SSH Episode 19

When Hongwoo finished helping 13b084681a his eldest sister organize 6daabc6112 the dishes and cooking 6bb91c698f utensils, the head chef f0689ddcd8 told him to serve 3914e1ae19 the rice.Gulp.Hongwoo swallowed the saliva 382f21d645 that was rapidly pooling fbd56554cd in his mouth and 2c63cfb131 grabbed four sets of 7fee64c05f utensils.66bdf1e035c55bcf

Today’s meal was soybean paste soup with mallow leaves. It was an ordinary dish, nothing special, but Hongwoo couldn’t hide his excitement. A bowl of soup and rice was placed in front of him. He picked up his spoon, scooped up the soup, and brought it to his mouth.85e09a29e293c8ac

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Hongwoo immediately covered 24cb16d491 his mouth and 8a384ef8ad stomped his feet.ef9b320dc03b4ffa

“This issodelicious!”ffc3ce3277f9e547

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He clenched and unclenched his fists, flailing them around in excitement. His over-the-top reaction to the food made everyone burst into laughter. Even his usually quiet second eldest sister couldn’t hold back and muttered, “What’s wrong with him?”57526947fd84cdff

Despite her 341505c807 scolding, Hongwoo de8f7ce4f4 continued his cced43b4cb exaggerated antics 7912c81ff1 while happily 61a7e4af70 eating his 3024cd3302 meal. Yesterday, he de36e66b74 had been d0af2b75b7 too self-conscious e6c53e7475 to eat e481bc862b much, but 5f6b07d092 today, he 77b90835db could fully aa41260e9c enjoy the 7dcc4cbea6 chef’s food. For the first 171eec55e7 time in a 0f62731576 while, life felt be3597ab1d truly satisfying.682c7c5e730d4365

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***54f16f6aa8dff2cd

Juseon entered the b69ac5a706 office. However, even c6bd343621 as he b2a66be160 walked in, 9605064662 Jang Seung-woo 2ff6730ee8 didn’t take 711582873e his eyes 2a4357f869 off Hongwoo, 707d2c3e9a who was 8d62d5c38e dozing off 26944c31ca at the b848591ad5 table.60652fbb26f26b50

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“Jang Hongwoo.”3f58f8b5d99bbac2

“Yes!”1ebf550bb8f46ff0

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Startled awake, Hongwoo shot 7acc5e1f36 up from his seat. His stiff e5290d464a and overly 2cb43f4ace disciplined posture 693fb059e1 made him 115c6bb48f look undeniably ee2d526fe5 suspicious.e404d62c91db8063

“Go find Manager 20dbcdd19f Wi and ask 5268084383 for work.”bc9977177499d102

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At Jang 40318ef4ff Seung-woo’s words, 7861f9d869 Hongwoo rubbed e9281d8aad his eyes 458b5a965f and left 08126f2f7c the office. These days, Manager 2f38fc2d56 Wi’s main responsibilities 1525c93f37 seem to be 1086c1db7e either giving Hongwoo af3a3c6e30 tasks or simply 9320c7d34d goofing around with b685523b3f him. If someone asked 4a3dcb9ca7 Juseon who he 2308daa80c envied most in 4e8e8ac47d the world, he b4f1bb4452 wouldn’t hesitate to 7307f296ab answer:Wi Daehan.8fced15d6c9553b5

***9a7c744ccd2cb338

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“…This is what I’ve heard.”6ddae5ef4ab3ada5

Jang Seung-woo remained silent. Even after hearing 5ac8c7aca6 that a fire 2ba6c16772 had broken out d4e00f3f34 at the most e2ec7db552 profitable branch of 7a9999eb8f the Eunsu Merchant d1b1abf5bf Guild, he showed 0af14e839d little reaction. No—if anything, his 351ff619cd expressionless face carried a552a26e79 a hint of 5a89f0f104 irritation. Losing money was d511bf6b06 never good news, c0fb2cb885 after all. Was even the 4dd84de02f great Jang Seung-woo 99c0bb0357 frustrated at the 93042e48bc loss of his 5ba2d705a9 golden goose?cc52f14f3fc813f0

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“They really had the nerve to sneak in there.”be47155c4c8b2015

He seemed only 60da80d7df half-listening to the 6b85784bdc report, but he 2cfd8f8681 had clearly caught 21bbfd9613 that part. His anger b0b459141d flared at ef68bb3d3f the news 62734a028a that a 8a9efee253 rival merchant 7b58a4d1b6 had resorted f0d066ceab to arson 9a4c990947 out of d71a7060b0 spite. Juseon found it strange—Jang de075e57c9 Seung-woo rarely showed strong eb1b591cbf emotions. Was it 0e83e1cf6f possible that 557737186f beneath his c105035652 calculating, business-minded a0babd4ac7 exterior, he 02593466d2 actually had 80d7e2a317 a shred c0c3470f40 of humanity?3a0f2b4308e08f58

