Monopolizing Fortunes (8)
Monopolizing Fortunes (8)
He headed for Cheonsangru at the hour when the sun made shadows shortest. At high noon, Cheonsangru was as quiet as dawn.
Only the occasional sound of a diligent worker's broom could be heard.
'Did I come too early?'
An uninvited guest waking the owner from deep sleep would be rude. Sitting on a rock in the garden, Do Tong-dal took out his blade and spun it around and around. The blade had to become as familiar as a part of his own body.
From the third floor, Yeon Ja-yeon was looking down at Do Tong-dal playing with his blade in the garden.
While drinking tea and trying to shake off the previous night's hangover, Do Tong-dal had caught her eye.
The hangover was forgotten, and sleep fled as well.
She was about to rise from her chair, thinking, 'I need to wash up quickly and put on my makeup!' when Do Tong-dal sat down on the rock.
"What is he doing?"
Do Tong-dal simply played with his blade in that spot and showed no intention of moving. Only after half a ke had passed did she realize why Do Tong-dal was acting that way.
"He doesn't want to wake me, is that it? A polite thug. How cute."
Resting her chin on her hand, Yeon Ja-yeon gazed down at Do Tong-dal. She meant to watch just a little longer and then send word for Do Tong-dal to come inside.
But as she watched, she found herself wanting to keep watching like this. It felt as though she could spend the whole day doing nothing but looking at Do Tong-dal.
Just as she did, Do Tong-dal also sat on the rock and passed the time for a long while. The friction between the Baekdong Branch and the Gwanghwa-ro Fixer Office had quietly become the subject of rumor.
As the man standing at the center of it, Do Tong-dal would be so busy that even three bodies would not be enough.
Yet despite being that busy, Do Tong-dal was letting time slip away to protect Yeon Ja-yeon's sleep.
Her gaze as she looked down at Do Tong-dal grew increasingly hazy.
"Haah—! Why does that guy keep growing on me?"
She was thirty, and Do Tong-dal was eighteen. Exactly twelve years apart. It was enough time that the joke about having a son Do Tong-dal's age, if only she hadn't failed at first love, no longer sounded like a joke.
So why did that downy-cheeked youngster keep catching her eye, keep coming to mind at odd moments, keep making her heart pound?
Do Tong-dal sheathed his blade and stood up. Startled by that slow movement, Yeon Ja-yeon checked the sundial set in the garden.
'Half a shichen has already passed?'
Do Tong-dal called over a passing worker. It seemed he was only now sending word that he had come to see her.
She moved busily as well. While she was washing and putting on makeup, word arrived that Do Tong-dal had come.
After ordering that he be shown to the reception room, Yeon Ja-yeon stood in front of her wardrobe and agonized for a long while. Because of the nature of her profession, hundreds of splendid and pretty outfits hung in the wardrobe.
Yet not one of them pleased Yeon Ja-yeon. The nightclothes she was wearing right now seemed the prettiest of all.
"I'll have to buy a few outfits."
The thought, 'Something to Do Tong-dal's taste,' made the nape of her neck flush slightly. After some indecision, she put on a blue palace-style dress and headed for the reception room.
"I was in a hurry, so I came early."
He was in such a hurry, yet he had guarded Yeon Ja-yeon's sleep for half a shichen.
"Not at all. I was just about to get up myself. Since you've come at such an early hour, I take it you're not here as a guest?"
"I have a favor to ask."
There were few people who could state that they had a favor to ask so confidently.
The words 'I'll grant anything' rose all the way to her throat. But it wouldn't do to give in so easily. She might give away her feelings.
"Since you're the one asking, I should at least hear you out."
"Please lend me some money."
"Pardon?"
It was unexpected. And the fact that it was unexpected was also unexpected. Eight out of ten favors in this world were probably about money.
Requests for money were so common that when someone came saying, 'I have a favor to ask,' one could simply ask, 'How much do you need?' But she had not expected those words to come from Do Tong-dal.
"It must be money you need because of the conflict with the Baekdong Branch?"
"Well, something like that."
"I heard the Baekdong Branch won't be sending courtesans to Cheonsangru anymore. Is it because of that?"
"You know your business well. Though you don't seem all that worried."
