A Fantasy of the Unknown Man
"Oun-yeong, if you were to save a husband, what kind of husband would you want?"
"Me?"
The unexpected question caught Oun-yeong off guard, and she fumbled for a moment.
"Um... well, first of all, a man who could face me head-on and actually beat me?"
"You? That seems like a tall order, Oun-yeong."
Wolyeong tilted her head.
"Is there such a man?"
"Hardly likely to find one anywhere, my lady."
Oun-yeong answered as a certain someone rose in her mind.
"Well, that's true, but..."
"There's always Lord Tung Jugang."
"Oh, right. Elder Brother Jugang does exist."
Oun-yeong said it quietly, almost under her breath, and Wolyeong nodded along.
After a moment's hesitation, Oun-yeong ventured a question.
"...My lady, what do you think of Lord Tung Jugang?"
"Hm? What do I mean, think? About what?"
Oun-yeong's face grew even hotter.
"Well... as a husband."
"Ah..."
Wolyeong's eyes went round, as though the thought had never once crossed her mind.
Oun-yeong forced herself to go on.
"He suits you quite well, my lady, if you ask me."
"Well... you say that, Oun-yeong, but I honestly don't know what to tell you."
Wolyeong sank into thought as she continued.
"I truly have never thought of it that way. I've known Elder Brother Jugang since we were children, but... I've never once considered him as a husband. Not even now."
At that, Oun-yeong's expression brightened a little, though Wolyeong remained completely oblivious.
"Is that so... It's just that the two of you have always been so close."
"By that logic, you've always been around him too, Oun-yeong."
"Me?"
Oun-yeong started so violently that her face flushed crimson.
Wolyeong burst out laughing.
"Oh come now, that's not like you at all, Oun-yeong. Now that I think of it, I remember something you told me when we were little. That you'd fallen for Elder Brother Tung Jugang..."
"Goodness, my lady!"
By now Oun-yeong's face was past merely burning red — it had turned the color of a steamed beet. She sprang to her feet, waving both hands in frantic denial.
"That was truly the folly of my childhood. I exist to protect you, my lady. I have no room in my life for such thoughts."
"Oh, there's no need to protest so loudly."
Wolyeong watched Oun-yeong's vehement denial with an amused eye.
"From what I can tell, Elder Brother Jugang seems quite fond of you as well."
"Really, my lady?"
At those words, Oun-yeong scooted forward eagerly.
"He's never been one to speak of such things... In fact, not long ago I teased him and asked whether there was a woman who caught his interest. And come to think of it, Lord Jugang has never paid the slightest mind to women."
"That is true."
Oun-yeong had to concede the point.
It was simply a fact that a man of Tung Jugang's caliber had no shortage of maidens in Jianzhou whose hearts fluttered at the sight of him. He was not only a powerful warrior but handsome to boot, with a bold, generous nature besides.
And yet he showed little interest in women, seeming far more absorbed in the camaraderie and adventures of men.
Oun-yeong's head drooped, and she looked a touch sullen.
"Speaking of which, that gentleman from Joseon who's been traveling with Lord Jugang lately — wasn't he rather dashing?"
"Ah... you mean Lord Temusi-i?"
At Wolyeong's question, Oun-yeong nodded and went on.
"He does cut a fine figure. And he carries himself with such gentle poise, too."
"That's true... but when you look into his eyes, there seems to linger a deep sadness, somehow."
Wolyeong murmured, lost in thought.
"He must have quite a story, my lady. When you think about it, few people cross over from Joseon to this land without a compelling reason."
"Yes, without a doubt."
Wolyeong had always wondered about that very thing. To a curious girl of fifteen in her prime, nothing could be more thrilling than guessing at the story a mysterious man carried within him.
And Oun-yeong, for all her prowess, was at heart just another maiden — she took to the subject with equal relish.
"I wonder what he was doing before he came here? From his manner, he doesn't seem the type to have committed some crime."
"He does carry himself with rare dignity. Perhaps a man of high nobility, my lady."
"That much is certain... Could he even be royalty?"
"Oh, surely not."
The two of them dissolved into peals of laughter. Even in their own imagining, that was a stretch too far.
