First Day on the Job

The next morning, Hayun had slept fitfully from before dawn. The unfamiliar bed, the unfamiliar ceiling, and the strange sounds drifting in from beyond the window had stolen every last wink of sleep.

Ugh, my first day at work... I hate it.

She'd been through the morning commute countless times in the twenty-first century. But this time, everything was different.

"Did I really have to wrap my hair up like this?" Hayun rose and stood before the mirror—only for a complete stranger, a man with a freshly tied sangtu topknot, to be standing there staring back at her. She lowered her voice and began her final inspection.

"Hello, there. A pleasure to meet you. My name is Im Haseong."

"How do you do? I'm Im Haseong—we'll be working together starting today."

"Well met, good sir. Haseong, at your service."

She had practiced all day yesterday, and her voice had grown remarkably natural. Her clothes had been mended, too, and fit her to a T.

All right. At this level, it's perfect.

Taking a deep breath, Hayun stepped out of her room. Even this early, the compound was already bustling with people hurrying to and fro. Watching them, she moved with careful, nervous steps.

The meeting is in the main hall, right?

According to what she'd heard yesterday, there was a meeting every Monday morning—and today happened to be Monday. The attendees included Daebang Im Sang-ok along with every single haengsu. In other words, it was a gathering of all of Mansang's working staff.

A little nerve-wracking.

Hayun slipped into the main hall, concealing her unease. With a creak of the door, she found roughly thirty people already assembled inside, and she bowed politely to the room.

"Good morning, everyone."

Silence. A silence so total it made her greeting feel pointless.

Not a single soul acknowledged her. An awkward current hung in the air of the hall.

So this is how it's going to be.

Despite the naked disdain, Hayun's expression didn't flicker as she calmly took up a vacant spot.

I expected at least this much.

The uncomfortable quiet stretched on for a while. Then, at last, the doors of the main hall swung open and Daebang Im Sang-ok appeared.

"Good morning, all of you."

"We pay our respects to you, Daebang."

At the arrival of Im Sang-ok—the merchant prince who had raised Mansang into Joseon's greatest trading house—every haengsu in the room bowed in unison. A striking contrast to their reception of Hayun just moments before.

"You're all gathered early, I see." Im Sang-ok's eyes swept across the familiar faces, then stopped. "Ah, but first—there's someone I ought to introduce. Haengsu Im. Step forward, please."

At his summons, Hayun moved to the front, and Im Sang-ok began the introduction.

"This is the newest member of our ranks, who will be working alongside—"

That was when a thunderous voice rang out from one corner of the hall.

"We already know."

The haengsu spoke with unmistakable mockery.

"You're the gukbap haengsu, aren't you?"

"The gukbap haengsu?"

"Word is she worked at a roadside tavern. Sold gukbap so well they made her a haengsu for it."

"Kekeke. The gukbap peddler, ladies and gentlemen."

Snickering laughter erupted from all around.

Among these men who had climbed the ranks through proper channels, Hayun was effectively a parachuted appointment. Of course they wouldn't look at her kindly. Open scorn came raining down on her.

"How much gukbap could she possibly have sold to earn a haengsu's rank? Ten bowls a day? Twenty?"

"Oh come now, she'd have to move at least a hundred bowls a day, no matter how bad she was."

"So that'd be, what, ten nyang?"

"Heh. That wouldn't even buy a single ginseng root."

"And that's all she's worth, is it?"

"And here I thought she'd bought herself a whole building selling soup."

"Wahahaha! Honestly, you lot and your jokes!"

In an instant, the main hall dissolved into a sea of laughter.

Brazen mockery, on open display. Word of Hayun had already spread far and wide, and it took no guessing to identify the one person behind it all.

Song Dohyeon...!

Hayun glared at him—but he merely laughed quietly behind his fan.

"Everyone, silence."

The jeers had crossed the line, and Im Sang-ok stepped in to mediate.

"It's true that Haengsu Im worked at a tavern."

Already well aware of her abilities, Im Sang-ok came to her defense.

"But the reason I brought Haengsu Im here is not simply because she sold gukbap well."

"Then why, may I ask?"

"Because Haengsu Im took a dying tavern—with no capital whatsoever—and rebuilt it into the finest inn on Mungyeong Saejae."

Having said his piece, Im Sang-ok turned to face the haengsu who had been sneering mere moments ago.

"Selling plenty of goods is no great feat. Drop your prices, or set up shop where the foot traffic is good, and you're done. But do any of you understand how difficult it is to raise a fallen establishment back to its feet?"

"Hmm...!"

None of the haengsu could easily rebut him.

"Once a place has been branded a failure, no one ever goes near it again. The gloomy air about it makes people avoid it for no good reason. Starting a brand-new tavern would be many times easier than reviving one of those."

A few of the haengsu nodded. Agreement.

"And yet Haengsu Im accomplished exactly that. A tavern where nothing but flies buzzed day after day became so crowded after she took over that customers had to draw waiting tickets and stand in line for hours."

