Chapter 1107 - Brothers
"It's of no consequence. A man of Lord Kim's stature hardly troubles himself with such trifles," Choi Hyun-taek said dismissively. "Lady Kim is a refined noblewoman—she certainly wouldn't mind. Besides, Master Pak, your inner chambers need someone reliable. Otherwise, when your wife arrives, there'll be no one to attend her."
He dropped hints that Lord Kim himself had sanctioned the arrangement, and that Pak Deokhwan could accept with a clear conscience. After a moment's consideration, Pak Deokhwan reasoned that since she was merely an illegitimate daughter, her standing in the household couldn't be particularly high—there was no need for excessive worry. Moreover, the woman was truly alluring. He allowed himself to be persuaded.
After seeing Choi Hyun-taek off, Pak Deokhwan dispatched a servant to summon his brother home. Beyond discussing his upcoming marriage, he had ulterior motives: Pak Deokmeng served as an interpreter constantly at the Officials' side, privy to considerable inside information. Pak Deokhwan wanted to discover who had been speaking ill of him to the Officials, and to warn his brother that someone might be working against them both.
Recently, signs of "bureaucratic infighting" had begun manifesting among Jeju Island's collaborator faction. Suffering from a shortage of suitable cadres, Feng Zongze had employed collaborators extensively, and certain negative effects were now emerging. A flood of former personnel had been absorbed into the new administration, bringing with them some of the old regime's political habits.
Now that Pak Deokhwan had risen to "Archery Superintendent," he had naturally become a thorn in many sides. Intent on protecting his position and its accompanying privileges, he meant to discuss today's events thoroughly with his brother.
"I'm exhausted..." Pak Deokmeng dragged his weary body back from outside the city walls.
He had spent most of the day at the horse corrals, serving as interpreter for Chief Nick. Among the Officials, Nick was notorious for his boundless energy—Pak Deokmeng even suspected the man didn't require sleep. Just the other night, he'd interpreted during a livestock handler training session until midnight. The following morning, before dawn, Nick had summoned him again. Having slept barely two hours, he now felt drowsy to the point of desperation.
Working as Nick's interpreter was more exhausting than serving any other Official—more exhausting even than the corvée labor he'd once endured as a government slave. Back then, at least he hadn't needed to use his brain. Now, not only did he follow Nick everywhere, he constantly had to puzzle over how to translate words he'd never encountered before. It was utterly draining.
Because of the demanding work, he mostly stayed in the Provincial Administration dormitory rather than returning to his brother's newly-purchased residence. Today, he had just returned to the dormitory when a Public Security soldier arrived with word that his elder brother absolutely needed him home tonight.
Pak Deokmeng hurried at once. Stepping through the gate, the maid came forward to take his satchel.
"We have a guest?" Pak Deokmeng noticed a pair of women's shoes on the threshold and felt puzzled—his elder brother had been meaning to marry but hadn't yet done so, and wouldn't bring a courtesan home.
"They belong to our new servant girl," the maid said.
"New servant girl?" Pak Deokmeng found this strange. Just then, his elder brother's voice called from inside:
"Is that my brother? Come in!"
Pak Deokmeng walked in, startled to find his elder brother drinking with an unfamiliar young woman. He already looked slightly tipsy.
He was about to bow, but Pak Deokhwan waved him off. "Sit down. Let's have a proper talk, just us brothers."
"Yes." Pak Deokmeng sat down respectfully.
Though Pak Deokhwan had drunk a few cups, his mind remained clear. He immediately sent Jang Seong-seol out, then told his brother what Feng Zongze had said. He asked him to pay closer attention to happenings around the Officials—particularly to identify who might be speaking ill of him. He specifically mentioned Kim Yongjoo as a possible troublemaker, asking whether Pak Deokmeng could find an opportunity to undermine him as well.
Pak Deokmeng remained silent throughout, listening to his brother's half-narration, half-complaint. Only when Kim Yongjoo was mentioned did he finally speak:
"Kim Yongjoo is highly valued by the Officials," he said carefully. "They're even planning to send his daughter Kim O-sun somewhere for 'training'—she'll return as a female official..."
"Ridiculous!" Pak Deokhwan exclaimed, then instantly broke into a cold sweat. How could he call the Officials' decisions "ridiculous"? If someone overheard and reported it, the charge of slandering one's superiors was no small matter.
He quickly glanced around, then lowered his voice: "What would they want a woman as an official for? And she's so ugly!"
Pak Deokmeng nodded and whispered: "Elder brother is right. But he's very trusted now—what you're asking would be difficult to accomplish..."
He hesitated, wanting to voice more of his own concerns. Since becoming Archery Superintendent, his elder brother had been multiplying his social engagements, moving into ever-larger residences, his lifestyle rising with the tide. Now, inexplicably, there was a woman in the house who wasn't his sister-in-law.
When he recalled how the two brothers had once aspired merely to eat their fill each day, have a roof over their heads, and find a woman to marry, Pak Deokmeng couldn't help feeling that his elder brother had changed too much.
