In a Different World

For weeks, I negotiate through trusted emissaries to meet with the shadowy leader of the Han Empire Blood Clan. When he finally appears at our rendezvous point in a seamy red-light district of Seoul, I'm caught off guard. Wearing droopy trousers and a gray sweatshirt emblazoned with the words phat farm, a pudgy young man with a hesitant smile and a sniffle approaches me and bows. Surrounding him are his "fighters," a crew of shy and gangly youths, all with pale skin, unfashionable haircuts and rumpled clothing. In the real world, these guys don't get much respect. "When people meet me...

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