Chapter 14  The Patriot

Dong Mae stopped at the workshop on his way home.

It was almost dusk, but he needed to mend the handle of his sword; it was loose, and rattled when he swung it; a skilled swordsman is complemented by an excellent sword, and so Dong Mae was here, handing over his treasured sword to the mender, who mended everything that needed to be mended, from guns and rifles to broken toys, wheelbarrows and farming tools. 

Eugene stepped in as Dong Mae turned to leave.

"We meet again, " the American bowed. "I am here to collect my music box."

Dong Mae frowned. He had never heard of a music box before, but the American was a foreigner, and probably had possessions that Joseon had never seen, nor heard of before.

So he shrugged, and ignored Eugene, and was stalking off, when he remembered, all of a sudden, that the American was an important man in Joseon, and that he harboured tender feelings for the Lady Ae Shin: not a cheering thought, to be sure, but it was suddenly of great importance to impart the secret that he had kept to himself to the American.

This man would be his ally in protecting the woman that Dong Mae - that both of them -  loved.

Dong Mae knew with absolute cetainty that Eugene would protect Ae Shin with his life.

"I shot a man yesterday, on the rooftop, at the train station," Dong Mae said.

"He was dressed in black, and was masked, and wearing a black hat," he said, looking at Eugene intently.

Eugene's face visibly paled.

"You...shot...him?" he uttered faintly.

"I shot his leg."

"A man, you say?" Eugene looked desperately worried.

"Yes, it was a man, a young man," Dong Mae said firmly. "I am certain of that. It was a man."

"We have to look for a man who limps. I shot him in the right leg." 

"Wan Ik...it must be Wan Ik," Eugene said, finally. "He limps."

Dong Mae almost burst out laughing.

He fought to keep a straight face. 

"Just remember: we are looking for a man who limps on his right leg."

"A YOUNG man," he bowed, and strode off, smiling to himself.

The soldier from the Righteous Army had been threatened, and beaten, but steadfastly refused to divulge the names of his comrades.

"A name," said Dong Mae, "just a name, and your life will be spared."

"Just kill me," the man said, and all of a sudden, he lunged forward, and pressed his belly against the tip of the sword.

Dong Mae's men pulled him back.

"Are you mad?" Dong Mae was shocked. "My captives beg for their lives, but you want to end it. What do you hope to get from being so noble? Money? Hah!"

"I want to save Joseon, what little there is that is left of Joseon," the man said. "Everything in Joseon no longer belongs to Joseon, from the trains to electricity; everything has been taken from Joseon, save the little that is left; I have to save the little that is left, and I, and my comrades, will willingly die to save that little that is left."

"Are your comrades as foolish as you?" Dong Mae asked, with a cynical laugh.

"Yes, we live, and we die for Joseon," the man said, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

Minister Hayashi was in a rage. Again. 

"This is not the man that I want; he is useless to me. I wanted a member of the Righteous army, not the owner of a geisha house!" 

His face was turning an alarming shade of purple. Again.

Dong Mae was getting very tired of Minister Hayashi, and his bouts of temper. How the man became a minister was beyond his comprehension.

He smiled politely, but his words were laced with a subtle threat, "Minister, this was the only man that I could find, at such short notice, and I believe that he is not useless, but, was in fact the main reason for our woes: the American Logan Taylor was shot to death in his geisha house, while the runaway woman was a spy working in his geisha house."

"Do not dismiss him so lightly; in addition, I was provided with the incorrect information that the woman would be leaving on a ship bound for Shanghai, when she was in actuality boarding the train, and this information," he said silkily, "your information caused many of my men to suffer injuries in the resulting mayhem at the port, and at the trains."

Hayashi lapsed into sullen silence.

"I am glad that you agree with me, Minister."

He bowed, and left Hayashi to seethe with fury.

The night was dark, with a few stars twinkling in the distance.

Dong Mae wondered what she was doing.

For the first few days, and nights, he had worried about her. Was she well, was she ill, had she developed a fever? He had seen enough of gunshot wounds to know how dangerous they were. The servant had come with news from the Go household; the Lady Ae Shin had a cold, and was in bed for a few days, but had recovered after one week, and seemed well enough. Dong Mae's anxiety had abated with that piece of news, and he could finally breathe again.

