8. Slave
8. Slave
"Who do you think were the biggest power brokers after liberation?"
She's leading the conversation in a quiz format now, as if she's really enjoying herself.
"Pro-Japanese collaborators?"
I, too, answer as if I'm a model student.
"That's right. They were the intellectuals and the people who held key positions during the Japanese colonial period.
They had a dilemma.
The assets left behind by the Japanese they were close to, the past they built by selling out their own countrymen, and the social system that had been their shield—it all changed from the Government-General of Korea to the U.S. military and the Republic of Korea government.
Now, society was no longer safe for them to protect their power."
It's easy to imagine, almost like it's a given.
"So, they pooled their strength and formed an organization.
At first, it was to protect themselves.
The wealthy helped with money, the gangsters with violence, and journalists and politicians helped fellow members in their respective fields."
I couldn't say it in front of her, a member of the organization, but I thought, 'What a bunch of assholes.'
"And as time passed, they rose to positions where they weren't the ones fearing someone else, but the ones who could instill fear in others.
Now, they started using that power for their own illegal desires."
Illegal desires. Probably like my father's.
Desires that arise when you have everything, desires that shouldn't exist in a society ruled by law.
"There were sexual desires like Mr. Kim Gyeong-hak's, and there are also the unrevealable collecting desires of collectors.
There was a need to erase the corruption of politicians, and among scholars, there is a desire for honor."
It's the kind of story you only hear in urban legends.
However, I found it funny that it felt more realistic because it was an organization that existed solely for ugly desires, rather than for religious or economic reasons.
"Well, basically, it's an organization where we help each other out."
I roughly understand what kind of organization it is, but the scale of it is worrying.
The internet has already moved beyond the monitor and is now in our hands via smartphones.
In this information age, the fact that the organization's secrets are kept means it's truly a massive entity.
"At some point, being a member of the organization became a form of power in itself.
You can't join the organization with money alone, but the required amount alone is about 10 billion Hwan."
Hearing her explanation, I think I understand why she didn't even blink at such a mind-boggling inheritance.
She's a high-ranking figure even in an organization like this.
But why is she telling me these secrets?
Is she asking me to join?
The required amount alone is over 10 billion Hwan.
Payment would be possible, but I'd have to pay a significant portion of the inheritance I received, and as of now, I have no intention of fulfilling any illegal desires.
Seeing me like that, she smiled slyly.
"Don't worry. I won't eat you. Noona isn't a bad person."
Ah, now I get it.
I've felt this chilling sensation from this woman before.
Probably my mother.
Of course, her ability is incomparable to my mother who runs a small company, but I can feel the aura of a truly scary person.
From her, with her bright expression, I can feel my mother, who is consistently expressionless.
"I mentioned the transfer of ownership earlier, right? It's Mr. Kim Gyeong-hak's membership.
It can't be measured in money, but if I had to put a number on it, it would be worth about 20 billion Hwan."
"Is a transfer of ownership even possible?"
"Yes, of course.
That's why I, an Orchid rank, came here."
I hadn't thought about it, but obviously, a woman that important wouldn't have come here personally just to do some lawyer work.
"If I refuse the transfer, do I get buried somewhere for hearing these secrets?"
I asked half-jokingly, half-terrified.
"Of course not.
Even if Mr. Seonmin talks about it outside, people will just treat you like a crazy person.
And there are quite a few people who know about the organization even if they aren't members. Like people who want to become members..."
As expected, this wasn't an organization that struggled to keep secrets.
Rather, it was an organization with such immense power that it wouldn't even blink if its secrets were revealed.
I don't really need the membership, but I'm afraid of incurring their wrath by ignoring a membership that is like their pride and joy.
"Is the fee for the transfer of rights the 200 million Hwan you mentioned earlier?"
"Yes."
"If I become a member, do I have to do what I'm told from above?"
"No. Basically, everyone is equal.
Higher ranks just have more things they can request."
"So it's an organization that helps each other, but helping is voluntary?"
