The General and a Vagabond [Part 1]
Title: The General and a Vagabond
Pairings: HoMin, brotherhood!YunJae
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None. Well, a very brief swords clash.
Genre: Drama
Word count: 17,424
Summary: Yunho is a royal general in a break after winning a war.
Terms you might want to know:
Hwando = sword similar to katana in Japan, up to 60 cm in length (whilst katana’s are up to 80 cm)
Fortress city = Seoul
Nongak = farmer’s brand of traditional music
Gayageum = traditional music instrument similar to lute in China or koto in Japan
Hwa = traditional boots that go up to ankles
Naniwa = Osaka
Yunho’s horses’ names have meanings too but I doubt their relevance XD
***
The General and a Vagabond
***The Bukhwajae War was finally over. Countless soldiers had died serving the country; hundreds of civil had fallen victim. It was the worst they had seen in the last fifty years. Northern City was burnt into ashes, leaving thousands of its residence homeless, wives spouseless, kids parentless.
All those said, The Goddess of Victory was smiling at them.
Yunho was leaning on the wall of his back porch, enjoying a quiet afternoon for the first time in a very long time. The young man almost dozed off before a voice called.
“Young General Jung.”
Years of battle experiences screamed at him not to show weakness, but at this point he couldn’t care less. After days of battle heat, hundreds of fire arrows hurled under his command, Yunho wanted nothing more than sleeping and never waking up.
Sound of clucking tongue was loud against the tranquil afternoon. Still slumping against the wall, Yunho’s eyes fluttered open. A clay wine jar was only centimeters away from his nose. “Jaejoong.”
Melodious laughter rang in the air. The jar was snatched away before its content disappeared into the older man’s waiting mouth. “Why, Yunho, for a young general who led our country to victory, you seem rather unsatisfied.”
Yunho stared at the sun. It had turned into a huge orange gas ball. He liked the sun best at this time of the day. The source of natural energy was bowing to the oncoming night, like a prestigious soldier after his best performance. “It’s been long since I last watched the twilight like this.”
He felt more than saw his companion assume sitting position next to him. “Since we’re not blowing our heads planning out attacks.”
Yunho nodded. Of all people in the palace, Jaejoong would be the closest to understand his feeling-if not feeling the same.
“Your leg?” The older general’s tone sounded nonchalant but Yunho knew better.
“It’s fine.” The lie was halfhearted. Yunho’s hand subconsciously reached to rest on his right kneecap.
Jaejoong threw him an unimpressed look. “Right, since your horse stepped on your leg and almost flattened it.”
“Chimhai was scared,” Yunho said in defense of his war horse. “Any animal-and human-would freak out at that explosion. She also brought me back to the quarter, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Jaejoong agreed. There was no use in debating. “Now tell me the truth. How is your leg?”
Yunho sighed. “It’s seen better days, but it’s recovering.”
Talks about possible disability might hurt so Jaejoong refrained from probing further. For now, he decided to trust Yunho’s judgment. “His Majesty granted you a prize, didn’t he?”
“A break,” Yunho was still staring at the horizon. The sun had almost fully sunk by then, leaving only traces of violet cumulus. He knew he ought to feel horrible for being happy, but the thought of a break made him giddy. Excited. “For six months. I’m setting off tomorrow at dawn. About time I visit Jihye.”
“Wow. Freedom.” There was a tinge of wistfulness in Jaejoong’s tone. “What you always dream of.”
“Yes.” For the first time that evening, Yunho’s smile was genuine. “Sweet, I can almost taste it. Besides, it will give my body the rest it needs.”
“Why don’t you settle down with lady and build a family here, in the royal residence?”
Yunho shook his head. “I won’t stay put seeing you fight and not joining in. Before I know it, the months will trickle down like sand in a sand clock.”
Jaejoong looked amused. “Finally, you learn to be a little selfish.”
“Let me take this rare opportunity once. After this I will give my soul for the wellbeing of our nation.”
“You deserve it.” Jaejoong held up the clay jar with a grin. “Drink?”
Yunho accepted with a nod of thanks. Alcoholic liquid flowed down his gullet, warming his belly.
“Six months,” Jaejoong said softly. “Six months is a very long time.”
“I know,” Yunho answered, gazing steadily ahead. “We can gain and lose anything in six months.”
The younger man put down the jar and heaved himself up. Jaejoong looked at him before standing up as well, brushing dusts off of his attire. “Take care, Yunho. Send my regards to Jihye.”
“She will be ecstatic.” Yunho smiled before his face turned serious. “Jaejoong.”
“Hmm?”
“We’ve been growing up together. To my parents, you are a son.” That was true. They had been living, training, studying, and climbing the rank of generals together for more than nineteen years. Jaejoong’s mother had died giving birth to him, while his father died when he was eight. Ever since, Yunho’s family had taken him under their wing. “To me, you are as much a sibling as Jihye is.”
Jaejoong met Yunho’s gaze. He didn’t question this silent request. “Bond brother.”
“Bond brother,” Yunho echoed, holding his hand out. “I pledge, wherever this path takes us to, I will place your life before mine.”
“And yours before mine.” With a firm grip on each other’s hand, they sealed the promise.
“Come back safely, Yunho. We will fight together to protect His Majesty, right?”
Heaviness settled in Yunho’s belly. After sealing the bond, he knew Jaejoong deserved the truth. Providing a positive answer shouldn’t be this hard.
“Of course.” But, Yunho didn’t know why it felt like a lie.
***
It took Yunho two days on a horse to reach the Southern City.
The sun was burning at its peak. Sweats gathered on the young general’s brows and his horse looked tired too. Galloping to a grass field, he decided to give them a break.
“There, Cheonma, you have worked hard.” He tied the rein to a wooden pole and fetched her water. The female equine nuzzled him thankfully before feasting on fresh grass.
Merely minutes later, when Yunho was relaxing with his lunch and soju in a food stall nearby, Cheonma’s shriek startled him.
Yunho leapt up on instinct, running in the grass field’s direction. From his place he could see a stranger untying his horse. What a nerve, stealing a general’s horse! Seconds before he grabbed the street rat, though, pain rose from his knee. Watching in dismay as the thief escaped with his horse, he was surprised to see another man running to stand in front of the wildly striding equine.
It was a very brave, almost stupid action. Yunho almost expected his horse to run the man over. Imagine his surprise when the man, with a calm tap on Cheonma’s muzzle, managed to stop the panicking horse.
The thief was thrown off of the saddle at the abrupt halt. Yunho quickly caught up and, soon, two pieces of gleaming swords were pointed at the fallen thief’s face.
Noticing the other stranger was also holding out a sword, Yunho spared him a glance before glaring at the culprit.
“Why did you take a horse that does not belong to you?”
The culprit was a man in his late forties. He spoke in broken syllables. “The horse looked e-expensive and unattended, so I-I thought….”
“What made you think it gave you the right to take it?”
Cold sweat drenched the thief’s skin. “My-my daughter i-is sick and we need m-money to buy her food and medication….”
Yunho narrowed his eyes, judging if the man told a truth or a lie. The eyes were swimming in trepidation but meeting his own straightly. The way he handled the horse was not professional too. A truth, then.
“What is your occupation?”
“F-fisherman, but the wind currently is not s-suitable for sailing, sir.”
Yunho fisted out a small pouch of coins and threw it to the man. “That should be enough for a week. Find another job and never repeat the same mistake.”
The thief was stunned before bowing deeply to Yunho. “I did a shameful mistake but you shower me with mercy. Please tell me your name, sir, so I can thank you properly.”
“General Jung Yunho from the royal army.”
If possible, the thief looked more taken aback. “Have my gratitude, my lord! I will speak of your kindness to my family!”
After the man fled, the crowd that had surrounded them dispersed. Men and women were speaking in hushed whispers. Dreamy gazes were thrown his way by admiring ladies.
Withdrawing his weapon and sensing similar movement by his side, Yunho finally regarded the stranger. “May I know who you are?”
The stranger was sheathing his sword. He was tall, lean, and tanned. The shadow of a wide-brimmed hat concealed his facial features. “I am only a humble vagabond. My name is of no importance, sir.”
A vagabond? Yunho was by no means nosey, but he was intrigued. “I owe you for saving my horse.”
The other man tugged the brim of his hat. Yunho caught impression of someone who didn’t want to reveal himself. “I doubt you’d have any trouble on your own earlier, sir.”
The vagabond turned around to leave but Yunho was determined. Once anyone did a kind act to him, however small, he would definitely pay back.
Also, the grace with which the stranger handled the horse and the sword fueled his curiosity.
“Wait.”
The vagabond let out an exasperated sound. “My humble self is not worth your time, my lord.”
“I told you, I owe you one. At least let me know your name or see your face so I can thank you properly. Or are you a wanted criminal?”
The vagabond went still and Yunho mentally slapped himself for his lack of tact. There someone had helped him and that was how he treated him. Just before he could apologize, the stranger took off his hat.
