Chapter 27
Chapter 27
“We’ve arrived.”
With a heavy thud, the car door shut behind me. The place I’d reached was a high-rise owned by the Pungyang Jo Clan, perched in the upper layers. Countless office signs adorned the outer walls, but I just snorted inwardly at the sight. I knew full well that wasn’t what this building was for.
Of course. Even for the Pungyang Jo Clan’s precious only son, keeping his “toys” on the top floor would be a bit much.
The elevator carrying me hummed upward. The building looked at least 120 stories tall, but there were only two buttons: the entrance on the 1st floor and the VIP room at the top. That didn’t mean the whole structure was just two levels—access to the middle floors had to be through some other secret route, hidden away from guests like me.
Whirr—
As my thoughts wrapped up, the doors slid open, revealing the opulent VIP room. Joseon-style decor filled the space, but state-of-the-art optical sensors dotted every corner, and pressure sensors lined the floors.
Reporters... no, precautions against intruders from other clans, probably.
There was no way journalists could touch the Four Great Families anyway.
I stepped inside, and a cacophony assaulted my ears from the far end—moans, laughter, chatter. I headed straight for the inner chamber where the one who’d summoned me awaited.
“You called for me, young m—sigh.”
The first thing out of my mouth upon entering was a sigh.
Jo Seong-hwan, heir to the Pungyang Jo Clan. The bastard was in the middle of rolling around naked on the bed with four women.
“Oh, you’re here?”
Only then did he seem to notice me, waving lazily at the women beside him.
“Huh, what’s up? A guest for the young master?”
“We doing it together today?”
“Like hell. He’s here on business. All of you, out.”
“Yessir~”
At his gentle command, the women brushed past me toward the next room, their faces beaming.
Grinning like that, they’re no slaves... courtesans, then.
The way they eyed my clothes and flashed coy smiles on their way out confirmed it. Hustling even as they left—these girls worked hard.
I subtly deflected their business cards and shooed them off. Jo Seong-hwan watched, surprised.
“A kid your age handles that like a pro? Most guys your age turn beet red and can’t even look.”
He stood up naked. A female secretary hurried over, draping a silk outer robe around him—the kind used for undergarments. Women everywhere... Guy’s tastes were crystal clear.
“You’re Andong Kim Clan, right? Even a bastard like you. Aren’t you people supposed to forbid this shit?”
“Even Andong Kim bastards like me don’t count. The clan doesn’t treat me like a person, so their rules don’t apply.”
“Oh, right, that’s how it is?”
As I answered, I bowed my head to him as he approached.
“Thank you for inviting me, Young Master Jo Seong-hwan. I’m Kim Chang-un.”
“Yeah, yeah, cut the formal crap. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other—no need to be so stiff.”
We’ll be seeing a lot of each other.
I put on a puzzled look and glanced up.
“Seeing a lot of each other from now on?”
“Curious why?”
No. Not curious at all. I already knew everything.
Oblivious to my thoughts, he slung an arm around my shoulders.
“Our informants say you’re the one who grabbed Dokgo-seong and grilled him.”
“……”
“And right after killing him, you bolted straight to the Andong Kim Clan main house. Patriarch Kim Jung-heon was off inspecting the East Sea sector, so only Kim Hyun-woo was there.”
They monitored everyone’s location in real time, huh.
His grip on my shoulder tightened as I thought that.
“So, you met up with your shitty brother you don’t even get along with... What the hell did you tell him, huh?”
The air grew heavier. Then came Jo Seong-hwan’s words, stripped of any mirth.
“I’m asking what you whispered in that fucker Kim Hyun-woo’s ear. Huh?”
Aura seeped out, his voice laced with killing intent. Anyone who only knew his public face would be shocked. The Jo Seong-hwan the masses adored was the philanthropist aiding the poor, running charity foundations, enlisting in the Royal Guard to set an example as a yangban—a model noble. Even Kim Hyun-woo bought it, which showed how flawlessly he wore the mask.
But ripping it off like this so quick? Kid’s still a kid, after all.
He might’ve succeeded in intimidating me, but it laid bare his desperation.
“You’d better answer straight. Or I’ll snap your neck right here……”
“Dokgo-seong and his sword clan were trafficking people. And that you, Young Master, were behind it. I reported all that.”
His menacing threat cut off mid-sentence. He hadn’t expected me to be so upfront.
“But……”
As he stared blankly, I tsked loudly and shrugged.
“No matter how much I blabbed, he wouldn’t buy it. ‘A lowly bastard slandering a Great Family without proof?’ That’s what he said.”
“……What?”
I layered resignation, self-abandonment, and my genuine disgust for the clan into my voice and expression.
“So I just wasted my breath and headed back empty-handed. That’s when the Pungyang Jo Clan came looking for me.”
Acting needs emotion; lies need a thread of truth.
Jo Seong-hwan just stared, baffled.
Must be confusing as hell. He expected denial or threats about Kim Hyun-woo sniffing out his dirt... not this curveball.
He narrowed his eyes, probing. When I showed no reaction, he spoke first.
“You ratted me out. But he didn’t believe you?”
“Yes.”
