The next day, Sung-Kyung carried on with the task that she was assigned to. Showing her dedication by ensuring that the recruits under her charge will be well equipped for battle, while Ji Soo was by her side to keep her safe and helping her out whenever she needed it. However, her heart started to be curious about the man whom she could only meet during the night. The more Joo-Hyuk refuses to tell her, the more she wanted to know, which became the deciding factor for her choice.

“Ji Soo Oppa…”

“Neh?”

“Please help to make the necessary arrangements for me to stay in the army.”

“Great choice! Arasso… I will…”

That night, after bidding good night to Ji Soo, she head towards her sleeping quarters. When she knew that Ji Soo had walked back to his own room, she tiptoed her way out, while waiting for signs of Joo-Hyuk in the medicinal hall. After a couple hours of waiting, Joo-Hyuk finally arrived at the palace. This time, she decided not to enter and waited outside instead. On the other hand, Joo-Hyuk who is now getting used to having some disturbance during his quiet night wondered about the familiar face he had been seeing of late, but quickly brushes his thoughts off and went about doing the things he had intended to do and made his way out soon after. Sung-Kyung who had been lurking took the chance to follow him out of the palace and he unexpectedly led her to somewhere that would caused her to be touched beyond words could describe. There he was, paying her cousin brother a visit while bringing some dried goods and packed medicinal herbs for him. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she watched him. He was maneuvering around the house as though it was his own, brewing the medication before waking Kyung Tak up. She had been watching him and did not realize that the sun has risen and hurried back to the palace.

Ji Soo who was worried at her absence began looking for her and finally calmed down when she saw her riding into the palace.

“Where did you go without informing me? I thought something bad had happened to you.”

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to get some fresh air. And take this horse for a run…” as she came up with excuses.

“Don’t do that ever again. Arasso?”

“Neh…”

That night, yet again, she waited for everyone to sleep before leaving the palace to pay Jae-Joong a visit even if it was for a moment. As she was making her way back, she saw an unarmed Joo-Hyuk was cornered by a group of four guards that she recognized to be from the royal palace as seen from their outfits. To hide her identity, she masked herself before approaching them, withdrawing her sword to protect him from harm.

“You have no business here… Do not get in our way…”

“His business is my business,” said Sung-Kyung in an authoritative manner, before she turned to Joo-Hyuk and told him to run.

“Then you leave us with no choice…” asserts one of the guards.

Sung-Kyung with all her might fend off all four guards just so Joo-Hyuk could save himself.

“You have to kill me before you lay your hands on him…”

The confrontation continued as the sound of the clanking swords pierced through the stillness of the night. Her skills was unmatched even when she was outnumbered, though she did received some deep cuts to her arms and stomach but persevered through, ended up in killing a three of them before the remaining guard finally gave up on the search for Joo-Hyuk. She was left wounded and as soon as the guard left, Joo-Hyuk rushed out from his hiding and attended to her, still masked.

“Let’s go…” before he strapped her onto the horse.

Sung-Kyung was going in and out of consciousness as she was bleeding heavily; while Joo-Hyuk rode all the way back to the place that she had been yearning for, her own home.

Jae-Joong was awoken when Joo-Hyuk came in with the masked and injured Sung-Kyung.

“Hyung-nim… Sorry about this but I needed to help this man here… He got injured because of me…”

“Arasso… Bring him to the unused room… You can treat him in there...” said Jae-Joong, not knowing what had exactly happened.

“Thank you, Hyung-nim…”

The sudden intrusion did not leave any room for questioning or answers between Jae-Joong and Joo-Hyuk. He then laid her on the thin mattress before fetching a bowl of water and some clean cloths. He then lifted the mask, only to realize it was the very same person that had accompanied the injured Captain.

*What was he doing out of the palace?

He then began undoing the clothes to treat the wound on the abdomen first, when he found that the person he thought was a man with a familiar face all these time, was in fact a she. He immediately put two and two together and came to a realization that she was Hyung’s sister! The person that had never left his mind ever since the first time they accidentally met. Tears began to well up in his eyes as began to treat her wounds. He did not inform Jae-Joong right away and continued with the treatment.

Please wake up~ Please~ I am so sorry… This should not have happened… Please wake up~ I’ll regret my whole life if anything happened to you… as he continued to mutter in his heart.