Architectural cheekbones and jaw line greeted his sight. The nose looked like it was crafted from the finest wood. The man’s dazzling brown doe eyes
were staring at him, challenging.
For the live of twenty seven years he’d been living, Yunho was stunned.
Such profile certainly belonged to noble blood, not on a street like this.
“May I take my leave?” The stranger asked again. Impatience colored his tone. “It’s a small thing, no need to bother. If anything, I will appreciate if you let me go my way.”
It was clear that the stranger had no interest in fawning over him or using the opportunity to gain some fortune. For the young general, it was a breath of fresh air. Spending time with low-ranked officials who tried to lick their way up by sweet-talking had sickened him.
That being said, Yunho was not one to back down. “What’s your name?”
“Changmin.”
“No surname?”
“No, just Changmin.”
“Changmin-sshi, you said you’re a vagabond. Does that mean you have nowhere to stay in the Southern city?”
Changmin shifted uncomfortably. “Nowhere in particular, sir.”
Yunho’s smile grew that much broader. “My aunt owns a residence in the village. Please,” he cut when Changmin opened his mouth. “Consider this a sign of gratitude. If you’re uncomfortable, just call me Yunho. No sir, no lord. I’m not a general at the moment. Just a free soul on holiday.”
There was silence before Changmin’s laughter suddenly rang in the air. Yunho paused upon realizing that he, the general of royal army, was being laughed at.
“Are all generals gullible like you?”
That was certainly not what he had expected. “Are you calling me gullible?”
“I might be a bad guy, Yunho-sshi.”
The vagabond was testing his statement. Yunho crossed his arms. “Are you?”
“I’m not telling.” Changmin hummed. The challenge was clear. “So, is your offer still up?”
Under different circumstance, Yunho might order his men to behead this vagabond for being so insolent. However, he couldn’t deny that this man was interesting. Besides, the prospect of having a companion was compelling.
It turned out they needed another full day before reaching the village. In such short span, Yunho learned very little about Changmin’s identity (“Nothing interesting about being a vagabond, Yunho-sshi, unless you want me to recite the map of Korea.”) but a lot about his demeanor. Witty comebacks, for example, were his prideful trademark.
When they rounded a familiar neighborhood, Yunho pondered upon his action. Had he let his guard down? Perhaps he was too caught up in celebrating freedom. Bringing a stranger to his house didn’t sound like a good idea. He could almost hear Jaejoong’s reproaching voice at the back of his mind.
He sensed that the vagabond hid a secret. Then again, up-close inspection and gut feeling didn’t reveal Changmin to be harmful. Yunho trusted his gut feeling on many things and this was one of them.
If the man tried something funny, well, he wasn’t a royal general for nothing.
On Yunho’s signal, Cheonma halted in front of a spacious lodgment. Both men hopped off and Yunho tied the equine to a tree.
The village air felt refreshing. He only visited this house once or twice when he was a child to see his grandfather, who retreated from his position in the palace on seventy.
“Is anyone home? Auntie? Jihye?”
Footsteps echoed from inside the house. Merely seconds later, a middle-aged woman opened the door.
“Yunho dear, you’re here!”
“Yes, Aunt Haewon. Please take care of me for the next six months.”
Jung Haewon waved her nephew’s formalities off. “That’s why Jihye and I dislike the palace. It makes you stiff as a woodblock.” Her eyes fell upon Changmin. “This fine young man is…?”
“It’s an honor to meet you, my lady. My name is Changmin and I am a vagabond. I met Yunho-sshi on my way in the city.”
“He helped keeping my horse from a thief. I offer him to come with me since he has no place to stay in the South. My apologies for not notifying you earlier, Auntie.”
“I will help with house chores and work to pay for necessities, my lady,” Changmin offered.
“What are you talking about? You helped Yunho, of course you are welcome!” The middle-aged woman giggled good-naturedly. Such generous trait seemed to run in the family. “Come, Yunho, Changmin-sshi. I’ll show you boys your room.”
Yunho was busy evading his aunt’s playful advances that he didn’t notice the lack of plural. Similarly, Changmin was busy swallowing amused laughter at seeing a royal general being treated like a child. So much for being a free soul on holiday.
“Where is Jihye?”
“Shopping for vegetables. She wishes to cook her brother delicious dinner as a welcome.” Her eyes crinkled in mischief only ladies her age could pull off. “I’m sorry I prepared only one room. I hope you don’t mind sharing, Changmin-sshi?”
Being an uninvited guest, Changmin couldn’t wish for a kinder host, even if he couldn’t recall the last time he had to sleep in the presence of another person. “This is more than enough, Lady Jung.”
“Lady Jung!” She exploded in merriment. “When was the last time anyone called me that? Never mind, my son, just call me auntie.”
Changmin nodded, looking unexpectedly shy.
“Oh, you are just too cute.” Haewon reached to pinch a reddening cheek, making Changmin yelp. The girlish noise brought another bout of laughter.
“Yunho dear, your friend here is all sorts of adorable.”
The young general sniggered. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Your aunt is… lively,” Changmin commented, for lack of better terms, as soon as Haewon left.
“She is. There is a reason why my sister chose to live with her instead of staying with us.” Yunho grinned. He took two sets of mattress from the walk-in closet and laid them on the straw mat. The room was nowhere as extravagant as his chamber in the palace. Nevertheless, the fresh air of modest neighborhood made him feel alive. “I didn’t know you can yelp like that.”
Changmin wrinkled his nose but decided against being defensive. No need to worsen his dignity. Instead, he busied himself looking through the only window in their room. It was large, convenient enough for a grown-up to sit on its ledge. They could get a view of well-groomed front yard from there.
“The house is nice, too.”
Yunho opted to spread his limbs out on the mattress. “My grandfather owned this house before applying to the royal military service.”
Changmin hummed. “It’s taken care well.”
“It used to be larger. Because most of family members moved to the palace, half of the place was rebuilt into a dojo.”
That piqued Changmin’s interest. “Dojo?”
“Yeah. It’s no longer in use but I think they still clean the place regularly. We can visit tomorrow, if you’d like. A practice match, maybe?”
Changmin hummed his appreciation. “Before that, don’t you have to put ice on your knee?”
“Pardon me?”
“Your right knee. It’s been hurting since yesterday, isn’t it?”
Ah, that was right. Since Cheonma’s incident and his sudden burst of run, his leg had been acting up. He wondered how Changmin could guess, though, since he was trained at not letting the pain show.
A girl’s chirping voice filled the cool afternoon air. From the window, Changmin spied a lady in her late teenage years. She was walking to the doorway with two paper bags in each hand, singing loudly to herself. “Your sister?”
Yunho chuckled. “Sounds like it.”
Indeed, Jung Jihye turned out to be a cheerful lady. Her carefree personality did not suit to be caged within cold walls of the palace.
“I thought you come with Jaejoong-sshi,” she told her brother over dinner, having the grace to blush after such implication.
“Why, don’t you like Changmin-sshi?” Yunho asked flippantly. Next to him, the young vagabond choked on his soup.
The younger Jung actually checked him out. “Well, he’s not bad looking.”
If his sister had capable of releasing such understatement, Yunho thought she needed an eye check. “To make you happy, Jaejoong actually sent his regards to you.”
They chatted and bantered and Yunho remembered how much he missed this. His loud sister and teasing aunt had been the light of their residence in the palace. After they left, the house became cold. His father was too strict and his mother very well-mannered. His only savior was probably the ever-playful Jaejoong. That, too, gradually diminished with the increasing amount of time they shared in the army.
When they had retreated for the night, Changmin stopped upon closing the door. There, perched on the wall next to the door, was an ink painting of a trident.
“Ah, that?” Yunho asked upon realizing his companion’s attention on the painting. He came to stand next to Changmin, examining the work of art. “It is the symbol of the King’s Trident. An interesting pattern inherited in the royal army-”
Changmin absentmindedly traced the delicate paper with his finger. “Three excellent young generals under the command of High General.”
Yunho threw him a surprised look. “How do you know?”
A fleeting look of uncertainty crossed Changmin’s face. Before Yunho could process it, though, he quickly recovered. “I heard somewhere. So, are you one of the three? Does this trident symbolize you?”
“Yes, I am but no, it doesn’t,” Yunho replied. “It was painted back when my grandfather was one of the three.”
“And now you too? Greatness runs in the family.”
Yunho smiled at the subtle compliment. “The fate was laid out before me since I was only six. It’s more about blood than any kind of greatness.”
“That Jaejoong-sshi too?”
“Yeah, a fellow young general. My best friend since birth. My bond brother,” Yunho answered proudly. The young general bent to tug down his sock, revealing a trident-shaped imprint on his right lower calf, above the outer side of his ankle. “This symbol was tattooed on us since we entered elementary academy.”
They ended up spending all night talking about Yunho’s life in the royal army.
