Chapter 11
“How about it? Would you like to work with me?”
“……!”
The moment Hayun heard Im Sang-ok’s proposal, her heart began pounding like crazy.
The largest merchant guild in Joseon.
Working there was an opportunity that might come only once in a lifetime. If she went there, finding the curved jade and returning to the future would become much easier than it was now.
No, even if she couldn’t return to the future, it wouldn’t matter. As long as she seized this opportunity, she could live comfortably in Joseon.
In modern terms, it was like the chairman of a chaebol family personally coming to scout her.
An ordinary person would have answered without hesitation.
Hayun was no different. There was no reason to refuse.
“……!”
However, the empty tables of Insaeng Jumak held Hayun back.
She could simply leave like this, but the two people left behind would undoubtedly return to the life they had lived before. Back to the desolate tavern that was on the verge of collapse.
They might be able to endure for a while based on what Hayun had built, but ultimately, it was only a matter of time before the tavern went under.
‘Three years? Or four?’
This was an industry where surviving without constantly introducing changes was difficult.
And now that Sanmaru Jumak had joined the competition, the future of these two without Hayun was practically predetermined.
‘The customers will gradually dwindle, and eventually they’ll have to close their doors…’
Insaeng Jumak would close.
That was a situation Hayun could never accept.
Her own success was important, but what good would it do if the two people who had struggled alongside her all this time ended up losing everything?
After much deliberation, Hayun declined Im Sang-ok’s offer.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
“Why?”
Im Sang-ok’s eyes were filled with surprise. He had never expected her to refuse.
“First, I want to finish what I’m doing with Insaeng Jumak.”
Hayun said this while looking at Ok-bun and Munsik.
“It wouldn’t be right to leave these people behind like this. And I can’t just abandon this place in its current state, either.”
“Oh?”
At Hayun’s answer, Im Sang-ok looked intrigued.
“I owe these people a debt I can never repay.”
There was genuine sincerity in Hayun’s voice.
“They saved me when I had lost my memory and collapsed. They also gave me a place to sleep and food to eat for several months. I can’t leave this place until they have the strength to become self-sufficient.”
Hayun made her refusal unmistakably clear.
Then Im Sang-ok suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
“Ha ha ha! So you understand loyalty. I like you even more.”
Im Sang-ok looked at Hayun with a satisfied expression.
“It’s rare to find a merchant who understands loyalty. Most of them put profit above everything else.”
Im Sang-ok prided himself on having seen countless kinds of people during his time as the daebang of Man-sang. Among them were people with outstanding talent, and people with loyalty greater than anyone else’s.
But those who possessed both talent and loyalty were rare. After all, being a merchant was structured in such a way that one side inevitably had to suffer a loss, which did not exactly go hand in hand with loyalty.
But Hayun possessed both qualities. How could he not like her?
“Then how about we do this?”
Im Sang-ok presented an unprecedentedly generous proposal.
“I shall order everyone associated with Man-sang to use Insaeng Jumak from now on. Then there will be no need to worry about these two’s old age.”
“……!”
Hayun’s eyes widened at the proposal.
Man-sang had branches throughout the country, and the number of people associated with it alone reached into the thousands.
Peddlers carrying goods, merchants selling silk, fishmongers selling seafood… they were all connected to Man-sang.
Moreover, Mungyeong Saejae was a major route connecting Yeongnam and Hoseo.
It was one of the places that not only Man-sang’s people but merchants from all across the Eight Provinces of Joseon had to pass through. If people connected to Man-sang came to a place like this, that alone would generate more than enough revenue.
‘Regular customers!’
Hayun’s mind began turning rapidly.
At least ten people a day, twenty or more on busy days, and that, every single day.
That was more than enough income for Ok-bun and Munsik to live out the rest of their lives without worrying.
‘Even if the number of customers decreases from what it is now, what matters is that it’ll be stable.’
After thinking it over, Hayun looked at Ok-bun and Munsik.
They were also looking at Hayun with expressions that clearly said she should accept immediately.
“Hayun, don’t you worry about us.”
“When else would an opportunity like this come along? Go on and accept it.”
In any case, Hayun could not stay here for the rest of her life either.
Someday, she had to find the curved jade and return to her original world.
If so, there was nothing wrong with accepting an offer that would allow the couple to enjoy a stable old age.
After much deliberation, Hayun nodded.
“All right. I’ll follow you, Dae-in.”
“Ha ha ha! You’ve made a wise decision. Good.”
Im Sang-ok let out a satisfied laugh.
Then he stood up.
“They say you should strike while the iron is hot, so hurry up and get things settled here. I’ll be heading up to Uiju today.”
“Today?”
