GB 7

Yoon Moo-hwa, suspended with his arms tied above him and his feet barely touching the ground, couldn’t believe his eyes.

He had heard rustling in the darkness and thought it might be a mouse, but what came through what seemed to be a dog hole was neither a stray dog nor a mouse, but a child.

He could tell who it was just from the sound of the chuckling. It wasn’t another child, nor a woman as small as a child, it was just Number 8.

Before he could ask why the child was here, Number 8 quickly approached and whined with his whole body.

“Why did you get caught?”

His tone was full of exasperation, but also clearly laced with worry.

Yoon Moo-hwa couldn’t tell him that he’d allowed himself to be captured to escape, and that in the process, the adults Number 8 trusted might get hurt or killed, so he just kept his mouth shut.

“Haa… No. I’m just venting because I’m upset. It’s probably my fault… I must have been careless and didn’t notice someone following me.”

Of course, it wasn’t Number 8’s fault. Moreover, Yoon Moo-hwa hadn’t even thought the child was angry. He responded indifferently, as if he really didn’t understand.

“I didn’t even know you were angry.”

Number 8’s ears perked up at the low voice.

The man’s voice was still amazing. Even though he was said to have been beaten badly by the adults, he showed no signs of pain. Number 3 must have exaggerated.

Feeling more at ease, Number 8 took a handful of fish meat in the darkness and brought it to the man’s mouth.

Or more precisely, where he thought the mouth was.

Number 8 was very small and Yoon Moo-hwa was very tall, so it was far from reaching. Yoon Moo-hwa twisted his wrist and slipped one arm out of the rope. Then, prepared for his shoulder to dislocate, he tilted his head.

He could have just told the child to leave, that he didn’t need to eat. But Yoon Moo-hwa still felt sorry for Number 8. The child must have been shocked to see him captured after saving his life. Moreover…

“You eat the rest. I’m not hungry.”

Yoon Moo-hwa mumbled, straightening his body and slipping his hand back into the rope. This would make his wrist swell a bit, but he could endure the pain and get intensive treatment when he returned. In a world of dwindling population and powerful viruses spread by melting glaciers, medical technology had expanded infinitely. All to save even one more life if possible.

“By the way, didn’t you get in trouble because I was caught?”

Number 8 flinched at Yoon Moo-hwa’s question.

“Number 3 did notice…”

“And then?”

“I don’t think I’ve been found out yet. I just need to hide it well. But, the problem is…”

Number 8 lowered his voice. Yoon Moo-hwa had to lean in even more to hear the small, unchanged voice. He bowed his head deeply, using the maximum range of motion in his shoulder muscles.

“Th-they say they’re taking you out tomorrow. I don’t know why. Maybe to load you on a ship and d-drop you somewhere…”

“Me?”

“Y-yeah…”

“I see…”

It was going according to plan.

Yoon Moo-hwa’s response was nonchalant. Number 8, thinking the man was deeply hurt, started to feel overwhelmed with emotion again. His eyes welled up with tears, and soon large teardrops began to fall.

He tried to keep his lips tightly sealed to make no sound, but in the excessively quiet night, Yoon Moo-hwa soon detected the child’s sobbing.

“Why are you crying?”

Yoon Moo-hwa asked with a sigh in his voice.

“You’re crying over someone you’ve only known for two days? I thought you said you were all grown up.”

“I-I’m not crying.”

Number 8 said, rubbing his face hard with his fists, but the tears were welling up much faster than he could wipe them away.

Yoon Moo-hwa was in a very difficult situation. Of all times to cry, it had to be when his hands weren’t free. Even if he had full use of his limbs, he wasn’t used to comforting a child barely half the size of his thigh, but there was a difference between being able to do something but not doing it, and not being able to do it at all.

“Number 8, baby.”

Yoon Moo-hwa called out to Number 8 in his characteristically gruff yet gentle voice.

Number 8 looked up blankly at the strange term of endearment, “baby,” which didn’t offend him despite being treated like a child.

Feeling Number 8 looking up at him in the darkness, Yoon Moo-hwa smiled faintly.

“Don’t cry because of me. I’m not a good person worth your worry.”

“Why…?”

Number 8 asked blankly.

“Because you’re from the navy? Because you’re a bad person who kills us?”

“Hmm.”

The reason he called himself not a good person was because he had implemented a reckless plan knowing it could put Number 8 in danger. And he had done so while keeping everything hidden from Number 8. Even now, he wasn’t explaining anything. After all, Number 8 was still a member of a maritime criminal group.

If only you weren’t here…

Then they would never have met in the first place, and he wouldn’t have had to lie to a child barely half his size.

If only you could get away from here, there might be a chance to apologize or explain.

If until now Number 8 had been difficult to deal with simply because he was an unfamiliar child, now he was difficult for quite a different reason.

Yoon Moo-hwa sighed, realizing just how different the environment Number 8 had grown up in was from his own.

Number 8 hesitantly wrapped his arms around Yoon Moo-hwa’s legs. Even with Yoon Moo-hwa suspended in the air, Number 8 was so small that he had to stretch his arms upward just to barely wrap around his thighs. Feeling the small, warm hands, Yoon Moo-hwa let out an inaudible sigh. The sense of guilt weighed even more heavily on his heart.