“When my grandfather was the High General, there were three young generals: Jaejoong’s father, my father and another general. When my grandfather passed away, Jaejoong’s father was appointed the new High General with my father as his second-in-command. Too bad, the third general did not accept this arrangement and conducted a rebellion. High General Kim was murdered in the process.”
“It must be hard on the royal army.”
“It hurt. My father replaced the High General. Years later, Jaejoong and I joined as two of the King’s Trident.”
“The other one?”
“It’s supposed to be the third general’s son but the rebellion brought his whole family to execution. General Park Yoochun becomes the new young general.”
“I see. You three must be close.”
“Yeah. Jaejoong lives with my family since the tragedy, though, so I’m closer to him.”
Changmin hummed. Yunho went on, blabbering about anything in general. The younger man was a silent but very attentive listener. After spending years with only Jaejoong and occasionally Yoochun to talk with, this was a new thing Yunho liked about his holiday.
When the sky had turned from inky black to deep violet, Yunho finally suggested they lie down to catch a few hours of sleep.
***
The next morning, they had to delay the visit to dojo. After breakfast, Haewon had taken out her farming utensils. Changmin instinctively offered to help her.
“I used to take any job while moving from place to place,” Changmin informed Yunho who was standing by his side. The former was crouching on the loose soil, cropping clumps of grass with admirable efficiency. “In order to earn money, I can’t be picky.”
Around late noon, Haewon’s field of tubers had been cleaned up. The old woman looked ecstatic, enamored even.
“You are really good, Changmin-sshi.”
“It’s nothing, my la-Haewon-sshi.”
“I told you to call me auntie. Now say it, aun-tie.” The old woman forced Changmin to repeat after her until she was satisfied. She turned to her next target. “Yunho dear, did you help even a little?”
At her nephew’s loss of words, Haewon sighed dramatically. “I told you the battalion is not good for health. Aside of stabbing people, you are no good at anything.”
Changmin tried but failed to stifle a chortle. Yunho sent him a glare. “Just see. When we go to the woods, it’s my turn.”
“Please give him guidance, Changmin-ah,” Haewon laughed heartily, joined in by Changmin.
Finding no counter to defend his pride, Yunho resorted to crossing his arms and pouting. Luckily, his sister came to the rescue by announcing that dinner was ready.
It became a routine, days of working and nights of dinner together. They gathered around a modest round table, Jihye serving what experiment she had been doing all afternoon. They chatted about anything and everything-that granny in the market who adored Yunho, Jihye’s friends in her knitting course, Changmin’s and Yunho’s recent practice in the dojo.
For the first time in many years, Yunho was free to laugh out loud and be clumsy and get laughed at. For the first time, his sword was allowed to rest in his room, untouched aside of occasional sessions in the dojo. He got to know the neighbors, most of them old folks, and they had come to adore him in return. They knew about his position in the royal army, but Yunho acted nothing like a fierce general in their vicinity and they had come to treat him as Jung Yunho, not the feared General Jung.
Yunho could not hope for more.
***
They ran out of firewood so today’s task was to collect some.
“Here comes your opportunity.” Changmin said smugly. He still remembered Yunho’s brave offer to show his skill in the woods, almost one month after the outburst, and had not failed to remind him ever since. “You sure know how to handle an axe?”
“Of course!” Yunho fumed, even though he didn’t. But axe and sword both had a handle on one end and a blade on the other. It wouldn’t be too different, would it?
Changmin threw him a skeptical look. “Autumn is approaching. We’d better bring larger logs home.” Changmin examined a heap of fallen logs. “Seem good enough.”
“They already look chopped to me.”
“No, not yet. We can’t bring as many without cutting them in halves.” The vagabond busied himself transporting the logs to a clearing. Balancing one on the level ground, Changmin called for him. “Now. Chop this.”
Yunho brought the axe up and with mighty swing of a swordsman’s, he dealt the trunk a harsh blow. Instead of splitting into two, however, the wood remained intact.
The general was stunned-that force had been enough to crack a skull open. Changmin’s snort was loud enough to chase away the birds.
At the second try, the log was bodily knocked away and began its journey down a slope.
“What are you doing gawking there? Catch it.”
This bossy little-Yunho cursed his legs for following the order without his consent. When he came back with the log, Changmin’s face was a strange mix of solemnity and satisfaction.
“I take that your leg has healed completely?”
The young general was taken aback but nodded nonetheless. “Yeah.” And then, his face softened at the subtle show of concern. “Thanks for asking.”
At the third try, the blade finally cut in. Yunho almost shouted in triumph before realizing that the blade was stuck. He spent the next ten minutes dislodging the persistent utensil, pulling it to every possible direction. Changmin’s laughter in the background showed no mercy at his effort.
“Oh, you really are hopeless, General Jung.”
Yunho crossed his arms. The axe had clearly offended him. Changmin too. “If you’re that great, go try.”
Changmin grinned. “Call me hyung.”
“Changmin-sshi.”
“Call-me-hyung~♫”
Yunho rolled his eyes. “Hyung-nim.”
Minor annoyance aside, strange warm feelings made his skin tingle. It was another antic he learned about Changmin, his penchant for flaunting knowledge just to irk the life out of Yunho. Sometimes Yunho relented on purpose, if only to see that contagious grin and hear the unrestrained laugh.
Some other times, though, Yunho had to admit defeat about certain skills in day-to-day life-and consequently surrendered being bossed around.
“When you swing, let the upper hand slide down the handle. Pull the axe above your head; let the upper hand slide up again. Repeat.” Changmin demonstrated with his bare hands. Yunho imitated and was enthralled when the ax blade smoothly left its woody confinement.
“See these knots? These are the sturdiest parts. Avoid aiming straight at them,” Changmin continued.
Feeling confident, Yunho executed another swing. Unexpectedly, he lost his balance before the axe was brought down.
“Careful!” Changmin managed to catch his shoulders from behind and made sure the blade did not chop anyone’s head in the process. With a heel, he nudged Yunho’s legs apart. “Spread your legs shoulder-width.”
Awkwardly spreading his legs while Changmin was still attached on his back, the young general cleared his throat. Changmin suddenly realized their positions and hastily stepped back, face red.
“Don’t grip it too hard. Let your upper hand glide up and down,” he mumbled to the ground. Again, a second too late, he realized how wrong that instruction might sound. “I-I mean…”
Meanwhile, Yunho ignored his own awkwardness in favor of savoring the sight of uncharacteristically flustered Changmin. The young vagabond had been too haughty for his own good. This, he decided, was a good change.
Reaching out, he caught Changmin unguarded with a pinch to the cheek. “Auntie’s right. You are all sorts of adorable.”
The younger man let out indignant yelp before slapping Yunho’s hand away. They ended up chasing each other around the woods, axe and logs long forgotten.
“If your face remains sour like that, even the wild animals will run! Hey!”
When they came home much later, both out of breath from strains coming from more than cutting woods, Haewon raised an eyebrow and ordered them to get a good scrubbing. Jihye shook her head, piling the half neatly, half unevenly chopped logs in their warehouse. Sparing a few, she went to make fire and boil water for the guys’ bath.
“You’re hopeless with an axe,” Changmin pointed out again when they were soaking in the bath at their backyard.
“Come to the dojo with a sword. I’ll show you who’s hopeless.”
Changmin kicked him under the water. “Will you survive living by yourself?”
“Maybe I’ll keep you a little longer just for that purpose.” Yunho countered, leaning back against the tub edge. The warm water helped soothing his sore muscles. He voiced a satisfied groan. “Scrub my back?”
Noticing the lack of response, Yunho squinted past the warm mist. His companion looked down again with such flustered expression that made him wonder. Grinning as an idea popped in his head, Yunho splashed the water to his face.
“WATER FIGHT!” He announced amidst Changmin’s indignant yell.
The younger man shook his head one hundred times per minute, sending water everywhere like a drenched puppy. “YAH! Are you really a general? You must be faking!”
“One-love for Yunho~♫” The older man singsonged. “Loser gets no dinner!”
A piece of cloth hit him square in the face. In a moment of blindness, a tremendous scoop of water doused his head. And it was not warm water but a pail full of cold one.
“One hundred-one for Changmin~♫” The younger man retaliated, earning himself a shove and a whole lot of wet mess.
The commotion continued despite Haewon’s exasperated yell of “Stop wasting the water!” As they were trying to drown each other, Yunho’s mind reeled, reminding him that moments like this couldn’t last forever.
I want this to last, he prayed quietly. Images of bloodshed and battlefields came unbidden, reminding him of who he was. I don’t want to go back.
The dark trail of thoughts was cut when Jihye slammed the back door open, a ladle in one hand, looking absolutely menacing while saying, “No dinner for you both.”
Despite the threat from his sister, merciless shoving from Changmin and endless teasing from his aunt, Yunho reveled in the warmth of home.
***Sometimes, when Yunho thought no one was looking, a frown replaced his perpetually sunny disposition.
Changmin mentally dubbed it as ‘the general face’. When Yunho put it on, like that morning, the younger man suggested they go to the woods.
