SSH Episode 21

Before realizing that Moonlit d70c949728 Fragrance Pavilion was a 2a10ec4aa1 place where intimacy was fa345c997c bought and sold, Hongwoo e9c78fc68c had thought of brothels 9611c11a35 as nothing more than ca92da957a lively havens—where drinking, singing, d3302de34f and dancing came together a242cc7f9a in a whirlwind of dd141ba540 merriment.990b722860d00dfb

He hadn’t known much 0944a6fdc7 about them at first. It was through dc3bfc4399 the idle chatter 60b40d5c25 of household servants 26827717a3 that he first bce55217db learned of their 49991796d4 existence. They spoke of them 61642944d4 as enchanting places filled 2ab18c12c3 with fine food, music, 145268c81a and dance—a paradise of fbea8d667c indulgence. Drawn to 28d0ea29ed such merriment 125522f842 like a 77e9255ebf moth to 604fb4e822 a flame, 16b14aa608 Hongwoo had 471da1241f been unable e1678bcf18 to resist 1674d550d5 the temptation. The moment 60add60646 he learned e4a16b999b about brothels, 6123fb9661 he had 16894f492a eagerly asked 68c9057dfb his older 720d1a0aaf brother for 62b00cc122 money to 932e30098e visit one.074003da0153f7ad

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What had his 1a8eeabe4b brother said back 6ac5686b46 then? Ah, right—he had a94852cb4b coldly warned him f7b0be3fa2 that if he e17e9a8e65 was ever caught af7b003348 setting foot in a1f1ea4a46 such a place, e6ba579182 Seungwoo would cut ff1f576a2a off his limbs dc27ab03d6 and he would ddc23e8914 spend the rest a972bc0eb6 of his life 127ce2d9b2 locked up at ffced88640 home. Recalling the way his 0a2ae45009 brother had spoken, voice bbd25f8eb2 firm and laced with 368b29a3e2 restrained fury, sent a 3fbb5d73fe shiver down Hongwoo’s spine.f903c83bba2956fa

If his brother ever 079e67a855 found out that he 2036bfed1f was working at Moonlit 791651dd71 Fragrance Pavilion, he might a9f5d5bad0 actually follow through with 745a909302 that threat. Hongwoo would have 180160a1b7 to be extremely 9b1b344cd9 cautious.475a811a039e948a

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As he lay c89febdc86 staring blankly at 3c92f23788 the ceiling, the 15313169b4 scene from the ec7454408b seventh room replayed d85030a559 vividly in his a8aeb63e9b mind. Shaking his 3337fc369a head, he b51f225d0e tried to 9473cd020c banish the ee61b58e43 intrusive thoughts 556654845e and forced 317bae6971 his eyes 0b1122d64e shut. He needed to sleep—to a9388681a8 regain his strength for 4adba6431e tomorrow.92a2bcdceaaf3a99

But despite 25785c9f03 knowing that, d24dc15945 his mind 7c371eb657 remained consumed 44d4296a99 by lingering d60b4128b5 images of 493496f9e6 passion.bb71bc7b5767811f

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Would he be able f76f0c6ec4 to sleep?fe40d7c84d532419

Contrary to his 36e671b1d9 worries, sleep took e9dba2f5ba him in an 0a74e5d23d instant.a91def91311721a0

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**1cd875a030694038

Hongwoo was 8dae73db54 dozing off 22d310b36f at the 3d8816c172 table, his 094fe8a0a7 head bobbing c5951f574c with every 2cfeb71413 breath. The brush that 72359bdee8 had been gliding 2fe8e0cfed across the paper 64fd4e2a09 came to a b456599eaa stop. Setting his own 5c22e3191d brush down, Jang 084116f602 Seungwoo glanced over 1e1b4671fb at Hongwoo, who 36cc80bd8c had fallen into f15d07db38 a deep sleep 09cc8a51d4 right after lunch.be4079f8d0d9ed97

