Yuna was out of breath from rushing to the training grounds. It wasn’t her intention to be late to the first day of training. She spent all night wondering what training would be like. She was excited to prove to everyone that she was capable of more than just being a pretty face. She didn’t expect that the next morning she would wake up with a high fever.
The cold wind didn’t help at all. She was out all night in the cold, no wonder she was feeling sick. She definitely didn’t want Eunho and the rest of the soldiers to think that she was making excuses. She decided it was best to just try her best in training regardless of how sick she felt. She’d rather hide that she was sick than to be judged by everyone.
Yuna stood in line next to Namjoo. She waved at the rest of the soldiers and Eunho. Some of the soldiers rolled their eyes at her. One of them stated, “The young miss must not be too happy to be at the training grounds so early in the morning. The little princess should go back to bed. You don’t belong here.” Yuna frowned at the soldier’s response to her being late.
She decided to be the better person and ignored his rude remark. She remained focused on Eunho’s expression. It didn’t seem like Eunho was going to say anything back to the soldier. It wasn’t like she was expecting Eunho to save her from being ridiculed. She deserved it. She was late after all.
Namjoo noticed the sweat rolling down her forehead and something about her seemed off. Namjoo could tell that Yuna was out of breath, and she didn’t look too good. She looked unusually pale, and her breathing was uneven. Namjoo noticed instantly the Yuna wasn’t her usual self. She worried for her. It also made Namjoo admire Yuna more for showing up to the first day of training even though she’s sick.
Yuna didn’t want to be heard over Eunho’s instructions, so she covered her cough with her sleeves. Namjoo wanted to help her, but she didn’t want to be the sole reason for Yuna missing her first day of training. The rest of the soldiers weren’t too happy about Yuna training alongside them. It would only make the situation worse if she revealed that Yuna was sick.
She knew how these soldiers were. She trained alongside them for so long. It’s obvious what they would think. They would only claim that she was trying to get out of training. No one would believe her especially since she’s young and a girl. It would only defeat the purpose to let the others know that she wasn’t feeling well enough to train. They would probably make fun of her for being the typical female.
Namjoo hated that this world liked to judge females. If only, she wasn’t born female, she wouldn’t have to hide her appearances. It would be a dream to see a society where women can be treated equally to men.
While Namjoo was thinking about gender equality, Eunho was focused on explaining what their training regimen would be for today. He explained, “Today’s training will be a bit different. I expect all of you to complete everything. I won’t allow anyone to leave without finishing the required training. Do you understand?” The soldiers shouted, “Yes, sir!” Yuna wasn’t used to training alongside soldiers, she stood in place awkwardly while the rest of the soldiers saluted.
Eunho continued, “For those of you that are new to the training, training usually starts with running. The expected route has changed to one that is challenging, but possible for beginners. Although it may sound easier, it is not that easy. It should be just as challenging for the rest of you who have trained with me longer. For today’s training, I will be running the route together with the rest of you.”
The route had changed so Eunho had to lead everyone through the route change. Eunho explained, “The downside to todays training is that if you lag too much behind me, it will be difficult for you to find your way through the forest. I will not be lenient to those of you that fall behind. So make sure to stay closely behind me at all times.”
Everyone saluted, “Yes, sir.” Namjoo noticed how awkward Yuna was being so, she showed Yuna how to salute properly. Yuna then followed what Namjoo was doing. She put her left hand into a fist and the right hand over it. Namjoo corrected her posture to make sure she was standing straight.
Eunho noticed that Namjoo was teaching her how to salute. It made him feel jealous the way Namjoo was able to easily touch her hands without feeling shy. He wanted to smack Namjoo’s hand away from Yuna, but he didn’t want to show that kind of behavior in front of his soldiers. That would be humiliating.
He wondered how Namjoo was already so close to Yuna when he had a hard time interacting with her. He was a bit awkward in the romance department. He obviously wasn’t good at talking to women. He wondered what he could do to improve their relationship naturally.
His soldiers called out, “Sir, why haven’t you said anything? We’re ready for your next instruction. Please continue.” Eunho cleared his throat, “The person in last place will be given the punishment of skipping dinner. There will be no exceptions! If you’re ready to go, get into position.” The rest of the soldiers got in a line and got into their running positions. Yuna naturally followed everyone and stood behind Namjoo.
Eunho whistled and everyone began sprinting after him. Yuna was caught off guard and began sprinting after everyone. Yuna began to slowly lag behind everybody. The soldiers behind her passed her and ran ahead of her. She tried to keep up, but her legs felt heavy, and each step seemed to burn her calf muscles and thighs. Soon Yuna was in last place.
Namjoo noticed Yuna’s struggle and stayed behind with her. Yuna breathed out, “Just go ahead. I don’t want you to lag behind too much.” Namjoo refused, “I can’t just leave you behind. It’s your first day. I’ll stay behind with you.” Yuna struggled to speak, “Just go.” She tried her best to keep up as best as she could.
They sprinted through the forest. The ground was uneven and difficult to traverse. She avoided the tree stumps the best she could, but she failed a few times. She found herself covered in mud within seconds. She tripped over a lot of the tree stumps and pebbles. She didn’t realize that she was such a klutz. She found her face in the mud on many occasions.
Namjoo helped her wipe off the mud from her face and helped her up. Unfortunately, Eunho and the rest of the soldiers seemed far ahead. Yuna quickly got up and began sprinting after them. Namjoo admired her for trying regardless of how much she fell. She didn’t act like a noble lady. Namjoo imagined the rest of the noble ladies in their society to whine and complain about how difficult the training was. Yuna was unlike the rest of them.
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