If he could meet the prince and become his friend, he would accomplish what Tae Jinwoon wants, right? "Do they ever come here?" Beom Seok laughed out loud. "Never. That's why my two workers are stuck. We also meet the head of servants, we simple people can't just meet the royal family."
He could already scrap his plan. 'If I want to be close to the prince, I need to become part of the royal house. Maybe I can become his servant.' "Beom Seok, do you know if the palace is looking for any workers?" Beom Seok scratched his beard. "I'm sure that the prince will send some servants away. You'll have to wait until my workers are back or you have to go there yourself."
"But I don't think it's a good idea." Jinwoon waited for Beom Seok to explain but the latter was busy moving the buckets. "Why is it a bad idea?" Beom Seok looked at Jinwoon wondering what he meant. "W... Oh, to work in the palace as a male you have to lose your manhood." Jinwoon blinked. "I need to become an eunuch?!" Beom Seok nodded. "What about kitchen servants?" Beom Seok shrugged.
"The kitchen not but they never come in contact with the royals. It wasn't like that but the father of the late king made it so. I don't know if it's true but I heard that the King found one of his concubines in bed with a servant. He got furious and killed them both before making all the men who want to work at the palace an eunuch." Jinwoon felt like he was about to get a headache.
His plan of entering the palace as a servant was gone. He let out a frustrated sigh. He was racking his brains thinking of a new idea when a ludicrous idea popped up. 'Beom Seok thought I was a woman... maybe... never! It's too absurd." Jinwoon wasn't that desperate. 'That is plan Z'
'Even if it's too crazy, let's see if it will work, but it will be my last resort.' ""How many concubines did the king have?" Beom Seok shrugged. "It said that it was around 10, maybe more." Jinwoon had a conflicted look on his face. "Is that normal?" Beom Seok was distracted again. "Beom Seok? Is it normal for the king to have many concubines?" Beom Seok turned to Jinwoon.
"Not really. Most kings have one wife and if the wife can't conceive, they take on a second. But that king was greedy. With all those women around he was still only able to have 3 kids. Our last king was modest and had only two wives, his goodness helped him have 10 children. Nobody knows what the prince is going to do. There is not really much known about him. Compared to his other siblings, he is a mysterious man."
Jinwoon just nodded. He still had a month to think of something better. "Alright. Let's take everything back to the house. I'll show you how we make syrup and sugar rocks." While Jinwoon was distracted with his own thoughts, Beom Seok had gathered the rest of the buckets with gum and sap. "How are we going to bring them back?"
They hadn't brought anything with them. Jinwoon was sure that his body wouldn't be able to collapse if he had to shuttle back and forth. "Don't worry." Beom Seok took out a small whistle and blew on it. He blew on it twice. Jinwoon winched because of the shrill sound that came from it.
After a few minutes Jinwoon could hear the sound of stomping coming from behind them. He turned to see what the cause was. "I think they went further into the woods. They usually arrive faster." Jinwoon had forgotten about his abnormal hearing. He quickly turned around making it seem like he was trying to see where 'they' were coming from.
20 minutes later the stomping sound was loud enough for Beom Seok to also hear. "Here they come." He turned and Jinwoon turned with him. His eyes grew wide when he saw the two animals moving their way. Two bucks, the size of adult elephants, were making their way towards them.
Even though they were big and the trees were standing close together, the animals still managed to walk fast without bumping into anything. When they grew closer Jinwoon saw that they had antlers on their head. Jinwoon took a few steps back when they were near.
"This is Dang and this is Geun." Jinwoon laughed. [danggeun means carrot in Korean] "Nice names." Beom Seok looked proud. "They are semi-wild but they are friendly. Here." Beom Seok gave him two large berries. They looked like the berries that Lee Jinwoon had eaten before he died. "Aren't these poisonous?" Beom Seok hadn't expected Jinwoon to know that. "Only for humans."
