An Untimely Spectator Under the Moon
In every respect, his subordinate was capable — save for one very great flaw.
The moment the man got going, he simply could not rest until every last word had been poured out of him.
And true to form, that was exactly what happened.
"Yes, sir, without a doubt. Seeing that young gentleman brings to mind the armored guards examination I sat before I became a military officer. At the time I was — well, I suppose I'm still young now, but back then I was younger still, full of fire. I always dreamed of being chosen as one of the Armored Guards of the Two Borders. Come to think of it, sir, you came up through the Armored Guards yourself, didn't you? When I was a boy, I watched the armored guards pass through my village with the local lads — that armor, that armament... truly magnificent. I can still remember, vivid as yesterday, the sheer presence of the guard who marched at the very head of that column. And it was then I understood, sir. I understood that this was the path I was meant to walk!"
Song Yu-bin, catching on only half a beat too late, began drifting subtly away from his chattering junior officer as they walked.
He did not look back, but he had no doubt the foot soldiers trailing behind were already slackening their pace.
"So I applied for the Armored Guards, and I still remember the old guard who oversaw that examination. I failed the test in the end, mind you, but by great fortune I was able to speak to him of my ambitions. I simply couldn't hold back — I had to tell him how I longed to devote this body of mine to the nation. It seems he was deeply moved."
I'll just bet he was, Song Yu-bin thought, and suddenly he had a fair idea of why Officer Bak had washed out of the Armored Guards selection in the first place.
Yet for some reason, as he listened to the man drone on, he felt himself closing in on something that had been nagging at him all along. There was definitely something there — something connected, perhaps, to what Officer Bak was saying...
"Though I failed that time, it only steeled my resolve all the more. Someday I shall go up to Hanyang and sit the military examination. Ah — I hear you did the same, sir. I too shall pass the military examination and be received by His Majesty, and..."
"That's it — that was it!"
Song Yu-bin cried out.
At the sudden shout, Officer Bak went wide-eyed and shut his mouth at last.
"That's exactly it. Officer Bak, you truly are a capable man!"
"Er... yes. I suppose I am."
Officer Bak answered in a daze.
Before he could squeeze in another word, Song Yu-bin pressed on.
"Something had been weighing on my mind, and you've just resolved it for me. Now — you will lead the soldiers back to Ganggye in my stead and report to the Vice Commander."
"And where will you be going, sir?"
"I must return to the Guja."
Song Yu-bin turned his horse's head about.
"If you leave now, sir, the sun will have set. You'd need to spend the night at the Guja and—"
"That's of no consequence. See to it."
"Yes, sir... of course."
Officer Bak replied, utterly bewildered.
Song Yu-bin gave him no further opening, and drove his heels into his horse at once.
"Hyah!"
Officer Bak and the soldiers watched from a distance as Song Yu-bin streaked away like an arrow loosed toward Manpoguja.
After a long silence, Officer Bak spoke.
"What's gotten into him?"
"How should I know?"
One of the soldiers answered, hurrying to close the matter while silently praying that Officer Bak would not start talking again.
"But sir, we'd best hurry to Ganggye ourselves. Otherwise the Vice Commander will have our hides."
The sun had sunk completely beyond the western hills.
Ever-cautious, Jang Hui-sun waited long after darkness had fallen.
They looped far around the Guja and slipped into a forest of tall reeds.
Jang Hui-sun led the way, Cha Gyeong-yeon followed, then Hong-wi, and Ho-in brought up the rear.
Nothing could be heard but the dry rustle of withered stalks underfoot.
Even Cha Gyeong-yeon, walking just ahead, was half-swallowed by the sea of reeds.
Let his attention stray for even a moment, and he would lose his way forever in this vast reed forest.
He knew it full well, and yet Hong-wi walked in a half-daze, his mind seized by the oppressive vastness of it all.
How far had they gone? Suddenly, Cha Gyeong-yeon ahead of them stopped walking.
Then came the cry of a scops owl, twice.
