An Advertising Genius Falls into the Joseon Era - Chapter 6

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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 6
Some time later.
When Dal-jae arrived at the Insaeng Tavern, he couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes.
“What… what is all this?”
Despite the lunch hour being long past, people stood in a line that snaked around the corner of the outer wall.
It was the complete opposite of the Sanmaru Tavern, where not even a shadow of a customer had appeared.
‘People standing in line? At a tavern?’
In all his years running a tavern, he’d never seen such a sight.
A tavern was supposed to be a place where you simply walked in and sat down.
You ordered a bowl of gukbap, curtly, and that was that. Nothing more was needed.
But standing in line waiting?
It was beyond anything Dal-jae’s experience could account for.
‘What on earth could this place possibly have that would cause….’
Curiosity was hard to resist.
It would be awkward if it got out that he, the owner of a competing tavern, had come here; but he couldn’t leave empty-handed either.
“Ahem, hem.”
Dal-jae covered his face and took a place at the back of the line.
That was when it happened.
“Is this your first time?”
A woman who appeared to be a server there suddenly approached him.
Unaware that she was Ha-yoon, Dal-jae lowered his head and answered.
“Ah, yes. Yes.”
“Please have a cool cup of sikhye while you wait. I’ll seat you as soon as a table opens up.”
Ha-yoon handed him a bowl of sikhye and disappeared.
Dal-jae couldn’t hide his surprise at such kindness.
‘She came all the way out here just to give me a cup of sikhye?’
It was a kind of service he’d never once provided in all his years.
In fact, he was usually too busy drinking to even acknowledge customers when they arrived.
And yet the tavern had run itself well enough.
That was simply how taverns were, after all.
Glug, glug!
“Ah!”
As he drained the cool sikhye, the effects of the alcohol began to wear off somewhat.
Dal-jae cast a suspicious eye around the place.
‘But there’s no way people would gather like this just for something like that….’
Not long after, when it was finally his turn.
Dal-jae at last understood why people were coming to this place in such numbers.
“Next customer, please come in!”
At Ha-yoon’s voice, Dal-jae stepped into the tavern.
Inside, the place bustled despite being well past the lunch hour.
Warmth and laughter drifted from every table, and every face bent over a bowl of gukbap wore a contented smile.
“The gukbap here really is the best!”
“I know, right? I’ll have to come back next week.”
“Tavern keeper! Another bowl of makgeolli here!”
“And one more order of pollock pancake!”
The entire tavern was suffused with a warm, convivial atmosphere. Eating in such a place could awaken an appetite in those who’d thought they had none.
Moreover, despite the crush of customers, everything was so neat and orderly that it was clear someone was running this establishment with genuine care.
“Hmm……”
By contrast, back at the Sanmaru Tavern, the wine table Dal-jae had been clinging to just moments ago still sat exactly where he’d left it, untouched.
No comparison was even necessary—the answer was already clear.
‘Bah, nothing special about it.’
Yet Dal-jae turned a blind eye to the facts, searching for excuses elsewhere.
‘Let’s see just how remarkable this gukbap really is.’
It was precisely then, as Dal-jae was about to order a bowl, that—
“Listen here! I’d like a bowl of gukbap—”
“Just a moment!”
Ha-yoon quickly cut him off and brought over a menu board.
“This… this—!”
Dal-jae’s mouth fell open at the sight of it. This was something revolutionary, something that had never existed before.
[Assortment]
(Two people) Insaeng Gukbap 2 bowls + Pollock Pancake 1 / 12◎
[Gukbap]
Gukbap / 4◎
Insaeng Gukbap / 5◎
[Pancakes]
Red Pepper Pancake / 2◎
Potato Pancake / 3◎
Pollock Pancake / 5◎
.
.
.
“Please take a look at the menu board, and call me when you’re ready to order.”
The moment Ha-yoon disappeared, Dal-jae fixed his gaze intently on the menu board.
‘There’s this much food? And the prices are all written out?’
Naturally enough, in this era many people couldn’t read, so a menu board often struggled to serve its full purpose.
But Ha-yoon had thought of that too.
She had drawn small pictures symbolizing each dish, and arranged the prices so they could be understood by the coin marks.
Dal-jae couldn’t help but marvel at such careful detail.
‘Who made something like this? The innkeeper back in the kitchen? Or that fellow Mun-sik?’
Dal-jae looked around the tavern.
Mun-sik and Ok-bun were so frantically busy they seemed oblivious to his presence.
‘No. If they’d known, they would’ve made something like this long ago.’
Even if they were capable of crafting such a thing, he couldn’t expect this degree of refinement from them.
The strange script written at the entrance, the ornate pictures drawn throughout the tavern—these were surely the work of someone with professional training.
As this realization dawned, Dal-jae’s gaze shifted.
‘Could it possibly be… that woman?’
Dal-jae studied Ha-yoon carefully.
Hair cut short—from where, he couldn’t say.
The passionate way she rolled up her sleeves without hesitation to work.
Even her accent, from a region he couldn’t place.
‘Where on earth did a woman like that come from….’
A young woman. Alone, at that.
Settling in a tavern she had no prior connection to, working there.
This could mean only one thing.
‘A criminal? Or a runaway slave?’
Whatever the path, it couldn’t be above reproach.
Otherwise, would such a lovely woman be working in a place like this?
And in such peculiar attire at that.
A strange woman appearing suddenly one day at a tavern on a remote mountain road.
This was not mere chance—it was circumstance bearing a story.
‘Mm, that must be it.’
Dal-jae regarded Ha-yoon with a suspicious gaze.
“Will you be ordering, sir?”
“……!”
As Ha-yoon approached, Dal-jae hastily placed an order.
“I’ll have the Insaeng Gukbap. And a cup of makgeolli as well.”
