Noh Ji Tae hadn't missed what the older prisoner had said regarding his exile: it might not be for as long as you think. The man was a traitor, that was certain—possibly even a spy for the Japanese. But with the help of Ming forces, Joseon had driven the Japanese out of the north to where they were holding their last ground in the southernmost port of Busan. Surely with their resources so drastically diminished from earlier in the war, the enemy would not care about the capture of a mere civil servant.

Besides, Ji Tae reasoned, Tamna was so isolated from the rest of the country—it surely wouldn't be easy for the Japanese to sneak in without being spotted from far away. But these thoughts did little to reassure him. If he had learned anything from this war, it was that underestimating the opponent could have deadly consequences. He would not turn a blind eye to any potential scheming on this prisoner's part.

The journey to the fort where the criminals would be kept dragged out in several sodden, rainy hours. And the younger of the two prisoners—the one around Ji Tae's age—would not stop complaining.

"I'm tired. My feet hurt. Are we there yet? Doesn't anyone else have to pee?"

"Would you just shut up," the other prisoner finally snapped, and through the rain, Ji Tae thought he saw a glimmer of satisfaction cross the younger man's face.

"Oh, was I bothering you, Hong Pyo?" Ji Tae noted that the man didn't actually apologize to the other criminal.

"You act like a child, Hwa Woo Sung," the man named Hong Pyo spat. "And speak respectfully when addressing your elders."

Woo Sung gave a cheeky grin. "We're both prisoners, so I think formal speech is a bit unnecessary, don't you?"

"Enough, both of you," Ji Tae interrupted, stepping in-between Hong Pyo's murderous glare and Woo Sung's rather pleased smirk. "Or would you rather I gag you both?"

Both Hong Pyo's and Woo Sung's expressions turned to those of horror, and they quickly straightened up and faced forward without another word. Satisfied, Ji Tae gave a single nod and stepped ahead to take the lead.

On second thought...

Ji Tae looked back over his shoulder, only to see the pair eyeing each other again. As soon as they realized he was looking, they immediately snapped to attention.

Ji Tae set his jaw in disapproval and motioned at one of the other guards.

"Dae Hwan, if they misbehave, you have my permission to set them straight," Ji Tae said.

"Yes, captain," Dae Hwan replied, loosening up the muscles in his broad shoulders with a few experimental rolls and cracking his knuckles in anticipation. Neither of the prisoners made a sound.

Ji Tae suppressed a smile and turned forward again.

The rest of the trip didn't drag on quite so long after that, especially as the rain began to let up and make the journey all the more bearable. Still, one of Ji Tae's boots had gotten water in it and squelched with each step, so he was glad when they finally reached their destination.

Some of the soldiers stationed at the fort came marching out to meet the sodden company upon their arrival. The local magistrate was at the head of the group, and Ji Tae gave a quick bow before handing over the official letter from the court decreeing the fate of the two prisoners they had escorted. The magistrate broke the seal, gave the document a cursory glance, and then snorted before letting the paper drop to his side.

"You'd think the king would have more important things on his mind than just sending a few criminals away," the magistrate said. "Like winning this war, for instance. We're stretched thin enough as it is, worrying when and where the Japanese will strike next. We don't need any extra concerns at the moment."

Ji Tae felt a muscle in his jaw twitch. "I'm sure the war is the foremost of King Seonjo's responsibilities," he replied. "But we can't neglect other matters in the meantime."

The magistrate scratched his beard. "Well, I suppose we can only hope Won Gyun is more competent than that Yi Soon Shin—"

"Admiral Yi has proved he is more than capable at winning his battles," a voice interrupted, and Ji Tae turned with the magistrate to find Woo Sung frowning at them. "Name any other man who's been more victorious in this war. We're outnumbered and using bows and arrows against advanced Portuguese weaponry, and over half of our soldiers despair and desert before even engaging in battle. On land, our army has to rely on constant assistance from Ming forces, but Yi Soon Shin has helped us win every single naval battle so far. The king should have trusted the admiral's judgement in not using the information that spy gave, instead of throwing him in prison for disobeying."

"Well, that certainly answers the question of why he's here," the magistrate commented to Ji Tae, tilting his head in the direction of Woo Sung before turning back to the fort and indicating for them to follow. "Loyal to the traitorous ex-admiral."

