The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 224: Normal Operations - 3

I should’ve known the moment Im Ha-yeon said her alias was Du Eung-hyang.

“How could someone like Gu Suk-jeong possibly be the main wife over the Top Courtesan of Hubei, Du Eung-hyang?!”

I never imagined the employee I hired to get rid of chaos would turn out to be the chaos.

Im Ha-yeon jabbed her finger toward the Sichuan Beauty Faction like she’d just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world.

“So you’re saying the Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan isn’t the main wife?”

“Of course not! How could Gu Suk-jeong, who barely gets any focus in Volume 1, be the main wife?”

“Hah! A single, unbending flower who bows to no one! Who else could be the main wife if not the Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan?!”

“You’re bragging about a hot-house flower that was babied and pampered her whole life? You think it’s impressive she didn’t get bent?”

With a scoff, Im Ha-yeon folded her arms—and in doing so, her already sizable figure was... emphasized in a way that threw the Daseogak Society members into visible disarray.

“Kh-Khem! That’s not so different from Du Eung-hyang either!”

“Of course it’s different! Look at Du Eung-hyang. How many men must have harbored lustful thoughts for her? How many would’ve paid fortunes just to sleep with her? Do you think it was easy for someone like that to keep her chastity?”

“I-I suppose not...”

“And the man Du Eung-hyang truly fell in love with. The one she felt was worth giving everything to. That’s Tang Jeong. She gave him her all—so how can she not be the main wife?!”

“Well, Gu Suk-jeong’s the same! And the Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan is clearly prettier than the Top Courtesan of Hubei, so we have to consider looks!”

“The Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan, you say? Hah! Isn’t it obvious the Top Courtesan of Hubei is more beautiful than her?”

She snorted dismissively and took a step toward the Sichuan faction, pressing her argument.

Was it her confidence that was making them shrink back? Or were they just not sure where to look with her, uh... presence getting closer?

The Sichuan Beauty Faction members looked dazed and defenseless.

...Is Im Ha-yeon doing this on purpose?

“The Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan being more beautiful than the Top Courtesan of Hubei—is that obvious to you?”

“Who said that? You clearly don’t understand the world of courtesans! Even in a world full of jealous courtesans, Du Eung-hyang was acknowledged as the top of Hubei! Obviously, to earn that kind of title, she had to have the best looks and the best skills in singing and dance!”

Is she this immersed because she used to be a courtesan-in-training? Im Ha-yeon looked like she was silently asking if they had any idea how rare that kind of thing actually was.

“What kind of logic is that?!”

“Hmph! Listen closely. From this day forward, the Top Courtesan of Hubei, Du Eung-hyang, is the main wife! The Most Beautiful Woman in Sichuan? At best, we’ll grant her the title of concubine. Got that? Con-cu-bine faction.”

Like a judge handing down a sentence, Im Ha-yeon pointed at the Sichuan Beauty Faction and declared triumphantly.

“Grrrk!”

“Concubine faction?! That’s going too far!”

“I don’t care how pretty the young lady is—that’s crossing the line!” 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The Sichuan faction cried out in outrage, their expressions like they’d been slapped.

“Oooooooh!”

“A one-woman army of logic! The Du Eung-hyang faction has a divine new champion!”

Meanwhile, the Hubei faction clapped and cheered, welcoming their new heroine.

“Young lady, that was a brilliant new perspective in the Main Wife War! You sounded like you were speaking from the heart of a courtesan!”

“I-I wasn’t speaking as a courtesan—I was just emotionally connecting as a woman to Du Eung-hyang!”

“Quick! Seat young lady Ha-yeon at the head table!”

“We’ve made room here!”

“Young lady Ha-yeon! Young lady Ha-yeon! Young lady Ha-yeon!”

What a goddamn mess. Even people who came to read books were turning their heads to see what was going on.

No matter how well I’ve divided the talking space from the reading space, and no matter how soundproof the decor is—if it’s this loud, it’s pointless.

“Haaaahhhh...”

Just brilliant.

I let out a deep sigh and stepped away from the counter, walking toward the Daseogak Society.

“The Du Eung-hyang Faction is always open to new members!”

Who do you think you are, Du Eung-hyang?

Im Ha-yeon raised one hand in victory, flashing a smug smile toward the Sichuan faction.

