Grand Reopening — Part 2
"Alright, everyone! As you all know, business officially begins today."
It was finally the grand reopening of Daseogak. I stood before the work-study students to deliver instructions before they began their duties.
"I showed each of you yesterday where you'll be working."
Standing here addressing my assembled staff — I really did feel like a boss now.
The old Daseogak had felt like a family business carried on by two spirited young men alongside their older, seasoned employees.
"First floor shelf staff, cleaning staff, printing room staff — just do exactly as you were taught. Those assigned to the second floor have additional instructions, so follow me."
Lim Hayeon, you especially — I have words for you. Just as I was about to lead the staff upstairs, a first-floor employee called out.
"Boss! Will there be penalties if we make mistakes?"
There would be, actually. Points docked in the Outstanding Work-Study Student selection, or for a truly grave error, a pay cut or even dismissal.
Should I tell them that?
No. Even if I explained it later, it wasn't the right thing to say right now.
"Mistakes at the start are inevitable. If a problem arises, don't agonize over it — report it quickly and work on making fewer mistakes."
I said it with a warm smile, looking at the visibly nervous employees.
They were all new hires, after all. Better to learn the work properly, mistakes and all, than to move timidly out of fear of failing.
"We'll work hard!"
Only then did the tension ease from the employees' faces, and they bowed to me all together.
It was going to be exhausting for a while. Covering for all of them until Daseogak stabilized — I'd need ten bodies at this rate.
After telling the first-floor staff to prepare for opening, I went upstairs and immediately called on Lim Hayeon.
"Miss Hayeon will be in charge of the shelves and cleaning."
Officially, that is. In practice, she was the face of the establishment.
Given two internet cafés with identical equipment, the one with the prettier employee always draws the crowd.
As Daseogak's face, Lim Hayeon — no ordinary beauty, but a girl with the looks of a heroine straight out of a martial arts visual novel — was as good as a cheat code.
"Shelf duty? I assumed I'd naturally be making tea."
Lim Hayeon pushed back, as if taken aback.
"Tea will be handled by Miss Soso."
Because you're the face of the establishment.
"I'll work hard!"
Good, an energetic reply. Ha Soso raised one hand in cheerful response, her face still carrying the soft baby fat of youth.
Lim Hayeon, meanwhile, stared at me with a face full of pouting dissatisfaction.
"Miss Hayeon, at the shelves, don't glare at customers the way you're glaring at me. Take their orders with a smile, always."
"When have I ever looked at anyone with a sullen face?"
"Then smile for me."
"......"
I said smile. Look at those lips jutting out a good inch.
"Save the I'll-devour-you face for whoever causes trouble on the second floor. It's part of your cleaning duties."
Every establishment needs a fire extinguisher for troublemakers.
Since Lim Hayeon had learned martial arts, I also told the other staff to come to her first if I wasn't around.
"Wow! Unni, you really learned martial arts?"
"A martial artist! Miss Hayeon was a martial artist all along!"
"Can't I do the tea instead? I brew tea really well."
Lim Hayeon, clearly unhappy with her assignment, tried to negotiate with me.
She did have a point — tea ceremony was among the refined arts of a courtesan's training, so her confidence was understandable.
"Miss Soso is the perfect fit."
No. Not swapping. No intention of swapping. Give it up already. I shook my head firmly.
"That's right, unni! I'm good at tea too!"
Ha Soso said brightly to the sulking Lim Hayeon.
"Everyone has been assigned according to their strengths."
"Wouldn't brewing tea earn a better evaluation in the Outstanding Work-Study Student selection?"
Lim Hayeon asked, eyes anxious.
Ah. So that was her worry.
Brewing tea properly, like a barista pulling espresso, is a genuine craft. It's not like you're just dunking a teabag in hot water.
In her eyes, tea-brewing was skilled labor — a chef's job — while her own duties probably looked like, at best, manual shelf-hauling.
"We don't discriminate based on that. You've simply been placed where you excel."
"Then naturally I should be the one to—"
I said no discrimination. This girl just can't let go.
Take a look in a mirror. Which benefits Daseogak more — having you face a wall brewing tea, or standing at the shelves with that smile?
"It seems you're not convinced, so let's have the two of you brew tea."
I gestured to the equipment inside the counter.
"......Fine."
"Unni, I'm seriously good at this. Watch me."
The two stepped into the brewing space behind the counter and, in no time, began selecting tea leaves.
