“Humm.”
“If you’re tired, let’s wrap it up for today.”
It was already the time when the sun had set and the moon peeked out. As one of my eyelids surrendered to gravity’s pull, Im Ha-yeon spoke up with a worried voice.
“No, I can keep going.”
I splashed my face with cold water to chase away the sleepiness clinging to my eyelids.
Work had piled up too much because of the preparations for the Gye Mohim. The papers stacked in my office had now piled up with the documents related to the Gye Mohim from the main inn, Yichang Tea Bookstore, and Jeon Gil-san’s franchises.
To avoid seeing more papers pile up tomorrow, I needed to gather my thoughts and get some work done.
“About that Joseon Gye Mohim…”
As my eyelids grew heavy again, Im Ha-yeon began to speak casually.
“Hmm?”
“What you said in front of people, was that said honestly?”
What could she mean by that? It sounded casual, but there seemed to be something she was concerned about in her expression.
“Rather than saying it honestly, I’d say I mentioned what I wanted to show. There’s also a benefit for me, but the members of the Gye Mohim will definitely benefit too.”
She was already an inseparable business partner. We had worked on the Gye Mohim plans together from the start. It would be better to speak frankly than to wrap it in good intentions like before.
I shrugged my shoulders as though it was nothing and said, “Wanting my child not to be looked down on in Wuhan is one thing?”
Im Ha-yeon nodded at my words and continued with her questions.
“No matter how successful I am, there will still be discrimination because I’m a Joseon person. But if we all prosper together, won’t it be a little easier for our children? That’s what I thought.”
We cannot change discrimination and prejudice. However, wealthy folks are less likely to get targeted than poor, lowly barbarians, so a slight shift in perception can be made if you mess with them.
Of course, even if my business goes well, it wouldn’t be something achieved in a year but would have to happen with the next generation.
“Heh…”
Im Ha-yeon seemed pleased with my answer, drawing a small smile at the corners of her eyes as she looked at me.
“But why did you ask that?”
“I just wanted to wake you up.”
Well, random chatter is the best when feeling drowsy.
“Haha. Do I really look that tired?”
“The day has grown dark. You’ve had many tiring days lately, so just go to bed early today.”
“I’m fine…”
“I’m not fine. Just go to sleep now.”
Im Ha-yeon said with a voice full of concern as she stood up, opened my drawer, and began to put away the documents and ledgers she had handled.
When did she even get to that?
“Then let’s do it tomorrow.”
I should catch some sleep a little earlier today. I sent Im Ha-yeon off and threw myself onto my bed.
*
Even if Kang Yoon-ho finished his work for today, Im Ha-yeon’s didn’t end.
As a trusted manager for Kang Yoon-ho, she moved to handle the work he didn’t finish today.
“Anything unusual? The veggies that came in today seem a bit off. I managed to handle them, but if tomorrow’s veggies are like that too, I’ll need to tussle with the supplier.”
Kang Yoon-ho was a responsible man.
Yichang Tea Bookstore, the inn business, Gye Mohim, Joseon’s associations, the Man Geum Battlefield exam, the writing exam. As the burdens he carried on his shoulders grew, so did the workload for Im Ha-yeon, who was secretly supporting him.
“I’ll tell the innkeeper.”
Tomorrow morning’s visit to the supplier. Im Ha-yeon wrote it down on Kang Yoon-ho’s schedule to make sure she wouldn’t forget.
“Yeah. Go to the supplier, tussle with those guys, and on the way back, join hands with them.”
“Right, sister-in-law. If you stick to the club leader’s hand like this, he won’t be able to react at all.”
As one of the black-haired delivery workers demonstrated how to naturally stick his hand between his chest, other delivery workers burst into laughter.
“Don’t call me sister-in-law! Why are your legs like that?”
Im Ha-yeon was about to get angry when she looked at the limping delivery worker with a worried expression.
“It’s just a blister. It’ll heal soon.”
“I’ll buy some good medicine for blisters.”
After visiting the supplier, she’d stop by the pharmacy. Im Ha-yeon’s schedule for Kang Yoon-ho was already packed for the morning.
“Wow! There’s only sister-in-law!”
