The Regressed Vault Keeper Took It All

Chapter 3: You Won’t Regret It

Leaving behind the dim shadows of Cheonggyecheon, I stepped onto the bridge.

The cold winter wind brushed across my face.

‘The person was in Jongno, wasn’t he?’

I rummaged through my hazy memories and quickened my steps toward Jongno.

As the sun began to set, the streets gradually sank into darkness.

My breath scattered white.

Before I grabbed the frozen doorknob with my stiff fingers, I steadied my breathing.

“Is anyone here?”

When I knocked on the door, people suddenly poured out from inside.

“What the hell? Who the fuck are you?”

“I came to see Teacher Yang.”

“What?”

At the mention of “Teacher Yang,” the men’s gazes sharpened.

I calmly accepted the chill in the air and their piercing stares.

“It’s something important.”

“You think you can meet the Master anytime just because you want to? Get lost.”

Ignoring them, I knocked again.

“Teacher Yang! I came to deliver news about the person you’ve been looking for!”

“Hey!”

The men approached.

One of them reached out toward my shoulder.

I twisted my body and glared at the man who tried to grab me.

“Don’t touch me.”

“What?”

The men glared at me as if they were going to kill me.

I did not avoid those murderous eyes.

‘With my body as it is now, it’ll be hard to deal with all of them.’

The atmosphere grew more dangerous.

But I couldn’t just back down.

The man who had tried to grab my shoulder warned me sharply.

“I’ll say it once more. Get lost. Or you’ll really die.”

I ignored him and shouted again.

“Teacher Yang! You’ll regret this!”

“This bastard!”

The man roared and swung his fist.

I calmly stepped back and avoided it, tripping him as I did.

With a loud crash, he fell to the ground, and the door opened.

“Wait.”

At the words of the man who opened the door, those who had been about to lunge at me stopped in their tracks.

The man looked down at the one sprawled on the ground with a contemptuous gaze.

At that look, the fallen man jumped to his feet.

“Brother, I just let my guard down for a moment—”

The man who had stepped out ignored him and asked me instead.

“You said you had news about the person the Master is searching for?”

I knew this man.

I could show him the item.

Instead of answering, I looked up at him and pulled a necklace from my breast.

Under the moonlight, a small stone gleamed.

“Will this be enough?”

The man’s eyes widened instantly.

A flicker of unhidden surprise crossed his face.

As I expected, he recognized at once the stone attached to the necklace I held.

The necklace Kamangi had cherished.

It was the token Yang Sobo had given to his granddaughter.

The man quickly stepped closer and tried to snatch the necklace.

I immediately stepped back and tucked it back into my breast.

“Please let me meet Teacher Yang.”

“If that’s real, then first—”

“If you take it by force, you won’t hear a single word from me.”

The man seemed to hesitate, then nodded.

“Wait. I’ll ask the Master.”

I also nodded.

“Everyone, don’t do anything. Just keep watch.”

Casting me a glance, the man closed the door and went inside.

The man who had tripped over my leg glared at me with eyes full of murderous rage, but he didn’t rush at me again.

I ignored his gaze and fiddled with the necklace.

‘Yang Sobo.’

The one who had given this necklace to Kamangi.

And the leader of the Chinese merchants who had dominated South Korea’s underground economy.

Kamangi’s real name was Yeong.

It meant ‘to shine,’ a name given by Yang Sobo himself.

‘It was only after Kamangi’s death that Yang Sobo looked for this necklace.’

That was why I hadn’t thought of her right away.

I’d only heard news of her years later.

That the girl who had died of tuberculosis had been the child Yang Sobo was searching for—that rumor only reached me much later.

After her death, the necklace passed through several hands before returning to Yang Sobo.

The necklace returned, but Kamangi herself never did.

As was often the case for those who died in the shantytowns, her body had been burned.

‘They said not even a piece of bone remained.’

After that, a series of misfortunes befell Yang Sobo, and he left Korea in loneliness.

Not long after, the man who had gone inside opened the door again.

“Follow me.”

I followed him into the mansion.

As I entered through the main gate hidden within an ordinary alley, I was astonished by the grandeur.

Several buildings hidden behind tall walls were arranged in harmony.

While preserving the beauty of a traditional Korean hanok, Chinese ornaments were scattered throughout.

Chinese calligraphy and porcelain were also displayed everywhere.

This was Yang Sobo, his identity revealed.

“Please spare me!”

After walking for some time, we arrived at the garden.

There, a man beaten bloody was begging an old man for his life.

‘Trying to make a show of intimidation for the guest, are they?’

Seeing through the ploy, I laughed inwardly.

“Master! Please spare me.”

The old man looked down at him with eyes cold as ice.

There wasn’t the faintest trace of emotion in them.

The man’s desperate plea before death passed by him like nothing more than the sound of the wind.

The beating resumed.

Only then did the old man turn his gaze to me.

“You said you brought news of my child?”

Yang Sobo asked coolly.

His voice, cold and dry as a block of ice, clashed strangely with the pitiful screams that lingered in the background.

His ruthlessness, unmoved even in the face of such cruelty, pressed heavily upon the air.