Yunho didn’t protest, not even processing where Changmin took him to. Something was bothering the young general and Changmin was planning to help him where he could.
Sound of water stream finally woke Yunho up from his listlessness. Glancing in question at Changmin, he was greeted by a rod of bamboo instead.
“Do you know how to fish?”
A fine string made of horse hair was attached to the rod. On the other end of the string, carefully arranged hook and sinker bore a lively, squiggling worm.
“Just throw the bait into the water… right?”
Changmin frowned at the hesitation in Yunho’s voice. Usually, the proud general would adamantly deny his lack of knowledge, no matter what disasters would result from his brave yet amateurish trials.
“Yeah,” Changmin slowly said. “No complicated skill needed, only patience. You can do a lot while waiting for the fish.”
“A lot?” A chuckle escaped Yunho, curiosity smoothing the lines on his face. “Aren’t we just sitting there doing nothing?”
“It’s a form of relaxation as well as giving you time to think,” Changmin defended. “Productively.”
“I see. I’m surprised you care that much, Changmin-sshi.” Yunho teased, but Changmin saw past the façade. There were crinkles on the outer side of Yunho’s eyes and between his brows. The corners of his mouth were strained.
“I’m going to pick up some fruits.” The vagabond announced and turned around. As soon as he disappeared between the trees, Yunho’s smile turned rueful.
“I’m sorry for worrying you like this,” he quietly told the wind. He could also see past the younger man’s indifference, the concern swimming in brown doe eyes. This was Changmin’s way of giving him chance to sort his thoughts.
The river was streaming tirelessly on his feet. Tranquil yet wild when perturbed. So much like his new friend.
He took out an envelope from behind his long vest. There, written in familiar curves, was his bond brother’s message.
It was a short, simple letter. There, buried beneath mundane stories about his family and the palace, implied the King’s next mission to take down a barbaric clan on the northern outskirts.
Northern border meant General Jung Yunho’s area of authority.
He couldn’t figure out why the King chose to act around his area in his absence. Sure, Jaejoong had taken care of the soldiers while Yoochun tackled the strategy, teaming up to cover him. Still, he couldn’t shake off the feelings of guilt for not being there for his soldiers, men who had pledged loyalty to him.
His men were not babies and did not need his babying them. On the contrary, they were well-informed about his much-needed break and would raise protests, good-naturedly, should he show up.
That being said, it didn’t lessen his guilt at not being available for his soldiers, instead indulging in a break when they were fighting. The northern soldiers were his pride. Their loyalty to him was his pillar and, in turn, his downfall when it crumbled.
“Sir.” A ten year-old girl was holding on his long vest. Yunho turned and crouched before her.
“Who are you, little lady?”
“My brother said he would go to a fight and you are his captain.” The girl’s innocent eyes were wide. She reminded him of Jihye years ago. “Will you take care of him? Keep him safe so he can come back to me and Mother. Mother is sick and we need Brother with us.”
“Hyojung, show some respect to General Jung!” One of his soldiers ran to them.
Yunho put his palm on the girl’s head. “Of course I will, Hyojung-sshi.”
The soldier hurriedly whisked his sister into the house. “I apologize, General Jung.”
“No problem, Yongdae-sshi. Is your mother okay?”
The soldier looked unsure. “She’s getting better. It should not be a bother to you, General. I apologize.”
“No problem. I wish for her health as well. Ready to go?”
Together, the general and his man left the village to join the battalion. After waiting for days, finally it was time for them to leave the quarter. It took them half a day to reach the battlefield. When they did, it was already bathed in blood and fire.
The next day, an arrow was aimed straight at Yunho’s back. The general remained standing tall, however, because someone had taken the arrow for him.
Neither Yongdae’s dead weight nor Hyojung’s innocent face left his mind for days to come, even as he barked another command to the team, sending tens of fire arrows to their adversaries.
“I hate to interrupt you but I think something catches your bait.”
Yunho was shaken out of reverie when Changmin’s voice called for him. True, ripples had formed around where his hook disappeared into the water.
“I think it’s catfish,” Changmin said. God knew how he could guess when the fish wasn’t even visible under the water.
Yunho jerked the rod up. On the end of his line, a fish was struggling.
“Eel!” Changmin sounded mesmerized. He tackled the fish down with triumphant laugh. “A swamp eel! For an amateur, Yunho-sshi, you are so lucky!”
A pout formed on Yunho’s face at being called amateur. Still, he couldn’t hold back a grin at Changmin’s overexcited reaction. “What’s so great about that?”
Brown doe eyes stared up at him as if he were an alien. “Didn’t the cooks in the palace ever grill you some eel?”
Yunho tried to recall his occasional fish meals. “We ate fish once in a while. Never bothered about the species.”
“Then you’re missing out a lot! Eels are exquisite and so are salmons, and….” And Changmin ranted on and on about grilled fish, reciting his extensive knowledge on types of fish and how it was essential to acknowledge the tasty ones. Yunho had noticed the vagabond’s rather large appetite but his enthusiasm towards anything edible was highly amusing.
The general didn’t realize he was laughing out loud until Changmin’s tale about salmon ended midway and was replaced by a soft, “I’m glad you’re smiling again. Yunho-sshi.”
Laughter trailing off, Yunho gazed questioningly upon the younger man.
“You have this ‘general face’ on.” Changmin briefly scrunched his face in poor attempt to imitate Yunho’s visage. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Yunho thought Changmin looked funny with his wrinkled nose, a basketful of berries on his feet and a lax fish in his hand, but he saw the earnest concern in those eyes and wondered if he’d ever met someone who was keener on understanding him.
“There’s a fight in the North,” he finally said.
“Your area of authority.”
Yunho tried to recall if he ever spilled that in one of their midnight story-telling sessions. He dismissed it as another of Changmin’s uncanny knowledge about many things.
“My fellow young generals have it covered.”
“But?”
“I feel restless. Natural instinct, I guess. My men are fighting without their commander.”
Changmin hummed. “Surreal, isn’t it? This place is so tranquil yet across the nation, a conflict is burning.”
Yunho looked down. “I prefer the tranquility.”
The young vagabond could hear guilt warring in that single sentence. “It’s natural, you know.” Changmin’s voice wasn’t loud, yet Yunho was taken aback by the firmness. “You don’t like seeing people suffer and die.”
“In my world, mercy often represents weakness, Changmin-sshi.”
“Don’t feel guilty about being humane.”
Yunho had to look away at that. He knew it was theoretically true. However, in practice, things were much more bitter.
The inner struggle was visible even from an outsider’s point of view. Changmin released a soft sigh before busying himself in preparing new bait.
“Am I horrible?” Yunho asked slowly. “I was thankful for my leg injury. It gave me excuse not to come back. I fail as a general, aren’t I?”
“In the war…” Changmin asked quietly. “What happened?”
To his slight surprise, Yunho actually laughed. A short, choked laughter that held more irony than humor. “Nothing new. A burnt city. Dead soldiers and civil. We won, so I should feel happy, right?”
“But you aren’t.”
“No, I’m not.” Yunho’s tone hardened. “Such scenes were terrifying, at first. But Bukhwajae is my… what? Third, fourth war? Not to mention the smaller clashes. I was supposed to concentrate on winning, and concentrate I did. Along the way, it became unimportant. The city. The soldiers and civil. As long as we won, everything else lost meaning.”
“That means…”
“I got the praises. The raise. The King’s acknowledgment. My father’s pride. Everything I used to wish for. But I lost other things. The soldiers’ souls and… my humanity, if I still have one.”
Changmin turned to gaze back at Yunho. “You’re being humane right now.”
“Regaining lost humanity, you mean.” Yunho’s tone was self-depreciating. “There are two sides of me. I don’t know which I really am.”
Changmin had seen the young general with various expressions-cheery, silly, annoyed, even angry-but not once had he seen this vulnerable side. Yunho was… frightened, at himself, for what might become of him at the end of the road.
“My father used to have dinner with us. We used to talk about small things. My day in school, how was the teacher. After he became the High General, he rarely comes home. Our talks center on my next assignation, how we will bring out His Majesty’s plan.” Yunho shut his eyes. “When I picture my future self, I see that distant man in me. Horrendous as it sounds, I don’t want my children to have a father like that. Do you know what the worst thing is?”
Hesitantly, Changmin shook his head. He might have had inclination as to what Yunho had in mind, but decided to let the general pour his heart out. It was healthier for Yunho to open up.
“They put us on pedestal,” Yunho continued, voice strained. “The armies are villains in hero masks. We are hailed for killing the enemies, taking down their leaders, destroying their cities. When a villain realizes his mistakes, he becomes a hero. But they think we are heroes. They don’t give us chance to redeem our sins. Ironically, they will despise us if we decide to stop.”
The pain was obvious in Yunho’s eyes, more so when he slowly tugged his right sock down, revealing the imprinted trident on his calf.
“To many, this might be a prideful symbol. To me, it’s a curse.”
