Chilgok County.
It’s located on the outskirts of Hubei Province, at the crossing to Anhui Province. Usually, when one thinks of Hubei Province, the famous Mount Wu sect comes to mind, but Chilgok County is quite far to the east of it.
However, since it’s at the crossroads connecting Hubei and Anhui, the foot traffic here is quite substantial. A bustling populace means thriving commerce and active money flow.
In a place like this, there would definitely be people willing to open their wallets to hear a storyteller’s tales.
With such hopes, I arrived in Chilgok County, but I haven’t even started my job as a storyteller for a whole month.
“Mr. Wang!! Are you really going to do this!!”
I was raising my voice at the chubby Mr. Wang, the proprietor of the fabric shop in Chilgok County, who was introduced to me by the Master Carpenter.
“I told you it can’t be done!!”
“If you promised to find it, you should sell it at a fair price!! Do you think this price makes any sense?!”
“I went all over to find it, why can’t it be a good deal?!!”
“With this money, I could eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, living it up in an inn for two months, and sleep in a comfy bed! How can I pay this much?!”
“Then don’t ask me to find it!! Do you think Joseon goods are that easy to come by?!”
The reason we were arguing was that I had asked Mr. Wang to find some Joseon goods for me.
Since he runs a fabric shop, I thought it would be easy for him to procure what I wanted. But to ask for such an unexpected price?
“Uncle, when you first said you’d help, you promised it would only take three days. Right?”
“Y-yeah.”
“I came back three days later, and you told me you couldn’t find it. So you said to come back in a week, and I waited again. But then you said you still couldn’t find it, so I kept waiting until today. It’s been over a month now. I was counting on you.”
If I randomly appeared in the marketplace saying I wanted to become a storyteller, people would just think I’m crazy.
Even personal streamers do their prep work; I needed to prepare as well.
I asked Mr. Wang for help with that. But I never dreamed it would take a month.
“I’m sorry about that. Finding those Joseon goods turned out to be trickier than I thought.”
“Uncle, I’m currently living in a shanty. Eating only one meal a day of a doughy mantou and some salt just to get by. Why do you think that is? Because the items you promised in three days haven’t arrived. I was trying to hang on and save up for the item, but if you charge me such an outrageous price, what am I supposed to do? If I buy this, I’ll have to starve from tomorrow!”
Actually, I wouldn’t have to starve. The Master Carpenter had been generous. Living in a shanty was already a blessing. No more sleeping outside in the rain.
But I needed to shift the blame for my pitiful state onto Mr. Wang.
“I’m really sorry. But this is really the base price. If you consider how much trouble I went to get the goods, it’s a loss for me. You think I would cheat someone who came here through the introduction of my friend the Master Carpenter?”
Looking at how he does business, he does seem like that kind of person. But it’s true that he’s the only person I can trust here.
“Of course not. If you’re a close friend of someone with the great character of the Master Carpenter, I’m sure you must be a person of integrity as well.”
“Ahem, that’s true.”
Feeling a bit shy from my flattery, Mr. Wang awkwardly cleared his throat.
“Mr. Wang, if you absolutely must sell the goods at this price, may I ask just one favor?”
It was finally time to bring up why I had raised my voice in the first place.
“What is it?”
“As you can see, my appearance is quite shabby. My clothes are tattered and ripped, looking almost like a beggar. If you have any old clothes you don’t need, could I possibly receive them?”
For the past year, I had been so focused on survival that I couldn’t pay attention to my clothes. I washed myself whenever I could, but my clothes ended up worn and torn. I looked like a homeless person next to the folks at Seoul Station. In this state, I couldn’t do any storytelling.
“…Alright. Since you came through the Master Carpenter, you shouldn’t be walking around like that. Since I’m also sorry for the delay in getting your goods, I’ll give you some of my clean old clothes.”
“Thank you!”
“You need to try on the Joseon items too, so come inside.”
I followed Mr. Wang and entered the fabric shop.
———————-
Once inside the shop, I washed myself clean and put on the old clothes he provided while gathering the Joseon goods.
“Hey, look at you. You look rather dashing!”
Chubby Mr. Wang said, looking at me.
“Thank you. The clothes are much nicer than I expected.”
After looking in the large mirror in the shop, I was surprised at myself. It had been almost a year since I dressed up properly, so it felt quite strange.
Indeed, I was the worst scoundrel of the Kang family in Joseon. The reason Kang Yoon-ho was popular among the courtesans wasn’t just because he had money.
“Is it because I’m Joseon? Wearing Joseon clothes, I really do look like a young master from a foreign land rather than a barbarian.”
“Haha, no way!”
Actually, that’s right. I was, after all, a young master from a wealthy family in Joseon. Though I went bankrupt due to a coup.
What I asked Mr. Wang to get for me were items that would make me easily identifiable as Joseon.
To put it more precisely, they were a juknip (traditional hat), a durumagi (overcoat), and a fan.
“The durumagi was easy to find since it was popular in Goryeo, but the juknip and the fan were the problem.”
The juknip is a hat made of bamboo.
What is usually seen in historical dramas is woven with horsehair – known as hyeolnip. The main material for hyeolnip is the hair from a horse’s tail. Just imagining a hat made from horse tail hair, can you even fathom the price?
Joseon era yangban (noble class) didn’t just buy a hat; once they did, they would have it repaired continuously. It’s almost like a luxury purse made from crocodile leather.
There was no way I, who could only afford to eat a mantou a day, could buy such a thing. But I needed items to pass as a Joseon person.
So I settled on the bamboo-made juknip. I would wear the old clothes underneath and the durumagi as an overcoat.
Then I would hold the Joseon fan, the hapjukseon. It’s a fan made with paper attached to a rib, which can be opened and closed. This was also quite expensive.
