Taemin did not even remember when the weather started to be so cold. The gentle, warm wind was in his mind what caressed his face a few days ago, but now he wanted to put a lot of clothes on if his soldier uniform could have let him, but the boots and the gloves were good too in the mountain roads where the snow appeared. 

There were places where the horses could not go through, so Choi Minho did not risk his soldiers' lives and they continued their way in other roads.

The good mood disappeared from the soldiers. No one was in the mood to talk about women. One of the soldiers removed his glove for a few minutes while he fed his horse, and his skin already started to get another colour; now he could not even move that one finger. 

Anytime they had a rest and they slept a few hours they did not know they would wake up or not. Although the Japanese were their real enemies, now they had to fight with the cold and the hunger. Now they could not count on anybody but each other and themselves; they had to stay strong, not only physically but in spirit too. Maybe the last one was more important. 

"What the hell are you doing?"

Kibum jumped because of the fright, and he almost slipped on the icy ground, but he could stay on his feet. He looked at Jonghyun, questioningly. He still did not understand what happened, even when the elder was in front of him. 

"Do you want icicles instead of your fingers?"

The younger took his glove off, because he could barely move his fingers, so he thought maybe he can do it easily without the glove. Jonghyun did not wait for the answer, he took Kibum's hand between his owns, because he already saw it had another shade. 

Jonghyun pulled his hand to his mouth, and tried to keep it warm with his breath. 

"Give me the glove" he said quickly, and breathed again. 

The man put the warm glove on the other's hand, and he still kept it between his hands, so he could make sure it wouldn't have any problem. 

"We can fight against the Japanese with our weapons, but this is the only thing what can protect us against the cold" he pointed at the clothes. "Don't be stupid and don't get rid of your clothes. Unless you find a cave where all of us can stay."

"You are kinder day by day, Kim Jonghyun. Maybe... do you like me?" he joked with the smaller one, and he already laughed at the situation, but Jonghyun's answer made him stop.

"Why? Can't I do that?"

Kibum gulped, and he rather looked around, so he did not have to take the eye contact with the man in front of him. They had to go if they did not want to be lost. 

"I didn't think I will have new friends here, because this is not why I'm here, but... you're quite tolerable, Kim Kibum."

"Pf..." he led one of his fingers through his eyebrow what was covered by little snowflakes. "Tell me something I don't know."

Jonghyun smiled at the younger's behavior, and he turned back to his horse, took the rein, and followed the other soldiers whose footprints were not covered by the snow, yet.

But it was a surprise to them that by the time they reach the soldiers, the army stopped. Kibum stepped on his tiptoes, maybe he could see what was happening, but he did not succeed. They did not have other choice than get some information from the other men, who started to whisper between each other. 

The Councilor put his hand to his mouth, when he saw the snow covered mounds. Minho jumped off of his horse, and already knelt down to the first mound. As much as he knew he wiped the snow off of it, and he saw a dead body. The clothes showed he was a member of the Korean army. 

Minho heard as the other soldiers started to move behind him, but in that moment he did not care. He could think only one thing, and he started to walk on the snowy area. 

"Captain!" Daemok shouted after him, but it was like the man did not even hear him, he just wiped the snow off of the bodies. 

"He's looking for his father." Jinki shared his opinion with Taemin, who was standing next to him. 

"Do you... do you think the General..." It was terrible to even say it out loud, so Taemin gulped and looked back at their captain. 

"I'm sure I would do that, wouldn't you?"

Taemin did not answer, because it was obvious what he would have done. Jinki was right. He saw as Minho stopped for a moment and he looked around before his gaze found a place. Did he find him?

If Taemin had seen his father's body in such a situation, he could not concentrate on anything else, but only revenge. He could not let this happen to their captain. His fingers let his horse's rein go, and he ran after the man. 

"Lee Taehoon, come back, now!" The councilor screeched, and Jinki was wondering how the old man's voice did not make an avalanche.

