Shin Angyo Onshi: Headband
I hated Mong Ryong's long bangs... because they were always falling into his eyes and irritating them. I asked him almost every day to get his get his hair cut. His usual answer was... "Ha ha ha. If I had the time for that, I'd rather use it to look after animals."
"In this world of chaos... when even people find it difficult to survive... the animals are the ones that need our aid the most. Do you understand, Chun Hyang?" But someday you might shed tears because of the bangs... That was what I was concerned about.
One day, a nightmare struck Mong Ryong's veterinary office. It was done by the barbaric landlord on the pretext of unpaid taxes. As the crimson flames engulfed the building before us, all I could do was pull on his arm with all my strength to keep him from plunging into the fire.
He wailed endlessly, all the while cursing the twisted world for letting such wrongdoings pass. Before the countless bodies of dead animals... tears fell from his eyes.
"Don't cry. You can build one- a world of no sorrow."
"It might not be possible right away, but... let's build it together. A world of no tears... because I'll be with you forever.."
-Shin Angyo Onshi Gaiden Story 1, Yang Kyung-Il, In-Wan Youn
The headband was her wedding ring. If she hadn't seen it, hadn't started to remember, she would have killed him the first time she met him. It saved her again when she met him through Aji Tae, blinded by the fiend's false words. She didn't even recognize her true master. Munsu. This was the second time he died. She had failed to protect the one she loved, again. He still stood before her, an aura of greatness rolling from his shoulders, still smiling. He had become a martyr. It was all her fault. Why did she forget? How could she forget again?
First with Mong Ryong, brainwashed by his sole enemy, the corrupt lord of a desert town. Then with Munsu, fooled by Aji Tae, his nemesis. It was all her fault that Munsu was dead. If she hadn't been tricked so easily, if she had seen the wolf in sheep's clothing, maybe he would still be by her side, slowly making the world a better place.
No. He had told her of his future, and that it wasn't her fault. Or was he just saying that? He isn't the type to blame others, but he also isn't the type to lie. Did she really know him? Before he fought Aji Tae, he looked her in the eyes. An order.'Don't do it Sando! Stay back! He's Mine.' He didn't have to tell her, he already had before.
"I am... going to die soon. Not because of you, Sando. I'm actually very fortunate to have made it this far. My luck should have been used up a long time ago. So,listen. When I die, both of you escape... Isn't what I'd tell you even if my mouth was ripped open. Brace yourselves for death and fight evil until the very end. That's the spirit of an Angyo Onshi's faithful servant! This world never... bestows glory on an arrogant person. If you hold on to that belief tightly, whether the enemy is a god or more than a god, you can kick his ass with style! Get it?"
-Shin Angyo Onshi Volume 17, Classic 21, Hoe Gwang Bang Jo (Part 8,) page 122, Yang Kyung-Il, In-Wan Youn
She watched as he continued to stand. Aji Tae delivering devastating blows all the while. First his remaining arm, then his eye. He still stood, as blood streamed out of his body, he still walked up to Aji Tae smiling. Aji Tae never looked more human. The powerful demon was reduced to a shriveling, pathetic boy. He screamed in fear. Munsu had stopped moving, smiled fading, eye closed shut. Aji Tae presumed he was dead, and exclaimed his victory. Munsu's heart stopped beating.
This was her permission. She lunged after Aji Tae, swinging her sword, blinded with tears. Aji Tae turned to attack, arrogantly smirking. But he couldn't move. Low and behold, Munsu was stepping on his cloak. That's when she saw it, for just one moment, as she brought death onto Aji Tae, Munsu opened his eye. He smiled wickedly at the monster as she sliced cleanly through his head, cutting the rest of his body in the follow through.
Feathers fell around her as she dropped to her knees, shaking as tears rolled off her cheeks and onto the cold stone floor. He was dead. Munsu, her savior, her purpose... dead.
After that the passage of time became meaningless to her. Days blended together, passing by in a blur. The battle was claimed victorious. Bodies were collected, families cried. His funeral. It was quiet after that and slowly, the new found allies parted ways, each going back to protect their homes. The only remaining were Bang Ja and Sando.
It was snowing when she left. A silent goodbye was shared, tears were shed. A final farewell to their memories with Munsu. She left as Chun Hyang that day.
Chun Hyang didn't know where she was going, except for down the mountain. Now that Munsu was dead, she had lost her purpose. But his final order still stood, fight evil until the very end. She could no longer be a Sando. Miss Hwang's Mahai had broken during the battle, and Mito could not create a new one. His smithy and tools were infused with the ancient magics of Jushin, but now they were all destroyed by Aji Tae's army.