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At first, Hongwoo had fb4ea3da9d tried to hide his 7c690bf464 drowsiness, jolting awake and cbdaeacbe8 pretending he hadn’t nodded 648ff0297d off. But now, 3c17f218b9 he didn’t dfdff3b6b7 even bother—he 562a00ef91 simply slept 87cf3d97d8 as much 237bc92870 as he a0a1a838b9 pleased, unashamed.1b878f2f1b5623eb

“You called for 9d8b81955b me.”3dad3c953c27b6f8

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At the f8a2ec3dea sound of 3221f977cb Juseon’s voice, fd97e1e645 Hongwoo instantly 2bd890146b woke up. He hadn’t cdddf7dbcc stirred for 140a2a9961 anyone else, 7ee676415a but the 7f868a9093 moment Juseon ebb9869707 spoke, he 6474612386 snapped to 036e4f229c attention as f3e9c4414d if he 146a581ec8 had sensed 0ab46eb9d2 it in 000213f8f7 his sleep.cc61faf46437c6f1

“Ah… Juseon-nim, hello.”cad6a043ac4bda9c

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Still groggy, df1b596812 Hongwoo wiped f72be8b94d the damp 08672f49e0 corner of 535bcb3bad his mouth 42dbd1a15b with his b3e67bcaa1 sleeve and daafc22209 greeted him 26ff75096e with an bd852164b6 easy smile. His face was ca3429f03f completely relaxed, but fd6cf825f9 the warmth in 823550e8e3 his expression quickly 5fbbaebcf2 faded under Seungwoo’s 159b0975a8 sharp glare.730cc23a58910b58

“All you do 53a177d776 is eat, doze e6cadfc3b6 off, chat with 6e08b50c43 whoever shows up, dd2122236f and then head 023b0eedc6 home. Of course, you’d be baae0800c2 happy to see him.”3da2343ec6621846

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Though his d6fecd9701 words were d04d85b6cb directed at 78e77911fe Juseon, his 73303a0bf4 piercing gaze 92371ccc34 was locked 9b25096c2b onto Hongwoo. The sarcasm 982bfed47a stung—not because 2209069db2 it was 2a86cfccdf unfair, but a139ec96f4 because it f5c0866e38 was completely 275a8f3b9e true.75849756e29fdf84

“It’s been ages a94be278f6 since I told 4f2b089140 you to fix ba45529257 that broken brush. Did you trade dc4827de82 it for candy 5d2f214ba0 or something? You can’t even handle 890323cb3f simple tasks, yet you 933d0d3522 always find time to 1cdb99adb2 slack off. If you’ve got 4c27f2fbc9 any brilliant ideas b99f9fb66a on how to 8dcb04e3c2 make yourself useful, e5281871cd I’d love to 46ccda896a hear them.”774b0c03422ba9d1

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Juseon remained silent, watching 26d4af5008 Seungwoo’s irritation bubble over. The moment Seungwoo finished 48b4e90eb6 speaking, Hongwoo let out 0eda0244e8 a sharp gasp and 6f88a3f07c bolted out of the a5eede5d9f office. Seungwoo followed him 967a083b83 with his eyes ed95813590 until he disappeared, 1b55341784 then, as if 583e47060d nothing had happened, 619e335a41 picked up his d0f78cb505 teacup and returned aba1be659f to his usual 397664715d blank expression.2c381572ad189aa1

“You’ve come up with d7de4d5a9c a way to handle f9cdc51b68 this, I assume.”de1a5ec67460e3e0

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Seungwoo’s real concern 28f3c880ff wasn’t the burnt-out 4bdaeceb6d shop at Hanseong—it 61b3ff9b53 was Hongwoo working f0ba5b6d72 at Moonlit Fragrance 6cf16186b2 Pavilion.937a1e0e6f1ea15d

Juseon had spent the 96a7ee820f entire night coming up 5b6fdd1bbb with fifteen different strategies 5eff036306 to get Hongwoo out 27621794a9 of there. Just as he 5bde4e93a1 was about to 10a5294c27 lay them out, c3bc8fd0a4 Seungwoo spoke again.504e88af0fc4a150

