TRSCSS 14

Between Coincidence and Inevitability

Originally, Iseo had planned to distribute steamed rice cakes to every household to celebrate the relocation of the shop, but there turned out to be no need. As the savory scent of freshly made tteok spread through the alleyways, people naturally began lining up in front of the store on their own.

After preparing rice cakes to share with the neighbors and entrusting Eonnyeon and Samdeuk with the task, Iseo placed a piece of tteok and a bottle of sikhye on a small tray and headed to Danyang’s place.

“Is anyone here?”

Just like the previous times he had visited, the shop was dim and empty of customers. He had heard that even a single successful brokerage deal could bring in a fortune, but the place seemed so devoid of visitors that he wondered if business could really survive like this. Besides, hadn’t Danyang stubbornly refused to accept even a single coin in brokerage fees from him?

“Goodness, the landlord already paid generously, so you needn’t worry about that, young master.”

The owner had practically lent the shop for free and even covered the brokerage fee. Iseo was grateful, but the excessive kindness made him briefly wonder once again if it was all some sort of scam.

Still, no matter how much he thought about it, there seemed to be far too little profit for either Danyang or the landlord to gain from deceiving him. Besides, what was there to scam from him anyway? He was merely a humble confectioner who owned little more than a cauldron and a mortar.

“Excuse me, is no one here?”

The shop door wasn’t even locked. Where had Danyang disappeared to? At a glance, the dark shop hardly looked like it contained anything worth stealing.

Shaking his head, Iseo carefully placed the rice cakes on an old wooden table in the corner, covered them with cloth, and stepped back outside. He couldn’t wait around forever. He had customers to greet at the shop, and more importantly, he was worried about the sujeonggwa simmering over the fire.

The marketplace was unusually crowded today. As the excited cries of merchants echoed around him, Iseo noticed a cluster of people gathered together in the open area before a shop.

“And so, having lost her entire family despite committing no crime, our young lady ran and ran beneath the cover of darkness…”

The storyteller raised his voice dramatically as he continued the sorrowful tale. When he snapped his fan sharply against his palm, the crowd let out a collective sigh.

“So what happened next?”

Someone shouted impatiently. The storyteller casually covered the coin box before him with his fan.

“Well now, really!”

Though the listeners clicked their tongues, curiosity won out, and one by one they tossed copper coins toward him. Only then did the storyteller resume.

“After wandering through rough mountains for many days with the burning village behind her, our young lady was scratched by branches and stumbled countless times upon the rugged paths. At last, she arrived at a certain village!”

Iseo’s gaze fixed on the storyteller. He was not one of the regular performers who frequented the marketplace but someone entirely unfamiliar. And the story he was telling was likewise something Iseo had never heard before.

Iseo frowned as he stared at the storyteller. Most stories told by such men were all more or less the same. Sometimes they altered familiar tales here and there, but usually they simply retold books rented from lending libraries, embellishing them slightly for illiterate listeners.

But the story this storyteller spun now was one Iseo had never encountered anywhere before. Having spent countless nights copying manuscripts for lending shops to save money for his store, he prided himself on knowing nearly every storybook in existence.

“Meanwhile, the grand prince who had returned from the great nation had grown into a fine and noble man. How could one not feel proud? Yet now our grand prince seeks the fiancée he lost in childhood, though he has no idea where to begin searching, and thus sighs in despair…”

At the storyteller’s words, the crowd sighed mournfully along with him.

Everyone except Iseo.

“Lost in childhood, my foot! Those children probably never even looked properly at each other! Why would a grand prince go to such lengths searching for a fiancée whose face he doesn’t even know?”

Iseo curled his lips at the utterly unrealistic tale. Strangely enough, though, there were many parts that resembled his own situation.

But Prince Je-an would never search for him.

There was no reason to.

As Iseo scoffed inwardly at the story, he spotted Danyang sitting among the crowd, mouth hanging open as he listened with complete absorption. He had abandoned his shop entirely.

I should at least tell him I left the rice cakes there.

Turning away from the direction of his own shop, Iseo began walking toward Danyang.

“Ah!”

But perhaps because he moved too quickly, he collided with someone.

“Are you alright?”

A large, warm hand quickly caught his arm before he could fall. Holding his aching nose, which had watered painfully from the impact, Iseo hurriedly stepped back.

“I’m sorry. I should have watched where I was going.”

He quickly lowered his head in apology. The other man showed no sign of anger and merely clicked his tongue lightly.

“I should have been more careful myself. Goodness, are you hurt?”

The voice sounded strangely familiar. Slowly, Iseo lifted his head to look at the man before him.

The moment he recognized him, his already large eyes widened further, and his mouth fell open.

“Oh? What brings you here?”

The man smirked and replied,

“I could ask you the same. Didn’t you say you were leaving?”

Ryun smiled warmly at him. To think he would run into that bold little thief from Hanseojae again here under the moonlight.

“Haha… things somehow turned out this way.”

Wearing an awkward smile, Iseo pointed toward his shop.

“I had intended to leave for somewhere far away because of certain circumstances, but kind people helped me obtain a good shop. Thanks to them, there’s no longer any need for me to go far.”

