Monopolizing Fortunes (41)
Monopolizing Fortunes (41)
From now on, it was Wang Chil's time. If Do Tong-dal was the hero needed for troubled times, Wang Chil was a wise ruler suited to peaceful governance.
He was soft-hearted and easily swayed, so Jo Jin-ho kept him centered from his side. It was because of Jo Jin-ho that a Deputy Society Leader position was even created.
Of the seven elders who had done nothing but eat up food, three were gone. Naturally, only the four who had supported Wang Chil remained.
Do Tong-dal returned the Namgyeong Branch, the Red Tiger Society's prize asset. He had taken it expecting a long war, but since things ended quickly, there was no reason to keep sitting on it.
And Jang Yu-seom finally left Cheonsangru. It was a famous rumor among the rowdies that if you caused trouble at Cheonsangru, you'd end up with crippled legs.
With no drunken guests causing trouble, Jang Yu-seom's reason to stay had vanished too.
Wang Chil practically begged, and so Jang Yu-seom became a Protector of the Red Tiger Society. The funny thing was that Hwang Seon-jung was still a Protector as well.
There had been various infuriating incidents, but when it came down to it, they weren't offenses grave enough to cost him his head.
Still, he had been the Red Tiger Society's foremost master in name, so having him around would be helpful.
Once the formalities were settled, the Red Tiger Society quickly regained stability. The merchants who had suffered losses because of Jo Gwang-un were compensated by selling off Jo Chi-un's real estate.
Of course, the house went to Do Tong-dal.
Do Tong-dal's official position was Coordinator, but the days he showed up for work in a month could be counted on one hand.
Outside of treatment hours, he spent most of his days training in martial arts. Not only Namgung Seol-rin, but even Do Tong-dal himself hadn't expected he would train so diligently.
He had talent, so it was fun, and that fun called forth more talent—a virtuous cycle was continuing.
"Haa—!"
The season had arrived when white breath came from his mouth. Do Tong-dal, who had been drilling the Heavenly Shadow Flash Kick without rest for two full shichen, abruptly grabbed his outer robe.
"Let's go see Jang Yu-seom."
"Why?"
Namgung Seol-rin now occasionally asked questions. And Do Tong-dal answered readily.
"To have a spar."
"You could just spar with me."
"You know my martial arts too well."
Namgung Seol-rin was the one who analyzed his martial arts and explained their intricacies to Do Tong-dal.
Jang Yu-seom's house was close to headquarters, so sending someone to summon him wasn't difficult.
"I'm sorry to call you over when you must be busy."
"Not at all. These days I'm just an idler eating up food."
Jang Yu-seom was a sword sheathed in its scabbard. When there was no use for him, his only purpose was decoration.
As they entered the courtyard, they saw Seon Hye-min in the main hall, hugging a brazier and drinking tea.
Her illness was nearly cured now, and at most she visited the physician in black once a month.
"Welcome. I'll bring out some tea."
As Seon Hye-min went inside, Do Tong-dal spoke to Jang Yu-seom.
"I've come to ask for a spar."
Jang Yu-seom smiled brightly.
"You must have made some progress in the meantime."
"Nothing worth mentioning."
"If it were nothing worth mentioning, you wouldn't have come looking for me. I'll go get wooden swords."
Jang Yu-seom had no need to insist on live blades. Meanwhile, tea was served, and Namgung Seol-rin, the spectator, perched on the edge of the main hall. Seon Hye-min offered her tea.
"I heard your older brother won the Yongbong Tournament? It's very late, but congratulations."
Namgung Seol-rin was startled.
"How did you know about that?"
"Coordinator Do came by and told me."
Seon Hye-min whispered, "He was as proud as if he'd won it himself."
Namgung Seol-rin, who had removed her mask to drink tea, was pale. She had worn it so long that taking it off now felt awkward.
Jang Yu-seom came out with the wooden swords and took his position five jang away from Do Tong-dal. The sky had been overcast, and now snowflakes began to drift down one by one.
"It's snowing unusually heavily this winter. Looks like next year's harvest will be good."
Namgung Seol-rin didn't know why heavy snow meant a good harvest.
"How is Coordinator Do's arm?"
