life may not be fair but it sure is beautiful

Bonding for eternity

Her initial response was dropping to her knees with relief. Jiwoo felt her heartbeat with something other than worry and fear for the first time since she last saw Jungeun. Ignoring the little girl and her grandfather, she crawled next to her love and cried tears of joy. She was there, alive. Scarred, yes, but still breathing nonetheless. She was still not touching the muscular girl, unconsciously afraid that she would turn into dust like she was nothing but a mere dream toying with her heartstrings.

She didn't notice the others in the room. They gave her space and she took it gratefully. The little girl only touched her after an hour. She lightly tapped her shoulder, as if afraid she would break.

"Unnie, are you okay? Do you need anything?" she asked, voice nearly a whisper.

"Water would be great," Jiwoo said, before realizing she didn't know her little helper's name. "What is your name, sweetheart?"

"Yeojin." She said with a smile destined to brighten up the world before she hurried off to find water for her guest.

When Jiwoo was alone with the grandfather, she sat up straight. She was curious, it was unusual to find a female soldier but to heal her in secret was even more bizarre.

"Excuse me, sir. Can I ask some questions?" She spoke up, loud enough for him to acknowledge her presence.

"Sure, Jiwoo-sshi." The old man said, sitting down. He groaned as his joins cracked loudly.

"Why didn't you turn her in? It is forbidden for a woman to fight as you know." She asked setting her hands on her lap.

"Useless rules don't deserve obedience, that's why." He said angrily. "When the jackass king ordered every household to send their males, I knew I would die. Soldiers are ruthless, but enrolment officers are the worst. I tried to explain that I had no one but my daughter and my grandchild, they didn't even listen. They tossed me the parchment and said if no one came to join the army with that piece of paper, my family would be exiled."

He paused, coughing a few times before continuing. "My daughter dressed up as a man to save my old neck, she took off one night, leaving me with my granddaughter. That is why I would never abandon someone who was honorable enough to risk their own life to fight for their country." He said, looking down to where Jungeun was with a proud smile. "She was barely breathing when I saw her. She was among a pile of corpses; a horrid slash was making her bleed out. I carried her back here in secret, for the sake of my own daughter. Maybe I could save one of them."

Jiwoo wiped her tears with her sleeve and bowed deeply. "I can't ever thank you enough for saving Jungie." She said, her voice shaky. "Is there a way I can repay you?"

The old man looked at the door with caution as if to see if there was anyone listening. "There is actually." He said, gesturing her to come closer. Jiwoo hurried to her feet and went to his side. "I am not very healthy, I can feel my days coming to an end. Yeojin has no one else but me. Can you please take her with you to wherever you're going when she wakes up? I know it is a lot to ask for you to adopt a child, but I am desperate. I don't want her to see me die or be taken by an orphanage."

Jiwoo was taken by surprise by this offer. The old man's eyes were wet with the promise of tears. He was sincere.

She went silent for a moment, thinking everything through. There was no doubt that they would marry, and Jiwoo knew they would never have children but at that second fate was offering her a chance to be a mother. She always knew she would have kids someday, she often daydreamed about being a completely different mother than her own. The little girl's smile came to her mind, her red, dirty little dress and sparkling eyes. Her mind filled with the images of a happy family portrait with her, Jungeun and Yeojin. How could she turn down such an offer?