Ryun’s gaze followed the direction of Iseo’s hand toward the store.

“That’s your shop?”

“Yes, sir. Would you care to come inside for a moment?”

The rich scent of steaming rice cakes mixed with sharp cinnamon drifted even beyond the storefront. Outside, the line of people waiting to receive tteok showed no signs of shortening.

“What occasion is this? Why is there such a long line here…?”

“Ah, I originally had my shop deeper inside the marketplace, but due to circumstances I moved here. A kindhearted person offered me cheap rent, so I gave up on leaving for somewhere distant. Since I was relocating anyway, I steamed some tteok to greet everyone and share with them.”

Unexpectedly becoming the “kindhearted landlord,” Ryun cleared his throat awkwardly. He had suspected the thief possessed unusual skill, but never imagined the plum thief and Iseo were one and the same.

He studied Iseo again with newly surprised eyes. Though not especially short, the young man’s body looked painfully thin beneath his loose jeogori, and his complexion was pale. Dark shadows lingered beneath his eyes as though from exhaustion.

There was so much food inside the shop, yet he remained so skinny that Ryun couldn’t understand it. His brows furrowed.

“He looks ready to collapse.”

The wrist that guided Ryun to the table and prepared the simple refreshments looked thin enough to snap at any moment. How such a frail body could pound rice cakes and knead dough was beyond comprehension.

“Since today is the opening day, I couldn’t make many varieties. There’s only radish sirutteok, yakgwa, and yugwa for greetings. Today’s drink is sujeonggwa. The weather’s become rather warm lately, so I thought sujeonggwa would suit better than sikhye for a while.”

Under the moonlight before, he had merely seemed somewhat thin, but in daylight he looked less like a man and more like a refined young nobleman.

Not merely refined, either—his bright beauty could rival even accomplished courtesans.

Suddenly, Danyang’s remark that Kwon Hoyeon seemed interested in this young man resurfaced in Ryun’s mind. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. As far as he knew, Kwon Hoyeon wasn’t as depraved as rumors claimed, but still, nothing good could come from becoming entangled with someone like him.

Quietly watching Iseo, Ryun nudged the yakgwa and yugwa set before him toward the younger man.

“Why are you doing that? Don’t you like them? Then perhaps I should bring you some rice cake instead?”

“No. Did you eat breakfast?”

“……”

Iseo had been so excited about reopening the shop that he barely slept. Before dawn had even broken, he had already begun boiling soaked red beans in the cauldron and grinding rice.

Naturally, breakfast had slipped his mind entirely.

“You eat these instead. No… wait.”

After thinking briefly, Ryun abruptly rose to his feet. It was already lunchtime.

“Get up.”

“Pardon?”

“You treated me, so naturally I should repay the favor, shouldn’t I?”

Iseo’s eyes wandered uncertainly over the untouched sweets before returning to Ryun.

Did the snacks taste bad? His face visibly darkened with disappointment. Few people had ever disliked his confections, but perhaps this nobleman in extravagant attire possessed equally extravagant tastes.

“What are you doing? Hurry and wrap up the sweets.”

Ryun pointed confidently at the snacks.

“Ah! Yes, sir!”

Just because someone refused the snacks, he looked so dejected. A mischievous smile tugged at Ryun’s lips.

When they passed even the final tavern at the end of the marketplace alley, Iseo’s steps gradually slowed. Having gone hungry since morning, his stomach growled painfully, yet the scholar kept heading deeper into the alleys.

Beyond this tavern lay the district lined with kisaeng houses.

Surely the scholar had mistaken the way. Stopping before the last tavern, Iseo called out to Ryun.

“My lord!”

Ryun, walking with his hands clasped behind his back and holding an ornate fan decorated with jade tassels, halted.

“What is it?”

“Um… this is the last tavern in the marketplace. If you continue that way, you’ll reach the kisaeng district.”

Iseo’s gaze followed the direction where Ryun stood. Even the walls differed from those of the marketplace. Neatly tiled roofs lined red brick walls, and the marble-studded ground was so immaculate that not even a single fallen leaf could be found.

At night, Iseo occasionally heard the shouts of drunken men, but the kisaeng district remained an entirely different world to him. Beautiful music always drifted through the air, and fairy-like courtesans danced gracefully there.

Every night, powerful men came and went, and unimaginable delicacies filled the place.

And for someone like him, it was a world so expensive he would never even glimpse it in his lifetime. Some people pointed fingers and called it vulgar, but Iseo liked the talented and kind-hearted kisaeng.

Come to think of it, the elegant walls of the district, the crimson trumpet vines blooming above them, and the crookedly leaning scholar standing there seemed to form a perfect picture together.

“So?”

Ryun’s indifferent gaze followed the direction Iseo indicated toward the tavern before returning to him.

Unable to find the right words, Iseo hesitated awkwardly.

Then, without waiting any longer for a response, Ryun simply turned and walked straight into the alley lined with kisaeng houses.

With no choice, Iseo followed hesitantly behind him.

Stopping before the largest gate in the district, Ryun waited for Iseo to catch up before naturally pushing the door open and entering as though it were his own home.