Hook, line, and sinker. Asking instead of killing me outright meant he was intrigued. Intrigued meant he bought maybe 40% of my story.
Bumping that to 50% was easy.
And one more percent? Child’s play.
I pressed on without hesitation.
“Even if it was true, he said he had no interest in digging up such petty dirt himself. And that……”
Here, a little jab to stir his emotions.
“The great Jo Seong-hwan, tangled with trash like that? Not even worth considering as a rival... Gah?!”
Not worth considering as a rival.
That hit home. Aura surged into his grip on my shoulder.
“……Yeah. That’s Hyun-woo all right. Always acting like I was beneath notice from the start.”
Jackpot. Fucking hurts, you prick.
As I gritted my teeth, he slowly released his hold.
What mattered now wasn’t inferiority to Kim Hyun-woo—it was that his secret was safe. Relief flickered across his face.
“That last bit—you’re sure it’s true?”
“If not, it wouldn’t be me standing here. It’d be Royal Investigators. Right?”
“……Fair point.”
Only then did Jo Seong-hwan drop his suspicions. The trap had snapped shut.
Obviously. Everything I’d said was a lie from start to finish.
And he hadn’t seen through it.
“Fine. I’ll buy it.”
Idiot.
As I sneered inwardly, he beckoned his waiting female secretary.
“You must’ve pieced it together while grilling Dokgo-seong. What I’m up to.”
“Human trafficking?”
“Pfft, trafficking? Sounds so ugly. Let’s call it... environmental cleanup. Clearing out Hanseong’s bottom-layer trash, right?”
Environmental cleanup. Wonder what the lower levels would think of that.
As I mulled it over, his secretary handed me a small voice communicator at his signal, bowing politely.
I’d rifled Dokgo-seong’s corpse before, so I knew exactly what it was.
“A two-way communicator? Why give it to me?”
“Dokgo-seong. You’re filling his spot.”
Straight to the point, out of nowhere. I paused, then shot back.
“……Why should I?”
“You blew up him and his whole organization—the ones supplying me with ‘product.’ Cost us big time.”
My cleanup makes it my problem now? No need for logic. When a noble wants something, it happens.
Quintessential noble selfishness. That’s what most yangban were in this Joseon.
“I’ll pay handsomely. Heard you’re starting some business down below. Side gig like this should be fine, yeah?”
“……Ha.”
Gotta give the casino marketing team a bonus. Not even open yet, and word’s spreading.
But you don’t turn down a Four Great Families clan—especially Pungyang Jo.
I furrowed my brow, pretending to mull it over.
Negotiating with the second-most powerful noble heir. A bit early, but... might as well probe.
Decision made quick.
“Fine.”
I accepted.
“Perfect. I’ll contact you later, then……”
“One condition.”
I cut off his glee.
“I’ve got one question.”
“Question?”
“That ‘environmental cleanup’ you mentioned. Why do you need so much ‘product’?”
Joseon had more than just Dokgo-seong trading people. Orphans without citizenship, vagrants—plenty got snatched for organ harvesting. Even chopping off limbs to sell wasn’t illegal.
That was Joseon.
But among those traffickers, Jo Seong-hwan was an odd customer.
1. Whole humans only.
2. Alive.
Male, female, young, old—didn’t matter, as long as those two were met. He bought in bulk.
And not one ever resurfaced.
Where’d they all go? Toys to resell, like Dokgo-seong’s data suggested? Some, sure. In my past life, Mu-young’s sister met that end.
But even scumbags who turned people into toys had tastes. And picky ones didn’t come cheap.
Buying kids en masse like this guy? Bad math.
His smile deepened at my question.
“Wanna know?”
I already did. But info wasn’t enough—I needed eyes on it to plan next.
“Young Master.”
A bodyguard interrupted our back-and-forth.
“The patriarch ordered strict security on that facility. Showing it to outsiders……”
“Hey.”
Irked at the interruption, Jo Seong-hwan’s playful tone dropped.
“Mention that old fart to me one more time, and you’re dead. Got it?”
“Y-yes... Sorry.”
The guard bowed instantly.
Jo Seong-hwan led me to a corner of the VIP room.
“Open.”
Voice recognition triggered, and a blank wall slid apart.
An elevator. Unlike the one from the entrance, this plunged through countless levels.
Whirr—
Heavy machinery groaned as we descended. Through the window in the elevator wall, the building’s true face emerged.
“……Holy shit.”
Second to the top Four Great Families clan. Pungyang Jo Clan’s heir.
Shielded by that status, Jo Seong-hwan committed countless crimes, abominations against heaven and earth.
Yet the Pungyang Jo main house, meant to oversee him, just watched.
Never stopping or intervening.
Why?
Their future patriarch, heir to the clan, buying and selling people, wallowing in filth.
Why tolerate it?
This was the reason.
His “hobby.” The excuse for the Pungyang Jo Clan’s real business.
Why I called Jo Seong-hwan and his clan insane.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Skulls shattering under teeth. Black carapace slowly revealed.
“Impressive, right?”
“……Yes. Very.”
One per floor, or a pair. Behind barriers, slime and shell dripping, jagged teeth bared.
Gorging greedily on humans.
“Grrr...”
Humanity’s nemesis.
Monsters.