## Chapter 129 – 129. Go Nam-Seok
#129. Go Nam-seok
Somewhere on the outskirts of Seoul, a stately traditional Korean house stood with a subtle presence in a place where no one passed by.
In front of the building, people got out of several luxury sedans.
Moonlight Pavilion (月華亭).
This place was a high-end bar, a ‘yojung,’ frequented by members of the upper class, such as politicians, high-ranking officials, and businessmen, for secret socializing and entertainment.
To create a luxurious and discreet atmosphere while blocking the outside world, numerous security barriers were plastered not only on the walls but also on the building itself.
“Haha! Chairman Jung, it’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Well, I’m just the same as always. But you, District Head, you look much healthier! Have you been taking some kind of elixir?”
Go Nam-seok, the head of Sujeong District in Seongnam City, and Jung Chun-beom, the chairman of the redevelopment promotion committee, showed off their friendship as they headed inside the Moonlight Pavilion.
Following the staff’s guidance, they entered a room where people had already gathered, chatting and laughing.
“Oh, District Head! You’ve arrived.”
The first to rise at the district head’s appearance was Choi Ho-chang, the president of DK Construction, one of the construction companies selected for the Taepeyong-dong redevelopment project.
Despite being sixty years old, he was still quite robust, but the large and small wounds and scars covering his face represented his life.
Besides him, there were also presidents from other construction companies, city council members from Seongnam City Council, local dignitaries, and even media representatives.
Surpassing all of them and sitting at the head of the table was none other than Go Nam-seok, the head of Sujeong District.
Go Nam-seok sat down with a friendly smile and picked up a glass. The people who had been waiting without even touching their chopsticks, despite the food getting cold, finally took hold of their glasses.
No matter how you looked at it, the attitude towards a mere district head was excessive.
“Well, shall we all have a toast together? The District Head will give us a wonderful toast, and we’ll all repeat it!”
“Haha, shall I?”
The Jangbaek Society (長白會) was a cartel created by politicians, businessmen, and local dignitaries in Seongnam City, and Go Nam-seok was its second-in-command and the younger brother of the Black Mountain (黑山) Guild’s leader.
In terms of size alone, the Jangbaek Society was one of the three largest in Gyeonggi Province.
Gathered without distinguishing political colors, they were involved in various projects, giving each other various privileges and taking unfair profits for many years.
“May all things be accomplished (萬事亨通), may heaven and earth grant lasting fortune (天池長福)! For a bountiful harvest, a great abundance (大豊)!”
““A great abundance!!””
Between the clinking glasses, dirty stories of bribery and sexual favors were exchanged. The female employees pouring drinks next to those men didn’t even show any reaction, as if it were a familiar occurrence.
“Director Jo, I was in your debt in many ways last time. Thanks to you, we were able to proceed with the redevelopment project without any hiccups.”
“Haha, don’t mention it. Isn’t it all public service for the country and the people?”
“That’s right, but the problem is that too many people don’t know that.”
“Tsk, tsk, aren’t the people all like that? They need to see the big picture, but they only look at what’s right in front of them.”
In modern society, they forced the redevelopment by even mobilizing hired thugs, creating hundreds of evictees, but not a single article was published about it.
It was clearly strange, but the people gathered here were the power holders of the modern era who made it possible.
Of course, the biggest reason was that the number of remaining residents wasn’t that large, thanks to the gate break that occurred in the Taepeyong-dong area decades ago, which killed and injured many people.
They forcibly evicted the few remaining residents through threats and persuasion, and even bribed the editor-in-chief of a fairly large media company to prevent any unnecessary noise.
As a result, the fact that the Jangbaek Society intervened in the selection of construction companies, received kickbacks from various construction companies, and embezzled the difference by setting the construction cost higher than the actual cost was buried forever without anyone knowing.
Of course, their corruption wasn’t limited to that.
Under the direction of the Gyeonggi Province governor, who was the head of the Jangbaek Society, the embezzlement of resident compensation money, the appropriation of land transaction profits, and the amount obtained by inflating service fees and design fees amounted to tens of billions of won.
“By the way, there are quite a few protesters in front of City Hall.”
Go Nam-seok’s words caused the atmosphere to cool down.
“…I will take care of that matter urgently, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
Go Nam-seok’s eyes flickered with murderous intent as he looked at his aide, who was hastily answering while sweating. Among those present, there was no one who didn’t know how cruel Go Nam-seok was.
“There’s only one chance.”
“…I will keep that in mind.”
In the tense atmosphere, they shared glasses again, and the atmosphere soon became ripe.
As the night deepened and dawn approached, Go Nam-seok was the first to leave.
“I’ll head in first, so you all enjoy yourselves.”
“Ah, no. My wife has been nagging me lately, so I was thinking of heading in too.”
“Haha, my kids are saying they miss their dad so much, I have to get up before it gets too late.”
“M-me too.”
“Ahem… As I get older, it’s not easy to stay at drinking parties for long.”
If they were to stay here any longer, they might be branded as traitors dreaming of rebellion.
