Chapter 9
“How did it go?”
When Hayun returned, the prisoners all pressed their faces against the bars at once. The only thing anyone here was interested in was whether Hayun would be punished or not.
“Haaah…”
Instead of answering, Hayun plopped down against the wall.
Curious, the prisoners gathered around her.
“Why? Didn’t it go well? Why are you sighing like that?”
“Well… I managed to get past the slave issue.”
“You did?”
“But this time, they’re accusing me of another crime.”
“Another crime? What crime did you commit this time?”
Hayun hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.
“They called me a family impersonator or something…”
“What? Family impersonation?”
The moment Hayun gave her answer, the entire prison erupted into an uproar.
In an era when one’s social status was everything, impersonating a family was one of the gravest crimes of all.
Hayun, who had no way of proving her social status, was practically no different from a slave. And because she had impersonated a family, this was not something that would end with merely a few strokes of the cane.
If she were lucky, she might receive a hundred strokes and be exiled to some remote region. If she were unlucky, it was a capital crime severe enough that she couldn’t complain even if she lost her head in the marketplace.
The prisoners asked worriedly,
“My goodness, how did things end up like this…?”
“I just told them my ‘bon-gwan’ when they asked, and somehow it turned into this.”
“Your ‘bon-gwan’? Why? What family is it?”
At the prisoners’ questions, Hayun mentioned her ‘bon-gwan’ again.
“…The Jeonju Im clan.”
“The Jeonju Im clan?”
The prison erupted into chaos once again.
Although the Jeonju Im clan was not a yangban family, at this time the Jeonju Im clan possessed a status comparable to that of one.
It was even said, “Though the king’s granary may run dry, the granaries of the Jeonju Im clan never do.”
Upon learning that Hayun belonged to such a famous family, the prisoners suddenly became much more respectful in their speech.
“Are you really… No, are you really an agassi of the Jeonju Im clan?”
“Yes. That’s right. I’m certain.”
“Hmm. If you gave your actual ‘bon-gwan’, then it isn’t impersonation, but…”
The prisoners’ gazes wavered subtly.
Their eyes contained a mixture of suspicion, bewilderment, and confusion.
‘An agassi of the Jeonju Im clan sells gukbap?’
‘And dressed like that?’
‘Damn, I wouldn’t believe it either if I were them.’
Even if Hayun’s words were true, there was still one problem she had to overcome.
If Hayun were a close cousin of ‘that person’, then the matter would be smoothed over as though nothing had happened. But if she were merely a distant relative, or simply someone who happened to share the same family name, there would be no reason for him to help her.
Hayun’s fate depended on how ‘close she was to him’.
Knowing this, the prisoners did their best to comfort Hayun.
“It’ll work out. I’m sure everything will be fine. So don’t worry too much.”
“Thank you. Even just saying that means a lot.”
One way or another, the milk had already been spilled.
All Hayun could do was anxiously wait for the day to come.
***
A few days later.
“Come out this way.”
“……!”
At the jailer’s words, Hayun’s heart sank.
After being locked up in the prison for several days, she had begun to feel as though she were actually a criminal for no reason.
‘Today… Is the result finally coming out?’
Hayun followed the jailer with trembling steps.
Unlike the dark interrogation room she had visited before, the place Hayun arrived at this time was located in a very bright area.
“Gasp…!”
The place Hayun had been brought to was the gongcheong, the public courtroom where trials were held at the government office.
A large number of people, including constables, had gathered there.
‘Who are those people…?’
Hayun raised her head and looked toward the upper seats.
Standing there were Deputy Magistrate Choi Hyang-seo, Magistrate Kim Seo-gon, and a dignified-looking middle-aged man dressed in a silk ‘dopo’.
When Hayun appeared, Choi Hyang-seo shouted in a somewhat excited voice.
“It’s this woman! This is the slave who impersonated the Jeonju Im clan!”
“Hmm.”
After examining Hayun for a moment, the magistrate turned his gaze toward the middle-aged man beside him.
He didn’t seem particularly interested in the trial.
“What do you think? Does she look like one?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to take a closer look to know.”
“Is that so?”
The middle-aged man appeared to hold a position that even the magistrate could not treat casually, as he maintained an extremely respectful attitude.
“The accused, raise your head.”
At the magistrate’s command, Hayun slowly raised her head.
Then her eyes met those of the middle-aged man in the silk dopo.
Flinch!
