By Zephyria 
104
Meanwhile, Byeonguk brought a fallen tree from somewhere and placed it in front of Ho-eun. It seemed to be an invitation to sit. When Ho-eun quietly sat down, only then did he signal the Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers and the refugees to rest.
Even without Tae-muk, the Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers knew their duties, standing guard, organizing the horses, and unpacking their belongings. The refugees, not accustomed to such things, hesitated, then eventually collapsed and sat down here and there.
Throughout, Ho-eun kept turning his head in the direction Tae-muk had disappeared. He couldn’t see or hear anything, but he couldn’t take his eyes off that direction.
Just then.
“Young Master. Have you been well?”
A familiar voice reached him. Instantly, Ho-eun’s dark face brightened as if a candle had been lit.
“Dong-ja Noonim!”
It was Dong-ja Noonim. She grinned, planted her spear firmly, and plopped down in front of Ho-eun.
“I came too.”
Behind her, Man-soo also appeared. He, too, stuck his weapon into the ground and sat down beside Dong-ja Noonim. Dry leaves crunched and clung to their clothes, but neither of them seemed to care. Ho-eun greeted them warmly, asking how they had been.
“Have you been well? It feels like ages since I last saw you, even though it’s only been a day.”
“Me too. I was starting to forget your face, Young Master.”
“Are either of you hurt?”
“Nope, nope.”
Dong-ja Noonim waved her hand dismissively. The three of them talked about what had happened in the meantime: how school was, what Devouring Ghouls they had encountered, how bad the situation was, and how they had overcome it. As they chatted, Gil-sang and Seong-im also came and sat beside them.
Ho-eun smiled faintly as he looked at those sitting around him. He felt good about being naturally included among them. It wasn’t because they were in the Crimson Rain Brigade or because they were of high rank.
It was the first time he belonged to any group other than his family, the first time people sought him out even when he didn’t go to them first, the first time asking after each other felt natural and conversations flowed without awkwardness.
Of course, eight or nine times out of ten, the reason they were so kind to him was because he was Tae-muk’s Bondmate, but that was still a part of him, so he didn’t want to belittle the present moment.
As they chatted, the cook approached and handed out rice balls one by one. Dong-ja Noonim and Man-soo, as well as Gil-sang and Seong-im, grabbed them with their bare hands, while Ho-eun, as always, received his on a handkerchief.
Everyone was hungry, and they devoured the rice balls. Ho-eun, on the other hand, just stared at the round ball.
“…….”
It was the first rice ball he had seen since that day, since he had eaten them until he threw up. Perhaps because the memory was still vivid, he felt his throat dry up and swallowed hard.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t eat it if he had to, but he was worried he might get indigestion. And if he started to feel nauseous, Tae-muk would get angry again. Should he refuse, pretending he didn’t feel well? Just then.
“Please have some of these too.”
A middle-aged woman, seemingly a refugee, approached and placed a wooden plate down. It was piled high with various pancakes: kimchi pancakes, chives pancakes, mung bean pancakes. Man-soo’s mouth dropped open at the sight of the glistening pancakes.
“Where did these come from?”
“The people of our Ramjae Town made them together. You saved our lives, and we’re sorry we can only offer you this.”
The middle-aged woman bowed deeply and then headed toward other Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers with a basket full of pancakes. The soldiers, who had been chewing on dry rice balls, cheered at the sight of the pancakes.
“…….”
Watching them quietly, Ho-eun unconsciously raised the corners of his lips. He found it truly heartwarming to see people thanking them for saving their lives even in this situation, and others gratefully accepting their gratitude.
Just then, Gil-sang offered the plate of pancakes to Ho-eun.
“Young Master, please eat them before they get cold.”
“Ah, yes.”
Ho-eun absentmindedly took the plate.
“…….”
“…….”
He felt Dong-ja Noonim and Man-soo’s gazes. The two of them were still munching on rice balls, but they were staring intently at the pancakes. Their wide eyes gleamed like those of hungry beasts. Ho-eun naturally handed the plate to them.
“Please, have some first.”
“Oh, should we?”
Dong-ja Noonim and Man-soo grabbed the pancakes with their bare hands. Then Ho-eun handed the plate to Gil-sang and Seong-im. They gestured for Ho-eun to eat first, but Ho-eun stubbornly held onto the plate. They had no choice but to take the pancakes. After everyone had taken two or three, only one kimchi pancake and one mung bean pancake remained.
“…….”
Ho-eun placed the lightened plate on his lap. And he just stared at it without eating.
The thing was, there were no chopsticks. The others were casually picking them up with their hands, but Ho-eun couldn’t bring himself to do it. In fact, Ho-eun hadn’t fully adjusted to eating without a table yet. So, being asked to eat pancakes without utensils was naturally awkward.
