Earth also was covered in snow and icy cold air.
“It’s a mess.”
“Yes,” Sunsook answered as Joonbum mumbled at the sight of cars dirtying all the snow on the ground. The various people and cars moving about muddied the snow on the ground, turning it into a very distracting and dirty sight to see.
It was inevitable as there was a huge number of people busily walking through the road and cars with thick smog exhausts, melting all the snow away after making contact with the ground. The snow then mixed with dirt and all sorts of trash — it eventually became blackened water and flowed down into the sewers. It was a very disturbing but common sight in the city.
‘I was one of them before,’ Joonbum thought as he glanced at people who were quickly walking to their destinations. There were signs of fatigue on their faces.
“Son, brighten up.”
“Huh? Oh, right. Sure. Let’s go, Mom.”
Sunsook lightly tapped on Joonbum’s back and Joonbum shook his thoughts away. He positioned his arm for his mother to grab to escort her.
“Oh? Aren’t you embarrassed to escort such an old mom out in public?”
Joonbum grinned at her words. She was wearing a wide smile that showed how happy she was.
“Mom, don’t try to hide that you like it.”
“What! I am not.”
“And what do you mean, ‘old mom’? I know you don’t consider yourself as such anymore.”
“How did you know?”
“Because it’s obvious.”
“Son, don’t be too honest when you’re in front of a woman. You’ll never find a girlfriend.”
“Sure, sure,” Joonbum replied teasingly.
‘Mom changed a lot too.’
Sunsook was now a very different person than before. She was now free from her past hardships and enjoyed a life free of burdens. Her confidence made her look like a true noble lady with an aura of dignity and calmness.
‘She sure looks like an aristocrat now. Haha.’
Joonbum was really happy that his mom was enjoying her life.
*
“Oh! Madam, please come in!”
Younghee Lee greeted Sunsook as soon as she noticed her coming in.
“Hello, Younghee. This is my son.”
Younghee lightly bowed to Joonbum as Sunsook introduced him.
“I’m Younghee Lee of Jora Reid.”
“Joonbum Jang.”
Younghee turned and guided them to the private meeting room on the right.
“Please follow me to the meeting room.”
The store was a high-class jewelry shop. It was the place where Sunsook sold the gold on her first visit. She had also requested some crafted jewelry with her various jewels.
“Oh! Madam, I was waiting for you.”
“Hello, Mr. Kim. This is my son.”
“Oh, yes. Hello, I am Sukhyun Kim, manager of Jora Reid.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Joonbum Jang.”
“Please take a seat.”
The three sat down on the sofa that faced a low but long coffee table in front of them as Younghee brought out scented tea. Sukhyun then brought out some boxes that had been prepared.
“It’s finished. Ten sets of accessories as requested. We used gold and silver to make the frames for the jewels you handed to us.”
The boxes were opened to reveal necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, a brooch, a hairpin, and an ornament in each box. Each box had one type of gem used to create all of its accessories: diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire, pearl, aquamarine, topaz, amethyst, garnet, and amber. Sukhyun saw Joonbum and Sunsook with interested looks as they both quickly inspected all of the accessories.
‘These people should be the family of a big company or a politician. I just know it. Look at the cow she brought the first time!’
Sukhyun kept himself busy with his wild imagination.
“It looks good. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. We are grateful that you let us work with you. Younghee, bring that in.”
Younghee appeared with a decorated jewelry box with a glossy coating. She laid it on the table and unlocked the box. The box had five drawers to store and protect various jewelry. Younghee pulled out the drawers to show what was inside.
“Oh? And this is?”
“How do you like it?”
“What is this?”
“It’s a small present from us to you as a token of gratitude. It’s not much, but we would be honored for you to have it.”
The box was full of various accessories crafted in gold and silver.
‘So that’s why the box was so heavy.’
Joonbum thought about Younghee who had turned red just by bringing in the box. All of the drawers were full of various accessories.
“This would cost too much…”
“No, no. It’s nothing of that value. It’s only made out of gold and silver so it’s much cheaper than it looks. It’s our way of showing thanks for your patronage with our store.”
Joonbum intervened as Sunsook hesitated.
“Mother, I think you can accept it. Thank you.”
“Of course, it’s specially crafted for her and her only.”
They talked a bit more as Younghee carefully packed all the boxes in the carrying case that Joonbum brought. Then, they got up to leave the store.
“Madam, please visit us again.”
Sukhyun bowed deeply to them as they left the store.
‘It’s almost over.’
This was the most expensive piece of the puzzle where Joonbum needed to impersonate a noble. With the completion of this task, they enjoyed the rest of their day by visiting some famous restaurants and then returned to the shooting range to rest. A delivery order he had placed arrived.
“You can unload it there.”
The people that came to deliver the ordered goods moved them onto the truck and trailers.
“It’s all done. Please sign here.”
Joonbum nodded and checked all the boxes before signing the receipt.
“Thank you.”
Sunsook approached Joonbum as the delivery truck left.
“Did you count?”
“Yeah. It’s 100 boxes of large, medium, and small sizes.”
The boxes held 3,000 women’s leather gloves, which each box containing 30 gloves. While Joonbum was organizing the boxes, another truck arrived.
“Mr. Jang!”
“Oh, you came. Please put it down there.”
Taesoo parked his car and approached Joonbum. He glanced at the boxes of gloves and shook his head.
“So I got winter shoes in all sizes, winter clothes…”
“Are they all counterfeit items?”
“Yeah. Everything coming through the American military are all counterfeits. But they still last and work well for its intended purpose. I handpicked the better ones.”
“And what about that item I requested before?”
“Not yet.”
Joonbum thought for a moment and spoke again.
“Then, can you get Browning M2s?”
“Yes. I can get them in a few days. They won’t be new ones though.”
“That will do. And also spare parts, repair tools, and lots of ammo. Can you get petrol also?”
“Sure. How much do you want?”
Taesoo left immediately after he was done writing down the orders from Joonbum to tend to his family. If not for his family, this whole business could’ve been jeopardized by greed or curiosity.
“Joonbum, time for dinner.”
“Yes, Mom.”
The day was already over.
