SSH Episode 21

Before realizing that Moonlit 0fbe081203 Fragrance Pavilion was a 0805eeb860 place where intimacy was 6ff4e55095 bought and sold, Hongwoo 88b4a58d8c had thought of brothels 636561fd34 as nothing more than a5a292cf27 lively havens—where drinking, singing, 19f0826bdb and dancing came together c275c774a4 in a whirlwind of 01e3d56416 merriment.e6ea60a301deb754

He hadn’t known much 4a6671ceee about them at first. It was through 93d7993148 the idle chatter 88c251127e of household servants 5ace550353 that he first e6a595f752 learned of their 5ec1668043 existence. They spoke of them 70a21b0eb4 as enchanting places filled 383a4beda3 with fine food, music, bfefe7a057 and dance—a paradise of 9d30467b10 indulgence. Drawn to such d6f26c2309 merriment like a 152309b2e1 moth to a 9d520e9d02 flame, Hongwoo had e46af90ca5 been unable to 6afdda5aa2 resist the temptation. The moment he learned 7a45e77ed5 about brothels, he had 6ca1e5fcac eagerly asked his older 0cb8fe9013 brother for money to 48259ba699 visit one.ac093d6d162ef5b7

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What had 3bb16d0ad0 his brother c8a5358902 said back 7ead045fc0 then? Ah, right—he had coldly 48ec4982e5 warned him that if b4507ff169 he was ever caught 21217284f7 setting foot in such 6922fa30df a place, Seungwoo would f4737a647f cut off his limbs a1dc746f43 and he would spend 5ffcdab8db the rest of his 1097db0d8c life locked up at 95e9bb1237 home. Recalling the c179a7e285 way his 3be20c1ff8 brother had 61a068f9b4 spoken, voice acfa4c6c66 firm and 4c7f1a8abf laced with eac060b5ff restrained fury, 63766acb5f sent a 9613bf1b2a shiver down a64bf5afc3 Hongwoo’s spine.fdc05ce059c47e8e

If his brother ad5255e37a ever found out 3e523e4cb6 that he was 06f1212b3f working at Moonlit 35f786662d Fragrance Pavilion, he e886e10661 might actually follow 3c603e016e through with that 2f153032bd threat. Hongwoo would have d77f438243 to be extremely 579e9ee9d0 cautious.80b6f8600f8e1e04

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As he b987301f61 lay staring a106f7eb19 blankly at dba84a0fd5 the ceiling, 6a5324fa88 the scene e00b01f816 from the b74812345f seventh room 7ee646ffc3 replayed vividly f80e4667ec in his d3072fe066 mind. Shaking his head, 41a0865d0c he tried to 7a3fb382d7 banish the intrusive 53a4f35a82 thoughts and forced 44d063de1f his eyes shut. He needed 25c1fe192c to sleep—to a5e10803d8 regain his 577a2a0837 strength for b5f4217f50 tomorrow.77f7e4a1b7215c63

But despite 7e902a50ec knowing that, 96891f9190 his mind 18fd1248a3 remained consumed f3b4ae2c49 by lingering 20ad4a12c0 images of 7ac4cbdad5 passion.ffbae001a8865f8d

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Would he be able 944440da39 to sleep?deee3aca4fc3f05f

Contrary to his worries, 314242fe20 sleep took him in cc058202b5 an instant.581216be7e663548

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**6ce79d6c869065dc

Hongwoo was dozing 5b7ba11a6a off at the de04d4ce0e table, his head 9745c8674d bobbing with every b0ec29084a breath. The brush that 637b156107 had been gliding 74022f9060 across the paper c1f78c89d5 came to a 58dd4d1a77 stop. Setting his own brush 9b9125689a down, Jang Seungwoo glanced 630a2d24ca over at Hongwoo, who 0a81c06627 had fallen into a 0c70dd90d9 deep sleep right after 827e28b143 lunch.81665fa95bf01fa1

