Chapter : 09
“How did it go?”
As soon as Hayoon returned, the prisoners immediately pressed their faces against the iron bars. The only thing everyone cared about right now was whether Hayoon had been punished or not.
“Haah……”
Instead of answering, Hayoon collapsed against the wall and sat down.
Seeing this, the curious prisoners gathered around her.
“Why? Did it not go well? Why are you only sighing?”
“That’s…… the slave issue was resolved somehow.”
“Resolved?”
“But this time, they accused me of another crime.”
“Another crime? What kind of crime did you commit this time?”
Hayoon hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“They said I was an impersonator of a noble family or something……”
“What? A family impersonator?”
The moment Hayoon answered, the entire prison erupted into chaos.
In this era where social status was everything, impersonating a family name was one of the most serious crimes imaginable.
Since Hayoon had no way to prove her identity, she was practically no different from a slave.
And now she had supposedly impersonated a noble family.
This was not something that could be solved with just a few strokes of the cane.
If she was lucky, she might receive a hundred lashes and be exiled to some remote region. If she was unlucky, she could lose her head in the marketplace, and no one would have anything to say about it.
The prisoners asked worriedly.
“Good heavens, how did things end up like this……?”
“I just told them my family origin when they asked, and somehow it turned out like this.”
“Your family origin? Why? Where is it from?”
At their questions, Hayoon mentioned her family origin once again.
“……Jeonju Im clan.”
“Jeonju Im clan?”
The prison was thrown into an uproar once more.
Although the Jeonju Im clan were not technically yangban nobles, during this period they possessed a status comparable to them.
There was even a saying:
“Even if the king’s warehouse runs dry, the Jeonju Im clan’s warehouse will never empty.”
The moment the prisoners realized Hayoon belonged to such a famous clan, their tone suddenly became respectful.
“Are you really…… no, miss, are you really from the Jeonju Im clan?”
“Yes. That’s right. I’m certain.”
“Hm. If you properly stated your family origin, then technically it isn’t impersonation……”
The prisoners’ eyes wavered strangely.
Their gazes contained a mixture of suspicion, confusion, and disbelief.
‘A young lady from the Jeonju Im clan sells gukbap?’
‘And she looks like that?’
‘Well, even I wouldn’t believe it.’
Even if Hayoon’s words were true, there was still one problem she had to overcome.
If she was a close relative of him, everything would be settled without issue.
But if she was merely a distant relative or just someone who happened to share the same surname, there would be no reason for him to help her.
Hayoon’s fate depended entirely on how close she was to him.
Knowing this, the prisoners tried to comfort her.
“It’ll work out. Everything will probably be fine, so don’t worry too much.”
“Thank you for saying that, at least.”
Either way, the water had already been spilled.
There was nothing Hayoon could do now except wait anxiously for the day of judgment.
A few days later.
“Come out.”
“……!”
At the jailer’s words, Hayoon felt her heart drop.
After being locked up for several days, she had started to feel like she was truly a criminal.
‘Today…… is the result finally coming out?’
With trembling steps, Hayoon followed the jailer.
Unlike the dark interrogation room she had visited before, the place she arrived at this time was bright and spacious.
“Gasp……!”
The place Hayoon had arrived at was the public courtroom of the government office.
Many people were gathered there, including guards and officials.
‘Those people……?’
Hayoon raised her head and looked toward the upper seats.
Standing there were Clerk Choi Hyang-seo, Magistrate Kim Seo-gon, and another middle-aged man with a dignified appearance wearing a luxurious silk robe.
When Hayoon appeared, Choi Hyang-seo shouted in an excited voice.
“This woman! This is the slave who impersonated the Jeonju Im clan!”
“Hmm.”
After observing Hayoon for a moment, the magistrate turned his gaze toward the middle-aged man beside him.
The man seemed to have little interest in the trial.
“What do you think? Does she look like her?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll need to examine her more carefully.”
“Is that so?”
The magistrate treated the middle-aged man with extreme politeness, as if he was someone he could not casually offend.
“The criminal, raise your head.”
