Chương 173: At the Border

It was Kim Baeksu. He had been one of the men who dangled around under Yi Huisong back then. Youngwoo had thought he resigned along with Yi Huisong when Yi Huisong fell from power. Yet here he was, waiting at the border. Youngwoo believed the man had handled matters related to money. He acted as if he had done nothing wrong, but those who knew, knew. And yet somehow, he had slipped through. Even as the people involved were dragged in one after another, he had survived. A drunkard with nothing but a big head.

When he was not on duty, he was almost always drunk. Where he found the money for drink was a mystery, but he drank well enough. If Seo Ui-taek had protected his own men with hidden money, this fellow built his side with alcohol. Few men drink alone. Those who liked drink gathered around him, and they formed another little faction of their own.

"Is that bastard that bastard?" At Youngwoo's words, Cheolun swallowed. Kim Baeksu stood planted at the ferry station on Noksu River, the Goryeo border. His master had told him to avoid trouble if possible, to avoid it if he could, and to avoid it even when resentment surged. But the boat had to go there. There was no way to avoid him. The two men standing on the boat lowered their heads, though they had committed no crime. Kim Baeksu's face was red, perhaps because he had been drinking on duty.

His thin, high voice, ordering this and that, carried all the way to the boat dozens of paces away. There was no choice. If he could not avoid it, he had to break through. The boat touched the riverbank, and planks were laid so the horses could disembark. The frightened horse tossed its head wildly. Youngwoo held the reins by force and guided it down as it struggled. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The man saw him. Perhaps mounted men were rare here.

Youngwoo felt Kim Baeksu's bleary gaze turn toward him.

"What is this! You, you, you…" Kim Baeksu stammered. Youngwoo stepped forward first.

"Loyalty! Jungnangjang Lee Youngwoo."

"Ohh. So you became a jungnangjang."

"I did not know you were posted here." The words were subtle. They could be heard to mean, Had I known you were here, I would have dealt with you.

"Yes. When the Nine Fortresses were handed over, I came this way." He was good at collecting hidden money, but he was also good at using it. Perhaps that was how he survived. He had not directly harmed Youngwoo, but he was still one of Yi Huisong's faction and its hangers-on.

"Ohh, impressive. You have been entrusted with important work on the border."

"It is not boring." Youngwoo nodded. There would be no time in this world when that man was bored. He drank almost every day. Cheolun lowered his head.

"Oh, Cheolun. The Cheollyong-Cheolun brothers. Where is Cheollyong? You two are always together."

"My brother is at Buyeobu."

"Ah! Then you are the Jurchen expedition force." Youngwoo did not bother denying it. Leaving others to understand matters as they believed them to be was one way to live in the world. I never said I had resigned. You simply understood it that way.

"Ohh, I thought I was the one suffering on the front line, but there were men suffering even more. Come. I will buy you a drink." Youngwoo drew his body back.

"Are you not on duty?"

"It will end soon." Was there ever a set time for border work to end? His time was divided into duty time and drinking time. A man who offered drink and acted friendly could seem like a good person. But this man was the same kind as the rest. One subordinate under him had killed himself after failing to endure his torment. What had he said afterward? That he had done nothing? That he had only done what he always did, and the man had failed to endure it, or perhaps something had happened at home, and he had died?

No. Those who knew, knew that Kim Baeksu had tormented him all night. He was a man who passed down whatever came from above exactly as it was. He possessed the remarkable ability to turn everything he suffered onto those below him. What had that man's name been? Youngwoo tried to recall the name of the man killed by his superior, though he had not been close to him. He had been a very kind fellow, with gentle eyes. Because he was kind, he had lived being trampled.

If he had flared up and struck back, Kim Baeksu might not have tormented him all night. He had apparently been ordered to do something, and the results had not come out. The man who came after Yi Huisong was the sort who cared only for results. He did not strive to make results happen. He asked for the current number, then asked for the target. He asked how much had been achieved against the target, then beat people down for failing to achieve it. That much could happen. The real problem came next.

A quarter-hour later, he asked the same thing again. In that quarter-hour, they were somehow expected to raise the result. In a span of time where nothing could be done, he stared only at numbers, asked questions, and ground people down. Then Kim Baeksu, that son of a bitch, ground down those beneath him exactly the same way. Without even a moment's pause, he passed what he received straight to his subordinates. The man had died after being tormented that way. That was the rumor Youngwoo had heard.

By then, Youngwoo had already left Seonchullyeong Fortress, but the aftermath of that matter had dragged Kim Baeksu down. That was probably why he was now in this remote border post, inspecting people who came and went. There was no time to weep for a man whose name he could not even remember. But Youngwoo did have the loyalty to glare at Kim Baeksu with eyes full of hatred.

"Come. I will buy you a drink."

"No. We must hurry."

"You came a long way. At least wet your throat before you go. Come on." Kim Baeksu led the way, and Youngwoo followed weakly behind him. Not being able to refuse was a sickness too. He should have shouted, You killed a comrade—no, a subordinate. I will not drink with the likes of you. But people are rarely able to do that. Moving according to the visible forms of society was, if anything, more familiar.