Notes:

italics – flashbacks

italics + bold – character’s personal thoughts

A dark thick matte painted the horizon, permitting the stars and the moon showcased its resplendence of its own. Other than the gloominess existing in the wilderness, the harsh chilly wind bit their skin that could be felt through their hanbok, leaving a few of them shivering in their bones except for one fearless warrior – Kim Minjeong, the ace of an elite warrior group as well as the protectors of the Kingdom, volunteered to stay awake to be on the lookout of the pack for the night. They were set out on a mission by the Queen which led them in the middle of the woods to spend the night before moving on to their journey the next rising of the sun.

As the night got deeper, the campfire struggled to penetrate in the frigid air, but Minjeong nursed it through the darkest hours, adding few woods as she poked it with long sticks for it emanated the only source of heat that they needed to survive the night. Her friends were sleeping peacefully on the ground, surrounding the campfire in a circle. Some of them even crawled to look for a cuddle with one another, an amusing sight to see but she was not surprised anymore for she was used to see it in daily occurrence back in their quarters. Maybe the radiating warmth of the blaze was not enough, Minjeong thought, but nonetheless, it left a mark on her face – her smile that little did she know one person couldn’t resist looking at.

“What are you looking at?”

A familiar voice coming from one of the pair of heads who suddenly popped out beside her, uninvited yet shamelessly joining her view. Jimin froze in fluster as her cheeks were burning red like the heat of the sun perching on the sky for getting caught red-handed for doing something not so illegal that she could get apprehended – pictured like a deer caught in the headlights; and before she could even react, the other companion nodded in confidence as she added. “I guess the right question is, who is Jimin looking at?”

Panic rushed in but Jimin somehow successfully recovered as quick as her senses came back as fast as her hands dragging them with her to the side, seeking full invisibility from the eyes of the object of their view behind the old brick wall where she was lurking alone a while back. “Wha–What are you both doing here?” Jimin asked half-flabbergasted, half-panicking, as the pair was causing Jimin a trouble from failure of holding their laugher at her embarrassed reaction. “Shhh! Cut it out! They could hear us! And I might get caught wandering here instead of practicing my archery skills!” she hushed, whispering loudly, shunning their mouths completely by covering it with her hands before problem arises for the day.

The said disturbers, Ning Yizhuo and Aeri Uchinaga, were one of the members of the elite warrior group, consisted of only six highly-trained and valorous individuals as they were considered the cream of the crop among all the best fighters in the country; they were easily recognized among the crowd because of the expensive white silky fabric of their hanbok, and the silver-plated pauldron worn on their shoulder – compared to an ordinary warrior wearing a red hanbok like Jimin. Even though the pair was clearly higher in ranking compared to Jimin, they naturally acted equal around each other if it was only the three of them together. After all, they were close friends since their childhood.

Jimin crouched down to the ground with her back against the wall, burying her face in extreme embarrassment; she knew that in a matter of minutes, her friends would torture her with endless tease – and she couldn’t be wrong – Yizhuo took advantage of the situation with a silly look on her face, bantering. “I think we should be the one who should ask you that, what are you doing here? And how long are you staring at Kim Minjeong?”

“WHA–WHAT? ME? NO WAY! How can a low-ranking warrior like me has the audacity to stare at someone like the great Kim Minjeong? It will be such a great honor to even introduce myself to her for the first time and make her remember my name that I don’t know if it is possible to happen but who knows maybe it can happen someday. But how can I even do that? I don’t even deserve to be around her wonderful presence even just for a few feet away and–” Jimin tried to defend herself but she realized she went a bit overboard as it was followed by a quick cover up on with her hands for sounding so odd and guilty for getting caught by her own words in which even her facial expression couldn’t even lie for her, satisfying the pair in amusement with a huge grin in their faces – great, another wave of embarrassment for her; was she really this reckless about every aspect in her life or was she just really not great at hiding her feelings of great admiration for Minjeong? Either way, she knew she’s screwed.  “Fine. But just to make it clear, I’m just clearly observing them so I can learn by just watching here so it’s pretty obvious that I’m keeping track of their every move… and that’s just it,” she argued in attempt to redeem herself from further scrutiny.

