“D-d-do you know who gave you this letter?”
When Ryu Seol-hwa asked with a flushed face, the child shook his head with a bright smile.
“I couldn’t see because they had their face covered!”
“You-you-you don’t know who it was?”
“Hehe. Yes!”
Ryu Seol-hwa sighed in disappointment at the child’s answer and added one more question.
“Did you happen to read what was written in the letter?”
“I don’t know how to read.”
At the child’s innocent response, Ryu Seol-hwa showed a regretful expression, and the child added one more thing.
“Oh! The person who gave me the letter said that sister should read it ‘alone’.”“Yes, that would be proper.”
Replying thus, Ryu Seol-hwa hurriedly folded the letter and tucked it into her sleeve. It was too embarrassing to show such a love letter to anyone else.
A moment later, Hong So-hee, who had gone out to help Mu-jin, returned to her side.
“So-So-So-hee, do you think it’s okay to head back now?”
Struggling to speak with a reddened face, Ryu Seol-hwa was met with a brief stern look from Hong So-hee.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Only after a few seconds had passed did Hong So-hee’s words of ‘permission’ come out.
That evening.
Back at her pavilion in the Cheonryu Sangdan, Ryu Seol-hwa looked at Hong So-hee with slightly nervous eyes.
Despite being in a mistress and maid relationship.
“S-sorry, Hong So.”
“I’m fine.”
When Ryu Seol-hwa apologized in a melancholic tone, Hong So-hee responded in a monotone voice.
After accepting Ryu Seol-hwa’s apology with indifference, Hong So-hee added more.
“But continually putting off your tasks is not good for you.”
“But this was something you suggested, Hong So…”
“My lady.”
The maid Hong So-hee cut her off abruptly.
“I merely ‘suggested’ an idea. I said that if you actively helped with the new business that the Sangdanju Lord started, he would surely be pleased. But the decision is entirely yours, my lady.”
“Uh, okay.”
As Ryu Seol-hwa nodded with a disheartened face, Hong So-hee added with a gentle smile.
“This practice must begin between you and me. If the Sangdanju Lord asks whose idea it was, and you mistakenly say it was mine, the Lord will be disappointed. Those in high positions should take credit even for the suggestions of their subordinates.”
Hong So-hee’s words seemed reasonable, and Ryu Seol-hwa nodded slightly.
Although things had changed a bit recently, her father, Ryu Ji-gwang, was a Sangdanju obsessed with work and a cold man who believed in the supremacy of ability.
As Hong So-hee said, if she acted according to her maid’s words and succeeded, her father would indeed be disappointed.
While she was organizing her thoughts, Hong So-hee spoke again.
“Next time, you must endure a little longer. You are the young lady of the Cheonryu Sangdan, one of the five great merchant groups in the world. You don’t need to be mindful of anyone. Not even the Shaolin.”
“But…”
Ryu Seol-hwa tried to say something, but upon seeing Hong So-hee’s stern expression, she lowered her head.
After watching her for a moment, Hong So-hee approached and gently stroked her head.
“This is necessary for you to gain the recognition of the Sangdanju Lord. Please hold on a little longer.”
“Okay.”
Ryu Seol-hwa responded resolutely to Hong So-hee’s advice in her own way.
Ryu Seol-hwa was terrified of Hong So-hee leaving her, just like those who had been with her before.
‘Y-yeah. I need to do well! I can’t lose Hong So like the previous maids and nannies.’
Her mother had died giving birth to her, and her father was a Sangdanju obsessed with work.
It was her nanny, who had raised her since childhood, who took care of Ryu Seol-hwa, who had been neglected without the touch of her mother or father.
But on the day Ryu Seol-hwa turned five, Ryu Ji-gwang replaced her nanny.
He had heard rumors among the household staff that Ryu Seol-hwa was too dependent on her nanny.
Since then, her nannies and maids were regularly replaced every three or four years.
After witnessing several people she depended on being driven away by her father, Ryu Seol-hwa locked her heart away.
However, Hong So-hee had successfully broken down her barriers with active effort.
The problem was, Hong So-hee had already been in charge of her for about a year and a half. Within the next year and a half, or at most three years, she was destined to be replaced.
That’s why Ryu Seol-hwa followed Hong So-hee’s words and tried to gain her father’s approval. If she gained his approval, then Hong So-hee wouldn’t be driven away.
While briefly enjoying the touch of Hong So-hee, her father, mother, and teacher, a thought suddenly struck Ryu Seol-hwa. She asked in a hesitant voice.
“H-Hong So, what do you think if a man who likes me appears?”
Thinking of the letter she had received earlier, she asked with a flushed face. But Hong So-hee’s face remained cold.
“Surely, he would be approaching you for your wealth and status.”
“R-right?”
As Ryu Seol-hwa lowered her head in disappointment at her stern words, Hong So-hee added.
“But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
“R-really?”
“Men are simple creatures who fall in love with a woman’s face and body. So, if he approaches you, it means he isn’t concerned with those things.”
It was a blatant remark. It implied no man would approach her based on her looks.
“In other words, he would be a calculating man rather than a foolish wolf who only looks at appearances. And, for someone who must lead the Sangdan, such a man might be more suitable.”
As Ryu Seol-hwa lowered her head at the blunt statement, Hong So-hee added another remark.