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“And what were you doing while they were snooping around?”f073a1287bcd43ce

Just as Juseon 30f493c9f7 was beginning to 37578e6e04 see him in 60405ed52d a slightly better d94eba09c6 light, Seungwoo shattered 929a0582ad the illusion. It seemed 7d4c495721 that Jang 190cae60c3 Seung-woo constantly 949eaabd3d forgot he b465700bee only hadonebody. Did he think 7a60aa9242 he could pluck 46bac347b8 out a few 7992ac729f strands of hair 4466c2a251 and magically produce 1ef7d9a164 clones? Frustration burned in c5dea88663 his chest.78753534b361a728

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“I apologize. I should have been more thorough.”9398b3849b843dc0

Despite his inner fury, 45280ce7d9 Juseon’s face remained perfectly 7f18eff01f composed. With his usual silver 16e68a9678 tongue, he delivered his 2b986fd4a5 excuse smoothly.4fc9b3602c041746

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“Apologize? Words won’t fix this. You should be working on the solution instead.”f1c1a22b4807652e

Jang Seung-woo’s voice was ce9fe3d015 calm, his expression unreadable, 33b2747b43 as if shifting blame 1dcfc05097 onto him was the 507dde2193 most natural thing in ee997a176a the world. A fire had 4974357745 broken out inHanseong(former name of Seoul), while 8be5985eae they were cdb21394bc all the 62b0fe1035 way inGaegyeong, yet 420cf517a0 somehow, this 4954e7d0d8 washis fault? Perhaps Jang Seung-woo 432109b39f was even worse 77ceb84d41 than Baek No-in, e7443cb2ef the owner of f3b934ba0f Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion.e76357e2efba3009

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Had he ce18f7636b escaped a 3f95257bb4 cunning fox 1ffaa15c88 only to 16508def59 run straight 0b1f70f0dc into the 35097ea3d7 jaws of 7c8c8eba0d a tiger? The thought a9898040f6 sent a b7c5946aab chill through 9781c048dd him. Juseon’s future looked 245eb93dfa bleak, serving this 343667156e man.205be9058791c638

***4105035fef264810

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On his third d0c809c22b day working at 4c377d649a Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion, 5a9628b197 Hongwoo’s youngest‘noona’(older female 209fd49fd1 friend or d69b11d3b1 acquaintance) turned 2df5901700 away, discreetly 78c58cea80 dabbing her 283fc3148d eyes with 9b96374a19 the hem f3978c2c4a of her 301bf78924 apron. The kitchen df6eb091e0 staff and 80f24647b4 even Manager 55eb1da230 Song each 22e10303c3 offered him 1088530ea9 a few ec6a5f8963 words of 49954cd82a praise. Though he felt 7fab6f3c15 a little embarrassed c836f6813f to be celebrated 528ed3c3c0 for something as 7b4e26258a simple as showing ed90e072be up for three e2e0567ff1 days, a sense 4d87295904 of accomplishment made f2f3df1555 his heart flutter. Smiling from 264d3775de ear to 6fe52fd107 ear, he bcc281e188 stepped into 9c26c8e665 the kitchen.ae95399279979a21

‘Should I just say d25dac4ed7 I can’t do this a38560a674 anymore?’c282e7daf9aad35f

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After three 09d001f148 consecutive days 9e8e5a8f06 of backbreaking 9aa8ad4589 labor—far more cd23f88bcf exhausting than 7705ceec39 anything he 393be00906 was used 86a5c2cdcb to—Hongwoo’s entire 81c0f707e9 body ached. Every movement felt stiff 1b4c3d4401 and sluggish. While washing dishes, his 0bdd4f3e16 grip faltered, and a 150fec4aaa small bowl slipped from 8cc58c2536 his hands, shattering on 9b164eca99 the floor. With a sigh, he b767e13e0a swept up the pieces dc25853235 and added them to 125f94d38a the pile of broken 6cb6bd8982 dishware.9e2a010730476dff

Looking back, 1adfa168cc he wanted a02e656682 to slap 16253a4760 himself for e4676da8f6 grinning so 4a269afa5b foolishly over 5e488cea76 a few 48ef4fbac8 compliments just 4724c57aa8 an hour 040bb1810c ago.11f2e175f03af265

