The Regressed Vault Keeper Took It All

Chapter 12: Torture Cannot Make Me Talk

A fanfare resounded, and as the old signboard came down, the golden plaque of the Korea Stock Exchange revealed itself.

The crowd burst into applause and cheers.

Fueled by a foolish belief in government guarantees, blatant expectation bloomed across people’s faces.

‘Does changing the name change what’s inside? Strip it down, and it’s still nothing more than a gambling den where gluttons run wild.’

I stood a little apart from the crowd, dressed in a freshly tailored suit.

Beside me, Ma Dong-jin stood like a shadow.

The inauguration ceremony teemed with all sorts of figures.

Powerful men, businessmen, Myeong-dong financiers, and even reporters eager to dig up information. Every time a camera flashed, greedy eyes glittered.

“This time, they say it’s really different! With the government stepping in, it’s nothing but making a fortune from here!”

“Should I take the money we buried in land and dump it all into Daeseung shares now…?”

“Wake up, woman! That’s how you lose everything and end up ruined!”

Snippets of chatter brushed past my ears.

It seemed even shadowy loan sharks and illegal money changers had caught the scent of cash and flocked here.

They were like hyenas, but the bigger this game became, the more their moves would matter.

“Ha-ha! A historic moment! At last, Korea’s capital market stretches its limbs!”

Park Jeong-ho, president of Han River Securities, laughed his trademark hearty laugh as he shook hands with influential figures.

That sly old fox’s confidence would soon turn into despair.

‘But come to think of it, I don’t see Kim Jin-ho, who always stuck to him.’

At Park Jeong-ho’s side stood only Section Chief Choi Min-jun, shadow-like.

No matter how much I looked around, Kim Jin-ho was nowhere to be seen.

‘A festival as the curtain rises on tragedy—how paradoxical.’

Thinking of the bloody storm that would follow this flashy plaque inauguration, a bitter smile crept across my lips.

At that moment, I spotted Yang Sobo, quietly surveying the venue with Zhang Wei in tow.

He kept his distance from Park Jeong-ho and the military officers, sharply observing the situation.

And behind him, standing restlessly, was none other than Kim Jin-ho.

‘So there you are. Reduced to trailing after Yang Sobo like a dog needing to relieve itself.’

When Yang Sobo’s eyes met mine, I lightly nodded.

He answered with the faintest jerk of his chin.

A government official’s tedious congratulatory speech began.

Faces filled with hope and desire. I alone saw the greed, betrayal, and impending ruin hidden behind those smiles.

‘Still, he never showed up in the end.’

I had half-expected to see Jeong Tae-soo today, but he never appeared.

There was nothing more to see.

Without hesitation, I turned and left the inauguration ceremony.

Days passed since I had begun physically purchasing Daeseung shares.

Leaving Yang Sobo’s mansion, I deliberately walked slowly.

My steps were unhurried, but they did not stop.

I headed toward that place I had long tried to push deep into memory—the bridge where the Cheongnyangni beggar den once stood.

When I arrived at the bridge and looked down, it was as I expected.

The spot where the shanty once stood was barren, and not a shadow of the ragged people remained.

Beneath the bridge, silence pressed down where not even an ant dared crawl.

‘So they’ve already all… been dragged into the facility.’

In the past, I too had been taken there.

No—dragged even before the others.

A year in that facility, trampled by army boots, treated less than human, forced into labor.

That hell had been made even more nightmarish under the tyranny of the Fly.

It was an unforgettable memory, pain etched into my very bones.

Ironically, it had been Jeong Tae-soo who pulled me out of that hell.

Because he noticed me, I had been able to return to the outside world, and so I served him like a dog.

If he told me to crawl, I crawled; if he told me to die, I feigned death.

I devoted everything to help build his empire.

But in the end, what came back was cold betrayal and death.

Cast away like a hunting dog once its prey was caught.

‘Greedy, me? Don’t make me laugh. All I ever asked for was what was rightfully mine.’

It was an empire built with my blood, sweat, and even my soul ground to dust.

I would never be shaken by the sophistry of those who tried to swallow it whole.

In this life, I would set everything right.

The history I built would belong to me and me alone.

As I sorted through the flood of emotions and moved to take another step—

Screech!

A sharp squeal of brakes rang out as a military jeep skidded to a stop beside me.

Its dusty frame, its oppressive aura—an ominous feeling washed over me.

