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chapter 32
The next morning, at dawn.
“Aigoo—”
The acolytes dragged their creaking, exhausted bodies into the courtyard of the Housekeeping Office just as the sky was beginning to brighten.
They had all overworked themselves the day before trying to prepare for the guests on short notice, and despite lying all night on a nice warm floor, the fatigue hadn’t fully left them.
“Who’s preparing breakfast today?”
“When will the cooks come back?”
They had followed Seorin’s instructions yesterday because of the urgent situation, but being ordered around by someone from their own intake had never sat well with them.
“We’re not going to have to watch that girl act all high and mighty again, right?!”
“Come to think of it, wasn’t it because of her that the assistant cook walked out yesterday?”
Seonji raised her voice loudly, clearly intending for Seorin to hear.
Several other trainees chimed in, shooting jealous glances at Seorin—the girl who had firmly impressed the deputy chief yesterday.
Well, I expected this. I wouldn’t like it either. They must think I stole all the credit.
Even if it was an emergency, she had ordered them around like a senior soldier bullying juniors in the army.
Gabi looked at Seorin with concern, just as Jeong Yeon-hwa entered with Head Cook Go Jang-nam.
“Oh?! The head cook!”
“Thank goodness! Looks like he’s all better!”
The head cook still looked a bit gaunt, but there was strength in his eyes as he looked at the trainees. He seemed to have recovered. Seorin, too, felt relieved that he had returned.
She knew very well that standing out too much wasn’t always a good thing.
“Ahem! I heard you all did well yesterday. Despite the sudden schedule change and unexpected incidents, you followed the deputy chief admirably.”
Praise makes even whales dance, they say. The acolytes, suddenly showered with compliments, forgot their complaints for a moment and smiled proudly.
“Now, let me explain today’s schedule.”
Jeong Yeon-hwa outlined the Great Western Empire merchants’ itinerary and assigned tasks accordingly.
“In the morning you will all work together on shared duties, and afterward you’ll move on to your individual assignments. As you know, the current situation has left no room for separate training. Instead, morning duties will serve as your practical training.”
She pointed toward one side of the food-preparation building.
“The details of each task have been posted on the mission board at the Housekeeping Office entrance. Go check it now. Any future announcements will also be posted there, so check it often. This concludes roll call.”
The moment she finished speaking, the acolytes rushed toward the notice board in a swarm.
The morning work assignment for the day was vegetable prep in the kitchen.
And Seorin’s individual assignment was to attend to the vice caravan leader and to Nashim of the Al–Fayruz merchant group until their departure.
Those assigned to physically demanding tasks shot sharp, jealous looks at Seorin.
Seonji and Sini—assigned to the kitchen and laundry—glared at her openly.
“She talks well, so she gets to wriggle out of all the hard work like some slippery eel, huh?”
“And she’s not even staying with the guests all day! Isn’t this too much?”
Their complaints triggered more grumbling among the trainees.
“For real. What does cleaning rooms have to do with speaking the Empire’s language?”
“Exactly! All she has to do is wipe, sweep, and fold some blankets.”
Hearing them speak like that—right behind her—Seorin found she had nothing to refute. Even she had to admit the assignment looked like a privilege.
“Hey, ignore them. If it were them, they’d be thrilled and bragging nonstop.”
Dasim patted her shoulder and offered her a dried squid leg.
“…Your pocket is seriously like a magic bag. Anyway, thanks.”
“Magic bag?”
“Never mind, it’s a thing.”
Once assignments were done, the acolytes dispersed to their respective duties.
At that moment, Jeong Yeon-hwa called Seorin.
“You, follow me. The Chief Director has summoned you.”
Seorin blinked in confusion.
Why me?
As she followed quietly, Jeong Yeon-hwa glanced at her and spoke.
“You truly worked hard yesterday. The Chief Director is calling you to commend your efforts.”
“Oh, it wasn’t work. I’m just glad I could be helpful.”
Hearing her work acknowledged, Seorin smiled sheepishly.
Jeong Yeon-hwa looked at that smile with barely hidden fondness.
Once this whole situation settles, I must bring her to our lodging–management division.
* * *
They climbed the flower-lined stone steps that led to the administrative quarter. A garden of maple trees greeted them—branches still, leaves glowing red under the autumn sun and rustling gently in the breeze. A few leaves had already fallen, scattering color across the ground.
Crossing the long covered walkway over the central pond, they reached the entrance to the Housekeeping Office building. The two walked quietly down the long corridor.
The latticed paper windows were perfectly aligned, the polished stone floor dustless and smooth.
Seorin looked around with wide eyes as she followed.
At the end of the hall, they climbed a wide staircase to the second floor, where a deeper silence hung in the air. Eun-cheon’s office was at the very end.
They stopped before a pair of heavy, undecorated double doors.
“Chief Director, Assistant Jeong Yeon-hwa reporting. I have brought Oh Seorin.”
A calm voice replied from within.
“Let her in.”
Yeon-hwa guided Seorin to the entrance and immediately departed.
Left alone, Seorin swallowed nervously and took a slow breath.
She wrapped her fingers around the doorknob, opened it carefully, and stepped inside.
The Chief Director’s office—deepest within Hyeumwon—was utterly quiet, as if sealed off from the noise of the world.
One entire wall was filled with books, neatly arranged, exuding a faint scent of ink.
At the center of the room sat a desk beside the window, and seated there—
Was Eun-cheon.
Sunlight filtered through the wooden blinds, illuminating him softly.
The hand holding a document with perfect posture, the eyes narrowed in concentration—his entire figure was like a flawless painting. For a moment, Seorin felt as if she had stepped into another world.
Wow… it’s like looking at a photoshoot.
Backlit by sunlight, he looked exactly like an actor posing for a magazine spread.
The brush in his elegant hand glided across white paper, forming characters as graceful as the man who wrote them.
Seorin watched, entranced—until the man in the photograph spoke.
“I heard you rendered great service yesterday.”
Eun-cheon lifted his eyes from the papers and looked directly at her.
“Wow… the picture talks.”
“…Picture?”
“A-ah! No! I mean—um—this room, it’s like a picture! Yes!”
He stared at the flustered Seorin for a long moment before returning his gaze to the documents, finally getting to the purpose of summoning her.
“…I called you here to commend your efforts.”
“…Ah.”
“Is there anything you desire?”
His voice—deep, resonant, echoing like sound from the depths of a cave—was the same voice that had brushed against her ear by the lakeside.
Seorin’s ear suddenly felt ticklish, and she rubbed it reflexively.
