Monopolizing Fortunes (12)
Monopolizing Fortunes (12)
Han Dong-san looked at Do Tong-dal with a baffled expression.
"Newcomer or not, there's a limit to how little you can know about the Red Tiger Society. Even as an elder, I can't just remove a branch chief on a whim. Even the Society Leader would need proper justification for something like that."
"Of course I know that. So I'll give you that justification."
"Let's hear it, then."
"Gwang Hae-bong will soon fall out of the Society Leader's favor over a woman."
Even Do Tong-dal didn't know exactly when that "soon" would be. If Jang Baek-dong found proof, all the better, but if he failed, Do Tong-dal would have no choice but to manufacture it himself.
"Gwang Hae-bong has a woman?"
"It would be stranger if he didn't."
"Knowing a fact and exposing it are two entirely different matters."
"If I weren't confident I could expose it, I wouldn't have come to you, Elder Han."
The young man's self-assurance often came across as reckless bravado, but with Do Tong-dal it somehow inspired trust.
"So there are two people who know my dirty secrets. You and Gwang Hae-bong. Why should I choose you?"
The persuasion didn't take long. Han Dong-san disliked Gwang Hae-bong, and of the two blades pointed at him, Gwang Hae-bong's was the sharper one.
If Do Tong-dal knew of Han Dong-san's misconduct and kept silent, he became a kind of accomplice. Naturally, Do Tong-dal would be easier to dispose of than Gwang Hae-bong.
For a number of reasons, Han Dong-san gave Do Tong-dal a positive answer for now.
"Once Gwang Hae-bong is cast out and the blackmail ledger is in my hands, I'll back you actively."
"You won't regret that decision. I'll take my leave, then."
Do Tong-dal had bowed and turned to go when he suddenly asked, as if the thought had just occurred to him.
"By any chance, is there someone in your family planning to visit the mountains soon?"
Han Dong-san flinched in surprise.
"The day after tomorrow, my daughter-in-law is going to Haengseonsa Temple to offer prayers for a son...."
'So it was the day after tomorrow.'
Around this time, near the temple Han Dong-san's daughter-in-law frequented, there had been an incident where a woman was devoured by a tiger. Of course, the daughter-in-law never even caught a glimpse of the tiger's tail.
"I see a tiger attack threatening your family, Elder. It would be best not to go that day."
"You read fortunes too?"
"It seems you haven't heard that I possess divine sight."
* * *
The physician in black looked to be in the early forties and was a person of few words. Aside from administering acupuncture to Seon Hye-min, prescribing medicine, and explaining how to take it, the physician said not a word.
"I feel like my body has improved a lot lately."
At Seon Hye-min's words, the physician in black answered without pausing while putting away the acupuncture tools.
"I was paid three nyang of silver, so I should give you your money's worth."
Seon Hye-min was startled. She had heard that Do Tong-dal had paid for the treatment in advance, but she hadn't known it was such a large sum.
"That's expensive."
The physician in black's hands hesitated for a moment.
"I apologize if I offended you."
"I'm just a physician who treats venereal diseases, so it's only natural for you to think that. What's strange is a thug who paid three nyang."
Having finished her treatment, Seon Hye-min left the clinic. The house, tucked deep in a back alley, was shabby and bore no sign marking it as a clinic.
"My lady, are you finished with your treatment?"
Im Chun-ran, who greeted her with a smile, was the maidservant Do Tong-dal had saved.
"Did you wait long? I could have come alone."
"No. I'm paid to attend you, so I should do my job properly."
Seon Hye-min had told her not to use the title "my lady," but Im Chun-ran insisted, so by now she had simply accepted it.
"Alleys like this are dangerous even in broad daylight, so you must never come alone, my lady."
As if to prove Im Chun-ran's words, a short scream rang out from around the bend in the alley.
"Urk!"
"If you lot go walking around in one piece, people will start thinking we're soft."
"Wh-why bring up yesterday's business today...?"
"I was a bit busy yesterday. And if you cause trouble at Cheonsangru, people need to know that even if it's not the same day, you'll end up crippled. Then they'll be more careful."
The low voice was unmistakably Do Tong-dal's.
"Ah... we won't even go near Cheonsangru from now on!"
"You won't be able to anyway."
A long scream followed Do Tong-dal's words. The screams rang out one after another—three in all.
"You know the physician in black's house is just around that corner, right? Even crawling, you'll get there quick. And spread the word around."
With those words, Do Tong-dal's presence receded into the distance. Seon Hye-min stood frozen in place, and Im Chun-ran, her hand clamped over her mouth, was trembling.
Seon Hye-min gathered her courage and moved her feet. Around the corner, the alley held exactly the scene she had expected.
Three men clutched their heels and groaned, blood streaming between their fingers in no small amount.