Two men in flight jackets got out of the jeep.

From their bodies emanated the sharp aura of trained men.

“Baek Min-woo?”

One of them called my name, as if confirming it. His voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

I immediately recognized who they were.

The Korean Central Intelligence Agency. What was bound to come had finally come.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Get in.”

As soon as I answered meekly, a curt and firm command followed.

“Wh-who are you?”

I asked, wearing the most clueless and frightened expression I could muster.

In their eyes, I still had to be nothing more than a lucky beggar clinging to Yang Sobo.

Whether my act would fool them, I couldn’t know—but for now, it had to.

“Cut the chatter and get in. You’ll want to come quietly.”

The man’s eyes glinted with threat.

Instinctively, I glanced around.

Sure enough, my eyes met Ma Dong-jin’s in the distance, watching this way.

I signaled him with a shake of my head—don’t interfere.

These men embodied state power itself.

If Ma Dong-jin stepped in, things would spiral to the worst possible outcome.

Perhaps mistaking my glance as a sign of escape, the two men closed in from either side, locking their arms around mine.

There was no chance to flee.

“Don’t even think about running. Get in.”

They forced me into the jeep.

I was shoved into the backseat, the men flanking me, still locking my arms in place.

The man in the passenger seat tapped the driver’s shoulder.

“Go.”

The jeep carrying me sped off, raising a cloud of dust as it left the Cheongnyangni bridge behind.

After a drive through roads both familiar and strange, we arrived at a massive building nestled under Namsan.

A Taegeukgi fluttered on its roof, and on the front gate hung a large plaque inscribed with the characters “Korean Central Intelligence Agency.”

The very heart of power—and the stage for endless schemes and violence.

‘So in the end… I’ve come back here.’

In the past, I had been dragged here several times.

Back then, it was because opposition forces tried to strike Jeong Tae-soo, who stood at the peak of power. But this time, I was summoned solely for my own actions.

‘Who called me here? Jeong Tae-soo? Or Lee Seong-gyu?’

The jeep passed the main building and stopped before an annex.

“Get out.”

Without protest, I got out of the vehicle.

Resistance was useless now.

I followed them inside the annex, descending a staircase that led downward.

The deeper we went, the colder and damper the air became, and a foul stench stabbed at my lungs.

---

Deep underground.

At the end of the corridor, one of the men pointed toward a firmly closed iron door.

“Get in.”

Shoved from behind, I stepped into a small room.

The sound of the iron door shutting behind me split through the cold underground air.

I slowly looked around the room.

A lone steel desk, two chairs, and on one wall, grim torture devices and a stained bathtub.

It was a scene befitting the notorious underground interrogation chamber of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.

For an instant, unpleasant memories from the past brushed by, but I forced myself to keep up a frightened expression.

The door opened again, and Section Chief Choi Min-jun entered.

The two agents who had brought me here followed at his heels.

“Sit.”

Choi gestured at the chair with his chin. His voice carried blatant hostility.

‘As I thought… this is about the KEPCO shares.’

Muttering inwardly, I sat silently on the chair.

Choi sat across from me, while the two agents loomed behind me menacingly.

He tossed a file envelope onto the desk, glaring at me.

“Baek Min-woo. Twenty years old. Until recently, a beggar from Cheonggyecheon, isn’t that right?”

Choi abruptly recited my personal details.

I flinched as though shocked.

Anyone hearing their background recited in a KCIA interrogation room would be scared half to death—so I acted the part to look natural.

‘They must’ve completed their background check long ago. This is just a show, meant to break my spirit.’

After ordering the purchase of Daeseung shares, I had deliberately avoided showing myself at the Myeong-dong office to shake their surveillance.

But wandering the streets while coming and going from Yang Sobo’s house must have drawn suspicion.

Still, they couldn’t have obtained hard evidence.

If they had, they wouldn’t start with questioning like this.

“…That’s right.”

“You found Yang Sobo’s granddaughter and took refuge in his house.”

Choi continued, his tone dripping with mockery.

“But lately, word on the Myeong-dong streets is that this lucky bastard’s been up to strange things.”

His eyes flashed, his growling voice oppressive.

“The recent KEPCO stock crash—that was your doing, wasn’t it?”

That question confirmed it.

As expected, they had no proof.

Just fishing, trying to tie me in.

No doubt planning to use this as a pretext to go after Yang Sobo.

