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Special Side Story: Come Back To Its Original Owner Episode 9

Attached to the side of the sarangbang was a numaru veranda. It was just a turn of the head away from the cushion where he always sat.

Hong-seo found it strange that he was not allowed to leave the room even though a friend had come to visit, but since the young master said so, he could neither ask for the reason nor find a reason to do so.

Hong-seo hurried to move his brush, inkstone, and paper to the numaru.

When he stepped back from the numaru into the sarangbang to retrieve the water dropper and the brush holder, the young master’s friend happened to be entering. Hong-seo quickly stepped aside and bowed his head deeply in a polite manner. He knew he must not act on his own until an order was given.

Hae-sung also rose from his cushion and moved to the center of the room to greet his guest. No matter how strict the etiquette training of a nobleman’s son was, in the case of a very close friend, they often greeted them while remaining seated on the cushion. He did not do that.

“I see you have already returned from Hanyang.”

“I barely arrived yesterday around the hour of the dog.”

“Looking at your face, it seems you’ve had many interesting experiences.”

Hae-sung smiled and offered a seat cushion.

“Please, sit.”

As he was Hae-sung’s friend—and a close enough one to visit without prior notice—it was easy to deduce that he was also the scion of a prestigious family. For starters, his attire was magnificent.

However, unlike Hae-sung, who possessed a refined, elegant, and restrained style, his outfit was more flamboyant. The glossy purple silk durumagi and the gat-strings adorned with five-colored beads gave off a somewhat decadent impression. It might have also been due to his unabashed demeanor, unlike Hae-sung, who moved as fluidly as flowing water.

“You look quite radiant, not like someone who has just finished a long journey.”

Hae-sung, now seated on the cushion, wore a faint smile as he looked at his friend.

“There was no time for fatigue to accumulate.”

His friend nodded in response. Then, as if he were in his own home’s sarangbang, he began to take off his gat.

As he set the hat down, Hae-sung pointed toward Hong-seo as if to say, Ah, right.

“Hong-seo, give your greetings.”

“Ye… Yes?”

“This is Young Master Jeong-han of Lord Mun’s household, my childhood friend. You should greet him.”

Unless there was a specific errand to be run or if the person was a steward, there was no custom of making a household slave greet a guest separately.

Furthermore, Hong-seo was neither a slave of this house nor anything of the sort. He was an eccentric nobleman who insisted on making such a lowly fellow greet his friend.

However, Hong-seo could not question the order. He bowed his waist so low that his nose nearly touched his thigh.

“I am Ho… Hong-seo, receiving the kindness of the Master.”

“Oh, I see. So this fellow is the one from the rumors.”

Having removed his hat, Young Master Jeong-han leaned back with both hands resting behind his hips and tilted his head sideways to look up at Hong-seo’s face. For a brief moment, their eyes met; his face was as bright stolen contentas the moon and his features were sharp and clear. Hearing that he Read on Read BL Novelswas Hae-sung’s friend, Hong-seo wondered if people only gathered with those whose family status and appearance matched.

Even so, he’s ordinary compared to Master Hae-sung. For a nobleman, he lacks dignity. Looking at those gentle eyes and lips, he seems like the type to enjoy romance quite a bit.

Not all noblemen kept their backs straight even in their own sarangbang, but it was clear that Young Master Mun was not a man who placed much importance on decorum.

“Rumors?”

Hae-sung asked back, sounding puzzled by the curiosity dripping from his friend’s voice.

“Didn’t you hear some interesting stories after I returned from Hanyang?”

“Interesting stories?”

“That the son of the Minister’s house has put a chicken thief in his small sarang and is cherishing him dearly.”

■

Cherishing dearly…

Standing against the wall, Hong-seo murmured the words under his breath.

Since entering the room across from the sarangchae, he had never stepped outside the main gate of this house. Aside from the steward, he had few opportunities to speak with the other servants. Because of that, he hadn’t known such rumors were circulating.

The chicken thief the Minister’s son cherishes dearly…

For some reason, Hong-seo’s face flushed. Even his earlobes felt hot.

Hae-sung’s pleasant laughter rang out.

“That’s right. This fellow was a chicken thief.”