Hayun asked in surprise.
“Why? Do you still have a lot to take care of?”
“No. It’s not that…”
“Then I’ll give you until this evening.”
Im Sang-ok looked at Munsik and Ok-bun as he spoke.
“If there’s anything you haven’t had the chance to say to each other, take your time and talk. I’ll be waiting at the village entrance.”
With those words, Im Sang-ok left Insaeng Jumak.
“……”
An awkward silence settled over the tavern at the sudden turn of events.
The three of them, Hayun, Ok-bun, and Munsik, could not bring themselves to speak first.
Munsik finally managed to open his mouth.
“This is for the best. When else would an opportunity like this come along?”
“Uncle…”
“Now that the daebang of Man-sang has made such a promise, we can live without worrying for the rest of our lives. It all worked out, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t you worry about us. You just worry about yourself.”
Ok-bun’s voice trembled as she said this. Tears were welling up in the corners of her eyes.
Swallowing back her own tears, Hayun continued.
“……Thank you for everything.”
“What are you thanking us for? We’re even more grateful to you. If it weren’t for you, this place would have closed down long ago.”
“Come visit us whenever you’re craving gukbap. If you come, Hayun, I’ll run out to greet you even if it’s the middle of the night.”
“Yes. I’ll definitely come.”
“Good. Now hurry up and pack your things and come out. The daebang might be waiting.”
Knowing that the shorter an actual farewell lasted, the better, Hayun went to her room and packed her belongings.
“Is this all?”
Her luggage amounted to nothing more than a single small bundle.
She had arrived here with nothing in the first place, so all she had were a few changes of clothes.
Hayun quickly packed her things and left the room.
“Did you pack everything?”
“Yes.”
“Here, take this.”
Ok-bun handed her a pouch as though she had been waiting for the moment.
“What’s this?”
“It’s nothing much. Buy yourself something to eat along the way with it.”
Feeling the heavy weight inside the pouch, Hayun looked inside. There were countless clinking yeopjeon coins inside.
“Auntie, this is…”
“Don’t refuse it. It’s all money you earned.”
What Ok-bun had handed Hayun was half of the profits they had earned at Insaeng Jumak during that time.
Half was only what it was called. Once the money spent on food supplies, renovating the tavern, and various other expenses was taken into account, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was practically all of it.
After handing Hayun such a large sum, Ok-bun tightly grasped Hayun’s hand one last time.
“You have to live well, all right?”
“Yes. I’ll definitely succeed and come back.”
Munsik patted Hayun on the shoulder.
“Send us a letter once in a while, too.”
“Yes. I will.”
“Then… take care.”
“Yes… Goodbye.”
Hayun forced herself to take steps that did not want to move and barely managed to leave Insaeng Jumak.
After walking a fair distance, she turned around and saw that Ok-bun and Munsik were still waving to her from far away.
‘Thank you for everything.’
With Hayun making a deep formal bow toward the two of them, her connection with Insaeng Jumak came to an end.
***
When she reached the village entrance, there was a carriage waiting, seemingly prepared in advance by Im Sang-ok.
Seeing Hayun, Im Sang-ok asked,
“You came. Did you say your farewells properly?”
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
“Good. Then get in.”
The large carriage bore the emblem of Man-sang. Hayun followed Im Sang-ok and climbed aboard.
‘It’s bigger than I expected.’
The carriage appeared to have been converted from a wagon for transporting goods, and it was spacious enough for two people with room to spare.
“We can depart now.”
“Yes, Daebang-nawuri.”
At Im Sang-ok’s command, the carriage began to move.
Rattle. Rattle.
An awkward silence lingered inside the carriage for a while.
“……”
Although Hayun had followed him without thinking, there was still so much she did not know about Im Sang-ok.
The name Im Sang-ok seemed familiar, but she could not remember exactly where she had heard it.
‘Come to think of it, I feel like there was an ancestor of ours with a similar name…’
Hayun did not know it, but Im Sang-ok’s life story had been famous enough to be adapted into a television drama.
He was a merchant among merchants, a great magnate whose name was even recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty.
Hayun still did not know that the blood of such a great merchant flowed through her veins.
Im Sang-ok suddenly asked,
“I hear you lost your hopae?”
“Yes…”
Hayun answered cautiously.
Im Sang-ok asked again with a sharp gaze.
“Did you lose it, or did you never have one to begin with?”
“……!”
Struck right at the heart of the matter, Hayun’s face stiffened.
Her opponent was the greatest merchant in Joseon.
Hayun realized that clumsy lies would not work in front of him.
“The truth is, I didn’t have a hopae in the first place, but the reason for that is…”
“Enough, enough. That will do.”
