novelraw Chapter 110 : Did I Need to Ask for Permission or Something
Chapter 110 : Did I Need to Ask for Permission or Something
Chapter 110: Did I Need to Ask for Permission or Something?
The heart of Incheon Chinatown, Taehwa Pavilion (泰華樓).
When the appointed time arrived, the heads of the Chinese communities who had gathered from all over began to fill their seats one by one around the massive round table in the secret banquet hall on the third floor.
Tonight, Taehwa Pavilion had locked every door solely for them.
The host of the gathering was Yang Sobo of Seoul, but the owner of Taehwa Pavilion and the old lion of the Incheon Chinese community, Noh Deok-su, had taken it upon himself to play the role of host as he welcomed the guests.
“President Son, it’s been a while. Is business in Daegu still worth doing?”
“In times like these, isn’t it already a blessing just to endure day by day, Lord Noh?”
As he exchanged words with Son Gye-san, who wore a good-natured smile, Jin Tae-gang, the young shark of Gunsan Port, downed a glass of strong kaoliang liquor in one gulp and sneered.
“Is it because the real main character hasn’t arrived yet? The booze doesn’t taste right at all.”
At his provocative remark, Noh Deok-su’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Just then, President Wang of Busan entered the banquet hall with a heavy expression, adding weight to the taut tension in the room.
The banquet hall was divided into several round tables.
At the center sat the heads of each region, while at the outer tables surrounding them, mid-level managers sat as if flaunting their respective forces.
Although everyone had gathered in one place, not a single person laughed or chatted comfortably. Sharp gazes, as if probing one another’s true intentions, thick tension, and the pungent smell of strong kaoliang liquor mixed heavily and lingered in the air.
At that moment, the heavy doors of the banquet hall opened soundlessly.
All noise in the room stopped as if it were a lie. Every gaze turned at once toward the door.
Yang Sobo had appeared. Behind him stood four of his closest aides who always followed him like shadows. Yet people’s eyes passed them by and settled instead on the two new figures who had entered with him.
One was a pale-faced young man barely standing with Lee Cheong-ho’s support—So-ryong, the son of Wang So-gun.
And the other. A strange man standing at the very back, wearing an indifferent expression as if all of this were familiar to him—Baek Min-woo.
The mid-level managers seated at the outer tables rose in unison and bowed deeply toward Yang Sobo.
The regional heads at the central table also stood up, but instead of bowing, they merely stared at Yang Sobo with hardened expressions.
Noh Deok-su stepped forward to greet him.
“Lord Yang, you’re late. Everyone has been waiting for you.”
It was a host’s courtesy, but his voice carried a subtle boast that said, ‘I am the master of this place.’
Had Yang Sobo’s power still been at its peak, such words would never have been spoken.
“It took some time because I brought along a child who isn’t well.”
Yang Sobo replied briefly and gestured with his chin toward Baek Min-woo and So-ryong. Noh Deok-su’s brow twitched.
“Lord Yang. Just who are these children, to bring them all the way here?”
Instead of answering Noh Deok-su’s question, Yang Sobo stared straight at his face. Then he coolly retorted,
“Who I bring with me—do I need to ask for Lord Noh’s permission or something?”
Noh Deok-su’s face stiffened instantly, but Yang Sobo no longer paid him any mind and headed toward the massive round table at the very front.
It was unmistakably the seat of honor, positioned so that every table faced him.
The four closest aides sat down in a line on either side of him. Yet the two seats right next to Yang Sobo remained empty.
Lee Cheong-ho carefully helped So-ryong into one of the empty seats. Only then did Yang Sobo speak quietly to Baek Min-woo.
“You wait in the side room for now. Until I call you.”
Yang Sobo’s voice was low, but firm enough for everyone in the banquet hall to hear. It was a silent declaration that not only had he allowed an unfamiliar outsider into this secret meeting, but that he was also treating him with special consideration.
Baek Min-woo nodded without a word. He calmly endured the dozens of sharp gazes pouring down on him with his whole body. Despite the unfriendly stares, Baek Min-woo did not shrink back in the slightest.
