How Can a Soldier Be So Fair? (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 2
To marry me off to an old man who must be at least sixty—nothing could be more horrifying than this.
Yeon Woo raged, raising her voice loudly.
“I absolutely! Absolutely refuse! Don’t even bring up such nonsense!”
Yeon Woo vehemently rejected the marriage proposal with the old man.
Madam Park maintained a stance just as resolute as hers.
“It’s not nonsense—it’s a realistic matter!”
“Mother, please be honest. Is arranging my marriage to Old Man Bae truly for my sake? Or are you simply selling me off because you can’t even afford your next meal?”
How many couples in this world actually marry for love?
She never even expected a marriage based on love.
Her own mother had been the same, and most of the elders she knew had married partners chosen by their families.
But even if she had to grow old and die alone, she refused to be married off like cattle being sold at market.
And marrying a man old enough to be her grandfather was utterly unthinkable.
Whether Madam Park understood Yeon Woo’s inner turmoil or not, only harsh words spilled from her lips.
“Who else would possibly consider marrying into our insignificant family? Be grateful they’re willing to take you and go marry Old Man Bae!”
“I refuse!”
Their fierce standoff continued.
“There’s no room for refusal! The engagement with Old Man Bae is already underway—your objections won’t change a thing!”
“I clearly said I cannot marry him!”
Continuing the conversation would only lead nowhere; speaking further with Madam Park wouldn’t improve the situation.
Yeon Woo prepared to leave, gathering the rabbit she had hunted.
If she left it at home, her older brother would surely trade it for booze at some brothel.
Madam Park shouted after Yeon Woo, who was about to step out the front gate.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
“I’m going to sew for Lady Kim!”
Yeon Woo retorted sharply and stormed out the gate with heavy steps.
Even as she fled the house after arguing with her mother, Yeon Woo found it bitterly ironic that she still had to go look for sewing work.
Madam Park couldn’t let go of her former extravagant habits and lived lavishly, while Yeon Ho idled away his days at brothels under the pretense of preparing for the civil service exam.
Thus, the burden of supporting the family always fell on Yeon Woo.
Having sacrificed all this time just to feed her family, she was now expected to spend the rest of her life for them too.
The sorrow of never having lived a single day for herself stung sharply at the bridge of Yeon Woo’s nose.
She couldn’t afford to be seen sobbing like a child on the street.
Yeon Woo changed course from Lady Kim’s house and headed toward a quiet spot where no one could see her.
She walked aimlessly, searching for solitude, until she eventually arrived at a pond named So Hwi Yeon.
True to its name, the pond was modest in size, usually deserted, and shaded by cherry blossoms.
Whenever her heart felt heavy, Yeon Woo would come here to soothe her troubled mind, enjoying the lotuses that shared her name.
The fresh green grass around the pond had already begun stretching awake for spring, and the cherry trees proudly displayed their blossoms in full glory.
Yet the lotuses within the pond remained alone in winter.
Their buds, not yet ready for their season, showed no sign of blooming.
All they revealed were bare, brown stems protruding from the murky water.
The sight seemed to mirror Yeon Woo’s own muddy, chaotic fate.
Overcome with melancholy, Yeon Woo spoke in a choked voice.
“While other flowers proudly show off their beauty, you alone remain stuck in the mud—how sorrowful.”
At that moment, a long-missed man’s voice echoed from behind, continuing her words.
“A lotus cannot bloom without the mud. It must swallow the darkness and bloom by its own strength—that is what makes it a lotus.”
“……!”
“What flower in this world can rival the lotus in its sublime beauty?”
Yeon Woo turned around, eyes wide with surprise like a startled rabbit, and found a familiar, welcome face.
That face greeted her with a gentle smile and continued speaking.
“It’s been a while, Yeon Woo.”
“Older Brother Bi Young!”
The man whose bright smile shone like sunlight into Yeon Woo’s gloomy heart was Bi Young—her childhood friend and beloved older brother.