"He must be from a family of standing. I wonder what drove him from his homeland? Hmm... a secret birth, perhaps? You know — hunted by scheming relatives coveting the family inheritance, or something of the sort?"
Oun-yeong laughed softly. Wolyeong seemed to be projecting her own circumstances onto the stranger, Hong-wi.
"That could be it. But it might also be love, my lady."
"Love?"
"Yes... a love that could never come to be."
As she said it, Oun-yeong lowered her head. She, too, was quietly projecting her own situation onto the story.
Wolyeong nodded in agreement with the guess.
"Love, hmm... I suppose it could well be that. His eyes do look as though he's remembering someone."
"Mm-hmm."
The two girls looked at each other and nodded. It was certainly plausible. A man like Temusi-i could hardly be blamed for having a woman who adored him.
Before they knew it, they had taken as settled fact the notion of Hong-wi's tragic love — and his flight from it.
"What sort of woman do you suppose she was?"
"Hmm. A gentle, refined one, perhaps?"
"Why do you think so?"
"I don't know — it just feels right. She'd suit him, wouldn't she?"
"I couldn't say. Maybe she was lively and bright? Watching him from afar, never saying a word."
"That suits him too, actually."
The two of them laughed as they pictured Hong-wi gazing fondly upon a playful maiden from a distance.
"What about her age? Younger than him? Older? Or the same?"
"Hmm..."
The two of them bent their heads together over the question for a while. Oun-yeong spoke first.
"She might have been older. Somehow he gives off the feeling of a younger brother with an elder sister..."
"Oh my, that's rather lovely too!"
Once again they burst into giggles.
"Or she might have been like a little sister. A very composed, mature woman, don't you think?"
"That works too."
"Or perhaps... a childhood friend, grown up beside him from the cradle?"
The two were so thoroughly absorbed in their storytelling that they failed to notice the masked Lee Go-nap-hap and his men drawing ever closer.
"I wonder why they parted?"
"Hmm... opposition from her family? Or perhaps she was frail and passed away before him?"
The two girls grew a little somber. The story had now reached the moment of a heartbreaking farewell.
"In my opinion—"
"My, my. What an amusing tale you two seem to be telling."
Wolyeong and Oun-yeong jolted in fright. So engrossed had they been in their story that only now did they notice Lee Go-nap-hap and his band — and they froze in dismay.
The masked Lee Go-nap-hap grinned broadly as he strolled toward them.
"Who in blazes are you?"
Oun-yeong roared with all the ferocity of any man. Her face burned red with fury and shame alike — to think they had let armed strangers creep this close without noticing.
Lee Go-nap-hap, who had been approaching with his snickering chuckle, stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to his masked henchmen, then suddenly threw back his head and laughed out loud.
Oun-yeong's eyes narrowed to blades as she glared at him.
"What manner of men laugh so brazenly in a woman's face?"
"To think you fail to recognize us — that's a surprise, I must say."
Irongha snickered in reply. Never mind that they wore masks precisely so they wouldn't be recognized.
Lee Go-nap-hap tittered along with him.
"Oh dear, my poor upbringing — I neglected my manners. My apologies, ladies!"
Wolyeong and Oun-yeong stared at the men in cold silence.
"The day's grown dreadfully hot, you see. We've been wandering about in search of some pleasant shade."
"There's shade scattered all over these hills — why trudge all the way here to spout nonsense?"
Oun-yeong shouted, glaring daggers at them. Instinct told her these men were the sort for whom even invoking the Sacred Forest would mean nothing. After all, they wore masks from the very start.
Lee Go-nap-hap drawled lazily.
"Well now, that may be so, but they do say there's no shade anywhere finer than this very spot."
Oun-yeong wasted no further words on him and turned to Wolyeong.
"My lady. These are worthless ruffians. We must be going."
"Hey, hey, hey — isn't that a bit harsh, don't you think?"
Lee Go-nap-hap shouted.
"You haven't even asked who I am!"
"No need to know, and no desire to."
"Wha—?"
Lee Go-nap-hap had never encountered anything like this. He turned to Irongha and muttered.
"Hey... those two might actually be worth a tumble."
