Chapter 80: Let’s Stop the Act and Talk Directly
『 TL – Marctempest 』 『 ED – Laplace 』
With a dull thud as the boat ca to a halt, the creaking sound of wood grinding against wood reached my ears.
‘About an hour, maybe?’
In pitch-black darkness, I had been silently keeping track of the ti.
With my sight cut off, all my other senses sharpened like blades in compensation. The stinging scent of salt and oil, the monotonous hum of the engine, and the irregular rocking of waves slapping against the hull.
I tried to morize all of it. There was a chance I might have to find this place again soday.
At this distance, it didn’t seem to be any of the well-known islands off the coast of Busan.
“Get off.”
A short, commanding voice rang out. Rough hands grabbed my arm and yanked along.
I obediently followed their lead and stepped off the boat.
Under my feet, I felt damp soil and gravel. Amid the fishy sea air, the heavy stench of rotten wood and salt-soaked tal wafted strongly.
“This way.”
They gripped on both sides and dragged forward almost forcefully.
With the sound of a massive iron door opening, the air changed.
Instead of the cold sea breeze outside, a musty odor of dust and mold seeped deep into my lungs.
It seed we had entered a warehouse-like interior. They shoved roughly inside, then slamd the iron door shut behind .
The mont I stepped in, soone roughly tore the blindfold from my face. Squinting against the sudden light, the vast interior of the warehouse was revealed beneath dim incandescent bulbs.
On one side, people who appeared to be Overseas Chinese Organization mbers were clacking mahjong tiles together, shouting noisily in Chinese while downing sorghum liquor.
On the other side, different organization mbers silently tended to sharpen their blades, focused on their work.
‘An alliance between the Overseas Chinese Organization and Korean Organization mbers?’
Just then, a voice ca from the deepest part of the space, the center of both groups.
“Bring him.”
The n reached out as if to drag forward, but I slapped their arms away and spoke.
“I’ll walk on my own.”
I strode forward confidently. Dozens of sharp gazes stabbed into like daggers, but I didn’t flinch or shrink back in the slightest.
Soon, one man’s face slowly ca into view. He looked to be in his forties, with sly, serpent-like eyes. Was he the head of this organization?
But my gaze passed over him and shifted to the figure standing behind him like a shadow.
‘Han Do-gyeong?’
Why was Han Do-gyeong here? The Han Do-gyeong I rembered was not soone who belonged in the underworld like this.
Starting with frozen seafood processing, expanding into trade, and later building a massive general trading company that would beco one pillar of South Korea’s economic growth—a first-generation entrepreneur.
A giant of the business world whom even Jeong Tae-soo couldn’t touch lightly. And yet he was connected to a smuggling organization?
‘Seems like I didn’t know everything.’
A chill ran down my spine as cold sweat trickled down. I had thought this was just a smuggling organization that had caused trouble, but this might be far bigger than I’d imagined.
“So you’re the one who was looking for ?”
Only after the man seated at the place of honor opened his mouth did I snap out of my thoughts.
“You’re the Sea Whale?”
In that instant, killing intent filled every gaze directed at . The organization mbers snarled as if they were about to pounce and snap my neck.
I calmly endured that hostility and scanned my surroundings.
“Where is Captain Noh?”
A cruel smile curled at the man’s lips.
“He beca fish food. And that’s the future waiting for you too.”
“Hmm…… You killed Captain Noh? That’s troubleso.”
“What are you, exactly?”
Perhaps my reaction wasn’t what he expected, because the man asked in disbelief.
I answered calmly, as if reciting my personal profile.
“My na is Baek Min-woo, I’m twenty years old. Both my parents are deceased…….”
The killing intent aid at quickly turned into confusion, then into contempt, as if they were looking at a lunatic.
Ignoring their reactions entirely, I stared straight at the man in the place of honor and spoke.
“Since it’s co to this, you’ll need to do a favor.”
“What?”
“I need to quietly send one person to Taiwan.”
“……Do you even know where you are?”
The man let out a hollow laugh and asked sharply.
“The Sea Whale’s base? Den? Whatever. It doesn’t matter. You’ll just have to take over Captain Noh’s work.”
I laced every word I spoke with madness. I had to look as crazy as possible.
The only way to survive in the den of these lunatics was to beco an even bigger lunatic than them.
