AFJE 03

Chapter 3

The next day.

“Hmm.”

Ha-yoon walked around the tavern with her arms crossed. Her sharp eyes carefully examined every corner of the place.

There are more problems than I thought.

A yard covered in weeds.

Mud walls that looked ready to collapse.

A creaky wooden platform.

The basics of running a business began with making sure customers did not feel uncomfortable.

That was different if it was a place visited only by longtime regulars.

But if she wanted to attract countless customers in the future, she had to remove as many things that could make people uncomfortable as possible.

Ha-yoon already knew very well that the success or failure of a business was not decided by taste alone.

Don’t leave the customers with an unpleasant experience.

No matter how delicious the food was, finding a bug in it would ruin everything. The foundation of a food business was making sure customers did not have an unpleasant experience.

To put it extremely simply, the experience should leave almost no bad memory.

The kind of place where you could barely remember when you had even visited.

Especially for a tavern like this, Ha-yoon believed it should feel so comfortable that people would never get tired of visiting it every day.

The entrance is narrow and gloomy. I don’t feel like going inside at all.

Ha-yoon’s gaze fixed on the entrance.

An old straw mat was crumpled up carelessly, while a pile of firewood blocked half of the entrance.

On top of that, a musty smell came from somewhere. It was the foul smell of old, rain-soaked wood mixed with mold.

No wonder nobody comes here…

An entrance was like a person’s face.

Yet the face of this business had been left completely neglected. It was an awful situation.

From a customer’s point of view, this was a tavern they should not enter.

No matter how good the food is, it’s meaningless if people won’t even cross the threshold.

Just as you needed to take care of your appearance to have any chance at dating, running a business also required a certain amount of upkeep.

I’d like to tear everything apart and fix it, but…

Ha-yoon let out a long sigh.

She had neither money nor time. Everything was lacking.

The only things she had were a healthy body and the knowledge inside her head.

I need to choose what matters most and focus on it. I need to get the maximum effect with the minimum cost.

As Ha-yoon pondered, her steps suddenly stopped.

What caught her attention was an old flag hanging in the air.

Ju? Mak?

It was just a scrap of cloth, torn and faded by the wind until it was impossible to tell what the original characters had been.

The writing fluttered in the wind, looking so unclear that it was hard to tell whether it was writing at all or just stains.

“A sign!”

Ha-yoon suddenly shouted.

“Goodness, you startled me.”

At Ha-yoon’s voice, Ok-bun, who had been peeling garlic in one corner of the yard, looked up in surprise.

“A sign? What’s that? Is it something you eat?”

Ok-bun narrowed her eyes as she asked. The word signboard itself seemed unfamiliar to her.

“A signboard is like a business card for a shop. I’ll make you a proper signboard instead of that piece of cloth.”

Ha-yoon pointed toward Munsik.

“Mr. Moon! Do you have any spare wooden boards or something? The bigger, the better! And please give me some ink and a brush too!”

Munsik, who had just set down his jige in the yard, asked with a puzzled expression.

“What do you need a board for? To use as firewood?”

“I want to give the tavern a new name. And I’m going to take down that flag.”

At the mention of taking down the flag, Ok-bun cried out in surprise.

“Why would you take down a perfectly good flag? People passing by all come in after seeing that!”

“Or don’t they run away when they see it?”

“What… what did you say?”

Ok-bun’s face turned bright red.

But Ha-yoon’s bluntness did not stop.

“You need something that makes customers immediately realize, ‘Ah! This is a place that sells food.’ Who would look at those faded letters and know that you’re running a business? They’d think you’ve gone out of business.”

“Hmm… Now that you mention it, you do have a point.”

Before long, Ok-bun was persuaded by Ha-yoon’s words and nodded.

In truth, Ok-bun knew it herself.

Lately, more and more customers had simply been passing by the tavern.

She knew there was a problem, but she had no idea where or how to begin fixing it, so she had simply left things as they were.

But now she had Ha-yoon, who was pointing out the problems as precisely as someone scratching an itch in exactly the right spot.

Creak.

Munsik opened the shed door and rummaged around inside before coming out with a fairly large wooden board.

It was not a small board the size of a hand. It was a huge one, nearly as large as his torso.

“Will this do?”

“It’s perfect!”

Along with the board, Munsik handed her a short, worn-out brush. Half the bristles had fallen out, and the handle was cracked.

