If Chaewon had to enumerate her most difficult trials, the list would probably be like this:

3° Having her first test as a soldier. She had trained the whole week before the test without rest, and when she finally passed the test, she fainted on her friend, completely exhausted. It earned her the respect people didn’t show her when she first arrived, so she counted the test as an absolute victory.

2° Losing the Kertank Battle. Enough said.

1° Going to Minju’s house.

When she had accepted to marry Minju, she hadn’t thought about it at all. She had been so over the moon with Minju’s acceptance that to her, there was no thing on earth that could ruin her good humor.

[

Both women stood alone in front of the carriage that would take Minju home. The younger woman had already said her goodbyes to Yujin and Jaemin, who excitedly wished her luck in the wedding preparations. Chaewon, on the other hand, had greeted the rider, Mr Rokus, in a haste, only caring about looking at Minju as much as she could before she left.

She is not whipped, or whatever Yujin called her.

“Have you brought everything with you?” Chaewon asked.

“Yup. All essentials and your gifts, too. Don’t worry, they’ll love it,” Minju reassured, smiling at her, though Chaewon could sense Minju wasn’t as keen on leaving, which made her feel slightly better.

“Good,” Chaewon said, smiling. “So.” She cleared . “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Well,” Minju said playfully. “You could perhaps give me another hug, for good luck.”

Chaewon didn’t even think about it twice. Hugging Minju felt like a balm to her soul, something warm and filled with affection she barely let herself have.

“I’m going to miss you,” Chaewon said, and it was the truth. How had she gained so much affection for the woman in a single day?

“Me too” Minju answered. Chaewon smiled when she felt Minju smile.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your last moments, but if you want your sweetheart to arrive at the next inn before the night befalls, we need to go now,” the driver said, which made Chaewon growl in irritation. It didn’t make him be any less right, though.

“Okay, take care,” Chaewon said, reluctantly pulling away from Minju.

“We’ll see each other in a few days.” Minju took Chaewon’s right hand and caressed it lightly for a moment before letting go. Chaewon had to restrain herself from embracing Minju again. She knew at this rate, she would never let Minju leave. Instead, she just waited until the carriage couldn’t even be seen in the distance to start walking to her house, already feeling lonely without someone at her side.

She was going to marry. She couldn’t believe it. If someone had told her in the past that she would have a soulmate and that she would accept it wholeheartedly, she would have called that person crazy.

But now, here she was, missing a person she had just known for a day.

But, well, Minju was right. They would see each other in a few days, she would get to see Minju’s home, meet her family, and marry her. It was just a matter of days.

Wait.

She is going to meet Minju’s parents.

Well, .

]

It’s not that there is something wrong with meeting anyone’s parents. It’s just that, well, she is not the most friendly person on this planet (not that she goes out of her way to antagonize people, mind you). She has been told that she sports the biggest resting face ever by, well, her whole squad, and she didn’t take well to meeting new people.

And in reality, she doesn’t care much about getting into people’s good graces. As long as she knew she was doing what was good for her country, the rest was only details. People that disliked her were none of her concern. They could do as they pleased, just as she did what she pleased.

But it’s her (almost) soulmate’s parents.

If there’s anyone she has to impress, it’s them. After all, she is marrying their daughter. No parent wants an for an in-law, nor for their daughter’s soulmate. It’s a debt of gratitude. Plus, she is going to live with them. If things go as planned, she is moving there after the wedding (obviously in a different building, but in the same farm, so there’s not much difference). There was no space for anger or disenchantment.

It made Chaewon anxious. She bought the best clothes she could get (well, maybe she didn’t chose the priciest pants, as they weren’t long enough to cover her wooden leg) and she planned their first meeting, making a strategy thinking of every possible scenario, so that she would get the victory.

But it all went to hell when she arrived.

Minju’s parents, far from disappointed and intimidating, were extremely excited to see her, hugging the air out of her. She would have been annoyed at the unsolicited physical contact, if not for the relief she felt at the welcome.

They didn’t bombard her with inquiries, they didn’t question her intentions with their daughter, they didn’t require her life history. They just... simply took her luggage to the adjacent house she and Minju would be living at after the ceremony and sat her at the kitchen table, serving her a glass of lemonade.