“Them?” Uchinaga questioned who was now standing brazenly in plain sight with her eyes fixated at the training grounds just few meters away from the other side of this brick wall.  “Or do you mean, just Minjeong?”

Jimin was petrified about how careless her friend was, but she had not time to waste in quickly tugging her aside with all her might, heaving a deep sigh in defeat. “Can you guys just cut me some slack?” she whined, scratching her forehead in dismay but the pair couldn’t help but to giggle for she was too adorable when she did things like that as they struggled to remain serious. Reaching to a conclusion that these two were helpless case, Jimin left with no choice but to shrug it off and came to a plan of ignoring them as she carefully took a glance at the other side of the brick wall – where the pair exchanged brief smirk looks and followed her line of sight to watch the two exceptionally talented warriors stick-fighting in the training grounds.

The sound of impact of two sticks together resonated how much force they exerted as hard and fast they swung it, creating loud pressure waves reaching a frequency audible to humans – the silence of the surrounding was deafening, making every hit and grunt turned up the notch in their ears. In the training grounds, two of the best fighters in the elite warrior group – Minjeong, the ace, and Taeyeon, the captain, were sparring with sticks in their hands. The rule was simple: whoever the person who could disarm her opponent first would become the winner; and both of them had no intentions of accepting defeat, giving their all with every strike they made. Watching them fighting was like watching two people dancing tango – characterized by stylized body position in a fighting stance in a syncopated rhythmic melody. Taeyeon was consistent in attacking Minjeong which the ace successfully dodged all of it as fast as a falcon, with eyes like an eagle, and light as a hummingbird. Impressed bystanders behind the brick wall couldn’t even keep up how fast they moved except for Jimin whose focus was only for one person, Minjeong, the person she admired ever since the ace warrior joined the elite warrior group few years ago. There were a lot of things – or rather, almost all the things – about Minjeong that Jimin liked the most. The ace warrior was beautiful, strong, and intelligent, skillful, very meek, and quiet, and the warm smile creeping out from the cold look on her face was one of Jimin’s favorite features of Minjeong.

The soft subtle smile on Minjeong’s face every time she successfully defended herself was also reflecting on Jimin’s face as her hand absentmindedly fiddled the pendant of her wrap ribbon bracelet in her wrist – nervous yet happy at the same time. Jimin couldn’t keep her eyes off Minjeong; she’s one of her inspirations why Jimin decided to push herself to sign up to become a warrior a month ago. Jimin was once a scholar but being part of the elite warrior group was her lifetime dream ever since she was a kid. One of the things that held her back in achieving her dream was she knew deep down that she’s not fast enough, her knees were weak, and her combat skills were not up to par, causing her to give up on her dream; but when she saw Minjeong for the first time returning to the palace after a dreaded mission as the ace warrior received awards and recognition for her brevity, Jimin’s longtime dream ignited in her heart as she gave up being a scholar and joined the army despite knowing her limited capacity.

Truth be told, Jimin was at the bottom of the list in terms of overall basic skills and qualities of being an ordinary warrior, and it’s really impossible for her to be recruited because of this – even the general was not even considering her as one… not even a bit but a nuisance. But because of a once in a blue moon miracle, she got a recommendation out of nowhere, making her into the list; causing the other warriors with years of experience looked down on her and treated her unfairly because they believed she was favored unquestionably. Jimin believed that the recommendation was one of her friends doing, but either way, she was more than grateful to the person who recommended her, knowing that someone believed in her – she didn’t want to let anyone down, more than anything, let anyone trampled down on her. Jimin knew she had a lot to improve and she’s more than ready to prove herself that she was worthy to become a great and mighty warrior.

