How Can a Soldier Be So Fair? (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
In the river shimmering under the light stood Geon, bare-chested.
Yeon Woo had seen Geon’s body before, but at that time, she hadn’t been in a position to really look.
The moonlight, unusually vivid tonight, starkly illuminated every inch of Geon’s bare skin.
His appearance was so intense that Yeon Woo couldn’t even think of turning her head away.
Every part of his body bore well-developed muscles, clearly shaped by consistent exercise, yet none were excessive—instead, they harmonized perfectly with his firm, toned frame.
His body looked like a sculpture meticulously carved by nature itself.
Yeon Woo gaped at Geon’s striking physique but quickly snapped back to her senses.
Right now, avoiding exposure as a woman mattered far more than gawking at Geon’s body.
Careful not to make a sound, Yeon Woo quietly hid behind a nearby rock.
From Geon’s direction came the sound of someone splashing into the water, followed by the quiet sounds of washing.
‘So Prince Gwang Ho came to bathe as well.’
Yeon Woo poked her head out slightly from behind the rock.
Above the water’s surface, Geon’s upper body was covered in countless scars.
These scars were clearly made by bladed weapons like swords.
Though she’d seen these scars before, this time a new question arose in her mind.
‘Now that I think about it, why does he have so many wounds? Surely someone of royal blood would have bodyguards.’
Royal descendants were treasured merely for existing; even a minor scratch on their body would lead to severe punishment for whoever was deemed responsible.
So how could it make sense for a prince—a figure of such precious status—to bear so many scars?
Who would dare lay hands on the prince? The more she thought about it, the more questions piled up.
While Yeon Woo was deep in thought, the splashing sounds abruptly stopped.
Looking again, she realized Geon had already finished washing and left—his figure nowhere to be seen.
‘He finished up awfully fast.’
Perhaps because he was a man, his bathing speed was incomparable to a woman’s.
Only after confirming no one else was around did Yeon Woo finally let out a sigh of relief.
Not knowing when someone else might show up, she hurriedly finished bathing and quickly put on the set of clothes she’d brought along separately.
Maybe it was because her wet hair hung loose, but stepping out of the water felt quite chilly, making her eager to return swiftly to her tent and wrap herself in a blanket.
“Brr… so cold…”
While walking through the tall grass back toward her tent, a large hand suddenly seized Yeon Woo’s arm firmly.
The rough grip shoved her against a tree trunk, causing her back to collide with the bark.
Everything happened too quickly—Yeon Woo had neither the chance to resist nor to flee.
Before she could even cry out, the shadow that pounced on her clamped a large hand tightly over her mouth.
“It’s me. Don’t make a sound.”
A cold yet commanding voice.
It was a voice Yeon Woo recognized.
Blinking in shock, she looked up at the figure looming over her.
‘C-Prince Gwang Ho?’
Geon’s clothes were still half-damp, as though he’d hastily thrown them on without properly drying off, and his front robe hung open and disheveled.
Only after confirming that Yeon Woo had recognized him did Geon finally remove his hand from her lips.
Although Yeon Woo had managed to put on her outer garments, she hadn’t fastened her chest wrap.
If Geon moved any closer, their chests would surely touch; hastily, she brought both hands up to cover her chest.
At that moment, Geon stepped forward and pressed his body firmly against hers.
Thank goodness she’d covered her chest—had she been a moment slower, her true gender might have been revealed.
As their bodies pressed together, the moisture from Geon’s clothes began seeping into Yeon Woo’s garments.
They were far too close.
“Why—why are you doing this? Please let go…!”
Yeon Woo whispered faintly, but Geon remained silent.
Aside from the chirping of insects, the only sound was Geon’s labored breathing.
His breath came rough and uneven.
As his hot, bull-like breath brushed against Yeon Woo’s neck, a flush of heat surged to her face.
Then, an uneasy thought crossed Yeon Woo’s mind.
‘Could it be… did he see me as a woman?’
She’d given him plenty of opportunities—while changing clothes or bathing—where he could have glimpsed her body.
If he had seen her then, he surely would have realized she was a woman.
And as a man, perhaps primal urges had stirred within him, clouding his judgment.
‘Then maybe…!’
With a sinking feeling in her chest, Yeon Woo pushed him away forcefully.
“Step aside!”
“Stay still.”
Grabbing her wrists, Geon pinned them firmly against the tree trunk, immobilizing her completely.
Overpowered and unable to break free, Yeon Woo knew she had to reason with him verbally.
“I—I’m a man!”
“I know.”
“Huh?”
If he knew she was a man, why was he acting this way?
Unless… perhaps this man had a predilection for other men.
