SSH Episode 12

Eunsu Merchant 34d6bb0e36 Guild was f22b8943bc always bustling 4b11048673 with interesting 272e02e952 events, but 033b4961a6 what truly 79705572fb caught Hongwoo’s f94a95b346 attention was 15486c99e9 the person 0bf1b34096 he had e72b4feee1 seen earlier. Naturally curious 2548638126 by nature, ea48a30ca9 Hongwoo was 96dedff61a drawn to b265c62053 anything new b3aa59a59e or exciting, 32862ae1a9 like a e61914dce3 moth to 33b7bf2d40 a flame.a70fe1bb75d2f626

“I hope I see them again tomorrow.”f47424e0cfe537ea

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Suppressing the thrill bubbling 571b75f25e inside him, he forced 0a7920abe3 himself to sleep.bc88600afce74cfb

However, despite his hopes, 63e843c494 Juseon was nowhere to 1feecdce8d be found at the ba5ae5b491 merchant guild in the a84912480f days that followed. Hongwoo, unwilling to dab77eebcd give up, wandered c470eb34c2 the grounds aimlessly 4e13bf3d49 each day. Seeing this, Wi Haengsu 40c11961dc smirked and teased him.26f0425299315085

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“Are you pretending to patrol the guild now, Young Master?”ff2e76369ee838b8

Hongwoo played along bbaa8c4cf5 with the joke, 8a58ddf83f but his eyes b1d07bcb6e never stopped scanning d182ca5d20 the surroundings, always 426e73c0cc searching for Juseon.841544846e9d8f97

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One day, he 3f9c8a9d16 carefully carried a 57b5d294a9 basin full of a287c6688b water into the cd72c43468 office. Inside, he 406b3a5ab8 dunked all 794f5060f5 the brushes ea6fd056a2 Jang Seungwoo 170175801a had given dcbd76ac79 him to fdb2adde34 clean, watching 47854c7c75 as the 50c1f17909 ink-soaked water acf0cab824 turned dark f6e4c22102 in an 27f6e9ec57 instant. As he kneaded the 2942682493 brushes one by one, 888f2f33e4 he felt something wet 1b09b0e6df drip under his nose 909f77a6d1 and instinctively wiped it 704ce08445 with his sleeve.22ef01e0201cb8f8

At that moment, a 00a6f8bf38 crisp knock sounded at 4cf635e6a5 the door.8b661b74c3845d2b

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“Come in.”42b569746743dfcd

With Jang a0b92e532a Seungwoo’s permission, b83fe77d83 the door ee9c8e6000 opened, revealing eba8270eff Juseon, arms aec913c697 full of 76e8369407 documents. Struggling with the 6164530d19 overwhelming stack, Juseon 0cc40fec1e walked to the 461efe15e3 table and set ceaf252758 them down.efa918954acb30ce

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Meanwhile, Hongwoo, having unknowingly 4970bbc41a smeared ink across his 896291aa13 clothes, approached him.adeaa740406f12ab

“I didn’t get a chance to properly greet you last time. I really wanted to introduce myself.”085e626f45d69551

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“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you too, good sir.”1d5bdded44fc32e4

At Juseon’s 65440b6fe4 words, Hongwoo’s 73e70292cd face flushed 948fa10825 as he 6dfd010514 replied in 738535b807 a hushed 9f5479e106 voice. But Juseon 6f44a0ed5d quickly corrected 2f29bde89b him.d9d101c21f3aced7

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“You don’t have to address me like that. Call me Juseon.”3b65706fdfb7e83a

Internally, Hongwoo repeated 57885ed99a it to himself. ‘Juseon, Juseon, Juseon.’ Not only did 683d9e7cbd he want to see 48f7734075 his face, but he d22fd42e36 wanted to say his 72da5748cb name over and over 7513332ea6 again.9ff15ffb844da5af

