The Turning Wheel (4) One Step Forward
November had long passed its midpoint, and the morning air had grown sharp as a blade. It was early dawn, the sun just beginning to rise. I knelt before the stove, stoking the fire, and gazed blankly at the white plumes of my breath fogging the window. Today.
Today, Liu Bang would set out for Mount Li as the Sashu Governor, leading thirty convicts. And until the wheel of history began to turn in earnest next summer, he would continue his fugitive life deep in the Mangtan Mountains, living like a bandit.
“Chi-a.”
A low voice called from behind me. I turned to see Liu Bang, his hair tousled like a magpie’s nest, sitting up on the bed and watching me.
“Did you sleep well?”
I poured warm water I had prepared earlier into a basin and carried it to his side. Liu Bang smiled and took my hand, stretching with a low groan.
“Today.”
I squeezed his rough hand in return and nodded.
“Yes. Today.”
The past few days had brought no dramatic change between us. We bickered as usual while the sun was up, and at night we held hands as promised and fell asleep. Occasionally he would massage my shoulders and the air would grow strange, but whenever our eyes met we would both burst out laughing. It felt like the comfortable rhythm of an old couple in their sixties who had weathered every storm together.
The atmosphere in the Liu residence had shifted from excitement to ease, from fluttering hearts to familiar warmth.
“You didn’t cry, did you? Your husband’s about to travel far.”
Liu Bang released my hand and picked up the basin, smirking. I laughed and set a towel beside him.
“Have you ever seen me cry?”
“Never. And I don’t want to.”
He shrugged and began washing his face with noisy splashes. I watched his broad back for a moment, a small smile on my lips, then turned toward the bedroom door.
“I’ll prepare breakfast. I made it rather extravagant today.”
“Extravagant?”
“Yes. It’s your last meal before you leave.”
I crossed into the kitchen and lifted the lid of the clay pot simmering over the fire. A rush of fragrant steam filled the room. Today it was not porridge but soup—milky broth with soft clouds of dubu floating on top, along with finely chopped mutton, green onions, garlic, and precious dried clams.
In short, sundubu jjigae.
Of course, there were no chili peppers in this era, so it wasn’t red. I had used Sichuan peppercorns instead for a sharp kick, and the clams I had procured from the neighboring village would make the flavor close enough. Beside it I heaped a generous bowl of glossy white rice, then carefully carried the tray across the threshold.
“Eat.”
When I set the tray down, Liu Bang dropped the towel and gaped.
“This is a feast.”
“I put some effort into it.”
“Must have cost a bit.”
“It doesn’t matter. Today is special.”
Money existed to be spent. Even if I was reinvesting every profit, I was not so miserly that I would deny my husband heading into danger one warm meal.
Liu Bang lifted the bowl and took a long slurp.
“……Kuh.”
A satisfied grunt escaped him—the kind only a middle-aged man could produce.
“Delicious.”
“Right?”
“Warms you right up. What kind of soup is this?”
“Sundubu.”
“Sundubu…… even the name is pretty.”
He nodded and shoveled a large spoonful of rice into his mouth. His cheeks bulged as he chewed—an unmistakable country uncle. I sat across from him, chin in hand, watching.
The last supper, perhaps.
In a few days this man would become a fugitive. With nothing to his name, he would hide in the mountains and begin a desperate flight with the convicts. This single warm meal might be the last civilized food he ate.
……Stay safe.
If he lived, everything else could be managed. History said so, and I would make it so.
Without thinking, my hand reached out and touched his cheek. The rough stubble dusted with rice grains tickled my fingertips.
“……?”
Liu Bang paused mid-chew and looked up, startled. His eyes dropped to my hand, then he grinned and chuckled.
“Why? Now that I’m leaving, you finally notice how handsome your husband is?”
“No, my lord is honestly not that handsome.”
“Hmm…… too honest.”
“But you have charm. The kind that lifts a person’s mood just by looking at you.”
I meant it. His face was not strikingly beautiful, yet it disarmed people. He looked like a scoundrel yet inspired trust, appeared sloppy yet felt as solid as stone.
“……Was that a compliment?”
He laughed under his breath and resumed eating. I held his warmth a moment longer, then quietly withdrew my hand.
After a long silence, his voice came again once the bowl was empty.
“Chi-a.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Liu Bang wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His dark eyes, glinting with mischief, fixed on me.
“When just looking at someone makes you feel good……”
“……?”
“That’s love.”
He grinned. It was less a heartfelt confession than a tossed-off joke.
“Yes, let’s say it is.”
My voice came out flat, almost indifferent. I didn’t bother denying it and stood up.
“Eat slowly. I’ll pack your things.”
But as I stepped into the kitchen, my cheeks burned—whether from the stove or something else, I couldn’t tell.
Time flowed mercilessly fast.
After breakfast, Liu Bang bathed for the first time in ages. Dressed in the thick padded clothes I had bought him, he walked beside me.
“My lord.”
“Speak.”
“Please take this.”
“What is it?”
“Travel money.”
I pulled a heavy pouch from my robe and pressed it into his hand. He nodded and immediately opened it. The pouch was stuffed with coins. His hand trembled.
“This…… at least two hundred coins?”
“Exactly four hundred.”
“F-four hundred?”
Liu Bang turned to me, his face pale.
“Chi-a, this much money……”
“Take it.”
I caught his hesitant hand and pushed the pouch firmly back toward his chest.
“We don’t know what might happen on the road. You may need to buy food, stay at an inn, or buy medicine if you’re injured. This is for that. No matter what occurs, having money increases your options.”
