Chapter 74
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 74
Chapter 74. Moonlight Old Man (1)
When the banquet was in full swing, I welcomed guests from the Jegal Family.
Surprisingly, the Clan Head and his granddaughter, Jaegal Yoo-ah, came in person.
“Thank you for coming.”
“Congratulations.”
“I didn't expect you to come in person.”
“Of course I had to come in person. You saved my life and my family.”
“That's right.”
When I saw Jaegal Yu-ah again, she was completely different from the immature girl I had met before.
She was clearly a well-educated girl from a prestigious family.
“Well then, please enjoy yourselves.”
As the Grand Clan Head and Jaegal Yoo-ah entered, all eyes were on them in an instant.
That was to be expected, as the power and fame of the Jaegal Clan were second only to the emperor in Hubei Province.
But why was Jaegal Yoo-ah glancing at me from earlier?
Not only her, but the other young ladies also glanced at me and blushed.
At that moment, my friend Jung Ho approached me.
“You must have had a hard time.”
“Yeah, you're right.”
I looked around and said to Jung Ho.
“By the way, did you give the gift you bought in Beijing to Miss Jin?”
My friend had feelings for Miss Jin So-mi, the eldest daughter of the Jin martial arts academy.
Jeong-ho found out about it and bought a gift for Miss Jin when he went to Beijing.
It was a red hairpin made of ivory.
It was small but beautifully crafted. It was definitely a choice befitting Jeong-ho, who had a keen eye for detail.
Jeong-ho blushed when I asked him about it.
“Not yet…”
“Miss Jin came today, and you still haven't given it to her?”
“Well...”
Ha! Look at him!
“What if someone else takes her? Are you going to drink and blame yourself for not giving her the gift first?”
“No, I wouldn't...”
You say “no way” all the time.
“Since you're getting married, wouldn't you be happier if you married someone you like?”
“...That's true.”
“Then hurry up and give her the gift and tell her how you feel.”
“Should I? Hahaha.”
Jeong-ho scratched his head and headed toward the pavilion.
Judging from the way he put his hand in his pocket, he must have brought a gift for Jin Young Mistress.
Then, I saw someone familiar in the distance.
It was Master.
I quickly ran over to him.
“Are you here?”
Master told me not to reveal that we were junior and senior brothers.
So I just bowed my head slightly.
“I said I would come early, but something came up and I was a little late.”
“No, it's fine. Thank you for coming.”
I pointed to the banquet hall below and said,
“My wife and children are in the fifth row, third from the left.”
“Thank you for letting me know.”
“Have a good time.”
My master headed toward his family.
Then, a faint smell reached my nose.
Huh? Is that the smell of blood?
I looked at my master, but he didn't notice me.
I couldn't just go up to him and say, “Master, you smell like blood.”
But what on earth was the smell of blood?
He didn't seem to have done anything out of the ordinary.
I wondered about it for a moment, but I had to greet other guests, so I let it go.
As I was greeting people, the head of the Jaegal Clan came to find me.
“Are you having a good time?”
“Thanks to you, I am. By the way, where is Yoo A-woo?”
Yoo A-woo was the chief administrator who had become sworn brothers with the head of the Jaegal Clan last time.
“The Chief Administrator is currently in the banquet hall downstairs.”
“Why not here?”
“He said he was more comfortable there. Also, the Chief Administrator is currently looking after a child.”
“I see. Then I'll go there myself.”
What?
You're going there yourself?
Then the people there will be very uncomfortable.
In that case, I thought it would be better to prepare a separate table in my annex.
So I quickly followed him.
We soon arrived at the place where Chief Administrator Yu was. Before I knew it, my Master was sitting there eating with him.
“Ah! You were here?”
“Ah! Clan Head!”
Chief Administrator Yoo quickly stood up and bowed when he saw the Clan Head. Seeing this, the Clan Head shook his head with a dissatisfied look.
“Hey! Have you forgotten that we agreed to be like brothers?”
“No! How could I forget?”
“Then call me that. Call me Hyung-nim.”
