SYM 17
by Emerlyn“Young Master, it’s late. Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“Ah, I have some things to think about. You go ahead and sleep.”
“…Then I’ll retire first. Since you need to wake up early tomorrow, please don’t stay up too late.”
Soso’s attitude had completely changed since the gift arrived from the Namgung family head.
Her previous impertinent behavior was nowhere to be seen; she had become entirely polite.
Eun-hyeon found the change in Soso a little disappointing. The once brazen Soso hadn’t been careful with her words, which made it easier for him to gather information.
Eun-hyeon sat in a chair, sipping warm tea and sighing. This time it was Yunnan Pu’er tea sent by Namgung Juwon. Before drinking it, he had checked the tea leaves, confirming there was no poison this time.
Perhaps no one else could add poison since it was sent directly by the family head.
After drinking only boiled water for so long, he could finally enjoy proper tea.
While he didn’t care much for clothes or furniture, he was grateful for the drinkable tea that was sent.
“I guess I can’t get coffee… I wonder if I could obtain some through Western merchants?”
Until now, he had been too preoccupied with just surviving day by day to think about it, but as things got a little easier, he desperately missed coffee.
Eun-hyeon didn’t drink alcohol or smoke, but he loved coffee and tea.
While he could get tea here, not being able to get coffee was truly regrettable.
If only he could find coffee plants somewhere, he could try growing them in high-altitude areas like Mount Tian or Mount Huang.
If he could just get the beans, he could handle the rest himself.
Eun-hyeon sipped his Pu’er tea, imagining the taste of coffee.
As he was lost in these idle thoughts, he heard someone knocking on the door.
Knock knock.
It was so faint that it could have been mistaken for something lightly hitting the door in the wind.
But Eun-hyeon straightened his clothes at the sound.
“Come in.”
As soon as Eun-hyeon finished speaking, the door silently slid open.
The one who opened the door and entered was a middle-aged man. The thin man with a nervous expression stood silently, looking at Eun-hyeon without saying a word.
“Ah…!”
A flash of surprise passed through the man’s eyes.
Eun-hyeon also looked at the man but remained seated without offering a seat or speaking.
The man who entered stood there for a moment with his eyes closed, then after a while, let out a deep sigh.
Though he hadn’t done anything, he staggered towards Eun-hyeon as if wounded and slumped down in the seat across from him.
“So you’re Eun-hyeon. I am…”
“I know. You must be my maternal uncle.”
At Eun-hyeon’s words, the man pressed his lips tightly shut.
The man didn’t say anything, but Eun-hyeon could easily find parts of himself resembling the man.
Jegal Hyeon.
He was the older brother of Jegal Hwa-yeon, Eun-hyeon’s mother, three years her senior.
Eun-hyeon, who strongly resembled his mother, also bore a significant resemblance to the man. If Namgung Juwon and this man stood side by side, everyone would say that Eun-hyeon and the man were father and son.
“…If we were to share all that has happened, even staying up for several nights wouldn’t be enough. We don’t have time for that today, so I’ll just state my business briefly.”
Eun-hyeon nodded, looking at the man’s face which was heavily etched with fatigue.
“Eun-hyeon. Won’t you come to the Jegal family?”
“…I assume you don’t mean just for a short visit.”
“That’s right.”
“Then may I ask why?”
Eun-hyeon had casually asked Soso before if anyone from the Jegal family had ever come looking for him.
Soso had snorted at that, saying there was no one coming for him, so he should take care of himself.
Until now, the Jegal family had never once sought out Namgung Eun-hyeon.
He understood that without modern transportation, it wasn’t easy to travel between different regions in this vast martial arts world.
But the fact that they hadn’t come even once since Jegal Hwa-yeon died, didn’t that mean the Jegal family had abandoned him too?
So he couldn’t understand why they were calling for him now.
“I’ll give you the long and detailed story later when you come to the Jegal family. For now… I’ll just say it’s because it’s dangerous for you to remain with the Namgung family.”
Eun-hyeon slowly examined Jegal Hyeon.
