By Zephyria 
“If you were going to come, why did you abandon me?”
I thought to myself that there were so many ways to torment someone. Ignoring and neglecting me, force-feeding me rice balls, abandoning me in the bushes…
Tae-muk was truly a terrible person. I wondered why the heavens had bestowed such power upon someone like him.
But then Tae-muk tilted his head and said,
“Who told you to follow me?”
“……”
Ho-eun’s mouth fell open at the heartless words. After a moment of stunned silence, he abruptly turned his head away. It was an impudent action. He should have immediately gotten up and greeted his superior. If his father or mother had seen him, they would have scolded him severely for being so rude.
But well, they weren’t here now. This wasn’t home.
As Ho-eun sulked, Tae-muk asked,
“Why did you follow me?”
“……I was worried.”
“About what?”
“About you, General.”
“……”
“I was afraid you might get hurt. I thought you might need me. Well, it seems you didn’t need me after all…”
Ho-eun looked at the Devouring Ghoul in Tae-muk’s hand, and Tae-muk tossed it down as if throwing it away. The ground shook and trembled as the house-sized mass fell. Blood gushed from the grotesquely torn neck. Blood pooled thickly between the dense blades of grass.
Seeing this, Ho-eun wriggled his butt away from the blood. But at that moment.
Caw…
The cry of a Devouring Ghoul faintly echoed from afar. It was a sound coming from a very distant place, but Ho-eun startled, his shoulders trembling. Devouring Ghouls were fast. It would arrive here in the blink of an eye.
Ho-eun looked in the direction of the sound and gripped his Pistol tightly. Tae-muk knelt down in front of Ho-eun, bending one knee. Then, as if teasing him, he asked,
“Are you scared?”
A smile, or perhaps a sneer, that was hard to tell, crept onto his unnecessarily handsome lips. Ho-eun stared at that smile. It seemed Tae-muk was trying to torment him again. How would he torment him this time? Would he grab him by the neck and drag him to the Devouring Ghoul? Would he dangle him as bait?
“……Yes, I am scared.”
Ho-eun answered quietly. How could he not be scared? Devouring Ghouls killed people. They hurt the soldiers of the Crimson Rain Brigade. Perhaps even he and Tae-muk might get hurt or die.
“If you were so scared, you should have stayed in your precious home.”
Tae-muk wiped the blood from his hand and sneered. But Ho-eun didn’t get angry. He was quite used to Tae-muk’s words by now.
“How could I stay home? My God of War, General, is here.”
“……”
For a moment, Tae-muk’s movements stopped. He stared intently at Ho-eun. His gaze was very persistent and direct, but its meaning was unknown. He tilted his chin slightly up and then down, and said.
“Why didn’t you scream? You should have said I was here, asked for help. What if the Devouring Ghoul came?”
“I didn’t scream because I was afraid the Devouring Ghoul would come.”
Ho-eun retorted immediately. Even if he was completely ignorant about the battlefield, he knew enough not to scream in a place like this. It was no different from shouting, “Come and get me.” Just how stupid did Tae-muk think he was?
“……”
Tae-muk closed his mouth.
Ho-eun glanced at him and thought. Was he surprised that I wasn’t as stupid as he thought? Did he look at me differently because I didn’t scream and thrash about? I hope so. I hope he thinks, ‘He wasn’t a complete idiot, he’s quite brave.’ That was what I was hoping for.
He spoke in a lower voice than usual, as if it were not an important story at all.
“Scream from now on.”
“But…”
“I’m faster than a Devouring Ghoul.”
At those words, Ho-eun stopped breathing for a moment. He blinked his eyes rapidly. Each time, his lush eyelashes fluttered. Tae-muk frowned slightly as if feeling ticklish, and turned his head away.
“……Yes.”
Ho-eun replied in a small voice. The corners of his lips were slightly raised. It was a smile that Ho-eun himself didn’t realize.
“……”
“……”
Silence fell. All that could be heard was the sound of the grass surrounding them, swaying softly. But that sound wasn’t as cold or scary as before. It was because Tae-muk was by his side now.
At that moment, a streak of dark red blood trickled down Tae-muk’s forehead and across his eyes. It didn’t seem to be his blood, but rather the blood of the Devouring Ghoul that his hair had absorbed. Tae-muk tried to wipe it away roughly with his hand. Ho-eun’s handkerchief approached.
