Spring was arriving, beginning with the ground. The youthful green of life was evident. The gentle wind carried a warm smell along with it.

It was April 1st at HanYang's UnJongGa (HanYang = today's Seoul, UnJongGa = district/street name). The people were gathering like clouds. The tobacco store located on the street of UnJongGa was no exception.

"I don't know."

Inside the tobacco store, a man sat at a small table. He scratched the back of his head with his large hands.

"SamNom, no matter how much I think about it, I don't know the reason why."

This young man was almost twice as large as an average man, his height a head taller.

His behavior and shape was similar to that of a bear, so he was often called Bear Seobang (seobahng 서방 = husband, also used as a title for married men). He was Banchon's blacksmith. Like a slow bear, Bear Seobang usually took his time, never hurried by anything. However, today, as if he was being chased, he looked irritated. Chun Seobang looked at the young man sitting across from him with desperate eyes.

With large eyes sparkling like the winter sky, lips as red as flowers, a complexion as white as snow, and a smile like the fresh flowers of spring, the young man seemed so elegant that he could almost be mistaken as a young woman.

"What is the matter?"

"SamNom, no matter how much I think about it, I don't know. That's why you need to tell me."

At his lack of explanation or context, SamNom could only nod.

"Begin by calming down and then explain every detail to me."

"Well, that is..."

Chun Seobang couldn't open his mouth. He didn't know where to start.

"Jeez, you sure know how to make a person wait."

"That's why he's called the Bear Seobang. He might really be a bear."

The young men near the two began to complain. These men were regulars at this tobacco store owned by Gu Yeonggam (Yeonggam = title for an elderly man).

Gu Yeonggam's tobacco store was famous for two things. The first was that he sold the best tobacco in HanYang. The second was for the advice given here for people who had any worries.

Rumor had it that you could find an answer to any one of your problems here, especially those involving romantic relationships. Specifically, it was rumored that if you had any trouble understanding the heart of a maiden, all you had to do was find a young man named "SamNom". Thanks to him, Gu Yeonggam's tobacco store was a hotspot for heartsick young men.

"Sir, please tell me. What mistake did you make to your wife this time?"

SamNom asked Chun Seobang, who still was not able to open his mouth.

"Mistake?! What do you mean by 'mistake'?!"

SamNom had hit the mark.

"Sir."

SamNom gazed at the man understandingly as if he knew everything.

"You're like a phantom."

In the end, Chun Seobang hung his head.

That SamNom, you could never trick him, no matter how much you feigned ignorance. He was so good at reading hearts that he was never wrong.

Chun Seobang grumbled and let out a deep breath.

It had been three years since SamNom appeared in UnJongGa during the summer. No one knew where or why he had wandered over here. Either way, he had captured the hearts of the women of UnJongGa with his feminine complexion. Was it just his good looks? Whether it was beauty, a way with words, or brains, SamNom had it all. Therefore the residents of UnJongGa called him "SamNom" (literally means 3 man). Having every skill, he was a 'skilled man'. Because he had every skill, he was bound to be a 'successful' man. Furthermore, as long as money was involved, he was a 'willing man'.

His real name was Raon (means "joyful"). His grandfather named him so, hoping that he would live a life of happiness. However, no one in UnJongGa knew his real name.

Chun Seobang, dejected, finally began to spill everything.

"I can never know what my wife is thinking. The saying 'One may know the sound of water ten fathoms deep, but you cannot know the heart of one woman' is so accurate."

"What happened? Did you tell her she was ugly again?"

"No. Last time we met, you told me she doesn't like hearing that, so I've never said it again."

"How long has it been since she has been angry?"

"It has been three days. She's so angry, she might eat me alive."

"What happened three days ago?"

At Raon's question, Chun Seobang scratched his scruffy beard and rolled his eyes.

"Nothing major. The wife had new clothes made."

"And, of course, she must've asked you if she looked pretty in them."

"Probably. So I did as you taught me. I said 'It looks good'. But then..."

"The missus asked you again, 'Are you sure it looks good on me?'"

"How did you know? She may be my wife, but women are so strange. If I said it looked good the first time, they should just leave it as is. I said it looked good, but she asked me again 'Are you sure?'. So I said 'It looks good, really good'. Then she spoke to me in a nasally voice, telling me to be honest, that she wouldn't get mad. 'Be honest, does this really look good on me?'"

