novelraw Chapter 54 : Because Gold Never Loses Its Shine
Chapter 54 : Because Gold Never Loses Its Shine
Chapter 54: Because Gold Never Loses Its Shine
Just after lunch, the alleyway had grown quiet.
We walked along a street lined with old, worn-out signs until we stopped in front of a shabby shop bearing a faded board that read, “Ilshin Gold & Silver Shop (日新金銀房).”
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary workshop that could collapse at any moment.
“Please wait here.”
Lee Cheong-ho said stiffly.
Wait? I looked at him curiously.
“Shouldn’t I go in with you?”
“No. We need permission first.”
He entered, opening the creaky door, and closed it carefully behind him.
I stood before the old shop, rubbing my chin slowly as I examined the traces of time worn into the place.
This seemed to be one of the people I had asked Yang Sobo to introduce me to.
“Judging by the sign, it looks like a place that deals in precious metals… but I don’t recall any Ilshin Gold & Silver Shop existing.”
While I was staring at the sign, deep in thought, the door opened and Lee Cheong-ho came back out.
“Go on in.”
I grabbed the doorknob to step inside, but Lee Cheong-ho remained rooted in place. Wasn’t he coming with me?
Perhaps reading my thoughts, he spoke first before I could ask.
“It’s proper etiquette to enter alone here. Old Master Hwang values such manners. I’ll wait outside.”
An unusual old man, I thought. But there was no need to offend him at our first meeting, so I nodded and stepped inside.
The shop was dim, light barely filtering in. A few dusty silver spoons sat alone in an old wooden display case.
At a workbench in the back, an old man with a slightly stooped back was working on something under a small flame.
Even after I entered, he didn’t look up — just focused entirely on his work.
I waited silently for him to finish, glancing around again.
A chaotic mess that seemed allergic to order, empty display cases with no goods inside — it hardly looked like a functioning store.
How long had it been? With a faint sizzle, the flame went out, and only then did he finally lift his head.
Through the magnifying lens, the old man’s eyes gleamed. His gaze shone clearly even in the dim light.
“What brings you here?”
His voice was barely above a whisper, yet each syllable was precise and clear.
“I’d like to buy some gold bars.”
“You’d like to buy some gold bars, hmm…”
Old Master Hwang regarded me with interest before continuing.
“The Master told you to come to me?”
“Yes. When I mentioned I wanted to buy some precious metals, he recommended you.”
“And do you even know who I am?”
“How could I?”
At my candid reply, Old Master Hwang burst into laughter.
“If the Master introduced me to you, that means he entrusted his authority to you. He’s never once introduced me to anyone else.”
“What does that mean…?”
Entrusted his authority? I couldn’t quite grasp what he meant. But the old man didn’t seem intent on explaining.
“You’ll find out soon enough. So, how much do you intend to buy?”
“I’d like to purchase roughly two hundred million hwan worth.”
“Two hundred million hwan, eh. Quite a lot.”
He stood up, glanced at the tightly shut door behind me, and looked me up and down.
“Are you Chinese?”
“No, I’m Korean.”
Old Master Hwang gave a small nod, then moved toward the worn wall behind his workbench and pushed at it with effort.
The wall turned out to be a door.
As a section opened, a staircase appeared, leading downward into the dark.
“Follow me.”
I followed him down the narrow, steep stairs. Damp, cold air enveloped my whole body.
At the bottom stood a thick iron door.
Old Master Hwang inserted several keys, and when the heavy door swung open, a blinding golden glow spilled out from within.
It was a vault.
Shelves lined every wall, each stacked high with gold bars both large and small, piled like bricks.
Under the dim bulbs, the gold bars gleamed with such radiance that they seemed to emit light of their own, exuding a mysterious and overwhelming aura.
I momentarily forgot to breathe. Numbers on paper couldn’t compare to this — tangible, absolute value right before my eyes.
I stood there, lost in the splendor.
“Get a hold of yourself, young man.”
The old man’s quiet voice snapped me back to reality.
“If you get too drunk on gold, you’ll never die of old age.”
His words pierced like an awl. I came to my senses and looked at him.
“These are troubled times — gold’s worth is gold’s worth. Even on the black market, you’ll need to pay at least 3,000 hwan per don.”