“……”
Ho-eun expected Tae-muk to reject his hand. But for some reason, Tae-muk remained still. So Ho-eun pressed down firmly and wiped away the flowing blood.
It was the first time. His handkerchief had touched Tae-muk.
But there was so much blood that the white handkerchief quickly turned bright red.
“It seems the ‘red’ in Crimson Rain Brigade is all being used by you alone, General.”
Ho-eun threw a light joke and smiled faintly.
“……”
Tae-muk didn’t reply. Ho-eun hadn’t expected a reply anyway, so he continued to wipe Tae-muk’s face. But the blood on his cheeks and chin wouldn’t come off. It had already hardened and become rough. Still, he concentrated on trying to wipe it off somehow, even making his upper lip pointed.
“It’s okay. I can just soak in the river once.”
Tae-muk flicked the inside of Ho-eun’s wrist. With just enough force to push Ho-eun’s hand back slightly. Ho-eun retreated without protest. It seemed truly impossible to wipe off all the blood he had covered himself in with just one handkerchief.
“Get up if you don’t want to sleep here.”
Tae-muk said as he stood up.
“Ah, yes!”
Ho-eun followed him and stood up. No, he tried to stand up. But his ankle throbbed, and his body leaned forward abruptly.
“Ah……”
Ho-eun, struggling, grabbed Tae-muk’s sleeve without realizing it. And stopped there. He looked up at Tae-muk hesitantly, swallowing his breath. Tae-muk was looking down at him. Ho-eun quickly replied even though he hadn’t said anything.
“I’m okay.”
“What’s okay?”
It was an unexpected question. Confusion filled Ho-eun’s clear face.
“Yes? Ah, uh, just, just everything is okay.”
Then, afraid that Tae-muk might ask something else, he hurriedly stepped into the bushes.
“S-Shall we go?”
His ankle still throbbed, but Ho-eun endured it. I mustn’t be in pain. Being in pain is a burden. Being in pain is useless. He muttered those words to himself. But Tae-muk clicked his tongue and muttered.
“So annoying… Just like a nobleman.”
“……”
At those words, Ho-eun stiffened. His face turned pale in an instant, and he hung his head like a sinner.
“I’m sorry- Ugh!”
Ho-eun was trying to apologize sincerely. But suddenly, Tae-muk picked Ho-eun up in his arms. Startled, Ho-eun instinctively wrapped his arms around Tae-muk’s neck.
“G-General?”
“……”
Tae-muk started cutting through the bushes without explanation. Ho-eun didn’t know what to do, shrinking his neck, hunching his shoulders, taking his hands off Tae-muk, then hugging him again, and finally, he simply entrusted himself completely to Tae-muk.
He must have thought it would be easier to carry me than to have me trailing behind, limping, he thought.
“……”
Being held by the tall Tae-muk, the grass that had seemed so high was now at eye level. Thanks to that, he could see the night sky, the mountains in the distance, and the moon in its entirety. Ho-eun, rolling his eyes as he looked at those things, leaned slightly on Tae-muk’s shoulder.
Then Ho-eun’s Hair Tie tickled the back of Tae-muk’s hand that was supporting his back. Each time, Tae-muk’s brow furrowed and then relaxed, but Ho-eun didn’t notice.
Ho-eun wiggled his feet, which were submerged in the water. The water was so cold that his toes were numb. He wanted to pull them out right away, but Tae-muk had said in a terrifying voice that he would pull out his ankles if he took his feet out without permission, so he was enduring it.
Ho-eun, looking down at his feet that were gradually freezing, looked around. Tae-muk, who had been cutting through the bushes, had brought Ho-eun not to the tent, but to some river.
The fairly wide river was secretly located between the lush grasses. The current wasn’t as strong as a mountain valley stream, so there was hardly any sound of water. Only a faint smell of water. The river, filled with moonlight, was like a giant mirror.
It was quite a peaceful sight.
How did Tae-muk know there was a river here? Had he been here before? Or did he find it while wandering around to deal with the Devouring Ghoul today?
Ho-eun turned his gaze forward. Unlike him, who was sitting on the riverbank, Tae-muk had gone into the water and was washing his body. He was naked, having taken off all his military uniform, but it was less embarrassing to see because he was submerged in the water up to his waist.