At last, in one hard strike, a stick was last seen flying in the air – as it fell at the same time as one’s both knees fell on the ground in defeat. Minjeong, smiling in victory, pointed the tip of her stick above Taeyeon’s neck – the ace successfully disarmed the captain. Stunned and amazed bystanders in collective gasps and silent praises occurred, except for Jimin, where a loud cheer accidentally escaped from , resulting the captain and the ace warrior veered their sights at her direction where she and her friends quickly hid themselves behind the brick wall. The three of them exchanged panic glances; Taeyeon would probably punish Uchinaga and Yizhuo for neglecting their duties at this hour, and Jimin for wandering inside the palace during training hours. “Oh, crap,” Jimin cursed at herself for being reckless, covering in panic but she knew it was too late.

“Come out whoever you are!” Taeyeon commanded in a stern voice as she stood up, picking up her stick.

Jimin left with no choice but to obey her orders as she slowly revealed herself outside the brick wall – her head hanging low, her hands trembling in fear to her side, and her heart was pounding hard like it was about to escape her chest – she’s completely ashamed and embarrassed. She pictured herself meeting Minjeong for the first time in a positive way where the ace warrior would recognize her and shake her hand for her hard work and accomplishments, but today all of it was easily shattered in thin air as it all ended up in a negative note where she could be labeled as delinquent warrior for a first impression; and here she was in front of her, like a lost and weak puppy that had no way to go.

“Who are you?” Taeyeon asked with intimidation in her tone, causing the warrior froze and unable to utter a single word.

“I– I’m Yoo Jimin, captain,” she managed to answer above whisper, unable to make eye contact for she couldn’t bear to look at Taeyeon, and most especially Minjeong, the person she admired and looked up the most.

Taeyeon was pissed, raising an eyebrow as she asked her again. “What did you say again, warrior? Make it louder! I can’t hear you!”

The red-clothed warrior couldn’t take it anymore with cold sweat dripping off her face, and her knees about to collapse, in which she could feel that she was about to passed out any minute under the scorching heat of the sun, under the intense glare from their captain, and under extreme embarrassment in front of the ace warrior – she never knew the day would come that she wanted to die in that moment.

“YOO JIMIN!” Yizhuo suddenly shouted appearing behind her from the brick wall; finally, a saving grace came to light. Uchinaga followed them as she scolded Jimin in front of their captain with a quick wink coming out from her eye. “What are you doing here? We’re looking for you! Did you get lost?”

Jimin then realized that her friends were trying to save her as she decided to go on with the act and apologized profusely. “I’m– I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“We’ll talk to the captain. Just stay right here. Don’t worry, we got you,” Yizhuo whispered low-key at Jimin as the pair then walked up to Taeyeon and explain what happened as they made up a scenario just to get Jimin out of trouble as well as to save themselves from abandoning their posts.

There were a lot of things running inside Jimin’s head as she stood there alone with her head still hung low; but one that stuck out the most was how humiliating she could be now in the eyes of Minjeong. Ever since she stepped out behind the brick wall, she didn’t have the courage to look at her face; she didn’t even have the idea what could be the ace warrior’s reaction after witnessing all that crap. Could it be Minjeong was laughing at her right now because how weak she was for not even answering a simple question from the captain? Could it be Minjeong was shaking her head in disbelief and disappointment? Could it be Minjeong was upset right now because someone was intruding their practice session? Or maybe, just maybe, she just didn’t care at all because who was Jimin to Minjeong to begin with? She’s just a nobody – just an ordinary warrior – just another face in the crowd after all.

But her thoughts were restless as it was piquing her curiosity to its limit, Jimin wanted to take a risk – maybe just one glance at Minjeong even just for a second. It’s now or never. Mustering all the remaining courage she had, Jimin then lifted her gaze…

Heartbeat.

