Black Corporation: Joseon

There is a popular saying.

The mania of the manias were the Western manias. (1)

But there is one above the Western manias, that is the crazy mania.

* * *

Outskirts of Gasan-ri, Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do Province.

Tang tang tang! Zssst!

Jinho put the iron that was beaten by a spring hammer into the water. The water vapor rose with a loud noise.

Jinho took the cold iron out of the water, examined the condition, and nodded.

“Good.”

After checking the condition, Jinho put the iron in his hand into the forge.

* * *

“Hey! Lil bro! What are you making this time?”

“Oh? Hyungnim! You came?”

Jinho, who was busy moving between the furnace and the machines, was pleased to see the person who came to see him. 

“What are you making?”

“I was making the ordered sashimi.”

“Sashimi?”

When his cousin made a strange face, Jinho hurriedly added.

“Fillet knife! It was ordered by a Japanese restaurant owner in Seoul! Don’t be so into your work all the time!”

His cousin Kim Byeongho was a detective.

After hearing Jinho’s explanation, Byeongho relaxed his expression.

“Is that so? Are you making a lot of money on orders?”

When asked by Byeongho, he wiped his nose with his finger and grinned.

“I managed to make a living. It’s the result of hard work.”

“Really…? Let me take a look.”

“I just got the shape now.”

“Hm….”

As if his interest had cooled quickly, Byeong-ho, who was looking at the still red iron fillet knife, turned his head to look around.

“Oh God, you have to clean up a bit.”

“Yeh.”

“Answer nicely. Nicely….”

Byeongho, who was looking around while giving Jinho rebuke, shone his eyes as he saw a knife covered with a soft cloth inside a wooden box.

“Hey! This half-moon knife, it looks like the blade’s upside down?”

Byeongho, who saw Kukri for the first time ever, pointed to Jinho that he had set the blade wrong. Jinho’s expression changed strangely at Byeongho’s words.

“What’s with that face?”

“…. That’s a Kukri, that’s how it is shaped.”

“…. Is that so? This is very unique. Which country’s knife is it?”

“Nepal.”

“I guess the personality of the people in that country is unique.”

Jinho shook his head after a moment of agonizing over what Byeongho meant.

“Try to say that in front of Nepalese people. I bet you’re gonna roll right off the top of Everest.”

“I said that because they’re not here. By the way, did you call me because of that Kukri or whatever knife it is?”

“Yes, I’d like to get a license to carry a sword.”

Byeongho nodded at Jinho’s words while measuring the size of the Kukri.

“Looking at the size seems like you need it. But why do you need a sword?”

“I’m going to take part in a competition in the U.S.”

“Competition?”

In response to Byeongho’s abrupt question, Jinho picked up the tablet that was put on the side and played a video. Byeongho clicked his tongue after he saw the video.

“Che! It would have been better to make a Joseon military sword or a traditional sword….”

“Do you know that there were some men who came out with a Katana and were then eliminated because their swords crooked? And do you think there were only one or two people who got eliminated because of a broken sword in the middle of the competition? Although Joseon's military swords or samurai swords were sharp, they’re not tough. In such competitions, heavy and tough swords are the best.”

“Is that so? All right, I’ll get the paperwork done.”

* * *

A few days later.

“Here is the document and card.”

“Thank you very much.”

Byeongho was looking around while handing Jinho documents and IC cards before suddenly fixed his gaze in one place.

“What’s that?”

“What?”

“That one! There!”

There was a flintlock rifle at the place Byeongho pointed to.

“Ah! That? I made it because there was an order from a foreign country asking if I could make it. They are re-enactors, cosplayers, and mockers of the American Revolutionary War era.”

“Hm….”

Byeongho let Jinho’s explanation off one ear while holding the rifle in his hand and looked at it closely. 

Byeongho was looking at the trigger before turning to face Jinho.

“This is that gun, right? Was it in the American Revolutionary War movie starring Mel Gibson?”

“Yes. This is a Kentucky rifle.”

“Why are you making American guns?”

“I think the number of craftsmen has decreased a lot over there. Also, most of the guns they have had become treasures—”

“So you made it?”

Jinho answered Byeongho’s question with a nod.