The Black Mountain Guild, whose leader was the older brother of District Head Go Nam-seok, was a place that straddled the line between white guilds that operated within the bounds of the law and black guilds that committed illegal acts with the backing of powerful figures.
If they didn’t want to be involved in a mysterious traffic accident or go missing, they had to act like dogs always showing their bellies.
Thus, receiving their farewells, the vehicle carrying Go Nam-seok cut through the darkness.
“Fire.”
The aide sitting next to him quickly lit his cigarette.
Hoo, the car filled with thick smoke. It was a special cigarette with a slight narcotic component.
“Useless bastards. What can I do with those kinds of guys?”
Go Nam-seok was always displeased with the fact that he was just a district head.
If it weren’t for the current Seongnam Mayor, Lee Woon-ryong, he would have been able to further solidify his position as mayor, not just a district head.
But at least within Seongnam, there was no politician who could beat Lee Woon-ryong.
However, dealing with him was out of the question because the Black Mountain Guild had recently been under the Hunter Association’s scrutiny due to various allegations.
If Mayor Lee Woon-ryong were to die in an accident in the current situation, the association would suspect him and the Black Mountain Guild in all likelihood, and this would surely lead to an internal investigation.
The method of sacrificing guild members as scapegoats no longer worked.
“Hey.”
“Yes, District Head.”
“First, take care of that bastard Jang Il-hoon. He’s been going in and out of the mayor’s office lately, so we need to set an example so that other bastards don’t have other ideas…”
“District Head!”
In the district head’s view, who was continuing to speak, the driver was jumping towards him. And an explosion occurred beyond the front windshield.
KWA-AAAAANG!!!
***
I, who had been observing the situation near the road where there were no passing cars, walked towards the vehicle that was crashed into the guardrail and burning.
The condition of the vehicle was better than expected. Well, it would be greedy of me to expect a fireball, a 1st circle magic, to destroy a vehicle worth hundreds of millions.
Moreover, in order not to reveal that the attacker was a magician, it had the same power as the most commonly sold fireball scroll on the market.
The fireball that hadn’t been modified was at least three times weaker than the fireball I usually used.
“So that’s why, no one died.”
“S-save me…”
I stared blankly at the man crawling on the ground.
He had burns all over his body, but he was still breathing, whether he had put out the fire himself.
However, the vehicle was half-destroyed by the impact of the guardrail colliding strongly in the previous accident. The probability of him surviving, having taken that impact with his bare body, was slim.
“P-please…! I’ll give you as much money as you want…!!”
If he didn’t receive church treatment and surgery right now, he wouldn’t last long before dying.
“Jung Man-gyu, 31 years old. Go Nam-seok’s aide, received kickbacks from the chairman of the Taepeyong-dong Redevelopment Promotion Committee and the union leader, and hired thugs under Go Nam-seok’s instructions to threaten and drive out residents.”
“T-that was also unavoidable…”
“Yeah, I guess so. To keep your job, you had to follow what your boss told you to do. That must have been the only way to protect your family.”
I ignored Jung Man-gyu, who was desperately begging for his life, and passed him by.
“But do you know what? Dozens of families were shattered and people committed suicide because of that unavoidable choice. If you’re an adult, take responsibility for ignoring your guilt and the pain of others.”
The voices of Jung Man-gyu begging for his life, resenting, and cursing from behind soon ceased to be heard.
Only cold, congealed blood was staining the asphalt road.
“…Do you know who this person is and you’re doing this?”
A scarred man who had blocked me from heading towards Go Nam-seok muttered in a low voice. A composed murderous intent, at least a C-class or higher.
“I’m not a terrorist, would I do this to a citizen I don’t know?”
My current fashion, which didn’t allow for any exposure, let alone my face, was proving that I was an assassin.
I quietly took out a dagger from my chest.
[Viper’s Fang
Grade: Rare
Increases the power of attacks from behind.
Reduces the user’s presence.
Grants a certain chance to inflict a poison effect on the target upon hit.
Allows the use of ‘Wind Walk’]
I never imagined the day would come when I would use this. I even had a roughly obtained iron sword strapped to my waist, just in case.
But looking at the level of the man in front of me, it didn’t seem like I would even need to draw the sword.
Creak, the muscles that had expanded beneath the black robe twitched.
That’s why I can’t stop using auxiliary magic, even if it consumes a lot of mana. My physical abilities have been enhanced by at least two times or more.
“What are you doing, you bastard! Quickly take care of that guy!”
“…Hoo.”
Go Nam-seok, who was diligently applying pressure to the wound with a handkerchief, shouted. The man sighed and took a stance.
“I thought you would run away.”
“I want to, but even if I run away from here, the enraged guild leader will chase me to the end of the earth and kill me, and on top of that, my family, as well as my relatives, will be annihilated.”
“Pitiful.”
“Are you going to save me?”
“No?”
“…Fucking hell.”
“Think about it the other way around. The people you’ve killed so far must have begged to be saved like you are now, but have you ever granted that?”
“…”
The man must have judged that further conversation was meaningless, as he charged towards me with daggers in both hands.
