WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 82: Cult (2)

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Im Baechil hesitated.

"B-but..."

How could he say it was nothing to worry about?

If it had been about himself, Im Baechil might have shriveled up at those words. But he couldn't simply let it slide when the man was looking for his friend and speaking like that.

"Hm?"

Sawada clenched his fist so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand showed through his black leather glove.

That was when Chuk Hong-cheol stepped forward.

"Th-the sajang is out handling some business right now, Officer!"

Sawada turned his gaze on Chuk Hong-cheol.

Chuk Hong-cheol drew himself in like a turtle, but he did not retreat any farther.

'The new guy's scared enough as it is. I can't dump this all on him alone...'

Besides, as a little time passed, something else became clear.

The Chuk brothers looked at each other.

'This doesn't seem like...'

'Right. I don't think they came to arrest us?'

If they had, there would be no reason to look for Han San. More than that, there would be no reason to ask for him. They could have made everyone kneel, tied them up, and started from there.

But they weren't doing that.

Even now.

"When will he return?"

Sawada drew one deep breath before he asked.

Chuk Hong-cheol breathed a little easier.

"Th-that... I heard he might be late..."

Sawada's eyepatch twitched again.

His chest swelled as if he might explode at any moment. Then he took another deep breath and calmed himself.

Sawada Kazuo merely rolled the wild walnut in his hand once more, crunch, then muttered as though chewing the words.

"...I'll wait."

Sawada sat on the wooden platform in the yard and folded his arms.

The most awkward, nerve-racking silence in the world followed.

Chuk Hong-cheol forced out a few words.

"I could make some tea..."

Sawada shut his eye entirely, as if he couldn't be bothered dealing with him any longer.

Sawada's adjutant cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Tea won't be necessary. Carry on with what you were doing."

With military police spread all through the office, Chuk Hong-cheol could hardly say they would just carry on as usual.

"We were just about to eat... We cook here, so there might be a bit of a smell..."

But the adjutant was having a hard time too.

Would saying, [No soldier worthy of the field avoids a little smell], suit the heart of a superior who considered himself a warrior?

Then again, ordering, [The smell bothers me. Flip those bastards' table over], also sounded exactly like something this superior would do...

As always, the adjutant had no choice but to settle on something in between.

"Eat something that doesn't smell."

The Chuk brothers nearly cursed aloud, but there was nothing to be done. Power was power, and its mere presence made everyone but the powerful uncomfortable.

"We've got some cold rice left, right?"

"New guy! Kimchi... no, not that. Ganjang... no, not that either. Is there anything we can eat... Just bring us some water."

"Y-yes, sir...!"

So all the Han's Myriad Commerce employees began eating cold rice soaked in water.

Then Sawada snapped open his one eye.

"Did you just pour water over your rice?"

The adjutant pressed a hand to his forehead while the Han's Myriad Commerce employees froze.

Chuk Hong-cheol barely managed an answer.

"We just wanted something simple..."

"In the old capital, pouring water over rice means, 'Get the hell out, you unwanted guest.' Do you Joseon bastards not know that?"

The Han's Myriad Commerce employees felt wronged and turned their aggrieved faces toward Chuk Jae-seok. After all, Chuk Jae-seok had studied in Japan.

Chuk Jae-seok, who had studied in Tokyo, felt twice as wronged.

"I didn't know..."

"Does not knowing make it all right?"

"I'm sorry..."

"Does saying you're sorry make it all right?"

"Please forgive me..."

"Are you making demands of me now?"

Han San returned just as Chuk Jae-seok was on the verge of tears, silently pleading, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"What's all this? And why is the commander here?"

The Han's Myriad Commerce group, especially Chuk Jae-seok, was startled by how easily salvation could arrive. Perhaps cults flourished so readily because the bar to joining them was lower than one might think.

Han San's arrival also saved the military police detachment, who had been forced to stand rigidly at attention for no reason.

"Commander, we'll head back and get to work."

"Hm."

The adjutant hurried away with his military police, and Han San lightly gestured to the Han's Myriad Commerce group as well.

"Goodness. People have to eat. I made a little money today, you see. You know Boksseongok next to Cheonbo Pharmacy? It was still open when I passed by. Go there and eat and drink on the company account. I might come by later, so stay a little late. Don't wait too late for me, though."

"Thank you, sajang!"

With that, the Han's Myriad Commerce group also left that heated place, and Han San and Sawada came face-to-face, one on one.

'Is this the first time we've met alone in this life?'

Before, there had always been other people around, or Tono had been there with them.

'There were plenty of times in my past life.'

After his parents died, Han San had raised his younger brother with his own two hands and done all kinds of work.

When a person struggled desperately and got knocked around enough, they grew. He had started those things just to survive, but as he kept at them, he had gained some standing. Until liberation, Sawada had stayed rooted around this area, so their paths had crossed often.

'Of course, my past life and this one are completely different.'

