episode_0835

Mid-February, Valentine’s Day. A high-end restaurant in Seomyeon, Busan.

Most bars in Busan have the concept of ‘tavern’ or ‘pocha’.

The main purpose is to sell alcohol in a noisy atmosphere, and the ‘Dongdongju’ and ‘Makgeolli’ sold to foreigners cost over 10,000 won per bottle.

soju?

It costs about 3,000 won per bottle, but recently there has been a lot of talk about raising the price to 4,000 won.

Some people disparage soju by calling it industrial ethanol or something, but well-made soju is sold at a fairly high price.

“Are you Jeon Mok-seong? Your group is waiting for you.”

Here, the fairy that Jeon Mok-seong arrived at is like that.

The high-end bar, built like a roof, blends modern and Joseon era styles appropriately, creating an atmosphere where high-ranking figures would frequent Seoul in the 1980s and 1990s.

Yes, the background to a scene in a drama where people who have a lot of weight order dozens of side dishes to exchange a few words, and then someone gets angry and someone says ‘Please take a look’ and walks out confidently.

It happens a few times here too, but it doesn’t happen until Valentine’s Day, which is considered a patriotic day.

Instead, in a small room at an upscale restaurant, two reporters gathered for a drink.

Grumble.

“Hey, former reporter! Welcome.”

“Ha. Senior.”

As soon as I opened the sliding door, what I saw was an intoxicated, blonde-haired reporter waving goodbye to Jeon Mok-seong.

“Have you already eaten alone?”

“Okay then. now. Come on sit down. This is called ‘ANDONG-SOJU’, which I have only heard about. A bottle costs a whopping hundred dollars?”

“It’s because I’m a foreigner. If Mr. Andong Kim had bought it, it would have been $20 per bottle.”

“Nani!”

“That’s Japanese.”

Whether the blond-haired reporter was surprised or not, Jeon Mok-seong glanced at the ceramic bottle and sat across from the senior reporter.

“Well, that’s the entry-level model.”

“…right? This is top quality, right?”

“Would you really sell a 20,000 won item for 100,000 won just to rip off a foreigner?”

“Of course! No matter how much business you run, you have to have a conscience!”

“Wouldn’t it be better if it was a karaoke fruit snack.”

“…….”

Jeon Mok-seong paid no heed to the senior knight’s increasingly hardened expression.

“Don’t worry. If there is fruit anywhere, isn’t safety guaranteed? Especially when it comes to tangerines from Jeju.”

“That’s right.”

mandarin.

There is a superstition that everything can be solved with tangerines, and in Korea, the fruit called tangerines has gained a powerful status since the last ‘black out’.

“Sir, how is it that there is nothing like this in your country? Like baguettes flying in the sky and hitting villains in the back of the head.”

“What do you think of France?”

“Lavoluchon?”

“… That’s right, but first of all, no one loves baguettes that much, right? Take a drink.”

Grrr.

The two foreigners followed the typical Korean lead and filled their soju glasses with clear soju.

“I saw your column. On the outside, he was praising the tangerine, but he was very determined to peel it.”

“It’s crazy. Does it make sense that they all refer to tangerines?”

“That’s right. That’s what the company ‘Mangryang’ wants.”

The senior reporter lowered his voice and raised his chopsticks.

“Did they really find out whether the biological father of the conceived child was Korean or not using Gyultmus paper?”

“Yes?”

“I think it’s just ‘propaganda’.”

At the words of his senior, Jeon Mok-seong adjusted his posture and sat down.

“Is there any information you were looking for?”

“Do not write articles. If you use it anyway, it will immediately result in some kind of server error.”

“That means it is top secret information. All right. So, what’s the secret?”

“If I say, ‘Anyway, I can figure it out with this ability,’ you will understand, right?”

Jeon Mok-seong groaned.

“That’s…the tangerine you mentioned…”

“Gultmus paper. The system that sprinkles blood on a tangerine peel to find out whether the father is Korean or not.”

“Are you saying it wasn’t something that was understood through this ability, but was just a performance? Since the judgment was made based on this ability, if you don’t believe it, are you doubting Korea’s 9th hero, ‘Bong Halla’?”

“Okay. Is this abuse of power? Or was it suppressed by power? Either way, people who tried to enter Neo Domino City by claiming that their unborn child was Korean were kicked out at the entrance before even applying for citizenship.”

A person who attempted to obtain citizenship by fraud.

A person who found out that he was a fraudster and tried to blackmail him out.

“What do they say about this? Is it what kids say these days, ‘Jagangducheon’?”

“That’s long gone.”

“Really? Hehe, that’s right.”

The senior reporter smiled and scratched his cheek.

“Anyway, be careful. I don’t know about other organizations, but it’s better to blackmail them like that and keep their mouths shut until they are exposed first.”

“I will write an article.”

“That’s good. One day, the moment a goblin or anyone else says that, they can immediately say ‘This is what happened’ and spread the news, thereby driving up traffic. You do it?”

