“Did you cry again?”
In the finest brothel of Wuhan, a room specially prepared for a courtesan.
The famous courtesan with pink hair that was well-acquainted with the one speaking said, “I didn’t cry.”
“Look in the mirror and say that. Your makeup’s all smudged.”
In the mirror, Im Ha-yeon’s eyes and cheeks were a mess from tears.
“…Did that person return safely? Is he hurt anywhere?”
Im Ha-yeon hesitated for a moment before asking the courtesan again, her expression uneasy.
“As you’ve heard from others, he was safely moved to the inn.”
“That’s a relief.”
With the trustworthy response from the courtesan, Im Ha-yeon finally let out a sigh of relief.
Yesterday’s actions from the faction were clearly madness.
If the chase had continued unimpeded, Kang Yoon-ho would have surely faced serious trouble.
Her own well-being and Kang Yoon-ho’s safety.
Which one would she choose?
Even if she didn’t want to return to her life as a courtesan every day, at that moment, the balance in her heart was leaning towards him rather than herself.
“A Master of Arcane Fragrance will be visiting soon. Report in detail what you saw and wait for her instructions.”
“Yes. I will recount everything precisely.”
Not all hope was lost.
The testimony from the umbrella ambush. Although Si-mun seemed unable to find evidence, the victim, the Master of Arcane Fragrance, could be different. Then she could clear her wrongful accusations of being a runaway courtesan.
Even if she had to return to being an apprentice courtesan, she still held onto a sliver of hope to meet him again.
“Once you’re done explaining about the umbrella ambush, you need to prepare to serve customers as a courtesan.”
Prepare to officially receive guests as a courtesan. With the indifferent words of the courtesan, her small hope shattered into pieces.
The courtesan looked at the shocked Im Ha-yeon with pity and left the room.
She had to entertain guests.
Not as an apprentice courtesan. But as a courtesan.
With a heavy heart, Im Ha-yeon covered her face and lowered her head.
“I hoped this day wouldn’t come…”
The effort she put in for months to avoid becoming a courtesan with him.
That effort evaporated in an instant. But what made it all the more frustrating for her was.
“Why did I waste my time with him?”
It was too late.
So late.
Why hadn’t she spoken sooner?
Wasting time on an absurd misunderstanding and waiting for him to confess first due to her petty pride.
They could have shared their feelings and treasured their time together, yet she carelessly let it slip away.
Time that would never return.
“I’m such a fool.”
Tears welled up in Im Ha-yeon’s eyes once more. Her vision clouded with moisture.
Just like the tears that fell to the floor would never return, she would never hear the answer to her confession towards Kang Yoon-ho.
That fact tormented Im Ha-yeon even more.
———–
“I have come to escort you.”
A warrior wearing a bamboo hat opened the door to Im Ha-yeon’s room.
“Are you going to the Master of Arcane Fragrance? I’ll prepare!”
“No. We’re going elsewhere.”
The warrior replied to her in a low voice.
“Then, no way?!”
Right to serving guests. She had thought she would have a bit more time. Im Ha-yeon couldn’t hold her shock.
“Please follow quietly.”
“I—I’m still just an apprentice courtesan.”
“You need to go quietly.”
The warrior’s voice was firm despite Im Ha-yeon’s panic.
“T—there’s someone waiting for me.”
She stammered out an excuse to avoid being dragged away.
“Who is it?”
“Um… Um…”
The Master of Arcane Fragrance? The courtesan who had just spoken to her?
Who exactly is she waiting for? The image of one man suddenly filled Im Ha-yeon’s mind.
“Could it be…”
The warrior’s deep voice lightened with a smile.
“Huh?”
That voice, so familiar. That smile, so recognizable.
No way. Im Ha-yeon’s eyes widened in astonishment as she looked up from the bamboo hat, watching the face emerge.
“Is it… you?”
From within the hat, the face she had longed to see was smiling at her.
“You?! How did you get here?”
“Of course, I came to take you. Let’s go.”
Im Ha-yeon silently gazed at Kang Yoon-ho’s outstretched hand.
She wanted to grab that hand immediately and leave with him. But she couldn’t bring herself to hold it.
“I can’t go back.”
Thank you for coming.
“Let’s just get out of here for now.”
Thank you for not giving up on me.
“Tonight will only repeat what happened last night.”
I want to go with you. I want to return to our daily lives.
“Today, I’ve brought reinforcements.”
“I can’t keep imposing on you.”
Unfortunately, accepting it feels like I’d be better off living with Miss Zhuge. Im Ha-yeon couldn’t say the words.
“Im Ha-yeon.”
“Yes.”