The moment their eyes met, only one thought flashed through Hayun’s mind.
‘…I’m screwed.’
She had been expecting something like this to some extent.
But facing him directly made her certain.
That man was not an ordinary person.
“……”
The middle-aged man said nothing.
He simply stared at Hayun.
‘How long is he going to keep staring at me?’
From the way he looked at her as though he could see straight through her, Hayun instinctively knew.
Everything was over.
‘What’s going to happen to me now? Will I be beaten? Or will they brand me with a hot iron?’
All sorts of thoughts flashed through her mind in the short span of time.
Now that she was essentially confirmed to be a slave, severe punishment befitting one would surely be handed down.
She wanted to cry and shout that it wasn’t true, but this was not a place where such reasoning would work.
Hayun’s fate rested entirely in the hands of that middle-aged man.
If he claimed she had stolen property, her wrist would be cut off, and if he said she had insulted the family, her face would be branded.
‘Gulp!’
Hayun nervously waited for his decision.
A moment later. The middle-aged man finally managed to open his mouth.
At his words, everyone, including Hayun, was left utterly stunned.
“She is indeed a member of our family.”
“…Pardon?”
Choi Hyang-seo asked back with an expression of disbelief.
“Are you serious?”
“That girl is my… niece.”
“Your niece?”
Choi Hyang-seo’s eyes filled with bewilderment.
“That can’t be…”
“Then are you saying I’m lying right now?”
“N-No, that’s not what I meant…”
That short-haired young woman was this middle-aged man’s niece?
The unbelievable situation left the entire courtroom in dead silence.
Then, suddenly, the middle-aged man spoke to Hayun.
“I heard you left home some time ago. So you were here.”
“Pardon?”
“I heard you lost your memory…”
“Ah, yes. I did lose my memory, but…”
Hayun was just as flustered.
‘Who on earth is this man?’
She was grateful that he was helping her, but there had to be a reason why he was helping her this sincerely.
It was difficult to guess what he was thinking. But regardless, Hayun was not stupid enough to let go of the lifeline he was throwing her.
‘This is my chance! No matter what happens, I have to grab it!’
If it meant surviving, she was at the point where she would have to make up even lies that didn’t exist.
So Hayun hurriedly began playing along with the middle-aged man.
“Your mother has been very worried because you haven’t come home for several days.”
“My mother?”
Naturally, Hayun’s real mother did not exist here.
More importantly, Hayun was currently pretending to have lost her memory.
It would be strange if she suddenly remembered her mother.
‘What am I supposed to do?’
As Hayun stood there blankly, the middle-aged man cleared his throat and gave her a meaningful look.
“Ahem. You don’t remember your Aunt Ok-hee?”
“……!”
A moment later, Hayun realized what he meant and began the performance of a lifetime.
“Ahh! My mom! I remember, I remember! My mom, Kim Ok-hee!”
“Ahem, not Kim Ok-hee. Im Ok-hee.”
“Ah! Right! Mom Im Ok-hee!”
“Heh heh, it seems your memory has finally returned.”
The middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction at Hayun’s performance.
“Uncle! I remember you too! Your name is… I’m not sure yet, but I remember your face!”
“Yes, yes, of course you should remember. How could you forget how I raised you?”
Despite having just met for the first time, the two of them worked together perfectly.
To the point that even Hayun, who was acting, began to wonder if he might really be her uncle.
“Still, it’s fortunate that your memories have returned, even if only this much.”
“Uncle! Where is my mother right now?”
“Where else? She’s safely at home. Even now, she prays every day that you’ll return safely.”
“Mom! Mooom—! I miss you! Sniff, sniff!”
At Hayun’s performance as she desperately cried out for her mother, several constables began wiping away tears.
“Sniff, sniff. This is so touching.”
“Oh dear, I wonder what kind of misfortune that young lady had to go through…”
“What in the world is going on…? I can’t see anymore because my eyes are full of tears.”
“Ah, on my way home today, I should at least send my mother my regards.”
Choi Hyang-seo watched the scene with a bewildered expression.
“W-What is this…!”
Bringing the middle-aged man here after going to such lengths in case something went wrong had instead become the source of his downfall.
He had never imagined that Hayun would actually be his niece.
‘No! That can’t be! There’s no way that woman who was selling nothing but gukbap at a tavern could be that gentleman’s niece!’
It was a lie.
This was obviously a lie.