SWISH!
I opened the hapjukseon with a flick, covering my face, then slapped my palm against it to close it.
A bit stylish, huh?
I’m totally looking like a Joseon scholar.
Singing and enjoying life, I could totally picture myself drinking wine leisurely under a pavilion.
“Hehe, I thought you were a strange barbarian asking for Joseon clothes in such shabby rags, but dressed like that, you really do look like a noble from Joseon.”
“I had to look the part. I spent a lot on this.”
I spent most of the money I earned working on the construction site on this. Living in a shanty in Chilgok County, and yet dressing like a nobleman?
What a full-fledged “poor man with expensive tastes.”
If a poor man tries to catch women with a luxury car, then I’m now going to catch the folks from the Martial Arts World.
“So now you’re really starting your storytelling work?”
“Yes. Although it’s late today, I plan to start tomorrow.”
“Okay. I’ll spread the word in advance. A storyteller has come from Joseon with rare tales.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed and left Mr. Wang’s fabric shop. Time to grab some food before tomorrow.
——————-
“Welcome! Oh, esteemed young master from another land has arrived.”
As I entered the inn, a waitress looked surprised at my appearance.
Last time I came here, dressed poorly to buy mantou, they told me to shove off! Now that my outfit has changed, they act all surprised?!
This proves that what one wears truly matters.
“Waitress, what’s the specialty here?”
I seated myself and called for the waitress. I’ve been living here for a year already, but I’ve hardly ordered anything besides mantou in this inn. You need money to order food.
But tomorrow I’m starting my storytelling gig. I’m going to treat myself to a hearty meal after a while.
What do they possibly have here?
If I don’t recognize the food, I might just order some noodles or something bland.
“Our specialty is hangover soup!”
“What?”
“The broth is thick, and the meat is plentiful. It’s often referred to as the top-class hangover soup.”
Just hearing it makes my mouth water – I could eat five or six bowls in a day.
Yeah. This isn’t a martial arts setting. It’s a place that probably serves carbonara. I suddenly felt the realization that I’ve landed in a world of martial arts romance games, not the actual martial arts world.
“Then I’ll have one bowl of hangover soup! Make sure to add plenty of meat!”
“Yes! One bowl of hangover soup is 30 copper.”
After handing over the money and waiting for my soup, I overheard some men chatting nearby.
“Have you heard about the head of the Seong family in Daeheung County?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You haven’t heard the latest gossip?”
“Just spill it already, don’t beat around the bush!”
“The head of the Seong family, Seong Jo-ru, passed away recently.”
Man, what a unique name for a deceased head! If I attended school in Korea, that name would’ve been a lifelong source of teasing.
“The wealthy guy is dead? But people dying isn’t exactly rare, what’s the big deal?”
“The story doesn’t end there! The head’s son is about to turn adult, but instead of him, his brother Seong Ji-ru succeeded him!”
“How did that happen?”
“You know he’s got a new wife, right? Not the previous one. That new wife convinced everyone that the son was still too young to lead the Seong family. On top of that, she pushed to give the position to her husband’s brother, Seong Ji-ru.”
“That’s strange. No matter how you slice it, shouldn’t a parent push for their own child to take over? Why help the other?”
“Well, that’s the reason it’s getting attention lately. From here on, it’s just a rumor, so take it lightly.”
“What’s going on?”
“Exactly! Oh, the soup’s here!”
The men began their slurping session with the just-arrived hangover soup.
“Hangover soup is served!”
The waitress brought the dish in front of me. Hmm, the broth is indeed thick, and the meat is quite generous. It tastes delicious.
Speaking of the head of the family…
If I play my cards right, this could make for a good material for the stories I tell tomorrow.
——–
The next day, around the platform in front of the fabric shop, people were already gathering.
Looks like Mr. Wang spread the word well.
“Here he comes!”
“Look at his attire. He really must be from abroad!”
“Isn’t he that black-haired beggar who was wandering around?”
“Hey! Look at that elegance! He definitely looks like a storyteller from a foreign land.”
“Is that Joseon clothing? So unique. But it looks cool.”
“Hurry and come to share some rare tales!”
“I’m just passing through…”
Pushing through the crowd gossiping about me, I made my way onto the prepared platform. The platform seemed to be built for the previous storyteller, ensuring visibility and sound projection.
It’s taller than I expected. But it’s wide enough to perform, so it should be fine.
“Hello everyone! I’m the storyteller, Kang Mo (某), coming from the faraway land of Joseon, here to relay some rare tales to the Martial Arts World.”
Holding the fan in one hand close to my heart, I gave a courteous bow to the audience.
“Joseon? Where’s that?”
“Isn’t that the land of black-haired people where ginseng is produced? He looks black-haired too!”
“Oh! That place! To the west?”
“No, it’s to the east, you dolt!!”
“I know! E-A-S-T! You just said it wrong!!”
“Quiet down; there are still people waiting to hear!”
“Shut up!!”
As I just stood there after my greeting without saying anything, people hungry for stories started calming down.
This is just like a noisy market!
Staring blankly into the crowd, eventually, the background noise faded away.
“Thank you for waiting. Now, let me begin the tale from Joseon.”
SWISH!
I dramatically fanned myself with the hapjukseon.
“Once a Joseon storyteller unfolds his fan, the story begins.”
I prepared this fan to spread such rumors.
The sound of it opening was made to be impressive, a strong signature of the storyteller.
“Start with the title!!”
“If it’s just hearsay, we’ll leave. So reveal the title upfront!!”
The title…
The latest gossip from Chilgok County?
The dead husband. The brother who seized the family. The scandalous wife.
The unfortunate protagonist.
So what will I talk about?
“The story I’ll tell is about the Hamurin Prince from Joseon!”
Hamlet, is it?
