Debt Is Also a Power
Debt is also a power.
Back in my college days, I used to rant about how ridiculous that sounded while drowning in student loans. “So being in debt makes you capable? What next—suffering means you’re young?” I’d scoff. Then I graduated, entered the real world, and felt the truth of it deep in my bones.
The ability to take out a loan for an overpriced studio near the office. The ability to buy expensive appliances on three-month interest-free installments. The ability to blow this month’s limited banner gacha and dump the bill on next month’s me.
All of it, in the end, was power.
The bookstore Dang Hwarin had inherited was no different.
A place like that? Not even modern-day Kang Yunho could have bought it, let alone the barbarian Kang Yunho of this world.
Wuhan might be the capital of Hubei Province, but Yichang was large enough to be called its second city. The bookstore she had inherited sat right on one of its major thoroughfares. I couldn’t even begin to guess how much a building like that would cost.
Once sold, it would go a long way toward settling the debts. That was exactly why a little scheming was required.
In moments like this, you just dangle irresistible bait until they can’t think straight.
If I was going to build any kind of reputation in this world, I needed Dang Hwarin’s bookstore. So I would wave the delicious bait of debt repayment in front of them and use every prepared trick to deceive them into giving it to me.
“You’ll shoulder half the remaining debt if we hand over the bookstore that’s part of the estate? Why?”
The sharp-faced old man fixed me with a suspicious stare, clearly wondering why anyone would want a bookstore that looked far too small to justify taking on half the remaining debt.
He wasn’t wrong. Compared to the size of the debt, the bookstore seemed almost trivial. A rational person would never accept that kind of loss.
Which was why my first argument had to start with the irrational, not the rational.
“Because that is the place where Young Lady Dang Hwarin’s maternal grandfather first began his business.”
“Where he began his business?”
“Fifty years ago. Young Lady Hwarin’s grandfather started with that bookstore and gradually expanded his enterprises from there. Now he is gone, and everything he built is about to scatter to the winds. Young Lady Dang Hwarin wants that bookstore so she may inherit his spirit, his will, and his responsibilities in full.”
“Now that you mention it… old Baek really did start out with a bookstore…”
The old man’s gaze drifted into the air for a moment, tinged with nostalgia. So he had known Hwarin’s grandfather. That explained why he seemed somewhat cooperative.
Irrational, yet persuasive. The older creditors, the ones with years written on their faces, turned warm, almost paternal eyes toward Dang Hwarin.
“Cut the bullshit! Do you know how prime that location is? You’re just trying to swallow it whole!”
“Taking half the debt and snatching that bookstore is a pure profit deal—that’s why he’s doing it!”
A few of the creditors shouted, shattering the good atmosphere.
I had expected it. To them, sentiment and warm feelings mattered far less than cold debt. Anyone who offered to take on an irrational amount of debt was bound to look like they knew some hidden way to squeeze money out of the place.
“Please take a look at this for a moment.”
I signaled the man I had prepared, and he began distributing small booklets to the creditors.
“What’s this?”
“A concise summary of the bookstore’s ledgers—net profits for the past several years.”
“What business openly hands out its ledgers? These are fakes, aren’t they?”
“Several of you among the creditors have already examined the original books. There’s no need for suspicion.”
I glanced toward the creditors I had shown the real ledgers earlier. They raised their hands and nodded, confirming the numbers were genuine.
“The net profit is way too low.”
“This is all it made?”
The creditors exchanged startled looks as they flipped through the pages.
“Unlike fifty years ago, competing bookstores have multiplied, and inventory and expenses have become a constant headache. The net profit is nothing special. Do you truly believe this bookstore is valuable enough to shoulder such a large debt?”
“The location is excellent!”
“If you insist, we will put the bookstore on the market as well. That would free Young Lady Dang Hwarin of the debt burden entirely.”
“No—someone still has to take responsibility for the debt…”
Not if I had anything to say about it.
“This bookstore must be the means of carrying that debt. Sell it off, clear the debt, and what would be left? Enough for a bowl of soup and a plate of boiled pork for everyone here? Or better yet—buy yourselves drinks instead. After all, you’ll need something to soothe the burn of a debt you’ll never collect.”
“……”
“If you want even half the debt repaid, there has to be at least a hole from which money can come. Yet you refuse to yield even this hole-in-the-wall shop. In that case, Young Lady Dang Hwarin has no moral obligation to take responsibility for the debt.”
