Ah! Namgung Clan
Episode 15: That's Why I Do It (1)
The blood relatives of the Namgung Clan completely ignored Namgung Ganghae. They kept their distance as if he were a filthy insect.
Namgung Ganghae thought they acted that way because they found it difficult to accept Namgung Joseok's death, because they were grieving.
Since they weren't bad people, he believed that even if things were like this now, they would get better later.
So he endured silently and stayed with them. He ate breakfast together with them and diligently participated in the martial arts training that followed. Of course, there was never a time when a meal was laid out for him, and during training, he did not even receive a glance from Namgung Museong. On top of that, Namgung Mugui occasionally beat him under the pretense of sparring.
But he endured. Namgung Joseok's death was not his fault.
But it was an unchanging fact that things had turned out that way while trying to protect him.
Several months passed like that. Even so, nothing changed. Their attitude was consistent. No, rather, it got worse. They began to shirk their own work onto him little by little.
Thinking that he should just stick it out a little longer, Namgung Ganghae endured it all and did as he was told. Drawing water early in the morning was a given. He also took care of their laundry and cleaning.
When martial arts training ended, the cleanup was always his share as well.
It was a trifling matter—just moving his body a little—so he didn't mind. He could do much more than that if needed.
But their cold treatment gradually became unbearable. Especially the misconduct of Namgung Byeongseo and the two men who followed him around—they often crossed the line.
The thought that the blood relatives of the Namgung Clan were really no better than this left him devastated. Was this the kind of people Namgung Joseok had tried so hard to protect?
He was someone who had placed the pride of the Namgung Clan even above his own life. How much would he lament if he knew this truth?
"Isn't that right? Grandfather."
"Mhm. Bwother's right."
The old man giggled and agreed with him. Unlike when he had first seen him, he was very clean now. It was because Namgung Ganghae had come and continued to look after him.
The old man's name was Namgung Suhak. As the uncle of the Patriarch, Namgung Museong, he had originally been the eldest of the Namgung Clan. But he had grown senile, unable to control his bowels or recognize people. Even his tone of speech was like a child's.
Left with no choice, Namgung Museong had confined him to this place. And he had ordered his eldest daughter, Namgung Icheong, and his nephew and first disciple, Namgung Mugui, to take turns looking after him.
However, the two of them had virtually neglected Namgung Suhak. They fed him only once a day, and only when they felt like it; bathing him and changing his clothes was something they might do once every few months, if at all.
That was why Namgung Ganghae had found him so filthy when he first saw him. Namgung Museong had watched the two do this without interfering. He thought that since the old man wasn't in his right mind anyway, it wouldn't matter if he went a little hungry or was a little dirty.
Whenever Namgung Ganghae felt suffocated inside, he came here. While telling Namgung Suhak the stories that had built up over time, he washed him, dressed him, and fed him. When Namgung Icheong and Namgung Mugui learned of this, they completely stopped coming even for the occasional obligatory visit.
"I heard that Grandfather was the Namgung Divine Sword in the past? But how did you end up like this?"
"They all died. To bad guys. Father too, and bwother, and little sister too. Hu-eung! Eung!"
Namgung Suhak, who had been speaking, suddenly burst into wailing. He showed emotional shifts dozens of times a day, so Namgung Ganghae was used to it. Thus, he comforted and soothed him.
"Don't cry. Someday I'll punish those bad guys."
"Bwother?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"But you're weaker than me."
Namgung Ganghae blankly forgot what he was going to say. It was a valid point. Namgung Ganghae's current level was merely that of having built the foundations of martial arts.
As for sword techniques, he had only mastered the Namgung Sipsamse, which even the most common warriors of the Namgung Clan knew; his footwork was limited to the Muhanbo as well. Thanks to having learned the Daeyeon Shingong, he had accumulated a bit of qi in his dantian, but with no one to guide him further, it did not grow.
"You struck a sore spot. Haha."
"Hurts?"
"Yes. It hurts."
"Did those people hurt you?"
"Huh?"
"It's because Bwother just stays still. Bad guys need to be hit."
Hearing Namgung Suhak's words, Namgung Ganghae felt as if he had been struck on the back of the head with a hammer.
All this time, Namgung Ganghae had vaguely hoped that they would change.
But far from doing so, things had only gotten worse.
Namgung Ganghae realized that he had been complacent. Because he stayed still, they took him for easy prey. When kindness continues, they mistake it for a right.
***
The next morning, after finishing training, Namgung Ganghae did not go to the dining hall. Even if he went, there would be nothing for him to eat; even if there was, it would only be leftovers. Rather than eating such things and doing cleanup afterward, he intended to go eat something delicious today.
Namgung Ganghae took only his sword and left the main house. And he went straight to Yang Osam's restaurant.
"Huh?"
Yang Osam, who had been moving ingredients, paused when he saw Namgung Ganghae. Several months had passed, but he remembered him.
He wasn't particularly fond of blood relatives of the Namgung Clan, to say the least. Still, he couldn't ignore him, so he greeted him with a smile on his face.
"Welcome, young master. It's been several months."
"May I have a meal?"
"Yes. Please have a seat for a moment."
Yang Osam went to the kitchen, set down the ingredients, and came back out. Then he spoke with a troubled face.
"It's early, so I can only make a simple dish. If that's all right…"
"A vegetable dish and a bowl of rice."
