I Bought the Male Lead with Money

29.

Snacks are expensive food. They contain sugar, eggs, and milk. Among these, sugar is particularly expensive. Even though they discovered that sugar could be extracted from sugarcane crops, this fact didn’t change.

‘Because there are no factories.’

This world didn’t even have steam locomotives. Although magic could be used for fast travel, it was very expensive. So it wasn’t strange for a child from the back alleys to be captivated by the sweetness of snacks.

I heard he was 12 years old, still quite young.

Yu Jin looked proudly at San eagerly eating the snacks, but changed his expression when he turned his gaze to Jinhyeon.

“So, what’s the matter?”

Naturally, his words were tinged with anger at having his important time interrupted. Yu Jin was prickly towards the uninvited visitor.

“What do you think?”

Jinhyeon answered nonchalantly.

“I came because I thought we’d need more information for what’s ahead.”

“If I needed it, I would have called you myself.”

“When? Do you know how urgent this is?”

Yu Jin was dumbfounded. If it was so urgent, he shouldn’t have spent all night having sex. He had a lot he wanted to say but held back for now. He had already cursed several times, but that was possible during sex. If he cursed now, Jinhyeon would get angry.

He wished he had cursed more when he had the chance. Yu Jin felt somewhat regretful. Anyway, he needed information about the back alleys, and since Jinhyeon was here, it would be better to resolve it now.

Yu Jin pulled Keith, who was still standing, to sit beside him. He didn’t want to leave Keith standing while Jinhyeon was seated.

“So, what’s the information?”

Even though Yu Jin asked as desired, Jinhyeon’s furrowed brow didn’t relax. He couldn’t understand why Jinhyeon was acting like this. How did someone with such a temper become emperor? Yu Jin pressed his tongue with his teeth to stop it from moving on its own.

“If you don’t want to talk, then forget it.”

Only after Yu Jin expressed his irritation did Jinhyeon speak again.

“How much do you know about the back alleys?”

“I know the basics.”

“Then this will be easy.”

There are plenty of nobles who don’t even know the basics. It was a topic they didn’t need to be interested in. Jinhyeon nodded and began his explanation. Actually, most of the explanation was given by San, not Jinhyeon.

San hurriedly swallowed the snacks he was eating and spoke.

“There are three factions in the back alleys.”

Despite looking young, San spoke much more coherently than most adults. The child pointed out the three divided factions, their characteristics, and the changes that would occur due to Jinhyeon’s intrusion. The part about Jinhyeon organizing the back alley factions seemed to have left a strong impression, as San explained that part in particular detail.

“When Jinhyeon swung his sword, heads fell.”

Listening to this, Yu Jin put his hand to his forehead. He had so much he wanted to say. It was problematic that Jinhyeon had turned the back alleys upside down in two days without saying anything, and it was also an issue that he had shown such cruel scenes to a young child.

“Isn’t San still young?”

“I heard he’s 12.”

“You know his age? And you showed someone killing people to a child like that?”

“Is that the part you want to nitpick?”

Jinhyeon asked back with a strange expression.

“Don’t worry. I don’t intend to only focus on that.”

Yu Jin gritted his teeth. Was Jinhyeon always this reckless? There was a huge difference between the Jinhyeon he knew from the novel and the one he met in person. This one was much more daring and aggressive. He’s not a wild boar, for goodness sake.

“How much have you messed with the back alley factions?”

San had already told him, but he needed to cross-verify. It was seen through a child’s eyes, after all.

“I only touched Hans’ and Green’s gangs.”

You fucking bastard. Yu Jin swallowed the curse that was about to burst out.

“Why did you mess with them?”

“I wanted to know how strong the back alley factions really are.”

“And you’ve reached a conclusion?”

“I have. They’re weaker than I thought. Especially Hans’ gang, I can see why they’re considered the weakest. They have numbers, but they’re stupid. The few strong ones are busy keeping other gangs in check.”

“If they’re stupid, why do people follow them?”

“They say they have loyalty.”

“What kind of loyalty?”

How can thugs from the back alleys have loyalty? As Yu Jin wondered, San explained.

