An Advertising Genius Falls into the Joseon Era - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 20
That night.
Evening.
Mansan, the largest merchant house in all of Joseon, operated around the clock like a logistics center of sorts, so about a dozen Merchant Managers including Ha Yun lodged there and took their meals on the premises.
Those with families returned home once the sun set.
As a result, the ones who remained in the evening were naturally just the younger Merchant Managers around Ha Yun’s age.
“Ah, I’m starving.”
Ha Yun clutched his growling stomach as he stepped into the dining hall.
“No way around it. I need to put something in there, at least.”
He’d been rushing about all day and hadn’t managed a single meal yet.
The morning had been consumed with performance announcements, and at lunch he’d been too busy delivering the Wooden Box to eat.
By the time he’d returned and finished all the paperwork, the sun had already dipped below the horizon entirely.
It was his nature to personally verify everything down to the last detail before he could rest easy, so Ha Yun had deliberately accompanied the porters all the way to Min Seung-ji’s residence.
Only after confirming that the Wooden Box had been safely delivered did the day’s schedule finally come to an end.
Growl.
“…I really will collapse at this rate.”
At the loud protest from his belly, Ha Yun hastily began ladling food onto his plate.
“Thank you for the meal.”
With his plate filled, Ha Yun naturally made his way to a quiet corner of the dining hall and sat.
Several groups of Merchant Managers were already there, gathered in small clusters eating their meals, but it still felt awkward for him to join them.
After this morning’s events, they exchanged nods in passing, but that was the extent of it.
There hadn’t been enough time to grow close.
Then it happened.
One of them rose from his seat and approached Ha Yun’s table.
“Good to see you again. You’ve got quite a gift, I’ll say.”
“Who…?”
Ha Yun looked up with a puzzled expression, and the man introduced himself first.
“Ah, I’m Han Seong-deok. I’m a Junior Merchant Manager like you.”
Han Seong-deok was a male Merchant Manager around Ha Yun’s age.
Sturdy build, angular face—had he not been introduced as a Merchant Manager, one might have easily mistaken him for a porter.
“I owe you an apology for the misunderstanding. I figured you were all smooth talk and no substance.”
Han Seong-deok scratched his head a bit sheepishly.
His gesture felt rather endearing, so at odds with his bearish frame.
“But it wasn’t just hot air. You’re exactly the kind of talent the Director would bring in personally.”
Han Seong-deok paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully, then suddenly extended his hand forward.
“I apologize formally.”
“…?”
A rough, calloused hand.
Ha Yun stared at it blankly.
There was no ill intent behind it.
‘Do men apologize to each other like this?’
Since this was his first time encountering such a situation, he couldn’t decide whether to take the hand or simply remain still.
As his hesitation stretched on, Han Seong-deok asked uncertainly.
“Won’t you accept my apology?”
Only then did Ha Yun grasp his intent, and he replied bluntly.
“I don’t know. I’ll judge by what you do from now on.”
“Ha. For a man, you sure are petty.”
Han Seong-deok laughed heartily and clapped Ha Yun on the back.
Thump!
When that bearish palm connected, an unexpected force rippled through him.
Cough!
Ha Yun barely managed to swallow back the food that had threatened to shoot up his throat.
“Never mind that. Let’s get out of here. As my apology, I’ll treat you tonight—properly.”
“You want to go outside?”
“Yeah. On a day like today, we can’t settle for this. Right?”
He’d been craving something special anyway, and he’d only been picking at the side dishes up until now.
If this were the modern era, a day like today would warrant raising a glass in celebration.
Ha Yun seemed like the sort who always lived carefully and properly, but he had his own principles.
One of them was that on any day he pulled off a project of this scale, he’d mark the occasion—even if he did it alone.
Whether soju, wine, or whiskey—it didn’t matter.
Ha Yun didn’t concern himself with the bruises, their severity, or how he’d feel tomorrow.
Only by forcing this tension to release could he break free from the weight pressing down on him.
And since his companion had offered the perfect suggestion at precisely the right moment, Ha Yun had no reason to refuse.
Ha Yun smiled faintly and spoke.
“You think you can handle my palate? It’s rather refined, you know.”
“Ha! Who do you take me for!”
Han Seong-deok’s hearty laughter burst forth, as if pleased by the answer.
“I’ll treat you to the finest evening Uiju has to offer.”
Then he turned to the group he’d been dining with just moments before and shouted across the room.
“Friends! We settle tonight’s supper at the Cheongunru. What do you say?”
“Yes! The Cheongunru! Excellent!”
“Let’s head out at once!”
The mention of Cheongunru set them all leaping from their seats as if they’d been waiting for exactly this.
Heedless of Ha Yun’s consent, they practically tumbled out of the restaurant in their excitement.
Like people who’d planned to go there all along.
