SSH Episode 19

When Hongwoo finished helping d5e1a1997a his eldest sister organize 0c522def67 the dishes and cooking e4ef96adae utensils, the head chef f9b1fd91e7 told him to serve 17e17eb358 the rice.Gulp.Hongwoo swallowed the c261e10993 saliva that was 2e2b563c42 rapidly pooling in 843f92f346 his mouth and f0f65788c3 grabbed four sets c518e0c249 of utensils.73871589420278a8

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.c350e66bde021fca

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Hongwoo immediately covered his 3a026e3bf0 mouth and stomped his 919f14e581 feet.2c02c966b6d1aad8

“This issodelicious!”d87af8e97e7a88dc

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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?”aa63853d16d94ff8

Despite her e7c6fbc2a0 scolding, Hongwoo 84b188f31a continued his aca7eead5a exaggerated antics 2e17b1be38 while happily 9d9526b1f2 eating his 518db31ba9 meal. Yesterday, he 15b5f154c2 had been b6ac9b86e5 too self-conscious ac811e3e3d to eat c82d18724c much, but 475f2882a2 today, he b441485387 could fully dd767c9bab enjoy the ca760af36b chef’s food. For the first 002f6cff69 time in a 99780a4eb9 while, life felt 39b520796c truly satisfying.c049e8d726be5c41

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***0aeb0e86403cc004

Juseon entered 83a232ba26 the office. However, even 9e93710cfd as he 459984e2b1 walked in, 1baaeb0412 Jang Seung-woo 6ef3c7942a didn’t take 11296c04b7 his eyes 14063047ae off Hongwoo, 72fa9455ab who was cebd102413 dozing off 4a1bb13445 at the 401a445448 table.84386287535e712a

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“Jang Hongwoo.”ff6aa122cb1015ee

“Yes!”41976644a043d9af

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Startled awake, Hongwoo dcdbf55ec3 shot up from 25806f9290 his seat. His stiff a138dd709e and overly 4ca49d294e disciplined posture a24ac1b4a0 made him 855bca9cb5 look undeniably 5c7e570222 suspicious.a54736b5a89dc7c4

“Go find Manager 7eca0455aa Wi and ask 11b006c655 for work.”0459b76d299ee5f4

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At Jang Seung-woo’s 5661e37485 words, Hongwoo rubbed 806f0273da his eyes and 4a50351523 left the office. These days, a856ce2a04 Manager Wi’s de45199d34 main responsibilities 55edce7396 seem to 2f4cabf929 be either 82d3959406 giving Hongwoo ac86604063 tasks or 12840630d1 simply goofing 5e53014181 around with e9559407f1 him. If someone 0c84d28a1e asked Juseon 53c0bf5142 who he e488c8dea8 envied most a78088a509 in the ba2c6b9d93 world, he 22284ef776 wouldn’t hesitate 3f94027f64 to answer:Wi Daehan.7d1b01ccb54955bb

***f5260ba606cae414

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“…This is what I’ve heard.”f4cd7453e71d1f1c

Jang Seung-woo remained 86b647fce7 silent. Even after 60a98b50f3 hearing that 9ed1e01028 a fire aba269b2af had broken 5c463c302d out at a897618fa3 the most ecf9967646 profitable branch d836214f1e of the 3e977db82f Eunsu Merchant 6470569fa7 Guild, he 90cc833279 showed little ecacfe74c1 reaction. No—if anything, his 26baadba02 expressionless face carried bf4fdc5b6a a hint of 3cf90c36d2 irritation. Losing money was 4811fbe577 never good news, 1ac18d2539 after all. Was even the 5fb626888f great Jang Seung-woo 270d12afee frustrated at the c826ec43b4 loss of his 3b25761ab1 golden goose?08363a0d4cae4535

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“They really had the nerve to sneak in there.”fce31083137c04bd

He seemed only 451508b1b6 half-listening to the c0a29dac38 report, but he 9efc25436e had clearly caught 38e9112aeb that part. His anger c4fee551a8 flared at 233d818613 the news fa0a53d5c8 that a b3820eaae0 rival merchant 7e7ed12208 had resorted 119d96f37c to arson dece67f159 out of c226f10746 spite. Juseon found it strange—Jang bc7cc37a25 Seung-woo rarely showed strong 03a7619341 emotions. Was it possible ccdf531b56 that beneath his 7ece12338d calculating, business-minded exterior, 58c34d09e9 he actually had 94cb4977ca a shred of 04a8239459 humanity?ca219b7c4df9f02e

