Less Than A Hundred Years Overdue Hurry
Prompt: Running
Week Five
Somewhere between a rock and a hard place
For some reason, when the moon disappeared and the new moon casted nothing but darkness on the shores of Goryeo, anger seemed to nestle itself in the General's every movement. He would plunge into battle, venting his anger and practically harassing with fear and pain those who dared face him. It wasn't rare of him to take the frontal breakthrough option, when all else had failed, but at the moment they hadn't tried everything else.
The Vice General watched, as the man slapped the back of a WooDalChi's head, scolding the boy for getting injured, turning then to his partners and giving them even sterner scolds for not having watch over the soldier. Anger was evident in his voice, pose, and eyes; and Choong-sik sighed. Dae Man neared him quietly, holding his arm.
"What happened to you?"
"I got stabbed on the shoulder. Don't tell the General." Another one too afraid of the man. "Why is he so frustrated?"
"Wouldn't you be if the love of your life were miles away? It's a miracle he was calm so long." And the Vice General's words were true, making Dae Man nod and upon noticing the General heading their direction drop the hand over his injured shoulder.
"Make sure they are fed and those injured treated. Where is Deok Man?" He asked to Dae Man, a frown on his features.
"He lead some men to the shores, following the riders that were last seen in the small restaurant."
"As soon as he returns have him report to me." And slapping the Vice General's shoulder, with more strength than really required, the man walked past them… only to halt. "Why do I smell blood?" Dae Man froze, closing his eyes tightly. Choong-sik turned, calm as ever.
"Dae Man was hunting for dinner; I think he must have carried it without noticing the injury bleeding all over him." Not convinced the General turned to look over at the boy, from head to toe, and without a word disappeared to the tent housing the Commanding General. Dae Man leaned against the Choong-sik, and let out a sigh of relief. "You owe me one."
"Sure, anytime." He said, having been saved.
"Go hunt for dinner." And smiling, Choong-sik slapped the younger soldier's healthy shoulder and headed towards the tent. "General."
"Come in." Said a loud yet tired voice making Choong-sik enter silently the tent, Choi Young sat on the small piece of wood that had become a chair, back to the door and was currently leaning on his hand, apparently trying to appease his own anger. The tension was palpable on the air, the thick strands of anger and stress leading all towards the General, who was taking in deep short breaths and obviously starting to tremble. "Sir, are you alright?"
He had no reason to be this way; the campaign was going smoothly, they had already recovered most of the towns overtaken by the raiders, and the only thing left to do was either kill the raiders, destroy their means of transport of have them board their wooden ships and send them home in defeat. The General wasn't injured, and the injuries his men sported were mere stabs, and worse of the cases were dismemberments but they were few. Choi Young didn't answer, what made Choong-sik come closer and sit on the small crate holding extra weapons, and some supplies, none the General's, and lean on his sword. "May I speak boldly sir?"
"If you can't then who will?" Murmured Choi Young, not looking up at him, squeezing the bridge of his dirty nose.
"Is this because of the High Doctor?"
Choi Young considered answering, and rubbing his face with both hand groaned. "Yes."
"I miss my wife as well sir…"
"Is not the same."
"…but you must remain in focus…"
"Trust me." He said in a louder voice, eyes finding Choong-sik's. "It's not the same."
.
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Week Six
Lady Choi was called in by the Suribang, who were currently protecting the very drunk and very melancholic High Doctor. The woman had been escorted by one of the younger WooDalChi's around town, and upon finding Pledged Aunt at the market, and after a short talk with the woman; they had retired to the house the Suribang were currently camping at. Within an hour the Queen's right hand heard about the Doctor's heavy drinking, two hours later she heard about the Doctor's drinking games and how it was dragging those trusted Suribang spies into a crazy drunken stupor, and by dusk, she'd heard of something unknown and wonderful called Karaoke, which everyone in the household were currently practicing due to how stupidly drunk they were.
Apparently Pledged Aunt was the only one still sober.
So covered in gray robes, hood over her head, she walked to the Suribang headquarters and entered the house unannounced. No one seemed to notice her presence, for they were all drinking, dancing, talking and somewhere watching the High Doctor, in a corner, so drunk she could not help but falling from the chair she was currently sitting at, while singing.
Gajima gajim isseojul su inni
Geojitmal geojitmal deullijiga anha
Saranghae Saranghae boyeojul su inni
Saranghae Sranghae sranghae jugenni
Gajima gajim isseojul su inni
Geojitmal geojitmal deullijiga anha
Saranghae Saranghae boyeojul su inni
Jebal dorawajwo
Two things were obvious at the moment: the Doctor obviously missed that punk of a nephew she had, and the second; it was better to listen to the scratching of a board than the Doctor's singing voice. Lady Choi turned to the one who called her, and then walked over to her, serious as she sat beside Pledged Aunt.
"How did this happen?"
"One moment I was bringing her a bowl of rice soup, the other I was stopping a game of Chug Down The Whole Bottle."
"By that fool of Pledged Brother?"
