Jisoo, Joy, and Jennie sat drinking tea in Mr. Kang's office for a couple of hours. From time to time he would stick his head in to tell them there was no news yet, and several times his daughter came in to bring them a fresh pot of tea. Eventually, Jisoo couldn't take it any longer. She started gathering up all their cups and plates and putting them on the tray.

"We should go back to my house and wait there," Jisoo said. "At least there I'll have my knitting."

"I thought you didn't like knitting!" Jennie said with a laugh.

"I don't," Jisoo said. "But I like doing nothing even less."

The others agreed that they were tired of sitting in Mr. Kang's office drinking tea and quickly gathered their things, getting ready to leave. Just then, Mr. Kang stuck his head into the office, only to almost run into Jisoo, who was headed for the door.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Jisoo said, "but I feel like we should go back to my house. You'll send word if there's any news?"

"Of- of course," Mr. Kang stammered. "But please, allow me to have one of my sons accompany you home."

Jisoo shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. If someone sees that we have an , they might decide that there must be a reason that we have an , which is likely to lead to some sort of problem."

"That's why my son won't be going as an ," Mr. Kang said, "but to deliver the 50-pound bag of rice that I've just taken the liberty of charging to your account." Seeing Jisoo open to say something, he hurriedly went on. "I know you weren't expecting to buy rice until week after next, but what with you having guests, plus Ji Suyeon taking all her meals at your house now, plus Ji Chi-won getting most of his dinners there, I think you'll find that you'll need to buy more rice sooner than expected."

Jisoo shook her head, laughing softly, her amusement obvious on her face. "Mr. Kang," she said, "you never cease to astonish me with your knowledge of what's going on in the neighborhood. It's enough to make one think you have second sight."

"Oh, not at all," Mr. Kang said, bowing his thanks. "I'm simply taking care of one of my best customers."

"Well, it's much appreciated," Jisoo said. She could tell that despite his protests, Mr. Kang was really quite pleased with her compliments. She knew that prior to her coming this had been an exceedingly dull posting for Mr. Kang, and he seemed to be enjoying having a chance to once again use all the skills he had learned over the years.

Once Jisoo, Jennie, and Joy had divested themselves of bonnets, parasols, reticules, and all the other paraphernalia without which a modern woman cannot leave the house, they established themselves in the parlor, waiting to hear the results of Suyeon's visit to Chungha's. They didn't have to wait long - as soon as Suyeon had received the bag of rice from Mr. Kang's son, she reported to Jisoo.

"Shall I prepare tea, ma'am?" she asked, standing by Jisoo's chair.

Jisoo laughed softly. "Not today, Suyeon," she said. "We've already had tea at Mr. Kang's." She looked over at Suyeon, noticing the black dress she was wearing, a stark contrast to her white apron over it.

"I don't think I've ever seen that dress before," Jisoo said.

"Oh. . . um. . ." Suyeon began, obviously somewhat uncomfortable with the subject. "It's not mine. Chungha loaned it to me, because she said none of my dresses were suitable and they all would have to be remade. She said this is the sort of dress the English ladies buy for their maids."

Seeing Suyeon's discomfiture, Jisoo asked "Is something wrong, Suyeon?"

"It's just, I know Kim Doyeon and she's told me how much Chungha charges for her work, and to remake all my dresses, plus the cost of all the new unmentionables she sent home with me. . . It's so much, ma'am." Suyeon seemed on the verge of tears.

Jisoo stoop and and grabbed Suyeon's hand. "As I told you this morning, Suyeon, your appearance will reflect on me and the captain, so I want you to look your best. Plus, I must admit, I have a selfish reason behind it as well: I quite enjoy looking at you, and I'm certain to enjoy it all the more when you're dressed to best advantage. This dress, for example, is quite flattering. I believe I'll buy it in order to add it to your wardrobe as well."

This was too much - the tears that Suyeon had been struggling to hold back finally overflowed. "I'm sorry ma'am, t