“As expected! The queen of the Joseon Association! Who said the club leader should marry a Joseon woman?”
“Not me.”
“Me neither.”
“Haaah.”
Im Ha-yeon’s pretty brows furrowed deeply with a sigh.
Even if she denied it, it only seemed to tease more, and the more she responded, the more foolish she felt.
“Hehe. Our club leader’s wife is doing well with her support, but in truth, a woman’s true support should be like our wives, raising children like it’s a game…”
“Aaaaah, I can’t hear you. I can’t hear it. I’ll go check on the branch.”
Im Ha-yeon exaggeratedly covered her ears, clearly not wanting to hear it, and went straight up to the third floor.
“Have a nice trip!”
“Take care, sister-in-law!”
———-
The popular delivery restaurant in Wuhan was essentially a three-story building.
This was to make it easier for the carrier pigeons with a sense of direction to come and go, having the third floor remodeled with wide windows separating the humans from their space.
A window only carrier pigeons could enter and exit on the third floor.
A pink thief cat sneaked out the window.
“Gugugugood!”
“Right. Go see your friends.”
Im Ha-yeon jumped between the roofs of Wuhan with the carrier pigeon Gugu and swiftly arrived at the carrier pigeon room at the branch operated by Jeon Gil-san.
“Oh? Who? Ah! Sister-in-law is here!”
One black-haired delivery worker greeted her, initially surprised but then happily.
Im Ha-yeon let out a small sigh inside and quickly began checking the carrier pigeons.
“There are no sick ones in the branch, and there were no losses this week.”
The core of Kang Yoon-ho’s business was the Nine Black Qi Hands. While the reliable members from the inn knew simple management methods, the ultimate responsibility still lay with Im Ha-yeon.
“Yes, the innkeeper is not an ordinary person. Losing even one carrier pigeon incurs huge expenses, so if you treat them carelessly, it’ll lead to a serious tussle.”
In case of a loss of the Nine Black Qi Hands, there would be extra costs.
Im Ha-yeon chuckled softly at the thought of how Kang Yoon-ho would tightly insert clauses regarding this and that he would make the troublemaker his own troublemaker.
“That’s a relief.”
“Let me get you a cup of tea.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be going soon, so keep working.”
“Alright, then I’m off.”
Im Ha-yeon sent the delivery worker back and once again checked on the condition of the carrier pigeons.
“If we expand the branches, managing the carrier pigeons becomes an issue. They need to follow training properly.”
Im Ha-yeon was worried about the management and training of the Nine Black Qi Hands as the branches expanded.
“Gugu! Gugugugood! Gugugugugood!”
“Gugu, why are you bullying the little ones?”
When Im Ha-yeon turned around, she found Gugu giving a group training session to the other Nine Black Qi Hands.
Roll left. Roll right. It seemed like he was using the training patterns he learned from Kang Yoon-ho on other carrier pigeons.
Im Ha-yeon couldn’t hide her surprise at Gugu’s antics, which rarely happened among carrier pigeons.
“Gugu…”
At Im Ha-yeon’s reproach, Gugu bowed his head perfectly, as if following a command.
“You really don’t need to bow like that.”
“Gugugugood!”
Master, I made sure the little ones received proper training. Gugu pleaded with a desperate yet serious tone, but Im Ha-yeon couldn’t understand that.
She could only assume Gugu had some intention behind his actions.
“Gugu, let’s go.”
We need people who can help without exposing the carrier pigeons’ vision. Im Ha-yeon made a note of things to discuss with Kang Yoon-ho, then turned to the window.
Gugu didn’t turn around but shouted, “Gugu! Gugugood!”
Gugu climbed onto a female Nine Black Qi Hands he liked.
Master, I’ll keep delivering excellent offspring to help. Gugu declared with a serious voice.
“Ha… Really. I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow.”
Although it wouldn’t reach her.
Im Ha-yeon sighed in disbelief and stepped out into the night alone.
—————-
“A fascinating man.”
The place Im Ha-yeon returned to wasn’t her own room but Kang Yoon-ho’s.
