Vol. 1 - Ch. 20

“Why on land does that person do such a thing?”As soon as she returned to the guesthouse and took a break, Kyung-ju came to her side and asked.

Instead of answering, Eun-young went and sat down at the table, and Kyung-ju sat down next to her and asked.

“Uh? Uh? I don’t think it makes sense. What happened? Don’t keep it to yourself and talk to me.”

“Just, whatever. It’s no big deal.”

I didn’t want to lie, so I just shook my head.

But Kyung-ju didn’t give up so easily.

“Oh-what? What is it?”

Kyung-ju. As for her, she was 2 years older than Eun-ri; she and Eun-ri got along well, as friends and sisters.

Kyung-ju’s mother worked as a seamstress at the guesthouse here for a long time, so Eun-ri and Kyung-ju have known each other since they were young. Before marrying a healthy young man in the village and having a child in late spring of this year, Kyung-ju had suffered from mobility problems for several years. In place of her aging mother, she would come to the guesthouse to help in various other chores besides seamstressing.

Of course, this side also paid sufficient financial compensation.

In addition, Kyung-ju was also a grateful benefactor to me, staying by my side and taking care of me at times, even when she was leaving her newlywed home when I entered the novel.

Well, Kyung-ju, she probably doesn’t think that and just thinks of it as comforting her poor friend who lost her father.

“Huh? Just tell me secretly. I won't tell anyone.”

The only downside was that she loved rumors, which were always going around.

To be precise, I would say that she likes to hear rumors and move on to others. Still, it is a shame to protect the rumors because there would have been a lot of resentment in this small town.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that people don’t hold grudges.

“You know…”

In the end, I fell for her fuss and had to spend a while trying to come up with a lie.

“It looks like he was drinking in the warehouse all night and hit his head hard while standing up. When I went there in the morning, he was sprawled out there.”

“Oh my…”

“He seems to have hit something wrong, and his bone began to hurt so he couldn’t stand up, so I left him lying down in the physician room. I have done my part, so the physician will handle the rest.”

It looked like Kyung-ju was about to say something about it, so I quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, thank you for looking after me. Eun-young too.”

“Yah, what now? This much is nothing.”

I asked, looking at Kyung-ju’s smile.

“Have we had any customers so far?”

I asked because I knew there wouldn’t be any. But the answer I got was beyond my thoughts.

“There were. 2 men.”

“Really?”

A guest came while I was in the physician's room. What is happening?

‘Oh no. He could be a dining customer.’

As I stopped being excited by a thought that suddenly occurred, I asked her.

“Was it a customer for dining? If so, I am sorry. It is a bit hard, but we will have to send them back.”

“It was a bit like that. I introduced him to another restaurant, and he seemed to be going there. Ah, and the customer wasn’t just here for a meal. He said he wanted to stay in the guesthouse for a couple days. I gave the room, so write it down in the ledger later.”

In any case, the people who made money in the guesthouse business were the customers who stayed in the guesthouse and had a meal with a couple bottles of alcohol, rather than the customers who only wanted food.

I once again thanked Kyung-ju for accepting the customer on my behalf. Then Kyung-ju waved her hands and laughed.

“What kind of thanks is between us? It is okay, aren’t you curious about those customers?”

“Those two male customers? No, not really.”

Looking at her face, I realized that the customers weren’t some suspected criminals or special ones, so I just summed it up and answered.

“Listen even if you aren’t so curious.”

After hearing my answer, Kyung-ju’s face hardened, and she spoke.

“Anyway, we made a mess of business this morning. Won't you be free now?”

Kyung-ju grabbed me by the left shoulder and pressed it with his hand.

It seemed like she was wary of me getting up.

Well, my hot body hadn’t cooled down yet, so I didn’t want to move until the sweat cooled down either. I was confused by her behavior but pretended to listen.

Kyung-ju cleared her throat once and glanced at Eun-young, who was fixated on a book.

She didn’t seem that relieved seeing her with the book, so she came close to me and whispered.

“It seems like one of them was a wannabe official going to Hangzhou for a test.”

“Official? Moving at this time?”

If it was the local exam, it would refer to civil exams held in the mid-August month. But this was early August.

Here, from Jang-yang village to Hangzhou region, it wasn’t so far, but it wasn’t close either.

Any meaningful student would have no choice but to prepare for the post-test period.

If I were given the right to attend the meeting, I would have to stay in Hangzhou for at least half a year or more.