“Ink is too precious, so I don’t have any. But I do have some soot mixed with oil… Will that work?”

“Hmm. I think that should be fine.”

Ha-yoon placed the board in the middle of the yard.

Then she thought carefully about what words she should write on it.

This is where the real work begins.

Who names a business carelessly?

Simply calling it a tavern was not enough.

Ha-yoon, who knew the importance of naming, fell deep into thought.

I need something different. If I just write ‘Tavern,’ there’s nothing to distinguish this place from any other.

Dozens of words appeared and disappeared in Ha-yoon’s mind.

When people thought of design, they usually thought only of visual elements. But naming a store, or even creating a product name when necessary, also meant that language played a surprisingly large role.

A logo would be difficult…

She considered making a logo with a highly visible image, but she had no idea whether people in this era would even understand the concept of a logo.

More importantly, pictures had limited reach.

No matter how perfect a logo she created, there was no easy way to explain it through words.

In an age when word of mouth was everything, Ha-yoon realized that she ultimately had to win with a word.

A word that’s easy, simple, and something anyone can remember!

One word that perfectly fit those conditions came to Ha-yoon’s mind.

That’s it!

Having decided on the name, Ha-yoon boldly picked up the brush.

Swish!

Ha-yoon was an expert at calligraphy.

Creating an identity with nothing but handwritten letters was one of her strongest weapons.

Good handwriting is a form of design all by itself.

She was not quite as skilled as Han Seok-bong, but Ha-yoon had studied calligraphy to a considerable degree. Without hesitation, she began writing.

Scratch—swish!

The surface of the wooden board was uneven, but that did not make writing on it difficult. The black paint made from soot and oil seeped into the wood.

There won’t be a second chance. I have to get it right in one go.

The most important thing when writing calligraphy was not to hesitate.

Hesitation left traces behind.

Even if the result might fail, boldly drawing each stroke was the key to good handwriting. The same was true when drawing pictures.

Swish!

Ha-yoon put strength into the final character and completed the name of the new tavern.

Munsik and Ok-bun, who had been watching the entire process from the side, opened their eyes wide.

“Oh my, what in the world is that?”

“I’ve never seen letters like those before.”

“The letters twist and turn, then suddenly get bigger… It’s a complete mess!”

“But somehow I can still read them smoothly. That’s truly strange.”

It was only natural that people from the past would have trouble understanding calligraphy that pushed Hangul to its limits.

Ha-yoon’s unique style went beyond freely controlling each stroke. Her calligraphy even crossed into the territory of completely different characters, creating a writing style that did not exist in this era.

Smooth, powerful strokes.

Perfect control of strength and softness.

And letters with carefully placed accents at the end.

The characters Ha-yoon had written seemed to breathe like living creatures.

“Phew, done.”

Ha-yoon, who had swung the brush as if possessed, wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Written on the wooden board were the following words:

[Insaeng Jumak]

A combination of the words insaeng, meaning life, and jumak, meaning tavern.

When Ok-bun saw the new name, her eyes widened.

“Insaeng Jumak? What does that mean…?”

“It means a tavern that everyone should visit at least once in their life.”

Ha-yoon put down the brush and smiled.

“It can also mean that a single meal eaten here could change your life. How is it? Pretty good, right?”

In truth, the meaning could be interpreted however she wanted.

It was all about how you explained it. What mattered was the impact the word itself created.

Insaeng Ju, Insaeng Jeon, Insaeng Gukbap. There are so many names I can branch off from this. The fact that no one has claimed them yet is a huge opportunity.

Of course, in the future, even if she wanted to use a business name like this, she could not simply use it however she pleased.

She would have to check whether another business was already using the same name and go through complicated procedures such as registering a trademark.

But such concepts did not exist yet.

It was practically an empty field.

Whoever used it first could claim it.

Just like drawing on a blank sheet of paper, what kind of picture would be drawn on the country of Joseon was entirely up to Ha-yoon.

“Insaeng Jumak…”

Ok-bun stood there blankly, staring at the signboard.

The messy-looking letters strangely drew her attention. More than anything, the word insaeng, meaning life, struck a chord in her heart.

“The letters are a little crooked, but they actually look pretty good.”

“That’s what I’m saying. It’s neither Chinese characters nor ordinary Hangul, but somehow I just can’t stop looking at it.”

“Now, please hang it where it’s easiest to see from the entrance.”

