An Advertising Genius Falls into the Joseon Era - Chapter 53

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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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Episode 53
“Me?”
Song Do-hyeon pointed at himself with one finger. Wi So-gang nodded.
“That’s right. Instead of someone utterly devoid of refinement, I’d prefer to speak with you.”
“What? Refinement?”
Im Ha-yun’s brow furrowed sharply.
“Who are you calling a common wretch? Want me to show you what real refinement looks like?”
Ha-yun bristled indignantly, rolling up her sleeves. She looked ready to charge at him again.
Watching her, Song Do-hyeon exhaled quietly to himself.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
Wi So-gang gestured toward the adjacent room.
“Not here. Let’s talk over there. If we stay much longer, I’ve no idea what kind of trouble might befall us.”
Even now, Ha-yun was boring holes into Wi So-gang with her glare.
Song Do-hyeon watched her and asked, “What do you want to do? I’ll go along with whatever you decide.”
Ha-yun reluctantly nodded her assent.
“Go on then.”
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“Just tell me what he had to say when you get back.”
“I will.”
Ha-yun added one more thing.
“And if that bastard insulted me, you have to tell me exactly what he said.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Song Do-hyeon turned and made his way toward the adjacent room with Wi So-gang.
Bang!
Moments later, the sound of the door closing reached her ears.
Whoosh!
The instant the door shut, Ha-yun bolted toward the wall and pressed her ear against it, perking up eagerly.
‘Oh, I can hear them. I can hear it!’
The wall was thinner than she’d expected.
Muffled voices drifted through from the other side.
But there was one problem.
‘What? That’s Qing Dynasty speech.’
As if they were discussing something Ha-yun shouldn’t hear, the two men conversed entirely in the Qing Dynasty tongue.
‘What on earth are they saying?’
She pressed her ear harder against the wall, but it was useless.
She couldn’t make out a single word.
‘Tsk, they’d go this far?’
Though she couldn’t grasp the content, she could sense the atmosphere.
The pace of their exchange.
The volume of their voices.
And the heavy silences that punctuated their words between.
Judging by the weight of those silences, this was no light conversation.
‘Just what are they discussing…….’
She kept her ear pressed to the wall for some time longer, but gleaned nothing new. The only thing she’d learned was that the soundproofing in this place was rather poor.
“Fine, I give up.”
Disappointed, Ha-yun pulled away from the wall and collapsed heavily into a chair.
“Do-hyeon will handle it properly, I’m sure.”
Do-hyeon.
Somewhere along the way, she’d begun using his name naturally.
At first, she’d called him “hey” or “you.”
Now, calling him Do-hyeon felt less strange every time.
“Do-hyeon wouldn’t betray me, would he?”
A fair amount of trust had accumulated between them now.
All those countless incidents they’d faced together in the Qing Dynasty.
Each time, Song Do-hyeon had stood steadily at her side.
To rely on Do-hyeon like this.
It was something she couldn’t have imagined before.
‘Has it been two months already…….’

It wasn’t an exaggeration — except for the hours she slept, Im Ha-yun was constantly at Song Do-hyeon’s side.
They rode horses together,
shared meals,
wandered through markets,
and even attended a performance of Peking opera.
In modern terms, they’d completed a drive, dinner, and a movie — all in one day.
It was, for all practical purposes, a date.
The thought struck her like a spark, and her face flushed hot. Ha-yun shook her head urgently.
‘A date with Song Do-hyeon? Impossible. This is work. Nothing but work.’
She could draw that line cleanly, at least.
Work still came before Song Do-hyeon.
Whatever date-like activities they’d shared, there was no selfish motive behind them.
She had treated him as a colleague, nothing more — and worked alongside him in that capacity alone.
‘Not that I disliked it, exactly.’
But Ha-yun could no longer deny the small, creeping traces of something more personal taking root.
A long time passed after that.
Ha-yun lay with her arms crossed, staring up at the ceiling.
“This is taking longer than I expected.”
Beyond the wall, voices still drifted through.
She still couldn’t make out the words.
But one thing was clear: no agreement was being reached.
The two voices rose and fell, rose and fell again.
“What could they possibly be discussing for this long?”
Ha-yun tapped her fingers anxiously on the table, a restless drumming.
Why had Song Do-hyeon insisted on speaking to Wi So-gang himself, rather than letting her do it?
And if they were going to conduct everything in the Qing tongue anyway, there’d been no reason to leave the room.
The whole thing left her uneasy.
“I can’t stand this any longer. I’m going to look.”
Unable to wait any longer, Ha-yun pushed herself up from her chair.
“I need to see with my own eyes exactly what he’s plotting.”
She strode toward the door with long strides. And just as she reached for the handle—
Bang.
The door swung open from outside, and Song Do-hyeon appeared in the doorway.
“What? Is it done?”
Song Do-hyeon nodded slightly.
Ha-yun glanced past him into the hall and asked, “Where’s Wi So-gang?”
“He’s gone.”
“Gone?”
Ha-yun’s eyes widened.
“Then what about the contract?”
……
Song Do-hyeon said nothing.
“Don’t tell me he just left without signing. Does he really mean to sabotage this deal? Or did he threaten you somehow?”
Ha-yun pressed again, anxiety sharp in her voice.
“Is he actually going through with blocking our transaction, or—”
……
Song Do-hyeon didn’t answer. Instead, he looked down at Ha-yun with a steady gaze.
It was plain to anyone watching that her entire attention was fixed on whether this negotiation would succeed or fail.
Though her position as Acting Representative was only temporary, the weight of that responsibility was no light matter.
If this negotiation collapsed, the disappointment she would bear would surely be considerable.
After a pause, Song Do-hyeon finally spoke.
“…He’s agreed to the transaction.”
“Really?”
Song Do-hyeon nodded.
In an instant, Ha-yun’s face transformed into pure brightness, and she actually began jumping up and down where she stood.
“We did it!”
Song Do-hyeon watched her with a pleased, warm expression.
“How exactly did you manage to persuade him? He sounded so adamant that nothing would make him agree.”
Ha-yun barely seemed able to contain her excitement, her face flushed and animated for some time afterward.

