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Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 114: Gangwon Province Flag Festival (2)

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Once he had put enough distance between himself and the spot where he had pitted the Silver Fox against the viper, Han San bowed his head to Ayame.

"I'm sorry, miss. That baron tends to make rather a fuss."

Ayame was lost in thought, her expression conflicted.

"Did I seem like that too...?"

"Pardon?"

"Um... I've sometimes, no, quite often said that whether someone is from the Mainland or Korea, we're all equal subjects of the Empire...

I'm wondering if it sounded like what the baron was saying earlier..."

"Ah."

Han San scratched the back of his head. Ayame seemed to have been thinking it over in her own way.

Comforting and reassuring her would have been easy, but Han San grinned.

"I suppose so. You sounded exactly the same."

"What?"

Ayame blinked.

They had shared some fairly personal conversations on the way here, and she had been teased more than once.

More than anything, they were at this flag festival, a social gathering.

The seventy-four-year-old man decided it was time to toughen up the twenty-five-year-old woman.

"Oh, you know, that chosen-people mindset?

Like, 'Well, I may be Japanese, but I think of you Koreans as equal countrymen,' and it slips out through your tone and expression.

Whenever I'm with you, miss, I feel so sad and miserable..."

"Ah, ah... I'm sorry, San. I-I never meant it like that..."

Ayame, who had been flustered, stopped short and furrowed her brow. Soon, she realized Han San was teasing her.

She stomped her foot in anger.

"Honestly! San, you're so mean!"

"Hahaha."

"You shouldn't! Tease your noona!"

The idealistic young reporter puffed out her cheeks and stomped her feet without a shred of dignity. Then, after declaring, "Hmph! I'm going to work!" she headed toward the newspaper staff. Han San watched her go with a broad smile.

And so.

Left alone, Han San finally had time to properly look around the Gangwon Province flag festival.

The Kojiki stated that greetings, [aizatsu][1], were vital in Japanese social circles. The moment aizatsu were exchanged decided whether you were a ninja worthy of respect or nothing more than a San-shita lackey.

Battles were unfolding throughout the banquet hall.

"My grandfather served as a senior third-rank Tongjeong Daebu[2]."

"Oh? Is that so? My maternal grandfather worked in the Office of the Inspector-General."

Though Joseon had fallen twenty-three years ago, its government offices still breathed slowly but forcefully through the mouths of their descendants.

"My wife went and expanded our rice mill again. In times like these, with the Korean Rice Control Act[3] and all. Good grief. Without even saying a word."

"Splendid. Ah, did I mention my son bought another car? Nothing fancy, just a Ford. Hahaha."

"My son has become in-laws with the county magistrate."

"Oh! Is that right? My daughter is marrying a Special Higher Police[4] inspector this Lunar New Year."

A battle of family records, a battle of wealth, a battle of connections.

The deer gathered there proudly displayed their social standing. Whenever a match was decided, one side withdrew triumphantly while the other slunk away in dejection.

There was also a universal finishing move in this arena.

"Dōmo. My introduction is a little late-desu."

A gentleman in a fedora spoke smugly.

"I am called Fujii Kantaro-desu. In short, I am from the Mainland-desu."

"Gasp..."

"Urgh..."

The Korean deer within a two-square radius were simultaneously overwhelmed and retreated in dejection.

Their grandfathers' offices, their family rice mills, even their Ford automobiles, all had to sit out a turn before those two words, [the Mainland].

Such was the brutal balance of this era's flag festival environment.

Yet the main rulebook of East Asia's flag festival in the previous age, the [I Ching], said that the number of the great expansion was fifty, while its application was forty-nine.

Even on the game board laid out by Heaven, one path forward was always left open.

"Hehehe..."

A parasol folded shut in December's shade.

Kim Seong-ja stepped forward. Chuncheon's owl, who grew more energetic as night approached, elegantly straightened her back.

"A pleasure to meet you-desu wa, Kantaro-san." She gave a perfectly angled bow. "I am called Kanezora Seiko-desu wa..."

"W-what!?"

The Art of the Common Name[5]!

The policy of adopting Japanese names would be proclaimed in late 1939 and implemented in early 1940. Yet impostors wearing Japanese names had already been swaggering through social gatherings during the colonial era!