“Speak your true feelings. Your makeup is smudged.”
The one she had missed so much.
The man she wanted to confess her true heart to again. The man she wanted to embrace at that very moment.
Yet she couldn’t utter even a single word for him, and her unsaid feelings began to spill over like tears.
Kang Yoon-ho, with sad eyes, raised his hand to gently caress her cheek.
Should I say it?
Can I really speak my desires? With his touch making her feel like she could say anything, Im Ha-yeon’s heart burst forth.
“Help me.”
“I will save you.”
“I don’t want to become a courtesan.”
“I have no intention of making you one.”
“I want to be beside you.”
“Has it ever not been your place?”
“You really!”
Laughter and tears. Her heart’s outburst along with her affection made her face a mess.
“Thank you for waiting. Let’s go.”
Im Ha-yeon grabbed Kang Yoon-ho’s hand once more.
This time, she didn’t want to let go of the hand that felt so close to her heart.
“I barely rescued her.”
Disguised as a delivery person to enter the brothel, then transformed into a warrior to reach Im Ha-yeon’s room.
First, secure Im Ha-yeon. Thanks to the people of Si-mun who had gotten attention, the rescue went smoothly.
“Wow. We did it.”
“Did the youngest arrive? You’re late.”
“Thank you, but what’s going on here?”
Were they not supposed to block the passage to keep the Master of Arcane Fragrance’s warriors from coming?
They expected fierce battles or at worst, a knife fight, yet everyone was sipping tea, keeping their distance from each other.
“Now that the target is secured, we resolved it verbally. We’re not thugs; there’s no need for a knife fight among ourselves.”
“Oh… I see.”
It seems only the thugs from different factions were likely to draw blades.
“Master of Arcane Fragrance said it’ll take a little longer. Just go in first.”
“Where to?”
“Master of Arcane Fragrance is looking for both of you.”
Wait, they went through all the trouble to secure Im Ha-yeon, and now they both had to go to the Master?
The Si-mun people spoke as though it was nothing, like a teacher summoning students to the office.
“Isn’t it better for Im Ha-yeon to stay here?”
“It’s fine. I knew you’d come looking, so I was waiting.”
As they looked puzzled at the people from Si-mun, a familiar looking courtesan approached me.
“It’s you from last night.”
“Both of you, please come with us. The Master of Arcane Fragrance is looking for you.”
Can we really go?
I hesitated momentarily, but eventually nodded at the gesture from the Si-mun people.
————————
“Master, we have brought Kang Yoon-ho and Im Ha-yeon.”
“Let them in.”
In a massive room, filled with fragrance that hit the tip of the nose, a woman sat in the center, where countless marten skins were scattered across the floor, looking like a chair, or perhaps a bed.
The leader of the courtesans from Hubei Province. The Master of Arcane Fragrance.
With boldly revealed thighs and chest. Where to look, her face could appear mature or full of decadence.
‘Is she really in her fifties as heard?’
No matter how well she’s maintained, she looks to be in her late twenties. Is it because she mastered one of the essential courtesan martial arts, Anti-Aging Technique?
The Master of Arcane Fragrance took a deep puff from her pipe and, looking at us, spoke.
“Once the childhood games are over, it’s time to go home. How rude to cause a scene at someone else’s place.”
Was it from the pipe? Once a pristine voice, now a hoarse tone filled my ears.
Fine, let’s do this.
Purposely projecting Im Ha-yeon behind me, I stepped closer to her.
“When it comes to relationships between men and women, isn’t it natural to build such bonds through games before eventually stepping under one roof holding hands?”
Let’s start lightly.
Showing firm intention but without confrontation.
“Diving into a momentary fire just leaves only wounds.”
“When a woman suffers in the flames, if one can just take them out with injuries, then it’s worth it.”
“To save Im Ha-yeon, I would jump into a fire pit if necessary.” I smiled as I said it.
“You’re not planning to say a single word, huh?”
The Master of Arcane Fragrance glared at me with dissatisfaction.
“If you grant me what I desire, I will remain silent.”
“Leave quietly. That gluttonous wench wanted to see you, so I’ll ensure her matter is resolved carefully.”
“The solution you propose is completely unsatisfactory to me.”
I’m jumping in because your agreement doesn’t sit well with me.
“Then what kind of solution are you looking for?”
“I came to erase her from this miracle.”
“Do you think it can be solved just by paying?”
“If Masters of Arcane Fragrance and Gi-mun lend help, I will somehow manage the rest.”
Solve the runaway courtesan issue and make her a courtesan, then I’d have ways to handle it.
“If you don’t want to become a target for the reckless thugs, then quietly retreat.”