The young captain saw one of their flags, what was standing in the ground, not too far from the place they found the army. And next to the flag there was a mound, what brought tears into Minho's eyes. He could not know it for sure, but he had a feeling. 

"Captain! Wait..." Taemin arrived, panting, and stopped in front of the taller, before he could have taken a better look at the body. 

"Let me go, Tae..."

"No!" Taemin raised his voice, and put his right hand on the man's shoulder. "You will only feel more pain."

"I have to know if it's him or not."

Taemin's heart twitched because of the pain as he saw the tears in Minho's brown eyes. He had never seen the man as lost as now.

"Please, I have to see him."

He had to figure something out quickly. When he had a plan in his mind Taemin looked up at the elder, and took his hand off of his shoulder.

"I'll do it. Just turn away." He saw Minho wanted to protest. "Please. Trust me."

Although he did not know Minho would agree this soon, it happened, and he stepped back a little bit, nodding. When Taemin made sure Minho wouldn't follow him, he knelt down to the snow mound, and started to wipe the snowflakes off, carefully.

The clothes were the same what the other members of the army were wearing. As he removed more snow from the body he saw something he was not ready for. They could barely eat during the walk, though, that little food he ate started to come back, and he already felt the taste of gall in his mouth, but he closed his eyes and pulled himself together. He covered the man again with the snow, and he said goodbye to him in silence. 

"I..." Taemin stood up and turned to the man, who was waiting for him. "I'm sorry, Minho."

"Step aside." Minho said; his voice was not rude or loud.

"No." He did not want Minho to see how his father died.

"Then do as it's a command from your Captain, Lee Taehoon" he said in an official tone, and it seemed it made the younger uncertain for a moment. 

But Taemin blocked his way again, and when Minho wanted to push him away, the boy grabbed his upper arm, and turned themselves in a way Minho could not see the dead body.

"I have to say goodbye."

"But..."

"Don't worry, I can handle this."

"I will stay with you."

"Tae..."

"I wouldn't want to be alone in times like this. I'll be in silence, I promise."

Minho took a deep breath and leaned his forehead, tiredly, to Taemin's. He closed his eyes, so he only felt the boy's cold face, and that his was caressed by the other's warm breath. A teardrop ran down on his cheek, and another one followed it. 

Taemin knew how important his father was to the boy. Their relationship was special, and they could always count on each other. Although most of the times they said goodbye like maybe they would never see each other again, in their hearts both of them knew they would.

He pulled Minho closer, who hugged his neck and started crying in silence. He obviously could not have done it before the other soldiers or the King's Councilor, but for some reason he felt he did not have to be ashamed before the boy.

A loud shout brought them back to the reality, and it came from the army. Both of them looked at the people, who were running to different ways; some of them sat up on their horses, others stayed on the ground. 

None of them understood what was happening, but then they saw an arrow what went through the throat of a soldier. 

"They were waiting for us." Minho wiped his tears off, and pulled Taemin behind his back.

"What... what's gonna happen now?" Taemin did not want to sound desperate, but he could not help it. Everything happened so fast. 

"Tae" he turned immediately to the boy, and took his face between his palms. "Remember everything you learned in the training, okay? Never let your sword go, hold it strongly, and...ah!"

The painful shout ran up in his throat, and Taemin saw a blade in the man's right shoulder. The blood already painted the clothes into a red colour, and Taemin collapsed, when Minho's weight was on him. The captain leaned to his right side, so he could not move his right hand. He looked down at Minho, who tried to calm his breath down with closed eyes, and using this time, Taemin pulled the dagger out from the man's shoulder with his left hand, giving more pain for the captain.

"Minho, we have to stand up, come on" he knelt up and not so easily, but they straightened up.

"Won't you give my dagger back? You're... really impolite, don't you think?"