Choi Hyang-seo realized it, albeit belatedly, but unfortunately, this was not a place where such reasoning would work.
Everything depended solely on the middle-aged man’s will.
‘It’s a conspiracy! This has to be a conspiracy…!’
But the middle-aged man’s decision was firm.
He urged them to release Hayun.
“Now that her identity has been confirmed, release that girl.”
“What? I, well, that…”
At the middle-aged man’s urging, Choi Hyang-seo hesitated.
The magistrate beside him then repeatedly cleared his throat in displeasure.
“Ahem! Ahem!”
Several days ago, Choi Hyang-seo had boasted that this would be an opportunity to curry favor with the Jeonju Im clan.
The magistrate had placed considerable expectations on him because of that, but the result had been the exact opposite.
If anything, he had publicly humiliated the magistrate.
In his heart, he felt like beating Choi Hyang-seo with the cane first rather than Hayun.
“This… This wasn’t supposed to happen…”
As Choi Hyang-seo stood there blankly, his plan completely derailed, the middle-aged man urged him again.
“Listen, clerk. Are you going to keep my niece tied up like this?”
“N-No, of course not.”
“Ugh! Tsk!”
Finally unable to stand by and watch the situation any longer, the magistrate ordered Hayun to be released.
“What are you waiting for? Release her at once.”
“Yes!”
Thanks to the middle-aged man’s help, Hayun was cleared of the false accusation and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Phew, I’m alive.”
Hayun respectfully thanked the middle-aged man.
“Thanks to you, I survived. Thank you.”
“You’ve been through a lot.”
Up close, the man radiated an aura that was difficult to put into words.
Refined yet wise, and also incredibly bold.
It was the bearing of a dae-in, a great person of stature, unlike anyone Hayun had ever encountered before.
“Here, put this on.”
“……!”
Seeing how haggard Hayun had become after spending time in prison, the middle-aged man took off his dopo and gave it to her.
Then he looked at the magistrate and asked,
“Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, may we leave?”
“Yes, of course! Naturally. I’m sorry to trouble you with such a matter when you must be busy.”
“It was no trouble at all. This concerns my own flesh and blood. I should come running to help.”
“Please take care on your way home.”
As the magistrate released Hayun, he glared at Choi Hyang-seo.
He had been thoroughly humiliated because of him, and there was no way he could simply let this pass.
“Clerk, come see me afterward. We need to have a little talk.”
“Oh dear, I’m finished. I’m ruined…”
Choi Hyang-seo’s legs gave out, and he slumped to the floor.
Meanwhile, Hayun, now a free woman, confidently walked out through the main gate of the government office.
***
Once they had gotten a good distance away from the government office, Hayun finally properly expressed her gratitude.
“Thank you for helping me. Thanks to you, I survived.”
At Hayun’s words, the middle-aged man squinted one eye and said,
“What’s there to thank family for? We should help each other out. Isn’t that right?”
“Pardon? Yes? Yes, exactly. Exactly.”
Hayun couldn’t hide her bewilderment as she watched the middle-aged man continue acting.
Then, all of a sudden, the middle-aged man casually dropped a pointed remark.
“But if you’re going to lie next time, do it properly. The thirty-second-generation descendant of our family hasn’t even been born yet.”
“……!”
It felt as though she had been struck by a hammer. As expected, he knew that everything Hayun had said was a lie.
‘But he still helped me?’
Why?
What did he see in her?
Hayun was curious about the middle-aged man’s intentions.
Unable to hold herself back, she asked,
“Why did you help me even though you knew what I said was a lie?”
At the question, the middle-aged man stared intently at Hayun.
She had felt it earlier as well, but there was something about his gaze that seemed to possess an insight capable of seeing straight through things.
“Because I’m interested in the potential you possess.”
“?”
When Hayun looked completely unable to understand, the middle-aged man gave her a meaningful smile.
“Did you say it was called Insaeng Jumak? The place you renovated?”
“How did you know about that…?”
It seemed the middle-aged man had already finished investigating Hayun and knew everything about her.
“The rumors about that place have spread all the way to Uiju. How could I not know?”
With that, the middle-aged man walked ahead.
“Let’s go see how the gukbap tastes. Just how remarkable does a tavern have to be for rumors like that to spread?”
‘What on earth does this man do? How does he know everything?’
Hayun stared blankly at the middle-aged man for a moment.
Then, seeing that he had already walked quite far ahead, she hurriedly followed after him.
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