"What's wrong with the state of these leaves?"
Lim Hayeon frowned after inspecting Daseogak's stock.
They weren't premium leaves, but excellent value for the price. Daseogak wasn't a high-end teahouse, so that level was perfectly adequate.
"Hmm-hmm~"
Ha Soso, by contrast, pulled out her leaves and began brewing with a hummed tune on her lips.
"Here you are."
"Coming right up!"
The two served their tea to the group almost simultaneously.
Speed — both passed. Which meant the real test was taste.
"Oh......"
"Same leaves, but it tastes different?"
"Miss Soso's tea is better!"
Whatever anyone said, Ha Soso's tea tasted better.
"That can't be right! I brewed it perfectly, exactly by the proper method!"
Lim Hayeon protested, eyes round with disbelief.
"Shall I taste it myself?"
"Go ahead. ......Impossible."
After tasting Ha Soso's tea, Lim Hayeon spoke in a voice of sheer bewilderment, as though she'd stumbled into an invisible trap.
"Heehee. My late mother ran a small teahouse back in Yichang."
That's exactly why I put Ha Soso on tea duty.
"But the leaves clearly weren't good quality."
"The tea isn't at fault. With good leaves, following the proper method is the end of it — but leaves like these need careful, attentive brewing based on their condition."
"Ugh......"
"Any objections now?"
See? That's the difference between textbook theory and practical improvisation. I asked Lim Hayeon calmly, taking in her one-punch-to-the-gut expression.
"Yes. I concede."
Lim Hayeon bowed her head and admitted defeat, looking deeply reluctant.
"Miss Soso is on tea. Miss Hayeon is on shelves and cleaning. Everyone else, as instructed yesterday."
The second-floor duties were what made Daseogak something more than just another bookstore. I gave the rest of the staff a firm word of caution about them.
"Defeated by tea...... after years of training......"
The shock must have been severe. Lim Hayeon let her shoulders sag and murmured in a voice so faint only someone trained in martial arts could have heard it.
"Miss Hayeon."
Cheer up. You have a talent for thieving. Tea just wasn't your calling.
I swallowed the words that would surely send her bolting out the door as a runaway employee, and called to her instead.
"Why did you...... call me."
Bracing for a scolding, she looked up at me, shrinking into herself.
"I liked your tea too, Miss Hayeon. Once we stock finer teas, I'll entrust them to you then."
I gave her an encouraging look, making it clear there was no need to take it so hard.
"Hmph! ......Fine. I'll brew finer tea better than anyone!"
Did she realize how pathetic she looked, being consoled? Lim Hayeon covered her face with one hand and marched to the counter with renewed resolve.
"Haha. I'll be counting on you then."
Already managing employee morale, am I? At this rate, I half expect to be handed a Model Boss of the Year award.
"Daseogak is open again!"
Crowds surged in the moment the doors opened for the morning.
"The scent of a forest of books. It truly is Daseogak!"
"It feels like coming home!"
"Members of the Tea Book Club! Welcome, everyone!"
I never expected regulars to look at familiar faces and genuinely feel like they'd come home.
I greeted Daseogak's first customers since the reopening warmly at the front gate.
"Boss Kang! So glad you're safe!"
"No injuries anywhere?"
"Arms and legs all intact, I trust? No sudden coughing blood or numbness coming on?"
"Hahaha. I'm perfectly fine. Please, head on up to the second floor."
"Some new faces here."
The Tea Book Club members pointed furtively at the staff and asked me about them.
"The newly hired Daseogak staff. Our previous employees have retired."
"I see? They were getting on in years, true. New wine in new wineskins, I suppose."
"Haha. I would have loved to bring the old masters back, but with Daseogak growing busier by the day, they apparently felt the burden."
"Well, that can be under....... Wha—! Boss Kang. Don't tell me those young ladies are staff too?"
"Welcome!"
"Haha. Yes, our newest hires."
The club members gaped at the staff greeting them from the second floor.
Can't blame them. Even by my standards, they're beauties.
"Flowers have bloomed at Daseogak, of all places."
"Beauties you'd only see in the finest teahouses, working here!"
"Finest teahouses? My friend, that girl at the counter is beyond that league."
"What nonsense are you— Gah!"
Every eye among the club members snapped to one girl at once.
"Haha. Miss Hayeon's looks are indeed exceptional."
"Miss Hayeon, was it? So her name is Hayeon."
"Excuse me a moment, I need to pop home."