"The prickly one whets my appetite more, if anything. Heh heh heh..."
Irongha laughed darkly. The moment the two men showed their true colors, Oun-yeong pushed Wolyeong behind her and whispered.
"My lady, mount your horse. Quickly."
At that very instant came the clatter of hooves — the sound of terrified horses driven off at a run. Oun-yeong spun around to find two men stepping out of concealment.
Lee Go-nap-hap smirked. He had ordered Husureogai, Muhashan, and Pannu to chase off the horses so the two women could not flee.
Wolyeong and Oun-yeong backed away.
Irongha sneered.
"Now where do you think you're off to? Run all you like — you're nothing but fleas."
"Fine, then. Come and find out how a flea bites."
At Oun-yeong's retort, Irongha gave a sinister laugh, as if she were beneath his notice.
"Oh? Is that so, little girl?"
Irongha bared his yellowed teeth and threw back his head to guffaw —
Or rather, he tried to. Right up until the cudgel Oun-yeong swung smashed square into his gaping mouth.
"Aaaghh..."
With a dull, meaty thud, Irongha clutched his face and staggered backward, collapsing in a heap.
Lee Go-nap-hap was shocked, but more than that he was dumbfounded — he stood with his mouth hanging open, staring down at the fallen Irongha. Then he slowly turned toward Oun-yeong.
How dare she—?
"You little bit— argh!"
Before he could finish, the flying cudgel caught him square in the belly and folded him in two.
Oun-yeong spat on her ash-wood cudgel, then looked down at the two sprawled men and bellowed.
"Judging by the look of you, this can't be the first time you've pulled a stunt like this — so no more words are needed. Consider yourselves met by your match today."
"You insolent little—"
No more words were needed, indeed. Oun-yeong rolled up her sleeves and delivered a merciless cudgel-whipping to both men — a whipping so thorough it might better be called threshing.
Having taken two women for easy prey, Lee Go-nap-hap and Irongha were beaten black and blue, plain and simple.
"I don't know where you crawled in from, but you picked the wrong women today. Take it as a lesson for the rest of your miserable lives."
By now Lee Go-nap-hap and Irongha could do no more than groan feebly. Oun-yeong spat on the ground.
Only then did the three men — Husureogai, Muhashan, and Pannu — come running. Their eyes went wide at the scene sprawled before them.
"Dudu!"
"Are you all right, sir?"
The three of them, having driven off the horses, had deliberately lingered to give their master and Irongha time to enjoy themselves — killing two birds with one stone, or so they'd thought. Instead, they found the pair not enjoying anything of the sort but laid out flat, threshed within an inch of their lives.
'Dudu?'
Wolyeong's brow furrowed. Oun-yeong shouldered her cudgel and glared at Lee Go-nap-hap. Irongha groaned and managed at last to crawl over to him.
Lee Go-nap-hap snapped irritably at the henchmen who came rushing to help him up.
"You blithering idiots!"
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Blood came away on the cloth — his lip had split — and he winced.
Among the frontier tribes, a warrior skilled in the fight was honored, and scars earned in battle were prized as badges of glory. But to be beaten senseless by a woman while trying to toy with one...
There was no humiliation like it on earth.
"...Did you just call him Dudu?"
Wolyeong had grasped the situation. And yet she could hardly believe it. How could Lee Go-nap-hap possibly dare to—? Had he taken leave of his senses? However reckless he might be, this went far, far beyond the pale.
Catching Wolyeong's gaze, Lee Go-nap-hap's eyes clouded over — then he flashed her an oily grin. He, too, had realized that she had guessed his identity.
Sharp one, isn't she... This is exactly why I can't stand quick-witted women.
Lee Go-nap-hap tore off his mask and flung it away.
Husureogai cried out in shock.
"Dudu!"
"Silence, you fools. You've ruined my mood entirely."
Lee Go-nap-hap said coldly. There was no longer any point in wearing a mask.
And now Wolyeong and Oun-yeong, too, sensed it in their bones: the situation had turned deadly serious. If Lee Go-nap-hap had gone so far as to reveal his face, did that not mean there was nothing left to hide?