Young Master Mun, who had been leaning back with his legs stretched out as if it were his own room, suddenly turned his head and looked straight at Hong-seo. Despite being a nobleman, he acted almost like a commoner compared to Hae-sung.

“You should consider it a heavenly stroke of luck that you entered this young master’s house. If you had stolen a chicken from my house’s kitchen, you would have received a nasty flogging.”

Hong-seo’s eyes widened, and he unconsciously Read on Read BL Novelslooked at Hae-sung. Read on Read BL NovelsNoticing the gaze, stolen contentHae-sung lightly rebuked Young Master Mun.

“Stop it, you’re just scaring him for no reason.”

Still, Young Master Mun did not stop; he crawled toward Hong-seo and suddenly grabbed his ankle.

“Or perhaps he’s kept you in the sarangchae to make you do other things day and night.”

Hong-seo barely managed to swallow a scream that almost escaped his throat.

“I told you to stop!”

Hae-sung’s voice turned sharp. It was the first time Hong-seo had seen him like that.

Only then did Young Master Mun let go of Hong-seo’s ankle and return to his spot on the cushion. Even so, his face was still wearing a mischievous grin.

“This man is as inflexible as ever. Seeing how you protect him so much, are the rumors true?”

Hae-sung ordered with a somewhat stiff expression.

“Hong-seo, you may go back now.”

“Ye… Yes, Master.”

After bowing politely, Hong-seo hurried back to the numaru as if escaping. He was relieved to be away from Young Master Mun. He breathed a sigh of relief, tidied his things, and knelt into position.

Because all three folding doors had been lifted and fixed open, the numaru was overflowing with fresh, fragrant air. With just a slight turn of his head, the royal azaleas in the garden came into view.

When he first arrived at this house, the apricot blossoms were in full bloom, but in just a few days, the azaleas were now budding.

The two young masters briefly exchanged news about various local affairs that had occurred while Young Master Mun was away. Once the servant brought the tea and snack tray and withdrew, their private conversation began in earnest.

“So, tell me some of the interesting things that happened.”

At Hae-sung’s request, Young Master Mun replied with an air of conceit.

“I stopped by a gisaeng house called Sunyangjeong.”

“A gisaeng house?”

Hae-sung’s voice held a mixture of disapproval and bewilderment. It was a bewilderment as if he couldn’t imagine his friend visiting such a place.

However, in Hong-seo’s eyes, Young Master Mun seemed like the type of person who would wear out the threshold of a gisaeng house.

“That house is different from ordinary gisaeng houses.”

“A gisaeng house is a gisaeng house; what could be different? Is it a house where they study literature?”

Hae-sung sneered.

Young Master Mun suddenly leaned his upper body forward, closing the distance between himself and Hae-sung. Then, contrary to his light demeanor, he lowered his voice subtly.

“It is a place that connects people like you and me.”

“……”

Hae-sung did not respond. He simply lifted his teacup to his lips in silence.

Hong-seo, who had been kneeling and doing calculations, paused his brush and tilted his head.

People like you and me… what kind of people is he talking about? Young masters of high-ranking families?

Taking Hae-sung’s lack of response as a sign of interest, Young Master Mun continued his story with excitement.

“Of course, basically, it’s no different from any other gisaeng house. It’s a place where men who want to indulge in wine and lust with gisaengs gather. But listen. If you say this to the gatekeeper, the story changes.”

Clearing his throat, Young Master Mun, with a face full of mischievous smiles, spread his arms wide and raised his voice.

“I have come today to taste the Jade Flute!”

“And what changes if you say that?”

“You are guided to a room where men, not gisaengs, are gathered.”

Hae-sung’s straight, long eyebrows twitched.

“You must be mocking me.”

“Have you lived your whole life being fooled?”

“Then what does that mean? Do men come out and serve wine as if they were gisaengs?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Setting down his teacup, Young Master Mun shook his head and continued.

“It is a place where people who have no need for gisaengs gather.”

Hong-seo found it more and more impossible to understand their words. Why on earth would people who have no need for gisaengs frequent a gisaeng house?

“People like that gather to share drinks, engage in free conversation, and visit our sitein the process, flirtations are exchanged, and if [unauthorized copy]their bodies happen to grow warm…”

“That’s enough.”