"Sweetie, your beauty is like the rays of summer sun. Come into my arms darling, and warm my autumn heart" cooed a slim young man wearing a V neck jersey to the curvy maid serving his lunch in the tavern. The maid giggled and blushed. The young man was attractive and had the cutest smile.

"Kind sir, I don't think.."

"No..no..pretty one, don't decide now. I don't want to rush a gentle lady like you. I can wait till after dinner, then it gets so very very cold up there in my room." He pretended to shiver with cold. "You could save me from the cold if you would answer me in my room, o sunflower." whispered the young man into the maid's ear. She shook and blushed even deeper than before.

"Julia, what are you doing back there?!! We have many customers to serve in the main dining room!!" yelled the tavern owner.

"Julia...what a beautiful name. I'll be waiting for you. Till then here's a present from me." said the young man. He made a heart shape with his fingers and thumbs and blew the imaginary heart to the maid. Julia, who at this point was a quivering pile of jelly gave a quick curtsy with a nod to promise her appearance in aforesaid room and rushed off.

The young man smirked and started on his lunch. It was easy..just too plain easy. Well, at least there will be one enjoyable memory tonight, he complimented himself. Two tables away in a dark corner came sounds of gagging and scornful laughter from what seemed to be five men. The young man looked up and frowned. He had a feeling that he was being watched but Julia(or rather her curves) could not wait. "Anything you want to say to me, eh? Or you're just cowards having a thrill eavesdropping on normal people?" he said loudly.

Sunggyu hushed the team as he saw the young man was getting angry. "Guys, we don't have time to waste here. Eat up and let's get going. We have another 70 miles to go before we reach the capital." But Sunggyu agreed with the team that young man had the cheesiest pick up lines ever . He would've been kicked out to the street if he tried that in the capital or the towns.

Suddenly the young man stiffened. A few minutes later, they heard sound of heavy boots and men talking in a strange language in the main dining room. Sunggyu cursed, Empire soldiers! What were they doing here in such a rural place?. At the same time he wondered, how did the young man sense so early that they were coming? Interesting. Sunggyu whispered to the team "We have to leave now. Empire soldiers will demand the best so they won't be coming to this back area. Let's escape through these windows here." No sooner had he spoken, four soldiers walked into the back room with the tavern owner following closely. Sunggyu motioned the team to keep their head down and continue eating. It was too early to show themselves to the enemy. He turned his head a little away and pulled up his collar as he was the most recognizable. Myungsoo was nervous, he had a warrant for his arrest but he did his best to eat calmly. Dongwoo and Hoya busily wolfed down their lunches without a care in the world but both of them were ready to strike at any moment. Sungjong who had put on the guise of a teenage boy (albeit a beautiful one) before they had walked into the village quietly sipped water.

"Tavern Owner, get us the best ale and food. Remember, the Empire is helping your backward country to develop. So make sure you bring us the best quality you have here. I'm sure you'll do your best, correct?"

"Uh..yes...yes..Captain. Everything will be to your satisfaction. And I'll make sure the room is closed so that no one will disturb your privacy as you ordered..Captain Sir" the frightened owner mumbled.

"Wait a minute, who are these lot here? I thought you said this place was empty!" "My apologies, Captain!! Please forgive me. The Empire is so kind to us poor backward folk and I'm sure they won't cause any trouble! And Captain Sir, might I add that you have the face of such a benevolent and noble man." "Well" puffed the Captain "Er..hmm...yes..I believe all Empire citizens seem to be of higher quality than Woollim. It is our duty to improve Woollim folk. I'm sure they will benefit from our presence! And since we are on our last night in this god forsaken place, I'll let it go this time." The Tavern Owner bowed down to the Captain "Thank you! Thank you Captain Sir! I'll bring your lunch immediately! And the best wine we have to offer! All served free in the name of the Empire!" He ran out as fast as his legs would take him and closed the door softly.

The four soldiers sat down at the center most table.

"By Empire, I'll be happy to see the road to the capital tomorrow morning! Damn the Viceroy for sending us out here to this ridiculous dump!"

