The base camp of the Sundeok Warriors was located at the foot of the Woodland Heights, one of the so-called Five Holy Peaks surrounding the city of Busan. The mountain itself was on the east side of the city, further from the main port of the province but not from the popular markets and trading merchants.

Deep embedded into the mountains, the architecture of their base was similar to an old traditional buddhist monastery. There were three lodges all arranged in a square base pedestal. The main lodge was a three-floor-building, towering up itself with perfectly aligned rooftops.

When the whole entrance of their base had been finally caught by her eyes, Taeyeon stopped moving meanwhile to just comprehend what was in front of hers.

“Welcome to our camp.” Moonbyul smiled up, making Taeyeon look around in awe at the place.

At the entrance, on each side of the red tall gate, there was a banner written in Chinese that Taeyeon didn't know what it meant. As Moonbyul and Yongsun entered the place, Taeyeon followed them, still trying to take in the place she was standing.

Her eyes managed to spot other girls. Some were walking by, many were pinning up festive lanterns and others were cleaning the floors and doors. All from several different age groups; Taeyeon caught glimpses of little children as well as very matured women.

“Are you guys even allowed to quit?” She asked Moonbyul, curiously upon taking the notice of older senior warriors.

“Quit what?”

“Your academy. If a girl wants to quit being a Sundeok Warrior, is she allowed?”

“Of course.” She replied, firmly. “Our academy is not a life commitment. I mean, we have our vows, but life happens and there are women who want to marry and have their own families, right?”

“Hm…”

“They are allowed to leave if they wish. When they do so, they no longer have the titles of Sundeok Warriors and are forbidden to visit us or step back inside here.”

“But since we are Sundeok Warriors, we have no titles or heritage.” Yongsun quickly added up. “We renegade our family legacy, so the only men Sundeok Warriors can marry at the end of the day are lowborn folk. No place for high weddings or political alliances.”

“I see.”

“For the ones who don’t leave, as you mature in our academy you can become prefects, teachers and counselors. There are cases of senior members of The Sundeok Warriors being called to serve the Army of Joseon’s Higher Family Clans. But this is rare and usually happens in times of conflicts.” Moonbyul completed.

“And you guys fight for those conflicts?”

“Some wealthy families pay a lot of money to hire a couple of warriors to take their fights. So we ended up accepting it.”

“I see.”

“Most highborn families are not very interested in having their daughters become one of us, as they would lose their political power, so what they do is pay us for some service from time to time.”

“Makes sense.” Taeyeon nodded.

“Each year, we have less and less girls interested in becoming Sundeok Warriors.” Yongsun sighed. “We make presentations at the Autumn Festival to make people be familiar with our practices and tradition and spark their interest in becoming one of us.”

“I find it pretty cool and awesome.” Taeyeon spoke up. “If Ironstow had a branch of your academy there, I’d probably be a member of it.”

“Well, but it seems you’re a bit of a warrior yourself, so it doesn’t feel like it would change much, would it?” Moonbyul asked her.

Taeyeon looked downwards. “It would change everything.” She sighed.

Moonbyul stood silent, looking at Taeyeon’s overall semblance.

“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you, my friend?”

That simple remark broke Taeyeon inside out. There was so much that was happening and everything felt so loose and lost, Taeyeon even wondered if she could arrive at Hanyang in one piece without getting mad.

“It gets better.” Moonbyul said, trying to cheer Taeyeon up. “Gets better day by day.”

Taeyeon exhaled deeply, thankful for her words. “Thank you.”

“C’mon let’s get in. You still need to be evaluated.” Yongsun called her.

“Evaluated?” Taeyeon frowned.

“Yoona-Sennim needs to accept you in our academy for you to be one of us.”

“Yoona-Sennim?”

~~*~~

Two plates of food were placed on top of the small table at the center of the room. Taeyeon was looking downwards all the time, not daring to touch either platter of food nor facing the taller woman on the opposite side of the table.

