Geom Mugeuk smiled as he looked at Geum Arin.
“I apologize for smiling again.”
Though he spoke an apology, the smile was unmistakably meant to provoke her. She failed to realize that every careless remark, every single smile, contained Geom Mugeuk's calculation.
“I’m not playing around.”
When her expression turned grave, Geom Mugeuk finally wiped the smile from his face.
“Do you ask sincerely?”
“Yes, I am sincere.”
From Geom Mugeuk’s mouth as he stared at her came an unexpected sum.
“Thirty thousand nyang.”
Geum Arin asked back with a puzzled expression.
“Did you say thirty thousand nyang?”
Had they sold themselves for a mere thirty thousand nyang?
Geum Arin thought these martial artists—strong only in martial arts and ignorant of worldly affairs—had been deceived by the Eunha Sangdan. Learning this fact in advance was a heaven-sent opportunity.
“Did they say you were worth no more than thirty thousand nyang? You’ve been deceived by them!”
Geom Mugeuk didn’t waver in the slightest; instead, a strange smile crossed his face.
From that expression, Geum Arin realized she had misunderstood something.
“Then you didn’t contract with them for thirty thousand nyang.”
“Of course not.”
“Then what is the thirty thousand nyang?”
“It means that if you wish to hear how much they offered, you must put up thirty thousand nyang.”
Geum Arin’s face hardened in an instant.
Meanwhile, Geom Mugeuk calmly explained the reason for the thirty thousand nyang.
“You spoke as though you could offer more money than the Eunha Sangdan. Should you not first show me you can produce thirty thousand nyang as the price of a question? Only then could I trust you, could I not?”
Geum Arin was at a loss for words. She could have argued that thirty thousand nyang was too much for a single question, or she could have lost her temper and said he should simply refuse if he didn’t want to answer.
But that would have been an unseemly reaction. To try to obtain such important information without any price was wrong from the very start.
The man before her seemed so approachable, yet he was truly not to be trifled with. To see how calmly he drove people into a corner.
As if to say, “Now, now, let’s just drink,” Geom Mugeuk emptied his cup. As she watched him, Geum Arin sent a telepathic message to Im Hyeok.
‘—Go to the field and bring thirty thousand nyang.’
‘—Miss, I’m investigating the Continental Battlefield anyway, so I’ll find out the amount.’
‘—I know. This isn’t payment for the question; it’s payment to show your mettle. Bring it.’
‘—Understood.’
Shortly after, Im Hyeok arrived and handed her a promissory note.
He had brought thirty thousand nyang from the field. The funds for operating the secret organization were supported by the Geumnyong Sega. That money could not be used freely without permission, so what she had here was entirely her personal fortune.
“Here. Thirty thousand nyang.”
Geom Mugeuk apologized with a remorseful expression.
“I seem to have wounded your pride. My apologies.”
“It’s not a matter of pride.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s to show my sincerity in wanting to bring you to my side.”
Her instincts whispered to make this man her ally.
Because she felt a sense of crisis that if this utterly unreadable person became an enemy, no expert of the Sega could stand against them.
Because he was the sort of man who would smile so comfortably and then plunge a blade into her, saying, “It can’t be helped, can it?” and kill her.
“Now tell me.”
Geom Mugeuk, who had been quietly watching her, revealed the figure.
“Two million nyang.”
Truly, an astronomical sum.
“If you wish to hire us, you must give us two million nyang.”
It was a startling amount, yet Geum Arin wasn’t surprised, as if she had expected as much.
“You are not surprised.”
“Because I believe you are worth that much.”
She did her utmost to humor Geom Mugeuk.
“Did the Eunha Sangdan offer two million nyang? Or is that what you demanded?”
“No. The money received from the Eunha Sangdan was one million nyang.”
“Then why two million nyang?”
“To break our deal with them and make a new deal with you, wouldn’t we need the justification to ask for double?”
Geom Mugeuk added, looking at her,
“Can you give us two million nyang?”
Geum Arin couldn’t answer.
If it had been something she could decide herself.
‘—I would give it to you. From now on, you are mine.’
She might truly have spoken those words.
Even if they didn’t prove worth the money, she would certainly have said so. Because her instincts demanded it.
But the one with the authority to decide would view it as an absurdly large sum. No matter how much she stressed their importance, it was an amount that would never be approved.
As if he had known this would happen, Geom Mugeuk returned the thirty thousand nyang.
“Why are you returning it?”
“I wished to see your resolve; money was not my aim.”
Having returned the money, Geom Mugeuk rose from his seat first.
“Then let us meet again sometime.”
He even paid for the drinks before leaving the place.
Left alone, Geum Arin drank the liquor before her.
The instinct that she had to secure him and the reality that she could not still tangled her heart.
Sensing her darkened mood, Im Hyeok sat in the seat Geom Mugeuk had occupied.
“The Eunha Sangdan invested a full million nyang.”