Fujii Kantaro's thoughts became a mess.

'W-what is this!? Is she Japanese!?

That perfect desu wa intonation just now... She could even be nobility...

No, but she somehow feels Korean...

No, no, but this strange way of speaking and that hehehe laugh, aren't those techniques exclusive to us Mainland people? Is she Japanese after all?

No, no, no, but...!'

One might say he could have simply asked someone beside him, [Where is that person from...?]

(In fact, he could have.)

But asking that in the middle of an aizatsu exchange was no different from admitting he had been intimidated. It was a declaration of surrender...!

So then.

Why had Han San readily accepted an invitation to this ridiculous flag festival, even paying a congratulatory gift of ninety-nine won?

There were two main reasons.

First, to build up his [standing].

"Hello! I'm Han San of Han's Myriad Commerce!"

A bow here.

"Please take care of me! I'm Han San of Han's Myriad Commerce!"

A bow there.

There were different kinds of word of mouth.

Rumors circulating through the marketplace and rumors circulating among the powerful traveled along different paths. The former brought money, while the latter brought business.

Neither could be neglected, but opportunities to build up the latter were limited. When one came, he had to make the most of it.

Second.

"Hello, Your Excellency! I'm Han San of Han's Myriad Commerce."

It was [hunting].

There were two kinds of hunting as well.

'The first is information hunting.'

Han San recalled the conversation he had shared with his father's old comrades when he had met with the Inwang Gang last time.

[We succeeded in restoring our connection with the Provisional Government[6]. The money and wild ginseng you sent were delivered safely as well.

Pastor Song Byeong-jo said he was deeply grateful to you. Material support was one thing, but he said thank you very much for helping Mr. Namgung Eok.

So, here's the thing. You're young, and you run an honest business. Doesn't it have plenty of potential to grow, too?

Don't overextend yourself, of course. But if, when the opportunity arises, you could let us know about the activities of notable people across the peninsula, not just the military police, Pastor Song Byeong-jo said it would be a great help...]

He had handed over the Baekbaekgyo followers and earned a generous pile of Government-General merit points, so shouldn't he also build up some Provisional Government merit points to secure his future after liberation?

There were many ways to accumulate them besides money.

'To Father's friends, I sell intelligence on military police activity, and to the Provisional Government, I sell intelligence on pro-Japanese figures' activities. A true dark hero of this era...'

Whatever Han San thought of himself, this completion ceremony was the perfect hunting ground from that perspective.

Who had come, who was sticking close to whom, whose eyes lit up at talk of what business, a whole herd of deer lay scattered about with their guards completely down!

'The second is privilege hunting.'

As he had thought during the Silver Fox's long speech.

The merit points he had built up with the Government-General had one fatal weakness.

'They'll be delisted in twelve years...'

After August 15, 1945, every merit point accumulated with the Government-General would become worthless paper. If he had accumulated too many, they might even turn into evidence against him.

Therefore, he needed to cash them in as soon as possible and for the highest possible price.

And the biggest wholesaler of privileges in Gangwon was here today.

Right before his eyes.

'Lee Beom-ik.'

Former Chuncheon county magistrate.

Current governor of Gangwon Province.

A man who would later become a councillor of the Privy Council, cross over to Manchuria and take office as governor of Jiandao Province, then propose the founding of the Jiandao Special Force[7].

'He's also the bastard who gets abducted to the North during the Korean War.'

Han San had received the news in real time back then, while serving in the field and racing across the Gangwon front.

Kim Il-sung, the king of North Korea, had held a deep grudge against the Jiandao Special Force during his days in Manchuria, so he had singled out Lee Beom-ik, the man who proposed it, and taken him away.

What happened after that was probably something better found in gore fiction than political or war fiction.

'But that's all far in the future...'

It was now December 1933.

"Oh! Are you Han San!"

Lee Beom-ik was a governor obsessed with development.

He had built a new road in Dong-myeon, Jeongseon, where the Jeongseon county magistrate at the time had even erected an eternal gratitude monument. He had bulldozed through the Rural Revitalization Movement, meaning the slash-and-burn settler clearance project, established the guild supply grading system Han San had seen when he first came down to Inje town, and so on...

