A Smile of Survival
“What brings you here?”
“I’ve come to see the lord of Deungmyeong Manor.”
“Deungmyeong Manor and Haomun seem rather close these days.”
“I would like that very much, but the lord still keeps his distance.”
“Still?”
“I’m working on it.”
Yeonhui offered a light bow and stepped up to the main gate.
Knock. Knock.
“It’s Yeonhui. I’ve come to see the manor lord.”
At her words the closed doors opened once more.
“Nuna, why are you here so early?”
“I’ve always been the diligent type.”
“Fine. Come in.”
The gate Hwangbo Jeong had been unable to cross, Yeonhui passed through with ease.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
Unwilling to let them go so cleanly, Hwangbo Jeong left an open warning.
“Do not take the Hwangbo clan lightly. You have yet to experience even one-tenth of our family’s strength.”
He spoke not of the Shandong Merchant Guild, but of the Hwangbo clan itself. Yeonhui did not let it pass.
“Since I have the honor of meeting the guild master, there is one matter I should mention.”
“I have nothing I wish to hear from you.”
“You will find it interesting once you listen. Are you aware of Gu Donggu’s secret brothel in Jisanpo?”
“First I’ve heard of it.”
Of course he knew. He had simply never visited in person, so denial cost him nothing. Yet Yeonhui’s next words could not be brushed aside.
“The third young master of the Hwangbo clan spent the past several months residing at that secret brothel. Night after night he held drinking parties and talked… quite a great deal. Courtesans were always present.”
At the word courtesans, a chill crawled up Hwangbo Jeong’s spine.
If Haomun’s courtesans were there…
It was not a possibility.
They were certainly there.
That was what Haomun did best.
A loose tongue made mistakes; with wine added, there was no guessing what had been said.
“Then I look forward to our next meeting.”
Leaving those words behind, Yeonhui followed Ja Gangcheon into Deungmyeong Manor.
Alone, Hwangbo Jeong closed his eyes for a moment, then let out a long breath.
We have given Haomun every excuse to dig deeper.
In affairs like this, no one was more relentless than Haomun.
Nothing good will come of this dragging on.
Hwangbo Jeong felt as though he were sinking deeper into a swamp by the hour.
“Nuna. Why bring up the secret brothel?”
“I was only trying to help the manor lord, of course.”
Once inside the manor, Yeonhui flashed a brilliant smile.
To Ja Gangcheon that smile looked nothing short of dangerous.
When a woman smiles that prettily, there are only two reasons: she has fallen in love, or she wants something.
His mother had said that once.
“You’re not in love, so you must want something, right?”
“Whoever said that probably grew up in far more comfortable circumstances than I did. When I smile like this, it is pure survival instinct. This smile is the reason I am still alive.”
“That explains it. It looked strangely dangerous.”
Ja Gangcheon did not doubt her answer. If anything, it made the unease he had felt perfectly reasonable.
That reaction surprised Yeonhui.
“You actually believe me?”
“You’ve never lied to me, Nuna.”
The words struck her as startlingly fresh.
The Cheono Unit Leader of Haomun had met someone more than five times and never once been lied to!
She herself had lied even to her direct superior, the Shandong branch master.
“Now that you mention it, you’re right. Even so, isn’t it a little unfair that you still keep your guard up around me?”
A sudden sense of injustice welled up in her.
“Is it because you took direct damage from the Hwangbo Merchant Guild that you’re so wary?”
“No, that isn’t it.”
Even as she answered, Yeonhui understood.
“It’s because I’m Haomun.”
“Can you promise that from now on you will never do anything that harms our manor?”
Yeonhui did not answer. That was how she refused to lie.
“Relationships are always changing. You and I are already very different from when we first met.”
Ja Gangcheon could not deny that either.
They reached the rear garden and at last turned to the real purpose of today’s meeting.
“I’ll be clearing out the Shandong Escort Agency’s bases soon. I called you so you’d know in advance.”
“Surely you don’t mean to handle it personally?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
Ja Gangcheon answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Yeonhui was speechless, yet still clung to a sliver of hope.
“Has this already been discussed with the chief manager?”
“Of course. As always, more than seventy percent of it came out of Cheongu’s head.”
“Haa… I thought the chief manager at least was the sane one.”
“What was that?”
“Ah, forgive me. My private thoughts slipped out.”
“For something that ‘slipped out,’ you sound awfully calm.”
Ja Gangcheon chose not to press the point.
“I’ve said everything I needed to. Before you leave, go see Cheongu. He said he has something to discuss with you.”
“I will.”
Fortunately the wait was not dull.
While they sat in the rear garden pavilion, the youngest cook brought tea.
“Hehe. A pretty guest has come to visit.”
“My! At last someone in Deungmyeong Manor says that to me.”
Today, instead of Panseok, the youngest household member—Socheon—had brought the tea set.
“To think such a warm and wonderful person lives at Deungmyeong Manor. I am truly moved.”
“Hehe. Everyone here is good.”
Socheon carefully set the steeped tea before Yeonhui and bowed politely.
“Please enjoy your time.”
“Thank you. Whenever you come down to the harbor, please seek me out. I would like to repay you for today’s tea.”
“I would love to, but I have strict orders never to meet the unit leader alone.”
“Who gave that order? The manor lord, I suppose?”
“The manor lord, the chief manager, and even Auntie all said so.”
The “Auntie” Socheon mentioned was Song Jain.
At first everyone had called her “Advisor,” befitting her renown, but Song Jain rejected the title for creating too much distance.
The compromise had been “Advisor Auntie,” yet that felt awkward, so now everyone simply said Auntie.
Song Jain especially loved the name, and it had stuck.
“Everyone treats me as if I have the plague.”
“Hehe. There couldn’t be a prettier plague than you.”
