A loud thud was heard as a young boy fell on his backside. He grimaced.

“Too weak.”

The boy glanced up as his opponent towered over him, his staunch frame obscuring the glare from the sun so that it cast a shadow upon his face. The young boy scrambled backward causing the taller boy to frown. “Teacher, I want a stronger sparring partner” he whined to the elderly monk behind him. “Chim is too weak.”

“I am not!” a young Jimin protested as he pushed himself up. He grasped his wooden sword with both hands. “Come at me again, I can take it!”

The taller boy sighed as he observed Jimin’s appearance. Currently, the young boy had grazed elbows and dusty amber robes from frequently landing on the dirt. His scrawny arms, though firmly grasping his sword, was quivering from the weight. He shook his head. “No,” he told Jimin resolutely before turning to the monk. “I cannot spar with him any longer, Teacher. Chim is simply not on par with everyone else and I am getting tired of fighting weaklings like him.” He scowled. “Teacher, how am I to improve when my opponent provides no challenge for me?”

The monk shifted his gaze to Chim as he his white and wispy beard. Seeing Chim’s determined stance, he spoke softly, “Ling, you may go.”

The tall boy gratefully bowed before sauntering off to join another sparring group.

“Teacher!” Jimin was appalled. “Why did you let him go? Our match is not over yet! I can still—”

Suddenly, the elderly monk approached Jimin and reached for his nose. He pinched it hard.

“Ow!” Jimin screeched. “Let go!” With as much force as he could manage, Jimin tugged at the monk’s gnarly hand as he tried to break free. “Let go! It hurts!”

“You see, Chim?” The monk spoke calmly despite Jimin’s thrashing. “You cannot defeat your opponent if you leave yourself wide open.”

Eventually, he released Jimin’s nose allowing the younger to create distance between them. Jimin glared at his elder with tears in his eyes. “That was an underhanded trick” he muttered while wrinkling his red nose. “I was not ready.”

The elder chuckled. “When it comes to mortal combat, there are no such things as underhandedness.” He tilted his head slightly. “And you should always be ready. If it had been a dagger, what would you have done?”

Jimin glanced down at his sword. “I would have chopped your hand off before you had the chance!”

The elder chuckled again.

“What is so funny?” Jimin retorted. “I am serious! I can do it! I can—!"

“Chim, will you accompany me for a walk?” The elder interrupted. “There is something I want to show you.”

Jimin blinked. “But what about training?”

“You may be excused for a moment. This is much more important…”

~*~

With his sword raised, Jimin taunted the burly man, “I would like to see you try.”

The burly man belted out a loud battle cry as he charged at Jimin, his heavy steps, graceless and wild like an enraged beast. Jimin readied himself as the burly man swung his sabre like an axe.

 A clash.

Metal grated against metal as the two swords collided. Despite the burly man’s evident inexperience with the sword, his blows did not lack power. Jimin winced as he tried to maintain his ground. Like a colossal wall, the burly man towered over him, his stocky frame eclipsing the sun. From up close, the putrid stench of stale alcohol and body odour was overwhelming, but none of that mattered to Jimin since all he could focus on was the eyes of his opponent.

They were b with bloodlust.

Breaking free from their deadlock, Jimin pounced back to create space between them. Come on, Chim. Do not hesitate now. He could almost hear the elderly monk’s voice ringing in his ears. He smiled wryly at the thought. Even now, you are still in my head, Teacher…

“You’re finding this fight amusing, eh?” the burly man gritted out while he flared his nostrils. “Why don’t you actually fight properly instead of dodging my blows like a coward?”

“Yeah! You weakling!” one of the burly man’s companions jeered.

“How cowardly!” another added.

Jimin’s expression was unreadable.

“You really must be all bark” the burly man scoffed. “I guess all the emperor’s dogs are like that.”

Low murmurings overlapped as the growing crowd whispered amongst themselves. Only then did it occur to Jimin that his unplanned duel with the burly man had become a spectacle.

“You imperial guards really are useless” the burly man spat. “The tithe that people pay puts clothes on your backs when it could be spent on feeding the needy instead.” He bellowed, “Why does the emperor employ cowardly men like you to protect him when it’s clear as day that even peasants like us can do a better job?”

More murmurings were heard as the crowd began to doubt Jimin’s credibility.

The burly man raucously laughed. “It seems that to be an imperial guard, all one needs to do is wear a fancy uniform and wield a sword.” He raised his sabre once more. “Well, then. Once I’m done with you, I can prove to His Majesty that he hired the wrong man.” But despite his taunts, Jimin remained silent. The burly man scowled. “Not much of a talker, eh?” He hmphed as he searched Jimin’s narrowed eyes. “Well then, let our swords do all the talking instead.”

~*~

“Tell me, Chim, how long has it been since you started learning the way of the sword?”

As the pair continued their ascent across the mountainous terrain, the sound of young boys’ grunting and the clashing of wooden swords echoed in the background. Jimin peered behind him to see a cluster of boys in bright amber robes relentlessly training under the sun. Equipped with only their wooden swords, the young boys exchanged blows with each other, their movements swift and lethal despite almost being performance-like.

Jimin clenched his fist at the sight. Why couldn’t he fight like that? “It has been five years, Teacher” he distractedly replied.

“And this would be… your tenth summer?”

Jimin nodded.

“I see.” The elder’s lips were set in a hard line as he followed Jimin’s gaze. From where they stood, they had a clear view of the temple and the large expanse of green that surrounded their home. The elder slowly turned away to continue with their hike. “Come now, Chim. We still have quite the distance to walk.”

Obediently, Jimin followed the elder as he led him deeper into the mountains. As they trekked further into the foliage, eventually straying from the usual path, Jimin began contemplating his earlier performance. Flashbacks of how the t