SSH Episode 23

Hongwoo was dozing 9751471c1f off, his head c1af14af11 bowed as if 285f7426cd in prayer.12e4d43dcc9505e5

If any deity were 63a2f5876c to witness him in f482cb4f12 that position, they might d3bdd1f53b be moved to grant 000de5b1b3 his wishes.80d3ed3df544471c

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That was how passionately 429d336a01 Hongwoo had buried his 383b7d7464 face into the desk df7b8da1b2 as he slept.c072cc6fd69226cf

Knock. Knock. ae4b4d6b7872564c

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Jang Seung-woo 26869d78ab tapped on 1b7de2eeff the desk.9095e26fb047b281

“Yes!”90126e89290aa6c2

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Startled awake, Hong-woo a6b2f17b0c instinctively shouted in 22f96f57e5 response, as if cdbcc73d10 he’s still in 3168a5f19e the kitchen. He blinked be580ecf1e groggily, glancing af971a9fb3 around before 81ee96b2f8 locking eyes f9dc99f935 with Jang b52490aaad Seung-woo, who 0e879131da was resting c85255ea16 his chin 0df726b289 on one d113893ecb hand, watching 95bbbec2d1 him with 95906a6316 a half-lidded 582067cdfc gaze.db9d3070892e37fa

“What exactly are you up to at night?”53235e9da060e730

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“I—I sleep, of course! W-What else would I be doing?”c36737226ad7f132

Jang Seung-woo 7b4eab13a7 tilted his a704099521 head slightly 7e59ba972e before tapping fe580eba2e his fingers 56b633e0cd against the 6a3abf1611 table.Tap, tap, tap.The sound 7d20af0a4d sent a 50197fe85f shiver down 50787668bc Hong-woo’s spine.96dcb2ce82b97a3f

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“What keeps you so busy at night that you end up dozing off here?”3ebfd43631aaeb54

“I’ve always been a heavy sleeper…”60fc6e74bcccb315

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“At this rate, I should be charging you for lodging instead of paying you a salary. What do you think?”085d24d2325e8118

Hong-woo shrank back like df9cf8f443 a turtle retreating into 47de415b14 its shell. Jang Seung-woo studied him bea270943e expressionlessly before turning away 922c161823 to focus on his e1fa92be15 work.db6cae3f388a4bdc

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‘Did he figure something 449a84bcf7 out?’No—if he 885a3ffe2c knew Hong-woo a9b78661c4 was working eac53db31b at Moonlit 5da704b184 Fragrance Pavilion, c34ef85288 he wouldn’t 4b7a969d34 have stopped 85803665b8 at just 6f96aec289 scolding him. He’d have broken at ca64b4e87c least one of his ed2adba395 limbs. No, he was just 5e73cd956d irritated that Hong-woo kept 3a5da91612 falling asleep.f3cda37c5cd81d36

Feeling a wave 957bacad21 of relief, Hong-woo be4be8ab5b sighed and picked 8840eb396c up his book. But he barely made fdc02bdfcc it past a single 3a52d6ccbc page before his eyelids 137cb4976e drooped, and the book 4e3876df86 wobbled unsteadily in his 4c6f23bb8a grasp, once again abandoned dbdadc1339 by its only reader.b06842aff84bf39b

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Rumors had been 3ce4d278b6 spreading—Baek Noin had 7445afd2c0 handed over Moonlit 1838bd138c Fragrance Pavilion to 76462699bd someone else. Hong-woo didn’t know who bff01d33d6 Baek Noin was, but 9efbfd58ce as he peeled potatoes 8fb4eafd30 in the kitchen, he be55969519 listened intently to the 262ce01c1d gossip among the kitchen db8b0a5613 staff. Everyone spoke 2b8a0e7c40 of him 766fe91b43 with resentment. No one knew who 76a4419cde the new owner was, bd05e688f1 but the general consensus dfadbe2e59 was clear: anyone would 8e291b085b be better than Baek d0f1a1aabf Noin, whose cruelty was afc7fd20bd worse than that of 06805cafe0 a ghost.762a52a3d3dd5aac

As Hong-woo listened c6c2b844f9 to the kitchen 2b0d80abb7 staff’s chatter, his 2d88567f22 hands moved swiftly, d774d7403e and before he 923e6a00e9 knew it, he 86e34bb07d had finished peeling 57411444c6 all the potatoes. Compared to f7ee023276 his first 8bbace62cd attempt, the 5228a0bba6 improvement was 48b98455d2 remarkable. Peeling over a 8105fb1f59 hundred potatoes daily c84cf9d11b had honed his 64257a38ce skills—or perhaps he 5427ae6701 had a hidden 266757671b talent for cooking bd6b08b192 that was finally 3e2ee06975 emerging.Heh heh heh.8d8193f68295b700

