I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 24

The law of inertia states that an object tends to maintain its state unless acted upon by an external force. In other words, an object at rest stays at rest. Isn’t that Newton’s first law?

The crucial aspect of this law isn’t the ‘maintenance’ of the state, but the ‘external force’ required to change it.

Every place, while appearing calm, is essentially waiting for an external force to disrupt its equilibrium, poised to react the moment that force breaks the stillness.

And Jo Gwang-yun is that external force.

The people of Gaebong [a district or area], who had been stagnant, began to stir because of Jo Gwang-yun’s actions.

“If Director Yu Chu-saeng heard that, he’d be furious and draw his sword.”

“If that happens, it would be a golden opportunity for me.”

Jo Gwang-yun wasn’t sure if this was a test or genuine sincerity. But no matter how he analyzed it, the idea didn’t seem to originate from Yu Chu-saeng.

He knew Yu Chu-saeng didn’t consider him a loyal subordinate. He was merely a source of income, tolerated as long as he didn’t disappear with the money.

Furthermore, Jo Gwang-yun had repeatedly emphasized his intentions to Yu Chu-saeng: to make a substantial amount of money and remain in Gaebong to do so.

Considering everything, Lee Geon’s words and actions seemed to be his own initiative, not a script dictated by Yu Chu-saeng.

“Lee hyung [term of respect for an older brother or male friend].”

“Yes.”

“You said to just kill Yu Dae-in [a title of respect] and take over Gaebong, right? You claimed to be a black belt through and through, and that your martial arts skills were superior, making it easy for you, right?”

Lee Geon glared at Jo Gwang-yun, then suddenly frowned.

“Oh, I’m hungry. This won’t do. I’m suddenly feeling peckish, so let’s move quickly. We need to find a place to sleep before sunset. Let’s go!”

Lee Geon spurred his horse forward.

Jo Gwang-yun smiled and tightened his grip on the reins. They still had a long journey to Sichuan ahead of them.

* * *

“Not there. Just follow me.”

Lee Geon, about to dismount in front of a run-down inn, quickly got back on his horse.

“Where are you going? There’s no better place than this?”

Lee Geon asked, following behind.

“I’m not skilled in martial arts. If I suffer at the beginning of this long journey, I won’t even make it to Sichuan. I need comfortable sleep and good food, if possible.”

“I’m going to live in luxury thanks to you.”

Lee Geon’s face brightened. But the place where Jo Gwang-yun stopped filled him with shock.

“Ah, no…?”

Lee Geon, seeing the luxurious inn that seemed exclusive to high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants, was speechless.

As Jo Gwang-yun dismounted and dusted off his clothes, a man who appeared to be an inn employee approached hesitantly.

The two men’s appearance suggested they couldn’t even afford a glass of water there.

“Excuse me. Are you planning to stay here?”

Without answering, Jo Gwang-yun took out a silver coin from his pocket and tossed it to the employee.

“Feed the horses well and give them a wash. I’ll be leaving before sunrise tomorrow, so please be ready.”

After biting the silver to test its authenticity, the employee’s attitude changed immediately. He bowed and led the two inside, and Jo Gwang-yun walked confidently.

Normally, Jo Gwang-yun wouldn’t even glance at a place like this. A simple meal and a place to sleep were sufficient, making the shabby inn Lee Geon had chosen perfectly adequate.

But now, he wanted to give Lee Geon a different experience. What kind of reaction would this small change provoke?

Lee Geon looked uneasy at the abundance of food placed on the table.

“Isn’t this too much for two people to eat?”

“Don’t worry about the cost, just enjoy it. It’s not based on the number of people. And you’ll soon realize it’s not that much.”

At Jo Gwang-yun’s cryptic words, Lee Geon sat down and picked up his chopsticks.

“Jo hyung seems to have a lot of money. The Mukdo Association [a fictional organization] will take everything you earn…”

“I keep enough to spend as much as I earn. Don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t embezzle it like Yang Cheong; it’s Yu Chu-saeng Dae-in’s consideration.”

He wasn’t very surprised, meaning Lee Geon already knew that Yu Chu-saeng and Jo Gwang-yun were sharing the profits.

At that moment, cheerful laughter grew louder, and six or seven beautiful gisaengs [female entertainers] entered the room.

