The Contract — 3
Though the fake Hopil affair had been more or less resolved, not everything was over just yet.
There was still the matchmaking meeting with the young lady Jegal Hyang. Even if we had reached a successful agreement about our contract romance, the formalities still had to be observed.
When someone came from the Mangeum Money Hall to set a date, I chose the earliest day available. They must have expected me to stall, because when I stepped forward so eagerly, the man they'd sent looked genuinely surprised.
If they knew the truth of the matter, they'd probably consider themselves the ones who'd been swindled.
I'm a black-haired barbarian. At my very best, I'm a bookstore owner and novelist, nothing more. Meanwhile, the other party is a young lady with not a single thought of marriage in her head. And not just any young lady — the youngest daughter of the Jegal Clan, the finest martial family in all of Hubei Province.
The Mangeum Lord will fool himself into believing our contract romance is blooming into something real, but there's no way the two of us will actually end up together.
"Why are you all dressed up like that?"
The moment I stepped out of my room, freshly attired for the meeting with Jegal Hyang, Lim Hayeon greeted me in a sullen voice. Well, color me surprised. Were you waiting right outside my door?
"Better than looking like a pushover, wouldn't you say?"
You have to dress the part for occasions that demand formality. I'd taken her at her word when she said I could come comfortably, and I wasn't about to end up the only oddly dressed fool — I'd learned that lesson in childhood, thank you very much.
"...You'll be back soon?"
Lim Hayeon looked me up and down for a moment, then asked in that same sulky tone.
"Hard to say. This is my first time at one of these."
One would have to have been to a matchmaking to know.
"..."
"Sorry to leave the post with so much work piled up."
This was the inn I ran. It was fine for me to be away, but when Lim Hayeon stepped out, it threatened to bring the whole operation to its knees. Her responsibilities were simply that heavy.
"...It's not as if you wanted to go, though."
When I put it to her soothingly, Lim Hayeon answered in a slightly softened voice. So it had been resentment about leaving her post with all that work after all.
But come to think of it, it can't be helped, can it? Which means... opportunity knocks.
"Then while I'm away, you could sort out the Giosugu pigeon-keeper's damage report, take inventory of the tableware and provisions, and if you happen to have time, drop by Jeon Gilsan's establishment to check whether he's been cooking his books, and ask the Joseon lads we planted there to—"
"You're not exactly being subtle about dumping all your tedious chores on me while you're gone, are you?"
"Haha! You caught me?"
I pressed a hand to my forehead and flashed my most disarming smile.
"Haah... Fine, I'll do your chores, so hurry back."
Lim Hayeon let out a small sigh at my grinning face, as if she couldn't help herself. It was a joke, but she's really going to do it? Not that I'm complaining.
"Then I'm off."
"Wait."
"Hm?"
"Look at my face."
I'm already looking at it, though. When I made a baffled expression, Lim Hayeon closed the distance between us in a single heartbeat.
"Why are you suddenly getting so close?"
"Never mind that. Look at my face properly."
It's rather distracting, actually.
Undeterred by my flustered look, she rose up on the very tips of her toes and thrust her face toward mine.
If we were lovers, this would be the distance where I need only lower my head for a kiss. Lim Hayeon seemed conscious of it too, tilting her head slightly to the side as she peered up at me.
What is this? Is there something on my face?
I studied her face intently. Now that I looked, her lips were redder than usual. Standing this close, I could catch a pleasant fragrance drifting from her. Ah.
"Did you put on makeup?"
"Mmhm..."
There came a satisfied little hum through her nose. Was that the right answer?
Was she proudly showing off how well her makeup turned out? She's beautiful even without it. I don't usually let myself dwell on it, but true to any good martial arts romance, she really is a woman so lovely it makes your spine shiver.
But why isn't she stepping back? I got the answer right, didn't I?
As if there were something more she wanted to hear, Lim Hayeon kept gazing up at me with a strangely expectant look.
What am I supposed to say? As I studied her face, I noticed something unusual that wasn't normally there.
"Miss Hayeon."
When I called her in a gentle voice, her eyes trembled faintly.
"..."
"...Haven't been sleeping well lately?"
Her dark circles were heavy.
"Haah. And whose fault is that, I wonder..."
Lim Hayeon heaved a sigh that was half lament.
"Hm?"
Did I work her too hard?
"Never mind. If you've got my face memorized, you can go now."
Lim Hayeon gripped my shoulders from behind and shoved me toward the exit as though the matter were concluded.
What was that about?
"Is Master Kang Yunho receiving?"