"When you run a pleasure house, you go through quite a lot of trouble, big and small. The Baekdong Branch not sending courtesans isn't such a serious problem for me. Hangzhou is large, and there are plenty of courtesans. It would be a much bigger problem for the Red Tiger Society. If I handle it myself, the Red Tiger Society won't be able to place courtesans in our Cheonsangru anymore."
Even when money was at stake and contracts had been signed, trust was the lifeblood of such dealings. Since the Red Tiger Society had broken that trust first, Cheonsangru would have nothing to answer for no matter what measures it took.
"Still, bringing in courtesans myself is a hassle. Managing them, too."
When Yeon Ja-yeon opened the door a crack, Do Tong-dal swiftly slipped his hand in.
"I'll make sure to save you time. I also promise you won't have any trouble over the courtesans."
"Since you're the one making the promise, I can believe it...... Then how about we each grant one favor for the other?"
"I will grant anything."
Those were the words Yeon Ja-yeon had first wanted to say to Do Tong-dal.
"Do you know Sagiju?"
At the name, his mouth watered on its own. In his previous life as Do Tong-dal, he had tasted it exactly once.
Not a bottle, not even a cup—just a little pooled at the bottom. It was a liquor so precious that it commanded two nyang of silver per bottle and sold out the moment it appeared.
"I know it. I tasted it once a very long time ago."
"For an eighteen-year-old to say a very long time ago......."
"Uh...... hahaha! I learned to drink a little early, you see. Hahaha!"
Do Tong-dal quickly changed the subject.
"But why Sagiju?"
"I'd like to receive a supply of that liquor, but it hasn't worked out. If you can arrange for me to receive Sagiju, I'll grant your favor."
From Do Tong-dal's perspective, it was a rather out-of-the-blue request. Did Yeon Ja-yeon think that something she herself could not manage could be done by Do Tong-dal, a mere low-ranking member of the Underworld?
If it had been impossible, Yeon Ja-yeon would not have made such a request in the first place.
'This is as absurd as Jang Yu-seom's ten-move duel.'
He could not simply back out saying he couldn't do it right away. Giving up could wait until after he had done everything he could.
"I'll look for a way."
Having finished his business, Do Tong-dal stood up. Yeon Ja-yeon wanted to spend more time with him, but she had no pretext to keep him.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
As he was about to step out the door, Do Tong-dal asked as if the thought had just occurred to him.
"By the way, you haven't even asked how much money I'm trying to borrow."
"Oh...... how much is it?"
* * *
With the thought of charging in headfirst, he came to the Hangzhou Brewery, which produced Sagiju.
In his previous life's memories, there was no information about the owner of the Hangzhou Brewery. That was because Do Tong-dal had never had any contact with him at all.
He did consider, 'Should I threaten him, Underworld-style?' but that was not Do Tong-dal's way.
'Give and take would be best. Where is the brewery owner's itchiest spot?'
With such thoughts, he announced his visit to a worker. He had revealed his status as a Red Tiger Society squad leader, but he could still be turned away at the door.
However, the worker who returned a short while later guided Do Tong-dal to an office located at the back of the brewery.
'Well, a businessman wouldn't want an awkward relationship with the Underworld.'
After waiting in the office for a moment, an old man entered. The white-haired old man with a small, frail frame looked familiar somehow.
"I am Hwang Pyeon-seung, the owner here."
"I'm Do Tong-dal."
To Do Tong-dal, who was offering his greeting, Hwang Pyeon-seung said.
"You don't remember me."
"Pardon?"
Do Tong-dal stared blankly at Hwang Pyeon-seung. In this life, he had had almost no opportunity to form any relationship with the old man.
'Old men I know.......'
"Ah! The liquor-cart grandpa!"
It was definitely the old man who had pulled the liquor cart at Cheonsangru. They had only brushed past each other briefly, but the sharp-eyed Do Tong-dal had remembered him after all.
"Late, but not a blind man with open eyes, I see."
"What do you mean, late? Remembering at all is impressive. But were you hurt back then?"
"You're the one whose head burst."
"No, I mean the proprietress of Cheonsangru was nearly hurt, so the old man transporting the liquor...... Huh? The liquor you were carrying wasn't even Sagiju, so why were you transporting liquor there?"
Do Tong-dal added, 'Your circumstances can't be so poor that you'd need a side job.'
A liquor priced at two nyang of silver per bottle sold out so fast they couldn't keep it in stock, so he must be raking in money by the handful.
