"I've come to look at jade pendants."
Su-a stated their business to the merchant in Hui-seo's stead. They followed the man as he bade them come this way.
"Young master."
Su-a, trailing behind him, whispered softly.
"Are you still thinking about that thing from the stall?"
Seeing how quiet Hui-seo had been all the way from the stalls to the jade shop, she felt a prick of worry and tried to sound out what was on his mind.
"Shall I send someone back for it, even if it takes ten minutes?"
She went so far as to add her conjecture — that, having rushed out, he must not have brought his coin purse properly and had turned back for it. "It's no small sum of money, but the second young master wants it so badly — surely he won't leave without that one thing being bought for him," she said.
"No. There's no need. I was only looking because it was a curiosity."
She was so earnest about it that she would have bought it for him in the end, but he had no wish to go that far, so he quickly let the matter drop.
"Don't tell my brother."
Lest a careless word breed needless trouble, he admonished her again and again.
Su-a certainly seemed to have plenty to say, but just then the merchant brought out the jade pendants.
The blue-and-white pendants were each delicately worked. Beside them, the one he had given Hui-won as a child was embarrassingly crude.
This time he would choose something truly fine to look at and press it into his hands.
Hui-seo looked them over carefully. Whenever his gaze lingered, the merchant added one explanation or another.
The man was such a smooth talker that Hui-seo found himself listening despite himself. Su-a was already smitten — this one is the prettiest, she said, venturing her opinion here and there.
What he chose after long deliberation was a white pendant, clear almost to transparency, carved with the character 福 — fortune. The blue-and-white knotted tassel hanging beneath it, too, seemed as if it would suit Hui-won very well.
"I'll take this one."
The price ran higher than he had expected, but fortunately it fell within the sum he had had in mind.
Pleased beyond measure to have bought something so exactly to his liking, Hui-seo packed it away carefully so the jade would not be scratched.
"Let's head back now."
"Already? Won't you look around a little more?"
Hui-seo recalled his grandfather's instruction to return before it grew too late. Listening to Gyeon Gisu's tales had taken longer than he had thought. The sky, slowly staining with dusk, would before long be filled with pitch-black dark.
"It would be such fun to see the night market for the first time…"
Su-a spoke up, more restless herself than anyone.
"My brother will be leaving office soon. Let's head back now and greet him."
"Ah, of course."
When Hui-seo named Hui-won's return from office as their reason, Su-a could urge him to stay no longer.
It had been only a pretext, but no sooner were the words out than he found he truly missed his brother — and longed, too, to see his delight at this jade pendant.
He would be pleased, surely. He might even ruffle his hair, marveling at how he had grown. He let his imagination soar, his heart fluttering with the nervous eagerness to give it to him at once.
"We didn't get to see everything today, so you'll have to be my guide again next time?"
Smoothing down his own impatience, he cheered up the inwardly sulky Su-a besides.
"…Yes. Of course."
Su-a rallied — or made a show of it — and nodded vigorously. Worried she might hurt her neck nodding like that, Hui-seo quickly took the child and left the jade shop.
The market street was thronged with people.
"Su-a. This way…"
It was the moment he turned, calling for Su-a, afraid he might lose her in all this. Through the gap, someone brushed swiftly past.
"Ow…!"
He caught Su-a's hand as she staggered as if about to fall.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Are you all right, young master? You're not hurt anywhere?"
"Well…"
Something felt wrong. Letting his words trail off, Hui-seo hurriedly felt at his breast.
The coin purse he had tucked inside his sleeve was gone. That is to say — the jade pendant inside the coin purse was gone.
"…"
He whipped his head around. The small-framed child who had slipped past them a moment ago was darting glances down the street.
If it had been anything else it wouldn't have mattered. But not that pendant.
His body moved before his thought was even finished.
"Young master!"
Su-a called after him in a loud voice, but he did not stop.
Hui-seo ran after the child, determined not to lose him. The child ran as if to taunt him, keeping just barely out of reach.
As he wove through the alleys after that retreating back, the bustling clamor faded gradually into quiet.
By the time only his own lightening breaths rang clear in his ears, the child reached a dead end and stopped.
"…….."
A dead-end street — and with no way left to flee, the child grinned at Hui-seo, baring his teeth.
That grin looked, somehow, as if he had known from the start it would come to this.
A strange unease circled at his feet.
The moment Hui-seo hesitated, that unaccountable unease swelled into two enormous shadows stretching long.
"We told you to lure us a girl, and this is the useless boy you bring?"
The rough-looking men clicked their tongues in displeasure and spat.
Hui-seo realized, well and truly, that this was their staged trap and that he had walked into the snare himself — but it was already too late to turn back.