A soft laugh escaped him.
Ha Yun found himself grinning despite his intentions.
These men, difficult as they’d seemed at first, had begun to feel like peers now—after all, they were still young, still at an age when play came naturally.
Han Seong-deok, watching the restaurant empty so suddenly, gave a small shrug.
“You saw that? I’ll wait outside for you. Come along shortly.”
“Understood.”
With the Cheongunru settled as their destination, Ha Yun turned toward the kitchen to return his dishes.
……
But then, all at once, his gaze caught and held on something.
A single figure, still eating alone in the middle of the now-empty restaurant.
Song Do-hyeon.
From the moment Ha Yun had entered, Song Do-hyeon had been sitting by himself.
No—he ate alone always, it seemed.
While Ha Yun could accept his own isolation, he couldn’t help but wonder why Song Do-hyeon, who’d worked alongside him here for over a decade, should be so utterly alone.
……
Despite the cheerful noise around him, Song Do-hyeon kept his seat, unmoved.
A Ledger lay beside him in the emptiness.
His eyes never left it, as though his very fate depended on what was written there.
……
In Song Do-hyeon, Ha Yun saw his own past reflected.
That earlier self—shunned by teammates, eating alone in the quiet.
Had the old hurt stirred back to life?
Before he knew what he was doing, Ha Yun found himself stepping toward Song Do-hyeon.
“Have you come to mock me?”
Song Do-hyeon muttered without lifting his head.
“Go ahead and mock all you like. Today is the last day you’ll have reason to laugh anyway.”
He didn’t even grant Ha Yun a glance.
His eyes remained fixed entirely on the Ledger. Ha Yun watched him in silence for a moment.
……
And yet Ha Yun understood something now, today.
That no matter how deep the enmity, if one person extends a hand toward reconciliation, resolution often follows more easily than expected.
Following the lesson he’d learned just moments before, Ha Yun extended his hand forward.
“Come with us.”
“What?”
Song Do-hyeon lifted his head, eyes widened in surprise. Ha Yun’s delicate hand was extended right before him.
“What are you asking me to do?”
“Make peace.”
“Are you picking a fight?”
At Song Do-hyeon’s words, Ha Yun used the line he’d just learned, repeating it verbatim.
“How petty, for a man. What about this looks like I’m spoiling for a quarrel?”
“What did you just—”
“Is this not it?”
Caught off guard by Song Do-hyeon’s sharp reaction, Ha Yun withdrew his hand awkwardly.
The world of men was more complicated than he’d bargained for.
He’d done exactly what Han Seong-deok had done just moments before, yet somehow the atmosphere had turned hostile. Ha Yun couldn’t fathom why.
‘Surely he won’t let me pound his back here?’
Ha Yun studied Song Do-hyeon with a prolonged gaze.
Giving up after a single attempt felt too callous by far.
Ha Yun pressed his case once more.
“Come on, let’s go out together. Why sit here alone like this? It’s pathetic.”
“Why should I associate with fellows like you?”
Song Do-hyeon closed the Ledger and looked up at Ha Yun.
His eyes held a chill so keen it seemed to frost the air between them.
“Fellows like me? Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“I don’t need your cheap sympathy. If you’ve come here to console me, you can leave.”
“Sympathy? That’s what we call genuine kindness, genuine kindness!”
……!
At the word kindness, something flickered across Song Do-hyeon’s eyes.
But it was fleeting.
In its place came a bitter smile.
“Kindness… hah. The most useless emotion there is.”
Faced with such relentless coldness, even Ha Yun’s resolve finally cracked.
“Fine, suit yourself. It’s not like I was enjoying this. I went out of my way to care, and you repay it with nothing but scorn.”
“I never asked for any of this. If you’ve finished, leave. I still have work to do.”
Song Do-hyeon waved a chopstick dismissively, and with his patience exhausted, Ha Yun at last turned to go.
“That’s right! You’re so impressive! Spend the rest of your life eating alone, then!”
He was heading for the door when—
“Where are you going? You’re not coming out?”
Han Seong-deok, who had already stepped outside, poked his head back into the restaurant.
“Ah-ha.”
At the sight of Ha Yun and Song Do-hyeon bickering, a smile spread across Han Seong-deok’s face.
In truth, Han Seong-deok and Song Do-hyeon were peers of sorts.
Song Do-hyeon’s temperament made them an odd match, but they weren’t exactly distant either.
“You two still harbor a grudge?”
Han Seong-deok stepped closer to both of them.
Then, with a sly grin, he swept both men into his arms with a sudden, powerful embrace.
“Come along, both of you! Today I’ll make sure you patch things up proper!”
“Wha—?”
Caught in Han Seong-deok’s tremendous strength, Ha Yun and Song Do-hyeon found themselves practically dragged out onto the street.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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