The Regressed Gangwon Hunter Makes a Fortune in 1933 - Chapter 103

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Chapter 103: Chuncheon Beggar (2)

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White clothes, white hats. Faces smiling as though they had been painted that way, hands folded together.

Baekbaekgyo.[1]

Han San glared at the peninsula's most notorious cult, one that would shake the land with a horrifying incident four years from now before being wiped out.

'These bastards...'

Only for a moment. He soon relaxed his expression.

'No. This is a gift.'

If he wrapped them up nicely and handed them over to Sawada Kazuo, that failure who could never get ahead, he could trade them for commissions, permits, and other items normally obtainable only through public-authority points.

'And while I'm at it, it'll lower the chance of that young lady Ayame getting tangled up with strange people.'

Getting angry and shouting now would be the worst possible move.

So the seventy-four-year-old veteran wearing the face of a young sajang[2] put on a warm, likable smile.

"What brings you here?"

"Yes, sajang. I'm sorry for causing a disturbance so late at night."

The missionary in front bowed at the waist.

"These children come here often, don't they? They were originally children we took in and cared for."

The little beggars shook their heads fiercely. The smallest one even hid behind Han San's back.

"That's a lie!"

"Chief told you people to get lost!"

The missionary gave the chirping little beggars a smile that looked pasted on.

"There was only a misunderstanding. Your chief is living quite comfortably at our shelter now."

"That's a lie!"

"Ha ha, honestly... sajang, what are we supposed to do with these uneducated brats?"

The missionary smiled as though troubled. Another missionary stepped forward.

"We're truly sorry. Honestly... we'll educate them properly, so they don't interfere with your business."

Han San had a rough idea of the situation.

'They're taking the little beggars away. Ideally, the whole gang, including their chief. If not, they get rid of the chief and take only the children.'

What would these bastards do with the children they took?

The seventy-four-year-old quietly pushed down the newspaper articles from his past life that threatened to unfold in his mind.

Still smiling, he spoke.

"Wow. You people are doing good work!"

Then he scratched his cheek as if troubled.

"But as you can see, these kids are awfully wary of you...

Well, like you said, what can you do with uneducated children? Even if you try to take them, it'll only cause a bigger fuss. There are a lot of important people living nearby too. If we disturb their sleep, my shop's business will...

How about this instead?"

The Baekbaekgyo members paused.

"What do you mean?"

"I've already made chicken porridge, so we'll feed them and let them sleep here for the night. Why not come back another time? Tell me where you are, and I'll bring them over at daybreak."

Han San took two one-won bills from his pocket.

"It's not much, but I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing. Please put it toward your good work."

One of the two Baekbaekgyo members frowned.

"What, do you take us for beggars? What are we supposed to do with this pittance..."

Thump! The other man grabbed his shoulder to stop him. He accepted the bills with an even brighter smile than before.

"Oh my. It seems the Great Magistrate's[3] grace has reached you too, sajang."

"The Great Magistrate?"

"Judgment will soon come upon this world. Fire judgment in the west, water judgment in the east... The one who will show us the only path to survival is our Great Magistrate."

"Is that so? What an incredible person."

Han San kept letting out admiring exclamations.

When the young Baekbaekgyo member whose shoulder had been grabbed tried to say something, the older member stopped him with a look. Then he gestured lightly toward the shop and Han San.

A small realization crossed the younger man's face. He looked over the well-appointed shop, the crisp one-won bills, and Han San's fine leather trousers, from which those bills had been taken, before forming a strange smile.

The two Baekbaekgyo members exchanged looks. Then, wearing mask-like smiles, they spoke at the same time.

"Why wait until another time?"

"Pardon?"

"There happens to be a shelter nearby where our fellow believers gather. Why don't you come with us and have a conversation?"

"Right now?"

"Yes. Like you said, leave the children here for now. Looking at you, sajang, we can see that you have a deep connection with the Great Magistrate. We would very much like to speak with you quietly."

Han San could not help but be impressed.

'Look at these geniuses at taking the bait.'

He had thrown them the bait.

But they swallowed it whole on the spot?

'Has this country's hurry-hurry mentality existed since this era?'

Han San beamed.

"Shall we?"

"Wait... sajang!"

Chuk Hong-cheol, the head hired hand who had been watching things unfold, hurriedly stepped in.

