AFJE 02

Chapter 2

 

“So, you were in some kind of accident, and when you woke up, you were here…… Is that what happened?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“What kind of accident was it?”

“I…… I don’t really remember.”

Ha-yoon gave a vague answer.

If she told him she had come from the future, he would obviously think she was crazy.

“I suppose you did hit your head pretty badly. You’ve been spouting nonsense ever since you woke up.”

The man clicked his tongue as he looked Ha-yoon up and down.

Her suit pants were covered in dirt, and her blouse was torn.

And then there were the pointed shoes known as high heels.

To anyone looking at her, she certainly did not look like a woman in her right mind.

“Where on earth did you get clothes like those? And why is your hair so short?”

“Ah! This is…….”

Ha-yoon hurriedly touched her hair.

Her current hairstyle was a bob that barely covered her earlobes.

She had paid 300,000 won for that short haircut, but this was Joseon.

In a Confucian country where people believed in the principle that one should not cut the hair given by one’s parents, a woman with short hair could only be a criminal or a madwoman.

‘Stay calm. I just need to get out of this situation for now.’

Ha-yoon desperately came up with an excuse.

“I must have fallen from somewhere like a cliff and ended up like this. Otherwise, why would anyone cut their hair this short?”

“Tsk, tsk. What misfortune could have befallen such a young woman…….”

The man looked at Ha-yoon with pity.

Fortunately, it seemed her lie had worked.

“What about your family? Do you remember where they live?”

Ha-yoon shook her head.

“I don’t really remember that either…….”

“You don’t remember any relatives either?”

“No. I don’t remember anything at all…….”

“Then your name? Surely you remember that.”

“Ha-yoon…… Im Ha-yoon.”

It was too difficult to lie about her own name, so Ha-yoon revealed her real name.

“Hmm…….”

After learning about Ha-yoon’s situation, the man looked toward the mountain ridge.

The sun was already beginning to set.

If things continued like this, they would have no choice but to spend the night here.

If a woman who had lost her memory spent the night in a place like this, the outcome was obvious.

‘It would be lucky if I didn’t become food for a tiger…….’

The man asked worriedly,

“Do you have somewhere to sleep tonight?”

“No…… I don’t.”

“Tsk. There’s nothing to be done.”

The man beckoned to Ha-yoon.

“Come with me. I’ll give you somewhere to stay for the time being.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Sir? No need for that.”

Perhaps uncomfortable with being called an elder, the man introduced himself.

“My name is Munsik. Just call me Mr. Moon.”

“Yes. Mr. Moon.”

Ha-yoon cautiously followed Mr. Moon.

---

“Ugh!”

“Ow!”

“Eek!”

Ha-yoon’s ankles kept twisting beneath her.

The mountain path through Joseon was rough and completely undeveloped.

Walking along such a path in high heels was simply impossible.

Munsik looked back at her with concern.

“Be careful. You’re gonna fall because of those strange shoes.”

“I know. They’re just uncomfortable.”

Ha-yoon stared blankly at her high heels.

Whenever she had a presentation, she always wore high heels.

To Ha-yoon, high heels were a kind of tool that gave her confidence.

But here, those same high heels were completely useless.

They were no longer functional as shoes.

Nor did they give her any confidence.

Instead, they were practically torture devices designed to twist her ankles.

‘I probably won’t need these anymore…….’

Ha-yoon looked at the high heels with mixed emotions.

Now that she knew she was in Joseon, she would be lucky if those shoes were good for hammering nails.

A little later—

“Enough!”

Whoosh!

Having made up her mind, Ha-yoon threw her high heels far into the distance.

“Whoa! You sure that’s okay?”

Munsik looked at her worriedly, but a bright smile appeared on Ha-yoon’s face instead.

“That’s much better. Let’s keep going.”

“My, what a bold young lady.”

Messy hair.

Clothes covered in dust.

And now she was even walking barefoot along a mountain path.

If someone who knew Ha-yoon had seen her like this, they would never have recognized her.

‘I have to change. If I want to survive in this country called Joseon.’

Surprisingly, walking barefoot wasn’t so bad.

At first, she had been careful, worried that she might step on something.

But there were no discarded cans or pieces of plastic here.

There was nothing that made walking barefoot difficult.

The air was also amazingly clean.

The deeper she breathed, the clearer her head felt.

In fact, despite having already walked for several hours, she was barely out of breath.

After walking for some time, Munsik pointed toward a shabby building in the distance.

“That there is our tavern.”