The child tugged at his heartstrings. Even as he worried that his swaying feet might accidentally step on him.

Unaware of how his presence had complicated Yoon Moo-hwa’s once simple inner thoughts, Number 8 pleaded:

“Can’t you just say you’ll live with us now? I can teach you how to catch fish…”

“As Number 8’s little brother, Number 9?”

“Ah, no, that place is… No. He died. Anyway…! Live with me. Okay? Everyone will like you because you’re big and know how to swim…”

I don’t think so.

Yoon Moo-hwa smiled bitterly.

Not just because he was a navy lieutenant, but for other reasons too, he could never defect. If he did, not only the Pacific S1 branch but the entire Allied Navy would put a bounty on his head. They might even make it DEAD OR ALIVE. Thinking of his father, it would certainly be that way.

“I’m sorry. That’s not possible.”

Yoon Moo-hwa gently reasoned with Number 8. It wasn’t simply fear of being wanted; he was firm in his identity. While it was true that Number 8 had saved his life, he couldn’t participate in illegal activities. Repaying the child’s kindness in this way wouldn’t be right for Number 8 either.

By then, Yoon Moo-hwa had made a vague decision, but Number 8 was too busy crying to notice.

Whatever was making him so sad, he buried his face in the thigh of the man he had only known for two days and shook his head vigorously. His loud sobbing was muffled and indistinct. Even so, it was a childish, unrestrained cry unlike anything before. Perhaps he felt reassured that his voice was muffled by Yoon Moo-hwa’s thick, rock-like thigh, or maybe he was just too overwhelmed by the situation to control himself.

You really are a child after all.

Yoon Moo-hwa felt conflicted at the wailing sound. He couldn’t even pat the child’s head to comfort him now.

Yoon Moo-hwa looked at the round silhouette in the darkness and quietly asked:

“Is it enough just to be with me?”

At those words, Number 8 slowly lifted his head. No matter how good one’s night vision, it’s impossible to see small details in pitch darkness without night vision goggles. So even though Yoon Moo-hwa couldn’t see the long trail of snot as Number 8 lifted his head, he chuckled, imagining what the child must look like.

“Then Number 8 can follow me.”

“Me…?”

“Yes. You come with me.”

“But… I can’t get on a ship yet?”

Number 8 couldn’t imagine any future other than Yoon Moo-hwa being taken away on a ship with the adults. It would be best if Yoon Moo-hwa then told the adults he wanted to work and live with them, but in any case, he himself couldn’t be part of that scene. As much as it hurt his pride, he was still a child not qualified to board a ship…

“What if I take you on board?”

Perhaps it was because the night was so dark and quiet. Number 8 felt the man’s voice and tone were gentler and softer than at any time in the two days he had known him. It was the mystery of darkness and night that made even the slightest change feel so significant.

“If it means getting on the ship together.”

Number 8, who believed there were no ships he could board except the modified vessels the adults used, readily agreed. Surprisingly, when asked by the man, he didn’t even feel afraid of the ship. Perhaps he felt brave thinking that since the man was weak, it was right for him to accompany him.

“Then I’ll go with you.”

Yoon Moo-hwa, while not fully understanding why he made such an offer, found Number 8’s answer endearing and quietly curved his lips.

“Alright.”

Whispering softly, he gently pushed Number 8 with his knee.

“Now go back and sleep. We’ll board the ship together.”

At this quiet dismissal, Number 8 hesitantly backed away. Not realizing it was a request to leave, he bumped his head against an invisible wall.

But soon, with the innocence of a child not lost even in this cruel world, he approached again.

“Just let me feed you this…”

Yoon Moo-hwa laughed like a sigh at the piece of fish the child produced. Number 8 smiled along unknowingly, then blushed bright red at the loud growl from his own stomach.

“Then one bite for me, two bites for you.”

Yoon Moo-hwa spoke again, unlike before, in a gruff and stern tone. Number 8 hesitated, then nodded. Yoon Moo-hwa silently slipped out his aching wrist again. His head bent down deeply.

Even stretching his arm as far as he could on tiptoes, in the darkness Number 8 couldn’t tell if the man was eating well. The man kept urging him to eat, saying he’d had his bite. So Number 8 ate the fish, which may or may not have diminished, along with the tangy and savory sauce.

Before long, a full Number 8 let out a long yawn. Yoon Moo-hwa pushed him away again.

“This is the last time. Go sleep. And brush your teeth. If you don’t, I won’t let you on the ship.”

Drowsy Number 8 hurriedly got up at this soft threat.

Just before leaving through the dog hole, he looked back towards the man, but couldn’t tell if he was watching or not.

“G-good night.”

Number 8 whispered softly, and as if that wasn’t enough, he added:

“We’re really going together. We’re boarding the ship together…”

The man didn’t answer, and Number 8 disappeared unsteadily into the night.

“Ha. Brush your teeth.”

Finally left alone, Yoon Moo-hwa chuckled softly, mulling over his own words. It was absurd.

He had never said such things even when he was young. Brush your teeth and sleep…