Chapter 6: If We Don’t Protect Them, Then Who Will? (1)
“No.”
Baek Socheon refused flatly and turned away.
Beon Saeng hurried after him and blocked his path.
“Please allow me to serve you as my big brother.”
This decision of Beon Saeng’s was entirely impulsive. Until he had come here, he had never intended anything like this.
There were several reasons for it.
First, he was emotional and drunk. Second, he had been inspired by watching Baek Socheon train. Third, Baek Socheon was old enough to be worthy of being his big brother. And above all, Baek Socheon had once been a martial artist belonging to the First Unit of the Iron Sword Corps, Beon Saeng’s lifelong dream.
They had not even known each other for a full day, yet Baek Socheon was more extraordinary than any martial artist Beon Saeng had ever met.
Did someone have to drink the entire sea to know it was salty? One sip was enough to tell that Baek Socheon was nothing like an ordinary man such as himself.
“From now on, I’ll do everything for you. Not just your work at the branch office, but your laundry, cleaning, errands, everything.”
“That sounds more like a servant than a younger brother.”
“It’s my loyalty.”
“Please go home. If I’d accepted people this way, I’d have well over a thousand younger brothers by now.”
“I don’t mind being the thousandth.”
At that moment, Baek Socheon’s thoughts were:
‘A thousand? That’s one hell of a boast.’
Of course, even that seemed charmingly human to Beon Saeng.
“Even if you don’t accept me, I’ll still regard you as my big brother. That’s my freedom, isn’t it?”
Baek Socheon looked at him in silence.
“Why do you want to be my younger brother?”
The more relaxed tone felt like an opportunity, and Beon Saeng honestly revealed his feelings.
“Ever since I was little, my dream was to join the First Unit of the Iron Sword Corps. Right now I’m living this pathetic life here, but I believe meeting you was the opportunity heaven gave me. I want to change my life, even if it’s only starting now.”
“…Changing your life isn’t easy.”
“I’ll work hard.”
“Even if you do, it probably won’t work.”
“Then I’ll work twice as hard. Three times as hard.”
“Hmm… You’re definitely going to regret this once you sober up.”
Sensing that Baek Socheon had softened somewhat, Beon Saeng pressed his advantage recklessly.
“I absolutely won’t. Then I’ll take that as permission. Thank you, Big Brother. Hahaha.”
Seeing that Baek Socheon was about to refuse again, Beon Saeng even made a promise he could never guarantee.
“Tomorrow I’ll personally deal with every last one of those Black Society bastards!”
The next morning, Beon Saeng sat in the branch office with his head in his hands. It wasn’t just because of the pounding hangover.
“Ah, I’ve completely lost my mind. I need to quit drinking first!”
He regretted everything. How could he have made a newcomer his big brother? After only knowing him for a single day. What? He had even declared that meeting his big brother would change his life?
“Ugh, you idiot!”
He had even boldly promised to clean Baek Socheon’s room and do all his laundry. What kind of stupidity had possessed him?
‘You idiot. Clean your own room first.’
Anyone who saw it would think a formation had been set up inside.
Beon Saeng repeatedly slammed his forehead against the desk.
‘Ah! I wish all of this had been a dream.’
It felt like passing a medicine peddler on the street, thinking, “That con artist. Let’s see what kind of trick he’s pulling,” only to come to his senses a moment later and realise he was walking home with both arms full of medicine. What on earth had bewitched him?
“Should I say it was all a joke? Or pretend I don’t remember anything?”
Just then, a voice came from behind him.
“What are you muttering to yourself about?”
Startled, he turned around to see Lim Chung.
“Did you firmly establish discipline?”
Beon Saeng raised a fist into the air.
“Of course! You haven’t seen how well I can fight yet, have you? I was once an aspiring member of the First Unit of the Iron Sword Corps.”
Just then, Baek Socheon walked in and greeted them.
Seeing him completely unharmed, Lim Chung whispered into Beon Saeng’s ear.
“He looks perfectly fine.”
Beon Saeng lowered his voice even further.
“I’m sure he’s suffering internally.”
“Well done.”
Chuckling, Lim Chung headed into his office. Naturally, he hadn’t believed a word Beon Saeng had said.
‘At least he didn’t get beaten up. Anyway, nothing happened, so that’s good.’
As soon as Lim Chung entered his office, Baek Socheon pointed at the documents on the desk.
“Aren’t you taking these?”
“Huh? What?”
“You said you’d do all my work too. Take these and get started.”
“Well…”
Beon Saeng hesitated, unsure how to answer.
Baek Socheon smirked.
“I told you you’d regret it once you sobered up.”
Those words flew into Beon Saeng’s pride like a memorised incantation.