At Seon Hye-min's question, Namgung Seol-rin answered without taking her eyes off Do Tong-dal and Jang Yu-seom.
"It's getting better little by little."
Do Tong-dal clenched his fist and raised his hand to his chest. That was the limit of how far Do Tong-dal could bend his arm.
At first, all he could do was twitch a single finger—so much so that the Namgung Clan's physicians had given up early—so this was tremendous progress.
Do Tong-dal moved first. When his front kick was blocked by the wooden sword, he spun his body and unleashed the Whirlwind Kick. The snowflakes caught in his foot scattered in all directions, shuddering.
"When Coordinator Do is fully healed, will you leave?"
Namgung Seol-rin's hand, holding the teacup, trembled slightly.
"If my master tells me to leave. That was the original agreement."
Jang Yu-seom's wooden sword narrowly missed Do Tong-dal. True to his nature, Jang Yu-seom never went easy on anyone.
"Since there's no set date, couldn't you relax a little?"
"I don't know what you mean."
Seon Hye-min watched Do Tong-dal dodge the wooden sword and spin his body around to counterattack.
"I'm saying you should treat him comfortably now. You've spent quite a lot of time together."
Namgung Seol-rin smiled bitterly.
"I'm his arm, and he's my master. There's no way I could feel comfortable."
"You seem much more comfortable than at first, though?"
That was true. At first, walking one step behind him, washing his face in the morning, feeding him, laying out his bedding—all of it had been awkward.
Back then, she had desperately awaited the nights, the only time she could be apart from Do Tong-dal.
But now, before she knew it, all of it had become natural. Like that sword of Jang Yu-seom's swinging toward Do Tong-dal.
"Do you think he still hates me a lot?"
Seon Hye-min's answer to Namgung Seol-rin's monologue-like question came quickly.
"No."
"But my master's arm is still broken."
"Do you really want to know whether Coordinator Do hates you? Shall I tell you how to find out?"
Being hated by someone you're attached to all day is more uncomfortable than having your whole body bound with rope.
At first, it had felt only natural, but now the wish that Do Tong-dal would stop hating her had quietly raised its head.
"There's a way?"
Seon Hye-min watched Do Tong-dal dodge the wooden sword with a backward somersault. The spar had been going on for quite a while.
"How does Coordinator Do bathe?"
"He does it alone."
"He can't use his arm. How does he bathe alone?"
"Th-that... I wouldn't know."
"Try bathing him today."
"Wh-what?"
Her voice came out too loud, and Namgung Seol-rin hastily covered her mouth.
"You'll find out if you bathe him. Who would entrust their body to someone they dislike? Isn't that right?"
It did seem to make sense. But bathe him! A man, no less!
Namgung Seol-rin shook her head from side to side.
"I can't."
Seon Hye-min lifted her teacup and glanced at Do Tong-dal, who stood facing Jang Yu-seom. The spar seemed to be over.
"Then you'll just have to go on not knowing. Whether Coordinator Do dislikes you or not."
Do Tong-dal and Jang Yu-seom came to the main hall, panting heavily.
"How in the world did you train him to become this strong in such a short time?"
Namgung Seol-rin couldn't help but find Jang Yu-seom's question awkward. She couldn't say she'd missed the spar because she'd been talking. He'd ask what they'd talked about, and then...
Namgung Seol-rin answered.
"Worked him fucking hard. Oops!"
After rubbing shoulders with the gangsters so much, their language had stuck to her tongue before she knew it.
"Damn it!"
Namgung Seol-rin hastily put on her mask to hide her reddening face. Do Tong-dal asked Seon Hye-min.
"My Arm is acting strange today. What were you two talking about?"
"That you've sweated a lot and should take a bath."
Not just Namgung Seol-rin—Seon Hye-min seemed strange too. Namgung Seol-rin, who had flinched at the word "bath," shot to her feet.
"If the spar's over, let's go!"
"Hey! Let me at least have a cup of tea...!"
She was so fast that Namgung Seol-rin was already crossing the threshold of the main gate.
"Why is she suddenly bolting...? I'm coming too! We'll be going now, you two!"
Do Tong-dal hurried after Namgung Seol-rin. Jang Yu-seom was just as baffled.
