Chapter 31.2 ?

Soon, the boss returned with two young women, each bringing a hanger with two types of hanbok hanging on them. One had a cool, blue-toned hanbok, while the other had a hanbok with achromatic colours.

“Both are silks woven from our household’s silkworms. It’s smooth and won’t irritate your skin.”

“The blue one is mine, right? Isn’t it a cold colour for winter wear?”

“I just brought the outfit that suits you best. Who else would wear such a colour in winter besides you, Mr. Sung-woon?”

“I’m not sure if I’m being used here….”

“It would be great if you could promote it while you’re wearing it around. Anyway, hunters really make great clothes hangers.”

The boss turned back to Gio.

“Judging by your thin clothes in this cold weather, I assume you’re a hunter, right? Our hanboks are made sturdy and light so that hunters can move around easily, don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

To begin with, Gio wasn’t a hunter.

‘Would it be strange to correct that now?’

The boss smiled, waving her fan.

“Hunters don’t like cumbersome clothes, so I was concerned. Since I don’t recognize your face, you must either be unofficial or have recently obtained your license, right?”

“…….”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine too. Judging by how you’re keeping your face covered, you must really hate having your personal information exposed but don’t worry, I’ll hide you very stylishly.”

Exposed personal information?

‘Is getting their personal information exposed common for hunters?’

Is there such a scary world?

Deciding to ask Mr. Yoo Sung-woon about it later, Gio draped himself in the black hanbok recommended by the boss with elegant tied-up hair in a hairpin. It was a black dapho¹ and a grey dopo². The waist sash was clean white.

“If you’re going to Gyeongbokgung Palace, you’ll need a gat too. Yes, it suits you well. Even if you attach lots of norigae³ ornaments, it would look great. This one’s made of coral, try attaching one.”

“Thank you.”

“This is a scarf. Oh my, white suits you so well. Maybe it’s because your skin is so clear. Beautiful. This is a coin pouch to carry your traditional coins, make sure to tie it securely so it doesn’t fall off.”

“…….”

“And here’s a veil.”

Gio was momentarily startled by the wide and flabby, pitch-black fabric. He knew what a veil was but had never worn one before.

“…How should I wear this?”

“I’ll help you. Ms. Dan-woo, come help our handsome guest with the veil.”

“Yes, boss.”

A young woman with a pink daenggi? in her hair approached and wrapped the black fabric around Gio’s gat. Strangely, the view ahead wasn’t obstructed at all, as if nothing was covering him.

“You said you’d mostly be roaming the night market, right? Then you’ll probably eat often, so covering your mouth with a mask would be inconvenient. A long veil like this is perfect for those who don’t want to reveal their identity.”

“…….”

“Though with your overall vibe, people might recognize you anyway, but with all the fancy clothes and ornaments, who would pay close attention to your face?”

“That’s true.”

“The scarf’s so thick it covers most of your lower face, so you’re pretty much fully covered. Now, enjoy our village comfortably, sir scholar.”

On one side, Yoo Sung-woon, now dressed in a blue-coloured hanbok, asked the boss.

“We’re also thinking about buying some lanterns.”

“My, you’re really going all out? What kind of lanterns are you looking for?”

“I don’t have anything particular in mind. What’s the most popular these days?”

“Well, young ladies tend to like moon lanterns.”

“Uh… What about guys? We’re not exactly ladies.”

“Do you think it’s common for just two men to hang out together like Mr. Sung-woon?”

After a moment of thought, the boss called over another person with daenggi in her hair.

“Ms. Hong-yeon, could you bring over the water tank?”

“Yes, boss.”

The woman called Hong-yeon soon brought over a large glass case. Inside, several lanterns made of hanji? were submerged in light and moving as if they were alive. The boss scooped out two small fish among them.

The tiny flickering figures looked almost like real fish.

“How about goldfish? They’re small and subtle, so they’re not hard to carry around.”

“That sounds good.”

Gio was in a state of cultural shock.

‘The lanterns are alive?’

When Yoo Sung-woon mentioned ‘lanterns’, Gio had thought of hand-held sky lanterns or hanging lanterns.

However, the goldfish lanterns that Yoo Sung-woon purchased floated gently through the air, and soon one of them settled beside Gio’s face.

“…….”

