Mission Accomplished…? (2)
“Well, now! That’s impressive. Impressive! To finish in one shichen what would normally take all day!”
Manager Jo exclaimed in admiration as he handed over a pouch of money.
“Here’s the agreed day’s wage. I’ve put in more than enough, so eat well!”
“Thank you.”
The siblings took the money pouch by force of habit and turned away.
Their bodies moved on memory alone.
They had completely forgotten why they had come here in the first place.
Baek Wontae curled a finger at them, his face full of dissatisfaction.
The siblings tilted their heads, confused.
His gestures grew more frantic, until he was practically mouthing the words.
What the hell are you doing?
Baek Wontae heaved his shoulders and protested with his entire body.
Ah!
Only then did they realize it.
The merchant list!
Both of them hurried back to Manager Jo.
Just as he was finishing up and heading inside, they called out to him.
“W-wait, Manager Jo!”
“Hmm? Is there still something you need?”
“Well… could we perhaps get the list of merchants who supply Geumgangru?”
Manager Jo’s expression twisted into embarrassment.
“Ah… well, that’s confidential business information… not something I can just hand out to anyone.”
As expected.
The siblings were at a loss.
They needed Geumgangru’s merchant records to secure a distribution network, but they had no idea how to get them.
Then the words Baek Wontae had once said flashed through Ihyeon’s mind.
You’ve got to put what I taught you to use.
Meanwhile, Baek Wontae had already slipped a little closer. He didn’t trust them to pull this off cleanly, and if things went sideways, he was ready to step in himself.
“Uh, th-tha…then….”
Ihwa stammered, unable to find the words.
Then Ihyeon spoke.
“The truth is… I’m in urgent need of money, so I was looking for a merchant group with loading work.”
“……!”
Baek Wontae and Ihwa’s eyes widened at the same time.
For the same reason.
Ihyeon was lying.
“I’ve loaded and unloaded goods at Geumgangru quite a few times, and the merchant groups that supply here usually have decent merchandise. I figured if I followed one of them and did the unloading work, I could make a fair bit.”
“Hmm… that’s not without merit….”
“I’ll come help often. You saw me helping today, didn’t you? If you’re really concerned about it… I’ll hand back today’s wage.”
Ihyeon shoved the money pouch into Manager Jo’s hands.
Manager Jo hurriedly waved him off.
“Goodness, you almost turned me into human garbage in an instant!”
Laughing heartily, he returned the pouch.
“All right, all right. I’ll tell you, just this once. But you have to look at it discreetly. If the madam catches me, I’ll lose my head! In return, come by often and lend us a hand, will you?”
“Thank you very much. I will.”
Manager Jo disappeared inside the pleasure house, then came back out holding a single sheet of paper.
“Here. The merchant list. Make absolutely sure nobody else sees it!”
The siblings bowed their heads in gratitude.
Manager Jo wore a kindly smile.
“It’s nice to see young people working so hard. I’m sure the two of you will go far.”
“We’ll be heading back now. Take care.”
The siblings bowed politely and turned away.
As they walked toward the gate, Ihwa’s face darkened.
“We… lied….”
It was an act that openly defied their father’s teachings.
Her steps grew heavy.
“Have we… become villains…?”
Her brother gave no reply.
“Dang Ihyeon?”
When she turned to look, Ihwa flinched.
He looked different from usual.
Cold, rigid, and staring somewhere far away.
* * *
He couldn’t hear anything.
His heart was hammering like mad.
Sweat seeped from his tightly clenched fist.
He’d asked for the merchant list so they could unload goods?
It was a lie.
His real purpose was to find a distribution network for peddling a lowly drug.
He was twenty-one.
He had spent his entire life under his father’s teachings.
The principles of Confucianism and Buddhism, the way of the gentleman.
What is meant by sincerity of intention is not to deceive oneself.
He had engraved that teaching into his bones.
He had hidden his name only to protect his family’s safety.
But was this the same?
No.
Honestly, he had thought it wouldn’t work.
His first lie in his life, told for personal gain.
He had just been swept along by the words of a man who had suddenly appeared and blurted out whatever came to mind.
And yet he had fooled Manager Jo, a man who must have seen everything in his time.
Using the goodwill Manager Jo already held toward him as a weapon.
Manager Jo had handed over the merchant list without suspicion.
Success.
Complete success.
Mission accomplished.
The family’s long-cherished wish had always felt impossibly distant.
The power he had gained through training, the knowledge he had amassed—he had never even had a chance to use any of it.
Achievement was always something that belonged to another world.
But what he felt now was not guilt.
It was something far greater than that—
Ecstasy.