I dragged over a nearby creaking wooden chair and moved closer toward the man seated at the place of honor.
Scrrrk— the sound of the chair scraping across the floor swallowed all the noise in the warehouse.
The hands of the Overseas Chinese Organization mbers playing mahjong stopped, and the eyes of the Korean Organization mbers sharpening their knives turned toward .
Dozens of sharp gazes pierced into , and a few of them adjusted their stance, hands drifting toward their waists.
It was a murderous atmosphere that would make an ordinary person faint on the spot. But I calmly set the chair down and plopped myself into it, leaving a slight distance between the Sea Whale and myself.
Of course, I hadn’t moved only to seize the initiative. I also wanted to see how they would react.
‘Tighter discipline than I expected.’
I had assud a smuggling organization would be a ragtag bunch, but they didn’t move an inch without orders.
A fairly long silence followed. The Sea Whale, myself, and everyone else kept their mouths shut. Amid the taut tension, I organized my thoughts.
‘Considering Han Do-gyeong’s personality…….’
During that ti, I was fitting together the pieces in my head.
I didn’t know Han Do-gyeong in detail. But judging from his interviews and anecdotes, he was not soone who would remain a cog in the shadows like this.
A man who spoke his mind even when those in power threatened him. A figure destined to beco a towering pillar of South Korea’s economy.
‘But Han Do-gyeong is just the second-in-command of a smuggling organization?’
It didn’t add up. Everything felt unnatural.
That was when I saw Han Do-gyeong step closer to the man seated at the place of honor and whisper sothing into his ear.
The man nodded as he listened, and the other organization mbers didn’t seem to find this strange at all.
After finishing, Han Do-gyeong stepped back and hid himself once more in the shadows.
‘Looks like the real power here is Han Do-gyeong.’
Seeing that, everything beca clear instead. The man in the place of honor was nothing more than a figurehead, a scarecrow.
As expected, the true brain moving this massive ghost organization was Han Do-gyeong. Before the man could speak, I decided to seize the initiative.
“Let’s talk business. And let’s drop that pathetic act and talk directly, Han Do-gyeong.”
In an instant, the air inside the warehouse froze.
Compared to the killing intent aid at earlier, the murderous aura now pouring in from all directions felt sharp enough to slice my skin.
Every organization mber rose from their seat, ready to tear apart the mont an order was given. I heard Jin Tae-rim swallow his breath behind .
Han Do-gyeong slowly stepped forward out of the shadows. His face showed no expression, but his eyes were deep and cold like the abyss.
“What are you? How do you know my na?”
Han Do-gyeong’s gaze passed over and shifted to Jin Tae-rim, who stood pale and stiff behind .
“Ah, n-no! It wasn’t ! I didn’t say anything!”
Jin Tae-rim must have been flustered as well, because he stamred as he spoke.
“It wasn’t Jin Tae-rim who told . I just know.”
“……You know ? I don’t know you, though?”
“Looks like you’re ready to talk now, so let’s sit down and have a conversation.”
He didn’t know . If that was the case, I could secure the initiative easily enough. I naturally carried myself as though I were the owner of this place.
At my arrogance, a faint sneer ford at the corner of Han Do-gyeong’s mouth.
“Huh……. I’ve been through the Japanese and the North Korean bastards alike, but this is the first ti I’ve seen a lunatic like you. Don’t you have any attachnt to life?”
“Who would want to die? I’m more attached to life than anyone.”
Wasn’t that obsessive attachnt precisely what had sent back to the past? No matter how much I wanted to look like a lunatic, there was no need to go that far.
“And yet you dare to put my na in your mouth here? You think you can walk away alive after that?”
“If we beco good partners whose interests align, there won’t be any problem.”
“……Bring a chair.”
At Han Do-gyeong’s brief command, the man who had been sitting in the place of honor playing the role of a scarecrow hurriedly brought a chair and placed it in front of him.
Two steps. A suffocating distance, close enough to reach with just two steps.
He sat down across from , crossed his legs, and stared at as if trying to pierce straight through .
“Alright. Now talk. What are these mutual interests of ours? If I don’t like what I hear…… you’ll beco fish food.”
“Let’s start by talking about Captain Noh. That needs to be resolved before we can discuss anything else.”
This hadn’t been the original plan. I hadn’t known Han Do-gyeong would be here.
