OGHOU C28

Chapter 28

Jeha sat quietly at the table and ate his meal.

The food the innkeeper prepared for him always suited his taste. It wasn’t just the flavor—it was the thought of those delicate hands personally cooking the dishes. Just imagining it made him feel like he could empty a hundred bowls without strain.

‘I should be relieving the innkeeper of work, but instead of doing that, I’m only adding more to his burdens.’

Even his attempt to help with cleaning yesterday had failed because of the innkeeper’s dissuasion, so Jeha resolved that the next time he would do the chores secretly without the innkeeper’s knowledge.

Still, with the head cook’s health improving, the amount of time left for him to remain here was growing short. He wanted to stay longer, but he had no choice but to follow his master’s will.

When he thought about being separated from the innkeeper again, uneasy feelings welled up in his chest, and a sigh slipped out of him.

“Is something wrong?”

“Huh?”

At the sudden voice, Jeha turned his head. Standing right by the table, smiling broadly, was the third young master of the Namgung family, who had approached without the slightest hint of presence.

‘What’s this? Why is the young master striking up a conversation with me? Has he ever even seen me before?’

Wide-eyed with puzzlement, Jeha stared at him.

“I saw you sigh. I wondered if something was troubling you.”

“Ah… no. Nothing.”

Now that he thought about it, the innkeeper had told him to be cautious of that very young master. Jeha didn’t know the reason, but there had to be one, otherwise the innkeeper wouldn’t have said so. For him to suddenly appear with a smile and start talking—that was suspicious indeed.

Jeha couldn’t help but raise his guard.

“Do you have some business with me, my lord?”

“Ah, sorry. I should have introduced myself earlier. I am—”

“I know who you are.”

“Really? Then you already knew. I just happened to see you while passing by, and it’s been a long time since I met someone my own age. I was glad.”

Dokyeong’s tone was gentle, almost as soft as Cheongyeon’s, yet something about it made Jeha’s head fill with questions.

The Namgung family was large, with many direct and collateral branches of kin. Was it really possible that none of them were around his age? And didn’t he also have elder brothers?

“Is it all right if I sit beside you?”

“……”

Jeha hesitated, then nodded. In truth, he wanted to refuse, but he had no justification for turning away the young master. Instead, he thought it better to listen carefully to everything the lord said and later report it to the innkeeper unchanged.

Pulling out a chair, Dokyeong seated himself next to Jeha and stared curiously at the food in his bowl.

“Come to think of it, other than the innkeeper, I don’t see anyone working here. Does he run this place alone?”

“Oh—no, there are normally more workers, but because of certain circumstances, he’s managing it by himself at present.”

“What circumstances?”

“That…”

Jeha started to answer honestly, then quickly stopped. He had promised to be careful, and he almost forgot already.

“If it’s difficult to talk about, you don’t have to say anything,” said Dokyeong lightly, smiling as he rested his chin on his hand. If not for the innkeeper’s words, Jeha thought, he wouldn’t even feel suspicious at this moment. The young master’s amiable smile made him seem nothing but likable.

“Truth is, I’ve been terribly bored. Like I said earlier, it’s been so long since I’ve met anyone my own age that seeing you was refreshing.”

“But… don’t you have older brothers, my lord?”

“Well, yes. I do have them.”

He gave a small, embarrassed laugh, fiddling with the ends of his hair. Something about it felt awkward. Maybe he wasn’t close with his brothers? Jeha cautiously asked,

“I don’t have siblings, so I find it enviable. What do you usually do together with your brothers?”

“We drink tea, discuss current political affairs sometimes….”

“Do you ever cross swords in sparring?”

“No. I don’t have the skill to match them.”

“Ah….”

“My brothers excel in every way. I, too, am striving hard to one day become such a fine man.”

‘I see. I also have someone I want to learn from and emulate.’

Feeling a peculiar sense of kinship, Jeha couldn’t help lowering his guard and nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s true for me as well. There is someone I long to equal, no matter how long it takes.”

“Really? Seems we understand each other quite well.”

Dokyeong grinned brightly.

“If you don’t mind, would you care to go out with me for a bit? I don’t know the geography here well. Now that we’ve opened up to one another, I’d like for us to be friends.”

“What? Uh…”

That was… difficult.

Jeha scratched his head, recalling what Cheongyeon had said before.

“Ah, if you’re busy, don’t worry. I can just go back to my room and sketch for a while.”

A faint shadow of disappointment flickered across Dokyeong’s smiling face. Seeing that look made a corner of Jeha’s heart ache with discomfort.

If it were true there were no friends his age for him, nor warm ties with his brothers, then was he not truly lonely? And wasn’t that the same for himself? Though he was blessed with a great teacher, making a friend was another matter entirely.

But still—the innkeeper had warned him…

“Sorry. I’ve just made you uncomfortable, haven’t I? Then I’ll head to my room. Enjoy your meal.”

“Ah—! My lord, please wait a moment!”

Jeha, unable to endure, stopped Dokyeong who had risen to leave. Dokyeong widened his eyes in surprise before breaking into a radiant smile like the morning sun.

That was how Jeha ended up going out together with the young master.