What would she say to him if she knew what he was about to do?

"Set him free," Dong Mae said.

The men sliced the ropes that bound the wrists of the captive.

"You are free to go," said Dong Mae. "Leave Hanseong at once, and never come back. If I see you, I will kill you."

The man looked at Dong Mae, confusion and bewilderment in his eyes.

"Leave now, before I change my mind," snarled Dong Mae.

The man stumbled to his feet, took to his heels, and ran.

Dong Mae rapped on the door, and growled, "I am coming in."

He flung himself into an armchair, and scowled.

"My, you are in a bad mood today," Hina smiled.

"I let a captive go," he stretched out his legs.

"Why?" she stared at him in disbelief. "That is so unlike you."

"I know," he looked sullen. "I did not wish for his comrades to be sad."

She laughed. "That is the funniest thing I have ever heard."

She sat down, and looked at him in sympathy.

"It is not too late," she said, in soothing tones, "you can still hunt him down, and kill him."

"I cannot," he looked at her moodily. "I gave him my word."

She laughed. "That is the second funniest thing I have ever heard."

"He said he would gladly die, before he betrayed his comrades," Dong Mae said, puzzlement in his eyes. "All of my captives begged for their lives, but this man refused to live. I do not understand him."

Hina looked at him, her face softening, "Some are like that; their hearts are passionate like that. Money is of no value to them, because of this passion that burns like a fire in their hearts; they fear nothing, not life, not even death. It is this passion that is so hard to understand, for those who have not felt its stirrings in their hearts of stone...for someone like you, perhaps...," she said softly, kindly.

She looked at him with tenderness, and compassion, and thought: Perhaps, you are feeling the stirrings deep within you, and they are making you question yourself, making you change, slowly, without you even recognizing it, without you even knowing. 

"Can I ask you something?" she tilted her head, studying his shadowed face, his questioning eyes in the dim light cast by the lamp. He looked young, and vulnerable, and it made her feel a queer pang in her heart, seeing him like that: uncertain, lost.

"Ask," he said.

"Why did you risk your life in that way? You let him go, and, if Hayashi finds out, you will be in danger."

He thought of her, of how she would approve of what he had done, and the thought lightened his mood, and put a flippant smile on his lips.

"I do not risk my life, I take lives," he said, and rose to leave. 

The bar at the Glory Hotel was full, but there was a seat next to the American. Dong Mae sat down next to Eugene.

"How does it go with the limping man?" Eugene asked, raising his glass to Dong Mae in a toast.

"I was about to ask you the same question," said Dong Mae, and downed his glass of wine in a single gulp.

"No one has seen him," Eugene said, looking at Dong Mae meaningfully.

Hee Sung flopped onto the stool between Eugene and Dong Mae, and drew his stool closer to Dong Mae when Eugene glared at him.

Dong Mae grinned. The tension between the two men put him in a good humour.

"Were you talking about a limping man?" Hee Sung asked curiously.

"Yes, we are talking about a limping man - " said Dong Mae.

" - who happens to be Wan Ik, " interjected Eugene.

Dong Mae snorted.

Hee Sung was silent for a while. Then he turned to Dong Mae and asked brightly, "So how goes your work? Apprehending, beating and killing must be hard and tiring."

"I could ask you about your work, but I recall that you do not work," Dong Mae answered rudely.

"Ah, that is because I have decided not to work yet, and you can rest assured that when I do work, I will be magnificent in my work," Hee Sung beamed.

"Gentlemen, I regret that I cannot stay and delight you further with my company, but I have to take my leave now, because I am out of funds, having woefully lost at cards again."

Hee Sung slapped both of the men on their backs, and said, "Thank you for my drink."

He breezed off, whistling a tune, and limping.

Eugene and Dong Mae yelled in unison, "Wrong foot!"

"So who is the limping man again?" Dong Mae asked, grinning, when he saw Hee Sung shift his limp to his other foot.

"Wan Ik; for all of our sakes, it has to be, it can only be, Wan Ik," Eugene answered grimly.