By Zephyria 
109
It was a night that was neither too late nor too early. Countless tents were pitched, and everyone was preparing to sleep, but Ho-eun was pacing between the tents. For some reason, he fidgeted for a long time before suddenly stopping in front of one tent.
It wasn’t Tae-muk’s tent. He had disappeared beyond the forest again as soon as he arrived at the place where they would spend the night. He seemed to have gone to deal with the Devouring Ghouls nearby.
In the meantime, Ho-eun had personally taken care of Jeong-i and Jeong-woo, as well as the girls’ sleeping arrangements, chatted with them, gone to Tae-muk’s tent to confirm that he was still not there, and then come out again.
“Ahem…”
He cleared his throat for no reason, took two steps to the left, and then two steps to the right. His face was full of worry.
How should he bring it up? Should he just say it? Could this action be a great discourtesy? Oh, what if he gets rejected? No, if I, as Tae-muk’s Bondmate, am the reason he can’t refuse, if he says he will even though he doesn’t want to, wouldn’t that be even worse?
Ho-eun scratched his forehead and eventually let out a groan. Then, just as he was about to turn around, thinking, “Ugh, not today, let’s not do it.”
Flap.
The tent entrance opened, and Seong-im appeared. Unlike usual, her hair was long and loose. Judging by the fact that she was wearing comfortable clothes instead of her military uniform, it seemed like she was just about to go to bed.
Seong-im discovered Ho-eun standing in front of the tent and raised her eyebrows as much as possible. Her face seemed to be asking, ‘Why are you here?’
Ho-eun closed his eyes tightly as if he was in trouble, then approached her hesitantly.
“Um, Seong-im.”
She tilted her head.
“Could, could I talk to you for a moment?”
She stared at Ho-eun silently. Then, she soon nodded her head and followed Ho-eun.
Ho-eun walked exactly five steps, no more, no less. It wouldn’t be good to be alone with a woman late at night, away from the group, or rather, it wouldn’t be good for Seong-im. Of course, she was strong and could subdue him in an instant, but other people’s eyes were different.
Ho-eun had lived with a lot of rumors in Hanyang, so he was sensitive to such things.
Ho-eun, who had stopped, took a deep breath. The unique chill of the night air rushed into his lungs. After taking a deep breath, and then another deep breath, Ho-eun carefully gathered his hands below his navel and carefully opened his mouth.
“Um… I, I have a favor to ask.”
Seong-im gestured slightly, as if telling him to speak. Ho-eun swallowed hard and got to the point.
“Perhaps, that, the sword…”
However, he had to slur the end of his words without even saying a few syllables properly. He was too embarrassed, and sorry, and strangely afraid, so he couldn’t easily continue speaking. He took another deep breath. Then, he gazed at Seong-im with firm eyes and said.
“Could you teach me how to use a sword?”
“……”
“I think I should be able to handle at least one weapon…”
“……”
“It’s not that I think the sword is easy. Officer Oh and Seong-im both handle swords, so I thought it would be good for me to watch and learn from you two…”
Having said that, Ho-eun lowered his eyes slyly. And waited for Seong-im’s reaction. But Seong-im had nothing to say. It was natural that she had nothing to say because she couldn’t speak, but Ho-eun took it as a rejection.
He pulled the corners of his lips up and down, then smiled awkwardly at her.
“A, are you tired? Shall we talk again tomorrow? Or, um, you can pretend you didn’t hear it. I’ll ask someone else.”
As Ho-eun said that and took a step back, Seong-im, who had strode closer, grabbed his sleeve tightly. Then she started dragging him back to the tent. Ho-eun followed her with a foolish face.
Soon, she arrived at the tent and lifted the tent entrance without a sound. Inside, with a faint lantern light, was Gil-sang. He was only wearing his underwear and was wrapping a bandage around his thigh.
“Oh… Young Master?”
Gil-sang looked at Ho-eun with a puzzled expression. Ho-eun quickly turned around. Even though they were both men, it seemed polite not to look. In the meantime, Seong-im left Ho-eun and went inside the tent.
After a moment, the tent entrance rustled again, and Gil-sang appeared in his military uniform. He was holding a sword in his hand.
“You want to learn swordsmanship?”
At those words, Ho-eun, flustered, shook his hand.
“Ah… No, no. I was just talking to Seong-im.”
“I’ll teach you. Seong-im learned from me too.”
“…Really?”
