Sooho

There was a famous saying that followed “I want you”.

‘For the U.S. Army!’

Uncle Sam’s recruitment poster from World War 1 was still a famous parody 100 years later. However, what followed Bridal Mask’s “I want you” was “for justice”. Bridal Mask no longer belonged to Korea only. They were Bridal Mask, Guy Fawkes, as well as Captain America. And after that, the number of masked heroes increased dramatically all over the world.

What started as the wave of Captain America led to a wave of Guy Fawkes, and now it was Bridal Mask’s turn. As a result, both Japan and China were looking for their own masked hero. The mask legends of each country started springing up like mushrooms.

When the mask chaos went down at HBS, the Japanese embassy in Korea flipped upside down as well. Since they were an embassy, as long as they kept quiet inside, there was no way for anyone else to know. The Japanese ambassador to Korea, Kataoka Mashiro was out of his mind due to the mass murder incident, but he still had guests to greet, and an organization name that he had often heard of was the Fidelity Association. Average people didn’t know about them, but since he was ambassador, he certainly did.

“You came from the main group?”

“I’m Kumiko.”

The Main Group was another way of addressing the Fidelity Group.

In contrast to the gloomy mood of the Japanese ambassador, Ahn Da Sol was cheerful and using her past name, Kumiko, quite often. If Ambassador Kataoka just checked with his country, he would have found out about her in no time, but he probably wasn’t going to make such a fuss. As someone who lived as a Japanese for quite some time, she knew the common habits of government officials. They considered themselves to be kind and considerate to others, but that wasn’t the case. They just gave up on their jobs.

‘The Japanese government officials have been corrupt for a long time.’

Japan was loyal to the caste system.

The standards of Japanese politics was the worst of the worst. Compared to Japan, Korea’s relationship between politics and business was child’s play. Even China, who insisted on pulling the roots of corruption, were secretly copying Japan’s way of having close relations between politics and business.

In countries heavily influenced by Confucian culture, there was less resistance against dictatorship. That was because they idealized the idea of kings and emperors. While the west tackled their problems from a realistic perspective, the east still believed that someone with outstanding force and power could resolve all of their problems. And that hero they believed in was naturally in the form of a king or emperor.

Korea, China, and Japan always dreamt of the most powerful ruler. They wanted someone strong but sensitive, cold but warm, in other words, a perfect ruler. However, no human was capable of being perfect. More importantly, a strong ruler went against democracy. Democracy functioned under average citizens, not some superman with superpowers.

There was a difference in how the East and West viewed leaders.

If reputation and skill were what made leaders, they couldn’t just have one or the other. The most outstanding leaders needed both reputation and skill. But the three countries of Asia put reputation over skill, and rather than nurturing their intelligence, they were going around rubbing their hands.

‘Kataoka Mashiro.’

He didn’t have a good enough understanding of Korea to be the Japanese ambassador to Korea, but the reason why he was chosen anyway was because he was from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Japan, government worker positions were inherited as well, and foreign affairs along with judicial affairs had the strongest interest group out of them all.

“Did you get a call from the stand-in prime minister, Ambassador?”

“Not yet…”

“Then let me tell you what I know. There’s going to be some political maneuvering regarding this incident.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is for your ears only. Korea will make the dead Japanese into yakuzas.”

“Oh!”

“Also, strong countermeasures will be taken as well.”

“Didn’t the Korean government protest against that?”

“They’ll probably send a letter, but they won’t take any strong measures.”

The reason why it wasn’t strange that the ambassador was trusting the words of a civilian was the amount of trust bureaucrats had toward the Fidelity Association. Ambassador Kataoka trusted Ahn Da Sol’s words completely. Nobuhisa, who was hiding behind her, clicked his tongue. He normally wouldn’t have been so careless, but the situation made Ambasaddor Kataoka’s judgments hazy.

‘How daring.’

When Ahn Da Sol asked the Japanese ambassador to lead the way, Nobuhisa saw bloodshed coming, but he guessed wrong. She was tricking the Japanese ambassador into thinking she was a Fidelity Association informant and tried to talk him into what she wanted. She must have had real guts to do that.

“If they make them into yakuzas… wouldn’t that worsen the relationship between the two countries?”

