Chapter 38
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 38
Chapter 38. The Result of the Outing (3)
I asked, just in case.
“The scenery seems even more beautiful when I hear you recite poetry. May I hear another poem?”
Perhaps because he was drunk, Chief Administrator Yu did not refuse.
“Then I will recite another poem.”
Perhaps intoxicated by the atmosphere, Chief Administrator Yu recited not just one poem, but several in succession.
And
they were all poems I knew.
To be precise, they were poems that a man named Choo Il-gong had published in an anthology, claiming they were his own.
There were about fifty poems in the anthology.
Among them were poems that were highly praised by critics at the time.
All of those highly praised poems were recited by Chief Administrator Yu.
So...
That bastard Choo Il-gong is a malicious fraud.
He took our Chief Administrator Yu's poems and passed them off as his own?
I raised my cup and asked Chief Administrator Yu, who was sipping his wine.
“How could you keep such wonderful poems to yourself? That's too much.”
“Hahaha. You're making too much of nothing! I'm embarrassed.”
“Why didn't you show off your talent?”
“Well...”
Chief Administrator Yu sighed.
“I didn't have time to write poetry.”
Ah...
“And when I write poetry, memories of the past come back to me. I'm sure you know that I was dismissed from the royal court and returned to my hometown.”
I nodded.
“At that time, I worked continuously to forget what had happened.”
Only then did I understand why Chief Administrator Yoo had been so devoted to his work.
“I wonder if I've troubled you by asking to hear more of your poetry.”
Chief Administrator Yoo waved his hand.
“Not at all. It's nice to recite poetry after such a long time. In fact, reciting poetry was my only hobby.”
He smiled, looking truly happy.
It wasn't a drunken smile, but a smile that came from the bottom of his heart.
“Actually, I wanted to become famous for my poetry. But Senior Chu told me that I had no talent for poetry and that I should give it up. He said I would only embarrass myself...”
Oh, no! This guy...
“And then, after going through various trials and tribulations, I began to wonder if this was the right path for me. That's when I met the captain of the Trading Company and started working for him.”
My mind began to race.
I didn't know it at the time, but now that I knew that it was Chief Administrator Yoo's poetry, I didn't want to let a fake gain fame.
Chief Administrator Yoo even encouraged him to give up his dream!
He is truly evil.
I could put off thinking about how to deal with him for later, but I had to hurry to publish a collection of poems under Chief Administrator Yoo's name.
If a man named Chu Il-gong later published a collection of poems claiming that he had written Chief Administrator Yoo's poems, Chief Administrator Yoo might die of shame.
I had to prevent that.
“Listening to you, Chief Administrator, I suddenly had an idea. How about we compile a collection of our writings?”
“A collection of our writings?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“This is a trip we took together. I think it would be nice to leave something memorable behind.”
“A collection of our writings... I see. That's not a bad idea.”
Chief Administrator Yoo hesitated for a moment.
“But my poetry is nothing to be proud of.”
“Did you recite your poetry to show off?”
“No, that's not it.”
“Then what's the problem? I liked it when I heard it, and if you liked it when you recited it, then it's good.”
Chief Administrator Yoo nodded in agreement.
“You're right. Poetry is an expression of one's feelings at that moment.”
“Then please recite it for me. I will write it down.”
“I would be honored.”
Unlike when we first met, our outing ended in a very harmonious atmosphere.
My father's mission was accomplished.
Now all that remained was to publish the collection.
Of course, I did not ask Chief Administrator Yu for permission. He had agreed to let me compile the collection, but he would refuse to allow it to be published.
If that happened, the beautiful poems would be taken away from their author, and I could not allow that.
If the result was good, he would understand.
* * *
Several days passed after our outing.
Chief Administrator Yoo was in his office in the Jaegyeong Hall.
“Hmm...”
He was preoccupied with some troublesome documents, and before he knew it, it was lunchtime.
He got up from his seat.
In fact, he didn't care whether his staff ate lunch or not when it was lunchtime.
However, through his outing, he learned from Eun Seo-ho that this was not right.
He said to Eun Seo-ho,
“It's time for lunch.”
“Yes.”
Then, as he left his office, he said,
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Ah... Yes.”
“Chief administrator, enjoy your meal as well.”
At first, they were taken aback when he said this, but before long, they seemed to have gotten used to it.
“Somehow, the atmosphere seems to have softened.”
After finishing his meal, one of the officials smiled and said to him.
“Chief Administrator. Congratulations on the publication of your anthology.”
“...Anthology?”
“You published an anthology, didn't you? I was surprised when I saw it. How can each poem be so beautiful?”
“...An anthology?”
“Yes? Didn't you publish an anthology? It clearly said that the author was Yoo So-ak of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
Yoo So-ak replied with a confused look.
“I have never published such an anthology.”
He asked the official, just in case.
“May I see that collection?”
“Yes.”
The official quickly brought the collection he had bought, and Yoo So-ak looked through it.
“....”
They were indeed his poems.
They were the poems he had written while drunk on his recent outing.
And there was only one person who could have done this.
“Young master...”
Yoo So-ak held his head in his hands.
Then he asked the official.
“How many copies of this collection were sold?”
The official replied proudly.
“I hear that it is already selling very well throughout the Central Plains.”
“...
* *
I was having lunch at my residence.
Pagap stood next to me with a worried look on his face.
”Young master, what on earth are you doing?“
”What?“
”You published Chief Administrator Yu's collection of poems without his knowledge!"
“Ah, that? It's fine. It's fine.”