As I expected, this performance was staged to intimidate me.

But as if I would ever flinch at something like this.

Smiling, I nodded.

Yang Sobo stared at me, then spoke in a flat voice without rise or fall.

“Show me the proof.”

I pulled out the necklace from my breast again.

“Hand it over.”

This time, without complaint, I handed the necklace to the man standing beside me.

He took it and passed it to Yang Sobo.

“Yes. This is indeed what I gave to Yeong.”

Yang Sobo turned his gaze back to me and, with eyes still devoid of emotion, asked,

“The child…….”

“She’s alive.”

I answered before his question even finished.

“That child is alive?”

In Yang Sobo’s voice—famed for being without blood or tears—there was the faintest tremor.

Yet his eyes remained as deep and dark as an abyss.

For the briefest instant, a calculating coldness flashed across his blade-like face, as if weighing something.

So faint a show of emotion that one wouldn’t have noticed without watching carefully.

“Where is she? I must see the child with my own eyes.”

“First, please speak with me.”

In that instant, the air grew cold.

A chill like the heart of Siberia brushed against the back of my neck.

“Speak with you?”

“Yes. I will guide you afterward.”

A brief silence fell.

His eyes, fixed on me without a word, were like those of a predator sizing up its prey.

“Very well, let’s hear what you have to say.”

Turning his body, Yang Sobo gave orders to his subordinates.

“Dispose of him cleanly. Leave no trace.”

Had it not been for the bloodied man before us, one might have mistaken the words for a command to simply clear away garbage.

But the cruelty contained within froze the air in the room.

“Master! Master!! Please spare me, Master!”

Despite the man’s desperate pleas, Yang Sobo gave no response.

To him, a human’s life or death was a trivial matter, decided in the blink of an eye.

As he took a step forward, he said,

“Zhang Wei, bring him.”

With that, Yang Sobo no longer spared me a glance and silently walked on.

“Let’s go.”

I stepped forward before Zhang Wei and followed after Yang Sobo.

After walking for some time, we arrived at his office.

Without a word, Yang Sobo motioned with his chin toward a chair.

I sat calmly.

“What is it you wish to say? Speak.”

“If you simply brought the child here, do you think she would easily accept it?”

The office, lavishly adorned, had not even a single family photograph.

“If she had known of Teacher Yang’s existence, would she have wandered the streets?”

Even as I mentioned Yang Yeong, Yang Sobo betrayed no emotion.

But I pressed on.

“From as early as she can remember, the streets have been her home. I also met her on the street.”

Though I could not read his intentions, I continued speaking, for the sake of my plan.

“She has lived alone for over ten years. If you just took her in, would she truly adapt?”

At last, Yang Sobo broke his silence.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I will help her adapt.”

“Help her adapt?”

“There is a child she’s close to. About the same age.”

“In other words, take that child in as well?”

I swallowed dryly and nodded.

“Yes. If that child is with her, Kamangi will adapt more easily.”

“Kamangi? So that’s what you call Yang Yeong.”

“Like the other children of the streets, she had no name.”

Even when I used her nickname, Yang Sobo never revealed emotion.

“If I take in that child as well for Yang Yeong’s sake, what benefit is there for you?”

“Because he’s also my younger brother.”

When I revealed my true intent, doubt flickered in his eyes.

“Your younger brother…….”

“Unlike me, Min-soo lived with Yang Yeong, leaning on each other to survive. He will surely help her adapt.”

At the repeated mention of the two children, Yang Sobo’s eyes gleamed like those of a viper.

I did not look away.

From here on was what mattered.

More than Yang Yeong’s well-being, Min-soo’s safety was my priority.

I played the card I had been holding back.

“Both children are suffering from tuberculosis.”

“What did you say?”

“They’ve lived with the illness for quite some time. If treatment is delayed any longer…… they could die at any moment.”

Yang Sobo glared at me for a long while before replying.

“……Fine. Bring both children. My granddaughter and her friend—both will have the best doctors. But there is still something you haven’t said.”

His gaze grew sharper still.

His eyes, cold enough to pierce through everything, bore into me.

“What is it you want?”

I met his stare head-on.

“I wish for you to become my patron.”

“Patronage? Not compensation, but patronage?”

“Yes. Patronage.”

Leaning back in his chair, Yang Sobo studied me.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Baek Min-woo.”

“Your age?”

“I turned twenty this year.”

“Do you also live on the streets?”

“Yes. I live in the beggar village by Cheonggyecheon.”

At that, Yang Sobo suddenly burst out laughing.

“Interesting. A beggar from a beggar village, asking not for compensation but patronage?”

When his laughter stopped, he spoke with the utmost seriousness.

“If you had asked for compensation, I might have given you money you could never dream of earning in your lifetime. Yet you still want patronage?”

Indeed, had I asked for money, I would have been given a generous sum.

But no amount of money in hand could lift me from the mud beneath my feet.

Money flowed away like water, but the shadow of power endured.

To survive in this ruthless era, one needed deeply rooted strength, like a great tree, and a vast web of social connections.