“Of course. Please wait a moment.”
A short while later.
“Here’s your Insaeng Gukbap and makgeolli. Enjoy your meal.”
As Ha-yoon set down the earthenware pot with steam rising from it and vanished, Dal-jae picked up his spoon with a grunt.
“Hmph, the nerve of a runaway slave like that……”
Slurp.
The moment he took a spoonful of broth, his eyes flew wide open.
‘The broth really is remarkably clean and light….’
Rich stock. Tender meat. A pristine taste.
Objectively speaking, the gukbap here was among the top three he’d ever had in his life.
Dal-jae, who desperately needed a hangover cure, emptied the bowl completely.
‘But it’s not that much of a difference, is it?’
Dal-jae tilted his head in uncertainty.
The gukbap at his own tavern, Sanmaru Tavern, was plenty delicious too. Compared to this place, it didn’t fall noticeably short.
The Sanmaru Tavern had been established in the first place because its owner, Yang, possessed exceptional skill in cooking.
‘So why exactly are people flocking here?’
The quality of the food was nearly identical. If that was the case, the cause lay elsewhere.
Dal-jae glanced around once more.
‘Ah…….’
And then it struck him.
Ninety percent of this place’s sales volume was being handled by Ha-yoon.
From her courteous service to the menu board she had created.
There was no corner that hadn’t felt her touch.
Thinking about it, the most dramatic change from the past was simply the presence or absence of Ha-yoon.
‘That woman was the culprit.’
Dal-jae, having identified the source of his tavern’s complete collapse, fixed his gaze on Ha-yoon.
Shortly after, he approached her under the pretense of settling his bill.
“That was delicious. Here are eight coins.”
“Thank you.”
“But I’d like to ask you something.”
“Yes?”
Startled by the sudden question, Ha-yoon lifted her head to face Dal-jae.
“Who changed this place so completely? It wasn’t like this before, I’m sure.”
At Dal-jae’s inquiry, Ha-yoon scratched her head.
“It’s embarrassing, but it’s my work.”
“You did this?”
Dal-jae’s eyes glinted sharply.
“You completely renovated this place and created all these menu boards and such?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Quite remarkable, truly.”
Dal-jae continued, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
“But your accent seems rather distinctive. Where are you from?”
“Oh, my hometown is Daegu…….”
Ha-yoon started to answer thoughtlessly, then caught herself.
“……or rather, I don’t remember where it is very well.”
“You don’t remember your hometown?”
Dal-jae regarded Ha-yoon with suspicious eyes.
“Yes. The truth is, I’ve lost my memory. So I’m staying here for the time being.”
“How difficult that must be.”
Watching Ha-yoon offer such a clumsy excuse, Dal-jae’s suspicions only deepened.
“I do hope you recover your memories soon.”
“Thank you.”
Having learned all he wished to know, Dal-jae turned to leave.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, Ha-yoon called out to stop him.
“Wait! You need to take this with you.”
“?”
As Ha-yoon spoke, she held something forward. What she offered was none other than an exchange coupon.
“Here’s an exchange coupon. Get ten stamps on it, and you get one free bowl of gukbap.”
“Free gukbap!”
At the sight of the exchange coupon, Dal-jae’s eyes trembled slightly.
Why hadn’t he thought of something like this himself?
It was such a simple yet effective mechanism to encourage repeat customers.
“……You’ve truly outdone yourself.”
Dal-jae snatched the coupon and hurried out of the Insaeng Tavern.
***
Outside the tavern.
Rip! Rip!
The exchange coupon from the Insaeng Tavern that Dal-jae had torn scattered in the wind.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
He felt as though he’d taken a proper blow.
He’d gone merely seeking the reason for his failing business, but what he’d found instead was nothing but despair.
The menu board.
The exchange coupon.
And courteous service besides.
In nearly every other respect, Sanmaru Tavern could not compete with Insaeng Tavern.
He would have liked to implement such methods at Sanmaru Tavern even now, but the problem was simple: there was no one capable of executing them.
In every corner Ha-yoon’s touch had graced, an unmistakable talent made itself felt.
Unfortunately, though Dal-jae possessed some wealth, he lacked that particular gift.
And at this point, even attempting to imitate would come far too late.
Anger and a creeping sense of dread coiled around Dal-jae’s entire frame.
‘This won’t do. I have to eliminate them.’
Dal-jae’s fist clenched as he turned his gaze toward the direction of Insaeng Tavern.
“How dare they…… brazenly harbor a runaway slave?”
In the Joseon era, hiding a slave who had fled was considered a grave crime. It was no mere matter of paying a fine and walking free.
Those who concealed slaves or aided their escape faced one hundred strokes of the rod.
In some cases, one could be sentenced to three years of imprisonment.
It was the gravest of crimes—one that could shake the very foundations of Joseon, built as it was upon the classes of yangban, commoner, and slave.
‘If that woman is truly a runaway slave…… then Mun-sik will be caught up in it as well.’
Mun-sik, the proprietor of Insaeng Tavern, had a reputation for kindness.
That was why he had not scrutinized Ha-yoon’s origins or station with petty questions.
He had simply accepted her at her word—that she had lost her memory—and taken her in.
It was precisely that carelessness that would soon leave their necks exposed to the noose.
“Yes…… now I see the path forward.”
A contemptible smile twisted Dal-jae’s lips as a plan took shape.
He turned his head and stole a glance at Insaeng Tavern. Warm laughter still echoed from within its walls.
“Laugh while you can. Soon enough, that laughter will be cut off abruptly.”
After a long moment of staring at Insaeng Tavern, Dal-jae spun on his heel and turned away.
And the direction his feet carried him was not toward Sanmaru Tavern, but rather toward the Official Government Office.

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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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