"You're quick to understand.
Members post what they want on the Community.
For example, 'I want to drink coffee at the top of Namsan.'
Then someone with time on their hands takes the request and runs the errand.
In return, they receive the organization's currency owned by the requester.
And with that currency, they make their own requests.
Like, 'Get me concert tickets for the singer Park Hye-seon.' Something like that."
If she isn't hiding anything, it doesn't seem like something to worry too much about, just based on the explanation.
"I think I get it. If you collect a lot of that currency, your rank goes up, and so on."
"Noona likes that you're smart, Mr. Seonmin.
That's right. It's not just about the currency; you have to go through an evaluation, but basically, you have to collect currency to raise your rank."
"So, things like the slave purchasing my father did—if a new member did that, it could cause problems for the organization.
You can't do it at the Bamboo rank, so you'd have to be at least at the Chrysanthemum rank, right?"
"Impressive. Don't you want to work under Noona?"
She laughs brightly, stands up, and strokes my hair.
I feel like I'm getting a visual and olfactory treat from her chest, which has come right in front of me.
The smell of shampoo and perfume, and a chest that would surely be soft.
The outline of her bra visible through her pulled-tight blouse as she strokes my hair.
Being teased by her didn't feel bad.
"So, you came here to handle the inheritance and the collection items because you were requested to do so by members?"
"That's right. I'm an Orchid rank, but I have to aim for the Plum Blossom rank someday."
I called her Noona casually since she kept saying Noona, Noona, and she didn't seem to mind.
Even higher ranks perform requests from lower ranks.
It really doesn't seem like there's a strict hierarchy.
"Then, if I register as a member and do nothing, is that okay?"
"If you knew the value of the membership, you wouldn't do something so stupid, but basically, it's fine if you do nothing."
Doing nothing with a membership worth 20 billion Hwan would indeed be ridiculous. But since I'm only paying 200 million Hwan, I don't need to be that obsessed with it.
Ah, 200 million Hwan doesn't seem like that much money anymore.
The frog quickly forgets its days as a tadpole.
"Then, please go ahead with the transfer of rights."
"Since the items to be disposed of are worth about 1.1 billion Hwan, I'll deduct it from there and return the rest."
Wow... I didn't know those junk-like items were worth 1.1 billion Hwan.
They said the first, largest statue was worth 90 million Hwan, but I had no idea the rest of the junk was that valuable.
"However, what's being transferred is the membership, not the rank.
You have to start at the Bamboo rank.
You have to climb up to the Chrysanthemum rank with your own strength, Mr. Seonmin."
Fair enough.
Rank is a device to distinguish reliability along with contribution within the organization.
It would be strange for an outsider who just inherited it to get close to the center of the organization.
Well, it was a story that had nothing to do with me anyway.
"Yes. That's fine."
I decided to go ahead with the transfer of the membership.
Still, questions remain.
I know it's a powerful organization.
I know that if they set their minds to it, they can ignore the rules of society.
But how can they maintain a slavery system in modern society without changing the law?
If a person who became a slave sets their mind to it, they can post it on the internet. In this era where media is developed.
If they even uploaded a video to YouTube, it would be the end for any power broker.
They might be able to gloss over it once or twice, but if it happens two or three times, even an ordinary person like me would know.
Are they people who were born as slaves and brainwashed to obey from the start?
"What kind of people are those slaves?"
"They are people who sold their lives to the organization."
She slowly explains how the organization gets its hands on slaves.
It always starts with illegal loans.
Everyone has times in their life when they need money for various reasons.
If you're someone with financial leeway, you can solve it with spare cash, but those who don't have that eventually have to take out a loan.
However, loans are even harsher to those who have nothing.
Paying much higher interest is still okay. Compared to being rejected for a loan.
People who can solve it with Tier 1 banks are done with that. But those who can't get Tier 1 loans have to walk an increasingly harsh path.
From Tier 1 to Tier 2, lowering the grade, and in the end, many people have no choice but to turn to private loan sharks.
