Monopolizing Fortunes (3)
Monopolizing Fortunes (3)
"Chief Wang Chil said that?"
"That's right. Chief Wang, who's usually stingy with praise, couldn't stop singing the praises of this Do Tong-dal fellow."
"And what did General Manager Go think of him?"
At Yeon Ja-yeon's question, Go Chan-yeong thought for a moment before answering.
"At a glance he seems ordinary, but there must be something behind him. If the man they called the biggest headache on Gwanghwa-ro has worked his way through the Four Books and Three Classics, that alone puts him far from ordinary. But......"
"Trailing off like that isn't like you, General Manager Go."
"Is your interest in Do Tong-dal simply because you owe him a debt, or......"
This time she could guess the words Go Chan-yeong had left unspoken.
"You mean whether I'm interested in him as a man? That remains to be seen."
Surprise rose on Go Chan-yeong's face.
"The sun must be rising in the west. You, taking an interest in a man?"
"It's nothing more than interest."
"What was so special about Do Tong-dal?"
If she owed someone a debt, she could simply repay it with money or whatever else. Yeon Ja-yeon was not someone who formed relationships beyond that simple transaction.
"It's just...... his eyes...... I'm not sure."
The look in Do Tong-dal's eyes as he shielded her with his whole body from the bottles that had come crashing down had not left her mind for a single moment.
Eyes that seemed to say not to worry, that she would absolutely not be hurt, and so were reassuring in and of themselves.
She wanted to see those eyes again. She wanted to confirm whether the feeling she had felt was real.
"I should go repay my debt."
Do Tong-dal was drinking tea after finishing his bath.
"Those are clothes I prepared for guests. Do they suit you?"
Once they had dressed him in the blue martial robes, Do Tong-dal looked like a young master from some household.
"I'll wash them clean and return them."
"Just keep them. Is the tea to your liking?"
"Top-grade Seolhyang tea is wasted on a thug like me."
Yeon Ja-yeon was a little surprised. Few people knew of Seolhyang tea, a specialty of Yunnan Province, and even fewer could appreciate its bitterness.
'He really is unlike anyone from the Underworld.'
As Yeon Ja-yeon was thinking that, Do Tong-dal poured tea into her cup. Rinsing twice and then serving the third brew meant he knew how to drink Seolhyang tea properly.
"I'll give you some Seolhyang tea when you leave."
"Give me food instead of expensive Seolhyang tea. A full belly is better than a spoiled tongue."
"Then shall I give you some money? Ah! I didn't mean to be rude. I just couldn't help thinking that since I received a kindness, I ought to repay it."
She had made it an iron rule never to make a slip of the tongue, and she had kept it well until now. But in front of Do Tong-dal, she couldn't seem to settle herself.
She repeated to herself, 'This is nothing like me,' and tried to steady her mind.
"If you consider it a debt, then grant me just one favor."
"If it's something I can grant."
If what he wanted was money, that would be easiest.
'If it were me?'
The back of her neck, unseen, flushed slightly.
"The old man who was pulling the cart."
She had only glimpsed him in passing and couldn't even remember his face.
"What about that old man?"
"Please let him off. He's probably already badly shaken, and losing his job on top of that would be too pitiful."
"Is that all you want?"
"I got treatment, got these nice clothes, and even had a pleasant bath, so there's nothing more to wish for. I even drank top-grade Seolhyang tea."
Though she was only thirty, Yeon Ja-yeon was a woman who had been through every hardship imaginable.
The mere fact that she had become the owner of such a tavern at only thirty years old spoke to how extraordinary she was.
Yeon Ja-yeon prided herself on having a sharper eye for people than anyone, but she could not easily figure Do Tong-dal out.
An eighteen-year-old at the bottom of the Underworld. Yet Yeon Ja-yeon felt as though she were dealing with someone older than herself.
'I may have been too quick to judge this man just because he's from the Underworld.'
After that thought, her true feelings slipped out.
"You're a good person."
Do Tong-dal waved his hands in denial.
"Oh, no, not at all. Of all my many faces, you just happened to see only the good one. I'm not a good person, and I have no desire to become one. I'm from the Underworld, after all."
"Then I look forward to seeing your bad side someday. Perhaps I'll see it once you've had a drink?"
"Maybe so."
