Moorim Pochang - Chapter 28
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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 28. A Woman Falls for a Man.
‘How can a man be that handsome?’
Baek Hayoung couldn’t hide her astonishment.
She’d always considered her brother the most handsome man in the world, yet here sat a man even more striking than him at the table.
The handsome stranger rose and greeted her brother with a bow.
“Welcome, honored guest.”
His voice was as flawless as his face—deep and measured, beyond reproach.
“It’s been a long time, Samryong.”
At her brother’s greeting, the handsome man called Samryong showed signs of confusion.
Ahem…
“My… my name is actually Yang Jeong, not Samryong.”
“Ah… it seems I’ve made an error. I am Baek Wonyoung.”
“So you’re Baek. Please, be seated.”
Yang Jeong gestured for her brother to take a seat.
This might be her only chance to reveal her name.
“I’m Baek Hayoung. I’m my brother’s younger sister.”
At her sudden introduction, the man offered a fresh smile.
“Yang Jeong. Welcome, Miss Baek.”
Speaking with perfect courtesy, he turned his attention to the other woman.
She too introduced herself.
“I’m Yeon Jasouel.”
“Yang Jeong.”
From her tone, Yeon Jasouel seemed to show little interest in this remarkably handsome stranger.
*
Kang Jo and Baek Wonyoung both stared intently at Yang Jeong and Baek Hayoung.
Ha ha ha…!
Baek Wonyoung burst into laughter, while Kang Jo smirked.
“Didn’t they say the most beautiful man in the world was here?”
“Brother, really…”
Baek Hayoung’s face flushed as she sat down.
Once Yeon Jasouel was seated, Kang Jo turned to Yang Jeong.
“Tie up the guest’s horse in the back yard.”
“That’s a beautiful horse.”
At this, Yang Jeong approached the mare standing passively.
Baek Wonyoung quickly rose to his feet.
“That horse only listens to me. I’ll take care of it.”
Concerned, Kang Jo asked Yang Jeong, “You’ve got that beast secured properly?”
Before Yang Jeong could answer, Baek Wonyoung hurriedly took the reins.
“I’ll check on it myself.”
Yeon Jasouel and Baek Hayoung watched him with puzzled expressions.
Why was he insisting on leading the horse away?
As Yeon Jasouel turned her head, her eyes met Kang Jo’s.
In that moment, she quickly looked away.
Kang Jo waited for Baek Wonyoung’s return without further thought.
“Today we have both Pork Noodles and Chicken Noodles available. Which would you prefer?”
When Baek Wonyoung returned, Kang Jo asked.
“Then bring us two bowls of Pork Noodles and two bowls of Chicken Noodles. And bring some wine.”
“Very well.”
Kang Jo took the order and disappeared into the Kitchen.
Then Baek Hayoung, who had been watching for her chance, looked at Yang Jeong and asked, “Are you originally from this area?”
To her question, he answered in a lowered voice.
“No, my family house is elsewhere. I stay here because I’m fond of my brother.”
“What does your family do?”
“We run a small Money Exchange House.”
At Yang Jeong’s answer, a faint smile crossed her lips.
Even though the family ran only a small Money Exchange House, it was still far better than keeping an inn.
“Then… have you also studied Martial Arts?”
Ha, ha, ha……
Yang Jeong let out a bright laugh.
“Not to a degree I’d display before others, but I’ve polished my Sword Technique a bit.”
Baek Wonyoung felt secretly startled by his answer.
For someone who had cultivated Martial Arts, the aura flowing from his body was remarkably ordinary.
“You’re saying Young Master Yang has cultivated Martial Arts?”
“Yes. My Sword Technique is plain, but my footwork is rather quick.”
Ah………..
Now he understood why the leader of the Beggar Clan pursued Yang Jeong.
With the face of the most handsome man in the realm, he’d never starve, and with swift feet besides, he was perfectly suited to be a walking scout for the Beggar Clan.
‘If the leader would only teach him Martial Arts, he could truly become a successor.’
While Baek Wonyoung was thinking such thoughts, Baek Hayoung found herself unable to tear her gaze from Yang Jeong’s face.
‘If only his Martial Arts were strong as well…’
As she fell deeper into thoughts of Yang Jeong, Kang Jo’s mouth opened from where he stood in the Kitchen.