After comparing half the future knowledge from his previous life with half the current information he had personally investigated after gaining financial breathing room by expanding into Chuncheon and preparing for today's social gathering, Han San had reached a conclusion.

A considerable share of the gold-rush boom that swept Gangwon during this era belonged to this very man.

In other words?

'It's obvious how to hunt this man.'

Han San smiled brightly and bowed his head.

"Yes, Your Excellency. I came to pay my respects!"

Lee Beom-ik smiled. His eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses turned toward Han San.

"I'd already heard about you. I hear you earned great merit this time?

That Baron Kannoizuna over there, and the Chuncheon military police commander too, both praised you. They said you are an exemplary young man, a rare sight these days."

The deer around them, who had been in the middle of their flag contest, paused and glanced over.

'The governor... knows him?'

'That fresh-faced young brat?'

Han San felt those ripples against his back as he bent at the waist.

"You flatter me. I only ran a few errands for the people protecting the country."

"Haha, humble too. I heard you pressured Namgung Eok into establishing an orphanage and also carried out a beautification project around here.

Here, let me pour you a drink."

Lee Beom-ik filled Han San's cup.

Han San accepted it politely, turned his head to take a sip, then brought up the bridge as though he had only noticed it because he had turned his head.

"That Soyang Bridge is more impressive the longer I look at it. That gray concrete standing firm over the river. Maybe it's because I'm a merchant, but it looks like a money road printing banknotes to me."

"Oh! A money road. That's an excellent expression."

Lee Beom-ik's face brightened.

"That bridge is only the beginning. As you say, when roads are built, money moves, and when money moves, people come back to life.

That fellow Taek-rim begged and begged, so I built a road in Jeongseon before. And do you know what happened then..."

"Those are wise words, Governor."

Han San diligently chimed in.

"...In other words, the greatest of roads is the railway!

The people from Cheorwon are here as well. The Chuncheon people don't seem to like it much, because Cheorwon has a railway, and the Cheorwon people have been quite full of themselves lately.

But listen. That's not something to get red in the face over. I was once Chuncheon county magistrate, so naturally I have a bit more interest in Chuncheon, but I'm the governor of Gangwon Province now.

Speaking as someone who must look after all of Gangwon, isn't it a good thing for them to compete with each other..."

"That's right. Industry can only thrive when they compete."

How much time had passed?

Just as their conversation had grown lively with one agreement after another, Han San subtly drew his bowstring.

"Actually, Your Excellency."

"Mm! What is it?"

"I've been interested in gold mines lately..."

Lee Beom-ik pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up, then back down.

"Gold mines?"

"Yes. I've bought a valley over in Inje as well. I don't know whether there will be anything there, but when spring comes and the weather warms up, I'm planning to start digging in earnest..."

"Is that so?"

Lee Beom-ik leaned forward. If he had been a deer, he would have entered the perfect line of fire.

"Of course. What sort of times are these? Isn't even Roosevelt having a headache over gold? These are times when gold can do anything.

The Government-General is encouraging gold production as well. You have a good eye for a young man."

"Haha, thank you. But there's one problem."

"What problem?"

"Mining a gold mine isn't something one can do as one pleases, is it? And the place is called Meokbawi Valley. As its name suggests, the rocks there are rather tough..."

Han San smiled as he got to the point.

"Could our company perhaps obtain a gold mine excavation permit and approval to handle dynamite?"

[1] Aizatsu refers to conventional Japanese greetings and self-introductions, whose formality can signal social standing.

[2] Tongjeong Daebu was a senior third-rank civil-official title in late Joseon.

[3] The Korean Rice Control Act was a colonial regulation that governed rice distribution and trade, extending Japan's control over Korean grain.

[4] Special Higher Police, commonly called Tokko, was Imperial Japan's political police, which targeted anti-state and independence movements.

[5] The policy alluded to is soshi-kaimei, Imperial Japan's 1939-40 program requiring Koreans to establish Japanese-style family names.

[6] The Korean Provisional Government was the Shanghai-based government in exile formed after the March First Movement and active until liberation in 1945.

[7] The Jiandao Special Force was a Japanese-organized Korean auxiliary unit formed in Manchukuo in 1938 for counterinsurgency operations against Chinese and Korean resistance forces.

Footnotes:

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