NTH 68

“A Joseon person, you say? The errand boys mostly seemed to be Japanese, can a Joseon person manage them well?”

“Hayashi is a bit different from the usual Joseon man. First of all, he has a strong build, he’s as tall as you are, Mr. Dasukawa. He’s a man of great strength, has a fierce temperament, and is fluent in Japanese, so he is very suitable for controlling the errand boys.”

“I see.”

President Matsuuchi suddenly lowered his voice as if sharing a secret.

“But there is another reason why I have come to trust that man.”

“May I ask what it is?”

“Mr. Dasukawa, although you are a Joseon person, you are as wise as any Japanese, so to speak frankly, Hayashi is a man who displays an outstanding ability in rooting out subversive elements.”

“Ah…”

“Just a little ways from the wealthy neighborhoods in the center of Gyeongseong, there are many destitute people living in dugout huts, are there not? Hayashi has mobilized the beggar children swarming in the caves to secretly spy on those with suspicious activities and has caught numerous independence army rats.”

“I see. Truly an excellent and proud… imperial subject.”

“Once, Hayashi brought one of the beggar children who had achieved the most results and asked me to employ him as an errand boy, so although I originally did not intend to hire a Joseon errand boy, I made a special exception and accepted him.”

“By any chance, that Joseon errand boy’s name is…”

“He doesn’t have a proper name, so everyone just calls him ‘Tsubame.’ It’s because he’s as quick and agile as a swallow. They say that he’s so good at hiding his presence, employing some sort of clever trick, that when he’s quiet, they don’t even know he’s there.”

Tsubame. A beggar who lived in a cave. A child brought by Hayashi Ryomu, who was hired as a management staff at a massive store like Matsuyama for his achievement of rooting out fellow Joseon independence fighters. One who is quick and agile and good at hiding his presence. One who says what he has to say even while being cursed at, and speaks only in Joseon language even while being beaten.

And, the child who achieved the most results in informing on independence fighters in cooperation with Hayashi.

“I am also a Joseon person, but I think there is nothing as foolish as the independence movement. The dazzling development of Joseon today has all been achieved under Japanese rule. Is that not so, President?”

As Seo Suhyun, calming his churning insides that were burning like a thousand fires, drove the wedge of his pro-Japanese mask even deeper, President Matsuuchi, a smile filling his face, said.

“Of course. It is because of wise young men like you, Mr. Dasukawa, that the future of our Great Empire of Japan is bright, is it not? Ahahaha!”

After that, Suhyun discussed some business matters and left the president’s room with a bitter feeling, heading downstairs.

Matsuyama, which used the first and second floors as its store, was decorated with expensive materials and was splendid and luxurious beyond words. Seeing this made him think that he must succeed with ‘Shinhwa Tailors’ as quickly as possible to secure the military funds that would become a stable foundation for the independence army.

Suhyun stood in the inner part of the store and looked at the entrance from a distance. Tsubame was leaning diagonally against the shoe locker, gazing blankly outside.

He could understand, without deep thought, why a child who refused to speak Japanese even while being beaten by Japanese errand boys would engage in a treacherous act like informing on independence activists.

It would be just to survive.

Suhyun’s life had begun before the forced annexation, but Tsubame, who was much younger, had been without a country since birth. Laying down one’s life for the illusion of a ‘homeland’ that he had never experienced and had done nothing for him was not a realistic thing to do. For that reason, the younger the independence activist, the more Suhyun respected them and considered their will to be noble.

However, he also understood that he could not simply condemn someone like Tsubame, the poorest and most powerless person in this land, for acting as Japan ordered just to cling to his fragile life for the moment.

Still, now that he knew Tsubame was habitually informing, he had to take some action. Suhyun recalled the existence of that ‘manager’ President Matsuuchi had mentioned.

Was his name Hayashi Ryomu? Suhyun was convinced that if that benevolent man, who had rescued Tsubame from the beggars’ cave and arranged a job for him, were gone, Tsubame would no longer do such things.

