An Advertising Genius Falls into the Joseon Era - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 52
Im Ha-yun studied Song Do-hyeon, her question hanging in the air between them.
“Why did Wi So-gang come here?”
“Probably the same reason as the other merchants. To purchase ginseng while he still can.”
“But isn’t it awfully late for that?”
Im Ha-yun’s teeth caught her lower lip, a flicker of unease crossing her face.
Then she nodded to herself.
“Tell him to come in.”
“Yes, understood.”
The Porter bowed and withdrew.
Moments later.
The door swung wide, and Wi So-gang stepped through.
“Well, well.”
He affected a casual charm the instant he entered, his eyes sweeping across every corner of the guest room.
The narrow interior.
The weathered posts.
The floor worn rough with age.
As his gaze traveled over the room, open contempt glinted in his eyes.
“Turning down the lodgings I arranged, only to stay in this shabby place…”
Wi So-gang clicked his tongue in mock disapproval.
“It hardly does my reputation credit.”
He regarded Im Ha-yun with a thin smile. She met his stare without flinching.
“What brings you? I thought you’d found everything yourself.”
“Who arrived first matters less than how we conclude this trade.”
‘Trade? Ha—as if.’
Im Ha-yun kept her true thoughts buried, her voice flat.
“You received my letter, I trust?”
“Letter?”
At the word, a shadow flickered across Wi So-gang’s face—just for an instant.
But he recovered quickly, his tone deliberately measured.
“I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
“Is that so?”
The corner of Im Ha-yun’s mouth curved upward.
“I half-thought some rat had scurried in with word of it.”
……
A brief silence stretched between them.
Im Ha-yun shifted her posture and continued with measured ease.
“But here’s the problem—I’ve no ginseng left to sell you.”
She lifted a thick stack of papers from the table, holding them up for his inspection.
Inside lay contracts bound to ginseng.
“Agreements signed today. Merchants were desperate to buy.”
Im Ha-yun began reading through the merchant names listed on each contract.
“Yang Trading House, Golden Hall, Jade Prosperity House, Maritime Guild, Ten Blessings, Azure Cloud Commerce, Tae-won Trading Company…”
With each name spoken aloud, Wi So-gang’s expression hardened by degrees.
These were all men he’d recently agreed to stand with.
Yet they’d slipped away to this place, signing contracts in secret. Betrayal crept through his chest.
“The merchants who visited today. I’m sure the names ring familiar.”
Im Ha-yun set the papers down with a deliberate tap.
Her eyes smiled as she regarded him.
“So you’ve come empty-handed after all that effort. I’m almost sorry for the wasted trip.”
“Heh.”
Wi So-gang’s laugh came hollow and bitter.
The collusion had shattered.
The ginseng was beyond reach.
And even his own allies had turned to her side.
By any measure, he’d suffered a complete defeat.
“But I’ve heard the rumors—many merchants passed through this place today.”
Yet Wi So-gang still held one final move in reserve.
If he couldn’t win,
at least he wouldn’t lose.
There was still one move left that could overturn this entire situation.
Step. Step.
Wi So-gang moved at a leisurely pace.
There was an ease in his bearing as he stood with hands clasped behind his back, gazing out the window.
“But you and those men—you’re all overlooking something crucial.”
“Something crucial?”
Im Ha-yun’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly.
“What is it?”
Wi So-gang, who had been staring blankly out the window, turned his head.
The man who once smiled so readily was gone. His gaze had settled into something chillingly cold.
“It’s this—”
Wi So-gang’s mouth opened slowly.
“That I am the representative of this trade delegation.”
Silence fell across the room with his words.
Wi So-gang spoke in a low but distinct voice.
“No one can conduct ginseng transactions here without my approval.”
“…!”
Im Ha-yun’s expression hardened at the unexpected declaration.
She’d forgotten.
That he was the representative of this trade delegation.
Im Ha-yun leaned over and whispered urgently to Song Do-hyeon.
‘Is that true?’
Song Do-hyeon nodded quietly.
‘It is.’
‘Really?’
Song Do-hyeon continued in hushed tones.
‘Wi So-gang is the Qing dynasty’s representative in this trade. Conducting ginseng transactions without his approval is outright illegal.’
‘This is troublesome….’
Ginseng trading was no simple business.
It was interstate commerce.
Every quantity and price transacted had to be reported to the court, and taxes were levied based on those records.
With such enormous sums passing through, the procedures were necessarily strict.
And Wi So-gang was the representative overseeing all transactions on the Qing side in this delegation.
Price adjustments.
Transaction approvals.
Tax reporting—everything.
His signature was required on every step.
In other words, any transaction that bypassed Wi So-gang could not be officially recognized.
