Clubs are profoundly intriguing places. No matter how unfamiliar two people might be, once the alcohol kicks in and they entice each other through dance, they end up waking up the next day with a stranger in the most unimaginable places.
While there are no fixed locations to meet with lobbyists, there are a few established spots. Official meetings take place at the corporate office, but unofficial ones happen in private restaurants—and those that are even more unofficial take place in clubs. Spending hours there deep into the night, we align our wavelengths and find our fit.
A few VC managing partners preferred bars over clubs. There are many types of bars, but we usually met at a few specific establishments rather than common whiskey bars. They each had their preferred sectors of business, and they smoked constantly. To be precise, it was mostly cigars, but these young and capable VC owners have a leisure culture entirely their own.
When heading around several Itaewon clubs past two in the morning, there were many occasions to greet the owners. Neither I nor they would likely have much reason to exchange greetings again, and perhaps neither side truly cared. But considering how many people are introduced to them in that manner, their perspective is entirely understandable. Though they are middle-aged men in their mid-forties, they have become absolute masters at dealing with those who indulge in alcohol and pleasure day in and day out.
It may seem as though people trust each other and work together for grand reasons, but from what I see, the world ultimately operates on working with people who are simply fun to be around and with whom conversation flows easily. The lobbyists I worked with were no different. While there were certainly many others available, they matched my style of play, and there was a preferred tone between us. I am a man who maintains a distinct line, and the people who worked with me favored someone of my style who kept that boundaries.
It is a difficult truth to deny that the ultimate goal in life for many is pleasure. That reality does not seem to change much regardless of how much money or power one possesses. Thus, while I understood that their pleasure lay in making money by any means necessary, for me, pleasure was closer to the entrepreneurial satisfaction derived from selling a product.
To them, drugs were just the same—merely another form of amusement. They would often boast about getting caught smoking marijuana but having the matter hushed up through their parents. Thanks to having wealthy parents, they obtain drugs effortlessly, meet women to their heart's content, and even if they ruin a business, the vast majority never have to worry about a single problem arising in their lives. How could such people possess an entrepreneurial spirit? It is blindingly obvious that once those illustrious parents pass away, they are a flock of fools bound to capsize within one or two generations.
Realizing that the insight used to judge a person boils down to merely whether they are fun to hang out with makes one acutely aware of how similar humans are to animals. Someone who is fun to be around is deemed a good person. Someone who speaks pleasing words and agrees with you is deemed a good person. Meanwhile, those who question what they do are dismissed as failed losers—life's failures consumed by an inferiority complex, or merely cops and prosecutors obsessed with promotions. It makes living in this world exceptionally convenient for them.
If there is a flaw in this modern era, it is that too much power is granted to those whose heads are filled with nothing but filth and narcotics. Yet, even if someone else were to occupy those seats, I wonder what difference it would truly make. How could anyone withstand those who resort to every imaginable tactic just to find a way? How can an ordinary, healthy-minded individual pursuing a balanced life ever catch up to those who chase money day and night, disregarding all means and methods?
Ultimately, the world allows extreme people to find exactly what they seek. Ironically, as the countless transgressions committed during that process accumulate, even an ironclad majesty crumbles. The karma they have steadily built up over time is precisely what destroys them. For them to survive, they require yet another sacrifice from countless innocent people to conceal their karma. From that point onward, what are these entities? Are they human? Or are they vampires who cannot subsist without draining the very life from others?