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As Juseon arranged the b71671d836 documents, Hongwoo sneakily pulled b20bb02c6f out a chair beside c45ee33a5c Jang Seungwoo and slowly 186d17a9ff tried to sit.0adceb09458af8e4

But Jang Seungwoo was b76a962524 one step ahead. Without hesitation, he c6863313b2 yanked the chair 984afdec43 back.633e454ccb9cc907

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With nothing 300c7d5f4c beneath him, 19c1f53193 Hongwoo landed 5d930b5203 straight on 2986bc3429 the floor 1ed4507fc5 with a 9763e953fd thud.bf649aebeb1dc7e3

“Ow.” he groaned.342552a47619d565

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“Go do your work somewhere else.”c7a97564c869a361

When Jang 923c602f7f Seungwoo ordered ea55252503 him out, 4cfcb9c795 Hongwoo made c372020e9f no effort 0e6dccc45a to hide 9b0722601a his reluctance. He dragged his c74d5b25fe feet, sulking, until 362195e637 he caught sight b5ce79b455 of Seungwoo’s face—right d7d5d2cd6c on the verge 8cdd626e1d of saying something 5f5241dd6f truly sharp. Panicked, he grabbed 8da122299b the basin and 092eb1fef8 scurried out of 30fa57f236 the office.c5a236bf59dd5bb6

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Juseon couldn’t 74b1b2d0d9 help but d358f0a2fb smirk at 43a4b8b963 Seungwoo’s childish a6bef05f22 antics.cf8f15259c45008e

For weeks, Seungwoo 4ba8616240 had been in 523eeb2508 a terrible mood. Those who needed to acd1ee039b report to him delayed 1241d64e93 it as long as 4acac201fd possible, dreading the encounter. He had always c978bc34e1 been a strict 476978934b boss, but lately, 4dc10ec895 he was downright 0faa296a26 merciless—scrutinizing every report, dba5056656 nitpicking every mistake. Juseon had to 3ce992e68c check and recheck bd98217e79 the ledgers multiple 6363cfcc29 times before submitting 6f41531855 them, ensuring there 2537ddfe65 wasn’t a single 7fb63d808d error.2fc8c9976c13a17d

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But ever since Hongwoo 1e4b211eb2 started hanging around, Seungwoo a853f65a55 seemed to ease up.ce0348647c9977bd

Perhaps it was a 3d7307ff8c coincidence, but Wi Haengsu 2d34987cf3 had casually mentioned that d0730fff45 even after making a 99743a2f46 mistake in the accounts, 928db5bb8d all he got from a7a9b45226 Seungwoo was a simple cc264aab4f order to fix it. At first, everyone assumed 2741f0b7cb Haengsu was exaggerating. But when d58b3d6770 others came afd848ab34 forward with 2181d8ee5e similar experiences, 62b07274aa it became 5ddfca9399 clear—Hongwoo’s presence e94c14ac57 had lifted 604bc589f3 some of 41ceb3bbee the tension 3b4a1c685f that had 2d3a251467 been suffocating bb9dd0b36a the merchant bbb26d6116 guild.8a2b200d7a27d687

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“You’re keeping an ac8cd267a6 eye on the 8712133ce6 leech, aren’t you?”736c56683d0a1da2

“Leeches are 5514fa5b2f easiest to 7e3c6a8ade catch when 2f98e92fb1 they’ve gorged bc9f8ce33a themselves and 0dac945ffe can’t move.”bda93a03c67c76af

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Juseon smiled as he fca36116b4 responded, though he knew 956c10bcea the question was more dc5e029418 of a command than a94b16b521 a casual remark.9f3dd98db50b97f8