"Wh-what do we do? Th-there's no other way through."
Seon Hye-min was just as afraid. But soon she remembered the reason she had to overcome that fear.
"Let's go."
Seon Hye-min stepped around the fallen men. She had to wring out every ounce of courage with each step, but she made it out of the alley safely.
"I had no idea you were so brave, my lady!"
Seon Hye-min answered Im Chun-ran's fussing with silence, then returned home and sought out Jang Yu-seom.
"Did the treatment go well?"
Seon Hye-min had insisted that Jang Yu-seom, who had wanted to go with her, stay home. She couldn't live her whole life under Jang Yu-seom's protection, down to the smallest thing.
"I have something to say."
"Did something happen?"
Seon Hye-min told him about what had happened in the alley. Throughout the story, Jang Yu-seom's expression hardened.
"It seems Squad Leader Do has been doing the work you should have been doing."
There had often been people causing trouble at Cheonsangru—from simple drunks to troublemakers with a purpose.
Of course, Jang Yu-seom had chased them off easily. It hadn't been difficult, and the wounds of those he drove out had been light. That was because he hadn't wanted to inflict serious injuries on such people.
"Suddenly, the place where my conscience should be started aching. Squad Leader Do had been doing the work you didn't want to do—the work you'd been refusing to do."
"I'm sorry I made you feel that way."
"You should be apologizing to Squad Leader Do."
"What should I do?"
Seon Hye-min said what she had resolved to say.
"Do the work you're supposed to do. If you neglect what you need to do because you can't let go of what you left behind, you should feel sorry toward Squad Leader Do."
Jang Yu-seom drew a deep breath.
"You... are you all right with seeing that side of me?"
Seon Hye-min smiled brightly.
"I'm an underworld thug's wife too."
* * *
Gwang Hae-bong roared in fury.
"They're offering a hundred copper coins, and not one of you will go?"
Gwon Seung-chan, Gwang Hae-bong's trusted subordinate, answered while squirming.
"Who would take a hundred copper coins just to end up crippled? Even that Jang Yu-seom fellow, who used to just chase people off, doesn't send anyone back in one piece anymore."
The plan had been to shut Cheonsangru down through constant disturbances. If fights broke out every day and customers got hurt, no one would go to Cheonsangru.
But that Jang Yu-seom fellow, who had appeared from nowhere, was an unbreakable fortress. They had sent seven men at once and still couldn't do anything against him.
On top of that, as the number of men crippled by Do Tong-dal grew, there were no subordinates left willing to go to Cheonsangru.
"It's all because of that bastard Do Tong-dal. If only that son of a bitch weren't here...!"
"What about using Pyeon Bok-gwi?"
"Pyeon Bok-gwi?"
Gwon Seung-chan lowered his voice.
"If it's Pyeon Bok-gwi, he could deal with Do Tong-dal completely."
Of course he could. The assassin had never once failed a job.
"He's too expensive."
'You stingy bastard!'
Gwon Seung-chan kept the curse to himself and tried to persuade Gwang Hae-bong.
"If we can't get rid of Do Tong-dal, we'll keep being pushed back. This time it was Cheonsangru, but next time he might go after a profitable gambling house."
"Those little shits wouldn't dare!"
"And yet we lost Cheonsangru. Pyeon Bok-gwi is expensive, but if he can deal with Do Tong-dal, it isn't really that expensive. Cheonsangru will come back to our Baekdong Branch."
It would mean spending about two nyang of silver, but as Gwon Seung-chan said, if it was the price of reclaiming Cheonsangru, it wasn't expensive.
"Haggle it down as much as you can and make the request."
But that night, Gwon Seung-chan returned demanding an infuriating sum.
"What? Six nyang of silver? Does it make any sense that eliminating one squad leader of the Gwanghwa-ro Fixer Office costs six nyang of silver?"
"I said the same thing, but he said he sets his own prices... and that for Do Tong-dal, even that was cheap."
"Why the hell is that bastard Do Tong-dal's head worth so much? Fuck!"
After a full shichen of agonizing, six nyang passed into Gwon Seung-chan's hands. For an ordinary job, one paid a deposit and then the balance upon success, but Pyeon Bok-gwi demanded full payment up front, no exceptions.
That was the power of the trust and reputation he had built in this world.
"I'll have to go see Seol-hyang today."
"Branch Chief, the mistress's mood has been ominous lately. Stay away from women for a while."
"Do I look like a cripple like you lot? Getting caught seeing another woman. You're so incompetent you can't even have an affair properly. Useless bastards."
* * *
"Um... are you sure this will be all right?"
Jang Baek-dong, his lips split and a bruise forming around his eye, asked worriedly.
"With that face of yours right now, it's perfect. There's not a single lie in it, is there? You got beaten by Gwang Hae-bong and ended up like that, right?"
