Monopolizing Fortunes (140)
Monopolizing Fortunes (140)
"You probably shouldn't look."
That was what Do Tong-dal said when Jang Yeon-seon told him she wanted to see Ha Su-ran's face.
"Why not? Is this the world's greatest beauty you mentioned, mister?"
Ha Su-ran's eyes sparkled.
"You really told Yeon-seon that?"
"Hmph! I never said Strategist Ha was the world's greatest beauty."
Jang Yeon-seon glared at Do Tong-dal.
"The world's greatest beauty you mentioned is definitely her. It is."
As Do Tong-dal pretended not to notice, Jang Yeon-seon spoke to Ha Su-ran.
"Sis. Just show me once. Please?"
"Why do you want to see my face?"
"That vixen—no, my stepmother keeps throwing herself at him, and he insists he won't fall for it. I hate to admit it, but my stepmother is quite beautiful. I've never seen a man turn down a pretty woman."
When Do Tong-dal remarked, "A ten-year-old sure says all sorts of things," Jang Yeon-seon snapped back, "You stay out of this, mister!"
"Young Master Do isn't the kind of man who falls for a woman just because she's pretty."
"Then your lover must be ugly."
Ha Su-ran, who had been thinking for a moment, spoke.
"I haven't seen all of Young Master Do's lovers, so I can't say for sure, but just looking at Seol-rin, there's no way any of them are ugly."
"How is Seol-rin my lover!"
"There's no point resisting, so just accept it."
"Then what about you, Sis?"
At Jang Yeon-seon's sudden question, Ha Su-ran flinched and then glanced at Do Tong-dal.
"Me? I'm just... a friend?"
"Stop talking nonsense and let's go buy some clothes."
"I'm not going until I see your face!"
She couldn't waste this chance to see the face of the world's greatest beauty. Ha Su-ran was at a loss.
"I've never shown it to a child before. Will it be all right?"
Do Tong-dal, who had been asked, answered.
"She's a kid, what could happen? And a girl at that."
Ha Su-ran scanned the passersby, then led Jang Yeon-seon beneath a wall.
"You have to look quickly."
Ha Su-ran lowered her veil. In that instant, Jang Yeon-seon's face filled with shock. Even if she met a tiger in the mountains, her face wouldn't look like that.
Ha Su-ran quickly raised her veil again, but Jang Yeon-seon's astonishment didn't fade.
"Yeon-seon, are you okay?"
Without answering, Jang Yeon-seon turned and walked toward Do Tong-dal with the steps of a wooden puppet.
She had thought a child would be fine, but the girl was no different from all the other people who had seen Ha Su-ran.
"Mister."
"What, are you sick?"
"You said she's the world's greatest beauty?"
"I didn't name anyone specifically, but... yes."
"If she's the world's greatest beauty, she's still human, right? But she isn't human—she's a celestial maiden. What sin did she commit in heaven to be cast down to earth?"
"Seeing you make jokes like that, your mind is clearly intact."
Jang Yeon-seon shook her head.
"No. Every time I look in a mirror, I think I'll get depressed because of my ugly face."
She stood there with a dazed expression, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Compared to her, even the vixen is ugly. I'll admit you didn't fall for the vixen's seduction."
"I'm honored by your approval."
"But, Sis."
"Hm?"
"With a face like that, why do you like the mister?"
"Huh... huh?"
Do Tong-dal stepped in for the flustered Ha Su-ran.
"Who said anyone likes anyone?"
"Sis Su-ran likes you."
"That's not it. We're just friends. Friends."
"I can't see hearts, so if you deny it there's no proof, but..."
Jang Yeon-seon looked at Ha Su-ran with a meaningful gaze. Such a variety of expressions from a ten-year-old!
"Then it'd be a loss for both of you."
Ha Su-ran felt it too. Just meeting Do Tong-dal occasionally like this wasn't enough to get closer than a formal relationship.
But as the strategist of the Northern Unorthodox Alliance, she couldn't cling to Do Tong-dal the way Namgung Seol-rin did.
'If I were as close to Young Master Do as the distance I've tossed and turned in bed at night, then already...'
She thought to herself and blushed alone. Jang Yeon-seon had pointed out exactly why this state of affairs wouldn't do.
