GB 15

When Haero woke up in the morning, he was almost dizzy trying to adjust to a completely changed world.

Yoon Moo-hwa didn’t leave Haero, who was still confused, alone. Haero brushed his teeth while listening to Yoon Moo-hwa explain that today they would get vaccinations and buy clothes, toothbrushes, and non-spicy toothpaste.

Yoon Moo-hwa rolled up Haero’s sleeves as they dripped while he held the toothbrush in his mouth.

“Can you sleep alone tonight?”

“During the day… I think I can.”

“But you’re not sure about the night?”

Haero nodded.

Yoon Moo-hwa handed Haero a towel, then rinsed his own mouth and took back the towel, muttering, “Just like the sea.”

Haero only knew a small part of the sea. Guessing that the sea Yoon Moo-hwa knew meant something different from what he knew, Haero tilted his head.

“When the sun sets, the swells get stronger. Swells are… waves. They get higher and faster.”

Since seasickness is something you adapt to rather than something that disappears, many crew members would brace themselves rather than admire the beauty when they saw the sunset turning the sea red.

“Coming out here, I feel strange, like I’ve become a child who knows nothing,” Haero mumbled a bit dejectedly. “On the island, I had to take care of Yoon Moo-hwa, ah, no, I mean, hyung.”

In fact, even then, Yoon Moo-hwa had managed pretty well on his own.

However, thanks to Haero’s excellent initial first aid, his survival rate had increased, and as a result, he didn’t need to spend a long time in the hospital after returning. So he gruffly comforted Haero, “That’s right. That’s how it was. If we end up in a place like that again, you can take care of me.”

But that was unlikely to happen.

If it hadn’t been a high-speed boat, it probably wouldn’t have wrecked so easily in the first place. Yoon Moo-hwa deeply realized from this experience that no matter how much technology advances, there are still many blind spots. Especially as they approached the mangrove coast, it became more disadvantageous for the navy.

Moreover, with the exponential increase in extraterritoriality, pirates who illegally modify machines in places where old civilization facilities remain, and the brokers dealing with them, were a big problem. Even this time, Yoon Moo-hwa hadn’t sensed any signs of attack other than the engine noise he heard.

If I interrogate that captain, I might be able to catch at least one broker.

Lost in thought, Yoon Moo-hwa didn’t even hear Haero calling him.

“Yoon Moo-hwa!”

He finally snapped out of it when he heard Haero calling “Yoon Moo-hwa!” after the whining sounds of “Hyung, Hyung.”

When he turned around, Haero looked puzzled. “Is your wound hurting? You didn’t answer when I called!”

“Don’t say Yoon Moo-hwa, you should say ‘hyung.'”

“I’m still… not used to it,” Haero mumbled.

Haero had no idea that Yoon Moo-hwa was thinking about interrogating the adults Haero had trusted and followed.

Even if Haero knew, Yoon Moo-hwa wouldn’t have hidden it or sugar-coated it. To Haero, they were neither adults nor guardians. Yoon Moo-hwa stared intently at the part of Haero’s shoulder covered by clothes. The mark left by something that looked like an iron with countless needles, stamped on young skin all at once, would follow Haero for life. What was scary wasn’t the tattoo that was hard to erase, but people’s prejudices that were hard to disappear.

They said they’d have to keep going to the hospital for a while. Haero asked if there was anything he could do in the meantime. He felt uncomfortable just eating without contributing anything. Even as he asked this question, Haero was holding a hot dog in his hand. Every time he bit into the sugar-coated bread, it felt like flowers were bursting in his mouth, and although he felt uneasy about eating without contributing, his mouth kept moving.

While Haero’s mouth was constantly chewing, his eyes rolled around as if he was watching for something. 

Yoon Moo-hwa spoke to him, “You can contribute gradually. We don’t usually ask for such things from kids your age.”

Today, Yoon Moo-hwa was driving himself.

Haero still found cars fascinating. These large machines that could travel long distances in an instant could even go faster than ships, he said. However, because they couldn’t travel on water, ships were still needed. Yoon Moo-hwa explained that in today’s world, ships were the most important.

As they drove past the road next to the harbor where ships were docked, Haero pressed his head against the window, eyes wide open, watching the vast blue surface of the water. But there was no one swimming there.

“If no one goes fishing in the sea, how is there food to eat every day?”

“It’s not people, but ships that go out and bring back supplies… that is, food and goods.”

“Where I was, such ships didn’t come and go, but we still had things. Food too.”

