By Zephyria 
31
“Is that so?”
The woman who had asked the question didn’t seem particularly interested in Ho-eun’s answer, vigorously mixing her bibimbap. But at some point, she froze, slamming her spoon into the bowl.
“Aish, ssibal! There’s a fried egg here too. Chilbok, that bastard, just because the Lord is the Commander’s Bondmate……”
Ho-eun’s eyebrows subtly rose at those words. So there was a fried egg in his too. He hadn’t noticed at all. Come to think of it, Chilbok had once put braised beef in his rice bowl as well.
‘This is a secret from the other brothers. I’m giving it to you secretly because you’re our Commander’s Bondmate.’
He had said something like that. But the woman glanced at Ho-eun cautiously.
“……Should I give it back?”
At that, Ho-eun couldn’t help but smile faintly. She must have thought he would ask her to return the precious fried egg.
“It’s alright. Please, eat comfortably.”
“Okay, then.”
The woman’s face brightened again. But then, an empty bowl was suddenly thrust in front of her.
“Fried egg? Give me half too.”
It was a man sitting next to the woman. He was also large, though not as much as Tae-muk. He was tall, but shorter than Tae-muk. He wasn’t handsome, but he had a strangely cute face. Somewhere between a puppy and a wild boar. His skin was dark, and there were many scars on his cheeks, jaw, and the backs of his hands, and other parts of his body exposed above his uniform.
……Scars?
Ho-eun tilted his head without anyone noticing. Come to think of it, this was the first time he had seen anyone in the Crimson Rain Brigade with scars. Tae-muk didn’t have any scars either…….
“No, you bastard.”
“Ah, why? Give me some.”
At the woman’s refusal, the man shook her shoulder playfully, acting cute. The woman, as if disgusted, went “Ew…….” but still scooped a generous portion of rice into the man’s bowl. She also split the fried egg, giving the larger piece to the man. The man chuckled.
The two of them shared the bibimbap like that, and then spoke to Ho-eun.
“Even if you’re sick, how can you have no appetite? I’ve never lost my appetite in my life.”
“You didn’t eat dinner last night either, and you’ve been sick all day? You need to eat well to get better.”
At those words, Ho-eun shook his head.
“You all who fought the Devouring Ghouls all night should eat more. I don’t deserve to eat, having only slept.”
But the two of them stretched their necks out. They shook their heads and waved their hands as if telling him not to think that way.
“Aigo, undeserving? It’s enough that you’re our Commander’s Bondmate.”
“That’s right, that’s right. That’s enough.”
“…….”
Ho-eun’s mouth slightly opened. ‘Our Commander’s Bondmate.’ The moment he heard those words, the tent suddenly came to mind. Tae-muk’s tent, where he had been perfectly fine all night. He wondered if these people had been guarding the tent. It could be Tae-muk, but he didn’t think so…….
“But why does the Lord speak so formally to the likes of us?”
The man said, scraping the spinach stuck to his spoon with his lower teeth. Ho-eun pondered, “Hmm…….” They were close aides to Tae-muk, so they must all be fairly high-ranking. Gil-sang was a Staff Sergeant, wasn’t he? So it was only right to use honorifics, but it didn’t seem like that was what he was asking about.
He had said ‘the likes of us,’ hadn’t he? Could it be that, apart from military rank, he was saying that because their origins were lower than his?
If so, that was nonsense. What status was there on the battlefield? Those who had killed Devouring Ghouls and saved the people were ten thousand times more precious than he, who had lived fighting illness.
“You……seem older than me.”
Ho-eun quietly gave his answer. But.
“…….”
“…….”
The woman and man’s mouths slowly closed. The atmosphere also calmed down. Ho-eun swallowed hard. He had said that because they all looked six or seven years older than him, but could it be that they were younger than him?
In fact, Ho-eun had no talent for guessing other people’s ages. He hadn’t met many people. The only people around Ho-eun were his family, or the servants working at the house. If he had to include anyone else, it would be the hospital doctor or the grandfather at the herbal medicine shop.
“Well……we are older…….”
“But you’re the Lord.”
“That’s right. And you’re the son of a very important nobleman, right? You even go to the palace, and you’re friends with His Majesty the Emperor?”
“Hick, with His Majesty? Is he such a high-ranking person?”
The two people asked Ho-eun questions and then exchanged words among themselves. Then, just as Ho-eun was about to answer.
“He is the youngest son of Lord Choi.”
Gil-sang, who had been quietly eating his rice, spoke up. He had met Ho-eun’s father before. He hadn’t forgotten how the doctors and nurses called his father ‘Lord,’ ‘Lord,’ when he went to pick up Ho-eun from the hospital one day.