"Is that really true?"

Someone asked timidly, and Im Sang-ok answered with conviction.

"I verified it with my own two eyes."

"The Daebang himself...!"

The haengsu's expressions shifted, subtly. But only for a select few. The vast majority still regarded Hayun with crooked, skeptical eyes.

"Hmph. Gukbap is still gukbap, whatever you say."

As if on cue, the others chimed in one after another.

"Does selling soup have anything in common with what we sell?"

"Exactly. Trading food and trading goods are worlds apart. Ginseng, silk, medicinal herbs—how could any of those be compared to gukbap?"

"Customers wander into a tavern on their own, but we have to go out and hawk our wares door to door. It's a completely different trade."

As the sneers continued, Im Sang-ok gave up trying to persuade them. He already knew the truth: you could not talk merchants into anything. The only way to shut a merchant's mouth was results.

Knowing this, Im Sang-ok sent Hayun back to her place.

"Haengsu Im. That should be enough of an introduction for now—return to your spot."

"Yes, sir."

And so, amid all that noise and trouble, Hayun's introduction came to an end and the meeting began in earnest.

"Jeopjang Yun."

Im Sang-ok turned his head and called for Jeopjang Yun, who stood at one side of the hall.

"Yes, Daebang."

Jeopjang Yun approached carrying a ledger. Its pages were crammed with the inventory and quantities of every good Mansang held.

Im Sang-ok glanced over the ledger and asked, "What goods require our immediate attention?"

"The gulbi, sir."

"Gulbi?"

At such an unexpected item, the haengsu asked in bewilderment.

"Why the gulbi? The holidays are still months away, no?"

"Gulbi keeps for ages. Why would it be urgent?"

"If I recall, the stock arrived less than three months ago... isn't there a mistake in the ledger?"

To their questions, Jeopjang Yun explained the reason.

"Reports say the yellow corvina catch in the Chilsan Sea this year has been extraordinarily large."

"And?"

"That volume will reach us within two months at the latest, and when it does, corvina prices are certain to crash. We must dispose of the gulbi we're holding before that happens, by any means necessary."

"Hmm..."

Grasping the gravity of the situation, Im Sang-ok asked with a grave expression, "How much gulbi do we currently have?"

"Around three thousand dureum."

"Three thousand dureum?"

A murmur swept through the hall.

"At five nyang per dureum, that's..."

"Over fifteen thousand nyang!"

The haengsu who finished the arithmetic froze in alarm. Fifteen thousand nyang was, in modern terms, well over a billion won—and factoring in the realities of the era, that money's true worth was several times greater still.

With a billion on the verge of evaporating into thin air, the look in every eye gathered in that room changed.

"You've all heard, then?"

"Yes, Daebang."

"Until further notice, we focus on selling the gulbi."

Im Sang-ok's voice was firm.

"The one who sells the most in the meantime will be rewarded accordingly. I expect each of you to give it your utmost."

"Yes, Daebang!"

The answering haengsu's eyes gleamed. If this business went well, it might open a path to the currently vacant seat of Daehaengsu itself—a golden opportunity none of them could afford to miss. They scattered into action at once.

"I'll hit the market first!"

"The fish merchants' quarter is mine!"

"Then I'll send word to Gaeseong!"

As the haengsu scattered to sell their gulbi, only Hayun—on her very first day—remained standing blankly in place. Seeing this, Jeopjang Yun approached her with a puzzled look.

"Why are you just standing there? Go."

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"What do you mean, where?"

Hayun shrugged. "I haven't been given any training yet, have I? Someone should at least tell me what I'm supposed to do."

Jeopjang Yun let out a contemptuous sigh. "This is not a place where anyone teaches you anything."

"Ah...!"

"Selling goods is the most basic duty of a haengsu. If you carry the title, you're expected to manage that much on your own."

His tone dripped with the unspoken jab: And you became a haengsu without even knowing that?

So I have to go out and pound the pavement myself. Like a sales rep.

As the haengsu had said, selling gukbap and selling goods were entirely different trades. No matter how brilliant her marketing plans were, standing still would get her nowhere. In this era, selling anything ultimately meant rolling up your sleeves and getting out there in person.

So I have to scout out the buyers myself too, huh?

It was an age when information was worth more than at any other time. No sharing, no searching, nothing of the kind to be hoped for. The locations of trading partners, the positions of markets, the dates the markets opened—everything held in one's head was an asset. There was no chance the haengsu, who had spent decades bleeding for such precious intelligence, would hand it over to Hayun, whom they already resented.

Only belatedly grasping the situation, Hayun asked, "Before that—could I take a look at the condition of the gulbi first?"

"The condition of the gulbi?"

Jeopjang Yun echoed her, looking genuinely surprised. Every minute spent dawdling indoors was a minute wasted, and she wanted to inspect the stock?

"Well, knowing the state of the product helps you sell it better, doesn't it?"

