Red Hare (2)

“Wait.”

Jin-hyeon stopped.

Seomun Hoe rose to his feet.

“If I offended you, I apologize. I am sorry.”

Jin-hyeon turned and looked at him.

Seomun Hoe bowed his head in silence.

That was all. He didn’t kneel, but the courtesy was considerable.

Watching without much expression, Jin-hyeon still felt a flicker of admiration.

‘Not bad.’

Even a strategist of his caliber doesn’t bow easily when he’s that strong.

It wasn’t that he lacked backbone. He was simply someone who could adapt with ease to the situation. For the sake of his goal, he was the sort of man who could not only bend the knee but even cling and weep if need be.

Gazing at him, Jin-hyeon asked, almost idly,

“You’re a hard read. Can I trust your lot?”

“If you mean our capability, that’s for you to judge. But if you become our client, we’ll do our utmost not to disappoint.”

“That’s wrong too.”

“Then teach me.”

Teach him, is it.

‘Interesting choice of words.’

He bows enough, but not abjectly. A man who’ll do anything for his ends—yet he hasn’t fully bowed.

There’s only one answer.

‘Proof.’

He shows different faces to different people. He’s decided I dislike groveling.

“What does ‘utmost’ mean? You complete the job, period. Wasn’t that your creed?”

“The world doesn’t always oblige.”

“How many clients did that excuse turn into fools?”

“If you were our client, I doubt we could make a fool of you.”

“What a strange compliment.”

“It’s sincere.”

He had been caught off guard, but as one who lived by his wits, he would never make the same mistake twice. By now, Seomun Hoe’s mind must have been working more furiously than ever.

Grumbling, Jin-hyeon headed back to the chair.

“Are you trying to show off what a crooked organization you are? If we meet again, let’s do it in a proper place next time.”

“I’ll note it.”

Just then, Dam Jun came in with tea.

Jin-hyeon grimaced and waved it off.

“Skip the tea. If you’ve got liquor, bring that.”

Seomun Hoe said to him,

“Bring the Wuliangye¹ we received.”

Dam Jun’s neck and face flushed red.

He’d just exhausted himself to adjust the temperature and water ratio to perfection to bring out the fragrance of the precious Junshan Yinzhen at its very peak. And yet, now they were asking for liquor instead of tea?

“…Understood.”

Jin-hyeon grinned.

“He’s mad.”

Seomun Hoe shot him a sharp glare.

Startled, Dam Jun bent double.

“My apologies. I’ll hurry.”

He scurried downstairs.

Jin-hyeon nodded.

“I like him. He makes no useless excuses.”

“He’s a valued talent. Handle him gently.”

“He seems fun to bully.”

“I can’t deny it.”

With a calmer face, Seomun Hoe shifted the topic.

“I hear the Seol Clan calls you ‘Teacher.’ May I call you Sir Jin?² ”

Maybe he should have just said he’ll call him by his name Hyeon.

“As you like.”

“Very well, Sir Jin. Once again, I apologize for the earlier discourtesy.”

“Once is enough. Drop it.”

“…Understood.”

Seomun Hoe thought,

‘Sharp-minded, yet resolute in character.’

Depending how smart one is, the easier—or the hardest—they’ll be to handle.

“We’ll investigate Sir Jin’s identity ourselves. We won’t ask further.”

“That’s how you should do things.”

The Black Society had no idea who stood behind Jin-hyeon.

Whether anyone truly did didn’t matter. With their influence already waning, the Black Society had to move with far greater caution than before.

If he were just some fool bluffing without knowing a thing, that would be one thing. But someone who knew this much about the Black Society was not someone to be treated carelessly.

That was precisely the point that left Jin-hyeon disappointed. Yet Seomun Hoe had just acknowledged it and corrected himself.

Seomun Hoe gave a wry smile.

“It has been some time since a conversation began with me taking the first blow.”

“A good experience, then.”

“It became one because Sir Jin received it with grace. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome in many ways.”

“I don’t like flattery.”

“Which is why I’m not doing so.”

Studying him, Jin-hyeon tilted his head.

“It’s quite interesting.”

“What do you mean?”

“People who can govern their hearts as well as you do aren’t common. To be precise—there are plenty who can keep it from showing on their face, but those who can do both are rare.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“But why do I see urgency—I don’t understand.”

“?!”

“Is there trouble in the Black Society?”

For the first time, Seomun Hoe felt his mask and his mind crack.

‘Just what is this man…’

It was clear he wasn’t speaking idly, but from having read him.

That startled him. Few could deduce his state from expression and speech alone.

“Then I must be slipping—or your intuition is keen.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I just want what I came for.”

“Then let’s talk business.”

His expression turned grave again.

“You made a counter-commission.”

“I did.”

“There are four days left.”

“Can we waive the fee?”

“Let’s not slap a man who’s already crying.”

Jin-hyeon snorted a laugh.

“I meant it. But fine.”

“We prohibit counter-commissions in principle. The amount offered is irrelevant. Barring truly special cases, we keep that rule.”

“And this is special?”

“Regrettably, yes.”

“Thrilling.”

He didn’t sound thrilled.

Seomun Hoe’s eyes deepened.

“You said you didn’t expect the Society Leader to come.”

“Who would?”

“Of course. Yet, since you invoked him, there’s only one reason.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“It’s because your request is something that someone like Stone Pillar Dam could never handle.”

Jin-hyeon smiled.

“Exactly.”

“There’s little he can’t handle here. If this falls in that little… it’s the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild, isn’t it?”

“Talking to smart people is easy.”

“We’ve gathered information on you.”

Just then, Dam Jun returned with the Wuliangye and cups.

