[Guest Writer: Krb] At the Crossroads - A SKKS Fanfic

'Lunar Annals' has its first guest writer! The brilliant Lady Krb has written something that shall make everyone (and Yeorim fans in particular) VERY happy:


Title: At the Crossroads  
Genre: General  
Characters: Gu Yong Ha, Head Merchant Gu, Original Female Character  
Words: 2571
Summary: Everyone reaches a crossroad sooner or later… even THE Gu Yong Ha.

o.o0o.o

The night air was cold, and every breath that Yong Ha exhaled produced a misty white vapor. Still, he chose to stay out. Sitting at one of the outdoor tables at the tavern, Yong Ha was drinking alone tonight. He poured himself a glass, raised a toast to nobody in particular, then tilted his head back and downed the contents in a single shot. Yong Ha smiled to himself; what a bittersweet finale to the Sungkyunkwan chapter of his life. 

Yoon Hee and Sun Joon had gotten themselves tied in the cords of matrimonial bliss. Jae Shin was finally coming to terms with himself and his father. And Yong Ha? Yong Ha was happy for them. Really, he was. Unfortunately for himself, ‘Happily-ever-after’ hadn’t dropped by, and from the looks of things, wasn’t intending to anytime soon.

Just earlier in the day, Head Merchant Gu had called his son into the study. (Technically speaking though, his idea of ‘call’ was to have 5 burly servants practically drag his son in.)

“ I don’t care if you want to waste your life following that Soron around. I can’t be bothered either, if you intend to continue spending your nights at Moran-gak. But at least do your part for this family…”

“Father, I…”

“How do you think I amassed this wealth? Do you think it was by doing everything as I pleased? For 22 years, I have fed and clothed you with the best. How many times do you need me to say this? Without this marriage, your children will be nothing…like you. How did you like that little humiliation in Sungkyunkwan? Do you really want your children to go through the same thing?”

For the moment, Yong Ha was stunned. “Father, how…”

“How did I find out? You are Gu Yong Ha. And I’m your father. How would I not know?” The smile that Head Merchant Gu gave belied the finality of his next statement, “Marry the daughter of Lord Yoon’s Household. It is my command.” He stopped to chortle to himself before continuing,  “Ha! Poor creature. To think she hasn’t even been informed of her impending engagement yet. Rumors are that she isn’t good to look at. But then again, no one is stopping you from your visits to Moran-gak. Just marry her soon. As your wife, Lady Min Jin would know better than to…”

Merchant Gu trailed off mid-sentence; his son had already stormed out without so much as even a nod.

o.o0o.o

Now in the sole company of his own thoughts, Yong Ha sighed. There was no way he would ever allow himself to marry the daughter of a family who sold her off for money…and behind her back! Besides, thought Yong Ha sarcastically as he finished off his last bit of Soju, what would married life be like if a wife outranked her husband?

For the first time that night, a smile—never mind how cynical, escaped Yong Ha as the answer to his own question occurred to him. “That would be… interesting.”

Just as quickly though, Yong Ha shook off the thought and muttered to himself, “Gu Yong Ha, what are you thinking? Money for the yang-ban status? Tch.”

Getting somewhat irritated with the disturbance the surrounding cacophony was having on his thoughts, Yong Ha placed a silk purse of coins on the table and left-- not bothering with the change, as usual.

At 3 hours to midnight, the pathways at the marketplace were empty except for the few Namin that were making their way home after a sweaty day’s work. The dust that was kicked up by busy commuters in the day was beginning to settle, only to be stirred up by Yong Ha’s steps again. Aside from his own shadow that the moonlight cast on the path and the hum of crickets, the marketplace displayed no other activity. Even his own footsteps echoed back to him.

“Aye, Gu Yong Ha. This is not you. Are you going to allow yourself wallow so pathetically?  Aeng Aeng and Seom Seom are still waiting for you at Moran Gak!” With this newfound resolve, he lightened his mood and quickened his strides.

His strides slowed, however when he caught sight of two young men carrying a big bundle each coming in the opposite direction. That was weird. The hour was too late for any trader to be going home, and too early for any merchant to be setting up stall.

These two were certainly no travelers. Who traveled around with such a huge bundle anyway?

The road at the bend was wide enough for only two, and Yong Ha intentionally stationed himself right in the middle. With the huge bundle blocking both their views of the immediate distance, the two men collided into Yong Ha with a start of surprise.