Delighted by his unexpected appearance, Yeon Woo’s face brightened as she leapt to her feet and ran toward him.
Standing before Bi Young, she pouted like a child and complained.
“You could’ve at least sent me a letter! Showing up unannounced like this is really unfair!”
Because their fathers often visited each other, the two had naturally grown up playing together.
After losing his younger sibling in an accident, Bi Young had cared for Yeon Woo as if she were his own sister, and she, in turn, had always felt more at ease with him than with her own family and thus followed him closely.
Even after her father’s death, their bond had remained strong.
Whenever Yeon Woo stood before Bi Young, her childhood self always resurfaced.
Bi Young found her sulking expression utterly endearing and responded with a crescent-moon smile.
“I missed you so much I came without warning. So please don’t be too upset.”
“You certainly have a way with words.”
Still not fully over her sulkiness, Yeon Woo kicked an innocent pebble beside her.
“By the way, how did you know I’d be here?”
“I figured if I came to So Hwi Yeon—the place you love most—I’d find you.”
“Older Brother, is there anything you don’t know?”
“Haha. Was there ever anything about you I didn’t know?”
Looking down at Yeon Woo, who stood just below his shoulder, Bi Young noticed her delicate nose and cherry-red lips.
She had been the one he’d tenderly cared for as a substitute for his lost younger sibling.
Until just three years ago, when he left to prepare for the military examination, Yeon Woo’s face had still been round with baby fat, looking forever like a child.
Now, however, that youthful innocence was gone; in its place stood a serene and graceful woman.
“It’s been three years, hasn’t it? You’ve grown even more beautiful.”
Yeon Woo lifted her gaze from the ground to look up at Bi Young, who stood a head taller than her.
Typically, one imagined martial men as having sun-darkened, rough skin, large square jaws, and thick beards covering their faces.
But Bi Young was the perfect example to shatter such stereotypes.
His complexion was astonishingly fair—almost unbelievably so for a martial man.
His jawline and nose were so finely chiseled they seemed smooth enough to slip one’s palm over.
His warm red lips and gentle, deep brown eyes formed a harmonious blend that softly melted the hearts of many women.
Indeed, the word “handsome” suited Bi Young perfectly.
Tall and stately, his shoulders were broad and firm.
With a gentle, amiable personality and being the only son of Left State Councillor Ryu Lim, Bi Young had no flaws—whether in appearance, family, or character.
Naturally, many women secretly admired him, and people of all ages and genders tended to feel favorably toward him.
Seeing Bi Young, who had returned even more dependable than before, Yeon Woo asked,
“You’ve become even more handsome yourself! How did the military exam go?”
Bi Young smiled shyly and silently held out his military insignia.
Yeon Woo slowly read the inscription on the badge he offered.
“Ryu Bi Young… Training Officer?!”
She stared at Bi Young with wide, astonished eyes.
“Good heavens—you passed?!”
“Yes. I’ve been appointed as a Training Officer.”
“Then you must have ranked first! That’s wonderful!”
Overjoyed by Bi Young’s success, Yeon Woo clapped her hands and jumped up excitedly.
Though it wasn’t even her own achievement, she couldn’t have been happier.
Watching her celebrate like an excited child, Bi Young responded with a soft chuckle.
Yeon Woo gazed at him with curious eyes.
“How is your new post? Is it very demanding?”
“Don’t even get me started. Recently, there came an imperial order to urgently replenish the troops.”
Fatigue was evident on Bi Young’s face.
“We desperately need more soldiers, yet there are far too few. Prince Gwang Ho said this martial arts examination would have much lower standards than usual. Soon, a flood of new recruits will arrive for training.”
“Wait—you said Prince Gwang Ho?”
Yeon Woo flinched at the name, prompting Bi Young to ask with a puzzled look.
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“Isn’t Prince Gwang Ho the infamous tyrant?”
“I’ve heard such rumors circulating, it seems.”
