I Became a Hotelier at the Goryeo National Hotel - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 42

 

“Oh Seo Rin? What brings you here?”

 

“Ah, well… Could I perhaps handle the water heating work at the bath house during my free time today?”

 

“Bath house? You mean Jejintang? Are you asking to switch duties with the trainees in charge today?”

 

“No, I’ll still do my regular work. I want to do this by myself.”

 

“There’s nothing wrong with that, but why so suddenly?”

 

“Ah, well… I’ve only been handling guest rooms, so I thought I might not learn other tasks, haha.”

 

“…It’ll be difficult to fill the bath tub by yourself, won’t it?”

 

“No, it’s not. I have plenty of free time in between, so I can manage it alone.”

 

“…Alright then, inform the trainees in charge directly. The bath usage time is scheduled for noon today, so keep that in mind.”

 

“Yes, thank you!”

 

Seo Rin received permission from Jeong Yeon Hwa and rushed to where the bath was located. She happened to meet two colleagues nearby who were assigned to Jejintang duties.

 

“Hey! You two!”

 

The trainees who turned around saw that it was Seo Rin calling them and their expressions turned sour.

 

“What is it, Oh Seo Rin?!”

 

“I’ll handle heating the bath water today.”

 

“What? Why?”

 

“You two had a hard time yesterday. You can rest for a while.”

 

Seo Rin had deliberately decided to take on the work of the trainees who had been assigned restroom duties the previous day.

 

At Seo Rin’s suggestion, the two trainees looked at each other and smiled coldly.

 

“Really? Well. If that’s what you want. But heating water isn’t all there is to bath house work.”

 

“Huh? There are other things to do besides heating and filling the water?”

 

“You have to go inside and check if the supplies are properly stocked.”

 

“What supplies?”

 

“Bath supplies, of course! You need to check if there are enough towels, if the oil lamps have plenty of oil, things like that. And refill them if they’re running low.”

 

“Oh, right! That’s right! The bath time has been changed to mid-afternoon.”

 

“Mid-afternoon? Okay, got it. You two rest up in the meantime!”

 

“Well then, good luck~”

 

The colleagues pressed the Jejintang key tag into Seo Rin’s hand and headed toward the dormitory room.

 

One of them nudged the other’s side.

 

“Hey, but when did the bath time change? I didn’t hear about it.”

 

“It didn’t change. It’s still the same.”

 

“What? Hey, what if she runs into customers at the bath?”

 

“What do you think? She’ll be thoroughly humiliated.”

 

“Aha! Hehe! You’re really smart!”

 

“That girl’s show-off attitude is already annoying to watch, and now she’s acting all nice too, which makes her even more irritating. Does she think we’ll suddenly start liking her because of this?”

 

“Exactly.”

 

The trainees giggled as they left to enjoy their unexpected break.

 

Meanwhile, Seo Rin, completely unaware of this fact, went straight into the bath house.

 

‘There’s a trading company meeting this morning, so they told me to come to the guest rooms in the afternoon. It would be better to do this now.’

 

“It’s quite larger than I expected?”

 

Passing through what appeared to be a changing room filled with furniture and baskets, she opened the door and entered to find an interior with a large wooden bathtub.

 

As she breathed in, the cool scent of stone rushed into her nose.

 

A dark space. Only then did Seo Rin understand why the Won Ri in charge of this place had told her to fill the oil lamps generously.

 

All the windows were closed, making it darker than expected.

 

Seo Rin found the Goryeo-era bath house, which looked different from modern bath houses, fascinating.

 

The interior built of stone, the large bathtub made of wood. Around the bathtub were placed powders made from grinding dried mung beans.

 

“Is this a substitute for soap? Well, even now bean or mung bean powder is sometimes used as natural cleansers or pack ingredients.”

 

And not only mung bean powder, but scrubbing sponges that would substitute for washcloths were also visible. Braziers to ward off the cold were placed in every corner.

 

But… the interior of Jejintang wasn’t separated by gender.

 

Suddenly, a documentary about Goryeo-era bathing culture that she had seen on TV came to mind.

 

Content about how it was such a liberal era that men and women freely enjoyed bathing together in hot springs or streams wearing only undergarments, without gender distinction.

