Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 679

Episode 679: Yoo Yu-sang-jong (9)

“Welcome! What kind of alcohol are you looking for?” Jeom So-yi

of Mi-ju approaches the table where the branch leader and his group are sitting and stutters in broken Chinese. I spoke to him.

In response to Jeomsoy’s question, the branch leader looked at Jeomsoy’s face and spoke.

“I came from hell.”

Jeomsoy’s face hardened at the branch leader’s words. This was because he also heard that the people who controlled the entertainment district here were swordsmen from the hometown. And not long ago, people from Geomgye came and took a quick look.

“Wait a moment.”

Jeomsoy responded with a stiff expression and tone and disappeared into the store.

The branch manager, who was observing the situation, asked his subordinates.

“How is it? “Is this an organization created by the military?”

“It smells too military for something like that.”

“you’re right. “If it were an investigation organization created by the military, it wouldn’t smell like the military.”

Hearing his subordinates’ words, the branch manager stroked his chin and asked back.

“Isn’t it because I have no experience? “Aren’t they all saennim, whether it’s the military or liberal arts departments?”

“Isn’t Mugwa a place where all kinds of people gathered since the Goryeo Dynasty? “If you’re lucky, people like us can go to Mugwa, so they wouldn’t do something sloppy like this.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

“People are coming.”

The branch manager and his subordinates stopped talking at the words of the subordinate who was watching.

“You came out of the world?”

With a voice full of ferocity, a man wearing a military uniform and jeogori walked to the seat where the branch leader and his group were sitting.

The man who brought a chair to the spot where the branch manager and his party were sitting and sat down opened his mouth with a fierce expression with his arms crossed.

“So, what are the officials who control and shake up this entertainment district of the city doing here?”

The branch manager smiled and answered the man’s question.

“I heard a new store opened so I went there once. “I was wondering if I could help you if you have any difficulties.”

“help? “You don’t want to eat it raw, do you?”

The branch manager answered the man’s provocative question with a kind smile.

“They don’t do things like that these days.”

Despite the branch manager’s words, the man did not stop making provocative remarks.

“What I learned from the war is that the more nice you are to someone’s face, the more you have to be careful of what’s going on behind their backs.”

The branch manager responded to the man’s words with a fierce smile.

“Didn’t you learn that if you run wild like a wild boar that’s been hit in advance, you’ll end up with your chin flying off, not the back of your head?”

The man’s face became even more ferocious at the serious warning of the branch manager. The man answered by tapping the war badge attached to his military uniform.

“He is the one who survived even after fighting with stinking bastards on the battlefield. “If you’re going to blow off my chin, you’ll have to be prepared to have at least two of your chins fly off, right?”

“I guess that’s possible. But the problem is that we only have one or two members, right?”

“….”

“It’s good to have a momentum fight, but let’s watch the surroundings before we fight. “If we had come to fight or to take over this store, we wouldn’t have come so calmly.”

“… Do you think we will be treated quietly?”

“So you’re saying you don’t intend to do that? “If I had meant to do that, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“Whoa~.”

Hearing the branch manager’s words, the man let out a long sigh and relaxed.

“I’ll believe it first.”

“That would be good.”

“Then what brings you here today?”

The branch manager responded to the man’s words with a polite and kind smile.

“Since this store is located in the entertainment district of Yoyangseong, I came here to explain the rules of the town and also taste the liquor since the store’s name is Miju.”

The man’s face softened a little at the branch manager’s words.

“Hmm… I don’t know anything else, but I’m confident about the taste of alcohol.”

* * *

As the conversation went on, the atmosphere on both sides relaxed little by little.