“For now, I made only one bag. But, if the evaluation is good, I think I can export 5 to 10 bags every year. That means if I do well, I can earn about 2 to 3 billion.”

“Hm….”

Jinho looked into Byeongho’s reaction before adding the following words.

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

“Do I have to do it again?”

“Please, I beg you. If this one goes well, I’ll treat you to a big meal.”

“You really are a smooooth talker.” 

Unlike his dragged-on voice, Byeongho looked at the Kentucky rifle with a serious face. He cocked the rifle that wasn’t loaded with flint and pulled the trigger. 

Clack!

“Whoops? It’s moving properly! Huh…. Is the muzzle originally this small?” 

“No. Even if gunpowder could be added, the bullets couldn’t.”

“Hm….”

While listening to the explanation, Byeongho found a small thread about a centimeter away from the muzzle. 

Byeongho carefully examined the thread before gripping the barrel and pulling the end of the thread.

Poong!

With a small sound, the muzzle part was separated from the barrel, and Byeongho looked inside the muzzle.

There were six rows of coiled steel wires.

Byeongho, who had confirmed it was a rifling, grabbed Jin-ho by the collar.

“The fuck, you prick! You said it’s a prop! Why would you dig a rifling in a prop?”

“If you’re going to make it, you need to make it right so the customer’s needs ar—”

“Do you think your customer is shooting any snuff films?! You bastard! You’re here to take advantage of me in this situation, aren’t you?! How dare you use me as cover!”

“I can’t—”

“Bastard!”

“It was on the demand! For emergency cases-”

“Bullshit! They are humans living in a country full of vicious things beyond their means!”

After a long time of quarreling, Byeongho and Jinho agreed to seal a plug to the barrel of the already made rifle by electric welding, and then add the following phrase to the related product information on Amazon.

[In accordance with the laws of the country of manufacture, measures have been taken to prevent the use of live ammunition on the muzzle.]

“It’s a bum—”

“Ssh!”

Jinho, who could not hide his regret, lost his spirit when Byeongho glared at him. Not long after, Byeongho asked a question after he faltered over the advertisement which Jinho had posted on Amazon.

“It said that it was made according to history. Did you create the same ingredients first?” 

“No way. If I made the most important material—the barrel, using the old way from scratch, I have to add one more zero after the price.”

“I guess so.”

While they were having such a conversation, an old woman came into Jinho’s smithy.

“Is the young blacksmith here?”

“Welcome!”

“This is potato seeds, please keep it in the warehouse.”

“Yes, I got it.”

After receiving a box of seeds from the old woman, Jin-o put it in a separate warehouse behind the smithy.

When the old woman left, Byeongho looked at Jinho with a fresh look.

“You must be close to the elders in the neighborhood.”

“Well, we are helping each other.”

“But, why is she using your warehouse?”

“Some chemicals used in blacksmiths are sensitive to the temperature, so I paid attention to the air conditioning system when I made the warehouse. Thanks to that, it’s good to store seeds and fertilizer. That’s why they use it often.”

“Really? Let me take a look.”

“What else are you looking for?”

“Ssh….”

As Byeong-ho’s expression became sharper, the spiritless Jinho guided him to a separate warehouse behind the smithy.

Byeongho turned to Jinho when he saw piled-up steel plates in the first warehouse.

“That’s a lot of scrap metals.”

“Spring steel is the best material to make knives and such. Thanks to that, I became a regular in the junkyard.” 

“Is that so? Show me the other warehouse too.”

“.… Okay.”

Jinho opened the second warehouse at the urging of Byeongho.

The two entered a cool warehouse, and Byeongho stared at Jinho after looking at the items inside.

“Why would a blacksmith need that kind of chemicals?”

“It is necessary for etching decoration or additional works.”

“You buy it the normal way, right?”

“Do you want to see the receipt? Oh, my…. Who would doubt that you’re a detective?”

Despite Jinho’s retort, Byeongho’s eyes were fierce.

“I’ll kill you with my own hands if you make trouble.”

“Ah…, I won’t get into trouble!”

“Said the one who privately made the gun?”

“….”

Byeongho turned after warning Jinho before he sniffed around and grumbled.

“Whose field is it? How much manure has been sprayed that the smell—”

“My field.”

“Huh? Now you’re working in the fields too?”

“Hahaha….”

