The owner mercilessly kicked us out. But it wasn’t like me to give up this easily. Me and Myoryeong entered other stores on the main street. But most of them threw us out before we even finished talking.
“As expected, it’s not easy.”
“But there are so many shops. At least one of them will accept us.”
“That’s right, since we’ve started, let’s do it until the end.”
I’m so glad I didn’t come into this world alone. The moment I was about to leave the tea house that had been our 13th rejection, I heard.
“I heard that the guest house in front is hiring waiters.”
What? Hiring? My ears twitched in interest. Two men were talking while drinking tea next to the door.
“Aren’t they always short-staffed?”
“Of course! It’s the largest and grandest guest house here.”
Those words made my body move before my head. I asked, pressingly.
“May I know where that guest house is?!”
“Huh? Who are you?”
“Please tell us where it is!”
Myo-ryeong and I grabbed their table and earnestly asked them. The two men were surprised by our intensity and hesitantly told us the location. We bowed down and thanked them several times before leaving the tea house. Then, after five steps, we went back and asked.
“But what exactly are guest houses and waiters?”
“……What the hell.”
The two of them clicked their tongues and taught us that the guest houses were basically the martial arts version of inns, and that waiters were people who worked there. After thanking them one more time, we headed to the Guest House they told us about. I was confident because we both had part-time jobs as servers before. But suddenly it became harder to walk than before. Naturally, it was because we walked all over the place without eating anything.
“We’re here.”
“Thank God. If we had to walk just a little more, I would have collapsed.”
For us, who had no energy to wander around anymore, this guest house was our only hope. I hope they accept us. I entered the guest house, determined.
“One more bottle of alcohol here!”
“Yes, what would you like?”
As soon as I entered, a delicious smell filled my nose. Even though it wasn’t lunchtime yet, every table was full of customers. There was simply no torture like this. I kept trying my best to look away from the food.
“Huh? Who are these children?”
The waiters, who were busy going around the customers, noticed us later than expected and looked at us with doubtful eyes.
“Are you with these guests?”
“Of course not, they look too shabby.”
The waiters murmured about us. I mustered up my courage and said.
“I heard you’re looking for people to work here.”
“We do need a hand, but why?”
“We want to work here.”
“What? You guys?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“No, we’re serious! Let us meet the old master!”
“Don’t disturb our business anymore. Hurry up and leave. Do you want to get hit?”
I grabbed the nearest person by the arm and asked seriously.
“If you hit me one time, can you let me see the owner?”
“Are you crazy?”
The biggest waiter kicked us out without mercy and shouted vigorously at the guests who had just arrived.
“Please come in!”
I stared devastatingly at the guest house. I can’t believe we were kicked out without meeting the owner. It’s true that we were very stubborn, but it left a bitter taste on our mouths nonetheless. Like those men, the owner of the guest house was also likely to kick us out, but I still wanted to say something. Then Myoryeong grabbed me by the shoulder.
“Let’s go. Let’s find a job somewhere else.”
“…….”
Myoryeong’s sunken face caught my eye. It’s hard for me, too, but how hard would it be for Myoryeong who is used to eating five meals a day? Looking up at her, I got up from where I was sitting.
“Stay here.”
“What are you going to do?”
“It has to be here!”
“Hey! Ha Myoha!”
I ignored Myoryeong’s cries and entered the guest house again. Fortunately, the men seemed to be busy taking orders from customers like before. I have to find the old owner. I lay flat on my stomach like a turtle and went up the stairs. Unlike the first floor, which is crowded with people, the second floor was very quiet. Is this where the guests stay? Let’s go up one more floor. Just as I was about to climb the stairs, I heard the door open.
Creek.
I quickly crouched down and covered my mouth with my palms. How did I get here. I can’t get caught. My heart was pounding. Please don’t come this way. I really just want to meet the old master. Please go away. I curled up and desperately prayed, but suddenly one doubt arised.
“Why is it so quiet?”
I had to hear the door closing again or someone’s footsteps, but I really didn’t hear anything. It’s too quiet. There’s usually someone behind me at times like this. I broke out in a cold sweat on my back. No way, right? Right, there’s no way. That’s too obvious. I courageously turned my head. I didn’t forget to cover my mouth with my palm in advance to prepare for any unexpected situation. I was praising myself for my cautiousness when….
“Hello.”
There was a boy my age standing just one step below. I expected someone to be there, but I didn’t expect him to be this small. For a moment I thought he was a ghost, given the white clothes he was wearing. The child talked to me in a friendly way.
“How old are you?”
Why is he asking me about my age? I answered after putting my hand down.
“13 years old.”
“Really?”
