Even a week after coming to learn once more of the human trafficking, Gi-gan refused to start any attacks. She remained in her cabin, planning ways to prevent the horrible business. Sometimes, a man who had lost his wife or children to Kum-ji or a boy whose parents had been taken away would request an audience with Gi-gan and begged her to take them as pirates. They were the only ones besides Jae-ha who saw the captain during those times.

Other than those on the matter of provisions and firewood, the only order that left the cabin was the one granting Sen a tiny cabin once used as a storage room, for the captain felt uneasy letting her new recruit sleep in the same space as a horde of men. Her fear, however, was completely groundless. The pirates took no more notice of Sen than they would of a piece of furniture. Ignoring her was not a collective, willful decision made because she injured their comrade. No, if anyone were to blame, it would be Sen herself, blending so seamlessly into her new environment. From the way she dressed, spoke and acted, no one would have thought her to be any more than a common fisherman in Awa. Naturally the pirates knew she was a woman, Gi-gan had told them so and even given her a tiny cabin of her own. From the moment they first caught sight of her dirt-streaked face devoid of femininity, they had lost all interest in her as a woman, and from the moment they heard her dull self-introduction, they lost interest in her as a person. Had Jae-ha not sought her company often, finding her a pleasant partner to discuss mainly literary subjects with, no one would have bothered remembering her name. Even so, only a few did.

The circumstances being such, one of the pirates, Ba-luo, found that he was given a very difficult task when told to find Sen and bring her to the captain at once. He expected her to be one of the more muscular of the recent recruits but was led to a scrawny creature quietly removing thread from old clothes. Although she seemed quite surprised at the sudden invitation, she followed him to the captain's cabin obediently, shoulders hunched and head down. Ba-luo left her there, wondering how she had managed to catch the captain's eye. Little did he know that once the door closed behind her, she straightened her back and lifted her head proudly. There was no trace of the crude fisherman in this person, now a vengeful woman wronged by Kum-ji. She bowed to Gi-gan, her elegant movements comparable to ladies of the royal court.

"Sit down and stop acting like a fool," was Gi-gan's only response to the rare display of etiquette. Once Sen did as told, the captain went on, "Now listen. I've heard these fishing boats of Kum-ji's will leave in two days at dawn. How many men do you think will be on board?"

"I'd be surprised if more than ten were armed, ma'am," Sen replied after a moment's thought. "Twenty-thirty pirates would easily overwhelm them. And if we were to send men to attack them in small boats carrying only five-six people.. sent from a ship of yours nearby… perhaps the possibility of taking hostages would decrease. At any rate, the advantage of surprise would be on our side."

"Don't worry, I can come up with tactics myself," Gi-gan told her with a slight smile. "I've done this for a while, after all. It'd be easier if Jae-ha wasn't sick, but we'll have to manage without him."

"Jae-ha? Wasn't he fine just yesterday?" Sen asked, raising a brow. Gi-gan snorted.

"He was," she said with a slight sigh of annoyance. "Then he went running after some pretty women and… now he's bleeding everywhere again."

"His wound reopened because he was careless in the red-light district?" Sen asked, her eyes wide with disbelief. Gi-gan cleared her throat.

"Well, yes," she said. "His brain shrivels up when women are involved."

"Many men suffer from a similar illness," Sen said, nodding gravely. "From what I'm told, death is the only cure."

"It does look like that," Gi-gan sighed. "It's the second time this month that he's ruined my plans with his stupidity. But what's done is done, we'll have to make do without him."

"I wholeheartedly agree, ma'am. Asking oneself, what would have happened if...? has never led anywhere.."

"So I'll be counting on you instead."

"I'll have to ask you not to rely on me too heavily, ma'am," Sen laughed, looking at her thin arms with a hint of self-ridicule. "I wouldn't want to be the reason for a failed mission."

"Stop bringing yourself down," the captain said, lifting her pipe from a drawer and slowly beginning to stuff it. "I'll see for myself what you can or can't do."

…

The raid of Kum-ji's ship was a great success even without Jae-ha. Of course, there were losses, three people died, one a slave, and five had gotten injured. Compared to previous attacks, however, this was a great improvement. The slaves were freed and sent home. Everyone was in high spirits, save Gi-gan, who believed she had been scammed and Sen, who had suffered multiple lectures from the captain.

"Jae-ha, you lied to me!" the captain complained. "This girl is ridiculously weak. How did she toss an officer out a window?"

"I—"

"Because I have yet to get my sea-legs," Sen retorted. "This is my first time fighting on a ship, I'm lucky to not be seasick! Furthermore, I've only ever fought one-on-one before, attacking multiple people with multiple people is not my style at all!"

"What exactly—"

"Who cares about your style? They're excuses, just excuses!" the captain said, waving her hand dismissively. "I've had it with you. Tomorrow, you'll begin your training and by the end of it, you'll be able to stand firmly on a boat in a rainstorm, let alone an anchored ship. Ba-luo!"