Tsubame was one who moved not for ideology or values, but for food and a comfortable place to sleep, so if his master changed from Hayashi to Suhyun, he would willingly do what Suhyun wanted. Moreover, since he was an errand boy at Matsuyama, which Suhyun intended to destroy in the future, he could also become a very useful source of information for Suhyun.

Suhyun, resolving to get rid of Hayashi Ryomu, whom he had not even seen the face of yet, approached the store entrance. At the sound of his presence, Tsubame turned around, took Suhyun’s shoes from the shoe locker, and placed them down neatly.

“It seems you have finished your business.”

“Thanks to you. By the way, does the shoe errand boy stand here all day?”

“Usually, but I sometimes sit down when shining shoes.”

“From what time to what time do you work?”

“I do not know how to tell time. I have to help with opening preparations, so I come before the sun rises and go home when the store closes at night.”

“Where do you eat?”

“Why are you curious about such things? Surely you don’t want to work as an errand boy here.”

“I am also preparing to open a large clothing store in Jongno, so I am curious about the working conditions of the employees.”

“Is that so. It will be difficult to beat Matsuyama no matter what you do. Anyway, in my case, I just eat behind the building.”

“You eat your meals outside?”

“It’s uncomfortable to eat with the other employees. Besides, it’s always rice balls, so I eat quickly.”

“You work all day, are rice balls enough for a meal?”

“You must not know anything because you’re rich, but in times like these, anyone who can eat even that, twice a day, every day, is incredibly lucky.”

As Suhyun’s gaze lingered on Tsubame’s slender wrist, which was nothing but bone, he heard someone speak in Japanese from behind.

“Tsubame. I believe I told you not to tire the customer with useless chatter.”

As soon as he heard that low, gloomy voice, Suhyun turned his head with a whip. A man in a Japanese-style employee uniform was standing behind him.

He was a man with a height rarely found in Asians, broad-shouldered, and his complexion was strangely dark, almost close to a deep gray. Suhyun retorted to him with a cold expression.

“How unpleasant. I was in the middle of asking questions because there were things I was curious about.”

At those words, the man gave a servile-looking smile and replied in our language.

“Oh my. I was not aware and have committed a discourtesy. I apologize.”

“I don’t even know who you are. Are you an employee here?”

At Suhyun’s words, the man narrowed his sanpaku eyes and bowed his head slightly.

“I am Hayashi Ryomu, the general manager of Matsuyama.”

“I have returned from tailing the person you mentioned.”

‘Abeom,’ the most trustworthy of Suhyun’s aides, entered Suhyun’s room and said quietly. He was a servant who had lived with Suhyun at his family’s main house since he was young, and had followed him when Suhyun moved out to his own house, saying he would serve him.

After Suhyun’s visit to Matsuyama, he had ordered Abeom to find out about Hayashi Ryomu, and Abeom had investigated him.

“Are you certain the person you looked into is Hayashi Ryomu?”

“Yes. He was quite a famous figure in that area, so he was easy to find.”

“In what way was he famous?”

“First, as you saw, young master, he has a very large build, so he stands out easily, and he openly acts as a pro-Japanese collaborator, so he is friendly with the Japanese police, and the local people seem to be very wary of him.”

“And?”

“In that neighborhood, Hayashi Ryomu’s house was the only one that was a proper brick house. All around were crumbling dugout huts and pit-houses, and there were many who, lacking even that, lived in caves or slept on the streets covered in straw mats.”

“I see.”

“The young man you mentioned was also living with him in that house.”

“You mean Tsubame?”

“Yes. The local people called him Jebi. There were quite a few who had been caught, beaten, or imprisoned because of Jebi’s informing, so he was thoroughly hated.”

The Japanese despised him for being a Joseon person, and the Joseon people loathed him for being a spy; where on earth could Jebi find a place to rest his heart? Abeom, who had been watching Suhyun’s bitter expression for a moment, said.