Im Sang-ok cut her off midway.
Not having a hopae in the first place meant there was either a serious problem, such as being a runaway slave, or a reason to conceal one’s identity.
Knowing this, Im Sang-ok pulled something out from inside his robe.
“Here. Take this.”
“What is it?”
What Im Sang-ok took out was a wooden tablet engraved with writing. It was a hopae.
Pointing to the hopae, Im Sang-ok said,
“This is the new name you’ll use from now on.”
“A new name?”
Hayun carefully examined the hopae.
The hopae was written in Chinese characters, but Hayun could easily read it.
Because only the final character was different from her current name.
Hayun cautiously asked,
“Im Ha…seong? Who is Im Ha-seong?”
“I’ll tell you about that little by little later.”
There was an inexplicable bitterness in Im Sang-ok’s expression.
“If you don’t want to keep going in and out of the government office from now on, it would be best for you to live under that name. If you don’t like it, you can still go back even now.”
Hayun stared intently at the hopae.
Im Ha-seong.
It was a name that somehow felt familiar.
Perhaps because it had the same surname as her real one, or perhaps because it used the same generational character. Hayun did not find the name Ha-seong awkward. Above all, she needed that name to survive in Joseon.
After a brief moment of thought, Hayun nodded.
“All right. Starting today, I’ll live under this name.”
“Good decision.”
Im Sang-ok gave a satisfied smile at Hayun’s decision.
“And one more thing.”
Then Im Sang-ok’s expression hardened.
“Living as a woman in the country of Joseon is no different from living with a heavy shackle around your neck.”
Im Sang-ok pointed at Hayun’s head.
“Especially with hair like that.”
“……!”
Hayun unconsciously touched her hair.
A short bob that barely covered her earlobes. Even in the twenty-first century, this style was not particularly common, and it was absolutely unheard of in the Joseon era.
In an era when touching one’s hair was considered taboo under the principle of ‘Sinche Balbu Suji Bumo’ that one’s body, hair, and skin were received from one’s parents, hair like this was simply unacceptable.
The biggest reason Hayun had been arrested in the first place was her hair.
Knowing this, Im Sang-ok offered an alternative.
“How about pretending to be a man until your hair grows out?”
“You want me to dress as a man?”
Im Sang-ok nodded.
“If you continue walking around dressed like that, someone will report you again. I can’t come to your aid every single time, can I?”
“Hmm…”
Now that she heard it, he had a point.
Even while working at the tavern, she had constantly found herself having to explain her hair.
From questions about how it had ended up like that, to whether she was really Korean, to people asking whether her hair had been cut because she had been caught having an affair, she had wasted a great deal of time explaining herself.
Then someone reported her, and she even ended up spending time in prison.
Of course, even in this era there was something called gache, a type of wig worn atop the head, but such things were primarily used in the royal palace, so it did not suit Hayun’s current circumstances.
Whether she liked it or not, dressing as a man was her only option.
‘Dressing as a man…’
However, Hayun did not particularly want to succeed so badly that she had to dress as a man.
She liked things the way they were now.
Whenever someone tried to change her, Hayun’s rebellious streak naturally came out.
As her answer was delayed because of this dilemma, Im Sang-ok added a few words from beside her.
“It’s only until your hair grows out. After that, I won’t say anything about it either. Right now, it’s not the fact that you’re a woman that’s the problem. It’s that hair of yours.”
“Ah…!”
Realizing that the point of dressing as a man was not her gender but her hair, Hayun finally nodded.
As mentioned, living with this hairstyle did not fit the customs of Joseon.
“I understand. Then, for the time being, I’ll live according to your wishes, Daebang.”
“Good decision. Then try wearing this.”
As though he had been waiting for this, Im Sang-ok handed her a ‘sangtu’, the traditional topknot.
With awkward hands, Hayun tied up her hair into a sangtu.
“Is this how I’m supposed to wear it?”
“Ha ha ha, it’s a little crooked, but now you finally look somewhat like a Joseon person.”
Laughing, Im Sang-ok personally fixed Hayun’s sangtu.
“There. Now it’s perfect. Have a look and see for yourself.”
Im Sang-ok handed her a small hand mirror.
Hayun checked her appearance.
“……!”
It was not as awkward or strange as she had expected.
It felt like placing a sangtu atop the updo she normally wore. Depending on how one looked at it, it could even appear as though she had simply tied it up with a hair tie.
Having tied her first sangtu, Im Sang-ok held out his hand to Hayun.
“Welcome to Man-sang. Haengsu Im Ha-seong.”
After a brief hesitation, Hayun took his hand.
“I look forward to working with you, Daebang.”
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