Falling Flower Pavilion

On the third floor of the Falling Flower Pavilion, a famous brothel in Awa, Jae-ha leaned back comfortably on the red divan and turned his face to the window to enjoy the last rays of sunshine before dusk fell. The weather was pleasant for late fall, the woman serving him was amiable and Kum-ji had been lying low lately. What else could a pirate ask for?

The floorboards creaked. Jae-ha, eyes still closed, said, "Place the wine on the table, dear, I'll drink it in a moment."

However, after listening closely, Jae-ha noticed that the steps were a little heavier than before. He lazily opened an eye.

"Is there something wrong?" he began, but stopped as soon as he saw the person who had entered the room. Instead of the charming blonde girl he had been expecting, a tall figure stood before him, dressed in a set of old, ill-fitted men's robes, a large patch of red blossoming on the left sleeve.

"I must hide," she stated. Although her voice was relatively low, Jae-ha instantly knew it to be a woman's. After a moment's thought, she added, "For which I need your assistance. Help me."

"Your way of asking for help is quite unique, dear," Jae-ha replied, eyeing her suspiciously as he stood up and walked to her side. "More like an order than a request."

"I'm begging you," she told him, pressing her hands together. Contrary to her words, she lifted her head proudly. "Please."

Jae-ha froze. Although this woman looked average, her eyes were more stunning than any he had seen before, narrow and upwards slanting like those of a fox. That pair of black pupils was frighteningly clear, as if capable of uncovering one's deepest secrets with a single glance. Jae-ha found himself unable to hold her gaze for long and looked away.

"Who's after you?" he inquired after a moment's silence.

"My story is long and time is running short," she replied, glancing out the window. "Basically, the patrol caught sight of me and found me suspicious, so..."

Jae-ha's eyes darted between the door and the woman. He quickly came to a decision.

"You have to trust me on this," he said. He tossed a flowery robe on the stranger's shoulders and pulled her into his arms. Although her eyes widened in surprise—dark brown eyes, Jae-ha realised, not black—, she assisted him readily.

...

"The little bastard ran into a brothel? Go after him now!" the officer roared. A subordinate of his shivered and muttered, "Why bother? He's just a little suspicious..."

"A little suspicious? I'll bet anything he's a spy!" the officer shouted. "Go, search every room! What are you waiting for? Move it, lazy bunch!"

The soldiers did as told. They knocked down every door, but they either found people making love or nothing at all. One of the soldiers, while searching, found a half-dressed man atop a long-haired brunette. Although he couldn't see her face, the woman's delicate neck and sharp collarbones were visible. Based on her dark skin, she must have been a foreign beauty. Although the soldier was curious, he quickly turned his gaze to the man, finding him somewhat familiar. He snapped back to reality when the man barked, "Seen enough yet?"

"Pardon my intrusion," the soldier replied and hurried away, feeling awkward. Mother was right! Why, oh why did I not become a baker instead like she said?

As soon as he left, the two figures on the bed breathed a sigh of relief. Jae-ha stood up and began to dress himself. The stranger tossed away the flowery robe that she had borrowed from a prostitute's wardrobe and straightened her clothes, observing Jae-ha coolly.

"You saved my life," she said. "This favor I will pay back thousandfold. Diamonds, gold, pearls—name it and it's yours."

"Don't want it," Jae-ha replied, searching through the room. He finally found a small drawer with medical supplies. "Being of assistance to such a beautiful woman is a reward in itself."

"Oh," the stranger said. She seemed puzzled. "But surely you see that I absolutely cannot leave such a debt unpaid."

Jae-ha smiled slightly and sat down next to her. Pulling up the woman's left sleeve, he revealed a frail, skeletal hand he had never seen the likes of before, elegant although criss-crossed by thin white scars, some of which ran all the way up her shoulder. A bloody mark stretched from the back of her hand to her elbow, the very sight of which made Jae-ha's heart ache.