"Then what? Don't tell me you were really honest like she asked, right?

"Who am I?! I am HanYang's best blacksmith, Chun Seobang. The swords I make are top notch. I can make whatever I want to. Since she asked me to be honest, I was honest and told her everything."

"What did you say?"

"I told her those clothes didn't suit her. That it was like giving a pearl necklace to swine (basically a saying like "Casting pearls before swine"). That her face is so dark, but what's with all the bright flowers? I didn't say anything when she told me it cost two nyang (currency), but I would have believed it if she told me she got it from a scarecrow in the rice fields. That's what I told her."

At Chun Seobang's loud voice, the other young men sitting near them began to cheer.

"You did good."

"I feel refreshed just listening to that."

"Yes, yes. If you're a man, you have to be honest. Our Bear Seobang, you're as manly as you look."

As he heard all the compliments around him, Chun Seobang's spirit grew stronger.

As men...... how badly they understood women......

As she looked around, Raon began to shake her head.

"SamNom, SamNom, say something. Why is the wife throwing such a fit?"

"Do you really not know?"

"I don't know. That's why I came to ask you. The wife is really driving me insane. She's out for blood."

Chun Seobang began to beat his chest as if something was lodged there. His expression asked SamNom to empathize with his unjust situation.

Raon heartlessly responded to his pitiful face.

"You got what you deserved."

Chun Seobang was enraged.

"What do you mean I deserved it? What did I do that was so wrong?"

"Even if she told you to be honest, how could you say something like 'a pearl necklace on a swine'?"

"The wife was the one who told me to be honest, so I was honest."

"The missus may have told you to be honest, but did she really want to hear your honest thoughts?"

"Then what did she want to hear?"

"Here's the thing. She wanted to know how pretty her new clothes looked on her. That's what she meant."

At Raon's explanation, Chun Seobang made a dumbfounded expression.

"What? That's what she meant?"

Raon nodded silently.

"The wife is truly strange. If that's what she wanted, she should've just said so. She just confused me by asking for my honesty."

Looking embarrassed, Chun Seobang scratched his head.

"SamNom, what should I do now?"

Chun Seobang hung his head hopelessly like wilted grass that reminded one of a lost calf missing its mother. It was always a wonder how he always got into situations like this.

"Do you want to reconcile?"

"The wife is so angry with me right now that she refuses to give me food."

Chun Seobang replied tearfully, rubbing his belly through his leather clothes.

"My grandfather always used to say....."

Raon held up her finger and imitated her grandfather. Everyone's gaze fell on Raon. Whenever SamNom referenced his grandfather, he always gave the solution to the problem. What would be the solution this time?

"A maiden's heart is like the March wind."

"What does that mean?"

"Like the spring wind, one does not know where it will blow. You never know when it will blow away, so you must act wisely while it is with you."

"Act wisely?"

"Try doing this."

Raon leaned in and began to speak to Chun Seobang in a low voice.

---

Chun Seobang steadily walked back to the smithy. His wife, Mrs. Ahn (not tradition in Korea for a wife to take the last name of the husband) was inside, her anger raging.

"Hey, look here."

"Huh."

At Chun Seobang's call, Mrs. Ahn abruptly turned in response.

"Wife... Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad. Why would I be mad?"

Behaving against her words, Mrs. Ahn's whole composure screamed 'I'm mad'.

"That is....You see.... I .... I'm sorry."

Mrs. Ahn, who had glanced at Chun Seobang, snorted.

"I was wrong, wife."

"Do you know what you did wrong?"

Chun Seobang gulped. From here on he was going to say the words SamNom told him to say.

No way... would it work? No matter how he looked at it, these childish words that were obviously lies didn't seem like they'd work.....

Still, it couldn't hurt to try. Chun Seobang slowly opened his mouth.

"W-well, the t-truth is.....I didn't like it."

"You didn't like what?"

"I didn't like you wearing the beautiful silk clothing."

Mrs. Ahn's eyes looked at him, making it hard for him to finish his sentence.

"Of course. I was wondering why you were being so unlike you, apologizing. You had a different agenda. You're saying that you really hated me wearing silk clothing, right?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Then what do you mean? Why don't you like me wearing silk clothing?"

