He has been riding on his horse for the past three days, when all of a sudden, his stomach rumbled loud enough to halt his mode of transport to a stop, "Out of all times... Why now?" as he mumbled to himself.

"At least you are lucky~ There's plenty of grass to feast on... and you even managed to take a dump! That's how blessed you are, Jongma..." as he spoke to his horse before he dismounted from it. He continued to walk while holding on tight to the harness. As he walked on, his eyes were looking all around, hoping to find a well to fill his empty gourd with drinkable water. When he finally found one, he tied the horse to a tree before he began scooping the water into the empty gourd. He chugged down the water till it was empty and refill it again for two more times before his stomach was filled, "I guess this will do for now..." 

He then mounted the horse again and rode it along the path until his sense of smell was enticed by the scent of freshly stewed beef ribs which was luring him all the way to its source and naturally tying his horse to a nearby tree before he stood right outside of the shop. 

Just the smell will suffice... Will be able to last long enough till tomorrow night... Even water will taste like stew...

"Welcome sir! Please come in and have a seat... It will be served to you shortly..." as the owner guide him in while his mind wandered, clueless to the fact that he was pulled by the owner, an elder in her late 40s. His hunger defied all sense of rationality as he sat down still inhaling the scent that was suppressing his hunger. 

When the piping hot stew was finally in front of him, he finally realized the situation that he just got himself into. 

Ya! Hunger makes you stupid all of a sudden.. Don't be crazy! What in the world are you doing here?  You don't have the money now! 

As he tried to stand up to walk out of the shop, he was stopped.

"Ya! Young man.. You have not paid... How can you just leave without paying?"

"But I did not eat any of it Ahjummonie..."

"It doesn't matter.. You still have to pay for it.. I just wasted a portion on you..."

"Ahjummonie, You can give it to another customer..."

"No customer or even owner would believe that..."

"But I really really did not eat any of it...." as soon as he ended, his stomach rumbled again.

"You expect me to believe that you have not taken a single sip when it is obvious you are hungry?"

"Precisely because of the fact that I did not eat it at all is the reason why my stomach is rumbling, Ahjummonie.."

"Aigoo~ Such a young man like you trying to wriggle your way out of paying and lying to an Ahjummonie like me who is only running a small business... Do you want me to call the magistrate?"

The incident caused a stir among the customers as they claimed that he was bullying the elder and insisted for him to pay. A young lady who was at the scene finally walked towards the Ahjumonnie when the other male customers were holding on to the man to prevent him from running away .

"Ahjummonie... You don't need to raise your voice for small issues like this." as she passed the money to the elder before she turned to face the male customers, "Let go of him now... There's no need for such unnecessary use of violence. Because of violence your wives are the one hard at work to earn money while you waste your time here sitting and flirting with the owner's daughters."

"Ya~! Such a young lady but have no manners at all! What a horrible upbringing!" as the owner shouted at her who was already on her way out of the shop, ignoring what the owner said of her. 

"Tsk.. tsk.. tsk... And just look at the clothes she's wearing.. No mother would allow their daughter to wear such old hanbok!" as the owner continued to criticize the lady after she already left.

The man was amazed by what he had just seen. She was unlike any other girls he had seen before. She was totally opposite of what girls in that age and era should behave. He walked towards the table that he had sat earlier and took the bowl to the owner to have it pack. 

"Ahjummonie~ Please pack this up."

"Why should I do that for you?"

"Because she gave you more than enough money and you have yet to give her change. And if you don't, I will report you to the magistrate if you refuse." as he stated in a matter of fact. 

"Aigoo~ Such rotten luck!" The elder had no choice but to follow as he had requested. He handed her an empty gourd of his, to store the stew. After the owner had given it to him, he quickly untied his horse and mounted it before he rode off in search of the young lady. 

"I don't think she would have gone far~ I'm sure she must be living somewhere around here..." mumbling to himself when he finally spotted her, "Jongma, let's go.."

The horse galloped towards the young lady at full speed. As the horse was galloping closer towards her, instead of being scared, she was not perturbed. 

"Look where you're going~!"

"Sorry about that... I was afraid that I would lose sight of you..." as he got down from the horse.

It took sometime for the young lady to recognize the man, "Aren't you the one with the noisy tummy? What are you doing here?"

"Yes indeed I am. And I did not have the chance to thank you earlier.."

"You're welcome.. So you can be on your way now.."

"But how am I suppose to return you the money?"

"You don't have to... So if you could excuse me..."

"But..."

"But what is it this time?"

"What's your name?"

"Why does it matter?"

"I don't want to owe you anything..."

"It's alright.. You don't have to return the money..."

"Then allow me to walk you back. It's the least I can do for now."

"And what? To allow you to stalk me everyday after that?"

"You are fiesty!"

"And you are so boring~ But wait a minute, did you even finish the food that I paid for?!"

"Nope I did not... I needed to catch up to you."

"What?! You just wasted my money! I thought you're hungry so why throw the food away?"

"Hahaha... I didn't say I threw the food.. I just did not finish but I made the Ahjummonie to pack it for me in this gourd over her..." as he pointed to the gourd that's tied to the saddle, causing the lady to feel a little flustered at her words.

"So... You really won't tell me your name, Agasshi? Or even let me walk you home?"

"Give me five reasons why I should?"

"Firstly, it's the first time I've seen a lady like you and I've become curious, secondly, I am grateful that you paid for me and I do want to return you the money, thirdly, I will tell you my name after you tell me yours which goes to show I have manners even though I look scruffy, forthly, I got your change back from that nasty Ahjummonie which is rightfully yours and last but not least, I want to get to know you... To see you again."

"And what if I don't agree?"

"I will still see you back home... And in a place like this.. I can protect you..."

"Hahaha... I don't need your protection... And how can you protect when you're hungry and all... I don't need extra burden in having to take care of you..." as she walked away from him. But as he was persistent, he followed her. She made a huge detour and went round the place which did not lead to her home at all. 

Hehehehe.. Let's see how long you can last before you finally give up... 

Just where is her home... It's so far from the place that she was eating at. This path is definitely not safe at all...

The young lady walked on and on to shake him off from following her but he did not back down, until she heard a loud thud that caused her to turn around. 

"Oh my goodness!" she exclai