 

“Don’t tell me this is a… mixed bath?”

 

Seo Rin decided to first light the oil lamps hanging on the wall. Looking around, she saw flint and dried mugwort bundles hanging on one side of the wall.

 

Tak, tak—

 

After several attempts, thin flames rose from the mugwort bundle ignited by the flint along with smoke. Seo Rin transferred the fire to the oil lamp wick.

 

Only after lighting several more did her vision brighten a little.

 

“Oh right, I was supposed to check the towels too?”

 

Seo Rin took one of the oil lamps hanging on the wall and began to thoroughly examine the inside of the bath house.

 

* * *

 

The Daesik Kingdom trading company guard warriors, unaware that someone was inside, came rushing into the bath house after finishing their morning training.

 

Among the group of men mixed with sweat odor and dust was Nasim as well.

 

[It’s been a while since I properly worked out my body, feels quite refreshing.]

 

[There aren’t many caravanserais with training grounds. It’ll be perfect to wash off some sweat and then have a meal.]

 

The warriors took off their sweat-soaked clothes and put them in wooden boxes, expressing satisfaction about Jejintang.

 

[Goryeo’s hammam is properly done like ours.]

 

[That’s right. I heard their bathing culture is similar to ours, and this level is quite decent.]

 

One warrior rummaged through his belongings and made a troubled expression.

 

[Oh no, I forgot to bring my miswak from the room. Does anyone happen to have a spare?]

 

But his colleagues were in the same situation.

 

[I’m also using my last one right now.]

 

They had lost some luggage at a port in a country they stopped at before coming to Goryeo, and unfortunately it was the belongings of the trading company members.

 

The lost luggage contained items like miswak and sabun that would be troublesome to lose when washing.

 

[This is quite troublesome.]

 

Meanwhile, the sound of them rustling around looking for items also reached the ears of Seo Rin, who was checking supplies inside.

 

“Huh? What’s that sound? Did those guys come back already?”

 

Seo Rin carefully opened the door and came out of the changing room.

 

Just as Seo Rin stepped outside, she bumped face-first into something solid with a ‘thud’ and collapsed on the spot.

 

“Huh…?”

 

The moment she raised her head, what entered Seo Rin’s sight were muscular men looking down at her, their lower bodies barely covered with towels.

 

“Kyaah!”

 

Flustered, Seo Rin hurriedly covered her face with both hands and tried to get up and run away.

 

[What, what is this!]

 

[Who is it!]

 

The men’s panicked shouts burst out.

 

As Seo Rin ran with her face covered, her foot caught on something and she slipped.

 

“Ah!”

 

Just as she was about to crash headfirst to the ground, a strong arm caught her waist while another hand barely prevented her head from hitting the floor.

 

At that moment, Seo Rin saw a piece of cloth fluttering and falling between her fingers.

 

What was scattered by the wind was… certainly a towel that had been wrapped around someone’s waist just moments before.

 

“…Aaaah!!”

 

“…Kyaaah!!”

 

Screams from both Seo Rin and the man who had lost his waist towel, Nasim, burst out simultaneously.

 

And a short while later.

 

Nasim was kneeling before his uncle Rashid. His expression was filled with some inexplicable determination.

 

“Uncle, I wish to take her as my wife.”

 

Nasim’s voice rang out firmly. Rashid looked at his nephew with bewildered eyes.

 

“I heard about what happened. However…”

 

Rashid paused for a moment and examined Nasim’s expression.

 

“Just because you showed your… that… body to that woman doesn’t mean you’re obligated to accept her as a bride. And the same would apply to that woman as well.”

 

At Rashid’s words, Nasim’s face turned red and blue with embarrassment.

 

“But for me, that woman is my fi-first!”

 

Notes

 

1) Osi : 11 AM to 1 PM.

 

2) Misi : 1 PM to 3 PM.

 

3) Hammam: Public bath house in the Islamic world.

 

4) Miswak: A tooth-cleaning tool made from tree branches used in India and Arab regions. The bark is peeled off and the wood is chewed with teeth to make it brush-like for brushing teeth.

 

5) Sabun: Soap.

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