At the magistrate’s command, Hayoon slowly lifted her head.
Then her eyes met those of the middle-aged man in the silk robe.
Flinch!
The moment their eyes met, only one thought crossed Hayoon’s mind.
‘……I’m screwed.’
She had expected it to some degree.
But facing him directly made her certain.
That man was not an ordinary person.
“……”
The middle-aged man said nothing.
He simply stared at Hayoon.
‘How long is he going to keep looking at me?’
His gaze felt as if he could see straight through her.
Hayoon instinctively realized it.
Everything was over.
‘What happens to me now? Will I be beaten? Or will they brand my face?’
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant.
Now that she was practically confirmed to be a slave, severe punishment was inevitable.
She wanted to cry and shout that it was all false, but this was not a place where such reasoning worked.
Hayoon’s fate rested entirely in the hands of that middle-aged man.
If he claimed she had stolen family property, her hand could be cut off.
If he claimed she had insulted the family, her face could be branded.
Gulp.
Hayoon waited nervously for his decision.
After a while.
The middle-aged man finally opened his mouth.
And his words shocked everyone, including Hayoon.
“She is indeed a member of our family.”
“……What?”
Choi Hyang-seo asked in disbelief.
“Are you serious?”
“That child is my…… niece.”
“Your niece?”
Choi Hyang-seo’s eyes filled with confusion.
“That cannot be……”
“Are you saying I am lying right now?”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant……”
A short-haired woman like this being the niece of that respected man?
The courtroom fell into silence.
Then suddenly, the middle-aged man spoke to Hayoon.
“I heard you left home some time ago. So you were here.”
“Pardon?”
“I heard you lost your memories……”
“Ah, yes. I did lose my memories……”
Hayoon was just as confused.
‘Who exactly is this man?’
She was grateful that he was helping her, but there had to be a reason he was going this far.
She could not understand his intentions.
However, Hayoon was not foolish enough to refuse the lifeline he had thrown her.
‘This is my chance! No matter what happens, I have to grab it!’
If it meant surviving, she would have to create lies she had never even imagined.
So Hayoon quickly began matching his story.
“Your mother has been very worried because you haven’t returned home for several days.”
“My mother?”
Of course, Hayoon’s real mother did not exist in this world.
And more importantly, she was pretending to have lost her memories.
If she suddenly remembered her mother, it would seem strange.
‘What am I supposed to do?’
As Hayoon stood there blankly, the middle-aged man cleared his throat and gave her a hint.
“Ahem. You don’t remember Lady Ok-hui?”
“……!”
A moment later, Hayoon understood what he meant and began the performance of her lifetime.
“Ah! My mother! I remember now! My mother, Kim Ok-hui!”
“Ahem. Not Kim Ok-hui. Im Ok-hui.”
“Ah! Right! My mother, Im Ok-hui!”
“Haha. It seems your memories have finally returned.”
The middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction at Hayoon’s acting.
“Uncle! I remember you too! Your name is…… I still don’t remember that part, but I remember your face!”
“Yes, yes. Of course you should remember. How could you forget? I was the one who raised you.”
Despite having just met, the two of them matched each other’s acting perfectly.
So much so that even Hayoon began wondering if he really was her uncle.
“Still, I’m glad your memories have returned like this.”
“Uncle! Where is my mother right now?”
“She is, of course, at home. Even now, she prays every day that you will return safely.”
“Mother! Mother! I miss you! Sob, sob!”
At Hayoon’s desperate cry for her mother, several guards began wiping tears from their eyes.
“Sniff…… How touching.”
“Oh dear, what could have happened to such a young woman……”
“This is too much. My eyes are getting blurry from crying.”
“Damn, on my way home today, I should at least greet my own mother.”
Choi Hyang-seo watched the scene with a stunned expression.
“What…… what is this?”
Bringing the middle-aged man here had become the cause of his own downfall.
He never imagined that Hayoon would actually be his niece.
‘No! That’s impossible! A woman who only sold gukbap at an inn cannot possibly be that person’s niece!’
It was a lie.
