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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: A Dangerous Wager
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"So that's what Office Head Wang Chil said?"
"Yes. Office Head Wang, who is usually so stingy with his compliments, couldn't stop singing the praises of that man, Do Tong-dal."
"And what was your impression, General Manager Go?"
At Yeon Ja-yeon's question, Go Chan-yeong paused to think before answering.
"At first glance, he seems ordinary, but there must be more to his story. If a man known as the blockhead of Gwanghwa-ro has mastered the Four Books and Three Classics, that alone sets him far apart from the ordinary. However…"
"It's not like you to trail off."
"Is your interest in Do Tong-dal simply because he saved you, or is it…"
This time, she could guess the words Go Chan-yeong left unsaid.
"Are you asking if I'm interested in him as a man? I'll have to watch him a little longer to know that."
A look of astonishment appeared on Go Chan-yeong's face.
"The sun must be rising in the west. For the Pavilion Owner to show interest in a man…"
"It's nothing more than interest."
"What was so special about Do Tong-dal?"
If she owed someone a debt, she would repay it with money or some other reward, and that would be the end of it. Yeon Ja-yeon was not one to form relationships more complicated than that.
"It was just… his eyes… I'm not sure."
The look in Do Tong-dal's eyes as he had shielded her with his own body from the falling liquor bottles had not left her mind for a single moment.
A look that seemed to say, *Don't worry, I won't let you get hurt.* A look that was, in itself, reassuring.
She wanted to see those eyes again. She wanted to confirm if the emotions she had felt were real.
"I should go repay my debt."
Do Tong-dal was having tea after his bath.
"I had these clothes prepared for guests. I hope you like them."
Dressed in the blue martial artist's uniform, Do Tong-dal looked like the young master of some noble house.
"I'll have them washed and returned to you."
"Please, just keep them. Is the tea to your liking?"
"This top-grade Seolhyang tea is wasted on a ruffian like me."
Yeon Ja-yeon was slightly surprised. Few people knew of Seolhyang tea, a specialty of Yunnan Province, and even fewer knew how to appreciate its bitter taste.
*He's truly not like anyone from the Underworld.*
As Yeon Ja-yeon was thinking this, Do Tong-dal poured tea into her cup. The fact that he served the third infusion after rinsing the leaves twice showed he knew how to drink Seolhyang tea.
"I'll give you some Seolhyang tea to take with you when you leave."
"Instead of expensive tea, I'd rather have some food. A full stomach is better than a pleased tongue."
"Then shall I give you some money? Ah! I didn't mean to be rude. I was just thinking I should repay your kindness."
She had made it a rule never to misspeak, and until now, she had abided by it well. But in front of Do Tong-dal, she felt somewhat unsettled.
*This isn't like me at all,* she repeated to herself, trying to regain her composure.
"If you feel you owe me, there's just one favor I'd like to ask."
"If it's something I can grant."
If he wanted money, that would be the easiest.
*What if it's me?*
The unseen nape of her neck flushed slightly red.
"The old man who was pulling the cart."
She had only seen him in passing; she couldn't even remember his face.
"What about him?"
"Just let the old man go. He must have been terrified as it is; it would be too cruel for him to lose his job over this."
"Is that all you wish for?"
"I've been treated, received these fine clothes, and even enjoyed a pleasant bath. I couldn't ask for more. And I got to drink the finest Seolhyang tea."
Though only thirty, Yeon Ja-yeon was a woman who had seen it all.
The very fact that she had become the owner of such a grand tavern at her age spoke volumes of her extraordinary nature.
Yeon Ja-yeon prided herself on being a better judge of character than anyone, but Do Tong-dal was not so easily understood.
An eighteen-year-old grunt from the Underworld. Yet Yeon Ja-yeon felt as if she were dealing with someone much older than herself.
*Perhaps I was too quick to judge him just because he's from the Underworld.*
Following that thought, her true feelings slipped out.
"You are a good person."
Do Tong-dal waved his hands in dismissal.
"Oh, not at all. You just happened to see one of my better sides. I'm not a good person, nor do I want to be. I'm in the Underworld, after all."
"Then I look forward to seeing your bad side. Perhaps I'll get to see it after a few drinks?"
"Perhaps."
