He arrived at the camp before sunrise, but Taemin thought he should wait a little bit more until the other soldiers arrive too. He was in the forest, next to the camp's place, and the boy was walking around all the time, making himself nervous, while his horse was eating grass, calmly. Those sentences were in his head, what his brother and father had told him. His superiors could find his real age out, he wouldn't bear the training, he wouldn't be able to kill anyone on the battle field. These things burnt the boy from inside, and he started to think it is still not too late to turn back and apologize from his family.

"Yes, it's still not too late, and..."

His horse suddenly neighed and looked at the way of the camp. First Taemin did not understand the black horse's thoughts, then he stepped to the trees, and pushed a bough aside to have a better look at the place. Younger and older people arrived in their horses, leaving the animals in the same place, and started to walk around the white tents. Every tent was the same. Steam came up from one of them, obviously it was the diner for the soldiers. But there was a tent, what had a decorative flag on the top of it, and Taemin suspected it was the superiors' tent.

"Then... let's go" he grabbed his horse's rein, patted its neck, and slowly walked to the different kind of horses. 

He tied his horse to a bough with shaking fingers, and gave a hug to the animal. His heart beat faster in his chest, his throat went dry, and he felt as sweat drops appeared on his forehead. He let his horse go, adjusted his clothes and started to go to the camp with slow steps.

Most of them were sauntering around the diner tent, waiting for the cook to fill their plates. There were some people who used their last calm seconds, and slept in the grass, sometimes making loud snoring sounds.

Somehow Taemin could not imagine this camp as Taehoon had told him in the previous day. He had told him about a place where the training is so hard, and there is life and death fight between the soldiers. For some reason Taemin could not imagine any of these people would be that violent.

"I'm telling you the tattoo artist said this dragon will make me unconquerable in the war!"

The young boy turned to the voice's way, and blinked at a tall, thin man, curiously, who showed the tattoo on his upper body. In front of him there was a smaller male, and watched the tattoo with a weird smile on his face.

"Hm... I've never heard anything like this. Don't you want to try it before we meet the Japanese?"

"What?" The man with the tattoo blinked, and before he realized the other man punched him in his stomach, laughing while the taller fell on to the ground.

"I would ask my money back, my friend" he patted his shoulder, and left him to take a walk in the camp.

When the man did not care about his victim anymore Taemin hurried to him, knelt down next to him, and put his hand on to his back, carefully.

"You should visit the doctor" he said, because the man did not move his hand away from the point of his stomach where the other hit him; the stomach of the dragon tattoo.

"Oh, please" he pulled away from Taemin, straightened up and closed his upper clothes. "I'll get stronger punches from the Japanese."

When he turned around Taemin could see the pain in his face, but he did not follow him, because he knew how strong the pride could be in men; it was some of the many things what made him different from his brother. Taemin did not think it was a shame to count on someone or accept the help, while Taehoon thought something else, and he said it was the sign of the weakness.

"All right, but only one more, because I'll run out of my jokes!" He heard a nice voice, what was a little bit familiar.

Taemin slowly stood up from the ground, and followed the voice what he heard from the tent, what was full of the delicious smell of food. The boy stepped at the white tent's entrance, and looked around. The other end of the place was not covered, and there was a big pot above the fire. In front of it there was a long line by men with plates in their hands. Those who got their food could take a seat somewhere on the benches to eat their breakfast; porridge.

"The war is coming and you're telling jokes?" A man grumbled, putting his muscular arms on his hips.

Taemin recognized him immediately; he hit the tattooed man. 

"I just want to make a good mood." The younger man shrugged, and put his spoon in to his porridge. 

"Kibum's right." An older, brown haired man sighed, who already ate his breakfast. "If we have to die in a war, at least we should have fun before it happens."

"Sure." The teasing man mocked. "Tell some jokes to the Japanese too, maybe they will laugh themselves to death."

"If you have a better idea about spending our free time, I'm listening." The man, called Kibum, said with a melodic voice. "Grumpy."

Hearing the nickname the others started to giggle, just as Taemin from his place, but the humiliated man noticed him, and did not take his gaze away from him, while he said:

"What are you laughing at?"

"Me?" Taemin turned around, and when he realized no one was near to him, he got nervous again.

"No, my grandmother. Don't you see her? She's right next to you." The man stepped closer to him, Taemin backed up. "But you know, she's dead, so I can only blame you, right?"

"It doesn't matter if she's dead or not, she would be laughing at this too." Kibum joked again, and patted the man next to him with his elbow, who was having fun too, while he the plate clean.

