A Rival Emerges in Taihu
“Why are customers so scarce these days? It’s not like these gambling addicts suddenly ran out of money.”
Oh Dal, who ran the gambling den, was deeply troubled by the recent decline in visitors.
His own profits and the high-interest loans from Yiwonjang depended on a steady stream of desperate gamblers. Yet the number of customers had dropped by half—perhaps even more—and the frustration gnawed at him.
“Mister, what are you doing? Roll the dice already.”
What made it worse was the man who came every single day and steadily bled the house dry. The losses had long since ceased to be a one- or two-day problem.
“Sir, perhaps it’s time you left.”
“Come on, why so serious? Just three more rounds and I’m gone. Hurry up and roll.”
“Who’s going to take that ghost away? What the hell is Wolyeongmun even doing?”
It had been nearly a month since he’d paid Wolyeongmun to handle the nuisance, yet the man still strolled in daily and walked out with their money. It was enough to drive anyone mad.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“There’s a strange rumor going around.”
“A strange rumor?”
“Yes. I heard it from Wang. Apparently a new gambling den has opened near Taihu.”
“What? Who the hell would open a gambling house there?”
Oh Dal reacted sharply, his voice rising as he turned to the dealer, Park Dang.
“But this place is a little… unusual.”
“Unusual how?”
“They say people just come in small groups to enjoy themselves. They gamble, eat food inside the house, even drink.”
Oh Dal narrowed his eyes.
“Really? And they make money that way?”
“I’m not sure. But given how many of our customers have disappeared, I’d wager they’re flowing over there.”
A competitor was never good news. Even if the new house ran things strangely, it would still siphon away gamblers’ money simply by existing.
“Remember that Wang fellow who came yesterday?”
“Yeah.”
“He apparently won big at the new place, then came here and lost everything.”
“They just let winners walk out?”
“That’s what he said. They kicked him out because he’d won too much. What kind of idiot throws out someone who’s beating the house?”
“Hmm……”
Gambling den operators were rarely fools. Oh Dal suspected there had to be some hidden scheme behind such behavior.
“There must be something else going on. No one kicks out a winner without a reason.”
“I don’t know the details either. That’s just how the new place supposedly operates.”
“I need to see it for myself. Stay here.”
“Understood.”
“This is the last round. I’m putting everything on six.”
The voice from the next table made Oh Dal turn his head.
“H-how much is that?”
“Hard to say. At least ten thousand nyang, I’d guess.”
At the mention of ten thousand nyang, Oh Dal’s face twisted.
That man isn’t an ordinary person. He’s likely a murim-in who has cultivated inner energy.
Hong Man’s words echoed in his mind.
Without martial arts of his own, Oh Dal had no chance of winning against a murim-in. Even knowing the man was using inner energy to manipulate the dice, there was nothing he could do.
“When is Wolyeongmun going to deal with him? They took the money—they should finish the job. Just thinking about how much I’ve lost to that bastard……”
“Whoa, it’s six! He called it again!”
Oh Dal’s expression darkened at the onlooker’s exclamation.
“Damn it. From now on, if that guy shows up, tell him he can only bring ten nyang. If he wins a hundred, he’s done for the day.”
“Will that work?”
“Say it when he walks in. He’ll just go to another house. Aigoo, how much have we lost to him already?”
* * *
Oh Dal headed to Taihu to find the rumored gambling den. After asking around, he located it quickly.
The establishment was a converted brothel in Taihu’s red-light district. Despite the late hour, the place was packed—people filled every room, gambling in droves.
“Running a house this size would take years of preparation.”
His own den felt like a cramped closet by comparison.
Unlike courtesan houses where performers entertained, brothels had many small rooms by design. The new owners had simply repurposed those rooms, and now each one overflowed with gamblers.
“If every one of these people loses a hundred nyang, that’s a fortune. And with this many customers, the seating fees alone must be substantial.”
Standard seating fees ranged from one to two pun per nyang. A hundred people each bringing a hundred nyang meant ten thousand nyang total; even at one pun, that was a hundred nyang in fees.
“Three or four people per room……”
Oh Dal calculated that the seating fees alone could sustain the operation.
“Is there a particular game that interests you?”
The attendant used the word “play” instead of “gamble” when addressing him.
“Nothing specific. I know a bit of everything, so I’m just looking around for now.”
“I see. Please take your time. If you find something you’d like to join, let me know and I’ll introduce you to the other players.”
“Ah, understood. I’ll do that.”
As Oh Dal wandered through the house, he noticed something odd.
Wait—there are no professional dealers here?
People simply sat among themselves, gambled until they lost, then left. New players filled the empty seats. That was the entire system.
So they really are just renting out space and collecting fees?
Among gambling operators, simply charging seating fees was considered the most foolish model. Tens or hundreds of thousands of nyang changed hands in these rooms, yet the house took only one or two pun per nyang—pocket change compared to the money flowing through.
With so many customers the place might survive, but refusing to hire skilled dealers in a high-stakes environment was pure idiocy.
They opened a gambling house but don’t actually understand how to run one?
Just then, a woman who appeared to be staff entered a room carrying a tray of fragrant food and drinks.
“They said they sell food,” Oh Dal muttered, curiosity drawing him closer.
“All right, food and drink have arrived. Let’s eat and rest for a moment.”