Back then, he had clearly been the weaker party. Han San had not dared breathe too loudly in front of this viper bastard.

'But now...'

His position was still such that it would be troublesome if this viper caused trouble. Even more so because he was hiding wanted Hyeongpyeongsa members.

'Still, I'm not afraid.'

At least, he was prepared.

Having a fixed address meant the authorities could come calling whenever they wanted. Yet he had chosen to open an office in town because he was confident he could handle whatever came.

The lord of Middle Hamlet spoke to the lord of Inje.

"What brings you to this humble place, Commander?"

Sawada found that relaxed attitude unbearably irritating, but he held it in. He really, truly held it in. Crunch! The poor wild walnut screamed all alone.

Still, he did not answer the question, and another pointless silence was about to follow.

Han San naturally refused to allow that.

"Oh, right. I had this prepared as a gift for you, Commander, if I happened to see you."

Han San took a gift from inside his coat.

Sawada's eyebrow twitched. He recognized it as a pair of metal balls.

"This is..."

"Just something to play with in your hand. I hear they're called Baoding balls in the West, too."

He had quietly ordered them when he stocked up on pickaxes in town for the typhoon.

"The things you're using now, those wild walnuts, they're nice, of course. But they're natural things. Even though I picked dried ones for you, after enough time passes, they could rot or crack... It's been bothering me. Then I made a little money, and I thought of you, Commander, so..."

Han San scratched the back of his head and smiled innocently.

Sawada instinctively found that smile disgusting, but silently accepted the gift.

Clack, clack!

Being made of iron, they were naturally heavier than the walnuts. Engraved patterns like dragon scales rubbed against each other whenever they rolled, pleasantly stimulating his fingers.

'I carved those patterns myself with a hammer and chisel.'

As Han San thought that with a distant expression, Sawada slightly raised one corner of his mouth and put away the metal balls. He slipped the wild walnuts he had been using into his pocket.

Sawada spoke.

"I don't particularly have anything to give in return..."

Then he stopped.

Han San wore a warm smile that seemed to say, Oh, please. No need to repay me. I understand everything.

Sawada thought for a moment, then took something out.

Thud. He tossed it onto the wooden platform.

Tilting his head, Han San realized it was a pair of military binoculars...

Military binoculars?

"Uh... Commander?"

This was so completely unexpected that Han San was genuinely startled for once.

Sawada stared down at the military binoculars, half his expression grinding with irritation and the other half pleased to see Han San so surprised. With a face like a demon split in two, he waved a hand.

"They've been listed as lost."

He said it briefly, but how could Han San miss the meaning?

These were binoculars!

Something you held to your eyes to see distant things up close! And you could use both eyes at once, not just one! The very thing that was immensely useful for scouting!

Military equipment from this era could not compare to equipment from the future, of course, but being able to use it right now was an enormous advantage.

Besides, Japanese military supplies from this era were not necessarily worse than commercial goods. The system that was practically the grandfather of North Korea's military-first politics was Japanese militarism itself.

Most of all.

'This viper is giving me a gift...'

Han San blinked at something that had never happened in his past life.

'Could this guy actually be changing?'

Half doubtful and half moved, the mood naturally softened somewhat as they exchanged gifts.

Han San quietly put away the binoculars, bowed his head, and asked.

"So what brings you here...?"

A deep crease formed between Sawada's brows again. This time, however, he did not remain silent and began speaking.

"It was yesterday..."

From what Sawada told him next, Han San, who had lived through military dictatorships, could roughly reconstruct what had happened.

First, it was useful to know that in terms of the future Korean military structure, Sawada was roughly the equivalent of an independent company commander.

["Hey, Company Commander. The typhoon damage this time is pretty bad, isn't it? Headquarters is in an uproar too."]

The Chuncheon military police commander, roughly the equivalent of a battalion commander in the future Korean military structure, had apparently opened the conversation while standing with his hands clasped behind his back.

["But I heard from Miss Ayame, who came by last time, that this Joseon youth named Han San did a very respectable job."]

Hajama Ayame could be understood as roughly the equivalent of a local assembly member inspecting the area. It was odd that a journalist from a prominent local family could be understood that way, but Japanese politics had always been a little like that.

["Company Commander, you were there when Ginsei was caught last time, weren't you? Wasn't the Joseon youth who showed up then named Han San? The baron mentioned him a few times too, so he stuck in my memory."]

Once Tono was mentioned, roughly the equivalent of a Security Command major in the future Korean military structure, except he was like the nephew of a Hanahoe general, poor Company Commander Sawada had no choice but to answer through gritted teeth.

["I've met him before..."]

["Oh, really? What a coincidence, what a coincidence. Why don't you meet up with him? Have yourselves a little time for socializing!"]

Then someone roughly equivalent to a battalion operations officer in the future Korean military structure chimed in.

