Daddy Long Legs, Part 2
Gongson Yeongji was incredibly shy and found it difficult to strike up a conversation with anyone. But this time, she couldn't help but ask.
"I don't really understand... what joining the Dongdo Association has to do with stopping the bullying..."
"We can just use the Dongdo Association itself!"
"The Dongdo Association itself...?"
"Before that, let me explain the absolute best part of joining our Dongdo Association!"
Yang Seoran cleared her throat and launched into an explanation.
"Ahem! If you join the Dongdo Association, you can officially skip lectures and physical training sessions, and it won't affect your attendance score or grades at all!"
"Really? There's a rule like that...?"
"It's written right there in the academy's bylaws, you can look it up! Mun! Tell her!"
Namgung Mun, who had just set down a cup of cool honey water in front of Gongson Yeongji, nodded.
"It's only possible for students who belong to the Dongdo Association. Even if you skip a lecture or physical training that day, you just need to get the signature or seal of the instructor or Gyodu on the Dongdo Association's confirmation form."
The Dongdo Association of the Mutual Righteousness Academy proposed and planned events or banquets for the students. Since they had to free up time for these duties, this bylaw was created so that students in the association wouldn't struggle to maintain their grades. In the past, this was one of the biggest reasons students wanted to join. However, ever since Yang Seoran took over as president, the application rate had plummeted. The current officers were practically threatened by Seoran into taking their positions.
"For our junior, I've already prepared dozens of confirmation forms! Look here!"
Yang Seoran pointed behind her with a cheerful laugh. Just as she said, dozens of papers covered in dense writing were stacked on the table.
"If the nasty student leading the bullying comes to class, you can submit this confirmation form and skip the class whenever you want! How convenient is that!"
"Ah...!"
"And the biggest reason our junior must join is that you get to wear this Dongdo Association armband!"
Yang Seoran pointed to the bright yellow armband she was wearing.
"Joining the Dongdo Association means you are standing with me, the Dongdo Association President, the Small Sword Empress Yang Seoran!"
"Does that mean... I can use your influence, Senior...?"
"'Using my influence'! What a cheeky choice of words! I love it!"
"Ah, oh... I'm sorry..."
"No need to apologize, junior! There's nothing wrong with avoiding the scorching sun under the shade of a giant tree!"
Leaving aside her calling herself a giant tree, what Yang Seoran said was highly intriguing. The weight of the Dongdo Association armband was indeed different. Joining the association meant being under the wing of the Small Sword Empress Yang Seoran of the Sword Pavilion and Namgung Mun of the Namgung Clan.
As Yang Seoran promised to be her reliable shield until the next semester, Gongson Yeongji asked hesitantly,
"But I'm only a first-year... is it really okay for me to join the Dongdo Association?"
"Of course! Usually, upperclassmen join because they know the academy's affairs better, but there is no grade limit!"
With those words, Yang Seoran handed over a sheet of paper.
"My small and cute junior! What will you do!"
The paper held in her hand was none other than the Dongdo Association application form.
Is it really okay for me to join? Gongson Yeongji hesitated for a moment, but she realized she had nothing to lose. Desperate to escape the constant bullying and isolation, she took the form and nodded.
"I'll... join."
"Great choice! This year's student council will be able to run by receiving help from many people and giving help in return!"
Laughing heartily, Yang Seoran pushed the application form closer to Gongson Yeongji.
The Gongson Clan is a family renowned for both literary and martial arts, aren't they? Even if I just assign her minor secretarial work, she'll be useful!
While Yang Seoran was thinking that, Gongson Yeongji also had her own thoughts as she received the form.
Senior Yang is a bit... intense, but she's kind, so it'll be fine.
Having mistakenly concluded that Yang Seoran was merely an energetic person, Gongson Yeongji took the brush Namgung Mun handed her and began writing her name. Then, a sudden curiosity struck her.
"But how did you know I was being bullied...? And why are you helping me so actively...?"
"Oh! Did I not tell you?"
Yang Seoran looked at Namgung Mun with a puzzled expression, and Namgung Mun nodded.
"You didn't really say."
"Then let's just say there was a recommendation from a very precious person!"
"A recommendation...?"
"It was that person who suggested we bring you into the Dongdo Association! Ah, and there was a message from them too. Do you want to hear it?"
Yeongji didn't know what the message was, but anyone who had recommended her must be a good person. She nodded, and Yang Seoran grinned.
"Don't you want to teach those who bullied you a lesson?"
"Did 'that person' say that directly...?"