Unmoved, Seomun Hoe asked,

“Where are the side dishes?”

“I’m fine. I had dumplings. Didn’t you say you were fasting?”

“My stomach’s already burning. It’s fine.”

“Still holding onto it, I see.”

“…Unbelievable.”

Carefully, Dam Jun filled their cups.

Neither looked at him. This wasn’t a moment for games.

“You know the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild well, I trust.”

“One of Sichuan’s Three Great Merchant Guilds. The sort to do anything to expand. Plenty of bribes spread around—likely even to parts of the Heavenly Will Alliance’s Sichuan branch.”

“You know them well.”

Seomun Hoe raised his cup, and Jin-hyeon emptied his first.

“Mm. Fragrant.”

“You don’t suspect that there’s poison?”

“Do I need to repeat myself?”

“I’m simply impressed. Your nerves are something.”

“Try dying once and coming back. You stop seeing obstacles.”

Seomun Hoe finished his cup, brows faintly knitting.

“Since you seem well informed about the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild, I’ll be frank. I don’t know what sort of commission you’re after, but as you yourself said, this merchant guild has strings everywhere and has spread plenty of bribes around.”

“Right.”

Jin-hyeon tapped his empty cup; Dam Jun refilled, jaw tight.

“Beyond our ability or not, taking them on will burden even you, won’t it?”

“And what do you know about me?”

“It’d burden anyone.”

Jin-hyeon spun his cup.

“So you won’t take the job?”

“On the contrary—we’ll hear it. But we won’t shoulder the blowback.”

“Bold of you. I thought you’d crawl.”

“You seem to like clarity.”

Jin-hyeon lifted his cup.

Seomun Hoe clinked his against it.

As he began to sip—

“Let’s bury the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild.”

“Kkh!”

Seomun Hoe choked and coughed repeatedly.

Jin-hyeon drained his cup and spoke evenly.

“We bury them. You take seventy percent of their assets. I take thirty.”

“H-hold on…”

“Too little? I won’t cede more than thirty.”

“It’s not that!”

What a day for firsts. Seomun Hoe couldn’t hide his discomposure.

“You said bury the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild?”

“Yes.”

“…Why?”

Regardless of feasibility—why such an extreme move?

“Plenty of reasons. I saw their guild master and one of his brats, and honestly I couldn’t tell if it was a merchant guild or a gang of thugs. I just feel like watching those who play with money end up ruined by money. And in the process, I wouldn’t mind pocketing a bit of easy money.”

“That all?”

“Hardly.”

“And?”

His voice stayed calm.

“Mighty Tiger’s going to touch the Seol Clan.”

“!”

“No, they’ve already started. I suspect they bought a few smiths at the Yeo Family Ironworks some time ago.”

“The Yeo Family Ironworks?”

“They supplied the Seol Clan with crippled swords. A subtle fake only the makers would catch—not the swordsmen.”

“……”

“Not only that. I’d wager they plan to wreck the other two of Sichuan’s Three Great Merchant Guilds soon.”

“!”

“Know anything there? You can toss the trash, but a group like Mighty Tiger—you should have intel.”

Seomun Hoe’s face set.

Seeing it, Jin-hyeon felt near-certain that most of what he said had hit truth.

“What led you to that?”

“The second son’s stripping weak guilds everywhere. Because of iron mines, I think?”

“……”

“The third got smashed by Lady Seol and me, but it’s still odd. With so many eyes on him, he raped women and maimed men he disliked. Yet Lee Ho-gon didn’t truly restrain him.”

“……”

“There’s only one answer—he didn’t need to. So when don’t you need to?”

Unconsciously, Dam Jun swallowed.

Jin-hyeon’s eyes narrowed.

“He won’t share Sichuan’s money three ways. If the mess that that fucking idiot of a brat of his causes help then there’s no need to go out of your way to stop him. Correct?”

Money is power.

Though it was uncertain if that was the case in the chaotic Murim a century ago, under the Heavenly Will Alliance, ten in money becomes five in power. And the Heavenly Will Alliance takes the rest.

Regions differ, but in Sichuan, the power of money is stronger than elsewhere. So thought Jin-hyeon.

And it matched Seomun Hoe’s thoughts exactly.

“Each moment confirms it… you’re anything but ordinary.”

“From this?”

“‘This’? We needed mountains of intel and money to reach the same conclusions.”

Jin-hyeon tapped his temple.

“It’s not that I’m brilliant. On brains, you may have me beat.”

“What do you mean?”

“That knowing more isn’t the key.”

“Then what?”

“Where the current begins in the sea of information.”

“!”

“Think of that alone and predictions aren’t hard. It’s also why Black Society’s gotten dumber.”

“Dumber?”

“The Hao Sect staked its life on one thing—information. It didn’t dabble in fixer work and auctions like you do now.”

“!!”

“Stake your life on the one thing you do best.”

“Stake our life…”

“Organizations are made by people. Truths for people apply to organizations. That was the Hao Sect’s greatness.”

Seomun Hoe’s eyes wavered.

Jin-hyeon extended his empty cup to Dam Jun.

Startled, Dam Jun refilled it politely.

“I’m not asking you to ruin Mighty Tiger. You might not be able to. I’ll give you a few tasks. Handle those.”

Seomun Hoe’s expression shifted by the second.

He gave up on masking it. There was too much to think about.

After a moment,

“What about the fee?”

As if waiting, Jin-hyeon grinned.

“I’ll give you a piece of explosive news about the Divine Iron Merchant House. It’s worth a full thousand gold nyang.”

“……”

“Well? Do you take the deal?”

Seomun Hoe emptied three cups in a row, then stared at the table, thinking and thinking.

After a long beat,

“What do you need us to do?”