“What?! Are you sure?”

“Yes, sir. We have gotten accountability for all the people in the inn, except for Seol Hwa. We have sent various members to search the whole premises, but wasn’t able to locate her. When we inspected her room though, there were signs of a struggle within it. Based off the findings, we believe it is most likely that she was abducted.”

Uncle Ray hastily stood up when he heard the news. His face visibly became pale at the words of his subordinate. As he was hearing the report, Yong Hwa, Chang, Dal, and Geum rushed forth.

“Uncle Ray, what’s this about Seol Hwa being abducted?!”

“…..I’m not sure, Chang.”

“…Could it be?”

While Uncle Ray and Chang spoke, Yong Hwa was lost in his own thoughts. After thinking of several possibilities, a sudden thought came to him.

“Geum. That day you saved Seol Hwa in the mountains. Did either of you check to make sure all the pursuers were dead?”

Hearing Yong Hwa’s question, Geum’s expression twitched a little as he replied in a threatening tone.

“Are you questioning my ability?”

“Ah, no. I didn’t mean that. I was actually referring more to Seol Hwa. As you all know, Seol Hwa isn’t that skilled in martial arts or her weapon. Did either of you inspect the people that she killed?”

“… Now that you said something, she did kill one person that night, but I didn’t think to make sure they were dead. Are you trying to imply…”

“I’m thinking that one person didn’t die that night and reported back to the Illbon emissaries. I was confused about why such a large number of assassins would come to the inn. Why would they come in masses to here? If they knew that Seol Hwa was here though, everything fits together.”

When everyone heard what Yong Hwa said, they nodded their heads in agreement. There really was no reason for a squadron from Illbon to attack the inn if it wasn’t for that reason. Although they finally solved that issue, they’re expression remained serious as there was still a bigger problem left.

The group was silent for a while. As they thought about ways to go rescue Seol Hwa, Yong Hwa finally spoke up.

“Uncle Ray, I think it’ll be best if Chang and I follow them to rescue Seol Hwa. It’ll take too long to get a rescue group together and with just us two, we’d be able to travel more swiftly. Anyways, Chang’s a good tracker so we’ll be able to follow their trail and catch up to them.”

Uncle Ray hesitated for a while on Yong Hwa’s proposition. Even though what he said was right, Yong Hwa and Chang were still inexperienced and were raised by his old friend Shin. How could he just send the two off on such a dangerous mission? As he was antagonized over the idea, Dal stepped in.

“Uncle Ray, me and Geum will go along with them, so don’t worry.”

“Huh?”

Yong Hwa was surprised that Dal volunteered to join the rescue team. Although her and Seol Hwa knew each other, they weren’t that close, after all. He couldn’t think of a reason why she would want to help look for her. Still, he wasn’t going to refuse such strong assistance.

“Haa…. I sure am getting old too, huh? Fine. You four go and rescue Seol Hwa. I emplace my hopes to you all.”

After exchanging a few more words, Yong Hwa, Chang, Dal, and Geum headed toward Seol Hwa’s room. Seeing the youngsters leave, Uncle Ray let a sigh out before he started walking back his office. Inside the room, he pulled a piece of paper, ink, and a brush out. After writing a message, he rolled the paper up and put it inside a cylinder that was strapped to a hawk’s feet. After making sure it was secure, he watched the hawk fly out into the night sky.

Watching the hawk fly further and further away, he inwardly was having the thoughts that, it just might be time for the older generation folks like him to step down, and time for the new generation rise and take charge.

’Yong Hwa, please bring my daughter back home safely.’

-----

In the forest west of the city Saewol, four figures were rapidly advancing forward. If a normal citizens were to see them, they would mistake the four to be fleeting shadows. As they rushed forward, a voice rang out before being lost in the wind.

“Why’d you volunteer to come with us, Dal?”

Hearing the question, Dal turned her head and observed the male to her right. Even in the darkness, the male’s face and blue eyes looked beautiful. After pondering about how to respond for a moment, she replied.

“I too, have a relationship with Seol Hwa. Also, it didn’t feel right letting the two of you rush off to danger by yourselves.”

“Still, the relationship between the two of you aren’t that close, right?”

“Does that matter? I’m not the type of person who would just stand around with the knowledge that someone I know is in danger.”

Yong Hwa inwardly nodded his head. Dal’s replies basically solidified his impressions of Dal. She was the type of person who liked to make jokes or play pranks, but also had a strong sense of duty. She was someone who would rush forward and right any misdeed she saw.

After the short stint of conversation between Dal and Yong Hwa, the four once again traveled in silence. With Chang in the lead, following the assassins’ tracks and Geum in the rear, they traveled for ten miles  before they came to a stop.

