By Zephyria 
102
“Are all the people from Ramjae Town going to the garrison together?”
Ho-eun asked. Gil-sang shook his head.
“No, they’re going to another town. It’ll take about two days from here.”
“Another town?”
“Yes.”
“Ah……”
Ho-eun sighed softly. He had vaguely thought they would go to the garrison, but another town it was. Ho-eun, who was pondering something, asked again.
“Can’t we just live here?”
If they were going to another town anyway, wouldn’t it be better to let them live here? It would take time to repair the walls and reorganize the town, but since it would take two days to get to another town anyway, wouldn’t it be better to help restore the town during that time?
But Gil-sang glanced around, then stood close to Ho-eun. Then he said in a small voice.
“Usually, that’s what happens. They fix the walls and help us live again. But this time… there aren’t many survivors. Only two or three out of ten survived. Especially the soldiers, almost all of them died.”
“Then……”
“Yes. Even if the walls are fixed, the remaining people won’t be able to live here.”
“Ah……”
Ho-eun groaned. He was right. It was impossible for ten people to live in a village where a hundred people used to live. Especially in this world. Hundreds of people would be needed just to defend and guard. In addition, weapons had to be managed, fields had to be cultivated, and people were needed in hospitals, schools, and other places that should be there…….
Ho-eun, with dark clouds over his face, returned to his words. He grabbed the saddle. Gil-sang naturally stood behind him. It was to help him get on the horse. Soon, Ho-eun, lifted by Gil-sang’s strength, sat lightly on the horse.
And at that moment, something came to mind.
“Uh……”
He said it would take two days to get to another town. Then what about the children? He didn’t see any horses or carts, so did that mean they had to walk for two days? With those little feet? Moreover, Jeong-i was carrying Jeong-woo on her back?
Having thought that far, Ho-eun immediately pulled the reins and turned back.
“Young master? Where are you going?”
Gil-sang, who had just climbed onto his horse, widened his eyes.
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
Ho-eun, who had notified him so, kicked the horse’s side.
“Young master!”
Gil-sang raised his voice for once. Ho-eun turned to him and waved his hand.
“I’ll be right back!”
Ho-eun went against the people and arrived at the children.
“Young master? Why did you come back?”
Jeong-i asked, tilting her head. Ho-eun said, “Just a moment, just a moment.” and jumped off the horse. Then he approached a man nearby. He was holding a cart full of luggage with both hands. Ho-eun bowed to him and immediately said what he wanted.
“Would you mind if I carry your luggage instead, so can I borrow your cart?”
“Yes?”
The man widened his eyes as if to say, what are you talking about? Ho-eun persuaded him with various words, and asked for his understanding while pointing at the children. The man hesitated for a moment, then gave up the cart. After all, he had nothing to lose.
Ho-eun connected the cart to his horse. Then he gestured to Jeong-i and called her.
“Jeong-i. Come here. Can you ride a horse?”
Jeong-i shook her head. She looked at the horse with a terrified face. Ho-eun wondered what to do, and was troubled. Another girl raised her hand.
“Me! I know how to ride a horse!”
At that, Ho-eun’s face brightened. Ho-eun put her and another girl on the horse, and put the remaining girls, Jeong-i, and Jeong-woo on the cart. It was crowded because there was a lot of luggage, but it would be better than walking.
Ho-eun, who had put all the girls and Jeong-i on the cart, approached the horse again. Then he gently stroked the horse’s neck and whispered.
“Please take good care of the children.”
The horse neighed as if answering. Ho-eun smiled at the horse and made eye contact, greeted the children, and started to go down the group again. It was quite a distance to run on foot where he had come on horseback, but it wasn’t hard at all.
As he passed the refugees, the Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers, and just as he was about to pass Gil-sang, Gil-sang asked with a surprised face.
“Young master? Why are you walking? What about the horse?”
“Ah, I gave it to the kids. I’m going to ride something else.”
“……Something else? What else……”
“There is. Something to ride.”
Ho-eun said with a bright smile. Then he passed Gil-sang and ran away at a quick pace. He wasn’t good at running, so he wasn’t very fast, but he still ran hard. The jade Hair Tie tied in his hair danced gently.
Ho-eun, who had been running and running, soon reached the front of the group.
“Haa, haa……”
He put his hands on his knees, and he took a deep breath with his back bent. He had expected that his stamina would have increased a bit since he had run so hard yesterday, but that didn’t seem to be the case. He couldn’t catch his breath at all, so he rested and exhaled.
“What is it.”