“Young lady Ha-yeon.”

Feeling good about yourself?

I called out to her with the tone of a convenience store owner who hired someone for night shift, only to walk in and find they skipped restocking, ignored FIFO, didn’t clean, didn’t check cigarette inventory, and just sat there on their phone all night.

“Eek!”

Guess she finally realized what she left the counter for. Im Ha-yeon immediately flinched at my voice.

“Come with me.”

Time for a little education.

-----

Out in a quiet corner away from Daseogak, I dropped my smile completely and cornered her with a cold expression.

“What were you thinking, stirring things up like that?”

“I’m sorry... But those people dared insult Du Eung-hyang!”

She looked at me like there are just some battles a devoted fan can’t walk away from.

Yeah, yeah. A healthy Main Wife War keeps readers invested and draws attention to the novel regularly. I even make a nice profit from special merch sets, so I’m not about to denounce it.

“Young lady Im Ha-yeon, you’re not a member of the Daseogak Society. You’re an employee of Daseogak.”

I didn’t hire you to fan the flames of the Main Wife War—I hired you to put them out and boost sales.

“Ugh... I know. I went out to calm them down, but when they said Du Eung-hyang wasn’t the main wife, I... I just couldn’t hold back...”

Guess she knew she’d screwed up, because her voice got smaller than an ant’s.

She really does love Storm of the Tang Clan, huh.

“You really like Storm of the Tang Clan that much?”

I asked, not quite able to hide my disbelief.

“Yes! If Du Eung-hyang ever gets dumped by Tang Jeong, I swear I’ll hunt down Ho-pil and lodge a formal complaint!”

She said it with the expression of someone who’d fallen head over heels in love.

Yeah. It’s serious. No one can stop a fan this far gone.

I’m watching an actual character from a wuxia dating sim rave about a novel I wrote.

I should be scolding her as her boss, but damn it, it still feels kind of nice.

“As the bookstore owner, I’m grateful you love Daseogak’s flagship novel Storm of the Tang Clan. But as your employer, I can’t overlook the fact that you caused a scene instead of helping.”

I kept my tone firm and didn’t let my mood show.

“Ugh!”

“If it were any other employee, I’d have fired them on the spot.”

If it was a mistake, sure, I could overlook it—but this? This wasn’t a mistake.

I kept the pressure in my brows but let my lips relax just slightly.

Boss in the workplace, soft spot outside of it—just enough for her to notice.

You’re Wang’s daughter. You’re beautiful, which helps sales. You’re a martial artist, which keeps the place secure. That’s the only reason I’m letting you off.

“......”

Im Ha-yeon hung her head, clearly out of words.

“From now on, remember—you’re a Daseogak employee before you’re a Storm of the Tang Clan fan.”

Next time, you won’t get off easy.

“Um... So... does this mean I’m disqualified from the Outstanding Work-Study Student evaluation?”

“Didn’t we agree we’d all try to reduce mistakes before opening day? Just work harder from now on.”

You always need to have both the carrot and the stick ready.

As long as I’m still holding the carrot in front of her, she’ll take the stick quietly when she screws up.

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

Only then did Im Ha-yeon relax and bow her head deeply in apology.

You think I went through all that effort to capture the Shadowless Phantom Thief just to let you go? No way.

I waved her off and headed back to Daseogak ahead of her.

---------

Temporary closure followed by long-awaited reopening.

Although the Daseogak Society members prayed for my safe return and customers flooded in the moment we reopened, the effects of the temporary closure weren’t entirely absent.

‘We’ve lost customers.’

After reviewing the account books compiled since reopening for regular business, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) that was the conclusion I reached.

‘Sales are about the same thanks to the second floor, but it’s a warning sign.’

It’s great that loyal customers who’d been waiting for Daseogak’s reopening came in and boosted sales. But that alone isn’t enough to be relieved.

The amount of book sales has clearly dropped.

‘At least food and drink sales are doing well.’

Even I had to admit—my choices for second-floor staff were spot-on.

I silently watched Im Ha-yeon hand over drinks with a commercial smile at the front counter.

“Scholar Hwang! Your Hyang-ah Coffee Set is ready!”

“You remembered my name?”

“Of course. You order the Hyang-ah Coffee Set every time.”

