Finishing Education
To advance from an ordinary apprentice or courtesan into a Hui required proven results, exceptional talent, or something special that caught Mother’s eye.
Those who were selected underwent what was called finishing education.
And when Cheon Sua’s finishing education took place, I too received that training far earlier than the other courtesans.
Under Mother’s guidance I learned how to appear more mature, more dignified—in short, how to keep others from looking down on me.
In certain contexts those methods also brushed against the art of looking “manly.”
“Posture always straight and proper. Tighten the lower abdomen, square the shoulders, tilt the head upward fifteen degrees….”
Walk without haste.
Yet lengthen your stride beyond others’ and move like flowing water without a single break, so that you seem to travel “slowly yet swiftly.”
When you speak, let the voice rise from the chest.
A sound that comes only from the throat is frivolous and easily dismissed.
I also learned the use of silence.
The fewer the words, the better, she said.
I learned that one must be able to think more in the same span of time spent speaking.
And that every word uttered after such long thought could become a dagger.
There was, however, one thing Cheon Sua learned that I did not:
Aegyo and coquetry.
No—let me rephrase.
She learned how to act cute, how to fawn, how to seduce,
while I learned how not to be swayed by any of it.
And we both studied those arts under the same teacher—Cheonghwa.
Which is why, one day, something like this happened.
“Young Master, do you like cats?”
“Cats? Well….”
It was about a fortnight into our lessons.
Under the harsh training, “Young Master” had stuck to Cheon Sua’s lips, and “Well…” had stuck to mine.
It was a strategy for thinking before speaking.
Jin Yu, never forget that every word directed at you hides an intention. If it is goodwill, seize it firmly; if it is malice, flee at once.
Because Mother had drilled that into me, I was just beginning to form the habit of doubting every sentence first.
Asking whether I like cats is simply asking about preference, isn’t it? I don’t sense any particular design.
Once, long ago, Gyeonghwa had brought a white cat to show Mother.
In my previous life I had never been able to keep one because of a fur allergy,
but in this life no allergy of any kind appeared.
So I had stroked that little ball of fluff as if settling a forty-year grudge spanning both lives.
“I do like them.”
“Really? I love cats just as much as you do, Young Master!”
Cheon Sua brightened as though my words were an oracle.
She clasped her hands, rounded her large eyes, smiled with pure delight, and took a step closer.
“What sort of kitten do you prefer? The aloof kind that looks at people as if they were stones? Or the one that craves human hands and keeps climbing into your arms?”
“Well, if I had to choose, even a cat is better when it’s docile.”
“Mmm… I see. So Young Master prefers the obedient type.”
Cheon Sua narrowed her eyes.
“By the way, why ask? You’re not really curious about my taste in cats.”
“How could you say that? I asked about cats, so it’s a cat conversation. What other intention could there be?”
Of course there was one.
That was how people tested one another.
“Actually, I happened to stop by the first floor of Nakseongguan recently, and would you believe it—a whole family of cats has taken up residence in a corner!”
“…How many?”
“At least six, I’d say? Or maybe more.”
“…….”
I wanted to see them.
That was my honest feeling.
But…
Mother had clearly forbidden me from going below the second floor of Nakseongguan.
“Ah, they might not even be one family. Brown, black, spotted, whiskered… and one that looked like it was wearing little white shoes on its paws.”
“……!”
I wanted to see them.
I really wanted to see them.
But I held myself back.
I squeezed my eyes shut and endured.
“…The best of them all, though, was the one that walked around on two legs.”
“T-two legs?”
“Yes. It was crawling on all fours, then suddenly stood up and walked. And the little thing is such a flirt—it climbed right onto my back and started purring….”
I looked at Cheon Sua without thinking.
She avoided my gaze and stared into the distance,
probably picturing that first-floor cat in her mind.
“Goodness, the only reason I managed to leave was because I thought of you, Young Master. Otherwise I’d still be frozen there, petting it.”
She thought of me, did she.
It was a pleasant thing to hear.
No—that wasn’t important right now.
“…Could you bring those little ones up here?”
“Me? Goodness, no~ They’re already surrounded by so many people that even reaching out a hand causes a huge fuss.”
“Then just one. The two-legged one you mentioned—how about that?”
“Even touching the scruffiest of them makes people furious. If you ask me to bring the most popular one, how could a lowly girl like me dare try?”
She thought for a moment, then curved her eyes into crescent moons.
A strange smile she had never worn before touched her lips.
“…Unless Young Master goes down himself and gives the order.”
“What good would my going do?”
“You are the son of Lady Cheonghwa, the absolute mistress of this house.”
Cheon Sua began gliding toward the stairs as if sliding on ice.
I followed, half-enchanted.
“If someone so exalted says ‘Make way,’ is there anyone in Nakseongguan who would not step aside? And if he says ‘Come to me,’ is there any living creature here that would refuse?”
“Hmm….”
“Even a humble girl like me was approached and purred at. Of course it would follow you as well, Young Master.”
She was already one step down the spiral staircase, looking up at me.
The way she held the banister looked exactly like she was reaching out her hand.
Eyes full of quiet longing, lips curved in a faint smile.