When Joo-Hyuk had managed to stabilize her condition, he began to heave a sigh of relief.

“Joon Hyung ah~ Do you need my help?” asked Jae-Joong from the outside.

“Aniyo, Hyung-nim~ I’m fine… He just needs to rest…” as Joo-Hyuk lied so as not to worry him. At least, she should be conscious before meeting her brother.

A few hours had passed and the sun finally breaks in, Jae-Joong who was feeling better prepared some simple breakfast for himself and Joo-Hyuk.

“Come and eat… I’m sure you have yet to eat since last night...”

“It’s okay Hyung-nim… You can go ahead and eat first…”

“I don’t think leaving the person for a little while will do him any harm, since you have a talent in healing others. And you can’t be starving yourself either…”

Joo-Hyuk, though reluctant, stepped out of the room to prevent any suspicion from Jae-Joong. He sat down and took a sip of water when he noticed Jae-Joong’s bandaged finger.

“Hyung-nim… How did you hurt yourself?”

“Last night… Before you came, I was trying to pour myself some water but the cup dropped and got hurt while trying to clear the broken pieces… Somehow I didn’t feel good…”

Joo-Hyuk was feeling guilty the longer he tried to cover up the situation and he decided to broach the subject in a different manner,

“Hyung-nim…”

“Neh?”

“When I asked you where Bok Joo had gone to, I don’t think you ever really answered me…”

“Oh really?” as Jae-Joong broke into a smile to hide his feelings, “I guess I didn’t realize that… I thought I had already told you about it.”

“No you did not Hyung-nim~ you simply changed the topic every time I asked you about it…”

“Why are you bringing this up again, Joon Hyung ah~ are you still carrying a torch for her? Even though, I’d like you as my brother-in-law… I won’t agree to it if she doesn’t… She’s a tough nut to crack…” as Jae-Joong began to blabber off, yet again trying to stop him from asking further, not knowing what Joo-Hyuk had just found out. However, Joo-Hyuk pressed on further this time,

“Don’t you miss her Hyung-nim?”

“Aigoo~ Joon Hyung ah~ are you trying to make me sad?”

“Aniyo~ I just don’t think she’s the type of sister who would leave her brother alone without a good reason…”

“What are you trying to drive at? Do you have any updates about her?!”

Joo-Hyuk remained silent for a moment.

“Tell me! Do you know something about her?!” asked Jae-Joong with much anticipation causing him to start coughing due to the sudden exertion.

“Hyung-nim~ are you alright?” with Joo-Hyuk immediately sitting beside him patting his back to ease the pain.

“I’m fine… But I need to know if Bok Joo is fine…” as Jae-Joong sadness became apparent to Joo-Hyuk,

“Joon Hyung ah~” pleaded Jae-Joong again.

“Hyung-nim… The person inside is…”

Even before Joo-Hyuk could finish his sentence, Jae-Joong stood up and hurried towards the room even though he was unwell, to which Joo-Hyuk quickly followed after him.

“My sister… My lovely sister…” as grief was written all over his face as soon as he saw her in an unconscious state. He kneeled down by her side and began caressing her face,

“I’m sorry…” with tears flowing down his cheeks.

“Hyung-nim… Rest assured I will treat her to the best of my abilities…”

“I know you will… But will you tell me how did she end up like this? Why was she with you?”

Joo-Hyuk was reluctant to talk about the real situation because it would mean that his secret would be uncovered but to keep Jae-Joong’s curiosity at bay,

“A group of bandits attempted to rob me… I guess they thought I was carrying something valuable… When all of a sudden a masked person came to my help… And at that point of time, I didn’t know it was Bok Joo…”

“But what was she doing there in the first place?”

“I guess she wanted to pay you visit?” as Joo-Hyuk took his chances to deviate the topic away from him and shifted it back to Sung-Kyung instead, “So Hyung-nim~ you knew all along about her enlistment? That she was in disguise?”

To which Jae-Joong nodded in reply, “She just used my identity in order to help the country… And…”

“Neh Hyung-nim...”

“Don’t you think you would have to start learning how to defend yourself? If you can’t even defend yourself, how do you think you’ll be able to protect my sister? That is if you are interested in her? What were you thinking not carrying a sword while travelling in the middle of the night?”

