“Are you telling me to become a staff member at the Tea Bookstore?”
Im Ha-yeon doubted her ears and asked the Branch Leader of Hao Mun, Yichang, once again.
“One person needs a job, and the other needs staff. Isn’t it a perfect mutual interest?”
The one asking for help to find staff. Because he brought a Black Token, he had to be treated as a guest, but instead, he threatened her.
The branch leader was trying to untangle a tense misunderstanding while coming up with a clever solution that connected the problems of both parties.
“I don’t want to.”
Of course, that solution was only clever for the branch leader.
“I need money, but I can’t work as a courtesan because I’m a runaway courtesan, and I can’t do what I’m good at, so I don’t have a job right now.”
The branch leader, making an absurd face at Im Ha-yeon’s dilemma, spoke in a coaxing tone.
“You’re an aspiring author, right?”
“Meaning I’m unemployed.”
“……”
Im Ha-yeon was at a loss for words due to the branch leader’s sharp remark.
“Don’t just reject it; listen to me.”
“What is there to listen to?”
Im Ha-yeon pouted, making it clear she wasn’t interested.
Who did she take after? The branch leader, thinking of a friend he hadn’t seen in over ten years, continued.
“You’re not some big-time author who can print dozens or hundreds of books, stroll into a bookstore, and say, ‘Please stock my book, and if it sells well, let’s make a deal.’”
“That’s right.”
“And you’re not a scholar known for your writing skills either. You’re certainly not a writer who could say, ‘I’ll publish several books and expect sponsorship along the way.’ Right?”
“Yeah.”
“A rookie author doesn’t just walk in with a book and expect bookstores to cover printing costs and do promo, and if it flops, the bookstore handles the excess stock and pays you royalties. Is that even possible? It’s a miracle if you don’t get a bucket of salt thrown at you before noon!”
“……True.”
Im Ha-yeon felt smaller and smaller under the branch leader’s cold reality check.
“There might be some bookstores that sponsor authors, but you know most sell well-known books, right?”
“I know.”
Becoming an author is incredibly tough. Im Ha-yeon hung her head at the newfound reality.
“But the Tea Bookstore is different.”
“Differently how?”
“You know Ho Pil, so let’s skip that. The Tea Bookstore, under Manager Kang Yoon-ho, has been supporting writers from Yichang for decades before Ho Pil ever got involved.”
Lady Tang’s grandfather, Baek Gajang, had sponsored numerous talented writers for decades.
Thanks to those sponsorships, there were decent authors, but many were barely achieving charity-level standards.
Manager Kang Yoon-ho had suddenly appeared in Yichang and discovered a rookie author known as Ho Pil.
People didn’t question this much because the sponsorship tradition had deep roots dating back to the Baek Gajang Bookstore.
“Are you saying the Tea Bookstore supports rookie authors?”
“Yeah, the Tea Bookstore is famous for sponsoring rookie authors in Yichang. Plus, the one who views the Shadowless Thief as a brother is now the manager of the Tea Bookstore. If the sister of that brother says she wants her book published, they can’t just ignore it!”
“So you want me to ask Manager Kang to publish my book?”
“Exactly! Of course, publishing a book costs a lot of money. Being the brother’s daughter doesn’t guarantee he’ll fulfill your request, so you’ll have to work hard at the Tea Bookstore and get friendly.”
“……”
Im Ha-yeon looked at the branch leader, who seemed to be saying ‘just nod your head,’ with a face that said the proposal was far too appropriate. But if she did that, she would have to bow her head to Manager Kang Yoon-ho. Im Ha-yeon crossed her arms and held her tongue, looking displeased.
The branch leader discreetly eyed the emphasized areas accentuated by her crossed arms and opened his mouth.
“While working together, just throw him a little wink, when you’re close, like now, cross your arms, and maybe show a glimpse of your… cleavage, and…”
“Wha-what?! What are you talking about?! That’s something only courtesans do! I’ve received proper training!”
Courtesans sell their dancing and singing, not their bodies. Im Ha-yeon gasped, uncrossing her arms and yelling.
“You must have learned at least how to act cute. I’m just suggesting you use a bit of that courtesan’s skill. Who knows, showing just a glimpse of your cleavage might lead to revealing other things! This friend, Manager Kang, might even end up calling the brother-in-law someday.”
The branch leader looked back at her, as if she were overreacting and said it was no big deal.
“Mr. Gwak!”
“Oh come on, it’s Gwak here. Call me ‘Branch Leader.’”
“Branch Leader! Do you think I don’t know how much I hate that guy? And you’re suggesting I call him ‘brother-in-law’?”
Im Ha-yeon expressed her resentment toward the Shadowless Thief, her father.
“That guy must have had his reasons.”
“What reasons? He just abandoned my mother like all the other guys abandon courtesans.”
Im Ha-yeon looked down, angry yet sad, boiling with resentment.
It’s a common story.
Im Ha-yeon’s mother, Im, was a renowned courtesan from U-san. And the Shadowless Thief was a well-known thief in the martial arts world.
Where would there be good money and bad money in a courtesan’s world? All money is precious. The Shadowless Thief, infatuated with Im, spent money like water at her establishment.
“Sing without selling your body.”
This saying, “Sell your singing but don’t sell your body,” among courtesans, would be just a saying if it were actually followed.
Im, who was a courtesan, was bewitched by the Shadowless Thief and consented, and the Shadowless Thief embraced the best courtesan in U-san.
Eventually, a child was born between them.
“That guy has a serious wandering impulse.”
The branch leader made a point of defending the absent person with a sigh.
“Yeah. He wasn’t around when I was born.”
Had he been someone who would stop his wandering after having a child, the name ‘Shadowless Thief’ wouldn’t even exist.