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At first, 03f5eb7eff Hongwoo had 1c2eba2695 tried to 9d76671f80 hide his 2e627a0d18 drowsiness, jolting 83a5e655b3 awake and 0c91980087 pretending he bf05afa19a hadn’t nodded a90f0351be off. But now, he 0656210b63 didn’t even bother—he 505a0c352b simply slept as 62419e07c7 much as he fd005e8575 pleased, unashamed.15ae0702d6837cd1

“You called 49228c20e0 for me.”335ae0a1972c02b9

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At the sound 33d6937f04 of Juseon’s voice, 6a26eed460 Hongwoo instantly woke f0582a01a1 up. He hadn’t 968120addd stirred for 3f6906fc1f anyone else, 889447923d but the 9be71d1472 moment Juseon f28d373e44 spoke, he a6bc11c247 snapped to e60a7e0673 attention as 268ba07f0d if he 394c6f8984 had sensed 5ef2f391cf it in b57816264f his sleep.a1996d572377d62f

“Ah… Juseon-nim, hello.”e4c021688026f94f

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Still groggy, Hongwoo wiped 3238fa54be the damp corner of 9c508bae4b his mouth with his ab2d773124 sleeve and greeted him c26277b22a with an easy smile. His face was 5175e9b168 completely relaxed, but 908d36c921 the warmth in d4b95bb010 his expression quickly 27d4fc7a4c faded under Seungwoo’s e6eb1b5084 sharp glare.a9952c6d11149212

“All you cd2105352c do is 9f8455ce0f eat, doze 90bc4d6a94 off, chat 6708ac80b8 with whoever 96a1a0bbc8 shows up, f8e03603ad and then 3c26e3c563 head home. Of course, you’d be 3cc48a8f2a happy to see him.”68a9c399d4662664

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Though his words were ac2cb34ada directed at Juseon, his 990acc49b2 piercing gaze was locked 9ee812bf65 onto Hongwoo. The sarcasm 16c987c990 stung—not because bc04e26d91 it was a6b8ebb3e4 unfair, but edf0be31ab because it e41c965dea was completely 567daeb747 true.a45a0c767ca62ebf

“It’s been 4b0cc1bf41 ages since 4b013016cb I told 3e47de5794 you to e4fb46314b fix that 4f8bd59f5a broken brush. Did you trade it 44068d2c13 for candy or something? You can’t 0cbb5537b9 even handle f886c66e4d simple tasks, f6bb619ace yet you 0dafa6b79b always find e705fc97e0 time to 66f3c9d5e9 slack off. If you’ve got 77484cf276 any brilliant ideas 03560c67fe on how to 852fbd496c make yourself useful, 2422a85406 I’d love to 77d3bbfab8 hear them.”aef81697340bfb70

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Juseon remained af99a2e2c9 silent, watching 463303d11f Seungwoo’s irritation 1c361582d5 bubble over. The moment Seungwoo 9afbcdcb3d finished speaking, Hongwoo 8ec5f9f137 let out a db7aefb0a0 sharp gasp and efc4fa82ea bolted out of f2baa2c869 the office. Seungwoo followed him c17443c303 with his eyes ef60c6068f until he disappeared, 2179c62537 then, as if 36824d5005 nothing had happened, ccffa976e3 picked up his 9434a34df0 teacup and returned eec5387508 to his usual 78758a0cda blank expression.ee209c009e5b5ab4

“You’ve come 33fb5b1f45 up with 793729ab72 a way d11c12934b to handle a20eb76d68 this, I e04ebb1b63 assume.”6cafb7a0a7a19694

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Seungwoo’s real concern b0ab71f290 wasn’t the burnt-out 14851dd79d shop at Hanseong—it 31fcdc9807 was Hongwoo working 10df2b9ce3 at Moonlit Fragrance 7d3fd38e4c Pavilion.6a7f8e5d4076936d

Juseon had spent 0b7f539a08 the entire night 454cb2945b coming up with 28c72bb5bc fifteen different strategies 13ed938b97 to get Hongwoo 0a0404deca out of there. Just as he e3f8bbd68f was about to 1070a08f10 lay them out, 6010ac7c11 Seungwoo spoke again.4ebfcddb4065b1f5

