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∼Chapter 07∼
Some time later.
Daljae headed to the government office of a nearby town.
In his hand was a plump local chicken.
Knock, knock.
“Chief Clerk, it’s Daljae. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you for a moment.”
“Come in.”
Daljae cautiously opened the door to the chief clerk’s office.
Creak.
Inside, a thin man sat at a desk, looking through an account book.
Daljae quietly placed the local chicken beside the chief clerk’s desk.
“Ah, Chief Clerk, please hear me out.”
“What is it?”
“You know about that rumor that’s been going around lately, don’t you?”
“What rumor?”
“You know. That Life Tavern or whatever it’s called is doing incredibly well.”
“Ah, I’ve heard of it. I hear the rice soup there is supposed to be quite delicious.”
At the chief clerk’s words, Daljae clapped his hands and made a great fuss.
“Yes! Yes! I don’t know about the taste, but those people have gone and stolen all my customers!”
“They took all your customers? How?”
“Ah! Well, it’s a little complicated to explain…”
Once the chief clerk showed interest, Daljae began telling him everything about Life Tavern.
From the way it had been renovated.
To its various services.
And even the story concerning Hayoon.
“…I’m telling you, some woman with no known background completely overhauled the whole place!”
“She certainly has a good head on her shoulders.”
“Anyway, can we really let this go on? How are the other taverns supposed to make a living? Don’t you agree, Chief Clerk?”
“Hmm…”
After listening to Daljae, the chief clerk fell into thought.
The person who had contributed greatly to making Daljae’s Sanmaru Tavern the best tavern in the town was none other than this very chief clerk, Choi Hyangseo.
In exchange for looking after Daljae, Choi Hyangseo had received money and various forms of hospitality.
With Choi Hyangseo’s support, Daljae had been able to maintain his position as the owner of the town’s best tavern for many years.
At least, until recently.
“Hm…”
But now, that very Sanmaru Tavern was facing a crisis as precarious as a candle in the wind.
And this wasn’t necessarily good news for Choi Hyangseo either.
Because it meant that his share would decrease.
In fact, Daljae regularly paid Choi Hyangseo a certain portion of his profits every month.
“Hmm.”
Even so, Choi Hyangseo was reluctant to get involved in this matter.
No matter how powerful he was as the chief clerk, if he wanted to mobilize the authorities, he would ultimately need the magistrate’s permission.
And if he brought such a trivial matter before the magistrate, there was no doubt he would be severely reprimanded.
He needed something much bigger to justify seeking the magistrate’s approval.
After weighing the matter carefully, Choi Hyangseo shook his head.
“That’s a problem for the merchants to settle among themselves. It’s not something I should get involved in. Besides, I have no justification for intervening.”
“Why do you say there’s no justification? Didn’t I just tell you?”
What Daljae intended to report wasn’t any wrongdoing committed by Life Tavern.
What he intended to report was the identity of Hayoon—the key to Life Tavern’s success.
“There’s a young woman working there whose background is completely unknown! We need to arrest her and interrogate her immediately.”
“You don’t know her background? What do you mean by that?”
When Choi Hyangseo showed interest again, Daljae lowered his voice.
“There’s a young woman working there, and the way she speaks and behaves… she doesn’t seem like someone from around here.”
“She’s not from this area?”
“Yes. Her hair is cut all the way up to her ears, and more importantly, she claims to have lost her memory and says she doesn’t know where her hometown is. Isn’t that obviously a lie?”
“Hmm…”
Choi Hyangseo stroked his chin and thought for a moment.
“She must be a slave who ran away from somewhere. Otherwise, there’s no reason she’d tell such a ridiculous lie. Don’t you agree, Chief Clerk?”
“A runaway slave…”
As luck would have it, Choi Hyangseo himself had an unpleasant memory from several years ago of going through considerable trouble to capture a slave who had fled with property.
Fortunately, he had managed to catch the fellow in a certain village, and although he couldn’t recover everything, he had managed to retrieve part of the stolen property.
He made up the remaining amount by selling the man to a salt merchant.
The unpleasant emotions from that incident slowly began resurfacing.
“If that’s the issue, then things are different.”
In Joseon, slaves were considered a kind of valuable resource with economic worth.
Therefore, capturing a runaway slave was considered a significant achievement.
Depending on whose slave it was, there could also be additional rewards.
For example, if he were fortunate enough to capture a slave belonging to a high-ranking official, he could receive a promotion in return—or perhaps even call upon that official for assistance in the future.
At last, the calculation became worthwhile to Choi Hyangseo.
Bang!
He slammed his hand down on the desk.
“Fine! Tomorrow morning, I’ll send the constables to verify that woman’s identity.”
“Thank you, Chief Clerk! Thank you so much!”
Having finally obtained what he wanted, Daljae’s lips curled into a sinister smile.
At the thought of the crisis that would soon descend upon Life Tavern, Daljae felt almost drunk with excitement despite not having touched a drop of alcohol.
