Ji Tae sighed in defeat. It had been a whole day since the criminals' escape, and they were still no closer to finding Woo Sung and Hong Pyo than when they had begun their search. Somehow, he found himself back at the restaurant where the serving woman had told them she'd seen Woo Sung last. Or rather, she had told Kwang Jo, and acted like Ji Tae hadn't even been present, let alone the captain in charge of the search.

Ji Tae loosened the strings of his hat and scratched under his chin where the material had chafed against his skin. It was difficult enough not being familiar with this island, but the fact that the villagers wouldn't even answer his questions unless Kwang Jo was with him made it especially tricky to track down the criminals. Ji Tae wondered if, rather than trying to intervene as a stranger, it was better that the magistrate here figure things out on his own. Koreans were dying by the droves on the mainland, while he was stuck here, unable to help defend his country. What were Woo Sung and Hong Pyo really going to do, anyway? They were just two traitors to the country, in comparison to the thousands of Japanese enemies who, in Ji Tae's opinion, posed a much more serious threat.

The door to the restaurant creaked open, and a figure stepped out. Ji Tae straightened to attention, despite his earlier thoughts to abandon his mission. It was the serving woman—Yeonri, had Kwang Jo called her? The way she cautiously scanned the street and clutched a bundle to her chest seemed suspicious. Was she hiding something?

Ji Tae ducked further into the shadows as the woman looked his way, careful to hide his face. Had she spotted him? He allowed enough time for an intake of breath and glanced back up.

Luck was with him, for now. Either the woman hadn't seen him, or didn't recognize him. She had now turned and was scurrying away, down the street towards the docks.

The docks! Ji Tae launched into motion, careful not to lose track of the woman as she continued on her way. Could she have lied to them earlier about Woo Sung's whereabouts? Was she harboring the criminal and getting ready to send him back to the mainland on a purloined ship, to be embraced by the Japanese with open arms?

The path she took was certainly winding enough—no doubt intended to throw off any followers. But Ji Tae had had years of training in stealth and tracking, and it was painfully obvious to him that this woman was a novice in the art of subterfuge. Her glances back to check for followers were predictable, and he was able to conceal himself each time—behind a cart, around a corner, in a doorway. By the way she clung to one side of the road or the other, he could anticipate her turns before she took them. And though her steps were fast, her footprints were clear in the mud left from yesterday's rain, creating an easy trail for him to follow.

Finally, Yeonri reached her destination. It was an unassuming shack within throwing distance of one of the docks. The perfect hideout for a criminal—or maybe even two.

Ji Tae reached for the sword at his side, ready to stop the woman before she entered.

"What's going on, Captain?"

"Gyah!" Ji Tae stumbled and jammed his elbow into the wall beside him. Clutching the injury with his other hand, Ji Tae turned to face the person who had snuck up behind him. "Dae Hwan!" he hissed. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, are we whispering?" Dae Hwan lowered his tone to match Ji Tae's. "Why?"

Ji Tae glanced over his shoulder, but Yeonri had already entered the shack. He sighed and turned back to the soldier before him. "I was following the woman from yesterday who said she had seen one of the criminals," he said. "She seemed like she was up to something."

Dae Hwan gave an impressed nod. "I was wondering why you looked so focused. It seemed like you were on to something, so I decided to follow you." He gave a grin and straightened up. "In case you need any help. No need to play a double drum by yourself, right?"

"I guess," Ji Tae grumbled, a brief feeling of embarrassment flooding through him. He had been so focused on following Yeonri, he hadn't put any thought into who might be following him. And perhaps Dae Hwan's help would be useful, anyway.

"Kwang Jo and the other soldiers are just up the street a bit—should I ask get them to join us?" Dae Hwan asked.

"No, no...let's see what's going on here first," Ji Tae said. "The serving woman entered that shack there." He pointed. "She might be harboring one of the criminals—Hwa Woo Sung, most likely. The place is small enough that you and I should be able to handle whoever is inside without needing reinforcements."

"All right then," Dae Hwan said, cracking his knuckles and patting the sword at his side. "Let's go greet them."