One wouldn’t try to find a room to stay in Jang-yang village when they need to go to Hangzhou, which is a city more huge than a village, and prepare for the exam at the same time. It felt a bit late for this unknown man to even move there and prepare.

As evidence of this, the number of students aiming for the same place has become less frequent in recent times.

It is a huge thing to say, but what I want to say is. Is the guest really such a student?

“Why did this guy come so late? Wouldn’t it be too late for them? That student did say about going to Hangzhou for an exam, right?”

“It isn’t that. He talked about it with the person who came with him, so I guess that is what it is, so I am guessing it is right. And if he is late, it is his own thing.”

“But what if he gets late for the exam? It will not be easy to go there and….”

“You worry about everything. It looks like he has money to spend on a warrior. Either he goes and solves the problem with money or brings in someone who has influence.”

Well, is it the Hangzhou exam then? Kyung-ju raised her voice.

Eun-young raised her head, probably shocked with the sudden shout.

“Eh, sorry. Unnie was being noisy, right?”

Kyung-ju smiled softly at Eun-young who was looking at me with her eyes wide open, as if to reassure her.

Then she turned to me again, and unlike before, she just said something else.

“Ah, right. The warrior was hired by the student. He was incredibly handsome. I have never seen such a handsome man in my life. I think I got married too early.

“The voice was so good it made me want to die.”

“That's great… But Kyung-ju, you don’t have the greatest eyesight. I am not looking forward to it at all.”

“Woah, you are ignoring me now. Can you not see?”

“Well…”

Enough of the jokes. It had been a while since Eun-young went back to the book.

“The student who came to the place, his life is more important than going to the exam on time? And the warrior who came along was handsome.”

“Of course. Wait.”

Kyung-ju’s voice turned much lower than before.

As I looked across from her, it seemed like she was checking Eun-young, and I patiently waited for her next words.

“Whether he is a student or warrior, his face was streaked with cuteness. The attire seemed so luxurious, and the fact that the person didn’t seem to be in a hurry even with the deadline and looking so relaxed.”

“…”

“Besides, they both looked quite young. They don’t seem so past the studying age; maybe like the age between you and me?”

I could understand what she was trying to say without me listening further.

I remained silent, and Kyung-ju hesitated before adding more words.

“Of course, I don’t mean to ask an owner like you to do anything right now. But I wonder if it would be a good idea to get to know them better when they are here.”

“Wouldn’t they like to stay for a day at least? Considering how busy the road is?”

“Even if it is not those guests… you get what I am talking about.”

“…”

Instead of answering, I just smiled faintly.

Even though I knew clearly that Kyung-ju was more excited than me.

There was a good reason why she said those things to me, and it wasn’t meaningless talk.

This was because the guy called Gyu-ho, a high-ranking warrior in the Evil Blood Clan, in charge of the Jang-yang village branch, already with a wife, kids, and concubines in Hangzhou, was trying to covet Ju Eun-ri, who had the reputation of being prettiest in Jang-yang village, as his 4^th concubine.

For that reason, Kyung-ju was hoping that Eun-ri, who was her friend and sister, would run away at night with someone she liked and then be sold off to someone for marriage.

And she didn’t even think about hiding her wishes.

The reason she broke down and diverted Eun-young in front of me was out of consideration, telling me to leave without worrying about Eun-young, whom she could handle.

“Thank you.”

Eun-ri has a good friend.

But without taking the smile off my face, I told her.

“But I am fine now.”

“Right.”

“I mean it. You really don’t have to worry.”

“You are too kind.”

Kyung-ju sighed.

“Haha…”

I burst out laughing.

I didn’t know about Kyung-ju, but what she said couldn’t work for me. Who says I am kind?

Right, it was true for the actual Eun-ri in the novel. Eun-ri, not knowing what her future would be, was willing to sacrifice herself to protect the guesthouse her father gave, her younger sister, and her blood relative, Ju Cheol-rim, despite hating him.

But the situation is different now.

The reason I didn’t run away at night like Kyung-ju suggested was because I knew that the Evil Blood Clan bastards, including Gyu-ho, would soo get killed by Ja-hyun; thanks to that, this marriage plan would die.

I am no kind person. I could tell by looking at me that I was trying to use young Ja-hyun, who wouldn’t hurt anyone now, without hesitation to kill someone for my sake.

The purpose of being nice to Ja-hyun was to gain his favor, but there was also a purpose of alleviating my guilt.

What would a ‘kind’ person tag would do to me? It was an inappropriate modifier to me.

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