Walking beside him, Jeha stole glances, watching Dokyeong’s face. His conscience weighed heavy for disregarding the innkeeper’s warning and accompanying him, but truly, he didn’t seem like such a bad person. Conversation flowed easily, and when they bought tanghulu^1 at the market, Dokyeong, saying it was only right for the older one to pay, had cheerfully bought them.

Biting off a piece of candied hawthorn, Jeha suddenly recalled that the innkeeper also liked it. He thought that next time he should buy an extra one for him.

At that moment, Dokyeong spoke.

“By the way… about your father.”

“My father?”

“Is he in poor health?”

What was this about? His father had already passed away long ago. Maybe he meant the master? Yes—that made sense. His master was like a father to him, so it wasn’t wrong per se.

“No, not at all. He is healthy.”

“Is that so? But every time I pass by, I smell medicinal herbs.”

“Oh, that’s because he handles a lot of herbs.”

“Why? Is he running a pharmacy?”

“No, no, nothing like that…”

“And your mother? Has she passed away?”

“…Yes.”

Why was he asking all this?

As Dokyeong’s questioning grew more persistent, Jeha’s doubts began to resurface.

“So your father was widowed at a young age then? He looked rather young.”

“Eh? Ah… he may look young, but in truth he is quite advanced in age.”

“Still, isn’t he just in his twenties?”

“He may appear so, yes, but actually he is far older.”

“Then… how old?”

“I don’t know the exact number. But he must be at least seventy.”

At that very moment, the tanghulu fell from Dokyeong’s lips onto the ground. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Jeha.

“What?”

“Huh?”

“…What?”

“…Yes?”

Meanwhile, Cheongyeon anxiously peered outside the door. Only after hearing from Somyeong that Jeha had gone out with Dokyeong did he realize what had happened.

‘Great master,^2 why didn’t you stop him?’

‘At that age, one must be entrusted with learning to handle such matters himself.’

Those had been the great master’s words. Yet… how could Cheongyeon not worry?

‘Surely nothing untoward has happened?’

He looked outside three times, growing ever more restless, until finally, from afar, Jeha’s figure appeared. His arms swung firmly, his strides stamping the ground with vigor—he looked spirited and full of energy—

Wait. No.

That was an angry march!

Jeha’s face was crumpled with fury, and he stormed forward in quick strides. Behind him lingered Dokyeong, hands clasped behind his back, strolling without a care.

‘Did they quarrel already? But it hasn’t even been that long since they left!’

If this gentle boy was that upset, clearly something troublesome had occurred. Cheongyeon caught him as he came inside.

“Child, what happened? Did you fight with the young master?”

“Child—no, I… it’s just that the young master told me…”

“Told you what?”

“That I was the innkeeper’s son… that I was his son!”

“What?”

Jeha flushed with anger, then turned sharply and stomped upstairs.

‘Was that… really something to get so angry over? Over being mistaken as my son?’

So… had the young master misunderstood them as father and son? On what grounds would he think that? Do I truly look that aged?

As Cheongyeon was frowning at his reflection in his mind, Dokyeong strolled into the inn, still looking completely unbothered, as if he didn’t understand the cause of the fuss.

“Seems I must have made some mistake.”

“Young master.”

Cheongyeon recovered himself and called out, for there was something he needed to ask. At the bottom of the stair, Dokyeong turned back with a questioning look.

“Last night, it seemed someone secretly entered my room.”

When he had entered, his fan had been broken, and the windows stood wide open. Clearly someone had searched through his quarters. And the only one in the inn who could possibly attempt such mischief was none other than Dokyeong.

‘That was you, wasn’t it?’

But to that question, Dokyeong, without even a blink, asked back:

“Did you lose anything?”

“No. Only a fan broken, nothing else.”

“That much is fortunate. In the future, you should fasten your doors more securely.”

“……”

“These are turbulent times, after all.”

Dokyeong flashed another smooth smile.

‘So he’s truly going to feign ignorance to the end?’

Cheongyeon had to bite down hard upon his temper to quell the rising fury in his chest.

That night, upon finishing his preparations for sleep, Cheongyeon sat upon the bed, turning the broken fan over in his hands.

“……”

Whoever had tried clumsily to repair it had only caused it to break again.

Perhaps… it was time to finally send you off.

Rising slowly, he went to a coffer standing by one wall of the room. He opened its long door, and there inside were sheets of paper densely inscribed with two people’s names. In an empty corner of the coffer, he carefully laid down the fan.

Beneath the papers, however, there gleamed a great saber, its edge emanating deadly menace.

“Fool.”

Cheongyeon murmured under his breath, running his fingertips over the deeply engraved name upon the blade.

“What did you ever see in it, to love it so much…”

Hyoyeon.

That was the beautifully neat name etched into the saber, carved in such familiar handwriting.

Footnotes:

1. Tanghulu (당호로 / 糖葫芦): A traditional Chinese snack of fruits (typically hawthorn) skewered on a stick and coated in hardened sugar syrup. Very popular as a street food.

2. Great master (대인 / Daein): Here, a respectful title used for someone of high martial authority or profound status, such as the head of a martial sect or an elder of great renown. It does not mean “master” in the sense of servant–master relationship, but rather “venerable one / great person.”