I put on my most clueless expression.

“K-KEPCO shares? They’re so expensive, I couldn’t even afford a look. Where would I get that kind of money?”

“Couldn’t even look?”

Choi repeated my words with a mocking sneer, making sure I heard it.

“You think I don’t know you invested in KEPCO shares with Yang Sobo’s money?”

Still probing.

I had funneled in only a few million won precisely to leave no trace.

Feigning slight panic, I spoke.

“I understood that all of Mr. Yang’s stock investments were handled by President Kim Jin-ho. Did you ask him? I really know nothing about it.”

“Know nothing? The day before the massive KEPCO sell-off, I personally saw you visit Park Jeong-ho. And you expect me to believe you know nothing? Just a coincidence, is that it?”

As I thought, my visit to Park Jeong-ho at the stock exchange became their excuse. But that had been intentional on my part.

“I only went to thank President Park for his earlier advice. Weren’t you there yourself, Chief Choi?”

“Thank him?”

Choi snorted.

“A beggar brat, lucky enough to hook up with Yang Sobo’s granddaughter, suddenly thinks he can strut around? We already have hard evidence tying you to the KEPCO crash!”

Choi slammed the desk with a bang that echoed through the underground chamber.

“Was it Yang Sobo’s order? How much does that old man know?”

Hard evidence? My ass.

If they had any, they wouldn’t waste time yelling.

This wasn’t my first time being dragged into KCIA.

I made my voice tremble, deliberately acting more frightened at the sound of the desk slam.

“I-I don’t know. I know nothing.”

“Still not coming to your senses.”

Choi’s eyes gleamed.

He signaled with a glance to the agents behind me.

“Strip him.”

The moment he finished, one agent yanked my hair back roughly.

The other rushed in, tearing my clothes off as though ripping them apart.

In an instant, I was naked, defenseless against the cold air.

One agent rifled through my discarded clothes and dumped my belongings onto the desk.

A few 100-hwan bills, some 10-hwan coins, and… the Daeseung stock contract confirmation I had bought the day I visited Park Jeong-ho.

That was everything I owned.

“I’ll ask again. The KEPCO sell-off—was it you? Did Yang Sobo order it?”

Choi coldly demanded as he stomped on the Daeseung confirmation slip at my feet.

He kept bringing up Yang Sobo. His real target wasn’t me—it was him.

“I-I don’t know… I swear I don’t…”

Choi let out a derisive laugh.

“Fine. Let’s see how long you last.”

At his signal, the agent gripping my hair dragged me toward the bathtub, filthy water sloshing inside.

“This is your last chance. Speak the truth.”

“I-I really don’t know… Please, spare me…”

I acted in desperate terror.

But inside, I sneered.

‘They think torture like this will make me talk?’

After the life I’d lived—this was nothing.

Without hesitation, the agents plunged my head into the bathtub.

The agony of suffocation, the crushing pressure as my lungs threatened to burst.

Cold water surged into my nose and mouth.

I struggled desperately, but I couldn’t overcome their brute strength.

Just before I lost consciousness, they yanked my head out of the water.

“Cough! Cough!”

I collapsed to the floor, hacking violently, gasping for breath.

“Now, do you remember?”

“I really… don’t know anything. Why are you doing this to me…?”

“Stubborn bastard.”

The only words they would ever hear from me were “I don’t know.”

Sensing as much, Choi’s expression hardened.

But soon, he twisted a crooked smile.

“This isn’t a place to uncover the truth. It’s a place to make the truth. Let’s see how long you hold out.”

The agents shoved my head underwater again.

This time, for far longer.

My strength drained away.

As suffocating pain closed in, the terror of death swept over me.

‘Are they really going to kill me? Do they think a beggar’s death wouldn’t matter?’

Then, suddenly—

The agents holding me down loosened their grip.

Desperate to live, I summoned my last strength to lift my head.

The moment I broke the surface, I collapsed to the floor, gasping raggedly for breath.

My lungs burned as though tearing apart from the strain.

I gulped down what little oxygen I could, struggling to steady myself.

When I finally regained some clarity, the scene came into focus.

The heavy iron door now stood open, and a man had entered, his icy gaze sweeping the room.

He stepped in slowly, then fixed his stern expression on Choi Min-jun. His voice rang low and heavy with authority.

“Hey! Chief Choi!”

His roar filled the interrogation room.