The woman so called Yoona-Sennim was poised and very elegant looking. Despite her older age, she looked as young as Taeyeon, but her manners of speech clearly indicated her position and her seniority in that academy.

She had picked a couple of sweet rice cubes and the tip of her fingers were smudged with bits of refined sugar. “I’ll leave you to be in the market for 10 minutes and you bring a completely random person to our base?” She asked both Moonbyul and Yongsun firmly, who were still present there in the room with Taeyeon just between them.

“Moonbyul’s idea.” Yongsun quickly revealed it.

Moonbyul just squinted her eyes at Yongsun. “Well, Taeyeon is not a man." She defended her own take. "And she was interested in knowing more about our order…she is coming from a far away province, so I don’t think bringing her here could be dangerous in any shape or sort.”

“That’s still not a reason to let her come in. What if she is a spy? A runaway criminal? What is she a paid mercenary to bring our order to shame? Have you thought of that, Byul-Jusen?”

Moonbyul blinked. “No, I didn’t think about that…”

“I told her she was nuts, Sennim!” Yongsun spoke up.

“Just stop it.” Moonbyul complained to her friend. “You don’t need to act like that. You were fine with Taeyeon joining us five minutes ago!”

Yongsun sighed and just looked away.

Moonbyul exhaled deeply. “I’ve met Taeyeon at the Great Sundeok Temple of Westport Hill near the shipping harbors.” She started explaining. “She wanted to know more about Great Queen Sundeok and her deeds.”

“She can watch the festivals for that.” Lady Yoona-Sennim spoke up, eating one more sweet rice cube.

“I know. But she’s a bastard child, born in a brother house of her hometown, she has no money with her. No money, no wealth, nothing. She just needs a place to stay in Busan for three weeks that would welcome her without charging her for anything. She knows the Art of the Sword and is a little bit of a warrior herself, so I thought that she wouldn’t bring trouble to us if we let her be here.”

Lady Yoona looked at the younger warrior. “But you can’t decide that on your own like this, Byul-Jusen.”

“Well, I’m the captain of my squad, am I not? I should have a say on whom I accept as a student and what not." She reafirmed herself. "Didn’t Juhyun do the same with her squad when she brought Yeri here?”

“Yeri was 13 when Juhyun brought her here, Byul.” Yongsun quickly added up the information.”

“Still…”

“This is not about Juhyun-Jusen and you know it. Don’t shift the conversation to one that is not at fault.”

“Ah, I’m sorry, Sennim.” Moonbyul looked downwards, reserving herself from speaking about whoever that Juhyun was.

She breezed Taeyeon’s arms with her own, insisting that she say something on her own behalf.

Taeyeon gulped, finally looking up to face Lady Yoona in front of hers. The woman was at least 2-heads taller than Taeyeon herself, she also was very thin, with great posture and nice gentle soft lines. She was very pretty and graceful, making Taeyeon feel a little smaller than she already was.

“I’m sorry, Lady Yoona, I didn’t mean to be a burden for you all. If it's best that I leave the camp, I’ll do it without second thoughts.”

“Taeyeon…” Moonbyul tried to stop her.

“I’m sorry. I really don’t want you guys to have troubles because of me. I’ll be fine staying with the Baek Family.”

“That doesn’t make any sense! I didn’t bring you here so you can have the doors shunned at your face!”

“Byuli-ya!” Yongsun called her attention. “You can’t confront Yoona-Sennim like that!”

“Give her a chance, Sennim!” Moonbyul asked the taller woman, not minding her friend. “Taeyeon is a bit older to be officially a Sundeok Warrior such as ourselves, I’m aware of that. But she will be under my watch the entire time!”

“Don’t get in trouble with your superior because of me.” Taeyeon quickly stepped up. “I understand this house has rules and I’m okay not being part of that.”

“Taeyeon…”

“I won’t let more people get into trouble because of me. I can handle everything on my own. I’ve been on my own since Ironstow, it will be no different from that.”

