He woke up before her, the light barely shining through the decorative windows in the room. He stared at her as she slept, her hair settling around her face and her pillow. She clutched his arm to her chest with both arms, her breathing slow and steady. He used his free hand to brush some of her hair off her face. He didn't know that such a vision could mean so much to him until she came into his life. His eyes trailed over her body; although most of it was hidden under the sheets, he could still see her feminine curves and he longed to run his hand down her body. He smiled as his eyes went back to watching her. He moved his head closer to kiss her forehead before closing his eyes again, letting his free arm drape on her waist.


He opened his eyes again, an hour or so passed. Today he had already decided to take it easy. He had a few more days of leave that he planned on spending with her. His lips lifted slightly as he took in her beauty again. This was why he had survived everything.

He kissed her forehead before his hand began to caress her face, waking her up gently. She blinked slowly before yawning and coming closer to his body. He wrapped his arm around her as he moved his other arm to be a pillow for her to rest her head. She smiled as she placed her hands on his chest, feeling his steady heartbeat. He bent down to rest his lips on the top of her head, his breath easy and constant. Everything about him was relaxing and she wanted nothing more than to lay here in his arms.

He whispered into her hair, "We should get up." She let out a sigh from her nose, her top arm tugging on his waist to come closer in protest. He let out a quiet chuckle before using his right arm to go under her left arm and gently pulling her away. "You need food," He reminded her. That woke her up slightly as she looked up at him, a pout on her lips.

"Are they going to run out like in the castle?" She asked, her toes sneaking inbetween his legs.

He gave her a half smile before speaking. "No, but it's still a good idea to get back into the routine." He pushed his body up on his left arm, slowly letting her body detach from his. He shook her arm with his right hand. "Wudalchi soldiers should listen to their leader," He reprimanded her playfully.

She grinned and sat up next to him. "Right away, General," She said as she gave him a salute. His eyes naturally drifted to her chest as he sat up straighter and pulled her to him to kiss her. She smiled into the kiss, knowing where his attention had gone to before.

He kissed the side of her neck as his hand roamed up her waist to the side of her chest before she ducked under his arm and stood up. He looked somewhat perplexed as she had slipped from him before he gave a soft chuckle and got up beside her. She stood on the tips of her toes to give him a quick kiss before she went to the dresser. He sat back down to watch her, not only for him to be able to see her nude body for his pleasure, but to also see how happy she was, here with him. She turned as she put on her under robes and asked him what color he'd like to see her in. He smiled gently and was about to say it wasn't important before he stopped and answered, "Pink." He wanted to see her match her new ring. She grinned before giving him another quick peck on the lips. She turned back to the dresser to pull out her new clothes as he decided to dress himself as well. As he was about to put on his armor, he felt her hands come around to pull it tight against him and tie the knots. "You don't have to do this, Imja," He said, his voice in a light and warm tone.

She tsk'd at him as she finished tying the last knots. "I like doing it, and besides, isn't it hard to tie it yourself?" She questioned him in a playfully nagging tone. "Don't want to let the Wudalchi boys to secretly laugh at your horrible knots."

He chuckled as she wrapped the belt around his front to fasten it in the back. "I'm sure the boys will be envious of having someone do this for me," He said, turning around to look at her again. His smile still sent little butterflies in her stomach that she thought had long passed. He cupped her face with his right hand before taking her hand and leading them out the door.


As they walked into the main lobby area, he heard the boys snickering before standing up and bowing their heads to the couple. "What is it?" He asked, poking the Vice General in the chest.

"Uh well..." The Vice General scratched the back of his head before glancing at Dae Man. "You tell him."

Dae Man's mouth opened and closed a few times before any noise really came out. "That is...The boys were wondering... If..." His face blushed as his right hand ran down his face. "They heard screams last night and were alarmed... Until..." He started stuttering for the first time in over a year and a half.

Choi Young's face went stone cold as Eun Soo covered her mouth with her left hand as her right hand was still in his hand. She found it both embarrassing and funny that the boys were worried about her, but she kept in the laughter to avoid Choi Young's angry face.

"Didn't I tell you boys not to listen to the General's room?!" He yelled, dropping Eun Soo's hand to walk around, smacking the less wise soldiers still smirking in his direction. "Let this be a lesson: Do NOT listen to my personal affairs." He looked around and snapped his fingers. "Twenty laps from here to the river." The men were stunned and looked around before Choi Young yelled again, "NOW!" He turned to Vice General. "Watch them, push them in the mud, do what you think is right," He ordered, watching him go off and yell at the boys himself.

Eun Soo was probably one of the few people that knew the different types of anger that the General had, and she knew that this was his embarrassed yelling, trying to save face. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his left arm. He stared down at her, his jaw unclenching and his breath starting to slow down again. "It was just one night," She tried to reassure him. "Maybe they didn't know it wasn't an attack?"