While Im Hyeok was surprised, Geum Arin was calculating differently.
“No. Those people were deceived by the Eunha Sangdan.”
“Deceived?”
“If it were one person handling a single mission, it would be an unprecedented fortune. But there are three of them.”
The other two were no ordinary men either. His father, for whom words were insufficient to describe, and his uncle, a master of stealth techniques.
“I don’t know if there are others, but let’s assume it’s just those three. Then it’s roughly 330,000 nyang per person, is it not?”
“That is correct.”
“And you heard what he said earlier, right? They think they’ll eliminate the secret organization and take its place. In other words, they’re thinking about what comes after. They’re planning in terms of years. If it takes at least three or four years, then each person gets less than 100,000 nyang. They’ll be putting experts of that caliber to full use, and earning the money we used to earn in our stead. Seen that way, they were truly hired cheap.”
Im Hyeok nodded. Hearing her explanation, he realized it wasn’t such an expensive price.
Im Hyeok asked cautiously,
“The secret organization commissioned by the Eunha Sangdan… is it… us?”
The question was whether it meant their organization.
Geum Arin nodded.
“Yes. It must be us.”
He had expected it, but facing the fact that they themselves had become targets, Im Hyeok grew grave as well.
He thought of Hwi’s stealth technique. If Hwi approached silently and tried to kill Geum Arin, could he truly stop him?
“Fire has fallen upon our feet.”
For the first time in a while, Im Hyeok wanted a drink.
“What do you intend to do now?”
Her deliberation was not long.
“We have to draw them to our side. If we leave them be, it’s only a matter of time before we suffer.”
The words, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” didn’t leave Im Hyeok’s mouth.
“It is a staggering two million nyang. The Family Head will never approve.”
“I’ll have to negotiate it down as much as possible. I’m still a bloodline of the merchant house, after all.”
At those words, Im Hyeok knew she was serious. She truly intended to recruit them.
“There is one more problem. Even if the Family Head permits it and we succeed in bringing them to our side, what about the Eunha Sangdan? Will they sit idle after having them stolen away?”
“And if they don’t? Will they try to kill them?”
“The Eunha Sangdan values its pride.”
But she was certain that the Eunha Sangdan could do nothing about it.
“But they value money more. How much would it take to eliminate those three? Since they were valued at one million nyang, eliminating them would cost at least that much, would it not? And if the elimination fails? If experts of that level come seeking revenge? How much more would it cost to stop them?”
She shook her head resolutely.
“The greatest merchant lord under heaven would never make a losing deal. In the end, it means nothing will happen even if we recruit them.”
That was why Im Hyeok trusted her. Because she calculated so wisely.
His final worry was this.
“Doesn’t the Eunha Sangdan know that the Geumnyong Sega stands behind us?”
That was something even she couldn’t help.
“Do we have the luxury to worry about the Sega right now? Let’s save our own lives first.”
Geum Arin poured Im Hyeok a drink.
“Just one glass. We should have a toast, after all. We drank their liquor and extracted all the information we wanted.”
Though they had gotten the money back, gained the information, and clinked cups in good spirits.
The drink Im Hyeok hadn’t tasted in a long time was bitter.
‘But why does it feel like we lost?’
* * *
Yong Jamyeong paced the courtyard.
Walking a few steps, he would look at the building; walking a few more steps, he would look again.
What he gazed at was the room where the Demonic Cult Leader was staying.
He wanted to see Geom Woojin. He wanted to meet and talk with him, but he didn’t have the courage to seek him out.
‘I have only three days left.’
As he was wandering the courtyard like that, Geom Woojin came out of the building.
“Cult Leader!”
“Branch Leader Yong.”
Seeing Geom Woojin’s face, Yong Jamyeong’s heart surged once more. Who would have known he would feel this way about someone at his age?
“Are you going out somewhere?”
“I thought I’d get some air. Will you join me?”
“Would I not be a hindrance?”
“Not at all. Let us go.”
Yong Jamyeong happily followed Geom Woojin out.
He told the three experts of the merchant house not to follow and to wait at their lodgings. Normally, this wouldn’t be permitted, but because his long-sought benefactor had been revealed to be the Heavenly Demon, the martial artists obeyed without protest.
The two walked slowly toward Jeoja. It was a situation that could have been endlessly awkward, but unexpectedly, the two conversed well on various matters.
“How many children do you have?”
“Three sons.”
“That must not be easy.”
Yong Jamyeong guessed what Geom Woojin meant. That the struggle for succession would be fierce.
“I do not intend to pass the family business to my children.”
Geom Woojin looked at him with a rather surprised expression.
“None of them possess the aptitude to lead the merchant house. And even if they did, I had no intention of passing it on.”
Though they lacked aptitude, it was unlikely they lacked ambition.
