🔊 TTS Settings
∼Chapter 10∼
“Hayoon!”
The moment Okbun spotted Hayoon in the distance, she rushed out to greet her.
“Oh my! Honey! Come out here for a second! Hayoon’s back!”
“What did you say?”
Hearing that, Munsik threw down his axe and firewood and ran over as fast as he could.
“Oh my! Who is this? It really is Hayoon!”
Munsik’s face was filled with disbelief. His eyes quickly reddened.
Seeing the two of them, Hayoon was overwhelmed with emotion as well.
“Uncle! Auntie!”
“How… How did you end up back here…?”
“Fortunately, everything worked out. You won’t have to worry about anyone causing trouble over my identity anymore.”
“That’s truly wonderful!”
The three of them shared an emotional reunion after being apart for so long. The affection between them felt almost as though they were a real family.
“We were so worried something might happen to you… Sniff.”
Okbun wiped away her tears.
Ever since the day Hayoon had been taken away, she had not been able to sleep properly for even a single night.
She had gone to the government office every day, pleading and begging to find out if anything had happened to Hayoon.
She had even tried slipping money to the constables just to hear some news, but all she received in return were cold refusals.
Now that Hayoon had returned safely, the childless couple felt as though a daughter they had thought dead had come back to life.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. I’m fine.”
“Sniff… That delicate thing must have suffered so much while you were locked up…”
“I know you were worried because of me. I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for? The important thing is that you came back safely. That alone is a blessing.”
Seeing that Hayoon was unharmed, Munsik and Okbun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then Hayoon cautiously asked about the strangely empty atmosphere inside the tavern.
“But… what happened to all the customers?”
Only a few days ago, the place had been so crowded that there had barely been room to stand.
Now, the tavern was completely deserted.
Munsik gave a bitter smile.
“Ah, that? Don’t worry about it. What matters is that you’re back. Is that really what’s important right now?”
“Exactly. We can always bring the customers back.”
Hayoon’s absence had naturally caused serious problems for Life Tavern’s operations.
All the customers they had worked so hard to attract had been taken back by Sanmaru Tavern.
After returning to Sanmaru Tavern, Daljae had copied Life Tavern’s system wholesale and implemented it in his own tavern.
And he had done so at much cheaper prices.
For Life Tavern, operating without Hayoon, it had been difficult to overcome such a price difference.
As a result, only a small number of customers were quietly eating at Life Tavern now.
It had returned to the way it used to be.
Munsik gave an awkward smile.
“We tried running things ourselves, but it didn’t really work.”
“I suppose there wasn’t much we could do without you. The customers were all looking for you.”
“Uncle, Auntie…”
When Hayoon looked worried, Munsik patted her on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about running the tavern. We’ll take care of everything.”
“There’s no point standing out here. Go inside and get some rest. It wouldn’t be right to keep someone who’s been through so much standing around like this.”
As he spoke, Munsik grabbed Hayoon’s arm and led her inside.
“Huh…?”
Then he suddenly glanced to the side.
A middle-aged man whom he had never seen before was standing beside Hayoon.
Only now did he notice him.
“Who is this gentleman…?”
“Ah, well…”
The truth was, Hayoon herself did not know much about the middle-aged man.
Other than the fact that he shared the same surname as her, that was.
When Hayoon hesitated, the middle-aged man introduced himself first.
“I’m Hayoon’s uncle.”
“Her uncle?”
“You had an uncle?”
Hayoon looked at the middle-aged man in surprise.
A playful smile appeared on his face.
Hayoon let out a short sigh before answering.
“Yes. Somehow, that’s how things turned out.”
“Does that mean… your memories have returned?”
“Yes. I remember everything now. Where I lived. My parents’ names, too.”
“That’s wonderful! Truly wonderful!”
“To think such a happy thing could happen!”
Munsik and Okbun were overjoyed to hear that Hayoon had regained her memories, as though it were their own good news.
Then Munsik asked,
“But it’s an awkward time for lunch. Have you eaten?”
“No. Not yet.”
Hayoon shook her head.
“Then you must be hungry. Sit down here. I’ll quickly bring you a bowl.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Okbun politely asked the middle-aged man,
“Will you have the same?”
“I’d be grateful if you could.”
The middle-aged man smiled gently.
While Munsik and Okbun went inside to prepare the rice soup, Hayoon and the middle-aged man sat down at an empty table.
“Hmm.”
The middle-aged man began carefully surveying every corner of Life Tavern.
From the sign hanging at the entrance to the murals and all the various decorations.
His eyes moved from place to place, examining everything as meticulously as though he were assigning each item a score.
After a while, the middle-aged man looked at Hayoon.
“You’re saying you made this entire place like this yourself?”
Hayoon scratched her head shyly.
“It’s nothing special. Just a few things I came up with.”
“Nothing special?”
The middle-aged man shook his head.
“I’ve traveled all across Joseon and visited countless taverns, but I’ve never seen a place like this.”
He was speaking sincerely.
He had spent decades traveling throughout Joseon.
From luxurious taverns in Hanyang to shabby little taverns in rural villages, he had visited more places than he could count.
But he had never encountered a place like this.
It was a fresh shock that struck the middle-aged man deeply.
“Hmm.”
