Two Guests, Two Pieces of News (Part 1)
“Remarkable. Just when the rich acidity starts to feel overwhelming, the earthy note and a touch of black pepper sweep in to cleanse the palate.”
No matter how magnificent a flavor might be, unrelenting intensity soon fatigues the tongue. As if keenly aware of that cardinal rule, Hongya effortlessly pivoted across the palate.
Between the layers of noble, refined tartness rose the comforting scent of damp soil, reminiscent of breathing onggi clay kissed by a cleansing rain. And finally, popping like fireworks to crown the finale of an evening ball, a prickle of spice announced its vibrant presence.
“The lingering finish is extraordinarily long… yet not heavy in the slightest…”
“The finish is clean as a whistle!”
A truly exceptional spirit had been born. One that coaxed out every innate virtue of onggi maturation while preserving its core essence and fragrant soul.
“Now we need to blend this with what’s resting in the other pots.”
To commercialize it, blending was an unavoidable necessity. Even under identical brewing procedures, the degree of fermentation and maturation varied from one porous clay pot to the next. Blending was the only way to establish a uniform profile and bring Hongya into the world as a finished product.
“Heh-heh! Ain’t no need for all that fuss, I tell ya. I already took an even sip out of every last one of ’em!”
“Moktong… that is hardly something to boast about……”
Should I call it a stroke of fortune? Because Moktong was so extraordinarily fond of the onggi pots crafted by Grandfather Gyeongsik, the Hongya across each vessel had matured into a well-rounded, sublime nectar.
Lining up the onggi, sampling a thimble from each, and calculating the golden ratio—normally, this process took agonizingly long. The human constitution can only ingest so much liquor before the senses dull, making it virtually impossible to strike the perfect harmony in a single sitting.
For an ordinary mortal brewer, that was.
“First, this one. And this one.”
To my eyes, it was plain as day.
The aromatic spirits dwelling within each pot were yearning for one another, calling out across the cellar air. Those with fiery temperaments bore intense, concentrated aromas, so I added merely a dash of each, using spirits endowed with gentle, accommodating bouquets as the foundation.
That alone was more than enough.
“All done.”
“Wait, you’re finishing just like that?”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“No… not wrong, but…”
Unaware that I possessed a supernatural gift bestowed by Songha, Sejun and the rest of the staff looked slightly uneasy.
I understood their wariness. Had this been merely an ordinary, decent brew, it wouldn’t matter as much, but Hongya demonstrated a caliber rivaling—if not surpassing—Dalvorde. To hit the ideal blend on the very first try without a single round of trial and error was hard to swallow. Once it was bottled, there was no turning back.
“Want to try a sip?”
“You know I never turn down a pour.”
Every employee at Songhadang shared an abiding love for alcohol. Not the sort who drank merely to chase intoxication, but people who genuinely appreciated the depth of flavor and nuance in a glass. How could they refuse?
“Whoa……”
“This is downright insane……”
“It’s so much better than before it was blended! How is that even possible?”
“The boss’s… real power……”
The spirit now possessed a richness that was simultaneously bolder and silkier than before. It was the kind of deliciousness so intuitive that even someone who rarely touched alcohol could grasp it in an instant.
“How do you do this? Did the God of Wine personally bless your hands or something?”
“God of Wine? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Why not tell him it wasn’t a god of wine, but dokkaebi?” Songha teased, laughing lightly from behind Sejun. “Your mortal friend seems terribly curious, after all.”
“What’s the point of spillin’ it to him?” Moktong grumbled with a smirk. “Even if ya told him, his thick skull wouldn't grasp a lick of it anyway. Gah-hah-hah!”
Behind Sejun, whose eyes were round with disbelief, the two dokkaebi chuckled and traded quips. I wondered how Sejun would react if he discovered that the very ‘gods’ he spoke of were sitting right behind him, swigging down jars of liquor and cracking jokes.
“At any rate, let’s bottle this right away. Hajeong, the design is ready, isn’t it?”
“I mentioned it earlier, but I think you forgot! We’ve already finished printing all the labels! Yeeun gave me a huge hand!”