The time she spent alone at the kitchen made her a little nervous, but she tried busying herself with looking at her surroundings. The kitchen was extremely practical, enough to cook a decent meal. There was no decoration, nothing that talked much about the Kims’ personalities. It was a humble house and nothing alike the houses her district.

Mind you, she didn’t care much for physical possessions, but she always thought that a well-adorned house made things feel more at home. It added a personal touch. Maybe next time she went back to the city she would buy some things for her house. For now the only thing that could be decoration was the painting she had hung up on her house after her parents’ demise, a precious memory of them and something she would like anyone who visited to see.

The lemonade was fresh, as if it had been made very recently. Had they prepared this just for her? Could it be?

She dismissed the thoughts and continued drinking the lemonade.

“Okay, here we are!” Mr Kim announced, opening the door to the house, making Chaewon turn her head to face them as they entered.

“So, if it’s not too much for you, we would like Minju to show you the farm. We’ll have time to chat when we get dinner,” the father said kindly.

“Alright,” Chaewon said, standing up. “Where should I put this?” she asked, gesturing at the glass.

“Oh, leave it to me,” the woman said. “Go on, have fun with Minnie!”

“If it’s not too much trouble.” Chaewon bowed before Minju took her hand in hers.

“Shall we go?” Minju asked with a radiant smile.

“Let’s go,” Chaewon acquiesced, giving Minju a smile of her own.

The older woman had to used her other hand to protect her eyes from the sun, which was still high in the sky.

She was happy she had come by walking, as the travel had been less stuffy than if she had decided to use a carriage, moreover, she would have arrived at nighttime, when she wouldn’t even be able to spend time with Minju. Plus, it made her feel as if she still had it in her to be adventurous, even if that ship had already sailed.

“Where to?” Chaewon asked lightly, turning to look at Minju.

“It’s a surprise,” Minju replied playfully, squeezing Chaewon’s hand. Chaewon trusted Minju’s judgement, and let herself be guided to the first place.

“When we first arrived after the Shadow Druids left, the whole farm had been at a disarray, so much so that we had to basically build everything from scratch.”

“You too?”

“I’m very resourceful, believe it or not. I’m not always falling from the barn roof.” It made Chaewon laugh slightly.

“Alright, then. I won’t question your resourcefulness.” Both women walked towards a small pen.

“So, here is the chicken coop. We only use the chickens here to eat their eggs. However, we don’t like slaughtering them, so we tend not to eat chicken.”

“I always thought that farmers were the most carnivorous of them all.”

“We like taking care of the animals,” Minju shrugged. “Plus, we usually don’t exchange goods with others, so there’s no reason to kill them.” Chaewon only hummed in response.

“I wanted to show you this first because I built this on my own,” she said with pride.

“Really?” Chaewon was surprised (and a little impressed).

“Yeah. When we were still rebuilding everything, my dad just gave me a wooden board and told me, ‘try doing the chicken coop’. I didn’t rest until I finished it.”

“Wow. Well, it’s neat,” Chaewon praised. “Why don’t you exchange goods, by the way?” Minju looked shocked by the question.

“I mean... well...”

“Or you can tell me later. It’s okay,” Chaewon soothed, sensing that this was a sensitive topic for the woman. Minju still looked at her nervously, but Chaewon just smiled at her, trying to convey that she wasn’t angry at the lack of an answer.

She then turned her head around, trying to get a good look at the chickens. She hoped it was enough.

“O-okay, well, we usually feed in the morning from the grain that we grow,” Minju explained clumsily.

“Really? But doesn’t it take a while for grain to grow?” Chaewon asked.

“It does. That’s why we store it in the barn and only use it to feed the chickens.”

“You don’t bake bread?”

“We do, just not as often.” Chaewon hummed.

“And the barn? What kind of animals you keep there?”

“Just cows, not much else.”

“Am I going to see... What is that?” Chaewon asked absentmindedly.

“What is what?” Minju laughed nervously, but Chaewon didn’t answer, instead walking closer to a huge mark.

“This... this is a claw mark, made by a huge animal,” Chaewon analyzed. “Have your parents had any problems with animals?”

“Not that I know of?” Minju answered, coming closer to Chaewon. “I’m sure it’s nothing,” she said soothingly, grabbing Chaewon’s hand again.

“This doesn’t seem like nothing,” Chaewon rebutted seriously. “It would be better to tell your parents about this.” Minju nodded.