Joo-Hyuk could not even reply to Jae-Joong’s query and simply made an excuse to gather some herbs for Sung-Kyung’s treatment. While he was spending some time alone, Jae-Joong’s words kept replaying in his mind. He tried to brush it off but it came right back up at the top of his head. But the more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. Seeing her in such a condition definitely swayed his decision to pick up the sword again but at the same time his trauma kept him away. He went about to wash his face to rid of his thoughts and walked back to the house. He prepared the medication and went in to see an already conscious Sung-Kyung with Jae-Joong by her side.

“She’s really a tough nut isn’t she?” said an already smiling Jae-Joong, “I better leave the two of you to talk first…”

“No Oppa~ It’s okay… You don't have to leave... Because I need to get some fresh air…”

“But you are still unwell…”

“I’m feeling okay Oppa~ this much doesn’t hurt…” said Sung-Kyung as though it was an indication for Joo-Hyuk that she wanted to talk to him privately outside. She brought him to a nearby place that was quiet enough to have a private chat before settling down on the large boulders. Joo-Hyuk was getting worried at Sung-Kyung’s silence, so he decided to break the cold atmosphere,

“How are you feeling? Better now?”

“Yeah~ much better…”

“So….”

“Well now that you know who I am… Will you be telling on me?” as Sung-Kyung cut him short.

“No I won’t… Why should I?”

“You were indeed chased by the royal guards last night… So you might sell me out just so they might let you off?”

“No such thing… I’m not going to tell on you alright? You’ll have my word…”

“And why were they chasing you after you anyways? Just who are you?”

“I think they thought I was a thief…”

“A thief? Chased by four royal guards?”

“Yeah~”

“So did you steal anything from the palace?”

“No I did not… They were mistaken…”

“Somehow I don’t think so…”

“You are thinking too much over nothing~” as Joo-Hyuk breaks out into awkward laughter.

“If that’s the case I don’t know what I was thinking when I did what I did… I may be charged for it!”

“If I don’t tell and you don’t tell… No one will know right?”

“Is it because you stole the medicines for my brother?”

“Aish~ I told you… There’s nothing to worry about… How can they consider me a thief when I am not even getting paid much for my work over there… And you did the right thing by protecting a citizen in need. Am I right?”

“Well… I guess you can say so…”

“So what do you want to eat? I can prepare them for you… You need to get back to being healthy again.”

Sung-Kyung began listing the food that she wanted to eat and Joo-Hyuk simply nodded along before stopping her,

“If that’s the case you need to come with me to the market to find the ingredients…”

“Sure no problem…”

"Though you have to tell me if you need to rest in between or you are experiencing any pain... Arasso?"

"Tsk tsk tsk... You sure do nag like a mother would..." as Sung-Kyung shook her head.

"Wah~ This is what I get from being concern..." 

And so the two of them went to the nearby market together. It was amusing for Joo-Hyuk to see Sung-Kyung haggling for a lower price and how skilled she was at identifying the freshest food that he could not stop smiling to himself.

“Let me help you to carry some of the bags…”

“You are not well Bok Joo-ssi… So let me do this… And thank you…”

“Thank you? For?”

“*For saving me and coming into my life again… For helping me save some of my money with your haggling skills…”

“Aish~ that’s nothing at all… It’s the least I could do since you paid for it and will be cooking all of these for me too!”

When they reached home, Joo-Hyuk began preparing the ingredients with Sung-Kyung staying by his side helping him with whatever she could, even though he told her time and again to rest. Jae-Joong smiled as he looked on the two young people interacting with each other from afar.

*I’ve never seen you this happy ever since your parents passed away, Sung-Kyung ah~ I hope he’ll make you happy..

While waiting for the dishes to fully cook, Joo-Hyuk insisted on asking Sung-Kyung to rest,

“Go in and have a chat with your brother… It’s been a long time isn’t it? Don’t worry about the food, I’ll tend to it with perfection…”

“Arasso… Komawo…”

She stepped into the house and sat across Jae-Joong. There were no words exchanged in the beginning but merely a smile to each other before he began to speak,

“There’s no doubt in my mind about you making it through… No matter how tough