The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 244: Night Guest - 1

“Why aren’t you giving me dinner anymore?”

Im Ha-yeon widened her eyes, like a gamer who just found out their monthly subscription game was shutting down unexpectedly, and questioned me.

The dinner service was discontinued. Sure, that was probably shocking.

After all, she was the Shadowless Phantom Thief who’d fled to Yichang with not a single coin.

I had put in a lot of effort to turn her into the kind of subordinate who could answer her boss’s calls with a smile even on her way home, and part of that effort included providing dinner.

And truthfully, she had been handling the managerial tasks without issue so far. Maybe the dinners had even helped soften her impression of the wicked manager Kang Yun-ho.

To end such a beneficial arrangement out of the blue—it probably seemed strange. But I had a good reason for terminating her meal support.

It wasn’t because I’d lost interest in the fish I’d caught.

It wasn’t because she was now competently learning management alongside the other employees.

It wasn’t even because I wanted to turn a blind eye to her difficult situation.

The reason I was ending her meal support—

“Today’s payday, isn’t it.”

You’re getting paid now. Buy your own dinner.

The Shadowless Phantom Thief who fled to Yichang with nothing, met a boss kind enough to feed her. It was the kind of heartwarming story that deserved an anonymous tip-off to the Yichang Morning Bulletin.

Shame it never made the paper, but there was no more need for kindness.

“I know that, but...”

“You were starting to feel burdened by the dinner service anyway, weren’t you?”

She even hid the dinners in the cupboard at first, afraid someone might see.

Now that she’s used to it, I guess it feels like a loss not to have it.

“Well, that’s because—!”

Im Ha-yeon frowned and muttered back, clearly frustrated but unable to argue.

“You even complained about the food.”

“That’s because you always brought kimchi dumplings!”

What’s wrong with kimchi dumplings?

This is why people from Jungwon just don’t get it. For someone living alone, kimchi dumplings are a godsend.

They’re great when you’re a little hungry but don’t want a full meal, and perfect after work when you need something to go with a beer.

Like cola during a zombie apocalypse, kimchi dumplings belong in the top three of any solo freezer.

“So what do you want me to do?”

I shrugged at her, still looking disgruntled.

If she wanted, I was willing to keep feeding her. But only if she asked.

The question was—could Im Ha-yeon actually bring herself to ask me?

“That’s...”

She started to say something but lowered her head instead.

If she asked me for help, that would mean I’d become someone she could expect kindness from.

She always rejected help before. Was this a sign that her perception of me had finally improved?

I was honestly curious.

But she couldn’t look me in the eye, her lips moving slightly but no words coming out.

“Manager! Everyone’s gathered!”

Unfortunately, the staff gathering beat her to it.

“Let’s go downstairs.”

Leaving Im Ha-yeon and her conflicted expression behind, I headed down to the first floor.

-------------

“Manager’s here! Line up!”

“Thank you for your hard work this past month.”

I looked around at the staff gathered on the first floor with a calm expression.

Maybe because it was payday, everyone looked exhausted but also hopeful, their eyes on me.

The reason I’d gathered everyone on payday wasn’t anything fancy.

It was to make sure they knew exactly who was giving them the money—and to foster a little more loyalty to Daseogak.

It sounds ridiculous in the modern world. Wages are compensation for labor. You don’t get money from your boss—you earn it. So why be loyal to a workplace?

That’s the logic in a normal job.

But Daseogak was different.

“This is your work-study scholarship from Daseogak. Come up one at a time.”

Because what I gave them wasn’t wages, but scholarships.

The money I handed out was equivalent to what a porter gets for hauling goods until his back and shoulders nearly break. A full month’s worth.

None of these people thought of today’s payment as some proper, dignified wage earned through fair labor.

“Thank you!”

“Seriously—do I even deserve this much?”

“Manager Kang! Thank you! Really, thank you so °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° much!”

Everyone was overwhelmed, staring at their pay or bowing repeatedly to me.