I framed the bookstore as worthless next to the debt. In the blink of an eye, a building that could have housed a café franchise or a clinic became a mere hole-in-the-wall shop.
She wanted to inherit that worthless bookstore simply to continue her grandfather’s will. She was willing to shoulder the debt with the pitiful scraps of profit it produced—and they dared to mock that noble resolve?
Fine. Then don’t. You stay here. We’ll leave.
“Ahem. Ahem.”
“Well… we should at least leave her some breathing room.”
My logic had landed. The creditors who had been shouting now coughed awkwardly and looked away.
Perfect. Your turn, Hwarin. I caught her eye and gave a small nod. Dang Hwarin stepped forward and opened her mouth.
“That bookstore…”
Every gaze snapped to the young woman who might become the debtor herself.
“is filled with memories of playing there with my maternal grandfather when I was little. If he thought of those memories and left the bookstore to me separately, then as his granddaughter I believe I must inherit it and repay all of your debts.”
Dang Hwarin spoke with firm resolve, laying out her stance on the debt.
“What a fine child, thinking of her grandfather like that.”
“If she hadn’t come here over this matter today, I’d have wanted to buy her a meal.”
“An old man saying that would just look foolish… still, I wish my own grandson had half that much heart.”
Perhaps they found her admirable. The older creditors and those who looked like they had daughters of their own whispered among themselves, unable to hide their fond smiles.
“Better money you can collect than money you never will, right?”
“Exactly. There has to be someone left who’ll actually pay.”
“She’ll regret it later, but kids her age don’t know any better.”
Even those who had not looked kindly on Dang Hwarin were now shifting toward the opinion that yielding the bookstore was the wiser choice—while quietly laughing at her.
Just as I had planned.
They assumed that because she was young, her vision of the future was short and her judgment foolish. They mocked the idea that she would live and die as a slave to debt, never realizing that this very “youthful misjudgment” was the mask concealing the real scheme.
“Then what about the other half of the debt?! If you’re taking it on, take all of it!”
One of the men who had been sneering at us flung the remaining debt at us with the same mocking expression still on his face.
Logic was good. Atmosphere was good.
Time for the final trump card.
“I know where Young Lady Hwarin’s mother disappeared to. For the remaining debt, form a pursuit party and collect it from her—the rightful heir.”
Dang Hwarin had told me she had fled to a great mansion in Shaanxi Province.
“What? You know where she went?”
“Where did that bitch run off to?!”
“That is…”
“That is?”
I drew a sheet of paper from my coat and shifted their curious eyes onto the document.
“Once every creditor present stamps this memorandum acknowledging the inheritance of the bookstore and the assumption of half the debt, I will tell you then.”
Let’s wrap this up.
“I’ll stamp it!”
When I held out the document, only a few creditors pressed their seals. The rest simply watched one another.
Hurry up. If you refuse to stamp it, we won’t take on any of the debt.
Contrary to my impatience, there were no fierce refusals—only hesitant glances and no one rising from their seats.
Then the sharp-faced old man, who had been staring at the booklet I had distributed earlier, stood up.
“Heh-heh-heh. Interesting. Very interesting.”
He glanced at the few who had already stamped, then approached me while waving the little booklet, wearing a smile that said he had seen straight through every one of my tricks.
This was bad. My instincts screamed danger.
“Will you place your seal, then?”
Keep the expression steady. I calmly drew out one of the prepared documents.
“For a young man, you know how to play some rather amusing games unsuited to your age.”
The old man spoke in a voice so low no one else could hear.
He had noticed.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
I looked back at him with genuine confusion.
“Heh-heh-heh. Feigning innocence while knowing everything—you’ve got nerve too. Do you want this seal?”
“Of course. If you would just write your name, your place of origin, and stamp it…”
“From the looks of you, you don’t seem to carry old Baek’s blood. Are you that girl’s fiancé?”
He changed the subject, looking past me at Dang Hwarin.
“I’m her friend.”
“A friend, you say. And yet you’ve stirred up this much trouble for a mere friend. Heh-heh-heh. Then how about becoming my grandson-in-law instead?”
“Excuse me?”
My brain froze for a second at the shocking proposal.
“I have an outer granddaughter who rarely leaves the house. She’s known as quite the beauty throughout Hubei Province. What do you say? Become my grandson-in-law and work under me?”
What the hell was this? Was I being headhunted right now, or was he joking? The sharp-faced old man was smiling as he spoke, making it impossible to tell.
I stood there dumbfounded when a presence stirred beside me.
“Hey… Yunho.”