He shot to his feet.
“I’m a man who keeps his promises! Don’t underestimate me.”
He strode over, grabbed Baek Socheon’s paperwork, and carried it back to his own desk. But before he had even sat down, he was already regretting it.
‘Ah, you idiot. This isn’t what you should’ve done. You couldn’t even hold out for a second? You should’ve just said it was a joke.’
Once he was face to face with Baek Socheon, things hadn’t gone the way he had planned. There was something about Baek Socheon himself, something strangely provocative that touched a person’s pride and emotions.
“What about your promise?”
“What promise?”
“You said you’d deal with every one of those Black Society bastards today.”
Beon Saeng jumped in surprise.
“I did?”
He pretended not to remember, but he definitely did. At that moment, he had truly felt as though he could beat every one of those Black Society bastards.
Doing Baek Socheon’s work for him was one thing.
Taking on the Black Society was something else entirely.
Baek Socheon walked over and picked up his documents again.
“Forget it. Things like that happen when you’re drunk.”
If Baek Socheon had cursed him for being pathetic, that would have been one thing. But instead, he politely suggested pretending it had never happened, and somehow that only stirred Beon Saeng’s emotions again.
His lips trembled.
He had always hated being unable to help those who were constantly bullied. Fine. So be it.
‘I’ll deal with every one of those Black Society bastards! I’ll keep that promise too!’
The heart of twenty-six-year-old Beon Saeng burned as the words rose to his throat.
But another Beon Saeng stopped him.
‘Hey, are you insane? You know how cruel the Taejeong Sect leader is. Fine, let’s say you somehow get lucky and catch him. What happens when he orders his men outside to kill you? And that’s not all. What about the Divine Transformation Gang backing him? They’ll throw trash like you out of the Martial Alliance overnight.’
Then another voice within him gave him courage.
‘The fact that those words came out while you were drunk means that’s what you’ve always wanted to do the most! You coward. Just this once, do the right thing! Isn’t that why you became a martial artist?’
‘And if you end up dying like a dog, do you think that guy will shed even a single tear for you?’
‘You’re not doing it for him. You’re doing it for the people who are suffering. That makes it meaningful. Even if you die, it’ll still have meaning.’
If he had been circulating his qi at that moment, he probably would have suffered qi deviation.
Just then, the door to the Branch Leader’s office opened, and Lim Chung came out.
“Squad Leader Beon, come with me. We have somewhere to go.”
As they left the branch office, Beon Saeng spoke in a dispirited voice.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“I know. I heard everything, even from outside.”
He deliberately spoke loudly enough for Lim Chung to hear, hoping he would stop him.
‘What a sly bastard. Even now you’re looking for a way to wriggle out of it. You’re completely hopeless. Absolute trash.’
Lim Chung comforted him.
“Why are you letting a rookie push you around?”
“I know. I shouldn’t have insisted on calling him my big brother.”
“You actually said you’d serve him as your big brother?”
“…Yes.”
“You’re always pretending to be smart.”
“…”
After walking a little farther, Beon Saeng cautiously asked,
“There’s really nothing we can do about the Taejeong Sect, is there? Even if we requested reinforcements from the branch?”
“And then what?”
The real problem was the Divine Transformation Gang behind them. If the Taejeong Sect had been acting alone, even Lim Chung would never have allowed them to run wild like this.
Beon Saeng knew that too.
‘Right… The Branch Leader must be frustrated as well.’
Feeling guilty, he changed the subject first.
“By the way, where are we going?”
“Took you long enough to ask. We’re heading to the Jo Family Manor.”
Lim Chung and Beon Saeng arrived at the Jo Family Manor.
They were investigating the Yang Qiu family massacre. During his lifetime, Yang Qiu’s closest friend had been the lord of the Jo Family Manor.
‘Manor Lord Jo must know something.’
Led by a servant, the two were walking toward the reception hall.
Then two men approached from the opposite direction.
To their surprise, they were Wang Gon and Black Hand.
“Branch Leader Lim, what brings you here?”
Seeing Wang Gon in such an unexpected place startled Lim Chung.
“There was a murder yesterday. We’re here to see Manor Lord Jo as part of the investigation.”
“I heard about it too. A truly tragic affair. I hope you catch the culprit.”
“We’ll do everything we can.”
“Oh, and we still have much to discuss. Let’s arrange a gathering one of these days.”
“Certainly. Until next time.”
Wang Gon and Black Hand walked past them.
Unlike Wang Gon, who smiled politely as he passed, Black Hand stared at them with a mocking sneer.
After the two had disappeared into the distance, Beon Saeng muttered,
“That damned bastard. Did you see the look in his eyes?”
“I did.”
