Free Web NovelAt Seoryeong’s words, both Myungdo and the tavern owner stiffened.
“What ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) do you mean by that....”
The owner’s face, trembling as she spoke, filled with anger.
Myungdo slammed the spoon he was holding down onto the table with a sharp clang.
“Please pay no mind to this person’s words, and do keep your heart—”
“For a village of this size, there are far too few customers passing through. And I’ve noticed a few patrons glancing this way since earlier.”
Leaning back, Seoryeong leisurely met the eyes of the men around them.
Several of the men who locked gazes with her cleared their throats awkwardly and disappeared.
“It’s a village far too closed-off for a tavern to thrive. Now that I’ve set foot here, where else would I go to look? I really need to make a decision before the weather gets hotter.... Tsk.”
There was something about Seoryeong’s words that stirred curiosity. The owner’s face, which had been about to flush red with anger, was now overtaken by interest.
“What exactly are you saying?”
“My one and only sister has been looking for a village to recuperate in. Good water, clean air! And if it’s safe, even better. This place seems perfect, wouldn’t you say? It was worth coming ahead of time with my brother-in-law to check it out.”
“Oh my! Is that truly so?”
“Of course. Truly so. Do you know how dearly my sister is loved in our family? Do you know what my father said to me?”
Seoryeong beckoned the owner closer. Drawn in by that sly expression, the owner unconsciously bent forward and brought her ear near.
“Even if it’s a remote mountain village, he said it didn’t matter! Just make sure the environment is well— prepared so my sister won’t be inconvenienced.”
“Prepare the environment, you say....”
She might speak roughly, but at a glance these guests were clearly people wearing expensive clothes.
The mere fact that people with money had ventured all the way into this deep mountain village changed the look in the owner’s eyes.
“What need is there to say more? My father is a merchant who finds even Yeomho Kingdom too small, traveling from country to country growing his wealth. If my sister can be comfortable, he wouldn’t hesitate to open an entirely new market here.”
“My goodness! How could that be...!”
The more merchants passed through, the more prosperous a tavern became—it was only natural. Before she knew it, the slender man standing before her looked like a benefactor who would bring her money.
Seoryeong puffed herself up like a man who loved to boast and continued.
“Silk to make my sister’s clothes, books to keep her from boredom, precious jewels brought from across the sea, medicinal herbs good for the body.”
By now, the owner had drawn so close to Seoryeong that she was nearly pressed against her. Seoryeong reached out and patted the owner’s shoulder.
“But if we’re bringing all that anyway, would it do for a man’s pride to bring only a meager share for my sister? Merchants need escorts alongside them too, so filling entire wagons would be far more profitable!”
“Of course, of course!”
“So the business talk with my father is all— settled. All that remains is choosing the location.... Hmm.”
After a brief pause, Seoryeong shook her head.
“But the people here seem rather wary of outsiders, so it can’t be helped—we’ll have to scrap the idea. The rice soup is excellent, which makes it a shame, but oh well.”
As if her business there was done, Seoryeong slipped her feet back into the shoes she had taken off.
“The water and air are good, so nearby villages should be similar. Yes. It’d be better to settle there instead.”
With her light, unregretful attitude, it was the owner whose heart began to burn.
“Let’s go, brother-in-law.”
Seoryeong tapped Myungdo’s shoulder with an utterly perfunctory touch.
“....”
Unable to even find a moment to stop her, Myungdo stared blankly at Seoryeong as she carried out the scam as smoothly as flowing water.
Finding his reaction frustrating, Seoryeong put a bit of strength into her palm and pressed down gently on Myungdo’s shoulder.
“N-now, young master! Don’t be like this—please think it over just a little more. Hmm?”
“I wanted to show my sister this exceptional rice soup as well, but what a pity. Then, fare well and stay healthy.”
“Our villagers aren’t usually this closed-off, you see. Right? It’ll all return to normal soon enough. Of course it will!”
“Return to normal? Then that means it was clearly different before?”
The owner fell neatly into Seoryeong’s guided questioning. After briefly scanning her surroundings and confirming there were only three of them, she hesitated before opening her mouth.
“Of course. Th-that is, the eldest son of the Choi Hundo household has finally come to his senses.”
A thread concerning the strange incident that had befallen the village began to emerge.
Just as Myungdo’s eyes were about to sharpen—
“It seems this will be a long story. Bring another bowl. I’ll need to listen carefully.”
Standing as she addressed the owner, Seoryeong sat back down again as she spoke.
“...What?”
As if questioning whether he’d heard her correctly, Myungdo frowned deeply. The owner clapped her hands together with a bright smack.
“Oh my, look at me! Of course, of course!”
Watching the owner hurry into the kitchen, Seoryeong curled the corner of her lips upward. One way or another, she’d succeeded in getting another bowl.
The filming continued. They were shooting all the tavern scenes in one go today, then in the evening they would film the infiltration into Choi Hundo’s house, and tomorrow they’d pull the timeline forward again to shoot the scene of moving to Choi Hundo’s residence.
It’s hectic, but everyone’s doing well.
Holding the megaphone, Director Jang’s face was suffused with satisfaction. In particular, Kwon Junhyeok, who played Myungdo, was keeping up diligently.
Since the group lodging, the vividness of Myungdo had changed.
