Chapter 10
“Hayun!”
Ok-bun, who spotted Hayun from far away, hurriedly ran out.
“Oh my! Honey! Come out here for a moment! Hayun is back!”
“What?”
Hearing that, Munsik also threw down his axe and firewood and came running in one breath.
“Oh my! Who is this? It really is Hayun!”
Munsik’s face was filled with an expression of disbelief. The corners of his eyes reddened in an instant.
Seeing the two of them, Hayun was also overwhelmed with emotion.
“Uncle! Auntie!”
“How… how are you here…!”
“Fortunately, everything worked out well. You won’t have to worry about anyone making an issue out of my identity anymore.”
“That’s truly wonderful news!”
The three, reunited after so long, shared a moment of emotion. There was an affectionate feeling between them, as though they had truly become a family.
“We were so worried that something might happen to you… sniff.”
Ok-bun wiped away her tears.
Ever since the day Hayun had been taken away, she had not been able to sleep properly for even a single night.
Every day, she had gone to the government office to plead and beg, worried that something might happen to Hayun. She had even tried slipping money to the constables just to hear some news, but all she received in return was the cold response that they could not tell her anything.
Now that Hayun had returned safely like this, for the childless couple, it felt as though their daughter, who they had thought was dead, had come back to life.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. I’m fine.”
“Sob, this delicate little thing must have suffered so much all this time in prison…”
“You were worried a lot because of me, weren’t you? I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what? The fact that you came back safe and sound is more than enough reason to be grateful.”
Seeing that Hayun was safe, Munsik and Ok-bun let out sighs of relief.
Then, noticing the strangely empty atmosphere inside the tavern, Hayun carefully asked,
“But what about the customers…?”
Just a few days ago, the place had been so crowded that there had not been room to set foot inside. Now, the tavern was completely deserted.
Munsik gave an awkward smile as he replied.
“Ah, that? Don’t worry about it. What matters is that you’re back. Is that other stuff important right now?”
“Yeah, we can just gather the customers again.”
Hayun’s absence had naturally caused a major disruption to Insaeng Jumak’s operation.
All the customers they had worked so hard to gather had been stolen by Sanmaru Jumak.
After returning to Sanmaru Jumak, Dal-jae had copied Insaeng Jumak’s entire system and applied it to his own tavern. And he did so at much lower prices.
For Insaeng Jumak, which no longer had Hayun, it was not easy to make up for such a price difference. As a result, only a small number of customers were quietly eating at Insaeng Jumak now. It had returned to how it used to be.
Munsik smiled sheepishly.
“We tried doing it ourselves, but it didn’t really work.”
“I guess there wasn’t much we could do without you. The customers only look for you, after all.”
“Uncle, Auntie…”
When Hayun looked worried, Munsik patted her on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about running the tavern. We’ll take care of everything ourselves.”
“There’s no point standing around here. Go inside and get some rest. It’s not polite to keep someone who’s been through so much standing around like this.”
Saying that, Munsik grabbed Hayun by the arm and led her inside.
“Huh…?”
Then he suddenly glanced to the side.
There was a middle-aged man standing beside Hayun whom he had never seen before.
Only now did he notice that fact.
“Who is this gentleman…?”
“Ah, well, you see…”
In truth, Hayun herself did not know much about the middle-aged man either.
Other than the fact that he shared the same surname as her.
As Hayun hesitated, the middle-aged man introduced himself first.
“I’m Hayun’s uncle.”
“Uncle?”
“You had an uncle?”
Hayun stared at the middle-aged man in surprise.
A mischievous smile appeared on his face.
Hayun let out a short sigh before answering.
“Yes. Somehow, that’s how it turned out.”
“You mean… your memory has returned?”
“Yes. I remember everything now. Where I lived. My parents’ names, too.”
“That’s wonderful! Truly wonderful!”
“My goodness, what a blessing!”
At the news that Hayun’s memory had returned, Munsik and Ok-bun were overjoyed as though it were their own good fortune.
Then Munsik asked,
“But it’s an awkward time for lunch. Have you eaten?”
“No. Not yet.”
Hayun shook her head.
“Then you must be hungry. Sit down here quickly. I’ll bring you a bowl in a jiffy.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Ok-bun politely asked the middle-aged man,
“Will you have the same as well?”
“I’d be grateful if you would.”
The middle-aged man smiled gently.
While Munsik and Ok-bun went inside to fetch the gukbap, Hayun and the middle-aged man sat down at an empty table.
“Hmm.”
The middle-aged man began examining every corner of Insaeng Jumak without missing a thing. From the sign hanging at the entrance of the tavern to the murals and various interior decorations. His eyes carefully observed one place after another, as though assigning each of them a score.
After a while, the middle-aged man asked Hayun,
“You’re saying you made this place like this yourself?”
Hayun scratched her head bashfully.
“It’s nothing special. Just a meager talent of mine.”
“Nothing special, indeed.”
The middle-aged man shook his head.
“I’ve visited taverns all across the Eight Provinces of Joseon, but I’ve never seen a place like this.”
He was speaking sincerely.
He had traveled throughout Joseon for decades. From high-end taverns in Hanyang to shabby taverns in rural villages. He had visited countless places. But he had never encountered a place like this. The fresh shock struck the middle-aged man’s mind with force.
“Hmm.”
Next, the middle-aged man picked up the menu in front of him.