But her nature couldn't change overnight.
"I'm not always by Young Master Do's side like Seol-rin, and so I don't have enough time to get close..."
Jang Yeon-seon waved her hands.
"Come on, between a man and a woman it's not about time, it's about sparks. It just needs to ignite like this. Ugh—! You need to know something to have a romance."
It was a scolding that was shocking both for a ten-year-old to give and for a ten-year-old to hear.
"Fine! I like Young Master Do!"
She didn't know how those words came out. She hadn't meant to shout like that.
It was as if the words in her heart had bypassed her head and jumped straight out of her mouth.
Ha Su-ran, who had shouted, was surprised, and Do Tong-dal also wore a dumbfounded expression.
"Oh-ho, I didn't know Sis Su-ran had this kind of courage."
Ha Su-ran was so embarrassed she wanted to hide in a mouse hole.
"Young Master Do, I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable."
While Do Tong-dal was at a loss for words, Jang Yeon-seon stepped in.
"The world's greatest beauty likes you, so it's an honor for you, mister."
Do Tong-dal just cleared his throat with a "hem, hem!" Jang Yeon-seon poked him in the side with her elbow.
"Why aren't you accepting her?"
"Accept... accept what?"
"When a woman confesses, you have to say something one way or another. Look at these romance rookies."
The ten-year-old let out a long sigh as if they were pathetic.
"Sis, what do you even like about a man like this?"
"If the reason I like him is clear, then later the reason I dislike him will also become clear."
If she liked him because he had money, she would grow tired of him; if she liked him because he was handsome, she would grow sick of that too.
"You've thought about him a lot while lying in bed at night, haven't you?"
"Huh? How did you know...?"
Sipjeonjisu was being teased by a ten-year-old child, so it was impossible to tell whether Jang Yeon-seon was extraordinary or whether love made people fools.
"Let's go."
As Jang Yeon-seon chased after Do Tong-dal, who was walking quickly out of embarrassment, she asked.
"Sis, what does the mister really look like?"
"He... he looks like that."
"Come on, I know he's wearing a disguise."
"Did Young Master Do tell you?"
"No. I could just tell at a glance."
"You could tell just by looking?"
"Yes. I have pretty good eyes."
It was hard to believe. Even Ha Su-ran, a fairly skilled martial artist, couldn't see through Do Tong-dal's disguise.
But for a ten-year-old child who hadn't even learned martial arts to know just by looking was no ordinary thing.
'Could it be?'
Do Tong-dal urged them on, as their pace had slowed while talking.
"At this rate it'll be dark."
"Young Master Do, just a moment."
Ha Su-ran pulled Do Tong-dal and Jang Yeon-seon into an alley where no one passed.
"Wait, you only needed to bring the mister, why me too..."
"Yeon-seon, have you ever heard of the White Stone Divine Eye Constitution?"
Jang Yeon-seon shook her head from side to side. Of course she hadn't heard of it. It was an extremely unusual constitution known only to a very few even in the martial world.
"May I take a closer look at you?"
Do Tong-dal asked.
"What's the White Stone Divine Eye Constitution?"
"I'll tell you after I look at Yeon-seon."
Ha Su-ran bent down to match Jang Yeon-seon's height, then stared intently at her face.
"Your pupils are as black as ink, and the whites are as white as snow."
Anyone could see that at a glance.
"But if you look very closely, you can see a red dot in the center of each pupil."
"There's a red dot in my pupils? I couldn't see anything through a mirror."
"How closely did you look at your pupils in a mirror?"
"I look at my face, not my pupils that closely."
"Here, let me take a look too."
Do Tong-dal also bent down and studied Jang Yeon-seon's pupils carefully.
"You're right. I can see a red color as small as the tip of a needle."
"It really is the White Stone Divine Eye Constitution."
Jang Yeon-seon asked with a worried look.
"Is it something bad?"
Ha Su-ran gave a reassuring smile.
"It's a blessing from heaven. An ordinary person would simply live an ordinary life, but for a martial artist it's an incomparable fortune. If you learn martial arts, you could probably become a first-rate master within three years."
"Really?"
