T/N: Attention!!
I’ll be frank, ML is vulgar and an asshole!! 💀 Necessary warning because I know it’s a dealbreaker for some people. So if you don’t want to see that then, well, you might not want to read this.
Reiterating for those who don’t read content page: content warning for sexual content, violence and profanity.
Part 1: Cheonghwa Town
The city’s name was Cheonghwa Town. It was once called by a different name, but now everyone referred to it as Cheonghwa Town.
On the dock of Cheonghwa Town, untouched by the lighthouse light, Muwon stood in the darkness.
He held a dried flower in his hand, waiting for someone.
Several men in black hoodies were around Muwon. Muwon himself wore a hooded coat. He soon got bored and sat down on a large wooden box next to him with a large axe stuck in the box, an odd companion to the flowers.
A man beside him took out a cigarette, and the flame of a Zippo lighter illuminated the surroundings.
Muwon shook the dried flower as he inhaled the cigarette smoke. Six small blue petals trembled awkwardly on the withered stem.
“Did I get stood up again?”
The voice from under the hood was dry.
“Yes, hyung-nim. It seems so again this time.”
Muwon stood up from the wooden box. He also took off the long coat that covered his tall body and handed it to the subordinate standing next to him. As he roughly combed through his black hair, a strange golden eye shone through. The intricate pattern on the revealed jacket, now free from the dark coat, resembled a flower paradise.
Muwon glanced briefly at the dried flower in his hand before tucking it into his suit pocket. The dried flower was now hidden among the vibrant floral pattern of the suit.
“Saturn, you know what?”
Suddenly, Muwon looked in the direction of the city.
“I don’t know.”
Saturn answered instantaneously.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Lf tjr ab yf qgfaas.”
“Ujgvbc?”
Vjaegc jrxfv, qehhifv. Zekbc gfjmtfv bea jcv ugjyyfv Vjaegc’r rtbeivfg. Ktf wbwfca tf qeiifv, Vjaegc’r rtbeivfg yijvfr aklrafv, yea cflatfg atf qfgrbc ktb ugjyyfv tlw cbg atf qfgrbc ktb kjr ugjyyfv vlv cba mtjcuf atflg fzqgfrrlbcr.
“P’w ublcu ab mgert tlr ojmf jr rbbc jr P rff tlw.”
Muwon whispered, tapping Saturn’s shoulders soothingly.
“What if he were ugly?”
Muwon laughed at the absurd question.
“That wouldn’t do.”
“You don’t know his face anyway, do you?”
“How good would it be if an ugly face stood me up?”
Muwon continued to gaze in the direction of the city.
“Then, is a pretty face allowed to stand you up?”
“That’s why I’m paying for the face.”
Muwon, who laughed briefly, walked away, and Saturn followed immediately. The rest of the subordinates took care of the aftermath. As they dragged the wooden box, crimson traces were left on the ground.
Under the wooden box where Muwon had sat, blood was seeping out.
***
‘I lost all the money I saved for three years.’
Cheongyeon moved the mortar and pestle, grinding herbs.
The goods promised through the smuggling route had already crossed the water three times. Moreover, it took half a year to get introduced to the captain of this smuggling ship, for the captain was overly cautious. The broker connected to the captain was the owner of the Dandelion Pub. Cheongyeon had built a friendship with the owner while working part-time at the pub, and thanks to that, he was able to meet the captain.
Finally, with the news that the smuggling ship had arrived, he thought only the task left was receiving the goods…
While grinding herbs, Cheongyeon stopped.
“They said it was dark under the lamp, and that Jang family dude had been messing around with the captain of the smuggling ship?”
“Hmm? Jang family dude? You mean Peira’s advisor?”
“Yeah, so Peira is planning to catch not only the smuggling ships but also plans to catch all the smugglers and those who worked for them.”
Like a thunderbolt, shocking news hit Cheongyeon, who had been serving at the pub last night.
There were not just one or two smuggling ships coming into Cheonghwa Town. He could only hope that those ships were not the ones carrying his goods, for he had planned to meet the captain the next day.
On the promised day, Cheongyeon climbed up the mountainside with a clear view of the dock. He planned to monitor the situation in case something unexpected happened. A large wooden box containing contraband sat on a dark dock. People wearing black coats and hoods guarded the box.
Their attire was identical to that of the captain and crew he had met earlier. He planned to watch here a little longer and then go down when he was sure it was safe. It was at that moment,
A man approached them, shaking hands openly. Judging by the straightforward handshake, he seemed to be the captain and a well-experienced smuggler. However, Cheongyeon witnessed a horrifying scene soon.
The axe wielded by the man in a black coat sliced halfway through the smuggler’s neck. Other crew members threw the barely breathing smuggler into a large wooden box. The box, which Cheongyeon thought contained smuggled goods, turned out to be a coffin with a corpse.