Proceeding without him risked serious complications down the line.
‘Of all times, why now….’
Her stomach twisted. Frustration gnawed at her.
She despised that face, always showing up to sabotage her at the most critical moments.
“So what—what are you trying to do?”
Im Ha-yun shot Wi So-gang a sharp look.
“Sprinkle ashes over everything right when it’s done?”
“That depends entirely on my mood.”
Wi So-gang smiled softly.
His hand moved slowly toward the stack of documents.
Slide.
The contracts Im Ha-yun had painstakingly secured throughout the day.
His hand descended toward them.
Then,
Crunch!
With that harsh sound, the contracts crumpled grotesquely in his grasp.
“If I can’t have it, destroying it isn’t such a bad option either.”
“You bastard!”
Im Ha-yun shot to her feet.
There was no time to think.
Her body reacted on its own.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing!”
Im Ha-yun’s hand shot toward Wi So-gang.
She looked ready to slap him across the face.
Snap!
In that instant, Song Do-hyeon grabbed her wrist, pulling her back from striking.
“Calm yourself!”
“Let go!”
“Do you want to destroy the entire trade agreement?”
“……!”
At those words, Im Ha-yun’s movement froze. Instead, she clenched her teeth and glared at Wi So-gang.
“But that bastard……!”
“If you resort to violence here, it’s over.”
Song Do-hyeon spoke quietly, as if soothing her.
“Assess the situation coldly. Emotion alone accomplishes nothing.”
He held Im Ha-yun’s gaze with steady, serious eyes. Under that look, she began, bit by bit, to recover her composure.
“……Damn it!”
At last, Im Ha-yun lowered the hand she had raised.
Yet her eyes still burned with lethal intent.
Had Song Do-hyeon not stopped her, a real brawl might have broken out.
Watching her, Wi So-gang smiled quietly.
“Good thinking. Excitement isn’t good for your health.”
He tossed the contract onto the table.
The crumpled papers scattered across the surface in disarray.
“It’s a bit wrinkled, but you’ll still be able to read it.”
“That’s really……!”
Her anger had not yet cooled.
Im Ha-yun’s voice trembled with barely contained rage.
“But if you break the contract on a whim, the other trading houses won’t sit idle!”
“Heh heh.”
Wi So-gang let out a low laugh.
“Haven’t I already told you? Such things don’t matter at all.”
He pointed alternately between Im Ha-yun and himself with one finger.
“What matters is you and me—the two of us. Isn’t that so?”
Then Wi So-gang leaned his face close to hers.
“If the Black Dragon Society staggers like this, the Myriad Commerce will suffer a blow just as severe.”
He whispered the final words.
“If I have a companion to die with, at least the road to the afterlife won’t be so lonely.”
“Wi So-gang, you…!”
Im Ha-yun glared at him, her eyes wide and fierce.
The gazes of the two collided violently in the space between them.
‘I’d rather die than yield even once to this wretch!’
This was the type of person Im Ha-yun despised most.
One who could not accept defeat, who would shatter the board itself rather than lose.
Underhanded methods were permissible—but only within the rules.
Yet Wi So-gang had broken the rules.
Multiple times already.
She could never back down now.
Burning.
Her eyes conveyed that she would yield not one inch.
“But.”
Then, abruptly, Wi So-gang stepped backward.
A faint smile.
And he even turned away, exposing himself completely defenseless.
“If the conditions are right, I’m willing to permit the ginseng trade.”
Caught off guard by this turn, Im Ha-yun’s brow furrowed.
‘What is he plotting?’
No matter how she thought about it, she could not fathom his scheme.
Just moments ago he had hurled threats at her.
Now he was willing to allow the trade?
Im Ha-yun asked him, suspicion flooding her gaze.
“You’re serious about that?”
“Of course.”
Wi So-gang answered with a faint smile.
“If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of tracking you down.”
How much of this was truth?
Wondering about it solved nothing.
What mattered was Wi So-gang’s permission.
If I could secure that, everything would fall smoothly into place.
Whatever schemes lay hidden beneath it didn’t concern me.
“Fine, then. Let me hear your terms. Depending on what you propose, I’ll hand over some of the ginseng.”
Ha-yun softened her anger and spoke as though granting a favor.
But Wi So-gang shook his head firmly.
“No, no. Who said anything about buying ginseng?”
“Then?”
Ginseng wasn’t his purpose?
What possible reason could he have for coming all this way?
Ha-yun looked at Wi So-gang with confusion written across her face.
Yet his gaze had shifted away from her at some point.
“You there.”
Wi So-gang raised his hand, pointing toward the back.
“Come speak with me a moment.”
At the end of Wi So-gang’s gesture stood Song Do-hyeon.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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