Just when she thought she understood him a bit more, he brought out something new. Why was she in his room? Even Im Ha-yeon couldn’t answer that question.
She merely sat on the edge of his desk, blankly staring at his sleeping face.
His fatigued face, deep in slumber. Im Ha-yeon felt a mix of pity and an odd warmth in her chest.
The reason he was tired was because of her.
“Ugh, ughm.”
Im Ha-yeon flinched at Kang Yoon-ho’s sleep talk, then soon smiled faintly.
Before she knew it, time had passed midnight. Though she herself was tired, she could endure it. How could she say she was exhausted when he was working hard for her?
Im Ha-yeon turned back and returned to her room.
———-
“I hope it’s alright…”
Im Ha-yeon murmured with an uneasy voice as she returned to her room, questioning the ambiguous meaning that she couldn’t convey to Kang Yoon-ho.
A match with the Jegal family. Ultimately, she had decided to continue the relationship. Was it really due to her or Yichang that they were continuing to meet?
The unease that couldn’t reach Kang Yoon-ho lingered in her room.
If only he could clearly say just one word, she wouldn’t have to feel this way.
“Because I’m a runaway courtesan.”
Im Ha-yeon quietly murmured while covering herself with her blanket.
Being a runaway courtesan isn’t a bad thing. It only meant she couldn’t shed the identity of a courtesan, but it didn’t change her life. But when a courtesan runs away and gets involved with a man, the story changes.
If caught by the pursuers, a courtesan who crossed the line with a man would face a horrifying future that even Im Ha-yeon didn’t want to think about.
Because she was a runaway courtesan. When she returned to the Gye Mohim, she had to avoid misunderstandings.
“That’s why I’m not confessing.”
Expressing her feelings with her whole being while not saying the word “I love you” likely stemmed from this reason.
She must like him enough to want to save herself.
The lips of Im Ha-yeon hidden by the blanket curled into a pleased smile.
“There’s no way a woman from the Jegal family would end up well with him.”
Sending him her face before he went for the meeting was a good decision. He would surely have seen her face and made every other woman look plain in comparison.
As he said, it wasn’t likely to work out anyway.
He liked her. Besides, it was a family as prestigious as the Jegal family.
How could a stubborn lady from a martial arts family have any interest in a black-haired man? It’s not that he was lacking in any way, though.
“Perhaps, a beautiful courtesan is more suitable than a black-haired one… No, that’s not it!”
Im Ha-yeon’s eyes widened in surprise as she was startled by her own words and covered her mouth with her blanket.
Im Ha-yeon calmed her racing heart and recalled what Kang Yoon-ho had said.
“Someday, my child will be born. I want them to live without being looked down upon in Wuhan.”
“He’s different from that man.”
Unlike the man who abandoned his family and fled, he would surely give his best for his child.
Surely, the woman who marries him will be happy.
“Why am I even thinking like this…?”
Im Ha-yeon’s face pressed against the pillow out of embarrassment. But no matter how much she buried her face in the pillow, the thoughts wouldn’t go away.
Really.
What if, just what if…
He actually fetched her a miracle — something she thought couldn’t change.
Then she truly might…
“…I don’t know.”
Im Ha-yeon covered her face with her blanket and closed her eyes.
Even though she was covered, her face was undeniably flushed.
———————
“Haa.”
What was it that made her sigh amidst the daily routine? Too many distracting thoughts during the night. Once she started working, they would vanish.
Im Ha-yeon let out a small sigh and knocked on the door of Kang Yoon-ho’s office.
“Oh?”
As the door opened, Kang Yoon-ho, now ready to go out, stood there.
“Where are you off to?”
“I’m heading out to meet someone.”
“Let’s go together.”
He needed to stop by the supplier and the pharmacy. Im Ha-yeon thrust his schedule at him.
“Sorry, but let’s go another time. I’m going to the Man Geum Battlefield to handle something on my own.”
“Why the Man Geum Battlefield? There’s still time left for the second exam.”
“Ha-yeon said that.”
“Huh?”
What did she say?
Im Ha-yeon couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard she looked at his schedule.
Until Kang Yoon-ho spoke.
“I’m going to meet Jeon Ha-yeon.”
