Malevolence

Somewhere in the town of Gaeseong

The inky sky occasionally brightened as the moon wove in and out of the clouds moodily. The night painted zagged shadows around the three men huddled in their rags, bidding their time.

"Do you really think she will come out in the open?" the stout one asked sceptically

"Right Minister told us she is here somewhere. She might have already visited the house. It has not been long. No matter where she goes, she must pass the market," the tallest of them, their leader, gave a half smile of anticipation.

"She can't go far. We must get her." the third one voiced the obvious, nervously touching the bandana on his forehead.

Abject fear paralyzed them at the thought of failure. The instructions were simple: Min Jay Yi had to be caught and delivered to Minister of Justice Won Ho. She might have someone from inside the palace helping her. He had given them the authority to kill if they met with resistance as long as they brought Min Jay Yi alive. Until then, they were to keep their mission a secret because spies were everywhere. The Right Minister had also ordered them to keep away from all the Imperial offices in case of a leak. This was a critical task, he had emphasized.

Right Minister's face had contorted, "If he escapes, I will have her with me to bring him to knees." Won-bo frothed around his mouth, "but, if we lose, I will ensure she is found in a state that will never let him sleep."

Icicles had formed in their spine. They had not dared to ask what he meant. He had thrown a bag full of nyangs, promising a lot more if their mission was successful. Failure would mean dreadful consequences.

"Who do you think he meant?" the youngest asked fearfully.

The head slave hunter turned toward his shorter accomplice. "Does it matter, you nincompoop? It must be someone who dared to go against him."

"But if someone from the palace is still helping her, it could be dangerous for us too."

 "How dangerous could it be? She will not be able to do much in the street amongst the people. After all, she is a murderer, so her accomplice would be a traitor." The leader sounded more confident than he felt. He did not doubt they would be able to catch Min Jay Yi this time, but their fear of the Right Minister created an overpowering image of intangible terror.

The rumours swirling around were confusing. The Crown Prince had been deposed about 5 days ago for reasons unknown to them, and his position restored almost immediately. The murderer Min Jay Yi had somehow made her way to the palace, supposedly to kill the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. She had succeeded in killing the Crown Princess before being caught but then had escaped as she was being taken for execution. 

They had not seen any notices for Min Jay Yi's capture, which made little sense. Why were they not hunting her as before?

What care did they have? They were ordinary slave managers here to capture Min Jay Yi. Won Bo's maniac eyes popped up in their mind, making their blood run cold. They would capture her, no matter what.