At Your Service, General Yoo! || Joongdok

Chapter 2

With the plan underway, Dokja could finally get a breather. General Yoo and his army were deployed away from the palace and that gave Dokja the peace of mind to lay back and relax.

Sure, the plan could fail (though Dokja doubted this), but there was no point in worrying now when the scheme was already in motion. All he could do was sit back and wait to see if his head went rolling at the first signs of failure. In these crucial few months, Dokja would make sure he ate, read, and slept enough that he could die without regrets.

As the months passed, however, it became evident that the nation would bring another considerable victory.

The triumph came so unexpectedly soon that Dokja didn't hear the news even when the army marched through the streets in celebration with General Yoo at the forefront. Unassuming, Dokja had spent many weeks in the same library he and General Yoo had discussed plans in, his legs tucked up on the plush seat nearest the window and with a book in his hand.

With a brief look through the glass at the sound of an unusual commotion, Dokja dropped his book in shock at the lines of horses and men marching up the white bricked path towards the main gates.

Even at this distance, he could easily spot the dark grey fur and armour of their General. A shocking line of red satin stood out amidst the dark fabrics. Though he couldn't see the details, it was the characteristic symbol of victory of their nation, to adorn their leader in ribbons and gilded medals, the strip of red spanning the top of his shoulders to display a victory for the nation.

For a brief second, Dokja swore he made eye-contact with the man of honour, but at this distance he was sure his silhouette couldn't be seen from behind the window. Dokja ducked out of his line of sight just to be sure. He didn't want to be roped into any celebrations of a war he helped plan. Once he offers his information, he wants nothing to do with what comes of it. He can sleep better at night this way.

Standing up and leaning back to crack his stiff spine, Dokja places his book back on its respective shelf and flees to his quarters to hide away. With the arrival, the palace was thrown into shambles to try and cater for it, and Dokja narrowly avoided the surge of staff scrambling to welcome their military.

He planned to spend the week in his room, avoiding any congratulations, curious eyes wondering who the strategist was, and most of all eluding the resentment from those who think he didn't deserve his position.

Dokja has evaded his own fair share of nightly assassinations and dinner-time poisonings, surviving through sheer luck every time.

Understandably, Dokja generally avoids large crowds.

But it seems General Yoo has other plans when a summons is sent for him later that night.

Even in his room, Dokja could tell that the boisterous party had dimmed and died down, only a muted hum of voices were audible from where he had sequestered himself.

Peeking out into the hall, he signed in relief that no knights were waiting to chaperone him. Dokja was not in the mood to humour idle chit chat and risk saying something incriminating. The knights were loyal, and would often relay these mistakes back to their General.

Dokja made his way to the throne room in blissful silence. Throughout the walk, he wondered why he was being called to the throne room. The party was across the palace and, with the early victory in the West, Dokja had stayed true to his intentions and lazed around, meaning he had no plans or schemes to share with the General.

He tiptoed cautiously as he approached the large, intricately crafted door of the room General Yoo was in, and pushed the door open with difficulty.

Dokja always wondered why no guards were ever present when HE needed doors opened. He swears Han Sooyoung always gets doors opened for her. When they find excuses to fire him later on, they might just list his inability to open doors as one reason.