Chapter 6: The Tightrope and the Swing [2]
Chapter 6: The Tightrope and the Swing [2]
“Young master, please give that to me.”
It seemed Dolseok was quite bothered by the house-call bag Kanghyeok was carrying.
As a servant, he himself was empty-handed, while his master was carrying something, so his concern was only natural.
At a glance, it looked heavy, which made him feel even worse.
“I said it’s fine.”
On the other hand, Kanghyeok had absolutely no intention of handing over the bag.
He does seem loyal…
He looked at Dolseok, who kept asking for the bag.
At least this one seemed trustworthy.
After all, he had saved his younger brother, so there was little reason for resentment.
Even so, this bag is too important.
If he lost it, there was no telling what might happen.
It was the only thing he had brought with him from where he originally belonged.
If necessary, I could even use it as a way to make a living.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, his grip on the bag tightened.
Fortunately, not a single person even dared approach Kanghyeok.
Was he not a man dressed in a black gat, black shoes, and a fine durumagi, with a large servant accompanying him?
To anyone’s eyes, he was clearly a yangban.
“It’s over there.”
Dolseok pointed toward a place packed with people.
There were so many that Kanghyeok could not even tell what was happening, much less see it.
“No, wait. We only just had breakfast. There are already this many people?”
“The Aeogae troupe doesn’t come often. After performing here today, they’ll probably head to the Suwon Busa’s residence tomorrow.”
“Busa…”
For a moment, Kanghyeok froze, not understanding the word.
But who was Kanghyeok? His ghostly sharp mind soon dredged up an old memory.
“Busa? A provincial magistrate of Senior Third Rank?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Still, we came all this way, and it looks like we won’t even be able to see anything.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
Dolseok stared at him with wide, blinking eyes.
“With this many people, how are we supposed to see?”
“Really… young master, you’ve been strange since yesterday.”
Dolseok let out a sly laugh, then promptly rolled up his sleeves.
Then he shouted at the top of his lungs.
“You lot, get out of the way at once! A yangban is passing through!”
It was rather absurd, but the effect was tremendous.
All those people immediately began moving aside in a wave.
Dolseok pointed to the path that had opened up in an instant.
“Young master, this way.”
“Uh… right.”
Kanghyeok hid his embarrassment and walked between the people.
Even if the chairman himself, not the director, made hospital rounds in person, it would be hard to get this kind of treatment.
“This spot will do nicely.”
Dolseok pointed to the very front row.
Naturally, it was not empty.
People who looked as though they had come out without even eating breakfast were sitting there.
“Move aside at once, you bastards.”
But at Dolseok’s threat, the place was soon cleared.
Watching the people edge away, Kanghyeok gave a bitter smile.
Well… really.
He clicked his tongue, but obediently sat down in the good spot.
At least I’m not one of the commoners.
Truly, that was fortunate.
Once seated, he realized it was the best seat of all.
He could even see every wrinkle on the faces of the performers preparing for the show.
“Dolseok, come sit too.”
“What? No, I’m fine.”
Dolseok stubbornly remained standing behind Kanghyeok.
In his own way, he seemed to think he was observing proper decorum.
For such a big guy… if he sat, the people behind could see too. Hm?
Looking around, Kanghyeok noticed a large group of women gathered opposite them.
Among them were women with richly piled-up hair, and they did not look to be of low status.
Women come out to the market too? Hm…
Kanghyeok desperately tried to recall what he had memorized back in school.
I remember that in early Joseon, many customs from Goryeo still remained…
Seeing noblewomen come out even to watch sandaenori, this definitely was not the middle or late Joseon period.
There aren’t any particularly pretty ones, though.
Kanghyeok let out a sigh thick with disappointment.
Then again, that made sense.
Even in twenty-first-century Korea, there were hardly any women who caught his eye, so how could he expect to find one in Joseon?
In a way, it was only natural.
Still, it looks like they do tightrope walking too.
The troupe was bustling about.
They were setting up swings and preparing masks.
Among everything, the tightrope stood out the most.
It was nearly ten meters high.
Just looking at it made him dizzy.
“Young master, it’s starting.”
“Oh, is it?”
At Dolseok’s cue, the masked troupe came pouring out.
They rode swings, shouted curses, and worked up the excitement.
Even Kanghyeok, who had long been exposed to all kinds of stimulating modern entertainment, found himself swept up by how skilled they were.
It feels like I’m watching martial arts.
Some of them had clearly trained in martial arts properly, leaping here and there with the wind whipping sharply around them.
It would have been far too much for an older person to keep up with.
At one point, the man who looked like the troupe leader staggered briefly and collided with the man on the swing.
“Hey, wasn’t he hurt?”
“What? No way. Look at him. He’s perfectly fine.”
Just as Dolseok said, the leader rubbed his chest for a moment and then returned to the performance.
“Really? Well, I suppose he does look alright.”
