Soojin stayed still as Shuhua stalked out of the room. She didn’t move as Shuhua’s footsteps echoed throughout the house, ascending the staircase to the second floor.  Only when Soojin heard a door slam did she relax and fall onto a chair. The candle she lit earlier guttered. She dropped her head into her hands and squeezed her eyes shut.

Why is it always so hard with you, Shuhua?

Soojin never was the overly affectionate type. Sure, when she was a teenager, she would steal kisses from the baker’s son, Hui. Hui was safe, he was the familiar boy next door who waved at her over the fence when she practiced taekwondo in her backyard. Sometimes he told her to hold his hand as they walked to school together. Once, he said he loved her. Soojin knew he didn’t mean it. Because what they had was something shallow for slow days.

When she signed her life away to join the King’s army, things changed. For one, she moved away from her neighborhood and lived in the barracks within the castle walls. Gone were the days when she’d meet Hui and his friends at some snack shop after school. Instead, she found herself waking up at four in the morning to lift weights and spar soldiers twice her size. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant change, her new partners were nice and she was able to send home a modest sum every month. She learned a new way to kill every day and dropped into bed exhausted every night. But despite how full her life felt, Soojin wasn’t satisfied. Something important was missing. The annoying thing was she had no idea what.

Until the day her supervisor assigned her to be the Princess’s personal guard.

Soojin followed her supervisor as he led her into the actual castle keep. She marveled at the rich tapestries that adorned the walls, the way her feet literally sank into the carpeting on the floors, how throngs of servants scurried through the halls carrying food and wine. They entered the throne room and he immediately knelt, whispering at her to do the same. She dropped to her knees and touched her forehead to the floor.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spied the hem of a robe gliding toward her. Like all the other lower castle guards, Soojin never saw the Princess. She was always hidden, protected behind layers of walls and men. Soojin resisted the urge to look up. The robe stopped an inch before her eyes. Her supervisor kissed the hem and then lifted it to kiss the embroidered slippers underneath. Soojin followed his example.

“So you’re my new guard? Seo Soojin?” a voice asked.

“Yes, if it pleases you, my Princess,” Soojin whispered.

“Rise!”

Soojin pushed herself up and saluted as she directed her gaze at the Princess. She was pretty enough, with her fair skin and big eyes. Her long black hair fell to her waist. But what Soojin found interesting was she didn’t wear any rouge. Soojin didn’t meet any noblewoman who didn’t have on at least some makeup. But it seemed like the Princess