San Francisco Station was, without any exaggeration, busier and noisier than Seoul Station in modern times.
*Choo-choo!*
The trains roared, and the station was packed with people.
And then…
“Please, just a penny!”
Homeless people lined up in the corners of the station, begging.
San Francisco at the time was going through a period of rapid urbanization and transition.
Many people had migrated to California, believing it to be a land of dreams and gold, but in reality, it was just another bottomless pit.
The overflowing population was pushing the city to the brink of collapse.
‘It’s still noisy and smelly here…’
People who had been on the train for a long time couldn’t possibly have had a proper wash.
Squeezed among the crowd, I was disgusted by the smell of people and just wanted to get out as quickly as possible.
But…
“…I’ve never seen so many people gathered in one place before.”
…Even this seemed fascinating to Emma, the country girl.
Emma was especially intrigued by the diverse races of people…
“Those people…! Are they Asian? I’ve never seen them before…!”
She exclaimed in surprise at the sight of East Asians, a rare sight in Justice Town.
Coolies—many East Asians, especially Chinese, had migrated to California since the mid-1800s.
While East Asians were common in California, they were almost nonexistent in Justice Town, so it was no wonder Emma found it fascinating.
“Emma, it’s rude to stare at people like they’re monkeys.”
“…Ah.”
At my remark, Emma quickly lowered her head, seemingly embarrassed by her reaction.
“Ugh, it’s too noisy and smelly here. Let’s get out of here.”
*Grab.*
I took Emma’s hand and pushed through the crowd to get out of the station.
“Wow…!”
As soon as we stepped outside, Emma gasped in amazement again.
This time, she was shocked by the endless line of horse-drawn carriages.
“How can there be so many carriages…!”
From a modern perspective, it was just a crappy rush hour, but Emma’s eyes widened in wonder.
‘…She’s totally here for sightseeing, isn’t she?’
I chuckled and playfully poked her.
“Emma, did we come here to have fun? You can’t keep your mouth shut, huh?”
“…Sorry.”
Finally, Emma bowed her head to me, realizing her mistake.
Then, with a slightly worried expression, she asked me,
“…By the way, I didn’t expect there to be so many people. How are we going to find those two in this big city?”
The request we received from William was to find his daughter, Josephine Capulet, and her black servant, Django Montague, and sabotage their love.
We had seen a portrait of Josephine, but since it wasn’t a photo, it wasn’t very clear, and we didn’t even know what Django looked like.
Finding those two in San Francisco was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
But…
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.”
I already had everything figured out.
When I said that, Emma’s voice brightened as she asked,
“Of course, Boss, you have a brilliant idea. May I ask what it is?”
I confidently replied,
“It’s simple…”
And then…
“We’re not going to do anything.”
“…Huh?”
Emma’s face turned puzzled at my answer.
“Not doing anything…? What do you mean…?”
“Emma, San Francisco is huge. Do you think the two of us can find them by running around? I’m an expert at killing outlaws, not finding them.”
“…But if we don’t do anything, how can we complete the request?”
“Instead, I know some amazing people who are great at finding others.”
Unlike me, they were experts at finding people, especially hidden black folks.
“We’re in a hurry, so I’ll explain as we go. Follow me.”
Wanting to complete the request and leave San Francisco as soon as possible, I led Emma toward the line of carriages.
After boarding one that looked relatively clean, I said,
“Take us to City Hall. That should be enough, right?”
I handed over a one-dollar bill and instructed the driver to take us to San Francisco City Hall.
“Of course, sir. Right away.”
A dollar was quite a hefty sum for a simple taxi ride.
Since City Hall wasn’t too far from San Francisco Station, the driver, grinning from ear to ear, started the carriage.
“…City Hall?”
Hearing the destination, Emma, sitting next to me, tilted her head and asked,
“Boss, why are we going to City Hall?”
“There’s someone there who can help us.”
Of course, that person wouldn’t be too happy to see me back…
‘Swear you’ll never return to San Francisco… no, California again.’
Well, what can I do?
I’ll just have to explain my situation.
“Someone at City Hall is going to help us? Who is it?”
“Shh, you’ll find out later. It’s no fun if I tell you everything now.”
It’ll be more interesting when we actually meet that person.
I added that and didn’t explain further to Emma.
Seeing that I wasn’t going to say more, Emma stopped asking and just turned her gaze outside.
“San Francisco… It’s beyond anything I imagined.”
Everything about San Francisco seemed fascinating to Emma at that moment.
She marveled at the shops lining the streets and the diverse outfits of the people.
And then…
“Hmm…?”
As if she had noticed something strange, she tapped me and pointed in a certain direction.
“…Boss, look at that.”