* * *
“Hahou Hyeon!”
He jerked, snapping out of his thoughts.
Turning his head, he saw Baek Wontae standing there.
He gave a thumbs-up.
“That was good. As expected, my eye for talent isn’t wrong. You’ve got potential.”
“I don’t know that being praised for something like this….”
His words trailed off.
The thrill from that brief lie.
Its intensity made him ashamed of himself.
It was the biggest feeling of pleasure he had ever experienced.
And before his eyes flashed the face of the man who had lied several times already that very day.
No guilt. No shame.
He looked as if he were living an utterly ordinary life, like a farmer harvesting crops or a fisherman hauling in fish.
Baek Wontae couldn’t possibly miss what was going through his mind.
The awkwardness of the first time crossing a line.
The trembling of a pure heart.
There was no need to say much.
Baek Wontae leaned in and whispered briefly.
“Welcome to the game.”
Just as they were about to step out through the pleasure house gate—
“Oh my, and who might this be? Isn’t that Hahou the Young Master?”
Their syrupy voices rang out.
Colorful courtesans beckoned to them.
“Hyeon! You’re done already? Why rush off? Come stay a little!”
“Oh, just look at those eyes… they’re like they could cut straight through a heart….”
“Even the sweat beading on your chin is gorgeous!”
“And those veins on the back of your hand? Art, pure art!”
“Come have some fun! I’ll pay!”
The praise came tumbling out in an unbroken flood.
A chill ran down their spines.
Both Ihwa’s and Baek Wontae’s gazes narrowed.
“What the hell…?”
“Life’s unfair.”
Ihyeon squeezed his eyes shut.
“…I’m really not.”
* * *
Before they knew it, the sun had begun to set.
They rode a carriage back to Heokryeonhyang.
Click.
Shhkt—
Thunk!
After repeating that over and over as they pushed through the forest path, they finally reached the main hall.
Two documents lay spread out on the table.
Baek Wontae smiled as he spoke.
“All right, today’s mission is… all clear!”
He even clapped for himself.
“We’ve secured the Hyeonrihwa distributor in Hamwon and the merchant list for Geumgangru, so now all that’s left is to buy, make, and sell. That’s it!”
Smiling, he looked around at the Dang family members.
“Come on, don’t you already feel rich? Let’s smile a little on such a good day.”
No one smiled.
The Dang siblings were weighed down by guilt for betraying their conscience for profit, and the clan head felt responsible for funding this business of his.
“Tch… fine. Let’s talk business.”
Tapping the documents, he asked, “What matters is this merchant list. Do you recognize any of these names?”
Ihyeon nodded.
“I’ve unloaded for some of these merchant groups before.”
“Good. Then pick out the smaller ones… the ones in rough financial shape.”
“A merchant group like that….”
Ihyeon pointed to one name.
Baek Wontae murmured lowly, “Manri Merchant Group.”
“They should be back in Hamwon around this time….”
The siblings’ expressions darkened slightly.
“What’s wrong?”
Ihwa answered.
“We unloaded for them once before… but the merchant leader was a problem.”
“He slashed our pay way below what the work was worth.”
“So you got hit with the ol’ exploitation special.”
Ihwa shook her head.
“His mouth was foul, and he’d often lie about the quantity and quality of the goods, too. He even made us keep quiet about it….”
“You had to deal with that kind of thing…?”
Dang Hogyeom looked pained.
Rage welled up, but given the Dang family’s circumstances, even exacting revenge was impossible.
“Perfect!”
Baek Wontae said brightly.
Ihyeon shot back at once, “Because he’s a lot like you?”
“…Why do I have this kind of face?”
As if asking why he needed to be told, the Dang family’s eyes turned to him.
Ihwa looked uneasy.
“If we deal with someone like that… isn’t it dangerous?”
“On the contrary, because he’s that kind of person, he’s ideal.”
“What?”
“He cuts wages, cheats on the goods, and talks like a thug? That means he’s greedy. But his merchant group is small. Big appetite, small capacity. Those types are weak to temptation. If you scratch the right itch, they’ll happily bend over backward for the deal.”
Ihyeon still hesitated.
“But in the end, he’s a merchant leader who lives with one foot in the legitimate world. If things go badly, we can’t just use force or threats.”
Baek Wontae grinned.
“That’s why~ I made this.”
Plop.
What he set on the table was a small pouch.
Inside were white granules packed tight.
Beside it lay two smoking pipes.
“…Baekhyang?”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to use Baekhyang.”
“Baekhyang that even Clan Head, with his Mandokbulchim, got hooked on. What do you think happens if an ordinary person uses it?”