“Understood. Please prepare it at that rate — two hundred million hwan’s worth.”
“Good.”
Old Master Hwang deftly began taking out heavy 10-kilogram gold bars from the shelves.
He placed each bar on a worn yet precise-looking scale, checking the weight one by one.
With each bar added, the counterweights tilted heavily.
Finally, when all twenty-five bars were set, the scale pointed exactly to 250 kilograms.
“Well then, you’ve checked the goods. Now let’s see the money.”
I drew out a two-hundred-million-hwan check issued by Citizens Bank and handed it to him.
Old Master Hwang took out a magnifying glass, examined it closely, then nodded in satisfaction.
He gestured toward a pile of wooden crates in the corner of the vault with a grin.
“The crates are on the house.”
“Thank you.”
Together, we packed the gold bars into several sturdy wooden boxes. Each one weighed nearly as much as a grown man.
“If possible, head straight to the Korea Bank’s main branch. They’ve got private safety vaults in the basement — strong enough to survive air raids during the war. Their security’s the best in the country. I’ll write you a letter of recommendation under my name — it’ll be safer for both you and your gold.”
He even went as far as to recommend a place for storage. But I shook my head.
“No. I plan to keep them elsewhere. Do you perhaps know of another place you’d recommend?”
“Hmm… you’re staying at Master Yang’s residence, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That place is safe enough… but if you were planning to use it, you wouldn’t be asking me this, would you?”
Of course, Yang Sobo’s mansion was secure.
But that wasn’t what I wanted right now. Even though only the two of us were present, I lowered my voice slightly.
“That’s why I wanted your advice, sir. Is there any place where I could store something of this value — safely, and out of the government’s reach?”
The meaning behind out of the government’s reach wasn’t lost on Old Master Hwang. A faint smile crossed his lips.
“Heh, cautious one, aren’t you? So, you don’t even trust the authorities, eh?”
After pondering a moment, he opened an old desk drawer and took out a small key and a slip of paper.
“When you go to Myeong-dong, there’s an old Japanese-style property that’s now an abandoned house.
In its basement lies a secret vault the Japanese built during the war to hide their valuables.”
After saying that, the old man drew a simple map on the notepad, wrote down an address, and handed it to me.
“Are you going to meet Teacher Park today as well?”
“How did you know?”
“Heh, if Master Yang introduced you to me, I figured he’d also have introduced you to that friend, Teacher Park.”
“What kind of person is Teacher Park?”
“Well… he’s like a bat. Hard to describe him any other way.”
“A bat?”
Was it all right for him to say that about someone connected to Yang Sobo? I looked at him with doubt, and Old Master Hwang grinned slyly.
“Once you meet him, you’ll understand what I mean. As it happens, Teacher Park is currently looking for a buyer on behalf of that house’s owner. If you tell him I sent you, he’ll understand.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
After a brief bow, I turned toward the wooden boxes filled with gold bars. There was no way I could carry them alone.
“May I call for Lee Cheong-ho?”
It would be impossible for just the two of us — the old man and me — to move them. Old Master Hwang, knowing this, nodded without hesitation.
I climbed the stairs and called in Lee Cheong-ho, who was waiting outside, and together we returned to the vault. The two of us carried all the wooden boxes filled with gold up to the surface.
The weight of gold was no joke. After a brief thought, I made a request to Old Master Hwang.
“May I use your phone for a moment?”
“As much as you like.”
I borrowed his phone and called Ma Dong-jin, who was guarding the office where my vault was. I told him to get a truck and come over.
While waiting for Ma Dong-jin, I talked with Old Master Hwang. The more we spoke, the more I sensed he had lived quite a turbulent life.
“You know something?”
His voice was calm, but the corners of his lips curled with a playful smirk.
“The reason I love gold is simple. Paper burns to ash, and even when nations fall and names change…”
“Gold never loses its shine.”
“Exactly!”
When I finished his sentence, Old Master Hwang clapped his hands in delight.
“Don’t you find it dangerous, doing all this alone?”
“Why? Does an old man guarding a shop alone make you think otherwise?”
Of course, I knew there was more to what I saw. But not everyone in this world was like me.