"You really shouldn't worry about paying me back," he said as he began to wrap the injury up. "My name is Jae-ha. If you need someone to hide you again, look for me."

The stranger furrowed her brows, not disturbed by her wound in the least. She seemed deep in thought as she echoed, "Jae-ha, Jae-ha... that name seems familiar—I have heard it somewhere before, I'm sure of it."

"That's your best pickup line?" Jae-ha teased. He couldn't deny that his name sounded especially sweet when spoken in the low voice of this stranger.

"No, it's not a compliment," the woman replied thoughtfully. "Jae-ha, huh? Somehow, I associate that name with something unpleasant, a nuisance..."

"Is that any way to treat your saviour?" Jae-ha asked in mock pain. "Here I thought you were grateful, but it looks like you easily eat your words..."

"That's not true," the poor woman replied seriously, not realising that she was being teased. "I am Sen, and by the name my parents bestowed me, I swear to repay you my life's worth. Anything you ask of me will be yours."

"Anything, you say?"

"As long as it's not physically impossible and not worth more than I, yes."

"Well, I really don't need money... but you can always repay me with your body," he joked. Sen looked him up and down suspiciously.

"Fine," she consented after a moment. "You seem pleasant enough."

Jae-ha nearly choked on his saliva.

"You're being too serious," he coughed. The stranger shrugged.

"Anyone would be welcome after Lord Yang," she admitted. Jae-ha, once more, nearly choked at this woman's off-handed comment.

"What?!" he cried the moment he could speak again. For once, Sen's expression changed. She clamped her hand over Jae-ha's mouth.

"Be a little more quiet, will you?" she hissed. That frail-looking hand carried a lot more force than it appeared to at first glance, those seemingly delicate fingers no easier to move than iron bars. Jae-ha pried them from his lips with difficulty and asked in a voice dangerously low, "Who are you to Kum-ji?"

"His lover," Sen said, a hint of disgust in her tone. "Or so I think I was, but I had many other uses 'round the house. What does it have to do with you?"

"That Kum-ji?" Jae-ha asked, hoping he had heard wrong.

"If by that Kum-ji you mean the glorious Lord Yang, the slave-owner, the great, then yes. Although I would love to talk some more, but I fear—hey! Let me go!"

"You're the lover of Yang Kum-ji?" Jae-ha repeated, holding Sen's wrist in a tight grip. She glowered at him hatefully.

"What of it? Release me," she commanded. "I know it may be hard to do, but I promise to meet you again. But as of now, I must run."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Something clicked in Sen's brain. She smiled bitterly.

"You've been mistaken," she told him. "He never loved me, and never will. He was this close to disposing me. You will not be able to blackmail him with my life."

"I never wanted to," Jae-ha replied.

"Oh, I know! Each person owns a star except one," Sen said hopefully. Noticing Jae-ha's puzzled gaze, the light in her eyes dimmed. She sighed and asked softly, "Not that, either? Then what do you want of me?"

"I'm pretty sure the captain would like to meet you," he said. At his words, Sen's body fell limply to the floor, her eyes wide and lips quivering as though she had seen a ghost.

"You're Geun-tae's subordinate," she breathed. "Please, whatever you do, I beg you not to bring me to him! I know I was wrong to join Lord Yang, but believe me, I had no other choice! I'll do anything if you don't turn me in, just please..."

Jae-ha's heart softened at the sight of Sen's watery eyes. He let go of her wrist and knelt down next to her. Before he could begin to explain, Sen pushed his head to the floor with one hand and pressed a dagger against his throat with the other. She grinned.

"I apologize for my actions, but I can't let you imprison me," she said. "I couldn't live a day locked up."

"Do I look like one of Geun-tae's dogs?" Jae-ha spat, hoping to gain time.

"Geun-tae's dogs look as human to me as innocent passersby do," Sen replied. "How am I to tell the difference?"

"Because I'm telling you, I'm not!"

