Preparing for Opening Day - 1

"It seems you two have things to discuss, so I'll leave these letters from Yichang with you and step out for a while."

Chief Gwak handed me the two letters and withdrew from the room.

"One from Uncle Gwak of the Haomun Yichang branch, and one from the Seocheon Escort Agency's Yichang office."

Both of them writing to me at the same time — this could hardly be anything small. I unfolded the letters and skimmed their contents quickly.

"Do you think the Nokcheong Escort Agency hired Domun's fighters?"

"The agency head is Sapa-born, so it's plausible he had old ties with Domun."

"What do they say?"

"Much the same, both of them. The Domun crowd appears to have withdrawn from Yichang. Apparently they've finally caught on that Lady Hayeon isn't at the printing house, so it says to stay alert."

"So they saw through our little arrangement to make it look like someone was living there."

"The Domun crowd answer to Haomun in the end, too. Between Simun's counter-maneuvers and the Yichang branch's help, they wavered back and forth — but it seems they've finally made up their minds."

Frankly, holding out this long had been a miracle. If the Haomun branch chief in Yichang had cooperated with Domun, or if the Simun Branch Master in Wuhan hadn't scattered disinformation about Im Hayeon, they would have seen through us ages ago.

"If they concluded she wasn't there, they could have just turned around and come home. Why attack the Seocheon Escort Agency?"

"Because large quantities of books were moving from the printing house to Wuhan. If Lady Hayeon had been at the printing house, they reasoned she might hide among the cargo and slip away."

"It's a scheme that actually worked once before, after all."

Im Hayeon had once escaped to Yichang by concealing herself inside a wine jar among the cargo. Domun would have found it hard to ignore a large shipment moving from the printing house to Wuhan under those circumstances. I nodded toward Im Hayeon.

"So the Domun crowd pulled out of Yichang..."

No more headaches would come knocking at the Seocheon Escort Agency's Yichang office or the Daseogak main branch — but this was no cause for celebration.

"So now there's only one place left for Domun to suspect."

Domun had abandoned the very place where Im Hayeon was most likely to be. So where was Im Hayeon at this moment? Not hidden inside any cargo — that much would have been reported up the chain. Would they believe the false intelligence flowing into Domun, that a pink-haired woman was running thefts somewhere in Hubei Province? And if not that, then where would suspicion fall hardest? Who was Im Hayeon with right now?

We looked at each other and sank into a long, heavy silence.

"Have you two finished your talk?"

Chief Gwak strode back into the room, breaking the heavy silence with a beaming face.

"We'll need to go home and talk some more."

No brilliant solution was going to present itself on the spot, after all. The Chief nodded at my words, then fixed Im Hayeon with the gaze of a father looking upon his daughter and spoke.

"I may not carry the Tang blood myself, but neither am I so witless as to forget a debt of gratitude. Lady Im has rendered a great service in this affair, so whenever you find yourself in need of help, you need only say the word."

"Thank you."

"Let's set the dreary talk aside for later — it's time I shared some good news with you both."

"Good news, you say?"

Don't tell me — a reward! We'd resolved the Seocheon Escort Agency's problem for them; surely they weren't planning to wipe their mouths clean and walk away owing us nothing. I let a flicker of anticipation show as I looked at the Chief.

"You've done something truly remarkable. I've submitted a report to Chengdu in Sichuan, where the agency's head office stands, so once the head office renders its decision, a substantial reward will come down."

Faced with the Chief's stream of praise, I arranged my features into an expression of extreme humility, flashed an embarrassed smile as if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it were all nothing, and replied.

"I was merely trying to recover my own cargo. I didn't do it with a reward in mind."

I absolutely did it with a reward in mind. Solve a crisis this big, and the compensation had better be enormous, right?

"Modesty is a virtue, but there's no need for it here. The ghost ship affair nearly brought Seocheon Escort's expansion into Hubei to a dead halt. The agency owes you a very great debt, Young Master Kang."

"To have it regarded as such a grand achievement, I hardly know where to put myself."

Just try settling this with a few coins. I have a heartfelt letter to write Hwarin, after all.

"The scale of the reward will be for Seocheon Escort to decide, but there is something I would like to give you separately, on my own account."

"You yourself, Chief?"

A reward from Seocheon Escort, and a separate one from the Chief personally? At his level, would that mean cold, hard cash? I buried my anticipation, put on a bewildered face, and looked at him — whereupon the Chief produced a reward entirely beyond anything I'd imagined. What he held out was a single document.