“But let’s do it later, please? I want us to finish the tour first.” Against Chaewon’s better judgment, she agreed with Minju, letting her lead her to another place of the farm. The rest of the tour was without incident, only ending when Minju’s mother called them for supper.

“How did you like the farm?” Minju’s mom put a plate of potage in front of Chaewon.

“Thank you. I think it’s warm, very cozy,” Chaewon answered, keeping her own conflicting feelings at the idea of living a life she had never wished for to herself. 

“Then that means our Minnie has given you a nice tour.”

“She did,” Chaewon acquiesced. "She could really make a living out of it." She cleared . "I don't mean to ruin the meal, but I feel it's important. There are some beast marks on the ground, next to the chicken coop." At her words, Minju's father's face grew serious.

"Is that true? Then maybe I should check it before going to sleep. Thank you for telling me Chaewon."

"Now, now, let's eat and forget about those things for a moment. After all, you're still a guest, and I don't want you to worry about these things... yet." Minju's mom winked. 

"Guess you're right," Chaewon said. Still, she didn't want anything to happen to Minju or her family, so she couldn't shake off the urgency to look for the beast.

Maybe she'd do it later. 

"So, have you ever done any farm work?" Minju's dad asked when everyone was already seated at the table. 

"Not really. I grew up in the city, after all."

"City kid, huh?" Minju's dad drank from the bowl. "Minnie told us you were at the military." At Chaewon's nod, he continued. "Back when I was a lad, before I met Jiwon, I had thought about getting in the army."

"You didn't?" Chaewon asked even when she already guessed the answer. 

"I tried," he said, surprising Chaewon. "Stayed at the barracks for a while but realized it wasn't for me. So I congratulate you, couldn't imagine going to war in this climate." 

"Dad," Minju hissed, surprising Chaewon for a second time. Minju had been almost... protective of Chaewon. It was a little endearing, though too excessive. 

"Thanks," Chaewon answered shortly. "Though I can't say war was easy for anyone, soldier or not." 

"That it wasn't," Minju's dad affirmed, sending a confused look at his daughter, which made Chaewon feel relieved. She didn't want them to know about her weird flashbacks. "Anyway, what do your parents do?"

"Dad!" 

"It's okay, Minju," Chaewon said placatingly, laying a hand on her leg, weirded out by Minju's reaction. Minju just bowed her head. Why was she so defensive?

"My parents, before they passed away, were merchants in one of the districts of Lovac," Chaewon explained, giving Minju sideway glances. "They dealt with all types of things, but mostly provided for one of pubs there."

"That's great! Maybe one day we can visit!" Chaewon expected Minju to exclaim again, but she said nothing, which worried Chaewon more.

"Hopefully you can, sir."

"I'd wish you'd call us dad and mom, instead," Minju's dad asked, glanced at Minju to then add. "If that's okay with you."

"Maybe auntie and uncle," Chaewon said, not really feeling comfortable, as it felt like replacing her parents.

"We'd like that," Auntie exclaimed, smiling softly at Chaewon. "Let me take your plate," she said, standing up and taking everyone's plates.

"Would you like me to wash the..." Chaewon wasn't even able to finish her sentence before she was shooed.

"No, dear. It's not your time yet. When you two marry, better expect to wash all our dishes," the woman said jokingly, walking to the kitchen and leaving the plates there. "It's about to get dark, so I think it's better we go to sleep. Minju, could you please show Chaewon her room?"

"Right, follow me, Chaewon," Minju said quietly, standing up. Chaewon followed her without a verbal response. It wasn't until they were outside the house that Chaewon spoke.

"Why are you so... tense?" Minju tensed even more at the question.

"I'm sorry. I don't even know what came over me," she apologized, but the younger woman looked everywhere except at Chaewon, making her feel a pang of sadness.

"Please tell me. Does it bother you that I was at the war?" Minju's head raised immediately.

"No, of course not." Chaewon raised an eyebrow, to then grab Minju's hand.

"I'd really like you to tell me. I don't want to go to sleep with this situation like this." Minju bit her lip.

"It's just... It's dumb, I guess... I wouldn't want my parents to make you feel uncomfortable. I know you trusted me with so many things, so I didn't tell, and hoped they wouldn't bring it up, but they did and..." Chaewon squeezed Minju's hand, stopping her rambling.