[Part 2]
Pairings: HoMin, brotherhood!YunJae
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None. Well, a very brief swords clash.
Genre: Drama
Word count: 17,424
Summary: Yunho is a royal general in a break after winning a war.
Terms you might want to know:
Hwando = sword similar to katana in Japan, up to 60 cm in length (whilst katana’s are up to 80 cm)
Fortress city = Seoul
Nongak = farmer’s brand of traditional music
Gayageum = traditional music instrument similar to lute in China or koto in Japan
Hwa = traditional boots that go up to ankles
Naniwa = Osaka
Yunho’s horses’ names have meanings too but I doubt their relevance XD
***
The General and a Vagabond
***The Bukhwajae War was finally over. Countless soldiers had died serving the country; hundreds of civil had fallen victim. It was the worst they had seen in the last fifty years. Northern City was burnt into ashes, leaving thousands of its residence homeless, wives spouseless, kids parentless.
All those said, The Goddess of Victory was smiling at them.
Yunho was leaning on the wall of his back porch, enjoying a quiet afternoon for the first time in a very long time. The young man almost dozed off before a voice called.
“Young General Jung.”
Years of battle experiences screamed at him not to show weakness, but at this point he couldn’t care less. After days of battle heat, hundreds of fire arrows hurled under his command, Yunho wanted nothing more than sleeping and never waking up.
Sound of clucking tongue was loud against the tranquil afternoon. Still slumping against the wall, Yunho’s eyes fluttered open. A clay wine jar was only centimeters away from his nose. “Jaejoong.”
Melodious laughter rang in the air. The jar was snatched away before its content disappeared into the older man’s waiting mouth. “Why, Yunho, for a young general who led our country to victory, you seem rather unsatisfied.”
Yunho stared at the sun. It had turned into a huge orange gas ball. He liked the sun best at this time of the day. The source of natural energy was bowing to the oncoming night, like a prestigious soldier after his best performance. “It’s been long since I last watched the twilight like this.”
He felt more than saw his companion assume sitting position next to him. “Since we’re not blowing our heads planning out attacks.”
Yunho nodded. Of all people in the palace, Jaejoong would be the closest to understand his feeling-if not feeling the same.
“Your leg?” The older general’s tone sounded nonchalant but Yunho knew better.
“It’s fine.” The lie was halfhearted. Yunho’s hand subconsciously reached to rest on his right kneecap.
Jaejoong threw him an unimpressed look. “Right, since your horse stepped on your leg and almost flattened it.”
“Chimhai was scared,” Yunho said in defense of his war horse. “Any animal-and human-would freak out at that explosion. She also brought me back to the quarter, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Jaejoong agreed. There was no use in debating. “Now tell me the truth. How is your leg?”
Yunho sighed. “It’s seen better days, but it’s recovering.”
Talks about possible disability might hurt so Jaejoong refrained from probing further. For now, he decided to trust Yunho’s judgment. “His Majesty granted you a prize, didn’t he?”
“A break,” Yunho was still staring at the horizon. The sun had almost fully sunk by then, leaving only traces of violet cumulus. He knew he ought to feel horrible for being happy, but the thought of a break made him giddy. Excited. “For six months. I’m setting off tomorrow at dawn. About time I visit Jihye.”
“Wow. Freedom.” There was a tinge of wistfulness in Jaejoong’s tone. “What you always dream of.”
“Yes.” For the first time that evening, Yunho’s smile was genuine. “Sweet, I can almost taste it. Besides, it will give my body the rest it needs.”
“Why don’t you settle down with lady and build a family here, in the royal residence?”
Yunho shook his head. “I won’t stay put seeing you fight and not joining in. Before I know it, the months will trickle down like sand in a sand clock.”
Jaejoong looked amused. “Finally, you learn to be a little selfish.”
“Let me take this rare opportunity once. After this I will give my soul for the wellbeing of our nation.”
“You deserve it.” Jaejoong held up the clay jar with a grin. “Drink?”
Yunho accepted with a nod of thanks. Alcoholic liquid flowed down his gullet, warming his belly.
“Six months,” Jaejoong said softly. “Six months is a very long time.”
“I know,” Yunho answered, gazing steadily ahead. “We can gain and lose anything in six months.”
The younger man put down the jar and heaved himself up. Jaejoong looked at him before standing up as well, brushing dusts off of his attire. “Take care, Yunho. Send my regards to Jihye.”
“She will be ecstatic.” Yunho smiled before his face turned serious. “Jaejoong.”
“Hmm?”
“We’ve been growing up together. To my parents, you are a son.” That was true. They had been living, training, studying, and climbing the rank of generals together for more than nineteen years. Jaejoong’s mother had died giving birth to him, while his father died when he was eight. Ever since, Yunho’s family had taken him under their wing. “To me, you are as much a sibling as Jihye is.”
Jaejoong met Yunho’s gaze. He didn’t question this silent request. “Bond brother.”
“Bond brother,” Yunho echoed, holding his hand out. “I pledge, wherever this path takes us to, I will place your life before mine.”
“And yours before mine.” With a firm grip on each other’s hand, they sealed the promise.
“Come back safely, Yunho. We will fight together to protect His Majesty, right?”
Heaviness settled in Yunho’s belly. After sealing the bond, he knew Jaejoong deserved the truth. Providing a positive answer shouldn’t be this hard.
“Of course.” But, Yunho didn’t know why it felt like a lie.
***
It took Yunho two days on a horse to reach the Southern City.
The sun was burning at its peak. Sweats gathered on the young general’s brows and his horse looked tired too. Galloping to a grass field, he decided to give them a break.
“There, Cheonma, you have worked hard.” He tied the rein to a wooden pole and fetched her water. The female equine nuzzled him thankfully before feasting on fresh grass.
Merely minutes later, when Yunho was relaxing with his lunch and soju in a food stall nearby, Cheonma’s shriek startled him.
Yunho leapt up on instinct, running in the grass field’s direction. From his place he could see a stranger untying his horse. What a nerve, stealing a general’s horse! Seconds before he grabbed the street rat, though, pain rose from his knee. Watching in dismay as the thief escaped with his horse, he was surprised to see another man running to stand in front of the wildly striding equine.
It was a very brave, almost stupid action. Yunho almost expected his horse to run the man over. Imagine his surprise when the man, with a calm tap on Cheonma’s muzzle, managed to stop the panicking horse.
The thief was thrown off of the saddle at the abrupt halt. Yunho quickly caught up and, soon, two pieces of gleaming swords were pointed at the fallen thief’s face.
Noticing the other stranger was also holding out a sword, Yunho spared him a glance before glaring at the culprit.
“Why did you take a horse that does not belong to you?”
The culprit was a man in his late forties. He spoke in broken syllables. “The horse looked e-expensive and unattended, so I-I thought….”
“What made you think it gave you the right to take it?”
Cold sweat drenched the thief’s skin. “My-my daughter i-is sick and we need m-money to buy her food and medication….”
Yunho narrowed his eyes, judging if the man told a truth or a lie. The eyes were swimming in trepidation but meeting his own straightly. The way he handled the horse was not professional too. A truth, then.
“What is your occupation?”
“F-fisherman, but the wind currently is not s-suitable for sailing, sir.”
Yunho fisted out a small pouch of coins and threw it to the man. “That should be enough for a week. Find another job and never repeat the same mistake.”
The thief was stunned before bowing deeply to Yunho. “I did a shameful mistake but you shower me with mercy. Please tell me your name, sir, so I can thank you properly.”
“General Jung Yunho from the royal army.”
If possible, the thief looked more taken aback. “Have my gratitude, my lord! I will speak of your kindness to my family!”
After the man fled, the crowd that had surrounded them dispersed. Men and women were speaking in hushed whispers. Dreamy gazes were thrown his way by admiring ladies.
Withdrawing his weapon and sensing similar movement by his side, Yunho finally regarded the stranger. “May I know who you are?”
The stranger was sheathing his sword. He was tall, lean, and tanned. The shadow of a wide-brimmed hat concealed his facial features. “I am only a humble vagabond. My name is of no importance, sir.”
A vagabond? Yunho was by no means nosey, but he was intrigued. “I owe you for saving my horse.”
The other man tugged the brim of his hat. Yunho caught impression of someone who didn’t want to reveal himself. “I doubt you’d have any trouble on your own earlier, sir.”
The vagabond turned around to leave but Yunho was determined. Once anyone did a kind act to him, however small, he would definitely pay back.
Also, the grace with which the stranger handled the horse and the sword fueled his curiosity.
“Wait.”
The vagabond let out an exasperated sound. “My humble self is not worth your time, my lord.”
“I told you, I owe you one. At least let me know your name or see your face so I can thank you properly. Or are you a wanted criminal?”
The vagabond went still and Yunho mentally slapped himself for his lack of tact. There someone had helped him and that was how he treated him. Just before he could apologize, the stranger took off his hat.
