Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1

Black Company Joseon – ⓒ Gukbbong

A jack-of-all-trades otaku, obsessed with military, steampunk, and more, was reincarnated.

And his father is King Sejong?

A monarch skilled in otaku pursuits and a son obsessed with them,

And the officials who are ground down, and countless people.

Even today, Joseon’s night is filled with the lights of overtime.

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Prologue.

“…Therefore, let us proceed with this matter as decided just now.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

“I feel a bit peckish. Let’s have a light snack and reconvene after this *ke* [a traditional Korean unit of time, approximately 15 minutes].”

“…Understood, Your Majesty.”

[The historian writes.]

Clang! Swish!

[His Majesty’s love for the people is unparalleled in history.]

Clang! Swish!

[He is mindful even that lowly servants do not overwork, so His Majesty’s virtue is like the spring sunshine.]

Clang! Swish!

[But the ministers do not receive such spring sunshine, so how can this not be lamented…]

“Historian? Are you writing something bad about me right now?”

“No, Your Majesty!”

“Then why are you typing for so long?”

“This humble one is still slow with his hands…”

“Is that so? Shall I send you back to the administrative training institute?”

“I will do my best to type faster!”

“I’m watching you.”

“Your benevolence is boundless….”

End

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1. He is a *Kwangdeok* [an extremely enthusiastic fan or obsessive enthusiast].

It is often said.

That the best kind of *deok* [virtue/obsession] is *Yangdeok* [Western otaku].

But there is one above *Yangdeok* [Western otaku], and he is *Gwangdeok* [Kwangdeok, crazy otaku].

* * *

Outside Gasan-ri, Yangsan City, Gyeongsangnam-do.

Clang, clang, clang! Sizzle!

Jin-ho plunged the steel he had hammered with a spring hammer into the water. Steam rose with a loud noise.

Jin-ho took the cooled steel out of the water, examined its condition, and nodded.

“Well made.”

After checking the condition, Jin-ho put the steel in his hand back into the furnace.

* * *

“Hey! Little brother! What are you making this time?”

“Oh? *Hyeong-nim* [older brother]! You’re here?”

Jin-ho, who had been moving busily between the furnace and the machine tools, was pleased to see the person who had come to find him.

“What are you making?”

“I was making a sashimi knife I got an order for.”

“Sashimi?”

When his cousin made a strange expression, Jin-ho quickly added.

“A *hoikal* [sashimi knife]! Someone who runs a Japanese restaurant in Seoul ordered it! Seriously, don’t activate your professional instincts at any time!”

His cousin, Kim Byung-ho, was a detective.

Byung-ho relaxed his expression at Jin-ho’s explanation.

“Really? You’re getting orders and making a decent living?”

Jin-ho smiled, wiping his nose with his finger at Byung-ho’s question.

“I’m making a living somehow.”

“Is that so… Let’s take a look.”

“I’ve only just shaped it.”

“Hmm…”

Byung-ho, who had been examining the *hoikal* [sashimi knife]-shaped lump of steel that was still red-hot, looked up and surveyed the surroundings.

“Seriously, clean up a bit.”

“Yes, *hyeong-nim* [older brother].”

“You answer well. You answer well…”

Byung-ho, scolding Jin-ho and looking around, saw a knife in a wooden box lined with soft cloth and his eyes lit up.

“Hey. This *banwoldo* [Crescent blade], it looks like the blade is upside down?”

Byung-ho, who saw the kukri for the first time, pointed out to Jin-ho that the blade was set wrong. Jin-ho’s expression changed strangely at Byung-ho’s words.

“What? What’s with that face?”

“…That’s called a kukri, and it’s originally shaped like that.”

“…Is that so? It’s certainly strangely shaped. What country is it from?”

“Nepal.”

“Those people must have very unique personalities.”

Jin-ho, who was pondering what Byung-ho’s words meant for a moment, shook his head.

“Try saying that in front of Nepalese people. They’ll roll you off the top of Mount Everest right away, you know?”

“I’m saying it because they’re not here. Anyway, did you call me because of that kukri or whatever it is?”

“Yes. Please make me a *dogeom soji heogajeung* [sword possession permit].”

Byung-ho, who was estimating the size of the kukri at Jin-ho’s words, nodded.

“It looks like you’ll need it considering the size. But why do you need a knife?”

“I’m thinking of entering a competition held in the United States.”

“Competition?”

At Byung-ho’s short question, Jin-ho operated the tablet he had left on one side and showed him a video. Byung-ho clicked his tongue softly after watching the video.

“Tsk. It would have been nice if you had made and brought a *Joseon Hwando* [Korean sword] or a traditional sword…”

“Do you know how many people came out with katanas and got eliminated because the blade was bent, or fell out because the blade broke in the middle? *Joseon Hwando* [Korean sword]s or Japanese swords are sharp, but they’re not tough. For competitions like that, a heavy and tough knife is the best.”

“Is that so? Okay. I’ll prepare the documents and bring them to you.”

* * *

A few days later.

