Mercenary Black Mamba

'What's this wench doing looking all sentimental? What is she looking at?'

Jang Pil Nyuh wondered. This wench, who was acting all high and mighty before, was looking up at the sky, bullying her nose on her apron, and looked like she was about to cry. She would look like a crazy person if she had a flower in her hair.

'Aha, she made all of it up. But of course!'

Jang Pil Nyuh mistakenly interpreted the Ha Dong wife's internal turmoil. Her mood perked up again and she swallowed her words of disdain. Jang Pil Nyuh was the type of person who was bitter about other people's joy and reveled in their hardships. A mindset that was closer to a disability.

But she didn't feel elated for long. The Ha Dong wife spread both of her hands wide open and waved them over Jang Pil Nyuh's eyes.

'Is this wench crazy?'

Jang Pil Nyuh looked at her rough, calloused hands, taken aback. Each of her fingers, almost black from working the fields, flashed hints of gold. She felt her eyes spinning.

"What is this?"

Jang Pil Nyuh didn't seem to be aware of what she was doing as she grabbed the H Ddong wife's hands and slowly begin observing them.

"Holy!"

Jang Pil Nyuh drew in a quick breath. She had rings on six of her fingers beside her thumbs and pinkies. They were 'Cis Anu' that was gifted by Ombuti.

Cis Anu represented a cycle in a day. The rings were each decorated with a different precious stone and were linked with dawn - morning - noon - afternoon - evening - dusk. Ombuti gifted the Ha Dong wife with these protective rings of the Tuareg tribe after accepting her as the godmother.

The Park family of Jip-eun Dari didn't disrespect Kim Malsoon and Mu Ssang out of jealousy alone, but because they were afraid of the Jang head family. And the Ha Dong wife, who reached out to help when everyone else neglected him, Mu Ssang made sure to pay back a hundredfold.

Jang Pil Nyuh was Hyangshim Fiber's lady of the house, albeit in name only. She had an eye for jewelry. The platinum ring on her left hand and the gold ring on her right had intricate engravings each with distinctive stones. These weren't some fakes you could easily buy at a common marketplace. These were part of a genuine collection; something a country bumpkin like her could never even dream of. These were, very conservatively, at least six figures each.

'The rumors were real!'

Her previously elated mood fell into a bottomless pit. She was so distraught that it blurred her vision and increased the size of the bags under her eyes. And now the Ha Dong wife's face lit up like the sun.

"It was a housewarming present from a foreign CEO."

The Ha Dong wife unwrapped the towel from her head. A pair of Golden earrings dangled from her earlobes. Jang Pil Nyuh pursed her thin lips. They were undoubtedly masterpieces.

"It's from Ssang's Chinese friend. Ssang told him, 'This is my aunt and she's like a mother to me.', and the Chinese friend went, 'Jjamou wandai!'. How could this dumb old me know what they said? Yeonsoon tells me it means 'Hurray to the godmother'. I had tears in my eyes because I was so thankful to Mu Ssang and at the same time couldn't stop laughing from being so glad to have sent that daughter of mine to college. Wuahahaha!"

The Ha Dong wife threw her head back and started roaring with laughter. She couldn't control herself. Her children, as it turned out, were the best crop that she ever raised. Who cared if Jang Pil Nyuh was wealthy or not. She failed to raise her children right.

Huija and Wootak how to pay their way into a 2-year trade school, and Hwaja couldn't finish even that. The Ha Dong wife actually wore all these jewelry today in case she came across Jang Pil Nyuh.

"This is a gift from a guest from America."

Jang Pil Nyuh didn't have the energy to be surprised anymore.

"The guests are all foreigners?"

"Yes. We had the housewarming party two weeks ago. They came from America, France, Hong Kong, and a bunch from Africa too. Some foreign gentlemen called a Consul came from the British embassy, also a high-ranking French official, and a world-renowned Ph.D. It was utter chaos."

"What? Why would those people come for Mu Ssang?"

"What would I know? He makes a lot of money and must be really powerful. Ssang gave me 10 million won to prepare food for that party."

"10 million won!"

Jang Pil Nyuh groaned. That meant he blew several apartments' worth of money for housewarming food. How much money could he have made to spend 10 million won on food preparation?

"I'll see you next time."

Jang Pil Nyuh picked herself up off the ground. Her mouth tasted sour from listening to all her bragging. There was a ringing inside her head. She could feel a migraine coming on.

So Kim Malsoon is living happily with her children in a whale-sized hanok? She could never let that be. She will hire a hooligan to burn the house down if she had to. Jang Pil Nyuh turned around gritting her teeth.