Five hundred yards in front of them, was an open plain. About a mile away, a fortress rose up from a cliff that overlooked a passage to the mountain. The walls surrounding the fortress were over forty feet tall and were made with wood, with a tower on each corner. All of them could tell at one glance though, the fortress had been abandoned a long time ago as patches of the wall were gone and the buildings looked ran down. Most likely, the fortress was the remnant of past wars.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

While everyone looked upon the fortress and were lost in their own thoughts, the first to break the silence was Chang.

“The trail continues on toward the fort. The assassins probably took refuge within it. What you want to do, Yong Hwa.”

Yong Hwa remained silent for a while as he continued to gaze at the fortress. After a couple of minutes, he finally responded.

“It’s going to be hard to infiltrate that fortress. If anyone’s patrolling those walls, they’ll be able to see anything that moves on the plains in front of us. Thankfully though, it’s dark out right now so it’ll be easier to move around without being spotted. Still, we need someone to go reconnaissance the fort first….”

As Yong Hwa’s words trailed off, he turned to look at Chang, who was silently nodding his head. Maybe due to noticing the glance, Chang raised his head and saw Yong Hwa looking at him. With his eyes opened wide, he started to retreat back slowly.

“O…Oi Yong Hwa. You can’t possibly thinking of sending me to go, right?”

“You’re best suited for this, Chang, after all.”

Yong Hwa shrugged his shoulders while he replied. Chang really was best suited for the reconnaissance mission. With his darkness attribute, he would be able to hide his movements with the help of the night and infiltrate the fort.

“Why does it have to be me? What about the other two?”

As Chang looked at Dal, she raised her hand in front of her in a stop motion.

“You’re suggestion a young girl like me go reconnaissance?”

Hearing Dal’s response, Chang’s shoulders drooped. Still, he didn’t give up and immediately pointed at Geum.

“What about him?! He might be even more skilled than me!”

Geum, who had stayed silent the whole time, spoke for the first time.

“Sorry, but I’m scared of heights.”

Chang’s face went blank when heard he Geum’s reasoning. A short moment later, he exploded.

“Oi! Just what kind of reasoning is that?! You’re clearly just making an excuse up!”

As Chang went off, Yong Hwa walked forth and patted his shoulder to calm him down.

“Don’t worry, man. Just use your legendary secret peeping skills! No one will find you. When we get Seol Hwa and go back, I’ll treat you to some dinner and some drinks, okay?”

Hearing his best friend’s words, Chang’s facial expression looked as though he wanted to cry. Slowly walking away from the rest of the group, he mentally prepared himself as he looked at the moon up above and sighed.

-----

“Hurry up and go inside! Be a good child and stay silent, okay?!”

As a rough voice spoke out, a girl was thrusted into a room that was filled with straws. After she was thrown inside the room, someone slammed the door shut and clicking sounds were heard as locks were placed on the door.

After being un-ceremonially thrown into the room, Seol Hwa sat down and patted down her clothes, removing all the dust from them. Afterwards, she began to inspect the room she occupied. The room wasn’t large, and beside the straw that covered the ground, there was only a small child within the room.

Seeing the small child, Seol Hwa’s eyes went soft. The child was a little boy that looked to be around five or six year old. The boy had black hair and large blue eyes. The boy looked so cute that Seol Hwa wanted to pinch his chubby cheeks.The way he was curled up in the corner and looking at her with frightful eyes pained her, though.

’Just what did this child experience for him to become like this?’

While she contemplated that, she slowly approached the child. The boy, seeing her approach, tried to curl his body even more as though he wanted to become smaller. When Seol Hwa was only a few feet away from him, she sat down and smiled toward him.

“Hey, little one. It’s okay, you don’t have to be afraid. Nuna won’t hurt you, okay?” (A/N: nuna is the way younger men address woman who aren’t much older than them and are close with. It’s seen as a term of affection in Korea.)

Hearing Seol Hwa’s sweet voice, the boy looked up with doubtful eyes as he looked at her. After struggling with something inside his mind for a while, he quietly spoke up.

“You won’t hurt me like those ahjushis?” (A/N: Ajushi means old man in Korean.)

When Seol Hwa heard that, pain and anger surged up within her. Just how ruthless did one have to be to hit young children like the little boy in front of her? After spending a few moments to contain her emotions, she smiled toward the kid and nodded her head.

“Yeah, nuna won’t hurt you like those ahjushis. Also, from now on I’ll make sure they can’t hurt you, okay?”

The young boy’s eyes sparkled when he heard Seol Hwa’s words. He enthusiastically nodded his head.

“Okay!”

“Anyways, what’s your name, young one? Nuna’s name is Seol Hwa.”

“Hi Seol Hwa nuna! My name’s Rem!”