Honestly, if I’d met a female manager who gave out this kind of salary before I started storytelling, even if she was a 60-year-old bachelorette who smelled like boiled chicken breast, I’d have fallen for her.

“Thanks to Storm of the Tang Clan, it’s been a busy month. Let’s work hard again next month!”

“I’ll bury my bones in Daseogak! Thank you!”

“I’ll do my best!”

These people were all so poor they skipped meals.

Whether they got to keep their jobs or not was entirely up to me.

They knew all too well that to receive another paycheck next month, they had to work hard.

“How about a drink tonight?”

“On a day like this? Gotta get home early!”

“My wife’s gonna take it all anyway, so I might as well grease the stomach first!”

“Let’s grab a drink before heading home!”

I watched the staff leave for the day in high spirits, then turned to see Im Ha-yeon sulking in the corner.

She hadn’t even come up to collect her pay. When our eyes met, she snorted quietly and turned away. I guess the dinner cancellation really hit her hard.

I walked over and handed her the money.

“Use this month’s pay to buy the dinner you want from now on.”

“......”

She pouted, not taking the envelope right away, and kept staring up at me.

“Miss?”

“Ugh! Fine! I’ll buy it myself!” 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Snatching the money like she’d finally given up, Im Ha-yeon stormed out of Daseogak.

As expected of the Shadowless Phantom Thief—fastest exit in town.

“Haa. I’ll have to cut her some slack for a while.”

I muttered to myself as I closed the door behind her.

I could understand her frustration.

I’d lured her in with the work-study scholarship, but her managerial role came with more responsibilities than the others. I dragged her around for every little thing, so canceling dinner might’ve felt excessive.

Still—if she had a problem, she could’ve said something.

For now, I’d have to redistribute some of her workload to keep her frustration gauge from filling up.

-------------

“Heading to a vendor?”

A few days after payday, Im Ha-yeon stopped me as I prepared to go out.

“I need to go buy tea leaves.”

“By yourself?”

Tea leaf selection was Im Ha-yeon’s area of expertise. But not today.

“Today, I’m going with Miss Ha So-so.”

“With So-so? Why?”

She looked at me with wide, startled eyes.

“Her family runs a tea shop. She knows a lot of good, affordable leaves. I’ll be going with her today.”

“Hehe. Unni, I’ll be back soon!”

“See you later.”

Somehow, Im Ha-yeon’s voice as she sent us off was full of unease.

-------------

“The lunchbox in the cupboard—is that for me?”

The day after I went out with Ha So-so, Im Ha-yeon looked at the lunchbox in the cupboard and asked with a spark of anticipation.

“It’s for Miss Ha So-so.”

“What?”

“Hehe, um, unni...”

Ha So-so’s voice trailed off a little awkwardly.

“I happened to overhear yesterday that Miss Ha So-so’s younger siblings have been skipping meals. And since she worked hard helping with the tea leaves, I brought her some food.”

“O-Only for today, right?”

Ha So-so spoke to Im Ha-yeon like someone who had a guilty conscience. Even though there was no need to be so self-conscious—it was food I bought.

“If she wants, I might do it again when I think of it...”

“No, no! Really, you don’t have to!”

Ha So-so flailed her hands and looked to Im Ha-yeon with a startled voice.

Maybe rumors had spread that I wasn’t giving meals to Im Ha-yeon anymore. Well, if I’m not feeding her, then giving dinner to another staff member could seem unfair.

“...Do whatever you want, then.”

Im Ha-yeon narrowed her eyes at the two of us, muttered coldly, and then turned on her heel.

-------------

“Manager, did you maybe fight with Ha-yeon unni?”

“Hm? What are you talking about?”

“She’s been radiating this frosty aura lately, like she’s upset about something.”

Ha-yeon looks upset?

I glanced over at her handling customers at the second-floor counter.

“Miss Ha-yeon, you look lovely today.”

“There’s a line behind you. Place your order.”

“Gasp! Why does it suddenly feel cold in here?”

“She seems exactly the same as usual.”