"I'll have drinks prepared. You've more than earned a treat today."
"Not today, I think."
"Pardon?"
"The first drink I have at Cheonsangru, I'll pay for with my own money. Once I've made it."
A man with pride. She liked him even more.
"When you come as a guest, may I be the first to attend to you?"
She surprised herself the moment the words left her mouth. Since opening Cheonsangru, she had never once personally attended to a guest.
Even when wealthy men smitten with her beauty had come bearing money, she had never broken that rule.
"The honor would be mine."
After exchanging a few more words, Do Tong-dal said he had things to do and took his leave. For the first time, she learned that someone's empty seat could feel so lonely.
"Well, well. It seems the greatest crisis of my life has come calling."
After parting from Yeon Ja-yeon, Do Tong-dal finished the work he had to do that day at Cheonsangru.
As he put the settled bamboo tally slips into his bag, Wang Chil came out looking much better.
"Our youngest is already out here waiting. Time to get to work now."
"It's all done."
"Huh?"
"You just have to count the goods and match the prices, right?"
"That's right. But how do you know that?"
"I should at least have that much sense when working for you, boss."
"Heh heh heh...... Why do you keep growing on me like this?"
"Next is the gambling house on Seoil-ro, right?"
"Yeah. Thanks to you, I might just spend my twilight years as a thug in comfort."
* * *
"Fuck! What kind of bullshit is this!"
Wang Chil, who had flung open the office door and stormed in, was furious.
Seo Wang-su, who had been trimming his nails, shot to his feet and asked.
"Boss, what's the matter?"
"That son of a bitch Gwang Hae-bong says he's going to swallow Cheonsangru whole!"
"The Baekdong Branch Chief? Doesn't he already have all the profitable stuff?"
"He's going to strip us bare and take what's ours!"
"No matter how much Gwang Hae-bong is the Chairman's brother-in-law, isn't that too much? Surely it won't come to that?"
Wang Chil sighed and slumped into a chair.
"I'm sorry I don't have more pull. Fuck."
"Cheonsangru is the only thing keeping food in our mouths. If they take that away, they're telling our fixer office to just die, aren't they?"
The cigarette smoke Wang Chil exhaled spread thickly before scattering.
"Cheonsangru's location sits right on the border between the Haerang Society and our Red Tiger Society. We can only hold it if the Branch throws its full strength into it, but with us splitting the operation, that's hard. Well, it's not entirely without reason, but...... ugh—!"
It was a scheme to fatten Gwang Hae-bong's belly using the hostile Haerang Society as an excuse.
Do Tong-dal, who had been listening from one side, spoke up.
"No matter how much of a Branch they are, they can't just take away the stake our fixer office holds. There's the morale of all the other fixer offices to consider."
"The new guy sure knows a lot of things. Anyone listening would think you've been rolling around this business for ten years."
'Forty-two years.'
"So they gave us a chance, in their own way. They said if we're capable, we should protect Cheonsangru."
"What kind of chance?"
"There's this old man everyone calls Old Man Geum......"
The moment that name came up, Seo Wang-su was startled.
"That old man who borrowed fifteen nyang of silver from the Baekdong Branch and never paid it back?"
Originally, with interest piled on interest, the debt had ballooned to fifty nyang, but when the stubborn Old Man Geum held out, it had been reduced to collecting only the original fifteen nyang.
"Right. They say he claims he has no money and tells them to do their worst. They've threatened him, coaxed him, and beaten him within an inch of his life, but not a single copper coin has come out."
"But why Old Man Geum?"
"They're saying if we can collect those fifteen nyang of silver from the old man, they'll acknowledge our ability and leave Cheonsangru with us as is. Fuck! How are we supposed to collect what those bastards couldn't? They're just trying to pin it on our fixer office as incompetence."
"By that logic, doesn't that make the Baekdong Branch incompetent too?"
"What can we do? This business is a damn world where power is law."
"Saying they'll give us what's already ours if we collect fifteen nyang of silver is complete bullshit, isn't it? Unless they're offering something new as a reward."
Wang Chil's gaze turned to Do Tong-dal, who had spoken.
"You want to go to the Chairman and say that to his face?"
"Shall I?"
Do Tong-dal rose from his chair as if he really meant to go. The thought flashed through Wang Chil's mind that Do Tong-dal might actually go to headquarters.