That's when the organization makes its move.
The organization identifies them in advance and makes a very suspicious proposal to someone they think has value as a slave.
"We will lend you 500 million Hwan for one year, interest-free and unsecured.
It's a private transaction that leaves no record in financial history.
However, if you cannot repay it after one year, you hand your life over to the organization and become a slave for 10 years."
If you are even 100 Hwan short, it is considered a failure to repay.
Even if you try to run away by filing for bankruptcy, fleeing overseas, or asking for help from judicial authorities, we can catch you whenever we want. But the more you do that, the longer your period as a slave becomes.
This deal, which would sound absurd to an ordinary person, is like a last lifeline to someone backed into a corner.
Most hesitate, looking a bit worried, but eventually, they sign the life-waiver agreement.
And what's really surprising is that about half of them succeed in repaying and end their connection with the organization.
For the organization, it was a transaction of time and monetary loss, but they don't touch them beyond that.
It's said to be one of the few rules necessary for the organization to be maintained.
The problem is the failures.
People who were backed into a corner and finally got a breather forget the danger that will come in a year.
Even though being backed into a corner means their own financial situation isn't good, they forget in the face of a 500 million Hwan loan.
They try hard to ignore the anxiety, but when there are about 3 months left until the repayment deadline, that's when the fire hits their feet.
Loans from other financial institutions are already impossible.
As mentioned earlier, even if they try to run away somehow, it's impossible.
In the end, they have no choice but to be dragged into the organization.
The point where the organization really seems to have meticulously created the slavery system is the setting of the period.
The slave time suggested by the organization is 10 years.
After 10 years of slave life, the value of that human being is mostly lost anyway.
Also, if they had to live as slaves for the rest of their lives, they would give up on life, or they would have nothing to fear, making them difficult to control.
But a specific deadline of 10 years.
It becomes the final driving force that allows them to endure even if it's hard.
Just like soldiers dragged into mandatory military service.
On top of that, the organization secretly prepares one more carrot.
When the 10 years are over and they are liberated, they will prepare 100 million Hwan as severance pay.
Slaves cherish the hope that they can return to a human life after 10 years, rather than a desire for money.
If someone failed to repay the 500 million Hwan because they only had about 480 million Hwan, they could have a large sum of nearly 600 million Hwan after 10 years.
In this way, the organization invests 600 million Hwan to get their hands on a slave.
A human being's 10 years of life is traded for a mere 600 million Hwan.
The place those who have given up go to first is the organization's Conditioning facility.
After a few months of Conditioning, they go to an auction and are sold to members of the Chrysanthemum rank or higher who want to purchase them.
The base price is about 1.5 billion Hwan, but if multiple people want them, they can be traded for tens of billions through an auction.
Slaves who fail to sell go to a few more auctions, and if they are judged to be hopeless, they are sold for a pittance to more dangerous places, not to individuals.
They have to deal with an unspecified number of people on deep-sea fishing vessels that sail for several years, or in facilities in remote areas like islands.
And once the purchase is confirmed, the slave receives additional Conditioning according to the owner's wishes and is handed over to the owner.
A quiet cup of tea with a calm beauty in a stylish tea room.
But the words coming out of her mouth are such unrealistic and chilling stories about organizations and slaves.
Perhaps because she likes me, she tells me a few more stories.
In fact, sometimes the organization makes social and financial obstacles for the target from the beginning, creating a situation where they have no choice but to find the organization,
Or when the target's value is assessed as high, loans of 10 billion Hwan, not 500 million, are exchanged,
And that slaves are not people suffering from poverty, but ordinary and somewhat wealthy people who turn to the organization to invest or prevent bankruptcy.
The members were setting their own rules and cleverly poking at the gaps.
"Then, this is the wrap-up for today's work."
She said, summarizing the story.
The last inheritance to be handled.
"Let's talk about the disposal of Mr. Kim Gyeong-hak's slaves."