Im Ha-yeon spoke out with the force of someone chewing him out.
“If he thought of me as his child, he wouldn’t have taught me his martial arts.”
“That’s because I had talent.”
“Even though you’re my child, you have this much physical aptitude! Starting today, I’ll teach you martial arts.”
The many days she had seen him were fewer than those she hadn’t, the man. Im Ha-yeon recalled the time that guy had said he would teach her martial arts.
“He taught me passionately because I excelled.”
“It was because I wanted to see my father’s face, who disappeared every single time, just a little longer.”
Im Ha-yeon recalled her younger self.
Whenever she was learning martial arts, that man was there beside her. Her mother also wore a happy smile when he was around.
Work harder. Even harder.
She worked hard to hold onto that man, to see her mother smile.
“But I wonder why that guy suddenly went missing.”
Branch Leader Gwak let out a sigh looking at her, who wasn’t about to give in, and stopped defending his friend.
“He probably lost interest. Once a courtesan’s man, they all run away just like that.”
One day, the Shadowless Thief suddenly cut off all ties with U-san. Why didn’t he return? By the time Im Ha-yeon and her mother were wondering about it, news of the rebellion within Hao Mun broke out.
Unfortunate events come all at once.
The Shadowless Thief vanished, and her mother passed away shortly after. A child of a lowly courtesan is a lowly child. If it weren’t for that, she would have been an orphan, begging or worse.
Thanks to her mother’s connections at Hao Mun, she was able to find work, and eventually, she could enter a dance house and possibly become a courtesan.
‘You were alive? Then why didn’t you come for us?’
Was he dead? Or had he abandoned both her and her mother?
Since the Shadowless Thief had cut ties with U-san before the rebellion, Im Ha-yeon couldn’t guess the reason. But now she knew.
That man had abandoned her mother and her.
Just like water boiling up in her heart, anger bubbled gradually. Was there ever any hope he would come back for her? Her younger self, who had held onto even the slightest hope, now seemed ridiculous.
‘In the end, you abandoned us.’
The world praises him as the Shadowless Thief, but to Im Ha-yeon, he was just an irresponsible thief who couldn’t take responsibility for his woman.
“So are you giving up on becoming a staff member at the Tea Bookstore? Manager Kang Yoon-ho? He may be known as a cunning businessman and has earned the title of a villain, but he isn’t evil.”
Im Ha-yeon recalled Manager Kang Yoon-ho at the branch leader’s words.
The humiliation of receiving help from someone she disliked loomed over her, yet before knowing his identity, she had mistaken him for someone like Tang Jung from The Rise of the Tang Family.
A benefactor but a wicked trader. Im Ha-yeon felt a strange emotion, as if seeing someone who was a benefactor, yet an enemy, like her father.
There may not be a reason for her to refuse help from Manager Kang. However, he was the brother-in-law of the Shadowless Thief.
Receiving help from him would be no different than receiving help from her father.
Im Ha-yeon’s anger against the father who abandoned her led her to not want to receive any help.
“I don’t want help from anyone related to that man. Besides, I have a different plan to succeed as an author in one go.”
She couldn’t just outright reject the branch leader’s decent suggestion. Im Ha-yeon decided to reveal her intentions.
“What plan do you have?”
Im Ha-yeon looked at the curious branch leader for a moment.
Why Yichang? Why did she come to Yichang when there were Hao Mun branches in other cities?
Was it because she loved The Rise of the Tang Family? Or that she wanted to see the Tea Bookstore?
Was it because the Yichang branch leader was an acquaintance?
No. She wanted to become an author. And, in Yichang, there was a way for any author without money to become a famous author in no time.
Im Ha-yeon opened her mouth to unveil her true reason for coming to Yichang.
“I’m going to submit for the rookie author event at the Yichang Literary Association.”
To find a staff member, one has to risk their life. If you’re going to risk your life, it’s for the future. How absurd is this?
I fiddled with the Black Token in my pocket as I arrived at the front of the Tea Bookstore.
“Hello! Is Manager Kang Yoon-ho here? Is he out?”
Who is it? Two people were knocking on the door of the Tea Bookstore.
“Brother! Is it really you back?!”
“It is, I say.”
“Or did I pray too hard and end up imagining this…?”
“Huh! Didn’t you hear what the other members of the Tea and Book Club said?”
That voice sounds familiar.
“Hwang Seong?!”
As I got closer, I saw Hwang Seong, a member of the Tea and Book Club, and his younger brother, who had been away for months, standing there.
“Manager Kang! So, you’ve just returned from another place, right?”
“Yes. There’s so much to prepare for the reopening. It’s good to see your younger brother again after a long time.”
Was it the first courtesan in Sichuan, or the best courtesan in Hubei? Why are these two here, having a warm battle for love at the Tea Bookstore?
“It’s been a while. I brought some walnut cookies as a token to celebrate your safe return.”
“What’s with this? Thank you.”
I received the small paper bag handed over by Hwang Seong’s younger brother. It’s warm. I’ll have to share it with the Tang family members later.
“So why are you here? If it’s about the Tea Bookstore, it’s going to take some time before we can reopen.”
“Today, I’m here not for the Tea Book Club but as part of the Yichang Literary Association.”
Hwang Seong’s younger brother spoke to me politely.
“What?”
Not the Tea and Book Club but the Yichang Literary Association?
The Yichang Literary Association is a prestigious writers’ organization associated with the emperor, and their meetings are attended by literary scholars responsible for compiling royal texts.
It was a renowned association, known for making the rise of The Rise of the Tang Family known to everyone in Yichang.
What’s going on with that?
Seeing my curious face, Hwang Seong bowed and made an unexpected request.
“Please, become a judge for the rookie author event at the Yichang Literary Association.”