"Well, ahem. You know, maybe it would be better if someone went with you..."

"Come on, it'll be fine. What could happen?"

"That..."

Chuk Hong-cheol closed his mouth.

The sajang had a very bright smile on his face.

'That smile really gives people chills...'

It meant he had everything planned. Thinking about it, Han San had never been someone who acted rashly in the first place.

Sure enough, Han San patted the head hired hand's shoulder and whispered.

"More importantly, please call Driver Wang. Have him bring the truck."

Chuk Hong-cheol paused at that name.

"Driver Wang?"

It had been back when they were doing test sales at Blue-Gold Pavilion and preparing to open the restaurant. Han San had returned from Sokcho, where he had gone to settle some promissory notes and handle business, driving a one-ton cargo truck.

[ I got it from the Inwang Gang. ]

After he had sat across from Blue-Gold Pavilion's mistress, Kim Seong-ja, whispering together while exchanging bundles of cash and documents, Han San began using the truck the next day, as long as it stayed within Chuncheon, Inje, and Sokcho.

The person Kim Seong-ja had attached to him then, calling him a convenient man, was Driver Wang.

"Why Driver Wang? Do you have somewhere to go in the middle of the night?"

"It'd be nice if we did. If not, we'll just take a night drive."

Han San patted Chuk Hong-cheol on the shoulder, winked at Im Baechil and the little beggars, then walked out of the shop. One Baekbaekgyo missionary walked ahead of him, the other behind.

All three were smiling brightly.

As they walked through the night streets, the missionaries cheerfully explained their doctrine.

"This world has already fallen ill and reached its final days."

"Oh my."

"Only those who serve the Great Magistrate can survive and become the masters of the new world."

"I see."

"But can you get a ticket onto that ark for free? If you want a place in the new world, you must show suitable sincerity."

"Sincerity."

"The greater your sincerity, the better your position in the new world. And that isn't all. Even in the shelter where you stay until the new world comes, only the sincere will receive good places."

"Ah."

Han San smiled and humored every word of their bullshit.

Eventually, they had traveled far from the shop, to where every trace of people had vanished from the streets.

"By the way, you guys." Han San scratched his cheek. "How exactly do you show this sincerity?"

The Baekbaekgyo members, who had been chatting excitedly, hesitated.

They exchanged looks.

It was a quiet place. A secluded alley untouched by moonlight or lamplight.

At its center sat a cargo truck with its bed painted black.

"Oh? What's that truck?"

When Han San asked with great interest, the Baekbaekgyo members gave strange smiles.

"It's a heavenly car that will take you to the shelter."

"Wow. You guys even have a truck... But why are you suddenly speaking casually?"

"Why do you think?"

As the Baekbaekgyo members said that with amusement, small figures began to emerge as though it had been a signal.

Little beggars.

"Baek Eung-seon,[4] Baek Eung-seon, Baek Eung-seon, Baek Eung-seon, Baek Eung-seon..."

"Baek Seon-eung, Baek Seon-eung, Baek Seon-eung, Baek Seon-eung, Baek Seon-eung..."

Muttering the three-syllable incantations without end, the children raised their hands. Something gripped in those tiny hands stood out in the darkness, its edges pale.

Broken stones, rusty pieces of iron, split galvanized sheet metal, thorny branches...

They were trash that did not even deserve to be called cheap, yet even the slightest scratch from them would fester and burst.

"Baek Eung-seon, Baek Eung-seon, Baek Eung-seon, Baek Eung-seon, Baek Eung-seon..."

"Baek Seon-eung, Baek Seon-eung, Baek Seon-eung, Baek Seon-eung, Baek Seon-eung..."

Like the weapons in their hands, the children's eyes came in every kind.

Hollow eyes, cloudy eyes like baduk stones covered in dust, glossy black eyes like cockroach shells, eyes that were simply empty...

And every face bearing those eyes was unfamiliar.

'They must be the beggar gangs that disappeared.'

Even though the situation was so clear, Han San tilted his head at the Baekbaekgyo members.

"I don't understand. Why are you suddenly speaking casually... I never said you could... And who are those children holding weapons... You're really putting me on edge..."

"Hey."

The young Baekbaekgyo member smirked and stepped forward.

