The group of friends sat around the large table, the warm glow of the paper lantern casting a cozy light over the place. The table was set with stone bowls, plates and silverware, and the aroma of the hot pot wafted through the air. 

“Wow, this is amazing.” Moonbyul exclaimed as she tasted the broth before everyone else. “Always on point, Lady Dasom.”

“I’m glad you liked it.” The host replied with a smile. “I wanted to make something special for you guys. Ain’t everyday we receive Sundeok Warriors as guests. Take your time to enjoy the meal at our place.”  Lady Dasom resumed going inside the restaurant, checking up for any new meal ready to be served. 

As the other girls dug into the meal, Miyoung didn’t make any move to start eating herself, her eyes simply falling on the chopsticks on top of the table. 

“You're not hungry, Lady Miyoung?” Yongsun asked her gently. 

“I don’t know if I should…” 

“What? Eat?” Moonbyul frowned. “We invited you in. Of course you can eat.” She said, nonchalant. “You don’t need to worry about the cost of the food. Sundeok Warriors pay only half the price.”

“Really?” Taeyeon turned to her taller friend, rather surprised by this information. “I didn’t know that.” 

Moonbyul gulped her soup before answering. “Only in Busan. Lia-Sennim said she didn’t get any in Hanyang when she went there once.” 

“Maybe I should start using that to my advantage while I stay in Busan.” Taeyeon said. 

“Whatever happened to your `Yo, I just wanna go on my journey passing as a man, can’t have any distractions`?” Her friend asked, amused. 

Taeyeon shrugged her shoulders. “Sometimes money speaks louder.” 

“You can’t really announce that you are a Sundeok Warrior or everyone in Busan will know you are a woman…” Yongsun added, low tune. “Also, never say you’re one of us out loud in the open. If not careful, it can bring you a lot of trouble.”

Taeyeon just sighed. “As if I would need some more.” 
 

“You’re always welcome to wear our masks.” Moonbyul offered, pulling a white blue demon mask from her robes. Miyoung recalled seeing one of those masks in some books her Lord Father had on his shelves.Most of those masks were used by performers, dancers and musicians. She didn’t know Sundeok Warriors still wore masks like those.  

“I ain’t wearing that stupid thing.” Taeyeon retorted. 

“At night, when everything is all dark this mask tricks people alright. Might give you a good chuckle sometimes.” Moonbyul smiled. 

“You all go scaring people to death out there with that?” Miyoung asked the taller warrior. Moonbyul just smiled. 

“It’s fun.” 

“We use it for safety reasons… to protect our identities during missions and other affairs.” Yongsun recalled. “But some of us have a trickster nature and go up to trick people in exchange for some laughs.” 

“I remember seeing those masks on some books my Lord Father had on his shelves.”

“Your father was a Lord?” 

Miyoung exchanged looks with Taeyeon for a brief second and the silent agreement that it wouldn’t be a good idea talking about that in the open was rather instantaneous. 

“Sort of.” She said, digressing her gaze. “He was of good birth, high enough to read Chinese and have some books on spare.”  

“I see.” Moonbyul nodded her head, having a good gulp of her soup. “Seems like he is a man of culture. Does he know about our academy?”

“Most likely.” Miyoung doesn’t remember one instance where her Lord Father mentioned Sundeok Warriors but given his appreciation for books and the arts, it wouldn’t be too difficult to imagine that Hwang Minhyuk, Master of Hwang Estate, definitely knew about Sundeok Warriors when he was alive. 

“If you guys ever need some help in your capital, don’t shy away, just call us.” Moonbyul tried, making Yongsun smile. 

“Why are you so keen to leave Busan?” Taeyeon asked her. “This province is rich and beautiful, with good food and weather. Why leave this place?”

“I’m not keen to leave Busan.” She denied. “I love my hometown. Personally, I just think it’s important to go on missions outside our skirts. If we fail the mission, that means we failed our academy and our lessons. If we succeed, then it means we honored our vows and our Order will keep prevailing. Our Academy is not a fancy leisure camp. It should be about helping Joseon. In whatever ways Joseon needs us.” 

At first Miyoung felt touched by her words, very big and motivational, but then a feeling of apathy struck her. 

“Where were you guys when the Japanese invaded our land and threw us into a war?” 