If so, gender meant nothing before a man driven by raw instinct.
Whether male or female, the danger remained the same.
“Ugh!”
Acting purely on survival instinct, Yeon Woo kicked hard at Geon’s shin.
But as if he felt no pain at all, he didn’t even flinch.
At that moment, Geon pulled out a short dagger from within his robes.
The cold blade glinted under the moonlight.
Clearly, his intent wasn’t what Yeon Woo had feared—but the rumors about him casually cutting down anyone who displeased him seemed far from baseless.
There was really only one reason Yeon Woo could think of for why Geon would draw a blade against her.
In such a situation, provoking him further would be disastrous, so she tried her best to stay calm and reason with him.
“Are you still holding a grudge over that gossip I mentioned earlier?”
“What?”
Geon looked down at her as if her words were absurd.
Maintaining her composure, Yeon Woo continued clearly and deliberately.
“It won’t happen again. Between men, such matters should be brushed off easily. So please, just put that dagger away…”
“Hah!”
The moment Geon let out an exasperated sound, a rustling noise came from the bushes.
Instantly, he hurled the dagger he held straight into the undergrowth.
“Gahh!”
A masked man tumbled out of the bushes with a pained groan.
Yeon Woo stared at the fallen figure with wide, startled eyes.
It turned out Geon hadn’t intended to harm her—he’d been guarding against someone hiding silently in the bushes.
The man’s clothes, pierced cleanly through the heart by the dagger, weren’t from the Gwang Ho unit.
“Tch!”
Frowning and clicking his tongue, Geon murmured softly under his breath.
“Our position’s been exposed. Get down.”
“Huh? Ah—!”
Before Yeon Woo could even process his words, Geon grabbed the back of her neck.
With swift force, he yanked her upper body down close to the ground.
She barely avoided smashing her face into the dirt.
At that exact moment, an arrow shot through the air and pierced the tree where Yeon Woo had just been standing.
—Thwack!
Had Geon not yanked her down, the arrow would have pierced straight through her head.
Normally, Geon preferred bathing in this quiet, secluded river rather than the Gwang Ho unit’s busy washing area.
That evening, as usual, he’d come to bathe—but sensing hostile intent from the bushes, he immediately stepped out of the water.
In this low, rocky riverbed, he’d be helpless if ambushed.
With no information about his enemy, he’d been observing quietly—until he spotted Yeon Woo passing by, completely defenseless. Leaving her exposed would clearly put her in danger, so he’d rushed to shield her.
Just after rescuing Yeon Woo from that immediate peril, another arrow came flying.
By now, Geon had already drawn the sword at his waist and deflected the incoming arrow with his blade.
He then swiftly pulled out another dagger and hurled it toward the direction the arrow had come from.
“Kgh!”
Another masked man fell from the treetops with a groan.
Judging by the bow he carried, he was clearly the archer.
Once again, the dagger struck the man’s heart dead-on.
Crouching low, Geon scanned the area warily and murmured softly.
“One left? No… two.”
As he searched for the remaining enemies, another masked man burst out from the bushes.
“Die!”
The man charged at Geon with a shout.
Geon swung his sword swiftly—the man’s severed head floated momentarily in midair before dropping.
Simultaneously, yet another masked attacker leapt out from behind and aimed a blade straight at Geon’s back.
Geon spun around quickly, but it was too late to fully evade the incoming strike.
Cursing under his breath at his delayed defense, he growled,
“Damn it…!”
As the masked man’s blade aimed for Geon’s heart, the distance between them shrank rapidly.
But just as the blade lunged forward, blood gushed from the attacker’s mouth.
“Gahk!”
An arrow, suddenly appearing from nowhere, had pierced straight through the man’s chest.
Slowly, the man tilted forward and collapsed to the ground.
Beyond the fallen body, Yeon Woo stood with a bow aimed steadily.
She must have taken the bow from the first masked man she’d felled and used it as a weapon.
In that hair-trigger moment, Geon had nearly been sliced by the enemy’s sword—but thanks to Yeon Woo’s quick reflexes, he’d narrowly escaped danger.
Geon checked the surroundings for any remaining threats.
Since the man Yeon Woo had shot seemed to be the last of the group, he relaxed his guard and approached her.
To Yeon Woo—who had essentially saved his life—he offered a brief remark.
“Not bad.”
Yeon Woo sank down heavily onto the ground.
All the strength had drained from her body, leaving her legs unresponsive.
Geon looked down at her silently.
“…”
Her hands, still gripping the bow, trembled faintly—it was clearly her first time taking a life.
Yeon Woo’s frail, trembling figure overlapped in his mind with that of a young boy he once knew.