A smile mocking the fool who had walked into the trap on his own covered his face.

"You've been kidnapped."

Han San smiled.

Like a bear that had found a mountain of honey, he smiled wide.

Driver Kim was, as his title suggested, a cargo-truck driver.

He served under Do-yusa[5] Mun of Baekbaekgyo's Chuncheon Third Branch.

The one-ton cargo truck he drove had been donated by a believer in Gyeongseong.

Driver Kim transported all sorts of cargo in that truck.

Some of that cargo made noise.

[Please save us! Let us out!]

[W-Where are you taking us? Where are we going? Please, just tell us...!]

He did not listen. He did not look. He did not speak.

He only drove.

Mountains, cities, mountains, cities. Driver Kim went where he was told and unloaded many loads.

He did not ask what happened to the cargo after it was unloaded.

He had seen a fellow driver who asked become the next load.

And so, today.

After parking in the alley where he had been told to wait, Driver Kim did not look outside, as always.

"...!!"

"..., ...!! ..., ..., ...!!"

A loud commotion broke out behind him. Thump! Something struck hard enough to shake the alley. Smack! Something was hit and sent flying. Shrill screams rang out again and again.

Driver Kim did not listen.

"Baek, baek, baek... please grant your divine response..."

He only continued chanting the Great Magistrate's prayer.

This too shall pass.

If he closed his ears and eyes and chanted the Great Magistrate's prayer, he would hear things being loaded into the cargo bed. Then the driver's door would open, the Thunderbolt Masters[6] would climb in and tell him where to go, and he would simply drive there.

Sure enough, the alley soon became completely quiet.

Thump, thump! Bang!

He heard cargo being loaded into the truck bed.

There was rather a lot of it.

Then it went quiet again for a while, but Driver Kim stayed still.

He did not listen, look, or speak.

"Baek, baek, baek... please grant your divine response..."

As he chanted the Great Magistrate's prayer as always, he did not know how much time had passed before the sound of two people approaching drew near.

The driver's door swung open.

Driver Kim immediately lowered his head.

"Thunderbolt Master, where shall I take you..."

Driver Kim trailed off.

A cheerful-looking young man he had never seen before stood there, and behind him was a relaxed middle-aged man he had never seen either.

The cheerful young man spoke.

"Wow. Chuncheon really is on another level. We catch two scumbags and a truck just falls right into our laps?"

"What a fateful connection."

The middle-aged man smiled lazily in agreement.

The cheerful young man smiled and turned to him.

"Driver Wang, please take us to the Inje military police detachment. Our truck would waste fuel, so we'll use this one."

The military police detachment?

Waste fuel?

As Driver Kim sat there blankly, the middle-aged man called Driver Wang stroked his chin with a smile.

"Will you have the truck laundered after we get back?"

"I'd like to, but I don't know if that'll be possible. That bastard Sawada has no sense. He'll probably confiscate it as evidence."

"Why not take our truck instead? We can bring this one straight to the mistress and have it laundered."

"Honestly, you people from that famous gangster family. You're always trying to lead me down a wicked path..."

The cheerful young man snickered and shook his head.

"No. I've thought about it, but let's just go. This is the first wrapped gift we're delivering, isn't it? It wouldn't look right to skim a whole fried dumpling off the top from the very start. We have to deliver it whole to get the full reward."

"There are plenty of people in this world who don't know how to repay a favor."

"That guy can be like that. Still, I'll just sweet-talk him and make up for it."

The cheerful young man patted Driver Wang on the shoulder.

"Then keep it steady. I'll be in the cargo bed."

"Yes, sajang."

Driver Wang gave a loose salute and climbed into the driver's seat. Driver Kim, who had been watching blankly, was shoved into the passenger seat by a boot.

The moment the young man climbed into the cargo bed with a clatter, Driver Wang started the engine.

The cargo truck began to roll.

Driver Kim watched Chuncheon's night pass outside the window.

As always.

Except this time, he sat in the passenger seat instead of the driver's seat.

That alone made the night scenery horribly unfamiliar.

"Um, excuse me..."

Driver Kim broke the rule he had guarded like his life until now.

After swallowing hard, he spoke.

"What... what exactly is happening...?"

"Hey."

Driver Wang glanced over at Driver Kim while continuing to drive.