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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Garbage Devouring Garbage
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"Alright, we'll use the SH Soft headquarters building as collateral. The review process was flawless, so we'll proceed with the 10-billion-won loan as planned."
"Thank you."
As I picked up the documents from the desk, the branch manager bowed with a benevolent smile.
The sight of him smiling as he walked into the pits of hell was amusing, but I simply smiled back without betraying a thing.
It was probably the same expression this bastard wore as he pushed countless victims into the flames of purgatory.
"Well then, I'll be on my way."
"Take care!"
I walked away leisurely, accepting the farewells of those who had escorted me out of the branch.
The payout this time was quite good.
Even after deducting the costs for information, various operations, and bribing collaborators, I'd still be left with 7 billion.
Of course, I'd pulled off scores of this magnitude several times before, so I wasn't over the moon.
I was well past the point of getting worked up over every single score.
Once outside, I checked three times to make sure I wasn't being followed before taking out a burner phone.
As always, I called the specialist who would launder the money, and an exceptionally cheerful voice came through the line.
"Oh, I had a feeling you'd be calling soon. Did it go well?"
"About 7 billion. Take your usual cut for the trouble and handle it well."
"Wow, you've really got a knack for this, don't you? How do you manage to squeeze them dry like that without raising any suspicion?"
"That's just how those bastards are. They've spent their whole lives leeching off others, so it never occurs to them that they could be the ones getting leeched."
It was a simple but profound truth that had never once betrayed me.
What was there to hide? It had been ten years since I started this line of work—a profession that, no matter how you dress it up, can only be called "con artist."
Aside from the first few years when I was practically a rookie, I had never once let my prey escape.
And every single target I marked as my prey shared a common trait without exception.
They were all con artists themselves, their greed filled to the brim.
Simply put, it was cannibalism. It wouldn't be wrong to say I was a piece of garbage growing larger by devouring other garbage.
"Alright, I'll handle it like always, so check back in a while. It'll go into the designated dummy account, so make sure you withdraw it on time."
"This isn't our first time. You think I'd screw that up?"
There was no grand reason for me to specifically target other con artists or the slippery legal types who were practically the same.
I was an orphan from the start, so it wasn't because my parents were victims of fraud, nor was it born from some sense of justice to make the world a better place.
I knew I was just another con artist, so I had no desire to justify my actions by calling myself a dark knight or a righteous thief.
The reason I made money this way was not complicated.
First, as I said before, all I had to do was dangle the bait like a choice meal, and they would unhesitatingly try to devour me.
That allowed me to strip them clean in return, without any hesitation.
Besides, even if they lost their money that way, they couldn't complain to anyone.
How could they seek help from the law when reporting that the money they made from scams was stolen by another scam would only land them in cuffs first?
Private retaliation was a concern, but I used various methods to keep my identity and face hidden, so it wasn't a problem.
It was no exaggeration to say that, aside from the man on this call, there was almost no one who could contact me.
"So, who's the next target? Got anyone in mind?"
"There is someone I've been thinking about. The chairman of some private school foundation. Heard he made his money in some pretty vicious ways."
"And you're going to deliver a righteous judgment?"
"Righteous judgment, my ass. A taste of his own medicine, maybe."
"Calling it a taste of his own medicine is an understatement. I bet your methods are far more creative."
I couldn't deny that.
The truth is, even if con artists are greedy, they won't try to prey on someone who seems even slightly off.
Setting the stage to appear as the perfect mark to them is impossible unless you've completely mastered the art of the con.
It's nothing to brag about, but I, too, knew everything there was to know in this field and had done it all.
From the sleight of hand of a master cardsharp to major league scams like phishing, Ponzi schemes, and market manipulation, I had reached the level of a master in all of them.
There were many times I had to pose as a specialist who seemed ignorant of the world outside their books, so I had accumulated considerable knowledge in accounting, law, and finance.
I even had to memorize modern history down to the last detail once when I had to pose as a history professor.
Fortunately, I had a memory that rarely forgot something I'd seen once, so memorization itself wasn't difficult.
With these skills, I could have made a good living doing something other than running cons, but unfortunately, having taken that first wrong step, there was no way out, nor did I have any desire to find one.
Just as I was about to hang up and head to my usual cocktail bar to celebrate my success, his voice came through the smartphone.
"Hey, hey, that place is good and all, but if you're smart, you'll take a look at this job I brought in. There's this guy causing a stir over in China, and I think we can take him for a really big score. Just give me a 10% info fee."
"How much are you expecting? Minimum."
"At least 20 billion. You're fluent in Chinese and English, so pretending to be a local won't be a problem."
And not just Chinese and English. I could manage basic conversations in French and Spanish too.
If one dug too deep, my facade would crumble, but at least on the surface, a con artist is a creature that appears more refined than anyone.
In any case, I'd worked overseas several times, so there was no reason to turn down such a big job.
After ending the call, I reviewed the materials he sent. Seeing no particular red flags, I sent back a message saying I'd take the job.