"All cargo bound for Wuhan will be handled free of charge."

The paper stated, in plain terms, that every shipment Kang Yunho sent to Wuhan would be processed at no cost.

"Free of charge? A considerable volume of cargo comes to the branch — that's no trifling sum."

Just because Yichang and Wuhan were both linked by the Yangtze within Hubei Province didn't make them cozy neighbors like Seoul and Incheon. Measured by waterway alone, the distance between the two cities was the equivalent of Seoul to Busan. River transport might be cheaper than overland travel, but this meant waiving an absurdly large expense. And this was merely a branch chief, offering benefits on this scale? Too stunned, I shot the question back at his smiling face.

"I came within a hair's breadth of watching decades of effort at Seocheon Escort evaporate in a single moment. If anything, being able to offer only this much leaves my heart uneasy."

"I'm more worried this arrangement might end up costing you dearly instead, Chief."

Dear Uncle Chief. If your neck ends up on the chopping block over this, I lose out too.

Seeing my troubled look, the Chief laughed as if to brush the concern away.

"Haha. Once word reaches the Sichuan Tang Clan, the talk will be that I did far too little. So set your mind at ease."

"The Sichuan Tang Clan? Wasn't the report going to Seocheon Escort?"

This was Seocheon Escort business — why was the Tang Clan entering the picture? Had he simply misspoken about where the report was headed? Or... could it be?

"I sent a separate report to the Sichuan Tang Clan as well."

"Ah..."

"Wuhan's famous bailiff isn't to be found in a government office — he's to be found among the Joseon people. Your deductions were genuinely awe-inspiring, and your exploits nothing short of tremendous, so naturally the Tang Clan Head would wish to know of it. I took special pains to record your activities in the very finest detail, Young Master Kang."

On paper, I was the Tang Clan Head's illegitimate son. We had each declared we'd go our own way and walked out of the Tang estate — but a parent's heart, it seemed, was another matter entirely. So my movements were being reported straight to the Clan Head. Which meant the ghost ship compensation would likely come with an illegitimate-son premium stacked on top.

"The Tang Clan Head...? Oh..."

Oops.

Im Hayeon's gaze darted between my flustered expression and the Chief's contented one, and she murmured in a tone far too meaningful for comfort. It would be very inconvenient if she started piecing together anything involving the Tang Clan.

"Aha. Might I ask a single favor in connection with all this?"

Hurriedly rearranging my face to steer the conversation elsewhere, I turned to the Chief.

"A favor? Just say the word. If it's your request, Young Master Kang, I'll grant anything — anything short of ordering you out of Seocheon Escort."

The Chief said it with a flourish of jest. I hadn't even counted on a reward from him in the first place; I'd prepared a favor to wring out of him if pressed. How nice of the conversation to move so quickly.

"Hahaha. I understand the cargo porters suffered heavy losses this time. Might you be able to fill those vacant posts with Joseon workers?"

"Joseon workers?"

"As I understand it, porters are selected through testing as well. If I sift out Joseon men with no disqualifying records and send you their names, would that serve?"

Recommending porters wasn't a favor born of pity for how the Joseon folk had suffered in the ghost ship affair. Deliverymen, tavern waiters, cooks, dockhands, even lodging merchants — thanks to me, plenty of Joseon folk had found their way into steady work, but jobs were still scarce, choked off by contempt for barbarians. But what if I widened my influence by placing Joseon workers in porter positions as well? Then more and more hands would spring into motion at every cry of Our Hoeju is asking, so of course we move! — just as they had in the ghost ship affair.

"Very well. With your guarantee behind them, Young Master Kang, they're certain to be dependable. We happen to be short-handed as it is, so recommend as many as you like."

After discussing the porter recommendations with the Chief a while longer, Im Hayeon and I returned cautiously to the inn.

"If you hadn't solved the ghost ship case, I'd have been snatched up without a doubt."

"Lady Hayeon. Let's hold off on outside activities for a while."

Bad news, but good news too — that was the conclusion we reached after returning to the inn armed with information we could act on quickly.

"How, exactly?"

"Move the carrier-pigeon training to Chef An's courtyard, and focus on paperwork for the time being. Hand off anything that means meeting strangers — client visits and the like."

"You're already stretched thin with your own work as it is."

"I have no intention of taking it on myself. Soso's here now — let's put Soso to work. She gets along well with you, Lady Hayeon, so she'll be good company too."

"If it's Soso, I've no worries, but..."

