Hongdu - The King's Men - Chapter 1

“Are you sure about this person?”

An unfamiliar man’s voice was heard from above.

“I’m certain.”

The voice answering was also that of a stranger I had never heard before.

Who could it be?

Curiosity filled my mind.

However, due to the rough, dark cloth blocking my view, I couldn’t see ahead.

Where am I, and how did I end up in a place like this?

The current situation made no sense at all.

Along with confusion, a chilling fear slowly began to tighten its grip on Kwon Jwa Woo.

But at times like these, one must stay sharp and alert.

Isn’t there a saying?

If you keep your wits about you, you can survive even being caught by a tiger.

Jwa Woo took a deep breath and felt around her surroundings.

As she grew accustomed to the situation, she realized she was trapped in a sack with tightly woven warp and weft.

What in the world is going on?

Jwa Woo’s brows furrowed.

As usual, she had just stepped out of her house in Namchon and was about to enter the alley leading to Myeongnyebang.

But…

She had no memory of what happened after that today.

Jwa Woo slightly opened her eyes, which were as neat and symmetrical as her name, given with the meaning of being fair to both left and right.

A high, straight nose bridge resembling a sock’s tip.

Red lips pressed into a straight line.

A soft jawline with fine downy hair.

She was a woman with a strange charm that captivated the eye the more one looked.

However, she wasn’t such a great beauty to be kidnapped in broad daylight like this.

Then how did this happen?

Trying her best to understand the situation before her, Jwa Woo rolled her eyes around, then suddenly closed them. When she opened them again with a start, she hoped it would be a dream.

But when Jwa Woo opened her eyes again, nothing had changed.

It wasn’t a dream.

This was undoubtedly reality.

She swallowed the dry saliva pooled in her mouth.

The voices of unfamiliar men.

And her body trapped in a sack.

Then this must be…!

“A kidnapping?”

By whom?

Why?

[This is the timeline separator]

Rumors about the ‘Myeongnyebang Hwaseobja’ began circulating three years ago.

Originally, hwaseobja referred to an object used to light fires.

But the ‘Myeongnyebang Hwaseobja’ meant someone who plucked only the flowers of the eosahwa with tweezers.

In other words, it referred to the ‘Myeongnyebang Tweezer Writing Teacher’ who taught for the civil service examination.

After rumors spread that no one who received teachings from the ‘Myeongnyebang Hwaseobja’ failed to pass the civil service exam, scholars preparing for the exam, without exception, searched every alley of Myeongnyebang looking for the ‘Myeongnyebang Hwaseobja’.

However, as if invisible like a ghost, no one had ever found the ‘Myeongnyebang Hwaseobja’. Some said it was just a baseless rumor spread by someone.

But after it became known that the eldest son of the Left Deputy Minister of Military Affairs had passed the special exam with the highest score using the exam topic given by the ‘Myeongnyebang Hwaseobja’, people’s interest and curiosity flared up again like wildfire.

People flocked to the Left Deputy Minister of Military Affairs.

To those asking how to meet the Hwaseobja, the Left Deputy Minister only said one thing.

“We were chosen by the Hwaseobja.”

The Hwaseobja’s choice.

He hinted that the ‘Myeongnyebang Hwaseobja’ was not someone one could easily meet just because they wanted to. Only those chosen by the Hwaseobja could meet him, the Left Deputy Minister said.

Then he revealed how to meet the Hwaseobja.

He said to carve a code word expressing the desire to meet the Hwaseobja along with one’s home address on every wall in Myeongnyebang.

In response, the Hwaseobja would draw a circle on the address of the scholar he chose. After that, it was a time of waiting.

No one knew when or in what form the Hwaseobja would come. Sometimes a lowly slave would deliver the Hwaseobja’s letter, and other times a noble scholar would bring the exam topic, they said.

In short, no one knew the ‘Myeongnyebang Hwaseobja’ that people so desperately wished to meet.

The man, Hong Woo Geon, stared at the sack before him with eyes full of curiosity. Or more precisely, he was looking at the woman inside the sack.

Could it really be that this woman was the mysterious figure?

How?

He couldn’t hide his surprise at this completely unexpected fact. It was also intriguing.

His gleaming eyes held both curiosity and pleasure.

Just as Hong Woo Geon’s smile deepened at the emotion he himself was unaware of why he felt joy,

“It seems she has regained consciousness.”

Said the guard, Bo Jong, who was attached to Hong Woo Geon’s back like a shadow.

As if to prove Bo Jong’s words, the sack wriggled.

“What should we do?”

Bo Jong asked.

Woo Geon nodded to Bo Jong, who was asking how to deal with the person in the sack.

“Untie her.”

As soon as Woo Geon’s permission was given, the tightly sealed mouth of the sack opened.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Ugh…”

Jwa Woo unknowingly let out a low groan as she twisted her body.

Her inhales and exhales were not free. Perhaps from being confined in the narrow sack for so long, her arms and legs tingled with every movement.