“I worked… really hard on it……”
Hiding shyly behind Hajeong, Yeeun flashed a modest V-sign.
Meanwhile, Hajeong retrieved the bottles and packaging boxes she had prepared in advance. Unlike our previous releases where we had focused solely on the bottle itself, this time we paid careful attention to the outer box as well. Ideally, I would have loved to splurge on luxurious packaging materials, but our brewery was still too modest in scale to sink that much capital into cardboard and finishings.
Even so, the label itself was so breathtaking that no one could find fault with it.
“It’s truly magnificent……”
Depicted on the bottle label was a towering, majestic pavilion.
The setting, naturally, was nighttime. A luminous full moon illuminated the courtyard below alongside a sky speckled with twinkling stars. Spread across an antique table were the very red fruits and aromatic spices that danced on Hongya’s nose and palate. And leaning gracefully against the pavilion’s balustrade was a solitary woman. Draped in a rich crimson skirt, she presented only her alluring back to the viewer.
Yet that alone was mesmerizing enough. It was a painting so evocative that one couldn’t help being drawn in just by gazing at it.
It captured precisely what I had envisioned. No, it surpassed my expectations.
“Could you take a look at the outer packaging as well?”
In contrast to the ornate bottle label, the outer box embraced understated elegance. Drawn at the center of the packaging, flanked by the Chinese characters for Hongya, was a crimson moon. An artwork befitting the name ‘Red Night.’
“It’s splendid. Thank you, Hajeong, as always, for your wonderful art.”
“I poured my heart into drawing it!”
“Thank you too, Yeeun. I’m really looking forward to the video you put together.”
“Hehe.”
Though each expressed it in their own way, every person here shared the same swelling anticipation for Songhadang’s newest spirit.
Together, we set to work bottling Hongya. Because liquor matured in traditional onggi cannot be processed through automated bottling lines, every single step had to be done by hand. The long, grueling labor that had begun at the crack of dawn only drew to a close as the amber hues of dusk crept across the sky.
“Whew! Done at last!”
Capping the final bottle of Hongya, Sejun flopped backward onto the floor. Behind him stretched rows upon rows of bottled Hongya, standing like gleaming trophies.
“You’re going to reach out to CEO Yoon right away, aren’t you?”
“Of course. He’s probably pacing by his phone as we speak.”
“Yeah, I picked up his call when you stepped out earlier, and he definitely sounded like it.”
Initially, Yoon Juho had taken a gentlemanly stance, saying, ‘Finely crafted liquor takes time. I can wait as long as necessary.’
Yet once Songhadang rolled out one runaway success after another—Meari, then Meari: Autumn, and immediately followed by Dalvorde—he seemed to have abandoned all such patience. Even right now, opening my message inbox revealed a barrage of texts drenched in sheer thirst from CEO Yoon.
“Is he really that impatient?”
“Can you blame him, though? The moment Songhadang liquor hits Juju Daily, it sells out instantly.”
Hajeong was right.
In my past life, Juju Daily had failed to root out the corporate spy leaking their internal data, which sent the company spiraling down a slow decline. But now that the crisis had been averted, they were riding an unstoppable wave of growth.
“From what I hear, they hold the undisputed number one spot in liquor distribution right now.”
“To that extent?”
“Every bit of it.”
According to Hajeong, ever since their large-scale tasting service scored a massive hit, Juju Daily had practically taken flight. Well, their success was bound to happen. Our roles may have differed, but their entire team was just as passionately devoted to alcohol as we were. Even now, the memory of the merchandisers who assisted us during the Sunkyung Department Store pop-up for Meari: Autumn was vivid in my mind—especially the blissful smiles on their faces when I gifted each of them a bottle.
“That’s why if they ever go public, I’m buying their stock without hesitation.”
“Stock? Ah, you mean Juju Daily’s?”
“What are you talking about? Songhadang’s stock, of course!”
“True enough. If we’re flying this high already, imagine where we’ll be later! Right?”