He shook his head and pulled her to sit down as he sat down beside her. "It's the principle of the matter," He stated, setting his sword down on the table in front of him. He turned his head slightly to face her. " 'Just one night'?" He repeated, his eyebrows crinkling in worry. Is there not to be a repeat? He wondered silently, his stomach dropping from disappointment.

She laughed freely as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Do you think they'd dare to notice us again?" She asked, her left arm wrapping around his right arm. "They wouldn't dare to, not after their punishment."

He looked down at the table, his hands folded in front of him, flexing. He coughed and looked around for the inn owner. She knew again that he was trying to fight off a blush. She couldn't help but to think of him as cute, even though she assumed that he wouldn't want to be called that. She kissed his arm as she let her hand trail down his arm to hold his hand securely in his.

Before he had a chance to say anything else, the owner came by and asked what they wanted. As their orders were taken down and they waited for their food, Eun Soo decided to try to change the subject. "When do you think we'll be heading back to the castle?" She inquired, grabbing two spoons from the wooden container in front of her, placing one in front of him as she held onto hers.

He smiled, grateful for her insight of his mood, and rested his head on his left hand. "I was thinking tomorrow," He answered, his eyes set on hers. "Unless you want to go back early," He added, rubbing his thumb on her hand.

She shook her head before answering. "No, I'd rather like the chance to just reconnecting." She rolled her eyes up as she thought. "It's been... four, five years for you since I left?" She recalled the conversation with the soldier from yesterday.

He nodded and confirmed, "Five years since Imja's disappearance."

She pursed her lips, trying to remember what all happened in history, but her brain was a bit of a fog on the years, before giving up and deciding that he could fill her in later. "It was only one year for me, but a hundred years in the back," She stated, tapping her fingers on her lips. She did some calculation in her head before gasping and pointing at him.

His eyes widened in surprise from her news, shocked at her now pointing. "What is it?" He asked, voice flat and deeply confused.

"We're the same age now! You and me!" She exclaimed, motioning her fingers back and forth between them. "No more age difference!" She clapped her hands and laughed. "Heaven must have planned this," She marvelled.

His eyebrows were still creased, but it eased with her laughter. "How was your year?" He inquired. The food arrived and they both thanked her as they began to eat.

She took a big bite and thought as she ate. She swallowed and began to describe it. "It was very enlightening," She started off, taking another bite. "I used both my knowledge and Doctor Jang's to start off, then I slowly learned about acupuncture and was able to do ease people." She looked over to him and raised her eyebrows. "What about you? I'm a bit fuzzy on the details," She admitted.

His face relaxed to a straight face as he focused on eating. "Mostly waiting and fighting," He said, his eyes falling to his sword. It had seen a lot more fighting since she was gone, but his resolve to see her again made his hands steady and strong.

She smiled and bumped her elbow against him playfully. "I heard that you took this land back!" She said excitedly. "It was to make sure you could come here safely and wait for me, right?" She teased him, her eyes crinkling from her cheeks.

He chuckled and turned to face her straight on. "Of course," He confirmed, wiping a bit of food from her chin and stuck it in his mouth. "I had to make sure to escort you safely, and this was easier."

She giggled as she rested her head on his shoulder again. "My handsome and strong General," She cooed as she smiled up at him.

He wrapped his right arm around her shoulders, savoring the feeling of her in his arms again. She knew that he was getting embarrassed again and began to eat again.

Choi Young struggled to eat with his left hand before he begrudgingly took his arm off her and eat properly. She gave a short giggle that she covered with taking a drink of her tea.

They quickly finished and Eun Soo stretched her arms straight up, yawning as she did. "What do we do know?" She asked, standing up to stretch her back by leaning forward and touching the table.

Choi Young swallowed as he watched her before looking up at her face. "What would you like to do?" He asked, smiling warmly at her as he stood up beside her, picking up his sword as well.

She smiled and intertwined her fingers together as she thought. "We could go take a walk, explore here?" She titled her head as she spoke. "I wasn't able to fully enjoy things here in this time period and I'd like to see the changes."

He nodded his head and reached for her hand as she let her hands fall, and started their walk through the door. "Make sure to stop if you want something," He said, looking down in time to see her reaction.

She went from bliss of being with him to excited. "Is this another shopping spree?" She asked with glee, her steps almost bouncing as they walked.

He smiled and picked up her hand to kiss softly. "Whatever Imja wants," He said affectionately.

She beamed at him and nodded. "But first, let's go to the waterfront," She suggested, her eyes shining in a playful way. He raised an eyebrow in question before she hid her mouth with her free hand, laughing. "To see those boys running around," She informed him. He chuckled dryly at her as he led the way.