“Here are the documents and card.”

“Thank you.”

Byung-ho, handing the documents and IC card to Jin-ho, looked around and his gaze was fixed on one place.

“What’s that again?”

“What?”

“That thing. That thing!”

In the place Byung-ho pointed to, a flintlock rifle was standing.

“Ah! That? I made it because I got an order from abroad asking if I could make one. People who do reenactments, who do cosplay and mock battles from the American Revolutionary War era, ordered it.”

“Hmm…”

Byung-ho ignored Jin-ho’s explanation and picked up the rifle, examining it carefully.

Byung-ho, examining the firing mechanism, turned to Jin-ho.

“This is that gun, right? The one they used in the American Revolutionary War movie with Mel Gibson?”

“Yes. It’s a Kentucky rifle.”

“Why are you making American guns?”

“It seems like there are a lot fewer artisans over there too. And the guns they have are almost treasures…”

“So you made it?”

Jin-ho nodded at Byung-ho’s question.

“I only made one for now, but if the evaluation is good, I can export 5 to 10 pieces every year. If it goes well, I can earn about 2~3 thousand.”

“Hmm…”

Jin-ho, watching Byung-ho’s reaction, added.

“So, starting with this project, I need some documents…”

“Do I have to do it again?”

“Please. If it goes well, I’ll treat you big later…”

“You talk a good game.”

Unlike his indifferent voice, Byung-ho examined the Kentucky rifle with a serious face. Byung-ho pulled the cock (鷄頭) without a flint attached and pulled the trigger.

Click!

“Oh? It moves properly? Hmm… Is the muzzle originally this small?”

“No. I blocked it so that gunpowder can go in, but bullets can’t.”

“Hmm…”

Byung-ho, listening to the explanation, examined the barrel and found a small crack about 1 cm away from the muzzle.

Byung-ho, carefully examining the crack, grabbed the barrel tightly and pulled the upper part of the crack.

Pop!

With a small sound, the muzzle part separated from the barrel, and Byung-ho examined the inside of the muzzle.

Six lines of rifling were seductively coiled.

Byung-ho, after checking the rifling, grabbed Jin-ho by the collar.

“You *ssibal saekkya* [fucking bastard]! You said it was a prop! Why did you carve rifling into a prop!”

“If you’re going to make it, you have to make it properly to meet the customer’s needs…”

“Are your customers filming snuff films or something! You, you bastard! You came here to use me at times like this! To tell me to cover for you!”

“I’m not saying that…”

“*Saekkya* [Bastard]!”

“It was in the requirements! So that it can be used in case of an emergency…”

“What nonsense are people living in a country where even more heinous things overflow once you cross the threshold saying!”

After a long struggle, Byung-ho and Jin-ho agreed to weld the cap that was inserted into the barrel of the already made rifle with electric welding, and to add the following phrase to the product information posted on Amazon.

-Measures have been taken to prevent the use of live ammunition in the muzzle area in accordance with the laws of the manufacturing country.

“Too bad…”

“Tsk!”

Jin-ho, who couldn’t hide his disappointment, became a turtle neck when Byung-ho glared at him. Byung-ho read the advertising copy that Jin-ho had posted on Amazon and asked a question.

“You said you made it according to historical *gojeung* [research], do you make the materials the same from the beginning?”

“No way. If you make the most important material, the barrel, in the old way from the beginning, you have to add another 0 to the price.”

“I guess so.”

As they were talking, an old woman entered Jin-ho’s smithy.

“Is the blacksmith young man here?”

“Welcome!”

“This is seed potato, please store it in the warehouse.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Jin-ho, receiving the box of seed potatoes from the old woman, put it in a warehouse that he had built separately behind the smithy.

After the old woman left, Byung-ho looked at Jin-ho with a new look.

“You seem to be close to the elders in the neighborhood?”

“Well, we’re helping each other out in various ways.”

“But why are they using your warehouse?”

“There are some sensitive chemical products used in the smithy, so I paid a little attention when building the warehouse. Thanks to that, it’s also good for storing seeds and fertilizers, so many people use it.”

“Is that so? Let’s take a look.”

“What are you trying to see again?”

“Tsk…”

When Byung-ho’s expression became sharp, Jin-ho, who became a turtle neck, guided Byung-ho to the warehouses that were built separately behind the smithy.

Byung-ho, who saw the iron plates piled up in the first warehouse, turned to Jin-ho.

“There’s a lot of scrap iron?”

“Spring steel is the best for making knives and stuff. Thanks to that, I’ve become a regular at the junkyard.”

“Is that so? Open the other warehouse.”

“…Okay.”

At Byung-ho’s urging, Jin-ho opened the second warehouse.

Byung-ho, entering the cool warehouse and examining the objects inside, glared at Jin-ho.

“Why do you need such chemical products in a smithy?”

“I need it for etching decorations and other additional work.”

“Did you buy it normally?”

“Shall I show you the receipt? Seriously… You can tell he’s a detective.”