"With good martial arts and elixirs, it could be even shorter."
Do Tong-dal asked.
"Does the White Stone Divine Eye Constitution mean she has good bones?"
"Of course, she's born with bones far better than an ordinary person's. But what really matters is the eyes. The moment she recognizes her own trait and uses it, she can see everything slowly if she wants."
"Is such a thing really possible?"
"Even the fastest sword in the world wouldn't be so fearsome to someone with the White Stone Divine Eye Constitution. Of course, just because she can see it doesn't mean she can dodge it automatically. She'd have to build a body that can avoid it."
"In the end, she has to learn martial arts. But Yeon-seon is from a merchant family..."
"I want to learn martial arts!"
Do Tong-dal spoke.
"Learning martial arts isn't as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of time and is incredibly hard."
Ha Su-ran picked up from Do Tong-dal's words.
"You also need proper martial arts and an excellent master. If you learn third-rate martial arts, with your ability you could become second-rate, but becoming first-rate would be difficult."
"I have an excellent master!"
"Who?"
"You, mister!"
Do Tong-dal was startled.
"Me?"
"Yes! You can teach me!"
Do Tong-dal waved his hands in refusal.
"You don't know this, but I'm far from being an excellent master."
"Because you're a gangster?"
"That too, and there are plenty of people who can teach better than me."
"Who around me right now could teach better than you?"
Of course there was no one at the moment.
"You can find an excellent master later and learn martial arts then. And do you really need to learn martial arts?"
"You're saying I don't need martial arts when I want revenge on the Revenge Society?"
"It would be good if your martial arts were strong, but it's a bit late now."
"Even if it's not for revenge, I need strength to survive this harsh world. I never want to suffer injustice again."
Do Tong-dal was at a loss. He had neither the leisure nor the reason to take a disciple right now. No, he had never even considered taking a disciple.
"An opportunity to take someone with the White Stone Divine Eye Constitution as a disciple won't come again."
When Ha Su-ran chimed in, Jang Yeon-seon brightened.
"Right? They say an excellent disciple is a master's joy!"
"Yeon-seon, who receives Young Master Do's teaching, could become the greatest master in the world."
"What? I could become the greatest master in the world?"
"A hundred years ago there was a person called the Hwacheon Hermit, and he had the White Stone Divine Eye Constitution. Until the day he died, no one could take that position from him."
Jang Yeon-seon puffed up with pride and said to Do Tong-dal.
"Did you hear that? Taking me as your disciple is an honor for you."
Do Tong-dal replied indifferently.
"Give that honor to someone else. I don't want it."
With those words, Do Tong-dal left the alley. A disciple was like a child, and Do Tong-dal didn't want to bear that responsibility.
"Mister! No, Master!"
"I said I'm not going to be your master!"
"Please, just accept me as your disciple!"
Jang Yeon-seon quickly chased after him and blocked Do Tong-dal's path, then yelped and jumped aside.
"What are you doing?"
"I mustn't even step on my esteemed master's shadow."
Ha Su-ran burst out laughing, and Do Tong-dal pressed his forehead. Knowing Jang Yeon-seon's temperament from what he'd experienced so far, she didn't seem likely to give up easily.
"Why not just take her as your disciple?"
"As you know, I'm not in a position to take a disciple right now."
"Is there ever a special position for taking a disciple? If anything, forming a master-disciple bond during hard times would make the affection even stronger."
Jang Yeon-seon chimed in.
"That's right. People who stay together through hard times last a lifetime."
"If you take a master like me, you'll never be treated well anywhere for the rest of your life."
"Why not?"
"Who would treat a gangster's disciple well?"
"It's fine. As long as I'm happy. To me, there's no master better than you. You saved my life, after all."
Ha Su-ran spoke.
"That happened? That's no ordinary bond."
"Why do you keep telling me to take Yeon-seon as a disciple, Strategist Ha?"
She stroked Jang Yeon-seon's head as she spoke.
"Because I like her. It's the wish for a child I like to do well."
"Becoming a gangster's disciple isn't doing well."
Jang Yeon-seon raised her voice.
"He's the coolest gangster in the world! The unprecedented emperor of the night! I'm the proud disciple of that person! Hehe!"
* * *