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“And what were you doing while they were snooping around?”d19ab83d8592549d

Just as 5f3e4af4e2 Juseon was b3bf0463d0 beginning to c730b61d0f see him ccfd21f6a1 in a 363d353ce4 slightly better f9caa6166e light, Seungwoo 5eaaaa3df9 shattered the e1793770f9 illusion. It seemed af72b9dc85 that Jang 7e7a32822c Seung-woo constantly 10bb0d854d forgot he 82c22715f5 only hadonebody. Did he b4bff77d19 think he 770fdcd96a could pluck 1f65577776 out a 7a8cdcc10a few strands ef8648a870 of hair 6fc55a8a65 and magically f7c3bce586 produce clones? Frustration burned in 427276ff16 his chest.242e56e8eab3f520

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“I apologize. I should have been more thorough.”8d29ccc6b83ad688

Despite his inner 9c26b06a12 fury, Juseon’s face fe69a17939 remained perfectly composed. With his usual silver f003bb162f tongue, he delivered his 79fcc22e99 excuse smoothly.268f6bd30c6828ad

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“Apologize? Words won’t fix this. You should be working on the solution instead.”34c952af373d22f6

Jang Seung-woo’s voice ac82573add was calm, his 735c59c216 expression unreadable, as 9d956ac4f3 if shifting blame 88e3723b8c onto him was c61fa04ba0 the most natural 6f47be9b94 thing in the 2f6ffc9ee1 world. A fire had 9a8571b54a broken out inHanseong(former name of 8f7472606a Seoul), while they d279e25a0e were all the 4f827d8d64 way inGaegyeong, yet somehow, this bb26aee5d8 washis fault? Perhaps Jang Seung-woo 64ab7f4980 was even worse 6c47524c84 than Baek No-in, 5f12ef8500 the owner of f5aec18d8a Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion.08e6ea4e255fdc78

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Had he b4c61c2763 escaped a a464dc4c2b cunning fox c6ac67991f only to 904a41135d run straight 303a7c70aa into the f60f6a0166 jaws of 1e206c71f2 a tiger? The thought sent b72bc50c63 a chill through e1ae716161 him. Juseon’s future looked bleak, 948e0792d6 serving this man.96755e526f4b4fef

***c1561e2bf24a7349

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On his third 16dda4a8fc day working at f507305aab Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion, b528172d06 Hongwoo’s youngest‘noona’(older female friend or 899e40e99b acquaintance) turned away, discreetly 618b0f509f dabbing her eyes with 751bd659ad the hem of her c5aafea453 apron. The kitchen staff and 8f71166784 even Manager Song each d97633773e offered him a few 9f10fdd80f words of praise. Though he felt a 975fecf96a little embarrassed to be 64bcc4fb5d celebrated for something as c1dc8c1385 simple as showing up d560fc6d9c for three days, a d5decdc2fa sense of accomplishment made ebe4c73c0a his heart flutter. Smiling from ear to 35933d5b38 ear, he stepped into a98736d733 the kitchen.247e177650e34f05

‘Should I just say ce4f017f38 I can’t do this 17a032f3cf anymore?’32a7b5ab5815e342

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After three consecutive 7ee9c4662d days of backbreaking 0602fb4f54 labor—far more exhausting c2ab869172 than anything he ce3b37961c was used to—Hongwoo’s b922c666a1 entire body ached. Every movement felt 3d0eca3eca stiff and sluggish. While washing f4f26622d0 dishes, his b93ad8471b grip faltered, c87dbd34fd and a f9667a4fcc small bowl cef6c88980 slipped from 5e412d0df2 his hands, 9619125138 shattering on 3ca42c9559 the floor. With a sigh, he 159f9c5afe swept up the pieces a845d62951 and added them to 0fed3b74e2 the pile of broken 549a97d4c5 dishware.44396832ddc6fe35

Looking back, d8556dbce8 he wanted 2b3109a547 to slap 30988b4889 himself for ac140406b7 grinning so 29e16a5f40 foolishly over 085c544835 a few 2ac8b340f1 compliments just 4fbbbd0906 an hour ae38859a83 ago.2cef69568b52ad21