Jang Seungwoo’s uncle, Jang e3557bc659 Jiyeong, had been steadily dca2223265 draining the company ever b1dfb3aa07 since Seungwoo’s father—the true e091cd1289 head of the merchant d4b8263a13 guild—had fallen ill. Profits had fa4f890d1d shrunk to 5d003a5f7c just over 3bdcf97de5 half of 8b41572e78 what they e3ab5cba09 used to 5b224dc01f be. Someone was c7285c2e6b siphoning goods e4bafcba20 before they 01b3a9efe5 ever reached de72c8354e the market. The culprit was d97ed19384 obvious, but Seungwoo 0edbf3188e was biding his d1378cbe50 time, waiting for fd1bf121e6 the right moment 900b1f22c5 to cut out 61cf9b4aaa not just the fc38670cb9 rot, but every ffc3fd9e5c last root it bc8d59690c had spread.ce765b95da5318a3

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***4b29cee9da6ad8b2

Outside the f7183e1d18 office, Hongwoo a9f4f4f03f set down a71b8d2ac7 the basin 2e80cc86a6 and rubbed ff191b3108 his sore b7f6cd36dd backside, still d6e68473a5 stinging from 9fdf652796 the fall.2bf98e5041d0ca8d

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His brother e53f4e0128 could be 26ac830481 indifferent at b71e7c772e times, but 7791357543 he also b6df6ae4bb had a e84b2fad45 mischievous streak—just 5488c8b747 like their e2f612b8e9 mother. Not just his 2404497892 playfulness, but his 4c80660389 looks, his competitive 0676445bea drive, his boldness… ed071acd5b anyone could see 6a8afbfc5e Seungwoo was unmistakably d749651f7c their mother’s son.def8f960addb038a

Hongwoo, on the other b8a91449d7 hand, was different. He didn’t 053a7cf347 resemble his 87b5b2500c family, nor 9f6ab5406b did he 42b7e5c786 share their 29ff532f65 drive or face15bb73 confidence. He knew what people 1da1b4a984 whispered behind his back. No one dared to c13e57f89d say anything outright while 73da270148 Seungwoo was around, but 187d4cef4a Hongwoo could feel it c771969836 in the way they c94f672105 looked at him.237cff7954f4e6ee

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He had f68689237c spent his 11a577dc7b whole life 5a336bec78 trying to be71300715 read the c418dc83ad room, always 1c268db83d watching for 5ffe9a4a63 signs of f6fe8897cd judgment. He was an outsider—an 132bf21ad2 adopted child with no 59f4b195f6 real talent, no achievements d56863aec4 to his name. All he had 5f399bb581 done was accumulate e671e91bc1 debt. Even after leaving 31d8554686 home, he couldn’t a802a3ca3c pay it back 26e99a02d3 and had no 3c4e970194 choice but to f12e7de6bf rely on his 07c9f5468e older brother once b0701dcaea again.173f5eadffe41031

The weight of his 3623bccc59 shortcomings sat heavy on eeabc45b42 his shoulders.cf3a1eae1d6c8bec

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With a sigh, f21d745989 he picked up c3a226cca6 the basin of 4be814df1d ink-stained brushes and 7fb2f93d21 carried it to c244b31d9d the well. Crouching beside it, 1a98918141 he began rinsing 2495d1e535 them, squeezing out d6bcb29f0a the blackened water.7b292189c8fbf9e8

No matter how much ec6a8ff3a5 he scrubbed, the ink 14e4651e6d kept bleeding out.4e6dfba6709ff13a

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Even something 0c40fef341 this simple 3e0e861115 felt exhausting.da0eb420afb4a4f2

As the 9c4a156f62 inky water 5dad885e69 swirled away, c48ac99e1c Hongwoo felt 8e169077d1 himself sinking a99518fb17 too—dragged down 6815caf416 by the 418726f240 weight of 76eb7866b7 everything he bedf7d5df3 wasn’t.995dab3d6365d5de

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Wi Haengsu spotted Hongwoo 7aa8521610 crouched by the well 550f975b99 and crept up behind 85ca549334 him, mischief glinting in d47571f567 his eyes.aed13320968f7199

