Return (1)
The fleet appeared at Busan Port around the hour of the hare. Massive sails rose one by one beyond the horizon, and the Jangyongyeong flags unfurled, slicing through the sea breeze. Even before the ships docked, crowds swarmed the wharves.
The moment Yi Si-woo set foot on the pier, he turned to look behind him. Jangyongyeong soldiers bustled along the rails of the trailing warships, lowering crates of silver ingots. Each heavy wooden chest thudded onto the pier, drawing murmurs from the onlookers.
"What's all that?"
"Heard they raided the Tsushima pirates' warehouses. Look at that gleam!"
The crowds couldn't tear their eyes from the silver light spilling through the crate seams. Trailing the escort at a clumsy gait was a unfamiliar foreigner: Ana de Bruin, the Dutch merchant Yi Si-woo had brought from Tsushima.
Ignoring the commotion, Yi Si-woo approached Yu Jeon-gan.
"Commander, send the silver ingots and copper bars to Hanyang with a separate escort. I'll carry the technical manuals myself."
"His Majesty's decree was for immediate return to the capital. Aren't you heading straight to Hanyang?"
"I'll stop in Gyeongju first. We need to reconcile our supply logs with the local ledgers, or there'll be those who nitpick later. It'll take a day."
Yu Jeon-gan eyed him for a moment, then chuckled softly.
"First words after the war are about ledgers. You're one of a kind."
"Ledgers outlast the fighting."
Yu Jeon-gan waved him off.
"Fine. I'll assemble the escort and go ahead. Join us from Gyeongju."
They departed Busan the next morning at dawn, with a contingent of Jangyongyeong turning their horses northward. As they entered the Yeongnam-daero road, they weren't alone. Refugees returning home after the war trudged along, bundles on their heads.
"My lord, where are all these folks coming from?" Chil-bok muttered.
Yi Si-woo didn't answer. An old woman by the roadside stared blankly at the passing group, then recognized the Jangyongyeong flag and clasped her wrinkled hands in prayer. A mother with a child on her back followed suit.
Chil-bok said quietly, "It's thanks to you, my lord, that they're coming home."
"Just drive the horse."
Yi Si-woo kept his gaze forward and urged his mount on. One by one, the people on the road lifted their heads to the flags. A choked sob rose from behind. Yi Si-woo pretended not to hear and lightly cracked his whip.
They reached the Gyeongju magistracy by evening. Magistrate Kim Sa-ik spotted Yi Si-woo and rushed out barefoot.
"G-Gigi-cheong Director! What brings you here so suddenly..."
Yi Si-woo scanned him.
"Are the ledgers ready?"
"Yes! I worked through the night."
"You know what happens if there's a discrepancy."
Kim Sa-ik swallowed hard and nodded. As Yi Si-woo entered the courtyard, a sharp voice cut from the wall.
"Oh, you survived in one piece? Ghosts must be blind—they missed you."
Yi Si-woo turned. So Hui stood there with her maid.
"..."
"I heard you attacked Tsushima without court approval or shogunate permission. Is that the 'sound judgment' you always talk about?"
"We won the battle and captured the Lord of Tsushima."
So Hui faltered briefly, then pressed on.
"Winning excuses everything? Were you planning to shoulder it all alone like some fool?"
"Everyone fought well, that's all."
"Is that your answer to my question?"
She stepped closer, demanding, but Yi Si-woo walked inside without replying. She followed.
"My lord, are you even listening?!"
"I am. I'll answer after the ledgers are checked."
So Hui snorted, though her eyes flicked over the scars on his shoulder, side, and face.
The reconciliation finished late afternoon. Yi Si-woo inked the final figures and closed the ledger. Kim Sa-ik peeked nervously.
"Any... discrepancies?"
"None. Good work."
Kim Sa-ik visibly relaxed and withdrew. As Yi Si-woo stood to put away his brush, So Hui crossed her arms.
"Leaving now?"
"Yes."
"What about dinner?"
"There's a gukbap place in the market. I'll eat there."
Her face hardened.
"Gukbap? That cheap slop?"
"It's good."
