Emeralds and Enemies

Chapter Forty-eight

Hae-sung stood in the doorway of the workshop watching how easily Song-hee set up his project for the day. The younger boy sorted out his tools and materials and then just stared at them for a while. This was a total contrast from the way Junseo worked away in his sketchbook, drawing, and then redrawing his plans. He guessed it made sense since Junseo had less time in his day to be at the workshop. Hae-sung just didn't know how either managed to take and existing design and then tweak it into something new.

When he had toured workshops before he had been told people new to the craft should learn standard builds first. The apprentices worked on basic repairs and established designs so they would know what would work. The slow system of instruction meant the craft hall would have plenty of junior laborers and few true inventors. The other boys said they had done a bit of side-table work before coming here but Hae-sung was new to making so he hesitated.

Song-hee looked up and beckoned Hae-sung to join them at the table. "I could use and extra pair of hands with this," he said handing Hae-sung a tool and pointing to where he should hold the piece. "Right, good, now just tighten that up a bit," Song-hee's instructions came quickly.

It was hard to see what exactly he was doing but suddenly a piece sprang out of the bottom and then other pieces scattered across the table. Song-hee muttered something in his home dialect that made Junseo laugh. "Don't ask," he said to Hae-sung's questioning look, "It is too filthy to translate." Song-hee blushed then apologized when Knight-Master Lie frowned.

"Before you try that again let's go back to the original. Hae-sung why don't you assemble a grinder." He pointed to a box of parts at the end of the table.

This was something Hae-sung felt more comfortable doing and it did not take long for him to become absorbed in his task. Junseo came over and watched for a few minutes then when back to his sketches. Knight-Master Hou called a break after an hour and a half and then he had Junseo pass around the diagrams and explain what he was trying to do. Song-hee looked puzzled. Hae-sung thought for a minute and then asked about the torque ratios.

"Good question," the Knight-Master gave him a nod and then went on to show where problems might arise in the build.

"Is that why my piece won't hold?" Song-hee asked.

"What if you used a spring to tension it? Hae-sung was thinking about the piece he was assembling and how to hold the wheel in balance.

"Another good question. I will leave you to work it out together."

Both Junseo and Song-hee offered Hae-sung a fist bump and then excitedly pulled pieces from all over the workshop. Hae-sung headed back to his end of the table but the other boys insisted since it was his solution, he should be part of their build.

It was the first time he really felt at home in the workshop. His father always prized the theoretical over the practical and discouraged his son's interest in making. Even now, Hae-sung felt a twinge of guilt over how much more satisfying applying the math to work out gear ratios was than just working through abstract proofs. He studied the formulas in Junseo's design notes and thought maybe his own talent for numbers was not actually going to waste they way his father had predicted.

By mid-afternoon they had a working proto-type. Knight-Master Hou approved the piece before and then sent them on their way to the practice yard. Junseo took a detour to pick up Chen-hui from the language school.

As they were walking, Hae-sung noticed a couple of rough looking men seemed to be following him and Song-hee. When he asked Song-hee about the men, his young companion shook his head and suggested they pick of the pace. The toughs jogged along and only backed off when they spotted the guards at gate of the training yard.

Hae-sung stayed behind after the practice session to spend a bit more time with the horses. He knew the young ones could use more exercise than they had been getting. Il-don supported him whole heartedly when Hae-sung mentioned it to Manager Doak. He pressed their case saying, "I know we are working toward our rankings but it is not fair to skimp on training the horses."

"What if we alternate. Rides one day, archery runs the next?" Hae-sung offered a compromise.

Manager Doak thought for a moment and then gave Hae-sung a message to take to Knight-Master Hou at the forge. Hae-sung hurried along the nearly deserted streets. The route felt different as the shadows lengthened. He had not been on his own for the trip before and suddenly felt a bit nervous.

There were sounds of a scuffle coming from an alleyway to the right. When he glanced into the passage, he could make out two men attacking someone who was small but very fast. Hae-sung recognized one of Song-hee's moves and waded into the fray. This was enough to chase off the attackers but not before they left bruises. Hae-sung was not sure what was being said in the rapid dialect but Song-hee's answer included a string of swearing at the men's retreating backs.

"Thanks," he said as he dusted himself off.

"What was that about?" Hae-sung could not contain his curiosity.

"My brother is sworn to the Four-star gang. Those guys were here to check my colors. They don't want any new affiliates around here." Song-hee's short explanation did not hide the seriousness of the situation.

"But you are a trainee. You can't have any other affiliations." Hae-sung was certain.

"I am on a term contract. My parents won't sign off while I am supposed to be in school." Song-hee's worry was clear.

"So, you better be studying hard. There will be no excuses to have those thugs to come back once you have a regular deal in place." Hae-sung was not sure this was exactly true but he was going to let the rest of the team know to keep an eye out.

Junseo did not react the way Hae-sung expected. Instead of offering protection he became very angry with Song-hee. They argued with each other but then Junseo abruptly cut their discussion off and arranged for a group meeting before the next day's training session. Song-hee turned on Hae-sung for "ratting him out" but Junseo told them sharply to "stow-it."

Captain Shiro was bemused to be told by the boys to wait because they had something to workout. He could soon see how intense their discussion became. Song-hee stood with his legs set and his arms crossed. He scowled at Hae-sung and then Junseo. San Jin put a hand on his shoulder but Song-hee shrugged it off. Il-don must have said something off because Junseo gave him a cross look and Xuiyang tugged his arm. Chenhui stared at each of the other boys and frowned. Me Yan must have tried to make a joke but only Xuiyang smiled. Finally, Song-hee nodded and Junseo pulled him into a hug. Together the boys walked to where he and Scout Jia sat waiting.

"I'm sorry I did not tell you about how a couple of local gang members have been after me. It wasn't fair of me not to trust the team." Song-hee said without preamble.

"Just tell us how we can help," Junseo looked to his elders who nodded their approval.