Perhaps the estate was rather large? Knowing full well how those around him would scheme and stab at his sides, whether his sons or others, he intended to declare from the outset that he wouldn’t hand it over to anyone.
“I plan to divide wealth enough for them to live comfortably for generations, and prevent them entirely from meddling in merchant house affairs. The merchant house will be entrusted to someone who understands its affairs better than anyone and can be trusted. Because the livelihoods of the countless people employed by the merchant house and their families hang in the balance.”
Geom Woojin looked at him and spoke calmly.
“Admirable.”
There was sincerity in the praise. How could he not know how difficult a decision this was? Yong Jamyeong was every bit as excellent in judgment as his reputation suggested.
Then Yong Jamyeong revealed his honest feelings.
“If I had a son like the Young Cult Leader, I would have passed all my wealth to him. He would handle it well enough on his own. In that regard, I greatly envy you, Cult Leader.”
When had he ever shown his honest heart like this? He had never spoken easily to anyone about his children.
“He is still a reckless, naive child. So please look after him well in the future, Branch Leader.”
Though he said that, Yong Jamyeong sensed that Geom Woojin took pride in his son. Being a father himself, how could he not sense such emotion?
Just then, a cart was approaching from up ahead.
Both of their gazes naturally turned toward the cart.
An old man held the reins of a donkey-drawn cart. Sitting in the back cargo area were an adult and a child. The adult was Geom Mugeuk, and the child was the old man’s granddaughter.
“Here, it’s all finished.”
What Geom Mugeuk handed over was a small wooden doll he had carved.
For something he had hastily made with a dagger on the way here from Jeoja, it was quite well done.
“I love it!”
The child happily received the wooden doll.
When the cart passed by Geom Woojin and Yong Jamyeong, Geom Mugeuk dismounted.
“Go safely!”
Geom Mugeuk bade farewell to the child. As the cart moved away, the child waved while holding the doll.
After sending off the cart, Geom Mugeuk explained to the two,
“Ah, the cart had fallen into a ditch, so I helped pull it out.”
Yong Jamyeong looked at Geom Mugeuk with fresh eyes.
Pulling out the cart was one thing, but it was no easy matter to come here while making a doll for the child who had been riding in it.
Yong Jamyeong glanced at Geom Ujin. He was looking at his son with an expression that said, 'He certainly meddles in everything,' yet Yong Jamyeong could sense it. That he was watching with pleasure. That was why he envied him.
"Where are the two of you going?"
"Going out for some fresh air with the Cult Leader."
Geom Mugeuk could imagine how much Yong Jamyeong had wanted to arrange this meeting. And how difficult it must have been.
"How did the errand you went on turn out?"
He had handled it as though he had accompanied Yong Jamyeong to the Continental Battlefield and received a million nyang. When he leaked word of that, a woman came to him.
"I asked for two million nyang. Though if I consider Father, I should have asked for a billion."
Yong Jamyeong was inwardly surprised. Did those words not mean he already had the other party wrapped around his finger?
"It seems you know how to earn money better than I do."
"Unfortunately, this money must be divided."
Geom Mugeuk spoke to his father.
"The money earned this time will be divided into exactly three equal shares."
From the empty air came Hwi's answer.
"I am fine."
Given his personality, he would never dare try to receive the same amount of money as his father.
"Because to them, this is money for selling the three of us as a bundle, so you must take it."
Once more, Hwi's firm refusal rang out.
"I do not need it."
"I know. That you are the most expensive bodyguard in all of Murim."
Hwi had likely never heard such words from anyone before.
That was why Geom Mugeuk had said it deliberately. For him, who possessed supreme skill, yet had never once been able to boast as he deserved. For him, who had never even had the opportunity.
Offering to divide the money like this was a gesture of gratitude for him. For it was the only chance to give material compensation to the man who had devoted his life to Father.
"In the bodyguard field, mister, you are the Cheonmago, the Eunha Sangdanju, are you not?"
"Please do not say such things."
Hwi's flustered voice was a sound long unheard.
A faint smile formed on Geom Ujin's lips as he watched Geom Mugeuk carry on like that. It was a smile that said, 'You brat, stop teasing him.'
"You have saved up a great deal of money, and I know full well that you have no time to spend it. That is why you must accept it. Though you have no time to spend it, you live with the pleasure of knowing you have so much money you could spend. That is the joy you live for, is it not? Ah, and when Father steps down from his position as Cult Leader, you must retire as well and live spending money freely."
After a brief pause, Hwi spoke.
"I will serve the Cult Leader until the very end."
Meaning that even if Father stepped down as Cult Leader, he would serve him until death. Hwi was truly a man akin to the very symbol of loyalty.
Father, who had only been listening, finally stepped in.
"Take it."
No persuasion was needed. At those words, Hwi could refuse no longer.
"Understood."
Afterward, he gave his son a mission. This too was the father's consideration for Hwi.
"So extract as much as possible."
Absolute Regression Episode 467