“What an interesting thing. Did you make this as well?”
“Yes. I thought customers would find it easier to understand if I made something like this, so I called it a menu.”
“Oh?”
The middle-aged man examined the menu from this side and that.
The names of the dishes and the pictures drawn beside them, clearly marked prices, and even set arrangements such as the two-person assorted set.
His gaze turned toward Insaeng Jumak as a whole once again.
“The lettering at the entrance is quite impressive too…”
He immediately recognized the strength of Hayun’s calligraphy.
Though it looked as if it had been scribbled down carelessly, the exquisite control of brush pressure and the beauty conveyed through each stroke were remarkable. It was a level that could not be imitated by anyone who had not held a brush for at least several years.
“Above all, this.”
Then the middle-aged man’s gaze shifted toward the kitchen again.
“I like how you’ve made the kitchen completely visible. It makes me trust the place because I can see what the tavern mistress is doing at a glance.”
“……!”
Hayun could not help being surprised by his words.
The very first thing Hayun had done when remodeling the tavern had been to remove the kitchen door.
‘He noticed even something like that?’
An open kitchen was a concept that had only been introduced in modern times.
By making the kitchen fully visible, customers could be kept from getting bored while waiting, and everyone could see how the tavern was operating.
That was why, no matter how frantically busy things became, not a single person complained about it. The customers would look toward the kitchen and naturally think, ‘Ah, they must be really busy.’
It was something incredibly trivial, yet no one had noticed it until now.
Except for the middle-aged man before her.
His eyes were sparkling brightly. Like someone who had discovered a precious jewel.
“You came up with this as well, didn’t you?”
“……Yes.”
Hayun carefully nodded.
“You have quite a talent. Where did you learn such skills?”
“Why, it’s something I was born with. Isn’t the Im family known for being skilled with their hands?”
“Ha ha ha! Yes, you’re right. Our Im family is famous for having many talented people.”
At Hayun’s playful response, the middle-aged man burst into hearty laughter.
Just then.
“All right, sorry to keep you waiting. Hurry and have a bowl of gukbap each before it gets cold.”
Ok-bun appeared carrying steaming bowls of gukbap. Plenty of meat and green onions were piled atop the milky-white broth.
“Thank you. We’ll enjoy it.”
“I’ll eat well.”
Since it was a late meal, Hayun and the middle-aged man hurriedly picked up their spoons.
Slurp!
Perhaps because it had been so long since she had eaten gukbap, it tasted even more delicious than usual. It could not even be compared to the food she had eaten in prison over the past few days.
However, Hayun was more focused on the middle-aged man than on eating the gukbap.
With his keen insight, he was surely going to have some sort of evaluation to make about the gukbap as well.
Yet the expression on the middle-aged man’s face as he ate the gukbap was complicated.
“Hmm…”
It was delicious.
It was definitely delicious.
But…
It was not quite good enough to be called outstanding.
It was the kind of restaurant you could find one or two of in every town.
If it were nearby, you might visit a few times, but you would not feel the need to go out of your way to travel a long distance for it.
Naturally, there was no reason to line up just to eat there, either.
‘But the customers flocked here…’
The middle-aged man’s mind continued turning as he ate his gukbap. Evaluating products was his profession, and he sought to find the reason behind everything in his daily life.
Clack!
A short while later, the middle-aged man completely emptied his bowl of gukbap and gave his assessment.
“You’re the one who saved this place, aren’t you?”
The middle-aged man looked at Hayun.
“It’s an excellent taste, but this alone isn’t enough.”
At his words, Hayun deliberately said nothing.
Because he was right. Taste alone could not have achieved this level of success. It was a principle that held true even in modern times.
To make a restaurant successful, various marketing techniques were necessary beyond simply having good food.
Hayun had placed devices throughout the tavern that made customers have no choice but to come on their own. All of those things combined to create a sort of brand called Insaeng Jumak.
Having realized that fact, the middle-aged man could not hide his admiration.
“It would be a waste to let a talent like this go to waste.”
At the middle-aged man’s praise, Hayun lowered her head bashfully.
“You flatter me.”
“Not at all.”
The middle-aged man’s face was utterly serious.
At this point, Hayun was beginning to grow curious as well. About the middle-aged man’s true identity.
Unable to bear her curiosity any longer, Hayun carefully asked,
“But who are you to know so much about these things…? Just who exactly are you, sir?”
“Hah, are you only curious about that now?”
Seeing the naughty niece who was only now asking for her uncle’s name, the middle-aged man chuckled.
Then he introduced his true identity.
“I am Im Sang-ok, the daebang of Man-sang.”
“Ma, Man-sang!”
“I, Im Sang-ok?”
Instead of Hayun, who still had no idea what was going on and tilted her head in confusion, Ok-bun and Munsik nearly stumbled over their own legs.
Man-sang.
Man-sang was one of the greatest merchant guilds in Joseon, based in Uiju.
They dealt in all kinds of goods, including ginseng, cotton cloth, grain, and seafood, and even conducted trade with Qing China across the sea.
They had branches throughout Joseon, with thousands of merchants belonging to Man-sang.
And the head of that Man-sang was Im Sang-ok.
“Our Man-sang needs a talent like you.”
“Huh?”
Im Sang-ok, the daebang of Man-sang, asked with a serious look in his eyes.
“How about it? Would you like to work with me?”
Comments (0)