“Young!”

“Yes?”

“Come to the kitchen and stay with Eomma.”

The little child is covered in ink again as he pulls open the screen door of the main room. He closes it behind him and opens his mouth to says something to Eunwoo when he finally sees the six men. 

“Young, go to the kitchen.”

Still, the child doesn’t move. Eunwoo shouts, “Young!”

Young falls back onto this bottom, but he doesn’t cry. He picks himself up and goes to the kitchen. His little face tears up as soon as he sees Minjun and hides between Minjun’s legs.

One of the six men embodies the notion of water. His hair is dark and flows like a gentle stream yet his face is scarred like a tidal wave. Unlike the other five, he doesn’t hide his face behind a mask. In fact, they’re wearing distinctive armors, each with a specialized weapon.

“We’re here to speak to a man named Song Minjun. He was a Commanding General for the Silla Kingdom not so long ago. Are you him?”

“And what if I am?” 

The man with the tidal wave scar raises his eyebrows, “Oh. I did not expect General Song to be so tall. But, your physique isn’t honed like that of a martial artist. Are you perhaps lying to us?”

“You aren’t dressed like the people of Silla, Baekje, or Goguryeo. Nor of the Northern Wei or Liu Song. Nor Japan. Who are you walking on these lands?”

The man has a dried laughter, “We are mortals if that is your concern. Nonetheless, we’re here to speak with General Song. Talking to you is a waste of time.”

“My wife is inconvenient. If you wish to say what you’re here to say, then I’ll hear it.” 

“Pretentious!” A red and hot headed man among the six snares. 

The tidal wave scar man raises a hand to quiet his comrade. With his usual monotone, he says, “We’re not in a hurry. We’ll come again when General Song is no longer inconvenient. Good day.”

“What kind of inconvenience?” The red-haired warrior bumps up his chest. 

“Inconvenience means he can’t be bothered and is under hardship and discomfort.”

“I know what inconvenience means. I’m asking what kind of hardship or discomfort that he is having? How long do we need to wait?” 

Eunwoo glances at the tidal wave scar man and returns his attention to the redhead. Like they said, Eunwoo’s body is not built like a martial artist yet. Though he was able to defeat a few men from the village, he knows that he should not provoke six martial artists even if they’re not experts. 

“Song Minjun is pregnant with my child.” 

All six men freeze on the spot and a gush of rain pours over their bodies. Then a gust of wind, a tremble of the earth, and twitches along their spines. The logic simply did not make sense, because a legendary warrior on the battlefield has now been reduced to a housewife. 

The red haired warrior walks up to Eunwoo and pulls on his collar, “Don’t fucking lie. There’s no way you of all people could impregnate a man among men… Hey, General Song! Come out! Why are you hiding like a coward? Tired of being a man?”

“Take back what you said,” Eunwoo grabs the hands at his throat. 

“Song!” The red haired man shouts, ignoring Eunwoo. 

Eunwoo raises his knee and about to kick the balls that are not well protected by the red armor, but he recalls how shamanism is real. Do the clothes of these men mean anything? Why can’t they accept that their hero is also a wife? 

Doctor Oh called shamanism ‘magic’. 

“Can you make fire?”

“What?” The red haired man peels himself off Eunwoo, confused at first but is now covered in cold sweats. 

“I asked if you can make fire out of nowhere.”

The red haired man turns to his comrades, “I—I think he knows.”

“Did you accidentally set off your gi? Were you actually trying to kill a normal person?” The tidal wave scar man scolds and pulls the red haired man away. 

“Maybe he knows because General Song told him.”

“How? Isn’t that the reason why we’re here? To inform him and recruit him for training?”

“Assume they knew, without proper training, it’s still not easily detectable.”

“Enough!” The tidal wave scar man scoffs. Then to Eunwoo after a glance at their surroundings, “May we be invited for a cup of water?”

