/
The interior of the tavern was as messy as a battlefield. There were broken tables and chairs lying around. Occasionally, broken pieces of dishes could also be found strewn all across the floor.
‘Oh, geez. I overdid it.’
There was a sweeping sound. It became clearer when he saw the owner who was cleaning up the mess.
“Oh, are you here?”
The bald man was cleaning with a bitter expression on his face. As soon as he saw Lloyd, his complexion paled. There was anger flashed across his face. However, it quickly disappeared. Instead, he could only force an awkward smile. It was a smile of the weak who had no choice as he still needed to make a living in this territory.
‘Thinking about what I did last night made my blood boil.’
I couldn’t even make fun of it. The sight left a bad taste in Lloyd’s mouth. It was because past memories suddenly popped up.
‘When I was working at the pub, I had a lot of bad customers.’
I had to work all sorts of part-time jobs just to eat and live. It included a job at the pub. Since it was a pub, there were various kinds of customers. Obviously, there were some friendly customers too. No, it was quite a lot.
At the pub, getting drunk and talking down to the employees were a common occurrence. Some people flipped the tables or broke the bottles over trivial matters such as the drinks were too expensive, the side dishes were not good, and the employees didn’t bow politely. In some circumstances, they even swung a broken alcohol bottle around while yelling for the boss to come out.
‘Whoa.’
I sighed when I recalled that time.
At that point in time, he was just an employee. There was nothing he could say to the bossy customer. You wouldn’t believe how enraged he got when such customers came.
‘Let’s stop thinking about it.’
It was a bitter memory. Thanks to that, Lloyd was able to fully understand how the owner felt. Even though he wasn’t the one who created this mess, even if it was the previous owner of this body who did it, he apologized sincerely to the owner.
“I came to apologize for what I did last night.”
“… Pardon?”
“It’s my fault. I should’ve just been drinking quietly, but I ended up causing a big accident. I won’t gloss over it. All of the blame was on me.”
I was genuine. However, did he misinterpret my sincerity?
“Ex, excuse me, young master? Why are you doing this?”
The owner’s complexion turned from white to blue. It was as if he’d just met a grim reaper.
“Young master, are you unsatisfied about something last night? Then, tell me what I did wrong.”
“No, I…” (tl/n: Lloyd was using formal speech to speak with the tavern’s owner.)
“Why do you speak so formally? That’s even scarier.”
“….”
This body seemed to be firmly hated by the people in this territory. Lloyd smacked his dry lips.
“Is it better if I speak comfortably?”
“O, of course.”
“Then, will you accept my apology?”
“….”
“I’m going to reimburse all the furniture I damaged last night.”
“Really?”
Has the owner of this body been deceiving people his whole life?
Lloyd clicked his tongue.
“Of course, it’s true. How about I make you an ondol to make up for it?”
“Yes?”
“It’s a room with a heated floor, do you know?”
“I know, it’s when you use heated stones and pour water on them.”
“That’s a wet sauna that uses steam. This heats up the floor itself. Ondol. You don’t know?”
“….”
As expected, he didn’t know. The pub owner became silent just like Javier before. Then, there was a possibility that the plan would work. Lloyd licked his lips.
“That’s too bad. You don’t know Ondol. If you know, it would be great for your mother.”
“Sorry?”
“I’ve heard some rumors. Your mother, I heard she’s not feeling well these days.”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
“That’s why I recommended Ondol for you.”
“….”
“It heats up the floor itself. You don’t even need a bed or anything. You can just lay on the floor and laze around all day long. It cannot even be compared to a sauna.”
“….”
It’s getting to him. It’s slowly getting to him. I could see his pupils shake. He wavered even more when he heard Lloyd’s next argument.
“When it’s cold in the winter, sometimes the body gets chilled to the bone. So this is perfect for elderly people with stiff joints.”
“Elderly people like my mother?”
“That’s correct.”
Older people like it very much when it’s hot.
“However, you’re giving it to me? The young master?”
“Uh, to be exact, I’ll make it for you.”
“You’re making it?”
“Uh-huh.”
“….”
“Can’t believe it?”
“That’s a matter of course.”
“Of course you can’t believe it. Now you must’ve been wondering what sort of scam I was trying to pull, whether I could make that ondol or something, and whether that thing called ondol really exists. But, listening to it reminded you of your mother. So you’re on the edge of your seat right now. It’s tempting, isn’t it?”
“….”
“Let’s make a written contract with me, then.”
“What do you mean, contract?”
“Uh. Contract for the construction.”
“What….”
“Get me a pen and some pieces of paper.”
The owner had a confused face. Still, he politely brought the pen and paper. Lloyd skillfully scribbled down the form of the impromptu contract on the paper.
‘It’s only a form anyway. I can make it myself.’
The employer was the tavern owner. The contractor was me. The construction site was at a vacant lot behind the pub.
