An Advertising Genius Falls into the Joseon Era - Chapter 64

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

Episode 64
The two of them emerged from the building and began making their way straight across the city of Uiju.
After being dragged along for some time, Ha-yun finally stopped in her tracks and asked.
“Wait a minute! Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Because we don’t have much time.”
“But apart from that, you should at least tell me where we’re going.”
“We’re almost there now.”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking—where are we going?”
……
Song Do-hyeon studied her briefly, his gaze traveling from top to bottom.
Something like displeasure flickered across his features.
“Somewhere to transform you.”
“Transform me?”
“That’s right. To find who you were meant to be.”
Ha-yun’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Hmm……?”
She couldn’t make sense of it.
What did he mean by finding her true self?
And why did he feel the need to change her in the first place?
“Come now, don’t dwell on it too long. Just follow me.”
Shelving his cryptic words, Song Do-hyeon quickened his pace.
They walked for a while longer before
the two of them arrived in front of a building.
“This place……?”
Ha-yun’s attention shifted to the structure before them.
The old wooden building was maintained so meticulously it gleamed, and beneath the eaves ran an exquisite pattern of decorative lacquer work.
Through the open doorway, silks and fine fabrics were visible, layered upon one another.
This was the Clothing Shop, the sort of place frequented mainly by yangban families and those of considerable means.
All of Song Do-hyeon’s garments had been tailored here.
“Let’s go inside.”
Song Do-hyeon stepped unhesitatingly into the shop, and Ha-yun followed in his wake.
“Oh my, it’s the young master Song! It’s been ages.”
Hwang, the proprietress of the Clothing Shop, greeted him with a warm smile.
Then, catching sight of Ha-yun for the first time, she asked with a puzzled expression.
“And who might this be……?”
“Ah, I’m……”
As Ha-yun began to introduce herself, Song Do-hyeon cut in smoothly.
“She’s come to choose some clothes for herself.”
“Ah, I see.”
Ha-yun stared at Song Do-hyeon with a bewildered look.
“Clothes? You really came here to buy me new clothes?”
Song Do-hyeon nodded calmly.
“Don’t worry about the cost. I’ll cover it.”
“That’s not the point right now.”
“I told you already. I’m going to transform you.”
“Even so, this is……”
Was it just her imagination, or did he seem unusually stubborn today?
There was a difference between being guided and being dragged along.
Ha-yun pouted slightly and surveyed the interior of the shop.
“Hmm……”
The quality of the garments was impeccable—brought with the confidence of someone who knew exactly what he was doing.
The fabrics, the needlework, the patterns embroidered into the cloth itself—
every detail was alive with craft.
Ha-yun, with her keen eye for fashion, could appreciate that at once.
In modern terms, it would have been the equivalent of a luxury boutique.
‘These must cost a small fortune……’
That he would so readily buy her such expensive garments
left her grateful, yet somehow burdened.
As Ha-yun stood there uncertainly, Hwang, the shop’s proprietress, approached her.
“You have quite a delicate frame, I see.”
Taking in Ha-yun’s frame at a glance, Hwang examined the display case and gestured toward it.
“Shall we have a look at some of the garments we have over here?”
Upper garments and trousers dyed in deep gray and navy blue, along with durumagi robes for going out—
Even at first glance, the clothing was arranged with obvious refinement.
Hwang picked up one set.
“These are made from high-quality cotton fabric. They breathe well and are constructed to withstand rough movement without hindrance.”
She immediately reached for a durumagi hanging nearby.
“As for this durumagi, it uses material that was steeped in water for a month in Gwang-an. The hallmark is a color that’s both subdued and vivid at once.”
“Mmm…”
As Ha-yun listened to Hwang’s explanation, she found herself reaching out to touch the durumagi.
It was soft.
The texture was incomparable to anything she’d worn before.
Then it happened.
Swish!
Without warning, Song Do-hyeon snatched the durumagi Ha-yun was touching and set it aside.
Hwang’s eyes widened in bewilderment at his gesture. Ha-yun too looked startled.
“Is there perhaps something that doesn’t suit your taste…?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what?”
Song Do-hyeon glanced around briefly, then pointed to the display case on the opposite side.
“Show us the garments over there instead.”
The opposite display case was lined with jeogori and saekdong chima—the sorts of clothing worn by women.
“Over here…?”
At those words, Hwang’s eyes widened as she looked Ha-yun up and down again.
Looking more carefully, it wasn’t just her small frame.
Lips as red as cherries, and long, delicate eyelashes.
Taken alone, her face was beautiful enough that calling her a beauty would be entirely fitting.
Hwang let out an exclamation of understanding.
“Ah! Then this person is…?”
“…!”
