Leap

When they came out of the guild, they saw it was raining really hard. “Let’s get a rickshaw. The place I want to take you this time is far, we’ll get soaked if we walk.” Mule took Nam Mu and Li Jie to a different eatery than Shinwonmat. "We're not going to Shinwanmat this time. This place is owned by a couple from Goryeo. The number of Goryeo are not as much as Shinwonmat but they are still people from Goryeo. We are not going to eat, because we have to have dinner with your new father." Nam Mu got nervous about meeting Nam Gil. He was wondering if he would get along with his 'father'. While thinking of how his ‘father’ would be, they arrived at the place. But Mule looked disappointed because there were not many people inside. The other place was much smaller than Shinwonmat. It was called Eumsigmat and it had just one floor but it still looked beautiful in Nam Mu’s eyes.

It was a square timber building with a large courtyard. The timber was painted in a dark brown color and just like Shinwonmat it had fabric draping from the ceilings. They didn't stay long because the few people that were inside mostly ignored them. Mule drank his tea, looking around giving a deep sigh. “Today is not a good day, let's just go back.” When they arrived back at Jin’s office, Jin was sitting with Nam Gil. "Nam Mu! Meet your father!" Jin stood up beckoning Nam Mu to sit next to Nam Gil. Nam Mu bowed towards Nam Gil before sitting down. Nam Gil looked at Nam Mu for a few minutes before giving him a smile. "Nice to meet you. Jin explained what was going on. I would like to know more about you." Nam Mu nodded but didn't say anything. Nam Gil stared at Nam Mu waiting until he started to talk but Nam Mu didn’t say a word.

The others became awkward. Jin looked embarrassed. “Nam Mu… Tell Nam Gil all about yourself.” Nam Mu started to tell him about his life with Master Ping. Nam Gil nodded while Nam Mu was telling his story. Nam Mu didn’t leave anything out. Nam Gil was supposed to be his father, if he left things out, he was scared that there might be problems later on. “Glad you're away from those people. I can’t believe Master Ping didn’t do anything about the abuse! And why didn’t you tell Master Ping about them!!” Mule looked fuming. The rest of course knew how some slaves were mistreated. They had seen and heard the horror stories about the beating and killings of slaves.

Before Nam Mu could explain anything Jin had already opened his mouth. “Like Mule said. You’re now away from them. They can’t hurt you anymore. Let’s talk about your training.” Jin didn’t want to talk bad about Ping’s wife. He didn’t like her either but talking bad about people was something he hated the most. Mule wanted to protest but the look Jin gave him made him close his mouth. “Now that Nam Gil is here. He’ll help you with the language.” Nam Gil smirked at Nam Mu. “I’ll also teach you how to ride a horse, archery and maybe sword fighting.” Nam Mu was beginning to regret the arrival of Nam Gil. He was dreading the months of hard training. He looked at Jin with pleading eyes. “Do I really need to learn all those things?”

The others looked away. Mule and Li Jie were trying to hold back their laugh, while Jin was feeling sorry for Nam Mu. “All the young boys from wealthy families are taught that from a young age.” Nam Gil shrugged. “Our story wouldn’t add up if you don’t know them.” Nam Mu’s shoulders fell. He didn’t mind archery but riding a horse and sword fighting were not something he wanted to do ever. “Well start the day after tomorrow. Young Master Li Jie. If you could explain the theory to Nam Mu?” Li Jie nodded. “Well then let’s have some dinner! I’ll tell you about my travels!!”

They moved to the mess hall. It was busy but luckily they found a table near the back. When they sat down, a small crowd formed around their table. Nam Mu discovered that Nam Gil was well known among the guild. A lot of people were asking for his advice, some even invited him to come to their rooms to talk about business proposals. Nam Gil was always a gentleman and would kindly decline the invitation by pointing at Nam Mu. “I’m not here for business. I’m here only for my son.” Everyone who heard those words looked surprised. In the end they couldn’t keep their curiosity to themselves. “I didn’t know you had children!?” Nam Gil laughed.

“Nobody ever asked. Everybody assumed that I was single.” Nobody refuted his words because it was true. They had never asked about his family. Luckily because of Nam Gil’s words, the crowd dispersed quickly, leaving them in peace. While they were eating Nam Gil told them about places he had been. Nam Mu was hanging on his lips. Nam Gil would smile when he saw Nam Mu’s wide eyes and open mouth. “Let’s call it a day. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” Nam Mu snapped out of his daze. He looked around to see that the room was empty. It was pitch dark outside and his half eaten food was cold. “I’ll ask Jo Wang Sin to make you some food. See you tomorrow.” Jin and Nam Gil stood up, leaving them to go back to Willow pavilion by themselves. When they arrived there was indeed food waiting for them.