Then, just before disappearing into the side room opened by Zhang Wei, he paused for a moment. His gaze leisurely swept over the faces of everyone seated in the banquet hall, one by one, as if measuring their hierarchy.
Soon, the door closed, and a heavy silence settled once more over the banquet hall. Now, only a single question remained in everyone’s mind.
‘Just who the hell is that guy?’
Dozens of sharp gazes turned toward Yang Sobo, but he merely lifted his teacup and savored its aroma, showing not the slightest agitation.
It was Yang Sobo himself who broke the silence.
“Accountant Jin, President Woo, and Lee Cheong-ho. Step aside for a moment. Go to that table and share a few drinks with the others.”
At his quiet words, the three men rose without complaint and headed for the outer tables.
“Lord Noh, and everyone else, please come this way as well. Important matters should be discussed face to face, shouldn’t they?”
At Yang Sobo’s call, Noh Deok-su rose first, followed by Son Gye-san, Jin Tae-gang, and Wang Jin-saeng.
The four men sat around Yang Sobo’s massive round table. Aside from the regional heads, the only one remaining seated at that table was So-ryong. Zhang Wei merely stood behind Yang Sobo like a shadow.
After seating the heads, Yang Sobo stood up from his chair.
“Comrades and brothers who have gathered for this meeting.”
His voice was low, but it carried enough weight to suppress every sound in the banquet hall.
“There is only one reason we have gathered here today. Right now, we stand before a crisis that threatens to shake to its roots everything we have built with blood and sweat on this unfamiliar land over decades. The government is aiming a blade called currency reform at our hearts, and tightening a cunning noose around our throats under the banner of expelling the Chinese.”
In his quiet voice lingered deep regret, along with simmering anger. From various corners of the banquet hall came faint sighs and suppressed fury.
“At times like this, we must not scatter. If we scatter, we will only be picked off one by one. Everyone, raise your glasses.”
Yang Sobo raised his glass first, and all attendees stood and lifted theirs as well.
“For our survival.”
“For survival!”
Everyone downed the strong kaoliang liquor in one gulp. His words went beyond mere consolation, revealing the sense of responsibility borne by a leader standing before a shared crisis.
Yang Sobo sat back down and spoke toward Noh Deok-su.
“First, we should hear each person’s circumstances. Lord Noh, please begin.”
Noh Deok-su of Incheon cleared his throat dryly and opened his mouth.
“The sea routes at Incheon Port were blocked by half. Those customs bastards have been conducting inspections twice as vicious as before, so goods can’t move in or out.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Jin Tae-gang of Gunsan cut in, as if he had been waiting for his turn.
“At Gunsan Port, ships are practically tied down to the docks. The seafood piled up in the warehouses is rotting away, and the tide schedule promised to Japan is slipping by endlessly!”
“Daegu was the same.”
This time, Son Gye-san of Daegu continued.
“Business only works when money circulates, but the currency reform completely cut off our cash flow. At this rate, all the merchants will be facing mass bankruptcy, my lord.”
Lastly, President Wang of Busan opened his mouth with a heavy expression.
“Busan’s situation was a bit better. With someone’s help, we managed to secure dollars, and we used that to put out the immediate fire.”
At those words, Jin Tae-gang asked sharply.
“President Wang, what do you mean by that? You secured dollars? How, when they’re that precious?”
“They said if you brought your bankbook, they’d exchange whatever amount was inside for dollars.”
“Huh…… Who in the world? Introduce us too—”
At that moment, Yang Sobo cut Jin Tae-gang off.
“That’s enough. I heard about it as well. President Wang, that’s fortunate.”
“It was all thanks to your benevolence, my lord.”
It was an expression of gratitude for Yang Sobo sending Baek Min-woo to Busan and connecting the channel. The three men who didn’t know the circumstances looked at the two of them with puzzled expressions.
However, rather than satisfying their curiosity, Yang Sobo shifted the topic to something more important.