"What I mean is, I don't like you becoming more beautiful."

"W-what?"

Mrs. Ahn was not expecting that answer. As if he was waiting for that moment, the words out of Chun Seobang's mouth flowed out as sweet as honey.

"The truth is.... When you wore those clothes and asked me, 'How do I look?', my heart dropped to my stomach. It may be hard to believe, but, how should I say this, you were as beautiful as a heavenly maiden. Ah, that beautiful person is my wife. I was thinking about how that beautiful woman was my wife, and..... my heart started racing like a crazy person."

Chun Seobang's whole body started getting goosebumps.

"Really?"

Mrs. Ahn, who only showed him her back this whole time, turned to face her husband. Her eyes were sparkling like a young girl's, her cheeks rosy.

"Was I really that beautiful?"

Chun Seobang was dumbfounded at her watery reply.

It worked? These unbelievable words worked?

"I'm telling you I meant what I said. I don't like you looking beautiful. If I, your husband of ten years, thought you were this pretty, how much more beautiful would you seem to another man? I don't want to see other men sniffing around you."

"No one will do that."

"You are so naive. You see, men are all beasts. Beasts, I tell you. Whenever they see a beautiful maiden like you, they can't help but go insane, and it won't just be a couple of them. I'm not the type of person to just sit there and watch this happening."

"Goodness! How many times must I tell you? Stop with your exaggerations."

"There might be men loitering around my wife! What man would endure this?! If there exists such a man, he's a fool!"

Chun Seobang frantically paced the smithy. Mrs. Ahn, who had a pleased smile, lightly thumped Chun Seobang's chest.

"Jeez, what am I going to do with you?"

"What, am I wrong?"

"Goodness, what's wrong with this man?"

Mrs. Ahn gazed at her husband without any malice. Chun Seobang slowly embraced Mrs. Ahn.

"Wife, I'm sorry."

"I was in the wrong, too. I didn't even know your true intentions...."

The couple's reconciliation had come to a close.

"SamNom is quite something."

"Our SamNom will never be at a loss when it comes to issues dealing with females."

The young men outside of the smithy who had been eavesdropping on the couple had nothing but admiration. They couldn't contain their curiosity and followed Cha Seobang to the smithy. They quickly turned to Raon.

"It's my turn now."

"How is it your turn? SamNom, it's my turn."

"Hey, stop pushing."

Raon smiled widely and reassured them.

"Don't worry. I'll get to all of you."

---

It was a sluggish afternoon, and the sun was beating down.

"Haaa..... All finished."

Raon stretched. In no time, the hour had passed by so quickly. The once-crowded tobacco store had calmed down. Raon slowly gathered her things. She was going home early today.

"I'll be leaving now."

"Already?"

"DanHee's medicine is running out. So I'm going to head over and grab some medicinal ingredients, some rice, and some other things we need."

Like a habit, Gu Yeonggam took out a cotton pouch and handed it to smiling Raon.

"Take this."

"What is this?"

"It's ten nyang from Official Kim's house."

"Official Kim's house?"

"Didn't you help out the only son with his heartsickness before?"

"If it's about that case, I have already received enough compensation."

"That son is getting married soon to the woman you helped him with. It's customary to reward those that are involved in bringing the bride and groom together."

"I'm glad it worked out."

Raon gladly took the pouch from Gu Yeonggam. The success of the couple's love was much more welcoming than the weighty reward inside the cotton pouch.

"It's not like you're the one getting married. Why are you so happy?"

Gu Yeonggam asked the widely smiling Raon.

"I wonder why."

Not fazed by Gu Yeonggam's reproach, Raon couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

Like a flower in full bloom, her smile was radiant. Seeing her smile so beautifully that it was almost tragic, Gu Yeonggam puffed his pipe and blinked. How could her smiling face be so dazzling? An ominous thought flashed through his mind. That charming smile might only be a burden to her. As if to forget this thought, Gu Yeonggam tapped his pipe on the edge of the table.

"At least have some rice soup before you leave."

"Should I? Why, just a moment ago, my stomach started rumbling like thunder."

"Did you not have breakfast?"