Ha-yun, realizing her identity was about to be exposed, grabbed Song Do-hyeon’s sleeve and pulled him away.
Ha-yun bit her lip hard and spoke.
“Hold on. We need to talk.”
Ha-yun strode briskly out of the shop.
From the way she walked, she was clearly furious.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Moments later, standing in the courtyard in front of the clothing shop, Ha-yun began to shout.
“What kind of stunt is this, without so much as a word to me?”
This was the first time Ha-yun had raised her voice like this.
Song Do-hyeon tilted his head, bewildered.
“Why? Don’t you like the clothes we have in there?”
“No, that’s not what I’m talking about.”
Ha-yun struck her chest in frustration.
“Who asked you to buy me something like that?”
The fact that he was buying her clothes was fine, really.
It showed he was looking out for me.
I could repay kindness with kindness.
The problem came after.
“Why do you get to decide what I wear on your own?”
Song Do-hyeon’s actions lacked consideration.
He’d brought her here practically by the hand, and now he’d forced her hidden identity out into the open.
It amounted to announcing he’d expose her secret.
Ha-yun’s anger was understandable.
“Don’t you think about what happens when I wear those clothes? How are you going to handle the consequences?”
She was a woman, yet she couldn’t wear women’s clothing.
It was ironic, but that was Ha-yun’s situation now.
“If anything, you might as well mark me with a sign saying I’m a woman and be done with it—why not?”
“…”
Song Do-hyeon gazed at Ha-yun steadily.
Not long ago, he’d had a similar experience himself.
A child of a Yangban household, yet forced to conceal their very existence.
But that was no longer the case.
Now that she had finally confronted the problem she’d been avoiding all this time, it felt as though her eyes had truly opened.
She wanted to share that liberation with Im Ha-yun as well.
That was all.
Song Do-hyeon opened his mouth carefully.
“Were you afraid of it?”
“…Of what?”
“Of your being a woman being discovered.”
The bluntness of the question caught her off guard, and she turned her head away with startled eyes.
“Of course I was! How hard do you think I’ve worked to keep it hidden?”
“But why hide it at all? What possible reason could there be?”
“That’s… that is…”
She came from the future.
In truth, she was not of this era.
The place she came from was the Republic of Korea, two hundred years from now.
And she might vanish like a dream at any moment, perhaps as soon as tomorrow.
There was nothing she could reveal truthfully.
“I… I am…”
As Ha-yun continued to stumble over her words, Song Do-hyeon pressed forward as though interrogating her.
“Are you perhaps a runaway slave?”
“I’m not, alright?”
“Or have you committed some capital crime?”
“A crime? Where in the world would you find someone as honest as me?”
“Then did you flee after being married off somewhere?”
“Would you kill me? What makes you think I’ve ever been married?”
Song Do-hyeon was subtly probing for vital information connected to Ha-yun.
Contrary to his expectations, there was no hidden flaw.
And yet she still had to conceal her identity.
Song Do-hyeon tilted his head, unable to make sense of it.
“You’re not a runaway slave. You’re not a criminal. So why must you hide the fact that you’re a woman, going so far as to masquerade as Im Ha-sung?”
………
Ha-yun pressed her lips firmly shut.
Song Do-hyeon gazed at her for a long moment, as though he would wait forever to hear her answer.
At last, Ha-yun opened her mouth with difficulty.
“It’s just… there are things I cannot speak of. This is as far as I can tell you.”
This was already the maximum concession Ha-yun could make.
The Song Do-hyeon of old would have scoffed at such nonsense and ended the conversation outright.
Or he would have demanded she lie.
But she did not wish to weave lies for him.
This was as much as she could share without deceiving him.
“…So I have not yet earned that degree of trust.”
Yet Song Do-hyeon smiled bitterly, as though dissatisfied with her answer.
“I’m sorry. I have no choice. But if the opportunity comes someday, I will tell you everything, I promise.”
It was not the answer he had hoped to hear, but it was enough.
At least now he knew that there was nothing wrong with Ha-yun’s standing.
With that, the greatest obstacle between them had been resolved.
Song Do-hyeon nodded slowly, as if in understanding.
“Well… we’ll come to know each other in time.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Their relationship was far from over.
In fact, it could be said that facing and overcoming such questions was the true beginning of a genuine bond.
Having thus confirmed Ha-yun’s circumstances, Song Do-hyeon took hold of her hand.
“You haven’t forgotten, have you? That you are mine for this entire day.”
……!
Her surprise lasted only a moment.
Ha-yun nodded shyly.
“There is still much time ahead of us.”
Song Do-hyeon led Ha-yun outside.
“I shall show you all of the famous places in Uiju today.”
And they wandered through Uiju until the sun set, their hands never once letting go of each other.

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