"Thank you for trying to respect my boundaries. I don't mind talking about the war or my parents death. I guess that the only thing I'd wish for you to keep to yourself would be that... thing that happened at the circus tent." There was a small silence.

"Okay, your secret is safe with me," Minju smiled, but Chaewon could see something was still weighing on her mind.  Still, she didn't want to push for more, so she just squeezed Minju's hand again to let go. "So," Chaewon started, hoping to cheer Minju up. "Where am I sleeping?"

"Where standing right in front of our house, or... well, our house after we get married," those words still seemed to make Minju feel shy, as her expression softened. "But for now it's yours." Minju opened the door to the house. "It's not as fancy as the city, but I hope you like it." The house was even smaller than Minju's parents' house, but there seemed to be a warmth to it that she couldn't find in her own house... or maybe it's just Chaewon feeling this warmth at the thought of it being their house.

"I like it, a lot." Chaewon smiled, wandering around the house.

"Well, my dad built a small kitchen so we don't have to always eat with them if you don't wish to. There is a small table for two there, and our bed is there."

"Nice," Chaewon remarked, sitting on the bed. "The ceiling is a bit high."

"I-is it?"

"Yeah, not something I see in a house in the city, but that's nice. It feels less claustrophobic," she said as she laid down, closing her eyes briefly.

"You're exhausted already, aren't you?" Minju asked softly.

"A bit," Chaewon acquiesced.

"Then I'd better leave you rest," Minju said, walking towards the door.

"Good night." Chaewon would love for Minju to stay for a moment, but she knew Minju was also tired.

"Good night. Sleep tight," Minju said cutely, closing the door slowly. Chaewon didn't even bother changing her clothes for the day, falling asleep immediately. 

It was a sound that woke her up suddenly, making her jump to her feet. The sound hadn't been that loud, but given her own military training and the calmness to which she had fallen asleep, she had no choice but to jump to action. Stealthily leaving the house, her sword in her hand, she crouched in front of the door, pausing to hear anything out of place. There was another sound, quieter than the one that had woken her up, but not silent enough she wouldn't hear it. Walking towards the barn, her thoughts went back to the claw mark she had seen while in her tour with Minju, and her heart started pumping immediately. Though she didn't have a leg anymore, she felt the need to protect her new family as much as she could.

Now in front of the barn, she waited for another sound to come out, but when nothing else happened, she opened the door slightly, hoping she wouldn't rouse whatever was in there. Looking through the crack, she finally saw THE beast. A gigantic thing that could easily tower over even the tallest orc. She couldn't see it clearly, as the beast wasn't facing the door, but she could see glimpses of the claws.that, most likely, had made the marks on the ground. It was a fight Chaewon knew she couldn't win, at all. Turning to look for Minju and her family, to help them escape this beast to get help, she tried walking towards Minju's house, but heard the animal run towards the barn door.

Chaewon, now completely alert (and quite fearful), started running, leaving the stealth, knowing that the animal had already detected her.

She strained her ears to her the animal's cries, hoping to know how close was it to her, but the cries sounded like...

"Chaewon! Chaewon! I'ts me! It's me! Don't run!" The beasts words made Chaewon stop completely. Surely not...

"It's me! Don't run away!" The roars were deafening now that the beast was close, but Chaewon knew that it wouldn't hurt her.

"Minju?" Chaewon asked, turning around to face the beast, already feeling many emotions coiling in her gut.

"YES! It's me! Minju!" the beast sounded almost... relieved, but Chaewon felt no relief, only...

"What the hell," she deadpanned, feeling fury extend to her chest.

"Chaewon! I can explain!"

"When were you going to tell me about this?" Contrary to what most people would expect of her, her voice was quiet, filled with contained anger. "Or were you even planning to tell me this?"

"I was going to tell you!"

"When? After the ceremony? When I would have no more say about our relationship anymore?"

"No! I just..."

"Did you even care about me? Did you even...?" Chaewon choked on her words. "I need to leave."

"No! Chaewon, please let me explain!"

"For what? What makes you think I'll believe you now?" Chaewon ran towards the house she had been staying at. Minju ran behind her and tried to take a grab at her. Chaewon tried ducking, but couldn't avoid the slash at her back, making her stumble in pain.