“Oh my. How can anyone be so kind…”
Just as Yeonhui was putting on a wounded, trembling expression—
“Our Socheon is off-limits.”
Cheongu appeared.
“What exactly is off-limits?”
“Whatever it is. No.”
“Chief Manager, are you aware you’re starting to sound just like the manor lord?”
“That’s also not allowed.”
“Oh my. Have I offended you?”
“Gangcheon cannot be compared to anyone.”
“Perhaps I should start calling him Cult Leader instead of Manor Lord.”
Cheongu did not rise to the bait. He simply took the seat opposite Yeonhui.
“Socheon, one for me as well.”
“Yes, Chief Manager!”
With his signature innocent smile, Socheon set tea before Cheongu.
“Please enjoy your conversation.”
Long years of inn work had taught Socheon when to vanish. Thanks to him, Cheongu and Yeonhui could move straight to business.
“I heard you agreed to the manor lord’s dangerous plan.”
“I judged it necessary for the lord and for our manor. Because of that, I have a proposal for the unit leader as well.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“While the matter is being settled, prevent the Hwangbo clan from entering Gyounam.”
“That will not be easy.”
Yeonhui lifted her teacup, sinking into calculation. Instinctively she weighed which answer would profit her most.
Cheongu, however, had no intention of giving her time.
“It is not easy—which is precisely why there is compensation for the unit leader. I understand you have already made that agreement with our manor lord.”
Yeonhui fell silent for a moment.
As expected, this one is the most troublesome.
She had never once held the upper hand against Cheongu.
Today she was the one being asked a favor and had hoped to put on airs, yet a single sentence from him restored the balance.
“Very well. Even so, if this is to succeed, I cannot do it for free.”
“I know. That is why I will give you justification.”
“What justification?”
“For this matter alone, Deungmyeong Manor will appoint the Cheono Unit Leader as mediator.”
It meant that every ground and every justification Deungmyeong Manor currently possessed against the Hwangbo clan would be entrusted entirely to the Cheono Unit Leader.
To Yeonhui it was a weapon sturdier than any peerless blade under heaven.
“With an offer like that, of course I accept.”
“I leave it in your hands.”
They wasted no words, exchanging only what was strictly necessary, and the negotiation ended.
Perhaps that was why, as Yeonhui finished the remaining tea, a question rose in her mind.
I never heard their true purpose.
Ja Gangcheon had said, “I’ll clear out the escort agency.”
Cheongu had said, “Keep the Hwangbo clan away.”
Simply put, it meant: while we deal with the escort agency, block the Hwangbo clan.
But what is the point of blocking them that way?
If they never touched the escort agency in the first place, there would be no need to negotiate with the Hwangbo clan at all.
She could force an understanding if she tried, yet no matter how she turned it over, it did not feel natural.
They strike the escort agency simply because they cannot back down? While leaving the merchant guild right next door alone?
Yeonhui set down her cup and fixed her gaze on Cheongu.
When their eyes met, Cheongu offered a faint smile.
The smile was remarkably kind and natural.
Dangerous man.
Watching Cheongu, she finally understood why Ja Gangcheon had said those words about her own smile.
“Ugh…”
For the first time in a long while, Gu Donggu saw the morning sun.
Sitting on a wooden rack and watching the sky sway overhead had a certain charm.
Not walking on his own two legs was also rather interesting.
It had been years since he last tasted this kind of romance.
If an experience this precious came with a little pain as the price, he could endure it.
“Argh! Ghk!”
If only the pain had been a little smaller.
Every time the brutish six-foot giant took a step, Gu Donggu felt as though he were falling from a second-story roof.
Damn bastard. Should’ve trained his light-footwork more.
He glanced sideways. Ja Gangcheon was running as smoothly as if skating across ice.
Beside him, Cheongu’s light-footwork looked surprisingly polished as well.
“Khhk!”
At least twenty bones were broken. He had lain still all this time hoping to heal quickly, yet the barren warehouse and meager food had never allowed the recovery he wanted.
Is this karmic retribution?
The time spent abandoned like a stray dog in that warehouse had forced him to look back on himself.
After long repentance, the conclusion he reached was simple.
This is unfair!
He still felt wronged.
Yet it seemed there would be no turning back.
Crazy bastards…
The morning sun was especially warm.
To stage a raid on a day this fine…
These people were currently on their way to commit an ambush.
“All right! Let’s go raid them!”
That was what Ja Gangcheon had said as they left the manor.
What had they been doing all night that they only set out in the morning when everyone was heading to work?
There was a reason night raids were called the flower of surprise attacks.
“Idiots.”
The moment that thought formed—
“Urgh!”
Panseok suddenly stopped, and Gu Donggu’s body, perched on the rack, lurched hard.
“Hyung-nim. This bastard just said something.”
“I heard.”
Gu Donggu’s skin crawled.
I only thought it…
This was worse than a morning raid.
Crack-crack-crack!
“Aaaargh!”
The man was ruthless. He twisted the ankle that had only just begun to knit, as if snapping a dry branch.
“P-please spare me!”
“I’m not killing you.”
Crack-crack-crack!
He twisted the remaining ankle as well, forcing Gu Donggu to clamp his teeth until he tasted blood.
“Only say what is necessary.”
“Yes! Yes! I understand!”
Even curses would not have been enough for this bastard.
If you twist something, you ought to put it back, shouldn’t you?
That man would never know how agonizing it was to set one’s own ankles while lying helpless in a warehouse.
“Let’s go.”
The same man who had just delivered hellish pain spoke in a bright voice, as if heading out to play with a friend.
Vicious bastard. Son of a bitch. Fucking bastard. Bastard I’ll deep-fry in shit-water.
All the way to their destination, Gu Donggu poured out every curse he knew. Of course, not a single word left his mouth.