“A tavern?”

“Hm? Didn’t I tell you? My family runs a tavern.”

That was a tavern?

Munsik’s tavern was almost embarrassing to call a tavern.

It was little more than a thatched house on the verge of collapse.

The roof was worn away in several places, weeds had overgrown the yard, and fallen leaves were piled high on the wooden platform.

There was even only a single lamp lit to save on oil.

Even though it was already past mealtime, this was hardly acceptable for a place that made its living from customers.

‘This place is practically on the verge of closing.’

Location.

Appearance.

Cleanliness.

Attitude.

It was terrible in every possible way.

If she could give it a rating, even one star would have been too generous.

“Dear! I’m home!”

At Munsik’s voice, a woman emerged from the tavern.

“Why are you so late…… huh?”

The woman stopped in her tracks and glared at Ha-yoon.

“Who’s that young woman behind you? Don’t tell me you took a new concubine without telling me?”

“Oh, come on. What concubine?”

Like a proper tavern mistress, the woman had a sturdy build.

Her rough hands resting on her waist and her muscular forearms showed the traces of someone who had fought tooth and nail to survive.

Munsik introduced her.

“Say hello. This is my wife, Ok-bun. And this is…….”

“My name is Im Ha-yoon.”

Before Munsik could finish introducing her, Ha-yoon bowed politely.

She could feel the hostility in Ok-bun’s gaze.

Even so, Ok-bun’s suspicion did not disappear easily.

“You didn’t pick her up from some gisaeng house, did you? She’s pretty enough to look exactly like a gisaeng. And what’s with those strange clothes?”

“Given our situation, what would I be doing at a gisaeng house? I found her unconscious while I was out gathering firewood, so I brought her here.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

Ok-bun glared at Ha-yoon, who repeatedly nodded as if to say it was true.

Munsik continued explaining.

“If that wasn’t what happened, why would I bring a young woman like her here?”

“That’s exactly what I’m asking! Why did you have to bring her here?”

“Come on! Someone was lying unconscious. Was I supposed to just walk past her? Why are you being so heartless?”

Munsik raised his voice.

Then, as if to put an end to the argument, he added,

“She’ll be staying here for a while, so just accept it.”

“What did you say?”

Ok-bun’s voice rose as well at his unilateral decision.

She practically dragged Munsik inside.

“Stop talking nonsense and come inside. We need to have a serious conversation.”

“What are you doing? Let go and talk. Let go.”

A short while later—

Loud voices could be heard from inside, almost as if they wanted Ha-yoon to hear every word.

“Have you lost your mind? With our situation, who are we supposed to take care of? Do you have any idea how hard it is just to feed another mouth?”

“She lost her memory because of an accident! What was I supposed to do? Would you have been satisfied if I had just left her there to die?”

“That’s not the point! Why did you have to bring her here? Business is already so bad that I’m going crazy!”

“Is the bad business my fault? What am I supposed to do if customers don’t come?”

“That’s because you’re always wandering around! If you actually stayed here and ran the place, do you think it would have ended up looking like this?”

“Oh, woman, enough with the nagging! Anyway, she’s staying here for a few days, so that’s that!”

Bang!

The sound of Munsik slamming the door shut brought the argument to an end.

No more voices could be heard.

Ha-yoon felt extremely uncomfortable knowing that the couple had started fighting because of her.

‘I feel bad for causing this…….’

She had forgotten.

This was Joseon.

Unlike the materially abundant modern world, taking care of someone in this era was practically the same as sharing one’s own blood and flesh with them.

And considering that this tavern was barely surviving as it was, Ha-yoon could fully understand Ok-bun’s position after her husband had brought home an unwanted guest like her.

“My wife sure has a temper.”

Munsik scratched his head as he approached Ha-yoon.

He was holding a large earthenware bowl in his hand.

Clack.

He placed the bowl down without a word.

Inside was a generous serving of gukbap in a milky-white broth.

“I brought you a bowl of gukbap. Eat up.”

“Gukbap?”

“Of course. What kind of tavern doesn’t serve gukbap?”

Ha-yoon stared blankly at the gukbap.

Chunks of meat and plenty of green onions were piled on top of the pale broth.

The savory aroma rising from the soup tickled her nose.

“Why aren’t you eating? I already ate some snacks, so I’m not hungry. Don’t worry about me and eat.”

“Ah, well…….”

The truth was, Ha-yoon did not particularly like gukbap.

No, if she were being honest, she had never really felt the need to eat it.