"No, by the Doctor!"
Needless to say the hangover the morning after was of catastrophic proportions.
.
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Week Seven
The incessant shaking was what woke her up yet again. Not the calling or the hard rain, or the cold, it was the shaking. Eun Soo opened her eyes lazily, finding the maiden who protected her at this hour standing above her, the long tresses of hair framing her round face with a small smile hanging from her lips.
"High Doctor, forgive me for waking you." Groggily Eun Soo frowned up at the woman, attempting to gather her wits.
"Is it another emergency?" Her voice was heavily laced with sleep, and she was tempted to ignore the emergency and snuggled into the clothes she wore, his robes, and continue dreaming of him.
"You've been summoned by the King to the gates. The armies are returning." The information had her sit up, and stare at the woman in surprise, fully awake.
"What?!"
"Hurry and you might watch the entrance to the city." Without having to be told twice, Eun Soo quickly got up, and hurried to the door, only to remember she was on in her undergarments and Choi Young's open robe, so she returned; putting one of her thick robes. The guard laughed with her, as she cried out her joy.
"Do I look well? Is my hair wild?"
"Yes, madam, your hair is very wild."
And she let out a cry mixed with laughter. "My husband is home!" And she ran out the doors, followed closely by her bodyguard. The air was crisp, announcing the upcoming winter, and the grounds were wet with the constant raining. But Eun Soo didn't care if she got wet or not, if she was been proper or not… The horn of WooDalChi's march reached her ears and sang with her heart a cry of joy. "My husband is home!" She announced to the winds, as she reached the gates, hurrying towards the balcony the King stood at, only with Do Chi. She took in deep ragged breaths, making the King laugh, as she bowed.
"High Doctor, welcome."
"Where is he? Has he arrived yet?"
"Not yet, but soon." Her eyes turned to the army entering the castle, and she noticed that there were a few, very few, men missing. The rain beating down at them, but with the joy of been home it didn't seem to bother them. Hurrahs and cries of joy were heard, as the horn was blown again, echoing with her beating heart. They watch, the King in quiet calm, as the Doctor searched the unfamiliar faces for her other half; amazed at how much the army had grown. Finally those dressed in gray and blue entered the gates, followed by banners and horses… And there he was; sitting proudly over a tall black horse, his face calm and turned slightly to the left, where the Vice General rode an equally large horse, but looked quite grim. Dae Man ran into the gates, followed closely by Deok Man, the last limping slightly. "Here he is. Do Chi, dismiss the army and sent the men to the infirmaries."
"Yes, Majesty."
"High Doctor, I'm sorry to trouble you again…"
"My job is cut before me, Majesty; I'll go to the medical center immediately." Not that she wanted to, but the grim looking vice General was worrisome, and so was the limping of that fool Deok Man. So lifting her skirts, she hurried down the steps to the inside of the castle, and with a wild beating heart, hurried to the infirmary. The dozens of young doctors, both male and female, were recently awaken, and slightly confused as she started to fix the tables and equipment. The first to arrive to the infirmary was Deok Man, groaning and been helped by Dae Man.
"We are back! High Doctor!"
"Quickly put him over the table."
"The Vice General has a high fever, the General wants him treated immediately."
"Tell him to bring him in, I'll fix everything." She called turning to Deo Gi, who was searching for the fever reducer. The blur of movement continued, as the woman gathered her hair in a tight top knot and started to work on the fool tall WooDalChi, gasping at the injury in his hip. "How did you manage this!? Forget it, just lay still, this will sting a little." And upon having the disinfectant dropped on his injury he groaned. "You big baby, this puppy sure is troublesome."
"Sorry High Doctor."
"I bet your General was worried."
"Very." Groaned Choi Young, helping the Vice General enter the room without falling, dropping him on the table next to Deok Man. "But this fool won't die of a simple scratch." Their eyes met, and they shared a small knowing smile, and she returned to work. The armor was removed from the Vice General, and some water brought forth as Eun Soo finished stitching Deok Man up.
"You need to lie down and rest for a while. No training. Dae Man, take him to the barracks and have him drink water. If a fever starts you know where to find me."
"Yes, doctor." Choi Young followed as she neared the Vice General, showing her the two gashes in his chest and back. She gasped, turning to her husband, who gave her a knowing smile.
"I'll need more bandages, and disinfectant. Bring the anesthetic."
"Ma'am?"
"I have to make sure his organs are not injured." And quickly she gathered her sleeves up and started to operate on the man. "Bring more light!" Choi Young followed the command, and brought several chandeliers and a stack of bandages he found on the way. "General, you must move away, you are dirty and could get him infected." She ordered without looking up; making him take a deep breath and move away, their bodies brushing slightly. It broke her heart to say such things, and for him to heart it, but for the man's safety…
.
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The operation took less time than expected, and bandaging the man up, Eun Soo moved to help several more soldiers, until the medical center was full of slumbering patients and few untreated minor injuries. Tired she turned and saw it was already midmorning, so she cleaned her hands and sighed, looking over her team and smiling.