“But not all men are like that. My lady, there will be men who will approach you for your inner self.”
“For my inner self…?”
“Yes. However, unlike appearances or wealth, to see your inner self requires spending a long time together. Like me.”
“Ah…”
“So, my lady, you must develop the ability to discern whether a man approaches you for your abilities or for your inner self, like I do.”
With that, Hong So-hee hugged Ryu Seol-hwa affectionately.
* * *
Hong So-hee, who had comforted Ryu Seol-hwa, stepped out of the pavilion shortly after. Inwardly, she mocked the foolish Ryu Seol-hwa.
‘Hmph. Does she really think a man would truly love her?’
Of course, it was also her doing that had led to Ryu Seol-hwa gaining so much weight.
Growing up as the daughter of the Cheonryu Sangdan, receiving both expectations and criticism from all around, she had been fed sweet treats consistently over the past year and a half.
‘Raised as a rich girl, she’s really easy to manipulate.’
Hong So-hee was originally nothing more than a low-ranking spy.
From what she could remember, since about the age of four or five, she had been trained as a spy in an unknown location.
It might seem like a complex and difficult education for children, but the reality was far more brutal.
Children who couldn’t keep up with the training were severely punished, and those who still couldn’t catch up after being punished lost their lives.
Those who had to witness their peers being killed or abused regularly were stripped of their childhood.
Hong So-hee also grew up as a spy in such an environment, and around the age of ten, she was given her first mission.
She was to infiltrate the Cheonryu Sangdan disguised as a maid and gather minor information. It was a trivial mission suited for a low-ranking spy.
Conversely, this meant that the security of the Cheonryu Sangdan was extremely tight. Unless one had served the Sangdan for over a decade, it was impossible to obtain crucial information.
Thus, for about ten years, Hong So-hee performed menial tasks while serving as a maid.
Whether it was luck or the heavens favoring her, she was surprisingly assigned to assist Ryu Seol-hwa.
Hong So-hee saw this as an opportunity. She decided to use Ryu Seol-hwa. Therefore, she did her best to win Ryu Seol-hwa’s heart.
After over a year of effort, she established herself as Ryu Seol-hwa’s close aide. In fact, she had reached a point where she could manipulate Ryu Seol-hwa with just a word.
And recently, another opportunity had presented itself to her.
‘The business between Shaolin and Cheonryu Sangdan. If I can extract as much information as possible about that clinic, my position will surely rise.’
Shaolin, which had always maintained a high and mighty stance on the mountain, had suddenly partnered with the Cheonryu Sangdan. Although no information was provided to a low-ranking spy like her, she could instinctively tell.
This matter would certainly interfere with the grand scheme of the organization she belonged to.
As she pondered these thoughts, she found herself arriving at her destination.
When she entered the pavilion, an old man addressed her in a stern tone.
“You’re late today.”
“There was some work.”
Hong So-hee handed over a letter written in their code.
“Is this about that place?”
“Yes.”
After briefly answering, Hong So-hee bowed her head and tried to leave the pavilion. Staying too long at such a late hour could arouse unnecessary suspicion.
However, as she was about to leave, the old man spoke to her.
“Aren’t you being too greedy lately?”
“I’m only doing it for the sake of the grand scheme.”
They exchanged a brief, intense gaze.
“Go on, then.”
At the old man’s words, Hong So-hee bowed her head and left the room.
But as she bowed her head, she suppressed her anger inwardly.
‘Hmph. The old man must be afraid of losing his position.’
Hong So-hee thought the old man was jealous of her.
He was issuing a warning over the simple task of deceiving a foolish monk from the mountain and the naive Ryu Seol-hwa.
Meanwhile, at that time.
In an abandoned house on the outskirts of Deungbong-hyeon.
“Hm.”
There, Mu-jin hid, completely covered in black attire, concealing his body and face.
“So, it’s not Ryu Seol-hwa.”
She hadn’t reacted to the bait he had thrown.
That meant she likely hadn’t yet made contact with the mastermind.
“Then, is it Hong So-hee’s turn?”
Muttering to himself, Mu-jin began to write another letter.
A few days later.
Ryu Seol-hwa and Hong So-hee visited the clinic again.
For some reason, despite sweating profusely, Ryu Seol-hwa stayed at the clinic for quite a long time, longer than the previous visit.
“Shall we go out together this time?”
Due to overlapping treatment times, Mu-jin, who had not been able to have a proper conversation with them, headed to the clinic entrance after finishing his treatment.
At the clinic entrance, as usual, the elderly folks warmly welcomed Mu-jin, calling him the Buddha-Handed Novice.
Mu-jin approached them, gave some massages, and taught them a few simple exercises. He subtly called Ryu Seol-hwa over as well.
“Would you like to join us today, Seol-hwa benefactor?”
Ryu Seol-hwa hesitated for a moment and looked to the side. When Hong So-hee nodded, she approached Mu-jin.
As Hong So-hee watched the two with a sharp gaze.
“Pretty sister~!”
A different child than last time, one who frequented the clinic daily with his grandfather, approached her.
The child tactfully used his body to block the view of others as he handed Hong So-hee a letter.
Hong So-hee coolly accepted the letter. She read the contents of the letter for a moment.
“!!”
She quickly hid the letter in her sleeve, struggling to conceal her surprised expression.
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