Over time, Yuna slowly grew used to the tree stumps and random pebbles on the way. Although she was in last place, she was still able to see the rest of the others. It was a good thing or else she would be lost in the forest. She had no idea which way she had to go to get back to her home. She wished she wasn’t so directionally challenged.
It felt like they were running for hours on end. She wondered when they would be done with running. She was currently feeling dizzy and sweat kept rolling down her face in puddles. She tried to get herself to focus by smacking her own face with her palms. It didn’t do much. She felt her cheeks burn red from the slap.
Namjoo looked back to see how Yuna was doing. She didn’t seem to be okay. Ever since they began running, Yuna was struggling horribly. She fell so many times and her complexion looked pale and sickly. Namjoo was worried about Yuna. How could Eunho force Yuna to train this way when she was obviously sick?
Namjoo remembered experiencing the same thing not too long ago. Her first day of training was familiar, but it wasn’t as challenging as Yuna’s first day. If Namjoo was sick, she probably wouldn’t have survived training at all. She only remembered being dead last on the first day of training. She couldn’t keep up with the rest. She wondered if Yuna would be able to keep up at all.
Namjoo let the rest of the soldiers pass and jogged alongside Yuna. She asked, “Is something wrong? Are you ok?” Yuna reassured her, “I’m fine. So, stop paying attention to me and keep running. I don’t want you to get in trouble for being last. I don’t want you to have to skip dinner. That would be awful.”
Namjoo shrugged, “It doesn’t matter to me too much. I just want to run next to you.” Yuna sighed, “If that’s what you want. Just make sure not to catch General Eunho’s attention. He might be mad at you if you stay behind because of me. He doesn’t seem to look kindly on slackers.”
Namjoo laughed, “Although he seems like a bad guy, he really isn’t a bad guy. He may seem heartless, but he only wishes for everyone to become stronger. You should give the guy some credit. If it weren’t for him thinking of you, he probably would’ve never decided to train you in the first place. Even males have a difficult time trying to get him as their teacher.”
Yuna sighed, “I don’t think General Eunho is a bad person. I just don’t think he likes people in last place. He said the person in last place would have to skip dinner. Therefore, it’d be best if you went ahead of me. Don’t you dare pity me for being slow. I’m sure I’ll be able to keep up soon.”
Namjoo resigned, “I guess I’ll go ahead. Make sure not to lag too far behind.” Namjoo ran ahead of Yuna but still remained not too far away from her. Yuna struggled to catch up and eventually the rest of the soldiers were way ahead of her. Yuna finally lost the last bit of strength when she plummeted face down on the dirt.
Her arms and legs were covered with scratches and bruises. She sighed, “At this rate, I’ll never be able to catch up.” She pulled herself up and began jogging towards everyone. She couldn’t see the rest of the soldiers, but she could still see that Namjoo was ahead of her.
Yuna dashed towards Namjoo desperately. Gradually, she could only see in tunnel vision. The edges of her vision were blotched out in black and the only thing she could see was Namjoo’s back. She squinted her eyes and rubbed them to try and see better, but it didn’t work out.
Namjoo heard a loud thud behind her. She turned around to see that Yuna fell on the ground. She thought that Yuna had tripped over the tree stumps like usual, but something seemed off. She stopped running ahead and dashed towards Yuna. She found Yuna sprawled on the floor with her eyes closed. She tried to shake Yuna awake and called out, “Yuna. Yuna? Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
She was passed out cold. Yuna looked pale and there was sweat covering her face. Her breathing was uneven. Namjoo placed her hand on Yuna to determine her temperature. She was burning up! Yuna had a high fever, and it was no wonder that she passed out. Namjoo quickly put Yuna on her back and carried her.
Yuna was so light, she had no trouble carrying her. Namjoo didn’t bother running through the forest, she leapt through the trees towards Eunho and the rest of the soldiers. Once she saw the top of Eunho’s head, she leapt down and landed a few feet ahead of Eunho. Eunho’s heart dropped when he saw Yuna. She was covered in sweat, and she looked deathly pale.
He questioned Namjoo, “What happened? Is she okay?” Namjoo shook her head, “I found out that she passed out while running. She seems to be having a high fever. I think she decided to train regardless of how sick she was. General, what should I do?” Eunho grimaced, “Hand her to me.”
Eunho instantly felt regret for ignoring Yuna’s condition. The blame landed on him. He should’ve paid attention to Yuna and how she seemed sick. He was too busy only worrying about himself that he didn’t realize that she was sick. If it weren’t for Namjoo finding out that she fainted, she could’ve been passed out in the forest. Who knows how long they could’ve run for without realizing that she was missing?
Eunho took Yuna from Namjoo and placed her in his arms. Her face drooped down into herself, so he gently redirected her face to lean on his chest. He could feel how hot she was. The fever seemed to be at its highest. He instructed the rest of the soldiers, “It seems that the miss is very ill. We’ll have to postpone the rest of the training. I still expect the rest of you to continue the same daily training without me there.”
The soldiers sighed in unison, “Yes, sir.” They expected to get a break after finding out that the miss had fainted, but it didn’t seem that way. No matter how much they wanted to worry about the miss’ condition, they still felt resentment towards her. How come she was treated like a princess while the rest of them weren’t given a chance to rest?
It didn’t matter whether they were sick or if they lost a leg, they still had to train. It was unfair that only she was treated like a princess. It was no wonder, women weren’t fit to train! They started to feel resentment towards Yuna for getting special treatment. They all thought the same thing, ‘We hope that the miss will have to skip dinner as punishment.’
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