MBCH 55

CHAPTER 55………………………………………..

“-I’ve looked everywhere, but I can’t find it anywhere!”

Bok-i complained to Chohui.

Having stayed up all night, Chohui had immediately headed to the inn where Bok-i was and was now talking with her.

She had run away because staying at that house would have made it impossible for her to keep her wits about her.

But Bok-i didn’t look well either. Her face had a grayish tone from worrying about Park Jin, who hadn’t been in contact for days.

“He’s not the type to go without contacting us like this…”

Even when saying harsh words, Bok-i seemed genuinely worried about Park Jin.

“Don’t worry, Bok-i. Park Jin will be fine.”

“Do you… know something?”

“I didn’t see Park Jin until the very end…”

Chohui trailed off. She hesitated over how much she should tell Bok-i.

It seemed that Bok-i didn’t know Park Jin had participated in the Manse incident at the Opera House.

Should she tell her the whole truth?

Sometimes the truth was cruel. She thought it might not be necessary to reveal everything.

‘She’s still too young for that…’

Chohui forced a smile.

“I didn’t see Park Jin until the end, but I heard he had urgent business in Shanghai.”

“Sh-Shanghai? Why…?”

“I don’t know the exact reason. I only heard that he had urgent business—”

She swallowed the words “with Dowoon.”

Even saying his name made her feel suffocated. She had to empty her mind, push away every thought about him.

“The young master from Gwang-an whom I’m indebted to arranged a ship passage for him.”

“You mean the Gyeongseong snai who came to the inn before? Your handsome… lover?”

“Lover? No! That’s not it!”

Chohui waved her hands indignantly at Bok-i’s words. Her face flushed, and she quickly fanned herself to cool down.

Bok-i tilted her head, as if finding Chohui’s reaction strange.

“Really? He had you as a private tutor at his house, and he treated Park Jin so harshly. I naturally assumed the two of you were lovers.”

Chohui exaggeratedly shook her hands at Bok-i’s innocent words. It was an embarrassing misunderstanding.

“We’re not like that! It’s a misunderstanding, Bok-i. He and I just help each other out, that’s all.”

“But at that time, it didn’t seem like just that. Why else would you get so angry if you weren’t lovers?”

“You’re still young, Bok-i. We were just teacher and student. That’s why I got angry.”

Bok-i tilted her head again, clearly finding it strange.

“Teacher and student, but getting angry like that? That’s really strange!”

Chohui let out a faint sigh-like smile at Bok-i’s innocent remark.

“Exactly… very strange, indeed.”

Suddenly approaching and suddenly retreating. Sending such intense glances, and then saying it was a mistake. A strange person who confuses you.

Chohui forced herself to push away thoughts of him and chatted with Bok-i.

Thud—

Dowoon collapsed onto the sofa, tossing his luggage onto the floor.

His purpose had been simply to leave the house, not to go anywhere specific. Wandering aimlessly, he eventually arrived at his company.

“Sigh… let’s get a grip.”

In truth, it was only natural for Dowoon to head to his company.

His company was not far from the Provisional Government, deliberately positioned for frequent visits.

For the past three years, Dowoon had barely entered Gwang-an under the pretense of business.

The reason was simple.

He felt physically uncomfortable if he stayed at home instead of at the company.

Gwang-an was full of people eager to attend to him, which made it physically comfortable. But physical comfort meant mental discomfort.

Dowoon was a man who could never truly be at ease.

He was an informant who had to always be on alert, living in discomfort.

And after sending comrades to death, it made no sense for him to be comfortable.

So even in Gwang-an, he stayed in the study, not the master bedroom.

The discomfort felt like atonement.

That was the only way he felt his life had value.

His frequent, prolonged presence in Gwang-an was entirely because of Chohui. Their contract required it.

He had much to teach her, and he could not leave her alone at home. Her safety was his responsibility.

So heading to the company should have been a natural decision.

It should have been natural, yet…

‘Why do I still feel like I’m running away?’

Dowoon wiped his face with dry hands, forcing thoughts of Chohui from his mind.

To focus elsewhere, he would have to keep his body busy.

He got up and headed into town. Luckily, there was someone he needed to meet for information gathering today. He went to the Kiru, Hongwon-gak.

Before opening the gate, he paused for a moment.