Architectural cheekbones and jaw line greeted his sight. The nose looked like it was crafted from the finest wood. The man’s dazzling brown doe eyes
were staring at him, challenging.
For the live of twenty seven years he’d been living, Yunho was stunned.
Such profile certainly belonged to noble blood, not on a street like this.
“May I take my leave?” The stranger asked again. Impatience colored his tone. “It’s a small thing, no need to bother. If anything, I will appreciate if you let me go my way.”
It was clear that the stranger had no interest in fawning over him or using the opportunity to gain some fortune. For the young general, it was a breath of fresh air. Spending time with low-ranked officials who tried to lick their way up by sweet-talking had sickened him.
That being said, Yunho was not one to back down. “What’s your name?”
“Changmin.”
“No surname?”
“No, just Changmin.”
“Changmin-sshi, you said you’re a vagabond. Does that mean you have nowhere to stay in the Southern city?”
Changmin shifted uncomfortably. “Nowhere in particular, sir.”
Yunho’s smile grew that much broader. “My aunt owns a residence in the village. Please,” he cut when Changmin opened his mouth. “Consider this a sign of gratitude. If you’re uncomfortable, just call me Yunho. No sir, no lord. I’m not a general at the moment. Just a free soul on holiday.”
There was silence before Changmin’s laughter suddenly rang in the air. Yunho paused upon realizing that he, the general of royal army, was being laughed at.
“Are all generals gullible like you?”
That was certainly not what he had expected. “Are you calling me gullible?”
“I might be a bad guy, Yunho-sshi.”
The vagabond was testing his statement. Yunho crossed his arms. “Are you?”
“I’m not telling.” Changmin hummed. The challenge was clear. “So, is your offer still up?”
Under different circumstance, Yunho might order his men to behead this vagabond for being so insolent. However, he couldn’t deny that this man was interesting. Besides, the prospect of having a companion was compelling.
It turned out they needed another full day before reaching the village. In such short span, Yunho learned very little about Changmin’s identity (“Nothing interesting about being a vagabond, Yunho-sshi, unless you want me to recite the map of Korea.”) but a lot about his demeanor. Witty comebacks, for example, were his prideful trademark.
When they rounded a familiar neighborhood, Yunho pondered upon his action. Had he let his guard down? Perhaps he was too caught up in celebrating freedom. Bringing a stranger to his house didn’t sound like a good idea. He could almost hear Jaejoong’s reproaching voice at the back of his mind.
He sensed that the vagabond hid a secret. Then again, up-close inspection and gut feeling didn’t reveal Changmin to be harmful. Yunho trusted his gut feeling on many things and this was one of them.
If the man tried something funny, well, he wasn’t a royal general for nothing.
On Yunho’s signal, Cheonma halted in front of a spacious lodgment. Both men hopped off and Yunho tied the equine to a tree.
The village air felt refreshing. He only visited this house once or twice when he was a child to see his grandfather, who retreated from his position in the palace on seventy.
“Is anyone home? Auntie? Jihye?”
Footsteps echoed from inside the house. Merely seconds later, a middle-aged woman opened the door.
“Yunho dear, you’re here!”
“Yes, Aunt Haewon. Please take care of me for the next six months.”
Jung Haewon waved her nephew’s formalities off. “That’s why Jihye and I dislike the palace. It makes you stiff as a woodblock.” Her eyes fell upon Changmin. “This fine young man is…?”
“It’s an honor to meet you, my lady. My name is Changmin and I am a vagabond. I met Yunho-sshi on my way in the city.”
“He helped keeping my horse from a thief. I offer him to come with me since he has no place to stay in the South. My apologies for not notifying you earlier, Auntie.”
“I will help with house chores and work to pay for necessities, my lady,” Changmin offered.
“What are you talking about? You helped Yunho, of course you are welcome!” The middle-aged woman giggled good-naturedly. Such generous trait seemed to run in the family. “Come, Yunho, Changmin-sshi. I’ll show you boys your room.”
Yunho was busy evading his aunt’s playful advances that he didn’t notice the lack of plural. Similarly, Changmin was busy swallowing amused laughter at seeing a royal general being treated like a child. So much for being a free soul on holiday.
“Where is Jihye?”
“Shopping for vegetables. She wishes to cook her brother delicious dinner as a welcome.” Her eyes crinkled in mischief only ladies her age could pull off. “I’m sorry I prepared only one room. I hope you don’t mind sharing, Changmin-sshi?”
Being an uninvited guest, Changmin couldn’t wish for a kinder host, even if he couldn’t recall the last time he had to sleep in the presence of another person. “This is more than enough, Lady Jung.”
“Lady Jung!” She exploded in merriment. “When was the last time anyone called me that? Never mind, my son, just call me auntie.”
Changmin nodded, looking unexpectedly shy.
“Oh, you are just too cute.” Haewon reached to pinch a reddening cheek, making Changmin yelp. The girlish noise brought another bout of laughter.
“Yunho dear, your friend here is all sorts of adorable.”
The young general sniggered. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Your aunt is… lively,” Changmin commented, for lack of better terms, as soon as Haewon left.
“She is. There is a reason why my sister chose to live with her instead of staying with us.” Yunho grinned. He took two sets of mattress from the walk-in closet and laid them on the straw mat. The room was nowhere as extravagant as his chamber in the palace. Nevertheless, the fresh air of modest neighborhood made him feel alive. “I didn’t know you can yelp like that.”
Changmin wrinkled his nose but decided against being defensive. No need to worsen his dignity. Instead, he busied himself looking through the only window in their room. It was large, convenient enough for a grown-up to sit on its ledge. They could get a view of well-groomed front yard from there.
“The house is nice, too.”
Yunho opted to spread his limbs out on the mattress. “My grandfather owned this house before applying to the royal military service.”
Changmin hummed. “It’s taken care well.”
“It used to be larger. Because most of family members moved to the palace, half of the place was rebuilt into a dojo.”
That piqued Changmin’s interest. “Dojo?”
“Yeah. It’s no longer in use but I think they still clean the place regularly. We can visit tomorrow, if you’d like. A practice match, maybe?”
Changmin hummed his appreciation. “Before that, don’t you have to put ice on your knee?”
“Pardon me?”
“Your right knee. It’s been hurting since yesterday, isn’t it?”
Ah, that was right. Since Cheonma’s incident and his sudden burst of run, his leg had been acting up. He wondered how Changmin could guess, though, since he was trained at not letting the pain show.
A girl’s chirping voice filled the cool afternoon air. From the window, Changmin spied a lady in her late teenage years. She was walking to the doorway with two paper bags in each hand, singing loudly to herself. “Your sister?”
Yunho chuckled. “Sounds like it.”
Indeed, Jung Jihye turned out to be a cheerful lady. Her carefree personality did not suit to be caged within cold walls of the palace.
“I thought you come with Jaejoong-sshi,” she told her brother over dinner, having the grace to blush after such implication.
“Why, don’t you like Changmin-sshi?” Yunho asked flippantly. Next to him, the young vagabond choked on his soup.
The younger Jung actually checked him out. “Well, he’s not bad looking.”
If his sister had capable of releasing such understatement, Yunho thought she needed an eye check. “To make you happy, Jaejoong actually sent his regards to you.”
They chatted and bantered and Yunho remembered how much he missed this. His loud sister and teasing aunt had been the light of their residence in the palace. After they left, the house became cold. His father was too strict and his mother very well-mannered. His only savior was probably the ever-playful Jaejoong. That, too, gradually diminished with the increasing amount of time they shared in the army.
When they had retreated for the night, Changmin stopped upon closing the door. There, perched on the wall next to the door, was an ink painting of a trident.
“Ah, that?” Yunho asked upon realizing his companion’s attention on the painting. He came to stand next to Changmin, examining the work of art. “It is the symbol of the King’s Trident. An interesting pattern inherited in the royal army-”
Changmin absentmindedly traced the delicate paper with his finger. “Three excellent young generals under the command of High General.”
Yunho threw him a surprised look. “How do you know?”
A fleeting look of uncertainty crossed Changmin’s face. Before Yunho could process it, though, he quickly recovered. “I heard somewhere. So, are you one of the three? Does this trident symbolize you?”
“Yes, I am but no, it doesn’t,” Yunho replied. “It was painted back when my grandfather was one of the three.”
“And now you too? Greatness runs in the family.”
Yunho smiled at the subtle compliment. “The fate was laid out before me since I was only six. It’s more about blood than any kind of greatness.”
“That Jaejoong-sshi too?”
“Yeah, a fellow young general. My best friend since birth. My bond brother,” Yunho answered proudly. The young general bent to tug down his sock, revealing a trident-shaped imprint on his right lower calf, above the outer side of his ankle. “This symbol was tattooed on us since we entered elementary academy.”
They ended up spending all night talking about Yunho’s life in the royal army.
