TRSCSS 05

Chapter 5

 Rumors Are Not to Be Trusted

Even after Yuji left, the front of the shop remained crowded for quite some time. One group wanted the same sweets Yuji had bought to be wrapped up for them. Another group kept pestering and interrogating her about what kind of relationship she had with Yuji.

Only when even they had finally dispersed and the sun had begun to sink low in the sky was Yiseo able to straighten the back she had kept bent the entire time.

“Yuji stopped by here, I hear.”

“Yes, my lord.”

At the sound of the man’s voice, Yiseo replied smoothly without even turning around. It was a common occurrence whenever Yuji visited the shop. It was troublesome, but the rumors helped business, so Yiseo kindly continued her explanation.

“The young lady left earlier. She visits often, so perhaps you may see her next time—”

But the moment she lifted her head to check the customer’s face, she lost her words.

‘Kwon Hoyeon.’

The only precious son of Kwon Seokcheol. A notorious wastrel famous in the streets for gambling, betting games, and even rumors of relations with men. Hoyeon had no way of knowing Yiseo’s identity, yet she flinched every time she saw him.

She did not know whether Seokcheol was still searching for her, but if he ever learned she was alive, he certainly would not leave her alone. Even so, she had boldly opened a shop in the marketplace because she needed to survive. Besides, as the saying went, it was darkest under the lamp. She had assumed he would never expect her to be living so close by.

But that only worked as long as their lives never became entangled. Judging by the situation, he too seemed to have come because he was interested in Lady Yuji, but even that made Yiseo uneasy. It would be best if he continued living without even knowing she existed.

“So Yuji bought sweets here?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Yiseo bowed her head, trying her best not to reveal her face.

Hoyeon looked around the shop. The display shelves in the small, cozy store were almost empty, most of the sweets already sold out. The fellow in front of him looked frail and delicate, yet apparently had quite the talent for business.

“What did Yuji buy? Give me the same thing.”

“My apologies, my lord. Lady Yuji purchased most of the sweets, saying she had important guests to entertain, so there is very little left.”

Hoyeon’s dissatisfied gaze turned toward Yiseo. She squeezed her eyes shut and bowed even lower.

Not all nobles were the same. Some, like Hoyeon, were born into powerful families under capable fathers and raised in luxury, while others came from ruined noble households and lived lives poorer than commoners. Among them, there were increasingly more people like Yiseo who turned to trade because they could not endure poverty.

Among the customers who came to Yiseo’s shop were those who immediately scolded her for doing such business despite being born of a noble family. Others sneered at how a man had thrown away his dignity to wear an apron like a woman. But none of them paid for her livelihood. Yiseo let their words pass in one ear and out the other, though that did not mean they did not sting.

Thinking Hoyeon, disappointed at not getting the sweets he wanted, would mock her in a similar fashion, Yiseo kept her head bowed, waiting for sharp words to come flying.

Hoyeon looked at the young noble bowing so deeply his waist nearly snapped. The apron cinched around the slender waist made him look so thin one could grasp him in a single hand, and his face was so pale it seemed he had never seen sunlight in his life, enough to make anyone pity him.

Yet his smooth forehead, straight nose bridge, and neat pink lips were beautiful. Beneath his well-drawn brows, his eyes were clear and deep, carrying an air of refinement. For some reason, Hoyeon found it difficult to tear his gaze away from Yiseo’s face.

‘If I truly were interested in men, perhaps someone like this would be my type.’

The long eyelashes visible beneath the lowered brow were prettier than those of most women. Feeling an odd tickle in the back of his throat, Hoyeon cleared it and spoke.

“Sweets can sell out. There’s no need to bow your head over something like that. You must be quite good at business. To think everything sold out before sunset.”

“My apologies.”

As Hoyeon looked over the display case, his eyes landed on the twisted pastries remaining in the corner.

“Give me all of those.”

He did not particularly enjoy sweets, but it felt awkward to leave the shop empty-handed.

“Ah, those are…”

Yiseo stared at the pastries with a troubled expression before taking them out and beginning to wrap them. She neatly arranged the sweets in oiled hanji paper, then tied them beautifully with dyed paper strings twisted into cords.

He had entered the shop half out of curiosity because of the rumors that the famed courtesan Yuji frequented it, but everything from beginning to end was handled with sincere care.

If he brought sweets wrapped this prettily, perhaps his mother’s troubled heart—disturbed by all the rumors surrounding him—would ease a little. Hoyeon smiled in satisfaction and asked,

“So, how much?”

“No, my lord. Since I could not give you the sweets you wanted, please just take these.”

After glancing outside at the darkening sky, Yiseo answered.

She would likely have to sleep briefly at the shop again tonight to prepare the red bean paste for tomorrow’s cloud rice cakes. Sometimes the terrible memory of dying in a shop fire in her previous life sent chills through her body, but there was no helping it if she wanted to survive.

‘All I can do is be careful.’

The twisted pastries had been left unsold so she could eat them later with tea in place of dinner, but if a customer wanted them, there was nothing she could do.

“How could I do that?”