Despite Jin-ho’s protest, Byung-ho’s eyes were fierce.

“If you cause an accident, you’re dead in my hands.”

“Ah, I don’t cause accidents!”

“A guy who makes homemade guns?”

“…”

Byung-ho, who gave Jin-ho a warning and turned around, sniffed and grumbled.

“Which house is it? How much fertilizer did they spread to make it smell like this…”

“It’s my field.”

“Huh? You’re even farming now?”

“Hahaha…”

Byung-ho’s expression became sharp again at Jin-ho’s strange smile and he examined the field. About half of the field, which looked about 500 *pyeong* [pyeong, approx. 1650 square meters], was occupied by solar panels, and the other half was covered with fertilizer.

Byung-ho, observing the composition, looked directly at Jin-ho’s face.

“The only thing that’s useful about your personality is that you can’t lie. It’s definitely not a field for farming, what kind of field is it for?”

“That’s… *Chodan* [saltpeter field]…”

“*Chodan* [saltpeter field]?”

“I was thinking of making some *jilsankallyeom* [potassium nitrate]…”

“Why *jilsankallyeom* [potassium nitrate]?”

“To check if the Kentucky rifle was made properly, I need some *heuksaekhwayak* [black powder], but it’s a bit difficult to get *heuksaekhwayak* [black powder]…”

“*Saekkya* [Bastard]! This is beyond the realm of *kaba* [cover]!”

Byung-ho, whose face turned white at Jin-ho’s answer that exceeded the expected range, grabbed Jin-ho by the collar and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Byung-ho’s face turned white not simply because he made gunpowder.

* * *

Three days before Byung-ho found Jin-ho, a person from the National Intelligence Service came to Byung-ho and his colleagues.

The NIS agent came about ‘Domestic Activities of Islamic Terrorist Organizations’.

“Since Osama was eliminated, Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organizations are operating independently. Currently, in the case of our country, no organization has been found, but it can be seen as a very dangerous level. The reason is that a considerable number of illegal workers from Pakistan and Southeast Asian Muslim countries are illegally employed.”

According to the NIS’s explanation, the situation was very bad.

Most of the illegally employed workers were frequently subjected to overtime, wage arrears, and even assault.

As this happened, the number of illegal stayers who had animosity towards Koreans and Korea was increasing, and the possibility of creating self-sustaining terrorist organizations centered on them was increasing.

“…Thanks to that, these days I don’t know if I belong to the NIS or an investigator from the Ministry of Employment and Labor. I spend all day receiving unpaid wages from illegally employed workers and getting treatment costs for those injured by industrial accidents. Even if we deport them, we have to eliminate their resentment.”

The NIS agent, who had been complaining for a while, got to the point.

“The reason I met you is because of the special nature of this Yangsan.”

“There are almost no factories in Yangsan where illegal immigrants can work?”

When one of the detectives attending the meeting pointed out, the NIS agent nodded.

“That’s right. But there are many farms around. These days, other sources of demand for illegal immigrant workers are these agricultural and livestock complexes.”

The detectives nodded at the NIS agent’s answer. Farming was hard, but livestock farming was really hard.

The NIS agent, who had quenched his thirst, put up a few slides on the screen.

“The photos you are seeing now are from several bombing sites, including the Oklahoma City bombing. The important thing here is the material of the explosives, which are the main tools of terrorism. There were cases where actual military or civilian explosives were used, but there are also many cases where materials that can be obtained from the market are gathered and used. The most useful material in this case is nitrogen fertilizer. If you mix nitrogen fertilizer with diesel or kerosene, or lubricants, you can make a very good explosive.”

“Hmm…”

The faces of the detectives sitting around changed seriously at the NIS agent’s explanation. Nitrogen fertilizer was overflowing in the farmhouses around Yangsan City.

“Of course, nitrogen fertilizer is not only available in Yangsan. However, Busan is to the east of Yangsan and Changwon is to the west. If you get or make a detonator from the Russian mafia in Busan, and then take a truck loaded with explosives to the Changwon defense industry complex and detonate it, a fatal situation will occur.”

The detectives nodded with serious faces at the NIS agent’s explanation.

Fertilizer was overflowing in farmhouses and agricultural material stores on the outskirts of Yangsan, and fuel tanks filled with fuel for use in greenhouses and other agricultural facilities, and lubricants for use in agricultural machinery were also common. In addition, 1-ton trucks were also common.

Finally, they were hearing rumors that there were quite a few people who brought Pakistanis or other Southeast Asians to farm or raise livestock, and they were making them work quite hard.

The NIS agent, sensing that the detectives had recognized the seriousness, began to wrap up.

“The reason why the NIS asked you for cooperation is not only about illegally employed foreigners, but also about monitoring organized crime groups in Yangsan City. According to the NIS investigation, brokers who arrange jobs for illegal immigrants are connected to organized crime groups, and organized crime groups are also involved in preventing and managing the escape of foreigners who have been employed in this way. I would like to ask you to focus on managing this part. It is a very important matter for the security of the country.”

End