Cheonmun (2)
Splash! Water poured over the father and son who were sleeping as if unconscious.
"Kkeok! Keok, cough! Cough!" Oh Hyeon-seung, the second chairman of Cheonmun Group, coughed and trembled. The old man lying next to him, Oh Seong-moon, also gasped for breath and opened his eyes through his wet hair.
They had been on a ship for illegal emigration before passing out, and now they woke up in a place they had never seen before, looking quite flustered.
"… Where, where is this! Manager Kang? Where's Manager Kang!" "Manager Kang?"
He's Chairman Oh Seong-moon's right-hand man. Team 2 sent him to the bottom of the sea earlier.
He was looking for some man like a madman, so I wondered who it was, but it turned out to be the guy who went on a trip to the bottom of the West Sea earlier.
"Ah, that guy. He went to see the ocean, and now it's your turn."
There was a man who resisted violently on the ship; I guess that was him.
"… Who are you? How dare you do this, knowing who we are!"
Oh Seong-moon shouts with the aura of a former gang boss.
Outwardly he's shouting and acting tough, but I can see the tremor he can't hide, which just makes me laugh.
"An old man like you shouting… you might drop dead from that."
Oh Seong-moon's voice, which had been shouting with veins bulging in his neck, quiets down.
"What do you want… money? Is it money?"
"Everyone says the same thing. Jin-cheol was dragged in a few days ago and asked if he could pay with money too."
"Jin-cheol? Park Jin-cheol?"
Maybe because they think Park Jin-cheol is the one who exposed their dirty secrets, they shout again with renewed vigor at the sound of his name.
"Was it you? Did you bribe Park Jin-cheol and the captain?"
"I did kidnap Park Jin-cheol… but who's the captain?"
Probably the captain of the illegal emigration ship they were on.
Let him think whatever he wants.
"Enough with the useless talk. Do you remember the trader you ordered killed about ten years ago?"
At the very least, they should know why they've ended up like this for me to enjoy tormenting them.
"How, how could I remember that… How many orders do I give in a day?"
I asked Oh Seong-moon, but maybe because of his age, he doesn't remember.
"Then do you remember, son? If at least one of you remembers, I might feel a bit better."
I didn't expect much, but I asked anyway, and the son, Oh Hyeon-seung, also doesn't remember.
"Man… that's fucked up, isn't it? The perpetrator doesn't remember, only the victim does."
I let out a sigh and separate Oh Seong-moon and Oh Hyeon-seung.
"After I learned the truth, I thought about it a lot. How to make it as painful as possible."
So many ideas came to mind that I had trouble choosing which one to go with.
"Tormenting someone as old as you won't really get me anything, so from now on, your son will take all the pain in your place."
At my words, Oh Seong-moon shouts to kill him instead, while his son Oh Hyeon-seung's face turns pale.
"Um, sir. I'm really sorry, but I don't remember what this is about, but wasn't the order given by my father? So doing this to me is a bit…"
The father says he'll take the pain himself, but the son is shifting the blame to his elderly parent.
"Your family is really something. Jin-cheol is quite thorough, isn't he? He recorded your voices very vividly."
I take out a recorder from my pocket and play it. The voices of Oh Seong-moon ordering to kill his father and Oh Hyeon-seung chiming in to cover it up as a car accident flow out.
"Is that enough of an answer? You have to suffer the same way. Trying to slip out alone?"
Their shameless and sneaky behavior pissed me off, so I first pulled out all their fingernails and toenails.
"I couldn't sleep at night after hearing that recording, but I think I'll sleep well tonight."
Seeing Oh Hyeon-seung writhing in pain, unable to scream because his mouth is gagged, and Oh Seong-moon crying as he watches, I feel all the stress of the past few days melt away.
Are you really not going to touch Oh Seong-moon?
No. When he starts to feel comfortable that he's not suffering, I'll do the same to Oh Seong-moon.
When he's at ease in his heart that he's not in pain, that's the timing I want.
I had been torturing them since dawn using various drugs developed by Athena, and it was already morning.
I see Oh Hyeon-seung, his body torn apart, drooling, and Oh Seong-moon staring blankly at his son, as if he has no more tears to shed.
"Heal them up. I'll come back and torment them again when I feel like it."
These are people I'll use over and over, so they can't break yet.
What should I do with them until you come next time?