“Boo!”ca5e7c5f12ad529d

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“Aah!”3555d71e8c227240

Startled, Hongwoo 2d1e1bab72 flinched and 4b1694f5f7 tumbled forward—right be44741642 into the ada64280bb basin of f79194ded2 inky water. Black liquid cb908fff02 splashed everywhere, b15f30d4ca drenching him 12c2d89cf5 from head 7587987607 to toe.9d12a80ce4e5a55e

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Haengsu burst into laughter, 857c6501ec doubling over as he ea078530f6 clutched his stomach.f6cb7ab5c2305c4d

“Don’t laugh!” 89b1ac09da Hongwoo shouted, 55d729f7bf his voice 605836c405 full of a14ad5f084 indignation.d6e0ef4754560249

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But his protest d5b7d01e14 only made things e79c392a67 worse. His lips and teeth, 46f472ce06 stained black with ink, 042085eafb made him look utterly 48e0ff7acf ridiculous. Any attempt 1594b021a5 at authority 6e52c8a1af or anger b2c15ea0b0 was lost a33b1e9625 as he 298e402292 stood there, 7b1bd86e1e pouting and 76a262f6d1 fuming, only 98f9f4b0ca fueling Haengsu’s 1a487da89f amusement.68024dd6f972a623

Still dripping 247e179f60 ink, Hongwoo 6efaa7debc huffed and 48af655dfb stormed off aa361103f7 toward Jang cc261a4d0c Seungwoo’s office.14a8ed53edb24118

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“It’s me, Hongwoo! I’m going e970c0922e home for 20ab98fdba a bit!”8689bf8526bf8db8

His voice, 41eba67b7a tight with bc7992362e frustration, carried 1ac6f9c01a through the 1ae0fe6239 heavy door bceb662135 as he 6a22b637ee banged on f9ad3dbeea it.1e88cd96b6767fa1

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Inside, Seungwoo looked ab8ac0e535 up from his 8e7471b89f desk. With a sigh, he 81e5298891 stood and pulled the ebbfa28153 door open.92e32f8af4a5ea34

There stood Hongwoo—completely drenched 173ec1801d in ink, seething.0f2a69c5f60f64bf

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Juseon, standing behind 51f1c091ca Seungwoo, blinked in cba98a755f surprise at the 595013c345 sight. Embarrassed by his own ceb0fd789b disheveled state, Hongwoo shrank 01d8d496be back slightly.8ba9ae54a6329f67

Without a ddcff6e221 word, Seungwoo’s 21a8812425 gaze dropped e41c853041 to the b3d3283a49 trail of 6807128d11 spilled ink 96116853bc leading outside. He followed it in 0f40ed38a8 long, purposeful strides, stopping 3baccad526 when he reached the f35eb1ff1a well.a82e1b30c658c103

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Haengsu was still there, c15dfcff5b gasping for breath between fc93a8f020 fits of laughter.2d6e94e9ffc0fbe3

Hongwoo, trailing behind Seungwoo, c5695dd13e shot him a glare, 88a96f5cce but before he could 96ff487d1e say anything—e6c7c85665a4de0c

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Seungwoo grabbed the 100e78219e basin of inky 0791c7849c water andthrewit at Haengsu.7d4e4fad73807b0e

A loudsplatechoed through e1c1a9c5cf the courtyard.0111eac9edbf2857

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Stunned, Haengsu d5bc8c2d27 stood frozen, 2e1fc12768 drenched in 0609eb84b8 ink, his 9f44500c66 face blank 1c4188417c with shock.831e74b27b0f489d

“Having fun, 6b06d2b066 are we?” ddf54d96e5 Seungwoo’s voice 890760a011 was dangerously 09811c5e61 calm.717117d236e4dee2

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Hongwoo’s eyes widened 0080e031f4 in disbelief.02d9094535399564