Even staring directly at the flicking tails of the lantern didn’t hurt his eyes.

“Then, enjoy yourselves.”

The boss waved them off.

As they left the courtyard where silk was hung here and there, they stepped back into the bustling village street again. Yoo Sung-woon called out to Gio, who was looking around the village with interest.

“How’s it? Not uncomfortable, right?”

“Very comfortable.”

“If you want to look around the village before we head into Gyeongbokgung Palace, that’s fine.”

“The village?”

“The village market closes earlier than Gyeongbokgung Palace. If we wander the night market too long, the village lights will probably already be dark when we come out.”

“Then, may I look around the village for a bit?”

“Of course.”

Yoo Sung-woon led Gio, who seemed unfamiliar with the surroundings, into a fan shop.

“……?”

As Gio stood blankly outside the shop, he blinked twice at a group of figures loitering nearby, all wearing crude wooden masks. Their movements weren’t stiff, but they acted uniformly, like pre-programmed machines.

They didn’t look like humans. As Gio tilted his head as he couldn’t figure out who they were, Yoo Sung-woon spoke to the boss.

“Boss, can I see some fans?”

“Oh my, look at these handsome scholars. What kind would you like to see?”

“Something sturdy would be good….”

“Then this one is the best.”

Gio soon turned his attention away from the masked group hanging around, and curiously observed the village market.

‘All the shopkeepers are wearing hanbok.’

Traditional hanbok, or modernized hanbok. Or some merchants wore modern clothes underneath, with only a durumagi? draped over on the outside. They mainly interacted with tourists walking around in hanbok, playing along with them.

Soon, Yoo Sung-woon presented Gio with a black fan.

“Here, take it. A scholar’s outfit isn’t complete without a fan.”

“…Is a fan an essential item for a scholar?”

“It can be, or not. It’s just a meaningless souvenir.”

“Souvenirs from tourist spots are special.”

The fan, made of black bamboo and fabric, looked quite high-class. Gio wondered if carrying a completely black fan would make him look too much like the Grim Reaper, but since he liked black, he accepted it obediently.

“Most shops in Gyeongbokgung Palace’s Village sell souvenirs or food ingredients. They sell whole chunks of meat or agricultural and marine products they grew themselves. It’s much fresher than the goods distributed from the countryside, so many people prefer shopping here.”

Gio nodded.

“The atmosphere is really nice.”

“Right?”

After wandering around the village for a while, they eventually entered the Gyeongbokgung Palace.

“Wait, we need to exchange money.”

“Money?”

“The boss gave you a coin pouch, right? That’s a basic service provided for storing traditional coins. Inside Gyeongbokgung Palace you can only use traditional coins, so it’s better to exchange enough beforehand.”

“What to do with the leftover traditional coins?”

“You can either keep them as souvenirs or exchange them back at the exchange counter.”

Yoo Sung-woon soon returned with the coin pouch bulging with traditional coins?.

“They say the traditional coins are made lighter on purpose, but they’re still a bit heavy.”

“Don’t people find this method inconvenient?”

“Well? If you look for them, there might be some, but most come here to enjoy the experience. The merchants in Gyeongbokgung Palace also prefer getting paid in traditional coins because they receive more than the listed price.”

“How can they get more?”

“The government support the merchants.”

Yoo Sung-woon smiled faintly.

“That way, people will use traditional coins more actively.”

“I see.”

“Here, take it. This is your identity card.”

“……?”

A card too?

Traditional coins made sense since they’d be used as currency, but what’s the use of an identity card? Gio looked at Yoo Sung-woon, who shrugged.

“Free pass.”

“Aha.”

That was really nice.

t/n: I personally thought it’ll be easier to imagine with the images, but if I ruined the immersion with the images in the middle, please let me know and I’ll move the images all down to the bottom.

¹: dapho (I believe the one implied here is short-sleeved so you can imagine without the red inner one):

²: dopo (it’s said to be outerwear but I think in this case it was positioned inside the dapho):


³: norigae ornaments:

?: daenggi:

?: hanji paper for making the goldfish paper lanterns:

?: durumagi:

?: I wonder if I should just use brass coins instead of traditional coins for this tbh.

anyway regarding the hanbok parts, feel free to correct it if I’m wrong!