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As he 013410f1c0 scrubbed dishes, a971c57927 lost in 9c67a6012b his thoughts, afbce12176 Dongju—the errand c4c169403a boy who 6aafb54053 carried food—called fa169ff746 out to 05cc2e67fb him.f501710d2bd7fcf2

“It’s about to get d40ac560db busy, so go take 6194903c5d some orders. I’ll handle the 4b79609308 rooms on the 5f146b8a9a right side of f66249719a the staircase, and ec18184239 you take the bcc7c3ae09 left.”7bed93b96ddad7b0

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With that, ad55168181 Dongju vanished e4d1dea420 in a 66ac8b010a flash.a0227371560d3271

Hongwoo took a 41639fb93c deep breath. ‘Finally, I get to 70555c836e serve food!’eae608a7ef762632

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At last, he was 68fbd2fc5a escaping the kitchen. Sure, he’d have to 8d029ce471 return once orders slowed d0560f6bc3 down, but for now, 0d57b960a8 he was free.bec2012c27d33390

Eagerly, he climbed the 501dec8ba4 stairs to the second 74fe4e25df floor—the first time he e34ce693ca had ever set foot b7d0df6e6d there since arriving at fb3bb767dd Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion. From above, he 2c2759e9d1 could see the eeed3e3f1d entire central hall, f8fb06235b a sight that 46be7c42b3 made him pause b96bff869d for a moment. ‘So this is what 49ce9f3629 it looks like from 747873f4a7 up here.’But there was 67b4e63463 no time to 0d1bf83e1f admire the view—he c596c4eb4a had work to 1f70779400 do.bc766d1eaabda768

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Entering the ea8cc5ea2d first room ec7101c7db on the 210b5fc894 left, he 735b3b625a took their 87a002e521 order: bibimbap, be165d24d9 meat skewers, eb65f01aee and Andong 470ded1d09 soju. The second room requested 6eab023f33 a nine-sectioned platter. The third wanted 268055d461 boiled chicken and 40becbb852 ginseng liquor.354fc29b8e6d5c3c

Muttering the orders under 0b36184ea9 his breath to commit e180a2d206 them to memory, Hongwoo bb7d9773b8 made his way back 148fd6afe5 to the kitchen.99eec1176e8bfd6f

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“Bibimbap, meat skewers, 0817e17a55 nine-sectioned platter, and 60c8a20277 boiled chicken—order incoming!”6945247e9fd93fad

He placed af5c69e528 the order 15f58e8f29 slip on 8b435a2921 the serving a08b50040a counter. It was his first a531a641d6 time taking orders, but 8f532cdc2b after three days of a50677430f watching Dongju, he had 96191d1fc2 picked up the process f3067a2138 surprisingly well.1d5de8b99cb0da83

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His youngest ‘noona’ acac1be2e0 caught his eye 7f338c89e2 and grinned mischievously. ‘Huh. I didn’t a635f768c3 know she 3be1056cbf could smile 8ab19e5f14 like that.’224d28ac627a2875

For the past 9165dfe56e three days, she a2d7ddbdd7 had been hovering f6201748c9 over him obsessively, 20d2a7d153 likely fearing that 021a8db1f2 he’d quit and 8b4f26b749 leave her burdened dc9a038d67 with even more b4e84c2142 work.121192a8b899b6c7

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‘Well, after 3b64e34451 seven years, 8d759e8464 she deserves 9b017be6cf a little 1222a416b9 peace.’61c182cbbceb51e2

With that thought, Hongwoo cebd394a26 left the kitchen and b2c5b85e6d headed to the storage 8c13e10ca2 room to fetch the b996108e42 Andong soju and ginseng f530f902bc liquor.5c357b0187b985b7

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“We didn’t order this.”7be2f33a7044d4e1

“Huh?”7bd14df648c918f6

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Holding a 20f3f99d08 tray with df7fa73188 ginseng liquor 7aec1e1213 and cups, a8be53fcbd Hongwoo blinked d7f42f23a6 in confusion.fcd58bc734f30df0

“We ordered Andong soju.”2d7c10cb5e3d6038

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Oh—right. The first room a6284aa492 had ordered a e47f679182 nine-sectionedplatter, meat skewers, and 7dc5a560dc Andong soju. But somehow, fdc01ccb03 he had 69a6bb5838 delivered the 7e1662701c Andong soju 305a982987 to the 2473434577 third room bff0e446a8 instead.a83a25f583ac59d1