"…Ho? Would you look at this."
As their eyes met Hui-seo's wary gaze, displeasure gave way on the men's faces to interest and anticipation.
"With looks like these, no need to be sorry he isn't a girl, eh?"
"Play it right and this one might fetch an even higher price."
One of the men, wearing a satisfied look, strode toward him. In the meantime, the child who had lured Hui-seo here had vanished without a trace.
"Uh…!"
Giving him no time even to think of catching the child, the approaching man seized Hui-seo's chin roughly and wrenched it aside.
His chin ached as if it would come loose from the rough handling, but worse was the uncanny chill of those eyes raking over him insistently.
"…Let go of me."
Hui-seo, who had gone limp, barely came to his senses. Shaking him off with a jerk, he stepped back a few paces and broke free of that grip.
"What is the meaning of this insolence?"
He barely managed to force the words out, but his whole body shook and his heart pounded.
He had to flee this place at once. Every sense in his body screamed that he must.
But — more than that — how in the world…
The distance between him and the men was a mere three or four paces. Besides, this place was so remote there wasn't a soul to be found.
Having chased blindly after the child's back, he couldn't even remember how he had gotten here — and he would have to run a long way back to reach the crowded streets.
But in his present state, he was likely to be caught before he got there. And on the other side were two hulking men.
"…"
How could he get out of this place unscathed? His tightly clenched fists had gone white.
First of all, he had to get out of this deserted alley. By any means.
Hui-seo steadied his breathing and slowly stepped backward. At the same time, he scanned for any opening — anything he might use to fight back.
The men grinned, as if his awkwardness amused them. Meeting their mocking go-ahead-try-it sneers, Hui-seo held his breath tight and carefully stepped back another pace.
And another.
"…….."
Thump.
His back struck someone's body.
The instant they collided, his heart dropped to the floor with a thud.
Could there be one more of them? An accomplice? Was that why they had grinned as he backed away? Countless conjectures whirled through his head.
If his way out was blocked, he was in a truly wretched pass. A fear unknown, never felt before, paralyzed his thoughts. That he had not let a single plea cross his lips — that, at least, was his last pride.
What should he do, what could he do.
"Hui-seo. Listen well. If someone comes up behind you, raise your elbow and…"
Suddenly he remembered Hui-won's earnest instructions, given when Hui-seo was small and seated before him.
Strike a vital point with the elbow and bring down his center, he had surely said…
Holding his breath tight, Hui-seo forced strength into his ever-weakening limbs and bent his arm awkwardly.
"Shh."
Just as he was about to drive his elbow with all his might into the solar plexus, the other man leisurely pressed his arm down.
With hardly any effort, he turned Hui-seo's body and gathered him lightly into his arms.
His vision darkened. Bewildered by the blackout, he caught a glimpse of black robes blacker than pitch, and by his ear the chill sound of parting wind rang out.
"Urgh… khh…"
Then a short scream full of pain, and the thick stench of blood brushed past the tip of his nose.
Buried in his arms with his sight cut off, he couldn't tell what was happening. That ignorance magnified his imaginings and made him frantic.
"Spare me… have — have mercy, just once…"
The voice that had swaggered only moments ago was now etched with nothing but the terror of death.
Forgetting even to resist and struggle, Hui-seo lay still in his arms, holding his breath.
Swish, swish. The sound of dragging feet drew near beside him, then pattered away — tadadak — fading slowly into the distance.
"…"
His mouth was parched. Every sense felt honed to a keen edge.
"How long do you intend to stay like that?"
How much time had passed?
The man's low-drawn voice slid down along the curve of his ear.
"Now, how about getting off me."
Hui-seo started and stumbled backward, and realized the hold that had pinned his body was gone — quietly, as naturally as if it had never been.
Before he knew it, Hui-seo turned to look.
The thick reek of blood that tickled his nose was no illusion. The men were nowhere to be seen; instead, blood lay spattered thick around where they had stood.
The blood trail stretched on ahead of him, toward the corner of the wall.
Though he hadn't seen what had happened, it painted itself vividly. His stomach churned.
"Better not to look."
Still dazed, he kept staring at the traces; the man flicked the blood from his sword with a few taps and slid it back into its sheath as he spoke.
"What would you do if it gave you nightmares."
In that still-impassive tone, no kindness or concern was to be found.
"…….."
Then, suddenly, through the reek of blood drifted a scent that was not unfamiliar.
Hui-seo's gaze turned to the man who had saved him — and who frightened him.
The clouds covering the moon drifted off on the wind, and soft moonlight scattered the darkness. Beneath that wash of light, the man's face showed pale.
"…Oh."
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