GB 6

A calm, low voice. Yoon Moo-hwa lifted Number 8 smoothly.

Unlike the leader, Yoon Moo-hwa supported Number 8’s bottom and legs, giving him a stable lift. Number 8 blinked.

“I-it’s dangerous for me to be out.”

“It’s alright.”

If anyone approached, they could hide back in the sea or the forest. Yoon Moo-hwa could hold his breath longer than Number 8. He had often trained for underwater combat without auxiliary equipment.

It would have been quite troublesome to explain to Number 8, who was looking at him with disbelieving eyes, what kind of training he had received and what kind of life he had lived to be able to say it was alright. Yoon Moo-hwa wasn’t good at talking to children. He rarely had the opportunity.

So he chose silence. He put Number 8 down on the floor of the wreck and entered, dripping water.

Only dried black bloodstains gave a vague indication of what had happened. Yoon Moo-hwa confirmed from the scratch marks and burst marks on the floor that the enemy ship had used modified shells and wire mesh. His guess was correct.

Entering the deck without hesitation, Yoon Moo-hwa ripped open a small drawer where crew members usually hid snacks. But nothing was left inside. The pirates who had taken the ship seemed to be experienced.

Coming out empty-handed, he saw Number 8 tightly hugging an old water bottle to his chest. Yoon Moo-hwa had watched from the sea as the large middle-aged man threw the child around like a sack. It made him uncomfortable. No, it disgusted him.

“You must be thirsty, drink quickly.”

Urged on, the exhausted child who had been swimming in the sea for so long cautiously took a few sips. The amount a small child drinks is predictable. Even though he must still be thirsty, Number 8 quickly removed the bottle from his lips and held it out to Yoon Moo-hwa.

“The weaker one should drink more!”

The weaker one… To Number 8, Yoon Moo-hwa seemed like a useless fool who couldn’t pull his own weight. This kind of treatment was unfamiliar. On the other hand, it was also amusing.

Yoon Moo-hwa, who only moistened his lips with the water, passed the bottle back to the child.

Even though he hadn’t heard the conversation, he knew well what kind of treatment the child had endured to earn this water.

“Let’s go back for now. It’s not good if I’m spotted, right?”

Because the man’s words were very reasonable, Number 8 led him towards the cave. As Yoon Moo-hwa was led by a hand smaller than a fern, he picked berries and leaves along the way, putting them in his pocket. Whenever Number 8 looked back, he pretended not to notice.

Back in the cave, he crouched in a space far too small for his body and laid out what he had gathered. The child carefully sorted what was edible and what wasn’t. Then, saying he needed to catch fish, he headed back to the sea.

While pretending to enjoy a leisure unsuited to the situation of being stranded due to injury and shipwreck, Yoon Moo-hwa finished his calculations in a corner of his mind.

Number 8 seemed to hope that he would stay hidden here, but the navy clearly had its own domain. Landing on shore was a different matter. So going out to sea was the shortcut to escape. The pirate ship would inevitably be caught in the patrol area of the main ship heading this way.

Number 8 might have only thought the buttons on his uniform were pretty, but the pirates wouldn’t. A naval officer was a good hostage. Especially with the rank shown by his epaulettes, it would be much more enticing. They would try to negotiate somehow. At least when they entered the main ship’s territory, he would be useful as a hostage.

Yoon Moo-hwa decided to use this to his advantage.

Of course, this was a gamble he could make because he understood well how he would approach such a situation.

‘I feel a bit sorry for the kid.’

Still, capturing a naval lieutenant as a souvenir must be a very special experience, so he’d apologize later.

Thinking this, Yoon Moo-hwa slowly walked towards the village. He deliberately acted less cautiously, making his presence known loudly. And at the edge of the forest where human presence was clearly felt, at the entrance of the village, Yoon Moo-hwa saw gun barrels pointed at him and slowly raised his hands in surrender.

‘To be so distracted when the enemy is approaching right behind.’

As Yoon Moo-hwa roughly gauged their level, the men forcibly made him kneel and bound his wrists

Yoon Moo-hwa twisted his arms slightly to avoid straining his wrists and felt a little sorry for Number 8.

* * *

Number 8, who had caught three fish, stood dumbfounded with his mouth agape at the sight of the empty cave. His gaze wavered as he muttered, “Wh-what should I do? Where is he?” Then, as if struck by divine inspiration, he lifted his head and dashed towards the village.

On his hurried way to the village, he encountered Number 3. Highly excited, Number 3 grabbed Number 8’s arm tightly, shaking it while exclaiming:

“We’ve caught a navy man!”

“Wh-what…?”

“A navy man! That’s what the adults said! They’re really bad guys! I’ve never seen one before. I thought they’d have eight arms like an octopus, but they look just like us!”

Number 3 rattled on with a flushed face.

“But he didn’t look as strong or scary as the adults said. He just had pretty buttons… Hey, where are you going!”

Number 8 shook off Number 3, who was muttering dreamily into the air, and ran straight into the village.

The atmosphere in the village was already tense, without needing to check.

The adults were talking in hushed tones in front of the storehouse with their arms crossed, while the leader’s sister and the other women were also gathered, whispering. Their expressions all carried traces of anxiety.