"Bastard!" Seeing his brother hesitating and refusing to answer, Pak Deokhwan put on the authoritative face of an "elder brother" and began a solemn reprimand: "You can't even manage this small thing! What kind of interpreter are you?"
Pak Deokmeng dared not speak back—he'd been raised single-handedly by this elder brother and stood in awe of him. Though he sensed something was wrong about all this, he didn't dare raise it openly.
After venting his temper, Pak Deokhwan softened somewhat: "You know how hard it's been for us brothers to get where we are. When the Officials arrived, we had our chance to rise. Now that they need people, working hard and currying favor is one thing—but we also need to protect ourselves! Otherwise, no matter how hard we work, we'll still end up with nothing!" He threw back another cup of wine.
Pak Deokmeng could only say: "Elder brother's instruction is wise." But inwardly he disagreed. In his view, his elder brother's conspicuously lavish lifestyle was already suspect—no one among the current collaborators was this blatant.
But he didn't dare say more. He listened as his elder brother went on about his marriage. The match with Lord Kim's illegitimate daughter, proposed through Huang Yunyu, was the first time Pak Deokhwan had mentioned it to his brother.
"Elder brother, isn't this rather improper?" After hearing him out, Pak Deokmeng ventured to speak despite his fear, feeling the matter was too important.
"What's improper about it?"
"This Lord Kim is still a second-rank official of the Court—even if it's only an empty title, he's still one of the Yi regime's people. Elder brother now serves the Great Song. Won't there be problems...?"
"What of it?" Pak Deokhwan was dismissive. "Lord Kim is also among those invited to the coming assembly—besides, his second-rank title is merely honorary. And he's a major horse breeder. Didn't you say the Officials are very keen on horses? If we cultivate good relations with him, won't Jeju Island become Great Song's horse ranch? Your elder brother would be rendering a service."
The reasoning seemed to make sense. Pak Deokmeng was still young with limited experience. Though he still felt something was wrong, he couldn't articulate it.
Seeing that his brother clearly didn't approve of the marriage, Pak Deokhwan's enthusiasm waned. He called Jang Seong-seol in to serve rice. After they ate together, each went to rest.
That same evening, in the rear courtyard of a large shop in Jeju City, another banquet was in progress. At the table, besides Choi Hyun-taek and Huang Yunyu, sat a third man: Cho Myeong-gwi.
The three sipped wine and spoke in hushed voices.
Huang Yunyu stroked his beard as if deep in thought. After a long pause, he said: "So he didn't refuse?"
"He made a show of it, but after I said a few words, he accepted—this fellow is greedy enough!"
"Greedy is good—he'll fish for money even in a pot of boiling oil." Huang Yunyu laughed. "And Jang Seong-seol—did he seem taken with her?"
Choi Hyun-taek hastened to reply: "Very taken, from what I could see!"
"Good, good." Huang Yunyu nodded repeatedly. "Tomorrow, find her and tell her to put in more effort. She must gain his trust quickly and keep him firmly in hand!"
"She knows this business well!"
Cho Myeong-gwi, who had been mostly silent, now spoke: "This man is greedy for money and women—easy to control. The only worry is whether he'll prove reliable when the critical moment comes."
"That's why we're putting Jang Seong-seol at his side," Huang Yunyu said. Then he looked at him searchingly: "What does Lord Kim say now?"
In truth, Choi Hyun-taek's trip to the peninsula had ostensibly been to sell goods. But he'd had another mission: to establish contact with Yi Court officials on Kim Man-il's behalf.
As the island's great landlord, Kim Man-il had exploited the brief chaos when the government collapsed to seize many official horses from the state ranches—a considerable windfall. But he had no intention of submitting to the newly-arrived "Dwarf-Crop-Heads."
This wasn't due to any loyalty to the Yi Court. Under Yi rule, he had lived very comfortably on this island. Though there were officials to appease, requiring some expenditure on networking, and though he had to contribute horses annually, beyond that the government didn't trouble him at all.
Now these "Dwarf-Crop-Heads" had arrived—though they kept calling themselves "Great Song," Lord Kim considered them merely slow-speaking Japanese raiders.
After arriving on the island, these "Dwarf-Crop-Heads" hadn't looted or burned. They just kept building things on a massive scale, constantly shipping in Ming Chinese commoners by the boatload. They'd started constructing roads, surveying land, building horse corrals, conducting population censuses, dispatching people across the island to inventory the ranches... All these activities suggested they harbored ulterior motives. When he recently learned through Pak Deokhwan that the "Dwarf-Crop-Heads" were preparing to summon representatives from all the island's villages for a conference—with all major households required to send delegates—Lord Kim grew deeply anxious about his properties.
He was universally acknowledged as the island's richest man, possessing many horses the Dwarf-Crop-Heads coveted. Were they preparing to move against him? Though Lord Kim felt no special loyalty to the Court, at least the Yi regime wouldn't demand his entire fortune. These mysterious "Dwarf-Crop-Heads" were another matter entirely.
(End of Chapter)