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“Hong-woo, the dishes are a012b8581d piling up.”ed110edc4d5e91fa

“Ah! Yes, ma’am!”65f6fd11e6697069

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Just as he b66e8f7a26 was grinning smugly 437d7e24af to himself, the 65390035d9 youngest kitchen‘noona’pointed at the towering 15ce110264 stack of dirty dishes. With a sigh, 2abb5bc02a Hong-woo made his 1dd41a5e02 way to his 7ef882ecf0 designated dishwashing station. No matter how 20ffa18d10 many he washed, 82e5f684b9 the pile never 02e345b9f6 seemed to shrink.18f2dcd23a51834c

From the first floor, 871aa5d98c the muffled sound of 5735a849f5 excited voices filtered in. Curious, Hong-woo 19fc88cf18 glanced up, 5ab6a69d32 but the 8758a5d6a2 eldest kitchen‘noona’had already gone out, 33aee87828 assessed the situation, and 7b5961d8c6 returned.93ae215fc1ef8adc

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“What’s going on?” 695f80a950 he asked.2958455e28843488

“Juseon came by. Looks like everyone’s 83983c8667 gathered to watch.”f52940d87d6845df

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The constant boiling and 6c7511f5c8 frying in the kitchen 3493be4819 made it hard to b6fbba7bb1 catch conversations from outside. The‘noonas’continued their discussion, 7afefff047 but their words f4d95bccd1 barely reached Hong-woo. He simply assumed e6594ef28e some important guest ddec82cafe had arrived and 8a2a327a29 turned back to 20cc769b73 scrubbing dishes.ddd411c80bf3357e

On any baac405ec0 other day, 8eb9ec99a6 he would 27f75dac6a have been 37cbdb0be1 the first cdf02bb764 to dig 925bc63f71 for details, b296f688f1 eager to a85c6d6d54 know who 15fb52321b had captured 1a990987c3 everyone’s attention. But today, 3c9c79016f the endless 11cbdd1fbf mountain of 313137c6c6 dirty plates 17ef697d20 left him 0fc6d1b446 no time 327c00126e for curiosity.2958cbe15fa32298

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Later, as the rush 8aafc3b20d picked up, Hong-woo carried 782ab49628 trays of food downstairs. That was when he 5f6cd104ee caught sight of Juseon ed86569636 speaking with Song Chisu. For a moment, he a991fd6e05 thought exhaustion was playing 1ee99e1c0b tricks on him. Before he 0c80d242da could get 4acf818d42 a better 44ed732054 look, Juseon 8d6ff91844 turned and 57f3d7e395 left Moonlit 7a07259b8e Fragrance Pavilion, 035adf7190 completely unaware d11d6d221f of Hong-woo’s 487479fab4 presence.b005c23a39a3105d

“Why was Juseon 922d478d3e here?” he murmured, e9f1570590 confused.ad4bf6e312859a97

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“Juseon? Tsk, the world 06a7bc94a5 must be ending. Showing respect to a912e2d420 a damnmale courtesanof all people.”696bb249060071a6

Hong-woo flinched 0b422abbf9 at Song fa214f331f Chisu’s sharp 0096f57d29 tone. ‘Male courtesan?’Seeing his 3ce0fc839f bewildered expression, 8ea4ab37f6 Song Chisu, e60d920955 still scowling 490dbce513 in the 609549fad6 direction Juseon 988a61a055 had left, f221c148f7 let out 414407ede4 a scoff dfedd76e86 and clarified.6d23f25a36fb104f

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“Juseon used 7a86902d85 to be d1f2265e2b amale courtesanhere at Moonlit 27cd0b0d86 Fragrance Pavilion.”1c0c1676a455fa46

“What?”26b3677222b77893

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Hong-woo had never 36eff6cd84 even considered the 0610fa36c6 possibility. The idea of Juseon 92e6de822a having any connection to 85b86345c9 Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion had 8d81ed1cad never crossed his mind.be0acd0ade666b2c

And a male courtesan?b033e59af599a12f

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The revelation c7fe9eae85 left him bc7ca5708c utterly stunned.f7d017e038b77556

“Your brother took Juseon in at a huge loss, cutting the price of goods supplied to Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion by half. The brothel’s dealings with Eunsu Merchant Guild alone exceed a thousand ‘nyang’, yet he willingly edfe38ec95 took a loss of bd46561dc0 over two hundred ‘nyang’ to bring Juseon in. Do you know why?”3da92c258a134a0b