“Probably. Since yakuzas came here and caused a problem, the Korean government could protest against Japan. But so what? What could they do? On top of that, the suspect is a terrorist. Take this opportunity to criticize Korea’ investigative authorities for being incompetent. This is the best time to spread the idea that Japan is the safest country in Asia, not Korea.”

“Su… sure.”

In response to her strong remark, the ambassador wiped his sweat with his handkerchief. Heavily criticize the Korean investigative authorities? If he was a typical Japanese citizen, he would have applauded, but the Japanese government hated changes, so they were likely to frown upon it. If they weren’t going to run for the election, they were better off keeping face in their department than gaining the public’s popularity.

As a Japanese government official, doing anything that stands out wasn’t going to help his career. It was better to follow orders than to try to do something on their own. While he tended to his guest, some of the men that entered the embassy proceeded to collect information.

They installed wiretapping devices, collected secret documents, and hacked into whatever they could. Nobuhisa monitored the embassy for a different reason, and he was able to confirm that the informants the Fidelity Association planted in Korea were withdrawn. As soon as they sensed danger, they pulled out. Seeing how they acted as if they knew that was going to happen, it was possible that the trash disposal group were simply thrown in as scapegoats.

‘They don’t care if we live or die.’

He felt angrier the more he thought about it.

She talked to Ambassador Kataoka for 30 more minutes before heading out. Once Ahn Da Sol got into the car, her smile disappeared, and she stared at the driver’s seat with a straight face.

“How does it look?”

“The secret equipment is unlocked, but the rest of the secret documents will take some time.”

“Is that it for the trash disposal group?”

“Probably not. I bet there are lots of other spies that were in Korea for quite some time. Here’s the information.”

Nicholas Cha handed her a small pouch from the back seat. When she opened the zipper, she found many USBs. She handed the pouch to another man in the car.

“Look into it.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

They were no match for Alexa and Kosino, but Ahn Da Sol had a pretty trustworthy intelligence team of her own. The only thing she was interested in at the moment was the list of 50,000 Japanese people living in Korea, being maintained by the Japanese embassy in Korea. Compared to the 900,000 Koreans living in Japan, 50,000 weren’t very much, but the two situations were completely different.

The man explained further.

“There’s a total of 195 Japanese high-rank businessmen that are active in Korea. Half of them are operating a legal business while the other half…”

“Private loans?”

“They’re mostly in private loans and underground financing. They seem to be connected to Korean financial gangs, but they might be connected to prostitution as well. They introduce young Korean women with debt to the Japanese adult entertainment district.”

“But I’m sure they’re not violent about it.”

“No, Ma’am. Using strength is an old method. These days, they all sue using law firms. There are even collector specialized law firms these days.”

“It’s the same everywhere you go.”

The mindset that bodies could be used if one didn’t have money took place all over the world. In particular, women were more vulnerable to temptation and danger. Even if they didn’t have any debt, there were lots of recruiters all over Gangnam. Japan’s sex industry was the best in Asia. There were no detailed statistics, but the international society claimed that Japan’s prostitution was 10 times that of Thailand and 20 times that of Hong Kong.

“The truth is… China beats Japan in that sense, but people don’t know that.”

Following China’s reform, they tried to pursue Japan in every aspect. Same went for the sex industry. They kept quiet about it, but sex was the best and easiest way to make money. What was funny was that China had the highest gender equality index among Korea, China, and Japan.

Why? Because of the gender equality clause. From a broader perspective, China wasn’t that high up on the list either, but it was higher than Korea and Japan. However, Ahn Da Sol didn’t like gender equality.

‘Because gender is only equal from the point of view of men.’

There were no female politicians in the Chinese Communist Party. It wasn’t much different in the present either, and even if there were one or two, they were just there to show face. They might have had the highest gender equality index out of the three Asian countries, but their glass ceiling was the lowest. The average Chinese woman might have been more equal than that of Korea and Japan, but the Chinese women with skill were at a disadvantage compared to the skilled women of Korea and Japan.

The leaders of China were all men. The patriarchal culture of families might have died out, but the nation still put men first. They had a strong belief that men were better at politics. The saying that when a female hen cries, the household goes down existed in different ways in Korea, China, and Japan.

“We’ve arrived.”