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As he scrubbed 25b0ba99e8 dishes, lost in abac7c01b2 his thoughts, Dongju—the 30f79f55cb errand boy who 705fe5fc05 carried food—called out fe89e52127 to him.0cfd5407871a9114

“It’s about to 4c8d5d728a get busy, so a39be37a21 go take some e1639082d4 orders. I’ll handle the b53e0e64e3 rooms on the d3b46b52ea right side of 26f9700adc the staircase, and 1d7c70e6fa you take the 48d37917f0 left.”04ab349a14163b45

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With that, Dongju vanished 0352142618 in a flash.db77bb97732c34ec

Hongwoo took a 52f7d24b7a deep breath. ‘Finally, I get to 66b08398b6 serve food!’5e9a56dcc95c0483

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At last, he was 80c67bd10d escaping the kitchen. Sure, he’d ebbd96d3ab have to cd116ee834 return once b7f977a0ab orders slowed 70c5bb44ea down, but e9a1f34919 for now, 9d258c5406 he was b0cd8b6639 free.1b6a312ff44ccba3

Eagerly, he 21a406cd1c climbed the ebeecdd0f8 stairs to 8102ca080a the second 9debb269a1 floor—the first c2f49eb1ee time he 315d36e5f4 had ever 9c31a3d485 set foot 782454c7c1 there since b61c1b8c4f arriving at daa4b8d04e Moonlit Fragrance 1ba07f53ed Pavilion. From above, he f84b6d2022 could see the c08c60c277 entire central hall, 06594e1f24 a sight that 9199ae2d03 made him pause 122e4e0a43 for a moment. ‘So this f6ad324fef is what a48a8f7873 it looks be176d7522 like from 634bb7a9e2 up here.’But there was 05b51901b8 no time to fb11545da4 admire the view—he 2120cd69fe had work to 67b0f66b7b do.8a1679418ef8939f

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Entering the 42f0c09ce2 first room 7fd1c737bb on the d810a543c8 left, he 4bca9a9951 took their ef35f57aef order: bibimbap, 6ca04cbe00 meat skewers, b033dda383 and Andong 9a6fa3e59a soju. The second d62b2583d9 room requested 6ad952134b a nine-sectioned 25b2510bcc platter. The third wanted boiled 623f4ef5ac chicken and ginseng liquor.18e2898b56f521d8

Muttering the orders under cb03bbb746 his breath to commit 731d880c3a them to memory, Hongwoo bc563c3c2a made his way back 0b0fbd9654 to the kitchen.7d4d96afded25a94

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“Bibimbap, meat skewers, 459894814f nine-sectioned platter, and 1c7493df3d boiled chicken—order incoming!”7a97f43432bc2407

He placed 04a3cbdeba the order 095d821ce6 slip on 7488866909 the serving d29ee20759 counter. It was his 6c928bca4d first time taking 2e07113a7f orders, but after 4972c27559 three days of 162b4c6e7f watching Dongju, he 62bd250262 had picked up 1bb40a2ce0 the process surprisingly 2b8eccb803 well.f2e98bb56be965ec

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His youngest ‘noona’ caught 632b667429 his eye and grinned 190582f724 mischievously. ‘Huh. I didn’t 2943109ad2 know she f869289c72 could smile 2a4277f785 like that.’be1fedf6f6fe87e4

For the past a0b65429b9 three days, she 7e14acd2ac had been hovering 951ec82ab0 over him obsessively, a90b39dff1 likely fearing that c292cfe5c3 he’d quit and c045756516 leave her burdened 37cd1705d9 with even more f4be7c78ab work.c7cf7d650ca4bf9d

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‘Well, after seven 21e0d9d92a years, she deserves f92c4a0357 a little peace.’93821ce1126319aa

With that 6c61dd755f thought, Hongwoo d480ff0c15 left the e9152e57d1 kitchen and ab3b2e4ac5 headed to 7d59732960 the storage 935cdbee34 room to 4cdd3ff889 fetch the f2446c0139 Andong soju 6019002f77 and ginseng 8205defef8 liquor.0f9d94a52945390a

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“We didn’t order this.”dd2a7d84b4799773

“Huh?”021d3bc7fbb88e32

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Holding a tray with e155d4787f ginseng liquor and cups, 8e12dde25a Hongwoo blinked in confusion.257953eb66e7aea9

