If Junhee could choose, she certainly wouldn’t choose to be born in the times like this, where the nations are fighting against nations without reasons. But yet, she couldn’t so what she can do is to make sure that at least her family is safe.

In a one child policy that China has imposed, a boy is always favoured rather than a girl since boys can keep the family’s lineage when a girl will be married to someone and changes her maiden’s name. The family who has a son is considered lucky and certainly has a higher standing in society.

In the patriarchy society like where she lives, the baby girls are either aborted before being born or thrown away since the family who has more than one child is required to pay taxes which most of the families can’t afford. Kim Junhee is considered lucky since her family is more well off than the rest, has no problem to pay off the tax when her younger brother, Jongin, born.

Jongin was born when she was 5 years old. At first she didn’t know what makes her and Jongin different but as she grows older, she noticed that her father spent most of his time with Jongin, played and taught him swords and various martial arts while she spent most of her time at home, helping her mom to do chores and some basic preparation to be a good wife someday.

Sometimes she envies Jongin for just being born as a boy because no matter how hard she works or learns she will never be good enough for her parents, just because she is a woman.

---

The Japanese came and sent terror throughout her homeland. Junhee was 20 years old back then, was engaged to a distant cousin, a fine merchant name Kim Jongdae, when the war broke out.

Even though mainland Chinese is huge, at that time it was too divided to be able to handle the Japanese invasion. Then, the Han dynasty King, the current emperor, made a huge decision that changed the whole nation.

Every household must send at least one person, aged between 15-45 years old, to join the army to help to fight against the enemy.

Whoever fails to comply will be punishable by law.

She heard it from the chatterings between the women when she helped her mom to buy groceries in the market.

Who will be the representative from our family?

At first she didn’t think about it too much. But when she heard her mom broke down in tears in the middle of the night, she knew that this situation was getting out of hands.

“Jongin is still too young.”

“But it is a commandment from the emperor himself. We will be hanged if we try to defy him.”

Her father is too old to be a soldier, Jongin is barely 15 and he is the only hope of the family. If he dies in the war, our family has no more heir to continue our lineage.

Junhee never knew that one day, she would be hiding her identity as a woman and reborn as a man named Kim Junmyeon. At least this is what she can do to help preserve her family lineage.

---

It has been four years since that fateful day, the day when she decided to join the army under a new identity. The day she left a message on her father’s study desk stating that since now on, there is no longer Kim Junhee and she would be going as Kim Junmyeon to fulfill the duty.

And now, Kim Junmyeon is a head of strategist in the military. After four gruelling years of training and thanks to her quick wit and Lao Tzu’s the art of war book that she snatched from her father’s library, she quickly climbed the ladder in the military. And up until now, miraculously no one is suspecting anything that Kim Junmyeon is a woman in disguise.

She is always careful around her surroundings. She is used to take bath in early hours so no one will notice her and covering her womanly curves with thick and baggy underclothing to avoid suspicions.

Junhee is having her breakfast in the barrack when one of the junior sergeant, Oh Sehun, bursts in with with worry etched in his face.

“New batch of Japanese military army has just arrived near Jiangsu province.” His voice is calm but it doesn’t lessen the threat in his words.

---

Wu Yifan eyes his entire surrounding solemnly. He finally comes back to his mother’s hometown. But not as a fellow Chinese but as an enemy.

It has been almost 7 years since he came back to mainland China. He was just 18 years old when a flock of Japanese army raided his village and as a ransom not to touch his family, he joined the Japanese army. During these years, he trained to be the best and eventually gained favour of the General Nakayama. He is made second in command and was placed in various areas throughout Asia such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the last one, Vietnam before being placed in China.

The Chinese army is getting stronger he heard. It becomes a threat for the Japanese army and someone who is fluent in the language is highly needed to help and strategize for the next moves.

“Kris.”

Wu Yifan sounds too Chinese so the Japanese army made a new name for him and now he is known as Lieutenant General Kris Wu.

“Sir, yes sir. Lieutenant General Kris Wu is here to serve.” He bows at General Nakayama.

The old man chuckles before ruffles the top of his head, “Don’t be too uptight, Kris. How is it like to come back to your village?”

“It has changed a lot.”

“7 years is a long time.” General Nakayama walks away from him, and stares outside the window.

Yifan follows his sight and looks at the park where he used to play with his younger brother, Zitao. Before the Japanese invasion, everything was so peaceful and now Jiangsu almost looks like a dead town.

“Take a rest, Kris. You must be tired after all the journey from Hanoi.”

With that, General Nakayama leaves him alone with his thoughts.

---

Kris decides not to rest as his fellow soldiers and takes a walk in his neighbourhood. It has been 7 long years since he last saw his family and he won’t waste time anymore to look for them.

He still remembers the way to his house like it just happened yesterday. The Wu household looks sallower than he remembered and the garden that became his mother’s pride is now fully grown with bushes.

“Mama! Baba! Zitao! Yifan is coming.” He knocks on the door and waits the door to be opened. After few agonizing minutes, there is no sign that someone is inside so he leaves. Do they move out to other place?

“Wu Yifan?”

“Zhang Yixing?”

Yifan almost crushes the smaller boy with his hug. Zhang Yixing is his best friend during high school and lives the same neighbourhood. He is no longer a calm boy but rather a silent man who has witnesses too many tragedies in his young life.

“I thought you are dead, Fan.” He sobs in Yifan’s arms.

“And here I am, Xing. Safe and sound.” He reassures the younger guy, “By the way, do you know where my family move to?”

Yixing drops his arms like he has just burned by the touch. He can’t even lift his eyes to look at Yifan anymore. He has promised Yifan to take care of his family as his own when he l