Ah! The Namgung Clan
Episode 016
That's Why (2)
Namgung Ganghae, having woken up early in the morning, washed up briefly and began his morning training. Having trained in the Namgung Thirteen Stances, the Daeyeon Divine Skill, and the Infinite Step, before he knew it, it was time for breakfast.
So he left the main house and went to Yang O-sam's eatery.
"You're here. I've been waiting."
Saying so, Yang O-sam went to the kitchen and returned carrying a dish that looked appetizing at a glance.
"This is a chicken dish made with four kinds of vegetables and seven kinds of spices. Since the Patriarch's birthday is coming up soon, I'm thinking of serving it then."
"Has it already come to that?"
Namgung Ganghae scratched his head and picked up his chopsticks. The dish exceeded expectations. The saying "it melts in your mouth" was referring to a taste like this.
"It's delicious."
"Haha. Is that so?"
"With a dish like this, the Patriarch will surely be satisfied."
"If Young Master Ganghae says so, then I can believe it."
Yang O-sam spoke with a satisfied smile. In truth, he had tried to leave this place long ago. Yet the reason he remained until now was Namgung Ganghae. Teaching him cooking was a great joy.
It wasn't just him. Most of those living outside the main house felt the same way. At first, they had been wary of Namgung Ganghae, but now they were desperate to teach him even one more thing.
"Please teach me how to make it later."
"Of course."
"Then I'll be going now."
"Stay strong."
Namgung Ganghae smiled. Everyone here knew what kind of treatment Namgung Ganghae was receiving. But with even the Patriarch, Namgung Museong, acting that way, there was nothing they could do about it. All they could do was cheer him on like this.
Returning to the main house, Namgung Ganghae first went to the weapons storage and moved weapons to the training grounds. By now, everyone should have finished breakfast and be resting, so he needed to prepare so that they could begin martial arts training immediately.
After that, he went to the dining hall, but it was empty, and the table was left as is. They should have cleaned it up at least once, but it was always like this. He cleared everything, finished washing the dishes, and went back outside.
Today he had decided to help out at the smithy. In the past, there had been three smithies with more work than they could handle. But now only one remained. The only person who knew how to smith was Old Man Park.
He remembered what the Namgung Clan had been like in the past. Now they were at best repairing farming tools like hoes, sickles, and pickaxes, but in the past they had made all kinds of weapons including swords.
"You're here. Pick up the hammer."
"Yes."
Old Man Park didn't use honorifics with Namgung Ganghae despite knowing he was a blood descendant of the Namgung family. Of course, it hadn't been that way from the start. He had started speaking casually after Namgung Ganghae began helping him with his work.
As Namgung Ganghae took up the hammer, Old Man Park pulled a piece of iron glowing red-hot from the furnace.
Was it two days ago? Old Woman Jeong had asked him to repair the main gate's hinge, saying it was completely broken.
That's what they were making now.
"Strike."
"Yes."
Namgung Ganghae struck the iron with appropriate force. Then, a clang! rang out. Old Man Park watched him hammer and made comments here and there. Sometimes it was too strong, sometimes too weak, or he wasn't hitting it right.
The order was demanding, but Namgung Ganghae kept hammering while keeping Old Man Park's words in mind.
Then, after the iron cooled, they put it in the furnace and worked the bellows before hammering it again. After roughly shaping it, they quenched it. By the time the hinge was finished, it had already become dark night.
"Tch, to think it takes half a day just to make something like this."
"Haha. Maybe it's because I'm bad at hammering."
"Eat and go."
"Yes."
If he just went back, he'd have to eat alone. Or go hungry. It was the same for Old Man Park. Most of the people remaining in the clan lived alone. So when mealtime came, they would gather at Yang O-sam's eatery and eat together. But when they had work like this, they ate alone.
Namgung Ganghae went to the kitchen and made a simple dish. Meanwhile, Old Man Park served the rice. At some point, this division of roles had naturally become the norm when they ate together.
"How are things these days?"
"What do you mean?"