"I was curious what kind of pleasure house had been chasing me for over a year, asking me to sell them some Sagiju."
"So you disguised yourself as a worker and went spying?"
"More like preliminary client research than spying?"
"That's called spying."
"Why did you ask Mistress Yeon to keep me from being punished?"
"I'm regretting it too. If I'd just asked to borrow money in the first place, I wouldn't have had to come all the way here."
"Is it unpleasant that you had to come ask me?"
"What makes you so sure I came to ask?"
"If not, then just leave."
"Damn!"
He felt as though he had lost somehow, and it put him in a bad mood.
"You still haven't answered my question. Why did you cover for me?"
He couldn't answer that it was because he'd been reminded of his previous-life self.
"Just because."
"Just because?"
"Why do you keep prying into something like that? I'm the only fool who got cheated."
He was embarrassed. A cute fellow.
"I never cheated you."
"Right. I'm sure you didn't."
Hwang Pyeon-seung gazed steadily at Do Tong-dal with eyes unusually clear for an old man.
"How old do I look?"
"About...... seventy?"
"You're really bad at dealing with people. If someone looks seventy, you should shave off about ten years and say sixty."
"Have you ever seen a thug who's good with people?"
"You seem a bit different from the average thug."
"Yellow shit or black shit, shit is shit."
"Aren't you being a little too honest?"
"A thug should at least be honest."
"So honesty is your creed, is it?"
Do Tong-dal waved his hand dismissively.
"Would a thug need anything that grand? You deal with a vile bastard vilely, a cruel bastard cruelly, a cowardly bastard cowardly—and if someone is a piece of shit, you treat him like shit."
Hwang Pyeon-seung nodded.
"A fine creed. I'm the same. If I were to add one more thing, it's that I never forget either a kindness or a grudge."
"So why are we making this kind of small talk?"
"There's nothing better than small talk for building friendly relations. When do you need the Sagiju?"
"Pardon?"
"The owner of Cheonsangru said so. To ask you about the Sagiju delivery date."
Do Tong-dal, who had been blinking, asked in surprise.
"Did Mistress Yeon know that you were the owner of the Hangzhou Brewery?"
"Of course. We'd even agreed to supply Sagiju to Cheonsangru."
He had thought it was a difficult mission, but as it turned out, all he had to do was lift his spoon over a table that Yeon Ja-yeon and Hwang Pyeon-seung had already set.
"Haah—! The world around me is full of swindlers, absolutely full."
* * *
Jeon Hui-jin was like an older sister to the other courtesans. Years of never turning away from courtesans in trouble had naturally put her in that role.
"You said there would be no loss, but we could still be harassed by the Baekdong Branch. The Gwanghwa-ro Fixer Office can't protect us perfectly, can it?"
"For now, you may feel uneasy and may take some damage. But just think about this one thing."
Do Tong-dal placed both clenched fists on the table.
"My right hand is Wang Chil, and my left hand is Gwang Hae-bong. Who would you like to be the person managing you from now on?"
A person's reputation is not built for nothing, nor made overnight.
In this business, the reputation Wang Chil had built over twenty years might well be his greatest asset.
There were more than enough men in the Underworld who stood at the opposite extreme from the trustworthy, good-natured Wang Chil, and one of them was Gwang Hae-bong.
If you asked the weak whose umbrella they would choose to stand under, a hundred out of a hundred would choose Wang Chil.
"Can Wang Chil beat Gwang Hae-bong?"
"One month. If Gwang Hae-bong hasn't been sent flying by then, go kick Wang Chil in the crotch."
"Huh? Why should Wang Chil get kicked there instead of you, Squad Leader Do?"
Do Tong-dal whispered.
"Because mine performs better and has more uses."
"Hehe!"
Jeon Hui-jin, who had laughed in good humor, said.
"I can't promise you either that every courtesan will move to the Gwanghwa-ro Fixer Office."
"We're being honest with each other, so we're off to a very good start."
"Were we really being honest?"
"Are you saying I lied?"
"The part about yours performing better than Wang Chil's is hard to believe......."
Do Tong-dal bristled.
"Of course mine performs better than an old man's. I'm young!"
Jeon Hui-jin shook her head.
"Dismissing experience like that. You're still a greenhorn, Squad Leader."
"A gr...... greenhorn?"
'How many years have I lived?'
* * *