| The Power of a Request (Part 2)

Later that day, Do-Yun came to see her, bringing her a new uniform and making a joke about what he went through for it. He left her to change, informing her he was to wait outside.

Soo-Ah's eyes glinted seeing the familiar clothes placed near the beauty box that Sung-Ho gave her earlier in the morning. She had been fiddling with it, more interested to discover how it operated than to use its contents. Now the box, with its lid opened, was sitting out of place on her small table, next to the military outfit.

Soo-Ah could not get out quickly from the dress to slip on the pants, tunic shirt and boots. In the end, she tied her hair all the way up and looked at herself in the small, polished mirror contained in the beauty case.

She knew this girl, pretending to be a boy and somehow, she felt like herself again. With her fingers, she brushed the collar, the only thing different to her old uniform. This one was painted purple, the mark of one of Sung-Ho's legions. His purple or the old tinge of red of her grandfather's armies, she could wear this from now on and bring honor to it. With confidence, she exited her tent, ready to prove her worth.

As she walked by Do-Yun's side, she realized why the soldiers were giving her the look. But this was the time when she had to face her fears if she wanted to have a future here. Her heart was beating out of control, but she carried on with determination.

So, what if her true body form was distinguishable, with her breasts moulding out of the blouse and her waist a little too defined? Perhaps this was meant to be. Walking with newfound confidence, she pushed aside her dark thoughts and was chatting leisurely with Do-Yun on the way.

Sung-Ho waited for her in front of his tent. "I see you got yourself a friend. I hope my soldier is treating you well," he said to her coldly, watching Do-Yun return to his other duties.

"Do-Yun? Yes, we get along quite well. I think he and I could become very close," Soo-Ah added, genuinely.

Sung-Ho glared at her and pursed his lips at the display of her familiarity. Then his demeanour quickly switched to dignified. "Let us see you in action then, shall we."

And so, he guided Soo-Ah to a side part of the camp where a makeshift training ground looked like it was set up in a haste. A couple of chopped logs were meant to be called poles, but they were barely standing straight, while the flooring was kindly provided by Mother Nature: grass and dirt patches. An awning on the side, to provide some shade, was the only thing that made this place look official. Quite a stark difference from the rest of Sung-Ho's camp. But it was only a training ground.

Under the awning, on a makeshift table, stood rolls of cloth to be used for hand protection and other supplies. Plus a water bucket with a ladle for quenching the thirst or cooling down a heated head. Sung-Ho stopped in front of the table and took one roll and began wrapping it around his palms and wrists. Soo-Ah did the same, all too familiar with the process. She got into a race of her own with Sung-Ho, wanting to be done first so she could pick the spot on the ring where the sun would give her an advantage.

"What style of Kung-Fu did you train for?" Sung-Ho asked, appearing to have understood her plans and racing to finish his bindings.

"I started with The Mantris, but General Min-Jun thought The Snake would fit me better. And he was right." She clapped her hands, displaying a smug smile that she was the first to finish and headed for the ring, leaving Sung-Ho to tie the final edge of his linen roll.

"I am the Tiger," Sung-Ho added, still focusing on his bindings, and grinning.

Soo-Ah stopped, jerking her head towards him, surprised. He had said He was The Tiger, the way a true master would. Sung-Ho thought of himself as becoming one with his fighting style. And the Tiger was the most difficult to perfect. It required raw power, precision, and a ferocity few were capable of. One could simply rip open a man's jugular with a rehearsed Tiger move.

She apprehensively huffed at him, as he came to face her, inviting her to choose any desired location in the ring. She would need all the advantages she could get.

They each bowed, greeting each other and honouring the match.

Soo-Ah approached and encircled him, assuming a low stance when Sung-Ho jumped and went in with a leg swing kick. His foot brushed her ponytail in motion. It was close. But Soo-Ah had good reflexes.

With lightning-fast hand speed, she hit the muscles on his thigh, close to his groin. It was a warning and she smirked at him before jumping out of his reach.

Sung-Ho tried to grab her shoulder, probably to pin her in place or throw her aside, but he missed. The first time. The second time, his hand hits came in quick succession at her, forcing Soo-Ah to block and parry, unable to strike again.

[This is when he used a leg kick again, landing on her hip, making Soo-Ah lose balance for a moment. He tried to grab her again, but Soo-Ah had time to push his hand away. She did not have the time to take her hand back because Sung-Ho took hold of it and pulled her close, holding her hostage from behind, keeping her hands in place.]

"Do you give up, my dear lady?" he almost whispered in her ear.

"Never." Soo-Ah had one last trick. She slipped one foot behind his heel, hindering any future movements. Then she leaned sideways, making Sung-Ho loosen his grip to regain his balance. Enough for Soo-Ah to break free by pinching hard at his wrist. She quickly came behind him and brought Sung-Ho down in the scrawny grass by making him stumble. She forced him to stay there, locking up his hand in a painful position.