"You leaving? I got some more stories to tell.... Here, have a bowl of noodles before you go."

The Ha Dong wife tried to persuade her from leaving.

"You can keep your stories to yourself along with your noodles."

Jang Pil Nyuh tried to make her escape.

"Hey, Wootak's mom, did you hear that Ssang was accepted into K University? He got in last year."

The Ha Dong wife yelled with her hands cupped around her mouth. This was the fatal blow she had prepared.

"Step on the gas!"

Jang Pil Nyuh slammed the car door shut and shouted at the top of her lungs. The startled driver brutally stepped on the accelerator. Screech- the car bolted away leaving behind a cloud of dust. The Ha Dong wife watched the car disappear into the distance covered in debris.

'What are you getting so worked up about, you damned bitch!'

She felt a smile on her face. Her smiling lips slowly parted ways and she burst out laughing.

"Hahaha!"

The Ha Dong wife laughed until it started to hurt. She never had such a satisfying day before. She felt sorry that her unni wasn't here to witness this. The Ha Dong wife took off her earrings, her bracelets, and her rings.

"These were meant for Mal Soon. What good are all these trinkets to a simple farmer girl like me? It'll just make people jealous and turn me into a gossip."

The jewelry returned to her pockets after completing their task. The righteous will come out on top in the end. She was an affectionate person who knew her place. She gave birth to Jin Soon and took Mu Ssang under her wing. These were the prime years of the Ha Dong wife.

"Where should I take you, ma'am?"

Driver Kim took a peek at his employer through the rearview mirror. That glaring look, the narrowed eyebrows, and those quivering corners of her eyes, all pointed to an imminent tantrum.

"Were you not aware that we're going back home?"

An expected shriek exploded out. Driver Kim recoiled like a turtle going back into hiding.

'Fucking bitch, if it weren't for the money...'

The driving became slightly more reckless. He would have thrown her out onto the curb ages ago, but he had to pay the bills somehow.

'That low life must've made some chump change somehow.'

Jang Pil Nyuh ground her teeth against each other. She had never felt so displeased in her life. The thought of talking to those women that visited that lowlife's house completely disappeared from her mind.

She was more shocked to hear that he was accepted into a university than the fact that he had made money. She tried to weed him out ever since he was in grade school but the little beastie would always get back up on his feet. She spent a significant amount of money to put him in jail, but now he overcame all those obstacles and was in a university. This was earth-shattering news.

Jang Pil Nyuh's biggest failures were her own children. So it was natural for her to harbor hatred towards Mu Ssang, who took after Kim Mal Soon's looks and intelligence. She pondered different ways to throw Kim Mal Soon's child down into the gutters like his mother, but could not come up with a good idea.

"Aunty, isn't my husband home yet?"

"Yes, he said he'll be here soon."

"What's that blasted man doing, coming back on a boat?"

Jang Pil Nyuh angrily threw her handbag down. The bag bounced off of their elastic sofa and hit one of the lights. The light bulb shattered to pieces. The scared cleaning aunty escaped into the kitchen. It was routine to avoid the missus when her voice went up.

Jang Pil Nyuh flopped onto the sofa and covered her face with her hands. She felt waves of severe headaches. She couldn't find a way to take care of the shark loans from Samshik Capital. Her last hope was her midget of a husband.

Samshik Capital promised to halve their interest rates if they made her husband responsible for the loan. The credibility of the entire Jang head house was somehow placed lower than that of a midget. The same midget that used to bow at their steps.

That midget started standing tall. He used to flinch at their every move and now wouldn't budge during a thunderstorm. That was fine one way or another. Half of their interests would amount to more than a hundred million won. Jang Pil Nyuh was ready to keep her head down.

The problem was the twenty-five miles of distance between her and her husband. She hadn't heard from him in more than two months. She went to see him, putting her pride aside, but her attempts were always in vain. The lackeys that she placed inside the company all ended up being fired. Hope slowly disappeared in these two years and now she could no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel.

She never realized that time could pass by so slowly while waiting for her husband. Her insides were boiling with rage. What she thought was going to be her saving grace, CB, was dragging her family through the mud. Now her husband looked down on her, Kim Mal Soon's child was absolutely thriving, and Mu Ssang solved the Ha Dong family's circumstances. Everything went against her plan.

There was a harsh pounding in her left temple. The headaches became much worse. As she hastily swallowed her medicine something snapped inside of her head. As the external conditions worsened, her internal bipolar disorder came out in the form of violence.