They wrapped their arms around the men’s waists, their thighs occasionally visible through the slits of their skirts, and rubbed their faces against the breasts revealed by their loosened jeogori [traditional Korean jacket].

Jo Gwang-yun hugged the gisaeng and watched Lee Geon’s every expression and gesture.

‘That bastard isn’t excited at all.’

Lee Geon’s hand was already inside the gisaeng’s skirt, but his eyes remained cold.

“How is it? Maybe this many people aren’t enough food. Haha.”

Lee Geon echoed Jo Gwang-yun’s laughter.

“No. There’s no time to eat when I’m busy tasting these girls, so there’s bound to be leftovers.”

“Is that so? Haha.”

The two men laughed outwardly, but their eyes remained cold.

* * *

Jo Gwang-yun, who had fallen asleep on the bed, opened his eyes. The only sound was the shallow breathing of the two gisaengs sleeping beside him, but he couldn’t shake off a strange feeling.

He quickly identified the source of his unease.

Jo Gwang-yun sighed and woke the sleeping gisaengs.

“Okay, I have something to do, so you can go back to your lodgings.”

The two gisaengs were unceremoniously dismissed, confused and still in their sleeping clothes.

“Why? Didn’t you like the women? The night isn’t over yet.”

Jo Gwang-yun spoke into the darkness.

“Well, after a couple of times, it’s not very exciting. It’s much better to talk to Jo hyung.”

Lee Geon emerged from the shadows.

“But you’re amazing. How did you sense my presence in your sleep?”

“Amazing my ass. How can I sleep when I feel like I’m being poked with needles? Even a dead corpse would jump up.”

Lee Geon looked surprised. Jo Gwang-yun showed no signs of martial arts training, so he shouldn’t be able to sense the subtle energy he was emitting.

A normal person would simply wake up without any specific feeling.

“Okay, tell me why you came here so suddenly. I’d rather sleep than talk to Lee hyung.”

At Jo Gwang-yun’s prompting, Lee Geon dismissed his thoughts about martial arts and spoke.

“You were waiting for me, weren’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m also a member of the Mukdo Association, yet you spent money like water in front of me, when you should have been more careful. Our smart Jo hyung wouldn’t have overlooked that, so I can only assume it was intentional.”

“Do I have a reason to do that intentionally? You’re just a supervisor, right?”

“You wanted to test me, right? Here’s a jingling silver pouch and a four thousand nyang [currency] bill. Anyone would be tempted by this.”

Lee Geon shook the pouch and the bill.

“You searched my bed too.”

“Isn’t that what you wanted me to do? Hehe.”

Jo Gwang-yun looked at the laughing Lee Geon, got out of bed, and put on his clothes.

“It’s not good to drink after waking up, so let’s have a cup of tea.”

Jo Gwang-yun poured the cold tea into a teacup and handed it to Lee Geon. After wetting his lips with the tea, he smiled and said.

“Seeing that you didn’t run away with the money to change your fate, you either have much bigger greed or strong loyalty.”

“Loyalty?”

“If you report that Yu Chu-saeng and I are wasting the Mukdo Association’s money, wouldn’t you be rewarded?”

“You underestimate the Mukdo Association. Considering the large amount of money our Jo hyung will earn in the future, they’ll turn a blind eye to about four thousand nyang. So it’s not loyalty.”

“Then it’s greed.”

“Let’s call it ambition. Doesn’t it sound a little better?”

Lee Geon emptied his teacup and said.

“Ambition… I’m curious about its size.”

“It’s the same as Jo hyung. First, I need to get Gaebong in my hands.”

He didn’t ask about the ambition hidden behind the second and third stages. It was too early to ask that question before taking over Gaebong.

“Yu Chu-saeng Dae-in is standing firm, so how…?”

“Yu Chu-saeng’s vessel is small. He’s happy with the small money Jo hyung throws at him, right? I can handle it myself.”

“Like Ok Gang-il who killed Wi Dal?”

“Like you who killed Yang Cheong.”

Jo Gwang-yun realized Lee Geon’s intentions.

He was planning to report that he had no choice but to kill Yu Chu-saeng because he was embezzling money meant for the Mukdo Association.