Hoyeon pulled out a pouch of coins and handed it to Yiseo. Her eyes widened.

“My lord, this is far too much.”

The sweets Yiseo made were expensive. Compared to the confections sold in the marketplace, they cost three or four times more, so unless one was a wealthy noble or a courtesan from a gisaeng house, few could afford them. But those who knew the quality of her ingredients and the sincerity of her work never called them overpriced. Anyone who tasted Yiseo’s sweets even once would return whenever they needed a gift.

Still, no matter how expensive they were, the amount Hoyeon paid was excessive. Judging by the look of it, he had not even bothered to count it.

Startled, Yiseo tried to return the money, but Hoyeon quickly stepped back and said,

“Compared to the joy this gift will bring its recipient, it is nothing. You know who I am, don’t you? I’m Kwon Hoyeon, the only son of Lord Kwon Seokcheol, the Deputy Chief of the Uigeumbu, a man who has nothing but money.”

Yiseo finally raised the gaze she had kept lowered and looked at Hoyeon. Contrary to the rumors of debauchery that had made her expect someone similar to his father, he looked nothing like Seokcheol.

Though her memories from childhood were vague, the Seokcheol she remembered was tall and dark-skinned like a warrior, with a frightening face that carried a sly, vicious impression.

Hoyeon, however, had a pale face and the appearance of a refined nobleman worthy of the phrase “jade-boned and elegant as an immortal.” The faint smile lingering on his face the entire time was gentle, and unlike most noblemen, he showed no disdain toward Yiseo merely for making and selling sweets.

“But this is still too much…”

When Yiseo frowned awkwardly, Hoyeon smiled again and asked,

“Or perhaps you feel uncomfortable because of the rumors about me?”

With the rumors that he liked men, perhaps she had misunderstood and thought he was making advances. Truthfully, he could not completely deny it. Hoyeon was not interested in men—he definitely was not—yet strangely enough, he felt drawn to the person before him.

“N-No, it’s not that. It truly is just too much money.”

Yiseo’s face reddened as she floundered, and Hoyeon found the sight adorable. Laughing softly, he said,

“Then let us do this. I shall come again tomorrow. If I arrive in the morning, will I be able to choose whatever sweets and rice cakes you’ve made?”

“Yes, my lord. If you come around sasi—between nine and eleven in the morning—most of them should be ready.”

“Good. Then I shall return at that time. We can settle the payment then.”

After speaking, Hoyeon carefully tucked the wrapped twisted pastries into his arms and turned away, handling them as though they were something precious. As he stepped out of the shop, he suddenly turned back and smiled at Yiseo. A few passing pedestrians witnessed the scene and glanced back and forth between the two.

Yiseo’s face stiffened. She could already predict what kind of rumors would spread through the marketplace tomorrow without even hearing them.

Becoming entangled with Hoyeon was bad in many ways. He must have clearly seen the hardened expression on her face, yet he only smiled more warmly and even waved before walking away. His actions were impossible to understand, but following after him to demand an explanation would also be awkward.

Yiseo hurried back inside to prepare to close the shop. Once she shut the doors and hastily ate dinner, she still needed to prepare for tomorrow’s business. Pouring the red beans she had soaked beforehand into a large cauldron and lighting the fire beneath it, she went to the small patch behind the shop, picked a few lettuce leaves, washed them, and took out the barley rice she had brought from home. The weather was still cool enough that it had not spoiled, but once summer came, she would no longer be able to carry barley rice around so easily.

‘It would be nice if something like sandwiches existed.’

Sometimes Yiseo remembered foods she had enjoyed in her previous life. But of course, such things did not exist in this era.

It had not been long since people had finally escaped the spring famine and barley had begun to grow. In poor households, people were only just managing to pay off debts and survive on barley porridge, yet here she was wishing for sandwiches. What a luxurious complaint. Besides, sandwiches required more ingredients than they appeared to. Vegetables were easy enough, but butter and mayonnaise were not common. She could make them if she tried, but she did not want to exhaust herself whisking eggs just to make a single sandwich. She already had more than enough work to do.

Just as Yiseo finished the last lettuce wrap stuffed with barley rice and began cleaning the dishes, someone knocked on the shop door. Looking outside, she saw that the sun had already set and the marketplace had closed. Anyone seeing the closed shop should have known business hours were over, so what could it be?

Unease spread across Yiseo’s face. She had recently heard rumors of bands of thieves running rampant. Because of the drought, public sentiment had grown vicious. Feeling sorry for how hard the young Eonnyeon had worked, Yiseo had sent her home early with Samdeuk, leaving herself alone in the shop.

“Who is it?”

“……”

“All the sweets are sold out. Please come back tomorrow.”

Yiseo called cautiously.

“Yiseo! Yiseo!”

It was her mother’s voice. Even from afar, it trembled. Yiseo hurried over and opened the shop door. Her hands shook as she removed the latch. Her mother had left half a month ago to support her older brother while he studied for the civil service exam at the temple. She should not have been returning for quite some time yet, so why was she here now?

“Mother! What happened?”