The venue for our matchmaking was not a scenic pavilion overlooking fine waters and fresh mountain air, nor a lofty tower with a sweeping view of the mighty Changjiang — it was the Mangeum Lord's own estate.
Why did the security seem even tighter than on my previous visits? Knowing Jegal Hyang to be an expert escape artist, they must have chosen the mansion to prevent a repeat performance.
A matchmaking, though. Marriage, engagement, matchmaking. It feels as though Kang Yunho's personal timeline is running in reverse.
"Miss Jegal Hyang is still in her room."
"Shall I wait at the prepared venue?"
"You must first pay your respects to the Mangeum Lord together, so I will escort you both there."
Ah, since this was a formal arranged meeting rather than a casual introduction, it seems paying respects to the elder sponsors was proper etiquette.
"My lady! Lady Hyang!"
When we arrived before the room where Jegal Hyang was staying, the harried voices of the maids drifted out.
"My lady?! She's hiding in a box again!"
"We removed every single box! Why on earth do you love cramped little corners so much?!"
"No! You had a box and you still got away this fast?! Stop hiding already!"
"I-It's too embarrassing, thaaat's whyyyyy!"
At that voice I'd heard just days before, the door to the room burst open — and what came flying out was not a person, but a box.
"Block her!"
"I will handle this."
I addressed the guards scrambling to seal off the area, then approached the box that was darting about with no idea where to run.
"Step aside, if you would."
"Miss Jegal."
At my call, the box's movement came to an abrupt halt.
"Huh? That voice...?"
"Shall we go see the Mangeum Lord together?"
Why on earth are you trying to run when you agreed to the contract romance?
"Ah, I, um, w-well... I did plan to, that day, but..."
So the embarrassment was from the tumbling about.
Apparently Jegal Hyang is the type who throws herself into things without a shred of shame, then goes home and kicks her blankets in agony over it.
If that's the case, no harm done.
"I'm a merchant, not a martial artist. If anything, I was glad to see your unguarded, honest self."
Unconditional positive regard — that's all it takes.
"Y-you thought I was a disgrace, didn't youuuu!"
"How could I? So, will you let me open the box?"
"..."
When no answer came, the young lady Jegal Hyang carefully made her way out of the outer box and opened the one she hid within.
"Oh."
A gasp of admiration escaped me before I could stop it.
Inside the box sat a gift wrapped as beautifully as any gift could ever be wrapped — a woman gazing up at me with a faintly tearful expression, taking care not to startle. Somehow she looked just like a small creature waiting only for its master's hand.
Her clothes were meticulously arranged, her face carefully made up. I'd felt it watching Lim Hayeon before I left, but it seems a beauty only becomes more beautiful when she dresses up.
"Haha. I hardly recognized you."
"Ehehe, you think so? I mean, that is, ah—!"
Jegal Hyang fidgeted helplessly under my gaze, and then in an instant she sprang clean over the top of the box. What tremendous propulsion — like one of those pirate captains that pop out when you plunge a knife into a toy barrel.
This was followed by a picture-perfect aerial triple somersault and landing.
"Ooooh!"
How impressive. I found myself applauding.
"Eheheheh."
Jegal Hyang scratched her head sheepishly and laughed at my applause.
"Ah-hem. Right this way, please. We must go to the Mangeum Lord."
A guard gave an awkward cough and led us onward.
Following our guide, we entered the inner compound where the Mangeum Lord resided.
"FATHER!!!"
What's that noise?
As I approached where the Mangeum Lord was, I saw him in a towering rage — and there in the courtyard, kneeling, was Heo Song's mother. The Mangeum Lord's own daughter.
"You dare call me father right now?! Ah. There you are."
"My lord, what is all this—"
What is that woman doing here?
"You two! You brought shame upon me that day!"
Does this woman have no memory of calling me a barbarian? Then again, if she had any capacity for self-reflection, she'd never have schemed up such a plot with her son in the first place.
"You should be beating your head against the ground in apology, and instead you have the gall to act the injured party!"
As if he'd been waiting for this very moment, the Mangeum Lord let his fury loose upon his daughter.
"Father! I'm telling you, it was all just a misunderstanding!"
"A misunderstanding, is it? Then why won't that good-for-nothing Heo Song show his face after all this?!"
"H-he's been drinking for days on end and not coming home. He did the same thing just last week. He'll crawl back out from wherever he's hiding eventually."
"I set him a test to run a business, and instead of working, he did nothing but drink?!"
Lord Jang's anger had boiled up to the crown of his head; he clutched his head in his hands and let out a long breath.