“No, no—this isn’t the time for that.”
But something had sparked in her mind, and she hurried to settle herself at the desk.
“There’s no telling when that man might change his mind, so we need to push the transaction through immediately. Let’s send word to all the merchant houses right now.”
Im Ha-yun picked up the crumpled contract.
Then she began carefully smoothing it out, line by line.
“First, I’ll contact the Geumga Jang to arrange an early morning trade. Then the Yang Sanghoe, then the Hwanggeum Jang….”
Im Ha-yun murmured to herself as she reviewed the contract once more.
Fortunately, the paper wasn’t too badly creased—the key terms were still legible.
“Tomorrow I’ll finish every transaction and leave this place. Then Wi So-gang won’t be able to interfere anymore.”
Having mapped out her strategy in an instant, Im Ha-yun looked up and asked.
“What do you think, Do-hyeon? Well?”
“….”
Song Do-hyeon said nothing.
He only gazed at her in silence.
It was then that Im Ha-yun noticed something amiss, and she frowned.
“What is it? Why do you look like that?”
Im Ha-yun set down the papers she’d been holding.
There were no outstanding problems.
She’d finished negotiating prices with each merchant house and had even secured that difficult approval from Wi So-gang.
Everything had unfolded smoothly.
Now only the final settlement remained.
Yet there was a curious shadow across Song Do-hyeon’s face.
Im Ha-yun asked gently.
“Did something happen inside?”
“Nothing happened. Nothing at all.”
“Then why have you been sullen since earlier?”
Song Do-hyeon hesitated before answering.
“…It’s only because I’ve been pushing myself all day. A night’s rest will set it right.”
“Is that so?”
He certainly didn’t look well.
It was hardly surprising—the only thing today that could have been called rest was mealtime, and even that he’d rushed through without really eating. After that, it had been one negotiation after another.
The talks had gone on without break.
Im Ha-yun had managed a brief respite a moment ago.
Song Do-hyeon, having conducted the negotiations with Wi So-gang, had scarcely rested since.
Noticing this, Im Ha-yun waved her hand dismissively.
“Then go rest first. I’ll finish the remaining work.”
“…I appreciate it.”
Song Do-hyeon bowed lightly and turned to leave.
Under normal circumstances, he would have refused several times over,
but truly exhausted, he left the room at once.
Left alone, Im Ha-yun turned her attention back to the documents.
“Now, let’s see….”
There was a mountain of work to be finished by tomorrow.
The ledgers needed organizing.
Transaction records to be written.
Reports for the court.
Classification of goods for travel permits.
It was enough work to keep her awake through the night.
“Mmm, mm-mmm.”
Yet Im Ha-yun hummed softly as she threw herself into the final tasks.
Now it was truly over.
The months-long expedition would come to an end tomorrow.
At the thought of returning to Joseon, her energy renewed itself.
Rustle.
Rustle.
The soft sound of turning pages echoed through the room.
Meanwhile,
Song Do-hyeon, whom she thought had left, still lingered in the corridor.
“….”
He gazed quietly into the room through the narrow gap of the half-open door.
“…….”
There was something ineffably poignant in Song Do-hyeon’s gaze as he watched Im Ha-yun.
So he lingered there for a long while, watching her in secret, before finally turning back toward his lodgings.

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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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