"Yes, captain?"

"You will supervise her training. Make sure she doesn't slack off."

"But I—" Ba-luo began, wanting to say that it wouldn't be easy to train such a person, someone as skinny as a fish and as sturdy as... a pile of mud, but the captain had already left. The day had left her tired and she wanted a moment to herself. Jae-ha turned to Sen with a look of pity.

"You've done it this time," he said, shaking his head. "What have you done to annoy the captain this much? Ba-luo is known for his cruel, torturous training sessions."

"No I'm not," Ba-luo said defensively. "Right? Li Hua? Mu-yeon?"

The pirates he addressed suddenly became very busy and could not find time to answer him, no, not even a moment. Ba-luo's shoulders drooped.

"Traitors," he muttered. "You too, Jae-ha, you know I wouldn't overwork someone this skinny."

"Thanks," said Sen, offering him a smile of gratitude. Her face lit up for a brief moment before fading back to being dull and expressionless once more. Ba-luo rubbed his eyes, wondering why, for a moment, he had perceived this mud-like person to be almost pretty.

…

Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs. There was no long pause between steps to imply hesitation as the sound came closer and closer to the most remote corner on Gi-gan's ship. The noise only stopped before Sen's door and someone knocked firmly on the door. Sen looked up from her book and called, "Enter."

"I'd like to, but you must let me in," a voice replied, one Sen recognised to be Jae-ha's. "I can't pick locks and I don't feel like learning the craft now, either."

Realising the truth to his words, Sen closed her book reluctantly and opened the door for her guest. The door creaked most unpleasantly when moved and refused to open entirely. Jae-ha had to squeeze through the narrow crack to get in. Once inside, he frowned.

"How do you sleep in here?" he asked, looking around. The only furniture in the room was a thin straw mattress covered by Sen's familiar winter coat and a quilt gifted by Gi-gan. There was not enough space beside it to stand. In the corner by the door lay a heap of rags and a smooth slab of wood, lacquered only on one side. The only source of light came from a tiny oil lamp, made by Sen herself, set on the floor. Such a dreary, closet-like space must be a terrible affliction for a woman!

"By being grateful for my solitude," Sen replied, folding her quilt into a cushion and placing it at the head of her bed. "Have a seat. What brings you to my den?

To run from your worries, the cold, the dark winter sky—
or say someone hurt you and ask me a reason why?""

"This poem… is seeing you not reason enough?" Jae-ha asked, sitting down on the quilt. Sen took a seat on the pile of rags, opposite to him.

"My current appearance seldom brings others joy," she said, looking at her simple, patched clothes with a hint of distaste. "But nothing can be done, not for now, at least."

"Wash your face and you'll be a peerless beauty, seducing both men and women, breaking hearts," Jae-ha said, certain that his words were not true. Sen laughed silently, not offended by his insincerity. Her teeth flashed white in her dark face. Slightly ashamed, Jae-ha decided to change the topic.

"How was your training?"

"Painful," Sen replied, leaning against the door. "He only let me stop when I could no longer move."

"Ba-luo's surprisingly kind to you," he told her, resting his head in his hand. "Usually, he won't let people off until they can no longer breathe."

"I am a woman, after all," she said with a smile. "Who could bear to treat me ill?"

"Kum-ji, for example," Jae-ha muttered. Sen heard him regardless and sighed. Her smile disappeared.

"I suppose you're right," she said, looking up at the ceiling. "But he's not the one here, is he?"

"You're such an optimist," he told her instead of replying. He lifted his head and let his hand fall to his side. To his surprise, what he touched wasn't the softness of the bed but something hard—a book of sorts it seemed on closer inspection. He opened it at a random place and found himself unable to read the letters. Noticing his puzzled look, Sen said, "It's in Sei's language."

"You speak it?" Jae-ha asked, clearly impressed. Sen shook her head.

"I can read it somewhat," she explained. "I've never met a native, so I have yet to have a chance to learn the spoken language."

"What is it about?" Jae-ha asked, setting the book aside. Looking at the strange, squiggly characters in the dim light of the oil lamp hurt his eyes and he wondered how Sen put up with it.

"Nothing particularly interesting," she said. "A basic summary of Sei's recent disaster relief policies."

"You have such a strange taste in books," Jae-ha sighed. "Sometimes I wonder how you're not as deadly boring as what you read."

"The time we've known each other is short," Sen said, closing her eyes. "You may very well discover next week that underneath my cover of literary knowledge, I am as disinteresting as everyone else you know."

"I doubt that," Jae-ha said. "I would have noticed sooner."

"I'll trust your judgement for now," she said, the corners of her lips turning upwards slightly. "If you're proven wrong, I will blame you for misleading me, of course."