Once the signboard was finished, Munsik carried it toward the entrance of the tavern. Ha-yoon followed behind him, directing him where to put it.

“Higher! Make sure people can see it from across the road!”

“Is this high enough?”

“Raise the left side a little more. It’s not level.”

“How about now?”

“Center it properly. Move it a little to the right.”

“Here?”

“More, more, more, more!”

“Good grief, you’re awfully picky…”

Munsik grumbled, but his expression was not displeased.

When Ha-yoon had first said she would take charge of the work, he honestly had not expected much.

But once Ha-yoon began showing her skills, it was obvious that she really was a professional.

And a highly capable one at that.

“Good. Nail it in securely there. Make sure it doesn’t get soaked even if it rains.”

“My goodness, anyone watching would think you’re the owner of this place.”

While Munsik fixed the signboard to the post, Ha-yoon approached Ok-bun.

“Auntie Ok.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Do you sell anything besides gukbap? Things like seasoned vegetables or pancakes, for example?”

“Of course we do.”

Ha-yoon immediately continued her questions.

“Then exactly what kinds of food do you sell here? Please tell me the prices too.”

“What are you going to do with that information?”

“I’m going to make a menu.”

“A menu?”

“Ah, let’s call it a food list.”

Ha-yoon’s next plan was to make a menu board.

Most people who eat gukbap are men in their twenties to sixties. They never ask what else is on the menu.

The phrase that best represented a tavern was probably, “Auntie! One bowl of gukbap here!”

This was not because they did not want to eat other foods.

It was because they did not even know those other foods existed.

If they don’t ask, how are they supposed to know?

Men were so bad at asking questions that many of them could not even properly tell a barber what kind of haircut they wanted.

If I want to attract people, I have no choice but to sell a variety of foods.

No matter how delicious gukbap was, anyone would get tired of eating the same thing every day.

Gukbap should be the main attraction, but it needed a variety of side dishes and other menu items to support it.

Only then could the tavern appeal to a wider range of people.

And customers needed to be able to see all those options at a glance.

“Chili pepper pancake, 2 jeon. Potato pancake, 3 jeon. Pollock pancake, 5 jeon. Seasoned wild garlic leaves, 4 jeon. Seasoned bean sprouts, 2 jeon…”

“Good. Keep going.”

Ha-yoon brought over the remaining board and began writing down exactly what Ok-bun called out.

She arranged the names of the dishes in a neat line on the left and wrote their prices on the right.

For the jeon symbol, she adorably used drawings of old coins instead.

She added decorative elements around the edges of the board, completing the menu.

“Done.”

Ha-yoon looked at the finished menu with satisfaction. It was simple, since it had been made with nothing but a brush, but that was also its advantage. Everything was clear and easy to understand at a glance.

The menu Ha-yoon made looked like this:

[ Gukbap ]

Gukbap / 4 ◎

[ Jeon ]

Chili Pepper Pancake / 2 ◎

Potato Pancake / 3 ◎

Pollock Pancake / 5 ◎

[ Seasoned Vegetables ]

Seasoned Bean Sprouts / 2 ◎

Seasoned Wild Garlic Leaves / 4 ◎

[ Alcohol ]

Makgeolli / 3 ◎

Dongdongju / 3 ◎

Insaengju / 5 ◎

.

.

.

After finishing the menu, Ha-yoon looked at Ok-bun with a satisfied expression.

“What do you think? It’s much easier and more convenient when you can see all the food at once, right?”

“Oh! It’s neat and easy to look at. You really do have a talent for this.”

“What did I tell you? I said I’d turn this into the best tavern in Joseon.”

“You really do know a thing or two about running a business.”

Ha-yoon worked on the tavern with such dedication, as if it were her own home, that Ok-bun’s guarded attitude gradually began to disappear.

“All right, then the next thing we need to do is…”

And just like that, a month passed.

During that time, Ha-yoon carried out various repairs, including renovating the kitchen.

She also trained Ok-bun and Munsik in customer service, established hygiene practices, and added various visual elements both inside and outside the tavern.

“Today is the big day.”

Ha-yoon had not intentionally kept the doors closed, but because they had spent the entire month tearing things apart and fixing them, even fewer people came than before.

Occasionally, someone would approach out of curiosity, but after seeing the chaotic surroundings, they would turn away, apparently thinking, Are they finally closing the place?

But now Insaeng Jumak was ready for its grand reopening.