“It's not fine!”
Pal-gap jumped up at my calm response.
“As you know, Chief Administrator Yu is quite vindictive and has a bad personality...”
At that moment, I sensed someone approaching.
“Shh!”
“What?”
“They say even tigers come when you mention them...”
Pal-gap was terrified by my words and waved his hands frantically.
“Hurry and hide! I'll stop him.”
I shook my head at his words.
“It's too late. Besides, I have to work with Chief Administrator Yoo in his office anyway.”
“Ah...”
I heard Chief Administrator Yu's voice from outside.
“I heard that Young Master Eunseoho is inside. May I have a word with you?”
It was the response I had expected.
So, I took a sip of tea and calmly stood up.
“Yes. Did you call me?”
“What on earth is going on?”
Chief Administrator Yoo was holding a book in his hand. It was a collection of his writings, published under his name.
“Ah! Congratulations.”
“What is going on here?”
Chief Administrator Yoo raised his voice.
But I remained calm and smiled.
“You haven't given up on your dream of becoming a famous poet, have you?”
My words seemed to leave Chief Administrator Yu speechless, and he trailed off.
“That's…”
“I'm sorry, but if I didn't do this, it would have remained a dream for the rest of my life, so I did it.”
“You should have told me.”
“If I had told you, would you have allowed me to publish the collection?”
“…”
I smiled and said, "You're not the only one who wrote it.
“And this has already happened. So just accept reality. It's not a big deal, so why are you so worried?”
“I'm worried that it will be a big deal.”
Chief Administrator Yu sighed.
“My writing is so bad that I'm ashamed to show it to anyone.”
As expected, that bastard Choo Il-gong is the problem.
I really have to punish him later.
How much did he have to be ignored to become so lacking in confidence?
“That's not true at all. This is the first time I've written poetry as beautiful as yours, Chief Administrator Yoo. And I'm sure people will love it. I guarantee it.”
* * *
Time passed quickly.
Leaning back in his chair, Chief Administrator Yoo sighed as he looked outside.
“May is already approaching.”
It had been half a month since his outing with Eun Seo-ho in early April.
His gaze fell on the book on the desk.
[Collection of Poems by Soak]
“If you were going to write it, you could have at least given it a better title than Soak Poetry Collection...”
He was embarrassed and ashamed that his poetry collection had been published.
The words of his senior at the court kept ringing in his ears.
“You have no talent for poetry and prose. You'd be better off just studying the classics. That's more promising. And never recite your poetry in front of others. Your poetry is just asking for embarrassment. Take this as advice from your senior.”
After that, he never recited his poetry again.
However, as Eun Seo-ho said, his ambition was not completely extinguished.
Deep down in his heart, his ambition burned even more fiercely than a bellows.
Thanks to Eun Seo-ho, he realized this.
He had always loved poetry.
In any case, he decided to collect all of his poetry books.
His desire was his desire, and he was ashamed of it.
However, it was impossible.
Eun Seo-ho had sold his collection not only in Hubei but also throughout the Central Plains.
He wondered who had taught him to be so thorough.
He looked at Eun Seo-ho, who was working beside him.
Noticing his gaze, Eun Seo-ho turned to him.
“Yes? Is there anything you want me to do?”
“Nothing.”
The poetry collection was selling well, thanks to word of mouth, just as Gakwon had said when he told him about it.
And every day, everyone he met praised his poetry.
Seeing this, he felt that something was wrong.
Unless the entire Central Plains was lying to him, he really did have a talent for poetry.
If that was the case, then why did his senior, Choo Il-gong, give him such advice?
He was confused.
“There's no way he would have done that on purpose...”
At that moment, he heard the voice of his bodyguard outside his office.
“Chief administrator. Lieutenant Cho Young-young is here.”
“Ah, send him in.”
The door opened and Lieutenant Cho Yeong-yeong entered.
“We have a visitor. He wishes to see the Chief Administrator and the young master.”
“I see, but the young master as well?”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
“He is the co-author of the collection of short poems. And congratulations on the publication of your book, Chief Administrator.”
“Ah, yes.”
* *
When she mentioned the collection of short poems, I had a pretty good idea why she had called me, the co-author.
The visitor had been very impressed by the poems in the collection and had come to see us.
It was impossible not to be impressed.
Even I, who am not very emotional, was moved by the poems, and they will surely become very famous in the future.
However, the guest who came to visit was a big shot who surprised even me.
“This is someone from the Jegal Clan.”
"....
I was surprised by my father's introduction.
Glancing to my side, I saw that Chief Administrator Yu also looked quite flustered.
I quickly composed myself, clasped my hands together in a greeting, and only then did Chief Administrator Yu return the greeting.
The man who said he was from the Jegal Clan opened his mouth with an expressionless face.
“I have been instructed to deliver this to you personally. Therefore, I have no choice but to bring it here.”
“That's fine.”
“Then let me confirm. Are you Yoo So-ak, the author of the collection of poems?”
“Yes, I am.”
He looked at me and asked.
“Are you Eun Seo-ho, the co-author of the collection of poems?”
“Yes, I am.”
The reason why I was listed as a co-author of the poetry collection was because it would have been difficult to publish the collection without a co-author.
He took a scroll from his robe and handed it to Chief Administrator Yoo, who accepted it.
He slowly unfolded it and read it.
I also looked at the contents. Then, I was so surprised that I shouted without thinking.
“What? You're inviting me to the Jegal Family?”
“I don't know the details either. However, he said to accept and bring back his reply.”