That boy, stained with blood for the first time, had curled into himself and shivered helplessly.
Shaking off the memory, Geon finally spoke, his voice heavy.
“…The first time is always the hardest.”
“Huh…?”
Yeon Woo looked up at him, puzzled by his meaning.
“The first time is difficult—but once you’re used to it, it gets easier.”
Only after a few seconds did Yeon Woo realize he was talking about killing.
And only then did she belatedly understand that his awkward words were meant as comfort for her trembling state.
She gave a small nod.
As soldier Hong Yeon Woo, she knew she’d have to face killing countless times—and she had no choice but to endure it.
More surprisingly, she’d just received comfort from Prince Gwang Ho—someone she’d thought as cold and emotionless as ice. So he did have a thoughtful side after all.
Yet at the same time, it struck her as odd: how could a prince be so accustomed to taking lives?
As her trembling subsided and she finally had the presence of mind to look around, she surveyed the sprawled corpses and asked,
“Who on earth are these people?”
Who would dare infiltrate the Gwang Ho unit just to assassinate Geon?
She couldn’t even begin to guess who in this kingdom would have the audacity to attack a prince.
After a moment of silence, Geon finally answered her question.
“Keep your mouth shut about what you saw tonight.”
In truth, Geon already had a strong suspicion about who’d sent these masked men.
The person in this kingdom who held the greatest power after the king himself.
It had to be him.
But with only circumstantial evidence and no solid proof, Geon couldn’t voice his suspicions lightly.
Moreover, involving an unrelated soldier in this matter could put her in even greater danger—he had to be extra cautious.
For now, Yeon Woo had no choice but to set aside her curiosity about the assassins in light of Geon’s strict order.
“…Yes, understood.”
“Anyway, how long do you plan to sit there?”
Geon extended a hand toward the seated Yeon Woo.
“Get up already.”
Yeon Woo reached for his hand, trying to rise.
But her drained legs refused to obey her will.
Instead, her tangled limbs gave way, and she collapsed straight into Geon’s arms.
“I—I’m sorry, my lord!”
To make matters worse, her long hair snagged on Geon’s robe ties.
Pulling free from his embrace, Yeon Woo frantically moved her fingers.
“I’ll untangle it! Just a moment, please!”
But her haste only made things worse—the more she tried, the more knotted her hair became.
Geon looked down quietly at Yeon Woo struggling against his chest.
She must have just come from bathing in the river—her whole body was still damp, her hair not even properly dried.
Up until then, Geon hadn’t thought much of it.
But now, seeing her long, wet hair trailing down and her soaked clothes clinging tightly to her form, his thoughts kept drifting in an unsettling direction.
Even with her hair loose like this—could the trainee before him really be a man?
If so, how could he possibly explain this figure, as delicate as any woman?
Yeon Woo’s strangely alluring appearance prickled at Geon’s senses.
Just then, Yeon Woo finally freed her hair from his robe tie.
“Got it!”
Immediately, Geon reached out and seized her chin.
Gripping her jaw firmly, he turned her face roughly from side to side. No matter how he looked at her, she didn’t seem like a man at all.
Startled by his sudden action, Yeon Woo stammered,
“W-what are you doing?”
“Are you doing your special training properly?”
“Of course! I practice every morning and evening without fail.”
That only made things more suspicious. If she’d truly been training, she should have grown more manly—yet this trainee before him seemed only more feminine.
Even blaming her wet, loose hair—which fell like a woman’s—didn’t make sense.
He’d specifically ordered the training officer to double her regimen. Clearly, that officer had been slacking off.
But what annoyed Geon most was his own racing heart in front of this girlish-looking trainee.
Why did this frail, seemingly weak soldier keep occupying his thoughts?
Clicking his tongue, Geon shoved her chin away abruptly.
“I don’t like this.”
He disliked Yeon Woo—not because she was a woman, but because she kept making him pay attention to her despite not being one.
Seeing her still looking so undeniably feminine, he decided he’d have to instruct the training officer to intensify her regimen even further.
Without another word, Geon turned sharply and strode off toward the barracks.
Utterly bewildered by this sudden turn of events, Yeon Woo could only stare after his retreating figure.
“Did I… do something wrong?”
As she gazed blankly at his back, Geon suddenly halted mid-step.
He turned his head back toward her and fixed her with a displeased look.
“How long do you plan to just stand there like a fool?”
“I—I’m coming right now!”
Yeon Woo couldn’t quite understand Geon—kind one moment, cold the next;
approaching, then pushing away.
Why was this man so unpredictable? She hurried after him with quick, small steps.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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