Maybe she would join with the prosthetic samurai and form a new Hwalbindang, but she knew that he probably wasn't going to do anything since he too had lost his purpose, and was the last remaining member. He would probably remain by his comrades' graves, tending to them every day. Maybe she would join the young woman from the West, Marlene Von Lucid. She and her father had stayed behind in order to rebuild the damaged country land. No, they had been enemies before Munsu's death, if Von Lucid knows that Chun Hyang was involved in any way, they would become enemies again. That bond is too fragile. Who else was still alive? The newlywed Pyeonggang and her husband were working hard on their own to create a country that follows their ideals. Bang Ja had stayed behind to help Mito establish a new place to live and maybe even work. That was it. What was she doing before Munsu came and saved her? Imprisoned, running, living alongside Mong Ryong, but what before that? Hunting, surviving, training?
For now Chun Hyang has decided it would be better to keep moving than to sit in indecision. South, the direction towards her new life.
She was nearing level ground now, it felt so different traveling alone. It took her only three days to walk down the mountain, stopping for food and water. She didn't sleep anymore. To be a good Sando, you have to be aware of your surroundings every moment, constant vigilance. You cannot sleep when your master sleeps, that is the perfect time for the enemy to strike. You cannot sleep when your master is awake, he will already be heading towards his destination, however dangerous it may be. Chun Hyang doesn't even remember the sensation of sleeping, of dreaming. Why try now? It is more dangerous when she is by herself.
But still, as the sunset faded on the third day, her eyelids grew heavy, her legs weak. Chun Hyang takes refuge against a tree trunk, hidden from the flat ground a few feet ahead. Maybe she could go on without sleep only because she was a Sando, some sort of magic cast when she had asked Munsu at Mong Ryong's grave. Jushin, the country had fallen years ago but it's dust still remained.
It was the second day that Sando was trailing behind the man who had worn Mong Ryong's face. She didn't know which direction they were going but they weren't in the desert anymore. He still wore Mong Ryong's headband, as if it made sure that she wouldn't betray him, proof of what he had done for both her and Mong Ryong.
He had stopped walking. "I'm not him, and I never will be." He turned to her, "So if you are staying with me because of this," he took off the headband, "forget it. You don't have any debts to pay so just take this and leave." He held out the headband and looked at her expectantly.
She didn't reply. She looked down at the sunlight gleaming off the silver, then looked away.
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Fine." He slowly put the headband on and walked away.
Chun Hyang awoke to rain. She was about to get up when she heard shouts and the clash of metal. It was almost pitch black, except for the glow that came from the foot of the mountain. She slowly crept around to get a better view. There was a merchant's cart with a lantern on it. And... bodies were strewn everywhere. There lay several cadavers face down in common garb. A caravan. She heard the reverberating sound of swords singing somewhere out of view. She ran up behind a tipped over cart and peeked cautiously over the edge. Three bandits had cornered two of the remaining merchants against a large boulder. One stood in front of the other, shaking hands clutching a pitiful sword. Chun Hyang was surprised they lived that long. She felt compelled to intervene.
She hurdled herself over the fallen cart and deftly spun, swinging her sword and bringing down two of the bandits with her. The remaining bandit was speechless. He turned to run but Chun Hyang sped after him. She ripped a spear out of one of the merchants' bodies and hurled it at the cowardly fiend. The spear through his back, the bandit gurgled before going limp.
She turned to the merchants, their legs shaking, and smiled. They let out a sigh of relief and bowed down before her. The older of the two men locked eyes with her. "You have saved us, thank you."
She simply shook her head and turned around, heading South. "Ah wait!" She turned around. The younger man came up to her and presented her with a wrapped package. "A gift to our savior, we can never repay you enough." She placed the package in her cloak and waved goodbye before she continued onward.
As she walked out of sight, she opened the package. A glint of silver fell to the ground. She knelt and picked it up, shocked. The headband. They must have found it on the battleground. She wanted to cry, but couldn't. She slipped it back into the wrapping and placed it in the small inside pocket of her traveling cloak. She closed her eyes and tilted her head towards the sky, hoping that the rain would wash the blood off of her face.
"Um, excuse me. Did you kill those bandits by yourself?" It was still raining when a man ran up to her. He was slightly stout and out of breath. He was tall but had a young face.
Chun Hyang kept walking.
He hurried after her, "Oh wait. I need to ask you... Have you perhaps been someone's bodyguard before?" Chun Hyang stopped walking, letting the man catch up to her. "Actually I need your help. I'm a traveling doctor and..." he stopped hesitantly, "I need someone to protect not only me but my medicine and tools."
She turned to him expectantly, signaling for him to continue.
He held his umbrella over her head. "Well, they've been stolen by thieves before and I don't think I can afford to get any more. You see, I'm usually called to help lords and noblemen, but they always pay me too much. So I use that money to help take care of the villagers of that lord's district. But lately the word has been spreading of my extra supplies and I have been targeted by many who try to steal my equipment." He looked down, ashamed. "That group of bandits were probably targeting me and thought I was traveling in that caravan."
Chun Hyang locked eyes with him. Perhaps there was a different path she could take to help others. Perhaps it would be the right one, this time. Taking the package out of her pocket, she slowly pulled the headband out. She paused. Shaking away any doubt, she slid the headband through her own hair this time. "Sando."