“If I hadn’t prepared for that, I wouldn’t have come here.”
I spoke firmly, pulling back any hint of a smile, as the countless seasoned courtesans’ indifferent gazes scanned my body.
Her expression suggested she wouldn’t likely comply with me. Yet, I had no intention of stepping back.
I silently endured the Master of Arcane Fragrance’s intense gaze until she took a step back first.
Did she step back?
The Master of Arcane Fragrance smirked at me and took another puff from her pipe.
“Ha, long ago, there was a man as bold as you who barged into the heart of the Arcane Fragrance.”
She mumbled as if recalling bitter memories with a deep puff from her pipe.
“……”
Before blooming flowers were even a thought, he forcibly claimed a delicate bud as his own. Do you know what became of that man?”
“They must have lived happily ever after.”
“As love waned, he discarded the courtesan like a worn-out shoe.”
“……”
Could it possibly be her own story?
“When a hot flameplay ends, the harsh reality inevitably crashes down. A noble lady awaited the man when he returned, and he realized he had to show the courtesan he brought before that lady.”
“I’m different.”
It sounds like you’re worried about Miss Zhuge, but for now, it’s a contracted relationship.
“When a flower is in its garden, it is happiest. Leaving a mark on her heart for a lifetime is already severe enough; don’t harm her more by wanting to uproot her. Given your courage today, I will forget your ruckus and let you go.”
“It’s not something done on a whim.”
“Can you truly protect her all the way? A girl who grew up in the pleasure quarters, learned nothing but how to please men, and would be worthless in the world once she stepped outside!”
The Master of Arcane Fragrance raised her voice, clearly annoyed by my response.
I understood what she meant.
Im Ha-yeon came knocking on the pleasure quarters door to ease her hunger. If I foolishly take her in and abandon her later, a harsh fate awaits her.
“That statement is incorrect.”
“What?!”
But this case was different. You don’t know Im Ha-yeon at all.
“Im Ha-yeon wakes up earliest in the morning and works until the latest night. Though sometimes she grumbles, she’s responsible, compassionate, and considerate. Those who work with her praise her, and when she’s absent, they miss her more than anyone.”
“……”
For the first time, the mouth of the Master of Arcane Fragrance slightly parted in surprise.
“Once, she didn’t even know how to cook, but now she can make delicious kimchi stew for me. Though she can’t express her fondness, her jealousy is quite visible. After a tiring day, she secretly covers me with the blanket before leaving.”
“How do you know that?!”
Im Ha-yeon looked at me with shock in her eyes.
Since it was my secret diary, I had noticed it for a while now. But right now, that fact isn’t what’s important.
“Master of Arcane Fragrance, she is a woman more suited by my side than in a flower garden.”
I’m not trying to pluck the flower from the garden. I merely wish to place her where she would feel she belongs.
With earnest tone, I spoke to her.
“Everyone speaks that way.”
“I didn’t come due to a moment of folly; I came to take responsibility for her.”
“To take responsibility?”
“The vow of a man to take responsibility for a woman’s life is carved deep into the heart. A promise made with a pinky swear vanishes the moment one withdraws their finger. A fleeting flame dies out, and a plucked flower disappears. But the promises etched in a man’s heart never fade.”
“The promises etched in the heart never fade…”
“I ask you to help me take full responsibility for her life.”
Slowly, I bowed my head to the Master of Arcane Fragrance.
It would be too soon to confess my affection fully, as I still have unsaid words. Yet one resolution hasn’t changed.
On that fateful night. The night she came to my room crying. The day I promised to save her from the life of a courtesan.
From that moment on, I decided to take responsibility for her life.
Raising my head to look at the Master of Arcane Fragrance, I noticed a smile forming on her lips.
Did it resonate?
“You’re brazenly trying to take a girl raised by others for ten years, just like your father.”
An utterly unexpected statement escaped from the Master of Arcane Fragrance.
“Pardon?”
“You dive into love recklessly, just like your mother.”
“Do you know my parents?”
What on earth is she talking about? She knows my parents?
“Even though you were born in Joseon, you’ve grown up here in Wuhan; how could I not know?”
You’ve grown up in Wuhan. When I hear that, it seems to refer to the story of the Kang family.
A memory flashed through my mind.
The Tang Family Head in his prime.
A young courtesan from Wuhan, Hyang-a.
The two of them started their tale here in Wuhan.
“…How do you know that?”
Through the thick smoke swirling around her, the Master of Arcane Fragrance gazed at me, her expression mixed with reminiscence, looking past my face.
“Hyang-a… my disciple Hyang-a… did she return to Joseon and find happiness?”
