The relationship between Seong Mina and Hwang Seong-Gyeong has always been a complex one. In Soul Edge (Blade), Mina was just 16, Hwang 25. She was a rebellious, independent young woman feeling stifled by her overprotective father. He was a stotic, serious young man who burned with patriotic fervor for his country. She is free-spirited and fiery while he is practical and pragmatic. Like the red and blue Taegeuk symbol or yin-yang, they compliment each other. Opposites, but in harmony. Even their weapons reflect this: she wields Scarlet Thunder while he uses Blue Thunder.
Mina's father is also Hwang's teacher and mentor. Seong Han-Myong is like a second father to Hwang. He has a great deal of respect for him. In kind, Han-Myong considers Hwang like a son. He wants his daughter Mina to marry him and have him take over the dojang. Both of them refuse. For Mina, the thought of someone else deciding whom she should marry is completely absurd. She wants to choose for herself on her own terms. It is her decision alone. Being the “Heart and Soul Girl”, she wants to marry for love. For Hwang, duty to his country comes first. Choson or Korea is under the constant threat of Japan. He wants to defend and protect his beloved country. He has always been a selfless soul, thinking of others before himself. He is the “Burning Patriot”. But I also believe there is more to it than that. It is not that simple for both of them.
For Mina, Hwang has always been the apple of her father's eye. She feels a certain amount of jealousy towards Hwang. Her father has always favored him in terms that Hwang is a man who can take over his dojang and is a skilled warrior. Han-Myong loves his daughter dearly and constantly worries about her. He trains her in martial arts so she can be able to defend herself even when he is not there to protect her. He also has Hwang be her bodyguard and protector to try to keep her safe. This causes Mina a great deal of ire. She wants her father's respect as well as his love. She is constantly trying to prove herself to him and Hwang. She wants to show Hwang that she is his equal. In a way, she looks up to him since he is older and a more accomplished warrior. She competes with him for her father's affections, but secretly admires him. He is handsome, noble and gallant. She respects him in spite of her jealousy but is too stubborn to admit it. In reality, she would not mind marrying him. She is simply too proud. She will marry him when she wants to marry him.
In Hwang's Edgemaster ending in Soul Edge, Mina is one of the people who greet him on his victorious return. She is laughing, looking genuinely happy to see him. In his Soul Calibur ending, she is seen helping him off the battlefield. With his arm around her shoulder, she asks him to acknowledge her and he does. While in Mina's ending, Hwang scoops her up in his arms, looking intently in her eyes. This causes her to blush profusely. These non-canon endings give a hint of her true feelings for Hwang. Her blushing in his arms could simply mean that she is embarrassed that she had to be helped by man. The thought of being a damsel in distress mortifies her. But it could also mean that the close contact with Hwang, his face almost touching hers, be a sign of her attraction towards him. To be held submissive in his strong arms terrifies her. The realization that she may be surrendering her heart to him is a sign of weakness, at least to her. She feels she has lost to him.
For Hwang, his first love is Korea. She is to be defended and protected. Loyalty to his country and people is to be exemplified. It is what honorable people do. He puts his country and people first. His own needs and feelings are not important. However, there is a girl who causes him great conflict. She is competing with his sense of duty for his heart. Mina is a young woman who causes him great worry. She constantly runs away, which causes her father to send Hwang to bring her back. Hwang obeys, because he is duty-bound to her father, his teacher. But he cares a great deal for Mina. She seems to have scarred his heart.
In Soul Calibur, when he learns that Mina has runaway again, his concern and anger for her causes him to lose his better judgment and have his ship get ambushed, causing him great casualties onboard. He is immediately dismissed from his post, but is given a new objective by his superior Admiral Yi Sun-Shin: to find and bring back Mina under the guise of searching for Soul Edge. Hwang quickly went off on his mission to find the precious Mina. The fact that Mina is always on his mind, that he constantly worries about her, shows how he truly feels about her. She has a profound affect on him. His love for his country is tested by his growing feelings for Mina. His and Mina's prologue clearly hint that he thinks about her quite frequently. She weighs heavily on his heart and bombards his every thought. For him to loose his cool and have his men get killed shows how much she affects him. She is not simply like a little sister or friend. She means so much more to him. He has to force himself to stop thinking about her.
I feel it in honor heartily.