Taemin could not help but immediately look at the way of the voice. A young, tall, slender man was watching them from a rock. He had never seen the man, and even the blood froze in his veins, when he saw him. Not his look was scary, it was his smile. 

"Run." Minho whispered to the boy, but it was like he did not hear him. "What are you waiting for?"

"I'll stay with you." Taemin stated and pulled the sword out from his belt.

"Go and help the others."

"But you're injured."

"Oh, how cute. I'm serious, I could listen to this all day."

The Japanese man jumped into the air with a graceful movement, and he landed in the snow without losing his balance. 

"But the clock is ticking, and I have to go to the royal palace. Maybe... you can help us, hm?"

"Terada Takuya, right?" The Korean Captain asked between two breathe.

"And you are the famous Choi Minho, am I right?" he reached his hand, but Minho just looked at his palm, frowning, just like Taemin. "I told you, you're really impolite."

Because of a sudden idea Taemin swung his sword, but then he felt a blade on his nape. Takuya saw as Minho reached for his own sword, so he spoke:

"I wouldn't do that. Shin is my best and my most trusted man. He can kill your soldier with one movement."

Maybe it could stop Minho, but not Taemin. They fought for too much things, he could not just watch as the Japanese man was playing with them like puppets. Now he swung his sword to the way of the other man, not to Takuya's, as fast as he could, while he turned around. 

The blades met each other, and Wonho almost fell because of surprise, but he regained his strenght soon, and attacked back. 

Minho wanted to go after them, but a katana what touched his neck blocked his way. His gaze went through the weapon, and in the end it met Takuya's dark eyes.

"Aren't they cute?"

Shin could hit Taemin's face with his sword, so the boy felt the taste of blood in his mouth, and after another hit he fell in the snow.

Minho could not just watch it, but when he stepped forward Takuya grabbed his injured shoulder, and pulled him back, holding the katana to his throat. 

"And now you will watch him die. But don't worry, you will see him again soon."

Shin sat on Taemin before the boy could have stood up from the ground, and he felt another punch on his face. He coughed blood, what painted the white snow under them.

"Push me off."

He thought he did not hear it right because of the pain, so he blinked up at the enemy. He was so young and pure; Taemin could not believe he was fighting on the side of a monster.

"Push me off and run."

Taemin's chest was rising fast, the blood was still in his mouth, and he had to listen to these pointless things too what this stranger told him. Maybe was it a trap? He turned his head aside slowly, so he could see Minho with a sword before his throat.

"He's gonna be okay."

Now he had to look at the man above him, who was talking with a serious tone. It could have been just a dream. This man could not...

"Go. I'll take care of him."

Could he trust him? If he had another choice he would not have done it, but it was like he saw sincerity in those dark eyes, so he head-butted Shin, who fell on him, and Taemin immediately pushed him off. 

He picked the sword up from the ground, and ran to the Korean army. Taemin needed lot of strenght to not to stop and not to look back at Minho. He had to do something what could have helped their captain and the army too.

"Taemin!" Jinki pulled his sword out from a soldier of the enemy, and already ran to the boy, who felt pain in his side because of the bad breathing. "What happened? Where is Captain Choi?"

"Ta... Takuya..."

"Is he here too? The Japanese Monster?!"

"Jinki, help me. We... we have to do something..." he tried to say the words, but he was panting hard.

Jinki looked around, and because everybody was busy with the fighting, he grabbed Taemin's wrist, tightly, and pulled after himself. Taemin tried to find his friends among the soldiers with his gaze, and soon he saw Kibum. An older, Japanese man hit the sword out from his hand, and hurt his arm. He kicked his stomach, so the younger fell on the ground. The blade gleamed in the sunshine, but before it could have met the boy, blood decorated the snow, and the man collapsed.

"Hold your sword and stay with me." Jonghyun pulled his friend up from the ground, and attacked another soldier.

Both of them stopped at the chariot what was behind two horses. Jinki jumped on it and started to look for something. Soon he came back to Taemin with a small bamboo what was filled with gunpowder in his hand, and with two stones in his other hand. 