“I had a private meeting with Assemblyman Han.”
At Yang Sobo’s words, Noh Deok-su asked in surprise.
“What? You met Assemblyman Han?”
“Yes. He had no intention of backing down. No—he went so far as to declare an all-out war, saying he would expel us Chinese even more thoroughly. He told me to hand over half my assets and leave this land with all the Chinese.”
The serious expressions on the heads’ faces turned into shock.
“That’s absurd……”
“I spent two billion hwan just to meet Assemblyman Han. But all I got in return were those cold words.”
Even after spending such an astronomical sum, all that came back was frigid persecution. A heavy silence flowed over Yang Sobo’s table.
“Zhang Wei. Bring Baek over.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Zhang Wei bowed his head and opened the door to the room where Baek Min-woo was.
“Baek Min-woo, the lord is calling for you.”
The corner of Baek Min-woo’s lips curved into a faint smile as he quietly drank his tea.
The private room of Taehwa Pavilion was silent.
I lifted the teacup and took a sip of the tea that had gone cold. The bitterness lingering on the tip of my tongue instead made my complicated thoughts clearer.
I closed my eyes and recalled the people in the banquet hall one by one.
First, Noh Deok-su of Incheon. He was the embodiment of the old order itself. A man who rejected change by wielding justification and tradition as a shield, and someone who, after Yang Sobo left in my previous life, gathered the Chinese together.
Jin Tae-gang of Gunsan was a young shark boiling with ambition. After Noh Deok-su died of old age, he seized Incheon and became a powerhouse of the new era.
Then there were Son Gye-san of Daegu and Wang Jin-saeng of Busan. These two didn’t even exist in my memories of my previous life. Either unknown variables to me, or people who had been swept away and erased by the great current of events.
Lastly, the sovereign who encompassed all of this—Yang Sobo. I had to repel the checks of those fierce beasts and claim the sovereign’s legacy entirely as my own.
At that moment, the door opened soundlessly. Soon after, a familiar voice was heard.
“The lord is calling for you.”
At Zhang Wei’s summons, I stood up and straightened my clothes. Through the crack of the door Zhang Wei opened, the gazes of the fierce beasts stabbed toward me all at once.
The heavily sunken air, the stench of strong kaoliang liquor, and the raw wariness testing me.
I did not avoid their stares and slowly walked toward the massive round table. Fluent Chinese flowed from my mouth. Not servile, yet properly courteous, I bowed at the waist.
“I first greet Lord Noh Deok-su, the owner of Taehwa Pavilion. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Baek Min-woo.”
Starting with Noh Deok-su, I greeted the other three in turn. I took in, one by one, the shock, curiosity, and contempt that rose on their faces.
After greeting them all, I finally gave a light bow toward Yang Sobo, who sat in the seat of honor.
“You called for me, sir.”
Instead of replying, Yang Sobo gestured to the seat beside him. I sat down naturally, as if that seat had always been mine.
Once again, a heavy silence flowed through the banquet hall. The one who broke that silence was the impatient Jin Tae-gang.
Staring at me with sharp eyes, Jin Tae-gang struck straight at the point.
“Lord Yang. Just who is this brat? Did we gather in such a secret place for this—some kind of formal introduction?”
At his blunt question, everyone’s gaze turned toward Yang Sobo.
Yang Sobo set down his teacup and slowly swept his eyes across their faces one by one. His gaze lingered last on So-ryong.
“You must be wondering why I brought this child here when his body isn’t even well.”
Instead of answering Jin Tae-gang’s question, he first brought up a story about someone else.
Yang Sobo’s voice was low, but within it lay a chill cold enough to freeze the entire banquet hall. Lightly wrapping an arm around So-ryong’s gaunt shoulders, he spoke.
“Some of you will remember this child’s father. A man who was once my right-hand man, and who was called the future of the Chinese community. A man who had to disappear miserably under the stigma of being a traitor…… Wang So-gun.”
Yang Sobo had detonated a massive bomb in the middle of the banquet hall.