Chapter 48 — Yeoni and Yeong (2)
...What do I do? Of all places... why did it have to be Yeong's house...?
Of all the places they could have stayed in Daegu, it had to be Seo Myeongjin's residence.
For a brief moment, Yeoni had been happy to see her childhood friend again.
But that feeling quickly gave way to desperation as she tried to hide her presence.
...Too much had changed now.
"..."
Yeoni couldn't even imagine how Ayoung would react if she learned that she had become an ojagin.
...Should I tell the Scholar?
Shake, shake.
Yeoni thought about it for a moment, then quickly gave up.
Telling him wouldn't change anything.
And she didn't want Doyul to know either.
So there was only one thing she could do.
Just as she always had...
Hide herself.
Avoid people.
And endure.
Yeoni let out a quiet sigh.
I can only hope I somehow stay unnoticed...
Meanwhile, Doyul was exactly the same as always.
The Scholar is shining again today.
Doyul stood confidently with his eyes bright.
For some reason, Ayoung's face had turned completely red.
"Ahh... I seeee. Then all I have to do is give up, right, Scholar?"
"If that's what you say... how could this maiden possibly throw a tantrum?"
"...Huh?"
Dongwoo's mind went blank at this completely unprecedented behavior from Ayoung.
Then Ayoung went even further and hurriedly called for Hyangjin.
"Hey! Hey!"
"Young Lady, what is it...?"
"Go get my fan! Quickly!"
Hyangjin glanced up at the sky.
"It's only early summer. Are you already that hot?"
"No, no! I need to cover my face! Hurry and bring me a fan."
"The pretty one with lots of feathers!"
"...What?"
She had been chattering nonstop until just a moment ago.
Seo Ayoung held absolute authority within the household.
Even if she acted twice as unruly as usual, no one would dare make an issue of it.
That made her sudden behavior all the stranger.
But Hyangjin had a feeling she understood.
"Young Lady."
"Mm-hm? What?"
Hyangjin handed her the fan and whispered,
"You could simply go back to the inner quarters."
"There's another reason you're staying, isn't there?"
"Oh my, look at you! What are you saying?"
Ayoung's already-red face became even redder as she whispered rapidly.
"Hey! How could I possibly go inside in a situation like this?"
"I personally asked the Scholar to help me."
"What if I just leave and he thinks I'm rude?"
"Of course."
"No, no! Wait."
"Does it look strange that I'm sitting here like this?"
Seo Ayoung glanced toward Doyul.
"......?"
Of course, Doyul had absolutely no idea what was going through her head.
"Hyangjin, what should I do with my hair?"
"Which way looks prettier?"
"They're both beautif..."
"What should I do? The Scholar won't think I lack manners, will he?"
"Oh no! What if I cover my face with the fan and sit here quietly?"
"Then he won't think I'm disgracing Father, right?"
"Because the gochujang is expensive, and Dongwoo suddenly interrupted us, and I asked a guest to help me, so it would also be rude to just leave, wouldn't it?"
"Right?"
"It's all because that crow-meat-eating Dongwoo suddenly barged in!"
"Right?"
"Honestly, why do you even like a boy like that?"
After years of serving Ayoung, Hyangjin's patience had reached a level nearly comparable to that of the Buddha.
"I see."
"And what else?"
"What do you mean, what else? Hmph!"
"There must be another reason you're not going inside, Young Lady."
"Oh my, honestly!"
Even while pouting, Ayoung could see the faint smile on Hyangjin's face.
She fidgeted helplessly before finally confessing.
"I don't know!"
"I just want to sit here!"
"But I'll look strange if I keep grinning like an idiot!"
"You're beautiful."
"I don't care!"
"I just want to look calm and graceful, so I'm going to sit here with the lower half of my face covered!"
Of course, Doyul had no chance of understanding the girl's feelings as she whispered constantly, adjusted her hair, and changed the way she was sitting every few moments.
"......?"
Is she sick?
In the end, Seo Ayoung settled into a slightly angled pose on the wooden porch and elegantly covered her mouth with the fan.
Whisper, whisper.
"Young Lady, why are you sitting at an angle like that?"
"My left side is prettier!"