"Well, you know the Viceroy doesn't leave a single stone unturned. He wants to get rid of all potential enemies left in Woollim."

"But these rumors of fighters in the outer lands are just that, rumors! We've been going around for 15 days and all we've seen are fat tavern owners, old farmers, pasty boys and worse, women who look like they've had a dozen children!"

The Captain laughed loudly. "Come on men, we'll be back in the capital soon enough! And don't tell me you goats didn't see that lovely piece at the front? Let's have some fun here shall we? I'll take the first turn and you lot draw straws for your place in the queue!"

"Aww Captain, no fair! You're always the first everywhere we go!"

"Lads, lads, only for tonight, the capital will have more than enough for each of us!. That lovely in front looks like she could do with some lessons from Empire soldiers!"

"Yeah Captain, probably ten lessons seeing how slow they are!" The soldiers laughed even more loudly.

The young heartbreaker seated near them was seething. He could not bear the thought of what they would do to Julia. Calm down, Woohyun! This is what you came here for.  Don't ruin the plan, wait for Jungryeol, he thought to himself.

The door opened and the tavern owner walked in with a heavy tray of food and bottles of wine. He placed them on the table, ran out and shut the door. The soldiers started to eat noisily and drank as much wine as they could. After a while, they looked a little drowsy and stretched out their legs. One of them gazed around the room and looked at the young man.

"Hey you, boy! You look like a singer. Sing us a song about your filthy village women!" he slurred. Woohyun smiled cheerily and started to sing. Soon a beautiful velvety voice filled the room. The soldiers' eyes glazed over as they let the song drift over them. Still singing, Woohyun walked closer to their table and suddenly a whip lashed out and sliced the throat of each soldier in seconds. Now there were four dead Empire soldiers at the center table.

Woohyun looked at the corner where Sunggyu and the rest were. Woohyun sensed he would not face any problem with them. He turned to open the door and let the tavern owner in and shut it again softly. "Jungryeol, it's done. I'll remove all their uniforms and weapons. We'll dump the bodies into the marshes at midnight like we planned. No one will find them."

Jungryeol heaved a sigh of relief but a worried look crossed his face. "Woohyun, the plan may have worked till this point but I'm still not sure about the rest of it. Are you sure it will work all the way to the coast until you cross the East sea to Miinet?"

"Don't worry. I'll be wearing the Empire soldier uniform and I'll use the passes that the soldiers carry. I've been practising Empire language for six months now. Also, Sungyeol will be waiting for me in the next town. He has made something special for me. I trust him."

Jungryeol still looked worried. "Look, Jungryeol, this is the only way I can think of. There are many Woolim citizens in other countries. I have to band them together. We've got to stop them giving up and saying that if only General Sunggyu didn't get killed in Kabis, we'd have a better chance. He was an over rated so called invincible warrior and obviously he wasn't good enough to escape from Kabis of all places. No matter what, we've got to depend on ourselves now."

Jungryeol smiled at Woohyun and quipped, "Yeah, you know what they say, shouldn't trust a guy who looks like hamster!" Woohyun laughed. "Ok, Jungryeol, I've got to mo.."

A chair moved harshly. "Well you know what they say, an arrogant fool is the most dangerous kind of fool there is. The only humane thing to do would be to part his unusable head from his neck."

Woohyun and Jungryeol turned around to see Sunggyu and his team standing with a bemused look on their faces.

"Whoever you are, I'm sorry you had to see this but I suggest you just leave quietly. I know you're not going to harm me. But now is a dangerous time so best get going." said Woohyun.

"Well, actually I do have a better plan than your convoluted one. And from what I've seen, I think we could use you in our team. So how about it?" said Sunggyu as he pulled down his collar and looked at Woohyn straight in the eyes.

Woohyun was startled. It couldn't be..I've only seen that face in books and newspapers from the capital. His mind raced.

"Ah...Mr. Woohyun, I see that you recognize me. I believe I proved that I'm good enough to escape from Kabis. And Jungryeol, I thank you for the hamster reference. Reminded me of my sister. I do think that now would be a good time for you both to close your mouth and start clearing the bodies."