42
Toward evening, as the lights inside the fortress began to spread faintly, a general's messenger approached.His voice was short and dry."Second unit, Park Seong-jin. The Grand General summons you."
Park Seong-jin brushed off his collar.Stone dust from repairing the parapet still clung to his palms.It was already too filthy to matter how much he brushed.The smell of lime mixed with blood would not leave his hands.
The temporary headquarters was the main hall of the former Liaoyang provincial office.What had once been the center of administration was now being used as the center of war.Large maps hung between the pillars, with the walls, gates, parapets, and watchtowers of Liaoyang Fortress traced over in red ink.Below the maps lay sand tables, where small pegs and stones stood in for troops and formations.
Ledgers and reports were piled in layers on low tables, brushes smeared with ink and half-dried seals left where they were.It was not an organized space, but one arranged in the order hands reached whenever a decision was made.
On one side of the hall stood the deputy commanders.Some stared down at the maps without removing their armor, helmets tucked under their arms.Others waited to report with sleeves rolled up, still stained with blood.
Neither excitement nor tension showed on their faces.It was the command of an army whose cold reason shone sharply.They were steadying their breath, ready to move the instant an order fell.
The moment Park Seong-jin crossed the threshold, air of a different weight from the battlements pressed against his chest.At its center stood Baek In-gun.Though this was a battlefield, a peculiar ease remained on his face.It was the expression of a man accustomed to measuring others.Perhaps that was why he commanded.
It was a thin, cautious smile, possible only from one who had lost laughter on the battlefield."So. You shot the enemy commander?"His voice carried a mix of teasing and testing.Park Seong-jin answered carefully."I was fortunate.""Fortunate?"Baek In-gun's brow slowly narrowed."To hit an enemy commander at that distance—then you must have borrowed the hand of the gods."
Park Seong-jin bowed his head."When I brace the crossbow against the parapet and stop my breath, the world looks as if it pauses for a moment. If I release the string in that gap, it hits."Baek In-gun's gaze pierced him.In those eyes lay a coldness older than the blood of battle.After a moment, he said quietly,"Good eyes.""Thank you."
A brief silence passed.Then Hwang Hyun-pil stepped forward a pace.The silence must have been hard to endure."He's still young. Fifteen."Baek In-gun turned his head."Fifteen… fifteen. We've grown so impoverished that we must take children this young into the army."
He fell briefly into thought."Family?""My father and elder brother were killed in battle."The calm reply still held wounds not yet healed.
The air in the room cooled for a moment.Here, death was not tragedy but routine.It was little more than one line of information for the next decision.Baek In-gun slowly exhaled."In another place, I would grant leave. But this is not our homeland."
Park Seong-jin's eyes flickered.He raised his head and said,"If you grant a reward, then grant me leave.""In a land where you know no one, what would you do?"
Park Seong-jin gave a small smile."I want to cool my head for a bit. It's my first campaign—I was shaken. I want to calm my heart."
Baek In-gun's gaze softened.He spoke low to Hwang Hyun-pil."Let him rest. Two days will be enough."He then stepped closer to Seong-jin.Baek In-gun grasped his hand and patted his shoulder.His palm was firm, still holding warmth.
"Well done.""Loyalty."
Baek In-gun turned away.Left beneath the lamplight, Park Seong-jin stared for a long while at the warmth lingering on the back of his hand, then quietly exhaled."Well done" summons the next fight.Those words were like an order to step back into battle.
Hwang Hyun-pil thought for a moment, then said,"Requisition a civilian house. You—get some sleep. There should be a place already taken."That was his leave.
Park Seong-jin moved to a civilian house barely a hundred paces from the camp.The word "leave" was uncomfortably close to the army.Rest in the middle of a battlefield was little more than setting one's weapon down for a moment.Even so, the looks from his comrades were sharp.Someone muttered, "Must be nice."Another said low, half in envy,"Rest on the battlefield—that's a privilege of the dead."
Those words followed his back the entire way.Inside the requisitioned house lived more than a dozen people.
Their movements had already been arranged.Having received orders in advance, they had emptied the annex and moved into the main house.Thus the main building was packed tightly with young and old alike.In that small relocation lay both resignation and caution.
"Ah… I didn't know there were people here."As Park Seong-jin hesitated in greeting,the middle-aged man of the house bowed deeply."It's all right. Only… please don't say there are many people here.""Why?""They make us do forced labor."
The word "they" caught in Park Seong-jin's ear.He pointed at himself with a fingertip."'They'? Do you mean us?"
The man's face stiffened, then flushed red."No. I'm sorry. It slipped out."The apology was overly polite, which made it feel more miserable.Park Seong-jin did not ask further.War changes the places of "us" and "them" every day.
He entered the small annex attached to the western end of the house.It was a room called the seo-ok, the son-in-law's quarters.The dwelling of a man who married into the family.It matched Goryeo custom.Though this was foreign land, the thought crossed him that they might be kin.
He dismissed the thought at once.Unnecessary warmth on the battlefield gnaws at life.The place where a young son-in-law once stayed was now a resting place for an occupying soldier.In front of the room sat a low wooden platform.It must once have been where a dog sat guarding the house.
He sat there for a while.Sunlight slanted into the yard, reflected off the wall, warm.There are places where time lingers like that.And that moment is the quietest time of the day.War was not far, but for a moment, rest might be possible.
He lifted his head and looked at the sky.It was a clear sky, free of smoke and dust.Just a day ago, people had died beneath this sky.Today's sunlight was calm and transparent, as if nothing had happened.
Warm sunlight,awkward human exchange,and a time when the boundary between "enemy" and "civilian" blurred.
From beyond the wall came children's whispers."That's Park Seong-jin.""They say he shot the enemy commander.""Really?""His eyes look different."
He could neither smile nor get angry at those words.Staring into space, he idly looked at a small wild plant growing between stones in the collapsed parapet.Dried stiff by the cold, yet next year its leaves would grow again.That grass would grow again among stone and ash.The people of this house, the people of this fortress, would too.
As the sun slanted lower and the sky turned violet, someone approached cautiously from the main house.A young woman stood holding a bowl of rice."Commander, dinner is ready."Park Seong-jin bowed his head."Thank you. But I am not a commander."
The woman hesitated, then nodded."Even so… to us, you are a commander."Her words were gentle.
That night, for the first time, Park Seong-jin removed his belt purse, shed all his arms and armor, and slept in comfort.
It was a night without lamplight or drums.In his dreams,the flames were still burning the sky.