“I don’t trust people. Trust? That’s just a word you use when you’re getting a gold tooth made. I trust only the balance of a scale and human greed. That’s why I don’t keep anyone close.”
“Still…”
I glanced sideways at Lee Cheong-ho. If someone strong and solid like him ever harbored ill intent…
Old Master Hwang noticed my gaze and burst into hearty laughter.
“To do business with me, one needs recommendations from a select few, including Master Yang. Otherwise, no one can even meet me. The only reason I was here today was because I got word yesterday that you were coming.”
The source of his confidence lay in his secrecy and his tightly controlled circle of trust. Now I finally understood why I’d never known of his existence in my past life.
Just then, the door opened and Ma Dong-jin entered.
“Please help move these.”
Ma Dong-jin and Lee Cheong-ho began carrying the wooden boxes outside. Since the alley was too narrow for a vehicle, it took quite some time to move everything to the main road.
“Well then, I’ll be off.”
Before I left, Old Master Hwang handed me another note.
“Next time, contact me through this.”
“Is this where the Elder stays?”
“No. But there’s someone there who can relay messages to me. If you send word, you’ll receive a reply within two days.”
“I understand.”
He’d given me a way to contact him directly — without going through Yang Sobo. It seemed I’d made a favorable impression on him.
As I stepped out of the gold shop, the wooden door closed behind me. Old Master Hwang must have shut it from inside.
I looked up at the faded sign, lost in thought. His words echoed in my mind — that I had inherited Master Yang’s authority.
What exactly did that mean?
Meanwhile, Ma Dong-jin lifted the last box.
“The final one, boss.”
“Let’s go.”
Together with Ma Dong-jin and Lee Cheong-ho, I returned to the building where my vault was and carried the boxes inside.
“I’ll leave it to you, then.”
I asked Ma Dong-jin to guard the vault for the time being, then left with Lee Cheong-ho.
“Where to next?”
“We’re going to meet Teacher Park.”
“Hmm… Old Master Hwang and Teacher Park — are they both Master Yang’s people?”
“Does that matter?”
The sharp reply caught me off guard. I glanced at Lee Cheong-ho, then answered casually.
“Just curious.”
“It’s ambiguous to call them Master Yang’s people. But yes, they do receive his support.”
“Are you uncomfortable that I’ve been introduced to them?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Well, since yesterday, I can’t shake the feeling that your gaze toward me hasn’t been particularly warm.”
Lee Cheong-ho didn’t respond. But I could guess what was going through his mind.
“Why? You think I might become Yang Sobo’s successor? Do you really think that’s possible? That a Korean like me could become the leader of the Chinese community?”
“I have no reason to comment on Master Yang’s decisions.”
He spoke firmly and walked ahead. His stiff back betrayed the conflict within.
Our next destination was Daeseong Real Estate, located in the heart of Myeong-dong’s bustling streets.
Unlike the flashy buildings nearby, the office was plain — almost shabby.
But as soon as we stepped inside, a man in his early forties sitting at a desk jumped up in surprise.
His hair was slicked back with pomade, his Western-style suit fit perfectly, and his shoes gleamed spotless.
“Oh my, Mr. Lee Cheong-ho!”
Teacher Park’s face lit up with an exaggerated smile as he hurried over to greet him.
“It’s been so long! I should’ve come out to welcome you myself.”
He didn’t even glance at me, his attention fully devoted to flattery toward Lee Cheong-ho.
Lee, accustomed to such behavior, responded curtly.
“I’m just here briefly on the Master’s errand.”
“Ah, I see! The Master’s been well, I hope?”
“That’s not something you need to concern yourself with.”
Lee cut him off.
“I’m not the one here for business today — he is.”
He gestured toward me, and only then did Park Jeong-su’s gaze turn my way.
His genial smile stayed in place, but behind the golden frames of his glasses, his eyes quickly assessed me from head to toe — appraising my worth.
“It’s my first time seeing you… You’ve brought quite a distinguished guest. I’m Park Jeong-su.”
“I’m Baek Min-woo.”
At first glance, he seemed pleasant enough, but I didn’t like his eyes. He didn’t even try to hide the way he measured people’s value.
My first impression of him was anything but good.