Chapter 65
“Are you saying all that’s in there is really money?” asked Baek Dong-man, the innkeeper who had been constantly rubbing his legs as if they were numb, pointing to the inside of the bag with his chin.
“Would you like to see for yourself?” Yeo Moon-beom smiled as he picked up the sports bag that the half-dokkaebi firmly believed was a magic bag and turned it upside down.
Immediately, bundles of crisp new bills, tied together like bricks and seemingly freshly withdrawn from the bank without a trace of handling, poured out of the bag.
Not only the demolition team watching with their hands behind their backs, but also the group of villagers who had been noisy with talk about the human-faced bird, stared at the falling bundles of money with eyes that looked ready to pop out.
The bag that endlessly spewed out money was like a magic cornucopia straight out of legend. Several elderly people, and even Jeon Su-nam, who hadn’t known there were bundles of money in the bag, rubbed their eyes with dazed expressions as if not fully awake.
Thud, thud, thud. …Thud.
The steady stream of money soon slowed, and the last bundle that had been caught at the opening fell onto the pile that had accumulated.
After unnecessarily shaking the empty sports bag one more time to show that even the dust had been shaken out, Yeo Moon-beom finally threw the bag on the floor with a satisfied expression.
Gulp.
In the momentary silence that fell over the meeting room, only the sound of dry swallowing could be heard.
At a glance, it looked like a pile of yellow-tinted dry leaves raked together. However, no one looked down on it with disgust as if it were trash. They were busy counting the bundles with sidelong glances of shock, bewilderment, or greed.
The pile was made up of bundles of 50,000 won bills, not even 10,000 won ones, amounting to several billion won.
Humans, after all.
Yeo Moon-beom slowly scanned the faces of the elderly, their eyes and mouths wide open, and raised the corners of his mouth.
For him, who had run a gambling den where tens of billions of won changed hands, this was not a new sight at all. But for the island villagers living a life far removed from that, it was a rare sight indeed.
No one in the world would refuse money. Dozens of eyes gleaming with desire were reflected in Yeo Moon-beom’s eyes.
“Yesterday, Chairman Jang Gi-tae of the Gang-il Group called me personally. He had heard the news that a monster had appeared on the island he cherished so much.”
Sim Bong-pil, a balding old man with more than half of his hair gone and a shiny scalp, pretended to know and asked in response to Yeo Moon-beom’s words:
“The Chairman of Gang-il Group… Isn’t that the handsome, good-looking gentleman who appears in TV commercials these days?”
“That’s right.”
At those words, Hwang Young-ok, an elderly woman with short permed hair sitting in the front row, examined Yeo Moon-beom’s features as if scrutinizing them, and suddenly clapped her hands with a loud smack.
“Now that I look closely, he looks just like that chairman in the commercials!”
All eyes that had been focused on the pile of money turned to Yeo Moon-beom at once. Belated exclamations burst out here and there at the sight of the man who looked exactly like Chairman Jang, only younger.
“But your surname is Yeo, and the chairman or whatever is Jang. How come your faces are so alike?”
“I took my late mother’s surname. My father still can’t forget her, you see.”
Jang Gi-tae was the type of person who completely forgot about chess pieces once they were removed from the board.
A wave of anger surged in his chest, and the deeply scarred cheek throbbed. However, as he had done so far, Yeo Moon-beom naturally quelled the villagers’ curiosity and calmly brought up the main point.
“The resort construction was a project started for the development and revival of Wolhwa Island from the beginning, regardless of its business potential. My father strongly urged me to protect the people of Wolhwa Village from danger, no matter what happens.”
He didn’t mention separately that a monster had appeared and caused confusion. He only said that because of the villagers’ strong belief in superstitions, they were facing difficulties, so he would use the money he brought when he came to Wolhwa Island.
He had no particular interest in opening a VIP-only gambling den for political and business figures. But since he wasn’t opposed to the resort construction itself, he had brought cleanly laundered money in case of any eventuality.
Yeo Moon-beom spoke to the villagers with a little more force in his voice:
“We don’t know when monsters like the human-faced bird might come down to the village and cause harm. Before another plague breaks out in the village and causes a disaster, please evacuate to a safe place. This is our sentiment, separate from the contract issue. We’ll distribute it equally to everyone, so please use it to supplement your relocation expenses.”
Plague.