“Yes, Hyung-nim.”
“Good! Hahaha!”
Chief Administrator Yoo said to Seok-il-song.
“This is my older brother. Greet him.”
“I am Seok-il-song, studying under Chief Administrator Yoo.”
“Yes, yes, you seem very intelligent.”
The Grand Master looked at Master, who was standing in front of Chief Administrator Yoo, and tilted his head.
“And you are?”
“I am Kwak Myeong-hyun, Head Escort of the Changin Escort Agency. It is an honor to meet the head of the Jaegal Clan.”
Master bowed his hands together and greeted them politely.
Kwak Hyung-jin and Kwak Joon-ha followed suit and greeted them with clasped hands.
“Head Escort, you say?”
“Yes, sir.”
Something felt off about the atmosphere. I quickly went to the side and quietly added.
“He is my sword master.”
“I see. Now I understand why the young master has achieved so much at such a young age.”
My master shook his head and said.
“It is because of the young master's outstanding qualities. I did nothing.”
“Stop being so modest. You cannot fool me.”
“...
I interrupted with a gentle smile, sensing the serious atmosphere.
”Please don't stand there. Let me take you to my guest quarters. I just got a new guest quarters, and I'd like to show it to you.“
My words made the Clan Head look embarrassed.
”I guess we've made you feel uncomfortable."
I just smiled.
It was a sign of agreement.
“I will take you there.”
I asked Pal-gap to take Chief Administrator Yu and the Taesangga to my guest quarters.
My Master seemed uncomfortable staying with them, so I wanted to take him separately.
But Chief Administrator Yu said,
“Let's take Head Escort Kwak with us. I have something to tell him.”
The Grand Master nodded in agreement.
“Let's do that.”
And so, my master's family went to my private quarters.
What could Chief Administrator Yu want to talk to my master about?
As I followed Pal-gap to my private quarters, I saw Kwak Hyung-jin and Seok Il-song walking side by side.
Since they were the same age, they seemed to have become friends.
Just then.
“Captain Seo Ho! It's an emergency!”
The person who rushed over was Jung Ho's servant.
“What's going on?”
“Something happened at the pavilion.”
“What?”
After cleaning up this mess, now something happened at the pavilion.
I hurried toward the pavilion and saw Jung-ho angry and ranting, and across from him stood a young man soaked in water.
When I saw that young man, I sighed inwardly.
“Oh, that good-for-nothing…”
I remembered him clearly from my previous life.
His name was Wi Seung-jo.
He was the son of the principal of the Wei Martial Arts Academy. But he was the worst kind of good-for-nothing.
He spent all his days drinking and causing trouble in the shops.
These were shops in a neighborhood frequented by commoners, not wealthy people who could easily afford to pay for his mistakes.
From this, I could see that he was a coward who was weak to the strong and strong to the weak.
The principal of the Wei martial arts academy was a tiger.
While he was a tiger, his son was a dog.
They say that a dog doesn't know its master, but the principal of the Wei martial arts academy and his son are proof that this is not always true.
The principal had many talented students and was well respected, so even when his son, Wei Sheng-je, got into trouble, it wasn't a big deal.
However, the head of the Wei Martial Arts Academy fell ill.
He tried to drown his sorrows in alcohol while watching his troublesome son, and eventually developed an illness.
When the head of the academy died, his only son, Wei Sheng-Zhe, took his place, and that was when trouble began.
He proposed marriage to Jin So-Mi, whom he had been fond of.
Of course, Jin So-mi had no interest in Wei Sheng-zhe. Therefore, Jin So-mi's parents rejected the marriage proposal.
Rejected, Wei Sheng-zhe held a grudge and began to take action.
He put financial pressure on the Jin martial arts academy and unleashed third-rate martial artists from unorthodox sects who were his friends to harass the Jin family.
Eventually, the Jin martial arts academy was forced to close.
They did so because they did not want the surrounding shops to suffer from Wei Sheng-zhe's pressure on the martial arts academy.
