

“Damn it!”

He understood immediately. The prestige of the top three hackers in the world was not to be taken lightly. Alexa, Kosino, and Cranky established a monitoring system in the Korean peninsula, and it was more precise than anything else.

“Leeper. The only reason why I let you off was because I didn’t feel threatened by you.”

Shay Leeper felt cold sweat on his back.

“But don’t be nervous. I’m not here to kill you, but you have to do something for me. Think of it as a deal.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Huh? Do you want to refuse?”

“No, Sir.”

As soon as Ahn Soo Ho smiled and tapped his Luger back and forth, Shay Leeper changed his attitude.

“What should I do?”

“It’s simple.”

Ahn Soo Ho smiled brighter.

“Put on a mask for me.”

******

The national reformation committee that President Lee Joong Hyun announced was still at the beginning stages. However, Ahn Soo Ho acted independently. It was possible that Lee Joong Hyun wanted Ahn Soo Ho to do this in the first place.

‘I’ll break up the country’s attention just like you wanted.’

Ahn Soo Ho had a good sense of the Blue House and the president’s inner thoughts. Wanting to volunteer for the people was all bullshit. Lee Joong Hyun was probably in the middle of looking for weaknesses in his opponents. There were very few Korean presidents that remained pure until the end.

When Ahn Soo Ho opened another press conference only hours after the previous one, the reporters looked at him with sparkling eyes. The fact that he held it at Daesan Hotel made it into a black comedy.

“It’s nice to see you again. I’m starting to get attached.”

“Haha.”

Since they already got quite the scoop earlier, the reporters were pretty easy-going. And that made them very understanding.

“I asked all of you back here because I have a question.”

He saw invisible question marks over the reporters’ heads.

“How much do you know about Korea National Association?”

“Korea National Association?’

The reporter at the very front accepted his question.

“That’s right. Korea National Association… They stirred up an issue last year, didn’t they? What was the headline again?”

“Korea’s Bohemian Club.”

The reporter that answered was actually Ahn Soo Ho’s informant. He heard mumbling. Another reporter held up their hand so he gave them the mic.

“Do you believe that conspiracy theory, CEO Ahn?”

“Conspiracy theory…? Why do you think that?”

“Because it doesn’t make sense.”

When the candlelight vigils hit Korea, the country was swept over with unconfirmed rumors, and what followed was a coverage attempting to uncover the truth behind the group that ruled over Korea following its independence. The reporters mixed in rumors that were more believable and then claimed that they didn’t know what they exactly were.

The public was uncertain and soon forgot once other reports covered it up, but veteran reporters knew the truth. Korea National Association truly existed, and they had influence over almost every part of the country. Just like how Daesan Group invested in private schools and scholarships, Korea National Association invested in education as well.

But in contrast to Daesan Group who used their own Daesan Brand, Korea National Association fostered their own talents through multiple private schools and scholarship foundations. There were probably some reporters here who finished school with the help of the Korea National Association. Both the Daesan Group and Korea National Association were deep-rooted in Korean society.

Ahn Soo Ho saw a few of the reporters looking away.

‘Could it be?’

History was not to be ignored.

“I don’t think Korea National Association is just an illusion.”

“Do you have proof?”

“Of course.”

As soon as Ahn Soo Ho flicked his finger, the room dimmed and a projector flashed a screen onto the wall. The profiles and photos that came up as well as the names that accompanied them were enough to shock the reporters.

“What do you think business is? Producing talents that engage in innovate research in order to produce fresh products that will sell on the market? That’s true, too. But in my opinion, global businesses actually…”

Ahn Soo Ho made eye contact with all of the reporters.

“Steal.”

They stole.

“Original talents? You can steal them by offering better conditions. Innovative research? As long as you pay for the patent, it’s yours. Fresh products? Nothing is completely new in this world. What’s truly important is good marketing.”

What survived in the world’s market wasn’t the content but the wrapping. Functionality and quality were just the basics and in order to get the public’s attention, they needed publicity. Image strategies was a very profitable business. Ahn Soo Ho turned around and pointed at the profiles and photos on the screen.

“You probably know some of these faces.”

There was a combination of black-and-white photos, lesser quality colored photos as well as good quality colored photos. They even saw Lee Geun Taek who was now dead. The key members of the Korea National Association were all capable people.

“The most important thing in business is knowing what I have. Then what comes after that?”

No reporter answered Ahn Soo Ho’s question.

“Knowing what your competitors have. Oh, but don’t misunderstand. I didn’t put together what you’re looking at right now. If you want to know where it came from… then let’s just say it was from a nosy neighbor.”

They groaned about suspecting it was China and Japan.

“I’m sure none of you believe that all battles are legal. What the public misunderstands is that there is no power with vested rights that we always talk about. That’s because differentiating classes really depends on what your standards are.”

Individuals who were earning 20 million, 40 million and 80 million won a year were the ones who had vested rights. In a nutshell, people who were earning better were the ones with vested rights.

“I didn’t mean to go off-topic… Anyway, following our country’s ruin from war, the miracle on the Han River happened. Look around you. Korea is now a pretty decent country. Wouldn’t you agree?”

What he was saying was a compliment, but it sounded like ridicule.

“There’s a very large trap in this. Think about it. Is it possible to make something out of nothing?”

When they talked about the economy, they always talked about dept. The country, its corporations, and its shops all had dept. Why? Because the capitalist system functions based on debt. Without debt, Korea’s current market couldn’t exist. In order to revive from the ruins of war, Korea had to be in debt.

“Here’s a question! Who did we have to be indebted to? America? Japan?”

There was one record that wasn’t recorded in Korea’s modern history. Did anyone believe that the rich people of today actually became what they were today with nothing to start with? That was why there were Koreans who dreaded the Dresden File as well.

Ahn Soo Ho gestured for the screen to change.

“The Five Eulsa Traitors sold out the country and Korea National Association…”

The image was of a Korean who robbed the Joseon Dynasty’s wealth and fortune 500 years ago. The Joseon royals were certainly no comparison to that of England, but there had to be a fair amount of wealth and fortune that were maintained for 500 years.

“They’re the thieves that robbed the royal family. They’re the traitors.”

< Protect – Episode 170 – Korea National Association [1] > The end.

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