"It has been pretty hectic lately that I had forgotten we were running out of rice. Haha."

"You imprudent boy, is it that funny?"

"I wonder. Hahaha."

Gu Yeonggam had hounded him, but Raon couldn't stop laughing.

"You laughing rascal..."

Even though his voice was full of reproach, Gu Yeonggam's gaze was warm. Even though SamNom never said it with his own lips, Gu Yeonggam vaguely knew of his poor living conditions.

All day, he advised the people of UnJongGa until his throat became hoarse to earn money for his sick younger sister's medicine. For some time now, he had been working odd jobs with that skinny frame of his. All this suffering for such a young one, all because of money.

Thinking of SamNom's poor living conditions, Gu Yeonggam was about to order a bowl of rice soup.

"Hey there, SamNom!"

A middle-aged mad with a goatee hastily entered Gu Yeonggam's tobacco shop. He was the assistant of the Kim house. Hurriedly, Assistant Choi grabbed Raon's arm.

"What is the matter?"

Raon asked in confusion.

"Let's begin walking. I'll tell you on the way over."

Out of breath, Assistant Choi took Raon's arm and ran out. Like that, the two disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Isn't that man Assistant Choi of the Kim House?"

A customer asked as he saw Assistant Choi leave with Raon.

"It looks like it."

"I wonder what business he has with our SamNom. Could it be that that house has someone who has contracted lovesickness?"

"The spring wind doesn't blow for a noble, you say?"

"If that is true, they found the right guy. There is no better physician for lovesickness than our SamNom."

The customer's eyes were filled with affection as he watched SamNom become a dot in the horizon.

"But Gu Yeonggam, how old is our SamNom this year?"

"Since we first saw him when he was fourteen.... Our SamNom will be turning eighteen this year."

"So he's only seventeen, and yet how does he know how the maiden's heart so well?"

The customer always wondered whenever he saw SamNom. How did he know so much about women?

Gu Yeonggam, who put more tobacco in his pipe, spoke as he smoked.

"Who knows. Maybe there is a nine-tailed fox hiding inside that body."

---

The place that Assistant Choi took Raon to was a building within the Kim house. It was the residence of the youngest son who remained a bachelor. Raon had been coming here regularly for a month and five days. In this place, there was Young Master Kim who was in love. Raon had been writing his love letters in his stead. Therefore she thought she was called to write another letter for him. However, as soon as she saw Young Master Kim, she knew that was not the case.

"C-come in."

Young Master Kim greeted Raon with a dark complexion.

"Has anything happened since the last time we met?"

"Something has happened. S-something big."

Raon quickly raised her head as soon as she heard Young Master Kim's flustered voice.

"What happened..."

"T-that person..... That person has r-replied."

Young Master Kim stuttered in cold sweat.

"Haven't you received replies occasionally before?"

"They did. However, this time is different."

"Different? Did a problem arise?"

Raon's voice was filled with concern. Surely the letter she sent didn't ruin this young master's love?

"It's not that."

"If there's no problem, what is the matter?"

"They want to meet."

"What?"

"They want to m-meet right now."

"If that's the issue....Isn't that good? You have only been communicating your heart through words and haven't been able to convey your whole heart before. Why don't you meet now and brush off everything you want to?"

"I-I can't."

Young Master Kim hung his head sadly. This seemed to be a more serious case she than thought.

Why was he like this? The person he loved asked to meet him, but why did he look so dejected? Wasn't this good news? Wasn't he supposed to leap with joy?

Raon tilted her head in confusion. It was then that Young Master Kim grabbed her hand.

"P-please help me."

Young Master Kim's eyes were earnest.

Last lunar January, Young Master Kim was walking down GwangTongGyo Bridge, and he met someone as lovely as a heavenly flower. However, having a stuttering problem since he was young, Young Master Kim was unable to express his heart. He was afraid he would be made fun of for his stutter.

The next day, Young Master Kim began to write a love letter to express his overflowing heart. However, he absurdly lacked writing skills.

So Assistant Choi introduced SamNom to the troubled young master.

With the help of Raon, who new women so profoundly, Young Master Kim obtained pleasing results. The lovely person had replied.

He had thought he had received a reply like any other day.

However, that was not the case.