The woman received a small tip for her trouble. She bowed gratefully and left the room.
“Excuse me.”
Oh Dal called out to her.
“Yes? How may I help you?”
“Do people really order food while they gamble here?”
“They do. Usually the person who wins pays for the food and drinks.”
“Is that so?”
“Sometimes friends come to play together. If one of them wins big, he’ll go up to the third floor, call a courtesan, and buy drinks with his winnings.”
Oh Dal found the business model intriguing.
So that’s why my customers have been disappearing.
His own den attracted people who came solely to win money. Here, the atmosphere felt lighter—people came to enjoy themselves.
“Then no one ever leaves with winnings?”
“Losing a friend is worse than losing money. Solo players either win and go home or lose everything.”
Oh Dal nodded.
“Thank you.”
He thanked the woman and sought out the attendant who had spoken to him earlier.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“I’d like to join a game. Is there an open seat?”
“Of course. Please follow me.”
Oh Dal trailed after the young man.
“Our policy is one exchange per day.”
“One exchange per day?”
“Yes. You convert your money into our gambling tokens. You can exchange any amount, but only once per day.”
“Really? How much do people usually exchange?”
“Groups of four friends typically pool their money and exchange around a hundred nyang. Solo players vary, but the average is about five hundred nyang.”
A hundred to five hundred nyang per table wasn’t an enormous sum.
“When you leave, if you’ve won, you return the tokens and exchange them back for real money.”
Oh Dal nodded and exchanged a hundred nyang for tokens.
The tokens looked like real currency but were made of wood rather than metal.
“This is the amount after deducting the one-pun seating fee for your hundred nyang.”
Gamblers rarely considered the possibility of losing before they started, so they paid little attention to the fee being taken upfront. It prevented disputes later.
At my place we have to deal with people throwing tantrums about paying fees after they’ve lost everything. We should switch to this system.
As Oh Dal considered this, the attendant spoke again.
“One more thing—if you damage or destroy any of our tokens, you must pay double the value. Please handle them carefully.”
“Understood.”
Oh Dal was led to a room where players were already seated. He took an empty spot.
His goal wasn’t to gamble but to gather information, so he paid little attention to the game itself.
These aren’t professional gamblers.
Running his own den had given him a keen eye for the tells and signals used by dealers and cheaters. These people were simply here to enjoy themselves.
So it’s possible to make this much money this way.
“We’ve been playing a while. My throat’s dry. How about some tea? It looks like I’ve won a little, so I’ll treat everyone.”
“My luck’s been terrible anyway. A short break with tea sounds good.”
When the others agreed, they called the attendant and ordered tea.
“Bring us Geumsan Chui-a.”
“Understood. Geumsan Chui-a is a bit expensive—twenty nyang per pot.”
“That’s fine. If we’re drinking tea, we might as well have the good stuff.”
The man who ordered handed over twenty nyang. The attendant bowed and left.
“Let’s take it easy until the tea arrives.”
They resumed playing. After five rounds, a woman entered carrying a tea tray. She set it down at a respectful distance from the table and began pouring.
Hmm……
It cost money, yet the service made one feel genuinely welcomed.
The tea was high quality, not cheap leaves. At twenty nyang, the house probably didn’t profit much.
After serving everyone, the woman stepped back and waited quietly. Some players still had tea left, and the relaxed atmosphere made lingering pleasant.
As the game continued, the woman watched the players’ faces shift with each card, a faint smile on her lips.
“Miss, another cup, if you would.”
She rose silently and refilled cups without disturbing the game. When the pot was empty, she prepared to leave.
“Thank you for your service. Take this and buy yourself something later.”
A winner placed several tokens on her tray.
“Thank you.”
Oh Dal quickly counted the tokens.
Ten tokens—ten nyang.
His mind raced.
Winners tend to be generous. If she visits just ten rooms today, that’s a hundred nyang.
The woman earned far more than he’d expected.
A hundred nyang a day is more than most courtesans make. Of course, she probably splits it with the owner.
At a hundred nyang daily, she would earn three thousand nyang a month. Even after paying wages, the owner would still profit handsomely.
Unless the owner is an idiot, he wouldn’t give all that money to the staff.
“Are you continuing, sir?”
The player across from him spoke, snapping Oh Dal out of his thoughts. He smiled.
“Haha, of course. I’ve lost, so I need to win it back. Let’s keep going.”
Even as he laughed, he was already planning how to adopt this model for his own den.
The house provides the tea, so after subtracting the cost and the fee for using the space, I could take seventy percent of what the woman earns.
A thin smile formed on Oh Dal’s lips.
“You’re smiling, sir. Must have a good hand. I suppose I’m dead this round.”
The man who had misinterpreted the smile laid down his cards.
“Really? Then I should check. I bet five nyang.”
When another player placed five nyang on the table, Oh Dal gave an awkward smile.
“It’s not a good hand. I’ll fold.”
“Then why were you smiling?”
“I was just enjoying myself—gambling with everyone, drinking tea. I suppose the good mood got the better of me. My apologies.”
“I was tricked.”
“Haha, then this round is mine.”
Oh Dal studied the other players. They had no great greed; they simply enjoyed the atmosphere itself.
I should use a little skill to win some money here, then move to another room and observe the rest of the operation.