"They put it a bit more elegantly! They said the Dongdo Association is just a temporary shelter, and wouldn't it be better for you to build your strength and stand on your own as a proper martial artist?"
Those words struck a deep chord within Gongson Yeongji. Gyojachaesin—teaching a child how to gather firewood. It was a phrase her father had often used when teaching her martial arts.
Rather than gathering firewood for your child, it is right to teach them how to gather it themselves. Sometimes it is better for you to solve a problem yourself than for this father to step forward as the family head.
It meant helping someone help themselves rather than solving their problems for them. Gongson Yeongji nodded without realizing it.
Seeing the girl who had been trembling and hesitating nod with confidence for the first time, Yang Seoran grinned.
"Good, very desirable! That person will be pleased!"
"But who exactly is that person...?"
"Someone you've already run into a few times!"
Someone I've run into...? There was no way she wouldn't have noticed such a benevolent benefactor within the academy. Gongson Yeongji tilted her head in confusion.
"Ah, my ear is so itchy."
I had been vigorously stirring the contents of a tub with a stick since morning, but my ear felt incredibly itchy. I glanced over at Gye-yeong.
"Gye-yeong, is there something on my ear?"
"Oh. There's a spider on your earlobe..."
"Agh!"
I jumped up and down, brushing the spider off, while Gye-yeong watched me with a look of utter disdain.
"You aren't afraid of giant centipedes, but you're afraid of a spider?"
"If it gets inside my ear, it's hard to deal with."
"Still, for someone who's almost thirty..."
"Even at thirty, a man is still a child."
Feeling a bit embarrassed about making such a fuss over a tiny spider, I mumbled an excuse. But it wasn't my earlobe that was itchy; it was deep inside my ear. What was that about? Just in case, I rubbed my ear against my shoulder and focused back on stirring the tub.
"Chief Chef, so what did you say this is?"
"Ah, this is called suyu."
It was a rare ingredient in the Central Plains. Honestly, I had wanted to make it at least once, but I had put it off until now because I had no real reason to. Suyu. In other words, butter. However, Gye-yeong didn't seem pleased about wasting expensive milk and began nagging me.
"You should have just made surak instead."
"Boiling milk with grain flour is tasty, but you can't cook other dishes with it."
Of course, I was just being stubborn, and Gye-yeong's point was valid. Making surak, which was essentially a Central Plains style of porridge, would have been much easier and cheaper. Since there were no spotted dairy cows—the Holstein breed—the amount of milk produced by local cows was extremely small. I had managed to buy raw milk from a nearby farm that happened to be selling it, but because of the low yield, the price was astronomical. It would have been much cheaper to just buy beef with that money, but I figured making it once would be a good experience.
"But Chief Chef, were you a nomad?"
"Do I look like a nomad?"
"You're tall and have incredible strength."
"I can't ride a horse."
"There must be one or two nomads who can't ride horses."
"Look here, Master Gye-yeong. How can you roam the plains if you can't ride a horse?"
"...By walking?"
"Aigoo. Stop talking nonsense and go to the kitchen to mash some plums. We'll mix them with the leftover whey and drink it later."
While Gye-yeong scurried off to the kitchen, I looked down at the contents of the tub. A thick, yellow substance clung to the three-pronged stick. This looked about right.
Speaking of nomads, my method was quite different from how the nomads of the Northern Yuan made suyu. They poured raw milk into a pot, stirred it slowly over a low fire, and then solidified the fat that floated to the top. My method was more of a Western style. If you leave raw milk in a cool place, it naturally separates into cream and whey. You just skim the cream off the top and churn it relentlessly. It's much more exhausting, but the flavor is far superior. Probably because it isn't heated.
I transferred the clumped fat onto a cheesecloth and squeezed out the moisture. It would be a waste to throw this liquid away, as it was none other than buttermilk. Usually, it's used for baking bread, but most bread recipes I knew required baking soda, which was impossible to get here. I couldn't exactly put lye in edible bread. So, I planned to mix the buttermilk with the mashed plums Gye-yeong was preparing and add a bit of honey. It would make a rich, tangy plum drink.
After squeezing out the moisture, I patted the butter with wooden paddles, shaping it into neat rectangular blocks. If I added salt, it would be salted butter; if not, unsalted.
"Phew, finally done."
A sigh escaped my lips. Making butter was a nightmare. In the Joseon Dynasty, nomads who made suyu were exempt from military service, and now I knew why. Doing this kind of manual labor was so brutal that going to the army might actually be the easier option.