“… therefore. When a disaster such as a fire occurs, we help each other. If a dispute arises with a customer, do not use violence and resolve it through the cashier. If that doesn’t work, report it to the regulatory body or the grape office. Distribution of cherry blossoms or moonshine is prohibited, and prostitution in places other than those permitted is also prohibited. Human trafficking is also prohibited. Usury neither borrows nor lends. The membership fee of the branch manager (a type of merchant association) is kept as low as possible…”

The man, who had carefully reviewed and analyzed the rules explained by the branch manager’s subordinate, looked back. Behind the southwest, there were other people wearing military uniforms similar to the men. The men who received the silent question looked at each other and nodded.

The man came to a conclusion after seeing that.

“It’s good. “I will join the fortune teller.”

“Good decision!”

* * *

As we overcame the crisis, the atmosphere in the store became softer.

“ruler! Since it has come to this, let’s just say it out loud. “I say I am Ha-min.”

“My name is Park Gyu-seop.”

After finishing his speech, Ha-min moved on to his next interest.

“Let’s try the liquor that your store is proud of!”

Park Gyu-seop responded enthusiastically to Ha-min’s words.

“Wait a minute! “You won’t be disappointed!”

After a while, ceramic kettles and drinking glasses were placed on the table.

Ha-min’s eyes widened as he poured a glass full of alcohol in one go.

“This is amazing! “Everyone, try it!”

The subordinates who emptied their glasses at Ha-min’s words also couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Kya!”

“How can it taste like this!”

“This is the kind of liquor that only the highest quality Girué can produce in Seoul!”

While listening to the exclamations of his subordinates, Ha-min looked back at Park Gyu-seop.

“Where did you get this alcohol?”

“One of my comrades who opened a bar with me made this drink. “That’s my friend.”

In response to the man’s answer, the branch manager and his subordinates fixed their gaze on the man standing behind them. The man, who received a look of admiration, wiped the bridge of his nose and smiled as if he were embarrassed.

After downing two more glasses in succession, Ha-min tilted his head and continued speaking.

“No matter how you look at it, it looks like Soju from a discharged family, doesn’t it? “Are you from a noble family?”

In response to the branch manager’s question, Park Gyu-seop began to explain on his behalf.

“That friend’s mother used to be the concubine of a noble family, but became a queen through the magistrate. “They say that’s what my mother learned back then.”

“Soju-drinking is the secret of the family, so you wouldn’t know it without knowing, right?”

Park Gyu-seop responded to Ha-min’s point with a bitter smile.

“Were slaves treated like human beings?”

Ha-min nodded at Park Gyu-seop’s words. A slave was a being who could not escape the clutches of his master until his death. Therefore, even if the slave knew how to make soju, he would have skipped it.

Park Gyu-seop’s explanation continued a little further.

“It is said that although he became a monk through the sutras that you prepared, he did not drink soju because he was afraid of the owner’s house. Then, when the owner’s house was involved in the Giyu Rebellion and was destroyed, he started making soju again. “It was just a smart move.”

“At this rate, rumors would have spread for a long time, right?”

Park Gyu-seop grinned and responded to Ha-min’s point.

“That guy is me. “I learned how to make soju from my mother, and I also improved on it.”

“improvement?”

“That friend’s house is in Mokpo. “It is said that he tasted the liquor that the people drink there, learned the method of making it and how to store it, and improved it.”

“Huh~. That’s amazing. “Awesome.”

* * *

The mood got even better thanks to the best catalyst: alcohol.

While the drinks were being exchanged, Ha-min began to ask questions that he was really curious about.

“Looking at your participation certificate, it looks like you went through both the Battle of Uiju and the Battle of Liaodong, is that correct?”

“That’s right. “I and my comrades all experienced the mayhem.”

“Huh~. Then, if you had stayed at the military gate, you would have been able to move up even further, right? Even if he was a soldier, he would have been able to at least rise to the rank of Jinmu or Gungun, right?”

In response to Ha-min’s question, Park Gyu-seop made a bitter expression and emptied his glass repeatedly. After emptying his glass like that, Park Gyu-seop let out a sigh full of alcohol.

“Whoa~. “I saw something dirty.”

“Dirty look?”