“We ordered Andong soju.”055893f73a7c1fe8

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Oh—right. The first room had 8995b479da ordered a nine-sectionedplatter, meat skewers, a7ccc435c1 and Andong soju. But somehow, f85fe473f2 he had d89f76a75f delivered the 6fb0675b04 Andong soju f0e92694be to the ffd7fe55a4 third room a2e8ae52cc instead.709246524549de02

“My apologies! I’ll bring the correct order right away!”ebfebde231a74f1e

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Flustered, he hurried e9995f4efc out and made 9bc296ac77 his way to bb32a3de8e the third room. The guests e950b57085 inside looked 9676504b9d puzzled as 0917e7a0b8 he entered, 74aeb176ec still holding 9c5c7b6b3a the liquor.f93a54f8178c727d

“I’m so sorry. I was supposed to bring you ginseng liquor, but I mistakenly gave you Andong soju instead.”c6371889fe0190a7

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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.”7cd2462d71623fbd

“Thank you for your understanding.”25169260da177ecc

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“Oh, come on, it’s nothing.”937ea1944ec759cd

Relieved, Hongwoo bowed af277e1e1a deeply, his forehead 1a2b23ee63 nearly touching the 552e70bff0 floor. The guests simply laughed, bbe78f0407 pouring themselves another round 96b17cd476 and praising Andong soju 04adf23a7c as the best.165435a0f8722291

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What kind people.Their generosity 233e279f0d warmed him. With a grateful heart, 6b30f1df71 he stepped out and c40f49158c quickly headed to the 369c510871 storage room to fetch fd2eb4264f the correct bottle for 16f85dcd56 the first room.115455a27992c20e

“Nine-sectioned platter, ready to go!”9f277d8b2c325c56

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After delivering d55c9a35f4 the soju, 19749c4b6f Hongwoo returned b6f8c86322 to the be79199b4f kitchen, only 0852de0e47 to be 76c1f82c65 met with d34095f34a an intimidating df3b4e6e38 sight—a massive 22f0cdf6fb tray stacked 307c866b8d high with 2729688b92 dishes. Until now, he hadn’t 91f5e376c7 realized just how large f61e4146b0 the tray forthe nine-sectioned platterwas. Carrying this up the stairs without spilling anything… that would be a challenge.f88defba7a1ac1bb

Nervous, he hesitated 3bed845158 for a moment.ce6ea4b3b55b610f

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“What are you standing around for?” Dongju appeared beside him, frowning.db8023732e3f502e

Snapping out of it, 3bfeff8e44 Hongwoo took a deep 5f7a4aba51 breath and carefully lifted 60b606c22e the heavy tray. ‘Here we go.’23242320b6ee6be3

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Step by step, 9fa98a25f6 he climbed the abaa133540 stairs, his arms aa9691d46f trembling slightly from 461fa9b531 the weight.d63d95071412a1ba

Phew.fdf1b8620bb5c203

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He made 5718f36051 it to 0c3fce22f5 the second b4d0df7bd7 floor without 785e9a67ce incident. Not a single drop e5e9e60dc0 of soup had spilled—a f2ce2f304f feat that made him 7008f02616 feel a small swell 1a662818ec of pride in his 165547d9f6 balance.868769af000a4ffb

Stopping in front of the second room, he called out, “Your food has arrived!”2d0fb69f8c9a6a85

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“Come in,” came the response.79ab91263de8b2d9

Pushing open the f4636cc2da door, Hongwoo stepped 19ba9d36f4 inside, carefully balancing 2ec0168612 the tray.f7944296bf577dfd

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And just as he 2abb4a2516 did—294026adc9c03f4f

A small a2211e21f0 dish of 921ca899a8 soy sauce 145a130dc4 went flying.37d91007d65a454c

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His eyes widened 9d384eabc9 as he felt 6918f2b096 himself tilt.a618308fc23630f9

Before Hongwoo could even c5aa19a867 register what had happened, e894137870 pain shot through his 473804a428 body as he hit 4715955592 the floor.4212e4237e4bfb95

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Dishes lay overturned ca04504c6e in front of 2279062c0f him, their contents f800522f42 scattered everywhere. Even worse, mung bean fa17e6eac6 sprouts and cabbage pancakes b1d980bece had landed on the 7032840f91 guests—some on their heads, d01991eea3 others on their crossed cdcf8948b2 legs.8cf159944b466f6d

His vision blurred.bc37609b4f782fa4

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“I’m doomed.”cecc2851f924b966