As soon as the car stopped, Ahn Da Sol took off her kimono. The way she pulled down the mini dress that rode up was a sight that no man could resist. Nobuhisa shyly looked away. Her big breasts, her thin bodyline, and the high heels made for quite the sight.

“Give me my bag.”

When the trunk opened, Ahn Da Sol took out a pretty carrier. Nobuhisa made an effort to keep up with her fast walking.

“May I ask where you’re going?”

“Was it Lucky 7?”

Pawnshops and loan companies were so prevalent that they issued lottery tickets. In response to Ahn Da Sol’s response, he quickly looked through the list and then laughed bitterly.

“Shimura Banking.”

“That’s the Japanese name. In Korea, they call them Daerim Industries. I don’t know about anything else, but it’s true that Koreans are slaves to Japanese money. These guys are serious pro-Japanese.”

After the real-name financial system, there were reports of the Korean loan market being doomed, but experts shook their heads. It was partially correct. ‘Korean’ loan companies were doomed while ‘Japanese loan companies were not. They often called third-party financial institutions as loan companies, but the real loan companies were unregistered underground financial entities that only worked with cash.

The place that Ahn Da Sol entered with her carrier wasn’t a creepy alleyway that many people imagined. The adult entertainment district was full of young life, and it wasn’t guarded by thugs with tattoos like before. The employees dressed in suits made them look like elites that worked at a major corporation.

When Ahn Da Sol appeared with a carrier, the agents nearby showed light in their eyes. She looked like she could be a super ace no matter which company they took her to. As soon as the most influential agent approached her, the less popular agents stepped back, but they still looked on for an opportunity.

“What do you need, Miss?”

As soon as he opened his mouth, he didn’t seem as classy anymore. He wasn’t a total thug, but he wasn’t able to get rid of his trashy nature.

“I need money.”

“Money? Money’s great. Should I introduce you to a good place?”

“Sure.”

If Ahn Da Sol was a rude woman, things would have gone differently.

‘He would have done a credit check.’

But she didn’t question it. Nobuhisa clicked his tongue from afar.

‘She’s using her womanhood to her advantage.’

In society, women had a disadvantage in some ways, but they had advantages in other ways. But of course, she had more advantages because she was a beautiful woman. The agent escorted her to a unique looking building. Normal buildings typically took up its own space, but the building Ahn Da Sol entered had many hidden and crooked spaces.

‘It’s a fortress.’

It definitely wasn’t an average office building. Once they passed the security room on the 1st floor and took the lift to the 3rd floor, it looked like an office. Since it would have been uncomfortable if they were all male employees, they planted some female employees as well. As soon as she sat down in the office, a more trustworthy face appeared.

He had a business smile on his face.

‘Completed with the utmost effort.’

Even in organized crimes such as pawnshops, loan companies, and gambling houses, only those who kept their professionalism survived. The man secretly admired Ahn Da Sol’s body before smiling and offering her some coffee.

“Are you here because you need money, Ma’am?”

“I am.”

“How much?”

“1 trillion won?”

“Haha! You’re funny.”

“I’m not kidding.”

Ahn Da Sol looked at him with an innocent face, but her voice was serious. He still took it as a joke though. She picked up the coffee on the table, took a sip, and then spat it back out.

“Ptooey! This is… GHB! Do you drug women, make them go into debt, and then sell them off?”

GHB was a commonly used date rape drug. He didn’t put too much into the coffee, but she tasted it all right. They made it so that her judgment would be hazy.

“Haha! You’re funny…”

The man frowned and then tried to pass it off with a smile, but he was unable to finish his sentence. Why? Because Ahn Da Sol took out a gun and shot him. Once she got a bullet through his head, he fell backwards onto his chair. But thanks to the silencer, there wasn’t much noise.

“Oh! I almost forgot again.”

Ahn Da Sol took out her mask and put it on. She then put her gun away and took out a bigger one.

Steyr MPi69!

The legendary gun from Austria!

Not Australia but Austria!

‘Since the money’s not even registered anyway…’

A mini dress, a machine gun, and a bridal mask.

“It belongs to the first one who gets to it!”

< Protect – Episode 179 – Ahn Da Sol vs. Trash Disposal Group [4] > The end.