“C’mon don’t be like this. You are hurt. You need help. You can’t carry all the weight of the world on your back and pretend it’s fine. It’s not fine. And when the world is not fine, the Sundeok Warriors step in and help!” Taeyeon felt touched with those words, but she knew it was futile.

“Byul-Jusen…” Lady Yoona called her.

“Yes.”

“Don’t fight for causes that aren’t meaningful. This woman is not the world. You can’t say that our duty is to help her when she is not one of ours.”

“Yoona-Sennim…”

“Why do you want to help her?” The lady asked her so suddenly.

Moonbyul stood silent for a second.

“Why do you want us to welcome this woman to our base so suddenly like this?”

Taeyeon looked at Moonbyul beside her. Almost like a decalcomanie of each other, face to face.

“Have you ever met someone that made you feel like ~whoah, she’s gonna be great?~” Moonbyul gulped. “That’s what I felt when I met Taeyeon. And if she goes to Hanyang and becomes a great person, then, it means we are marking and touching the right people, right? And that means we are writing History!”

“What if she doesn’t? What if she doesn’t become great?”

“We’d still managed to help a girl in need. And showed her that we don’t exist only for shows and colorful parades. We showed her what truly means being a Sundeok Warrior.”

Taeyeon took a second to take in those words, feeling her heart beat a tad faster. A rush of warmth took over her completely.

“You’ll take full responsibility for whatever issues she might cause in our camp, Byul-Jusen?”

“Yes.” Moonbyul confirmed, shaking her head.

“Very well.” Yoona-Sennim nodded her head. “You can have her under your guidance.”

Moonbyul sighed in relief. “Thank you very much, Yoona-Sennim!” She said, bowing her head.

Taeyeon followed her moves, grateful for the acceptance she’d been just granted.

“Thank you, Lady Yoona.”

“What’s your full name?”

“Kim Taeyeon.”

“Well, Kim Taeyeon, I’ll be watching you at all times. Don’t forget that.” Taeyeon understood. “You’ll be a student and member of Byul-Jusen’s squad. Listen to her well and respect your peers.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Lady Yoona sighed, a little smile forming on the end of her lips. “You’re all dismissed.”

The moment she said that, Moonbyul and Yongsun quickly stood up from their seat, bowing their heads and torso to the woman. Taeyeon followed the same principles, and after finishing it, the three girls finally left the room.

“Fff, that was a relief!” Moonbyul said, sighing.

“Since when have you become so good with words?” Yongsun asked her, astonished. Moonbyul just smiled cheeky.

“I’ve always been good with words. At least better than you.”

“For a moment I felt like you were her personal squire.”

“Jealous?”

“A little, yeah.”

Taeyeon just frowned her brows, feeling like she was interrupting something. She cleared between them, moving her eyes back to Moonbyul. “Thank you. I really appreciate what you’ve done.”

“It’s fine.” Moonbyul dismissed it as if it was nothing. “Don’t wrap your head so much around that. Yoona-Sennim is not that difficult, she just wants us all to be safe.”

“I understand.” Taeyeon nodded. “Nevertheless, thank you very much. I appreciate your help.”

Moonbyul just smiled. “Aye. C’mon, we still need to show you the place around.” She added up excitedly.

“Don’t forget to give her the proper schedule.” Yongsun spoke up.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Moonbyul didn’t really sound as excited when she said that. “She’s my student, Yongsun, not yours. Don’t in.”

“Aish, as humble as you can get, huh?”

“Whatever.” She shrugged her shoulders. “C’mon, Taeyeon. Just follow me. I’ll introduce you to the place and the other girls.”

And Taeyeon just followed her new teacher suit.

~~*~~

As they reached the dormitories, Taeyeon managed to see outside the main door, the sigil representing their own squad, indicating that the room they were about to enter belonged to members of that class.

Moonbyul opened the door sideways, allowing Taeyeon to enter first. The room was all tidy and clean, with the beds completely done. Some of the girls were grouped within a circle, sharing conversation with each other, while others were on their beds reading books or sleeping.