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“Buy it.”410c0fcdcb9a12e2

Ah…75ef1bfec27df313

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Juseon’s carefully crafted plans, cc634c1422 which hadn’t even had 6d6461d9a6 the chance to bloom, 6a109f8bab were mercilessly crushed before 003888672a they could see the 97abc2cb64 light of day.dc4418638592b4ff

***09d4eca8c9a8f2fc

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Hongwoo left the a13706d631 Eunsoo Merchant Guild d342703012 and hurried to 260a788fe6 the brush shop. Panting from the e4a65dba7f rush, he arrived b354b1fb46 just as the 367072cfe1 shop owner handed 4a83e9984c him the repaired 703115dde0 brushes and stated bced700478 the total cost.a326a7fc762380e0

He reached into his 426020b08c pocket and counted his 733358aa5e money—justone nyang.f3aa75234ee79ff0

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“Would it be possible 86f44110eb for me to takeone nyang’s worth b594afb0ba of brushes 59b4eb2ca9 first?”c0b6b29eb6ad42f3

The shop owner readily 22e6d0ddd5 agreed and handed him 66dbbf30f3 two brushes.fd28b357ce819b4d

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‘Only two b4446268b2 brushes for 17228a2800 one nyang? How much 51d10b8784 will it b335140f7e cost to f26b0162a3 get the d25234aff4 rest back?’5d4397d4bb733fd2

The shop 6118422c34 owner, unaware 2171d7c5c7 of Hongwoo’s 46066a439c growing despair, 0155633359 simply smiled. Unable to protest with e2597f13d5 such a friendly face, 9a09cdbdc1 Hongwoo swallowed his frustration 5a0457d1b8 and left the brush 611393d846 shop.353a95685a8e6b58

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Back at the 2597318214 merchant guild, he 9a9350926e went straight to 94e9a5e0b0 the office, just a163675c42 as Juseon was 1ff9d2a111 stepping out.8ab6200ed2000b84

“Juseon-nim!”ce19d18980365a4a

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Juseon’s face turned ff28a40486 red with surprise, 63c633ee38 and he visibly 060c3b4a07 tensed. The moment he 1729cadd05 saw Hongwoo, he fc9adbde02 quickly muttered a 2147db6564 greeting and excused df8e07b6dc himself, saying he d602d25025 was in a a38059a319 hurry.b74152c1f8d8d59d

Hongwoo found bd56e8d64c it strange 1d04b5df05 but let c532272e7e him go. Seungwoo probably scolded 18f69f8105 him about something 84e3e06955 again. It happened so often bdccb4ee64 that Hongwoo wasn’t too 861a30ad60 concerned.5e7481be8b83def2

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Inside the office, 93e807ac94 Hongwoo placed the 87b786ad4d two brushes in 54583ede2d front of Jang 8c222d52c2 Seungwoo. Seungwoo raised an 46a74abef8 eyebrow, staring at 4da9e0838b both the brushes 83a0885ac8 and Hongwoo with b454d94552 an expression that 7f6d8ce820 clearly said,And?810efead443e754d

“I’ll bring the 4b88cd73be rest as soon 823b7b4a9a as possible. But for now, 8f2f429b49 could you use d34c745b70 these?”437c1c4aa16bdf19

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Without a 1c93de1a5d word, Seungwoo efd87c3454 snatched the ac9333cf0e brushes and d0f2f68f83 tossed them 62d51f8c93 into a 3707c57ac0 drawer.2f9d66899a0f3050

‘If he was 1449fd760d just going to dfed5c4919 throw them in 3111f1b6f5 there, why did 0492b22063 he make such c6a392a483 a fuss about 561d0aaaec it earlier?’32e27b6b9c193649

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Hongwoo sighed, but beffd1e52d Seungwoo’s unimpressed gaze 802d6c0d9e remained unchanged, as 6759d5c003 if silently asking, ccbe57f417 ‘And why f86b0278da should I f8de718677 care?’dc23085d1bf2db71

