- The Boy
When So-un recovered, he was assigned to a unit called the White Dragon Company.
It was the same unit to which So-sam belonged.
They were not a main assault force.
Their duties were scouting, advance movement, and perimeter security.
Horses were few.
Most served on foot in armor.
Only some rode.
The First and Second Squads—those tasked with reconnaissance and forward scouting—were mounted.
So-sam had been guarding the entrance to the field encampment for that reason.
“You’ll stay here.”
The barracks stood deep within a large wooden palisade.
It was quieter than the main camp.
Fewer passed through.
The reason was simple.
The stables were nearby.
The White Dragon Company positioned itself slightly apart from the main body for ease of movement and care of horses.
The structure was not a crude windbreak of animal hide.
Thin wooden ribs were packed with earth and reinforced with leather.
It faced away from the northern wind.
Inside were simple cots.
A large brazier burned at the center.
Weapons stood in ordered rows—swords, sabers, spears, bows, halberds—metal edges catching firelight.
“Where is this?”
“White Dragon First Squad. My unit.”
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“So… sentry duty?”
So-sam’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“‘Sentry duty?’ You think that small?”
“I did not mean—”
“You just woke up and want battle? Don’t underestimate this place. We fight before the battle begins. We fight after it ends. We slip into enemy ground. We hold roads. We scout. White Dragon reconnaissance.”
Before So-un could answer, the tent flap burst open.
Four soldiers stumbled in, covered in snow.
They said nothing.
They went straight to the brazier and crouched close to the fire.
Their armor steamed as it thawed.
“Cold this year,” one muttered.
“Colder than last.”
“Still no battle.”
“Not here. They’ll strike somewhere.”
Silence returned.
Then one of them noticed So-un.
“What’s this?”
“New recruit,” So-sam said.
“Recruit? That’s a child.”
“Fourteen.”
“This isn’t an orphanage.”
So-un listened.
He did not interrupt.
“General’s special order,” So-sam added. “Look after him.”
The largest of the men stood.
With his fur cloak, he seemed almost like a bear rising on two legs.
“Come here, boy.”
“I am not ‘boy.’ My name is Yu So-un.”
“Oh? The General’s background, then?”
“My father was his friend.”
The man’s expression hardened.
“In the army, we don’t care for backgrounds.”
“My father is dead.”
The words halted him.
“How?”
“Fighting the barbarians.”
“Mother?”
“Dead.”
“Home?”
“Taiyuan. Burned.”
Silence settled heavily.
“You survived alone?”
“I was at the academy.”
“And came here to avenge them?”
“Yes.”
“You’re a scholar.”
“I passed the provincial exam. I am a licentiate.”
“Impossible.”
So-un produced his wooden identification tablet.
Yellow boxwood.
The man took it.
Turned it over.
Looked again.
He handed it back without speaking.
The air changed.
“So. Family slaughtered. You come to the frontier to fight.”
“Yes.”
The man’s jaw tightened.
“We hold the line here so homes stay safe behind us.”
He had spoken carelessly before.
Now the words felt heavy.
“Can you fight?”
“I know only the form of my family’s sword.”
He unwrapped the bundle at his waist.
Inside lay a small blade.
Short.
Plain.
Worn smooth by long use.
The man examined it.
“You’ve used this since childhood?”
“Yes.”
For a moment, no one spoke.
The brazier cracked softly.
Snowmelt dripped from thawing armor.
Fourteen.
Family dead.
Walked from Taiyuan alone.
Came to the frontier to fight.
No one laughed.
“Your blade is small,” the man said.
“So am I.”
The answer was steady.
Something shifted.
One of the men near the fire cleared his throat and turned away.
Another stood and gathered his bedding without comment.
“Not there,” he muttered.
“Too close to the draft.”
He moved toward the entrance.
The others rose as well.
They did not speak of pity.
They did not offer consolation.
They simply made space.
The warmest place near the brazier was cleared.
So-sam watched without saying a word.
Someone picked up So-un’s few belongings.
Someone else adjusted the cot.
By the time So-un realized what had happened, the space by the fire was his.
No one looked at him.
No one mentioned it.
Outside, the wind howled across the frontier.
Inside, the White Dragon Company sat closer together than before.