Son Yeona

From the moment morning broke, I waited endlessly at the blacksmith's. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And sure enough—right around the time lunch had come and gone—she came peeking into view.

"See? What did I tell you? I said your spear would break."

"…"

Zhao Yun didn't react to the taunt in the slightest. She simply looked at me with those indifferent eyes and said,

"How did you know?"

"I told you, didn't I? It's nothing special, but my fortune-telling tends to land pretty well."

"Were you in the forest yesterday?"

"So you did notice. I was fretting the whole time about getting caught, but surprisingly, you didn't even seem to care."

"I do not do things that fall outside the agreement. Was that in your reading as well?"

"It was. I was taking a nap when a slaughterhouse of blood and bone unfolded in my dream. A woman in silver armor so bright it hurt the eyes, staining her hands with blood without so much as blinking."

Surprisingly, all of it was true. Because when the last New Moon rose, I had completely reworked my build.

It was the specialty of Guan Lu, the greatest diviner in the Three Kingdoms. Why choose this skill of all things?

Because it was the fastest way to find out where Zhao Yun was. With the first reading, I confirmed her whereabouts.

I burned the second and third readings on other things, then used the last one to predict that her spear would break.

"…"

But what do you know? Zhao Yun seemed utterly uninterested in my fortune-telling. She was still picking out a new spear with those expressionless eyes, completely absorbed.

"Aren't you even a little curious about my reading? I could tell you which spear would last the longest, you know."

"It does not matter. I have no intention of using any spear for long."

"Damn, that's cold… or rather, you're just indifferent to everything under the sun, aren't you? So what did you mean earlier by that 'agreement'?"

"I made a contract with Jang Gyeom. To protect him, and to kill anyone who does him harm."

"Ah, so that's why they call you a yojimbo—a bar across a door. A bodyguard. Doesn't that sit a little wrong with you, though? Killing those innocent people yesterday over something that small?"

"They moved against Jang Gyeom first."

"I know that. But if you use that head of yours for even a second, isn't it only natural they'd hold a grudge against him?"

"That is not my concern. I simply act as I promised."

"Why make a contract with Jang Gyeom in the first place? Shouldn't you at least check whether the other party is good or evil—or at minimum, whether their values line up with yours—before deciding?"

"I cannot tell good from evil. Jang Gyeom was the first to commission me, so I accepted the contract."

"…"

I'd met a few so-called "cold" women before. Chosun, who killed people like it was nothing. Guan Yu, who wanted to add me to that list.

But just because they were ruthless didn't mean they had no feelings. Chosun stood at the front for the Han more fiercely than anyone. Guan Yu hated me more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠passionately than anyone.

This woman was different. As if something in the frontal lobe that governed emotion had simply broken, she framed everything in terms of "contracts" and accepted it all with pure objectivity.

A woman forged of steel. And somehow, this was the woman who would one day stake her life for Yu Bi?

"I will take this one."

In the meantime, Zhao Yun had bought a new spear. Not a masterpiece, not even a good value pick—just a thoroughly ordinary spear.

Well, a true master never blames her tools, I suppose.

In the end I was left walking the streets alone, lost in thought. I'd figured that once I met her, persuasion would be quick. But after actually talking to her, I'd never met anyone so impossible to reach.

The New Moon rose tomorrow night. What then? Keep this build and keep trying to talk Zhao Yun around? Or…

"…?"

Just then, a familiar face entered my field of view. Son Yeona—the lovely daughter of Son Hong, whom I'd seen at his house yesterday.

Perhaps because she'd watched her father get dragged away right in front of her, she was walking with her eyes fixed on the ground, her face heavy with worry.

"Pardon me—are you not the young lady of the Son household?"

"You… know me?"

She looked startled the moment I approached and spoke. Fair enough—her home was out in the countryside a ways from here. She wouldn't have expected to run into one of her father's acquaintances in a place like this.

