Bookstore - 2
You can't protect a bookstore by just sitting still—even if you leave the world alone.
To hold on to the bookstore amid the crashing wave of debt repayment, we had to face the creditors head-on.
"Please, have a seat."
Following the Steward's lead, we were shown into a room at the Baek Family Manor, the residence of Dang Hwarin's maternal grandfather.
The chamber was furnished with expensive pieces that made it plain this was meant for receiving distinguished guests, yet the recent turmoil had left furniture smashed here and there and clear empty spaces where ornaments had once stood.
"I apologize for having nothing better to offer than this cheap Americano."
As I ran a finger through the dust where a decoration had clearly sat, the Steward returned with tea, his expression apologetic.
This was the sort of task a maid should have handled, yet here was the Steward himself bringing it. Just as I'd heard—everyone except essential staff had already fled the Baek household.
"Not at all. With everything in such chaos, the fact that you're serving us at all is more than enough. Thank you."
I drink coffee for the sugar taste anyway—who cares whether the beans are expensive? I accepted the Americano with a polite bow to the Steward.
"Hoho. A rare young man these days."
The Steward regarded me with an expression of fond approval.
"I never quite finished introducing myself yesterday. I am Kang Yunho, a maedamja from Joseon."
"He's my friend."
Dang Hwarin introduced me with a triumphant little smile, as if something about the whole situation delighted her. Looking at that ridiculous face, I suddenly felt the urge to tease her.
"Friend? I haven't even gotten this month's friend fee yet."
I turned to her with a deliberately baffled voice, as if to ask why she was calling me a friend when she hadn't paid.
"Friend fee? What's that supposed to be?"
"In Joseon, you have to pay money every month if you want to stay friends."
"Uh, how much do I have to pay?"
"You actually believed that?"
"You little—! Are you seriously fucking with me right now?!"
Hwarin's face flushed crimson in an instant and she started whacking me on the back with her open palm.
"Ow! Ow! Hey, the coffee's spilling!"
Laughing, I desperately tried to catch the dripping Americano with my mouth while begging her to stop.
No sugar in this Americano either. Mouth bitter, back sore.
"Hohoho. Quite the affectionate pair of friends, I see. When she first rode in with you after saying such fond things, I thought you'd brought your fiancé."
The Steward now looked at Hwarin the way a man watches his grown granddaughter's cute antics.
At his words she stopped the furious back-slapping, scooted away from me, and glanced over with something that looked suspiciously like embarrassment.
Since when does she act all demure? Doesn't suit her at all.
"Steward. Could we hear how the debt settlement is going right now? Are you the one in charge?"
Still faintly flushed from my teasing, Hwarin asked the Steward about the situation.
"No. I am merely the proxy. Full authority and responsibility naturally rest with the heir—your mother. Of course, her absence makes dealing with the debts considerably more difficult."
The Steward shook his head as he answered.
"That fucking bitch, I swear."
Hwarin made no attempt to hide her rage toward the mother who always dragged disaster in her wake.
"If you were still a child I would have asked you to watch your language, but right now I rather feel like joining in."
The Steward took a sip of the tea he had brought, as though trying to swallow down a curse of his own.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
Hwarin asked carefully.
"I should be the one helping you. Now that the young lady has appeared, every last authority rests with you, not with a mere proxy like myself. Your arrival is a blessing amid misfortune, yet I cannot help but worry terribly about what the creditors might do to you."
The Steward looked at Hwarin with genuine concern.
This world has no concept of priority repayment. There was no predicting what the creditors might do to Hwarin just to get their money first.
Then we simply had to control the variables so we could predict them.
"Would you be able to invite every single creditor to the Baek Family Manor at the same time and on the same day?"
I set down my cup and spoke to the Steward with the serious face of a man who already had a scheme ready in his chest.
"It seems you have some clever plan in mind. However, the creditors are rarely inclined to obey requests."
"Tell them that whoever gathers that day will be repaid first."
"Hoho. Now there's a method..."
The Steward's mouth fell open in admiration.
Right now the Baek household was nothing more than prey waiting to be torn apart. But even prey still held one small right.
The right to choose who gets to eat it.
