Chapter 161 : Lee Seowon (5)

Seong-un Inn, now thriving once again thanks to the changes in the commercial district, was bustling with customers. Lee Seowon stood quietly before it, a look of languid contemplation on his face.‘He wouldn’t beat me to death, would he?’

He had come to confirm firsthand who was shaking up the board so recklessly. However, it was difficult to predict the behavior of the Seong-un Inn's staff, all of whom had eccentric personalities.

There was the chef, whose past was suspiciously veiled, and the inn waiter, infamously known for his delinquent background.

There was even an inn waiter who had once been a stronghold leader.

Of course, the most dangerous of them all was Guest Dragon.

According to Lee Seowon’s investigation, when the chef and inn waiters stirred up trouble in a loud and chaotic fashion, Guest Dragon would carry out the most deranged acts—quietly and with unnerving precision.

Just as Lee Seowon was lost in thought, Seomun Ak—who had just stepped out to see off a customer—locked eyes with him.

“Oh?”

Seomun Ak squinted and scanned Lee Seowon up and down. They had been competing across the street for several days now.

Lee Seowon’s face was already well-known among the staff of Seong-un Inn.

Cracking his neck side to side, Seomun Ak followed it with an ominous crack of his fingers.

“You here to get your ass beat?”

“I just came for a meal.”

Lee Seowon replied in a calm tone.

Seomun Ak looked genuinely dumbfounded.

“Go eat at your own damn inn.”

“I got sick of eating there every day.”

“You’re out of your damn mind.”

As far as Seomun Ak was concerned, people who spouted such madness with that kind of calm expression were the most dangerous to provoke. Jin Seong-un was a prime example.

After glaring at Lee Seowon for a moment, Seomun Ak suddenly smirked.

“What, can’t eat over there ‘cause of the smell?”

He was clearly mocking the Gold Cloud Inn, knowing full well how much they had been suffering lately due to the Beggars’ Union.

Just then, Elder Byeok of the Mad Rooster, who was stepping out from the opposite inn while patting her belly, glanced over at Seomun Ak.

Seomun Ak quickly clammed up and turned his head away, pretending he hadn’t said anything.

Meanwhile, as Lee Seowon tried to step into Seong-un Inn, Seomun Ak stretched out an arm to block him.

“No matter what, I can’t just let an enemy in.”

“But your chef and innkeeper came over to Gold Cloud Inn on our first day of business and ate.”

Still speaking in that same calm tone.

But his logic was solid, and Seomun Ak had to strain his brain to come up with a rebuttal.

In that moment, Seo Yu-gyeom stepped out and stood beside Seomun Ak.

“……”

Lee Seowon’s eyes fixed on the short dagger in Seo Yu-gyeom’s hand.

Seomun Ak followed his gaze and noticed it, too—the Heaven-Slaying Dagger in Seo Yu-gyeom’s grasp.

Seomun Ak swore in shock.

“You crazy bastard!”

He grabbed Seo Yu-gyeom and dragged him back into the inn. Even as he was being dragged away, Seo Yu-gyeom kept grinning and pointing his dagger at Lee Seowon.

The look was so sinister that Lee Seowon smacked his lips.

In any case, with the two troublemakers gone, Lee Seowon leisurely stepped into Seong-un Inn.

Jin Seong-un, who had been serving food and drinks, looked over at him. Lee Seowon met his gaze with his characteristically indifferent eyes.

As the two men silently stared each other down, Seomun Ak returned from shoving Seo Yu-gyeom into the kitchen.

“Should we throw him out?”

“He’s a customer.”

“?”

Seomun Ak made a baffled face.

Unbothered, Jin Seong-un guided Lee Seowon to a seat and asked,

“Would you like some wine?”

“I’m not much of a drinker. Just a bowl of Cheongtang Bamboo Stew, please. I hear it’s famous.”

Lee Seowon spoke politely, and Jin Seong-un gave a nod.

Even as he walked toward the kitchen to place the order, Seomun Ak and Jang Gwang trailed behind him, grumbling about whether they really had to feed that bastard too.

From the kitchen came snide comments like, “Oh, really? Just toss him some cold rice instead.”

Lee Seowon, seated at the table, watched all this with keen interest.

‘What a strange inn.’

There seemed to be no hierarchy at all. The inn waiters and chef openly talked back to the innkeeper, even laced with profanity?

That would be unthinkable at Gold Cloud Inn.

Seomun Ak, as the second son of the Seomun Clan, was one thing, but shouldn’t the others at least show some respect to the innkeeper?

As he pondered this, he caught snatches of conversation from the nearby guests.

“What would we have done without Seong-un? During the Prosperity Association and now this whole ordeal…”

“No kidding. Our family’s shop, in business since my grandfather’s time, nearly got taken away. Ugh, I wouldn’t be able to face my father in the afterlife.”

Most of the Seong-un Inn’s customers were small merchants who had been operating in Yichang for a long time.

Lee Seowon’s expression twisted for the first time. His face reddened as he lowered his head slightly.

Clack. Jin Seong-un set down a pristine white porcelain bowl filled with steaming broth.

“You did something shameful. Why?”

“…Ahem.”

Clearing his throat, Lee Seowon stared at the dish. The milky-white broth, the full-moon-like chicken meatballs, and the autumn-colored ginkgo nuts blended beautifully.

Above all, the distinct aroma of bamboo-shadow mushrooms was incredibly enticing.

As he continued to gaze at the Cheongtang Bamboo Stew, Jin Seong-un said flatly,

“You’re supposed to eat it with the broth, meatball, ginkgo nut, and mushroom all together in one spoon.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Lee Seowon gave a small bow.

Jin Seong-un shrugged and walked away, and Lee Seowon followed the advice—scooping all the ingredients into one spoonful and taking a bite.