“Let’s do this. The entire price including the contract’s amount will be paid with all of the items I damaged last night. How about that?”
“Are you saying that instead of paying money for the entire damaged objects, you’re going to make an ondol or something?”
“Yeah.”
Lloyd nodded. It was a fact that the Baron is in debt. The money to reimburse the tavern owner was also lacking. But, what if we could get the job done right?
‘I could get rid of a splendid amount of deficit from the compensation with it.’
It’s not just about getting rid of the deficit. If I did well, I would get a tremendous amount of benefit. It would be the starting point of huge profits that would get bigger and bigger, just like a rolling snowball. That was the big picture Lloyd was expecting.
‘Because this is what I can do best.’
I was a civil engineer. I studied hard in my own way. Indeed, I didn’t have any grand dreams back then. Like others, I choose my school and department based on my CSAT score. I was just trying to get adequate grades for a stable job. However, perhaps the knowledge that I had accumulated before could be put to good use here.
‘It’s land sales, especially construction that makes the most money.’
Apartments, buildings, bridges, roads, dams, breakwaters, canals, ports. Building anything costs money. Among them, construction companies, especially contractors in particular, were the ones who get to sit on a money cushion. The bigger the project, the richer they get. Lloyd was aiming for that possibility.
“Well, that’s why we’re going to sign a contract. What do you say?”
“Then the young master is serious?”
“I’ll be the one making it. Why? Do you dislike that?”
“Well, that’s not true.”
The owner, who was hesitating, eventually signed the ‘Ondol Construction Contract’.
Kim Suho, a civil engineering student from South Korea. Lloyd, the eldest son of Baron Frontera. It was the first contract he had gotten in this unfamiliar world. Firstly, even if it was small, he took one step at a time.
So, that was how the long-awaited first construction began.
♣
“He’s a naive and desperate man.”
It had only been a minute since I left the tavern. Javier, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly spoke.
“What do you mean?”
When I looked back, Javier’s face was as expressionless as before. No, was it just me or did it feel colder just like when a cold wind was blowing?
“A man who is cornered will become desperate. As such, it narrows his view of the situation and blurs his judgment. These people are easy prey for a wicked scoundrel.”
“Prey?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh, so the bar owner is a pitiful prey and I’m a sly bastard who preyed upon him?”
“Whether you’re evil or not will depend on what you’re going to do now.”
“Oi.”
Somehow, I thought the atmosphere was colder than usual. Only then did Lloyd realize what Javier was thinking.
“You. Do you think I’m scamming the tavern owner?”
“That’s not true.”
“Then?”
“I think you’re taking advantage of the situation of the weak who was cornered.”
That was it. Lloyd sighed deeply. For some reason, after possessing this body, he was getting misunderstood for everything he did.
“Let’s get this straight, then. You’re skeptical that I’m gonna make an ondol for the tavern owner, do you?”
“That’s correct.”
“Why?”
“Lloyd-nim never got dirt on his hands even once before in this life.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve heard it from here and there.”
“So it means you never see it in person, right?”
“Indeed.”
“That’s absurd, Javier.”
“Pardon?”
Javier’s picturesque eyebrows frowned for the first time. Lloyd stared at Javier, who was about 5 centimeters taller than him, and then said.
“I’m a little disappointed. Javier, do you judge people just based on hearsays?”
“That’s….”
“You’re prejudiced.”
“….”
“So, just now you saw me sign a contract with the bar owner, right? What do you think I’m going to do with that contract?”
“Of course….”
“Did you think I’m going to throw the contract in the corner and then play with it?”
“That’s not it.”
What do you mean, no? I was right. As I had noticed before, Javier was bad at lying. He had a habit of avoiding eye contact when he lied. It was just like that.
“You assumed I am swindling the bar owner with the pretext of a contract. I can just make the ondol some other day. And then, I’ll delay the remuneration continuously for the damage I’ve done with that lie.”
“I just…”
“That’s what prejudice is about. Judging others prematurely based on your own assumptions. It could rouse conflicts, support discrimination, shook the family, and then crumble the territory.”
I guessed Javier didn’t expect such a counterattack. Javier kept his mouth shut. You’d probably think it was sophistries, but Lloyd didn’t bother to change his mind. Instead, he jabbed at Javier.
“Anyway, I know what you’re thinking so could you please step aside?”
“Yes?”
“Just two steps to the side. Yeah, that way. I’m going to do a rough estimation.”
I was going to do it before Javier opened his mouth. Anyway, this place was where the ondol would be built. The most important thing to do before designing was to observe the ground and prepare the materials.
‘I don’t think I need precise measurements because it’s going to be small. But, the ground here was slightly tilted. I’ll have to raise it a little bit.’
There was a pub on one side of the land where the building was going to be built. On the other side, there was the owner’s house where he lived. It would be better to build the ondol in the space between them.