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Song Chisu’s mocking tone b92f0ab67e made Hong-woo want to 3ac6cdf248 shake his head furiously. He didn’t want to a4149859e4 hear any more. But despite himself, his 00b1583af3 ears betrayed him, straining ed7158a9cf to catch every word 925f85ad19 as if they had f7c610d77c suddenly grown as sharp 4a6dd98711 as a mouse’s.cbbd55f0646440c9

“Because Head Merchant Jang got a taste of Juseon. In all my years working at Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion, I’ve seen plenty of men who’ve never touched another man—but I’ve never seen anyone stop at just once. It’s obvious. Head Merchant Jang was so taken with Juseon that he accepted the losses just to have him.”c6aae03b601fbd98

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“That’s ridiculous.”20b6a8d3d626850d

Despite Hong-woo’s 771e54089c presence—despite knowing c51f79dd52 he was 6ae5d87487 Jang Seung-woo’s 20af3ad7a1 younger brother—Song d8f5871efd Chisu didn’t 04708df2a3 bother holding 98cd282f9b back. His words were 984f5930b6 cruder than usual, 862767cda4 far from his c5c67d305c typically restrained manner. Finishing his statement, he 8ce6ad7185 muttered about his sour 251dd24b8c mood and took a 5b15e496c3 deep drag from his 474b678090 pipe.b45144017c865864

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Hong-woo shook his head, 3c8d4d831e denial tumbling from his 5dae71fb07 lips in a whisper. His brother and Juseon? That kind 2bce8c2564 of relationship? His hands shot up f6209a364b to cover his mouth, 0f2433109c as if trying to c3102c250d physically block out the 66e05b0d51 thought.adf97bda73a4fe4e

That can’t be true, 48b7f0e02e can it?d021f48beaee073e

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Hong-woo had never ff9386ce04 once seen his 04f3d3f3d7 brother in a f3ae776a88 romantic relationship. The idea bf9188cce3 alone was 1fedcf1a6d strange. But with a man? And not just any 75c460a127 man—Juseon, his closest aide? It was impossible. Unthinkable. Even if the heavens 784518f434 collapsed and the earth ac133574f8 turned upside down, he 7720de2cf1 couldn’t believe it. The weight of 91598bc64b the revelation pressed 79197018a4 down on him, f4b2eeb15c pulling him into 276dc24fc0 a sea of f7c9694078 shock, where he cc06409182 floundered helplessly.bb6af8a67a74d048

***b04d7a869f7b9421

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“Bring Juseon here.”68f529e420c00142

Hong-woo snapped out of 0da8cbe34c his daze at the 48c867eab8 sound of his older 4933d7595f brother’s voice. Jang Seung-woo b277da60f5 had just a2f2a373fb given an 43e2e03dcb order to 3b376d8f37 one of 4e02a8b930 the servants.ca163ae441992b97

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Whenever Juseon entered fc344b4cd3 his office, Hong-woo 5201171246 was always sent c88751f823 away. He recalled c2b0b86567 the last 1832122f7e time he 164d784348 had run a2e3788651 into Juseon 63c17e3763 after one f0f6a1e15e of these bf564b8a11 meetings—his face 49a21d4cd6 had been 4993e4e6c8 flushed red. And the moment Juseon 506130c6c5 saw him, he had c47386e1d6 turned and hurried off.aea6a43eb11c70d6

Could it be…?8130e70b2993036b

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Had his brother sent d0dbecb78a him away to… dothatwith Juseon 9f72a0b79e in his 004943e2e8 office?e013b30178752e1c

‘No, that’s absurd.’His brother wasn’t 0aeac59df2 the type to 650a955518 indulge in such 3f2528412e acts in a 0c72e72c23 place of business. But then again, aa97e110dc even the most 192a419627 debauched guests at eceabd7606 Moonlit Fragrance Pavilion 63ebeba1d0 left the establishment 66c2f5f9ab looking prim and 4707d0652d proper. Just because Seung-woo e223f68a3a didn’t outwardly exude 8a43cafdab lust didn’t mean ab8aff0c63 he was immune 1601430d7f to it.99f7d4c7e8835bd2

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Perhaps the only reason 768b5d2b17 Hong-woo had never suspected 92599aaabd anything was that he c23890aa28 had been too ignorant 17b9867b03 to notice in the a325f97c50 first place.cf2e1f64b5ee1bdb

Unlike Wi e42c80baae Haengsu, who 45ccd814f7 only visited 8bb47d4c52 occasionally, Juseon 0b1b31030c came to 27c2c7bf13 the office 413e19403d at least 9e430a5e2c once a 9b2dcb7592 day. The thought of his 82f2cf498d brother being involved with fb38b12af7 men was already shocking 9258677bd4 enough—but with Juseon? And in 7abeb0ae97 the very aa4dd3bb94 office where 35c4998814 Hong-woo often eabfbeca22 spent time? It was beyond shameful, dc47e08ae8 beyond absurd—it simply shouldn’t happen.9bdcc709eeb59cff