"I was hoping to talk calmly about martial arts..."
"There's something more important than martial arts."
"More important than martial arts?"
Seon Hye-min stared at the empty space where Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin had disappeared.
"Don't those two suit each other?"
"Those two? Who? Us? We suit each other."
"Coordinator Do and Miss Namgung."
"Huh? No way!"
"Why not?"
"Miss Namgung is practically an enemy to Coordinator Do."
"Have you ever seen enemies who stick together like that?"
"Coordinator Do is keeping her by his side to get revenge."
"Maybe at first, but time changes a lot of things. It rots food, but it also makes flowers bloom."
Jang Yu-seom, who had pictured Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin in his head, shook his head firmly.
"Not those two! Besides, Coordinator Do has Mistress Yeon."
"Are the two of them courting?"
"Well. They probably haven't said it outright, but it seemed pretty close?"
"Really? Hmm. This is going to get interesting. I should prepare some snacks. Heh heh heh..."
* * *
Looking at the documents piled on his desk, Do Tong-dal let out a deep sigh. The documents trembled, but they didn't fly away.
"What is all this?"
Jang Baek-dong, who had moved into the position of Do Tong-dal's secretary, answered.
"Matters that you, Coordinator, need to resolve."
"What am I, some kind of fixer? Even if I were a fixer, why are there so many things to fix?"
"First, because you haven't come in for so long. Second, because you're highly capable. Third, perhaps because the other Coordinators are incompetent?"
Listening to Jang Baek-dong, it was hard to find any particular fault. Jang Baek-dong's remark—"If you came in every day, the work wouldn't have piled up like this"—struck home.
But that didn't mean he could do all this work.
"Give this to someone else."
He sliced the pile in half and pushed it to one side of the desk. The document he picked up was from the Hwaryeong branch.
"The Hwaryeong branch gambling house is on the verge of bankruptcy?"
Unless someone embezzled or got scammed, a gambling house going bankrupt was impossible.
"Rumors have been rampant there for the past few days."
"Rumors?"
"They say an incredible gambler showed up and is sweeping away all the gambling house's money."
"Even if the gambling house loses money, it's the customers' money, and if they win, the customers win. The gambling house only takes the table fee."
"Usually, yes, but there are places where the house's own gamblers play directly as contestants. The Hwaryeong gambling house is one of those."
"So the house gambler got completely cleaned out by a customer."
"That's right."
Do Tong-dal scowled.
"They should have stopped or kicked him out before losing enough to shake the whole gambling house!"
"What gambler's mind works like that? They kept at it thinking about recouping their losses, and kept losing."
"Then they should close the doors. Why ask headquarters for help?"
"That gambling house is half of the Hwaryeong branch's income. Would they give it up easily?"
Do Tong-dal pushed the document aside.
"Tell them to handle it themselves. Wait. A gambler, you say?"
In the end, a gambler's skill depends on how well they read their opponent. In other words, hiding oneself well is just as important as reading others.
'A perfect opponent to test the Mind-Reading Art on.'
Do Tong-dal pulled back the document he had pushed away and said.
"I'll go take a look."
He was curious how well someone whose profession was hiding their expressions could conceal themselves.
"And as for the rest..."
"I don't care!"
* * *
Namgung Seol-rin poured the heated water into the oiled wooden tub. It was something she did every day, but that day the steam touching her face felt different.
—You'll find out if you bathe him. Who would entrust their body to someone they dislike? Isn't that right?
As Seon Hye-min's words came to mind, her face grew hotter than the water. She had occasionally wondered how he bathed, but had soon forgotten it, thinking, "He'll manage somehow."
Rumble—!
The bathroom door opened, and Do Tong-dal came in through the thick steam. To Namgung Seol-rin, who flinched in surprise, Do Tong-dal said.
"Is it ready?"
"Huh? Yes."
Do Tong-dal turned his back to Namgung Seol-rin and spread his arms slightly. It was the maximum he could spread them sideways.
Namgung Seol-rin removed Do Tong-dal's upper garment. His shoulders, which had grown noticeably broader and firmer since he began training in martial arts, were revealed.
Thump!
* * *