Three days later, utterly oblivious to what was to come, I booked a ticket to China and headed for my departure.
* * *
If you had to name the biggest reason successful people fall, it would have to be complacency.
They say that no matter how cautious a person is at first, repeated success inevitably makes them careless.
But I never thought that would be my story.
"Yun Seon-woo. Is that right?"
Three men approached me the moment I stepped out of the airport.
The instant I heard the voice, I tried to run without looking back, but they were faster.
Their subdued voices and cold eyes alone made it obvious why they had approached me.
Who sent them?
I couldn't recall fleecing anyone powerful enough to pull something this big, so then…
I might have figured it out if I had a little more time to think, but before I could, my body went limp, and my consciousness faded.
I've never experienced it myself, but I imagine this is what it feels like to be put under general anesthesia.
It felt like I'd dozed off for a moment, but when I opened my eyes, all traces of the airport were gone, replaced by the sight of an incredibly eerie, abandoned mine.
I reflexively tried to get up and run, but sadly, my body wouldn't obey.
As I struggled to put any strength into my legs, I heard a familiar Korean voice.
"Oh, looks like this bastard's awake."
It was the voice of the son of a bitch who had called my name earlier.
They must have gone to great lengths to drag me to such a deserted place, which meant what they planned to do was… son of a bitch.
"Look, I don't know who you are, but I think you've got the wrong person. I'm not Yun Seon-woo, I'm Lee Hyeon-woo..."
"You think we're morons who didn't even check your passport?"
"Then there must be some misunderstanding. Let's talk this out. Who sent you? Let me at least talk to them on the phone."
"You? Don't even think about it. If you piss off the Vice Chairman, the fallout will hit us, not you."
Vice Chairman? I swear I've never touched anyone called that. What kind of bullshit was this?
I thought there might genuinely be a misunderstanding, but it was unlikely that someone with the power to orchestrate this would make such a simple mistake.
"Did I, without realizing it, touch that Vice Chairman's money?"
"Wow, you're quick on the uptake. That's what he said. The 15 billion you swindled last time? Turns out the guy managing the Vice Chairman's slush fund moved it without permission. It caused a huge mess."
"I didn't know it was the Vice Chairman's money! Wait. Then I can just pay back the 15 billion with interest, say 20 billion. So let me make a call..."
"You're not seeing the bigger picture. Think about it. Do you really think this is about a measly 20 billion? Do you have any idea how big this has gotten because of that? That stupid bastard exposed a paper company, and now the entire slush fund he was managing is about to vanish. Can you pay all of that back?"
No. How was I supposed to know that the guy I thought was just the president of a fraudulent company had that kind of backing?
I didn't need to ask to guess the fate of that idiot who lost the money to me.
The problem was that his shit had splattered all over me.
The man looked at my disgusted expression and continued.
"You did a thorough job of hiding your identity, though. We were lucky we caught your money launderer and beat it out of him. If it weren't for him, we might never have even seen your face. You know how much we got chewed out for taking so long?"
What the hell do I care if you guys get chewed out, you bastards, is what I wanted to scream, but for now, I held it in.
From the sound of it, they hadn't tracked me directly but had caught my contact. I should have been more careful on that front as well.
Of course, how could I have guessed that the mark I thought was just a mark was actually a poisoned chalice? But I couldn't deny that my carelessness had led me to this point.
This is why people need to make sure the ground beneath them is solid, especially when they're on top. It's pathetic that I only realize this after ending up in such a state.
"Wait. Let's just calm down and talk. I can't pay back all that money, but I have a better way. Do you know how much money I've saved up? Hundreds of billions in clean, untraceable cash. I'll give it all to you. Just report that you took care of me properly, how about it?"
"Hey, you think we don't want to? But what do you think happens next if we take your offer? We'll be kneeling right where you are now, begging some other guy in this spot to take all our money and spare us, right?"
"You fucking moron… No, no. I'm telling you, I'll make sure that doesn't happen. I know how to launder money and create new identities. Don't you see the opportunity here? This is your chance to turn your lives around! Don't you get that if I die, all this money is gone?"
"We can probably get that by shaking down your money launderer, too. The Vice Chairman is very angry, so our hands are tied. Sorry about this."
Who the hell is that Vice Chairman, you sons of biiitches, I tried to roar, but my consciousness was fading again, making even that impossible.
"But we have a conscience, at least. We'll knock you out first. You won't be waking up next time, so try to live a good life in your next one."
I truly never imagined that in my final moments, I'd have to listen to such bullshit from these murderous bastards.
To say this was karma for fleecing other con artists… but those guys are all living just fine.
Frankly, even if I were put on trial, my crimes weren't punishable by death. Do I really have to die like this just because I caused some chaebol asshole I've never even met to lose his slush fund? What a fucking…
I tried to bite my tongue to stay conscious, but I couldn't hold on to my fading awareness.
And so, without even leaving a proper last word, my final stray thought in this world was cut short.