For a modern woman who could enjoy delicacies from around the world with nothing more than a smartphone, gukbap had never been a particularly appealing choice.

Gulp!

But perhaps because she had fallen into the Joseon era, the moment she looked at the bowl in front of her, her mouth began to water.

“I’ll enjoy the meal!”

Ha-yoon quickly picked up her spoon.

“……!”

But the moment she took her first spoonful, she froze.

‘……What is this?’

The rich broth spread throughout her mouth.

There was none of the heavy aftertaste or artificial savoriness characteristic of seasonings.

The deep flavor from bones that had been simmered for a long time flowed smoothly across her tongue.

‘It’s delicious!’

She had experienced Michelin-starred restaurants, omakase, and fine dining.

But none of them could compare to this gukbap.

The flavor of this simple soup was deeper than anything she had ever tasted.

There were no fancy techniques.

No elaborate plating.

Just honest ingredients.

Because it had not been dressed up with unnecessary flair, its flavor stood out even more clearly.

She could taste the flavor of a lifetime devoted to a single dish.

“Ahh!”

Before she knew it, Ha-yoon had finished every last drop of the broth and let out a deep sigh of admiration.

Munsik looked at her with satisfaction.

“How was it? Good enough?”

“Yes! It’s the best gukbap I’ve ever had in my life! I mean it!”

“She may not look like much, but my wife’s cooking is first-rate. That’s why I’m still living with her.”

Just then—

“Tch. So what?”

Ok-bun had come outside and casually poured cold water on the mood.

“Customers don’t come, and we’re about to close down. What does the taste of the gukbap matter?”

Resignation filled Ok-bun’s voice.

Her voice sounded strained, almost as if she were holding back tears.

They had somehow managed to survive until now, but if things continued like this, they would have no choice but to close the tavern after this winter.

They would have to leave the place they had grown attached to over the past twenty years.

Having roughly understood the situation, Ha-yoon narrowed her eyes and analyzed the tavern.

‘The location isn’t bad. It’s right along the road through Mungyeong Saejae, so there should be plenty of foot traffic.’

As she had seen earlier, the wooden platform was covered in fallen leaves, and weeds had grown thick around the entrance, making it difficult even to tell whether the tavern was open.

The biggest problem was that there was absolutely nothing about the place that made anyone want to enter.

‘It’s a classic lack of marketing.’

The food was perfect, but there was zero promotion.

A good product that nobody knew about.

That had always been the problem.

‘That’s my specialty.’

A smile slowly spread across Ha-yoon’s lips.

It was a feeling she had not experienced in a long time.

Not a sense of obligation.

Real passion rising from deep within her.

A pure desire she had forgotten she even possessed.

Ha-yoon carefully spoke up.

“Would you like…… me to help you with the business?”

“Huh? You? Run a business?”

Munsik and Ok-bun stared at Ha-yoon at the same time.

Ok-bun snorted in disbelief.

“What could you possibly know? One look at you and I can tell you’ve probably never gotten a drop of water on your hands.”

She was right.

Ha-yoon had never even washed dishes once in her life.

She could not cook, and she could barely even make instant noodles properly.

But Ha-yoon possessed a special talent that others did not.

“I may not look like it, but I’m actually pretty good at business. I’ll earn my keep, so trust me and let me try.”

Ha-yoon’s eyes had changed.

They were the eyes of the advertising genius who had led countless projects to success.

“……!”

That confident gaze made Ok-bun instinctively shrink her shoulders.

“Just one month.”

Ha-yoon held up one finger and declared confidently,

“That’s all I need. Give me exactly one month, and I’ll turn this into the best tavern in Joseon.”

“In one month?”

“You’ll turn this place into the best tavern in Joseon?”

Munsik and Ok-bun’s eyes widened.

The best tavern in Joseon?

This shabby tavern that was on the verge of closing?

“She’s definitely crazy.”

Ok-bun clicked her tongue.

But deep in her heart, a faint sense of hope was stirring.

And Munsik felt the same.

“If it’s only one month…….”

Munsik looked at Ha-yoon with a doubtful but hopeful expression.

Despite decades of effort, the tavern had never improved.

So the thought of Ha-yoon transforming the place was tempting.

At last, Munsik slowly nodded.

“Go ahead and give it a try. This tavern is going to fail anyway. Doesn’t matter who ruins it.”

With his approval, Ha-yoon spoke with confidence.

“Just wait and see. I’ll definitely turn this place into the best tavern in Joseon.”