Hong-wi was still wondering what it meant when he realized it was a signal of some kind from Jang Hui-sun.
Tension drew taut through the deathlike stillness.
A moment later, an answering owl called back, twice.
And with it, the taut strain dissolved.
Dry footsteps approached, and Jang Hui-sun's grumbling voice drifted through the reeds.
"You worthless lout, what took you so bloody long to crawl out?"
"Beggin' pardon, Elder."
There was precious little apology in the man's easy reply.
"You know fine well how it's been of late, Elder — that Song bastard's been riding my back something fierce. Took me a while just to make sure it was really you."
"If only you'd shut that trap of yours.... And you've been drinking again, haven't you."
"Aw, go easy on me, will ye? A drop of the spirits on a night like this is medicine, I tell ye. Ye know how it is — I need the potion goin' down my throat 'fore the strength comes."
"Aigoo. Well, is everything ready, at least?"
"Ye even need to ask? All set. These be your guests, then? Come along now, welcome."
Hong-wi and his party stepped forward.
Somehow they had reached the riverbank without noticing.
Concealed within the dense reed thicket lay a ferryboat.
A small, wiry man greeted them, an oar gripped in one hand.
When the boatman flashed a grin, two front teeth were missing from the smile.
"Guests, is it? Don't ye worry none. Name's Sol-gae."
The man's breath reeked thickly of liquor.
Jang Hui-sun grumbled.
"This one drinks a mite too much, but for raw rowing power there's none better."
"Aw, come on, Elder. It's medicine, I said."
"Medicine or moonshine, just push the boat off."
"Aye, aye."
Jang Hui-sun and Sol-gae set about preparing the ferry. Just then, Sol-gae smacked his forehead.
"Blast... eh, hold on a moment, Elder. I've gone and left something back at my shack."
"Left what? You snake, you've got a bottle stashed away, haven't you."
Jang Hui-sun snapped irritably.
Sol-gae scratched the back of his head.
"I'll run and fetch it, quick as ye like."
And he scurried off into the dark.
Jang Hui-sun grumbled under his breath.
"That fool would be a fine man yet, if only he'd drink a little less."
Ho-in narrowed his eyes.
Weren't you the one hugging a piglet and snoring dead drunk just last night, friend?
They waited in silence.
Sol-gae did not return, though they waited a long while.
Only the wind sighing gently through the reed field broke the quiet.
Far off, a fox yelped.
At last Jang Hui-sun could bear it no longer and rose in irritation.
"I thought the drunkard had only gone for his bottle — now it seems he's bidding us a proper farewell. I'll have to wring that boy's neck this time. Wait here — I'll be right back."
He had just set his foot toward the reed thicket when a voice spoke.
"If it's Sol-gae you're waiting for, he won't be coming."
"Kkeok-chi."
Jang Hui-sun answered in a voice gone cold and low.
Laughter burst from the darkness.
"That's right. Kkeok-chi at your service."
The one-eyed Kkeok-chi came swaggering out of the reeds.
Behind him filed out a line of men clutching clubs — and among them, some brandishing swords and spears.
"What's the meaning of this?"
"Meaning? Isn't it plain to see?"
A crooked smile curled at the corner of Kkeok-chi's mouth.
"You know full well this is a breach of the code."
"Oh, I know it."
"Master Hwang—"
"Ah, Master Hwang, Master Hwang."
Kkeok-chi threw up his hands in exasperation. His lone eye blazed with fury.
"You know damn well it was because of you that my brother died. And after all that, the Chief Boatman's post went to you — a post that should have been mine."
"And so this is my doing, is it?"
Jang Hui-sun went on quietly.
"Seek your vengeance if you like. But we have Master Hwang's guests here with us."
"Guests?"
Kkeok-chi laughed raucously.
"Change your boatman now, and I might yet find it in me to spare you."
"My apologies, but I'm not the sort to swap out a man I've already chosen."
Hong-wi replied calmly.