“By the way, it is in two days.”

Suhyun, his face having returned to its usual composure, replied.

“The rendezvous, you mean? I remember. Who is supposed to come from their side?”

“Comrade Kim, whose face is not yet known to the Japanese police, is said to be coming. But are you really going to deliver the funds yourself, young master?”

“That is my intention.”

“The random inspections have been intensified lately, so it is dangerous. How about sending someone else?”

“You know very well, Abeom, that it’s best for me, whose entire family is known as pro-Japanese collaborators, to go, as it will be the most deceptive.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry. I will deliver it as carefully as ever and return. In the meantime, Abeom, you should be devising a plan to get rid of Hayashi Ryomu.”

“I understand.”

Two days after that, after the sun had set, Suhyun left the house. He was wearing a high-quality suit, a British-made black coat, and a gentleman’s fedora.

With his height that was a head taller than most people, his sturdy build, and his outstanding looks that made people who passed by turn back to look again, along with the way he wore tailored clothes like a movie star, Suhyun stood out even when just standing still. It was understandable that Abeom would worry that he was unsuitable for the role of delivering secret funds to the independence army.

However, the amount of this fund was quite large, and if it were entrusted to someone else and discovered, it was clear that both the person and the money would be lost, and the independence army would suffer great damage.

But Suhyun was confident that even in the worst-case scenario of being taken to the police station for investigation, he could insist until the end that it wasn’t him and be released safely. That was how deep-rooted and odious the history of pro-Japanese collaboration carried out by his entire family was, and because he could easily move people at the level of a police substation chief with the influence of his grandfather and father.

Suhyun walked briskly and arrived at the meeting place, the bustling streets of Myeongdong. He bought a few steamed buns from a shop on the street, and then discreetly slipped the envelope containing the secret funds into the paper bag with the steamed buns.

He turned into a deserted alley near Myeongdong Cathedral, where he had arranged to meet Comrade Kim. At the end of the winding alley, Comrade Kim would be hiding.

As Suhyun crossed the alley, he sensed something strange and slowly reduced his pace, raising his hearing to its limit.

A very faint footstep was following him.

When Suhyun sped up, that person also quickened his pace, and when Suhyun stopped to check his watch, the footstep also stopped. The distance between them was about fifty paces.

When he reached his destination, Comrade Kim, who was hiding at the left corner of the building at the end of the alley, cautiously poked his head out about halfway with a tense expression.

Suhyun, pretending to adjust the scarf around his neck, raised his right hand and made a motion of slitting his throat. At that, Comrade Kim instantly hid behind the building wall again.

Reaching the end of the street, Suhyun turned to the right, the opposite direction of where Comrade Kim was hiding. As soon as he turned the corner, Suhyun exerted superhuman strength and started to run at full speed. And making a large circle to the right, he reached the entrance of the alley he had first entered.

Suhyun, who had placed a cold blade against the neck of the person who had been watching the direction he had disappeared in with bated breath, whispered in a voice without a single hitch in his breathing.

“Put your hands behind your back and extend them. Otherwise, this knife will be stuck in your neck.”

The man in hiding trembled minutely and put both hands behind his back. Suhyun reached his arm under the man’s armpit and tore off the ties of the jeogori he was wearing with a rip rip. As he tied the man’s wrists tightly with it, the skinny frame, which felt like it would break if he squeezed it, seemed strangely familiar.

Suhyun calmly gripped the back of his neck and commanded in a low voice.

“Face the wall and stand. If you scream or try to run, you’ll die immediately.”

The gaunt spy, not daring to look at Suhyun, stood frozen, facing the wall. At Suhyun’s gesture, Comrade Kim, who had been hiding until then, crept over to his side.

Suhyun glanced quickly at both ends of the alley. After confirming that there were no suspicious people who looked like the spy’s accomplices, he quietly handed the bag of steamed buns to Comrade Kim, and Comrade Kim mouthed his words without a sound.

「Thank you.」