“I’ll explain that to you later.” Yoon Moo-hwa hadn’t yet found the most appropriate time to explain to Haero about the existence of pirates.

The day might come when someone else would explain it, but Haero was wary of others and might not believe even if he heard it. If Haero did believe, he might start doubting Yoon Moo-hwa. Why didn’t he tell him? How did Yoon Moo-hwa return to the island then? What about the adults?

As these worries chained together, the inevitable confusion about identity would surge even greater. Like the sea after sunset.

“Everything here is big and unfamiliar, it’s all dizzying,” Haero finally mumbled, sinking into his seat. “I feel like I’ve really become a little kid.”

You are indeed a little kid.

Yoon Moo-hwa, afraid he might blurt this out unconsciously, rubbed his lips with his fingers and just mumbled, “Hmm. It won’t be easy to adapt. It will take time.”

“There are so many times when I don’t understand what Yoon Moo-hwa says.”

Yoon Moo-hwa decided to let it slide this time. However, breaking the habit of saying “Yoon Moo-hwa” so casually would be helpful for Haero. He would need to learn how to meticulously hide his past as Number 8 as soon as possible.

But for some reason, a corner of his mind questioned whether Haero really needed to hide it. He couldn’t even imagine Haero trying to hide it.

“Then do you want to go back?”

I’m being so petty. Yoon Moo-hwa self-deprecated. There was nowhere for Haero to return to.

That island was already empty. The military would interrogate the captain and deputy commanders, whom Haero might have admired and respected, to find the broker. After that, they would serve their sentences. It certainly wouldn’t be a light punishment. It would be too cruel for Haero to realize this and shatter his illusions about the people he had lived with.

Nevertheless, Yoon Moo-hwa decided to ask for Haero’s opinion. For the last time, “Do you want to go back? Don’t you like it here?”

Haero turned to look at Yoon Moo-hwa. Seeing that resentful look in his eyes, Yoon Moo-hwa had to admit. Haero is a smart kid so he noticed that Yoon Moo-hwa was being spiteful.

There was no need to be spiteful, but Yoon Moo-hwa was annoyed at the thought of having to tell Haero that he had no place to return to and no family left if he became disappointed with life here. It was truly a petty thing to do. To a child. Moreover, this child was the one who had saved his life.

“But I’d prefer if you didn’t go back.” So Yoon Moo-hwa decided to apologize.

By being more honest.

Why did he bring Haero? He could have left him at the facility. He could have considered his responsibility fulfilled by removing Haero from that place where the treatment was harsh and the environment itself was tough for children, and then left. Why did he insist on bringing Haero himself?

The life debt he mentioned to Yoon Sang-won. There was a more complex consideration than could be explained in just three words. In fact, it was a much more personal matter.

“I don’t plan to retire, that is, quit, until it’s time, and if so, I’ll continue to fight maritime criminals in the future. I don’t want to hesitate each time, wondering if I might be fighting against you.”

Every time Yoon Moo-hwa boarded a ship and checked the casualties, every time he turned over a fallen body, every time he had to face captured pirates, he didn’t want to experience even a moment of hesitation wondering if there might be a familiar face. Especially if it was Haero’s face… it would be really unpleasant.

“Let’s say you go back there and, if you’re lucky, you grow up and even board a ship. When the moment comes for you to point a gun, could you bear it if I was at the other side?”

Haero’s eyes wavered.

Yoon Moo-hwa had tried to be honest to apologize for being petty, but he was too honest, and the child was once again bewildered.

This approach might be somewhat wrong, but Yoon Moo-hwa had never dealt with children before, so he didn’t know how. However, through his own words, Yoon Moo-hwa reaffirmed that his decision had been the right choice. There would be nothing worse than having each other’s faces at the end of gun barrels.

Moreover, ‘if you’re lucky’  meant ‘if you’re lucky enough to become an adult.’

This statement was also bitter. If Haero had remained as Number 8, the chances of Number 8 growing up to get a name would have been slim.

After waiting for a moment, Yoon Moo-hwa turned to look at Haero and realized his mistake.

The child was clutching his pants tightly, tears streaming down his face. Haero’s wide-open eyes, tightly closed lips, and puffed cheeks looked utterly miserable.

Yoon Moo-hwa thought his words might sound a bit harsh, but he didn’t expect him to cry.

Flustered, Yoon Moo-hwa abruptly turned the car around in a no U-turn zone and drove into the fast-food restaurant right in front of them.