As the sealed opening of the sack opened, fresh air and bright light shot towards Jwa Woo.

Jwa Woo unconsciously took a deep breath. At the same time, she tightly closed her eyes at the sudden burst of light.

Along with a clear fragrance, a low voice approached just under Jwa Woo’s nose.

“Are you really sure?”

It was one of the voices she had heard earlier.

Soon, an answer came.

“I’m certain.”

“But… this person is a woman?”

It was Jwa Woo who answered Woo Geon’s repeated question.

“Yes, I am a woman.”

She opened her narrowed eyes slightly and looked around.

“Where is this place?”

Without waiting for an answer, Jwa Woo continued her questions.

“Are you the kidnapper who abducted me?”

An incredulous expression crossed Woo Geon’s face at Jwa Woo’s question.

“Do I look like someone who would kidnap people to you?”

The man’s voice was full of some kind of certainty about himself.

Jwa Woo scrutinized the man with a careful gaze.

The wide-brimmed black hat was the finest quality bamboo hat. Not only the dark blue silk robe, but even the thin belt tied around his waist was nothing ordinary. A sharp-eyed and quick-calculating merchant would have been speechless at the man’s attire and adornments.

But there was one thing that overshadowed all of that.

The man’s face.

Never before had she seen a man with such smooth and clean skin.

And that wasn’t all.

The high, beautiful bridge of his nose created perfect harmony with his straight forehead. The clear and bright eyes looked even deeper and more profound due to the faint shadows under them, and his lips, stained as if with pomegranate juice, looked tempting enough to want to burst with a fingertip.

Could it be a painting by some artist?

If not that, could it be a heavenly immortal manifested on earth?

Looking at the handsome man before her, Jwa Woo momentarily forgot her situation and marveled.

Meanwhile, Woo Geon lowered his head and spoke.

“The kidnappers are over there.”

Jwa Woo turned her head over the man’s shoulder. She could see the warriors kneeling in a long line behind the man.

“Then who are you, sir?”

“I am the righteous scholar who saved the lady from the kidnappers.”

Hong Woo Geon’s mouth stretched into a long smile as he answered.

As if by magic, the atmosphere changed completely. The unapproachable man suddenly became an innocent mischievous boy. His clear, spotless smile resembled that of a pure boy.

It was such a beautiful smile that one wanted to smile along, entranced.

But…

Given the situation.

Jwa Woo narrowed her eyes.

Interpreting the man’s words, it meant the warriors standing behind were the bad guys and he was the good person. But no matter how she looked at it…

“To my eyes, you all seem to be in cahoots.”

The man firmly shook his head at Jwa Woo’s words.

“Absolutely not.”

Hong Woo Geon pointed to the kneeling warriors and the man in black martial clothes standing right beside him as he continued speaking.

“Up to here is one group. And I am their master.”

An exasperated sigh escaped Jwa Woo’s lips.

Of course.

“That kind of relationship is usually called being in cahoots.”

Hong Woo Geon hastily shook his head at Jwa Woo’s assertion.

“We call it a master-servant relationship.”

“Regardless of the relationship, the fact that a kidnapping took place remains unchanged.”

“It would be nice if you could think of it as a minor accident caused by excessive loyalty to their lord.”

“It’s a kidnapping incident of a woman under the guise of loyalty.”

As she retorted sharply, suddenly Woo Geon’s head tilted to the side as he looked down at Jwa Woo.

“How strange.”

“What is?”

“Normally, a woman would be afraid in this situation.”

A gaze full of meaning – why aren’t you afraid? – was directed at Jwa Woo.

Indeed, an ordinary woman would have long since been crying and begging for her life with tears and snot.

However…

Jwa Woo answered slowly with an indifferent expression.

“I guess I’m not an ordinary woman.”

Hong Woo Geon gazed at Jwa Woo with a delighted expression.

What could this man find so pleasing?

Though he denied it in words, he seemed to be quite enjoying this situation of having kidnapped a woman.

Jwa Woo frowned, disliking Woo Geon’s expression.

“Seeing you smile like that, you seem quite pleased.”

“I’m not pleased.”

“Then why are you smiling like that?”

“Because it’s interesting.”

“What is so interesting?”

“It’s bound to be interesting to be face to face with a woman who is not ordinary.”

Jwa Woo shot back at Woo Geon, who wasn’t hiding his inner thoughts.

“Do you know this?”

“Know what?”

“Kidnapping a woman like this is a serious crime.”

“Of course I know that well. However…”

Woo Geon whispered into Jwa Woo’s ear.

“This isn’t a kidnapping, but an invitation.”

“I’ve never heard of or seen such an invitation.”

“For an uncommon person, one can’t give an ordinary invitation.”

“Uncommon? Who are you talking about?”

Woo Geon responded to Jwa Woo’s question.

“You!”

“Me? What about me is uncommon?”

To Jwa Woo’s question, Woo Geon’s clear answer came.

“You are the ‘Myeongnyebang Hwaseobja’, aren’t you?”

It was a question without even a speck of doubt.