"The main house."
"It's always the same, really."
"Tch."
Old Man Park clicked his tongue lightly. From what he had heard, Namgung Joseok's death hadn't been Namgung Ganghae's fault. Yet how long were they going to act so petty and resentful?
"They're not driving out those scoundrels and instead venting their anger in the wrong direction."
Namgung Byeongseo still behaved recklessly. Recently, he had tried to harass Old Woman Jeong's daughter-in-law, but when all the clan members rushed over, he had fled with a red face. Yet the Patriarch, Namgung Museong, could do nothing to him. He didn't have the confidence to handle Namgung Byeongseo and the two men who stood with him.
"Something unthinkable in the old days. You must work hard. You have to make sure those bastards can't look down on the Namgung Clan."
"Yes, I'll do my best."
Namgung Ganghae answered with a smile. After cleaning up and returning to the main house, he felt a presence in the rear garden as he headed to his room.
It was Namgung Mugi. He often trained his martial arts there late into the night.
Namgung Ganghae tried to pass by pretending not to see, but paused to watch for a moment. What he was training in was the Daeyeon Sword Technique.
Namgung Ganghae had wanted to learn it too, but since the Patriarch, Namgung Museong, refused to teach him, he had no way of learning it.
"Where have you been wandering that you're only coming back now?"
"Just around."
"Take this."
Namgung Mugi threw a wooden sword. Catching it, Namgung Ganghae let out a sigh. He sometimes forced a sparring match like this out of nowhere.
At first, he hadn't known why. But he recently realized: whenever he learned a new martial art or gained enlightenment, he wanted to test it out.
He could have refused, but Namgung Ganghae didn't. Even if he got beaten up, it would clearly help him too, and it was a good thing for Namgung Mugi as well.
Swish!
Namgung Mugi's wooden sword stabbed toward his shoulder. It was a surprise attack without any preparatory movement.
As Namgung Ganghae parried it, attacks continued without pause from his waist and head to his shoulder, like flowing water.
It was a form of the Daeyeon Sword Technique.
Namgung Ganghae barely managed to parry all his attacks. Each time, the sound of their wooden swords clashing rang through the air.
"Hmph!"
Suddenly, Namgung Mugi's form changed.
He thought it was a variation using the original form, but it wasn't. It was a completely new form. The two forms that followed were the same.
Namgung Ganghae defended as best he could, but it was hopeless. He parried the first attack and deflected it aside, but the second and third struck him squarely. He was hit in the arm and dropped his wooden sword, then hit in the leg and fell heavily to the ground.
"Ugh!"
"Get up."
"That really hurt this time. I can't get up."
As Namgung Ganghae waved his hand, Namgung Mugi brought his wooden sword down toward the crown of his head. If that hit, his head would burst. He could die by mistake. Yet he didn't hesitate.
Namgung Ganghae quickly rolled on the ground and picked up his wooden sword. Then he leaped up and swung at Namgung Mugi's leg.
Thwack!
Namgung Mugi blocked the attack, but his stance was unstable and the wooden sword was pushed aside, hitting his leg. It shouldn't have hurt much, but he frowned deeply. Only because it was a wooden sword was this the end; if it had been a real sword, his leg would have been cut.
"Ha!"
Namgung Mugi swept aside Namgung Ganghae's wooden sword and attacked fiercely. As unfamiliar forms poured down on him, Namgung Ganghae's hands and feet grew confused and he couldn't defend. In the end, he was struck on the shoulder and arm, and cut across the chest before falling backward.
"Ow, ow, ow. I can't anymore. Do what you want, kill me or let me live."
Breathing heavily as he said that, Namgung Mugi looked down at him with pitiful eyes.
"Have you no pride?"
"I'm hurting like hell, what pride?"
"If you're a Namgung, take pride in yourself."
"I'll try."
Namgung Mugi tried to say more but closed his mouth. Then he gathered his wooden sword and left.
Namgung Ganghae waited until he was completely out of sight before getting up with a limp. If he had gotten up in front of him, he would have demanded to keep sparring.