“What?”
The child said, pushing his face close to me.
“Are you really 13 years old?”
“Yes, I’m 13 years old.”
Did he realize something? Oftentimes, there are characters who see through the identity of the protagonist in the romance fantasy genre, so maybe this child… But the kid, overshadowing my worries, innocently said.
“Sorry. It’s so cool. It’s the first time I’ve ever met a kid the same age as me.”
Oh, thank god. So that’s why. I was relieved. But after a moment, the child took my hand.
“It’s really cool. I didn’t expect to run into a kid like me in a place like this. Oh, isn’t it uncomfortable to keep talking like this? Wanna go to my room?”
“What?”
I was taken aback by the unexpected development.
“Let’s go play in my room.”
I hurriedly let go of his hand.
“No, I don’t have the time.”
“Let’s go quickly.”
The child dragged me away smiling. I tried to shake off the child’s arm, but somehow I couldn’t do it. Is it because I haven’t eaten anything? No matter how hard I tried, the child didn’t budge.
“I wonder what we should do?”
Tack, the door closed while I stared at it with devastated eyes.
* * *
“Shall we play Janggi? Reading books sounds good too. Do you have a favorite book?”
Even in the room, the child dragged me around like a doll. I tried to shake the child off a few more times and gave up. I can’t do this. I don’t have any energy because I didn’t eat anything. My body drooped like a squid. I think this is the end for me. When my eyes were about to close…
“Hey! Ha Myoha!”
The moment I recklessly went into the guest house played in my mind and Myo-ryeong’s voice rang out in my ears. My eyes opened wide. I’m not alone. I can’t faint. I pulled the child’s clothes as hard as I could.
“Wait a minute.”
“What’s wrong? Did you finally decide what we should do?”
“No, that’s not it, just stop for now. Let’s sit down and talk for now.
“Aren’t you going to run away?”
“I won’t run away. No, I can’t run away.”
Only then did the child see my pale face and let me go. Ugh, I let a pained sound come out. The child sat on the floor and stared at me with strange eyes when he saw that I was out of breath.
“You look exactly like an old man.”
“Really? I’m also feeling a bit old.”
After taking a breath, I made eye contact with the child. I thought about how to say it and asked first.
“What ‘s your name?”
“What?”
The child’s eyebrows went straight up.
“Why are you asking for my name?”
“No, we met for the first time today. Isn’t it natural to ask a person’s name when you meet for the first time?”
“……that’s true.”
His face didn’t look like he believed it at all, but the child soon accepted that reason and told me his name.
“Peng Soseo. My name is Peng Soseo.'”
The name caught my attention. Wow, awesome. I jumped up.
“Wow, you’re from the Peng family?”
“…….”
The child quickly turned away from me. Whether the child realized or not, I truly admired him.
“That surname is so cute! It reminds me of enoki mushrooms!”
“…… What?”
The child turned to me again.
“Are you being serious right now?”
The child’s face, which seemed genuinely surprised, caught my mind. What did I do? I quickly apologized to the child.
“I’m sorry I said that about your name. I didn’t mean to tease you. I’m not a person who jokes about other people’s names. No, actually, I really hate people who do that. You may not believe it, but it’s true.”
I don’t know what I’m saying right now. My eyes spun round and round in a circle. That’s weird, I thought I was getting better. I spoke faster and faster.
“You don’t understand what I’m talking about, do you? That’s okay, I also don’t. I don’t understand what I’m talking about. I can’t get myself together because I didn’t eat anything. So please understand….”
For a moment, something soft entered my mouth. My eyes opened at the sweet taste spreading in my mouth. Soseo smiled broadly.
“You’re so funny.”
I chewed the rice cake that Soseo had put in my mouth. I recovered my energy after getting something to eat. And I also realized how embarrassing I was earlier. I looked at Soseo’s face. Soseo was smiling like before.
“Do you want more?”
“No, it’s all right.”
Soseo held the bowl in his hand and shook it a little bit. The bowl was full of rice cakes.
“I think you want to eat more.”
“I do want to eat more, but I feel guilty.”
“Guilty? Why?”
“My sibling is waiting for me outside.”
“Then you should take it.”
Then he gave me the bowl. No, what kind of rice cake is this? As my eyes widened, Soseo asked.
“But why are you here?”
I didn’t know how great Soseo was because I really didn’t know anything at the time. It is only later in the story that we learn how great Peng Soseo is. Not knowing that the future would eventually catch me by surprise and bring me to my knees, I told him the truth.
AAaaaah so happy to be able to have the translation 🥰
Our first ML candidate? Probably not the main one, that’s probably the protagonist…
Oh my, that’s cute