Chapter 28. The Price of the Blood, Part III
Translator: Khan
Editor: RED
6.
Kim Tae-hoon and Oh Se-bum met today for the third time. However, Oh did not admit it.
“The third time, you must have miscounted the numbers? Isn’t this the second time you’ve met me at Gimpo Airport?”
Of course, to admit that today’s meeting was the third time, would be to reveal that he was in Bucheon. Oh knew what that meant.
‘Damn it.’ At this moment, Oh guessed that Kim didn’t just say that to see how he’d react suddenly.
“The distance from Namsan Tower to the Bank of Korea is about 2.2 kilometers, and it takes about half an hour to walk. Make sure we’re at the second or third meeting in half an hour.” Kim Tae-hoon was the same. He did not just say that to make a pun against Oh, and make his heart pound.
‘I’d like to kill him, but…’ Many people had died because of Oh. They were the ones who gave their lives for Kim. For the comfort of those who had died, it was necessary to mete out a clear punishment for Oh. There was enough justification.
Kim did not tease Oh, but as soon as he checked the place where Oh had watched the Gamecock die, he left a video of Oh in Bucheon with two Awakeners belonging to the Capital Defense Command. It was enough.
It was not like they were in court, to judge who was right and wrong first. The important thing was, as he said earlier, justification and excuse. The video was a justification and excuse that Kim and the Mac Guild were able to declare war against the Capital Defense Command.
‘He’s just a tool.’ But Kim did not do that. There were many reasons. For realistic reasons, the moment he killed Major Oh, he would be at war with the Capital Defense Command. Kim was confident of winning that war. He could kill all the officials of the Capital Defense Command alone. However, after the war, there would be few colleagues who would celebrate his victory. It would be a victory of sacrifice.
But the biggest reason was the advice Kim sent to himself in a dream. ‘So use him.’ Use Oh Se-bum. Kim was not emotionally drunk and did not ignore the advice he had received in return for his own death.
Above all, killing Oh would not be the end of the problem. Oh could not have done all on with his own. He was just a tool. He was not a loyal tool, just a useful one. If he shook Oh, they would be shaken.
“Then let’s move on, Jang Sung-hoon!”
“Yes, boss.”
“We’re moving.”
“You’re coming! I’ve been waiting!”
So Kim waited so that Oh’s trembling, which had just started, would spread even further.
7.
The Bank of Korea.
It was a special place in many ways, needed to manage the monetary policy of the Republic of Korea. The building was the first sign. In the city center, full of monotonous buildings, the Bank of Korea’s building was elegant and old-fashioned, like the only swan on the lake.
It was also the most symbolic safe in Korea. Since it was always a place to keep nine billion dollars worth of money for monetary policy at all times, what more explanation would be needed?
And now it was a place to store the relics of Seoul, and it had become the most important place of the Capital Defense Command, instead of the nine billion dollars worth of money that had become pieces of toilet paper if not burned for tinder.
” I’ll be right back, boss.” Jang Sung-hoon went into the safe. “I’ll pick something good.”
It was a compromise. Kim agreed to receive three national treasures from the Capital Defense Command.
It was natural to decide what to receive, but Kim wanted to choose what he wanted to receive after seeing them. Not all national treasures were relics. And even if it was not a national treasure, there might have been a much more valuable relic that was not designated as a national treasure.
Furthermore, the Capital Defense Command could give him a fake. In fact, there were fakes in museums, including the National Museum of Korea. For example, in the case of the Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje, which Kim had acquired, a replica modeled after it was displayed at the National Museum of Korea.
There was no sure way to be sure other than to see and choose it, because there was no right way to deal with the words after they gave it to him and said that he did not have the ability to use it.
On the other hand, the Capital Defense Command did not want to put the ridiculous monster Kim Tae-hoon in a place filled with relics.
Kim agreed. What if he went into the safe alone, and they closed it? Could Jang, who was waiting outside, save Kim in such a situation?
“Aha, I’m finally going to open the safe of the Bank of Korea and a nine billion dollar piggy-bank!” The compromise that came out was that Jang would pick them inside the safe. That was one of the reasons why Jang followed Kim.
For Kim, this trip to Seoul was not just a trip to Seoul, but a journey to get the price of the blood of those who had died. It was natural to be ready for myriad scenarios.
So Jang went into the safe with a watchdog, and Kim immediately spoke to his watchdog, Major Oh. “So, what’s the answer?”
Kim asked Major Oh, who was deployed to monitor him, the question he had not heard the answer to at Namsan Tower.
Major Oh stared at him instead of answering Kim’s question. During the thirty minutes from Namsan Tower to the Bank of Korea, Oh’s mind had been full of chaos. He had been thinking about it over and over again.
‘Damn it.’ But the answer did not come out. It was not a matter for the correct answer in the first place. There was only one thing, Oh’s choice. In the end, he chose.
“What do you want?” He chose to be faithful to his own interests. “You’re doing this because you want something from me.”
If Kim was just going to screw Oh, he did not have to do it like this. That was Oh’s thought, and because of that, Oh decided to deal with Kim.
“Do you admit it’s your third meeting?”
“Shit, I don’t care about that. Tell me what you want.” In addition, the choice was the least damaging choice for Oh. The grounds were simple.
‘I will die if I am an enemy to this monster.’ Oh was very scared of Kim.
