Ballad of the Mountain Fox

제 14 장: Refrain

Young Min, Nara, and Won Soo had been riding in silence all morning.  It had stopped raining, but now the beginning of the autumn cold was starting to set in.  Behind him on the horse, Young Min could feel Nara shivering against him as the chill seeped through her wet clothes, and Young Min found himself wondering where the woman would have gotten such a shoddy outfit to begin with, let alone feel compelled to wear it.  Was it from a brother?  No, the pants were too wide—her father, perhaps.  But then, surely he would have volunteered to accompany her on the road instead of have her masquerade as a man for protection.  Was he unwell?

Young Min cast a glance over his shoulder as Nara shivered again.  "Don't you have any dry clothes to change into?" he asked, finally breaking the silence.  When he had woken up that morning, he had found Nara drenched to the bone.  His own tree had kept him dry, and he felt a bit bad about it.

"I'm fine," Nara said after a sneeze, and then sneezed again.  Young Min took that as a no.

"I wouldn't mind buying you some, er, appropriate clothing once we reach the village," Young Min said.  "After all, once we hand you over to the magistrate, you'll be detained for several days."

"No need to trouble yourself," Nara replied, a bit too hastily.  Beside them, Won Soo tutted in disapproval.

"So ungrateful," Young Min heard the servant mutter.

"It really wouldn't be any trouble at all," Young Min replied.

"No!  Really, it's fine," she assured him.  Young Min pulled back the reins and indicated for Won Soo to go ahead while they stayed behind.  "What are you doing?"

Young Min turned in the saddle to face her.  "What are you doing?" he countered.  "It is my duty as a member of the upper class to apprehend any possibly dangerous criminals and have them brought to justice.  But if you are truly innocent as you say you are, then dressing in men's clothes is not going to help your cause.  If I were to hand you over to the magistrate as a woman, your investigation would go much more smoothly, and you would be able to proceed to Busan without much further delay."

Nara bit her lip, thinking it over for a moment before vehemently shaking her head.  "I can't."

"Why not?"

She shook her head again.  "I just can't!  Introduce me to the magistrate as a man.  I don't care."

Annoyed, Young Min turned back around and flicked the reins.  "Suit yourself."

They caught up to Won Soo and resumed their journey in silence.  For the next few minutes, Young Min frowned at the road in front of him, lost in thought.  If only the she weren't so refrained in her explanations!  Then perhaps he could quell his suspicions of her, and not be forced to take her in for questioning.  But unless he had answers, he could not let her go with a good conscience.  What if she rejoined her band of thieves and returned to robbing innocent merchants of their goods?

"May I ask, why are you going to Miryang?" Nara said, breaking Young Min from his thoughts.

"It's not your place to ask, thief," Won Soo snapped from beside them.

"It's all right, Won Soo, I don't mind," Young Min said, looking up.  Addressing Nara, he said, "My uncle lives there, and in my current situation I felt it would be best to visit for a while."  No need to go into details about how he had become the primary subject for gossip in the town, or how he was hoping his uncle might have some knowledge about his mysterious illness.  Before leaving, he had checked his father's books of medicine, but nothing matched the weakness in his legs and the pain in the soles of his feet.

Won Soo grumbled something under his breath about secrets and enemies, but then suddenly sat up straighter in his saddle.

"Look, young master!" the servant exclaimed, pointing ahead.  "It's the sign for Bird Villlage!  We're almost there!"

Behind him on the horse, Young Min felt another shiver course through Nara's body.  This time, however, he wasn't entirely sure that it was due to the cold.

--------------------------------------------------------

I know, I know, I asked you to pay for the meal and now I've asked you to pay for the tea, too.  I apologize—as I'm not human, I don't particularly concern myself with carrying human currency.  You understand, don't you?

Ah, see, I knew you would.

How about we go somewhere that won't cost money this time?  I know of a nice big park nearby that looks out over the city.  No money required!  Let's go.

Oh my goodness.  Okay, first of all I would like to apologize for such a late update.  Due to a mix of finals week, traveling, writer's block, and the holidays, I just was not effective in typing up another chapter until now.

 Sorry for the short chapter--the next ones should be longer!