"Hm... very well. Follow me."

Her reasoning had a certain logic to it, so Jeopjang Yun led her to the warehouse where the gulbi was stored.

A short while later, arriving at the storage house, Hayun found herself struck speechless.

"Whoa... how much is all of this?"

Thousands upon thousands of gulbi hung in dense, dangling rows from the rafters. A rich, savory aroma wafted gently from the well-dried fish.

"Thankfully, they look to be in good condition."

Having roughly assessed the stock, Hayun asked, "Where are these from, anyway?"

"Yeonggwang."

"Yeonggwang?"

Yeonggwang gulbi. The finest gulbi in all of Joseon—a prized delicacy worthy of the king's own royal table. Even in the twenty-first century, Yeonggwang gulbi, famous for its exceptional quality, remained as popular as ever.

The moment she confirmed the fish were Yeonggwang product, Hayun's mind began racing.

"What price am I supposed to sell these at?"

"We acquired them at four nyang, so a minimum of five nyang or more."

"Five nyang, hm..."

Five nyang was the price of a full sack of rice. Which meant this was a delicacy ordinary people couldn't even dream of buying. There was a proverb about skinflints so penniless they hung a gulbi from the ceiling just to stare at it because they could never afford to eat one—she now understood exactly how it had been born.

"Pricier than I expected."

"It takes that long to make. Can't be helped."

Jeopjang Yun explained why gulbi commanded such a price.

"To make a proper gulbi, you catch the corvina, salt it, dry it, season it again... a month at the absolute minimum."

"I see."

"And customers don't exactly buy gulbi every day. Most purchase it only for ancestral rites or special occasions."

"Then why on earth did we stock so much of it?"

Hayun asked, sweeping her gaze across the warehouse. Three thousand dureum in total—sixty thousand fish by count. A staggering quantity.

"Because it sells year-round, of course. And to every corner of the country, no less."

Jeopjang Yun answered with a sigh.

"Under normal circumstances, we'd sell it slowly. Three hundred dureum a month, and in a year we'd clear the lot with room to spare."

"Ah, I see."

"But this year's catch came in at double the usual, which threw the plan into disarray and forced an early sell-off. Any slower, and the losses would be ruinous."

"Understood."

Now knowing the full story, Hayun studied the gulbi again. Fittingly for Yeonggwang product, the quality was flawless—the fish were uniform in size, and the preparation was immaculate.

Yeonggwang gulbi...

Hayun murmured to herself for a moment. Then—

"Ah! That's it!"

As if something had clicked, she clapped her hands together and let out a cry of realization. She turned to Jeopjang Yun.

"Do you happen to know a skilled carpenter anywhere nearby?"

"A carpenter?"

Jeopjang Yun tilted his head. "Why would you need a carpenter all of a sudden...?"

"Because I need one to sell the gulbi."

"The carpenter is going to buy gulbi?"

He stared at her as though she'd lost her mind.

Beginner or not, isn't this a bit much?

The Daebang had personally brought this woman in, and he'd allowed himself some expectations—but her behavior left a great deal to be desired. Jeopjang Yun exhaled a short sigh and answered.

"At the foot of the mountain over there, you'll find Master Hwang the carpenter. The finest craftsman in these parts. If it can be made of wood, he can make it—anything."

"Thank you."

Hayun bowed her head. "And one more favor, if I may."

"What now?"

"Tell me the most powerful yangban household in the area."

"A yangban household? Why on earth do you want that?"

"Because I'm going to sell gulbi there."

Hearing this, Jeopjang Yun clicked his tongue inwardly.

She'll run her legs off visiting every house and still won't sell a fraction of the stock...

It went without saying that even yangban families didn't eat gulbi daily. Perhaps one dureum every three months at best—and that was counting the genuinely well-off households. Even if she visited every yangban house in Uiju, she would fail to move thirty dureum. It fell far, far short of the two hundred dureum each haengsu needed to sell on average.

Tsk tsk. I can see exactly how this ends without even watching.

Facing this entirely predictable future, Jeopjang Yun answered wearily, "The Min family is the foremost house in Uiju."

"The Min family?"

"Yes. The residence of Royal Secretariat Min. The richest household in Uiju, with influence to match."

"Secretariat Min..."

Hayun murmured the name to herself. "Got it. Then I'll be on my way."

Armed with all the information she needed, Hayun hoisted a single dureum of gulbi onto her shoulder.

"Ugh. I can take this with me, right?"

"Yes—provided you bring back its full price."

"Don't worry. I'll multiply it several times over."

"Several times?"

Jeopjang Yun's eyes went round as saucers, and Hayun looked startled.

"What? Am I not allowed to?"

"No, it's not that..."

"Then I'm off!"

With a confident grin, Hayun strode out of the warehouse. Jeopjang Yun watched her retreating back and muttered under his breath.

"Haah... let's just hope she doesn't cause some catastrophe."