NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 84



Only Krnovel

There are few in Tokyo (1)

“Is this it?”

Hwang Geon-cheol.

He is a thick-haired young man who is now twenty-three years old.

As expected from a child from a family that lived off the backs of others, he ate well and was passable.

Because he grew up eating well there, he was built big and sturdy, so much so that people jokingly said he was as good as Baekdu Jangsa.

Thanks to his father, who was a good man who sold the country well and allowed his family to live comfortably, he even studied abroad in Japan and gained a lot of knowledge… … He was a typical young man with talent, like the son of his mother’s friend.

‘Then what do you do?’

But even he was now a jobless, idle bum.

To be exact, he was more like a loafer because there were no jobs that suited him even though he had graduated from university in Japan.

In today’s Gyeongseong, most jobs require physical use rather than brain power or specialized skills, so such jobs were completely out of the question for Hwang Geon-cheol, who was smart.

When he was just lounging around at home every day, meeting up with friends, and getting so confused between alcohol and water, his father, who couldn’t stand seeing him like that, said:

“I’ve reserved a spot for you at the Chosun Ilbo.”

“Hey… … Father, what kind of reporter am I? That’s something only people with ink in their heads do.”

“Then get out of my house.”

“yes?”

“I have never had a son who would stick around the house like a swindler and waste my money. So either get a job properly or get out.”

“father!”

Hwang Geon-cheol had no choice.

If he was kicked out of his home, he had no choice but to starve to death on the streets.

I hated working more than I hated dying, but I hated actually dying even more than that, so I went to the Chosun Ilbo office in tears.

however.

“Why are there so many people?”

The auditorium, where a banner reading “Chosun Ilbo New Employee Welcome Party” hung, was bustling with people.

And they weren’t just any random people, there were quite a few people I had seen before at the Governor-General’s parties I had attended with my father.

‘Heh heh… … What kind of harmony is this?’

Hwang Geon-cheol stood there quietly, looking around, not knowing what was going on, when someone called out to him from afar.

“Hyung, Hwang! Hwang!”

“Huh? Ah!”

Hwang Geon-cheol recognized his opponent, but he couldn’t quite remember his name.

That was understandable. The other person was someone Hwang Geon-cheol had only seen at drinking parties, and even then, he had only had a few drinks with them, so he called them by their titles, like “Hey” or “Hyung-ssi,” rather than their names.

“Did Hwang Hyung-do apply to the Chosun Ilbo?”

“Uh, yeah? Oh… … . I guess so.”

The other party knew him, but since Hwang Geon-cheol didn’t know him well, he mumbled something.

Even if we were to just get rid of this guy cleanly, there was no one here he knew.

There is nothing more miserable in the world than a person walking alone, so I decided to go with him even though it was uncomfortable.

“But Hwang Hyung.”

“huh?”

“Hwang Hyung’s family is well-off, so why did you apply to the Chosun Ilbo? If Hwang Hyung’s family were like that, they would have been able to find a decent position at the Government-General instead of a newspaper like this.”

“Ah, that’s… … .”

Hwang Geon-cheol could never answer that it was because he did not want to work.

That’s why I tried to muddle through this time too.

“… … How could I, born as a man of Joseon, bow down and live under the Japanese?”

Hwang Geon-cheol’s words struck a chord with the other person, and he snorted and praised him.

“Oh… …! As expected, Hwang Hyung is a man from Joseon!”

“Ahem… … . What’s left… … . It’s just the self-deprecating monologue of a coward of the times.”

“Oh… …! As expected, the person who learned it is different!”

Hwang Geon-cheol felt rewarded for having approached poetry and novels in an attempt to seduce the woman he had been interested in during his school days.

And there were eyes that were watching Hwang Geon-cheol closely… … .

“Okay! New employees of the Chosun Ilbo, please board the truck outside one by one!”

“truck?”

“Where are you taking us?”

“No, why a truck? Why not just call a rickshaw?”

When they suddenly said they were going somewhere and told us to get into the back of the truck, one by one, people started to murmur.

“It’s not like I’m going to be a livestock, it’s like I’m going to be a person in the back of a truck.”

“Even if my situation isn’t that good, I don’t want to work and be treated like this!”

“Tell the boss to come out!”

Even though it was just a matter of getting on a truck, some hot-tempered people started making a scene and yelling at the top of their lungs.

Then, the person who was helping to organize the people calmed them down with a troubled look on his face.

“Okay… everyone, don’t be so excited… please calm down for now.”

“I’m not a cow or a pig. Why do you want me to ride in the back of a truck? I can’t do that!”

“Right! And where are you taking us!”

“I will never let this happen! I will go home and tell my parents about this right away!”

While others were getting very angry, Hwang Geon-cheol coughed in vain and quietly observed the situation.

He wished that those who were making such a fuss would just go home.

‘I really hate people with short tempers.’

The announcer tried to smile and quell the people’s complaints.

“Haha… … . You must all be thirsty after coming such a long way. How about having a drink we prepared and cheering up a bit?”

“drinkables?”

After standing in the blazing midsummer sun for a long time, I was sweating and thirsty, so everyone seemed a little annoyed when the company prepared drinks for me.

Even those who used to vent their anger with bloodshot eyes became docile lambs after a drink because they couldn’t handle the heat.

In this hot weather, they served us cool iced tea, and everyone drank the drinks they received from the company without a word.

But Hwang Geon-cheol just stares blankly as if he doesn’t like it at all.

“hmm.”

“Hwang Hyung, aren’t you eating?”