Dang Hwarin stepped closer and tugged at the edge of my sleeve, voice laced with unease.
What’s wrong with her? Is she fretting because I might accept a scouting offer? Come on—if all I wanted was an easy life, I wouldn’t have risked my neck traveling with you.
I gently took the anxious hand that had seized my sleeve. Hwarin, I told you I’d help. I’m not going anywhere, so don’t worry.
When I clasped her hand, her shoulders flinched, then she lowered her head deeply.
I offered the old man a small bow and spoke.
“I am grateful that you look kindly upon a black-haired barbarian such as myself. Yet how could a mangy black mutt dare to stretch its legs under a tiger that rules the realm? I am content with my place.”
“A mutt, is it? The only creature that can bark before hungry beasts is not a mutt—it is a wolf.”
The old man dropped his smile and stared at me as though piercing something deep inside.
“I am nothing more than a mangy wolf cub that barked once because a friend was in danger. That you think so highly of it is an honor beyond my due.”
I bowed once more, declining his offer with gentle but unyielding firmness.
“Heh-heh-heh. So the young wolf cub has no wish to keep company with an old tiger. Very well—I have no choice. I’ll stamp it for you.”
Fortunately, the old man laughed at my refusal and cheerfully pressed his seal.
“M-Master Jang of the Myriad Gold Money House stamped it!”
“Master Jang of Myriad Gold? Why is someone who should be in the provincial capital here? Quickly—summon the caravan master!”
“To think even the famously exacting Master Jang stepped forward and stamped!”
Myriad Gold Money House…
In the martial world, any name with “Myriad Gold” attached belonged to one of the richest men in the Central Plains.
“Heh-heh-heh. I hope we meet again soon.”
Leaving my stunned face behind, the old man returned to his seat.
Once Master Jang of the Myriad Gold Money House had stamped the document, every remaining creditor followed in the blink of an eye.
When everything was finished, inside a room of the Baek family manor—
“Heartless fellow. I thought he’d spend his whole life hoarding money like me and die that way, yet in the end he went and performed every good deed he could. Old Baek… did you want to go somewhere better that badly?”
Master Jang gazed at the memorial tablet of Dang Hwarin’s late maternal grandfather with a bitter expression.
“Master Jang, your jest went too far.”
The Baek family’s head steward had watched him for a while before speaking.
Master Jang had been the late grandfather’s closest friend—bound by a friendship that knew no barriers. Unable to attend the funeral itself, he had come late today instead.
After silently offering incense before his old friend’s tablet, Master Jang turned to the steward.
“I do not joke about my own family.”
“Then… you truly meant it?”
The steward’s mouth fell open as he asked again.
“Old Baek’s children were all disappointments, yet it seems he had a granddaughter with the talent of bringing home an excellent man.”
Master Jang sat in a chair and recalled the young man who had directed every event on the platform today.
“I had planned, if necessary, to at least extract old Baek’s granddaughter from the mess. No need for that now. To think he would pull such a scheme…”
Thinking of Kang Yunho, Master Jang smiled faintly.
The youth had seized control of the situation at will, used his tongue to rob the creditors of their wits, clouded their judgment, and achieved exactly what he wanted.
He looked barely past twenty, yet his skill already reached that level.
“Heh-heh-heh.”
The steward laughed awkwardly, realizing Master Jang had seen through every stratagem.
“I have no intention of scolding anyone, so rest easy. Still… a mangy wolf cub, was it? If a mangy one is already that impressive, I wonder what he will become once he puts on flesh and grows sharp claws.”
If something is desirable, one simply takes it. Yet this young man had stepped forward of his own will to clean up after a close friend. Master Jang was a man who knew how to wait for the sake of an old friend.
Swallowing his lingering regret, he gazed once more at the memorial tablet that felt especially dear today.
“Haa… I nearly had a heart attack. I never thought he’d see through it.”
I sat inside the bookstore we had barely managed to keep and let out a long breath.
“Because of that Master Jang person at the end?”
Dang Hwarin mentioned the name with a faintly displeased expression.
“Yeah. Turns out he was your maternal grandfather’s friend. If he hadn’t been, we would have been in real trouble.”
“What exactly did you do?”
Even though Dang Hwarin was the party most involved, the steward uncle and I had driven the plan, so there was quite a bit we hadn’t told her.
Fortunately everything had ended successfully. It was safe to share the good news now.
I gave her a sheepish smile and opened my mouth.
“Truth is, I pulled a few tricks. Want to hear them?”