The one of the bundles untied itself and spilled out its contents. To Yong Ha’s astonishment, there on the floor lay the loveliest embroidery he had ever seen. A myriad of textile art, painstakingly painted on with needle and thread, were literally at his feet.

Were these men thieves?

Instinctively, Yong Ha crouched down to help pick up the colorful mess, and so did the other young man. Yong Ha’s hand reached out for the most unique piece—a black flower with its petals falling, embroidered against bright red silk. The other lad simultaneously reached for the same piece; it was after all, the most valuable one of the lot. Their hats knocked.

Yong Ha was about to apologize when he stopped short. The face under the hat belonged not to a man, but a woman! And a very pretty one at that. Her features were arranged in a symmetry of sparkling eyes, a pert nose, and lips with just the right degree of pout. Yong Ha smiled; a Yoon-hee Number 2, perhaps?

“My apologies.” And just because he was Gu Yong Ha, and was never one to shy away from inciting awkwardness, he looked her straight in the eye and added with a wink, “…Agasshi.”

The Agasshi in question snapped her head away from Yong Ha and her lips parted into a little ‘O’. But to her credit, she composed her features with a few blinks of her eyes into a semblance of annoyance and stated sharply, “I’ll allow you to insult my looks only once. Your opinion of my effeminacy is not appreciated.”

From her speech and clothing, it was obvious that this lady came from a noble background. Now that he had gotten a closer look, he decided that this lady must have an interesting story to tell. While her dohpo was made of fine maroon silk, the edges of her sleeve were beginning to grey and fray. Evidently, her garment was expensive, yet worn out with age. The rich and powerful never wore the same garments so frequently that they were allowed to fade. Furthermore, this lady looked no older than 19. Rich young missies were without exception, always the crème of the fashion-conscious crop. How interesting.

Yong Ha smirked. “It wasn’t meant to be an insult to your looks, Agasshi. You look too pretty to pass off as a man.”

Much to Yong Ha’s amusement, the other young man piped up to his young mistress and mumbled, practically in tears, “What did I tell you, Agasshi. No one would fall for your dressing. Can we please go back now? If the Old lord knows you’re dressed like this and out at this hour, he’ll be so worried that it’ll worsen his illness…”

The moment he opened his mouth, Yong Ha realize that the other young ‘man’ was in actually fact, the maid. The lady tried to shush her servant, but now that she was on a roll, she wouldn’t stop.

“…and if the Young lord were to find out that I allowed you to do this and even helped you, I’m going to get a beating! As it is, I’m afraid Old Mistress won’t be able to rest in peace in heaven.”

“Then stop creating a commotion, Nak Ra, and nothing will go wrong.” the Agassi hissed. At her maid’s terrified expression, she softened her tone, held her maid by the shoulders, and continued, “It’s for Father’s sake that I’m doing this, and it’s Brother’s fault that I have to do this. Nothing will happen to me, and nothing will happen to you. Mother will watch over us. Now for my sake, Nak Ra, please pull yourself together. I have to get these goods to Merchant Song by midnight or our contract will be void.”

A beautiful Yang-ban lady who personally traded her embroidery, and late in the night at that. Remarkable indeed!

Beyond the identity of this lady however, Yong Ha’s curiosity was further piqued at the mention of a certain Merchant Song. While Song wasn’t exactly strong enough to be labeled as a competitor, the superb quality of his textiles and embroidered garments had attracted attention in the recent years. The source of his embroidered works had been a closely guarded secret, and no amount of bribery on Yong Ha’s part had worked, much to the latter’s annoyance. Of course, the fact that Merchant Song was a weasel in business did nothing whatsoever to help.

Yong Ha belatedly noticed that the Lady was avoiding any eye-contact with him whatsoever. With all three of them still crouching on their knees, Yong Ha straightened up and dusted his palms against each other.

“A lady shouldn’t be walking to the other side of town with only her maid at this hour. I’ll buy your entire stock and all subsequent ones for twice the price that Merchant Song has offered.”

The Lady was wise enough not to insult Yong Ha’s intelligence by denying her gender a second time. Her doe-eyes raked Yong Ha from head to toe. Judging by his attire, she was convinced he could afford it. Still, her eyes narrowed at the proposal of an offer too good to be true. Then, suddenly conscious of the fact that she was still on her knees, she stood up abruptly.