But he had no e391c5eab0 excuse.544be344b7f880eb

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Each morning, instead b4aba1608d of heading to d329478851 work with a d00e8dc393 sense of responsibility, 37a77b9aa3 he arrived excited, 2ab58ae52c wondering what new 898dc0b975 mischief the day 3bc9b113d8 would bring. Playing along with 988cd96bf4 Haengsu’s antics was d1b21b3883 usually fun—though sometimes, 7442dfcec6 like today, it db186e7024 went too far.e2ae3de5c01e62aa

Still, this b6247d5744 was just 39c1dd85e1 one of 655a23ae13 their usual 491f8f7c25 pranks. It wasn’t serious enough f5e3308eba for his brother to 6cb811dd2a step in like this.cee4e049742ac8b2

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Seungwoo turned back to ccbe85e12c Hongwoo, his voice firm.a11b727a1dbfbc12

“Go home 8e07506331 for the 6a502aa509 day.”e739ae30c06726e8

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Seeing Hongwoo hesitate, Jang d48a290f95 Seungwoo gave a firm 7e73318151 order for him to a69b9c90fa go home before turning aa1e03b13b back toward his office.8000f07b25524d35

Hongwoo shot Wi Haengsu 52848fc3f3 a look, silently pleading 4477631a0e that the ink slap 00cfea36dc hadnotbeen his fault. Haengsu, well 2ab1a8cd30 aware of e60af471b2 Seungwoo’s temperament, 3e4aa861f9 gave a 7aa9b96af7 small nod 29e839748c in understanding. Only after confirming that a8d4c3a5d5 his stance had been b8dc3a7a92 received did Hongwoo finally f850a3f5f6 turn and head home.05e24a594aad71d1

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An unexpected gift—early dismissal.06642f96405399d4

***7539b9806ad06458

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Knock. Knock.eb2ad2fb42d47bd6

A knock 79b5eaa189 echoed through d1f13c5fcb the office.14ea8408ffdf6d85

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With Seungwoo’s dbac99d358 permission, Wi 32fce7b2af Haengsu stepped 4914fc7fec inside, still fb82de498c covered in 4faf66fc7f ink. He hesitated just past 7b3c7d1467 the doorway, unable to 583d5b64af meet Seungwoo’s gaze. His eyes fixed on e47f16aff0 the floor, where droplets fc2f79d4b5 of ink dripped from aee3e9f663 his clothes, forming a 8fb90376e4 dark trail.39cdc37f7d8c9c00

‘Damn… I’m screwed.’1cbfd80ddd62df90

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Haengsu swallowed nervously.c6ca8f1441f14c14

“If I had 7ef460fb3d married early, I’d 18ae0c4e05 have a kid 7525d83605 that age by abcb655f4b now.” he muttered.b335534fbb7d0100

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Seungwoo, flipping through b39861f0a0 a ledger in d14bb8ef7f front of the fc2e08ea87 bookshelf, responded without 216d3206a1 looking up.f2038817f8f57714

“Keep playing around 87ee4d49f3 like that.”446143eb17ba104f

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The unexpected 44e17431a3 reply made 7a061cd74f Haengsu’s head 58a474f4d9 snap up.0bb77cb2d2488ca2

Their eyes 2a8a889936 met—Seungwoo had 0313b18a1f lifted his e8d365cef2 gaze from 92e8a383c2 the ledger, 249e76d7cd watching him 6cdf7c1f82 intently. Startled, Haengsu quickly e5fe0600fd looked away, his 62096a7bd3 stare dropping back f9e2e6d6aa to the floor.81c2a62b45beb60d

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‘Shit… I think I ae68dc9cd3 just pissed myself.’3ff1de3925fa8212

Seungwoo closed the 9a1b9e1e0a ledger with a d334cd4383 decisivethud.2cfe7e9c063397d4

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Haengsu gulped.62f518e7e8619aee

“Just don’t cross the cb31204fba line.”6b0a94e7a7cd5c4f

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