This had to be a lie.
Choi Hyang-seo realized it too late, but unfortunately, this was not a place where such logic mattered.
Everything depended solely on the middle-aged man’s will.
‘This is a conspiracy! It must be a conspiracy……!’
But the middle-aged man’s decision was firm.
He urged them to release Hayoon immediately.
“Now that her identity has been confirmed, release the child at once.”
“Excuse me? I-I mean, that……”
At his insistence, Choi Hyang-seo hesitated.
Then the magistrate beside him let out an annoyed cough.
“Ahem! Ahem!”
A few days ago, Choi Hyang-seo had confidently claimed that this would be a chance to gain favor with the Jeonju Im clan.
The magistrate had expected good results.
But the outcome was the complete opposite.
He had practically humiliated an important guest publicly.
At this point, he almost wanted to have Choi Hyang-seo beaten instead of Hayoon.
“T-this isn’t how it was supposed to go……”
As Choi Hyang-seo stood there dumbfounded, the middle-aged man urged him again.
“Official, are you planning to keep my niece restrained like this?”
“N-no. Of course not.”
“Tsk.”
Unable to watch any longer, the magistrate finally ordered Hayoon’s release.
“What are you waiting for? Release her immediately.”
“Yes!”
Thanks to the middle-aged man, Hayoon escaped her false accusation.
She let out a sigh of relief.
“Whew…… I’m alive.”
Hayoon bowed respectfully.
“Thank you. I owe my life to you.”
“You’ve suffered enough.”
Standing close to him, Hayoon could feel something difficult to describe.
A sense of dignity.
Wisdom.
And overwhelming confidence.
It was the presence of a great person unlike anyone Hayoon had ever encountered.
“Here. Wear this.”
“……!”
The middle-aged man removed his robe and placed it over Hayoon’s shoulders, who looked exhausted after days in prison.
Then he looked at the magistrate.
“Now that this misunderstanding has been resolved, may we leave?”
“Of course, absolutely. I apologize for troubling you with such a matter despite your busy schedule.”
“It was no trouble. When it concerns my own blood relative, I should come running.”
“Please return safely.”
As the magistrate released Hayoon, he glared at Choi Hyang-seo.
He had been humiliated because of him.
He could not simply let this pass.
“Official Choi. After this, come see me. We need to have a talk.”
“Oh no…… I’m finished. I’m completely finished……”
Choi Hyang-seo collapsed onto the floor, his legs giving out.
Meanwhile, Hayoon, now free, confidently walked out of the government office.
Once they were far away from the government office, Hayoon finally expressed her gratitude properly.
“Thank you for helping me. You saved my life.”
The middle-aged man narrowed one eye and said.
“What thanks between family? We should help each other. Isn’t that right?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes. Of course.”
Seeing him continue the act, Hayoon could not hide her confusion.
Then suddenly, the middle-aged man casually dropped a meaningful remark.
“However, if you are going to lie next time, do it properly. The 32nd generation descendant of our family hasn’t even been born yet.”
“……!”
It felt as if Hayoon had been struck by a hammer.
As expected, he knew everything she had said was a lie.
‘But he still helped me?’
Why?
What had he seen in her?
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Hayoon asked.
“Even though you knew I was lying, why did you help me?”
The middle-aged man stared at Hayoon.
As she had felt before, there was something in his eyes.
A kind of insight that could see through everything.
“Because I am interested in someone like you.”
“?”
When Hayoon looked completely confused, the middle-aged man smiled meaningfully.
“You said it was called the Insaeng Tavern, didn’t you? The place you renovated?”
“How do you know that……?”
It seemed the middle-aged man had already investigated Hayoon thoroughly.
He knew everything about her.
“The rumors from there have already spread all the way to Uiju. How could I not know?”
With that, the middle-aged man walked ahead.
“Let me taste your gukbap. I want to see just how remarkable a tavern must be to create such rumors.”
What kind of person was he?
How did he know everything?
Hayoon stared blankly at the middle-aged man for a moment.
Then, seeing him already walking ahead, she hurriedly followed after him.