“Don’t just stand there idle—go make the seasoned vegetables.”
If that fellow remained standing there much longer, he’d spill every secret they knew without holding anything back.
Baek Hayoung turned her head and shot Kang Jo a glare.
Ha, ha….
Yang Jeong forced out a laugh.
“Of course, I should prepare some dishes for the young ladies.”
At that, Kang Jo in the Kitchen shot him a cold look.
“Don’t keep lowering your voice like that.”
Ah, ha, ha……..
Yang Jeong laughed awkwardly and headed into the Kitchen, while Baek Wonyoung released the laughter he’d been holding back.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha………………..!
*
Slurp… slurp…
The three ate busily, stuffing meat and noodles into their mouths.
Any reasonably delicious dish would have made them mind their manners, but this one made such concerns seem utterly beside the point.
Kang Jo even brought out Dongpo Pork before them.
He would not have offered it free to other guests, but Baek Wonyoung was different.
“Please have this as a side dish.”
“Thank you.”
With that, Baek Wonyoung picked up a piece of Dongpo Pork with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.
It was his first time tasting Dongpo Pork at this Inn.
The tender meat melted on his tongue and slid smoothly down his throat.
A smile bloomed naturally at the corners of his mouth as he swallowed the Dongpo Pork.
“I truly cannot fathom how you prepared it to achieve such a flavor.”
At his rapture, Yeon Jasouel and Baek Hayoung also picked up pieces of Dongpo Pork and put them in their mouths.
The expressions on their faces were scarcely different from his.
“It really is… delicious.”
“How does such a taste even exist?”
At their words of wonder, Yang Jeong too felt pleased.
Hee, hee, hee…………..!
Just as he was about to speak, a horse’s neigh suddenly echoed from the Back Yard.
“That creature again…”
Startled, Kang Jo and Yang Jeong rushed to hurry toward the Back Yard.
But Baek Wonyoung’s voice stopped them in their tracks.
“It’s fine. Leave it be.”
Confused, Kang Jo and Yang Jeong stared straight at his face.
Baek Wonyoung’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“How can a person stop the course of the world’s reason?”
Neigh… whinnying…!
The sound of a horse’s cry echoed again.
“Are you truly certain about this?”
Yang Jeong asked, concern creeping into his voice.
Ha ha ha…
“Don’t worry yourself. Could I trouble you for another bowl of Dongpo Pork?”
Baek Wonyoung smoothly steered the conversation elsewhere.
*
“Won’t you join us, Kang and Yang?”
Baek Wonyoung set down his cup and gestured to the empty seats.
When he offered the invitation, Yang Jeong glanced toward Kang Jo, seeking permission.
“Please, sit down, Yang.”
Baek Hayoung, her cheeks flushed with drink, urged him forward.
“Well… shall I?”
Yang Jeong made a show of reluctance before settling into a seat, though Kang Jo could not bring himself to do the same.
“I ought to be in the kitchen.”
“There’s more than enough food on the table already. Come now, leave the kitchen be and join us here.”
True to his word, three bowls of Dongpo Pork sat arranged on the table.
Kang Jo, yielding to circumstance, claimed a place at the edge and sat.
“Let me pour you a drink.”
Baek Wonyoung lifted the wine bottle.
Yang Jeong immediately rushed to the kitchen and returned with an empty cup.
Baek Hayoung watched his movements with visible displeasure.
Kang Jo was the innkeeper, so why should Yang have to fetch the cups?
Yet she kept the thought to herself.
Her older brother sat before her, and besides—Kang Jo was Yang’s senior.
As soon as the cup arrived, Baek Wonyoung filled both Kang Jo’s and Yang Jeong’s glasses in turn.
Splash…
Kang Jo accepted the bottle and poured into Baek Wonyoung’s cup as well.
“Will you drink?”
He offered the bottle to Yeon Jasouel, who quickly raised her empty cup.
Splash…
“Will you drink?”
After filling Yeon Jasouel’s glass, Kang Jo turned to Baek Hayoung.
But she was stealing glances at Yang Jeong.
“Let me do that, brother.”
Yang Jeong took the bottle deftly from Kang Jo’s hands.
Baek Hayoung then accepted her cup with careful, two-handed reverence.