His face being small, his cheeks puffed up full of food.

After chewing for a while, Lee Seowon’s eyes briefly widened, then returned to normal.

‘…It’s delicious.’

To Lee Seowon, food had always been just sustenance—nothing more, nothing less.

Enjoying a proper meal took time, and he barely had enough to keep up with studies and paperwork.

Not to mention, most of his time was spent cleaning up the disasters caused by Ha Ju-yeon.

Even someone like him, uninterested in food, had to admit the Cheongtang Bamboo Stew was undeniably good.

He continued eating in silence, lost in thought.

The conversations of merchants criticizing the Gold Cloud Inn while praising Seong-un Inn.

The complaints of the chef and waiters questioning why such a precious dish was being served to that bastard.

Lee Seowon focused on every sound in the Seong-un Inn as he quietly chewed and swallowed the stew.

When he finally emptied the bowl, Jin Seong-un returned and asked,

“Did it suit your taste?”

“It was the best meal I’ve had in my life.”

From the distance came Seo Yu-gyeom’s voice: “Maybe he’s not such a bad guy after all.”

Jin Seong-un glanced at the spotless bowl and said nothing.

“You’re not here just for a meal, are you?”

“Let’s talk for a bit.”

Jin Seong-un gave a nod.

He had no reason to refuse—anything he could learn about Myriad Gold Manor would be worthwhile.

And so, the two sat face to face in the reception room.

Jin Seong-un steeped the tea leaves for a moment.

As the scent of Dragon Well Tea filled the room, Lee Seowon felt an unexpected sense of comfort.

Jin Seong-un pushed a teacup toward him.

Lee Seowon nodded slightly to show thanks and brought the tea to his lips.

His eyes widened.

A flood of information about Jin Seong-un crashed through his mind like lightning.

– Can’t cook. Known to be cursed-level bad.

Still, this was too much.

How could even a simple cup of tea taste this awful?

It was literally just pouring water over tea leaves. It wasn’t even cooking. And yet, the innkeeper had somehow ruined even Dragon Well Tea.

Lee Seowon mustered extreme mental fortitude to keep from spitting the tea out and forced himself to swallow.

Something flickered in Jin Seong-un’s eyes.

Then Lee Seowon realized—Jin Seong-un hadn’t brewed a cup for himself.

“…Why aren’t you drinking?”

He asked with a hint of resentment.

The answer, of course, was obvious.

“Because it tastes bad.”

“……”

A brief silence passed between them.

The two were remarkably different.

Jin Seong-un, while not as rough-looking as Seomun Ak, had sharp, bold features that carried the air of a martial artist, exuding an extraordinary aura from head to toe.

On the other hand, Lee Seowon gave off a frail impression, like someone who had never even clenched a fist, let alone held a sword.

And yet, they shared one thing in common.

‘Guest Dragon is hard to read.’

‘He’s refreshingly unpretentious.’

Both were dry and matter-of-fact.

It was a reflection of their entire approach to life.

After the short silence, Lee Seowon asked,

“Your members seem very casual with you, Guest Dragon. Almost like there’s no hierarchy. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“It doesn’t.”

“Why not?”

Jin Seong-un had to pause to understand the question.

Why would that be bothersome?

Their vastly different backgrounds made even a simple exchange take time.

“Because they’re friends.”

“But at least during business hours, shouldn’t there be a hierarchy? An inn is still an organization.”

“Our organization has no hierarchy.”

A crisp and clear answer.

Instead, it was Lee Seowon who had to fall into deep thought. If the staff at Gold Cloud Inn treated Ha Ju-yeon that way...

‘They’d get dragged off and beaten by the escort guards.’

Naturally.

Ha Ju-yeon was someone who strictly maintained hierarchy.

Born the wealthiest in the world, and raised entirely within that environment.

To him, the concept of “friend” hardly existed.

There were only mutually beneficial allies, or subordinates to either bestow upon or discipline.

Lee Seowon was the only one who existed on the boundary between those two.

As he sank deeper into thought, he reached a conclusion.

“You’re the one who came up with that strategy, weren’t you, Guest Dragon?”

A logical conclusion.

Seomun Ak? Definitely not. Jang Gwang? Also no. Even the chef? Absolutely not.

Aside from Jin Seong-un, none of them looked remotely capable of strategizing.

Moreover, there seemed to be a strong connection between how he treated the inn staff and his unwavering responsibility toward the small merchants.

Jin Seong-un paused, then simply shrugged. He couldn’t exactly say that the Merchant King had given him advice.

Lee Seowon, mistakenly interpreting that as affirmation, stared at him and asked,

“While dealing with Myriad Gold Manor, did you really have room to look after small merchants too?”

“I was taught that business is about earning people’s hearts. You saw it yourself. That was the result of my trade.”

Staff who treated Jin Seong-un without pretenses.

They wouldn’t leave, no matter what crisis hit the inn. Their bond wasn’t tied to money.

And then there were the small merchants who filled the inn.

Even when Gold Cloud Inn offered free food and drinks, they stayed loyal and continued dining at Seong-un Inn.

Lee Seowon was momentarily shocked.

Business is about earning people’s hearts.

It was exactly the same philosophy as the First Master of Myriad Gold Manor—the Merchant King—whom Lee Seowon regarded as life’s guiding light.

The very philosophy that even Ha Ju-yeon, blood of the Manor, scoffed at and dismissed.

Yet here it was, coming from the mouth of Guest Dragon, whose nature was unclear—martial artist or merchant.

“…Did someone teach you how to do business?”

For once, Lee Seowon stammered.

But the look in his eyes, as he stared at Jin Seong-un, was sharper and more focused than ever before.