episode_0055

A group of five or six women are lined up and leaving the food distribution tent. They have solid bodies, tall stature, and each has distinct and unique facial features. At first glance, they look like beautiful models walking down a runway, but in this world, they are unpopular women from the special forces with a total of zero relationships (when limited to the opposite sex).

“Wow, can you stop bringing out pickled side dishes? Since when has it been coming out every single day without fail?”

Remili walks with her long legs, making a dirty, thumping sound.

“I’m fine, right? It’s refreshing and cool⋯.”

One of the commandos put his hand inside his tunic, scratched his chest, sniffed, and spoke.

“That’s right. I’ve only been eating mushy vegetables that were dried and soaked until last winter, so it’s nice to have something crunchy.”

“Which region is this food from?”

“Well, I heard the manager’s husband makes it, so I guess it’s something they eat in the western region.”

The members are all talking noisily.

“I absolutely hate sour things. Last time, you served it boiled, how am I supposed to eat that?”

Remili grumbled, frowning.

“I don’t know about that. They say that when you have a baby, you want to eat something new.”

“⋯Is that true? People’s tastes can’t change that easily.”

Remili looks back with a suspicious face.

“It’s a famous story… I don’t know what it is… ”

They had never had children, so they had no way of knowing. They knew that it was impossible for them to verify this with each other, so the conversation naturally turned to speculation.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s not me but the baby in my stomach that wants to eat it. If that’s the case, I should eat it without hesitation.”

“Oh ⋯. The captain’s daughter would be nice! She would resemble the captain, so she wouldn’t lack anything.”

“Of course. How would I feel if I saw my child who looked exactly like me but had a younger body⋯.”

“What a cute and small captain⋯⋯.”

One of the soldiers following behind muttered and swallowed hard.

“Huh? What did you say?”

Remili looking back.

“Ah, it’s nothing!⋯But are there any good signs these days? Are you interested in seeing your successor?”

Startled, she naturally tried to cover it up and changed the subject.

“Ahhh⋯⋯. Oh, by the way, there’s something I wanted to ask you guys.”

Remili continued, clapping her hands as if remembering something.

“So⋯ what do you think it means to allow kissing between men and women?”

Remili asks questions while hesitating.

“What does that mean? Well, that means… I guess it means that you have affection!”

The agents tilted their heads and answered with faces like, “Why are you asking such things?”

“Right? You guys think so too? I wonder if there’s another meaning to it.”

Remili added, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“But this isn’t my story. It’s something I heard somewhere. What should I take it to mean when a man with a lover allows another woman to touch his lips? This isn’t my story.”

At her words, the members’ faces become even more puzzled.

“That’s just being sloppy. I hate men who move their bodies around carelessly.”

slap

“That’s not that kind of person, is it? Without even knowing⋯⋯.”

One of the agents, who had been hit by Remili without knowing English, pouts and pats his shoulder. Remili decides that there is no way he would act recklessly since he likes books and stars.

“Look at it a little more broadly. You guys aren’t popular with men because you only look at relationships between men and women in such a one-dimensional way. Aren’t there other possibilities?”

On a topic that was equally unpopular, the members felt a little wronged.

“The one who said that an impure man is a sin was the captain⋯.”

“Cultures might be different. In some countries over there, kissing might not be a big deal.”

“Really? There’s such a culture?”

“No, I don’t know. Maybe it could be so, that’s what I’m saying.”

“Euuum⋯⋯. A man who doesn’t know the meaning of a kiss⋯. If I responded to him, it would be unladylike⋯.”

“Am I⋯ talking?”

“No, someone I know. This guy keeps nitpicking.”

When Remili, who had been feeling sorry, raised her hand again and made a gesture to hit, the poor agent crouched down.

“Or, the easiest way to think about it is that your mind has changed or you are hesitating? It feels like the beginning of a new love.”

As the answer she had been secretly wanting to hear finally came out, Remili’s expression brightened noticeably.

“Right? Actually, I thought so too. It’s really difficult, being a popular girl.”

Remili shrugs and grumbles.

“Since it’s like this, how about we have a drink and talk some more? I think this girl will feel better today. What do you think? Tomorrow won’t be much of a problem either.”

Feeling better, Remili draped both arms over the men’s shoulders and reached into her pockets, which were bulging with coins.

“Ah, today is a bit⋯.”

As the agents each made troubled faces, Remili tilted her head.

“What the heck, you guys, when you always whine to me to please hug you? It’s disappointing.”

“That’s not it. The scouts said they have something to move tomorrow morning. They’re such hardcore guys that if we don’t help them from start to finish, they won’t be able to do it properly.”