"Of course I do. Elder Son boasted about you every single time he came into the county. Aigoo… that aside, we all saw what happened yesterday. Jang Gyeom hauled him off to his house like a calf to the slaughterhouse. Over unpaid water fees, wasn't it?"

"E-everyone saw…? Haah… That's actually why I came all this way. Father's health is poor, so I thought I might ask Elder Jang Gyeom to at least let me bring him some food…"

"Mm… that doesn't sound like a great idea. I don't know how much you know about him, miss, but that bastard Jang Gyeom gave up on being human a long time ago. He won't hear a word until the money's actually in his hand."

More than that, the problem was the filthy look he'd given Son Yeona yesterday. I'd seen that look once before—right before Wang Guang tried to force himself on Sima Lang.

"Even so, if his own daughter doesn't ask, who will? I have to see Elder Jang Gyeom somehow, so I'll be going now."

"…"

But her filial piety ran deep enough that she was determined to try. As if failing to persuade Zhao Yun weren't enough, now this had to drop in my lap?

Unlike that woman, I had feelings to spare. I couldn't just walk past something like this.

Clomp, clomp…

I waited a long while in front of Jang Gyeom's house, and eventually Son Yeona came back out. Sure enough, things hadn't gone well—the shadow on her face was a world apart from when she'd gone in.

"Miss! How did it go?"

"Pardon? Were you waiting for me?"

"I owe Elder Son a debt, after all. Sending you in there alone left me so worried I simply couldn't leave it alone."

"I didn't know Father had such a young friend. Haah… He said bringing food was out of the question."

"As expected. But is that all?"

"Pardon? What else would there be?"

"No, I just wondered whether Jang Gyeom made any unreasonable demands, or…"

"…"

I'd floated the possibility on a hunch, and her mouth shut tight at once. She hung her head with a face that looked ready to cry, and my own heart ached just watching her.

So I took her to a nearby tavern. The moment I set a cup of wine on the table, she grabbed it and drained it in gulps before I could even pour my own.

"Cough… I-is wine always this strong?"

"First time drinking, I take it? What on earth happened in there to leave you this shaken?"

"Jang Gyeom… said he could free my father. If I would just do 'one thing' for him, he'd wipe out the entire debt as well…"

"Don't tell me the condition was putting his hand up your skirt."

"…"

Son Yeona's eyes went round again the instant I hit the answer dead-on. What can I say? I've met that kind of man before.

"Ignore him. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Go home, work the wheat fields hard, turn a profit somehow, and bring your father back that way."

"It's impossible. Father already knew he couldn't repay the debt. He was just clinging to the hope that maybe—just maybe—a miraculous bumper harvest would come and somehow they'd scrape by."

"Th-that could still happen, you know? It's a real shame I can't cast a fortune for you right now, but…"

"No. Even if it did, come summer we'd have to borrow water again. Sell more land. And after that, with nothing left, we'd flee our hometown like runaways. I don't want to turn my back on the land our family has lived on for generations."

"…"

Son Yeona had already lost every scrap of hope for the future. Well—I knew that kind of helplessness myself, didn't I?

"Jang Gyeom said he wants me as a concubine. If I agree, he'll free Father and let us use the water free of charge."

"You're not seriously thinking of going through with that, are you? A girl like you must have at least one sweetheart back home."

"He left. His whole family fled in the night because they couldn't pay Jang Gyeom's water fees. For all I know he's a Black Mountain bandit by now. So this is the only way. If sacrificing myself can save my family, I'll do anything."

"…"

She had already made up her mind. Perhaps the shadow on her face earlier hadn't been from failing to save her father—but from knowing she could no longer save herself.

"How long did Jang Gyeom give you to decide?"

"He said the sooner the better. Today… he told me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to come to his room…"

Son Yeona dropped her head. From the trembling of her shoulders, unbearable tears were breaking free—but she didn't want me to see them.

Empty comfort would mean nothing, so I left her be. But that didn't mean there was nothing I could do.

Looks like I was going to have to kill Jang Gyeom.