“No. My family doesn't own enough cups.” But upon hearing the men’s displeasure, Eunwoo explains, “My wife is pregnant and my son is young. I don’t feel comfortable with so many grown men around them. And it is true that my family doesn’t own enough cups. If the warriors don’t mind, I suggest we meet again in town the day after tomorrow at noon.”

The tidal wave scar man squints his eyes, observing Eunwoo’s sincerity. He agrees and in a blink of the eyes, all six vanished without a trace; as well as the rain and gray clouds. All gone.

Eunwoo relaxes his muscles and almost drops to the ground. Luckily, Minjun and Young come out to help him. They move to the main room since the kitchen is quite small. Minjun raises a hand to wipe the mixture of cold sweat and rain with his sleeve.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t make him apologize. I’ll train hard so that no one can soil your dignity,” Eunwoo frowns and hugs the pregnant person. “I was only able to stall and get them away from here… Let’s have dinner. Has the food gone cold?”

Minjun shakes his head and goes to bring in the tray of main and side dishes. The family eats together. No one says anything. 

Afterwards, Minjun goes to wash the dishes and Eunwo tries to make himself useful by bathing the four year old boy. He says to the boy, “You must’ve been bored all day. What do you usually do with your sister?”

“We go collect games from traps and pick wild vegetables. And wash our clothes by the bank and pick flowers… But,” Young stares at the bruly giant. “Young’s not bored. Young’s a good child.”

Eunwoo picks the child out of the bucket and covers him with a towel. They move back to the main room, and Eunwoo looks for the new set of clothes he bought for the boy. 

“Wear this set. Think of it as a welcoming gift from Eomma and Appa for becoming our son.”

Young shakes his head, “It’ll be dirty.”

“It’s fine. The dirt can always be washed away.”

“Really? Is it okay to wear nice clothes?”

Eunwoo nods and dresses the boy in his new clothes. It fits just right and the little boy now looks like a porcelain doll. 

“Let’s Appa teach you how to clean up and make ink,” Eunwoo says after seeing the mess around the main room. 

Before long, Young falls asleep on Eunwoo’s lap after a good bath and relief from a day of anxiety. Minjun comes in with slightly wet hair and says, “I’ve boiled some water. You should take a bath.”

Eunwoo nods and places Young on the gung bedding and grabs a clean set of clothes. As he goes to the back room of the kitchen to bathe, he takes Minjun with him. 

“Help me wash my hair,” Eunwoo asks with big round eyes. 

Minjun pours warm water and begins washing Eunwoo’s hair. When Minjun gets up to leave, Eunwoo sighs, “Did you hear how I explained what my words mean?”

Since Minjun neither confirms nor denies, Eunwoo continues, “I said that the devil himself deserves peace even if no one can forgive him… Meaning, because I am human, I pity them. However, you’re my partner and you come before anyone and anything else. Before I care about anyone’s justice, I first care about your justice. Before I care about anyone’s happiness, I care about your happiness. So, expect better of me and please don’t be angry with this clumsy husband.”

Minjun chuckles and hides his face behind his sleeves. 

“Please forgive me, Minjun.”

“Alright, but under one condition.” Minjun calms his heart and stares at Eunwoo with clear eyes and flushed cheeks. 

“Say your condition.”

“In the future, there will be times when I won’t be able to understand even when you wear your heart on your sleeve… So long as you don’t make me compete for your heart, I’ll trust you. I’ll be your wife.” 

Eunwoo jumps out of the tube, and carries and spins his wife, “Yes. I thought you were going to make demands that I can’t fulfill, but if it’s this then you needn’t worry. You are the owner of my heart.”

The next day, Eunwoo discards the brush and opts for a pen made from the feather of a pheasant they ate two days ago. With this closer familiarity in his hand, he writes in Arabic Numerals and Greek and Latin Alphabets at a greater speed. 

It is late into the night when he is completed with the calculations. He blows the candle and cuddles in bed with Minjun. 

The following morning, he sets out to town alone.