“Did you move?”
“...... Move?”
Mu-won’s eyes drifted down to the empty bottle rolling near where Mok-seong had been lying. Mok-seong, with his puppy-like, meek face, let his brows droop pitifully.
“Ah! Move—as in the medicine shop’s relocation. I was supposed to go yesterday, but Hyung-nim To-seong said he would go in my place, so...”
“Ha.” Mu-won let out a short laugh.
“Since when did that bastard To-seong climb on top of my head, hmm?”
“N-never! It’s not like that...! I just had a terrible hangover.”
Mu-won slung an arm over Mok-seong’s trembling shoulders. Mok-seong’s small frame was seized tightly in his grasp. The grip was so crushing his shoulder felt as though it might shatter, but Mok-seong made no show of it and walked obediently alongside him.
To the left of the elevator were the higher-ranking quarters; to the right stretched a colossal tree that had pierced straight through the building. Skirting around the tree led to the dining hall, the gambling den, and the lounge.
“Hyung-nim, if you let me off just this once, I’ll really do better from now on.”
“If not you, then I can just smash To-seong instead.”
“Mu-won Hyung-nim….”
Mok-seong whimpered like a wounded pup. On the last day, both he and To-seong had survived together with Mu-won. Their absolute loyalty to Mu-won and Tae Cheon-oh meant that, so long as they did not overstep, Mu-won usually let things slide.
As they approached the lounge, Mu-won tapped Mok-seong’s shoulder twice. That alone was a sign he was letting him off.
Mok-seong quickly ran ahead. From inside the lounge, its iron door ajar, a moment of clamor erupted, then silence. Soon, only Mu-won’s polished heels echoed down the corridor.
But just as he entered, he scowled. Opposite To-seong stood an uninvited guest.
“I waited three hours. I know you’re busy, but isn’t this too much?”
The madam of the Dandelion Tavern rose with a smile, hand pressed lightly to her chest in greeting. Beneath her voluminous hair, a form-fitting dress accentuated her slender figure.
“Ah. I didn’t pay my bill, did I?”
Mu-won instantly grasped why she had come. Pulling out his wallet, he thumbed out a thick stack of bills.
“But this isn’t really the kind of place you’d come to collect, is it?”
The madam’s lips curled.
“You disabled two of my guards yourself. I had no choice but to come. Do you think that much money will settle it?”
Without a word, Mu-won emptied the wallet into her hands. She looked genuinely startled but clutched all of it nonetheless. Yet her eyes lingered on him—her business unfinished.
Mu-won dropped onto the sofa she had just vacated.
“You’ve been paid. So why aren’t you leaving?”
“You came to my tavern because of Cheongyeon, didn’t you?”
Hearing the herbalist being mentioned again and again was beginning to grate on him.
“He quit the other day. You don’t need to waste your time searching. I came to tell you that.”
Mu-won suddenly burst into laughter. In a swift motion he rose and strode toward her.
“And how should I repay such excessive kindness?”
She swallowed hard. When Mu-won leaned close, even her breath stalled.
“Should I fuck you again?”
He looked positively pleased with himself. A brutally beautiful man. The tavern madam had to force back the hand that almost reached for him of its own accord. Be it plant or beast, the more dazzling, the more poisonous. Yet even knowing it was poison, people still craved it.
If she could digest it, what did it matter if it was poison? She admitted her own desire without flinching.
“Well... it’s not such a bad offer.”
She had indeed come for the money, but mentioning Cheongyeon had been an excuse. Mu-won abruptly held out his palm. Her eyes went wide.
“Pay up, then. If you came to buy a whore.”
The wad of bills in her hand crumpled in her grip. She too had heard the rumors of what had gone down at her tavern.
“But you can’t buy with that.”
Mu-won straightened.
“Mok-seong, see the guest out. She’s leaving empty-handed.”
Brushing past her, he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a can of beer.
Her honesty had been rewarded with humiliation. The tavern madam pressed her lips tight, stuffed the wrinkled bills into her handbag, and silently cursed herself for acting the fool. Still, she had gotten more than enough money, and that was something.