“But this is your emergency fund……”
“Xiao He, Xiahou Ying, and Fan Kuai are here. If anything happens, I can ask for help. You cannot. In a distant land, all you have is your own body and the coins in your pocket.”
From a capitalist perspective, this was pure madness. A quarter of last month’s net profit, thrown away as an irrecoverable sunk cost. History recorded that Liu Bang survived without any funds and returned to Peixian. Even without my money, he was the sort of man who would stubbornly live on by catching rabbits in the mountains.
But……
Still, I wanted him to suffer a little less. I didn’t want him shivering in the cold mountain wind. I didn’t want him beaten for stealing from someone’s field because he was hungry. That was my honest, utterly inefficient heart.
I took his hand and looked up at him.
“So please take it. For my peace of mind.”
“……”
Liu Bang was silent for a long time. He only bit his lower lip and gazed down at me. Then—
“All right.”
His low voice finally came.
“I’ll take it. For your peace of mind.”
He squeezed my hand tightly.
“And I’ll definitely return.”
His dark eyes held mine without wavering.
“For your sake, I will.”
My heart leapt again at those words. I kept my face calm and nodded.
“Yes. I’ll be waiting.”
My voice sounded no different from usual Chi-a. At least, on the surface.
……
Roughly one sikgyeong later, it was time for Liu Bang to leave.
Before the Sashu office stood thirty convicts bound together like dried fish on a rope. Their bodies were gaunt, their eyes hollow, their clothes thin. These were the “laborers” being sent to the construction site. Most were farmers arrested for minor offenses; a few had been dragged away for unpaid debts. They looked nothing like Liu Bang in his thick padded robes.
……Haah.
A dull ache spread through my chest. The laws of this era were cruel. The smallest crime turned a man into a convict and condemned him to brutal labor. Most would be buried beneath the earth of Mount Li and never return home.
That’s why they ran…… because going meant death.
I sighed softly and stood beside Liu Bang.
“My lord.”
“What.”
“Please take care of yourself.”
“I will. You take care too. Don’t push yourself while I’m gone.”
“Yes.”
“If you need to use your head, consult Xiao He. If you need muscle, send for Fan Kuai. They’re reliable.”
“Understood.”
He smiled and lightly patted my head.
“I’m off.”
He turned away as if severing every lingering attachment. Then he stepped to the head of the line and began walking.
“……”
I couldn’t even say “safe travels.” I simply watched his retreating back—his broad back, growing smaller with each step. A back I would not see for months, perhaps never again.
……No.
Before I knew it, I was running. Pride forgotten, I clutched my skirts and sprinted, catching his elbow.
“Huh……?”
Liu Bang spun around, startled.
“My lady?”
Lao Guan, walking beside him, stared with eyes ready to pop. The convicts and the villagers who had come to see him off all turned to look.
But I no longer hesitated. Embarrassment was fleeting; regret lasted a lifetime.
I grabbed both of Liu Bang’s cheeks with my hands, rose on tiptoe, and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Smack.
It was not on the lips. That was still too much. Instead, I gave him a kiss on the cheek—as much as a strategic partner could offer. The very front line of friendship.
“……Safe travels.”
I forced the words out. Without waiting for his reply, I turned and dashed away like a rabbit.
“Ch-Chi-a……”
“Haha, your wife is quite spirited! Come on, brother, let’s get moving! We’ll be flogged if we’re late!”
Fortunately, the quick-witted Lao Guan dragged the dazed Liu Bang away. I was truly grateful. If he hadn’t, Liu Bang would have chased after me and stolen a proper kiss on the lips.
……I’ve lost my mind.
My face burned hotter than ever as I returned to the Sashu office. There, Xiao He—who had also come to see Liu Bang off—watched me with an extremely awkward expression.
“Ahem!”
I cleared my throat loudly on purpose and looked at him as if nothing had happened. As if this were perfectly normal for a loving couple.
“Lord Xiao.”
“Y-yes, my lady.”
“I’d like to increase dubu production a little more from now on.”
“Increase production?”
Life instantly returned to Xiao He’s eyes. A true workaholic—he preferred talking business to romance. He tilted his head, intrigued.
“Could you explain in more detail?”
“Making it only at home has its limits. No matter how much soybean milk we prepare, the size of our household cauldron is finite.”
Even boiling soybean milk all day, we could produce only three or four batches at most. Our stove was old; overworking it sent smoke billowing back inside, turning the house into a gas chamber.
“In that case…… are you thinking of teaching the method to other women in earnest?”
“No. I’m not ready to share the technique yet. Dubu has only just begun to make a name for itself.”
As I had said before, revealing the recipe would come only after Lady Lü’s dubu established absolute brand value in the market. I met Xiao He’s gaze and continued calmly.
“So what I’ve come up with is the Jeonunchang.”
“The Jeonunchang?”
“Yes. I want to buy land outside Peixian, somewhere with good roads, and set up several large cauldrons there. I also plan to build a big warehouse. We can gather and sort the other handicrafts Lord Xiahou has collected and pack them there.”
In short, I intended to create a main terminal. The hub-and-spoke system—the flower of transportation. To Koreans, it was all too familiar and terrifying: the manifestation of the Okcheon HUB.
From now on, every raw material and finished product Xiahou Ying collected would converge at that hub, then radiate outward to each sales point.
“Hmm……”
Xiao He still looked uncertain. Well, some things only made sense after seeing them with your own eyes.
“So, can you find me some empty land?”
I looked at him with unwavering confidence.