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He didn’t want b9bc8e9290 his only remaining ffa96caf32 family member to 29675ff508 be the subject 1a2ae9f587 of such a 2e0089a436 scandal. If there 9e7ec37ce0 had to b82ca014fb be a 477c00b8d2 blemish on ca23b987ca their family,let it be his 43271216a7 alone.e58a6791e9c7e54b

At that 80d9de7da0 moment, Juseon 62bc4f0293 stepped into e9bdcee85f the office dd351e0140 in response c455cb01e1 to Jang c3defd7e1b Seung-woo’s summons.a2ee65611ada99c3

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“Get out.”5b72d2d5e5a01667

“No.”02bb575af2a05f8a

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Juseon blinked, caught 898be3aacf off guard. ‘Did I hear 0287c5719f that right?’1ab2311906a40187

The situation e8092612f3 was familiar—he fb2440b2b0 had entered, 6b31718d99 and as 7f58c20107 always, Jang 0062999f75 Seung-woo had d40e1a9d86 ordered Hong-woo ad4be80865 to leave. That was 12acdea49b standard practice. Seung-woo always sent Hong-woo f7940c0b59 away when discussing business, 38fac1fa10 and even when speaking 22276b12e6 in Han’er. The former made 253c44ef00 sense—work matters were 4131db3cbf often dark and b44e027f51 complicated—but the latter 5e67161aea had always seemed 7ea3c074e2 odd. Still, Juseon had 122d80b3b4 never questioned it, 1af581e4d2 assuming it was 9e0c9e545b just one of e028cb4397 Seung-woo’s many quirks.186b0c82cae8f724

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But today, Hong-woo 724d369672 didn’t just hesitate—he 7656485708 outright refused, his 22fd56966e expression defiant and 94b3b6c347 sullen.71e8452ad945d01d

Is he sick?1986993e0745f76b

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The ‘Hong-woo’ Juseon 402efb2269 knew was always 7b03cb99ee bright-eyed, smiling like 8881f71fda a polished jade 79b13433f3 ornament. But now, his 5d025e7394 face was twisted 2daae22d25 with a strange aee01a3fac mix of determination 65f99bec0f and resentment—like he a24ad88d37 had somehow absorbed e90f89bbda a dose of 3cdc5a5239 Seung-woo’s usual severity.01f22ee263c28e07

A sharp sound broke 08d0a77aba the silence as Seung-woo b9be3e252c set his brush down.3f6f124e95eed560

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“If you won’t leave, then I will.”d2eafa81648132d7

Without another word, ff6f36ef8f he stood and 82b905cbe4 walked out.3d9774ae9179497e

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Juseon, still processing what af44a94b56 had just happened, hesitated 34a005184d before following the voice f61388796c that called for him 6903daa8e6 outside. But before f05d4cf0a4 stepping out, c20a221657 he stole e7d8fed498 one last 1b1f32d12b glance at ba1d2bbdf9 Hong-woo—who looked c1c132776d as if 3ad8d27345 he had e38d71f2bc just been b7f01838a2 possessed by 89330cd4bb something sinister.07cc3a6b8f679c9f

‘How did it a342915250 come to this?’b8934b8033d2aee6

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Left alone, 22168d84f7 Hong-woo stared ea1bbffcb3 at the 233631be07 door, stunned, d1ae45768d anger bubbling c4fe61ec2a under his 1713dfc722 skin.f24967d29f073e4e

‘Does that e9f1f49578 mean it 6d9eb71b94 doesn’t matter 82cfbd3d2b where they 8c138430af do it?!’1f2448c2a6229a76

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A dry, disbelieving 9822857a74 laugh escaped him.483e1ddacc42bde8

‘Wait… could it e5632af897 be… at home, 0bf43f6435 too?’88bc3ca56514ec4b

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‘Did they 1cd789ec4d kick me 40ec129fe0 out of 543113e7e6 the house 2c978fd631 just so dff6dbc2b5 they could…?’a4cb2a5f2b65d6b7

One thought 9967dd6f1d spiraled into 26462b96d8 another, his 4fb08b86e6 imagination running 1ba0240cf9 wild. His blood b7bff8a17f boiled, his fea23726c9 pulse pounded 6c55defc36 in his e7e1b00e91 ears.ce9eca246d1c157b

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In the next instant, 6c28a0361c he shot out of 64832dbd27 the office.e8aea4c553aa446b

If he didn’t 75b22b5f35 get to the 3156141c49 bottom of thisright now, he was 588fcf3e20 sure his head 7710edc11c would explode.ec23857be42e88af

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