Jimin never imagined that those eyes were staring back at her as they locked gaze for a moment like the world intently slowed down the time just for the two of them. Jimin panicked as she quickly veered her sight to other direction. Did she just saw it right? Did she really just meet Minjeong’s eyes for the first time? And before it got through her head, her fingers ended up playing again the pendant of her ribbon wrap bracelet – it’s her mannerism every time she was lost in her own thoughts. As her mind wondered if she could feel this sudden rush of adrenaline once more as her eyes wandered if she could see her face again, Jimin lifted her gaze for the second time around...

Heartbeat.

Heartbeat.

Minjeong was walking towards her; and in three steps away, she’s now right in front of her. Taken aback, Jimin was stupefied and paralyzed and the only thing she could do at that moment was to close her eyes and let things unfold. Was she getting finally punished for being an irresponsible warrior? She deserved it, she believed, as she prepared herself for the consequences of her action. But all of the sudden, Jimin felt there were hands on her waist. Stunned, the red-clothed warrior opened her eyes and the next thing she saw was Minjeong quietly readjusting her sword belt for her. Jimin didn’t flinch like her body wouldn’t even want to protest and now she could get a crystal-clear view of Minjeong’s face, up close and personal: it’s the usual – a blank inscrutable look in a small pretty face. But above all, beneath the cold expression on her face – under the fiery impression on her gaze – there’s a hint of warm and tender feeling hiding in those worried eyes. Why Minjeong was doing this for Jimin? Why were her eyes seemed concerned? Did the ace warrior care for her even for a bit? But’s that’s impossible, Jimin believed; but what the red-clothed warrior knew right now, that she was silently enjoying her view.

“You should not wear your sword belt too low,” Minjeong broke the silence, taking a brief glance at Jimin’s face as she veered her sight to her occupied hands on the belt afterwards in a haste.

“Ye– yes,” Jimin stuttered, quickly looking away – embarrassed and felt stupid, thinking if she was gawking too much as silence took place between them.

Before latching the buckle, Minjeong spoke up once more. “If you really wanted to become part of the elite warrior group, you should dress properly and act like a real warrior first,” the ace warrior looked at her straight in the eyes. “Have confidence and believe in yourself, Jimin,” leaving a pat on her shoulder, Minjeong navigated her way back to the training grounds afterwards as her friends were done explaining to Taeyeon, walking their way back to her beside the old brick wall.

Heartbeat.

Heartbeat.

Heartbeat.

Jimin could feel her the knot in the pit of her stomach at that moment. Her fist clenched to her chest – filled with nervousness, happiness, and excitement – her heart was hurting so good that she had never quite felt before. Even without a smile from Minjeong, the red-clothed warrior could feel the genuine gesture in those simple words of encouragement coming from one of the special people in her life that was worth more than silver and gold, marking a huge bright smile on Jimin’s face that she was struggling to conceive.

“Hey Jimin, what’s that for? You got a lot of explaining to do,” Yizhuo smirked as they reached her. Uchinaga then grabbed her arm with a silly look on her face. “Let’s go, before Captain Taeyeon changes her mind and before you faint in front of Minjeong,” which Jimin rolled her eyes playfully in response. The three of them bowed at the two outstanding warriors on the ground before they quickly leave them.

As soon as they turned their backs, Jimin gained a new-found strength inside her deepest core – motivated and dedicated – realizing that this day wasn’t that bad at all. Minjeong mentioned her name, helped her with her clothes, empowered her with her words – and this day couldn’t get any better for her; and now she was ready to face any challenges without fear.

Jimin had only one wish – just one wish – before she wanted to join the elite warrior group, if ever an opportunity came where she would be chosen. As she absentmindedly looked over her shoulders to steal a final glance from the ace warrior…

“Someday, I will fight beside you,” whispering to herself.