And the man at the very center of that web was the one sitting before me—Yang Sobo.

A man who, weighed down by the death of his granddaughter and other misfortunes, had eventually abandoned everything and left Korea.

Yet even now, he still held enough power.

“Yes. I want your patronage.”

“You understand what that means? The moment I bring my granddaughter and your brother under my roof, you all become mine.”

“No. I have no intention of entering a mere master-servant relationship.”

Yang Sobo’s eyebrows shot upward.

“No intention of becoming a servant?”

“Yes. I want us to have a mutual relationship of give and take.”

Yang Sobo laughed louder than before.

“A beggar, talking about give and take? What could you possibly offer me?”

“You won’t regret it.”

In silence, we exchanged only gazes in the air between us.

A deep stillness settled over the office.

The one to break it first was Yang Sobo.

“If I’m disappointed, then we’ll pretend this patronage never happened. You’ll receive no compensation either.”

“If it doesn’t please you, you may withdraw your patronage at any time.”

That was how confident I was.

I would make it so that Yang Sobo had no choice but to trust me.

At my confident answer, Yang Sobo nodded.

“Good. I’ll think it over.”

“Thank you.”

I rose from my seat and bowed toward him.

“And lastly…….”

I did not want Min-soo to walk this path.

One was enough to dirty his hands, and that was me.

“Please don’t make Min-soo do anything. Just… let him stay with Yang Yeong.”

Yang Sobo glared at me for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“However, if you’re thinking of making that boy my granddaughter’s partner……”

“I have never thought such a thing.”

I didn’t know the nature of their relationship either.

It was a path I had never walked.

“Fine. If Yang Yeong wishes it, I’ll allow your brother to stay by her side.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything else to say?”

“No.”

Nodding, Yang Sobo called for his subordinate.

“Zhang Wei!”

“Yes, Master.”

The two of them conversed in Chinese in front of me.

“Prepare the car. We’re bringing my granddaughter.”

“Yes, Master.”

“And……”

After glancing at my face, Yang Sobo continued.

“Find out everything about this boy.”

“Yes, Master.”

They must have thought I didn’t understand Chinese, which was why they spoke it.

But to survive, I had desperately learned and done whatever I could.

That included Chinese.

I could have pretended not to understand their conversation, but that might cause suspicion later.

This was already a doubtful situation; there was no need to add more.

“There is nothing you can find out about me. My parents died during the war, and my younger brother is my only family.”

When I spoke in Chinese, both of them turned to me in surprise.

“You know Chinese?”

“Yes. I can also manage some English and Japanese.”

“Didn’t you say you were a beggar?”

“Living on the streets, I met many kinds of people. I picked things up bit by bit. It was necessary for survival.”

“……I truly cannot figure you out.”

Suspicion thickened in Yang Sobo’s eyes.

I could guess what he was thinking.

And it was only natural for him to doubt me under these circumstances.

“If you’re lying, the consequences will be beyond imagination.”

I answered calmly.

“There isn’t a single lie in what I’ve said.”

Staring at me coldly, Yang Sobo slowly stood.

“I’ll unravel my doubts about you in due time. For now, let’s go and bring my granddaughter.”

Late at night.

A luxury sedan stopped on the bridge overlooking the shantytown of Cheonggyecheon.

Yang Sobo, Zhang Wei, and I stepped out of the car.

From another vehicle, several strong men followed us out.

“Please wait here. I’ll go first and explain the situation.”

Yang Sobo nodded.

“Take Zhang Wei with you. If you’re not back in thirty minutes, we’ll come in ourselves.”

I led Zhang Wei down under the bridge.

At last, we arrived at the shabby shack where Kamangi and Min-soo were staying.

When I knocked on the door, Kamangi carefully opened it and checked me.

“Oppa!”

Relief crossed her face.

Had she really thought I’d abandon Min-soo to her and run away?

“Where’s Min-soo?”

“He’s sleeping. He has a bit of a fever……”

Her voice trailed off.

She had seen Zhang Wei standing stiffly behind me.

She sent me a look demanding an explanation.

“Let me check on Min-soo first. Please wait here.”

Zhang Wei said nothing.

His eyes were fixed on Kamangi.

When I entered, Kamangi closed the door and followed me in.

“Oppa, who is that man? The older girls don’t like it when men come here……”

Her voice carried unease, as if she feared being kicked out of this place.

Listening to her, I first checked on Min-soo.

His face was pale as he tossed and groaned in his sleep.

When I laid my hand on his forehead, it was burning hot.

My heart grew anxious.

“Kamang… no. Yang Yeong.”

The sudden name made her eyes widen.

“What did you say?”

“Your real name is Yang Yeong. I just came from meeting your grandfather.”

“What are you talking about…….”

Confusion rippled across her face like waves.

“Grandfather?”

“There’s no time to explain. With the necklace you entrusted to me, we proved you’re his granddaughter. He’s been searching for you all this time. But first…… let’s save Min-soo.”

I didn’t know how much longer Min-soo could endure.

There was no time now to explain everything to her in detail.

I lifted Min-soo into my arms and stood.