Haryeong Escape Number One (Tae) (1)
Her desperate, feeble struggle.
Baek Wontae, as if forced into defeat, let go.
“Go ahead.”
Under his words of restraint, temptation was already smoldering.
She was a member of the Haomun.
She knew exactly what lay beneath those words.
And still, she stepped into the ant lion’s pit with her own two feet.
She burned the tenth and final Baekhyang.
“…Haa… ha… ah…”
Her breathing came ragged and broken.
Only moments ago, she had been a woman of composure and grace. Now she was little more than an addict clinging by a thread to her reason.
And all the while, Baek Wontae asked in a perfectly ordinary voice, “So it’s all real?”
The innkeeper steadied her breathing and answered, “...Yes. All of it….”
“You really are strong, aren’t you? To smoke ten Baekhyang in such a short time and still be standing.”
Then he nodded.
“Not trusting other people is a good habit. You’ve got nerve too, so you’ll probably go far.”
He scooped up the five nyang in silver from the table and stood.
“That was a wonderful show.”
Baek Wontae rose from his seat with a grin. “I won’t charge you for the trouble of holding me here. I can go now, right?”
“I…”
At the innkeeper’s call, his steps stopped.
“Could I be introduced to the insider you mentioned... in Hamwon’s pleasure district?”
Baek Wontae’s eyes narrowed.
There it is. I was wondering when she’d say it.
She had confirmed with her own body what Baekhyang was.
If she could just break through the distribution line…
With her head spinning like this, she probably couldn’t even imagine it.
Baek Wontae gave a soft snort of laughter. “You really do know the value of information. That’s not the kind of thing you just leak to anybody.”
The innkeeper clicked her tongue. “No, I suppose not. I forgot myself for a moment.”
She opened a drawer and pulled out five bundles of coins.
“Would this be enough?”
Baek Wontae looked quietly down at the money.
He stared at it for a long moment, then shook his head.
“People shouldn’t be so easily swayed by money.”
The innkeeper bit her lower lip hard.
Right. Of course he wouldn’t hand over that easily.
She rose with some effort and opened the large cabinet behind her. Out came a small chest, which she placed on the table.
Creaaak—
Inside were more bundles of coins and silver ingots, piled high.
“How about... this much?”
Her voice was calm, but desperate beyond measure.
It was an absurd amount for any private person to move around.
But she could make it happen.
If money couldn’t solve it, then the amount was simply too small.
So far, she had settled most things with money whenever possible.
The Baekhyang distribution line.
If she could just get her hands on that path, everything could change.
So she treated this expense as an investment.
Surely, with this much money, he would reconsider.
But—
For all her desperate efforts, Baek Wontae merely waved a hand lightly.
“Don’t rush. We’ll meet again.”
With that, he turned away without the slightest trace of hesitation.
“And once again... may your business flourish.”
The two of them left through the door the porter had opened for them.
Clack.
The door shut.
The innkeeper stared at it, dazed, for a long while.
Her shoulders slumped weakly.
The room fell silent.
Only the lamp trembled, and shadows quivered along the wall.
Breaking the quiet, the porter spoke. “Are you all right?”
The innkeeper’s lips trembled faintly.
“Hoo... I’m fine.”
She lowered her head and took the account book from the drawer.
Her fingertips flipped through the pages.
“The next schedule was Shaanxi, wasn’t it.”
Her gaze turned cold.
“Bring the date forward. We leave in four days.”
Thoughts surged through her mind.
As a member of the Haomun, this absolutely should not have happened...
And yet she was curious.
Who was that man?
She wanted to test him.
In a quiet but firm voice, she added, “And... send people to tail them now.”
* * *
By then, the outside had gone dark.
Fog had settled over the streets.
Baek Wontae and Ihyeon walked through the night with their bodies wrapped up tight.
As they went, Ihyeon asked quietly, “Isn’t this a little dangerous?”
“What is?”
“The Haomun. I heard that if money or interests are involved, they’ll use any means necessary.”
“So once they saw Baekhyang, we’d become a target?”
Ihyeon nodded.
“Don’t worry. I did it on purpose.”
“On purpose?”
“It’s always more effective to tease people a little instead of handing everything over at once.”
He shrugged.
“I need the Haomun too. If I want to expand distribution nationwide, I’m going to have to borrow their hands eventually.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“Once they’ve tasted Baekhyang, they’ll be scouring the earth for it with their eyes on fire. Contact is just a matter of time. I’ve planted the seed... now I just wait for the fruit.”
“So the reason you came to the Haomun wasn’t just to get forged Sinpae... you were also trying to make sure they encountered Baekhyang?”
“And if I was?”
Shiver—
A chill ran down Ihyeon’s spine at the depth of the man’s mind.
Baek Wontae pulled out the Sinpae and handed it to him.