In a snap, a rustling sound of the dry leaves nearby made Minjeong be quick on her feet by holding tightly the grip of her sword, raising it with an inch from the rim of its sheath – armed and ready to defend herself and the pack. Her eyes skimmed through the darkness of her surrounding with the flames casting a light dancing in rhythm across the trunks of the trees, and the stars and the moon above that served her only light which made it quite difficult for her to see. She's the only one awake now so she should be guarded and cautious or else the worst might come - but a sudden shift of heart took place when a gust of brisk wind passed by her face, alongside with the strong familiar scent of vanilla that filled her lungs.

Another rustling sound of the leaves surfaced; it was implanted in their brains during their training days that they should not be too complacent for trouble always never sent a warning – but Minjeong knew better. Confidence and trust on her guts overtook her as she sat back on the ground, resting her sword in front of her as she warmed her hands near the flames; believing in her hunch at the back of her mind that it's not a wild animal nor an enemy or an intruder for she knew too well of that smell – a scent that she couldn’t get enough but too afraid to keep looking for it.

Tale as old as time that things happened to pass by slowly if one was tedious – like the time was expanding innately which Jimin couldn’t help to do anything but to pay more attention to her surroundings – the place deemed felt it was filled with memories – hence, the time felt longer than usual as she waited for Minjeong to meet her there. The red-clothed warrior was standing alone inside the premises of an abandoned open space training ground in a remote area somewhere in the forest near the palace for a few minutes or so. It’s the ungodly hours, thus, it’s more chiller than usual but it’s never been a problem to Jimin at all – after all, it was Minjeong who asked her to be here. Thinking of ways to kill time as she patiently waited, she looked at the stars and it was calming, she felt home, watching all the tiny stars in the distance – shimmer and gleam – it gave her good memories and bad memories, though to look at one star reminded her of the memorable times that slowly changed her life after the incident near the brick wall.

Few months ago, Taeyeon announced that the elite warrior group was now looking for one more member – making them seven – but the selection process was not a walk in the park: all aspiring candidates should participate in the most intensive competition in the army and the last remaining five contenders would enter the next stage. And ever since Jimin heard about this, she had never been that hungry to achieve her goal. She was untouchable and unstoppable – through day and night, she was pushing herself to the limit, training so hard like the world without an end. This was definitely a one step closer to her lifetime dream and a once in a blue moon golden opportunity that she didn’t want to miss.

Until the day of the competition came around, and Jimin was ready more than anything. It was not that easy for her for she was considered the weakest link among all warriors, therefore, no one took her seriously, underestimating her abilities as they tagged her as an underdog. Even though she struggled so hard even putting her life in danger, she managed to survive and barely won the last spot in the top five contenders. As a result, the remaining five contenders would fight against each other and the last warrior standing would be the new member of the elite warrior group that would happen in a few weeks from now. But since they were the final five, they would be randomly partnered up with the five elite warriors excluding the captain to train them further; and luck was indeed on her side when she found out that Minjeong would be the one who would personally train her for a month.

The memory of that day was so vivid in her mind; the last few moments before she claimed the last place in the top five by the skin of her teeth, the elite warriors were watching them since the start of the competition until the very end. Jimin was almost losing that day but as she glanced at Minjeong’s eyes at that moment, she could see those eyes were watching her and it was the same expression since the last time Jimin got caught behind the brick wall – a warm and tender feeling hiding in those worried eyes. This was the second time around. Did Minjeong really care for her? Did Minjeong wanted her to win? Jimin was on the verge of giving up everything, but a sudden recollection of her only wish appeared in her head about why she was doing all of these – it was because she wanted to fight beside Minjeong someday. Jimin gave her all, and in the end, it paid off. She claimed the final spot as she proved to everyone watching and to herself that she could do it.

And now here she was, patiently waiting for Minjeong to come around in the ruins for the first night of her personal training. Jimin closed her eyes and started to listen to the sounds around her: the wind gently blowing the leaves on the trees, and the occasional cricket chirp, followed by the soft giggle escaped from from the thought of how mysterious Minjeong was – even choosing a place to train in the wilderness and in the unpleasant hours of the night, the ace warrior might surely practice here a lot, she assumed. Finally, she heard footsteps drawing in and as soon as she opened her eyes, the ace warrior revealed herself under the majestic light of the moon and constellations, even though she was known to have a cold expression by many, the moonlight gave justice in illuminating her face beautifully, unintentionally giving Jimin a warm fuzzy feeling inside from the moment Minjeong came in.