He went back to his room and examined his body. There were blue bruises everywhere. That guy really didn't know the meaning of moderation.
When he applied the medicine he had received from Old Woman Jeong, he felt a cool sensation and the pain subsided somewhat.
But he couldn't reach his back. He tried to stretch his hand this way and that, but couldn't reach. Come to think of it, why was his back bruised? Ah, he must have hit a stone while rolling.
Just then, the door burst open and Namgung Hwa-in came in. Seeing Namgung Ganghae in nothing but his underwear in that bizarre state, he froze.
"Perfect timing. Put some medicine on me."
"Did you spar with Mugi hyung again?"
"Yeah."
Namgung Ganghae answered and handed him the medicine. Then Namgung Hwa-in slathered it thickly on his back.
"Thanks."
"You really are something. You could just refuse and run away."
"I owe him."
"To whom? To Mugi? Don't tell me you borrowed money?"
"No. It's just... like that."
Namgung Ganghae said something incomprehensible and put on his clothes.
Watching that, Namgung Hwa-in blurted out,
"You know the Patriarch's birthday is in a few days, right?"
"Yeah."
"I need some money."
"How much?"
"Gold would be good. If not, silver works too."
Namgung Hwa-in spoke nonchalantly. For them, who couldn't even spend copper coins freely, gold or silver was a large sum of money.
"I have a bit of silver."
"Really?"
Namgung Hwa-in clapped his hands in delight. Namgung Ganghae knew why he was borrowing money like that. It was an excuse to buy the Patriarch a gift; he was actually going to gamble. Every time he left the Namgung Clan, he went to the gambling house in the nearby village.
"This is all of it."
Namgung Ganghae held out two silver coins. Namgung Hwa-in quickly snatched them.
"Thanks. I'll definitely pay you back later."
He always said that but had never paid back a single coin. After Namgung Hwa-in left, Namgung Ganghae lay on his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. To think he gave money knowing it would be wasted on gambling. Even he himself couldn't understand what he was doing.
***
The next day, when he opened his eyes, it was later than usual. Because he had been beaten up while sparring with Namgung Mugi yesterday, he hadn't been able to wake up early.
It was too late to go to Yang O-sam's eatery. Namgung Ganghae headed to the main house's dining hall for the first time in a while.
When he opened the door and entered, the gazes of those eating turned toward Namgung Ganghae. They had expressions as if they had seen something they shouldn't.
Namgung Ganghae went into the kitchen regardless of whether they were staring or not, to see if there was any food left. Fortunately, there was rice but no dishes. Even on the table earlier, there had been almost nothing.
If there was none, he'd just make it. Namgung Ganghae lit a fire in the stove and made a simple dish with the available ingredients.
To him, this was nothing. He had learned from Yang O-sam, and nine times out of ten when he ate with those outside the main house, he was the one who cooked.
He put rice in a bowl and came out with the dish, sitting down. Then he ate in silence. Everyone looked at him unpleasantly. Especially the Patriarch, Namgung Museong. But Namgung Ganghae didn't care and kept eating.
"Huh? It smells good."
Namgung Hwa-in broke the silence hanging in the dining hall and took a chopstick of Namgung Ganghae's dish. It was a stir-fry made with vegetables and tofu, and it was surprisingly tasty.
"Mmm, this is delicious. It's way better than what Aran made."
"What? That's absurd!"
At Namgung Hwa-in's provocative words, Namgung Aran made a sullen expression. Making breakfast was her job. So hearing that Namgung Ganghae's cooking was more delicious hurt her pride.
"You'll know if you try it."
"Who would eat such—"
Before she could finish, Namgung Icheong took a chopstick of Namgung Ganghae's dish.
And then he kept eating only that. Seeing that, Namgung Aran slightly furrowed her brow.
How delicious could it be?
But when she reluctantly tasted Namgung Ganghae's cooking, her eyes went wide.
"Ah."
It was delicious. Even more so than what she had made.