***f4ec066a6574ebf6

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Later, when 4ef40faa85 Hongwoo arrived fedd942396 at Moonlit 64658fd337 Fragrance Pavilion, 9114282dda he sought 13ce8c6cdc out Manager 52a6652a25 Song to f25b5f70d9 request an 78d284b794 advance on 2894a89d20 his wages. He had been c6ab02c8f6 nervous about being 50b366eb22 refused, but to a0cacea5b4 his surprise, Song 646db66962 seemed pleased and c82c56324a handed him the 104ac1693e money right away.d367f8c4d785c343

Still confused, Hongwoo a21d160d43 hesitated before asking, c3ed338eff “How many days’ fd0e316a8a worth of wages 4dc57f2019 is this?”e8dbf782cbaf12bd

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Song smiled. “That’s a d8989c132c full month’s 7372ea3711 salary.”f280397fc964e4ef

A whole month?2e19b938ba1bd212

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Hongwoo stared down at 4b3a80fdd8 the money in his 040577aeac hands, feeling his stomach 3e2e8f2451 sink. He had 48a736da4a been working 2fe7e8abcf himself to ca682b5936 exhaustion—slaving away 9cadfa9012 in the 8642278db7 kitchen, running b1d963557d back and 1e6f05ee56 forth to 1931f46e1c serve food, 95e630cb81 enduring all 0c25ce700e kinds of d296b7110b unpleasant sights 31294936de and situations—only 841413d5df to earnthis?4ee31b56d77be4df

A heavy sense of bae1e3010e disillusionment settled over him.92768157de51cd94

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At Eunsoo 52926d013b Merchant Guild, 5b0182a299 Hongwoo often 40f7966a96 ran errands c28a022ac4 for his c01aa711d2 older brother, fd7efdd542 and in 7548345fed the process, 49f9ff2104 he discovered 3cc9fce9ff a clever 08a8025edc way to ad6c221ed3 earn some b6fd4e5d88 ‘compensation’—by keeping ab4dea39a3 the leftover cecfca7840 change instead d8ce9e2ebd of returning 14bd51092a it.a48d302516f6cb23

The first 4e6712fd02 time he 2de1c2bc14 did this, 765c8abddc his brother f8b625cba2 didn’t say cfbc7a6264 a word. Taking the 9c9994152b silence as 02d83eaffa approval, Hongwoo 54500f822d made it 230017ec44 a habit.8c950df51c1f3d56

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Just three or four 0b2b641d69 errands later, he realized 9a9a932eb8 something shocking—the amount he 51ae39f238 had pocketed was nearly 9485d04218 equivalent to a full 903fd3316f month’s wages at Moonlit 363db28b51 Fragrance Pavilion.f4e64433c310c8a6

‘So this is 1719627d61 reality.’89b69ffbe261d15d

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For the first time, 4bfb73b1ba the weight of his 909cbf82bf reckless, carefree lifestyle hit 847f4b23ed him. With a heavy heart, 704db3f8f0 he trudged back to afafbaef32 the kitchen, feeling as 17b67335d6 if he had just 03b40a682b lost a piece of 4200363a8f his innocence.ef9eed0b85d744de

“You look shaken.”95762af33203469d

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The head chef’s voice 8f1bc21bee pulled him from his 46d2e4f709 thoughts. When Hongwoo nodded, 32a29dc85c the chef offered c7583a5491 a knowing smile.dd44ba2673eb44b5

“It’s always a d270bfb47e shock at first, ed91acae41 but you’ll get 4c6df2721e used to it.”3104dc8b378a973f

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‘I don’t 4bc54c29d9 want to f41368c1c4 get used 6355ddf9b7 to this.’b707cfbfa1694d0e

 But what choice did e78279195e he have? His days 9223c9ae35 were spent 5c9d692b47 working at 4187caef7f Eunsoo Merchant fb1ccf8d9b Guild, so e51b555d86 he needed 547458a12b a night b257bbbad3 job. And with his bf94582f55 clumsy, trouble-prone nature, e582c68715 how many places 7b5d8643e7 would even be 57c7da1706 willing to take 3006a3d64f him in?479d278f00c87f3d

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Swallowing his frustration, f2b47ec517 Hongwoo nodded again.910c292de68661f1