"Do whatever you want. I don't care if you do biological experiments or anything."
I won't kill them, but I'll make them suffer forever in a state where death would be better. At this point, I feel like I've avenged my parents who died unjustly.
Before returning to Seoul, I stare blankly at the rising sun, and suddenly tears come.
"Ah… why am I like this."
My parents' faces come to mind, and my nose stings.
"I should visit them once this is over. I went last year, but I haven't been this year."
Once the Cheonmun acquisition is complete, I'll go to my parents' grave.
Inside the isolation room of the Bio Center, where no one remains after the group left.
There, three men are tied up after receiving treatment.
"Park Jin-cheol… Park Jin-cheol, you son of a bitch…"
Oh Seong-moon knows from Hyeok's words that Park Jin-cheol is also a victim like them, but in this extreme situation, he needs someone to blame.
Zing-
The sound of an automatic door opening is heard, and as they turn their eyes, robots begin to walk in.
With no people, only metal robots surrounding them, the three men stop their argument and gulp, staring at the robots.
My master is kind by nature and an ordinary person, so he has limits, but I don't have such things, you know?
"Wh… who are you?"
Oh Seong-moon, who had been glaring at Park Jin-cheol, asks in a trembling voice.
Of course, Athena didn't feel the need to answer that question.
I don't particularly need you, but since it's my master's order, I'll make it as painful as possible.
Before starting the real work, various antipsychotic drugs and hormone controllers are administered to prevent their minds from breaking.
When I think about what you did to my precious master, it feels like my circuits are burning.
Athena, having seen her master stressed and crying because of these people worse than insects, decided not to show them an ounce of mercy.
Shall I start by extracting their testicles?
Since all three are men, she starts with the part that is as important as life to a man.
"Don't come… I said don't come!!!!"
Hearing that, Park Jin-cheol and Oh Hyeon-seung scream as if having a seizure, but the emotionless robots, following orders, tie them to the bed and bind their limbs.
"Aaaaaaah!!!!"
Maybe because I had accumulated fatigue from irregular sleep, I ended up sleeping for 8 hours in the car.
"Ughhhhhh."
Even though the Maybach's back seat has been modified to be more comfortable, it's still a car, so my neck and back are stiff.
If you're tired, shall we just go home?
"No, it's fine. Since I'm here, I might as well do some work."
It was definitely morning when I closed my eyes, but when I open them, it's afternoon.
I greet Team 2, who are staying by the vehicle for equipment inspection, and open the door to Black Ridge Capital's office where Arthur is.
Everyone has signed non-disclosure agreements, so I pass by the reasonably trustworthy people and head straight to the president's office.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Arthur, I'm here."
As I open the door and enter, I see Arthur, wearing glasses and watching a monitor.
"Boss, long time no see."
"Indeed. How are things?"
It's not a conglomerate that dominates Korea, but it's still big, so the repercussions will be quite large.
"The stock market took quite a big shock. It's blown up quite a bit, involving subcontractors as well."
He shows me various graphs and explains; the repercussions were bigger than I thought.
"How did the deals with the banks go?"
"The deals went quickly, as if the political circles also want this resolved fast. We secured 25% from three agreed banks, and when panic selling poured in today, we swept up from the bottom, securing a total of 42% now."
"If you need anything additional, let me know. We still have some sources to drop the stock price."
"There's no need for that. The owner family has disappeared, so it will drop tomorrow too; the process will be over soon."
As Arthur finishes speaking, Athena displays several articles in front of me.
All kinds of negative news were covering Korea.
'The repercussions are bigger than I thought. If we had released everything we had, it would have been delisted.'
Seeing that this is the result of releasing only a portion, I think it was a good decision not to release everything.
"Looking at how things are going, it will drop tomorrow too. Contact me when the purchase is complete."
"Understood. But if you acquire it, will you manage it directly?"
"Of course not. I'll just appoint a professional manager. I took one semester of business administration and then took a leave of absence, so I know nothing."
It's a group between a mid-sized and a large company; if I did it myself, there would be a lot of talk.
"The owners are the worst, but the governance structure is well set up. It's neatly organized in a vertical structure, so it's easy to swallow."
Arthur seems uninterested in what happens to the owners, only focused on the work.
"Well, anyway, good work. I'm a bit tired, so I'll head in first."
I'll get a good day's rest and think.