Scene 5

「Papa… Please don’t…」 Beommi sobs, I feel a wetness crawl down my side from her tear droplets as she clings onto me tighter.

I pull Beommi close and lean my chin onto her head while rubbing her chin-length black hair. 「It’s Ok, I promise everything will be Ok…」

My words are meant too soothe both me and her, for I’m no longer without my dagger and thus unable to protect her if Papa doesn’t…

「GAAAH—」

A man’s painful moan fills the air, signaling the end of one of their lives. I feel a restlessness fill in my abdomen as I look to the ground, searching for something, anything to take my mind off of things.

… For all we could do is wait.

「KONO YARŌ!」

I hear a man’s voice exclaim over the heavy rainfall. He must be one of the Japanese.

Another clank of swords fill the air, shortly after I hear a large plap of mud, signaling someone’s body falling into the mud.

I squint my eyes shut and only focus on Beommi’s damp locks as I continue to caress it between my fingers. 「… Everything will be fine.」

「GAAAH—」

「… Everything will be fine…」

「HUUGH—」

「… Everything will be—」

I feel a faint touch on my shoulder, afraid to turn and look I let out all the air resting in my lungs in a short breath and fall onto dirt letting my thighs rest flat onto the ground. My eyes dart to the side and I feel all the worry inside of me be replaced with relief.

Papa’s body shields me from the cold winds and rain as it continues to blow past him as if he was a standing mountain high in the clouds. Despite his towering masculine figure, Papa’s presence never ceased to make me feel calm.

He bends down and hugs Beommi and I tightly, his palm resting near mine as he performs a soft chuckle.

「Silly girl, your father is Lee Jaesong, the most valiant of the Joseon Army. I could never lose to such barbaric ruffians like them.」

Without me knowing, tears flow from my eyes uncontrollably as I put my head onto his chest with clenched teeth. 「Papa… Papa…」

「Jaesong! I’ve found some, we must hurry as I hear them coming closer!」

Papa looks behind his shoulder to Sukchul, now setting two wooden barrels with metal hoops on the upper and lower levels at his sides with a huff. The plated armor on his torso was dripping with blood from his prior fight.

Sukchul then bends down, taking out a metal tool and mallet before circling the barrel and taking off the outer metal rings, first starting with the second nearest to the top.

「What is… What is that?」 I ask while standing up, continuing to look as Sukchul takes off the ring closest to the top.

「Like I said Eunmi, everything will be alright.」 Papa answers while standing up and turning around.

I stand up with clenched fists at my sides. 「Don’t say that without any explanation! What’re those for? Why aren’t we trying to run to the riv—」

「… Headless corpses… Maroon-glowing water… As the bodies dip up and down while floating down into the main river banks…」

「W-what…?」 I look past Papa at Sukchul, now untopping the trim of the second barrel.

He then sets the mallet down and grins with a small chuckle. 「You know the funniest part… They were laughing, smiles on their faces as they severed the heads of our neighbors…」

I then turn to look at Papa. 「What does he mean? What is he saying?」

「Enough Sukchul.」 Papa commands with a low growl.

「You’re children so your to naive to understand the art of war and the crude personalities of the Japanese. They cannot be reasoned with, hell I don’t even know what those dam mongrels are saying!」

Papa lunges forward and grabs Sukchul by his armored vest, dragging his knees through the dirt. 「They do not need to know of that!」

Sukchul pushes Papa back and stumbles onto his feet with infuriated eyes. 「But they must, Jaesong! They must! It must be told of their cruelty, their coldness! As my family…! They… 」

He then plunges his knees into the dirt with a sorrowful gaze. 「… As my family learned the hard way…」

Papa gaze soften, he bends onto one knee in front of Sukchul, putting a hand onto his shoulder.

Sukchul lowers his head, his chin dripping with streams of water from the rain. 「My wive and sons… Despite them being headless, I could tell that it was them… Their bodies collected and huddling at the mud banks of the river.」

He then unballs his fist revealing a white piece of damp ripped fabric. 「… Eunwoo…」

「Nothing is worse, than a father, a warrior, seeing the one thing he was fighting to protect… Lost. Your pain, your frustration and agony… I know you cannot bear to live with it, as would I not so.」

「My friend, you’ve been fighting along my side for ages, our company knows of your skill and triumph, you’ll be remembered as a fierce and loyal unit of the Joseon Army. 」Papa then turns to look over to Beommi and I with a half-smile.

「But my work is not done, as my duties as a father come first and foremost. And my greater half… Would want me to assure our daughters utmost survival.」

Sukchul nods his head and stands onto his feet, taking off the top of the second barrel. 「Let’s set them in before they fill with rain from the tormenting storm.」

Papa beckons Beommi forward with two fingers. She looks over to me with a hesistant gaze, noticing her worry, I give her a reaffirming nod while rubbing her back as she walks forward.

Papa then lifts her up and places her inside of the first wooden barrel. Despite her standing, I could only make out a small portion of the top of her head.

I then walk in front of the barrel and lean over it, looking down at Beommi. She looks up at me then glances around at the wooden interior before letting out a quaint sneeze.

I turn to Papa, him too eying the interior while knocking on the outside of barrel making sure if it’s sturdy.

Sukchul then pokes his head over the barrel with a smile. 「Are you alright in there, Miss Lee?」

「Pwachu!」 Beommi nods her head with another sneeze. 「Papa… It’s kind of stinky in here… When can I get out?」

「Well done, Sukchul. These shall do enough for the job at hand.」 Papa acknowledges, while hammering down one of the iron rings back down the middle of the barrel containing Beommi.

I take a step back with my nose and forehead now scrunched up. 「This… Is…」

Sukchul then taps the side of the second barrel while looking at me. 「And this one is you. If your sister can fit then I’m sure if you bend your knees a bit you can—」

「Papa! What happened to never letting go of eachother? What is all of this for?」

. . .