I could not help but feel my heart stir.
“…Only for a moment. Just a quick look at that sight, then straight back up.”
“Hehe, then I’ll have to try even harder to show off its tricks.”
I carefully set my foot on the descending stairs.
Mother had said anything below the third floor of Nakseongguan was dangerous for me,
but how dangerous could a little trip to see a few balls of fluff possibly be?
And if even a hint of danger appears, I can just run back up like I’m fleeing.
—That was nothing more than my own cowardly self-justification.
Fourth floor, third floor, second floor, and finally the first.
The path down through Nakseongguan was surprisingly quiet.
Of course, it was midday.
A pleasure house only truly came alive once the red lanterns were lit.
Even so, the usual murmur of servants and lower-ranking courtesans was nowhere near this hushed.
Even on the third floor you could normally hear the lively noise from the first floor seeping upward.
My sixth sense whispered.
Something’s wrong here…!
So I grew a little impatient.
I wanted to see the cute little fluff-balls quickly and settle my heart.
If I returned safely to the fifth floor afterward, today’s little adventure would be a perfect crime.
“W-where are the cats? Hurry and guide me.”
“Oh, Young Master. Do cats move wherever people want them to? Their nature is to slip into quiet, out-of-the-way corners, so let’s go a little deeper inside.”
“Haa….”
I was speaking like an adult, just as Mother had taught me,
but my heart was beginning to race like a runaway horse.
At this rate I had no more courage than a child.
“Ah!”
“What is it?!”
“Over there—just now I saw a tail.”
“Really? Where, where?”
“The fur is pale—it’s definitely the two-legged one. It hid behind that pillar over there. Would you like to check?”
My feet moved faster than any answer.
I quickly passed Cheon Sua and hurried forward in short, eager steps,
and before long I reached the large pillar she had pointed to.
Just one more step…!!
…….
—Nothing.
Not a cat, not even a spider crawling by.
“…Cheon Sua, you little—how dare you trick m—”
Thump!
—Squeeze….
“Meow~ ❤️”
“…….”
A soft, yielding touch pressed against my back.
Two of them.
Hands wrapped around my upper stomach.
A fragrance drifted from the nape of my neck.
Something like coarse yet silken threads rested against me.
“Young Master… when did you grow so manly? ❤️”
Those hands hugged me tighter and slowly stroked across my chest and belly,
and without the slightest exaggeration I felt as though I were being caressed.
“I told you, didn’t I? There’s a cat that walks on two legs.”
Her voice was thick with a nasal lilt.
At the same time I felt the sting of having been fooled by Cheon Sua’s lie,
my chest trembled all the same.
“I’m that cat. Your very own cat, Young Master. ❤️”
She breathed a hot “Hoo…” against the back of my neck.
Wherever that breath touched, goosebumps rose in waves.
“What cat in the world wears clothes?”
“Cheon… Sua….”
“And what cat walks on two legs?”
“First—first let’s go back upstairs.”
“For you, Young Master, this Cheon Sua would strip off these useless underclothes and kneel on all fours before her master… ❤️”
“Ngh…….”
“Won’t you look deeper inside, at my more intimate self?”
Cheon Sua released me and turned her gaze toward the reception room in the center of the first floor.
The door stood slightly ajar, a thin curtain hanging in front so that the interior could not be seen.
Gulp….
A pleasure house at midday.
A place no one would visit.
A hidden room within.
A peerless beauty obedient only to me.
I could have all of that,
so why was I still trembling with fear?
“Kyaa!”
Without a word I seized Cheon Sua’s wrist.
Then, with the quiet yet powerful stride I had been taught, I pulled her toward the reception room.
Rattle—
“Y-Young Master….”
“Quiet. Since when does a cat speak human words?”
“……❤️”
Cheon Sua lowered her head slightly and looked up through her lashes.
The pose only heightened her shyness.
“Now then, show me. That cat that purred for people.”
“…Me….”
“….”
“…Me, me….”
She lowered her posture and was just about to open her mouth—
—when it happened.
“Purr….”
From behind me came a sound like a tiger’s warning growl.
I had heard once in my previous life
that a tiger’s roar contains infrasound that freezes a human’s muscles so they cannot move.
That was exactly my situation now.
“I-I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Young Master…! Th-this was… she said it was the final test…!!”
—Who?
“L-L-Lady Cheonghwa….”
Cheon Sua dropped even lower.
Not merely on all fours—
she pressed her forehead to the floor in a full prostration.
But it was not directed at me.
It was a plea for her life to the tiger behind me.
To my mother.
“…Haha, ha, haah…….”
Tap, tap, tap….
A light, rhythmic striking sound drew closer behind me.
It was the sound of the wooden rod that had never failed to appear whenever I made a mistake during my own finishing lessons.
“This mother of yours clearly told you.”
“….”
“Not to go below the second floor of Nakseongguan.”
“…Mother.”
“And that golden rule… melts so ridiculously easily under that girl’s coquetry and fawning.”
“…Please instruct me.”
“Very well.”
……I don’t remember much after that.
All I recall is that the next day the pain racing through my entire body kept me from leaving the bed for quite some time.