["Exactly right, Battalion Commander! Sawada, we got an order from above to actively find and publicize examples of unity between people from the Mainland and outsiders, you know? This typhoon was huge too, wasn't it? And this young man already knows you and contributed to the capture of Ginsei, so doesn't the picture just draw itself? A meeting between a Japanese military police officer and a Joseon slash-and-burn settler youth! Isn't that the model example of harmony between Japan and Korea? The Empire always triumphs, and its territory expands by the day, so if we think about the thousand years to come, don't we need these little heartwarming stories from all over the provinces? Am I right or not?"]

From Sawada's perspective, it was an incredible blessing that Tono had not been there. If that perverted baron had added a few words with an ahaha! laugh, Sawada might have vomited a mal of blood.

In truth, he nearly did vomit blood.

That battalion operations officer sort of fellow even added this.

["If you get the chance, take a picture together or something. Wouldn't it be nice to show two young fellows getting along so well? Am I right or not?"]

Having finished reconstructing Sawada's situation in the future Korean military version he knew best, Han San pressed a hand to his forehead and asked back.

"A picture?"

"Yes, as proof that we spent time socializing..."

"A picture... you say..."

Silence followed.

The two men's gazes tangled in midair.

'A picture... with this guy?'

And so, at this moment, the thoughts of Han San and Sawada, these two men, reached the true state of [harmony between Japan and Korea].

'Are you insane!!'

The soft mood brought on by exchanging gifts vanished in an instant, replaced by a stillness that seemed ready to burst into a storm.

Sawada glared at Han San's face, boiling inside.

'To take a photograph with a Joseon bastard, and a burakumin at that! As a proud soldier of the Empire, how could I leave behind such disgrace!'

Han San stared at Sawada's face, dumbfounded inside.

'You're telling me to take a picture with a Japanese military police officer? What am I supposed to do after Japan collapses twelve years from now? Make myself the perfect target for the Committee for the Investigation of Anti-National Activities?'

It was ridiculous!

In Han San's case, since he himself had regressed, could a butterfly effect perhaps change Japan's defeat twelve years later?

Impossible!

It went beyond Han San not seeing himself as an important enough figure to change macro-history. It even went beyond there being no reason to change the future of Korean independence.

It was simply impossible!

The Empire of Japan would lose the Second World War!

Lose!

They would lose!

They couldn't win!

'You bastards throw the first punch at America!'

Han San had received a field commission during the Korean War. How could he not know how strong that great nation across the Pacific was?

Even Teacher Han Bada, one pillar of that fierce military dictatorship, could not escape the Infinite Architectural Groveling Form when American intelligence so much as looked his way.

'What form? He didn't even want their eyes on him. He'd paint himself and stick tight against a wall.'

No matter how much Japan imagined itself as a thick-built, iron-willed samurai, and the so-called demon Anglo-Americans as small, insolent blonde girls!

When those two demon Anglo-American girls whispered into each of their ears in turn, [Lose ♥ Lose, you weakling ♥ You loser ♥], all the great Empire of Japan could do was sincerely thank them for the defeat!

'Honestly...'

Han San was sick of it. Knowing that future so clearly, why would he create evidence that could become a torabasami after liberation?

The two men facing each other wore expressions that showed they truly, sincerely did not want to be there.

But.

'No, still...'

Sawada thought through gritted teeth.

'Inje is my territory. To move into bigger waters, taking one photograph with the lowborn man in my territory... isn't that a sacrifice worth making?'

Han San ground his teeth too.

'I could make good use of it for those twelve years. Japan will run more and more out of control, and the military police will grow stronger with it. If I think about the borrowed authority I could wield with a picture taken alongside a military police officer until 1945...'

The foremost of the Three Hegemons Under Heaven crossed Sawada's mind.

'Think of Lord Nobunaga. If a man had use, he did not care about his origins. He promoted the Monkey and kept him close, mixed with the merchants of Sakai, and even took Western barbarians who came from the south as retainers. If the man of all under heaven did that much, then one photograph is nothing.'

Sawada nodded.

At this moment, it did not matter that Nobunaga's unification of the realm had fallen into the hands of that Monkey.

A scene from a great martial arts novel crossed Han San's mind.

'Think of the great hero Li Xunhuan. Even knowing death stood outside his door, didn't he accept the cup of wine before him? Was it truly because he considered life and death unimportant? It must have been because preparing for the future could wait until that future came. By the time liberation draws near, the power I can command will have grown just as much. When the time comes, I'll gather up every photograph and destroy them. Once every physical piece of evidence is gone, all I have to do is keep saying I don't remember.'

Han San nodded.

At this moment, it did not matter that Sawada had at least used an example from his own country's great men, whether that was really Li Xunhuan's intent, or how petty a conclusion Han San had pulled from a great martial arts novel.

Having finished working the abacus in their heads, the two men opened their mouths almost at once.

"Commander."

"Hey."

A brief silence followed.

"You go first."

"You speak first."

Once again, true harmony between Japan and Korea existed in that place.

Footnotes:

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