Because of Jinho’s strange laugh, Byeongho’s expression became sharp once again, and he looked at the field. Half of the field that was around 500 pyeong was occupied by solar panels, and the other half was covered with manure.

Byeongho was observing the composition before looking directly at Jinho’s face.

“The only good thing about your personality is that you cannot lie. I’m sure this is definitely not a farm field. What is this for?”

“This is…. pyroelectric….”

“Pyroelectric?”

“I was thinking of making some potassium nitrate…”

“Why potassium nitrate?”

“I need some black powder to make sure the Kentucky rifle is well made, but it’s hard to—”

“Bastard! This is out of cover!”

Byeongho, whose face turned white because of Jinho’s unexpected answer, grabbed his collar and screamed.

The reason Byeongho turned white was not simply because Jinho made gunpowder.

* * *

Three days before Byeong-ho visited Jinho, someone who came from the National Intelligence Service (NIS), visited Byeongho and his colleagues.

The NIS agent’s visit was about the ‘domestic activities of Islamic terrorist organizations.’

“Since the death of Osama, Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organizations have been operating independently. Currently, no organization has been found in our country, but the situation still can be very dangerous. The reason is that a considerable number of illegal workers from Pakistan and Southeast Asia Muslim countries are employed illegally.”

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

Most of the workers who were illegally employed were often subject to overtime work, unpaid wages, and even assault.

As things went on, the number of illegal workers who were hostile to Koreans and Korea was increasing, and the possibility of a self-sustaining terrorist organization being founded around them was increasing.

“… Because of this, I can’t tell whether I’m a member of the NIS or an investigator at the Employment and Labor Office. The day is running out to receive and return unpaid wages for illegal workers, and to get medical expenses for those injured in industrial accidents. Even if we are going to deport them, we have to get rid of bad feelings.”

The NIS agent complained about a moment before he went to the main point.

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

“From what I know there are almost no factories in Yangsan where irregular migrants can work?”

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

“Yes, but there are lots of farms around. Another source of demand for illegal immigration workers these days is these agricultural and livestock complexes.”

Detectives nodded at the NIS agent’s reply. Farming was a tough job, but the livestock industry was even tougher. The NIS agent, whose neck was dampened, displayed several slides on the screen.

“The pictures you are seeing now are the bomb terror scenes starting from the Oklahoma City Bombing. What’s important here is the material of explosives which is the key tool of terrorism. There have been examples of actual military and civilian explosives, but there are many cases where materials available in the market were collected and used. In this case, the most useful ingredient is nitrogen fertilizer. A moderate mix of nitrogen fertilizer with ingredients like kerosene or diesel, or maybe lubricant makes a very good explosive.”

“Hm….”

The faces of the detectives sitting around the NIS agent’s explanation had changed seriously. It was because of the nitrogen fertilizer consumption that overflowed on the farms around Yangsan.

“Of course, it’s not only on Yangsan where you can get nitrogen. However, there is Busan to the east of Yangsan and Changwon to the west. If you build or get a detonator from the Russian mafia in Busan, and then drag a truck carrying explosives to the Changwon defense complex and explode it, a fatal situation will occur.” 

The detectives nodded with a serious face at the NIS agent’s explanation. On the outskirts of Yangsan, fertilizers were overflowing in farms and agricultural materials shops. Fuel tanks full of fuel for vinyl houses and other agricultural facilities, as well as lubricants for agricultural machinery, were common there. In addition, 1-ton trucks were also common.

Last, there were quite a few people who bring in Pakistanis or other Southeast Asians to farm or raise livestock, and rumors said they were treated harshly.

Sensing that the detectives were aware of the seriousness, the NIS agent began to wrap up.

“The cooperation that the NIS has requested for you is regarding several cases of foreigners being hired illegally. But the truth is, this is gangster surveillance in Yangsan. According to the investigation conducted by the NIS, the brokers who find places to work for the irregular migrants are connected with the gangsters. The gangsters are involved in preventing and managing the escape of foreigners who have been employed. Please take care of this area with urgency. This is very important for our national security.”

TN:

(1)A popular saying in Korea, that Western fans are more than a normal fan. They do their fan activity to the fullest. E.g., if they do cosplay, they make the costume and do the makeup as real as possible.↻