Ah! Namgung Clan Chapter 017
017 That's Why I Do It (3)
Namgung Aran was angry. She loved cooking. Whenever people ate the dishes she made with such care and said they were delicious, she was truly happy. So she had studied quite a lot.
Yet the shock that the dishes she had prepared so carefully were worse than the ones Namgung Ganghae had thrown together was devastating. She couldn't accept it.
“How on earth did you do it?”
Namgung Aran asked.
But Namgung Ganghae was too preoccupied with washing dishes to pay her any mind. Even after finishing this, he had a mountain of tasks left to do.
“Do what?”
“The cooking, I mean. How on earth did you do it?”
“I just made it.”
“Liar. You used some trick, didn’t you?”
“I’m busy right now.”
“Don’t change the subject!”
Having washed the last dish, Namgung Ganghae left the kitchen immediately.
“See you later.”
“Wait a minute……”
Before Namgung Aran could grab him, Namgung Ganghae was already heading to the training ground. When she quickly followed after him, he was taking weapons out of the storage shed.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s almost time for the Patriarch to teach martial arts. So I’m setting out the preparations in advance.”
“By yourself?”
“Yeah.”
“What about the others?”
“They’ll be here soon, I guess.”
But no one came. After finishing the preparations, Namgung Ganghae went to the well this time. There was a huge pile of laundry stacked there.
Namgung Ganghae drew up water and began washing clothes. Watching that, Namgung Aran slightly furrowed her brow. Originally, laundry was supposed to be done individually, or by the youngest, Namgung Sohye. But seeing him at it, it seemed Namgung Ganghae had been doing it continuously all this time.
Namgung Ganghae stood up after finishing the laundry. Namgung Aran approached him, intending to talk for a bit now.
But Namgung Ganghae took tools from the storage shed and repaired the roof. It had rained two days ago, and Namgung Aran herself had grumbled slightly then about a leak.
She hadn't imagined he would remember that. Thinking back carefully, it had always been like this. In the past, if a door was broken, it had always stayed that way. Someone had to report it before it could be fixed. But after Namgung Ganghae arrived, that wasn't the case. If anything broke or was damaged, it was repaired properly within a day.
Having come down from the roof, Namgung Ganghae left the main house. Namgung Aran followed at a fixed distance. He went to an old house inside the clan grounds.
“You’re here!”
“I’m a little late.”
The one who welcomed Namgung Ganghae was Old Man Lim, a hunter. They said he had gotten old and now only hunted small animals, but that didn't seem to be the case. A large roe deer he had caught was lying in the yard.
“Not at all. It just died a moment ago.”
“Is that so? Just a moment.”
Smiling, Namgung Ganghae went to the kitchen and came out wearing a leather apron. Several kitchen knives were stuck into it.
“Are you going to do it alone again this time?”
“Yes. Please teach me from the side.”
“Alright then. Let’s get started.”
Just when she wondered what he was going to do, Namgung Ganghae cut the roe deer’s throat with a knife and collected the blood in a bowl. When he handed it to Old Man Lim, the old man gulped it down.
“Excellent.”
“Next time, let’s catch a bear.”
“Haha. That’s still too much for your skill level.”
“If you help me, Grandfather, it’ll be fine.”
“You’ll get hurt if you’re too greedy. Hurry up and start cutting.”
“Yes.”
Namgung Ganghae began butchering the roe deer with his knives. He skinned it and cut the meat into edible pieces.
Whenever Old Man Lim gave instructions from the side, Namgung Ganghae smiled and did as he was told.
Namgung Aran had never seen him make such an expression. She had always thought he was completely expressionless.
Having completely butchered the roe deer, Namgung Ganghae placed the meat into containers. Then he greeted Old Man Lim and stopped by the houses of others to share the roe deer meat. Along the way, if he found broken doors or damaged windows, he fixed them, and if anyone asked for help with their work, he lent his strength without hesitation.
Before he knew it, the sun was setting. Namgung Ganghae quickly returned to the main house. Namgung Aran, who had been following him, thought he would rest a bit now. But he didn't.
Namgung Ganghae went straight to the dining hall, cleared away the lunch dishes, and washed them. Then he folded the hung laundry and took it to each person’s room before heading to the bamboo grove in the rear garden. There, Namgung Suhak was.
‘Good heavens. When does he ever rest?’
Namgung Aran thought this. Not cleaning up after eating had merely been a small act of spite. A way to make him suffer a bit. She had thought it was no big deal. As far as she knew, the others were the same.
But watching him, she realized it wasn't so. What might have been a small spiteful act for each individual had become a huge burden on Namgung Ganghae when combined. Namgung Aran called out to Namgung Ganghae as he came out of the bamboo grove.
“Wait!”
“What?”
“I have something to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Have you always… always been like this?”
“Like what?”
“Working like this.”
“Yeah.”
Namgung Aran couldn't say anything. This was clearly wrong. It shouldn't be this way.
“Is that what you wanted to ask?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“I answered, so I’m going.”
“Ah, there’s still something else I want to ask.”
When Namgung Aran urgently grabbed his arm, Namgung Ganghae looked down at it, then at her.
“What else are you curious about?”
“You don't have to do it. No one ordered you to. Y-you keep doing it like an idiot, just because you’re told to… Why on earth do you do those things?”
At her demanding question, Namgung Ganghae let out a small sigh. He had known she had been following him around all day. But he hadn't expected this kind of question.
“It’s something someone has to do anyway. And it helps everyone.”
“Is that the only reason? Don't you have any pride?”
“My uncle said he wanted to make the Namgung Clan like it was before. But I don't know what to do or how to make that happen. So I’m just doing what I can, in my own way. I think that's also why my uncle always took pride in the Namgung Clan. Because he always did his best. That's not something to be ashamed of.”