A low voice landed on the back of his head. Ho-eun raised his head. Tae-muk, who was on horseback, was looking down at Ho-eun with an expression that said, why are you here? He was holding a map in his hand.
Ho-eun, who took a deep breath for the last time, straightened his disheveled clothes. He also touched his Braided Hair and put it back. He stared at Tae-muk and said.
“Give me a ride.”
“……What?”
Tae-muk frowned and asked again. At that, Ho-eun said unnecessarily clearly.
“General’s horse. Give me a ride.”
Tae-muk made sure to check between Ho-eun’s legs to confirm that he didn’t have a horse.
“What about your horse?”
“I gave it to Jeong-woo and Jeong-i. I thought it would be hard for them to walk.”
At that, Tae-muk frowned slightly. He thought about something, folded the map and handed it to the soldier behind him.
“Then you have to walk.”
“……”
Ho-eun’s mouth slowly closed. He was a little sad about his reaction, but he wasn’t upset. He was right. It wasn’t right to give it away because he wanted to, and then expect compensation from others. But if he was going to back down like this, he wouldn’t have come to Tae-muk.
Ho-eun took half a step towards Tae-muk.
“You’re right. But……”
“……”
Tae-muk looked down at Ho-eun with an expression that said, but what, what do you want me to do? Ho-eun looked up at Tae-muk and slightly tilted the end of his eyebrows.
“My feet hurt.”
“……What?”
“I even bled……”
Ho-eun turned his ankle around as if to show off.
“You know because you put ointment on it.”
He added one more word in a pitiful voice. Then he looked up at Tae-muk with a pathetic face.
In fact, Ho-eun hated showing that he was in pain more than dying. He hated being in pain, but he hated others knowing about it even more. If he could walk properly, he would have walked for two or three days.
But his feet were not in good condition. If he walked for two days with these feet, he would have to suffer for twice as long as he does now. Maybe his toes would be crushed. Ho-eun knew very well how weak his body was.
That’s why he’s asking Tae-muk. It was a shameless act, but it was better to be shameless than the children having a hard time, or his toes being crushed and becoming a bigger burden later.
And well, he was also doing the ‘sticking together operation’ for the first time in a while.
“……”
But Tae-muk didn’t answer. At that, Ho-eun even got angry. He took another half step towards Tae-muk and continued to speak clearly, whether it was persuasion or threat.
“If I fall while walking, it will delay the road.”
“……”
“It will cause a lot of trouble.”
“……”
“So please give me a ride, General.”
Ho-eun, who said that, raised both arms. He also raised his heels slightly. And he looked up at Tae-muk with his unique clear face. His eyelashes moved slowly.
“……”
Tae-muk looked down at Ho-eun quietly. Then he shifted his gaze to his hands, which were raised with all his might and whose fingertips were trembling slightly. Pink fingertips, neat nails, and a red scratch on the palm of his hand. Looking at it, his blistered soles naturally flashed before his eyes.
Tae-muk raised his head and sighed through his nose. He didn’t like the feeling of being caught up in Ho-eun. But it wasn’t all that bad either. He felt like he was losing his mind, so he didn’t know if he should be confused or anxious.
“General……”
Ho-eun called him pitifully because Tae-muk didn’t answer. The end of the word dragged on, and ‘nim’ was stretched out to ni-im.
At that point, Tae-muk couldn’t leave him alone any longer. He clicked his tongue and bent down, grabbed Ho-eun under his armpits, and lifted him up. His light body flew lightly, and the jade clothes spread out like scattered flower petals. The Hair Tie tied in his hair also fluttered.
Ho-eun, who landed in front of Tae-muk, smiled like a child. Then he looked up at Tae-muk and thanked him.
“Thank you.”
His eyes were bent to the fullest.
“……”
Tae-muk didn’t answer. He just turned his head slightly because he felt ticklish on his chin again.
In the meantime, Ho-eun smoothed out his wrinkled clothes. He took out the Dopo that was under his butt and spread it out on both sides, and moved his Braided Hair to the front of his shoulder in case Tae-muk was bothered by it. But.
“……”
There was no place to put his hands. When he rode Tae-muk’s horse before, he could sit facing him and hug his waist, but now he was facing forward with his back to Tae-muk, so it was ambiguous where to put his hands.
At first, he grabbed the saddle in front of his crotch. But there was no stability. Next, he grabbed the horse’s mane. But somehow, he couldn’t hold it because he felt like he was hurting the horse.
After careful consideration, Ho-eun gently grabbed Tae-muk’s wrist holding the reins. At that moment, Tae-muk’s body flinched.