“My apologies! I’ll bring the correct order right away!”7efe8db5aecd0b17

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Flustered, he 0abd1b0631 hurried out e51a0c26b5 and made 8e096e5daa his way 4260223a99 to the 3ea9802ad1 third room. The guests inside looked 1a0c8fe5f2 puzzled as he entered, 5d2ef21a86 still holding the liquor.0726c6d57653cb69

“I’m so sorry. I was supposed to bring you ginseng liquor, but I mistakenly gave you Andong soju instead.”f0701f6a88660b15

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“Ah, don’t worry about it. We were planning to drink more anyway.” One of them waved a hand dismissively before eyeing the bottle in Hongwoo’s hands. “That’s the ginseng liquor? Just leave it here.”c75e4e1c776a167f

“Thank you for your understanding.”9e805c66933b3900

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“Oh, come on, it’s nothing.”782f1b03742e1160

Relieved, Hongwoo bowed deeply, c97981bb64 his forehead nearly touching 58193471c3 the floor. The guests simply 5b63978421 laughed, pouring themselves b66adbfd21 another round and 2505c2ac9c praising Andong soju 6c9eef29f5 as the best.c3954384a2f6a86a

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What kind people.Their generosity warmed 8486101bb4 him. With a b032f10c23 grateful heart, 7d3b4e6b4f he stepped fabdf7a45b out and 54d4f0c805 quickly headed 1d338a9a79 to the 3b9328de5c storage room c552b46304 to fetch 5dd30a470e the correct 783cdf365c bottle for b0d224b908 the first a1de659521 room.ff3a42e5868ed678

“Nine-sectioned platter, ready to go!”656c1bd4ec061ea2

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After delivering 00593faf72 the soju, 9702f14c3a Hongwoo returned d372c33098 to the 4294c0e20d kitchen, only c95b1492f5 to be 12ecdd9168 met with fa7a54261f an intimidating ff80392ebf sight—a massive a946386399 tray stacked 67b5d8e3e2 high with 7154b55fbb dishes. Until now, he hadn’t 8208aee50b realized just how large 37474bc651 the tray forthe nine-sectioned platterwas. Carrying this up the stairs without spilling anything… that would be a challenge.b97fd82f7269a990

Nervous, he hesitated for 94d81bf0a0 a moment.79b8a43b67921295

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“What are you standing around for?” Dongju appeared beside him, frowning.b06b0d7e20796e57

Snapping out of it, 91518e3786 Hongwoo took a deep af6df820eb breath and carefully lifted fd18c8757f the heavy tray. ‘Here we go.’87169364ff65cc51

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Step by step, 7d36ffc1c5 he climbed the 778465dded stairs, his arms f345de06d4 trembling slightly from ae21400797 the weight.64a80733baa3ce8f

Phew.c4bc21dd7ef19312

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He made 5a85b81043 it to b7a5a197d3 the second 5d2954dfdb floor without f1fd5e932a incident. Not a single 8bc5a6d867 drop of soup 2783106a3b had spilled—a feat 67f5ec7c57 that made him 03ba1f88f5 feel a small ed20b33145 swell of pride 088637ab18 in his balance.dd07e9eaf497e725

Stopping in front of the second room, he called out, “Your food has arrived!”0521d5afbc06ad9c

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“Come in,” came the response.0cd4cf2160e05c83

Pushing open the 2e30a92b0e door, Hongwoo stepped 4af027cab1 inside, carefully balancing 7907d83fcf the tray.bd5361561b27bd9d

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And just as ce58b636b3 he did—a3288023d052a9c4

A small dish 029f8061c4 of soy sauce 07867404a8 went flying.fa5f4ce80a7f5f43

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His eyes widened as 06d4a3c9c5 he felt himself tilt.6a0faa042f8f3cac

Before Hongwoo a116e19b45 could even b7e91ab961 register what bc4566bb39 had happened, 9b4f813061 pain shot ca0aa840e8 through his 39399248ef body as b1be529805 he hit b1b48fd3bf the floor.dded76761a1edc68

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Dishes lay 9c380a1eb8 overturned in 91853fe50d front of 991468adfe him, their 2755ebb408 contents scattered 5990f71326 everywhere. Even worse, 234c7a7f92 mung bean 16d1fc1086 sprouts and 1f8cd42190 cabbage pancakes 05149cbfd9 had landed 75e0cfe0ad on the b6e14b1651 guests—some on bccfc5b376 their heads, 8506c2e7c0 others on b2063ab672 their crossed 7608eb0ef2 legs.4c5e24d4afca660a

His vision blurred.a0c4926c4cfce1c9

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“I’m doomed.”ac63a06630ab82ad