"Precisely what our neighbour said," she began with a knowing smile, "when asked whether it was he who stole our wheelbarrow as he used it to carry his waste into our backyard in broad daylight."

"I'm Gi-gan's pirate! I promise it's true!"

"If I had a copper lin every time a man promised me something," Sen lamented, "Lord Yang would be the one running from me—or rather, my privately funded militia—"

Realizing something, she stopped short and stared at Jae-ha, bewildered.

"You're Gi-gan's pirate, you say?"

Jae-ha nodded. Realization hit Sen like a ton of bricks.

"So that's why his name was so familiar," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else. "Of course, Jae-ha, the pirate. As if Lord Yang hasn't cursed him a thousand times over!"

"Well, I try," Jae-ha said modestly. "Now if you'd only take that dagger from my throat..."

"Yes, of course," Sen said, helping him up. A trace of excitement flitted past her calm eyes. "Thank you, benevolent God, for not killing me when I turned on you, I just—"

"No, I understand," Jae-ha said. After speaking, he furrowed his brows. Do I really?

"Oh, how Lord Yang hates you!" Sen said, eyes full of praise. Jae-ha wasn't sure how to reply to that. Was that a compliment? Sen ignored his puzzled expression and went on, "I have listened Lord Yang fantasize about killing you at least twice before. He has quite the imagination! For example, he said he'd have the executioner cut paper-thin slices of your flesh and have them fried in swine's fat, then make you eat it piece by—"

Bam!

The door fell down and a furious soldier ran in. He had come back because he had felt suspicious of Jae-ha, but had not expected this! As soon as she heard the noise, Sen buried her head in Jae-ha's chest, her shoulders trembling.

"Darling," she began in a voice unrecognizably high-pitched, "why must you leave me? You said you loved children, but the moment you found out I'm pregnant, you—"

"Lady Yang," the soldier hissed, "you dared have an affair outside and have even gotten pregnant? We all thought you were dead!"

"Yes, and I'd rather you keep thinking that," Sen said, her hands up in surrender. "This could be our little secret, eh? Just name your price—any price—and it will be delivered to you before today ends."

"I will stay loyal!" the soldier cried. "Lady Yang, you've soiled your name and brought shame upon his Lordship. For these crimes, I'll make sure you don't live past today!"

"Just because you want to sleep with his Lordship does not mean I do," Sen shot back. "Are you not glad I'm out of the picture? It might be easier to climb into his bed this way."

"La. Dy. Yang!"

The soldier's ears turned a bright red in embarrassment as he hissed her name through gritted teeth.

"Hmm? What's that?" Sen taunted. "Even you can't deny that you want to—"

"Shameless!" the soldier roared, flinging a dagger at her head. She caught it with considerable ease and took up a fighting stance. Just as she was about to attack, Jae-ha picked her up by the waist.

"You're too frail," he said, stepping on the windowsill. "I'm not sure fighting would do you good."

Sen's tranquil expression turned frightened as she clung to the window frame.

"What do you think you're doing?" she hissed. "This is the third floor! I have no wish to die."

"I told you, I'm Jae-ha, Gi-gan's pirate," he said impatiently. "Haven't you heard I can fly? Let go of the frame."

"Flying shmying," Sen said. "I've never heard of it and it sounds stupid. I propose we knock the soldier out and then take to the stairs."

"And possibly run into Kum-ji's entire army? No thank you, Lady Yang. For the last time, let go!"

Sen held on stubbornly on the inside of the building with her back to the soldier while Jae-ha tried to pry off her fingers from the other side, once again surprised by the power those skeletal hands held. His sight was blocked completely by Sen's head. It was the perfect opportunity to end the adulterers with one stab, thus the soldier took it without hesitation. He charged at Sen's back at full speed with his sword aimed at her heart. She noticed his presence and dodged at the last second. Jae-ha, however, was caught off guard. The sword sunk deep into his flesh. His fingers let go of Sen's and he staggered, inevitably falling towards the street.