"N-no, Father. No, that's not—"
And it only got worse from there.
The Mangeum Lord roundly rebuked her over the Dangga Pungun affair, while Heo Song's mother kept spouting one impossible excuse after another, stoking his rage further and further.
"The test I gave your son ends today. Hand over the deed and get out of my house!"
"You can't! ...Fine! Yes, I used Hyang-ie a little. That much I should apologize for. But that black-haired barbarian's business is hardly my fault! Isn't this sort of thing par for the course in business?!"
"I told your son to run a business! When did I ever tell him to show me his talent for trickery?!"
"Ugh! E-even so, what's the crime in selling books in Wuhan and not Yichang? You manage Wuhan yourself, that's the only reason, but in other cities the book's already selling quietly everywhere! The Daseogak belongs to our family now, anyway!"
"I have not yet taken Daseogak! And even if I had, how would that make it yours? You married and became a daughter of another house decades ago — do you truly still believe you live in your father's pocket?!"
"F-Father—"
"I won't hear it! Now I understand perfectly why you keep coming to me with your hand out, widowed as you are! From this day forward, every scrap of support you receive from me is cut off! And your son's test ends today!"
"F-Father!"
"I can't stand the sight of you! Take her away!"
"Father! Fatherrrrr!"
The Mangeum Lord turned his back rather than watch Heo Song's mother be dragged out. On his face, fury and conflicted sorrow were written in equal measure.
"You've witnessed an ugly sight."
"It is an honor to see you again, my lord."
I bowed respectfully to Lord Jang once more.
An ugly sight, my foot. He brought her here precisely so we'd see it. It had to be clearly imprinted on Jegal Hyang's eyes, so that when she went home she wouldn't make too great an issue of things.
And thanks to that, watching her get a proper scolding was rather satisfying.
"You two must have suffered great anguish these past days."
"So much that I could scarcely sleep."
I answered the Mangeum Lord a touch curtly.
"Heh heh heh."
That knowing look of his was positively grating. So what of it? I solved this whole affair, didn't I? And I came here for the matchmaking too.
A little display of grievance was more than fair.
"Ah, u-um, as for me..."
Knowing his granddaughter's temperament, the Mangeum Lord nodded once or twice with a worried look before speaking.
"It would hardly do for an old man to keep clinging to two young people on a day meant for them. So let us come to the point. The Mangeum Seogo my grandson ran — in his attempt to imitate Daseogak, he purchased quite a respectable building along the main thoroughfare."
I'd seen it too. A bookstore set up in a fine location.
Of course, with the deed alone he apparently couldn't afford to furnish the interior, so in practice it had been a shop selling nothing but Dangga Pungun.
The Mangeum Lord paused mid-sentence and studied me carefully.
Why is he looking at me?
Come to think of it, why bring up the bookstore at all? Hm? Don't tell me...
'If Heo Song fails his test, what happens to that bookstore?'
No way. Is he giving me the bookstore as compensation for this whole affair?
The impersonation of Hopil, the unauthorized sale of Dangga Pungun — and out of his friendship with the Baek Family's master, which he swore he hadn't forgotten, he's apologizing by giving me the Wuhan shop?
Could I really be opening Daseogak Branch Two?
"I give the recovered bookstore... to you, Hyang."
It was a pig's dream.
"M-me?"
"I'll take the price of apology from your aunt there and have the interior furnished properly as well. Think of it as your grandfather's New Year's money, a little late in coming."
Suddenly I wished I were the Mangeum Lord's grandchild.
One person spends their whole life fighting tooth and nail to protect a single bookstore, and another receives a bookstore as pocket money.
"And you, Kang Yunho. ...Heh heh. You look a touch disappointed."
I hadn't let it show on my face. Or had I?
The Mangeum Lord, having guessed exactly what I'd been thinking, stroked his beard and chuckled.
"I was merely curious how you would answer for your grandson's behavior, my lord."
Don't get your hopes up.
My heart had leapt for a moment, but this is a world without copyright. Even so, the fact that Dangga Pungun couldn't be sold in Wuhan was purely the Mangeum Lord's goodwill.
The impersonation case was serious, granted, but giving away an entire building over it? Only a magnate who dives into gold coins every morning would do such a thing.
If he insisted on giving me something, I could bring up Daseogak. Or maybe ask for extra funds to expand the business.
"As a father, and as a grandfather, I have no intention of pretending not to notice. So for you, as your compensation... how does the right to operate sound?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"The operating rights to the bookstore. Care to run a Daseogak in Wuhan, alongside my granddaughter?"