Every signal that man called Black Hand gave off was filled with contempt and mockery.
“That bastard gets his kicks from crushing people beneath his strength. He’s nothing but filth.”
Lim Chung resumed walking.
‘The problem is that there are far too many people like him in this world.’
“I never imagined my friend would meet such a miserable end.”
Jo Jin, the lord of the Jo Family Manor, looked exhausted and haggard.
“You must be grieving deeply.”
“Yang Qiu and I had known each other for thirty years.”
“You must have been like family.”
“Indeed. Closer than family, even.”
After expressing his condolences over Yang Qiu’s death, Lim Chung finally began his questioning.
“When was the last time you saw Hero Yang?”
“A month ago.”
“Did anything seem different about him?”
“No. Nothing.”
“Did he say anything memorable?”
“We chatted about the usual things before parting.”
Lim Chung noticed it.
Jo Jin’s voice was trembling.
He was certainly not his usual self. Then again, anyone whose closest friend’s entire family had been massacred would hardly remain calm.
“Has Hero Yang been on bad terms with anyone recently?”
The answer came only after a long pause.
“I haven’t heard of anyone.”
Whether he intended to reveal it or simply failed to hide it, one thing was certain.
‘He’s hiding something.’
Considering how close he had been to Yang Qiu, one would expect him to say anything that might help catch the murderer.
So what was he hiding?
A man of Jo Jin’s standing should have had little to fear.
Then Wang Gon’s face suddenly came to mind.
It struck Lim Chung as odd that they had encountered him here today of all days.
“On our way here, we ran into Leader Wang.”
The sudden remark made Jo Jin flinch.
“I saw him for the first time in a while as well.”
“He’s done a great deal for our region.”
“Indeed.”
The moment Wang Gon was mentioned, Jo Jin’s eyes became even more unsettled, and he could no longer meet Lim Chung’s gaze.
‘Could it be? Is he involved somehow?’
There were only a handful of people in Zhejiang Province powerful enough to silence the lord of the Jo Family Manor.
The Divine Transformation Gang was certainly among them.
‘Has Yang Qiu recently fallen out with Wang Gon? Or… the Divine Transformation Gang?’
In that case, Wang Gon might have come ahead of time to threaten Jo Jin.
No.
He probably hadn’t even needed to threaten him.
The visit alone would have been intimidating enough.
Then why had Wang Gon come precisely when Lim Chung did?
A coincidence?
‘Or did he know I was coming?’
Since Lim Chung had notified the manor in advance and arranged the meeting, Wang Gon could easily have chosen this exact time on purpose.
If that were true, then it wasn’t merely a warning directed at Manor Lord Jo.
It was also a warning aimed squarely at him.
After a moment, Lim Chung shook his head.
An entire family had been massacred.
‘Still… they’re supposed to be part of the Righteous Faction. Surely they wouldn’t…’
The two men left the Jo Family Manor and returned to the branch office.
As they neared the branch, Lim Chung said,
“I’ll explain the Black Society situation to Baek Socheon.”
“No. I’ll handle it.”
“Can you?”
“I started this. I should clean it up.”
His pride would take a hit, but it was better than pushing it onto someone else to avoid the moment, only to regret it later.
After returning to the branch, Beon Saeng spoke to Baek Socheon.
“I have something to tell you. Let’s have a drink together later.”
“Sure.”
He couldn’t focus on work all day.
He regretted promising to wipe out the Taejeong Sect. He felt guilty toward the merchants. And he was angry that things had turned out this way when all he had wanted was to make a good impression on Baek Socheon, someone he admired enough to call his big brother.
‘I’ll just tell him honestly.’
That was the decision Beon Saeng made.
After work, Baek Socheon and Beon Saeng headed into the marketplace.
Just as they approached the inn where they planned to drink, a tremendous crash rang out from the ironmonger’s shop next door.
The moment Beon Saeng recognised the place and the men standing in front of it, he let out a groan.
‘Ah!’
What kind of cruel twist of fate was this?
The men surrounding the entrance to the ironmonger’s shop were from the Taejeong Sect of the Black Society.
The owner of the shop was none other than the elderly man who had recently filed the civilian complaint.
‘Why are you putting me through this trial?’
He resented the heavens.
He wanted to turn around and walk away.
If he had been alone, he would have.
Then Baek Socheon spoke gently.
“Shall we have that drink another time?”
If Baek Socheon had simply told him to go help, Beon Saeng probably would have hesitated. He would have come up with excuse after excuse.
But Baek Socheon’s consideration, and perhaps it was intentional provocation all along, stirred his emotions yet again.
Instead of answering, Beon Saeng shouted toward the Taejeong Sect members,
“You bastards! That’s enough!”
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