Miyoung felt Taeyeon’s foot hitting her under the table, suggesting to not mention that. But Miyoung didn’t care. She wanted to know why that order was nowhere to be seen in the darkest period of recent memory in Joseon. 

“We were fighting against them, obviously.” Moonbyul said, firmly. 

“Which side were you on?” 

“What? What do you mean which side we were on? How can there be any other side other than we are against the invasion?” 

“But who were you supporting? King Jaeyong or King Junyong?”

“Lady Miyoung is just delusional, don't listen to her.”  Taeyeon quickly dismissed it.

“I’m not delusional!” 

Taeyeon kicked Miyoung’s feet stronger this time around and her silent gesture of ‘shut up’ was evident. Miyoung sighed and decided to listen to her. Maybe there was more to it than what she could know for that moment. 

“This happens because she is not eating. Eat, Lady Miyoung. This way your brain won’t fog up.” Moonbyul added.

Miyoung, not taking the words to heart, dropped the issue and resumed having her meal. “Sorry, that was uncalled for.” She apologized, although not sincerely. 

“Anyway, we were wondering if you want to take part in the Dragon Boat competition with us?” Moonbyul asked Taeyeon directly, changing the topic of the the conversation.  

“The Dragon Boat competition?”

“It’s the last competition of the Autumn Festival.” Yongsun began to explain. “Several boats leave the bay and have a set of goals to achieve and the first boat to cross the finish line is the winner.” 

“Every boat needs a team of 12. We’re at 10 in total so if you are interested in participating we can make it 11 and then all we need is to find another one willing to participate.”

“Seulgi?” Taeyeon suggested. 

“Already in the team with Juhyun, Sooyoung and their gang.”

“Wait, what?” Miyoung frowned. “You guys know Juhyun, Sooyoung and Yuri?”

“Who’s Yuri?” Moonbyul asked, curiously.

Taeyeon just shook her head, chuckling. “They are not the same Juhyun and Sooyoung of ours.”

“Ah.” Miyoung nodded. “Sorry.”

“So, you say yes?” Moonbyul asked Taeyeon. 

Taeyeon grimaced. “I don’t do well on waters.” 

“You’d be rowing the entire time you won’t have the energy to mind your nausea.” 

“Well, that’s a relief.” She said sarcastically, making Miyoung chuckle a little. 

“C’mon, it will be fun! You can’t come to Busan during the Autumn Festival and not try giving it a shot at the dragon boat!” 

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea.” Taeyeon took a deep breath before answering. 

“Why wouldn’t it be? You’re one of us nonetheless, you have the earned the position to represent the Sundeok Warriors just the same.“ 

“Nah, I’ll pass it, thanks.” 

Moonbyul complained. “C’mon, don’t hurt our feelings like that! We were counting on you. How can we find another teammate in such a small amount of time?”

Taeyeon just shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, maybe ask other warriors in the academy?”

“We’ve managed to secure the ones who are willing to go. All the other girls aren’t really giving a damn to the competition. They all want to enjoy the city and have a good time.”

“Not wrong on their part.” Taeyeon understood the sentiment of her fellow Sundeok Warriors. 

“C’mon… if we don’t find our last members we can’t participate.” 

“Would you be interested?” Miyoung was caught in surprise when Yongsun was the one directing the question towards her. 

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not a Sundeok Warrior.” She replied. 

“You don’t need to be. You just need to board our boat to fill the slots and take part in the competition under our flag.”  The warrior replied. 

Miyoung felt her shoulders heavy. “I’m not much of a sports person. I might be more of a detriment to your team than an ace ally.”  

“I’m the ace member so you don’t need to worry about that.” Moonbyul said confidently.

“You’re not the ace member!” Yongsun retorted. 

“Of course I am! If not me then who is it? You?”

“Of course it’s me!” 

“Ha! You can’t really be serious!”

Yongsun turned to Taeyeon. “You’ve known us for a while now, be honest, Taeyeon, who is the ace member?” She asked her, entirely sure Taeyeon would end the discussion in her favor.

“Hwasa!” Taeyeon said without an inch of doubt. “Although Whee-In doesn’t stay far behind as well.”

The two warriors gasped.

 “You can’t be serious!”

“You are just trying to deflate the discussion… you can’t possibly really believe that!” Moonbyul retorted. 

“You guys underestimate how fantastic Hwasa is.” Taeyeon said. 