Heartbeat.

“Sorry. Did I make you wait that long?” Minjeong asked.

Shaking her head politely, Jimin answered. “Not at all. I just got here a few minutes ago.” Lies. She was here two hours before the said time, she was just too excited that she didn’t mind waiting that long in the uncomfortable cold hours of the night; but the ace warrior quietly stared at her as the red-clothed warrior maneuvered her sight away; it was the same look from the last time during the incident happened near the brick wall, there was a hint of concern in her gaze. Was Minjeong’s eyes were always like this – worried and warm at the same time? Did Minjeong also looked like this at other people the way she was looking at Jimin right now? Jimin had no clue, and as she predicted just like from the last time, Minjeong was now coming closer to her.

Heartbeat.

This time, there were no hands on her waist because Jimin made sure that she was dressed properly before going here, but instead those hands travelled on her shoulders – a warm comfort coming from a type of clothing as Minjeong put her jang-ot over Jimin’s shoulders, as the ace warrior noticed. “Your lips are shaking.”

Jimin could suddenly feel her blood flowing through her head – blushing in deep embarrassment. She never knew Minjeong could easily saw through her lies that she was there longer than she claimed she was. Indeed, Minjeong had the eyes of an eagle. “It’s– it’s because my body seems slow in adjusting to this cold temperature,” Jimin mumbled, tripping over her words as she looked away.

A moment of silence took place where Jimin could sense that she was being put under a microscope by the person in front of her as Minjeong responded in a light friendly tone. “But you’re literally shivering right now.”

“N–No… no. It’s just… I’m preserving my energy for the training tonight that’s why I didn’t move a lot when I got here,” Jimin denied, proceeding to do small stretching movements just to prove it, still avoiding Minjeong’s eyes. “See, it’s getting a bit warm now…” closing in around her neck the collar of Minjeong’s jang-ot over her shoulders with her hand, making herself a bit comfortable in the ace warrior’s quiet and mellow presence. “a lot warmer now,” Jimin muttered under her breath as the warmth reached her cheeks.

Amused in stillness, Minjeong commanded. “Let’s start up with the basics. Shall we? Stand up straight like a real warrior, Jimin,” in which the red-clothed did as she told: standing upright with assertiveness, keeping her heels together with toes apart, and her arms fixed at the side; but there’s one thing that she didn’t do – not because she forgot the correct posture but because she kept away from doing it on purpose – and that’s to keep her eyes front. Instead, her eyes were fixated somewhere else – she couldn’t bear to look straight at Minjeong’s face in less proximity.

“Look forward, Jimin,” Minjeong gently said. Hesitation was reigning in, and the red-clothed warrior was stuck and speechless as Minjeong dared her, missing a menacing tone in her voice. “If you’re telling the truth, then look at me. If not, then it means you’re lying.”

Taken aback slightly, Jimin tried – as in she really tried hard – Minjeong could clearly see the red-clothed warrior’s struggles of looking forward for it was evident on how her eyes moved, trying to shift her sight in front of her countless times but failed to do so, always ending up averting her eyes somewhere. Jimin just couldn’t met Minjeong’s eyes – she just couldn’t. The ace warrior then challenged her with a subtle smile on her face as she remarked. “Then it means that you are lying.”

“N–No… No. I’m not!” Jimin got surprised, replying in a defensive manner as she finally veered her gaze in front of her – but her eyes were crossing; she was surely doing anything in her power just to avoid meeting Minjeong’s eyes. “See! I’m looking at you now. I can even see doubles of you!”

Heartbeat.