“Yes, young master. They’ve got years of experience.”
“Mm. They really are impressive.”
Their rough and energetic movements captivated the audience.
And the greatest spectacle of all was, of course, the tightrope act.
Dolseok cried out in an excited voice.
“Young master, the Eoreumsani is out!”
Kanghyeok had no idea what an Eoreumsani was, but he understood from the context.
Soon, he looked up at a performer high in the sky.
“Oh…”
The Eoreumsani stood on one foot, then jumped, moving freely back and forth on the tightrope.
“In all my life, I’ve never seen an Eoreumsani jump that high. They said the Aeogae troupe was the best… and it’s true.”
“I agree. It’s amazing.”
Kanghyeok had spent his whole life studying, so this was his first time seeing anything like it.
As he watched with his mouth half open, he noticed something strange.
That’s odd. There’s no Adam’s apple.
The lack of an Adam’s apple led to only one conclusion.
A woman? Can women perform too?
There was no way to know.
And it would have been awkward to ask Dolseok.
The man had already been saying since yesterday that Kanghyeok had changed, and there was no need to drive the point home.
Before long, the performance ended, and the troupe began removing their masks.
All except for the Eoreumsani. From up close, it was obvious she really was a woman.
The clothes are loose, but… the lines are sharp.
While Kanghyeok’s attention was fixed on the Eoreumsani, an old man who seemed to be the troupe leader stepped forward.
Though his hair was completely white, his voice was still full of force.
“Did you enjoy today’s show? Then give us something!”
With that, the members of the troupe ran around with large sacks.
The one who came running up to Kanghyeok was none other than the Eoreumsani.
“Yangban sir, you enjoyed the show, so give generously!”
She seemed to be trying to make her voice sound deep, but since he was already suspicious, it only sounded strange.
Well, it’s none of my business.
Whether she was a woman or a man made no difference to Kanghyeok.
Still, how much am I supposed to give?
Kanghyeok slipped a hand into his sleeve and hesitated.
What his fingers touched was a folding fan.
To Kanghyeok, a fan was nothing special, but in Joseon it was a kind of luxury item.
Not the sort of thing to hand out casually at the market.
Quick-witted as ever, Dolseok leaned close and whispered in his ear.
“Put the fan away. I’ll handle it.”
“Very well. That was an excellent performance, truly.”
Dolseok poured about one doe of rice from the bundle he had brought into the sack.
At the sound of the rice falling, the Eoreumsani bent at the waist.
“Thank you!”
After collecting money and goods in one sweep, the troupe disappeared somewhere.
Before long, the once-crowded market had quieted down.
Still flushed with excitement, Dolseok said,
“They really are impressive, aren’t they?”
“Yes. Well, they are.”
“Young master, now that the sandaenori is over… today I’ll take you somewhere good.”
“Somewhere good?”
“You know what I mean!”
Grinning slyly, Dolseok led him not to any other place but to a gisaeng house.
It was lively inside, which seemed to mean there were already guests there.
A woman with a gache piled high on her head naturally took Kanghyeok by the arm.
“Young master, it’s been a while. I’ll prepare a room for you inside.”
At that, Dolseok burst into loud laughter.
“You ugly thing, whose arm are you grabbing! But why is it so noisy here?”
“The Aeogae troupe came. They only just arrived…”
There were already people inside who were so drunk they had collapsed.
Loud shouting continued from within.
Dolseok shook his head and barked,
“Further inside, inside. The young master has come, and what is all this?”
“Yes, yes. Please come this way.”
An older gisaeng led Kanghyeok and Dolseok farther in.
It seemed there were people in the next room too, though it was not as noisy as the front.
When Kanghyeok glanced over, he saw the troupe leader, the Eoreumsani, and two or three men.
“I’ll bring the table right away.”
“Yes, hurry.”
At Dolseok’s bark, the gisaeng smiled and left.
Once he had confirmed that she was fully out of sight, Dolseok turned to Kanghyeok and spoke.
“Young master, there really is no one like you.”
“What are you talking about now, all of a sudden?”
“What yangban comes to a gisaeng house with his servant?”
“Ah. I thought it was something serious.”
Kanghyeok smiled coolly.
“No, really. There’s no one like you, young master. You saved Okseok too. Today I’ll pay for everything.”
“Really? Fine then. But do you even have the money to treat me?”
“Of course. Madam bestowed two bolts of silk on me.”
“That’s good. Fine.”
If he insisted on paying, there was no reason to stop him.
Kanghyeok sat back quietly and leaned against the wall.
The floor was so warm it made him drowsy.
I did get up early…
If he drank alcohol now, it felt like sleep would pour over him.
—Crash!
He had half-closed his eyes when the next room suddenly grew noisy.
Soon the door flew open, and a frantic voice rang out.
“The Pyeonsu… the Pyeonsu has collapsed!”