"I'm going. Let me know if this patient has a fever higher than the one we just controlled."
"Yes madam."
"You all worked hard, let's have grilled meat after we clean this place up!" She said, cheering her tired staff; and it did make them happy. Tired she walked slowly to the door, rubbing the back of her neck. Once she was outside the door she waited for one for the pharmacologist to enter, bowing as the woman bowed, and waited for the door to the infirmary to be closed… She broke in to a run, laughing to herself; it had hurt her to tell the general to go away, but if the vice general's injury got infected the case would have been really hard to handle. So she forced herself to push him away, for the sake of the man. But her heart was happy, as she hurried down the hallways, skidding to the side as she reached the end of the long hallway, took the turn to the right, down the long steps and into the slumbering WooDalChi camp. There were very little guards around, so no one noticed her, as she hurried into the farthest building and entered, still running. Eun Soo climbed the stairs quickly, panting as she hurried to widely open the doors to their room…
The place was empty.
Panting as she inspected every corner, hair wild and swallowing hard, she looked around calling his name softly; Choi Young wasn't in the room.
Then she turned to go find him… And there he was, standing on the door with a towel pressed to the side of his head, eyes lifted and found her. They stared at each other for a full minute before she let out a cry of joy and literally jumped him. His hand held her thighs, as she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Eun Soo rained kissed over his face, little whimpers of emotion leaving her as Choi Young leaned against the nearby post for support. Choi Young wanted to laugh out loud, but was oddly aware of the door open, so too worried about his wife's reputation attempted to set her down. But Eun Soo reprimanded him with whines and continued to kiss him; this time Choi Young did laugh, and returned a kiss she dropped on his lips.
Finally she parted from him, not because she wanted, but because he shook her a little.
"The door is open."
"I don't care."
"Well I do, so allow me to close it."
"I don't wanna let go."
"I missed you so, please let me close the door so I can show you." And she smiled, broadly, dropped a kiss on his nose, and finally climbed down of his body with his help of course. He immediately regret it, missing her warmth, and moved to close the door. When he returned Eun Soo attempted to climb on top of him again, he managed to avoid it, by taking her face with both hands and kissing her soundly on the lips. She returned the kiss with earnest and held onto his shoulders, his hands moved to her neck, then to her shoulders, and he finally pulled away, hands still moving over her covered body. It wasn't mean to be sensual; Eun Soo sighed, he was searching her for injuries.
"Choi Young, I'm fine." He ignored her and continued to search her, worried. "I should be the one searching, why are you doing this?"
"Last time I left you alone you were poisoned." He answered smoothly, as she pulled away, and stood before him. "Imja?"
She undid the belt around her waist, and was then unfolded the first layer of her clothes, dropping them behind her. He watched her, amazed, and the second layer of clothes was removed, again dropped behind her. The purple, thick yet almost see through material concealed her body nicely from him, yet it revealed her every curve to his eyes. "Imja ate and sleep well?" He asked lips and throat suddenly dry.
"I did." Her hair was combed back, as her hand took hold of his shoulders. Two full moons have passed, she was more than infused with his Ki, she was ready to bear the burden of a wife's duty to her husband.
"Did Imja keep busy," He started, watching as she walked closer and knelt over his lap. "While I was away? Entertained yourself with work?" Why was he so damn nervous?
"I did." Her fingers laced on his thick hair, amused at the fact he'd shaved. He looked so much younger shaved. A kiss was delivered to his temple. "I missed you." She laced the words with heavy longing, breathing them out to caress his neck with the warmth of her words. "Thank you for coming back safely." She said rubbing her nose against his cheek, eyes closed as his heart suddenly thumped loudly against his chest. How many times had Choi Young wanted to hear such words from the woman he loved? Such simple words from the one he adored with his heart? The Faiths out there were been too good to him; granting such simple wish to a simple mortal man. He could not answer her at the moment, the knot on his throat too tight, and simply nodded, casting his eyes down and leaning against her shoulder.
He must have trembled, because she was suddenly soothing him. But Eun Soo had this knack for figuring out his feelings when he didn't want her too, so he allowed the simple caress and kissed her neck.
"Choi Young-ssi?" Her tone was slightly amused now, hands resting at the back of his head, fingers tugging tenderly at his hair, which by the way, was longer.
"Yes?"
"Did you miss me?"
"Yes." He said softly, hands finally reaching to hold her back, bodies grinding together ignoring the clothes they currently wore. "I miss you so badly."
"Me too." She gave out a soft moan, lips finally pressing together and drowning in the taste of each other; desperation and longing mixing in the pit of their stomachs, shooting up their nerves and forcing their arms to reach tigther for each other. Their tongues battled each other, as the heat of the room grew… Eun Soo found herself against the cot, attacked by his kisses and caresses; her clothing been removed quickly, as more kissed found their way down her neck, and cold hand fastened around her shoulders.
Eun Soo's head was arched backwards, her mouth opening in a moan seven weeks in the making; her hands holding fast to the man on top of her.