‘Let’s examine the ground.’
Lloyd lowered his body. He examined the soil where the ondol would be built. He touched the dirt and rubbed it on his fingers.
‘Oh, this reminds me of when I was at school.’
Touching the soil naturally reminded him of the lecture on soil mechanics. It was a subject that studied properties such as the volume, the particles, and the gaps in the soil. Thanks to that, he could know how much soil he needed to scoop up. It wasn’t just that. The dirt he had dug was rolled up like a dung beetle’s poop. It had to be rolled but it shouldn’t break. He had even baked, roasted, and steamed the soil in the oven. Thanks to that, his past experiences would be a great help for Lloyd today.
‘The soil was good enough.’
It wasn’t just fine. Contrary to the dark surface, only a few centimeters in, reddish soil came out. It was clay.
‘This is awesome.’
Lloyd stood up and shook his hands. Then, he met Javier’s strange gaze.
“What? Why?”
“….”
“Have you never seen a man touch the dirt?”
“At least, I’ve never seen Lloyd-nim do this.”
“Then, get used to it. You’ll see it often in the future.”
Javier’s eyes glowed even more strangely. Lloyd ignored him and moved away. He left the scene to wander around the land. It looked like a leisurely walk, but Lloyd’s eyes were surveying the terrain all over the territory. Among them, the focus was on the river crossing the center of the territory. The purpose was to collect clay in large quantities.
“Come on, let’s go home.”
Even at the mansion, Lloyd never stopped working. It was a monumental first construction.
‘Because you must do a great job with the first order.’
One incorrect construction could result in bad reviews. That would make it harder to catch the next customer. Then it would be doomed from the beginning. In order to avoid that, it was important to produce the best quality you could afford.
‘The customer’s happiness is the foundation of my money-making plans.’
He was used to staying up all night. It was because of his part-time jobs and assignments. He drew a blueprint on a blank paper from dusk until dawn. As soon as the sun was up, he went to the mansion’s administrator.
“How much wood do you have in the warehouse?”
“Pardon?”
It was too early in the morning. Forget having breakfast, the administrator couldn’t even wash his face yet. He tilted his head and pondered. Did this guy have been drinking since this morning?
“What are you going to use the wood for?”
“What am I going to use it for? I’m going to use it to build a building. Here.”
“This is?”
“Move as much wood as it says here to the tavern’s backyard. Got it?”
If you’re going to swiftly make it work, you have to be bold like a bulldozer. Because of Lloyd’s attitude, the administrator nodded before he knew it. Thanks to this, before lunch, the wood he ordered was already piled up in the tavern’s backyard.
“Now that the materials are here, let’s get started.”
I took off my cumbersome outer garment. I wore only a light shirt and worker gloves. I even carried a shovel here, so I couldn’t even be more at ease.
‘I’m used to this kind of hard work every vacation.’
Even when he was in the army, because he majored in civil engineering, whenever there was a large or small construction job, the administrative officer called him. Finally, by the time he was discharged from the military, he was treated as a major certified working machine.
‘As expected, a real man shovels.’
Starting from scratch, I dug the ground beside the yard. The excavated soil was moved to the site for the ondol. Every time, the soil was dug carefully and firmly.
“If I move a lot of soil at once and build the foundation at once, it’s going to get messy later.”
That is a common mistake to make when building a foundation. The soil is being hardened very well but the bottom part isn’t done properly. So, what would happen if the soil was piled up thickly and was pressed all at once? The upper surface would look solid, but the inside would remain soft. A few years later, it will be disastrous if the building gets tilted.
Lloyd, who knew this fact well, scooped the soil, moved it, and pounded it over and over again. Suddenly, he looked at Javier. Javier has been standing still for a while. He was faithful to his job as an escort.
“Oi.”
“Did you call me, Lloyd-nim?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Do you have anything you’d like to order me?”
“Yes, I do. Let’s shovel together.”
“….”
Javier was speechless.
“You don’t want to? Is that the case?”
“….”
“If you are willing to shovel together, the work can be done twice as fast.”
“….”
“Aah, the tavern owner’s mother must be suffering from the cold right now. If she sleeps in a warm ondol room, she’ll be able to relieve that pain soon. But, it’s impossible for the time being. Why? Because the noble Lord Asrahan refuses to shovel.”
“….”
“Ah, if you lie inside the ondol room, the mother’s stiff joints will be loosened and her face will be filled with laughter. But, it’s impossible for the time being. Why? Because the noble Lord Asrahan refuses to shovel.”
“….”
“Aah, the last simple wish of a woman whose days are numbered….”
“Shovel, please.”
In the end, Javier, who couldn’t bear it, picked up the shovel. An evil smile bloomed on Lloyd’s face.
A Baron’s foolish son and an unknown knight. The two men’s ondol construction was in progress. The news quickly spread all over the territory.