"Bring another one, too." Taemin took it from him, and seeing the bow and the arrow he took them too. "We have to tie it to the arrow" he said to Jinki, who did what the younger told him.

"Why do we need two?"

"Takuya is behind a rock. Even if his army disappears he can stay alive, but..."

"But if there is an avalanche from that rock, he can't."

"Exactly." Taemin took the finished bow and arrow. 

"Wait!" he shouted after him and jumped off of the chariot.

Taemin did not want to wait, but he saw as the man already started to make his plan true, and he lighted up the bamboo what was tied to his arrow, and gave the stones to the boy.

"You have to hurry, Taemin! Go!"

He did what the other told him. Taemin barely went a few meters he already heard the explosion behind his back. He had to look back, so he saw the huge, white snow dusts around the mountain. Taemin had to run as fast as he could. 

But what he had seen made him stop. Minho was lying on the ground, while Takuya and Shin were arguing above him. They did not notice him, so Taemin started to make fire with the stones. Soon small sparks appeared, and when he could finally light the bamboo up, he pulled the string as Minho taught him. 

Shin turned around immediately, and looked at Taemin, who was watching them. When he saw from the corner of his eyes that Takuya started to walk to the boy he stepped before him, and held him back. 

"We should go a safe place, hm? Come on" he pushed Takuya, who protested first, then when he heard the sound of the avalanche he held Shin's hand, and now he was the one who started to pull the other with himself.

Taemin was already next to Minho, and he shook his body to wake him up. He could feel his pulse on his neck, then he saw as his own tears fell down on the man's face. Minho started to move, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Minho! Stand up, come on! An avalanche..."

It was much closer than he thought. He grabbed Minho's hand, tightly, and pulled him up from the ground. The snow arrived, hugged them, taking the air away from them. Taemin did not see anything but darkness. He felt as the ground disappeared, and he tried to grab something with his hand, maybe he could find something what could help them survive.

"Take my hand!"

The familiar voice made Taemin look up, and this was the moment, when he realized what was happening. He was hanging from the edge of a rock, and he was grabbing the root of a bush, what could be nice, and colourful in better times, but it was vincible too.

"Can't you hear me?" Jinki shouted at him, and as he leaned forward he saw Minho, who was holding Taemin's other hand. "We have to pull them up." The man turned back, although the boy could not see who he was talking to. He had no idea how many people survived the fight and the avalanche.

Taemin's heart skipped a beat, when Minho's fingers became weaker between his owns. He looked at the man, panicking. Taemin did not see anything down there. One reason of it was the white clouds, the other was that the sun was going down. But he did not have to be so clever to know he couldn't let Minho go; he could not let the man let his hand go.

"Taehoon... thank you..."

"What?" Taemin became more nervous after he heard the man's words.

He held the elder's fingers stronger, but Minho grabbed Taemin's wrist, gently, and freed his other hand. Taemin could not do anything. He could not held Minho; now everything depended on the captain. 

"Stop them..."

"Minho..."

"If you hold me, you will die too!"

The weight what he felt before disappeared. Everything slowed down around him. His tears were running down on his cheeks without even noticing them, the air stuck in his lungs, and he could only watch the man as he was more and more farther. Soon the veil made by tears and the clouds made impossible to see anything. He did not hear how loud he was shouting, but Jinki did. 

"Hurry! The Captain and Taehoon need the rope!" Kibum urged him, but Jinki could not move, so he took the rope from his hand, and knelt to the edge of the rock. "But... Where..."

"Let the root go, Taem..." Jinki bit his lip, when he realized the other soldiers could hear him. "Taehoon."

Taemin did as the man told him, and tried to stop crying. But Jinki did not expect that Taemin would grab his wrist with his left hand, what he never moved because of his secret, then just like Minho, he freed his hand too from the man's fingers.