Then the middle-aged man picked up the menu sitting in front of him.
“What an interesting thing. Did you make this as well?”
“Yes. I thought the customers would find it easier to understand if we had something like this, so I made it.”
“Ho.”
The middle-aged man examined the menu from every angle.
The names of the dishes, accompanied by illustrations.
The clearly marked prices.
Even set menus such as the two-person platter.
His gaze once again swept across Life Tavern.
“The writing at the entrance is quite impressive as well…”
He immediately recognized the skill behind the characters Hayoon had written.
They might have looked as though they had been casually scribbled down, but the subtle control of brush pressure and the beauty in each stroke were remarkable.
It was a level that could not be imitated by anyone who had not spent at least several years practicing with a brush.
“More importantly, this.”
The middle-aged man’s gaze shifted toward the kitchen.
“I like how you made the kitchen visible. It makes me trust the place because I can see exactly what the tavern owner is doing.”
“……!”
Hayoon could not help being surprised by his observation.
The very first thing Hayoon had done when renovating the tavern was remove the kitchen door.
‘He noticed even that?’
An open kitchen was a concept that had only been introduced in modern times.
By making the kitchen completely visible, customers could watch what was happening while they waited, while also being able to see how the tavern operated.
That was why, no matter how hectic things became, no one ever complained about it.
The customers would look into the kitchen and naturally think,
‘Ah, they’re really busy.’
It was an incredibly minor detail, but no one had ever noticed its significance before.
No one except the middle-aged man standing before her.
His eyes were sparkling.
As though he had discovered a precious gem.
“You came up with this as well, didn’t you?”
“…Yes.”
Hayoon cautiously nodded.
“You’re quite remarkable. Where did you learn such skills?”
“Well, I suppose I was born with them. The Im family has always been known for being talented with our hands, hasn’t it?”
“Ha ha ha! Yes, you’re right. Our Im family is famous for having many talented people.”
The middle-aged man burst into hearty laughter at Hayoon’s glib response.
Just then—
“Here you are. Sorry to keep you waiting. Eat a bowl of rice soup while it’s still hot.”
Okbun appeared carrying steaming bowls of rice soup.
Generous amounts of meat and green onions were piled on top of the milky-white broth.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Thank you.”
Hayoon and the middle-aged man quickly picked up their spoons, both having been waiting a long time for a proper meal.
Slurp―!
Perhaps because it had been so long since she had eaten rice soup, it tasted even more delicious than usual.
It was incomparable to the food Hayoon had been given in prison over the past several days.
But Hayoon was paying more attention to the middle-aged man than to the rice soup itself.
With his sharp insight, he would surely have some kind of opinion about the food as well.
Yet the expression on the middle-aged man’s face as he ate was complicated.
“Hmm…”
It was delicious.
There was no doubt about that.
But—
It was not quite good enough to be called exceptional.
It was the kind of good restaurant that every town had a couple of.
If one happened to live nearby, one might visit a few times.
But there was no reason to go out of one’s way to travel a long distance just to eat there.
And certainly no reason to stand in a long line.
‘But the customers came in droves…’
The middle-aged man’s mind continued turning as he ate his rice soup.
Evaluating products was his profession, so he tried to find the reason behind everything he encountered in daily life.
Clack!
After a while, the middle-aged man finished his entire bowl of rice soup and delivered his assessment.
“You’re the one who brought this place back to life, aren’t you?”
The middle-aged man looked at Hayoon.
“The taste is excellent, but it isn’t enough by itself.”
Hayoon did not bother answering.
Because he was right.
Taste alone could never have achieved this level of success.
It was a rule that applied even in modern times.
To make a restaurant successful, one needed various marketing techniques that went beyond good food.
Hayoon had built those mechanisms throughout the tavern—things that made customers want to come back voluntarily.
All those elements combined had created something akin to a brand: Life Tavern.
Realizing this, the middle-aged man could not hide his admiration.
“It would be a shame to let such talent go to waste.”
At the middle-aged man’s praise, Hayoon lowered her head shyly.
“You flatter me.”
“I’m not flattering you.”
The middle-aged man’s expression was completely serious.
By this point, Hayoon had also begun to grow curious.
Who exactly was this middle-aged man?
Unable to bear her curiosity any longer, Hayoon carefully asked,
“But who exactly are you to know all this…? Who are you, sir?”
“Heh. You’re only curious about that now?”
The middle-aged man chuckled at the naughty niece who was finally asking her uncle’s name.
Then he introduced his true identity.
“I am Imsangok, the Daebang of the Mansang.”
“M-Mansang!”
“I-Imsangok?”
Unlike Hayoon, who still had no idea what was going on and tilted her head in confusion, Okbun and Munsik nearly stumbled to the ground.
Mansang.
Mansang was one of the greatest merchant organizations in Joseon, based in Uiju.
It dealt in all kinds of goods, including ginseng, cotton cloth, grain, and seafood, and even conducted trade with Qing across the sea.
It had branches throughout Joseon, with thousands of merchants belonging to Mansang.
And the man at the very top of Mansang was none other than Imsangok.
“Our Mansang needs a talented person like you.”
“Pardon?”
Imsangok, the Daebang of Mansang, asked with a serious look in his eyes.
“How about it? Would you like to work with me?”