Cheongyeon covered his mouth with both hands, fearing a scream. Immediately, he rushed down the mountain path and into his shop, looking back only to make sure no one was following.
“Ha…”
He still felt his heart racing when thinking about yesterday’s events.
This morning, when he heard the situation from the Dandelion Pub owner, all the people from the smuggling ship had been killed by Peira. The smuggling ship had also fallen into Peira’s hands, and all the smuggled goods were headed to the marine building.
The marine building, the tallest in Cheonghwa Town, was originally where the owner of Cheonghwa Town lived until those who came aboard the Peira five years ago killed the owner.
Since that day, the captain of the Peira became the new owner of Cheonghwa Town. Perhaps because they disembarked from Peira ship, people just started referring to them as “Peira”.
Peira, with just around a hundred members, had taken control of Cheonghwa Town. Now, many people pledged allegiance, vowing to obtain whatever benefits they could from Peira.
Cheongyeon placed a piece of sliced Siberian ginseng branch into a tray. Then he stuck a sign in the center, stating “1 hwan per 300g.” He also placed a tray of Siberian ginseng branches between other medicinal herbs.
Brsuhing his hands together, Cheongyeon approached the window. Even though he was in a corner of Cheonghwa Town, he could still see the towering marine building in the distance. Oddly, a giant tree was embedded in the building. The tree had grown from the center of the building to its top. It was said that it appeared one day, and Cheongyeon had no idea why.
Cheongyeon looked at the marine building for a long time. After hearing the story from the Dandelion Pub owner, he could only think of one thing.
“Wouldn’t they consider it trash?”
To him, it was an essential item, but to the average person, it must have seemed unimpressive. Therefore, the likelihood of it ending up in the trash was high.
Making up his mind, Cheongyeon went inside his shop, put on a hat and a black jacket, and even grabbed kitchen gloves, just in case. It was an all-or-nothing situation, and he felt like he was at a loss.
He brought out the bicycle he had placed inside the shop and mounted the saddle.
It took about 30 minutes by bicycle to reach the destination. Even though the image of the man with his neck decapitated by an axe haunted him, Cheongyeon tried hard to erase it from his mind.
***
The garbage from the marine building was piled up behind the back door. The back door was also an entrance used by laborers.
Since they didn’t do any separation and recycling, food waste, plastic bottles, and various debris were mixed together. One fortunate thing was that the they were bagged so that garbage trucks could take them away.
From soju bottles to beer cans, even untied condoms… Cheongyeon praised himself for bringing kitchen gloves, although he couldn’t imagine using them again.
Initially, he planned to drag the trash bins into an alley and discreetly check them. However, it would seem more suspicious, so Cheongyeon chose to do it openly. He took out the contents of dozens of sacks one by one from a garbage dump.
If someone asked what he was doing, he would answer with the hat pulled down, “I’m a janitor”.
Fortunately, he only ran into a few people coming out of the building due to the rain.
He skimmed through 15 bins, but the item he was looking for was nowhere to be found. While looking around, Cheongyeon suddenly clicked his tongue. A bag of cans, a bag of bottles, a bag of miscellaneous trash… He had separated waste without realizing it. It seemed like the habit of organizing herbal ingredients came into play at times like this.
Finally, when there was only one bin left, he prayed. Cheongyeon untied the bin that was bound with a rope.
“Gasp…!”
He staggered backward. Inside the bin, there was a hand severed at the wrist. The sight of a large tattoo on the back of the hand was familiar. Strangely enough, the tattoo depicted the back of a skull rather than the front. He vividly remembered finding it peculiar when he first saw it.
It was the hand of the captain of the smuggling ship.
T/N: You’ve already seen the ML’s face on the cover but would you like to see our pretty Cheongyeonie’s face as well? Click here!
On another note, I’d like to self-advertise my personal discord server. Come and chat with other readers ^_^ Link in my translator’s profile below every chapter.
I don’t understand, I thought the Hwa family rules the town so how come the Peria managed to take control with little to no conflict??
no, that’s not what the text said. it says the previous owner was killed, not who they were
Excuse me, please tell me whose words come after Cheongyeon stopped while grinding herbs ? English is not my native language and I did not really understand this dialogue. Who speaks to whom in it? Thanks for the translation!
you mean the lines in italic? it’s just part of cheongyeon’s memory; he’s recalling hearing someone else say it. the specific person does not matter
Yes thank you!
The mc is literally so beautiful!!! 💞💞😭
is it just me who prefers to imagine mcs to have black or dark brown hair?? I think the mc is pretty, but I feel like authors always make their shous have blonde hair and idk if its because blonde makes them seem more delicate and fem?? im not sure but it always made me feel weird cause im only used to seeing white people having blonde hair.. lol
It’s not just you! I imagined it the same way, haha