"I'll have a table of drinks prepared. Master Do, you've more than earned it today."
"I don't think today is the day."
"Pardon?"
"The first time I drink at the Celestial Pavilion, I'll pay for it with my own money. After I've succeeded."
A man with pride. She liked him even more.
"When you come as a customer, may I be the one to serve you your first drink?"
She was startled by her own words. Since opening the Celestial Pavilion, she had never once served a customer herself.
Not even when wealthy patrons, smitten by her beauty, came with sacks of money had she broken that rule.
"The honor would be all mine."
After exchanging a few more words, Do Tong-dal said he had work to do and took his leave. For the first time, she realized how empty someone's absence could feel.
"My, my. It seems the greatest crisis of my life has arrived."
After parting with Yeon Ja-yeon, Do Tong-dal finished his duties for the day at the Celestial Pavilion.
As he placed the tallied bamboo slips into his bag, Wang Chil, looking much healthier, came out.
"Our youngest is already out here waiting. Time to get to work."
"It's all done."
"Huh?"
"All I had to do was count the goods and check the prices, right?"
"Right. But how did you know that?"
"You have to be that sharp to serve you, Hyeong-nim."
"Hehehe… How is it that I like you more and more each day?"
"Next is the Seo-il Street gambling den, right?"
"Yeah. Thanks to you, it looks like I'll have an easy retirement from this gangster life."
* * *
"Shit! What the hell is this bullshit!"
Wang Chil burst through the office door, seething with anger.
Seo Wang-su, who had been grooming his nails, shot to his feet.
"Hyeong-nim, what is it?"
"That bastard Gwang Hae-bong says he's taking over the entire Celestial Pavilion!"
"The chief of the Baekdong Branch? Doesn't he already have his hands on anything profitable?"
"He's trying to strip us of everything we have!"
"Even if Gwang Hae-bong is the Chairman's brother-in-law, isn't that going too far? Surely it won't come to that?"
Wang Chil sighed and slumped into a chair.
"I'm sorry your office head is so powerless. Shit."
"We're barely making ends meet thanks to the Celestial Pavilion. If he takes that away, he's basically telling our office to go die, isn't he?"
The cigarette smoke Wang Chil exhaled spread through the room before dissipating.
"The Celestial Pavilion is in a tricky spot, right on the border between the Sea Wolf Society and our Red Tiger Society. We'd need the full backing of the branch to defend it, but that's difficult since we share it with them. I mean, his reasoning isn't completely baseless, but… sigh!"
It was a scheme to fatten Gwang Hae-bong's pockets, using the rival Sea Wolf Society as an excuse.
Do Tong-dal, who had been listening from the side, spoke up.
"Even if it's the branch, they can't just take the shares our office owns, can they? There's the morale of our men to consider."
"You're new here, but you know quite a lot. Anyone would think you've been in this business for ten years."
*Forty-two years, actually.*
"So, they're giving us a chance, in a manner of speaking. To protect the Celestial Pavilion, if we have the ability."
"What kind of chance?"
"There's this old man named Geum…"
At the mention of that name, Seo Wang-su gasped.
"You mean the old man who borrowed fifteen nyang of silver from the Baekdong Branch and never paid it back?"
The debt had originally ballooned to fifty nyang with interest upon interest, but when the stubborn Old Man Geum held his ground, they had been forced to settle for collecting just the principal of fifteen nyang.
"Yeah. He just says he has no money and dares them to do their worst. They've threatened him, cajoled him, and beat him to an inch of his life, but they haven't gotten a single copper coin out of him."
"So what about Old Man Geum?"
"If we can collect the fifteen nyang of silver from him, they'll acknowledge our competence and leave the Celestial Pavilion in our hands. Shit! How are we supposed to collect a debt they couldn't? This is just a ploy to paint our office as incompetent."
"By that logic, wouldn't the Baekdong Branch be incompetent too?"
"What can you do? In this line of work, might makes right in this goddamn world."
"Offering to let us keep what's already ours if we collect fifteen nyang is complete bullshit, isn't it? It'd be different if they offered us something new as a reward."
Wang Chil's gaze shifted to Do Tong-dal, who had just spoken.
"You want to go tell the Chairman that?"
"Should I?"
