617.I'm a kagemusha!
An evening mist spread thinly over the harbor.
Iki Island was close now.
Park Seong-jin studied the map, gauging distance and currents.
Then, not far off, a small boat slid in wildly, almost out of control.
The sea itself was calm, but that boat alone cut through it roughly.
Two boatmen rowed with faces drained of color.
As the hull bumped the pier, the first man to leap ashore was Song I-jeong.
He looked exhilarated.
Light on his feet, like someone who had just returned from a quick errand at the market.
Right after him, he hurled a man down onto the planks.
A Japanese warrior, his arms bound behind his back.
Judging by his armor, he was of high rank.
His head was caked with mud, and half his face was swollen as if stung by wasps.
Song I-jeong waved cheerfully, grinning wide.
"I'm back!"
Park Seong-jin walked over slowly, surprise mixed into his expression.
"…Where exactly have you been?"
Song I-jeong replied,
"To Iki Island."
"I went ahead first."
"And this fellow here is the one in charge."
He nudged the prisoner's side with his foot.
The man rolled toward Park Seong-jin like a kicked sack, his face streaked with tears.
"I'm a kagemusha! A double! A substitute prepared for emergencies!"
Park Seong-jin smacked his lips.
"A double."
He said it calmly.
"Then your life is worth information."
Song I-jeong's eyes flashed.
His sword slid halfway out of its sheath, then stopped.
The prisoner shrieked.
"Spare me! I'm not a double, I'm the real one—the real one!"
"You damned—"
The boatmen, climbing up behind them, snickered.
They had grown familiar through shared danger.
Song I-jeong shot them a glare, and the laughter died instantly.
Park Seong-jin pressed down the laughter rising in his chest.
"So you went scouting and came back with the enemy's commander?"
"Yes!"
Song I-jeong's confidence was unmistakable.
He added casually,
"I also adjusted their defensive camps a bit."
Park Seong-jin's eyes widened.
"…Adjusted how?"
Song I-jeong counted on his fingers.
"Moved a barrel of oil."
"One fire arrow and the whole place goes up."
"Pulled out three wooden stakes."
"They'll come running and tumble straight off the cliff."
"Removed the fake sentry markers and replaced them with shiny ones."
"Smashed something like a fast escape boat too."
"If they try to flee on it, it'll take on water and sink."
The officers listening behind Park Seong-jin burst into laughter.
Park Seong-jin rubbed his forehead.
He wavered between a sigh and a laugh—then laughed anyway.
"Song I-jeong."
"Yes, General."
"Whenever I entrust you with reconnaissance, the results always multiply."
Song I-jeong's eyes sparkled.
"Highly efficient."
Park Seong-jin patted his shoulder.
"Efficient indeed."
"I just don't know how long my heart can take it."
The prisoner trembled, staring at the two of them.
"Are you… monsters?"
Park Seong-jin turned away.
"Make him talk."
"From today on, he's the most important man here."
"He'll show us the fastest path to taking the island."
"Understood," Song I-jeong replied.
—*
A Private Conversation in the Cabin
After handing off the immediate matters, Park Seong-jin headed for the cabin.
Before the door closed, Song I-jeong slipped in behind him.
"Something's off," Song I-jeong said.
Park Seong-jin turned.
"What is it?"
"The front and the back don't match."
Park Seong-jin gestured to a seat.
"Sit."
The officer on duty immediately poured tea.
As the ship swayed and the cups tilted, both men reached out at the same time to steady them.
Their timing matched perfectly.
"Go on," Park Seong-jin said.
Song I-jeong set his cup straight and spoke.
"The island looks like a cluster of villages, but the interior is excessively lavish."
"Painted in gold, like an imperial chamber."
"The patterns are overly intricate."
Park Seong-jin responded at once.
"And why were you inside someone else's inner quarters?"
Song I-jeong smiled casually.
"It was built in a way that invited entry."
Park Seong-jin's teacup touched down with a soft clink.
Song I-jeong continued.
"It wasn't just rabble."
"There were warriors with extremely high skill."
His gaze sharpened briefly.
"Skilled enough to meet my own standard."
"Men the shogunate treasures."
Park Seong-jin asked quietly,
"Where are they now?"
Song I-jeong smiled brightly.
"They won't be moving for a while."
A short laugh escaped.
Park Seong-jin let out a long breath.
"So the shogunate's hand reaches even here."
"Yes," Song I-jeong answered immediately.
"Because the profits are large."
"Profits."
Song I-jeong nodded.
"And that prisoner carries the structure of a merchant network as well."
"A merchant network?"
"A flow similar to the Mitsui lines," Song I-jeong said.
"The same type we dismantled in Nangju before."
"The same web exists here."
Park Seong-jin's eyes narrowed.
"Then this place is the shogunate's hidden forward base."
"Exactly."
"They embedded elite warriors and a merchant network together."
"They support expeditions while extracting information and profit at the same time."
Park Seong-jin rested his chin on his hand.
"Information and profit."
"A highly refined covert hub," Song I-jeong said.
"Where money flows," Park Seong-jin murmured.
"Power draws money naturally," Song I-jeong replied.
"Even those who once restrained themselves drift into that current."
Park Seong-jin smiled briefly.
"A precise read."
He asked again,
"So your judgment, Song-gong?"
Song I-jeong set down his cup.
"We take hold of them and move the shogunate."
"Head-on?" Park Seong-jin asked.
"No."
"We take it to the political table."
Park Seong-jin laughed softly.
"Politics is exchange, then."
"What do we give, and what do we take?"
Song I-jeong leaned in.
"What you value most, General."
Park Seong-jin answered without hesitation.
"Peace for this country."
"Then we draw a line," Song I-jeong said.
"To here."
"Or to Nagasaki."
"That line is realistic."
"Will it work?" Park Seong-jin scoffed lightly.
"The language of force works," Song I-jeong said firmly.
"The clearer the boundary, the stronger the order."
He lowered his voice further.
"And they speak differently in front and behind."
"And if they refuse?"
"Then we clean house."
Park Seong-jin rubbed the back of his neck.
"Brutal."
"That's why I'm here," Song I-jeong replied calmly.
Park Seong-jin smiled.
"Take care of yourself."
"I will."
"We dock tomorrow morning—just line up the assault formations."
"Understood."
Before leaving, Song I-jeong added with a grin,
"Still, General…"
"Yes?"
"I do feel a bit like overturning the table."
Park Seong-jin lifted his cup and looked aside.
He understood that feeling.
The door closed.
The ship rocked gently atop the calm waves.
Once power is secured, the world's complexities reduce to tasks and procedure.
Work.
Work that could spill into blood by dawn.
Beyond the sea, the black forest remained sunk in silence.