"No—wait—" Ji Tae had hoped that there would be a bit more planning involved in their confrontation, but the other man had left before he had any time to protest. With a sigh, Ji Tae followed across the street, picking up the pace when Dae Hwan decided to kick down the door rather than open it normally.

"All right, serving wench!" Dae Hwan bellowed, drawing his sword and holding it out in front of him. "Tell us where you're hiding him!"

Ji Tae shoved the bigger man so he could get around him and see what was going on. To his surprise, there was no Hwa Woo Sung, or anyone who looked even slightly criminalistic. Instead, Yeonri and another older woman were cowering at the far end of the hut, eyes wide with horror.

"Or...not," Dae Hwan belatedly amended, coming to the realization just as Ji Tae did that they might have misunderstood their quarry.

It was the older woman who spoke first, an indignant fire sparking in her eyes as the two men continued to stand there.

"You broke my door!" she shouted. "Do you know how long I took to repair it after it broke the first time?"

"It broke a first time?" Dae Hwan asked.

"Yes, because—oh, that's not the point!" The woman staggered to her feet, relying on the wall behind her for support as she still worked to overcome her shock. "What right do you have to come barging into my home? And what's this about a serving wench and a criminal?"

"Uh, about that..." Dae Hwan said, casting a nervous glance at Ji Tae.

Ji Tae's eyes widened. He wouldn't...

"Uh, my captain said that the serving woman was harboring one of the fugitives we're looking for," Dae Hwan blurted.

Ji Tae sucked in a breath and closed his eyes, struggling to remain calm. Perhaps it was for the best that he found out this way that his soldiers were willing to cast their blame off on their captain so easily. He would rather have it be here than on the battlefield.

"Serving wench?" Now it was Yeonri who spoke, finding her voice as the realization of Dae Hwan's proclamation sunk in. "Is that what you just called me earlier?  You think I'm nothing more than a serving woman?"

"Uh, you...aren't?" Dae Hwan asked. "When we saw you at the restaurant yesterday..."

"I own the restaurant!" Yeonri spat, scrambling to her feet. "How dare you! And what gives you the right to follow me, anyway?".

All eyes turned to Ji Tae in the silence that followed, waiting for an explanation.

Ji Tae winced. "You were sneaking around," he explained, though now the excuse sounded flimsy even to his own ears. Perhaps the lack of progress had made him just see a situation where there was none at all. "I apologize for the misunderstanding."

"Oh, I think this is more than just a little misunderstanding," the older woman retorted, gesturing at the splintered remains covering her floor.

"You kept looking over your shoulder like you were afraid of being followed!" Ji Tae argued, looking at Yeonri. "What else was I supposed to think but that you'd purposely pointed us in the wrong direction yesterday? We never did find the criminal you said you saw."

Yeonri's surprise seemed genuine at least. "You mean he's still out there?"

Ji Tae nodded. "So you see, when I saw you creeping around, I thought—"

"I was trying to keep this trip a secret from my husband, that's all!" Yeonri said, a scowl crossing her face as she crossed her arms as well.

"What's so important about this place?" Dae Hwan's question echoed Ji Tae's thoughts as well.

Yeonri's companion cleared her throat and smoothed down her hanbok before stepping forward. "This place," she stated. "Is my home, and my place of business. Yeonri and I know each other well. I've given her a lot of helpful advice over the years. This place, as you so carelessly call it, is the place to meet the best shaman on the entire island. And I'm going to charge you two especially a lot for your visit."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, the rain let up just long enough for me to introduce you to my favorite kinds of street food, but it looks as though we'll need to go back inside for the time being. I have an idea—how about we relax after all this food at a Korean spa? We call these jimjilbang here. There's a good one I know of not too far from here where we can wash up and rest while I tell the rest of this story. But before we go, is there anything I need to explain to you?

Ah, yes, that expression that Dae Hwan uses. It's a variant of something we say in Korean. When someone, like Ji Tae in this instance, tends to always work alone, we would say he plays a double drum by himself. And lest I need to point out the obvious for you, a double drum needs more than just one person to play it, otherwise not only will it sound terrible, but you'll tire yourself out.

This is why it's always good to make friends, so you can have help when you need it. Although I suppose you could also just have a very persuasive personality like I do, and then you can skip the toil of maintaining friendships and just get to the 'helping' part.