“Why?”

“There are many reasons. But the chief one would be for fun. I’d love to see the look on Merchant Song’s face when he finds out that I’ve just bought up his entire premium stock. Clearly, he undervalues your partnership if he demands this harshly for his deadlines to be met.”

A wide dazzling smile broke out on the lady’s face. “For very different reasons from you, we have a deal.

“Oh, but you’ll have to pay me upfront, now.” She added quickly as an afterthought.

Without counting, he handed over a pouch of coins that would have been enough to pay for three times the amount. They both knew it, and when the lady made a move to return him his change, he stopped her with a wave of his arm.

“Treat the rest as an advance on your next batch.”

For the first time in Gu Yong Ha’s life, a lady’s smile had rendered him speechless. Gu Yong Ha, who could guess the color of a woman’s petticoat simply by the inhaling the scent of her perfume. Gu Yong Ha, who was even better versed in the language of love than the Sungkyunkwan professors were in the teachings of Confucius.

Gu Yong Ha, for the first time in his life, felt his pulse quicken at a lady’s smile.

This smile was genuine. Not calculated to seduce, nor pasted to please. The Lady’s face lit up in genuine joy as she turned around to her maidservant who was still clueless and on the floor. “Nak Ra, pack these up. We’ll be trading with this gentleman from today onwards.” She then paused as a question dawned on her and she spun back to face Yong Ha. “Where would you want me to leave these goods tonight then?”

At that question, Yong Ha suddenly became aware that he had been staring. Instantly, he turned his face to the side and covered his embarrassment with an awkward little cough. Fortunately for him though, the Lady was too elated at the prospect of her new business partnership to recognize his discomfiture.

Years of being a playboy, if nothing else, had cultivated in Yong Ha a gentlemanly disposition. He picked up the larger of the two bundles and answered, “I’ll walk you home with these now and send my servants over to your place to pick them up tomorrow.”

Mistaking the reason for the lady’s subsequent alarmed reaction, he continued swiftly, “ Don’t worry, I’ll inform them to wait at the back door. Nak Ra can pass it to them there. We won’t alert your family to this little business of yours.”

Yong Ha was puzzled when the expression of alarm remained etched on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just that it’s late at night, and a man and woman who aren’t related shouldn’t be…”

Yong Ha grinned before she could finish. “It’s a fascinating time for your scruples and sense of propriety to take over, my lady.” He took a step back and examined her clothing.

“Yahhh…From what I can see, Agassi, there’s nothing wrong with two, no, three men walking alongside each other. And correction –we aren’t unrelated. Considering we have a business partnership, theoretically speaking, we’re friends.”

With her qualms allayed at this declaration, the lady resumed her smile and started in the direction from where she had come.

Yong Ha followed her in companionable silence. Once or twice, she turned, as if to ask a question, but apparently thought the better of it. It was just as fortunate for Yong Ha, who was as confused as he was distracted by the sound of his rapidly beating heart.

Upon reaching her residence, Yong Ha was surprised to see that she chose to enter from the back rather than from the main entrance. Then he remembered the hour and her disguise.

“Thank you for sending me back. I shall have Nak Ra ready with the goods tomorrow morning. Ah! And please tell me your name, that I may notify you when the next batch of embroidery is done.”

With one raised eyebrow, Yong Ha replied, “ Me? I’m Gu. Yong. Ha.”

Recognition dawned in the Lady’s eyes as she exclaimed, “Gu Yong Ha? THE Gu Yong Ha? Son Head Merchant Gu? I’ve heard so much about your wit and flair for fashion!” The excitement was unmistakable in her voice.

She took a second look at his dressing. “Evidently, your reputation is well-deserved. It’s been a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Inclining her head slightly in a gesture of farewell, the Lady turned to go.

“Wait! What about you?” Yong Ha stopped her hastily just before she disappeared behind the gate. Much as he refused to admit it, he couldn’t bear for their next encounter to be left in the hands of chance… or business, for that matter.

The parting smile she gave seared its way deep into Yong Ha’s memory. And so did her reply. 

“My name is Yoon Min Jin.”

o.o0o.o

It was a little past midnight, but the candles in Head Merchant Gu’s study continued to burn brightly.

The servant approached his master and reported the recent events that had transpired between the Young Master and a certain young lady.

With a knowing chuckle, Head Merchant Gu finished his calculations and closed his ledger for the night.