Chapter 74 – Let’s Have a Meal (1)

“Monk…?”

“Thank you for your help, Siju.”

Does his voice sound like he’s saying, “I was trying to die, why did you save me?” because of my mood?

“Well then…”

I grabbed the monk’s arm as he tried to leave with a grateful voice.

“…Siju?”

“Monk, there’s a place I know that serves really delicious food.”

“…?”

“I’ll pay, so let’s go together.”

I need to feed him first.

In the end, Hoya followed the young man who saved him to a guesthouse.

He couldn’t understand why eating a meal was considered a repayment, but it wasn’t an unreasonable request, so he followed him.

“They make great tofu dishes here. I’ve had it before, and it was delicious.”

“…Is that so?”

Hesitation.

For a moment, he suspected that there might be something else going on. Did he put poison in the food because he knew he was a Sollim disciple?

Otherwise, there was no explanation for suddenly recommending food to him.

“…It doesn’t matter.”

Hoya had lost all sense of purpose in life. Whether it was poison or mountain air, it didn’t matter.

Even if he was in danger of being cursed, he could cut off his veins if he had a single thread of determination left.

Hoya put down his hat and ate a spoonful of boiled tofu soup calmly.

Once he started playing with the chopsticks, the food kept going in.

The young man kept ordering food, and Hoya declined, but he kept eating because the young man insisted unless he was full.

Tock.

Eventually, Hoya put down his chopsticks, and the young man smiled and asked.

“Are you full?”

“…Yes, Siju.”

“Was the food good?”

“…Yes.”

The young man nodded with satisfaction.

“Are you traveling, Monk?”

“Something like that.”

“Have you decided where to stay tonight?”

Hoya was suspicious. He didn’t know why he was so interested in his whereabouts.

“Don’t worry, I don’t have any bad intentions. If you don’t have a place to stay, I wanted to suggest you stay here.”

“…Is this a guesthouse affiliated with you, Siju?”

“No, not at all. I bought food here a few days ago.”

What kind of trick is he trying to pull?

In Gangho, it’s not uncommon to encounter situations where someone appears to be helpful, only to betray you in the end.

It’s entirely possible that he’s trying to tie me down here.

“Why me?”

There’s no reason for someone who hasn’t been active in Gangho for the past 20 years to do something like this, except for the fact that he owes me his life.

I don’t have any treasure that someone would want to steal, and I don’t have any grudges or debts.

Is there anyone outside of Sollim who knows of my existence in Gangho?

“Aren’t you the savior of my life? Please grant me this small request.”

“…Sohyeop.”

The young man flinched for a moment at the change in title, but soon regained his composure.

“I think you can guess why I’m being so hospitable since you’ve mastered martial arts. It’s suspicious to show too much kindness in Gangho.”

“…”

“What do you think? If you think it’s unnecessary sympathy, then from now on…”

“When someone’s full and warm, even the same problem feels lighter.”

Hoyeon’s heart skipped a beat. His breath stopped as if he could read his mind.

“I interfered because it seemed like you were going through a tough time. I’m sorry if it was unpleasant.”

“…It wasn’t. But in martial arts, it’s important to be cautious of kindness without a clear motive. Sohyeop should be careful of that…”

Hoyeon was about to warn him, but he suddenly stopped.

The young man was right. He felt like he had the energy to meddle in other people’s affairs because he was full and warm.

“I’m glad you weren’t uncomfortable. Then, you can stay at this inn for today.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the young man got up and started talking to the innkeeper about something.

Seeing him pay for everything, it seemed like he had the freedom to book a room as he pleased.

He was a strange young man.

“Oh, if only you had come a little earlier, Nariban Sijin! All the watermelons are sold out today!”

He bought some meat first and then went to buy fruit, but apparently all the watermelons were sold out.

Watermelons are a precious fruit, and there’s only one store in this area, so he bought some melons instead.

Since they’re also juicy, he hoped they would be satisfying as he headed towards where Eunsuyeong was waiting.

“I meddled in something that wasn’t my business.”

He knew it as soon as he touched him. That monk’s body was incredibly well-developed.

If he had been in good condition, he would have tried to have sex with him somehow, but… his attitude of not caring if he died made him hesitate.

In addition, there was a faint presence of inner strength that he could feel as soon as he touched him. He didn’t know much about it, but it was probably an unaffiliated inner strength.

He felt like it would be best not to get involved in various ways, but he couldn’t just leave him and go.

If you haven’t seen it, you wouldn’t know, but I’m the one who saved him. In the end, I ended up meddling in something that wasn’t my business.

“What’s his name? Why is he wearing monk’s robes? Is he really a monk?”

I wanted to ask all sorts of questions, but for some reason, it wasn’t easy to ask.