"You crazy bastard! Go where!"
"That pig bastard is trying to take even what's in our mouths. We can't just sit still."
"So what do you propose?"
"We tell them that if we collect the fifteen nyang from Old Man Geum, they hand Cheonsangru over to our Gwanghwa-ro Fixer Office completely. Isn't that the only fair bet?"
"You think the Chairman would take that bet? Not a chance."
"The Chairman might not, but Gwang Hae-bong will fall for it. He's a pig bastard full of greed."
"How do you have such an accurate read on Gwang Hae-bong?"
"Ha...... I'm a Hangzhou native, so I've heard rumors."
Wang Chil's expression turned serious.
"Hmm. If it's that bastard Gwang Hae-bong, it might work. If we scratch him just right and use a little reverse psychology, he'll bite."
It was actually the strategy of provoking someone into action, but Do Tong-dal didn't bother correcting him. The fact that Wang Chil even knew two of the characters was impressive enough.
"All right. Let's give it a shot."
Seo Wang-su spoke.
"Boss, it all sounds good, but there's one big problem, isn't there?"
"What's that?"
"What if we can't collect the fifteen nyang of silver from Old Man Geum?"
Do Tong-dal spoke.
"I'll take responsibility and collect it."
"You? How?"
"I have a way, so just go get Gwang Hae-bong's promise, boss. It has to be put down in writing, not just given verbally. That bastard Gwang Hae-bong is the type to say one thing and then deny it twice over."
"Are you sure you don't know Gwang Hae-bong from somewhere?"
"I've heard rumors. Rumors."
Wang Chil asked again.
"Tong-dal, you can definitely get the money from Old Man Geum, right?"
"Of course."
"Good. Then I'll go settle things with Gwang Hae-bong!"
* * *
Seo Wang-su's face went blank with shock.
"Wh...... what did you say?"
"I made a deal with Gwang Hae-bong. Just like Tong-dal said, I even put my thumbprint on the document."
"Not that! What happens if we can't collect the money from Old Man Geum?"
"I put my wrist on the line."
Seo Wang-su shouted in anger.
"How can you stake your wrist on a bet with almost no chance of winning? Do you think that bastard Gwang Hae-bong will go easy on you? He'll be grinning while he chops your wrist off with an axe!"
"Probably."
"It's not 'probably'!"
Wang Chil pointed with his chin at Do Tong-dal, who was leaning against the desk.
"That guy says he'll definitely collect."
"No! Does it make any sense to stake your wrist on the word of a new guy who's only been here a few days?"
Wang Chil grinned.
"Tong-dal stakes his life on everything he does. So I should at least stake my wrist."
Wang Chil asked Do Tong-dal.
"You can protect my wrist, right?"
"Probably...... yes?"
Seo Wang-su muttered like a sigh.
"Boss's wrist is gone. Gone."
* * *
Do Tong-dal knew about this incident. It was remembered as the most humiliating event since the founding of the Baekdong Branch.
Old Man Geum not only never paid the money back, but he also gave the Baekdong Branch the slip and fled in the middle of the night without a trace.
If a moneylender loses fifteen nyang and then lets the debtor get away, it becomes very difficult to stay in business.
This incident, dubbed the Old Man Geum Fraud Case, made the Baekdong Branch even more of a laughingstock once the full story came out.
At the time, people talked about Old Man Geum's tenacity and patience and the Baekdong Branch's foolishness, but this time would be different. Do Tong-dal knew the full story of the incident.
Do Tong-dal, Wang Chil, and Kang Bu-song headed for Old Man Geum's house. Seo Wang-su bowed out, saying he couldn't bear to watch Wang Chil's wrist get cut off, and Jo Pyeong-do stayed behind at the office, feeling like it would turn his stomach if Do Tong-dal actually managed to collect the money.
The whole way there, Wang Chil kept glancing at Do Tong-dal. Judging by his expression, he didn't seem all that worried.
'Because it's not his own wrist on the line.'
When they arrived at Old Man Geum's house after walking for a ke, an unwelcome face greeted them.
"Boss, you're a little late."
The pig with the pale face and a grin plastered all over it was Gwang Hae-bong.
"You didn't have to come all the way out here."
* * *