A sharp glare lashed out.
It was like a dagger.
Baek Wontae wiped away cold sweat and lowered his head.
Ihyeon muttered, “They won’t be able to resist….”
“Exactly. Nobody’s got anything on drugs. If they still don’t bend the knee after this, I’ll chop my own hand off and eat it.”
Then Ihwa asked, “But… wouldn’t it be better to target a bigger merchant group instead? If we’re going to get them hooked on Baekhyang anyway, there’s no reason to start with a small one. A bigger group would make money faster.”
Dang Hogyeom shook his head.
“Large merchant groups have stronger intelligence networks and more manpower. We’d risk exposing ourselves. Especially with something this unusual—they’d covet it all the more. We can’t afford that risk.”
“That’s right. There’s no need to increase the danger by dealing with a giant merchant group. Besides, this one is only a stepping-stone for scattering Baekhyang through the pleasure district. We don’t even plan to keep doing business with them for long. And of course… we have no intention of exposing our identities.”
He straightened the papers on the table.
“All right, then. Prepare a few things for me.”
“What do we need to do?”
“First, send an anonymous letter to the Manri Merchant Group leader from the escort bureau in the neighboring village. Say you have an unusual item and would like to discuss a deal in a few days, but you’d like to treat him to a meal first. Tell him I’ve reserved an expensive inn and ask whether he can meet. Have the reply sent back to the escort bureau in the neighboring village, and once it comes, if he accepts, book the most secluded private room at a high-end inn in Hamwon.”
Ihyeon nodded.
“So you’re luring him in with a meal first. But what if he refuses the invitation?”
Baek Wontae smirked.
“Then we find another guy. But do you really think that greedy bastard will turn down a free meal? If it were me, I’d go.”
* * *
Several days later, in a room at an inn in Hamwon.
A man wearing clothes embroidered with the Manri Merchant Group’s insignia handed a letter to a fat man dressed in silk robes.
“Merchant leader, this is a letter from an anonymous sender. It’s addressed to you.”
“Hmm… go on out.”
The man bowed and withdrew, reaching for the door to close it—
“Hey!”
A barked shout cracked through the room.
Startled, the man hurried back inside.
“W-what is it, sir?”
Thwack!
The merchant leader kicked him hard in the shin.
“Ghk…!”
The man swallowed his scream.
He couldn’t even clutch his leg.
He knew the merchant leader’s temper too well to show pain.
The merchant leader jabbed the man’s forehead with a finger.
“Do you know what you just did wrong?”
“I-I’m sorry! I’m such a worthless fool… please tell me what I did, and I’ll fix it immediately!”
“You left without a proper fist salute, you insolent bastard!”
The man hastily clasped both hands and performed the salute.
A trivial formality.
And yet an absolute rule that could not be ignored.
“S-sorry, Merchant Leader! I was short on sleep because I was managing inventory and sorting documents all day yesterday—”
“Cut the excuses, you filthy maggot!”
He wanted to run.
But he had already signed a contract no different from slavery.
His unpaid wages had piled up, too.
Only after enduring every possible insult was he finally allowed to leave.
Once the man was gone, the merchant leader snorted and muttered to himself.
“Honestly, kids these days don’t know the first thing about manners. It’s these little customs that build a great merchant house.”
Grumbling, he unfolded the letter.
“Hmm… wants to make a deal, does he? Hah! Doesn’t even give a name or origin, and he wants me to meet him on what, trust alone….”
Then his eyes widened when he saw the inn name written below.
“Myeongwolgwan…?”
He swallowed hard.
“Well, it’s not like I’d lose anything by going. Can’t resist Myeongwolgwan.”
* * *
At the escort bureau in a village near Heokryeonhyang, Ihyeon asked the guard.
“Has a letter arrived for the Manri Merchant Group leader?”
The guard handed him an envelope.
“There isn’t a named recipient—just the address here.”
“That’s the one.”
He took the letter and opened it at once.
It may be rude to hide the sender’s identity, but considering the sincerity of the hospitality, I will meet you.
“Success.”
He headed straight for Hamwon.
Upon reaching Myeongwolgwan, Ihyeon called for a server.
“Please prepare the most secluded room you have, somewhere two people can speak privately.”
He pulled a silver tael from his robes and handed it over.
Clink.
The silver immediately changed the server’s attitude.
Once the task was done, he returned straight to the Dang residence and reported to Baek Wontae.
“The Manri Merchant Group leader accepted the invitation. I’ve reserved the room at Myeongwolgwan for the day you specified.”
“Good. Nice work.”
He let out a low laugh and murmured,
“Time to make some money.”