If I showed too much interest, he might feel burdened and leave, so pretending to be relaxed was my limit.

I gave Jumsoui some more money and asked him to buy me some clothes to change into and to wash the clothes I was wearing.

Maybe I’ll stay one more day until the clothes dry.

When I got home, Eunsuyeong was reading a book.

“Sanggong.”

“Sorry, I bought everything else, but they said the study hall was sold out… So I bought some hyanggwa (melon), is that okay?”

“Sure.”

She naturally handed me the melon and took out a meat bun to eat.

Since she couldn’t get oil on the book, she had written “sohak” (elementary school) on the cover.

“Are you already teaching the baby?”

“Sanggong said to show only good things to the baby in my belly.”

Ah, come to think of it, I did say that. I had put in some makeshift prenatal education knowledge.

“Madam, can we bring in the hyanggwa?”

“Oh, yes, bring it in.”

Jumsoui came in cautiously with his head down and handed over the melon.

Eunsuyeong gave me one and ate one herself.

“I, I’ll leave now!”

Jumsoui, who had clearly witnessed the scene, spoke in a flustered voice and ran out.

“Soyoung, do you like showing off like this?”

“Of course. That’s why I even told the servants.”

Eunsuyeong was infinitely confident. On the other hand, she seemed to feel refreshed.

Even if she had a child, she couldn’t brag to anyone and had to live in hiding.

Moreover, the target she had to hide included her own child.

It was natural to feel pleasure in being able to reveal everything to the servants, even if it was against the thugs.

“Hah…”

My mouth, which was eating fruit, slowly began to lick my fingers.

Slurp.

“Ugh, I definitely told you to eat the fruit. You can’t lick your fingers.”

“Then give me something else to eat… Soyoung, look…”

At my out-of-context remark, Eunsuyeong looked around in a flustered expression.

It was a gesture to check if any of the thugs had heard.

“Hey, I can’t hear anything. Maybe if you stick your ear to the wall.”

“Sanggong, it’s not even sunset yet, so saying something like that is a bit…”

My thoughts were a little different. What’s the point of worrying about that when we’re already known to be together?

“Anyway, the thugs already know everything. What does it matter if they hear a little noise?”

No one else would dare to barge in without permission like Mong-a, anyway.

Eunsuyeong’s face turned red, but she didn’t strongly resist my hands undressing her.

“If you don’t want the thugs to hear us, Soyoung can try to keep quiet.”

Eunsuyeong didn’t answer.

Ah-hyeon felt like she was holding her breath.

‘It was really, really…!’

She had heard rumors that her respected boss had fallen for a young man.

At first, she thought she had misheard, but so many people were testifying to it.

[If the madam is pleased, we should accept it.]

Even her own mother had said that, so Ah-hyeon thought that cutting the fragrant melon was an opportunity.

An opportunity to confirm if the rumors were true and what kind of person he was, if they were.

‘How could the respected madam, do that…!’

From the perspective of the Mu-ga, who were more open-minded than ordinary families, if Eunsuyeong had found another man and had an affair, they would have congratulated her.

As long as they were around the same age and there was no room for misunderstanding.

But a young man who would be more suitable for Eunsuyeong’s daughter, Namgoong Hye?

There was no way that was pure love…

“Miss…?”

Something came to Ah-hyeon’s mind when she thought of Namgoong Hye.

A warning to dig deeper into her memories.

Ah-hyeon went back in her memory, and gradually realized that she had seen that man before today.

‘Where was it? Where did I see him?’

It couldn’t have been when Eunsuyeong and Namgoong Hye came back late, and it had been peaceful without any incidents, so there was no chance of meeting him then.

Ah-hyeon could quickly get an answer.

“That man! I met him at Ami Mountain!”

The man who disappeared without a trace after coming down from the mountain, was now by the madam’s side?

If she looked back at the dates, it was around the time when the madam had a child?

“…Daughter. Daughter? Are you out of your mind? Why are you standing there like that?”

“Uh, mother…?”

When she woke up from her thoughts, her mother was standing in front of her, smiling.

“If you had to come up, you should have come back soon. Why are you standing there like that?”

Looking at her face, Ah-hyeon thought.

Mother can’t do that. No, no one else can.

Thinking about Eunsuyeong, the only people who mattered were those who didn’t care if she met a young man or a piece of wood, as long as she was happy.

Instead, they were treating that man as ‘my lord’ and treating him well. Wasn’t that the reality?

“I have to tell Miss. Once she knows what the situation is with the madam, she’ll take some action.”

Ah-hyeon could only trust Namgoong Hye.

If Namgoong Hye, who had met that man together, and who might meet him again in the future, knew about this, she would not stay silent.