“Hmm-hmm. So young lady Ha-yeon remembered because she’s in the Top Courtesan of Hubei faction.”

“I’ll take a Hyang-ah Coffee Set too!”

“Aren’t you in the Sichuan Beauty Faction?”

“O-oh! As of today, I’m a member of the Hubei Courtesan faction!”

One smile from Im Ha-yeon and they all melt like snow.

Since I gave her a talking-to, she’s been fulfilling her chaos-control duties diligently.

She still looks like she’s itching to jump into the Main Wife War now and then, but since I’m watching with hawk eyes, she seems to have switched over to quietly cheering for the Du Eung-hyang faction.

I can let that much slide. That level of participation actually helps draw in customers.

“When it was a gloomy guy taking orders every time, the atmosphere was dead, but now that there are flowers behind the counter, Daseogak feels so lively.”

“This gloomy guy can still hear you, by the way.”

I curtly retorted to the Daseogak Society regular who made the remark.

“Hahaha. My bad. But thanks to the new staff rumors, even the members who were avoiding Daseogak have started showing up again.”

“Yes. Looks like I hired well.”

It wasn’t just Im Ha-yeon and Ha So-so—there were other young women working upstairs too, and the atmosphere was noticeably brighter.

Was it really that gloomy when it was just me?

“I heard women you’d expect to see in a high-end brothel are working at Daseogak now.”

I absentmindedly glanced toward the customers, and thanks to my enhanced hearing, I picked up whispers between some unfamiliar patrons.

“Buddy, I’ve been to more brothels in Yichang than I can count, and I’ve never seen a beauty like that pink-haired young lady.”

“You don’t say?”

Apparently, the rumor that Daseogak hired beautiful women hadn’t spread just among the Daseogak Society—some unfamiliar male customers had shown up too.

Some of them looked more like they were watching the women than the books, to be honest.

‘You can’t survive off regulars alone.’

The Daseogak Society crowd has continued to show up, but bringing in general customers is just as important.

The best strategy would be to publish Volume 3 of Storm of the Tang Clan as soon as possible. But relying on just one solution isn’t smart—it’s better to prepare several strategies.

‘Regular customers have lost their momentum, and that’s why general traffic is down. I need a way to reverse that...’

“Manager!”

While I was deep in thought, Ha So-so approached and called out to me.

“Young lady Ha So-so. What is it?”

“Hehe. Um, would it be okay if I ate a little of the leftover snacks a customer left behind?”

Ha So-so asked shyly, like a convenience store clerk asking the owner if they could eat the expired stock.

“Lunch is coming up soon. Wouldn’t it be better to have a proper meal?”

In this world, lunch breaks weren’t even a thing to begin with. When I introduced one, the staff were so shocked they didn’t know how to react.

“Hehehe.”

She only giggled silently in response.

Wait...

“Are you not eating lunch?”

“Ah! Um... But I eat a full dinner! Otherwise, I can’t sleep.”

Embarrassed, Ha So-so averted her gaze and gave me what was barely an excuse.

“Are the other staff the same?”

“Most of them do eat, but some skip it because they can’t afford it.”

Daseogak is a book café, not a restaurant.

I provided a lunch break so people could take care of meals on their own—but I didn’t expect some of them to be going hungry.

Shocked, I stared at Ha So-so—and then I noticed her sleeve.

“What happened to your sleeve?”

Why are there stains? Her sleeves were speckled with blotches that looked a few days old.

“I spilled coffee while cleaning earlier.”

She shyly hid her arms behind her back.

Why hasn’t she changed clothes? I almost asked, but then I realized—these work-study students might not have a change of clothes.

Back when I was a storyteller, I once spent all my money just to buy one nice outfit. They might be in the same boat.

Since I hired staff and immediately reopened, I guess it’s no surprise that unexpected problems keep popping up.

I need to bring in more customers, and I have to take care of the staff too.

I fell into thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to solve the mounting issues.

There’s gotta be a good solution...

After some hard thinking, one idea flashed through my mind.

I need to head out.

“I’ll be back shortly. Don’t eat the leftover snacks—take some fresh ones instead. And during the cleanup later, gather all staff on the second floor.”

If you’ve got a good idea, you act on it immediately.