"I'm sorry." Taemin said quietly, collecting his courage, and remembered at the happenings before. "But you should apologize too."

"What?"

"From the man you hit. The man with the dragon tattoo."

"I just proved him he's wasted his money."

The man next to Kibum stood up after he wiped his mouth, and stepped to the angry male, putting his hand on his shoulder, making circles with his thumb, like it could have made the other calm down.

"Jonghyun, don't make yourself angry in the first day. By the way, why did you fight?"

"True." Kibum stood up from the bench, and joined them. "You can fight enough with the Japanese, but... I guess you will hide from them under a rock. Am I right?" he smirked, and looked in to Jonghyun's darker and darker eyes. 

"An apologize isn't the end of the world."

"Oh, sorry, ladies, I didn't know there were etiquette rules here!" he made a girlish voice, then pushing Taemin aside from his way, he left the tent.

Taemin did not want to make enemies in his first day, so he ran after the man to talk to him again, but he stumbled in the rope of the tent, bumped in to a man, who was carrying hot porridge, and the food fell on to Jonghyun's neck.

"What the...! What the hell was that?"

The unlucky and now porridgeless man pointed at Taemin, who stood up slowly. When he was standing straight, he felt someone grabbed his clothes' collar, and he could see Jonghyun's big, black pupils maybe too close to himself.

He lifted his free hand, and Taemin immediately saw the fisted fingers, what was closer and closer to his face, so he turned his head away, hoping he could avoid the punch.

"Let him go!" Kibum tried to make the younger free, but like this Jonghyun's fist hit him strongly.

The male let Taemin go, because of the surprise, so the boy fell on the ground, and watched as Kibum wiped the blood from his lips, then straightened up with a scary smirk, and lifted his hand to Jonghyun, who avoided the punch, and pushed him on the ground.

"Oh, I didn't want to make enemies here, but if this is what you want." Kibum jumped up right away, and lifted his leg to kick him, but Jonghyun grabbed it, and pushed him back, so Kibum fell in to the older, brown haired male's arms, who did not except this, and this is why he lost his balance, and both of them fell on to a tent. The ropes broke, and the white tent fell on to the ground with them.

*

Inside of the tent, what had the decorative flag, three men were sitting around a small table, looking at a big map. The second eldest was deep in his thoughts, and he touched the feather on the top of his helmet, while he was thinking.

"I think I told you everything, but if you have any questions, let me hear it before I go" he looked up from the map to the young man before him.

The oldest man, who was sitting at the head of the table, was looking at them with his small eyes, and he was writing something all the time on to the paper in his hands. Choi Geunho knew he couldn't get rid of him, because the king, himself, sent the man to them, but he sighed in relief, when Shin Daemok wanted to watch the trainees' training, so he could write a report to the general and the king, too.

"I don't have any questions, General Choi." The young male ducked his head down.

There was a proud smile on Geunho's face, what Daemok did not like, and immediately wrote something down on his paper.

"If you let me, General Choi." The old, thin man cleared his throat; a light wind could blow him away anytime. "Please, think about it again. You'll just give these trainees' training to this young man? He can't be much older than them. They won't respect him, and..."

"Choi Minho was number one in his class, if you want to know, Shin Daemok, but you will see it yourself in the few weeks during the trainings."

"Weeks." The councilor rolled his eyes. "Until then the Japanese will burn down our villages, not to mention the King's palace!"

"We could kill their leader." Choi Geunho reminded him. "If we got right information, now his son is the head of the Japanese. I don't think they counted on it, so they will need time to think about their strategy. It's enough time for Minho to make real soldiers from these men."

"But..." he wanted to continue, but Geunho rose his hand up, making the older stop.

He stood up from his place, and put his helmet on. The man took a sword out from under the table, what had beautiful patterns and the name of the Choi family, and gave it to his son.

"From now on everything is your responsibility and under your control in this camp, Captain Choi Minho."

The twenty five years old man took the present, and for a moment he forgot they were not alone in the tent but the councilor was with them too and watched every movements of his.

"Thank you, father, it... it means a lot to me."

Daemok cleared his throat, the paint brush moved quickly between his fingers, leaving black lines on the paper.

"I mean..." He shamed himself immediately. "You won't be disappointed, General."

Geunho nodded with a smile, patting his son's shoulder before he stepped out of the tent, followed by Daemok. Although the general turned back one more time, making the councilor bump in to him, but Geunho did not care. 

"I'll expect a full report about the trainees" he added before he left the tent.

"And I won't leave anything out." Daemok mocked the Choi boy, and followed the general.

