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Special Side Story: Come Back To Its Original Owner Episode 10

At Hae-sung’s stern voice, Master Moon stopped talking, but his snickering laughter continued. Then, he murmured in a voice that sounded as if he were longing for an old lover.

“Ah… those five days were like a dream.”

“You’ll just keep looking for excuses to visit Hanyang again.”

As if Hae-sung’s words had hit the mark, Master Moon laughed self-deprecatingly and tilted his teacup.

“A young master who will soon place first in the state examination and further elevate his family’s name wouldn’t understand a troublemaker like me.”

Placing first in the state examination.

At those words, Hong-seo peeked up.

Does that mean Master Hae-sung is someone who placed first?

“Don’t talk nonsense. Nothing has been announced yet.”

“Did you not finish the palace examination (Jeonsi)1) safely? Now all you have to do is wait comfortably for the results.”

“My father said that this time, it will take some time for the results to come out.”

“No matter how long it takes, the top spot will eventually be yours.”

Hae-sung let out a hollow laugh at Master Moon’s reckless confidence.

“Haha, what makes you so certain?”

“Am I not someone who has been with you since we were infants? I probably know better than your own mother who bore you just how benevolent and brilliant you are.”

A benevolent and brilliant person.

In his heart, Hong-seo couldn’t help but nod vigorously in agreement.

It seemed that even Master Moon occasionally spoke the truth.

“I appreciate you saying so, but I feel my depth of scholarship is still woefully insufficient. I hear that [unauthorized copy]these days, those who place first are often in their mid-thirties; indeed, when I went to [visit our site]the palace examination, everyone was about ten years older than I. I don’t think I can catch up to the knowledge and insight they’ve accumulated over thirty years.2)”

Listening to the conversation, it seemed Hae-sung hadn’t placed first yet, but had completed the final stage of the civil service exam and was awaiting the results.

A top scorer who appears only once every three years.

Thinking that Hae-sung might actually become such a person made Hong-seo’s heart flutter for no reason, and his chest felt full of pride already.

“Too much humility can invite dislike. Just wait and see; you will be the top scorer.”

Hong-seo agreed with Master Moon’s words a hundred, a thousand times over.

Though he was a frivolous man who joked around like a commoner despite being a nobleman, there were parts of Master Moon that Hong-seo liked.

Having finished the problems he could do with his eyes closed, Hong-seo began to calculate ‘subtraction’ with a light heart. Subtract 17 from 230… let’s see…

“Since he’s a man who says he won’t even marry until he places first and enters officialdom, he should hurry up and get there.”

However, at Master Moon’s next words, Hong-seo’s calculations came to a grinding halt.

“It’s not just me. For those with a deep ambition for officialdom, that [Read on Read BL Novels]is visit our sitegenerally unauthorized copythe trend these days.”

“If a handsome man from a powerful family like you remains unmarried, you’ll only confuse the hearts of the young ladies. Hurry up and place first so you can get married.”

“Ah.”

The brush slipped, and Hong-seo let out a sound unconsciously. He didn’t usually make such mistakes…

Peeking slightly into the guest room, the young masters didn’t seem to have heard the sound Hong-seo made. It was a relief.

“Even with our dispositions, neither you nor I can avoid marriage in the end, can we?”

At Master Moon’s following remark, Hong-seo’s heart began to race, though for a different reason than before.

Dispositions? Does the Master have some kind of chronic illness?

“As for me, with my personality, I intend to live cleverly by playing around here and there, but I worry about your stubborn nature.”

“What is there to worry about? I am the one worried about your dissipation.”

Hahaha. Master Moon laughed boisterously at Hae-sung’s words.

The laughter was so loud and hearty that Hong-seo glanced inside the room. Unlike Hae-sung, who sat upright on the cushion as always, Master Moon was sprawled out on a wooden pillow, his legs twisted and knees raised so that his overcoat was flipped over. He looked exactly like a commoner lounging idly on a field ridge.