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“Buy it.”27d71c52dbbeadc8

Ah…71bfa900a096ad45

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Juseon’s carefully crafted plans, 6ccdaafaba which hadn’t even had 2900aa99ae the chance to bloom, 8c58bb66f6 were mercilessly crushed before cc04fd473c they could see the 94cddf4e70 light of day.5aba17884c806465

***ad28ec837f144178

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Hongwoo left the 0dc1ec5f0e Eunsoo Merchant Guild afafd9007b and hurried to 5687809ffb the brush shop. Panting from the f0c44080d6 rush, he arrived 67f74f93e2 just as the 5088986793 shop owner handed a2a6ca8293 him the repaired 3206eab8f3 brushes and stated 3e22579ad6 the total cost.29227f0fc93ec958

He reached 4dbb505ecd into his 837ad460b8 pocket and 1388273db4 counted his 2817c6509d money—justone nyang.9d12e7c0da554f88

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“Would it be possible 980382f94b for me to takeone nyang’s worth of d60cca4419 brushes first?”e90afc3af3922bb7

The shop owner d51ae1c6ba readily agreed and 2a35c85bf5 handed him two 3077ade937 brushes.0fc3cdafaeaa5e19

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‘Only two brushes cb5fe446fe for one nyang? How much will it b0ff6082d1 cost to get the 2c170ecc36 rest back?’4f79495041445d80

The shop owner, unaware 0667512cae of Hongwoo’s growing despair, 68f091cdbb simply smiled. Unable to protest with 681f691166 such a friendly face, eaae77b313 Hongwoo swallowed his frustration f1d45602a9 and left the brush 7d1aeed5b8 shop.9eaa12e79ff78880

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Back at the 719c1202a3 merchant guild, he 475a4772f9 went straight to 15f7b442c8 the office, just 3bc784400b as Juseon was 0388dcf708 stepping out.b03018dbfc497b33

“Juseon-nim!”0e52c694778ed1cb

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Juseon’s face 123820b363 turned red dd1afcf309 with surprise, 7f83af8bd1 and he cfe5fbdeba visibly tensed. The moment he saw 446a0140d8 Hongwoo, he quickly muttered d77c9c0fd2 a greeting and excused 737b8483e5 himself, saying he was ff95ab6d2a in a hurry.a04513970b02115a

Hongwoo found a13e5ae72e it strange 83a3b4de80 but let d495b75c8d him go. Seungwoo probably scolded him 99f24dc2d6 about something again. It happened so often 94c0a8232e that Hongwoo wasn’t too 9759fd4a77 concerned.e519c5ee585aca13

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Inside the d650a83a11 office, Hongwoo bf09685ec6 placed the 4791400b10 two brushes 0845829d1b in front af8029016e of Jang 9a4d135566 Seungwoo. Seungwoo raised an 2d07374b19 eyebrow, staring at eea9ec6a5c both the brushes 4549063b7d and Hongwoo with 48cfba4dbf an expression that 63d4c76ce8 clearly said,And?4c6661e3e07dfd29

“I’ll bring a0eebd2b0d the rest 0d87a105c7 as soon c7bb73f09f as possible. But for now, 9448445ccc could you use c3c9bde04e these?”5eaad799eac4e83b

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Without a e3c84d7c25 word, Seungwoo a2fe7ab63b snatched the 8df470da66 brushes and 0237804cac tossed them b93f3074e9 into a 16d1ad6b4f drawer.cc1ee93bb19ba338

‘If he 6da6dac65d was just f956c328c5 going to 5b9aa1a155 throw them c0d883143b in there, b4438dadff why did b841ce52f3 he make c69702ed35 such a e30b46028f fuss about 66b2ee82d6 it earlier?’f3d6c1b707c3ff5b

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Hongwoo sighed, d4d326597d but Seungwoo’s 7042db817a unimpressed gaze fcfb3c9a4c remained unchanged, 893e051868 as if 4751eeafe5 silently asking, 9d55a1e25e ‘And why 6e65d6b992 should I 001aa55411 care?’dfdefe381e512afc