“Read it. Keep memorizing it from now on and brainwash yourself with it.”
Ihyeon narrowed his eyes and held the token up to the streetlamp’s glow.
Ha Hyeokhyeon
Family relation: Younger sister, Ha Hwahwa
Residence: Gudong Village
Notable fact: Both parents deceased
And so on...
The surname on the forged token was Ha, written with the character "夏".
The name, the pronunciation, even the place of origin—everything was completely different.
There wasn’t a single opening for the Dang Clan to trace.
And yet something still weighed on him.
Ihyeon stared down at the token and muttered, “To make a perfectly healthy father into a dead man...”
Baek Wontae gave a snort. “It’s a fake identity anyway. It’s ugly, sure, but for security, there’s no helping it.”
At that, Ihyeon said nothing.
It was true enough: the father would be the Dang Clan’s first thing to investigate.
If they wanted to dodge suspicion even a little, this level of disguise was necessary.
Lies. Filial impiety. He had no idea how far he’d already fallen.
He tucked the Sinpae quietly into his robes.
Then he answered shortly, “...Fine.”
The two of them kept walking in silence.
After some distance, Ihyeon suddenly stopped.
Baek Wontae turned his head. “What’s wrong?”
Ihyeon looked back over his shoulder.
Even at night, the street was more crowded than he’d expected.
He glared through the crowd for a moment, then turned back around.
“...Let’s go.”
They started walking again.
After a while, Ihyeon leaned in and whispered low, “Hey, Baek Wontae.”
Baek Wontae answered calmly, “They’re on us, aren’t they? The tail.”
Ihyeon’s eyes flickered.
How did he know?
He had no internal energy.
It wasn’t like he’d sensed them through some sixth sense either.
Just how much does this man see?
Baek Wontae remained unruffled.
“There was no way they wouldn’t tail us. You looked desperate enough to drip off your face. But I’m a little disappointed.”
He chuckled under his breath and went on, “Things like this are built on trust, you know. How many are there, and how far behind?”
“One. About six jang back.”
Baek Wontae cast a sideways glance around them.
Then he picked up his pace naturally.
“Good. Let’s go into that four-story inn ahead on the left.”
The two of them entered the inn.
Baek Wontae quickly fished out money from his bundle and handed it to the servant.
“One room. Fourth floor.”
“Yes, room 401.”
Baek Wontae and Ihyeon climbed the stairs.
“Where are they now?”
“Inside the inn. First floor.”
“Then they’ll be up soon.”
They soon reached the fourth-floor corridor.
“Go to the room.”
He opened room 401 and stepped inside at once.
Clack!
Click.
Baek Wontae shut the latch tight.
He turned and scanned the room.
“Something sharp... where’s something sharp...”
His eyes fell on the chopsticks on the table.
He rushed over and snatched up every last one.
Then he tossed them to Ihyeon and said, “Ihyeon, I’m gonna need you to use some qi.”
“Qi?”
Without answering, Baek Wontae yanked off his outer robe.
He dragged a chair over, set it by the door, and climbed onto it.
He spread the robe over the doorframe.
“Stick it here, and here!”
Only then did Ihyeon understand what he was doing.
He poured qi into the tips of the chopsticks.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The chopsticks drove into the top of the frame.
The robe’s hem fluttered as it was pinned in place.
In an instant, a curtain had been made—one that blocked the view from outside.
There was no time to waste.
Baek Wontae tore open the bundle.
Inside were the clothes he’d compressed into a small, manageable stack.
“Change fast.”
Ihyeon didn’t hesitate either.
Before long, the two of them had gone from black-clad men to ordinary passersby.
The black clothes and straw hats were shoved under the bed.
Ihyeon caught his breath.
Nothing physically difficult had happened, yet his heart was pounding and sweat was running down his back.
This was the first time he’d ever been directly tailed.
His head swam.
Then he looked at the man before him, who seemed entirely used to this sort of thing, and asked, “So what now?”
Baek Wontae answered by walking to the window.
Creak—
As he pushed the bars open, a fierce wind rushed in.
Outside was pitch-black darkness.
A vague sea of fog.
Below, there was a narrow alley with few people in it.
He turned back and looked at Ihyeon.
“Can you carry me and jump?”
Ihyeon froze for a moment.
His eyes wavered, but he soon shut his mouth tightly.
“...Yeah.”
A moment later, the two of them struck a rather awkward pose.
After calculations meant to minimize the impact of the fall, it was the safest position they could take.
The so-called princess carry.
Baek Wontae’s arm hooked around Ihyeon’s neck.
As their faces came close, his brow twisted in pure disgust.
“Haa... I really hate being in another man’s arms.”
“I hate it too...!”
They exchanged a look for the briefest instant.
Mutually revolted, Ihyeon kicked off the windowsill.
Fwah!
Their bodies flew out into the night.