Chapter 108
Chapter 108. Chocolate Daejanggeum (2)
[Republic of Korea]
Pyeon Jae-yeong hurried toward the Blue House.
The ministerial seat at the National Martial Affairs Headquarters, left vacant by Minister Han's resignation.
That seat had been claimed by four-star general Kim Mu-ok.
It was impossible for Kim Mu-ok to seize control of the National Martial Affairs Headquarters on his own ability.
The suspicious-natured Park Jae-yeol had seated him in the ministerial position for the time being, intending to remove him later on some suitable pretext.
In any case, it was through Kim Mu-ok that Pyeon Jae-yeong came to learn of Kim Tae-yang's existence.
"Your Excellency, I have uncovered the identity of the Nameless Hero!"
"Who is it?"
Park Jae-yeol asked back as though it were welcome news—but his expression quickly shifted to one of disappointment.
"Kim Tae-yang? It's not him."
"Pardon?"
Park Jae-yeol clicked his tongue and replied,
"Minister Han once made a separate report to me. He is merely a messenger, a subordinate of the Nameless Hero."
"Then could he perhaps be Ghost?"
"That's even less likely. Kim Tae-yang was D-rank. His ability simply doesn't measure up to Ghost."
"Even so, his past record seems somewhat suspicious. He even received the Brave Citizen Award."
"The Nameless Hero had been training his disciple, Kim Tae-yang, to devour the Red Dragon Gate."
"Ah—the clash between Red Dragon Gate's Lee Won-ryong and the Nameless Hero. Viewed that way, it all fits together."
Park Jae-yeol folded his arms and continued,
"Precisely. Furthermore, the timing doesn't match at all. At the time Kim Tae-yang was undergoing his Tower Climber assessment at the National Martial Affairs Headquarters, the Nameless Hero was already a high-floor climber past the 30th floor. Ghost had already been building the Golden Tower from even before that."
Pyeon Jae-yeong nodded and said,
"Then Ghost, the Nameless Hero, and Kim Tae-yang are all entirely different people."
"That's right. In truth, we don't even know whether it's one person or several."
Murim Tower climbers may ascend once every 10 days.
Yet Ghost climbs 3 floors in a single day. There were exceptions, but the reason behind this had never been uncovered.
Theories ran rampant—some claiming it was Ghost's special ability, others that Ghost was not one individual but a collective.
"However, it is clear that they are connected."
"We'll need to apprehend them first."
"He'll likely be in France. Ghost and the Nameless Hero would have taken their messenger with them."
Having finished his explanation, Park Jae-yeol asked Pyeon Jae-yeong.
"Why that expression?"
"Ah, it's nothing. I just feel as though I've heard the name Kim Tae-yang somewhere before."
"Don't waste your thoughts on that. Regardless, we must verify."
"Yes. I've already dispatched investigators to Kim Tae-yang's home. If Kim Tae-yang is not in Korea, I intend to arrest his family."
Pyeon Jae-yeong answered,
"On what grounds?"
"Violation of the Immigration Control Act. He climbed the Tower but traveled abroad and back without government authorization."
"Fitting. Not excessive."
"If we hold his family, Kim Tae-yang will return. And that should place constraints on how freely Ghost or the Nameless Hero can move."
Park Jae-yeol leaned toward Pyeon Jae-yeong and spoke in a low voice.
"……Handle it quietly. Out of the public eye."
"Yes."
* * *
While I was in France, there was only one thing I had worried about.
My parents.
Since my identity had been exposed, Park Jae-yeol would go after my parents.
So the method I chose was this.
"Mother, Father. Would you like to go on a cruise? For about a month."
"A cruise? Why on earth, all of a sudden."
"You'd be traveling aboard a fine ship for about a month."
My mother seemed to want to go, but kept glancing at my father for his reaction.
"Father, you just got promoted to Division Manager."
But my father shook his head.
"A one-month holiday is out of the question at our company."
His company, that wretched factory.
My mother spoke up.
"Why not just say something to them."
At my mother's insistence, my father cautiously brought it up—and to everyone's surprise.
The company agreed.
The owner's son said to my father.
"Well, there isn't much work at the company right now anyway. But your salary can't be paid during the holiday. Division Manager."
"The government subsidy they said they'd give me……"
"Hey now! If you're not here, we'd have to find a replacement, wouldn't we."
"You just said a moment ago that there's no work at the company……"
"You get promoted to Division Manager and suddenly you have so much to say? If you don't want to go, don't go! Actually, why not just resign altogether."
"No. Thank you."
It was suspicious, but it got resolved more easily than expected.
Rotten people.
I'll have to teach them a proper lesson later.
And so my parents departed on their overseas cruise.
"Problem solved."
Even if the National Martial Affairs Headquarters or the Blue House were to chase after Kim Tae-yang, there was nothing to worry about.
The Choi brothers had Baekgyeong and the Goryeo Sword Sect, so that was fine.
