---

The number of those who arrived in Korea after several flights was not to be taken lightly.

It seemed to easily exceed ten.

They orderly lined up as they disembarked from the airplane, and on their faces, there rested an inexplicable sense of pride and superiority while maintaining such order.

Others, who had no relation to them, thought the expressions on their faces reflected excitement about Korea and travel, passing by without a second thought.

But had one been able to peek inside their minds, there would have been gasps of horror.

“Tsk. They’ve decorated this place fairly well. But it still falls far behind Japan.”

“It’s clean, sure. But it lacks the unique flair of that country. Japan’s airport is adorned with folk arts and decorations to be proud of… Here, there’s nothing but Western-style paintings hung haphazardly.”

“Better than hanging some inferior Korean traditional culture. It’s much better to mimic the superior West, even if it’s clumsily done.”

“Indeed, Korea has a long way to go.”

Despite appearing like they were tourists in Korea with their attire, their minds were filled with disdain and contempt for the country.

Upon arrival at the airport, they mocked Korea while observing its airport, simultaneously deriding the traditional culture that had been overshadowed by Western influences. Moreover, some among them laughed at Korea for choosing the Western path while boosting their pride and sense of superiority over Japan, which had thrived through advancements.

“Indeed, Korea is still far from catching up to the West, like us Japanese.”

In their view, Japan belonged to the West and was a country infinitely closer to Europe, not just another backward East Asian nation. Therefore, they saw Korea’s adoption of Western styles as an acknowledgement of its cultural inferiority, a submission to Japan.

Additionally, they harbored the statements repeatedly echoed by nobles when discussing Korea: “Japan is the elder brother, and Korea is the younger,” “Korea couldn’t be independent without Japan’s assistance,” and “Korea’s modernization was entirely Japan’s doing.” These notions were firmly entrenched in their minds.

Consequently, they sought to belittle Korea by finding any shortcomings, reinforcing in their hearts that Korea was still a deficient younger nation and that performing tasks there would be a breeze.

Naturally, this was not a mindset conducive to an operation.

To have such a mentality where no mistake could be tolerated in a mission?

It was akin to shouting for death.

However, inversely, this cultivated a sense of courage within them.

The arrogance stemming from the belief that executing a mission in such a country wouldn’t be particularly difficult. The conceit of thinking they could manage without any issues based on their abilities.

All of these constructed a foundation for courage and a sense of boldness within them.

Ironically, it was precisely because they held such misplaced arrogance that their demeanor appeared naturally unperturbed. They were not tense enough to appear suspicious, and the expressions that arose on their faces resembled those of excited travelers eagerly anticipating their journey, making their confident attitude akin to that of older tourists visiting Korea from Japan.

The somewhat excessive number of individuals claiming to be tourists lent credence to their assertion, while the disarray among them and the lack of cohesion didn’t warrant any particular suspicion.

Isn’t it amusing?

Trained personnel could catch them, yet their untrained status allowed them to slip past such scrutiny. Moreover, as the prospect of success appeared high, the noble families rushed to send capable individuals to grab a piece of the action, turning out to be more beneficial than detrimental.

What an ironic situation.

Yet, they were utterly oblivious to this irony as they departed the airport.

They simply believed they were superior, thinking they weren’t caught because Korea was inferior.

After leaving the airport, their first destination was their lodging.

Instead of a proper hostel, they opted for a shabby yet fairly large guesthouse. This choice not only bolstered their claim of being “travelers” but also provided the advantage of being able to book through foreign apps, slightly delaying any tracking by Korea.

Additionally, compared to hostels, guesthouses offered weaker security.

In hotels, CCTV cameras were installed everywhere, and depending on the location, military facilities could often be found on rooftops. Furthermore, these establishments were frequented by wealthy individuals, leading to a stronger internal security, often tied to intelligence agencies. A minor slip could easily lead to getting caught.

But as for guesthouses?

There were indeed CCTVs, but they were installed merely for post-incident review; they had little to no reliable security worth mentioning. Moreover, considering that such places were frequented by foreigners, tracing any issues that arose would not be easy.

And if the guesthouse was old and large, any odd occurrences could easily be attributed to, “Oh, it’s just foreigners,” or “Mischief can happen when there are people from different cultures gathering.”