But if the board had changed, all I had to do was move my words to match the new board. For now, I needed to deal with Min-soo’s stowaway situation as originally planned.
“I’m planning to send my younger brother to Arica. To do that, he first needs to enter Taiwan.”
“So that’s why you were looking for Captain Noh?”
“Yes. But things went wrong. Because you dealt with Captain Noh.”
“……That man was too greedy. He didn’t know moderation.”
There wasn’t even a trace of emotion in Han Do-gyeong’s voice. To him, Captain Noh’s death was no different from swatting away an annoying bug.
“That has nothing to do with . I only needed soone to send my younger brother to Taiwan.”
“Shall I make a prediction? If you had sent your brother through Captain Noh, you would never have seen him again.”
“It was on Teacher Yang’s introduction.”
“Yang Sobo? You think he’s in a position to worry about small fry like Captain Noh right now? His own empire is about to go up in flas. No sailor fears a tiger that’s lost its teeth. That’s the truth of the sea.”
Han Do-gyeong let out a cold sneer. He was looking down on Yang Sobo.
Right. Normally, just as he said, Yang Sobo’s empire would have collapsed, and he would have beco nothing more than a paper tiger.
But not this ti. Because I was here. Still, it seed better to let him remain mistaken for now, so I didn’t bother adding anything.
“Never underestimate a sailor’s greed. And Captain Noh was a man who trafficked in people. There’s no guarantee your brother would’ve safely set foot on Taiwanese soil.”
“If Captain Noh can’t be trusted, then you’re no different, are you?”
“Hey.”
Han Do-gyeong’s gaze sank coldly.
“Don’t insult . Etch it into that head of yours that I’m having this conversation with you purely because you interest . Captain Noh, who licked Yang Sobo’s toes, and I are not the sa.”
His voice was low, but the killing intent contained within it froze the air in the warehouse. Still, I didn’t even blink at his threat.
“Then all the more reason for you to keep alive.”
“What?”
“I don’t know how great your rules are…… but I haven’t broken any of them.”
I t his eyes head-on as I continued speaking. Han Do-gyeong snorted as if it were absurd.
“Those rules apply to sailors. They don’t apply to trash like you.”
“Is this really how you should be treating a guest?”
“What?”
“Whether I was Captain Noh’s guest or soone else’s, if you’re the one tightly gripping the smuggling routes of Busan, then in the end, I’m your guest.”
Even I thought it was sophistry. But at this mont, logic wasn’t important. What mattered was montum.
“So you have an obligation to send my brother to Taiwan. In Captain Noh’s stead.”
“This bastard’s insane. Why the hell is he spouting this much nonsense?”
The scarecrow at the side growled in disbelief, but Han Do-gyeong raised a hand to stop him. His eyes remained fixed on .
“No matter what price you’ve set, I’ll pay you ten thousand dollars.”
At my unprecedented offer, the first crack appeared on Han Do-gyeong’s expressionless face.
A low murmur spread among the surrounding organization mbers as well.
“Ten thousand dollars……. Do you even have that kind of money?”
“Do you think I don’t?”
I glanced briefly behind before speaking.
“I paid one thousand dollars just to save Jin Tae-rim, who’s nothing more than my guide’s uncle. I believe you know better than I do how precious dollars are right now.”
Han Do-gyeong let out a low hum.
Smugglers dealt not in Korean currency, but in dollars or yen. With the hwan turned into scraps of paper by the currency reform, the value of the dollar was skyrocketing beyond asure.
“Not worthless hwan, nor the new currency, the won, but dollars. I’ll give you ten thousand dollars in crisp, brand-new bills.”
Ten thousand dollars. That enormous sum slowly lted his reason. Watching his expression, I delivered the final blow ant to paralyze even what little reason he had left.
“And I’ll help you with your dream as well.”
“Dream?”
“You can’t keep living as a smuggler forever, can you? Like a moth flying toward a fla, never knowing when it’ll burn to death.”
My words struck the deepest part of him, the desire he never wanted anyone to uncover.
His gaze wavered. Han Do-gyeong the businessman. I recalled the future version of him that I knew. He wasn’t soone ant to remain in the shadows like this.
He yearned for a bigger stage, for the light. Han Do-gyeong’s eyebrows twitched.
“You…… how do you know about my dream?”
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