Kkeok-chi threw back his head and roared with laughter.
"Well, this won't do at all, will it."
"Elder, them bastards are definitely sittin' on hidden loot. Let's carve 'em up and take it all."
At that, Jang Hui-sun's temper boiled over.
"Whatever line of work we're in, we don't touch banditry. Ever."
"Just a little side trade, Elder... 'sides, it gets dull trawlin' the same old river runs. I'll send ye some travelin' companions, how's that?"
Kkeok-chi's gang snickered among themselves.
Jang Hui-sun said nothing.
"If it were only me you were after, I might've cut you some slack — one or two moves, maybe, for the sake of my brother Galchi's ghost. But you've gone too far. And more to the point — where is Sol-gae?"
"Sol-gae? He's gone to heaven."
"Is that so. Then there's nothing left to hesitate over."
Jang Hui-sun swept his gaze across Kkeok-chi's gang.
A dozen or so, by rough count.
"Incidentally — this is all of them? Really?"
"What?"
When Jang Hui-sun yawned mid-sentence, Kkeok-chi's face flickered with confusion.
"Only ten of you, to work over the likes of me?"
Now Kkeok-chi looked downright baffled.
"Hey, little brother."
"Yes, Elder?"
Cha Gyeong-yeon answered. He was running his cold eyes over Kkeok-chi's men.
"Are we making the guests do the work now?"
"My apologies. Take the three on the right, would you?"
"You'll owe me for this."
"Owing you is the least of it."
As the two bantered, Kkeok-chi's expression slid from bafflement into irritation, and from irritation into raw fury.
"Are you mocking me?"
"Would I dare? But you know—"
Even as he answered, Jang Hui-sun swung his oar in a wide arc.
Kkeok-chi ducked away in a hurry, but the man beside him was not so lucky — the oar cracked across his shoulder and sent him sprawling. The two behind him stumbled backward over one another trying to dodge it and went down in a heap.
"If you mean to hit someone, don't flap your jaw first — just do it!"
Cha Gyeong-yeon was no slower, launching himself forward. Two men went down screaming and rolled across the frozen ground.
"That Song bastard could crawl out of the woodwork again any day as it is — I've no time to be tripped at the ankle. And I absolutely hate getting caught!"
"You son of a—!"
Kkeok-chi groaned and raised his sword. Before he could complete the swing, Jang Hui-sun's oar plunged into his belly.
His one eye bulged from its socket.
With their leader collapsing in a heap, the remaining men wore looks of no small panic.
Cha Gyeong-yeon spoke up.
"Sparing the rest of them, Elder?"
"Not likely."
Jang Hui-sun spat onto the ground.
Ho-in stared at him, eyes wide.
"What about the code, Elder?"
"Men who'd steal a comrade's life and turn to banditry are put to death. That's the code."
"Strictly speaking, they ought to be handed over to Master Hwang."
"Circumstances being urgent, we'll skip that step."
Jang Hui-sun charged ahead.
Kkeok-chi's gang, their will to fight gone, broke and fled.
Cha Gyeong-yeon pounded after them.
One scream after another rang out through the reed forest.
Before long, Jang Hui-sun and Cha Gyeong-yeon pushed back through the reeds, spattered head to toe in blood.
By then, the sprawled Kkeok-chi was slowly beginning to crawl away.
Jang Hui-sun saw him and called out.
"And where might you be off to, Kkeok-chi?"
"Ugh...."
Kkeok-chi was too terrified to form a proper word.
Jang Hui-sun picked up the man's fallen sword.
"What's this? Weren't you going to avenge your dear brother?"
Kkeok-chi broke down utterly, sobbing where he lay.
Jang Hui-sun spat.
"You tried to ambush a comrade from behind — treacherous as it gets. At best you'd be banished; more likely, put to death. I'm still sorry about your brother, but I'll beg his forgiveness myself when I get down to the underworld. As for you — go apologize to Sol-gae."
"Please — just spare my—"
Kkeok-chi never finished the sentence.