Around dawn the next morning,
Hayoon had gotten up early and was sitting alone inside the empty tavern.
‘Why am I here…?’
When she had first fallen into the Joseon era, she had been too confused even to have the time to wonder about such things.
The Joseon era?
It was something she had only ever seen in dramas and novels.
When it suddenly became reality, she couldn’t even think properly.
The only thing dominating Hayoon’s mind had been her survival instinct.
She simply had to survive somehow.
But as the tavern gradually returned to normal and Hayoon herself slowly adapted to this era, questions began surfacing one by one.
The fundamental question of why she had been brought here in the first place.
‘It was the gogok. That gogok brought me here.’
She remembered the moment of the accident.
The gogok had trembled violently, and a brilliant light had wrapped itself around her.
Then, when she opened her eyes again, the gogok had disappeared without a trace.
She didn’t know whether it had vanished as a consequence of sending her to Joseon or whether she had simply lost it.
‘I have to find that gogok again.’
Hayoon knew.
The gogok still existed somewhere in Joseon.
Her father had emphasized that the gogok was an artifact that had been discovered in the Joseon era.
‘To do that, I have to achieve great success here!’
Whether it was to return to the future or to find the only keepsake she had left from her father, Hayoon couldn’t stop.
She had to make Life Tavern bigger.
She had to use its influence to find the gogok.
The success of Life Tavern was the key to returning to the future.
In the end, there was only one answer.
Survive.
And succeed.
Once she had made her plan, the chaos in her mind seemed to clear somewhat.
“Then, shall I work hard selling rice soup again today?”
Just as Hayoon was about to stand up after making up her mind—
BANG!
Suddenly, the tavern door burst open with a tremendous noise, and constables stormed inside.
“What is this… Gasp!”
Startled by the commotion, Munsik and Okbun hurriedly rushed out.
“Why are constables here…?”
“No, more importantly, why are they carrying weapons like that…?”
The constables looked as though they had come to arrest a traitor.
Munsik cautiously approached them.
“Um… May I ask why the constables have come here?”
The man who appeared to be the leader of the constables slowly scanned the inside of the tavern.
Then he asked in a low, intimidating voice.
“This is Life Tavern, is it not?”
“Yes. This is indeed Life Tavern, but…”
“Who is the woman here with her hair cut short?”
“……!”
When the constables suddenly began looking for her, Hayoon instinctively shrank her shoulders.
Munsik calmly continued speaking.
“I’m sorry, but may I ask why you’re looking for Hayoon?”
“That is none of your concern. Just tell us where the woman is.”
“Well, I…”
Sensing that something was wrong, Munsik hesitated.
If he answered honestly, it looked as though they would immediately arrest Hayoon.
Unable to cause them any more trouble, Hayoon stepped forward herself.
“It’s me. I’m the woman you’re looking for.”
“Hmm.”
The constable compared Hayoon’s appearance with the bundle of papers he had brought.
In truth, there was hardly any need for comparison.
Hayoon’s defining feature was unmistakable.
A young woman with short hair simply could not exist in Joseon.
The constable stared at Hayoon for a moment before speaking.
“We received a report questioning your identity.”
“A report?”
The constable then ordered Hayoon:
“Hand over your hopae immediately!”
“Hopae!”
At the word hopae, Hayoon’s face turned pale.
A hopae was a form of identification used during the Joseon era. Everyone aged sixteen or older was required to carry one.
It would be one thing if she had a resident registration card.
But Hayoon had come from the twenty-first century.
Naturally, there was no way she could possibly possess such a thing.
“I, um…”
As Hayoon hesitated, the constables pressured her even more forcefully.
“What are you waiting for? Hand over your hopae!”
“Ah, well, you see…”
Hayoon hesitated because she genuinely didn’t have a hopae.
The constable glared at her suspiciously.
“Don’t tell me you don’t have a hopae?”
“……!”
Once the constables realized that Hayoon had no hopae, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
Their suspicion had turned into certainty.
Soon, the leader gave an order to the other constables.
“Seize that woman immediately and escort her to the government office!”
“Yes!”
“Oh no! Hayoon!”
“You can’t! That girl hasn’t committed any crime!”
Munsik and Okbun tried to stop the constables from taking Hayoon away, but there was nothing they could do.
“Stand back! If you interfere with the authorities’ affairs any further, you will be charged with the same crime.”
“Gasp!”
Faced with the constables’ threat, the married couple finally took a step back.
Hayoon tried to reassure them.
“Don’t worry. Everything will be all right.”
“Hayoon…!”
“I’ll be back soon. Until then, please take good care of Life Tavern.”
“Oh, dear! What are we going to do…!”
And so, Hayoon, who had no hopae, was falsely accused of being a runaway slave and escorted to the government office.
Meanwhile, even the bright and peaceful Life Tavern slowly began to be covered by dark clouds.