“When my grandfather was the High General, there were three young generals: Jaejoong’s father, my father and another general. When my grandfather passed away, Jaejoong’s father was appointed the new High General with my father as his second-in-command. Too bad, the third general did not accept this arrangement and conducted a rebellion. High General Kim was murdered in the process.”
“It must be hard on the royal army.”
“It hurt. My father replaced the High General. Years later, Jaejoong and I joined as two of the King’s Trident.”
“The other one?”
“It’s supposed to be the third general’s son but the rebellion brought his whole family to execution. General Park Yoochun becomes the new young general.”
“I see. You three must be close.”
“Yeah. Jaejoong lives with my family since the tragedy, though, so I’m closer to him.”
Changmin hummed. Yunho went on, blabbering about anything in general. The younger man was a silent but very attentive listener. After spending years with only Jaejoong and occasionally Yoochun to talk with, this was a new thing Yunho liked about his holiday.
When the sky had turned from inky black to deep violet, Yunho finally suggested they lie down to catch a few hours of sleep.
***
The next morning, they had to delay the visit to dojo. After breakfast, Haewon had taken out her farming utensils. Changmin instinctively offered to help her.
“I used to take any job while moving from place to place,” Changmin informed Yunho who was standing by his side. The former was crouching on the loose soil, cropping clumps of grass with admirable efficiency. “In order to earn money, I can’t be picky.”
Around late noon, Haewon’s field of tubers had been cleaned up. The old woman looked ecstatic, enamored even.
“You are really good, Changmin-sshi.”
“It’s nothing, my la-Haewon-sshi.”
“I told you to call me auntie. Now say it, aun-tie.” The old woman forced Changmin to repeat after her until she was satisfied. She turned to her next target. “Yunho dear, did you help even a little?”
At her nephew’s loss of words, Haewon sighed dramatically. “I told you the battalion is not good for health. Aside of stabbing people, you are no good at anything.”
Changmin tried but failed to stifle a chortle. Yunho sent him a glare. “Just see. When we go to the woods, it’s my turn.”
“Please give him guidance, Changmin-ah,” Haewon laughed heartily, joined in by Changmin.
Finding no counter to defend his pride, Yunho resorted to crossing his arms and pouting. Luckily, his sister came to the rescue by announcing that dinner was ready.
It became a routine, days of working and nights of dinner together. They gathered around a modest round table, Jihye serving what experiment she had been doing all afternoon. They chatted about anything and everything-that granny in the market who adored Yunho, Jihye’s friends in her knitting course, Changmin’s and Yunho’s recent practice in the dojo.
For the first time in many years, Yunho was free to laugh out loud and be clumsy and get laughed at. For the first time, his sword was allowed to rest in his room, untouched aside of occasional sessions in the dojo. He got to know the neighbors, most of them old folks, and they had come to adore him in return. They knew about his position in the royal army, but Yunho acted nothing like a fierce general in their vicinity and they had come to treat him as Jung Yunho, not the feared General Jung.
Yunho could not hope for more.
***
They ran out of firewood so today’s task was to collect some.
“Here comes your opportunity.” Changmin said smugly. He still remembered Yunho’s brave offer to show his skill in the woods, almost one month after the outburst, and had not failed to remind him ever since. “You sure know how to handle an axe?”
“Of course!” Yunho fumed, even though he didn’t. But axe and sword both had a handle on one end and a blade on the other. It wouldn’t be too different, would it?
Changmin threw him a skeptical look. “Autumn is approaching. We’d better bring larger logs home.” Changmin examined a heap of fallen logs. “Seem good enough.”
“They already look chopped to me.”
“No, not yet. We can’t bring as many without cutting them in halves.” The vagabond busied himself transporting the logs to a clearing. Balancing one on the level ground, Changmin called for him. “Now. Chop this.”
Yunho brought the axe up and with mighty swing of a swordsman’s, he dealt the trunk a harsh blow. Instead of splitting into two, however, the wood remained intact.
The general was stunned-that force had been enough to crack a skull open. Changmin’s snort was loud enough to chase away the birds.
At the second try, the log was bodily knocked away and began its journey down a slope.
“What are you doing gawking there? Catch it.”
This bossy little-Yunho cursed his legs for following the order without his consent. When he came back with the log, Changmin’s face was a strange mix of solemnity and satisfaction.
“I take that your leg has healed completely?”
The young general was taken aback but nodded nonetheless. “Yeah.” And then, his face softened at the subtle show of concern. “Thanks for asking.”
At the third try, the blade finally cut in. Yunho almost shouted in triumph before realizing that the blade was stuck. He spent the next ten minutes dislodging the persistent utensil, pulling it to every possible direction. Changmin’s laughter in the background showed no mercy at his effort.
“Oh, you really are hopeless, General Jung.”
Yunho crossed his arms. The axe had clearly offended him. Changmin too. “If you’re that great, go try.”
Changmin grinned. “Call me hyung.”
“Changmin-sshi.”
“Call-me-hyung~♫”
Yunho rolled his eyes. “Hyung-nim.”
Minor annoyance aside, strange warm feelings made his skin tingle. It was another antic he learned about Changmin, his penchant for flaunting knowledge just to irk the life out of Yunho. Sometimes Yunho relented on purpose, if only to see that contagious grin and hear the unrestrained laugh.
Some other times, though, Yunho had to admit defeat about certain skills in day-to-day life-and consequently surrendered being bossed around.
“When you swing, let the upper hand slide down the handle. Pull the axe above your head; let the upper hand slide up again. Repeat.” Changmin demonstrated with his bare hands. Yunho imitated and was enthralled when the ax blade smoothly left its woody confinement.
“See these knots? These are the sturdiest parts. Avoid aiming straight at them,” Changmin continued.
Feeling confident, Yunho executed another swing. Unexpectedly, he lost his balance before the axe was brought down.
“Careful!” Changmin managed to catch his shoulders from behind and made sure the blade did not chop anyone’s head in the process. With a heel, he nudged Yunho’s legs apart. “Spread your legs shoulder-width.”
Awkwardly spreading his legs while Changmin was still attached on his back, the young general cleared his throat. Changmin suddenly realized their positions and hastily stepped back, face red.
“Don’t grip it too hard. Let your upper hand glide up and down,” he mumbled to the ground. Again, a second too late, he realized how wrong that instruction might sound. “I-I mean…”
Meanwhile, Yunho ignored his own awkwardness in favor of savoring the sight of uncharacteristically flustered Changmin. The young vagabond had been too haughty for his own good. This, he decided, was a good change.
Reaching out, he caught Changmin unguarded with a pinch to the cheek. “Auntie’s right. You are all sorts of adorable.”
The younger man let out indignant yelp before slapping Yunho’s hand away. They ended up chasing each other around the woods, axe and logs long forgotten.
“If your face remains sour like that, even the wild animals will run! Hey!”
When they came home much later, both out of breath from strains coming from more than cutting woods, Haewon raised an eyebrow and ordered them to get a good scrubbing. Jihye shook her head, piling the half neatly, half unevenly chopped logs in their warehouse. Sparing a few, she went to make fire and boil water for the guys’ bath.
“You’re hopeless with an axe,” Changmin pointed out again when they were soaking in the bath at their backyard.
“Come to the dojo with a sword. I’ll show you who’s hopeless.”
Changmin kicked him under the water. “Will you survive living by yourself?”
“Maybe I’ll keep you a little longer just for that purpose.” Yunho countered, leaning back against the tub edge. The warm water helped soothing his sore muscles. He voiced a satisfied groan. “Scrub my back?”
Noticing the lack of response, Yunho squinted past the warm mist. His companion looked down again with such flustered expression that made him wonder. Grinning as an idea popped in his head, Yunho splashed the water to his face.
“WATER FIGHT!” He announced amidst Changmin’s indignant yell.
The younger man shook his head one hundred times per minute, sending water everywhere like a drenched puppy. “YAH! Are you really a general? You must be faking!”
“One-love for Yunho~♫” The older man singsonged. “Loser gets no dinner!”
A piece of cloth hit him square in the face. In a moment of blindness, a tremendous scoop of water doused his head. And it was not warm water but a pail full of cold one.
“One hundred-one for Changmin~♫” The younger man retaliated, earning himself a shove and a whole lot of wet mess.
The commotion continued despite Haewon’s exasperated yell of “Stop wasting the water!” As they were trying to drown each other, Yunho’s mind reeled, reminding him that moments like this couldn’t last forever.
I want this to last, he prayed quietly. Images of bloodshed and battlefields came unbidden, reminding him of who he was. I don’t want to go back.
The dark trail of thoughts was cut when Jihye slammed the back door open, a ladle in one hand, looking absolutely menacing while saying, “No dinner for you both.”
Despite the threat from his sister, merciless shoving from Changmin and endless teasing from his aunt, Yunho reveled in the warmth of home.
***Sometimes, when Yunho thought no one was looking, a frown replaced his perpetually sunny disposition.
Changmin mentally dubbed it as ‘the general face’. When Yunho put it on, like that morning, the younger man suggested they go to the woods.