Moreover, this type of accommodation had only recently started gaining popularity, causing many to open and close down quickly, which provided a significant advantage in terms of lacking connections with intelligence agencies.

And lastly.

A very important reason.

“Is the first target this fellow?”

“He looks foolish. Fits the stereotype of a defeated nation.”

They observed the target’s photo from within a guesthouse they had almost completely occupied.

He had an uninviting and shabby appearance, with noticeable dark circles under his eyes, perhaps due to fatigue, and something shiny seeming to glimmer in his gaze.

“Lee Jae-soon, a journalist…”

“So, we’re to extract information from him, right?”

Their initial target was none other than Lee Jae-soon.

The person who wrote an article related to the divine object associated with His Majesty the Emperor, and would soon be subjected to their torture and threats to become their “informant.”

“His face looks despicable.”

“It has the look of someone who craves money and power… Can’t we just bribe him? That would surely be easier.”

“He looks frail, even for a ‘Joseonjing.’ Isn’t it a bit much to bully such a weakling?”

“Hey, did you forget? We absolutely have to beat him up. He’s got something against us.”

In truth, extracting information did not necessarily have to involve violence and intimidation.

They could simply pay him off.

In fact, that option was far more convenient and safer.

Because the very act of having received money could become a point of leverage.

Moreover, utilizing him without any animosity— he could be employed again as an informant in the future.

As for costs?

As long as they weren’t astronomically high, they could afford to cover it.

The noble families had plenty of resources.

The surviving noble families were akin to local notables, and some of them headed enterprises that were well-known globally. Thus, there would never be a shortage of funds to bribe a person, especially not a mere journalist like Lee Jae-soon.

However, regrettably, that peaceful option of bribery did not exist for Lee Jae-soon.

One noble family insisted that he must be tortured.

“What kind of trouble did he get into to deserve this?”

“I heard he got involved with someone’s lover.”

“What a foolish guy.”

Lee Jae-soon’s impending misfortunes were influenced by Jung Hoon-sang.

Jung Hoon-sang’s sponsor subtly mentioned to him the capable individuals heading to Korea, and he seized the opportunity, pleading earnestly to his sponsor for revenge, as Lee Jae-soon had put him in such a predicament.

Akiko, deeply infatuated with Jung Hoon-sang, didn’t refuse his request.

She showered affection on her parents to gain their approval, and as they didn’t care about what happened to a mere journalist, it was decided on the spot that Lee Jae-soon’s future would be sealed.

Through assault.

The one fortunate aspect was that it wasn’t decided to kill him.

They figured that if they moved beyond just assault to murder, public authorities would definitely intervene, thus settling on inflicting mere violence instead.

However, conversely, this meant that violence and intimidation would be deployed just below the threshold where public authorities would seriously intervene…

This was definitely not a good sign for Lee Jae-soon.

“We don’t need too many people to deal with this guy, right?”

“Let’s keep it to just two, since moving a lot would be suspicious.”

There was yet another stroke of misfortune.

“Then I’ll go. The head of the family asked me to handle it, so I need to be included.”

“Then who’s the other?”

“I’ll go.”

“It’ll be a nasty task.”

“I’m fine with it. Beating up a journalist sounds fun.”

“True, you’ve had some trouble because of a journalist.”

Because Lee Jae-soon was such a trivial existence, the number of people approaching him was only two, and those two were not the kind of gentle folk who held back from inflicting violence on him. They felt no guilt whatsoever in tormenting Lee Jae-soon, who had undergone no training, and were instead bursting with motivation.

“Don’t forget to wear your equipment.”

“I know.”

The two donned the necklaces provided by their clan.

They appeared to be fashioned from a regular design, adding a long string to a talisman pouch.

Yet, despite their ordinary appearance, these necklaces held the special power to distort recordings in videos and photos when worn. Furthermore, they concealed their faces behind masks to avoid drawing attention.

“We’re off now.”

And so, they split into two groups.

One group headed to capture Lee Jae-soon.

The other wandered around Seoul, masquerading as tourists while checking the area for their activities.

Thus, they began their “operation” in Korea.

 

---