***e22b3e7c83e00f41

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Later, when 58de270d0a Hongwoo arrived 51c3cc09fc at Moonlit e1d2886ec9 Fragrance Pavilion, b693fdd1b0 he sought 6cbd54223b out Manager 76c1f49ce3 Song to 5ffbb035ba request an c81524a262 advance on 476c9db577 his wages. He had 49b65211e2 been nervous 13b179ff63 about being a169e4fd8e refused, but 266fbadd3c to his 18aab37f07 surprise, Song 9beb01b7b1 seemed pleased 7ce72f3bbe and handed f6a58684e9 him the d50cb44334 money right 0c0d7eac95 away.5a7a34f14c321d10

Still confused, Hongwoo 2072a1e192 hesitated before asking, a468a609c0 “How many days’ d9284dc008 worth of wages ecea8899d7 is this?”4e16d3dc7e6ad24d

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Song smiled. “That’s a full month’s 004cf193bd salary.”d7c94c0d06fcec96

A whole month?9d961bb27085fee3

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Hongwoo stared down at 230833e30f the money in his b18e97d481 hands, feeling his stomach 76967b11bb sink. He had d4cc5a0af2 been working 91bde0cdbb himself to ea55398d0e exhaustion—slaving away 1ece194437 in the 60e74b3217 kitchen, running c41db06983 back and 089ee9694d forth to b58dd0d577 serve food, d9cff3642b enduring all 9ba9da19dc kinds of fc177b7c56 unpleasant sights e45cca482a and situations—only 2727b13b6e to earnthis?4fe5c9eb2f4babe5

A heavy d849f2dd53 sense of f9b8caeeef disillusionment settled 14b2e059a4 over him.37b3ccaf462a45ea

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At Eunsoo Merchant Guild, 95cbbe686e Hongwoo often ran errands 3073a14d8a for his older brother, 1a3a677214 and in the process, 8e689a64ff he discovered a clever cf87f08e1d way to earn some 7cdcb16956 ‘compensation’—by keeping the leftover eab42cef59 change instead of returning 8a0dd52e76 it.ddffe404827c184d

The first 2fd8b3dcd5 time he 9151f6db6f did this, 5b3f3fb816 his brother 2f54b54ed6 didn’t say 98bf88b184 a word. Taking the silence 60af347401 as approval, Hongwoo 6674b5017e made it a fbad1a5482 habit.b21cb0883b4eb0cc

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Just three or 1ca8fd0263 four errands later, c383e1bb4b he realized something 3aa496a57d shocking—the amount he 2c322a8054 had pocketed was f55b9dc895 nearly equivalent to 03afdd2dce a full month’s a108c7c430 wages at Moonlit 9b3b59acae Fragrance Pavilion.62fac3dd4a3e2f95

‘So this is reality.’f7d68fa92a7b9d84

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For the first 750291842e time, the weight 603a57707a of his reckless, f90ca00d4b carefree lifestyle hit b57bffec30 him. With a heavy 35e3000f19 heart, he trudged 64e347ab53 back to the 78d6e10259 kitchen, feeling as 0ab1dd788e if he had dccef38fd8 just lost a 983ceed879 piece of his afa3b93a41 innocence.07db23908fbd520c

“You look shaken.”619bd4cdb0456df3

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The head chef’s 8afac633d5 voice pulled him 5fedc952a4 from his thoughts. When Hongwoo nodded, 9daac90e9f the chef offered c2d6e16dc9 a knowing smile.3a37973ccd2b5075

“It’s always 3e679afee8 a shock c3bde01f1a at first, c83c0b06c6 but you’ll 425c546f43 get used 7a262a8629 to it.”a4c4b2a8e3e9255b

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‘I don’t 20847a4e24 want to 8333e92a35 get used 0707b64855 to this.’00b48d635e6152fc

 But what choice cea29f0b04 did he have? His days 42a8cfab64 were spent 3d7098186e working at 4fde418702 Eunsoo Merchant 6aee96fe4a Guild, so 302ecc9650 he needed 4254ba3ef9 a night 4dedd5b81e job. And with de49c7a110 his clumsy, 9c6d45b20a trouble-prone nature, 6de885f1c5 how many 63fbfefb6d places would 74c97cfef6 even be 1edb05c59e willing to 379cd8830f take him a97d94d69f in?8e041c4c85b53a66