"Ah."
Ayoung clutched at her pounding heart and called Hyangjin again.
He's so full of spirit! What am I supposed to do?!
"Hey, hey, Hyangjin."
"...Yes, Young Lady?"
"I look pretty today, right?"
"Hm?"
"How do I look?"
"Don't just flatter me. Tell me honestly."
"But say I'm pretty."
Hyangjin couldn't help smiling at the sight of her young mistress, who had grown into a proper young lady.
"Of course! You're the prettiest girl in Daegu."
"No, in all of Joseon!"
"Hehe. Right? Right?"
"Ever since we were little, the only person as pretty as me was Yeoni!"
"..."
Ayoung was innocent.
But she was not completely naive.
After losing her friend when she was young, Seo Ayoung had realized that many people only acted for their own benefit.
And as she watched her friend's family fall, she also came to understand that much of the kindness shown to her had hidden motives behind it.
Marriage proposals and gifts poured in.
Poems and letters arrived almost every day.
But not a single one of them satisfied her.
"They're only trying to impress me because of Father!"
"Hmph!"
Everyone was kind to her.
Men especially so.
Which was exactly why Doyul, the first person to treat her firmly and without indulgence, felt so different.
Seo Ayoung gently fluttered her fan and tried her best to look pretty.
"This maiden showed you a rather unbecoming side of herself."
"I hope you won't think poorly of me."
Why is she suddenly talking like that?
Doyul found it strange but saw no reason to question it.
"Why would I?"
"Still, the discussion has reached a conclusion, so perhaps you should head inside..."
"Even so..."
"I would be grateful if you could continue teaching me, Scholar."
"...Excuse me?"
"...!"
"Dongwoo seems to feel wronged after going through so much."
Ayoung shamelessly used Dongwoo as an excuse.
"A-Ahem!"
"Considering the circumstances..."
"I-I really should return inside, but..."
"Please understand if I remain here with my face covered and listen quietly to your teaching."
Her intention was simple.
I'll use this excuse to show the Scholar how pretty I am! Oh no! Was I too obvious just now?
Unfortunately, Doyul and Dongwoo interpreted her signals in completely different ways.
A formidable opponent.
She's putting her servant forward to create a justification, while she sits there challenging me to convince her.
She must be covering the lower half of her face and sitting at an angle so I can't read her expression.
Young Lady is only saying that because she has to maintain her dignity!
Of course she wouldn't give up so easily. She can't even eat a spoonful of rice without gochujang!
The two men completely misunderstood the same woman.
Then looked at one another with the exact same thought.
There's no choice.
Dun!
I have to win.
Only one person present truly understood what this ridiculous scene was about.
Hoho. How passionately it burns...
Hyangjin smiled warmly.
Creditor's delay was a legal doctrine that only became relevant in very unusual situations.
Normally, disputes arose because the debtor had done something wrong.
Creditor's delay was different.
It concerned a conflict caused by the creditor's own failure.
If someone borrows money and doesn't repay it on the agreed date, common sense says they should bear responsibility.
When a debtor failed to perform an obligation, assigning responsibility was straightforward.
But creditor's delay dealt with the opposite situation.
What happens when the debtor comes to repay the money, but the creditor fails to receive it because of the creditor's own fault?
Doyul slowly spoke.
"Very well."
"Then all I need to do is convince this servant, Dongwoo?"
"Oh, of course."
"How could this maiden dare interfere?"
"I shall simply sit here quietly and listen to your teaching."
Once again, Ayoung's intended meaning was completely misread.
Not giving an inch, is she?
So she intends to listen and judge for herself.
Doyul turned to Dongwoo.
"Let's imagine that Odol was carrying the jar of gochujang here and accidentally dropped it before arriving."
"If that happened, how do you think the matter should be resolved?"
"...?"
Dongwoo didn't understand what Doyul was getting at.
But the answer itself was simple.
"Well, if Odol accidentally broke it, then of course he'd have to bring us a new jar right away."
"Correct."
Doyul merely nodded.
Dongwoo and Ayoung both looked puzzled.
What is he trying to say?
"Then let me change the question."
"Suppose you received the jar properly."