Number 8’s heart raced madly. It wasn’t just talk of a navy man, but someone with pretty buttons. There was only one person it could be. Why was he caught? What went wrong? Had I been too careless? Did someone follow me?

Number 8’s face turned pale as his chest heaved.

Just as the leader was about to turn his head towards him, Number 3, who had hurriedly followed, wrapped Number 8 in his arms and turned his back.

“The fish will spoil! We need to salt them quickly!”

Dazed, Number 8 was led by Number 3’s strength to the kitchen, not even knowing what was being said.

As soon as they entered the triangular-shaped cooking area, Number 3 lowered his voice and pressed:

“I can tell from your face. I wondered where that person had been hiding, where he’d been treated. It was you! It was you!”

At Number 3’s words, Number 8 stared blankly at him before starting to shed small tears.

His large eyes instantly welled up with moisture, and his cheeks, already salty from the sea, began to get wet.

“Are you crazy?!” Number 3 shouted in an even lower voice.

“If you’re found out, you’ll die!”

“I-I know. B-but…”

“How could you pick up such a monster?! Don’t you remember the adults saying that all navy men are villains and monsters, that we should always run away or kill them if we see them?!”

“I remember!”

Number 8 shouted, overwhelmed by feelings of injustice and sadness. Number 3 let out a disbelieving laugh and slapped Number 8’s cheek. The stinging pain made Number 8 clamp his mouth shut.

“How dare you raise your voice. As if you’ve done something right.”

Number 3 scolded harshly.

“Get a grip. Wash your face and pretend you don’t know that person. Got it?”

“But… but… They found out about the wound treatment…”

“He said he did first aid on himself. The adults don’t seem to believe it much though…”

“D-did the adults hit him…?”

Number 8, looking even paler, grabbed Number 3 and asked blankly. Number 3 shook off his hand callously and sighed deeply.

“Of course they hit him. Worry about yourself. That man probably won’t die even if he’s hit a hundred times, but you’ll die if you’re hit just ten times. Go wash your face quickly and say you caught some fish. They said they’re taking him out when we sail tomorrow anyway, so if you just pretend not to know him tonight, you’ll live.”

Despite his harsh actions, Number 3 offered advice full of concern before leaving the cooking area.

Left alone, Number 8 tried hard to hold back his tears. His cheeks were swollen, his chest was heaving, and his lips were protruding, but the look in his eyes, determined not to shed tears, was admirable.

Even if there was no one there to praise him for it.

* * *

Number 3 worked hard to cover for Number 8, who was sulking and barely eating. He made excuses, saying the child probably had an upset stomach, that he must have eaten something by himself in the water and gotten sick. After getting a few slaps on the back and some flicks on the forehead, Number 8 was no longer scolded even when he pouted his lips and shed a few tears. Because of this, Number 8 almost wished the adults had hit him more. At least then he could have cried properly.

Even while pretending to eat, Number 8 picked out pieces of fish and put them in his water bottle. When told to take water for drinking at night, he shook his head despite feeling very thirsty. As Number 8 left, saying he was going to brush his teeth, Number 3 followed closely behind. Number 3 chattered away at Number 8, who was dragging his feet as he walked.

“How did you not know he was from the navy? He looked so different from us.”

“What’s different?” Number 8 replied glumly.

“He looks exactly like us. Two arms, two legs. I even counted his fingers.”

“What do you mean exactly the same?”

Number 3 snorted.

“I thought he was completely different as soon as I saw him.”

Number 8 partly agreed with Number 3’s boastful words. The man was too shiny, too cool, and too awesome to be considered the same as them. Yes, he was awesome. Looking at him made Number 8 feel dazed, and when the man spoke in his low voice, like the sound of the sea in a seashell, it made Number 8 grin. He felt so proud, wanting to show him off, that his toes curled and his body tingled.

…But he had been mine.

Number 8’s mood sank even further.

On the way back from brushing his teeth, Number 3 picked some leaves that help with sleep, telling Number 8 to eat them instead of tossing and turning and waking people up. But Number 8 only pretended to take them and immediately threw them on the ground.

Unlike Number 3, who was already chewing away, Number 8 had tried eating them once and felt severe nausea, so he never touched them again. Even though the adults enjoyed them, and Number 3 teased him for still being a child, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

That night, when all the adults and even Number 3, who had chewed the leaves, fell into a deep sleep, Number 8 carefully got up. Hiding the water bottle in his clothes, he tiptoed towards the storehouse where he had been locked up a few times for not listening.

Number 8 knew about the dog hole that the now-deceased Number 1 had used to sneak in and out to feed him when he was punished with no water or food for four days. The punishment was for being very slow to learn swimming, but ironically, Number 1, who was the best swimmer of them all, ended up dying in the sea.

Remembering Number 1, Number 8 carefully crawled through the dog hole. It was such a small hole that even though the adults knew about it, they paid no attention to it. If the slim and agile Number 1 were still alive, she would have surely become an even cooler big sister than the leader’s sister…

Dusting off his knees as he stood up, Number 8 smiled brightly at the tall silhouette immersed in darkness.

My souvenir!

Number 8 scampered towards him.