A Puppy Before a Tiger
The training of the Byeolchogapsa was punishing, to put it mildly. Day after day they climbed up and down around the mountain fortress at a punishing pace, and anyone who fell behind was cut from the roster without mercy. Word was that once winter arrived, the training would escalate to sleeping out in the open cold through the night.
Not a few of the operatives grumbled about it, but those men soon vanished without a trace. Yu Ja-gwang would only laugh at them.
Because of all this, he paid little mind to the news that a newcomer was arriving. It was the new drill master who actually caught his interest.
"So what kind of man is this drill master?"
"Well, sir, he's someone formidable, that's for sure, hyung-nim. Goes by the name Han Ga-ryeong, they say... a trusted confidant of Lord Han Ja-jun."
"What—a confidant of Lord Han Ja-jun?"
Yu Ja-gwang flinched. If it was Han Ja-jun, that could only mean Han Myeong-hoe himself. At the same time, his heart began to pound. So this unit really did have something to it after all?
"He's at the training ground right now. Care to see him?"
"Why not."
Curiosity stirred in Yu Ja-gwang. As a confidant of Han Myeong-hoe, the man's standing couldn't be dismissed—yet it struck him as odd that such a man had come as a mere drill master. What on earth could there be for him to teach?
They headed for the training ground. Kim Jeong-geun pointed to a spot in the distance.
"There he is, hyung-nim."
Yu Ja-gwang narrowed his eyes. A tall man stood there dressed head to toe in black, a wide-brimmed reed hat pulled low over his face. Beside him were Mun Hyo-ryang and Kim Jung-seon, deep in conversation about something.
The very moment Yu Ja-gwang laid eyes on Han Ga-ryeong, Han Ga-ryeong turned to look back at him. For an instant, their gazes locked.
"Hah..."
A thin gasp escaped Yu Ja-gwang's lips. A warrior knows a warrior on sight—and the moment he first saw Han Ga-ryeong, a chill ran down his spine.
Kim Jeong-geun glanced back and forth between the two men, bewildered. "Hyung-nim...?"
Yu Ja-gwang barely managed to raise a hand and hold him back. Even that single gesture took tremendous effort. Kim Jeong-geun fell silent.
Then Yu Ja-gwang's mouth fell open.
"No... it can't be."
Impossibly, Han Ga-ryeong rested a hand on the brim of his hat and flashed him the faintest of smiles. Not a word had passed between them, but the meaning of that smile was unmistakable. He had read Yu Ja-gwang's thoughts too.
Han Ga-ryeong turned away and murmured something to Mun Hyo-ryang.
"Unbelievable..."
"What's the matter, sir?"
To Kim Jeong-geun, it looked as though Yu Ja-gwang had simply been glaring at Han Ga-ryeong all along. Yu Ja-gwang wiped his temple with his sleeve. In those few short moments, his entire body had been drenched in sweat.
"Astonishing. In all my born days, I've never seen a monster like him."
"Sir...?"
Kim Jeong-geun stared blankly after Han Ga-ryeong and his party as they walked off, then turned back to Yu Ja-gwang. "What is it, hyung-nim? What did you see?"
"Jeong-geun. If you're a warrior too, then when you first meet another warrior... doesn't your mind instinctively weigh whether you could cut him down or not?"
Yu Ja-gwang shot back. Kim Jeong-geun was briefly dumbfounded, but then nodded. "Well... I suppose so. Instinctively."
"Right. It's unavoidable if you're a warrior."
"Hyung-nim... so that's what you were doing? Sizing up whether you could cut down that new drill master?"
Yu Ja-gwang nodded. A bead of sweat still clung to his jaw.
"And? How did it go?"
"Jeong-geun, I may have been born a Geunchunmun Gapsa, and I've always prided myself on never having met my equal."
Yu Ja-gwang gave another of his non sequiturs. Before Kim Jeong-geun could say a word, he went on.