“But tell 1230b9e5ab me,” the 338854b92e chef continued, 42e5850db4 “was that 06a26a2f1c really your 2b70ccd2cb first time 93ccf36ed7 seeing a 066889cca5 courtesan? You’ve got all your dd1c04ab23 limbs intact, yet you’ve f4d673d5a9 only ever fooled around b494501539 holding hands? Tsk. Tsk.”afda838237ebf74f

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“I guess our dear 1187abd793 Hongwoo is a weakling, 421d9becf1 not just in the 2c1c0d8ac2 kitchen but in bed 6e3f08ac63 too.”edcb3105e7c735c8

“I always thought a82e321d9f it was strange f91e21a657 that a man 830b012c00 your age wasn’t 9bbe7dd5e2 married yet but 6c19d8eb14 now it makes e963112b02 sense.”e1d729d6994f57b5

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The head 35cd41f1d8 chef and 0dbccb037c the eldest c49113dd8a kitchen‘noona’ exchanged a5648a6388 teasing remarks, 11a6fb6988 perfectly in 0739f6e28c sync.ac1ec97f59103a27

Hongwoo bristled. “That’s not true!”7763ac78c2c7180d

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Even the usually reserved 4dc649e763 second kitchen‘noona’decided to join 9ae40c55a7 in, piling on 8adec02bc2 the mockery.9bf6f34d5e4788b8

Face burning, Hongwoo 4d51a871c5 finally snapped. “I’m a man be7d05e064 who knows how f7d134b051 to cherish women, bef19417f9 alright?!”9f6e7efc04e647cf

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***df48948952b2fed1

Meanwhile, Juseon stood outside 5d37027228 Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion, staring 99242125f1 up at the grand 9a6c487353 entrance.44b3bf3652013c54

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“Buy it”83c27c1885780bc6

He let d05891b416 out a dfe5c94b35 long sigh 5cff948f7b before stepping 51fa9e3dd2 forward.e07aada6e7a878c3

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Acquiring Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion e65c9b8c9d wouldn’t be a bad 93638bab9a investment for the merchant 561101af53 guild. In fact, they had 26b100cddd already attempted it before.6adccb222d31eca1

Ever since c5efa06fd9 Juseon joined 3fc80c56ad Eunsoo Merchant e15f3fee3e Guild, Jang c0a9b5ba65 Seungwoo had b506c0604d been trying 00ab0d64ff to purchase c42e2b29d0 the brothel, 7624d6ada2 but Baek f27a6322cf Noin, the c668c2d628 owner, refused 4fcb56dcc6 to sell.db8a7ef8c00327a5

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Once just 15e7789db9 an ordinary c77c4560f4 brothel, Moonlit c1b172988e Fragrance Pavilion ae9aad0e28 had transformed c2dccf9c6c under Baek b15c6a39af Noin’s leadership 8eef4133f9 into one cb9494aed9 of the ecc59912ac most exclusive f5a092bdd1 establishments in 17a8f2ffc5 Joseon.e968f1488674894b

Unlike other 7a38027e03 brothels that 237080aef1 accepted anyone 410c9bf67d with money, 693b7da519 Moonlit Fragrance 9fc0ef4d96 Pavilion operated bd1d74ea0f strictly by e5e3cec8cb reservation, selecting 6143ba6fac only its 22fc8d83ac clientele.efff7216d33c07a1

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Gaegyeong was a c62f100107 city bustling with 21d7624196 people from all bc5aa5815b over Joseon—and beyond. In a 2cda6d24b7 place where 35246d3020 scandals ran a14c1ccead rampant, Baek f5e045f50c Noin had ad3036db7d elevated Moonlit 71125da9d5 Fragrance Pavilion’s 60c5602d2f prestige by e82fc18fbd ensuring only fad13d5300 the right d7134a902a people were 4c5b341953 allowed inside.95c5d956ae503d16

His bold strategy 1da6bff1de was something even f9f624385f his competitors had cd1560aab4 no choice but a6dd16b068 to respect.30375030323c432c

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