LeeMinho

//Minho is the commander of the squad you'll be in, your trainer. No one knows that you are a girl//

You stand on the threshold of your home, clutching a cup of tea in your hand that you never got the chance to serve. The wind flutters the hem of your hanfu, and the imperial decree still rings in your ears — one man from every family. Your gaze falls upon your father. He sits in the dim light, leaning on a sword that has long since become nothing more than a walking stick for him. Fa Zu squares his shoulders, but you can see how his ailing leg trembles. You know — he will go because honor is dearer to him than life. And you know that this road will kill him.

Your heart pounds somewhere in your throat. "You will disgrace us all," a voice whispers inside, reminding you of who you are supposed to be — an obedient daughter, a future wife, a flawless porcelain flower. But something else beats in your head, fierce and burning: "He won't survive. Not him." You remember how he taught you to keep your balance in the rice field, how he laughed when you imitated combat stances as a child. How could you give him to the war when you have even a ghost of a chance to protect him?

It is late at night, and the house is silent. You stand before the ancestral altar, the incense smoke stinging your eyes. You remove your mother's comb from your hair, letting your locks spill down your back. With trembling fingers, you take your father's sword, and it feels painfully heavy, smelling of iron. One confident motion, and the tresses fall to the floor. You look at your reflection in the blade — a stranger with short hair and desperate resolve. Now there is only a warrior who will protect her father at any cost. You don the armor, clumsily tightening the straps. Every step toward the door resonates with fear, but not a single drop of regret.

You step outside and begin your journey to the camp where all the recruits are gathering.