“No, what… … .”

Hwang Geon-cheol was not the type of person to readily accept what others gave him, so he just stood there blankly.

But the scary thing about mob psychology is that if everyone else is doing it but one person isn’t, people will look at them strangely, and even though everyone was drinking, Hwang Geon-cheol was just standing there blankly, making people treat him like a weirdo.

“Brother Hwang, people are staring.”

“… … .”

“Please give me the empty cup… … . Ah! You’re still here.”

“It must be hot, so just drink it quickly.”

Hwang Geon-cheol had no choice but to give in to the harsh stares from those around him, the pressure from the staff, and the unspoken pressure from the nameless drinking buddy next to him.

Only after he lifted the cup and downed it all in one go was he able to free himself from these gazes.

“What the heck… … What is this fuss about?”

Hwang Geon-cheol said that to himself, but he couldn’t hear the voice of his drinking buddy who should have been coming from next to him.

When I looked around with a puzzled mind, Hwang Geon-cheol’s drinking buddy was already collapsed on the floor with his eyes closed.

“Huh?! Why are you doing that!”

Hwang Geon-cheol looked around to seek help, but other people’s circumstances were not much different.

“What is this… … !”

Hwang Geon-cheol got up from his seat again and quickly tried to get away from there.

I couldn’t understand what was happening here, but I thought that if I stayed here any longer, that’s what would happen to me too.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“?!”

Someone called out to him.

And that was Hwang Geon-cheol’s last memory.

* * *

“Ugh… … . My head.”

Hwang Geon-cheol opened his eyes, holding his head which was hurting so much it felt like it was going to burst.

Then a ceiling like a sack of rags greeted him.

“… … It’s an unknown ceiling.”

Hwang Geon-cheol soon realized that the floor was shaking violently, so he struggled to get up and looked around.

A round ceiling that looks like a non-woven fabric placed on a hard iron floor.

And there were small light bulbs dangling and swinging here and there, and people being loaded onto trucks like luggage… … It was a sight that made fear well up in my chest.

‘What kind of harmony is this? I lost consciousness for a moment and when I woke up I was in a truck?’

Hwang Geon-cheol looked outside the truck.

Outside the truck, that is, outside, it was pitch black with not a single ray of light.

What was scary was that in this pitch-black darkness, a truck was moving.

‘Where on earth am I?’

There were more things to regret in Hwang Geon-cheol’s life than the pebbles that tripped his feet, but of all those things, the thing he regretted the most was the present.

‘If I had known this would happen, I would have just gotten kicked out of the house… …!’

For the first time since he was born, he resented his father.

No, come to think of it, I guess I resented my parents whenever I drank, but even leaving aside such trivial matters, wasn’t this all because my father arranged for me to get a job?

‘Should I just jump?’

Rather than being dragged to an unknown place, Hwang Geon-cheol wanted to quickly jump down and try to save his life… … .

-Squeak.

As he was thinking about it, the truck arrived at its destination and stopped right there.

At the sound of someone approaching, Hwang Geon-cheol lay down on the floor again, pretending not to be conscious yet, and cautiously looked outside.

After a while, someone’s voice was heard.

“Thank you for your hard work, Chunsik!”

“No. It wasn’t that hard, it was just a matter of carrying a few kids.”

“But it took half a day to drive here.”

Hwang Geon-cheol focused on the word half a day.

‘Half a day… … ? Then this place is quite far from Gyeongseong… … .’

Who on earth are these people that kidnapped them all the way to this remote mountainous area?

Although he had more than one or two questions, Hwang Geon-cheol held his breath and listened to the voices coming from outside.

“Hey… … . But how did you find a place like this? I wouldn’t have been able to find it if it weren’t for the map you drew for me.”

“Oh, here? Hmm… … . Let’s say it’s a place where I had a hard time before.”

“Yes? Is this the place where you suffered, teacher?”

“Yes, I rolled up hard with the dogs who seemed to climb from hell, and rolled up until the psoring pronunciation popped out of Agari.”

“yes……?”

“You don’t have to try to understand it. Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t be able to understand it anyway.”

“Oh, yes… … .”

There was a brief pause in the conversation, and then the voice that had been heard earlier was heard again.

“They say that this place has good air, clean water, and few people, so it’s the perfect place to lock people up and get things done.”

“Ah… … I see. So you found it yourself, teacher!”

“Huh? No. It’s a famous place that our wonderful and rainbow-like seniors found.”

“Yes, yes?”

After that, more words were exchanged, but after that, he couldn’t hear the voices very well, so Hwang Geon-cheol twisted his body this way and that and slowly put his ear against the wall.

Then the voice was heard again.

“When the kids wake up in a little while, keep a close eye on them so they don’t run away, and if they do anything stupid, beat them up no matter where they break.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Yes, Chunsik, the people you said you were bringing this time… …. You said they were people you knew last time?”

“Yes! When the teacher said he needed more manpower, I joined forces with Kim Hyung and called our comrades who shared the same goal.”

“Are these people trustworthy?”

“Yes! I can trust you!”

“Really? We’ll just have to wait and see… … .”

For a moment, the voice suddenly stopped.

Then I heard someone walking, and this time a voice that was noticeably louder than before struck me right in the ear.

“They say that birds hear what’s said during the day, and mice hear what’s said at night. It looks like the mice are already hiding.”

“!!!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a hand suddenly shot out from the side of the truck and grabbed Hwang Geon-cheol by the neck.

“Ugh ugh!!!”

“Welcome to the Chosun Ilbo, Assei.”

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 85