His own sword drove through his throat, and he died with his one eye rolled back white.
"Wasted all that time on a pile of rabble that couldn't manage a post-dinner stroll."
Jang Hui-sun grumbled.
Ho-in swallowed hard.
He doubted he would ever again make the mistake of dismissing the man as a drunken layabout.
Jang Hui-sun spoke up.
"We'd best hurry. At this rate—"
"And where, might I ask, are you hurrying off to?"
At the sudden, unfamiliar voice, Jang Hui-sun nearly leapt out of his skin.
For he knew the owner of that voice all too well.
Every gaze snapped toward the sound and froze there.
Parting the reeds, Hong-wi's party beheld the long-bearded military officer they had seen by day — Song Yu-bin — walking toward them.
"The moon was so lovely tonight that I felt a stir of fancy and came out for a stroll... and lo, a brawl broke out, so I enjoyed a rather untimely bit of theater."
All the strength drained from Jang Hui-sun, and he muttered under his breath.
The same man who had cut down Kkeok-chi's gang without a moment's hesitation was now trembling with honest fear.
"S-Song... Song Yu-bin...."
"Well now, you remember all three syllables of my name. I'm flattered."
At that very moment, the waning moon slipped free of the clouds.
Pale moonlight brushed across the profile of the man called Song Yu-bin.
Hong-wi marveled inwardly.
What a waste, for such a man to rot away in a place like this.
The long beard that spilled down in the moonlight glowed with a soft luster — truly a figure worth admiring.
"What business brings you out at this hour of night?"
"W-well, you see...."
Jang Hui-sun was plainly casting about for some way to talk his way out.
"These gentlemen wished to enjoy a bit of night boating, so I was escorting them. Then, most unfortunately, we ran into bandits — and to meet you here of all people, sir, is a true stroke of fortune!"
Even by his own estimation, the excuse was pure nonsense, not worth a grain of rice.
Song Yu-bin did not appear to be listening closely either. He stroked his long beard and forced a hearty laugh.
"Hardly thanks to me, from the look of it — you two seem to have tidied the whole matter up yourselves.... Although — night boating, hm? At this hour?"
"Is there any sight more beautiful than the river by night, sir?"
"Night boating... yes, boating is a fine thing. But this is country where brigands may spring out at any moment. And when the nation's own people wander about in such peril, how could a man who feeds at the nation's trough simply stand by and watch?"
Song Yu-bin frowned.
"I feel as though I've seen your face somewhere before."
"I'm told it's a very common sort of face, sir."
A chill crawled up Jang Hui-sun's spine.
"As it happens, I was just wondering what to do with these ruffians. Reporting them to the authorities seemed rather...."
"Indeed, a remote spot — perfect, wouldn't you say, for slipping across the river in secret to smuggle goods? And equally perfect for partners falling out with one another and coming to blows! Am I wrong?"
Jang Hui-sun no longer felt a mere chill down his spine — it was as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over him.
"Aigoo, sir, what a joke you tell—"
"Wait. Now I remember. I have seen you."
Song Yu-bin pointed a finger straight at Jang Hui-sun.
"You're that Jang Hui-sun, aren't you? I've been trying to catch you for some time now, and never quite managed it. The last time I saw you, you were a rather decent swimmer, as I recall?"
Jang Hui-sun knew then that it was all over.
What now? He shot a sideways glance at Cha Gyeong-yeon.
Song Yu-bin appeared to be alone — but of course, that could not truly be so.
Out here, among reeds tall as a man, even a handful of hidden soldiers would be swallowed without a trace.
He held his breath. But all that reached his ears was the wind and the cry of some night bird.
There was no doubt that Song Yu-bin's soldiers were lurking somewhere in the dark.
As Jang Hui-sun's eyes darted about, Song Yu-bin chuckled.
"What — planning to dive into the water again?"
Song Yu-bin turned now to look at Hong-wi and his companions.
His eyes gleamed, sharp as drawn steel.