“I-I see……”
Namgung Aran had nothing to say and pressed her lips tightly shut. All this time, she had blamed and resented Namgung Ganghae for Namgung Jooseok’s death. She had believed that if it weren't for him, Namgung Jooseok wouldn't have died.
Deep down, she knew that wasn't true, but she had been so heartbroken that she couldn't endure it without blaming someone. That was how great Namgung Jooseok's presence had been.
The others had felt the same. That was why they had treated him coldly and ignored him.
But the one who carried on Namgung Jooseok’s will more than anyone else was none other than Namgung Ganghae. And he had spent the shortest amount of time with him.
Namgung Jooseok had always said: One must be upright before oneself. One must protect the weak. One must strive to become stronger. One must help those in difficulty. One must have courage. That was what it meant to be a person of the Namgung Clan, and he had shown it through his own actions.
Then why had she forgotten all of that?
Namgung Aran couldn't hold back her tears and began to sob. Regret, guilt, shame, and various other emotions intertwined and overwhelmed her.
Namgung Ganghae was bewildered when Namgung Aran suddenly started crying. Not knowing what to do, he ended up patting her head.
“Uh… hey… don't cry.”
Sniffling, Namgung Aran looked at Namgung Ganghae. That's right. When she had cried, heartbroken at the news of Namgung Jooseok’s death, someone had comforted her warmly in this way.
Until now, she had thought it was her father, Namgung Museong. But now she realized. It hadn't been her father—it had been Namgung Ganghae.
After crying for a long while, feeling relieved inside, Namgung Aran looked at Namgung Ganghae and spoke.
“Don't do that anymore. I'll help too.”
“Huh? Oh.”
“Then make me something delicious tomorrow morning. And teach me how to cook too. Okay?”
“Oh.”
“It’s a promise.”
Saying that, Namgung Aran ran off to her room. Namgung Ganghae watched her quietly and let out a deep sigh. He felt good, as if she had realized something, but at the same time, he was worried. He hoped nothing would happen tomorrow.
His mind was restless. He was about to go to bed early when a strange sound came from the bamboo grove.
Namgung Ganghae headed back there. Entering the grove, he saw Namgung Suhak running about here and there holding a bamboo branch.
“Elder. What are you doing?”
“You rascal! How dare you attempt to humiliate someone?”
Namgung Ganghae, who had asked with a smile, was nearly overwhelmed by Namgung Suhak’s glaring, shouting momentum and almost fell on his bottom. This wasn't the Namgung Suhak he knew.
“I shall behead you this instant!”
The moment the words ended, Namgung Suhak was already before his eyes. The bamboo branch he held was pressed against his throat.
He hadn't seen or felt when or how he had moved. It was truly an instant.
“E-Elder. It’s me, Ganghae. Please calm down.”
“What? Brother?”
The pressure that had suddenly been crushing Namgung Ganghae vanished as if washed away, and Namgung Suhak grinned broadly. Only then did Namgung Ganghae let out a sigh of relief.
“Ha! You startled me. How did you— hck!”
Cutting his words short, Namgung Ganghae rolled across the ground. As he did, the bamboo branch Namgung Suhak swung passed by, cutting off several strands of his hair.
To cut fluttering hair with a blunt bamboo branch rather than a treasured sword—this was a realm that ordinary people couldn't even dream of.
“You rat-like wretch! Where do you think you're going?”
To evade the continuous attacks, Namgung Ganghae kept rolling on the ground. Then he grabbed a bamboo branch and stood up.
Pak!
The two identical bamboo branches had clashed, yet the one Namgung Ganghae held was cleanly cut as if by a sharp treasured sword.
“Elder! Please come to your senses!”
Shouting loudly, Namgung Ganghae unleashed the Namgung Thirteen Forms. It was an attack with everything he had, but Namgung Suhak was once called the Namgung Divine Sword. Even if his mind had deteriorated, his skill hadn't gone anywhere.
Before he knew it, the bamboo branch Namgung Suhak thrust out was right in front of his throat. At this rate, his throat would be pierced.
But it was too late to dodge. He couldn't block it either.
“Elder!”
Namgung Ganghae shouted, resigned to death. At that, Namgung Suhak flinched.
“That was dangerous.”
“Yes?”
Namgung Suhak lightly took a step back. Yet that movement was unusually elegant and dignified, unlike his usual self.
“There is no time, so listen carefully. The Namgung Thirteen Forms is a foundational martial art of the Namgung Clan, but it is also a high-level martial art. To hide this fact, the order of the stances was changed and the footwork was taught separately. Therefore, it is useless without internal energy to support it. Watch. This is the true Namgung Thirteen Forms.”
Namgung Suhak swung the bamboo branch he held, performing the Namgung Thirteen Forms.
Watching the movements flow as smoothly as running water, Namgung Ganghae’s eyes went wide.
The Namgung Thirteen Forms was a sword technique he trained in every single day without fail. Yet what Namgung Suhak was showing him now was the same sword technique, yet completely different.
“Did you see?”
“Yes.”
“How much of the stance order do you remember?”
“If I see it just one more time, I can remember it all.”
“You are quite clever. This is called the Lone Soul Sword. It is a sword technique by no means inferior to the Seomjeon Sipsamgeomroe, so if you train diligently, you will achieve good results.”
“Thank you, Elder.”
“I know you have been taking care of me. Thank you.”
“Not at all. I am only doing what ought to be done. Ah, that's right. I must inform the Patriarch that you have returned to normal. Then the Patriarch will be pleased as we—”
“Brother! I’m hungry.”
Namgung Ganghae, who had been speaking, clamped his mouth shut. Namgung Suhak had gone senile again.