Really—nothing seemed different to me.

“No way. Ha-yeon unni... even if she acted like a block of ice with you, she always treated customers warmly. But lately, she’s been oddly cold to me too.”

“Something might’ve happened.”

She seems the same, so it’s hard to guess.

“I really think she misunderstood something.”

Ha So-so muttered in dismay.

“What do you mean misunderstood?”

Ha So-so sighed with her hands on her hips, then opened her mouth to give me some heartfelt advice.

“Sigh... Manager. I think I get what’s going on. But Ha-yeon unni doesn’t have any experience with this kind of thing. If she thinks she’s being pushed away even a little, she might lose hope. So please—just push gently and then pull her back in. Okay?”

So-so... I think you’re the one who’s misunderstanding something.

***********

“What the hell is with that guy?!”

Im Ha-yeon shouted, kicking a small stone in a back alley where no one else was around.

Suddenly changing his attitude—what the hell?

Was it because she rejected his dinner out of pride? Because she complained about the food, like he said? Still, feeding her nothing but kimchi dumplings for a week was over the line.

Or was it because she grumbled about the “main wife set” being exploitative while he was selling it upstairs? Or because she complained that he only ever took her on vendor trips?

Or maybe it was because, in matters involving the Hao Clan, she—once a runaway courtesan—wasn’t much help?

“There’s... too many possible reasons.”

She muttered quietly, her shoulders slumping.

She looked into a puddle at her feet. Ha So-so was charming in a younger-sister kind of way, sure—but she didn’t think So-so’s looks could compare to her own.

So how could he just fall head over heels for her just because she was sweet and gentle?

After everything?

Even in the courtesan world, Im Ha-yeon knew that having beauty that could seduce any man wasn’t always enough.

Sometimes, it was the more mild-mannered courtesans—those with average looks but soft smiles—who kept the brothels running.

Yeah. Kang Yun-ho’s a man too. Even if he didn’t fall for Yichang’s top courtesans, he might melt under the kindness of a girl like spring sunshine.

But why? Why change his attitude so suddenly?

“That guy’s not even a customer—what does it matter if his heart’s elsewhere?”

She tried hard to convince herself it didn’t matter.

The kind of man who made you think you might win his heart, only to keep it just out of reach. Who listened well, empathized deeply, showed hints of vulnerability that made you ache—and seemed like he’d welcome even your neediest moments with open arms.

If it were that easy, every courtesan would’ve gotten the Blue Flag by now.

“It doesn’t matter who that guy likes.”

It’s fine. It doesn’t matter. Who he likes doesn’t concern me.

But the face staring back at her in the water didn’t look like someone who was “fine.”

She stomped the puddle with her toe. The rippling reflection looked too much like her churning heart.

Unable to calm her thoughts, she kicked the stone again with all her strength.

“Agh! Who threw that rock through my window?!”

“Eek! I’m sorry!”

-------------

“So you’re here.”

After work, Im Ha-yeon visited the Hao Clan’s branch to deal with something involving the homing pigeon.

“Is something wrong? You don’t look well.”

She addressed the branch leader, who sat at his desk with a dark expression, staring at a sealed letter.

“News came in from the Wuchang branch.”

The capital of Hubei Province was Wuchang. The main headquarters of the Hao Clan in that province was there too.

“Really? What about the Wusan branch?”

The Wusan branch of the Hao Clan had been attacked by an unorthodox sect. The pleasure house, the businesses, even the courtesan house where she lived had all been targeted.

What would the Hao Clan do? Send martial artists? Or abandon it?

If I’m recognized for this report, they might erase my registry...

Her courtesan registry. The official registry of courtesans. As long as her name remained there, Im Ha-yeon would always be labeled a runaway courtesan.

If the Hao Clan sent reinforcements, maybe—just maybe—she could be freed from that name for her efforts in warning them.

She looked at the branch leader with cautious hope.

But what came from his mouth was as heavy as his expression.

“They’ve asked us to extradite the runaway courtesan Im Ha-yeon.”