The appetizer was served shortly. It wasn’t the usual salads that one would expect. Rather, they were dried red dates and crispy seaweed pancakes. And it was even served together with a refreshing pot of tea.

It was a sweet cinnamon tea that was served cold. Traditionally, the tea would be made by boiling ginger and cinnamon together with sugar or honey, and then cooled before drinking. Qin Ye took a sip of the tea. It tasted sweet, and bore a strong cinnamon flavour. It didn’t suit his taste buds, but it immediately dispelled his earlier impression of monotony that he had of Daeian food.

Lee Jung-sook didn’t immediately respond to Qin Ye’s query. Instead, she picked up a piece of the snacks that came with her tea and held it in her hands. It was a glutinous rice ball filled with red bean fillings, green on the outside, and red on the inside. The juxtaposition of colours was beautiful.

“How’s your relationship with the Cathayan government?” She suddenly asked.

How is it?

They’ve probably got pictures of me spreading all across the system right now. I used to be one of the runners for the Special Investigations Department after all… No, in fact, you can say that I was probably a pillar of support for them. Speaking of which, that’s a rather pointed question…

“Cough… You can say that we’re more than mere acquaintances.” He gave a vague response, “Why are you asking anyway?”

The food was served promptly, presumably because of Lee Jung-sook’s...