Eun-hyeon had been suspecting that it was Madam Hwang who had poisoned his tea. It was true that there had been various threats during his stay with the Namgung family.
…However.
“I know.”
“…You know?”
Eun-hyeon nodded as he watched Jegal Hyeon’s eyes widen.
As long as he remained here, he would continue to face direct and indirect threats to his life. But.
“I know there are those who aim for my life. I’m aware that there are people who disapprove of my staying with the Namgung family. But that’s not a reason for me to go to the Jegal family, is it?”
“…What do you mean?”
Jegal Hyeon looked at Eun-hyeon with a pale face.
Eun-hyeon felt strange looking at Jegal Hyeon as if he was seeing what his own face might look like when he was older.
“Uncle. I’m probably over twenty years old now. I’ve lived forgetting about the Jegal family all this time. It’s a bit hard to believe that your proposal is simply out of concern for my safety.”
“…You really… resemble the Jegal family more than the Namgung.”
Eun-hyeon couldn’t tell if that was meant as a compliment or not.
“Eun-hyeon. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. It’s just difficult to explain everything complicated here. Can’t we talk after you come to the Jegal family?”
“…What will be different if I go to the Jegal family?”
“What?”
Eun-hyeon smiled slightly.
“I’m not saying this to blame you or anyone else. I’m asking what will change if I go to the Jegal family.”
“What are you saying, Eun-hyeon! At least there, no one will try to harm you! I don’t know how you think of us, but our inability to come to the Namgung family wasn’t our intention. We wanted to bring you when Hwa-yeon passed. But it was Namgung Juwon who prevented that!”
Eun-hyeon calmly nodded at Jegal Hyeon’s words.
“At that time, I was the only heir to the Namgung family, even if only in name. They couldn’t carelessly cast me aside. But what about after father remarried and Namgung Eun-gwang was born? Why didn’t the Jegal family step in then?”
Jegal Hyeon fell silent.
Eun-hyeon smiled as if he had anticipated this. That smile seemed too dry to belong to someone who had just passed the age of twenty.
“I appreciate your concern, Uncle, but I’ll handle this myself. As I’ve always done.”
“…Eun-hyeon.”
Eun-hyeon had no intention of being swayed by the Jegal family. He thought that if the Jegal family truly had affection and interest in Namgung Eun-hyeon, they wouldn’t have left him alone until now. So he couldn’t help but think there was an ulterior motive for approaching him like this now.
Eun-hyeon didn’t respond further. He stood up, holding the cold teacup, and poured all the remaining tea into a flowerpot. It was a clear rejection.
Despite this, Jegal Hyeon didn’t stand up.
Just then, the door swung open and a man entered. The large man with a neat appearance looked at Eun-hyeon once, then went to Jegal Hyeon and bowed his head.
“Family Head. We’ve just received word that people are coming from the family. It seems you should return quickly.”
Jegal Hyeon hesitated for a moment, then sighed and stood up.
“Eun-hyeon. I still have a few days before I leave, so think about it some more. I’m sorry if you’ve felt neglected. And about your mother, there’s something I need to say… Huh, never mind. If you come to the Jegal family, we’ll talk about it then.”
Jegal Hyeon left without waiting for Eun-hyeon’s reply.
Eun-hyeon looked at the empty table and let out a quiet sigh.
Namgung Eun-hyeon was like a thorn in the side to both the Jegal and Namgung families.
With a body unable to learn martial arts, he wasn’t necessary for the family, yet his presence wasn’t insignificant.
He was of mixed blood from both families and the son of Jegal Hwa-yeon, once called the most beautiful in the martial arts world.
Jegal Hwa-yeon had passed at her most beautiful moment, forever remembered as a beautiful being. In some cases, death made her unreachable.
Eun-hyeon was about to lie down in bed but sighed and picked up his coat instead. He felt he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he just lay down now.
Strictly speaking, since he wasn’t really Namgung Eun-hyeon, this wasn’t even his business, yet his heart felt troubled for no reason.
He felt like he needed to walk a bit to be able to sleep.