"Afterward, you accidentally dropped it while carrying it and broke it."
"In that case, would Odol still have to bring you a new jar?"
"...?"
While Dongwoo hesitated, Doyul asked Ayoung the same question.
"What do you think, Young Lady?"
"Well..."
Ayoung tried to appear calm.
But her fan suddenly began moving much faster.
Flutter, flutter!
"...That would be Dongwoo's fault!"
Doyul had asked because he thought Ayoung was the true force behind the argument and wanted to persuade her as well.
Ayoung, however, misunderstood him in an entirely different way.
Oh my!
I said I would just sit quietly, and yet he deliberately asked for my opinion!
What if... the Scholar actually wanted to talk to me too?
Yes. That must be it!
Flutterflutterflutterflutter!
Y-Young Lady must be uncomfortable!
Dongwoo panicked when he saw the fan speeding up and quickly jumped in.
"I-I think so too!"
"But why are you asking such a question?"
"Because that is precisely why you are at fault and why you cannot demand new gochujang."
Doyul smiled.
Ayoung and Dongwoo both stared at him.
"......What?"
"As you said, if Odol broke the jar before delivering it, then there would be no question that he should provide another."
"On the other hand, if you properly received the jar and it was damaged afterward, then there would be no reason for Park Jaeho to provide a replacement."
Strictly speaking, the matter also involved the specification of a generic obligation.
But for ease of understanding, Doyul drew out only what was necessary.
"Th-That's true..."
"But I still don't understand why that means I'm wrong..."
"Then I'll ask one last question."
Doyul smiled calmly.
"Compare these two situations."
"First, the jar breaks after you properly receive it."
"Second, the jar breaks while you have failed to receive it."
"What is the difference between them?"
"Well, obviously..."
Dongwoo answered in a subdued voice.
"The only difference is..."
"...that I forgot."
"Exactly."
"In my view, Odol fulfilled his duty when he brought the gochujang at the agreed time."
"If you had received the jar normally, he would have had no further responsibility for what happened afterward."
"But you were the one who failed to appear."
"So isn't it strange to make him responsible for something he would not have been responsible for if you had simply received it as agreed?"
"......!"
Dongwoo felt as though he had been struck in the head with a hammer.
"S-Scholar, what you say is... correct, but...!"
Terrified that he would be severely punished later, Dongwoo desperately squeezed out an argument with a cleverness he had never shown before.
"B-But the reason the gochujang was ruined by the rain was still Odol's fault, wasn't it?"
"I-If you take that into consideration..."
"That argument is incorrect."
"......!"
"Of course, if Odol had deliberately broken the jar, or left it neglected for three or four days, the matter would be different."
"...D-Different?"
"But how could Odol have predicted that he would need to carry it back because you failed to appear?"
"And how could anyone have known that, during the brief moment he stepped away, a gust of wind would tear the lid off and a sudden shower would immediately pour into the jar?"
"Th-That..."
"So the proper resolution is clear."
"Odol received payment for the gochujang and brought it as promised."
"It is reasonable to say that he fulfilled his obligation."
"What happened afterward should be treated the same way as if the jar had been damaged after you received it."
"Therefore, your claim that Park Jaeho must provide new gochujang is not correct."
"......!"
Dongwoo could no longer refute him.
Convinced he was now going to be severely scolded, he simply lowered his head.
Actual civil law took a similar position.
Under Article 401 of the Civil Act, precedent held that unless the debtor acted with intent or gross negligence, the debtor should generally be released from liability in such circumstances.
Doyul suddenly felt playful and added a joke.
"Besides, even if you'd received the jar properly, I doubt things would've turned out much differently."
"What do you mean?"
Doyul smirked.
"While you were off helping that girl Hyangjin with her laundry, wouldn't the jar have been left open and soaked by the sudden shower anyway?"
"......S-Scholar!"
Leaving the red-faced Dongwoo behind, Doyul turned to Ayoung.
"Young Lady, was that explanation sufficient?"
"Yes."
"I think I found it."
"...Excuse me?"
"What did you find?"
"...The gochujang?"
Ayoung swallowed the rest of her words as she looked at the confused Doyul.
What else?
My future husband, of course!