“Isn’t he the prince who caused so many scandals that the court practically exiled him to the military? I even heard his princely title—‘Gwang Ho’—means ‘Mad Tiger.’”
“Shh! It’s dangerous to speak carelessly about royalty. Where did you hear all this?”
Bi Young pressed a finger to his lips and lowered his voice.
Yeon Woo whispered, even more quietly than before,
“I picked up palace gossip while visiting the herbalist often. Anyway, please be careful. I’ve heard Prince Gwang Ho is the son even the king himself disowned.”
“I’m not sure he’s truly like that. If the king really disowned him, why would he grant him a princely title?”
“At first, I was overjoyed hearing you passed the exam, but now I feel uneasy.”
Yeon Woo lowered her gaze, unable to hide her worry for Bi Young.
Bi Young looked at her with gentle eyes.
“Don’t worry. Do I look like someone who’d get into trouble?”
Yeon Woo met his gaze.
His deep, mysterious brown eyes radiated unwavering confidence—as if he could accomplish anything.
Indeed, Bi Young had always excelled effortlessly at everything since childhood.
“You’re right. You’re Bi Young, after all—you’ll surely handle everything well. I’m in no position to worry about you.”
“How have you been? Forget about me—I’d like to hear about you, Yeon Woo.”
At Bi Young’s question, Yeon Woo fell silent for a moment.
She had nothing to boast about compared to Bi Young’s success.
Her daily life consisted solely of foraging herbs in the mountains, hunting, and taking on sewing jobs just to survive.
The only notable news was that she was about to be sold off to an old man.
“…….”
Suddenly confronted by the harshness of reality, her life felt unbearably pitiful.
If she told Bi Young her situation, he’d surely roll up his sleeves and rush to help—but after meeting him again after so long, she didn’t want to ruin the mood with gloomy talk.
Noticing Yeon Woo’s sudden gloom, Bi Young asked cautiously,
“…Is something troubling you?”
His question snapped Yeon Woo out of her daze.
Not wanting to worry him, she forced a cheerful demeanor and showed him the rabbit she’d caught that morning.
“I’m doing just fine, as always. But look at this!”
“A rabbit? Did you catch it yourself?”
“Yes! How’s my archery skill?”
Bi Young, who had taught her archery, teased proudly,
“You’re clearly no amateur. I should learn from you.”
“All thanks to having such a great teacher.”
Matching his playful tone, Yeon Woo nudged his shoulder gently with her own.
At the soft touch of her small shoulder against his body, Bi Young’s heart unexpectedly skipped a beat.
It was the same familiar jest they’d shared since childhood—but today, for some reason, his heart fluttered unusually.
He quickly dismissed the thought, attributing it to the joy of seeing Yeon Woo again after so long.
“Whenever I missed you after leaving for the military exam, I practiced archery. After countless repetitions, of course my skill improved.”
“So you thought of your older brother that often?”
“Of course! Bi Young, you’re as good as family to me—even if we aren’t blood-related.”
Proud of her achievement, Yeon Woo continued brightly,
“I hunt with my bow and chase away any unsavory men who loiter nearby—it’s two birds with one stone. Just as you said, a woman must know how to protect herself.”
“What reckless man dared loiter near you?”
Bi Young’s previously gentle expression tightened slightly as he frowned.
Imagining some random man bothering Yeon Woo clearly troubled him.
Yeon Woo answered dismissively,
“There’s no need for you to worry. I chased them all off myself long ago. They fled in terror as soon as I raised my bow!”
But Bi Young’s concern was brief.
Seeing Yeon Woo’s spirited, fearless demeanor—equal to any man—he burst out laughing.
“Haha! You’ve grown beyond recognition in these three years.”
He gently ruffled Yeon Woo’s hair and continued,
“Still, archery is dangerous—please don’t use your bow anymore.”
“Then why did you teach me how to shoot in the first place?”
Yeon Woo blinked her large eyes and tilted her head in confusion.