“This is our dorm, everyone from our squad sleeps through the night here.”

“Okay.” Taeyeon saved the path for that dorm in her memory.

“All our meals are always in communion with other squads. We all get up at 6am, so everyone will be ready for breakfast at 8, lunch time happens at noon, 12pm, and dinner time at 8pm.” Moonbyul gave her the initial instructions.

“Right.” Taeyeon understood. “How many squads are there in the academy?”

“In general terms 12. Sword and Fencing, Daggers, Archery, Hand-in-Hand combat, Fans, Staffs. Those six squads are related to combat, then we have the squads belonging to the art-fields, Dance and Music Performance, Painting and Pottery, History and Folk Studies, Poetry and Literature. And lastly we have the medical team and the food people.”

“Food people?”

“Ah you know, Food and Herbs cuisine. They are the ones making our food and drinks. The medical physicians take care of our wounds and scars.”

“You spoke of them so uninteresting…” Taeyeon chuckled, finding it funny.

“Ah you know, it’s not really my style. But it’s good that we have them. Yoona and the others Sennims say they are the support foundation of our whole academy.”

“You don’t agree with them?”

“I do. I just prefer fighting to cooking.”

“I see.” Taeyeon seconded, smiling.

“Every squad has its own captain and mentors. They are referred to as Jusen.”

“Moonbyul-Jusen.” Taeyeon nodded, understanding.

“The students may be referred to as Gusen. Usually we call Gusen the students that are members of a different squad than our own.”

“Right.”

“But as you start to familiarize yourself with the others and befriend them, you can drop those eventually.” Moonbyul explained. “You also must have classes from the History and Folk Studies’ Squad as well as Poetry and Literature every day.”

“Literature?” Taeyeon frowned.

“It’s mandatory.” Moonbyul quickly added up. “Every Sundeok Warriors must take those lessons. ”

“I don’t know how to read chinese.”

“It’s fine, we can put you together with the elementary kids that are picking up the alphabet themselves.”

“Thanks.” Taeyeon said, a little embarrassed herself. Moonbyul didn’t pick it up though.

She suddenly clapped her hands, calling attention from her students, to which all stood up from their places and arranged themselves in a line making Taeyeon step in front, standing her out from the other students.

There were several girls from different age groups, with some girls being younger than 10, and others older than 20. But mostly were just about the same age as Taeyeon herself. “This is Taeyeon. She’ll be with us for this time being, so treat her well and respectfully.” The captain started saying firmly.

“Won’t she stay with us forever, Jusen?” One child asked.

“No. Taeyeon needs to go to Hanyang when the right time comes and till then, she’ll be staying with us. We’ll teach her our ways and our knowledge the best we can.”

“Does she even know how to sword fight?” One older woman asked. “It’d be a nuisance for us all if she has zero knowledge about our art.”

“Yes, she does know how to sword fight, Ji-eun.” Moonbyul confirmed. “You’re welcome to challenge her anytime.”

“What?” Taeyeon frowned, surprised by the sudden words from Moonbyul.

“What?” She smiled. “You think we just meditate and read books around here?” She scoffed. “Challenges between students is a normal thing and happens all the time. Whenever you feel you can beat a classmate, you can challenge that classmate and battle her. If you win, you earn points for yourself. If you lose, you have to clean up the lodges.” Taeyeon recalled all the women she saw cleaning the place around when she got past the entrance of the camp.

“So all those girls I saw earlier, were girls who lost their challenges?”

“Yes. You may be challenged just once a day if you get a defeat. If you win, you get a reward and may challenge another classmate if you want to.”

“What’s the reward?”

“Sometimes it’s special foods or drinks, other times it’s a full day at the market trades in Busan. That depends. Usually we don’t really take challenges for the rewards, but mostly to evaluate our skills.”

“I see.”

“When you earn the biggest amount of points and have won a challenge against every single member of our class, you can come and challenge me instead.” Moonbyul said, daringly. “If you win, you become the new captain of the squad.”

“So the position of Captain is not fixed?”

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