The match could have continued but Sung-Ho began to laugh and signaled he was giving up. Soo-Ah let him go, proud of herself.

Jumping upright from where he fell, Sung-Ho admitted, still laughing, "This general is convinced, my dear lady. You have skill."

"Then I can stay." Soo-Ah was breathing fast and deeply from the exertion. But her expression was so bright as if she had won something far more precious than a fight.

"That's not what I said." Sung-Ho was quick to cut her wings while dusting himself off.

"Yes, you did, General Sung-Ho." Soo-Ah blinked and narrowed her eyes as a frown slid on her forehead.

"No, I said I will agree to your challenge in order to assess your skills. We had our match, I assessed you and you have good skills. Congratulations. However, my decision to send you away from here was never related to your skills."

Soo-Ah gasped hard. "Are you mocking me, General?"

"I am protecting you," he emphasized with his caring tone.

"I don't need your protection." Her voice jumped up a notch and approached him to better stare into his eyes throwing aside their differences in ranks.

Sung-Ho's tone remained as calm as before. "I am protecting you from yourself."

Soo-Ah understood Sung-Ho had laid a trap for her, so she would have no more grounds to ask to stay. And all was disguised as safeguarding.

"Ugh, how conceited!" She forgot all about politeness and shoved him out of her way and dashed out of the improvised ring.

From behind, Sung-Ho finally showed some emotion. "Lady Soo-Ah! Soo-Ah… wait," and he came running after her.

Soo-Ah had no intention to stop and stomped through the camp, with Sung-Ho on her tail. If only she could find her tent faster. She stopped at random and looked left or right to find some familiar bearing. Each time, annoying Sung-Ho reached her and pointed in the right direction, then continued to follow her. And this augmented her rage, enough to punch a hole through a wood plank.

The soldiers around looked puzzled at Sung-Ho, chasing through the camp after what looked like a girl in a soldier's uniform. He glared back at them, making them lower their curious gaze and get back to what they were doing. He could not stop them from gossiping though. Except if he would enforce punishment for gossiping. He had enforced punishments before as he ruled over his legions with an iron fist. This might have been the only time his men had seen him displaying weakness and it began to get on his nerves.

Soo-Ah, having finally found what she now called home, entered and angrily closed the tent covering after her. With just as much annoyance, Sung-Ho pushed it aside and followed her in only to allow the woman to freely snap at him.

"I knew no man was to be trusted. You all lie and deceive." She came staring at him head-on, too close for comfort. "Curse the gods for taking my grandfather from me. Curse you, General Sung-Ho! Why couldn't you just take him out of that tent in time?" Her lips began to quiver. She stood there, defeated. "Why couldn't I get back to save him?" and her expression went from anger to anguish. She took a couple of steps back and turned around to hide her eyes. But her soft sobs could still be heard.

While he was annoyed earlier, Soo-Ah's words and the look she gave him brought out the guilt. Then he saw her on the verge of crying and was left in difficulty. "I… I went back to his tent, but it was already on fire. I failed him. I failed you. It is my fault. I pray you will find it within yourself to forgive me." He lowered his gaze and head, standing there, requesting forgiveness with his stance.

For the first time, when in front of her Sung-Ho allowed her to see beyond his proud exterior. A single tear rolled down her cheek. A woman tearing up so easily would be a pretty good reason for any general to not want any of them in their army, but she must have been aching all this time. Sung-Ho considered all that she had lost and all that she was about to lose.

But he never considered how this woman's tears could leave him disconcerted.

He was lost, watching Soo-Ah cry for the first time. No anger, no resentment, only pain. To properly react in this situation, he allowed his instincts to take the lead. He gently grabbed her arm and pulled her closer in an embrace and Soo-Ah allowed him.

"General Min-Jun was indeed the most trustworthy of the men I have ever known. He did good by you, and you did well by him. He is resting in the grace of the gods, and I am sure he looks down on you and wants for you to do well, to be safe, Soo-Ah."

She stayed there, calm, for a couple of moments.

Soo-Ah raised her head to face him from under the soothing hold of Sung-Ho's embrace. For a moment she allowed herself to get lost in the man's eyes. There was something there she could not pinpoint. Something that she longed for. Then she noticed how his gaze traveled to her lips as he gulped.

All of a sudden, he let her go and took a couple of steps back. "Forgive me for overstepping my boundaries and embracing you, Lady Soo-Ah. I shouldn't have," he added as if he meant every word.

"If you should not then don't do it anymore," she replied coldly, resenting him for offering something she did not even know she needed, and then taking it back so easily.

Sung-Ho offered a slight head bow and left, not adding any more words, leaving Soo-Ah unsure of where to place her feelings. Where was the loath, she had for him for being a man, where was the resentment from blaming him for her grandfather's death? They couldn't have just vanished with a hug and a request for forgiveness.

She might have underestimated the power of a request.