A soft laugh escaped from Minjeong’s mouth, covering it with the back of her hand. Jimin was stunned and astonished to see her like that as her eyes finally set onto the ace warrior, enjoying the moment in silence with redness in her cheeks. This was her first time to see Minjeong having such a good time. Did Minjeong also show this side of hers around other people? If not, then Jimin must felt special. Scratching the back of her head mixed with confusion and glee as the red-clothed warrior unintentionally made fool of herself in front of the person she admired the most, but this time, thankfully it ended up in a good note. There was no even a sense of intimidation nor power trip in the ace warrior’s company – it was just like talking to an old friend – Jimin felt comfortable around her on the spot. Was this really the ace warrior that everyone was afraid of? Jimin thought, because she believed being around with the ace warrior was at ease; she was indeed easy to laugh but surely not easy to defeat.

Jimin quickly regained herself as she found out a way to escape this situation before she would die in extreme euphoria. “Bu–but maybe we can start the training now, so my body will become warmer along the way,” she suggested as she was hearing herself, she realized that she sounded so stupid and demanding, hoping that she would not regret training so early knowing that the person who would train her was notorious.

Without any judgement, the smile grew on Minjeong’s face, and this time it was caught by Jimin’s eyes – those smiles that she couldn’t resist looking at – but the red-clothed warrior knew she was not here for this, she was here to train instead as she forced herself to keep it together. “Let’s not waste any time then,” the ace warrior nodded. “You first training with me is a hand-to-hand combat. The rule is simple: the first one who steps on the other’s shadow is the winner.”

It sounded so easy to the ears, but in reality, it was not, let alone that her opponent was no other than the great Kim Minjeong, the greatest of all warriors in the country. Jimin believed she would die before first they even started. “Are you ready?” Minjeong asked where Jimin nervously nodded in response. Both taking few steps back with enough space between them, they bowed slightly at each other in a sign of respect, as they both put themselves into a fighting stance.

Jimin knew all too well that she was destined to lose in the first round, and most probably, also in the succeeding rounds – and where was the lie? – just first few seconds kicked in the first round, the next thing Jimin remembered was that she was lying on the ground with her hand on her back, grunting in pain, because Minjeong sent her flying, tackling her to the ground, as the ace warrior stepped on her shadows when she was taken down to finish the first round off. Evidently, the greatest elite warrior had no intentions to go easy on her. Minjeong lent out a hand as she helped Jimin to stand up, challenging her. “Let’s do it again. We will not stop until you won,” and from that moment, Jimin knew that this night was going to be a long one – and she was absolutely right – the sun was now slowly peeking itself above the horizon with the skies covered in oranges and blues. They were there for few hours, and up until now, Jimin still hadn’t achieve anything except for a lot of body pains, fatigue and exhaustion, and the taste of defeat. Even so, Minjeong could see fire through those tired eyes the determination that she always wanted to see in Jimin; and at the back of her head, the ace warrior was happy to see it – and it’s all that matters to her ever since.

“I think we should stop here,” Minjeong suggested when she noticed Jimin could even barely stand up in her own feet.

“No! Let’s do one more round,” Jimin insisted, panting loudly, with her trembling hands on her knees.

“Are you sure? I honestly don’t think you can do another round in that state,” Minjeong replied with concern in her voice – her intentions were not to belittle Jimin because Minjeong believed the red-clothed warrior’s hunger for victory was unquestionable – but the ace warrior also believed that if she would tackle her to the ground once more, Jimin would not be able to take it and it would knock her out entirely.

Clenching her fist in pure determination, Jimin took few deep breaths as she spoke again. “Do you know ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to become a warrior. Well, not just an ordinary warrior but an elite warrior,” she took a moment to breathe, remembering all the pain and hardships she went through, as she continued. “And no one believed in me – even my parents, even myself because I am weak and not good enough. And then one day, I got a recommendation out of nowhere to join the army and I couldn’t express how happy and thankful I am to the person who did it, knowing that someone be