But the woman stuck out her chin and asked back.
“Who’s that?”
“The nobleman who sends military provisions every time. You enjoyed the meat last time, didn’t you?”
“Ah! Military provisions!”
“Ah! Meat!”
The two people shouted at the same time. The gazes of the other soldiers were drawn to the loud shouts. Ho-eun shrank back, but the woman and man chattered on without paying any attention.
“He’s the Lord of that house?”
“Wow……. They must be really rich. Sending that much meat. Our entire unit almost burst from eating so much meat back then, right?”
“It’s not just meat that comes? There’s also salted seafood, fruit, and even these, these shoes. They’re so good, no water gets inside even if you step in rain or snow. They’re magical, magical.”
The woman lifted her foot, which was wearing military boots. Then she almost fell backward, but the man supported her back.
“……Is that so?”
Ho-eun smiled awkwardly. He knew that his father sent grain and money here and there, but he didn’t know the details. Only his brothers, who helped with his father’s work, would know. Ho-eun had never helped his father because his job was to be sick.
He should have known a little about it. Then he could have used the favors his father had sown as a stepping stone to get closer to them faster…….
At that moment, Tae-muk scoffed.
“Why are you so happy? You have to feed dogs well for them to guard the house. Don’t you still know the nobles?”
“…….”
Ho-eun’s brow furrowed slightly. A dog, he said. Did that mean his father was treating them like dogs? Ho-eun wanted to retort, but instead bit his lip.
If it had been just the two of them, he certainly would have. Hadn’t he once shouted at him not to misinterpret his father’s intentions?
But not now. The people sitting with them were subordinates to Tae-muk. For him to argue with his words would be to diminish his dignity.
No matter what Tae-muk said, the woman and man, with more curious eyes than before, pulled their butts closer.
“Why would the Lord of such a great house come to the battlefield? That nobleman who let us sleep at that place back then, what was it, Ho, Hot, Hod, Ho…….”
“Hotel.”
“Oh, the fact that he let us sleep at our hotel, and fed us, it doesn’t seem like he’s a child disowned by his family…….”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
When the woman spoke, the man chimed in. Ho-eun pondered for a moment. It wouldn’t be relatable to talk about his own trivial life. What should he say, he wondered, and then opened his mouth.
“It’s to save the country, so I should come. And also, the Crimson Rain Brigade…….”
“The Crimson Rain Brigade, why?”
“It’s cool.”
Ho-eun’s shoulders shrugged up and down. How cool the fluttering cloaks of those entering the Joining Ceremony had been back then. And the fact that they were frequently in the newspapers for saving the people and the country. And Gil-sang’s words that the Crimson Rain Brigade didn’t avoid Devouring Ghouls. Everything was cool. It was undoubtedly a unit that any man would naturally admire.
“…….”
“…….”
The woman and man’s mouths closed again. Then their eyes slowly widened, and they began to laugh so loudly that the sky seemed to shake.
“Well, we are a bit cool.”
“Of course, of course. The Crimson Rain Brigade’s reputation isn’t there for nothing.”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing a nobleman say we’re cool.”
“It’s worth living, it’s worth living.”
The two people looked at each other and made funny faces. Then the woman said to Ho-eun.
“I have an eye for people, and you’re a really good person. Huh?”
Just as Ho-eun was about to thank her for those words, the man suddenly chuckled and laughed.
“Bullshit. When I first saw him, his face was so pale and his expression so prim, I cursed him out as a real snob-.”
“Shut up, you son of a bitch.”
The woman slapped his chest with her palm! The man let out a dull groan and fell backward. His feet, raised to the sky, twitched. Ho-eun looked at him with a surprised face, and the woman smiled awkwardly and made excuses.
“It’s not like that. It’s just, uh, he’s so pretty, I didn’t think he’d get along with us.”
“That’s true. You do look very precious.”
The man, his face pale, staggered up and added.
“M, me?”
Ho-eun stroked his cheek. What did it mean to look precious? Was it a compliment that he was handsome, or an insult that he was like a naive simpleton?
“It’s a compliment. Like precious white porcelain.”
“White porcelain…….”
“No, like jade. Jade.”
“Jade…….”
Still confused by the ambiguous metaphors, Ho-eun looked at Tae-muk. He wondered if he knew what it meant. But Tae-muk turned his head sharply to the other side. As if he had no interest in such a conversation. Ho-eun pouted his lower lip and then put it back in, and the woman moved her butt and came closer.
“Then, Lord. Since we’re older than you, can we speak casually?”