"Why ever for?"
"I rushed out this morning without washing my hair, I think."
"I must place my order with Miss Hayeon!"
"Get in line, you! Wait your turn!"
The club members stampeded toward the counter in a single mass, all desperate for a closer look at Lim Hayeon's face.
The response is as good as advertised. This is exactly why you hire beauties for customer-facing work.
Which is why, back in my service-industry days, I always took jobs where my face stayed out of sight — hauling inventory, cooking, that sort of thing.
"Scholar Son. Not going in?"
Dredging up those bitter old memories, I glanced sideways and found Scholar Son standing there blankly.
What's wrong with him? I expected his usual theatrical antics, not him clutching his chest like this.
"B-Boss Kang."
Scholar Son clutched his heart, face twisted in anguish. What now? Is he ill somewhere?
"Are you unwell?"
"I...... I think I've fallen in love."
Hey, you.
"Flirt on the premises during business hours and I'll ban you from Daseogak."
I declared coldly, face like stone.
"Ugh. Is this where our friendship ends? A man must marry someday, you know."
"For a bride, consult a matchmaker or your parents."
"Weren't we bosom friends? From today onward, Boss Kang, you shall be my matchmaker."
Your bosom friend? Mine is the Tang Family rascal, and he's the only one.
"Ugh. But I offered prayers every single day for your safe return, Boss Kang."
That does make me feel a little guilty.
"I've never once seen you in front of Daseogak."
"Ahem! I prayed at home!"
Scholar Son protested to the man beside him, flustered. figures.
"Consider this your warning."
You won't be setting foot in Daseogak again otherwise. Watch yourself.
Scholar Son let out a small sigh at my warning and spoke up.
"Haah. What a heartless friend. To gain a bosom friend and then a bride — the road ahead is long indeed."
No, my friend. There is no road.
Had this many people really been waiting for Daseogak?
From the very first day, the establishment began settling back into its old rhythm.
"The Greatest Beauty of Sichuan is obviously the true wife!"
"Are you mad, man! The Finest Courtesan of Hubei! Lady Du Eunghyang is the true wife!"
This, though, I hadn't hoped would normalize quite so quickly.
"I say, Boss Kang! Who does the Sichuan Tang Clan name as the true wife?"
"Well, being a Sichuan native myself, I'd say the Greatest Beauty of Sichuan is the popular choice."
I answered the club member evenly while helping at the busy second-floor counter.
"What did you say?"
Why is Lim Hayeon so startled all of a sudden?
Lim Hayeon spun toward me with a face of utter horror, as though she'd just heard news of a rebellion.
"Just as I thought! So the Tang Clan considers the Greatest Beauty of Sichuan the true wife!"
"What do those Sichuan hicks know!"
"How could a lowly courtesan ever be the true wife!"
"The Tang Clan's heart belongs to the Greatest Beauty of Sichuan! Isn't the First Wife War over, then?"
"What was that! The boss merely spoke! That's no official position!"
"Yeah. Didn't hear anything. The Greatest Beauty of Sichuan it is."
"Why, you—!"
When the atmosphere finally boiled over, the two of them seized each other by the collar.
I missed Daseogak, but I can't say I missed this part.
"Everyone's a little overheated after the long wait. Miss Hayeon, would you go calm them down?"
"......"
"Miss Hayeon?"
Why did her expression suddenly darken?
"Yes?!"
"Go calm those two down."
"Understood."
Lim Hayeon nodded with a look of grim determination, stepped out from behind the counter, and approached the two brawling men.
"Say it again! Who's the true wife?!"
"Yeah. The Greatest Beauty of Sichuan!"
"Gentlemen, why are you fighting?"
Oooooh. So that's the pressure of a true martial artist.
Lim Hayeon slipped between the two men, lowering her voice as though she were facing a life-or-death enemy.
"Ah — well, that is, um, miss."
The new troublemaker-fire extinguisher works wonders. Worth every bit of the effort it took to hire her.
At Lim Hayeon's menacing aura, the club members shrank back into themselves.
Yes, I know everyone got carried away after the long wait. Let's keep it down. Daseogak doesn't belong to any one of us alone.
Once Lim Hayeon delivered her warning and returned, this would end cleanly.
But what came out of her mouth was not a warning.
"Isn't the true wife of Wind and Cloud of the Tang Clan obviously the Finest Courtesan of Hubei — Lady Du Eunghyang?!"
I'm sorry — what?