Chapter : 06
A short while later.
When Dal-jae arrived at Life Tavern, he couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes.
“W-what is all this?”
Even though it was well past lunchtime, people were still lined up, forming a long queue that wrapped around the corner of the wall.
It was the complete opposite of Sanmaru Tavern, where not even a shadow of a customer could be seen.
People are actually waiting in line? For a tavern?
In all his years running a tavern, Dal-jae had never witnessed such a sight.
A tavern was simply a place where people walked in and sat down.
Then they would gruffly order a bowl of gukbap, and that was it. Nothing else was needed.
But making customers wait in line?
That was something beyond Dal-jae’s understanding.
Just what is so special about this place…?
His curiosity was impossible to suppress.
Of course, if people discovered that the owner of a rival tavern had come here, he would be in an awkward position. However, he couldn’t just return empty-handed after coming this far.
“Hmm. Ahem.”
Covering his face, Dal-jae quietly went to the back of the line.
That was when—
“Is this your first time here?”
Suddenly, a woman who appeared to be an employee of the tavern approached him.
Not knowing that she was Ha-yoon, Dal-jae lowered his head and answered.
“Ah, yes. Yes.”
“Please have a cup of cool sungnyung while you wait. I’ll guide you inside as soon as a seat becomes available.”
Ha-yoon handed him a bowl of sungnyung and walked away.
Dal-jae couldn’t hide his surprise at her kindness.
She actually came out just to give me a cup of sungnyung?
It was a service he had never once provided in his life.
No, rather, he usually ignored customers because he was too busy drinking.
And yet, his tavern had always operated just fine.
Because that was simply how taverns were.
Gulp, gulp!
“Ah!”
After drinking the refreshing sungnyung, some of the alcohol haze in his head began to disappear.
Dal-jae looked around suspiciously.
But something this simple can’t possibly be enough to attract this many people…
A little while later, when his turn finally came.
Only then did Dal-jae understand why so many people gathered here.
“Next customer, please come in!”
At Ha-yoon’s voice, Dal-jae entered the tavern.
Despite the fact that mealtime had already passed, the inside was still crowded.
Warm conversations filled every table, and the customers eating gukbap had happy smiles on their faces.
“Like expected, the gukbap here is the best!”
“That’s right. I should come again next week.”
“Owner! Another bowl of makgeolli here!”
“Give me one more piece of pollock pancake!”
The entire tavern was filled with a warm atmosphere. Eating a meal in such a place could revive even an absent appetite.
Moreover, despite having so many customers, the neatly maintained environment suggested that someone was carefully managing every corner of the place.
“Hmm…”
Meanwhile, at Sanmaru Tavern, the drinking table Dal-jae had been sitting at earlier was still left untouched.
There was no need to compare any further.
The answer was already obvious.
Hmph. It’s nothing special.
However, Dal-jae refused to accept that conclusion and tried to find another reason.
Let’s see just how amazing this gukbap really is.
With that mindset, Dal-jae was about to order when—
“Hey! One bowl of gukbap—”
“One moment, please!”
Ha-yoon quickly interrupted him and brought over a menu.
“T-this…!”
When Dal-jae saw the menu, he couldn’t close his mouth.
This was nothing short of a revolutionary item that had never existed before.
[Set Menu]
(For 2 people)
2 bowls of Life Gukbap + 1 Pollock Pancake / 12 coins
[Gukbap]
Gukbap / 4 coins
Life Gukbap / 5 coins
[Pancakes]
Chili Pepper Pancake / 2 coins
Potato Pancake / 3 coins
Pollock Pancake / 5 coins
.
.
.
“Please look over the menu and call me again when you’re ready to order.”
After Ha-yoon left, Dal-jae stared at the menu.
There are this many dishes? And all the prices are written down?
Naturally, during this era, many people could not read, making menus difficult to use properly.
But Ha-yoon had considered that as well.
She had drawn small illustrations representing each dish, and she had even used coin symbols so people could understand the prices.
Dal-jae couldn’t help but be amazed by such small details.
Who made something like this? The owner in the kitchen? Or that Mun-sik fellow?
Dal-jae looked around.
Mun-sik and Ok-bun were too busy working to even notice that he was there.
No. If they knew how to do something like this, they would have made it long ago.
Even if they were capable of creating such a thing, he couldn’t imagine them being able to achieve this level of detail.
The strange writing at the entrance and the colorful drawings throughout the tavern were clearly the work of someone who had received professional training.
Realizing this, Dal-jae’s gaze shifted.
Could it be… that woman?
Dal-jae carefully examined Ha-yoon.
Short hair cut in a style he had never seen before.
The confidence with which she rolled up her sleeves and worked.
And her unusual way of speaking, impossible to guess where she came from.
Just where did such a woman come from…?
A young woman.
And alone.
She had settled down and worked at a tavern where she had no previous connection.
That could only mean one thing.
A criminal? Or a runaway slave?
Whatever her background was, it was unlikely to be something respectable.
Otherwise, why would such a beautiful woman work in a place like this?
Especially dressed in such a strange manner.
A foreign woman who suddenly appeared one day at a tavern located at the end of a remote mountain road.
That wasn’t coincidence.
It was a story.
Hmph. So that’s how it was?
Dal-jae stared at Ha-yoon suspiciously.
“Customer, are you ready to order?”
“…!”
