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Chapter 4 …
No matter how much people disliked you, once you became the best, they couldn’t easily lay a hand on you.
If she was going to become a divorce oejibu who defied the laws and customs of Joseon, then she had to become the very best.
That was the only way to protect Hari—and An Hari’s family.
Hari stood in front of a shabby thatched-roof house not far from Hanseongbu.
With one hand planted firmly on her waist, she looked proudly at the house into which she had poured days of sweat and hard work.
“Miss, I brought the signboard. But are you really… going to do this?”
Maldong came running over, kicking up clouds of dust, and carefully held out an item wrapped in a cloth.
“I told you I am.”
“But Master…”
“Father didn’t object either.”
“If that’s the case, then it’s not my place to say anything, but still, Miss, at this rate you’ll really never get married.”
Maldong spoke as though it were the greatest catastrophe imaginable.
Ironically, that was exactly what Hari wanted.
But she couldn’t simply tell him what she truly thought.
To him, a woman living without marrying was the same as the sky collapsing.
So Hari offered another reason why she absolutely had to become an oejibu.
“Maldong, it’s wrong to ignore other people’s suffering. There are so many women who have no one they can speak to, who silently endure their pain. Even if I have to walk a difficult path, if I can help those women, then I’ll be happy.”
“Miss…”
Completely won over by Hari’s eloquence, Maldong wiped away tears of emotion.
Well, it isn’t entirely a lie. That’s really why I became a lawyer in the first place.
Leaving Maldong to bask in his emotions, Hari took out the signboard and hung it up.
Employment Litigation Representation (雇傭代訟)
Beneath it, in smaller characters, were the words:
Consultations Welcome (問議歡迎)
Seeing those words made everything finally feel real.
I’m really an oejibu now.
A few days earlier, after deciding to become an oejibu, the very first thing Hari had done was meet with a house broker—in other words, a real estate agent.
“It’s hard to find a house this close to Hanseongbu. Especially one like this for only fifteen nyang.”
Hari spent every coin of the commission she had received from Madam Yang to rent an office for her oejibu practice.
Then, over the next several days, she swept, cleaned, and repaired the nearly collapsing thatched house until it looked quite respectable.
Hari gazed at the newly hung signboard with a satisfied smile.
“You really did it… You actually went through with it.”
Maldong muttered blankly in disbelief.
She had expected everything to go smoothly.
She imagined crowds of clients lining up outside her door for consultations and wealth piling up like mountains.
Even if only the people who had quietly sought advice through Maldong and Damyang-daek came to visit, that should have been enough.
But what was this?
Not a single customer.
Hari rested her chin on her hand at the writing desk and looked over at Maldong, who was sitting in the corner of the room.
“Maldong, are there really no customers outside?”
“No, Miss. It’s quiet out there, isn’t it?”
“Go check again, just in case. Someone might want to come in but be too embarrassed.”
“I already made a full round of the neighborhood half a shijin ago. There isn’t even a single ant wandering around this place.”
That wasn’t actually true.
Since they were close to Hanseongbu, there were quite a few people passing by.
The problem was that not a single one of them paid any attention to the impressive signboard Hari had hung outside.
Hari let out a deep sigh.
Things were far more different from what she had expected.
Maybe the publicity wasn’t enough.
Perhaps Madam Yang’s divorce case hadn’t been sensational enough to shake the entire capital.
Should I just go around asking if anyone wants a divorce?
Or maybe I should put up posters?
Just as she was worrying about how to attract clients, she heard movement outside.
Hari immediately straightened up with lightning speed and waved at Maldong.
“Maldong, a customer! A customer is here!”
“Huh?”
“Someone’s outside. Go check.”
“I didn’t hear anything…”
Muttering to himself, Maldong walked outside.
A moment later—
“Eek!”
He rushed back inside.
“M-M-Miss! A c-c-customer is here!”
“Huh? There is?”
Maldong’s reaction was anything but ordinary.