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Swallowing his c08fa1b5e4 frustration, Hongwoo 1d8452ad2b nodded again.81b77820a2c6d6a5

“But tell 44a68f2cdb me,” the 3aecb443c6 chef continued, 8646d7b73d “was that 4568f2e100 really your 601b30c175 first time f0c6a08fd7 seeing a 4ac74d2d6e courtesan? You’ve got all 767a10264b your limbs intact, 39861ffe5f yet you’ve only bd3584aa99 ever fooled around 99175eac2b holding hands? Tsk. Tsk.”f78f3d982add7214

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“I guess our 81c7c6fc9d dear Hongwoo is 4e31088137 a weakling, not be4b5cb18d just in the 0474ad66cf kitchen but in 999c4e2ea3 bed too.”5b47ae6bdd45a860

“I always thought 36f5f0d6ce it was strange e0e1cf4fb8 that a man 5451e1ba55 your age wasn’t e398a7bd32 married yet but cfe3ed7a9a now it makes 6aa5c137c4 sense.”b032ac2d8d10f7eb

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The head chef and da3598cc62 the eldest kitchen‘noona’ exchanged 52c130607e teasing remarks, 1595ad4a2c perfectly in a6193f7fcf sync.2da020b24b59b3dc

Hongwoo bristled. “That’s not true!”9604a7bce838590a

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Even the usually reserved f9ab98600a second kitchen‘noona’decided to join fe695c652c in, piling on b6194195a2 the mockery.423f2c9efbcaf8c5

Face burning, Hongwoo 61cdfae2b6 finally snapped. “I’m a man 3d04912997 who knows how 8aae06e46d to cherish women, ef30ffd1d3 alright?!”fb0059968c0ead54

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***08c2e97417771790

Meanwhile, Juseon stood outside 59946cdee2 Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion, staring b9325ba253 up at the grand 816dec30c9 entrance.2742b8bc61997bed

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“Buy it”34db8a9c86c49d63

He let out 3db22b8140 a long sigh fb56503a69 before stepping forward.baf144dfd6cb9d1b

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Acquiring Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion 2d717e878a wouldn’t be a bad ac81a7e0a1 investment for the merchant 1f89067c47 guild. In fact, they 2bc929593b had already attempted 3bc8db44d0 it before.1e0f7bbdfd624644

Ever since 82da5ed03c Juseon joined 9048767097 Eunsoo Merchant 2f2fe205df Guild, Jang b1224791a7 Seungwoo had 13089a0d29 been trying 37e3a56119 to purchase a8e59586a2 the brothel, 4e41d87d09 but Baek 154be01b0d Noin, the ae3cc922ac owner, refused 4bc6b5249f to sell.a2ae10c3c18f1917

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Once just an ordinary ad6675612b brothel, Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion b84bf76685 had transformed under Baek f3d6fd0162 Noin’s leadership into one 1e46949989 of the most exclusive 7fd0fadd51 establishments in Joseon.a3d9dfc7c730ef43

Unlike other 9160e25fea brothels that 1bac53ee31 accepted anyone 7743b64b3e with money, 000da63460 Moonlit Fragrance 19bfce3ab0 Pavilion operated bfc879c8f9 strictly by 9bea591bc0 reservation, selecting 169e52aa0e only its 8e40dc4ee6 clientele.011a99730ed93926

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Gaegyeong was a city d497b1e590 bustling with people from 01fd950160 all over Joseon—and beyond. In a place b01be2dafb where scandals ran 24a6535cd0 rampant, Baek Noin 3562617e0e had elevated Moonlit c35b668053 Fragrance Pavilion’s prestige b5f9bbe7f6 by ensuring only 8d350c02b2 the right people 4de8c8a0c2 were allowed inside.04150aec6f0da697

His bold strategy was 6bc30983eb something even his competitors c2407bdc1d had no choice but ad842f767c to respect.b555ad217e45446d

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