It has been a week since Nam Mu and Nam Gil have become father and son. They were slowly getting to know each other. But Nam Mu was still awkward towards Nam Gil. He found it difficult to call him father but the latter would ignore that Nam Gil had no problem calling Nam Mu his son. Nam Gil was a great help with teaching Nam Mu Hangul, he would first speak in Hangul and then he would translate what he had just said. This made Nam Mu pick up the language faster. They could have simple conversations. Nam Gil was adamant in teaching him archery and sword fighting. Everyday Nam Gil would take him and Li Jie to a training field just outside the walls. In the beginning Nam Mu was a bit apprehensive about fighting with a sword but he quickly discovered that he not only liked it but he was also good at it. “Are you sure you’ve never done this before?”

Li Jie ran to Nam Mu looking amazed. Nam Gil nodded, wondering the same thing. The boy was a natural at both. Nam Gil rarely had to correct him with his stands. After watching once Nam Mu was able to repeat the stands and moves shown by Nam Gil. But he would still get beaten by Nam Gil during sparring. Most nights he would be laying in bed dead tired and covered with bruises. “You're a natural someday soon you’ll beat your father.” Li Jie put his hand on Nam Mu’s shoulder, making him winch. He and Nam Gil just had another sparring session before dinner. They fought with wooden swords but it still hurt when he got hit by Nam Gil. “Sorry! Are you alright? He’s a tough teacher.

He doesn’t even show any mercy.” Mule disagreed with Li Jie. “But if you ever get into a real fight the enemy will not show you mercy.” Nam Mu rolled his sour shoulder. “I'm alright. Mule is right. Let's hurry. I'm starving.” Instead of being discouraged he was excited for the next day. He wanted to get stronger and beat Nam Gil. His days became packed with activities but for the first time in his life he was truly happy. Before he knew it a month had already passed. Nam Mu was able to deflect Nam Gil's attacks but he was still far away from beating him. Nam Gil could see that Nam Mu was ready for the next step. He decided that it was time for Nam Mu to learn how to ride a horse.

A few days later Nam Gil took them to the back of the guild. Li Jie and Nam Mu discovered that there were stables and riding fields to train horses. Nam Gil took his horse out of the stables. "Meet Dang Geun. It means carrot. You can't stroke him, if you want." Dang Geun was light brown colored horse. It nuzzled Nam Gil's face before looking at the others. Nam Mu shook his head. "I'm fine." Nam Gil rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. "I’ll teach you first how to get on a horse. It’s really easy. These are called Reins, they are used to steer your horse.” He held the two leather straps “Hold the ends of the reins in your left hand, just in front of the saddle, but keep them loose.

If you pull, the horse will move before you can sit down." Nam Gil showed Nam Mu the reins. "Put your left foot in the stirrup. Make sure the ball of your foot is on the stirrup, don't stick your foot all the way through to the heel." Nam Gil put his legs in the stirrup and got on his horse. He looked down at Nam Mu with a big smile. “Easy right?” Nam Mu looked unconvinced. “Don’t worry. I’ll be walking beside you. Nothing will go wrong. I’ll get you your horse. Wait a bit.” Nam Gil jumped off his horse before walking back to the stables and came back with a jet black horse. "This is Saja, meaning lion. He's a purebred. His father fought in many wars, so I'm sure he'll be a brave and loyal steed." Nam Mu looked at Nam Gil shaking his head. "Mas... F...ather. F...ather... are you sure about this horse?" Nam Gil looked at the black steed wondering why Nam Mu was so afraid of it.

Nam Mu didn't trust the horse for one bit. The animal was using his front hoof to dig a hole in the ground. When Saja looked at Nam Mu, Nam Mu unconsciously took a few steps back when he saw what looked like smirk on Saja's face. "Is... Is there really no other horse for me?" Nam Gil shook his head. "I brought this especially from Jeju Island?" Nam Mu didn't know where Jeju was and frankly right now he didn't care one bit. "Can I practice on Dang Geun first?" Even though Nam Mu was still scared, he trusted Dang Geun more than Saja. "Just remember what I taught you. Nothing will go wrong." Nam Mu swallowed hard. After hesitating for a long time, he slowly walked towards Saja.

Saja rear up when Nam Mu got closer. Nam Gil held his reins in making the horse calm down. Nam Mu shook his head taking two steps back. "I... Can we do this another day?" Nam Gil shook his head. "Nam Mu, you can do this!" Li Jie was already on a horse waiting for Nam Mu. "It will be fine. You don't have to be afraid. I'm next to you." Nam u felt like he was about to cry. He knew that it was going to alright but the thought of feet not being on the ground made him panic.

"Come on. I'll help you get up." Nam Gil reached out his hand. Nam Mu hesitated again but grabbed Nam Gil's hand. "On the count of three. When you are up just relax. 1...2...3!" Nam Gil pushed him up. Nam Mu's eyes grew big when he plopped down on the saddle. "I told you that it would be alright!" Nam Gil looked up at him. "You...." Before he could finish his words. Saja took off, making Nam Mu fall from his saddle. He heard Nam Gil scream but he couldn't do anything. He looked at the clear blue sky cursing Saja before everything turned black.