“…Thank you.”

I threw out an article.

I didn’t want to handle it myself, so I handed it over to Jeon Mok-seong, but later, when I send this article out to the world, it will go under the name of Reporter Jeon Mok-seong.

“Senior…”

“Arthur. I’m content just living here. I can’t swear at all. You found my brother who went missing in China 10 years ago, and gave him an apartment in Neo Dongtan.”

“Repaying the favor?”

“In Korea, they call this ‘shameless.’ I don’t know if it’s true.”

The senior reporter smiled bitterly and filled his drink again.

“I will follow you.”

“What. Just drink comfortably. Anyway, I am someone who received help from a group, so I can’t just post articles like I did last year. Because….”

A senior reporter tapped his Taegeuk watch.

“I will become a resident of ‘Domino City’ starting March this year.”

“Yes?!”

Jeon Mo-seong got goosebumps.

“No, for what reason did you…?”

“Mental care for my brother.”

“…Yes?”

“I guess my brother was one of the people who worked hard in Hell Joseon. And my brother liked drawing still lifes? I drew pictures of what happened while I was underground, and it seemed like it had a positive effect on the people at the company. Later, when I publish a book about ‘The Truth about Hell Joseon’, I will include actual pictures as illustrations and reference materials.”

“Huh….”

Jeon Mo-seong could not understand for a moment.

“So what does that have to do with you becoming a resident of Neo Domino City…?”

“They said that ordinary citizens and their families need to live here. When asked who would be a good target, the families, acquaintances, and friends of people living in Neo Dongtan were mentioned. For some kind of psychological stability?”

“Ah.”

Most of those captured in Hell Joseon were of East Asian descent, but there were also some foreigners who went missing after traveling to China.

“Our entire family. Should I say that it was thanks to you, but anyway, thanks to you, I was able to go to Neo Domino City with my family.”

“You let me in obediently? Senior, I’m a reporter.”

“They told me to write articles freely as long as it does not infringe on privacy. What did you actually welcome? If you truly want to deal with the truth, you have to show Neo Domino City’s every move to the world.”

“I don’t quite understand. Aren’t those people just trying to mass-produce people with special abilities?”

Jeon Mok-seong cautiously opened his mouth.

“Aren’t you trying to bring in a pregnant woman who is single, mixed race, or whose child’s father is Korean, with good words, and then tell the children born from them to ‘repay them for their union in the future’?”

“I thought so too, but I’ll have to wait until later to find out.”

“Senior.”

“Isn’t it different depending on what you teach? What will I repay that favor for in the future?”

Is it an organization?

Is it a country?

Is it humanity?

Otherwise, is it peace?

“You can talk as much as you want, but you don’t know what your actual actions will be like. To watch. How they behave.”

“Senior….”

“And the most curious thing is, isn’t it a goblin?!”

Also, goblin.

“Isn’t it all thanks to Goblin that he raised S-class hero Bong Halla, created Neo Domino City, and used the Company’s funds to gather fight victims from around the world to Korea?”

“Why is that thanks to the goblin?”

“That’s right, goblins like women.”

“……”

Jeon Mok-seong was speechless for a moment.

“Do you think the goblin likes women, tries to take good care of them, and came up with this while thinking about various things? Hehe.”

“He did something like that because he was crazy about women…?”

“You must be crazy. Oh, of course I’m kidding. The thing that makes the goblin crazy is not the woman…”

The senior reporter took out a photo with a serious face.

“Aiya.”

“…….”

In the photo, taken from a distance, a young man is holding a child tightly.

“You don’t know because you don’t have children, but fathers who have children know. Ah, this person is not a fool though.”

“Isn’t this the person who got several women pregnant?”

“But you said you would take responsibility. That’s why we’re investing in Korea like this. Hey, you heard that rumor, right? A bill that the President designed mainly for his own members among the ruling party lawmakers.”

“…You mean that ridiculous bill that allows bigamy?”

Allowance of bigamy.

There are various stipulations and there will be further restrictions if discussed in the National Assembly, but at least one national hero wants to have a few more people in his three wives and concubines, so who can stop that?

“Isn’t it amazing? He got several women pregnant and changed this country to take responsibility for it all.”

“It seems really crazy.”

“Yeah, it’s crazy.Everything it emits is crazy.”

“Yes?”

“It may be new to you, but do you know where all that money comes from?”

“In America….”

“Now, you will be earning money.”

The senior reporter put his hands together in front of his mouth with a look of liberation on his face and moved them like a tentacle’s beak.

“They say you can make 10 billion won in 10 minutes on a video call.”

“……Yes?”

“Special ability consultant. I heard that the place is full of talented people who want to get goblin consulting. Uh, the name of the program…was it a golden bastard…?”

“…….”

Jeon Mok-seong started to have a headache.

“Oh, sorry. As expected, he wasn’t a bastard.”

“Of course.”

“They were just poor people.”

“…….”