The men of the Peira were reckless, but they always paid their dues. That balance was the handiwork of their boss, Tae Cheon-oh—the man who had swallowed Cheonghwajin whole.
“I can walk out on my own.”
As Mok-seong moved to escort her, she snapped back sharply.
She knew the Peira were hunting for the smugglers of dried flowers. If Mu-won had coaxed her even a little, she might have spilled everything under the spell of that face. But unintentionally, she had kept her silence. She smirked, curling her red lips.
“Let them bust their asses looking.”
At her muttered curse, Mok-seong glanced instinctively toward his groin, then scratched his head awkwardly. He trailed after her into the hall, grinning sheepishly.
“Pretty noona! You know, I’d do it for free. What do you think?”
“Get lost.”
“Ne-eeng!”
Mok-seong answered sadly, then glanced back toward the lounge. Still, thanks to the tavern madam, he thought, they’d dodged a bullet. And so, afraid Mu-won might storm out after him, he hurried her all the way down to the first floor—though in his heart, he wished To-seong would be all right.
******
“Why are you looking for me?”
To-seong had expected a beating or a tongue-lashing.
Yesterday he had defied orders, and today he had let the tavern madam who had caused a scene outside the building inside. Mu-won had beaten her guards half to death and skipped out without paying, stirring up trouble. Since Tae Cheon-oh had assigned To-seong to handle Mu-won’s messes, he had no choice but to bring her in.
To his relief, Mu-won’s tone was calm. But what came next, he knew, might not leave him in one piece.
“The herbalist... has disappeared.”
Mu-won’s expression darkened at once, and To-seong stiffened.
“Where to?”
“I don’t know.”
“Of course.”
The words dripped with irritation.
“Yesterday morning, when I went to his shop, he said he was checking a new place to move into. But from yesterday afternoon until now, the store has been empty.”
“He probably just traded with someone else.”
“So I went to the broker. But the herbalist never even showed up there.”
“You didn’t help that bastard run, did you?”
“...... What?”
“To-seong, don’t tell me you were smitten with the medicine seller and covered for him.”
“How could you say that! Hyung-nim, never! His things are all still there—it’s not like he just stepped out. If we ask around, it shouldn’t be hard to track him down. But... why are you so intent on finding him?”
“Because I’m fucking obsessed with him, that’s why.”
To-seong was sick of hearing “herbalist, herbalist” at every turn. But Mu-won’s coarse confession struck him like a hammer. His massive frame staggered; even his heart seemed to seize.
“Hyung-nim...! The herbalist is a pure man.”
Mu-won let out a derisive laugh.
“Pure or filthy—you checked his ass yourself?”
“Hyung-nim!”
“So what, you want me to fuck him first, and then you can have a go?”
The sight of To-seong raging like a mad bull only made Mu-won want to keep taunting him.
“Y-you... you vile, worthless bastard—!”
“Stop sputtering and say it without hiding behind your dick.”
Flustered, To-seong covered his crotch with his hands. But despite Mu-won’s taunts, nothing stirred below. Face crimson, he stammered:
“I-it’s true! I didn’t get hard!”
Mu-won crooked a finger from the sofa, and To-seong obeyed, bending down without protest. Grabbing his thick nape, Mu-won yanked him down hard.
“Find the herbalist and bring him to me.”
“I-if you’re going to... fuck him in the ass, then no. I won’t.”
Mu-won’s grip tightened, crushing his nape.
“When are you going to stop stuttering every time you get worked up?”
“N-never! I won’t do it!”
“To-seong, there’s pussy everywhere. You think I really want his ass?”
“T-then you’re promising it’ll only be pussy, right?”
“No promises.”
His palm burned hot against To-seong’s neck. Watching his fluster only made Mu-won chuckle darkly. Just then, a low voice cut through the room.
“Mu-won. Don’t torment To-seong too much.”
Arms folded, Tae Cheon-oh leaned casually against the iron door, watching.