"That midget scammed me! I ought to cook him alive! Did you really think that you could get away with betraying the Jang head family's eldest daughter!"

A bottle of alcohol flew across the living room and destroyed the decorative cabinet.

The ringing of the doorbell snapped Jang Pil Nyuh's mind back into reality. She picked up the intercom with lightning speed. Her husband's face with a grim expression appeared on the screen. She would have to grovel to the likes of him. Jang Pil Nyuh's insides churned.

"It's been a while," Jang Pil Nyuh said suggestively. She was the one in need so she took the defensive stance.

"Ah, yeah. The secret to living a long and happy life lies in not seeing your face."

Park Inbo scanned the destroyed living room. Jang Pil Nyuh flinched at the gravelly voice. She unintentionally glanced over to the windows in the living room where the Dokkaebi (Mu Ssang) would peer in, giving herself away.

"Right, why did you want us to meet?"

Bak In Bo asked, playing innocent.

"Let's cut to the chase. Lend me 2 million dollars," Jang Pil Nyuh said rather bluntly.

"2 million? You think I have that kind of money? Don't you know better than anyone else that all those metal scraps get thrown in there?"

"The company has plenty of cash flow. You said it's filled to the brim with dollars and yens."

"Bah, you want me to take money from the company to bail you out and go to prison for embezzlement? You still haven't given up on those kinds of ridiculous ideas? Are you being serious?"

Jang Pil Nyuh lost her patience from his line of questions.

"You're the one speaking nonsense. Your in-laws are about to be ruined. You said you'll think about it over the phone yesterday. Cut that out and just pull 2 million from the company."

"Ha, look at you. I said I'll think about it. I never agreed to pull anything from the company. You and the brother-in-law insisted on greenlighting CB, then took it over. Now you want me to embezzle money from the company to pay your debts? Are you in your right mind?"

Bak In Bo stared blankly at Jang Pil Nyuh. He appeared like he was looking at a stranger or someone who'd just gone insane. Jang Pil Nyuh felt shattered. She'd already pulled from everywhere she could think of. Her husband was her last hope.

Her family would lose their land if they couldn't repay the loan sharks tomorrow and she promised her father with only her husband's phone call as the silver lining.

"You're our family's son-in-law. A son-in-law is still a son. Just lend us 1 million, no, 500 thousand dollars. We only have 1,400 rice fields left and my father is bedridden thinking that he'd lose all of that too."

Jang Pil Nyuh lowered her head at her husband for the first time in her life. Her family's situation was that urgent.

"Only 1,400 fields? A son-in-law is still a son?"

Bak In Bo looked at his wife as if he just heard an alien speak. No, it must've been alien. Only 1,400 fields? 50 fields and you're considered a wealthy farmer. Who is this woman to all 1,400 fields 'only'?

A son-in-law is still a son? At the very least, it was definitely not something that should be said by the Jang family. His father and mother-in-law treated him like their servant's pet dog, his wife tried to poison him, and his brothers-in-law took money from his company like rats. If this was what she meant by family, then her definition was an insult to all other families.

"Jang Pil Nyuh, I'll gloss over the fact that you took out a loan of 200 million won with the house as collateral. In fact, the house is yours. I'll place you as the sole owner on the deed. Don't even think about pulling money from the company. Don't even think about intimidating the employees as you did before. Because I caught and fired all your Jang family lackeys."

Bak In Bo's face turned ice-cold. Had his dead younger brother not told him, he would've been poisoned to death by his own wife's hand. He got rid of his primary physician, Dr. Kim, and all of the Jang family members and their goons from the company for good measure.

How could someone who tried to murder her own husband with poison say 'a son-in-law is still a son' with such a straight face? He wanted to spit on this detestable woman.

"This can't be!"

The blood vessels popped from rage and Jang Pil Nyuh's eyes turned red.

"Ah, yes! This house is your property now. I will take my leave before I am caught trespassing."

Bak In Bo sneered as he walked out the door.

"Argh, you little midget piece of shit!"

She let out a shriek a good octave higher than a soprano. A jade incense that was unfortunately within her reach became airborne. The concrete walls, however, prevented it from flying any further.

There was an explosive sound. The incense was a part of a collection from a well-known master that her husband bought from Yeoju. The stunt cost her 1,600 kg of rice, but this only fueled her rage.

"You've all had a good run. I'm no saint, but you people are evil. I hope you get to feel what your many tenant farmers were forced to experience. Deep, profound sorrow and hopelessness."

Bak In Bo muttered as he walked out the door.