A cleanly swept wooden floor.

Neatly arranged tables.

A gleaming signboard.

It had become a completely different place, transformed beyond what the phrase complete makeover could describe.

Munsik and Ok-bun nervously asked,

“Do you really think people will come?”

“Don’t worry. In a few days, there’ll be people lining up all the way along the wall to eat here.”

“If that really happens, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Once preparations for business were nearly complete, Ha-yoon suddenly strode toward the kitchen.

“Where are you going?”

“Now that we’re ready, we need to draw people in.”

As she said this, Ha-yoon looked at the large iron cauldron sitting in the middle of the kitchen.

Inside was a rich broth that had already been simmering for several hours.

“Here goes!”

Without hesitation, Ha-yoon lifted the lid with a pair of tongs.

Whoosh!

Seeing this, Ok-bun rushed over in shock.

“What are you doing all of a sudden? You’ll let all the broth evaporate!”

As Ok-bun tried to close the lid, Ha-yoon explained.

“We need to lure people in with the smell! What’s the use of having this delicious smell trapped in here?”

“Lure people in with the smell?”

“Yes. From now on, we’re going to spread this smell as far as possible. This smell is more precious than any perfume.”

With that, Ha-yoon threw the kitchen door wide open.

“Don’t you have a fan? Hurry and fan it toward the road! Right now, during lunchtime, is the perfect time!”

“Uh, oh?”

Though still bewildered, Ok-bun picked up a fan.

“Here, the fan.”

“Good. Fan as hard as you can!”

“Good grief, what in the world am I doing…”

Ok-bun grumbled, but she began fanning diligently.

Now that they had come this far, she had no choice but to trust Ha-yoon.

Flap! Flap!

Hot steam flowed out of the kitchen. The smoke drifting toward the road carried the rich, savory smell of meat broth with it.

That finishes all the preparations. Now all we have to do is wait.

Ha-yoon looked meaningfully in the direction the smoke was spreading.

---

At that same time, near the entrance of Mungyeong Saejae.

A group of peddlers carrying bundles was walking along the road toward Mungyeong Saejae.

There were eight of them, and each man’s back was loaded with a heavy bundle.

“Ugh.”

Crossing the mountain pass with such a load was exhausting.

In the past, bundle peddlers carried an average of 30 kilograms on their backs and walked about 20 kilometers every day.

By modern standards, it was like marching every single day.

As a result, bundle peddlers were constantly hungry.

They had to keep eating to replenish their energy before they could continue walking.

And just as the peddlers were silently making their way forward—

“Sniff, sniff.”

One of the men walking at the very front flared his nostrils.

“Huh? Big brother, what’s that smell?”

“This… isn’t that the smell of meat being boiled?”

“Good heavens, that smell is incredible.”

The other peddlers also began stopping one by one as the aroma reached their noses.

The rich, savory smell of broth was spreading through the air on the wind.

“Come to think of it, isn’t it almost time to eat?”

“I was getting hungry anyway… Shall we head over there and take a look?”

“Sounds good. Let’s hurry.”

Drawn in by the smell, their feet naturally carried them toward the tavern.

A short while later,

One of the bundle peddlers stepped through the entrance of the tavern and opened his eyes wide.

“My goodness?”

A neatly arranged yard, walls decorated with murals, and a signboard that immediately caught the eye:

Insaeng Jumak.

“Insaeng Jumak? Was there a place like this here?”

The peddlers tilted their heads in confusion as they looked at the sign.

“Come to think of it, wasn’t there a tavern here before?”

“Ah! I remember now! The place that was practically falling apart…”

“You mean this is that place?”

The peddlers who remembered what the old tavern had looked like tilted their heads in disbelief.

They had been traveling this road for more than a decade, yet they had never once stepped into Munsik’s tavern.

Even when rain and wind battered the road, they always avoided that particular place.

They simply could not bring themselves to use it.

But today was different.

Instead of the shabby thatched house, there was a neatly arranged yard.

A properly installed signboard.

And more than anything, the rich, savory smell drifting on the wind caught their attention.

It did not take long for their hesitation to turn into curiosity.

“Did the owner change?”

“Hmm. Should we go in and take a look?”

“Sure. Let’s give it a try, even if it turns out we’ve been fooled.”

With mixed feelings of doubt and curiosity, the bundle peddlers stepped into Insaeng Jumak.