"I've sparred against the other Byeolchogapsa here too, and not a single one of them felt like a man I couldn't cut down. That was the sense I got."
He sounded confident. The Byeolchogapsa he'd met here were men he was certain he could beat. Even seasoned drill masters like Mun Hyo-ryang or Kim Jung-seon—it would take an actual bout to know for sure, but he didn't think he'd be overpowered.
"But that drill master... he's different."
"What? Hyung-nim, what do you mean?"
"I—Yu Ja-gwang, Gapsa of Geunchunmun—have never once been overpowered by a single glance. But when I met that man's eyes, my knees went weak like a puppy standing before a tiger! And mind you, that was with all this distance between us, and not a single weapon on his side... yet I saw no opening at all. Not one sliver of a chance that I could cut him down!"
"That can't be... I mean, hyung-nim, how can you possibly know that from one look?"
"That's what instinct is."
Yu Ja-gwang shook his head. The world was vast, he knew—but never before had he been so utterly crushed in a contest of spirit.
"To keep such a monster as a mere confidant and set him to work... I honestly can't fathom what this Byeolcho outfit was built for."
He shook his head again and again.
"Oh, and I almost forgot—about that newcomer who just arrived. He's asked to serve under you, hyung-nim."
"What—under me?"
Yu Ja-gwang found it strange. The Byeolchogapsa was run with exceptional secrecy. No one should have been able to single him out and request placement under him specifically.
"We did need to fill a slot, since someone quit and walked out this time... but how would he even know me? Is he one of ours?"
"They say not. He's concealing his name."
"Curious indeed."
Yu Ja-gwang tilted his head. "Where is he now?"
"They said he's finishing his muster inspection just now."
"Then let's see what manner of man he is."
They gazed toward the main garrison from a distance. Before long, two figures could be seen emerging from it. Kim Jeong-geun muttered under his breath.
"Well, look at that. He's rather young, isn't he?"
Indeed, the newcomers coming out of the garrison looked strikingly young—no older than their mid-teens, if that. Kim Jeong-geun clicked his tongue.
"Honestly, why on earth did they haul in some green boy?"
Yu Ja-gwang thought the approaching newcomer's face looked oddly familiar. Then his mouth dropped open in disbelief.
"What in the world is he doing here of all places!"
"What is it, hyung-nim? Who is he...?"
"Isn't that that insolent young lord Nam I? The one who was always picking fights!"
"What?"
Kim Jeong-geun's jaw dropped at Yu Ja-gwang's exclamation. Yu Ja-gwang felt a throb at his temples. How had that good-for-nothing young lord who'd challenged him to sparring matches at every turn in Hanyang ended up here?
Nam I seemed to have recognized him as well, and waved first. "Master Yu Ja-gwang!"
Is this a dream...? Yu Ja-gwang's mind went hazy.
The boy walking beside Nam I looked slightly older, but he couldn't have been more than twenty.
"My lord, what on earth brings you here?"
"I pulled a few strings."
Nam I grinned. Oh, good heavens. Yu Ja-gwang was speechless.
This unit, which didn't even have a proper name, recruited only men without wives or children to weigh them down. In other words, life and death in this outfit were left entirely to the heavens. And yet this young lord, of all people...
"Do you even know what kind of unit this is?"
"I heard it's made up of nothing but the finest warriors in Hanyang—no, in all of Joseon. Once I heard that, how could I possibly not come?"
"Good grief..."
Yu Ja-gwang couldn't close his gaping mouth. Meanwhile, Nam I went on cheerfully.
"To face dangers no man has ever encountered, to meet opponents I've never been able to test myself against, and to fight them and win immortal merit and glory—is that not the dream of every true man? So here I am."
Yu Ja-gwang had no reply. A covert military operation that demanded meticulous planning and thorough preparation—and this was the kind of boyish thinking behind it?
In that instant, Yu Ja-gwang remembered that Nam I was, in fact, still a boy. How had a child like this gotten into a place like this?