In an instant, Ho-eun’s face brightened like the moon. He took a step towards Gil-sang without realizing it, then immediately took a step back again.
“Um… Then shall we start tomorrow or the day after?”
“Why?”
“Your thigh hasn’t healed yet.”
Ho-eun glanced at Gil-sang’s thigh. He wasn’t shameless enough to bother an injured person. But Gil-sang laughed softly.
“I won’t have to use my body. Just learning how to hold a sword can take a few days if it’s short, or even months if it’s long.”
“Mo, months?”
“It’s not just because you’re the Young Master, everyone’s like that. Everyone. I was like that too, and so was Seong-im.”
“Ah…”
Ho-eun sighed softly. His heart grew heavy. He didn’t think he could become as skilled as Gil-sang or Seong-im in an instant, but just holding the sword correctly would take months. It was quite tragic news. He wanted to do his part as soon as possible.
“First, we need to get a sword. My sword is a bit too heavy for you.”
“Ah, a sword! I don’t have a sword.”
Ho-eun widened his eyes, then closed them tightly. He was going to learn swordsmanship, but he didn’t even bring a sword. How could he be so stupid? Ho-eun grabbed his forehead and sighed deeply. Gil-sang stroked his chin and pondered. Then he nodded his head towards the forest.
“Um… It’s okay if you don’t have one today. A tree branch will be enough. Follow me for now.”
“Yes? Ah, yes.”
Ho-eun quickly followed him. But before he could even take a step. There was a rustling sound from behind, as if leaves were breaking.
“Where are you going?”
And a low, deep voice tickled Ho-eun’s ear. The warm breath in the voice was a bonus.
“Hic…”
Surprised, Ho-eun covered his ear with his hand and turned around. Right behind him, Tae-muk was standing crookedly with one hand in his pocket. Gil-sang bowed deeply to him.
“Commander, you’re here. Young Master is learning swordsmanship-”
“No! No!”
Ho-eun desperately stopped Gil-sang from speaking.
“……”
Gil-sang widened his eyes in surprise. Ho-eun waved his hand frantically, as if begging him not to say anything. He didn’t want Tae-muk to know. He was sure to be ridiculed. And maybe, although it was unlikely, he was afraid that he would offer to teach him himself.
Tae-muk as a teacher. He definitely didn’t want that. He would be on the verge of tears every time he was scolded.
But unfortunately.
“Learning swordsmanship? Who? You?”
Tae-muk seemed to have already heard Gil-sang’s words.
“That is…”
Ho-eun looked back at Tae-muk hesitantly with a troubled face. But before he could even open his mouth, Tae-muk frowned as much as he could.
“Why are you learning from Oh Gil-sang?”
“Ah, I, I was originally going to learn from Seong-im, but Seong-im said that Officer, no, that Officer taught Seong-im… I just, um, I won’t learn. I’m sorry, Officer.”
Ho-eun, stammering, shook his head, washed his face, and then bowed silently to Gil-sang, apologizing.
“……”
Gil-sang blinked slowly. He had no idea what was going on. Ho-eun was too ashamed to do anything but hang his head. Tae-muk looked at the two of them unpleasantly. Then he gestured to Gil-sang and said.
“I’ll take care of it, so you can go.”
“…Yes. I understand. Call me anytime if you need me.”
Gil-sang nodded, bowed to Tae-muk once, and then to Ho-eun, and left the spot.
“Officer, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Ho-eun apologized to his back repeatedly. Not only had he called out a sick person in the middle of the night, but he had also made him take a wasted trip. He wouldn’t be able to say anything even if Gil-sang cursed him behind his back.
After Gil-sang left and they were alone, Tae-muk, with his arms crossed, looked down at Ho-eun with a crooked gaze.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Yes?”
“Why did you try to learn swordsmanship from Oh Gil-sang instead of me? Do I look like I can’t use a sword?”
“No, no.”
Ho-eun shook his head. It was absurd that Tae-muk couldn’t use a sword. He was a general, wasn’t he? Not just anyone could reach that rank. He would be proficient in swords and bows, as well as modern weapons such as cannons, grenades, and guns.
And Ho-eun had already watched Tae-muk fight several times. He usually dealt with Devouring Ghouls with his bare hands, but he had also used bamboo as a spear in the bamboo forest before, and he often used the Helmet Bone of Devouring Ghouls as a shield, making everything into a weapon. He would definitely be good at swords too.