In a world without priority claims, Hwarin possessed the authority to dispose of the assets and feed whichever person she decided first.
Of course, prey was still prey. No matter what rights she held, if we simply left things as they were the bookstore would be swallowed by someone else.
To protect the bookstore we had to set the board ourselves.
"I've thought of a method like this."
"Good heavens! That sort of plan? But then how will you handle this problem?"
While I explained the scheme I had devised for settling the debts, I began laying out the course of action that would follow.
Just as I expected, the moment priority repayment was mentioned every creditor gathered at the Baek Family Manor.
Now we follow the plan.
This gathering could not become a place where we simply begged or pleaded for mercy. Relying solely on other people's goodwill would never solve this.
I—we—had to seize control of the negotiation.
"Greetings. I am Kang Yunho, appointed today as the spokesman for the full-authority proxy of the Baek Family. Before we begin discussions, please join me in welcoming Young Lady Hwarin, who arranged this meeting, with a round of applause."
I stepped onto the platform and gestured with an open palm toward Dang Hwarin beside me. She offered the creditors an awkward bow.
The atmosphere was anything but warm, so of course none of them clapped.
Still, I had drawn every eye by emphasizing that she was important enough to deserve applause. That was enough.
"Young Lady Hwarin is the daughter of the currently absent heir of the Baek Family and holds full proxy authority over this household."
At my introduction Hwarin faced the creditors with open composure.
"When are you going to pay us back our money?! Say something already! Stop standing there so shamelessly!"
"Even crawling on the ground and begging would be too good for her! How dare a debt-ridden bitch stand there looking so bold! Someone grab that girl by the hair and drag her over here!"
"Is that insolent bitch the one who's supposed to pay me back? Drag that arrogant little slut in front of me!"
A few of the creditors I had been watching carefully from the start flew into a rage and ordered their escort warriors to haul Hwarin forward.
—Among the creditors are those who thoroughly enjoy thrashing a debtor first and only then sticking a blade under their chin to collect the money.
Just as expected.
She looked young, and being introduced as a granddaughter made her seem an easy target. Having already heard the Steward's warnings, I simply watched them calmly.
The escort warriors glanced around at the sudden command. When no one stopped them, they drew their blades and advanced on Hwarin.
"Come any closer and you'll get hurt."
Hwarin spoke with killing intent thick enough for even those seated at the back to feel it. Good job, Hwarin. Her acting's improved a little.
"You little wench—! Ghk!"
A lightning-fast dart. Hands faster than eyes, apparently—I didn't even see her move. The hidden weapon Hwarin flung buried itself in the warrior who had sneered and crossed the line.
"You bitch—! Grrk..."
The other escort warriors who had started forward in shock at the first strike met the same fate. One dart each and they collapsed where they stood, fouling themselves.
"Did you not see her hands?"
"Instant paralysis poison? A family that coats their darts with something like that... could it be—"
"Hidden weapon arts of that level? Come to think of it, that hair color..."
With a single display of technique, both creditors and their warriors began to stir uneasily.
"She carries the blood of the Sichuan Dang Clan! She is the disciple of the renowned great hero Dang Geoho of the Sichuan Dang Clan! And she is the daughter of the Seong Family Manor! Please refrain from any remarks or rash actions that cross the line against Young Lady Dang! Hwarin!"
I stamped confirmation on their suspicions by stressing her surname and introducing her once more.
"Her hair is purple and her eyes are green! It's definitely the Sichuan Dang Clan!"
"I knew it—Sichuan Dang!"
"I-I never ordered my guards! My escort warriors acted on their own!"
The creditors now looked at Hwarin with gazes full of fear.
In the Murim world, mutual respect is born from fear of the other party.
Under an overwhelming superior-inferior dynamic, no real conversation is possible—only begging for mercy.
For dialogue to work, mutual respect has to exist first. Just as planned, Hwarin's lineage and martial skill had planted more than enough fear in them.
First stage of the plan: complete.
Now it was time to cast off the superior-inferior relationship itself.
"Before we discuss the debts today, let me first make one thing clear: Young Lady Dang Hwarin is the full-authority proxy—she is not a debtor."
I calmly declared the shocking fact they least wanted to hear.