“Um, Director....”
“What is it, Junhyeok? Got something to say?”
“I tried interpreting things in my own way, and I was hoping you’d hear me out....”
The diligence ingrained in Kwon Junhyeok through his long trainee years played its part.
Before filming Myungdo’s scenes, Junhyeok sought out Director Jang separately. The script in his scarred hands was tattered at the edges.
“I was thinking of using the angle of my head instead of facial expressions....”
“The angle of your head?”
“Yes. Instead of widening my eyes or biting my lip, I’d keep my head angled downward by default, then turn it slightly in response to the other person’s actions, lift just my eyes—or bow my head even further....”
Before anyone noticed, Junhyeok’s Myungdo had become nearly perfect since the group lodging.
“Since Myungdo serves a lord and works as an adjutant, I think his basic posture would naturally lean toward keeping his head lowered, and rather than expressing things with facial expressions, conveying them through actions might be more....”
“That’s it! Junhyeok, you did great! I think the same—Myungdo is all about actions!”
Though he spoke hesitantly, as if lacking confidence, Junhyeok’s judgment was correct. Even without using facial muscles, viewers would be able to grasp exactly what kind of person Myungdo was.
In Myungdo’s movements, his subtle desire not to associate with Seoryeong, who was smoothly scamming the tavern owner, seeped through.
Myungdo angled his body and head slightly away from Seoryeong.
Unbothered by him, Seoryeong picked up her spoon again and focused on the rice soup. Thanks to her scam, unsolicited boiled pork had even been placed on the table this time.
“So. What happened at the Choi Hundo household? He didn’t hold a high official post, yet he seemed to command great respect in the village.”
“Oh, indeed. He even taught the lowborn how to write their own names. Heaven can be so heartless, taking such a man so early....”
Myungdo’s gaze slowly fixed on the owner. For all its flaws, Seoryeong’s method was always a shortcut. The reason behind the village’s strange atmosphere was finally surfacing.
“I see. So Choi Hundo was such an admirable man.... What about the eldest son?”
Seoryeong continued speaking calmly, as if she had no particular aim. The owner shook her head slightly.
“Isn’t there a saying about tiger fathers and dog sons? He neglected his studies, and no matter how much he was taught, his violent nature was something he could never fix.”
Perhaps even speaking of the eldest son was distasteful—she pressed a hand to her forehead for a moment. It seemed he’d been a true source of worry.
“With Hundo passing away so early, he tormented not only the household but even the madam. Since everyone had received one favor or another from Hundo, the madam’s worries became our worries as well.”
The conversation had grown heavy. What began as light village talk had shifted into the family affairs of Choi Hundo.
Even so, Seoryeong merely nodded vaguely and picked up a few slices of pork.
“We thought it was right to at least protect Hundo’s honor. Failing the civil service exam again and again, then doing nothing but drinking at courtesan houses—if word of Hundo’s eldest son spread far and wide, it wouldn’t do anyone any good....”
Only then did the village’s closed-off atmosphere make sense. Among the gentry, rumors about Choi Hundo would spread faster, which explained their wariness toward Seoryeong and Myungdo.
“But he truly seems to have changed now. Seeing how comfortably you’re telling me all this.”
“That’s right! He’s become a completely new person.” freewebnσvel.cøm
A new person.
At those words, Seoryeong met the owner’s eyes and smiled.
“How so?”
“He’s so affectionate toward the madam now. There’s nothing about household affairs he doesn’t know! Perhaps even back when he lived as a scoundrel, he cared deep down?”
As the owner chattered brightly with a wide smile, Seoryeong’s expression grew serious. Her eyes were those of a cat watching a mouse caught in a trap.
“And he’s so diligent—waking up at dawn to sweep, and though he used to flip tables every day complaining about the food, now he eats anything without complaint....”
“If he’s changed into such a fine man, then before that, he must’ve been extremely lazy.”
After a moment of thought, Seoryeong tossed out her words casually.
“Didn’t even trim his own fingernails, perhaps?”
“That’s right. Every day it was greasy meat, alcohol, and sleeping nonstop, until his belly swelled so much he couldn’t see his feet. When he passed out drunk, the madam would trim his fingernails herself. How curious—how did you know?”
“I’ve seen countless such pathetic men. Traveling from country to country taught me that the worthless ones all have one thing in common—they can’t do anything with their own hands. And their courage is no bigger than a bean. They’d tremble in fear at the sight of a single cat.”
By now, Seoryeong was paying more attention to the owner’s story than her meal. Feigning sympathy, she pressed deeper into the heart of the matter.
“Was Choi Hundo’s eldest son like that as well?”
“If only he were afraid of animals. He kicked dogs and cats alike, claiming they offended his eyes.”
Waving her hand dismissively, the owner laughed loudly, then pressed her dampening eyes with the ties of her jacket.
“It’s such a relief he came to his senses at last. Truly....”
Her genuine concern for the Choi Hundo household was palpable.
“Choi Hundo must be watching from the heavens as well, don’t you think?”
Seoryeong didn’t answer right away and met Myungdo’s gaze. Myungdo, too, sensed that the situation was anything but ordinary.
Not because he shared Seoryeong’s strange intuition, but because of the rational judgment he possessed as an adjutant.