“Oh, it’s not like that. I wasn’t unaware you’d go there.”

“I went for a reason! I won’t go there again.”

“Who said not to go? I was just saying…”

He had promised Chohui he wouldn’t go back, so going there would make him a liar.

Thinking of Chohui, Dowoon shook his head violently.

Does it matter if I lie to her or not?

After all, he had lied countless times to her. Adding one more wouldn’t make a difference.

Yet his promise to her troubled him more than the mission.

It made no sense.

Out loud, it would have disqualified him as an intelligence agent.

‘It was just a meaningless promise.’

Dowoon calmed himself and opened the gate.

“Welcome, my lord. Please come in.”

The gisaeng inside greeted him. Dowoon smiled and named the person he came to meet. They guided him to a room inside Hongwon-gak.

Phew…

Before the room, he took a deep breath and straightened his clothes.

Yes. This is the right way. Chohui…

‘No, don’t think about “that person.”’

Even thinking of Chohui’s name made his mind go blank, so he referred to her vaguely as “that person.”

…It didn’t stop him from thinking about her entirely.

Dowoon composed himself several times before opening the sliding door with a smiling face.

“Hello, Wada-san.”

“Ah, Dowoon-kun. Come in, come in.”

Wada Ichiro, Director of Railways under the Governor-General, welcomed him, already heavily drunk with gisaengs on both sides.

Minamoto or Wada, seeing how they acted in Kiru, made him feel disgusted.

But Dowoon skillfully hid his disgust behind a smile.

Wada beckoned him forward. Dowoon quickly sat across, pouring sake into Wada’s empty cup.

“Thank you for taking the time, Wada-san.”

“Oh, come now. It’s Ichiro-san, not Wada-san. You’ve known me since you were a child.”

“Even so, how could I address you so casually, Wada-san?”

Wada laughed heartily, but Dowoon knew better.

Wada never liked to be addressed casually.

It was a trait among upper-class Japanese: they pretended hierarchy didn’t matter, but were extremely sensitive.

Wada Ichiro was a major figure in the Governor-General’s office and an old friend of Dowoon’s father, Count Lee Kang-won.

‘Friend, but also a rival.’

Dowoon hid his sharp gaze and sat down.

Wada Ichiro and Lee Kang-won were both close to the current Governor-General Saito.

They outwardly cooperated, but competed behind the scenes for Saito’s favor.

Wada thought he was superior to Lee Kang-won, but Saito favored Lee, who had actively contributed to selling out the country.

So Wada outwardly showed goodwill to Lee while secretly resenting him.

Wada likely assumed Dowoon didn’t know, but he had long figured out the dynamics between Wada and Lee.

‘Wada will try to catch Lee through me, his son.’

Dowoon’s eyes flashed sharply.

It had been strange how Yoshihara interfered wherever Dowoon appeared.

The Yoshihara he knew didn’t have that level of intelligence gathering, so someone must have been feeding him information.

‘At first, I suspected a leak within.’

He trusted his colleagues, but not completely.

He had doubted them, but the Opera House opening confirmed it.

The informants remaining in Sinuiju were all away on a mission in Yuhahyeon. Yoshihara could not have obtained information from them physically.

‘The one feeding Yoshihara information must be the same person who appeared at the Opera House opening. And if someone holds animosity and information about me… it has to be Wada!’

And coincidentally, Yoshihara became more intrusive once Wada started visiting Sinuiju.

Before, Yoshihara had followed Dowoon persistently but had little result. His unusually high success rate could only be explained by Wada’s intervention.

Dowoon planned to confirm Wada’s information feeding today.

And to use it to his advantage.

“Since arriving in Sinuiju, we haven’t had a proper conversation.”

“Yes… it’s been hectic. Recently, with the Opera House incident…”

“Oh, right. You’re Korean, after all.”

Wada emphasized “Korean,” as if he had forgotten. Dowoon, son of Lee Kang-won, would not have forgotten he was Korean.

Dowoon suppressed a smirk.

“The Koreans got up to something reckless, and you suffered as a result.”

“Haha, fortunately, I was waiting in the VIP section the whole time, so nothing happened.”

Dowoon’s words made Wada’s eyes flash sharply, as if suspecting he left the VIP area.

But the gaze quickly softened.

“Indeed. Someone with a father like yours wouldn’t associate with those ruffians.”