Yunho didn’t protest, not even processing where Changmin took him to. Something was bothering the young general and Changmin was planning to help him where he could.
Sound of water stream finally woke Yunho up from his listlessness. Glancing in question at Changmin, he was greeted by a rod of bamboo instead.
“Do you know how to fish?”
A fine string made of horse hair was attached to the rod. On the other end of the string, carefully arranged hook and sinker bore a lively, squiggling worm.
“Just throw the bait into the water… right?”
Changmin frowned at the hesitation in Yunho’s voice. Usually, the proud general would adamantly deny his lack of knowledge, no matter what disasters would result from his brave yet amateurish trials.
“Yeah,” Changmin slowly said. “No complicated skill needed, only patience. You can do a lot while waiting for the fish.”
“A lot?” A chuckle escaped Yunho, curiosity smoothing the lines on his face. “Aren’t we just sitting there doing nothing?”
“It’s a form of relaxation as well as giving you time to think,” Changmin defended. “Productively.”
“I see. I’m surprised you care that much, Changmin-sshi.” Yunho teased, but Changmin saw past the façade. There were crinkles on the outer side of Yunho’s eyes and between his brows. The corners of his mouth were strained.
“I’m going to pick up some fruits.” The vagabond announced and turned around. As soon as he disappeared between the trees, Yunho’s smile turned rueful.
“I’m sorry for worrying you like this,” he quietly told the wind. He could also see past the younger man’s indifference, the concern swimming in brown doe eyes. This was Changmin’s way of giving him chance to sort his thoughts.
The river was streaming tirelessly on his feet. Tranquil yet wild when perturbed. So much like his new friend.
He took out an envelope from behind his long vest. There, written in familiar curves, was his bond brother’s message.
It was a short, simple letter. There, buried beneath mundane stories about his family and the palace, implied the King’s next mission to take down a barbaric clan on the northern outskirts.
Northern border meant General Jung Yunho’s area of authority.
He couldn’t figure out why the King chose to act around his area in his absence. Sure, Jaejoong had taken care of the soldiers while Yoochun tackled the strategy, teaming up to cover him. Still, he couldn’t shake off the feelings of guilt for not being there for his soldiers, men who had pledged loyalty to him.
His men were not babies and did not need his babying them. On the contrary, they were well-informed about his much-needed break and would raise protests, good-naturedly, should he show up.
That being said, it didn’t lessen his guilt at not being available for his soldiers, instead indulging in a break when they were fighting. The northern soldiers were his pride. Their loyalty to him was his pillar and, in turn, his downfall when it crumbled.
“Sir.” A ten year-old girl was holding on his long vest. Yunho turned and crouched before her.
“Who are you, little lady?”
“My brother said he would go to a fight and you are his captain.” The girl’s innocent eyes were wide. She reminded him of Jihye years ago. “Will you take care of him? Keep him safe so he can come back to me and Mother. Mother is sick and we need Brother with us.”
“Hyojung, show some respect to General Jung!” One of his soldiers ran to them.
Yunho put his palm on the girl’s head. “Of course I will, Hyojung-sshi.”
The soldier hurriedly whisked his sister into the house. “I apologize, General Jung.”
“No problem, Yongdae-sshi. Is your mother okay?”
The soldier looked unsure. “She’s getting better. It should not be a bother to you, General. I apologize.”
“No problem. I wish for her health as well. Ready to go?”
Together, the general and his man left the village to join the battalion. After waiting for days, finally it was time for them to leave the quarter. It took them half a day to reach the battlefield. When they did, it was already bathed in blood and fire.
The next day, an arrow was aimed straight at Yunho’s back. The general remained standing tall, however, because someone had taken the arrow for him.
Neither Yongdae’s dead weight nor Hyojung’s innocent face left his mind for days to come, even as he barked another command to the team, sending tens of fire arrows to their adversaries.
“I hate to interrupt you but I think something catches your bait.”
Yunho was shaken out of reverie when Changmin’s voice called for him. True, ripples had formed around where his hook disappeared into the water.
“I think it’s catfish,” Changmin said. God knew how he could guess when the fish wasn’t even visible under the water.
Yunho jerked the rod up. On the end of his line, a fish was struggling.
“Eel!” Changmin sounded mesmerized. He tackled the fish down with triumphant laugh. “A swamp eel! For an amateur, Yunho-sshi, you are so lucky!”
A pout formed on Yunho’s face at being called amateur. Still, he couldn’t hold back a grin at Changmin’s overexcited reaction. “What’s so great about that?”
Brown doe eyes stared up at him as if he were an alien. “Didn’t the cooks in the palace ever grill you some eel?”
Yunho tried to recall his occasional fish meals. “We ate fish once in a while. Never bothered about the species.”
“Then you’re missing out a lot! Eels are exquisite and so are salmons, and….” And Changmin ranted on and on about grilled fish, reciting his extensive knowledge on types of fish and how it was essential to acknowledge the tasty ones. Yunho had noticed the vagabond’s rather large appetite but his enthusiasm towards anything edible was highly amusing.
The general didn’t realize he was laughing out loud until Changmin’s tale about salmon ended midway and was replaced by a soft, “I’m glad you’re smiling again. Yunho-sshi.”
Laughter trailing off, Yunho gazed questioningly upon the younger man.
“You have this ‘general face’ on.” Changmin briefly scrunched his face in poor attempt to imitate Yunho’s visage. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Yunho thought Changmin looked funny with his wrinkled nose, a basketful of berries on his feet and a lax fish in his hand, but he saw the earnest concern in those eyes and wondered if he’d ever met someone who was keener on understanding him.
“There’s a fight in the North,” he finally said.
“Your area of authority.”
Yunho tried to recall if he ever spilled that in one of their midnight story-telling sessions. He dismissed it as another of Changmin’s uncanny knowledge about many things.
“My fellow young generals have it covered.”
“But?”
“I feel restless. Natural instinct, I guess. My men are fighting without their commander.”
Changmin hummed. “Surreal, isn’t it? This place is so tranquil yet across the nation, a conflict is burning.”
Yunho looked down. “I prefer the tranquility.”
The young vagabond could hear guilt warring in that single sentence. “It’s natural, you know.” Changmin’s voice wasn’t loud, yet Yunho was taken aback by the firmness. “You don’t like seeing people suffer and die.”
“In my world, mercy often represents weakness, Changmin-sshi.”
“Don’t feel guilty about being humane.”
Yunho had to look away at that. He knew it was theoretically true. However, in practice, things were much more bitter.
The inner struggle was visible even from an outsider’s point of view. Changmin released a soft sigh before busying himself in preparing new bait.
“Am I horrible?” Yunho asked slowly. “I was thankful for my leg injury. It gave me excuse not to come back. I fail as a general, aren’t I?”
“In the war…” Changmin asked quietly. “What happened?”
To his slight surprise, Yunho actually laughed. A short, choked laughter that held more irony than humor. “Nothing new. A burnt city. Dead soldiers and civil. We won, so I should feel happy, right?”
“But you aren’t.”
“No, I’m not.” Yunho’s tone hardened. “Such scenes were terrifying, at first. But Bukhwajae is my… what? Third, fourth war? Not to mention the smaller clashes. I was supposed to concentrate on winning, and concentrate I did. Along the way, it became unimportant. The city. The soldiers and civil. As long as we won, everything else lost meaning.”
“That means…”
“I got the praises. The raise. The King’s acknowledgment. My father’s pride. Everything I used to wish for. But I lost other things. The soldiers’ souls and… my humanity, if I still have one.”
Changmin turned to gaze back at Yunho. “You’re being humane right now.”
“Regaining lost humanity, you mean.” Yunho’s tone was self-depreciating. “There are two sides of me. I don’t know which I really am.”
Changmin had seen the young general with various expressions-cheery, silly, annoyed, even angry-but not once had he seen this vulnerable side. Yunho was… frightened, at himself, for what might become of him at the end of the road.
“My father used to have dinner with us. We used to talk about small things. My day in school, how was the teacher. After he became the High General, he rarely comes home. Our talks center on my next assignation, how we will bring out His Majesty’s plan.” Yunho shut his eyes. “When I picture my future self, I see that distant man in me. Horrendous as it sounds, I don’t want my children to have a father like that. Do you know what the worst thing is?”
Hesitantly, Changmin shook his head. He might have had inclination as to what Yunho had in mind, but decided to let the general pour his heart out. It was healthier for Yunho to open up.
“They put us on pedestal,” Yunho continued, voice strained. “The armies are villains in hero masks. We are hailed for killing the enemies, taking down their leaders, destroying their cities. When a villain realizes his mistakes, he becomes a hero. But they think we are heroes. They don’t give us chance to redeem our sins. Ironically, they will despise us if we decide to stop.”
The pain was obvious in Yunho’s eyes, more so when he slowly tugged his right sock down, revealing the imprinted trident on his calf.
“To many, this might be a prideful symbol. To me, it’s a curse.”
[Part 2]