So Hui snorted. Gukbap, really?
"My lord."
She strode forward, blocking him.
"I'll show you the best home-cooked meal in Gyeongju. Compare it to your precious gukbap before you eat."
Yi Si-woo looked at her.
"I'll just have gukbap."
"..."
So Hui stared, then said, "The man who captured the Lord of Tsushima, eating at a market gukbap stall? My pride won't allow it. Come on."
Yi Si-woo paused, then replied, "A matter of face?"
"A huge one."
"...Understood."
So Hui turned and led the way, lips curving up.
The main hall of her residence was quickly laid with a banquet. Fresh abalone and sea cucumber sat side by side; pheasant stew flanked platters of seasoned vegetables and fried fish.
Yi Si-woo glanced at the table, then silently took his utensils. He ate steadily. The abalone was plump and chewy, the pheasant rich and deep. Worlds apart from the hardtack he'd choked down in Tsushima. He showed nothing.
So Hui watched from across, expecting awe or intimidation. But he treated abalone or pheasant the same—as food.
"Better than gukbap, right?"
"...Yes. The abalone is good."
"See? You should've listened."
Yi Si-woo picked up pheasant without replying. So Hui hadn't touched her own chopsticks, just watched him empty his bowl.
She'd meant to humble him, but he just ate well.
"Did you really capture the Lord of Tsushima? So Yo-shi-to-shi? See him yourself?"
"I did."
"What was he like?"
"Smaller than expected. His begging for life was no different from our merchants'."
So Hui paused, then a laugh slipped out. She covered her mouth with her sleeve.
"And the Tsushima people? Must've been chaos with Joseon troops invading."
"At first. Later, we released the stockpiled rice, and they lined up for porridge. It was rice their lord had hoarded by cheating them, so we got credit for someone else's grain."
So Hui fell silent, searching for words. Yi Si-woo finished his bowl.
"The abalone was excellent. Thank you."
"That's... really it?"
"Yes."
"..."
She glared. Yi Si-woo was already rising.
The next morning, Yi Si-woo left the magistracy. As the Jangyongyeong formed ranks, Chil-bok brought his horse.
"My lord, did you sleep last night?"
"Reviewed the ledgers again."
Chil-bok sighed and followed. At the gate, a rustle came from the wall corner. Yi Si-woo glanced; a silk skirt vanished behind it. He mounted wordlessly.
The Yeongnam-daero to Hanyang grew chillier by the day. Yi Si-woo pored over the technical manual's lens curvature equations on horseback.
"My lord, eaten today?"
"Breakfast."
"It's evening now."
Without looking up, "Is it?"
Chil-bok pulled an onigiri from his bosom.
Yi Si-woo folded the manual and took it.
"Where'd this come from?"
"Snagged it from that Gyeongju lady's kitchen."
Yi Si-woo paused.
"Good."
He bit in. Chil-bok glanced sideways.
"My lord, So Hui was watching you leave from behind the wall. Didn't see?"
"I did."
"Then say something."
"Nothing to say."
Chil-bok asked no more. They rode in silence.
On the third night's inn at a roadside stop, Yi Si-woo tied his horse while Chil-bok fetched dinner. Alone in the corner, he sipped a bowl of makgeolli. After the first swallow, sweetness lingered past the bitterness.
The merchants inside chattered over the pirate purge news as drinks.
"They captured the Lord of Tsushima. Jangyongyeong or something."
"Nah, no way. Sounds fake."
Yi Si-woo listened and took a second sip in silence.
On the eighth day, Hanyang's walls came into view at sunset. The battlements stretched long; crowds anted before Sungnyemun.
At the gate, Yu Jeon-gan's escort stood arrayed, silver-laden carts trailing. Yi Si-woo halted and gazed at the capital.
Beyond Sungnyemun lay the Noron faction, Sim Hwan-ji... and King Jeongjo.
The moment he entered court, the Tsushima war would end, and a different battle begin.
Chil-bok asked softly, "Nervous, my lord?"
"...No."
Yi Si-woo gripped the reins tighter.
"Let's go."
Hooves echoed toward Hanyang.