"I got on his bad side because of you."
Do Tong-dal patted Jang Baek-dong on the shoulder.
"That ends today."
"Gwang Hae-bong is going down because of me. Will I be all right?"
"I'll make sure you're protected, so don't worry."
After sending Jang Baek-dong off, Do Tong-dal returned to the office to find Han Dong-san waiting. Do Tong-dal greeted Han Dong-san and sat down, and Wang Chil spoke to him.
"Just in case, I sent the kids to the gambling house. But it's today?"
"Yes. It's no big matter, so it'll be wrapped up quickly."
"No big matter, he says. The Society Leader's brother-in-law is going down."
"Boss, Gwang Hae-bong is nothing but a minnow."
Han Dong-san spoke.
"To someone as remarkable as you, I suppose he would be a minnow."
Han Dong-san's attitude toward Do Tong-dal had changed completely. Near the temple where Han Dong-san's daughter-in-law had been planning to go, a tiger attack had actually occurred that day.
An old woman had become the tiger's prey, and if they hadn't listened to Do Tong-dal, the one attacked could have been the daughter-in-law.
At the pleasure house, Han Dong-san had spoken as though he would side with Do Tong-dal, but he had coldly intended to roll the dice. Trusting a greenhorn who had just jumped into the underworld was far too risky.
But to discern a calamity that would befall his daughter-in-law just by looking at her father-in-law, not even the person involved!
No shaman or fortune-teller Han Dong-san knew was as accurate as Do Tong-dal. One did not make an enemy of a transcendent being with divine sight.
Han Dong-san asked tentatively.
"There is one thing I'm curious about, though...."
"Please speak."
"Will our family line continue?"
His only son had been married for four years but still had no heir, so Han Dong-san was even considering taking a second wife for him.
"Bestowing children isn't my area, but I'll look into it."
"Could you really do that?"
"It's a request from Elder Han, of all people. How could I refuse?"
"Thank you. I'll do everything in my power for you as well. Heh heh heh!"
* * *
Gwang Hae-bong's downfall unfolded exactly as Do Tong-dal had planned. Caught doing it(?) with Seol-hyang, a former courtesan, Gwang Hae-bong begged desperately, but it didn't do him any good.
The next day, he was summoned to headquarters and beaten until the dust flew by Society Leader Jo Chi-un.
With the tie of being the Society Leader's brother-in-law severed, Gwang Hae-bong's fall was sealed.
No one mourned Gwang Hae-bong's downfall. Most of the organization's members were glad that the brute who had run wild on the strength of the Society Leader's backing had finally disappeared.
"Do Tong-dal, you son of a bitch! This is because of you!"
After looking around Cheonsangru, Do Tong-dal was heading to the gambling house when he ran into Gwang Hae-bong, dead drunk.
Whether Gwang Hae-bong had come looking for him or they had met by chance didn't matter.
"I could die right here! I'm Gwang Hae-bong! Fuck! Do you know how many heads would roll if I just opened my mouth!"
Do Tong-dal leaned in close to Gwang Hae-bong's ear as he shouted drunkenly, and whispered.
"The six nyang you sent Pyeon Bok-gwi to kill me. Was that money really meant to kill me?"
Gwang Hae-bong's face, flushed red with drink, went pale as a sheet.
"Wh-what do you mean by that?"
"You'll have a hard time making it through tonight."
It happened just as Do Tong-dal said. The next day, Gwang Hae-bong was found dumped in an alley with his throat cut.
If he had still been the Society Leader's brother-in-law, all of Hangzhou would have been stirred up as if a hornet's nest had been poked, but no such uproar occurred.
Like a drunkard who had died on the road, Gwang Hae-bong was quietly disposed of, and Hangzhou greeted and passed the day no differently than before.
And Do Tong-dal sent one person off.
"Thank you."
The person bowing his head to Do Tong-dal was Gwon Seung-chan, Gwang Hae-bong's former trusted subordinate.
A woman stood beside Gwon Seung-chan.
"If it weren't for you, I never would have gotten out of the underworld safely."
With Gwang Hae-bong dead, no one would care if Gwon Seung-chan disappeared too.
"I've washed my hands of it, so let's not see each other again."
Gwon Seung-chan took the woman's hand.
"Right. Whether you go farm or run a business, you should stop smelling blood."
Of the six nyang of silver Gwon Seung-chan had received from Gwang Hae-bong, the amount that went into the contract to kill Gwang Hae-bong was only one nyang. That was how Pyeon Bok-gwi had assessed Gwang Hae-bong's worth.
The remaining five nyang had been Gwon Seung-chan's share.
Do Tong-dal watched the departing backs of the two for a long while.
"Maybe you're the real winner in life."
* * *