Still, if he thought of them as rice balls, maybe he could eat them? Yes, these aren’t pancakes, they’re rice balls. He was trying to convince himself when.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Gil-sang asked. Then, before Ho-eun could answer, he exclaimed, “Ah, chopsticks,” and jumped up.
“Oh, it’s, it’s okay.”
Ho-eun shook his head. He didn’t want to be picky here. He didn’t want to act like a ‘noble’. Growing impatient, he grabbed a pancake.
“Ah, hot…….”
He had to put it down right away. The freshly made pancake was burning hot. As Ho-eun fanned his hand in the air, Gil-sang chuckled softly and procured a pair of chopsticks from somewhere. Ho-eun took them with an embarrassed expression.
“I’m sorry…….”
“No need to be sorry.”
Ho-eun neatly cut off a small piece of pancake with the chopsticks. He blew on it and brought it to his mouth. How could a freshly made pancake not be delicious? The outside was crispy, and the inside was moist and savory with oil. The kimchi pancake, in particular, was chewy and delicious.
Ho-eun chewed on the small piece, looking at the people sitting across from him.
Dong-ja Noonim and Man-soo, as well as Gil-sang and Seong-im, were all holding the hot pancakes with their bare hands as if they were tearing apart meat.
“…….”
Ho-eun stared blankly at them, forgetting his manners. It wasn’t that he was amazed that they were eating with their hands, but that they were holding something so hot without any reaction. Then, suddenly, he remembered Tae-muk breaking apart steamed potatoes with his bare hands.
“General, how can you all handle such hot things so well? Is that something you can learn with training?”
Ho-eun asked with an innocent face.
“Learn? You eat hot things when they’re hot because they taste better that way,”
Dong-ja Noonim replied as if he were asking a silly question. Then, she tore off a piece of chives pancake, from which steam was still rising, with her teeth. The uncut chives were pulled out in a string. Dong-ja Noonim sucked them up like noodles.
“…….”
Ho-eun blinked slowly. So, they were enduring the heat, or were they not feeling it? Unable to resolve his question, he stared at her, and Man-soo, who was munching on a rice ball, asked Ho-eun a question instead.
“But when did our Captain touch something hot? Did he throw a fireball at an Eater Bug or something?”
“No. He cut up potatoes for me this morning. They were steaming hot, and he did it with his bare hands.”
Ho-eun put down his chopsticks and mimed cutting a potato in the air. At that, Dong-ja Noonim tilted her head.
“Why would the Captain cut up potatoes for you?”
“Well…… because they were hot……?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, it’s because I can’t handle hot things very well…….”
“So, the Captain cut up potatoes for you to eat?”
“Yes.”
Ho-eun nodded as if that was exactly it. Then Dong-ja Noonim and Man-soo looked at each other and giggled. Gil-sang and Seong-im also exchanged glances quietly and then continued eating as if nothing had happened. Sensing an unusual reaction, Ho-eun tilted his head.
“Why are you laughing? Is there some…… story between the General and potatoes?”
Tae-muk and potatoes, it didn’t seem like there would be any connection, but you never knew. He couldn’t have been a general since birth. He might have owned a large potato field, or his favorite food might be potatoes.
But Dong-ja Noonim shook her head.
“It’s not a story. It’s just that I think our Captain has truly found his Bondmate.”
“It’s amazing, it’s amazing.”
Man-soo added. But Ho-eun couldn’t understand that either.
“What is so amazing?”
At Ho-eun’s repeated question, Dong-ja Noonim and Man-soo looked at each other again, then suddenly shuffled closer to Ho-eun, dragging their feet while remaining seated. The leaves were pushed aside, piling up thickly between their legs, and they roughly brushed them away with the backs of their hands. Then, they leaned their heads toward Ho-eun. The gleam in their eyes made it seem like they were possessed by a spirit, though he didn’t know why.
As always, Dong-ja Noonim was the first to speak.
“Yesterday, the west shelter collapsed, so the Captain brought the townspeople to the hospital where Man-soo and I were?”
Man-soo continued.
“But when he had just arrived, a message came. A message that Eater Bug bastards had stormed the hospital. That the hospital had collapsed from a cannon explosion, that Oh Gil-sang had lost contact, and…….”
Dong-ja Noonim took over again.
“That you had gone missing.”
“Missing.”
“Yeah, missing.”
Man-soo corrected Dong-ja Noonim, and Dong-ja Noonim repeated the word. Around that time, Ho-eun scooted back on the edge of the wood. And he began to focus on what the two were saying.