Do Tong-dal began to rise from his chair as if he were really going. For a fleeting moment, Wang Chil thought he might actually march off to the main headquarters.
"You crazy bastard! Where do you think you're going?!"
"We can't just sit back while that fat pig tries to take what's already in our mouths."
"So what do you suggest?"
"Let's propose that if we collect the fifteen nyang from Old Man Geum, they have to hand over the Celestial Pavilion to our Gwanghwa-ro Office completely. That would be a fair wager, wouldn't it?"
"You think the Chairman would agree to that bet? Not a chance."
"The Chairman might not, but Gwang Hae-bong will fall for it. He's nothing but a greedy pig."
"How do you know Gwang Hae-bong so well?"
"I… I've heard the rumors. I'm a Hangzhou native, you know."
Wang Chil's expression turned serious.
"Hmm. With that guy, it might just work. If we just rile him up a bit and use that… that goading plan, he'll fall for it."
The actual term was the Goading Stratagem, but he didn't bother to correct him. For Wang Chil, getting even two of the characters right was an achievement.
"Alright. Let's give it a shot."
Seo Wang-su interjected.
"Hyeong-nim, that's all well and good, but there's one huge problem, isn't there?"
"What's that?"
"What if we can't collect the fifteen nyang from Old Man Geum?"
Do Tong-dal spoke up.
"I'll take responsibility for collecting it."
"You? How?"
"I have my ways. You just get that promise from Gwang Hae-bong, Hyeong-nim. And not just a verbal promise; it has to be in writing. That bastard is known for going back on his word."
"Are you sure you don't know Gwang Hae-bong personally?"
"Just rumors. Rumors."
Wang Chil asked again.
"Tong-dal, you're certain you can get the money from Old Man Geum?"
"Of course."
"Alright. Then I'll go settle this with Gwang Hae-bong!"
* * *
Seo Wang-su wore a dumbfounded expression.
"Wha… What did you say?"
"I made a deal with Gwang Hae-bong. Just like Tong-dal said, I even got his handprint on a document."
"Not that! What happens if you fail to collect the money from Old Man Geum?"
"I bet my wrist."
Seo Wang-su shouted.
"How could you bet your wrist on a wager with such a slim chance of winning? You think that bastard Gwang Hae-bong will show you any mercy? He'll be grinning while he lops off your wrist with an axe!"
"I suppose he would."
"This is no time for 'I suppose'!"
Wang Chil jutted his chin toward Do Tong-dal, who was leaning against a desk.
"He said he'll definitely collect it."
"Seriously! Does it make any sense to bet your wrist on the word of a rookie who's only been here a few days?"
Wang Chil grinned.
"Tong-dal bets his life on everything. So I should at least be willing to bet my wrist."
Wang Chil asked Do Tong-dal.
"You can protect my wrist, can't you?"
"Probably… I think so?"
Seo Wang-su muttered as if sighing.
"Hyeong-nim's wrist is a goner. It's gone."
* * *
Do Tong-dal knew about this incident. It was remembered as the most humiliating event in the history of the Baekdong Branch.
Not only did Old Man Geum never repay the money, but he also managed to give the Baekdong Branch the slip and skip town in the middle of the night.
For a loan shark to lose a fifteen-nyang debt *and* the debtor made it very difficult to stay in business.
The incident, dubbed the Old Man Geum Fraud, brought even greater shame upon the Baekdong Branch after the full story came to light.
Back then, people spoke of Old Man Geum's tenacity and patience and the foolishness of the Baekdong Branch, but this time would be different. Because Do Tong-dal knew the whole story.
Do Tong-dal, Wang Chil, and Gang Bu-song headed for Old Man Geum's house. Seo Wang-su stayed behind, saying he couldn't bear to watch Wang Chil's wrist get cut off, and Jo Pyeong-do remained at the office, worried he'd be sick with envy if Do Tong-dal actually succeeded.
On the way, Wang Chil kept glancing at Do Tong-dal. Judging by his expression, he didn't seem too worried.
*Well, it's not his wrist on the line.*
After walking for about fifteen minutes, they arrived at Old Man Geum's house, where an unwelcome face greeted them.
"Hyeong-nim, you're a little late."
The pig with the pasty face and a broad grin was Gwang Hae-bong.
"You didn't have to come all the way here."