Jinwoon slowly reached out his hand. Up close they looked much bigger than elephants. Dang and Geun hesitated for a few seconds before eating out of his hand. "You can pet them now. They are simple animals. Give them food and they are your best friend." Beom Seok laughed while rubbing Geun's leg.
"I need your help, can you help us?" Beom Seok gently asked Geun. Geun blew hot air out of his nose but instead of attacking, he slowly lay down. Beom Seok grabbed a bucket and hung it on Geun's antler. Jinwoon saw that Dang had also laid down. He couldn't help but smile. When they had hung all the buckets Dang and Geun stood up. Jinwoon had to look away. It looked like they had decorated the two animals with buckets.
At the house they walked past the main building and arrived at another stone house. Beom Seok opened the door. Jinwoon looked inside and saw that it looked like a factory. There were wooden machines, glass bottles, wooden boxes and crates. Beom Seok took the buckets of the antles before leading the two animals to a large feeding box.
After giving Dang and Geun food, he instructed Jinwoon to bring all the buckets inside. There were two separate machines. "This is for the sap. It will filter all impurities. The one over there is like a steamer. It will make the gum soft." The two of them started to move the buckets inside and empty them in the correct machine.
After an hour. They had finished. Dang and Geun had already left after eating. "Let's have lunch. When we finish we can start bottling and packing." Jinwoon was glad that they could stop. He had nearly used all his energy.
After lunch Beom Seok showed him the filtered sap. "Huh?! Wasn't it brown?" Jinwoon was looking at a large glass container filled with reddish substance. "That's because it's room temperature. Cold it's brown but when warm it will slowly turn red. It's really easy. All you have to do is fill these bottles. Each bottle has a small line. Do you see it?"
Beom Seok pointed at the top of the bottle to show a clear line. Jinwoon nodded. Beom Seok showed him how to fill the bottle and how to put a lid on it. "You can sit here. When finished you can put them in that crate over there. I'll see if the gum is finished." He left Jinwoon alone to finish. This also gives Jinwoon time to think of a plan.
But 5 hours and precisely 550 bottles later, Jinwoon still hadn't come up with a good plan. He didn't want to lose his manhood. Back on Earth he was a virgin and here too. Before thinking of becoming an eunuch, he at least wanted to experience the pleasure of the flesh but what else could he do?
"Stop daydreaming! Let's have dinner." Jinwoon nearly fell off the chair when he heard Beom Seok. He turned around and saw that it was getting dark. "You did really well. Tomorrow I'll show you how to make sugar rock." Jinwoon just nodded. 'I need to stop worrying. I'm stuck here for a month. It's enough time to think of a great plan.'
The next day they went back to the woods to collect more sap and gum but this time when they returned there was a young man sitting on the stone fence waiting for them. He smiled when he saw Beom Seok. "Sir? Are you Beom Seok?" Beom Seok nodded. "What can I help you with?"
"As you know, there will soon be a new king." Beom Seok nodded. Jinwoon wasn't interested in their talk so he led Dang and Geun to the back. He didn't notice the stare of the man. "I didn't know you had a daughter." The man couldn't stop looking at Jinwoon.
Beom Seok didn't know who this man was so he didn't give an answer. The man, noticing Beom Seok's silence , turned to him. "I'm the princess's personal servant. You can call me Ki Ha" The man took out a letter with a royal stamp on it.
Beom Seok became more respectful. He opened the latter and read the content. His face turned pale. "My workers are still in the capital. It will be difficult to bring you all this in just two weeks." Ki Ha waved Beom Seok's protest away. "Don't worry. I'll be back in two days with our own workers. Just try to make as much. I'll also bring bottles with the new style over as well."
Beom Seok frowned. The letter stated that the king would need 10.000 bottles and 10.000 boxes as gifts during his inauguration but it was just him and Jinwoon. "If you don't mind, could you bring my workers too? They can help with explaining and everything." Ki Ha nodded. Beom Seok wrote down where his workers were staying and gave it to Ki Han. Ki Han bowed and left.