“Look at you now talking like Yoona-Sennim…huh.” Moonbyul scrunched up her face, still disappointed Taeyeon didn’t single her out as the ace member of her group. 

“Who’s Yoona-Sennim?” Miyoung asked, curiously. It wasn’t the first time that she heard that name.

“She’s the general Sennim of our camp.” Yongsun dared to explain. “She is a Sundeok Warrior of The Highest Order and actively serves as the Header of our Academy.”  

“She’s the definition of what it means to be a Sundeok Warrior.” Moonbyul added. “She saw everything, took part in the war, rebuilt the Academy from the ashes. Busan is really close to Japan and when the invasion happened, we were the province that had to deal with the most possible.” 

Miyoung suddenly understood why Taeyeon was so adamant at making her not talk about the Japanese Invasion. “The Invasion happened when Yoona-Sennim was young and in the prime of her youth. The Sundeok Warriors had many losses during the war and most of our sisters were killed in ambushes and used in ual favors.” 

“That’s awful.” Miyoung felt like a punch was thrown into her guts. “I’m sorry, I had no idea.”

“By the time the war was over, our academy was in severe decay. Few of the big warriors from that time survived. And those warriors helped Busan to grow again after the Japanese were expelled. Yoona-Sennim was one of those warriors.”   

“She’s one of the most respected figures in our academy in recent memory, so everyone looks for her acceptance and approval. When someone catches her interest, it is often a big deal.” Yongsun continued. “She stated many times how Hwasa was often underappreciated in our academy; so hearing the same opinion from Taeyeon is kinda… curious to say the least.”

“You don’t need to agree with us.” Taeyeon said it, shrugging her shoulders. “Everyone is unique and different and may have different perspectives and experiences. Personally, I really think Hwasa is amazing.”

“But who’s more amazing?” Moonbyul lifted up one of her eyebrows. 

Taeyeon just chuckled. “Just because I’m your subordinate doesn’t mean I have to say it’s you.” 

Moonbyul was left yet again disappointed. “You are no fun!”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been called that many times before.” 

Miyoung chuckled, silently agreeing with that. That made Taeyeon look at her. “You too?”

Miyoung felt slightly embarrassed. “Once or twice.” She said, smiling, knowing that Taeyeon wouldn’t really take an issue with that answer. “But you are light-spirited enough to not make it a bad thing.” 

“Ginger finds me fun. It’s enough.” Taeyeon said, making Miyoung chuckle lightly once more. 

“How did you get a horse?” Moonbyul asked, curiously. 

“It was a gift.” Taeyeon answered. “From a special friend.” 

“Kim Chang-Min.” Miyoung said lowly, recalling the events of Midsummar. They seemed so distant and far away. “You think he’s finally at home? At Yellowstone?” She asked Taeyeon. 

Taeyeon was silent for a second. “I hope he is. And that his Father is proud of him.” 

“What do you mean?” Miyoung frowned, not understanding. 

“He’s the youngest of three siblings. He told me his Father never really acknowledged him as a great man. He sent Kim Chang-Min to Midsummar so he could deliver gifts to Lord Hwang and Shin Yunsuk, congratulating them for the marriage. His Father believed that with those gifts, Yellowstone would be in the heart of Master Hwang and their land wouldn’t have been left forgotten.” 

Miyoung blinked, recalling single moments she had with Kim Chang-Min and their private conversation. “I didn’t know he was estranged from his own Father though.” 

“Seems like a common thing between high borns.” Taeyeon retorted. 

Miyoung took a second of silence. “He never really gave me those gifts.”

Taeyeon looked at her curiously. “What do you mean? Didn’t he met you a couple of times when you were kept at Shin Yunsuk’s lodge?”

“He had one gift to give my brother, one gift to give my Lord Father and one gift to give me.” She said firmly. “For Liu, the gift was supposed to be a bottle of wine. The best wine from Yellowstone. For my Lord Father, it was supposed to be gemstones. And for me, it was supposed to be some jewelry.” 

“He didn’t give you the gifts he was supposed to give?” Taeyeon chuckled, thinking it was funny. “Really?”

“He gave Yunsuk the wine.” Miyoung smiled. “Made him overdrink it so the man could be drunk in an instant.” 

“What about the gemstones?”

“With my Father dead, there was no one to give the gemstones to. So he kept the gemstones to himself and gave me Ginger instead. And I gave