Namgung Ganghae ordered exactly as Namgung Joseok always had when stopping by a restaurant or inn. At that, Yang Osam looked at him meaningfully and let out a sigh.
It was because he was reminded of Namgung Joseok. He used to stop by often and always order like that when eating here.
"I'll prepare it and bring it out shortly."
"If you haven't eaten yet, join me."
"Excuse me?"
"It's lonely eating alone."
"Yes……"
Answering reluctantly, Yang Osam went to the kitchen, made stir-fried vegetables and rice, and brought them out. Then he sat across from him and gauged Namgung Ganghae's mood.
"Please eat."
"All right."
Only then did Yang Osam begin to eat. He had been hungry since early morning from hauling ingredients anyway. Moreover, he had found eating alone rather lonely, so he was secretly pleased that Namgung Ganghae had come by.
"It's delicious."
"Is that so? Haha."
When Namgung Ganghae smiled and spoke after tasting the food, Yang Osam scratched his head. He was bashful at the praise he hadn't heard in a long time. Occasionally, customers used to come by and enjoy his cooking.
But at some point, business had dried up and flies were the only things buzzing around. On top of that, annoying fellows kept coming and going, so he had been thinking of leaving soon.
"The people who came when I first came here."
"Excuse me? Yes."
"They're from the Namgung Clan, right?"
"Who are you referring to?"
"The Patriarch's paternal cousin, I believe."
"Ah, you mean the one with the mustache like this."
Yang Osam spoke, mimicking the shape of Namgung Byeongseo's mustache with his hand. His appearance was so comical that when Namgung Ganghae laughed, Yang Osam grew excited and kept talking about things he hadn't even been asked.
"The two men who follow him around are hired hands. And yet they go around acting like warriors of the Namgung Clan. In the old days, they would have been driven out with contempt."
"Is their misconduct severe within the clan?"
"Well……"
Yang Osam didn't answer readily and trailed off. He was afraid that if he spoke carelessly, he might bring trouble upon himself later.
Sensing this, Namgung Ganghae took out some money from inside his clothes and placed it on the table.
"This is for the meal and for the information. Don't worry about what happens afterward. I am tight-lipped."
"Oh, come now, there's no need……"
Yang Osam pocketed the money slyly and cleared his throat a few times. Then, after scanning his surroundings to make sure no one was there, he continued the story from before.
"As you know, the Namgung Clan's circumstances are not good. The Patriarch is trying somehow to restore the clan to its former glory, but it isn't easy. Even when I was young, the clan was full of people. Everywhere you went, it was brimming with vitality. But now everyone has left, and only those who remain reluctantly, like me, are left."
Yang Osam spoke with a sigh as if pained. Namgung Ganghae already knew from hearing about it what the Namgung Clan had been like in the past. Namgung Joseok had spoken of it often.
"But one day, the Patriarch brought that man here. Said he was a cousin. Even then, he was a simple, honest man."
"So he wasn't originally like that."
"Of course not. But he suddenly changed. I think it was after he met those men who follow him around. To think he brought men like that from somewhere…… Tch!"
Yang Osam clicked his tongue as he spoke. Namgung Ganghae thought that even the Patriarch, Namgung Museong, and the blood relatives of the Namgung Clan could end up like that at any moment.
"Doesn't the Patriarch know that they go around causing trouble within the clan? Then why does he leave them be?"
"There's nothing he can do. That man is worthless, but those two are formidable in martial arts. So they say the Patriarch cannot handle them alone. It was fortunate that at least the Namgung Daelyeop was there. When the two of them combined their strength, even those men were afraid."
That meant the Patriarch Namgung Museong's martial arts were not greatly different from Namgung Joseok's. No, perhaps he might even be worse.
"So they had been quiet for a while, but now that the Namgung Daelyeop has died, they're acting up again."
"I see."
Namgung Ganghae let out a sigh. He had not known because he had not tried to see. But now that he took an interest and looked into it, the situation was worse than he had thought.
The fact that such men had come and run rampant meant they were looked down upon that much. Their martial arts were weak, and because they had no money, there were no warriors in the clan; in a way, it was only natural.
Only then did Namgung Ganghae understand why Namgung Joseok had come all the way to that distant place.
If he called relatives to come live in the clan, he could solve the lack of money and have people to command as warriors all at once. If they migrated here, they would naturally bring money, and since they all knew martial arts, they could replace warriors.
"Who remains in the clan?"
"Almost everyone has left; there are barely any. At best, only about two youngsters remain."
"Can I meet them?"
"Why are you interested in them?"
"I'm going to try to get along with them."
"What?"
Yang Osam looked at him, unable to readily understand. But Namgung Ganghae did not bother to explain.
"I'll arrange a meeting sometime."
"Thank you."
"Not at all."
From then on, Namgung Ganghae unconditionally went to Yang Osam's restaurant for breakfast. Then Yang Osam, without even being asked, talked about the circumstances of the Namgung Clan.
Currently, the number of people living outside the main house was roughly about thirty. Almost all the young people had left, and those who remained reluctantly were mostly elderly, so helping hands were always lacking.
Namgung Ganghae came out of the main house from time to time and helped them.
He worked the fields together with them under the blazing sun, or helped carpenters repair broken doors, window frames, roofs, and such; some days, he followed herb gatherers and roamed the mountains.
As a result, he was the busiest person in the Namgung Clan. He did not waste even a single moment, and thanks to that, he accumulated much experience and was able to grow.