Chapter 09

The chief secretary began bustling about, issuing instructions to the staff, while Seung-ho led Jun-gyeong and Ok-hee over to the sofa.
Then he personally got up and brought over champagne and wine.
Looking at the bottles, Ok-hee clasped her hands together in admiration.

“Oh~ I heard this one’s not easy to get.”
“You seem to enjoy champagne and wine. I’m glad. We’ll chill the champagne a little more, so why don’t you try the red first?”
“Thank you.”

Ok-hee quickly held out her glass and accepted the wine.
Then she began sipping it while savoring the aroma and flavor.

“And you, Mr. Jun-gyeong…?”

Jun-gyeong shook his head as he answered.
As far as he was concerned, those weren’t alcohol. They were beverages.

“The whiskey I had that night was decent.”
“…I’m sorry. I was practically unconscious that night, so I don’t know which whiskey it was…”

Jun-gyeong knew very little about whiskey.
So he had no idea what exactly he had drunk that night.

“I don’t know the name. The lettering on the label was a vivid red, like blood before it dries.”
“Ah! Then…”

Seung-ho set the wine down on the table and walked over to a neatly organized cabinet.
He returned with a squat, broad-shouldered bottle.

“This should be the one.”
“Looks like it.”
“It’s my personal favorite.”

Seung-ho poured the whiskey into a rounded glass shaped somewhat like a small jar and handed it to Jun-gyeong.

“Mmm. Good.”

Jun-gyeong tossed back a generous mouthful in one go and spoke.

“Ah. I suppose you’ll need a larger glass.”
“A bowl would be better.”
“Certainly.”

Seung-ho started to rise again to fetch one, but a servant had already brought over a bowl.

“Thank you.”

Seung-ho poured whiskey into two bowls, handing one to Jun-gyeong and taking the other for himself.

“For now, let’s have a drink. The food will be out shortly.”

The three began drinking, and just as Seung-ho had promised, food was soon prepared and laid out on the table.
Starting with quickly prepared dishes such as sashimi and cheese, one plate after another arrived like a full-course meal, and the smile never left Ok-hee’s face.
After they had enjoyed the food and drink for a while, Seung-ho spoke with a bright smile.

“Then shall we settle the remainder of your payment?”

At his words, Ok-hee seemed to snap back to attention and quickly straightened both her expression and posture.
Seung-ho said something to the chief secretary, who quickly disappeared.
When he returned, he was holding neither a briefcase nor anything large, but a steel case no bigger than his palm.
The case itself looked extremely luxurious, but it was far too small to contain money.
Seung-ho looked at Jun-gyeong and slid it across the table toward him.

“I had prepared money, but that didn’t seem right. Just as Ms. Ok-hee said before, I realized I had no idea how to put a monetary value on my life.”

His gaze shifted from Ok-hee to Jun-gyeong.

“And money could never adequately repay you for restoring my precious memories and helping me rediscover the important beings who protect this household. So I prepared this instead.”

Everyone’s eyes gathered on Jun-gyeong as he placed a hand on the case.

Click-

Inside was a card made in Vantablack, known for its near-perfect blackness.
A Three-Legged Crow had been engraved into it in a different black texture.
A black Three-Legged Crow etched into the light-absorbing Vantablack.
The contrast in texture made the crow appear almost as though it were flying.

“Show this anywhere affiliated with Samo Group, and you will be treated as our highest-level VIP.”
“Huh? Even at the hotels and department stores?”

At Ok-hee’s question, Seung-ho nodded as though it were obvious.

“At our hotels, you’ll be given access to the top-floor Hidden Presidential Suite, which isn’t opened for anyone else. At our department stores, if you wish, we’ll immediately close the entire store so you can enjoy private shutdown shopping.”

Ok-hee’s jaw dropped.
She had experienced all manner of things over the past five thousand years, but this was the first time she had ever seen a reward like this.
This was not something that could simply be measured in money.
It was an extraordinary card that effectively let its holder go anywhere with Samo Group itself at their back.

