Episode 10: My Outstanding Sense of Consideration
Jo Yi-gyeol spoke like he was about to share some great secret.
“The Heukmyobang sect leader is one of the so-called Twelve Divine Generals.”
“Not many people know his exact rank among the twelve.”
“Above them, there’s supposedly some insane master who controls all of them.”
He was babbling about something I actually knew much better than he did.
He thumped his own chest with his fist.
“Laying a hand on me means you’re stepping into a terrifying world you don’t under—”
I drove the Cloud Dragon Dagger straight through the hand he was beating his chest with.
Thud.
“Ghhk…!”
The dagger pierced his hand and sank into his chest.
I spoke in an even tone, carrying on our “final conversation.”
“You talk too much.”
“This is the part where you beg for your life, not threaten me.”
Even as he bled, he stared at me with disbelief.
I yanked the dagger back out. His face slammed into the pool of blood spreading across the table.
Thump.
Blood splattered up as his body slid off the chair.
I gave his corpse a little preview of the future.
“In that ‘terrifying world’ you mentioned, the one they called the craziest was me.”
I turned to the men still digging outside and called out,
“Hey, moles. Stop digging.”
They must’ve thought it was just another order from Jo Yi-gyeol, because they froze and answered automatically,
“Yes, sir.”
“Come in and clean this up.”
Three men in black uniforms stepped inside, and their expressions changed instantly.
“What the…”
“Huh?!”
Finding the busboy’s body would’ve been normal.
Finding Jo Yi-gyeol’s body instead—now that was surprising.
I looked at them and said,
“What are you so shocked about?”
“He strutted around with a knife, and now he’s dead like an idiot.”
One of them reflexively reached for his sword. The one next to him quickly stopped his hand.
Considering that Yi-gyeol’s martial skill far outstripped theirs, that was the smart decision.
I addressed the one who’d tried to draw his blade.
“What kind of man grabs his sword and then stops halfway?”
“If you’re going to draw, draw.”
“My apologies. Just a reflex.”
“You stronger than Jo Yi-gyeol?”
“No, sir.”
“If you were, he’d be the one digging outside.”
“Why do you think you were the one swinging the shovel?”
“Use your head, kid.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take off those masks. Let’s see if I recognize any of you.”
They removed their hoods, revealing sweat-soaked young faces.
Didn’t recognize any of them. Couldn’t have been over twenty.
“Never seen you around Ilyang.”
“You from Heukmyobang?”
“No, sir.”
“We’re from all over. We’ve just been working at Ihwa-ru.”
“That so?”
Translation: I didn’t know them, which meant they were likely to die soon.
“So.”
“Just ordinary guys working at Ihwa-ru.”
“Your boss told you to come dig a grave for some ‘corpse,’ and you didn’t question it.”
“Like good little moles.”
“Here’s the deal.”
“Are you three going to die here today?”
“Or are you going to bury your boss and go back to your hometowns?”
One of them answered immediately,
“If you spare us, I’ll go home.”
“I can’t go back home for… reasons, but I’ll never set foot in Ihwa-ru again.”
“If you let me live, I’ll never go back there either.”
I nodded.
“Then bury him and disappear.”
I motioned with my chin. As they turned to leave, one of them asked something strange.
“Forgive me, but… who are you?”
I had to think about what he meant for a second.
“What?”
“What do you mean, who am I?”
“I mean… who are you?”
“I’m the busboy from Jaha Inn.”
“…Doesn’t seem like it.”
Apparently, he couldn’t accept that a mere busboy had killed Jo Yi-gyeol.
I told the loudmouth to mop the blood off the table and floor, and sent the other two to drag the corpse out.
The youngest one rummaged around on his own, found a rag and an empty bucket, and started cleaning.
As he wrung out a blood-soaked rag, I asked,
“Where’s the youngest Jo brother these days?”
“Haven’t seen him recently.”
“You know what the youngest does for a living?”
He stopped mid-wipe and looked up at me.
“Yes, sir. I do.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“He travels far out and kidnaps young girls.”
“Either sells them to brothels or ‘trains’ them himself.”
“That’s his job.”
“Impressive villain.”
He swallowed hard.
“Am I… going to die too?”
“Someday.”
“You run into someone like me again, you’re finished.”
“I mean… today?”
“Not today.”
“Thank you. I’ll serve you as my big brother from now on.”
“I don’t take idiots as younger brothers.”
That was sincere. If I was going to call someone “little brother,” he needed to be exceptional at something.
“Sorry.”
“For what?”
“For being an idiot.”
I burst out laughing. He hadn’t changed his expression at all.
“Wow. That came out of nowhere.”
After a few chuckles, I told him,
“When you’re done cleaning, get lost.”
“Do you happen to need anyone in the kitchen?”
“If I quit Ihwa-ru, I won’t have a way to eat.”
For young men in this town, survival was always the biggest problem.
I tilted my head.
“You cook?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Know how to make goose-head soup?”
“That’s the basics of the basics.”
“Hmm.”
And suddenly, I became the guy who couldn’t even do the basics.
I did need a real chef… just not right now.
“I do need one, but not today.”
“You stick around here, and the Jo family will have you killed.”
“Why?”
I put on my most serious face and tone.