Kim was not discouraged even in front of Lt. Gen. Lee Hyuk, but rather, he was provoked and acted bravely. To deal with such a monster was simply to deal with the Gamecock that drove Bucheon into a nightmare. It was a thing that would be hard for him to do.
Above all, Kim was not just a strong man. He was an assassin who had lived through strong violence. To be his target was actually a death sentence, and Oh wanted to avoid such a situation.
‘I just followed orders. There is no reason for me to pay my own blood.’ In other words, he intended to blame others for what had happened in Bucheon, if necessary.
“One thing I want to know. What method on earth did you use?”
“What?”
“I’m just curious about the way that the blue-grade monster was attracted.”
At Kim’s request, Oh’s left eyebrow soared to the sky. He did not easily understand Kim’s request.
‘Is that all?’
“If I asked you to betray the Capital Defense Command and be my dog, you wouldn’t be a dog, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
Soon after Oh understood Kim’s demands, he began to worry again. To be honest, Kim’s current demand was a far cry.
‘Is this really all?’ It was a much weaker demand than he thought. At least it did not mean that there would be a big change in Oh’s identity right now, though he admitted Kim’s demand.
Kim Tae-hoon took an SD card out of his pocket for Oh, who began to worry about it. “This is an SD card containing the original video footage of you leaving the building after killing your two fellows. If you give me an answer, I’ll just hand it over here.”
“… You might have copied it…”
“Do I have to convince you for that part?”
“… Jade Dragon Pattern Rhyton.” At that moment, Oh showed the inside of his vest with the word. Inside, there was a horn-shaped cup carved out of white jade.
Kim’s eyes turned black.
[Jade Dragon Pattern Rhyton]
=====
Jade Dragon Pattern Rhyton.
The item had a buff effect in terms of games. “With this relic, you can temporarily resist fear. And one more thing.”
At the same time, this item had one more hidden ability. “When you drink this, you become similar to monsters. Should I say that the fear of the monsters comes out of your body?”
As soon as they drink the Water of Jade Dragon, energy like a monster’s fear flows out from their entire body. Of course, weak monsters run away from the fear.
‘… if the Gamecock saw the strength, it would have been mad rather than avoiding it.’ It would have been a clear provocation for monsters like the Gamecock.
‘It’s painting a target.’ Oh used the Jade Dragon Pattern Rhyton to lure the Gamecock. More specifically, Awakeners were placed from Sejong City to Bucheon City, and they drank the Water of Jade Dragon in order.
It was similar to Hansel and Gretel. In Hansel and Gretel, if a slice of bread played a role, he used the Rhyton instead of a piece of bread so that the Gamecock would naturally reach Bucheon City after chasing the Awakeners who drank the Water of Jade Dragon.
“Is this enough as an answer? Huh?” At Oh’s question, Kim handed him the SD card he had in his hand instead.
Oh no longer spoke nonsense the moment he received it. The silence between the two continued until a man appeared outside the brightly opened door of the safe of the Bank of Korea.
“Boss!” Jang exclaimed.
8.
When Jang came out of the safe, there were three objects in his hands.
The Horse Figure Type Earthenware attracted Kim’s attention.
=====
[Horse Figure Type Earthenware – Servant Statue]
It was a statue of a servant who served the master statue Kim already had.
“Now we have only Rhyton left.” In addition, there was another national treasure similar to this one, [Horse Figure Type Earthenware – Rhyton] Of course, it was similar, but its history was completely different.
The next thing that caught his eye was a gold earring. The gold earring was not an ordinary thing to look at for Kim, an outsider to art.
“It was the first item I chose. It’s not a relic, but it’s a must-have.”
It was shining in gold color and the craftsmanship was great. Not only did the body have turtle shells, but dozens of tiny leaf-shaped things on the bottom of it were so exquisite and beautiful that they could hardly be made by human hands.
“It’s the Couple-Burial-Mound Gold Earrings.”
====
[Couple-Burial-Mound Gold Earrings]
“It’s an effect that transcends relics.”
The Couple-Burial-Mound Gold Earrings of Gyeongju was the national treasure No. 90, and had beauty and sophistication considered the best of Silla’s metal craftsmanship.
The last item was Hahoetal.
“Hahoetal…?”
“It’s not a Hahoetal that is sold as souvenirs at chicken restaurants. It is the oldest Hahoetal in Korea. national treasure No. 121! It’s a thousand-year-old item made in the 11th century!”
Of course, it wasn’t just a Hahoetal.
[Andong Hahoetal]
As Jang explained, it was the oldest existing Hahoetal among the Hahoe masks, which had endured for nearly a thousand years.
“Note that there were two types of masks, Byeongsantal and Hahoetal. But after I thought about them I brought the Yangbantal, one of the Hahoetal.”
“Why did you choose the Hahoetal?”
“I just thought you would be really strong if you wore the Hahoetal. Who knows? Will this be the boss’s trademark?” Jang’s explanation stopped there.
“Now, it’s boss’s turn.”
This time, Kim began to explain a relic to Jang who had finished explaining.
The relic was none other than Jade Dragon Pattern Rhyton which Oh showed him a little while ago.
When Jang heard the name and characteristics of the relic, he said in a low voice, “There is only one place in East Asia where there is likely to be such a level of objects, especially relics made with that level of jade.”
Jang said in a low voice that only Kim could hear, “It’s the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.”
