| Sword of a General, Touch of a Gentleman (Part 1)

Sung-Ho heard his aide announce Soo-Ah's name and the tent cover moved. He fought the urge to greet her and move his attention from his strategy board. The reasons behind his need to see her again would not be named.

"They took their time with you, those shrewd matrons. I have been waiting for a while no... now," When he finally turned to greet her with a slight glance, he could not stop trailing his words, nor move away from the sight of her.

Her fine features finally left no doubt she was a woman. Her hair came half down, draping one shoulder, with a teasing curl on the ends. The dress wrapped around the soft curvaceous forms of her body, flowing gracefully to the ground, with colors that suited her slightly darker skin tone. And her eyes. Such liveliness in her eyes as he had not seen in a long time.

He was failing miserably at appearing uninterested, almost straining his neck admiring the metamorphosis from a troubled soldier into a young woman with fire raging behind her enchanting eyes. "At least they did a good job. Are you not pleased to be able to finally be yourself, Lady Soo-Ah?" He put emphasis on her real title.

"General Sung-Ho." Soo-Ah saluted him properly, as she would a high-ranking military official but her austere gestures and her image were not aligned. "I have never seen myself as a high-born lady, General. There is no place for a woman in a lady's attire in a military camp. I prefer the armor and uniform," she muttered in the end.

His eyes, lingering a little too long over her figure, seemed not to be welcomed. "You do not need to worry about that. I am waiting for my commander to return so he can escort you home to Seorabeol. Until then you are under my protection," said Sung-Ho when he was finally able to tear his gaze away to add the final strategic touch to the map he had been toiling over.

"Your home in the capital? Am I not to be punished?" Soo-Ah almost sounded dismayed that she would not be disciplined.

"You should be, yes. For threatening me with a sword. Twice. And stealing a horse." he laughed and turned to face Soo-Ah again, remembering her bravado. "But for some reason, I woke up in a good disposition today," he added with a smirk, leaning with his backside on the table, to face her. "I have thought it through, and I am chalking up your actions to grief. So, I will pardon all of your offences. But you'd better not try any of that again."

She must have felt a sting from his funny remark. Strange. He usually had a knack for those. Or was she appalled by his smirk?

Because her demeanour remained heavy and distant, as was her tone. "My grandfather, General Min-Jun. Was he…" and she stopped, almost choking on her words.

It seemed he had unwillingly reopened a grievous wound. A grim veil descended over his relaxed, unassumed expression and his body stiffened. "The fire started before we sounded the retreat, and it was raging in full by the time I got to him. You saw those bastards make sure to set ablaze the entire camp. We had no other option but to flee. There was nothing left to fight for. We would have lost more men. If I would have allowed you to come back, you might have been caught inside the tent as well. And then I would have faced the wrath of the gods and my own. I knew everything was lost when I ordered my soldier to take you away."

Soo-Ah stared through him as if she was drilling through hard rock, her distress obvious. Her lips were pressed hard against each other, perhaps from struggling not to cry. Sung-Ho also feared she might shout again at him and call him a coward or do another foolish thing.

"With General Min-Jun's health and the smoke, I am sure he passed out before the flames reached him. The gods were merciful to spare him any pain," he added in a calm, respectful tone.

"Did you at least offer him a proper send-off?" Tiny muscles on Soo-Ah's face were trembling as she lowered her head and wiped her eyes.

The heaviness of her pain was palpable, and it affected him more than he would have liked to admit.

"I wrapped his remains in my cloak and laid him to rest with his other fallen soldiers. All heroes. I will make sure to have all their names encased in bronze in the grand court of the Great Temple of Seorabeol. The king will contract the commission as soon as the war ends. As for General Min-Jun, though we could not offer him a traditional burial I heard this morning one of his soldiers saying he dreamed of him crossing the Yellow Stream into the afterlife. A man such as Kim Min-Jun is sure to find his rest in the grace of the gods. He found his peace. I hope you have it within yourself to find yours as well."

She mouthed a barely distinguishable, "Thank you." Then she raised her gaze. "You said I am to leave for Seorabeol. I would rather stay here in return. I grew up in war camps. I know how to tend the wounded or cook. I would have added "fight" also but looking down at this dress, I cannot help but feel I have been demoted to perform duties fit for a housemaid." She grimaced, "I might have not demonstrated much fighting skill last night but know I am capable".

Her reply moved him to laughter, but this was not the right time. Only a slight smile tweaked at the corner of his lips. "The Honorable General Min-Jun, your grandfather, made me promise I will take care of you. So, you are to be my ward. As my ward, you are my responsibility, Lady Soo-Ah. There is no need for you to remain here. It can be dangerous like it was some nights ago. You will be leaving for the capital, and you will be staying in my home. It is settled." With his eyebrows raised he took a deep breath, trying to figure out the mystery that lay ahead. "What will come after, I still do not know. But I need to make sure you are out of harm's way first and foremost."

Soo-Ah offered back an unpleasant stare, clearly aggravated by some mysterious reason. Her cold, unsubmissive attitude began to rub him the wrong way. Her tight lips when it came to the care and attention he offered irked him harder.

"Have you nothing else to say to me? Not even a thank you for saving your life that time. Or ′I am sorry I almost cut your throat, oh, Great General'? And please, no more calling me a coward, if you would," he joked, with a grin on his face to put his annoyance to rest. But he was quick to remember his grinning was displeasing to her eyes.

He could not believe he had lowered himself to request a thank you from her. And besides having stooped so low, his remark must have triggered something within her. Something not very pleasant.

Soo-Ah intoned without inflexion and bowed with stark enthusiasm. "I am grateful to the Great General for saving my life. Thank you."

"Ha! That sounded so emotionless, so unwomanly," observed the general, as he allowed himself to chuckle, trying to keep his cool. Usually, women spun their flattering words and smiled at him, but he had not met all kinds of women it seemed. What was a certainty, anything she might say next would for sure be surprising.

"If the general is not pleased, then maybe I should answer like this." Soo-Ah raised her chin and glared at him with unwavering, steely eyes. "Thank you, Great General, because, if you hadn't saved me, you could have been free of me now, and I could have been free of you!"

Her reply was surprising indeed and not in a good manner. Sung-Ho's annoyance rose to new heights. He tilted his head and offered back a look designed to peel her hide. "What did you just say? Were you mocking me? Did your grandfather not teach you that good manners and sarcasm do not go well together, Lady Soo-Ah?"

"My grandfather taught me a lot of things," lashed out the girl, straightening her back and gritting her teeth. "But more importantly he taught me you never leave anyone behind."

She certainly looked relieved to finally get a chance to spit some of the venom she'd been slowly collecting for him. But through her venom, he had found the core of her bitterness and that turned his annoyance to dust. Ever since he saw her in Min-Jun's tent all she did was rain acid hate on him. He struggled to find a way to cross this ice wall she had put between them. And it seemed his every word raised another layer instead of bringing the barrier down.

"I see," Sung-Ho relaxed a little, "You blame me for his death. I understand. If I must be someone you need to throw your anger at for you to grieve, that is alright with me. I see you are hurting. I will not take offence at your words," he returned to his serious, unmoved expression.