Ji Tae bit his tongue and followed after the magistrate. Woo Sung did have a point, but then, orders were meant to be obeyed, and Admiral Yi had gone against them.

"The prisoners will be put in separate quarters and I'll have a couple of men guard each of them," the magistrate continued, stepping through the doorway and into the courtyard. "There's not much they can get up to on this island, especially with the war, and they'll have nowhere to run to if they try to escape. You can leave them with my men without a worry and head back to the capital as soon as you like. We'll find some work for them to do soon enough."

"Thank you," Ji Tae said, watching as a few of the fort's guards escorted the prisoners to their rooms. "We'll probably stay a week and rest before heading back."

"Sounds good," the magistrate said. "Though it's a pity you couldn't have come in a few more months during tangerine season instead. Have you ever tried a tangerine before? You don't know what you're missing."

Ji Tae wondered how this man could so suddenly switch from discussing the prisoners to talking about some kind of fruit. "Perhaps another time," he said.  Personally, he was relieved that they had traveled to the island at the end of the summer.  If this was what good weather on the island was like during a supposedly-pleasant time of the year, he'd hate to experience what happened in the bitter cold of the winter season.

The magistrate nodded. "Yes, once things have calmed down a bit, of course. Have things calmed down at all, by the latest reports?"

Ji Tae shook his head. "The last I heard, Won Gyun was sailing to Busan to confront the Japanese. He wants to put a stop to this war as soon as possible."

The magistrate gave a delighted laugh, much to Ji Tae's bewilderment. "That's the way!" the man exclaimed. "Go right for the throat and strike them down. No more of this dancing around and skirmishing with them like that Yi Soon Shin did. We need to wipe them out once and for all."

"Many feel that he is being a bit too hasty in his decisions, though," Ji Tae said. "It's no good to just charge in without a plan."

"Ah, but you heard that prisoner earlier say it himself, our Navy's never lost a fight."

"Yet," Ji Tae added grimly, but it didn't seemas though the magistrate had heard him.    

If you haven't heard of a Jeju tangerine, you're missing out. Even I like them, and you know that I'd usually just opt for a nice juicy steak instead. The Tamna magistrate, like most humans, was a fool, but I suppose I can't fault him for wanting to tell Ji Tae all about the island's famous citrus. Back then, tangerine, or gyul, season was only in the winter, but now with modern resources, tangerines can be grown year-round. Jeju tangerines (so-called as the island now goes by Jeju instead of Tamna) are world-famous. I have an idea—why don't we get some for dessert after this? I'm sure they must be selling tangerines around here somewhere. Fruit is healthier than sugary baked things, anyway.

Oh, what do the Portuguese have to do with this story? Well, at that time the Japanese had been doing a lot of trading with that specific European country, especially after all the internal fighting that Japan had gone through just a few years earlier. Portugal was able to supply rifles and other advanced weaponry, while Ming Dynasty China and Joseon Korea were behind the times. Yi Soon Shin, the admiral of the Joseon Navy, was the only competent person, it seemed. He won every single naval battle, but the king, fool that he was, threw him in jail for going against orders, based on information from an unreliable source.

You're probably very tired of this history lesson. I suppose it's more interesting to people like me who have actually lived through it. Anyway, pick out something on the menu already, so we can order our food! The bulgogi's good, why don't you order that? You've had bulgogi before, right? If you don't like it, that's fine—more for me. You can have some lettuce or something instead.

Me? I'm getting galbi, of course. I'm so hungry I could eat a whole cow, but I'll just make do with lots of ribs, instead. So you see, it's best you hurry up and decide what to order so I can eat too. It's not wise to make me wait for too long.

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

Yay another chapter!  Dedicated to 18gooda for all her wonderful support and encouraging me to post again.  

I've been watching Hwayugi with Lee Seung Gi lately and absolutely loving it.  One of the characters is a cow demon, and Seung Gi's monkey demon character suggests they go eat some galbi (cow ribs) for a celebration, just to annoy his friend.  This last part of Moon Sun's speech reminded me of that.  XD

Anyone thinking the magistrate is a little too optimistic?  I suppose you could cheat and google what happens, since this is rooted a little more in historical events than Ballad.  Orrrr  you could just have fun and guess!  :D