Choi Minho pulled himself together, because as he was alone he had a big smile on his face, like that time, when he could watch the fireworks with his father. He could not let it happen in his first day in the camp; he could not show this side of his.

He heard the horses left outside, what meant his father was gone too. Now everything was his responsibility, he had to make these men ready for the fight with the Japanese. Minho put his new sword on, straightened himself, took a deep breath, and pushing the tent's entrance aside he stepped out to the sunlight.

But he did not expect what he saw oustide. Since he reached the most important age he went from war to war, before it he had gotten trainings from his father, but he had never seen a chaos like this. 

Porridge covered the green grass, the benches were lying on the ground, a tent was destroyed, and the soldiers were hitting each other. Minho looked down at Daemok, carefully, who was writing things down as fast as he could.

"Soldiers! Stop!"

His strong voice filled the camp, and everybody stopped what they were doing. The silence was so intense they could hear the crickets in the grass. Seeing the captain, everybody tried to make a straight line. 

"Who did this?" He thought it was better to get rid of the trouble makers in the beginning, or at least he could notice them and make their training harder.

"He started it!" Jonghyun pointed at the back, and quickly stepped in to the line, between Kibum and the other boy.

It was like thousands of needles hurt Taemin's body, when he felt the men's gaze on himself. A shadow covered the sun, and when he looked up he saw a tall, strict man. Maybe it was because of the fight caused shock, and his eyes betrayed him, but it was like the man's face softened for a little time as he looked at him, but then he frowned again.

"Stand up!"

Taemin tried to cover the tremor in his legs, what the man's deep, authority commanding voice did to him, and the attention what he did not really like. He straightened himself, and looked forward with acted self confidence, avoiding the man's gaze.

"What's your name?"

The boy just looked forward, still; there were little achievements on the man's clothes, what were similar to his brother's, and then he realized possibly he had some on his clothes right now too, what his captain noticed too.

"My name is Lee... Lee..."

If he says it now, he cannot do anything in the future. He took a deep breath, gulped and looked in to the man's dark brown irises, what were always watching them.

"My name is Lee Taehoon."

"It's impossible!" Daemok, who heard everything behind them, shouted, and stepped next to the young captain. "You look too young, I don't even understand why you are here, and anyway Lee Taehoon is injured because of a war! Even the King knows about it!"

"It's true." Taemin tried to make his voice deeper. "It really happened, but my doctor said I will be fine soon, and I will be able to move my left arm."

Minho guided his gaze from the boy's eyes to the mentioned arm, what was next to the boy's body, unmoving.

"Your doctor should know the wars better!" The councilor argued with him. "You won't be able to do anything with one hand, I am sure about this."

"I trust my doctor's words. My treatment is almost over, and if I will use my right arm more, it will be fine for the other. Don't worry, Captain" he called the man before him. "I can tell you I will be able to do my job only with my right hand."

The young man stepped closer to Taemin, and because the boy was frozen, he did not move back. Minho leaned closer, so only the boy could hear his words. The shiver ran down Taemin's spine, when the man's breath touched his neck. It happened because he was so nervous, obviously, he was not get to used to this much attention what surrounded him.

"You have one point minus because of this morning battle, Lee Taehoon. I heard you're a great soldier, then prove it to me. And if I see you can't do what the others because of your arm, I'll send you home. Leave this camp today, if you feel it will be too much for you." Choi Minho gave him the last chance, and leaned away, looking down at those uncertain and scared eyes. He hoped his words made him think, but Taemin did not give him this kind of happiness.

"You won't be disappointed, Captain. You will see I can do anything what the others."

Minho knew he did everything for the injured man, and now he could not do anything from now on. He nodded, and showing his back to Taemin, who could let the air out from his lungs, stepped back next to Daemok. He looked through his trainees, whose training was his job from now on, and he knew it wouldn't be that easy as he first thought, but he had to do this. He had to do this right to show everyone in this kingdom he was not a captain because his father was General Choi Geunho; the best of the kingdom.

"All of you will spend this day cleaning up the camp. I want to see every halm on its place." Minho said with serious eyes. "Tomorrow we are going to start the real training; I'll see your knowledge and I'll give the chance to those who don't feel they can fight in a real war to protect our country." He looked in to Taemin's eyes during his last words, who knew excatly the captain sent these to him.

Breaking the eye contact with the boy he turned back and went in to his tent, followed by Daemok. Taemin patted his chest with his right fist to calm his heart down. If his introduction was not even that good as he hoped, he could stay for now, and nobody suspected anything.