Chapter 2 - High Noon (1/2)

High Noon

The inside of the tavern was filled with a little noise.

On the first floor of the two-story tavern, various people were seen, including people having dinner, men drinking alcohol, and people fiddling with cards at tables in the corner.

In the meantime, a full-bodied middle-aged man who seemed to be the owner of the tavern was busy with bowls of noodles, wine bottles, and snacks.

At that moment, a man wearing a hat opened the tavern door and entered.

He was a foreigner.

People who ate noodles and drank alcohol glanced at him. Considering he was wearing a sword, he must have been a Moorim ( Martial Artist).

But in the New World, even if someone was holding a dog, cow, or spear they say they are Moorim, so it was nothing special about it.

The man who walked in felt the gazes and stopped, and the owner of the tavern approached him.

The owner went as he wiped his hands on the towel attached to his belt.

“You are a foreigner. Welcome, welcome.”

The man gently pushed up the hat he was wearing with his finger and looked at the owner of the tavern.

The owner of the tavern continued speaking, looking at the eyes of the man under the hat.

“Stay or Meals?”

“Meals.”

The tavern owner nodded his head.

“It will be ten cents.”

Without a word, the man pulled out ten coins from his pocket and held out to the tavern owner.

The tavern owner took it and walked to the kitchen, saying:

“Sit comfortably. The noodles will be rolled up soon.”

The man walked to one corner of the tavern pulled out the sword from his waist, set it on the side of the table, and took off his hat.

As he didn’t seem to cause any particular problems, the quiet room in the tavern began to roar again.

The man, Jang Geon, sat in a comfortable position with both hands on the table and slowly looked around the people in the tavern.

Most of the people in the tavern were villagers or nearby farmers.

Of course, some dogs stood with swords or knives, but they were at most three.

In cities and towns on the west coast, there were more Moorim and helpers than ordinary civilians, but this was an area that was a bit far from that.

There were more farmers than swordsmen.

So, at best, all the knives were seen only to the extent of a one prepared for self-defense.

There were quite a few guests, but it seemed that the owner was the only person who worked for the guest.

In the other taverns, there will be usually either one or two labourers for serving or at least the wife or children of the owner will be seen serving the guests.

But here there was neither owner’s wife or children nor labourers.

Jang Geon felt that, it would take some time to roll up a bowl of noodles in such a situation.

“What a fraudster! you bastard! Are you cheating me?”

“What? fraud? I didn’t even lift a finger, what’s wrong with you?”

At that time, voices rose among the men who were fiddling cards in the corner of the tavern.

A man jumped up and started claiming fraud while starring at the man who was sitting with his back facing Jang.

The two then jumped up from their seats and started arguing about killing each other.

The people in the tavern drank with their heads shaking or giggling as if it was a common sight.

Even the owner of the tavern, hearing the commotion, took his head out of the kitchen and looked at it, then smiled and went back inside.

There was no one who looked nervous or anxious, so they ended up swearing at each other.

But Jang’s eyes were fixed on them.

To be precise, it was from the moment he heard the voice of the man standing with his back facing him.

“Oh shit! So, does it make sense that you win and I lose all day!”

“No, well, it’s your finger problem. Aside from you, everyone else won a lot, didn’t they?”

“You punk…?”

The man who was claiming fraud eventually pushed the other person with both hands, apparently unable to contain his anger.

The one who ridiculed him faltered, put a step back, and then growled.

“what. Are you really going to do it?”

“Yeah, you bastard! Do you think I’m wuss because I’ve endured being bullied all this time?”

In the end, the two grabbed each other by the neck, shook them violently, and shouted incomprehensible swear words.

And Jang, who had been watching the commotion until then, was finally able to see the face of the man whose back was only visible all this time.

A light smile appeared on his lips.

“That bastard was here.”

Jang, who mumbled briefly, looked at the two of them arguing, then got up from his seat and walked towards them.

Even as he approached them, the two men were spitting harsh words at each other’s faces. The other people near the table just smiled, wondering as if they didn’t want them to stop the show.

“Hey.”

The two men, who were holding hands and making a fuss, heard Jang’s voice and turned their heads.

The person who claimed fraud looked at Jang and said,

“What do you want fu*ker?”

But the other man was startled and turned pale.

“… How?”

Jang shook his head at the question of the man who was claiming fraud.

“Not you…. that one.”

The man, whose face had turned pale, listened to Jang’s words and rolled his eyes anxiously here and there, then opened his eyes and spoke.

“… Brother Jang, did you come here see me ?”

“Oooo. It’s been two months. How have you been?”

The man took a step back, gently releasing the collar of the opponent he was holding onto.

The other party also let go of his collar with a puzzled face.

“Well, how have you been? What are you up to these days, Brother Jang?”

Jang shook his head with a smile.

“I didn’t do well. What happened is that everyone in your group is saying that everything is going well.”

“…Did you meet other friends too?”

“Yes. You are the last.”

The man took a step back and then once again took another step back.

“Well, thats… Actually, I know I shouldnt’t have done it right..? Does it make sense to rob a Moorim man with a sword in his back? If caught, I’m sure they’ll get hit with that sword…… right?

“But still you did it in the end.”

Hearing Jang’s answer, the man looked at him blankly, and laughed, then suddenly turned around and tried to run away. But as he turned, he could feel a ghastly hand grabbing the back of his head.