Im Hayeon trailed off, looking none too eager. Handing work she'd been carrying to someone else apparently didn't sit easy with her.

"You have been shouldering rather a lot lately, haven't you? Don't think of it as dumping your burdens on someone else — think of it as sharing the load."

At my words, Im Hayeon fell quiet for a long moment, as if lost in thought. Domun's net was drawing tighter around us. For Im Hayeon, it was impossible not to feel the tension. She looked at me with eyes trembling from anxiety and finally spoke.

"...Will it really be all right?"

"If you wish it, you could slip out of Wuhan ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠altogether."

Fleeing before the net closed was one way to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠go. The delivery business would suffer without Im Hayeon, but that hardly meant she should shoulder the danger and sacrifice herself for it. I answered her with an expression of utmost gravity.

"Don't say things you don't mean."

If anything, my words seemed to anger her. Im Hayeon knit her fair brows, looking positively cross, and marched right up to my desk.

"I only said it as a joke..."

"You're the one who said this was our work and we'd struggle through it together. Don't tell me you're telling me to run off while pretending not to see you suffer?"

She didn't care for my answer, it seemed. Im Hayeon thrust her face right up to mine, her voice brimming with hurt. Apparently that little talk from our evening stroll had lodged itself deep in her memory. I usually tried not to dwell on such things, but when three faces came thrusting in at me at once, even I found it a bit much.

"If it's all right with you, then I want to weather this hardship at your side."

That was surrender. Complete and total surrender. At that, Im Hayeon smiled, satisfied, and returned to her desk.

"You could have just said so from the start. Oh! There's something I've been wanting to ask — may I?"

Im Hayeon fixed me with an oddly expectant look.

"Ask away."

"Why does the Tang Clan Head want to know about you?"

I'd hoped she wouldn't ask. And ask she did. I didn't want to lie, but the truth was hardly something I could tell either. How to answer this one? Once again, this was a job for the trusty chuckle-and-deflect technique.

"Well, the other side keeps telling me to call him Father, and this side keeps refusing. It's... a relationship like that."

I answered with a snort, as if tossing off some silly joke.

"If you don't want to talk about it, just say you don't want to talk about it."

Im Hayeon replied, looking a touch disappointed.

But it's the truth.

"This is a problem."

The reply ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from Haomun's Simun was terse. That I belonged to Simun's side was a secret, and as an honored guest of the Sichuan Tang Clan, Domun had been reluctant to approach me — but that calculus could change now. Simun would assist as much as it could; for the moment, I was to hold position and wait.

"The inn itself could be dangerous. But you have to stay by my side for me to protect you."

As long as Domun knew I was the Tang Clan's honored guest, they wouldn't dare threaten us recklessly. But if I smuggled Im Hayeon off to some other inn to evade their surveillance and she was taken there, there would be nothing I could do about it. There was no better plan than this one — and yet a better plan was exactly what I needed. What a problem.

"You!"

The office door burst open, and Im Hayeon's thoroughly peeved face appeared.

"What is it?"

"Did you call that woman here?"

That woman?

There was only one person Im Hayeon would ever call "that woman."

"What are you on about? Huh?! Lady Jegal? What brings you here?"

Behind Im Hayeon stood Jegal Hyang — the last person who had any business setting foot in this inn.

And why the tearful face?

"Young Master Kaaang! Huh?!"

Why are you blocking her?

Im Hayeon barred Jegal Hyang's path with one outstretched arm.

"Men and women are meant to keep their distance. Isn't that a little too close?"

Lim Hayeon, you were the one shoving your face right up to mine just yesterday. I wasn't so oblivious that I couldn't toss a jab right back.

"Lady Jegal. What brings you here?"

"Well, you seeee..."

Jegal Hyang glanced this way and that, hopping in place, then swallowed her words. Apparently this wasn't a story for the doorway.

"Lady Hayeon. I need to speak with Lady Jegal, so please close the door."

"C-close the door and do what, just the two of you?"

Why are your eyes darting around like a frightened rabbit?

"Haah. Fine — both of you, come in. Lady Jegal, what brings you here?"

Why would a young lady who barely ever set foot outside her own house come to an inn? And I hadn't even summoned her. Jegal Hyang stepped into the room, and as if the stares burning into her back unnerved her, she went speechless for a long moment — then, as if steeling herself at last, gave a firm nod. Fists clenched tight, she cried out to me, her face crumpling.

"I've been thrown out of the maaansion!"

What on earth is this now?