It was a cheerful, heartwarming thought. A future where Songhadang grew far larger and launched an IPO, with people clamoring on trading apps just to secure even a single share of Songhadang. A soft chuckle rippled through the rest of the team; they seemed to be harboring similar daydreams.
“Oh ho. Something pleasant must have crossed their minds. Our mortal companions wear very bright smiles.”
“Tsk! Ain’t that just gamblin’? Watchin’ ’em talk about chuckin’ their heads in first without knowin’ if they’ll win or lose—it’s the spittin’ image of a gaming den! A man shouldn’t go swayin’ with the breeze like that. A true man’s gotta keep both feet planted squarely on the ground, y’hear?”
“Moktong… while there is truth to your words, I do not believe a fellow who lives drowned headfirst in a liquor jug has any right to preach… Do exercise some restraint, I beg of you……”
“Let me give him a call first.”
Nodding slightly to Sejun, I dialed CEO Yoon’s number. The ringing tone started. Before it could chime even a second time—
“Song Sajang! I’ve been waiting for you!”
“Hello. You picked up fast.”
“Didn’t I just say I’ve been waiting?! Is it a new liquor? Or a limited-run variant of Dalvorde? Even another iteration of Meari would be fantastic! What do you have for me?!”
Just how desperately had he been waiting? The moment he answered, words came tumbling out of Juho in an avalanche. I delivered the news he so craved.
“It’s an entirely new spirit. We’ve decided to name it Hongya.”
“Hongya… Red Night, is it…? Ha-ha! Splendid. Just wait right there.”
“Pardon? Wait for what…?”
“If I hit the road this very second, I should pull up in about four hours. No! I’ll make sure to get there within four hours, so just stay put!”
“Please, calm down!”
Only after coaxing the hyperventilating CEO back down to earth was I able to explain the details of Hongya. Regardless, he hung up with the promise of sending over the contract immediately, declaring that he would visit the brewery in person sometime tomorrow.
And right after that…
Bzzzt!
“He really sent it instantly.”
An electronic contract arrived via messenger. A testament to how burning his thirst had been.
“Well, it’s great for us. That’s one guaranteed distribution channel secured.”
“I’ll check in with the post office side as well!”
“Ah, let’s also circulate inquiries to our other distributors. Run a rough calculation of how many bottles we need to allocate.”
“On it!”
With a swift nod, Sejun hurried off to work. Yehyeon darted after him, offering to lend a hand.
“We’ll be heading out to film the video then! Yeeun came up with some wonderful camera angles!”
“It’s going to… look really pretty……”
“I trust both of your talents completely.”
“Hehe… yes, sir……”
Hajeong and Yeeun took off to gather equipment for Hongya’s promotional photos and video.
And so, I was left alone in the maturation cellar.
“Looks like we’re in for another whirlwind,” Moktong grumbled, smacking his lips. “Tsk. Lass Hajeong loves her drink so much, it was a proper treat sneaking swigs right beside her.”
“Haha. Staying busy is a good thing.”
“My dear friend,” Songha chimed in, “in case it slipped your mind, the announcement date for that liquor competition you spoke of is drawing near. Isn’t it just around the corner?”
“That’s right. I’ve been keeping an eye on it.”
The results for Dalvorde, which we had submitted to the Korean Liquor Competition, would be revealed soon. I didn’t know precisely how high we would place, but I had no doubt it would be favorable. Dalvorde was more than worthy of recognition.
“If things go well, our hands will be even fuller.”
“You seem to be in exceptionally high spirits.”
“Of course I am. Alcohol brewed with hard work and devotion getting acknowledged by the world—what could be better?”
“If my friend is pleased, then so am I.”
Adjusting the brim of his fedora with a warm, gentle smile, Songha suddenly snapped his head toward the entrance.
“What is it?”
“They are coming.”
“Pardon? Right now? Who? Don’t tell me CEO Yoon already…”
“No. This scent does not belong to a lover of fine liquor. Mmm… it is a tangled, complicated aroma……”
Songha’s brows knit tightly together, his voice dropping into a grave murmur.
“One is an artisan. And the other… is a despicable swindler.”