When Ha-yoon approached at that moment, Dal-jae hurriedly ordered.
“Give me the Life Gukbap. And one makgeolli too.”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
A short while later.
“Here is your Life Gukbap and makgeolli. Enjoy your meal.”
Ha-yoon placed the steaming bowl down and walked away.
Dal-jae clicked his tongue and picked up his spoon.
“Hmph. Acting all innocent despite being a filthy runaway slave…”
Slurp.
The moment the soup touched his tongue, his eyes widened.
The broth really is refreshing…
Rich stock.
Tender meat.
A clean and balanced flavor.
Objectively speaking, the gukbap here was easily among the top three gukbap dishes he had ever eaten.
Since he desperately needed to recover from his hangover, Dal-jae emptied the entire bowl.
But is it really that different?
Dal-jae tilted his head.
His own Sanmaru Gukbap was also quite delicious.
Compared to this place, it wasn’t particularly inferior.
After all, Sanmaru Tavern had originally been opened because his wife, Lady Yang, possessed excellent cooking skills.
Then why are all the customers coming here?
The quality of the food was almost identical.
Then the reason had to be somewhere else.
Dal-jae looked around once more.
Ah…
And immediately realized.
Ninety percent of this tavern’s success came from Ha-yoon.
From her kind customer service to the menu she created.
There wasn’t a single place untouched by Ha-yoon’s influence.
Thinking about it, the biggest difference between this tavern now and before was simply whether Ha-yoon existed or not.
That woman is the cause of everything.
Having found the reason his tavern was failing, Dal-jae glared at Ha-yoon.
A moment later, using payment as an excuse, he approached her.
“The food was good. Here are eight coins.”
“Thank you.”
“But I have something to ask.”
“Yes?”
At the sudden question, Ha-yoon looked up at him.
“Who changed this place so completely? It wasn’t like this before.”
Ha-yoon scratched her head awkwardly.
“I’m embarrassed to say it, but it was my work.”
“You?”
Dal-jae’s eyes sharpened.
“You’re saying you changed everything here and made things like this menu?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Well, aren’t you impressive.”
Dal-jae continued sarcastically.
“But your way of speaking is rather unusual. Where is your hometown?”
“Ah, my hometown is Daegu…”
Ha-yoon almost answered naturally, but quickly corrected herself.
“…No, I don’t really remember where it is.”
“You don’t remember your hometown?”
Dal-jae looked at her suspiciously.
“Yes. Actually, I lost my memories. So I’m staying here for the time being.”
“I see.”
Seeing Ha-yoon give such an awkward excuse only deepened Dal-jae’s suspicion.
“I sincerely hope you recover your memories soon.”
“Thank you.”
After learning everything he wanted to know, Dal-jae turned around.
Then—
“Wait!”
Ha-yoon suddenly called him back.
“?”
She held something out toward him.
It was none other than a reward voucher.
“This is for you. If you collect ten stamps here, you can get one bowl of gukbap for free.”
“Free gukbap!”
Dal-jae’s eyes trembled as he looked at the voucher.
Why had he never thought of something like this?
It was such a simple yet effective way to encourage customers to return.
“…How thoughtful.”
Grabbing the voucher, Dal-jae left Life Tavern.
Outside the tavern.
Rip! Rip!
The torn pieces of the Life Tavern voucher scattered in the wind.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
He felt like he had taken a direct hit.
He had only gone there to find out why business was failing.
But what he found was nothing but despair.
The menu.
The vouchers.
The friendly service.
In every aspect, Sanmaru Tavern could not compete with Life Tavern.
Even now, he wanted to introduce those methods to Sanmaru Tavern.
But the problem was that there was no one capable of carrying them out.
From every corner of the tavern, he could feel the talent behind Ha-yoon’s work.
Unfortunately, Dal-jae had some wealth.
But he did not possess such talent.
And even if he tried copying her now, it was already too late.
Anger and a sense of crisis wrapped around his entire body.
This can’t continue. I have to get rid of them.
Dal-jae clenched his fist and looked toward Life Tavern.
“How dare you… hide a runaway slave without fear?”
In Joseon, hiding a runaway slave was considered a serious crime.
It wasn’t something that could be settled with just a small fine.
Anyone who concealed a slave or helped one escape could receive a punishment of one hundred strokes.
Depending on the circumstances, they could even be sentenced to three years in prison.
It was one of the gravest crimes because it threatened the very foundation of Joseon society, which was built upon nobles, commoners, and slaves.
If that woman really is a runaway slave… Mun-sik will be dragged down with her.
Mun-sik, the owner of Life Tavern, was famous for being kind-hearted.
That was why he never questioned where Ha-yoon came from or what her status was.
He simply believed her words that she had lost her memories and accepted her.
And because of that carelessness, their necks were now within Dal-jae’s grasp.
“Yes… now I finally see the way.”
Having found his method, a vicious smile appeared on Dal-jae’s face.
Dal-jae turned around and glanced back at Life Tavern.
Even now, warm laughter was still pouring out from inside.
“You’d better enjoy laughing while you can. Because soon, that laughter will disappear completely.”
After glaring at Life Tavern for a long time, Dal-jae turned away.
And the direction he headed was not toward Sanmaru Tavern.
It was toward the government office.
I can also create an image visualizing the rivalry between the two taverns and Ha-yoon’s impact.
