NEFARIOUS

25 / 이십오

 Hye felt her eyes slowly burning herself to death.

 She blinked rapidly to clear the hazing reality before her, and narrowed them to scan around her surrounding. Around her, various of men and women sat on the pillow floor while chatting distinctly. Some wore common hanbok, while a few hid under cloaks, like Hye did.

 Laughters erupted throughout the room, though some shadowed men lurking in the darkness on the watch for any enemy. Geulimja was a shading place of mercenaries and slaver masters, where they often came to a secret trade agreement or information. However, she often found some gisaeng slipping into the place, offering customers their service of entertaining men with music or dance or poetry.

 Hye lowered her hood down to her forehead, trying to shadow her identity from the others. Certainly, being kidnapped by a slave master would be the least thing she ever wanted.

 The torchlight hung on the wooden wall, making the patterns of dragon and grey clouds glowed under the yellow lights. A few employers offered some customers for a drink, while the others placing glasses of drinks on the table.

 Hye shifted from the entrance, passing through the crowd of stinking men and women. The more she came inside, the more smell of sweat and dirt pierced her nose. She caught glimpses of dried blood on the patterned wall, glimmering under the torchlight. No one, even the employers themselves, bother to clean up the mess in Geulimja, at least someone paid them to.

 On the edge of the room, a man with old scars across his face stood proudly with armor steel cloaked around his body. The sword on his hip glinted in the darkness, and he scanned the surrounding with distateful expression on his face, making him older than his late twenties age.

 He did not bother to hide his identity from the others, for any passerby would know who he was by only glancing on his figure.

 The Beager, commoners often called him. He was known of his ruthless ways to kill his enemy; any person who he'd kill die with one of their body parts ripped open wide, as if it was done by a malicious hound itself. For some fortunate event, Hye managed to be his partnership in trading information.

 Hye had forgotten how it all started, but it did not matter anymore.

 "Beager," Hye called, lowering her tone between the distinct noises of music and coversations around her.

 The Beager noticed her presence, glowering his gaze. Under the dimness of light, she noticed a scar cutting through his eyebrow, and that his skin cloaked by dust and dirt. She moved closer to the wall to avoid any passerby.

 He flashed his crooked teeth, some of them covered in fake gold. "Well, well," he voiced his deep tone, "If it isn't the Ghost from town."

 Hye narrowed her eyes at him. She never recalled of being named as the Ghost, for she claimed her name as Areum, and nothing else. Surely, the name was odd in ears, but any name in the underground world had always been weird after all.

 "I have heard you worked in Pyeongan-do once," she began, not wanting to make any courtesy talk. "Did any peculiar event occur to you?"

 His lips curled downward in distateful manner. "You are not the only one asking about this."

 Hye shot her eyebrows upward. "I assume it is Minister Gyeong's men?"

 "No," the Beager snarled. He nodded at a particular person. "That one."

 Hye turned to see a pair of onyx eyes between the passing persons. It was Jung-Hee, lurking between the crowd, not knowing Hye was here also. He wore the black dapho from neck to waist, while his sleeves were hazing grey, big around his hands. His head was covered by his casual gat, its string pressed down beneath his chin.