The Red Dragon Gate would manage to hold out on its own for the time being.
Above all, for the government to confront the Red Dragon Gate, they'd need to mobilize the military at minimum.
And for Park Jae-yeol in his current position, mobilizing the military would lead directly to impeachment.
‘The fewer ties one keeps, the lighter one's body becomes.’
* * *
I organized the pieces that had come together through my conversation with Min-jeong.
The Ferrand Family, who controlled France's Black Market and its auctions.
The drug-laced chocolates they distributed.
The manufacturing site was École de Cuisine here, and even the professors were involved in the drug distribution.
Min-jeong had witnessed that.
And to silence her, they had been tormenting her.
If the strong-spirited Min-jeong had been reduced to sobbing, the harassment had long since crossed any normal boundary.
Perhaps they were even aiming for Min-jeong's life.
Had Baekgyeong not been watching her back, she might have been found as a corpse long ago.
So then—how should I weave all of this together and deal with it?
I was mulling it over when, at some point, Min-jeong and Bo-reum had grown close enough that Min-jeong had dropped formal speech, and the two were chatting casually.
Bo-reum said to Min-jeong.
"My goodness, how is your skin this flawless?"
"Sister, your skin is really lovely too. Mine? Maybe thanks to the chocolate?"
"You put that on your face?"
"No. I just thought that eating delicious things all the time might be making my skin better too?"
"Hahaha. That tracks."
Good to see.
Like sisters.
"But our Min-jeong……. C?"
"No. D."
"Oh for—"
"Hey! Kim Bo-reum. Why are you swearing over grades?"
"Idiot! You wouldn't understand!"
"You were top of your class, and you got a D?!"
"Ah, that's not what I mean……. Heheh. There's something like that. You could call it the will of D."
‘……What is she talking about?’
"I should head back to school now. I have a test tomorrow."
Min-jeong rose from her seat.
"A test?"
"Yes. It's a blind test. A special event organized by École de Cuisine—journalists will be there too."
Oh?
"I've already passed the preliminary round. The finals are tomorrow."
"Oh! You made it to the finals too. Who's your opponent?"
Min-jeong's expression darkened.
"Louise……"
Bo-reum asked.
"Why, are you not confident?"
"I did the blind test against Louise a few times at school yesterday and today. I was completely outclassed."
"Oh my."
"We clearly used the exact same ingredients and made the exact same shape, but the professors picked Louise's every single time, like they had some sort of supernatural sense."
‘Something's going on there.’
I could feel a dark scheme.
Min-jeong said with a dispirited expression.
"It must be because my skills fall short. There's only one day left, but I'll keep practicing."
"Can we come too?"
"Of course, sister. Ah, I'm a little nervous knowing you'll be there. Heheh."
Min-jeong stepped outside and forced a smile.
"You two enjoy your trip. Come at 2 PM tomorrow—I'll let the school know. "
"Sure. And your mother, is she well? Will she be coming to the test?"
"No. I was too embarrassed to tell her. I was afraid she'd be disappointed."
"……Let's all have a meal together after it's done."
"Yes! Mom would be so happy."
Bo-reum raised her fist in encouragement.
"Min-jeong, fighting! Let's go!"
"Yes!"
"Show us the will of D!"
"Yes! Sister, show us the will of A!"
"Hey! I'm a B!"
Bo-reum leapt to her feet and pointed at Min-jeong. Min-jeong scurried off toward the school in small quick steps.
"Our part-timer's having a rough time of it."
"Seems so."
"She's adorable."
"Is she?"
‘She used to be a delinquent.’
I kept that to myself.
For both Bo-reum and me, that was a forbidden phrase.
We got back in the car.
On the way back, I sank into thought, while Bo-reum stared down at her own chest and muttered.
"If it's a full A it rounds up to a B. You little brat. Next time I see you I'll—"
"What are you mumbling to yourself?"
"None of your business. You hopeless bachelor."
"That's harsh."
‘Kim Tae-yang. Seriously?’
【Kim Tae-yang says he has nothing to say. +1 Happiness】
‘A lifelong bachelor, sure enough. This guy.’
Bo-reum asked,
"How are Mom and Dad?"
She asks fast, this one.
"They're doing great."
* * *
After returning to the hotel.
I walked the night streets of Paris out of habit.
Tomorrow's blind test with Min-jeong.
That test, clearly already rigged, was surely a scheme to crush her publicly in front of the press.
Since Baekgyeong stood behind her, they were likely trying to drive her out under one pretext or another.
‘The professors picked Louise's every single time, like they had some sort of supernatural sense.’
"Then I should expose that secret first."
I returned to École de Cuisine.
11 PM.
At a glance, this chocolate school looked like any old stately French building—bustling by day with the passion of students gathered from across Europe, but by night, it carried the silent, sealed dignity of a centuries-old monastery.