"Oh my god! I'm sorry! Chaewon, I..."

"Save it, just save it," Chaewon said, her voice wavering at the pain. Opening the door, she didn't even let Minju say anything before slamming the door in her face.

Running for her stuff, she still heard Minju's cries at the door, but she didn't want to listen anymore. Opening the window facing the open wilderness, she jumped through it, running towards the woods. It took a moment for Minju to sense her leaving, but it was enough time for Chaewon to hide between the trees.

Minju stood there, crying for Chaewon to come out. It wasn't like Chaewon said, and she needed for Chaewon to know, for Chaewon to stay and listen. She could hear her parents run towards her, probably having had to run several miles to help her, but they didn't know her cries were not because of physical danger.

She realized that she couldn't feel Chaewon's presence in the house anymore. Running towards the main road, she panicked when she saw that Chaewon wasn't anywhere to be seen, and she couldn't feel her presence anymore. She couldn't give up, she couldn't let Chaewon leave without knowing that she really meant to tell her, that she truly wanted Chaewon to be a part of her whole world.

Running through the main road, she stopped several times to try and sense Chaewon. It took her a moment before she was able to feel someone near. Relieved, once again, she ran towards the source of heat, but instead of being greeted with blonde hair and warm eyes, she was met with many people, a party... Oh, no.

One of them, an orc, had looked at her in amaze for a moment before smirking. "Look at what we have here." The other party members turned to look at her, but she gave them no time to even think about attacking her, as she started running back to the farm. 

She could hear them pursuing her, but they couldn't possibly keep up with her, did they?

Except that they either had a Mage with them or had used a potion, and their speed was rivaling hers. She didn't stop until she heard one of them groan, as if in pain. Turning to see, despite her biggest insticts of survival, she was met with a human who had fallen to the ground, a bolt buried in his stomach. The others had stopped suddenly, trying to help their friend. From the forest a small figure came out, fire in her eyes and a crossbow in her arms.

"I'm giving you three seconds to leave, before I kill your sorry asses," the voice bellowed authoritatively.

"Huh, and what can you even do, you puny human?"

"Kill your friend," Chaewon answered calmly. "My bolts are laced with venom. I don't even need to pierce your heart. Just your arm will do." Chaewon focused the crossbow at the orc, who turned to look at their fallen friend, who was groaning in pain.

"Help me, you idiots! Get me a healer!"

"And you es don't even have a healer," Chaewon t'sked. "Who's going to save you?" Everyone else looked at each other for a moment.

"Maybe we should leave the beast be, huh?" one of them said finally. "Let the girl get the beast for herself. It ain't worth the trip to the healer."

Wow, they don't even care about their friend, Minju thought bitterly, somehow making her ask herself who was the real beast here.

The orc, who seemed to be the leader of the group, seemed to be in deep thought, but was startled from it when a bolt flew right beside his head.

"Next shot I'll hit the mark."

"i'd like to see you try," the orc, spurned by the threat, taunted. Chaewon shrugged, clicking on the trigger. Minju closed her eyes, not bearing to see what would happen, but scared enough to hear a body hit the ground.

"Run! Run from this !" a guy exclaimed. Opening her eyes, she found the orc's corpse on the ground, a bolt through his head. The injured man was now half-dead, having been left behind by his party. The only person who stood there was Chaewon.

"Chaewon!" it was in this moment that she hated her monstrous voice more than anything in this world. 

Chaewon lowered her weapon, her body now trembling. "Just... go home, Minju. Go home." 

"I can't let you go like this! I need you to know! Chaewon, I..."

"I don't want to hear it," Chaewon said crisply, but her features softened after a moment. "I promise I'll come back. I just..." the older woman looked so tired in that moment. "I need time to think. I need time to... process this. Please, go home."

Minju wanted to plead more, to tell Chaewon to come back, that she should at least let her dad check on her injuries, but she could see it in Chaewon's eyes. She needed to get away, not just from her, but from this whole scenery, and she immediately understood why her body seemed to hunch, like she was fighting with herself, how her eyes were wavering, clouding up like that day at the circus tent.

Minju huffed in agreement. "Please be safe."

Chaewon nodded, and in a few moments, she had already run into the woods, away from Minju's sight.

This had been Chaewon's most difficult trial.

Whoops?