“Wow~ That’s insane!”
“Thank you.”

Jun-gyeong picked up the card and slipped it inside his coat.
Ok-hee’s gaze followed his hand.
But by then, the card had already passed into the Dokkaebi Pouch linked to his inner pocket.
Even if they wanted it back, no one could see it again without Jun-gyeong’s permission.

“And if you ever need my help, please contact me at any time. This line is always open.”

He held out a simple white business card bearing a small Three-Legged Crow emblem, with only the name Yang Seung-ho and a mobile number printed beneath it.
There was no title and no address.
Yet just as he implied, the power behind that simple card was undoubtedly immense.
Perhaps not immediately, but the fact that he lived in this house meant that one day he would become chairman of the enormous conglomerate known as Samo Group.

“I’m grateful for this as well.”
“You can call even if you simply need someone to drink or share a meal with.”

A broad smile spread across Seung-ho’s face, and a small one appeared on Jun-gyeong’s as he looked back.
Then Ok-hee’s quiet voice cut in.

“You’re still going to need money, though.”

After returning home, Jun-gyeong lay on his bed and stared at the card in his hand.
Ok-hee had suggested that he immediately move into one of the hotels, but he had no desire to do so.

Perhaps he would move into a hotel someday, but not now.
For the moment, this home suited him.
And this was the time to focus on building up his body through the morning routine he had established here.

For a while, Ok-hee did not contact him, and Jun-gyeong devoted himself to training and eating as he continued rebuilding his body.
By the time a month had passed, exercise and nightly Qi Circulation beneath the moonlight had raised his Body Synchronization to nineteen percent.

And when he received word after a month that his saber was complete, Jun-gyeong regretted not taking his reward in cash.

“So you’re saying you don’t have the money?”
“No. The money…”
“Do you have it or not?”
“…I don’t.”
“You’ve got some nerve. You came to collect the weapon without any money?”

Jun-gyeong became noticeably more humble in front of Smith, while a smug little smile appeared on Ok-hee’s face as she watched.

“See? I told you you’d need money.”

Even a martial god had need of money if he intended to live in the modern world.
Desperately so.

Ok-hee smiled sweetly at Jun-gyeong.

“What now? Want me to lend you some?”
“…No. Didn’t you say you couldn’t do that before?”

With a grave expression, Jun-gyeong slipped a hand into his pocket and fingered Seung-ho’s business card.
If he called Seung-ho, the man would probably hand over a billion won without hesitation.
But Jun-gyeong couldn’t do that.
He knew Ok-hee’s offer to lend him money was made with exactly that in mind.
It wasn’t a matter of pride. It was a matter of his own creditworthiness.

“Haah… Later… No. Once I have the money… I’ll come back then.”

Jun-gyeong stared hungrily at the saber lying on the table.
The blade gleamed almost hypnotically, its form flawless.
Its keen edge shone almost white with sharpness, while the tip bore short edges on both sides like a double-edged sword.
Scattered peach blossoms were engraved along the blade, and near the hilt was its name.

“Seolhwa.”

It wasn’t only the name. The sharpness and solidity of the roughly seventy-centimeter blade suited him perfectly.
The thirty-centimeter handle extending behind it was engraved with beautiful peach branches and blossoms as well.
He had specifically requested them.
Peach blossoms, and the name Seolhwa.
The weapon was saturated with his tastes and memories. It belonged to him alone, something no one else could lay claim to.

The greed gleaming in Jun-gyeong’s eyes slowly settled.

“I’ll come back for it soon. As soon as possible.”
“Do you even have a way to get the money?”

At Smith’s question, Jun-gyeong looked toward Ok-hee.

“There should be work. It’s been a month. Time to start the next job.”

One side of Ok-hee’s face twitched.

“Yes, yes. I’ll find something as quickly as possible, my dear client.”
“Actually…”

Both of them turned toward Smith.

“Then do me a favor.”
“A favor?”
“Hmm… Perhaps I should call it a commission. Don’t the two of you take jobs and solve problems? That’s why you need dangerous weapons like this, isn’t it?”
“…Something like that.”