Oblivious to Yu Ja-gwang's thoughts, Nam I spoke excitedly.
"The men here are truly extraordinary. You saw that fellow Han Ga-ryeong, didn't you? I've never yet faced him at full strength, but even from that brief look, I could feel it. I've never seen a swordsman like him. If I could only cross blades with him once... I actually asked, you know. But Master Han Ga-ryeong politely declined."
May that Han Ga-ryeong possess all the good sense and patience in the world!
Yu Ja-gwang groaned. "And how did you manage to— ...Lord Sohandang didn't say anything?"
"Ah."
Sohandang Gwon Ram was Suyang's closest confidant—and Nam I's father-in-law. At the mention of his father-in-law's name, Nam I's expression dimmed slightly.
"I begged him as best I could. I put in word with Lord Sangdang as well."
"I see."
Yu Ja-gwang was dumbfounded. Sohandang Gwon Ram and Sangdang Lord Han Myeong-hoe were both at the very heart of power—men Yu Ja-gwang couldn't so much as address, let alone petition for favors. And this young lord, strong but utterly green, had gotten their blessing without a second thought?
Yu Ja-gwang suppressed the flare of envy with effort. "How did you persuade them?"
"Where there's a will, there's a way, as they say. I told them: when a man has already set his heart, what can hold his feet? The ministers sighed, but I could tell they understood."
Yu Ja-gwang felt a pang of sympathy for Gwon Ram and Han Myeong-hoe—especially for Gwon Ram, Nam I's father-in-law. They had married their precious daughter off, and now the son-in-law was asking permission to strap kindling to his own back and leap into a fire. If things went wrong, that precious daughter would be left a living widow.
Frankly, I'd have taken the daughter instead—I wouldn't set one foot outside Hanyang into danger.
"Well then, Master Yu—call it fate if you like. Why don't we forge some immortal merit together?"
However stifled he felt, Yu Ja-gwang forced a smile in reply. "Ah... yes."
He sighed inwardly. Of all people, this naive young lord had to ask to serve under me... What on earth was he thinking?
Kim Jeong-geun looked equally dumbfounded. "Well then, let's see how it goes. Though—I hear the young lord asked to be placed in my so-pae?"
"Ah, of course! I know none of the Gapsa here, but when I heard that Master Yu Ja-gwang was among them, I was delighted and asked right away. I look forward to serving with you. I've spoken well of you to Lord Sangdang, too."
"You have? Why, I'm honored."
Yu Ja-gwang's expression softened a little. Perhaps he might actually profit from this thoughtless young lord after all. The water was already spilled—ah, what the hell. Who knew what whim had seized this boy, but since it had come to this, there was no harm in cultivating a useful connection.
"And this here is my friend Jo Yeong-dal. We're quite close. Yeong-dal, this is Yu Ja-gwang—a former Gapsa of Geunchunmun, and they say his strength is truly remarkable."
"A pleasure."
Jo Yeong-dal's voice was far gruffer than his youthful looks suggested. Yu Ja-gwang returned the greeting half-heartedly.
"Likewise, Master Nam I. And Master Jo Yeong-dal. I look forward to working with you. But the Byeolchogapsa is His Highness's army, and as Sopaetjang I hold discipline to be sacrosanct. From here on, you will follow my orders."
"Of course, Master Yu Ja-gwang."
Nam I answered briskly, and for just that one moment, Yu Ja-gwang nearly smiled.
"Then come along. I'll introduce you to the squad. This is Kim Jeong-geun, our Vice Squad Leader—also a Geunchunmun Gapsa, like me."
"Honored to serve you, Master Kim Jeong-geun!"
At Nam I's words, Kim Jeong-geun returned the salute with the air of a man who had no idea how he was supposed to treat this. He shot Yu Ja-gwang a look of quiet desperation.
Naturally, Yu Ja-gwang avoided his eyes. Then again—what other choice was there, really?