Why teach her archery only to forbid it now?
Bi Young answered calmly, his voice soothing to hear,
“Back then, I couldn’t stay by your side, could I?”
Even though she was now an adult, in Bi Young’s eyes, Yeon Woo was still like a child left by the riverside.
Leaving her behind to take the civil service exam had worried him deeply—especially knowing how harsh the world could be.
Thus, he’d taught her archery so she could protect herself in his absence.
But as the saying goes—“Mencius’s mother moved three times”—people are shaped by their environment.
Keeping weapons close for too long inevitably invites danger.
Now that he was back, he worried she might get hurt while handling the bow.
When he’d left for the exam, her archery skills may have been useful since he couldn’t protect her—but now that he’d returned, he could keep her safe himself.
To him, Yeon Woo was endlessly fragile and precious.
If his younger sibling had lived, they would have been around Yeon Woo’s age now.
Perhaps she was heaven-sent to replace the sibling he’d lost.
Bi Young was ready to face any danger for Yeon Woo, whom he cherished like his own sister.
With a gaze warmer than spring sunlight, he opened his lips and spoke.
“From now on, I’ll be your bow and protect you.”
The pristine white cherry blossoms blooming untainted signaled the full arrival of spring.
The gentle spring breeze teased the branches, occasionally shaking loose petals like snowflakes.
Beneath a cherry tree in full, glorious bloom sat a plump, unopened bud.
Unaware that spring had already come, the bud showed no intention of blooming yet.
Dusk descended upon Baegak Mountain.
The foothills were swallowed by darkness, making it impossible to see even a hand’s width ahead.
Only by the faint bluish moonlight could one barely discern shapes directly in front.
In the darkness, Geon, his eyes glinting eerily, held his sword to the bloodied man kneeling before him.
Looking down at the man, Geon spoke in a voice as cold as moonlight.
“You certainly made a fine hole in my abdomen.”
The blood-soaked man pressed himself flat to the ground, pleading toward Geon,
“Y-Your Highness, Prince Gwang Ho! P-Please spare my life!”
At the man’s desperate plea, Geon curled one corner of his lips into a chilling sneer.
“Who sent you?”
“Th-That is…”
Though begging for his life, the man couldn’t—or wouldn’t—reveal his sender, clenching his jaw and trailing off.
One of Geon’s eyebrows twitched.
“There are two things I despise most. Do you know what they are?”
The man shook his head vigorously.
“First is having to repeat myself.”
Geon’s grip on the sword hilt tightened slightly.
A single drop of blood trickled from the man’s neck where the blade touched.
Unfazed, Geon continued,
“Second is anyone laying hands on me.”
“Hik!”
“How many do you think have touched me and lived?”
“Huhh…”
Faced with Geon’s utter lack of mercy, the man let out a metallic groan and tears streamed down his face.
Then, as if remembering something, Geon parted his lips.
“Ah—there was exactly one.”
Only one person had ever touched him and walked away alive.
A stranger he’d met while briefly unconscious in the forest.
Though trembling in fear before his blade, that woman had never yielded her will.
She was the first person in his life who hadn’t begged for her life at his swordpoint.
How audacious and confident she’d been to treat him so boldly.
If his wound had worsened, he would have scoured every corner of the eight provinces to find her.
And when he did, he would exact a punishment befitting her offense.
Geon softly muttered, recalling the lotus embroidery on the ribbon the woman had wrapped around his abdomen.
“Lotus.”
In a flash too swift to see, a bolt of lightning pierced the man’s throat.
“G-Guhk…!”
Instantly, the man collapsed forward, spewing blood.
With an utterly indifferent expression, Geon calmly wiped the splattered blood from his face with his sleeve.
“I must send proper thanks for daring to touch me.”
Geon’s voice mingled with the cold night air, spreading into the darkness.
In the foothills, not even the chirping of insects could be heard.
Only the faint halo around the moon eerily illuminated the darkness.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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