I put on the Dark Moon Mask and leapt over the guarded wall.
The school door was unlocked.
I slipped inside toward the kitchen.
The kitchen was steeped in the rich scent of dark chocolate.
The floor was matte black tile; hanging from the ceiling like display pieces were copper pots and stainless steel whipping bowls.
A space that seemed like a cross between a medieval alchemist's laboratory and a modern research facility.
This was the very kitchen where the world's finest chocolates were born.
"And also a drug chocolate factory."
Inside the kitchen, Min-jeong was still making chocolate.
She was dressed in chef's whites, forming chocolates and placing them in the refrigerator.
"Haah. I wonder if this'll work."
She wiped her forehead and looked out the window with a worried expression.
It faced the direction of the café where she had met with me earlier.
"Can I do well tomorrow, Tae-yang?"
Min-jeong sighed and turned to leave.
She passed right in front of me as I stood hidden in the Dark Moon Mask near the entrance.
Between strands of her hair, a sweet scent of chocolate drifted past.
I entered the kitchen.
In the center, boxes of chocolate presumed to be for the blind test were stacked neatly.
"First I need to check the appearance."
Standing in front of the refrigerator labeled 'MJ'—Min-jeong's—I took out a chocolate and inspected it.
The chocolate hadn't hardened yet, but it was about a thumb-joint in size, made into a round shape.
I suppressed the urge to eat one, and put it back in the refrigerator.
"Now, where would Louise's chocolates be."
'Louise.'
That's the one.
I opened the refrigerator door.
"Empty?"
The refrigerator was completely bare.
No choice.
I'd have to find Louise's room.
I could only hope her room also had a name tag on it.
Just as I moved to leave the kitchen——
Thud, thud.
Footsteps of 2 people could be heard.
A young woman around Min-jeong's age, and an older woman wearing glasses.
That must be Louise and the professor Min-jeong had mentioned.
The professor brought a tray of chocolates and set it down on the kitchen table.
Meanwhile, Louise opened a certain refrigerator and retrieved a box filled with chocolates.
Then Louise took out a plastic bag containing white powder from inside her clothes and, using a brush, carefully dusted the powder over the chocolates.
Luise set those chocolates aside for a moment and exchanged some words with the professor.
It was in French so I couldn't understand it, but I could roughly guess the content.
The professor picked up a chocolate from the tray she had brought, took a small medicine vial from her pocket, and carefully applied it to the chocolates one by one.
Then, a moment later—
She removed her glasses and held them up to a chocolate, pointing at it while they conversed.
‘Hmm, so those 'glasses' are the secret behind the blind test.’
I kept a meaningful expression and continued to observe them.
The professor threw the vial into the rubbish bin.
And a moment later—
Louise checked her mobile phone and said something to the professor; the professor then took the box of chocolates dusted with white powder and carried it outside.
Louise and the professor loaded the box of chocolates into a car parked outside, and sent the car off.
Then they returned to the kitchen, placed the chocolates from the tray into the refrigerator labeled 'Louise', and headed back upstairs.
"Got it."
Some time later.
I held in my hand the glasses I had retrieved from the professor's room—after slipping in just moments ago—and inspected Louise's chocolates.
"There's a blue mark."
Absolutely invisible to the naked eye; it could only be seen through these special glasses.
So what should I do?
Destroy all the glasses?
Or swap Louise's and Min-jeong's chocolates with each other?
The answer was simple.
I retrieved the vial the professor had discarded in the rubbish bin.
Then I took out Min-jeong's chocolates and applied the same marks as Louise's.
"Now the conditions are equal."
【Kim Tae-yang asks whether there isn't some risk involved. +1 Happiness】
Kim Tae-yang was right.
To play it safe, swapping Louise's and Min-jeong's chocolates would be better.
【Kim Tae-yang suggests putting salt on Louise's chocolates. +1 Happiness】
"That's not it either."
Have you forgotten, Kim Tae-yang?
Min-jeong must be made into a master of chocolate.
Louise's chocolates against Min-jeong's chocolates.
A true showdown of taste—whose is better.
She has to win here for Min-jeong to become a master, and only then will Ten Thousand Streams Return to Origin be granted to me.
Even setting aside Ten Thousand Streams Return to Origin, Min-jeong had to overcome this hurdle to truly stand on her own two feet.
【Kim Tae-yang suspects the professor may have made it herself, since she personally carried it in on a tray. +1 Happiness】
A reasonable suspicion.
But still—
"Kim Tae-yang. Let's believe in our part-timer for once. Who knows. Perhaps that yellowed sprout will grow into a towering green tree."
【Kim Tae-yang says he can't bring himself to trust that. +1 Happiness】
"If you can't trust Min-jeong, then trust me."
Sniff, sniff.
Beyond martial arts, I have reached a transcendent peak even when it comes to sweets.
Just by catching the scent alone, I could tell.
"Our part-timer wins."