T/N: Before starting, I wanted to just make it clear that the title of the novel is something that I’ve picked up. It’s not a literal translation of the real title. The title of the novel is 느루. Also the author gave the actual meaning of the title in her book. Sorry I couldn’t find the accurate english equivalent for it. So here it is:

느루: (adverb)

1. (stretched out) over a long period of time so that ((it)) lasts

2. Nonstandard word for 늘(which means always/often

Prologue

In the capital’s lively marketplace, a gang fight broke out in broad daylight. Young men, from two separate groups, hurled punches and abuses at each other. Enemies who refused to live under the same sky collided with each other with bloodthirsty expressions.

The people who had come out to shop witnessed this fierce battle as silent spectators. They clicked their tongues and frowned.

“They are at it again.”

“I was wondering why it had been so ‘quiet’ for a while now; this was bound to happen.”

“That time, when a person died by accident, I heard that the king had threatened them that he wouldn’t spare anyone if it ever happened again. But it doesn’t seem like it had any effect on them.”

“They wouldn’t recklessly stab someone to death again, right?”

“If they do, the king wouldn’t let them off with impunity this time.”

In Daejingu, there were two families of renowned fame that subjects as well as country bumpkins knew of very well. They were one of the five most prestigious families in the nation: the Ju family and Yeon family.

The two families were quite alike. They both had established themselves as meritorious servants who helped to build the nation to its current state. Both families had risen similarly throughout history from generation to generation.

They both had the power to control the nation but neither had the support nor the desire to do so. So they knew how to behave to avoid the storms. As long established families that shared their history with the nation, the two families’ houses were like the symbol of the city.

However, this was not the reason why the people frequently talked about the two families.

The two families had been butting heads for more than a hundred years. They were both the perpetrators and the victims to each other. As the old grudges accrued, there wasn’t anything left but their deep seated hatred for the other.

Even the servants of the two families espoused their masters’ hatred and growled and hurled curses at each other whenever they met on the road. No one would have probably minded it if only they’d brawl and kept it to themselves. But they often involved pedestrians in their petty fights, causing accidents willy-nilly.

“Ahh! It looks like there’s going to be a big accident!”

One of the spectators shouted. A man, who was kicked, flew backwards and fell over a blacksmith who was working with the bellows.

The accident happened in an instant. A worker carrying embers tripped and fell, leading the blazing charcoal to light the wooden fence. The fire spread in the blink of an eye.

“Look over there!”

“Fire!”

The marketplace was soon abound with screams and shrieks. A dozen or so houses got burnt down before the flames could barely be extinguished.

The king was furious when he heard of the accident that had transpired as a result of the fight between the guards of the two families.