Then, unable to repay the money they borrowed from the Eunhae Trading Company, they fled in the middle of the night.
It was five years later that they reappeared.
They became wanderers to make money.
As they were a father and daughter with both skill and virtue, they became leaders of a group.
Now that they were able to withstand the pressure from Wi Seung-jo, they returned.
The Jin family repaid the money they had borrowed from the Eunhae Trading Company.
Even though they became leaders, how could women become wanderers?
They must have suffered greatly.
At that time, Miss Jin So-mi was not married, and Jeong Ho was also unmarried.
Jeong Ho felt very sorry for the hardships Miss Jin had endured.
Anyway, before marrying Miss Jin So-mi, Jeong Ho would drink and talk about her, along with the death of his comrade-in-arms, Jeon Mu-jin.
He blamed himself for not being able to help her other than lending her money, lest she feel burdened.
He said he should have just stood up and declared, “She's my woman, don't touch her!”
In fact, the amount of money he lent to the Jin martial arts academy was not small.
That alone was a huge sacrifice for Jung Ho.
He lent much more than what Jin's martial arts academy offered as collateral, using his authority as the captain of the Trading Company.
It must have been really hard to listen to him rant and rave.
“What's going on?”
“Ah! Captain Seo-ho!”
One of the men who was trying to stop Jung-ho answered my question.
It was Han Baek-geon, a member of the Hongnang Trading Company.
“Well... I'm not sure. All we saw was Young Master Jung-ho push Master Hanbaek into the pond. And now we're trying to stop them from fighting.”
I sighed and interrupted.
“Hyung-nim, what is going on?”
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself. That guy was harassing Miss Jin So-mi!“
”What?“
I looked at Yoo Seung-jo.
When he saw me, he continued to speak in a rude tone.
”Harassment? That's too much. I just asked Miss Jin about the dance moves for Chunbu-jang."
I knew that Yoo Seung-jo was lying.
Miss Jin wouldn't have that look on her face if she had heard that I was well.
“How can you lie like that!”
“Then what did I say?”
“That...”
Jeong-ho couldn't answer. I thought I knew why he couldn't answer.
He couldn't say it with his own mouth.
If he said it, it would hurt Miss Jin again.
The same would be true for Miss Jin.
“In that case, there's no way to know who's telling the truth.”
In response to my words, Wei Sheng-zhe said,
“Then the solution is simple. Let's have a fight. That's the easiest way for us.”
It was just as I thought.
Even though Wei Sheng was a good-for-nothing, he was quite skilled with a sword.
That must be why he was so confident.
My brother Jeong-ho responded to his proposal.
“All right. Let's do it!”
I could sense a sense of determination in my brother's words.
Oh, brother...
No
You're going to get beaten up by that guy.
Even if you learned martial arts from the Chief Administrator, learning self-defense and systematically studying martial arts are two different things.
I'm the exception.
And I knew the skill levels of Jung-ho and Wei Sheng-zhe, so I could predict the outcome.
In any case, the stage was set in an instant.
Wei Sheng stood in the middle, looking at Jung-ho with a smug expression.
It would be a problem if I stopped the duel, and it would be a problem if I didn't.
Then I saw Miss Jin So-mi looking at the scene with an anxious expression.
Ah!
I had a good idea.
I approached her and said in a low voice.
“Are you worried about my brother?”
“It's my fault for causing trouble. I'm very sorry.”
“Don't say that. It was Master Wei who did wrong. You and my brother did nothing wrong.”
“I appreciate your kind words.”
“Actually, my brother has feelings for you, Miss Jin So-mi.”
“What?”
“That's why I went to Beijing and bought a hairpin to give to you. I was too shy to give it to you yet.”
“Oh...”
Miss Jin's face turned red.
“As you can imagine, if the duel begins as planned, my brother will be beaten badly.”
“I'm sure you are.”
“But you see, it was you who was insulted. Isn't that right?”
“...”
“Then I think you should wash away that insult yourself. Not by asking someone else to do it, but by doing it yourself. Don't you agree, Miss Jin?”