The words written on the white piece of paper was a request to meet secretly. Additionally, the letter contained another piece of shocking information.

It was none other than the identity of that lovely person.

That person was such a precious person that Young Master Kim didn't even have the right to look at her.

After having read the reply, Young Master Kim was so shocked he sat down.

What if this precious person found out that a stuttering fool had sent the letters? That he was not the writer, but another person had written in his stead?

His whole family might be ruined because of this.

Assistant Choi was distressed by the young master trembling in fear.

"How about letting SamNom meet her in your place? Since he knows all there is to know about women, he should be able to sort everything out without hurting that precious person's feelings."

---

"Help me. P-please, help me."

Young Master Kim began to stutter even more than usual.

"Please go in my place. Pretend that you are me and go meet that person."

"I cannot do that."

Raon shook her head. This was different from writing a letter for him.This was blatant deception, a fraud. Raon refused to join in the deception of a precious noble lady.

"I-I cannot let her see me in this state."

"Young master..."

"I-if they find out that the one they had been exchanging letters with was a stuttering fool, t-they will be disappointed."

"They will understand. If it's you, they will understand."

"No, they can't understand. They w-won't understand."

"This is an obstacle you could not avoid. Don't you have to show her your earnest feelings in order to overcome it again in the future?"

At Raon's persuasion, Young Master Kim slumped his shoulders and lowered his head.

"There won't be a next time."

"What? What do you mean?"

At Raon's confusion, Young Master Kim replied in a sorrowful voice.

"It just happened that way."

Young Master Kim's lower lip trembled. He could not reveal that precious person's identity to SamNom.

"W-we would not have ended well anyway. T-this will be the first and the last meeting."

"Young master."

An impossible love, the end of a happy love, was what these two persons had experienced.

The young master had reached the conclusion that this was an impossible yearning from the start.

Why? What could be the reason that the young master wasn't revealing? Why could these two not meet again?

Young Master Kim appealed once more to Raon, who had tilted her head in uncertainty.

"The mountain of an obstacle ahead of us is too h-high to overcome with just my y-yearning heart. That is why we must part now. We have no other choice but to p-part."

"But.... No matter how the situation has turned out, I cannot impersonate you."

"I-I cannot do it. H-how can I express my feelings to that person with a s-stutter like this? I have committed the crime of having loved a person that I cannot embrace. I will not be able to ask for forgiveness like this."

"......."

"Therefore, you, SamNom, y-you must go and ask in my stead. Let that person go with a content heart, ask for forgiveness for my presumptuous heart....Tell them well."

Raon let out a deep breath at Young Master Kim's eagerness.The other party was a woman of high class. If this lie was uncovered, it wouldn't only be Raon that would be punished. However......

Raon looked at the tear-stained face of the young master.

What to do? What to do?

---

Half an hour later, a young master in a powder pink robe and jade green vest exited the back door of the Kim House. Tassles the size of fingernails dangled lightly as he walked..... It was none other than Raon.

---

"Ahem."

Raon awkwardly cleared her throat as she exited the door.

Assistant Choi had found this place by asking around. It was a small building with a thatched roof, in which the room had been split in two by a bamboo screen. Located on the outskirts of MokMyukSan, this building's layout allowed two people to converse without seeing the other's faces as long as the door to the room was not opened. This was the solution Raon had thought of so that she would not be caught impersonating Young Master Kim. For a moment, Raon worried that the maiden would become suspicious of this strange meeting. However, it was not unusual for a nobleman and noblewoman to converse as such.

"So, ahem......"

Raon warmed up her voice. She heard someone enter the other room.

What should she say? That person probably came here with a joyful heart, so how could she part ways with her without hurting her feelings?

She busily pondered away. However, she was unable to hear the door to the other room open. She also missed the sound of heavy steps approaching her. So when the door to her room opened suddenly, Raon paled in surprise. The once still door suddenly opening seemed to happen in an instant.

"......Huh?"

A shrill sound left Raon's lips. A long shadow stretched over the ceiling.

'This mustn't happen. They mustn't meet face-to-face......'

As Raon's spirit left her body at this sudden occurrence, the stranger that entered the room with an indifferent expression, dropped to one knee, then sat down in front of Raon. A white face entered Raon's eyes as she was frozen in bewilderment.