It wasn't as much fun to see the boys running as she thought it might be, so they instead walked towards the town, walking close to the water to still catch the ambiance of it. Their steps were small and slow as they enjoyed their peace and freedom while they could.

"The queen will be happy to see you again," He mentioned, looking over the water to see the sun reflecting off of her hair.

She hummed in agreement, her fingers intertwined in his free hand. "I've worried about her this last year. Wondering how her and the king were," She recounted, her head looking upwards at the bright sky. "Wondering how they were, wondering how they were treating my General," She murmured quietly.

He smiled, hearing her soft voice even as she barely whispered. "Don't worry, they're both in good health," He reassured her, squeezing her hands affectionately as his own way of proving that he was doing well too.

She returned his expression as she turned to look at him. "And the boys? Have they been good?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes upwards as if praying for patience. "They're a handful as always, but they're strong and confident." He paused before adding, "Maybe too confident."

She laughed and freed one of her hands to push on his arm. "They've served you well, though, to be worried about your woman, right?" She tried to soothe his temper.

He gave a quick snort of breath. "I can take care of Imja alone," He stated, his jaw straigthening for a moment. "But I can understand your meaning," He said, looking down at her again.

They continued to walk hand-in-hand on their stroll through the town, neither really paying attention to the wares, just talking freely again. It was their peace that they needed, that they knew they should make last as long as they could before they went back to the castle. They walked freely, peacefully, lovingly, grateful to the gods for their reunion, and they both vowed that there would never be a time away again.


So I researched my Korean history as well as I could (even getting library books!), and I think I'll spill a little here since I didn't quite get to all of it last chapter. I will also post this part to my other stories at some point.

Women would wear rings in this time period, but if she wore two rings on top of each other, it would signify that they're married. So while they didn't necessarily have an engagement ring, they would still have a wedding ring, and the same sometimes went for the men. Choi Young would definitely wear a wedding ring, I'd think.

The original Choi Young (sometimes better known as Choe Yeong) was actually married twice. His first wife passed away, but I can't seem to find a name for her and it's unknown how she died. I'm going to assume that Mae Hee, his former fiancee, is meant to represent his first wife, so I'll follow that. His second wife is where it gets more interesting. According to some of the history I've read up, he loved her more than his first, and is actually buried with him. No full name is given but her name on her statue/plaque is Lady Yoo. Sound familiar? ;D

The show kinda butchered history a bit. Choi Young is 28-29 at the beginning of the show, and 33-34 at the end. The whole Jo Il-Shin rebellion was actually a real thing, although they did alter the story a little. BUT that happened when Choi Young was 36, so the timeline is a bit off. Therefore, I'm going to try to maneuver around the things that he did in historical order, but the ages are going to be off. I'm going to do my best to keep it as historical as possible, but I will not always succeed, I know. Hopefully it'll still be something you guys will still read!

Faithagain: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter XD. I was rather happy with how it all just came out. I felt like it was natural-ish? Haha. I tend to draw from my own life and fanfiction, so it is at least somewhat realistic. I did include reactions from the Wudalchi boys in this chapter, so that should answer your thoughts on the boys hearing their loud sounds xD. I feel like they were both experienced, because I feel like he was already pretty much married to his previous fiancee and they were soooo touchy-feely. With Eun Soo, I fee like there would have been times where he would have at least thought about it, and I am one of those people who think that they definitely did something in the last chapter when he finds her when Gi Cheol kidnapped her. But everyone has their own views =]. And this is all speculation anyways, so there's more room for writers, like me, to write what they like lol. But I definitely understand where you're coming from :hearts:. I actually tend to like stories where Choi Young is a virgin myself, but I wanted to write them both as experienced as I feel like there's not a whole lot of stories like that around.

Shineui: Haha I'm glad you liked it XD :heart:. I can't tell you enough about how much I liked how that scene came out. I promise that there will be more! And I also promise that there will be more tension, no worries. I just wanted to focus a little on their happiness being reunited again, ya know? Once they get back to the castle, there will definitely be a jealous scene for Eun Soo! I have it planned out for the most part, so don't worry, it's coming soon! :heart: I'm probably only going to do 2-3 more chapters of being out of the castle, then it'll start being a very serious storyline to try to mirror history of Korea at the time, while also adding in story elements. I'm not quite sure how it'll all go, but I'm working on it hard!

I hope that this wasn't too much to read for an AN xD :hearts:. Thank you all for reading and I am already writing the next chapter for here! I haven't decided if there will be an M scene again, but don't worry, I'll definitely make sure to mark it off again like I did last chapter.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys soon hopefully! :hearts: