Bastion 2 - Chapter 27

Wansil Marina had a personal rickshaw and ordered two more for all of us to travel comfortably. The streets at this end of the kingdom were all clean. The shops were orderly and neat. There were no gamblers, or obvious escorts, and no street food. The bay was used for personal water-craft instead of import ships, and the open spaces were well manicured parks.

I never wanted to live on this side of the kingdom. There was no adventure, no fun! Mostly, there didn’t appear to be any bot fights. Though it’d been a few months since I’d participated in a fight, it would always be part of my life.

Just when I thought we’d reached the height of wealth, the rickshaws took a turn toward the bay and a new standard was set. A white stone mansion was set into the hillside facing the bay with a sprawling green lawn, tall trees, and flower gardens reaching all the way to the shore. A paved road carved up through the hill to the front door, and that’s where we were destined.

Mae made a sound like clearing her throat, then said, “Not to interrupt your ogling, but I thought it important to mention that we are within range of the signal location.”

I scanned the hillside, then the bay, and saw another feat of modern architecture. A long pier reached out into the water, and atop the end sat a massive black and red wooden dojang. It mimicked the ancient temple design in the awnings and peaks of the roof, the shingles, all the way down through the sturdy wood columns. It was incredible.

“And also, very likely the source of the signal,” Mae mentioned, and the map reappeared before my eyes. The view zoomed in as street and building details were added, and the red dot encompassed my vision. It could’ve been in the dojang, or the mansion, but either way, it was here.

I turned to Hana and leaned in to whisper, “The signal is here. Smile and laugh.”

She giggled and covered her mouth, then asked, “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” I said with a grin that belied my anxious pulse.

She gripped my hand and smiled wider. “We’ve got this.”

I had planned on canvasing the area, looking for windows and other ways that Tuko could sneak in, but now I worried Hana would be trying to act. The Bastion gate guards knew we were heading out to the festival, so if anything happened to us, they would have no idea where to look. Trying to investigate or expose the Wong family would be too dangerous to risk any of my friends.

I leaned in once more as the rickshaw driver pulled up to the front. “Observe only.”

Hana pursed her lips, then sighed. “Okay.”

“Here we are!” Marina said with delight as she disembarked and stretched. We did the same and I worked hard to keep an expression of awe as my heart raced.

“You have the most beautiful home,” I remarked as I gestured to the entire hillside.

Marina giggled. “Wait until you see the inside. Where are you from, Jiyong?” she asked as she took the pristine white steps up to the front double door. A servant emerged, holding the door open with a bow for us all.

“I live in Namnak with my mother and five siblings,” I said.

“Namnak… is that on the lower west end of the kingdom?” she asked with a puzzled expression.

“It’s an outer-city,” Ko-nah said with a grumble.

Marina stopped at the doorway and straightened as she looked at me again, this time with a more critical eye. “Outer-city, huh? You look very”—she paused, rolling her hand around as she searched for the appropriate word—“well put together.”

As she turned away, I saw her give a conspicuous nod to the servant inside the door. As we followed her through the entry, so did the servant follow me. Great. All the more reason we would be observing only.

The entrance hall floor was polished white stone with long, black and red rugs. There was a sitting station where we all removed our shoes and put them away in solid, black-wood cubbies.

“Hana, tell me about yourself,” Marina said as another servant helped her out of her coat. They tried to do the same for me, but I kindly refused, holding tighter to my bag as well.

Hana pulled in a deep breath, then said, “I used to be a Jun—”

Marina cut her off with a gasp. “Rising Phoenix Jun? You’re that Hana?”

Hana nodded.

There was a gleam of gossipy hunger in Marina’s eyes as she asked, “What happened?”

Hana stepped closer and laced her fingers with mine, then held up our joined hands.

Marina winced. “Sorry, dear. I heard about your father a few years back and wondered if you’d been doomed to the same fate. No wonder your mother remarried so quickly. What a terrible loss for you.”

Hana’s cheeks flushed and her grip tightened on my hand. “I prefer to think of how much I gained. Jiyong is a gifted munje user, an excellent teacher, and very supportive of my personal goals.”

Marina hummed and nodded, but turned away. “Yuri, how about you?”

“My family owns the sewage treatment plants on the west side, and the desalinization facilities on the north side,” Yuri said with a bounce in her step. “Oh, and we own the piping infrastructure for most of the kingdom, and the small power plant that supplies the palace.”

“You must be a Kim, then,” Marina said with a wink over her shoulder.

Yuri hummed confirmation and Cho glanced back at me with wide-eyed surprise. Yuri hadn’t talked much about her family beyond the sewage plant, but it seemed they were a big influence in the kingdom. Not the most prestigious work, like running a renowned dojang or entertainment business, but still powerful.

Marina lead us down another narrow hall lined with portraits of wide-faced, black-haired men; all Wongs. Tae-do’s portrait hung at the very end of the line, and there were still several meters of hall left to go. There was no portrait of Ko-nah, I noticed.

We wound through several more impressive rooms, some of which just for sitting, but others that were obviously for sparring, and other games. There were staircases leading up to the next level, all white stone with black and red rugs, and long, glittering chandeliers of crystal.

‘Can you make a record of this?’ I asked Mae.

“Way ahead of you,” she replied in my head with a glimmering wink.

We passed through a grand dining hall that seemed to go on forever. There were tall windows open to the hillside beyond, and massive sculptures of all different kinds of stone littered a well-manicured yard. The table was polished to a high-shine, and fluffy pillows with a low—but stable looking—back rest sat at every place setting. It was luxurious.

But we moved on through a door in the back. We came to a rather small room—comparatively—with a rectangular wooden table devoid of the embellishments seen elsewhere. There was a small fireplace with burning embers at one end, and a plain wood door to another room at the other end. If I had to guess, this was the servant’s dining room.

Marina took the seat at the head of the table next to the fireplace and I put myself next to Ko-nah. The tailing servant stood at the door, blocking the way back. His gaze stayed locked on me as he pulled his shoulders back and flexed his muscles under his tight dobok. I assumed this was to scare me into not filching anything off the table, and rolled my eyes as I looked away.

The second door swung open and two servants entered with trays of bowls, utensils, curry, and rice. They served each one of us individually, and I bowed my head with a mumbled thanks as they served me. The woman didn’t look me in the face, or reply, but hurried on to serve Hana.

“Cho, how about you?” Marina asked with a perky smile.

Cho shrugged. “My family owns a farm. We produce about five percent of the kingdom’s rice.”

Marina hummed happily. “Perhaps we’re about to dine on the fruits of your family’s labor now.”

“Maybe.” Cho bobbed his head. It was obvious his mind was still on his sister.

When everyone was served, I dropped my head and closed my eyes in prayer. When I opened my eyes, Marina was smiling curiously. “What was that, dear?”

“It’s an outer-city thing,” Ko-nah said before shoving a spoonful of curry in his mouth.

She scowled and straightened. “I hope you don’t think we’re trying to poison you.”

Heat bubbled up in my stomach. “I was giving thanks. For many years, my family was on the edge of starvation,” I said with a twinge of anger. “Praying is something we do to remind ourselves that there may not always be food, and so we must be grateful for what we receive.”

“Oh,” Marina said uncomfortably.

We took a few bites in awkward silence until Marina spoke again. “I didn’t realize it was so bad.”

I shook my head. “It’s not that way for everyone, but many live in scarcity. My apprenticeship with an instructor at Bastion provided the stable funds my family needed to thrive, and that is one of the things I give thanks to at every meal.”

Marina’s shoulders relaxed. “Tell me more about where you live, Namnak.”

“We don’t need to talk about this,” Ko-nah said with a glower aimed at me. I nodded and returned to my curry.

The remainder of the meal was painfully quiet aside from a few “safe” questions about classes and what we’d learned this year. On our way out, Marina stopped and thanked us for the company, then added, “Ko-nah should show you the dojang. He hopes to become powerful just like his father—

“Wansil Wong is not my father,” Ko-nah snapped and Marina shrank back. “He makes that well known every chance he gets,” he mumbled and moved to retrieve his things.

“Right,” she whispered and looked down.

I scowled at Ko-nah, heat filling my face. How could he speak to his mother like that so cavalierly in front of others? Even in private, I wouldn’t dare to give my mother such an ungrateful tone. He purposefully avoided my gaze as he pulled on his shoes.

Marina sucked in a deep breath. “You should go down to the dojang anyway. I know wansil Wong wanted to give you something.”

“It can wait. I need to get back to school.” Ko-nah pulled his jacket from the servant’s hands and stuffed his arms through.

“Ko-nah,” Marina warned with a worried look. “You know wansil Wong does not like to be disappointed.”

We all stood aside in awkward silence as they stared at one another. Finally, Ko-nah sighed. “Let’s go then,” he said and waved us toward the dojang on the pier. He cut through the manicured lawn with a moody march.

I turned to Marina and bowed. “Thank you for hosting us, and the delicious meal.”

She dipped her head in what would pass for a respectful bow from a wansil. “It was good to meet you. I’m glad Ko-nah finally has some friends at school.”

The others bid her thanks and farewell, and then we followed Ko-nah—who had waited most impatiently—to the pier. I replayed the image of Marina’s face as Ko-nah snapped at her, and the tone of her voice as she talked about him having friends until I felt my frustration at near boiling point. She seemed like a good person. Naive and sheltered, but kind.

“I used your ma without permission, I’m sorry,” Mae said as we caught up to Ko-nah.

‘What for?’

“Reconnaissance. The signal isn’t in the mansion.”

‘That leaves one other place…’