According to him, if a member of Hans’ gang gets beaten by someone else, the gang retaliates. They persistently harass whoever it is, regardless of who they are, and many people follow them after seeing this. Yu Jin wondered if that could really be called loyalty, but he didn’t dig deeper.

“So now that you’ve caused trouble, they’ll be running around seeking revenge, right?”

“That’s right. There are witnesses, so they’ll find me eventually. But since I belong to a noble, they won’t be able to touch me easily even if they find me. Instead, they’ll look for other methods.”

The chance of them openly attacking Jinhyeon with the intention to kill is low. The difference between nobles and commoners in this world is enormous. So what method might they try to find?

Yu Jin thought.

‘They’ll send assassins.’

It’s a common method, but it’s also dangerous because if they’re traced back, everyone might die.

“They won’t send assassins. If they’re traced back, everyone will die.”

Yu Jin felt uneasy that he had the same thought as Jinhyeon. But Jinhyeon continued without concern.

“If Hans is really stupid, he might send assassins, but others around him would probably stop him.”

Hans knew he wasn’t smart. So he often sought opinions from his subordinates, and there were three individuals who acted as his advisors. Jinhyeon said he killed one of them, so two remain.

“How about bribing one of them? Then feed them manipulated information to shake things up.”

For example, spread word that another gang opposing Hans has gained a noble sponsor. And make it look like Jinhyeon was sent by that sponsor. Then Hans would think:

‘Could we also get noble sponsorship?’

At that point, another noble sponsor shows interest in Hans.

“But that sponsor would also be someone we sent.”

Then use that to scatter Hans’ and Green’s gangs. This raises a question.

“If we turn everything upside down for Hans and Green, who were the strongest factions, wouldn’t we have to rebuild the back alley factions from scratch?”

Jinhyeon curled his lips hearing Yu Jin’s words.

“But there’s still one faction left. Blando. They have fewer numbers, but they’re the strongest, smartest, and they’re actually trying to find a noble sponsor.”

Jinhyeon hadn’t been away for long, but he managed to learn all this. Yu Jin already knew this from the novel, but Jinhyeon didn’t. He couldn’t help but be impressed.

“So I’ll become that sponsor.”

As Jinhyeon had declared before that he wouldn’t pry into Yu Jin’s past, he didn’t ask how Yu Jin knew this information. There was a different problem.

‘I got too excited and said too much.’

Talking with Jinhyeon was enjoyable, and he ended up saying everything. He could feel Keith’s gaze burning into him from beside him.

‘He must be wondering how I knew all this.’

Considering Yu Jin’s behavior up until now, knowing these facts would seem strange. It was natural for Keith to be suspicious. Yu Jin fidgeted with his interlocked fingers.

How should he resolve this?

Feeling his throat dry up, Yu Jin lifted his teacup. Even though it was his favorite tea, he couldn’t properly taste it. As he was wracking his brain for an excuse to give Keith, his eyes suddenly met Jinhyeon’s. At the same time, Jinhyeon’s cool-looking eyes curved into round lines.

‘Want me to help?’

Jinhyeon mouthed. How are you going to help? While Yu Jin was wondering, Jinhyeon stood up and plopped down next to him. Then he wrapped his arm around the bewildered Yu Jin’s waist. Yu Jin had planned to use the concept of being a prophet, but he wasn’t actually a real prophet. Yet, Yu Jin trembled with an inexplicable ominous feeling. And that premonition came true.

Resting his head on Yu Jin’s shoulder, Jinhyeon stroked the back of Yu Jin’s hand. Then he took the teacup Yu Jin was holding, set it down, and interlaced their fingers. As Jinhyeon’s thick-jointed fingers slipped between his, Yu Jin’s body stiffened.

“My love.”

Jinhyeon whispered seductively to the frozen Yu Jin.

Chu.

Then soft flesh touched his ear.

‘This is… lips, right?’

Yu Jin’s body went rigid. Jinhyeon kissed him again. San’s eyes, sitting right in front of them, grew round. The child’s reaction was problematic, but there was something even more worrying. Yu Jin slowly turned his head to the side.

Keith was looking at him with a gloomy expression.