It wasn’t entirely accurate, but what they did was indeed somewhat like taking commissions and solving problems.
Monsters and ghosts happened to be involved along the way, but what did that matter when such a precious saber was at stake?

“Tell me.”
“I went to the police, and I went to the Dimensional Agency too… but they said it wasn’t a disappearance. They called it running away from home.”
“Running away? You mean leaving home on purpose?”

Smith exploded at Jun-gyeong’s words.

“He didn’t run away! He’s not the kind of boy who would!”

His face twisted into a deep scowl.

“The boy crossed a dimensional gate from that far away just to see his master. He would never run away.”
“So, Smith, your apprentice crossed through a dimensional gate to come here, and then disappeared?”

Ok-hee’s eyes sharpened as she summarized the situation.
Smith’s expression calmed slightly as he nodded.

“Yes. It’s already been more than three days since I received a message saying he’d arrived at the Gwanghwamun dimensional gate. But he still hasn’t shown up.”
“Three days… I see. One of this country’s bigger problems is that disappearances of adult men often go uninvestigated under the assumption that they left voluntarily.”
“Find him. I’m certain he’s been kidnapped.”

Ok-hee turned toward Jun-gyeong.
Her look asked whether he was willing to take the job even though no monsters or ghosts appeared to be involved.
Jun-gyeong gave a firm nod.

“I’ll do it.”

At that, Ok-hee shrugged and turned back to Smith.

“Decision made. He’ll do it. So how much are you offering for the job, dear client?”
“I’ll give him this saber up front.”

Ok-hee turned to object, but Jun-gyeong had already picked up the saber and was admiring the blade.

“Good. That’s enough.”

Ok-hee frowned, then sighed and accepted it.

“Haah… Fine. What’s your apprentice’s name?”
“Karzen.”
“Karzen. Arrived at the Gwanghwamun Gate three days ago. All right. We’ll start there.”

The next morning, Jun-gyeong received a message from Ok-hee and went to her workspace.
Her workspace was an officetel in the heart of Apgujeong, Gangnam.

“You live somewhere nice.”
“I’m just based somewhere convenient. It’s easy to get anywhere from here, and the internet and communications networks are fast.”

The officetel was not particularly large.
It was a small, ordinary duplex-style unit.
Six monitors crowded the desk by the window, along with all manner of electronic equipment.

“First, I found Karzen. He was caught on CCTV from the moment he arrived at the Gwanghwamun Gate.”
“Hmm… You can skip the complicated details.”

Ok-hee shot him an annoyed look but continued explaining anyway.

“The moment you arrive in Korea, there’s no escaping the eyes of CCTV. So you should be careful too, Mr. Jun-gyeong. There are eyes everywhere. Of course, unless someone is as brilliant and wise as me, tracking you continuously would still be difficult.”
“…”
“He arrived safely. He bought clothes and left the Gate. Ah! No material object from one dimension can pass through a Gate. Only living beings can cross. So when you travel between dimensions, you arrive completely naked and have to buy clothes afterward.”
“I know that much.”

Ok-hee glanced at him and nodded.

“Then it looks like he took a taxi intending to head straight to Euljiro.”

Just as she said, the monitor showed a heavily bearded dwarf waddling along.

“Look. He gets into a taxi here. The cab belongs to Dongyang Taxi. This is where the problem starts. The moment the taxi pulls away, a van begins tailing it.”
“Is that the kidnappers’ vehicle?”
“Yes. This was completely premeditated. The van starts following the instant the taxi leaves, as though it had been waiting. And here’s the real problem. The taxi heads toward Namsan instead of Euljiro.”
“Could he have wanted to go sightseeing?”
“Well, since it was his first time crossing dimensions, that would be possible. But look.”

On the monitor Ok-hee indicated, the van pulled in close behind the taxi and stopped.
Men dressed entirely in black poured out of the van and approached the taxi.
One man approached the driver’s seat, while the others opened the rear door and dragged the dwarf out.