As Yeo Moon-beom uttered the taboo word that had been thoroughly kept silent until now, the elderly villagers trembled, unable to hide their fear. Only the two elderly people who had completed the contract signing breathed sighs of relief and stroked their chests.
Anxiety spread over the settled excitement. Amid the suddenly bustling atmosphere, Baek Dong-man, who had been staring at the pile of money on the floor, spoke up loudly as if he had made a decision:
“My cousin who lives on the mainland said… that Chairman Jang is so generous and good that he couldn’t stop praising him!”
“Oh my! I heard that too! I saw on the news that when there was a forest fire in Cheolyeong, he gave 100 million won to each resident!”
“Ah, really? I heard that story too!”
“I heard it too!”
“Wow, he’s really overflowing with kindness! I thought he might be suspicious, but he’s trustworthy after all!”
They were busy throwing out words of praise, lauding Chairman Jang without anyone taking the lead. The heavy atmosphere suddenly turned boisterous.
These were the same residents who hadn’t changed their minds despite all the efforts of the demolition team. But to see them so easily throw away their beliefs in the face of money and the fear of death, one couldn’t help but laugh.
Yeo Moon-beom, who had been inwardly sneering at the farce unfolding before his eyes, turned his gaze to the village chief who had been standing silently all along.
With his hat pulled down low and his head bowed, it was difficult to read Jeon Man-sik’s expression. Just as Yeo Moon-beom was about to feel disappointed, he caught sight of the chief’s tightly clenched fists trembling slightly.
The firmly closed lips momentarily drew a sardonic curve before returning to their place. He had fallen right into the trap Yeo Moon-beom had set.
“…What exactly do you take us for, doing this now?”
Jeon Man-sik muttered in a low, downcast voice.
“What did you just say, Chief?”
His senses had been heightened by the dokkaebi’s power. Although he had clearly heard, Yeo Moon-beom pretended not to have heard anything and even put his hand to his ear as he asked again.
Realizing the act, Jeon Man-sik raised his head abruptly and spoke, barely suppressing the anger about to burst forth:
“I asked, what exactly do you take us for, doing this now?!”
Fixing his gaze on the Adam’s apple trembling with uncontrollable excitement, Yeo Moon-beom calmly replied:
“What do we take you for? We only see you as people that we at Gang-il, which prioritizes coexistence and communication with the local community, should personally take care of.”
“Have you ever seen such a lying bastard!”
Finally unable to contain his anger, Jeon Man-sik suddenly grabbed Yeo Moon-beom by the collar and shouted.
“Our feelings? You dare talk about feelings! Who do you think doesn’t know your black heart?”
The demolition team and Jeon Su-nam, startled, quickly tried to restrain Jeon Man-sik, but at Yeo Moon-beom’s nod, they helplessly stepped back.
“It seems there’s some misunderstanding. Why don’t we talk about this first, Chief?”
“What misunderstanding! Did you think we’d be completely fooled if you brought fake money and put on a show? Don’t mock our villagers with a few scraps of paper!”
“I’ve never mocked you.”
“Don’t make me laugh! I guess you’re planning to drive us off this island by lying about the appearance of a human-faced bird. Unless it’s a dokkaebi, a sacred being that serves the mountain god wouldn’t spread a plague, so stop wagging your tongue uselessly and get out of here!”
Jeon Man-sik put full force into the collar he had grabbed. Despite being somewhat smaller in build compared to Yeo Moon-beom, perhaps due to his occupation as a fisherman, his grip was strong.
The villagers watched the two men anxiously, knowing the chief’s temperament – once his eyes blazed with anger, he rarely knew how to extinguish it, burning until only ashes remained.
“Please let go now.”
“I’ll let go if you promise to leave!”
“I clearly told you to let go, Chief.”
“Promise first!”
Intending to wrap up the situation, Yeo Moon-beom shook off Jeon Man-sik’s arm, who was shouting fiercely with a furrowed brow as if he too had lost his temper.
But then.
Thwack!
The wrinkled hand that had been firmly gripping his collar fell away in an instant, and Jeon Man-sik’s body, pushed back, flew lightly like a sheet of paper and hit the wall.
At the sudden turn of events, everyone stared blankly at the fallen Jeon Man-sik as if frozen in time. A silence where not even a breath could be heard enveloped the surroundings.
Baek Dong-man, who was the first to come to his senses, caught sight of fingertips faintly tinged with a blue energy. As he raised his gaze to stare at Yeo Moon-beom’s face, he shouted loudly:
“…It’s a dokkaebi!”