“I saw him stealing supplies and military waste (today’s military badges) while claiming to have saved dead comrades, and even exchanging his own merits for those who died while leading bravely.”

“Is there such a bad guy in the world?”

At Park Gyu-seop’s words, Ha-min seemed to be even more enraged, raising her voice and filling Park Gyu-seop’s glass with alcohol.

“ruler! ruler! “Let’s have another drink and listen to that bastard’s story!”

* * *

After breaking up the drinking party, Ha-min patted Park Gyu-seop on the shoulder with a somber expression on his face.

“Have a nice drink! “I hope you are doing well!”

“That’s right!”

“See you later then! Ugh! “I’m drunk!”

Ha-min, who was walking on a limb with a breath full of alcohol, was supported by his subordinates as they left Miju.

Ha-min, who had been walking unsteadily, straightened his posture as soon as he left the alley where Mi-ju was located.

“What do you think?”

“It’s a pretty believable story.”

“Half and half?”

The subordinates who were thinking hard about Ha-min’s question answered.

“About 7 to 3?”

“We’re looking at 8 to 2.”

“Hmm…”

Hamin, who was thinking while stroking his chin, soon came to a conclusion.

“I need to write a report. “My wife is going to be busy.”

* * *

A few days later, Hyang checked the report posted through Naegeumcam and checked the contents of the report again with a serious face.

“It’s a ‘military investigative agency’… so the possibility is not out of the question.”

“There has been no report from the Minister of National Defense or the Chief of Staff.”

Hyang responded to Naegeumwijang’s answer with a serious face.

“It would be nice to lean on it, but a secret agency could have been created that not even the Minister of Defense or the Chief of Staff knows about. Hmm…”

Hyang, who was snoring and tapping his fingers on the desk, soon came to a conclusion.

“Director Naegeum, please investigate their military records reported by the Militia. “Make sure you actually served on that front and that you were truly discharged.”

“yes.”

“And try to rob their superiors as well. “If what they say is true, they not only stole money and valuables by manipulating the records of dead soldiers, but also stole military service. If what they say is true, this is a crime equivalent to treason!”

“I will rob you of every detail you have hidden. However… the question is how His Majesty knew this.”

Hyang smiled bitterly at Naegeumwijang’s point.

“You will have to suffer for a few days.”

* * *

The next day, Hyang gave orders to Han Myeong-hoe.

“Go to the records office and bring back all records related to war expenses used in the last war!”

“yes? “How can you say that?”

“There was something that kept bothering me every time I thought about the last war, and I’m going to check it out!”

“… yes.”

“ah! Also, please bring along the logs and daily casualty records recorded during the last war!”

“… yes.”

Han Myeong-hoe muttered softly as he came out after receiving the order.

“If I do something wrong, there will be bloodshed in the military. By the way, both the situation and Your Majesty’s memory is truly monstrous…”

As Han Myeong-hoe said, both King Sejong and Hyang had good memories. Even if the records were posted several months apart, if the records were different, it was a day of confusion.

The reason why the scandal between Hwang Hee and Seo Dal was discovered in history before Hyang intervened was because King Sejong remembered it.

And this memory was a great excuse for incense.

Following the Hyang’s order, Han Myeong-hoe and Seungjeongwon officials visited the Records Office, found a cartload of reports, and presented them to the Hyang.

“Bring a map too!”

“yes!”

Hyang, who used a large room in Gangnyeongjeon as his studio, immediately called both Wan and Seul.

“From now on, we will display the movement of the front lines by date on the map! Make a separate table of battle records and casualty records for each date! Also, record the status of supplies and military badges issued every day during the war!”

Following Hyang’s orders, Wan and Du Seul proceeded with the work by searching through the records. Hyang also opened the records and muttered to himself.

‘Let’s die once!’

And soon after, Hyang screamed inside.

‘ah! ‘Computers are coming!’

And soon after, all personnel of the imperial family, including Pyeongwon-gun, were summoned and began analysis work.