“Huh? That?”
What Emma pointed at was…
“…Isn’t that the Confederate flag?”
The Confederate States of America, established in 1861 and…
The year 65, destroyed…
It was a symbol of the division of the United States and slavery, containing the flag of the Confederate States of America, the Southern Confederacy.
“Why is that… It’s been over 9 years since the war ended.”
Even now, there are places in the South that still use the Confederate flag… but it’s rare in the West, so it must have seemed strange to Emma.
But I, who was familiar with that symbol, just shrugged it off.
“Oh, that. It’s nothing. That symbol with the Confederate flag is the mark of the South Brotherhood.”
“…The mark of the South Brotherhood?”
Even if you live in the backwater Justice Town, you can’t not know the South Brotherhood, the largest gang in the West.
Emma widened her eyes and asked me.
That’s when it happened.
“Is it okay for the South Brotherhood’s mark to be hanging so blatantly in the streets? They’re the biggest gang in the West, we should take it down immediately…”
“Hey, hey, customer…!!”
The coachman driving the carriage in front of us turned around in shock after hearing Emma’s words.
“P-please refrain from mentioning the South Brotherhood…! And especially don’t say things like they should be arrested…!”
“……”
Emma stopped talking, startled by the coachman’s pleading cry.
I quietly watched the coachman, who was reacting as if he had heard the name of the Grim Reaper…
“Hey, coachman.”
“…Yes.”
“How’s the South Brotherhood these days? Still strutting around San Francisco?”
I handed him a 5-dollar bill and asked.
“…Ah.”
After seeing the 5-dollar bill, the coachman hesitated for a moment, then looked at me and said.
“…It seems you’re not new to San Francisco, sir.”
“I left here 3 years ago. So I don’t know much about recent events.”
“…Then let me explain.”
After taking the money from me, he slowly began his story.
“The South Brotherhood is a gang that settled in San Francisco after the Civil War. You know that, right?”
“I do.”
“Back then, the South Brotherhood wasn’t that powerful… but starting 5 years ago, they began to grow, and 3 years ago, they completely dominated. You can’t find any other organization in San Francisco except the South Brotherhood.”
The coachman’s eyes were filled with deep resentment as he explained.
“There isn’t a single shop in San Francisco that doesn’t pay tribute to the South Brotherhood. They even take tribute from us coachmen! And last month, they raised the tribute… sigh.”
As the coachman let out a frustrated sigh, Emma, sitting beside him, asked in confusion.
“…But isn’t San Francisco one of the most developed cities in California? What are the state government and the city doing?”
“How should I know? I heard the South Brotherhood has connections all the way to the California state government…”
*Cough* *Spit*.
The coachman spat a thick wad of phlegm on the roadside and continued.
“You know the bounty on the South Brotherhood’s boss is a whopping $150,000, right?”
“Yes, I know. …But no one knows what the South Brotherhood boss looks like…”
“Does it make sense that no one knows the face of such a huge gang’s boss? The South Brotherhood, and those damn TKK bastards too! The country is clearly taking bribes and deliberately not catching them!”
Whether in Korea or America, taxi drivers love conspiracy theories like this.
But…
‘He’s not entirely wrong.’
What the coachman said wasn’t completely off the mark.
“Sigh… But the current mayor is a great man. We just have to trust him.”
The coachman finished his explanation by talking about the current mayor of San Francisco.
“The mayor is the same as 3 years ago, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. The mayor is the same as 3 years ago. He’s really a great man. He works so hard for the poor…”
Whether it’s Korean taxi drivers or Western coachmen, they all love talking about politics.
We had to listen to a long speech about how great the mayor of San Francisco was before we finally arrived at City Hall.
“Then, have a good time in San Francisco!”
“Yeah, you too, have a good day.”
After sending off the coachman and getting off in front of City Hall, Emma let out a gasp as she looked at the City Hall building.
“Wow…”
San Francisco City Hall was one of the few modern buildings in this wild West era.
I expected Emma to be amazed.
But…
“What kind of building… huh…”
What surprised Emma even more wasn’t the building, but the sight of the guards in front of City Hall.
“…Those people are also South Brotherhood.”
“Right.”
“…Is that really okay? South Brotherhood gang members guarding the front of City Hall like that.”
Seeing the South Brotherhood gang members guarding the entrance to City Hall, Emma looked as tense as if she had seen outlaws.
I laughed and patted Emma on the shoulder.
“Emma! Don’t look so shocked. We’re about to go inside.”
“Into City Hall… we’re going in?”
“Yeah, there’s someone inside who can help us with our request.”
“……”
Emma looked puzzled but followed me anyway.
And so, we walked towards City Hall, guarded by the South Brotherhood.