“Because that’s your fate.”
“The three of you buried Jo Yi-gyeol with your own hands.”
“…What?”
“What do we do with you now, huh?”
“No, we just dug the hole…”
“Yeah. That hole was actually your grave.”
“We weren’t the ones who killed him.”
“You think life in the jianghu is that easy?”
“Your boss dies, and his lackeys do nothing…”
“Then bury him quietly…”
“That’s instant-execution material.”
“Now go. If you don’t want to die.”
“Pull your friends out too.”
“If they go back to Ihwa-ru and report this, what will you do?”
I pointed at the weapons lying on the table.
“What do those look like?”
“A sword and a whip.”
“And a bloody sickle.”
“And what does that tell you?”
“…I don’t know.”
“It means I’m done preparing for war, genius.”
The kid gave me a full-on this guy’s insane look.
“Anyway.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If your heart starts itching for revenge…”
“you and your two friends can come along with the Jo brothers next time.”
“We’ll have ourselves a do-or-die showdown then.”
“I’ll show you what the merciless side of the jianghu looks like.”
The would-be chef replied,
“I’ll pass on that showdown, sir.”
“Ah, and I forgot to introduce myself—”
“Shut up and get lost.”
“Yes, sir.”
Despite being told to get out, the aspiring chef put away the cleaning tools properly, then bowed at the inn’s entrance.
“I’ll cook goose-head soup for you someday.”
“Worry about sorting out your ruined life first.”
“Right. Understood. Rest well, sir.”
The would-be cook sprinted off into the darkness.
…A little while later, the men who’d buried Jo Yi-gyeol also vanished.
Jaha Inn was quiet again.
It was the sort of night where a hot bowl of goose-head soup would’ve been perfect.
“Tch…”
I stared out into the darkness beyond the door and said,
“You little rat.”
The Rat with the Eye Patch
From the shadows stepped a “rat” wearing an eyepatch.
Cha Seong-tae answered,
“So what’s your plan now?”
I eyed his eyepatch.
“Didn’t you say your eye was fine?”
He tapped the patch.
“Psychological warfare.”
“Not just pointless style?”
“Part of my strategy.”
“I reported that I’d injured an eye, then slipped off to a doctor.”
“Used the chance to get out and observe the situation.”
“If I hadn’t, I’d probably be out there digging right now.”
“See? I’m quick on the uptake and useful.”
“You see that, right?”
“Impressive.”
“Thank you. You do what you must to stay alive.”
“Anyway, what’s next? Going straight for Jo Il-seom?”
“Or staying put and waiting?”
“Did my message get through clearly?”
“What message?”
“I may have misheard.”
“I said if they come under me, I’ll let them live.”
“And yet here we are, with Jo Yi-gyeol coming at me with a knife.”
“…Right.”
“He even had his lackeys dig his grave first.”
“You saw how that turned out.”
“You think Jo Il-seom will be any different?”
“He’s the most devious of the three.”
“Leaves the dirty work and the blame to his younger brothers.”
“If anything feels off, he disappears and reports straight to Heukmyobang.”
“In terms of scheming, he’s the sharpest man in Ilyang.”
“You don’t get to own three brothels by being stupid.”
“He’s the worst kind of bastard we’ve got.”
“Seong-tae.”
“Yes?”
I looked out over the dark street and said,
“Go buy some tangcho liquor snacks.”
“…Why?”
“Got liquor. No snacks.”
“We were talking about Jo Il-seom and now suddenly snacks?”
“Consider him already dead.”
“He’s still alive.”
“Once I write someone off, they’re a corpse.”
“You think Jo Il-seom’s an exception?”
“Leave him alone and he’ll ruin all of Ilyang.”
“I’m going to kill him.”
He had the youngest brother doing human trafficking, the middle one arranging murders.
Leaving him breathing wasn’t an option.
Long term, he’d just hand the whole town to Heukmyobang.
Cha Seong-tae frowned.
“But how does an inn not have its own snacks?”
“Ridiculous inn.”
“Fine, give me money.”
“Don’t have any.”
His face soured as he let out a short sigh.
“What does Jaha Inn have?”
“Nothing.”
“Leftover side dishes? I mixed those with rice and ate them.”
“People used to say this was the best goose-head soup place in town.”
“How did it fall this far?”
“What a pathetic fall from grace.”
“So, tangcho snacks and what else?”
There was a bit of bite in his tone.
Well, sure. He’d gone from respected brothel manager to errand boy for a busboy.
To show I respected his feelings, I said,
“Tangcho’s enough for me.”
“The rest, get whatever you like.”
“Buy plenty.”
“Enough for tomorrow too.”
My consideration? Immaculate.
“…Fine. I’ll buy a lot.”
He shuffled off, grumbling.
As soon as he turned, I spoke in a colder tone.
“Seong-tae.”
“What.”
“You walking?”
“Out for a stroll?”
“On a scenic tour?”
“Taking your sweet time like a turtle?”
“…Oh, come on!”
He swallowed his curse and broke into a run.
That bastard… his face flushed bright red.
I doubt he’d ever imagined he’d be running snack errands for a busboy.
As he vanished into the night, I called after him,
“Hopping on one leg now?”
From the darkness, half a curse echoed back,
“For f—…!”