Ha ha ha…!
Watching this, Baek Wonyoung burst into hearty laughter once more.
It was clear his younger sister had taken quite a liking to Yang.
*0
“Father asked me to deliver this to you, Kang.”
Baek Wonyoung withdrew a document from his breast and handed it over.
Kang Jo accepted it without apparent concern and tucked it away.
Baek Wonyoung asked nothing further, and Kang Jo offered no explanation.
“Please, drink.”
At Baek Wonyoung’s word, Kang Jo, Yang Jeong, Yeon Jasouel, and Baek Hayoung all raised their cups and drank.
Ahh…
“Good stuff.”
He set his cup down with satisfaction and then asked a question.
“What did you do when you were young, Kang?”
Baek Wonyoung was intensely curious about his guest.
From his bearing and manner, he seemed rough yet pleasant—certainly not the sort one would expect to cook.
Yet to see such exquisite dishes emerge from his hands suggested some deeper story lay beneath.
“In my youngest years, I believe I was a Scholarly Child.”
Scholarly Child.
It meant a child who read books.
Yeon Jasouel and Baek Hayoung were quite surprised, but Baek Wonyoung showed no sign of shock.
Yet the most astonished person was unexpectedly Yang Jeong.
“Brother, you studied the scholarly arts? But how didn’t I know about this?”
Baek Wonyoung and Yeon Jasouel stared at him with incredulous eyes.
How could they be brothers and not know such a thing?
But Baek Hayoung’s thoughts differed from theirs.
Hmph.
‘Of course. A son of the Money Exchange House and an inn servant couldn’t be brothers. They must have met later and become sworn siblings.’
Hah…
“I think I picked up a sword when I was very young. But what else have you done?”
Baek Wonyoung continued his questioning as he spoke of his own experiences.
At the next question, Kang Jo hesitated in his response.
This was something he kept buried in his heart—a memory he wished to forget, just as his master had said.
Yet memories one wished to forget were the ones that never faded.
“I’d rather not speak of that.”
In the end, Kang Jo could not bring himself to unburden that past.
Then Yang Jeong pressed forward.
“Brother, tell us quickly what happened before you met your master.”
At his words, Baek Hayoung’s eyes gleamed.
“What sort of person was Master Yang’s teacher?”
Yang Jeong fell silent in thought for a moment, then opened his mouth in a measured voice.
“Well… he was incredibly eccentric and absolutely loved to eat. My master was so peculiar that when I rolled rocks while moving mountains…”
“Do you have a death wish?”
At Kang Jo’s heavy voice, Yang Jeong quickly cut himself short.
Ahem…
“In any case, my master has passed into the Ascension.”
Ah…
“Your master has departed from this world, then.”
Baek Hayoung received his words with a tone of sympathy.
Neither Baek Wonyoung nor Yeon Jasouel read anything unusual into the term “Ascension.”
It was common to speak of a master’s death or the death of those one respected in such terms.
This time, Yeon Jasouel opened her mouth to ask.
“Then did you learn Martial Arts from your master?”
At her question, Baek Wonyoung’s eyes glinted with interest.
Oh…
‘Could it be that his sister…’
He examined Yeon Jasouel and Kang Jo as though he had discovered something amusing.
When Kang Jo said nothing, Yang Jeong stepped in once more.
“As for Martial Arts, that’s secondary—but my master was incredibly attentive to my brother’s moods. He kept saying that because of his temperament, he’d die young.”
Sigh…
Kang Jo exhaled a long breath.
It seemed he would have to perform some ritual chastisement whether there were guests present or not.
“Let me see you.”
As Kang Jo rose to his feet, Yang Jeong felt cold sweat trickle down his back.
‘I was in such a good mood that I’ve talked far too much.’
With two beautiful women present, his spirits were considerably higher than usual.
So he had chattered a bit more, and it seemed his brother had taken offense.
Ahem…
Yang Jeong straightened his expression.
“I believe I got a bit too excited with such lovely ladies present.”
Hehe…
“Please, don’t say such things. I found what you said truly delightful.”
Baek Hayoung’s gaze was already lost in Yang Jeong’s face.
Hahaha…!
Baek Wonyoung could not restrain his laughter.
‘What an amusing pair of brothers.’
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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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