When his eyes met Hong-seo’s, he winked and gave a wide grin.

Hong-seo hurriedly buried his head back into the paper.

“Both you and I are the eldest grandsons of our families.”

Hae-sung’s voice continued.

“It is our duty from birth to carry on the will of our ancestors, enter officialdom to fulfill our mission, and protect the ancestral shrine. Why should that suddenly feel suffocating or oppressive?”

He spoke those words, but there seemed to be a hint of bitter resignation in his voice.

“I came here in excitement, thinking you had finally made up your mind after I heard Master Lee had brought a boy into the room across the hall…”

Master Moon sat up from his lying position and clicked his tongue.

“To teach him scholarship?”

Resting his arm on one raised knee, Master Moon shook his head while looking at Hong-seo on the veranda.

“As expected, the depth of your benevolent nature is something a rake like me cannot fathom.”

“If you’re just going to talk nonsense, please leave.”

At Hae-sung’s cold voice, Master Moon picked up his hat and stood up. Then, he leaned over and gave a beaming smile toward Hong-seo, who had been unable to do his calculations for a while.

“Hong-seo, let’s see each other again.”

■

After Master Moon’s visit, Hae-sung’s state seemed somewhat strange.

Usually, he would dismiss Hong-seo around the time the lamps needed to be lit, but that day, the work continued even after dinner.

While Hong-seo retreated to his room to eat dinner, Hae-sung remained sitting on the cushion. Although a book was open in front of him, he didn’t seem to be reading it.

Even though it was spring, unauthorized copyit was still a time when a chilly breeze lingered at night [stolen content]and in the early morning.

A brazier filled with charcoal was placed in one corner of the guest room, making the air warm, and thanks to several beeswax candles being lit, there was enough light to work even though it had become night.

Even for a noble household, there weren’t many homes that could use expensive beeswax candles so generously. However, Hae-sung provided an oil lamp even to Hong-seo, who was no different from a slave—and in some ways, in a position worse than the household slaves. So that he could read the books Hae-sung lent him and study even in his own room.

Hae-sung, who had been reading a text about cabbage harvesting, suddenly stopped. Then, looking across the desk at Hong-seo, he spoke in an apologetic tone, as if he hadn’t realized.

“I have kept you for too long. You must want to rest.”

“I am fine, Master!”

Working late didn’t matter. Compared to honing his skills while being beaten, or being worn down by daily farm work just to put food in his mouth during periods when he couldn’t perform, this was not even close to being considered work. To Hong-seo, it was practically like playing and eating.

“However…”

As Hong-seo bowed his head hesitantly, Lee Hae-sung showed curiosity.

“However?”

“It weighs on my mind that you skipped dinner, Master…”

“Are you worrying about me?”

Hae-sung’s gentle smile reassured Hong-seo as always. Hong-seo nodded vigorously.

With a pleased expression, Hae-sung said something unexpected.

“Then, would you like to have a drink with me?”

“A drink?”

“You are also a proper adult man; surely you aren’t saying you can’t handle a single drink?”

“It is not that, but how could I possibly dare to… with the Master…”

“This is the Master’s order. Let us drink together.”

Hae-sung called the steward and ordered him to bring two liquor tables.

Even if the tables were set separately, for the master to drink with a subordinate… even the usually silent steward could not hide his bewildered [Read on Read BL Novels]expression this time. stolen contentHowever, Hae-sung, who had given the order, remained perfectly composed.

The liquor table was incredibly lavish.

Plates filled with glistening boiled pork, three or four types of pancakes, and tangy seasoned vegetables crowded the table. To accompany them was a clear, transparent refined rice wine.

Indeed, the young master’s liquor table was incomparably more luxurious than the meal table Hong-seo received.

Hong-seo also received a meal table brought by a servant in the room across from the guest room, and the amount was sufficiently generous, but naturally, it was not the same table as the young master’s.