Still, looking at the three blocks of butter sitting on the wooden board, I felt a sense of accomplishment. Since the hot weather made it easy for food to spoil, I would store them in the cool underground cellar of the Inner Dining Hall. They should last for a few days there.
As I stood in the backyard of the Outer Dining Hall, pondering what to cook with the butter, I saw Man Hanseok walking in, carrying a small bundle.
"Chef Yoon."
Unlike his usual self, his face was clouded with worry. Wondering what was wrong, I asked.
"Why the long face? Did something happen?"
"I received a gift, but I don't know what to do with it."
"Isn't getting a gift a good thing? Why look so miserable?"
"Well... it's because I received it from a female student."
"Look at this guy. His stomach has shrunk, and his confidence has grown as big as a mountain. Meanwhile, some of us haven't even received a simple ear-pick from Lady Seonwoo."
"It's because the gift is too expensive."
"What is it?"
"It's dried abalone."
I raised an eyebrow. That expensive stuff? Man Hanseok handed over the bundle, and I opened it immediately. Inside was a handful of dried abalone, each slightly larger than a coin.
Dried abalone was also known as "dried gold" because its value was literally equivalent to money. In landlocked regions like Shaanxi or Gansu, it was common to exchange it for its weight in silver, and some people even used it to pay for goods instead of coins or silver.
"They're on the smaller side, but they're firm and the quality is excellent. The aroma is nice too. Who is this female student? I'd like to get close to her myself."
"Please don't joke. I'm serious."
"Did she say something like, 'If you accept this, we're dating'?"
I had meant it as a joke, but seeing his face stiffen even harder than the dried abalone, I realized it wasn't a joke at all.
"No way. Seriously?"
He nodded. Well, the weight he had gained from his cold qi had indeed melted away. He was probably only mildly chubby now, a far cry from the beginning of the semester when I wondered how he could even move. On top of that, rumors of his martial arts prowess had spread throughout the academy. Word was out that he had utterly crushed Lee Yang in a duel, and I occasionally heard his name mentioned even when he wasn't around.
"I had a feeling this would happen eventually, but someone's already trying to stake a claim."
And they were staking it with silver, no less. But Man Hanseok didn't seem pleased.
"Still, I can't just date someone because I accepted a gift."
"If she can throw around gifts like this, her family must be loaded. Why not just get along?"
"I can't. I already... Dang Sojeo... Ah."
Realizing his slip of the tongue, Man Hanseok quickly covered his mouth, but it was too late. So he was openly revealing his peculiar taste now?
"You really have unique taste. Of all the women, you like the one who does nothing but insult you all day."
If selling short were an art, she'd be Warren Buffett. Since she was constantly selling him short like a professional day trader, I couldn't understand Hanseok's taste.
"I'll handle my own love life."
Man Hanseok shot me a slight glare. Hey, I was just bewildered. There were plenty of other good women out there.
"Anyway, please do something with this dried abalone. It smells too fishy to keep in my room..."
"It'll take some time. Is that okay?"
"Of course."
It would take time to rehydrate them, but if I put them in water now, they would be ready by tomorrow lunch. The problem was that there were many ways to cook abalone, but how could I make them taste the absolute best? In the Central Plains, the standard method was to stir-fry them with various vegetables, mushrooms, and seafood, but that felt like a waste of such high-quality abalone. For abalone this good, a method that highlighted its unique flavor would be best.
As I pondered, my eyes drifted to the yellow butter sitting on the side. Yes, abalone and butter were a match made in heaven.
"This will work perfectly."
"What will work?"
"I just thought of a great recipe. When you come by for lunch tomorrow, bring that friend Gongson Yeongji with you."
I wasn't going to stop at just sending Gongson Yeongji to the Dongdo Association. If a student was being bullied, it was a faculty member's duty to help them in every way possible. I resolved to meet her face-to-face, make an impression, and figure out how to help her.
And the next day.
"CHEEEEEEF!! I heard you were making something delicious, so I rushed right over!!"
Yang Seoran, who had come to the back of the Inner Dining Hall, raised a hand high and greeted me. Behind her, I could see a helpless-looking Man Hanseok and Gongson Yeongji, who was hanging her head low.
Sigh. I didn't even need to ask to know what had happened.
"...Go wait in the room. And Man Hanseok, a word with you."
"Yeeeesss! This maiden shall wait with bated breath!"
I had told Man Hanseok to bring Gongson Yeongji, and the idiot had brought along the biggest tagalong in the entire world.