“⋯⋯I see. I guess there’s nothing I can do. If you keep harassing them, they won’t let you off easy. You know that, right?”

It was true that she was upset, but Remili thought that since it was an order she had once given, there was nothing she could do.

“I know!”

“Ugh,⋯⋯⋯Whoa.”

Remili, who had entered the room and closed the door, stretched her arms above her head and stretched. Even with the herbs hanging and the bedding washed and dried in the sun, there was a clear atmosphere in her small room that a lonely woman lived in. The sound of the winter wind blowing in through the small window frame on one wall added to the loneliness.

“⋯⋯.”

She stood blankly in the desolate and lonely room, reaching into the clothes piled neatly in one corner of the room and pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. The picture depicting various acts between a man and a woman was almost unrecognizable because it was faded here and there, but the works that are commonly referred to as classic masterpieces do not lose their value with the passage of time.

Remili picked up the handkerchief hanging on the windowsill and the glass bottle of perfume placed on the bedside table, then threw herself onto the bed.

Knock knock

“Ah.”

Remili gritted her teeth at the sound of a knock outside the door. She wiped the oil she had poured on her hands with a handkerchief, muttered a curse under her breath, and pulled up her trousers again.

“Who is it at this hour⋯⋯.”

Remili opens the door with a frown.

“Did you come here too suddenly?”

The one standing before her was none other than Memer. He was wearing a coat made of round fur and a veil that showed his insides, and he shook the bottle of wine he held in one hand.

“How about a drink? I’m bored just sleeping like this. There are things we can talk about just the two of us.”

Memer tapped the bottle of liquor with his hand, which was covered in three or four jewel-encrusted rings. He seemed to be covered in a luxurious and even strange scent that was incomparable to the cheap perfume that Remili had bought as a lubricant.

“Hmm, hmm.⋯What do you want to say? Just say it.”

Remili unconsciously swallowed her saliva and coughed repeatedly as if embarrassed, then asked in a tone full of caution.

“Hey, you don’t have to be so cold to me. Do you think I’m favoring Ailee? I’m alone today. Your sister isn’t here right now.”

Memer smiled brightly and stroked the bottle of wine in his hand.

“Anyone can see it, what the⋯. Hey, come in first. What are you wearing in this weather? It’s cold⋯.”

Remili scratched her head, opened the door wide, and let Memer in. Chunhwa was hidden under the bed, so it was safe.

“You also wear sandals and walk around barefoot. You live in this room? It’s cleaner than I thought.”

Memer took off his outer garment and hung it gently on the hanger by the door, then walked around the room lightly and looked around. Remili sniffled, worried that there might be a strange smell coming from the room.

“It’s just because I clean it often.”

Remili muttered, looking at the floor.

“Ahahaha. Why are you standing there like that? It’s like you’re the guest and I’m the owner of the room. Are you really tired today?”

Memer sat down on the edge of the bed and took out two glasses from his bosom.

“No⋯ You don’t seem that tired⋯⋯. Just⋯. What do you want?”

Remili, sitting with her knees slightly crossed, lets out a voice that is so muffled it’s hard to hear. She’s embarrassed that she’s nervous in front of a man.

“Okay, take it. It’s not that serious, so you can relax. You like your own drink just like your mother. Don’t you?”

Remili accepts the glass that Memer offers her in a flustered manner.

“Yeah, but that guy should have eaten in moderation. He’s done so many things because of alcohol⋯.”

A transparent, light pink liquid pours into the glass with a gurgling sound. The glass sparkles in the dim lighting of the room.

“Hehehe. I liked it, but why, she was such a great person. If I were Belua Kindle’s daughter, I would be so proud.”

Memer poured some wine into his own glass and put the bottle on the floor. Remili carefully tilted her glass, her hands trembling with nervousness, and took a sip.

“I’m not saying that I’m ashamed. The name Kindle is more precious to me than anything else, so even though we’re all scattered now.”

Whether it was the alcohol, the strange perfume, or something else, Remili’s heart was beating faster and faster without her knowing it.

“Kindle, Kindle. What a pretty pronunciation. It’s a name I want to say over and over again.”

Memer said, sipping his wine.

“Memer Kindle. What do you think, not a bad name?”

“⋯⋯⋯!”

He suddenly grabbed Remili’s hand and interlocked his fingers, startling her and making her eyes widen.

“Aha, I said that because I’ve known you for so long that I feel like you’re family. I don’t have any blood relatives left.”

Memer, who was talking like that, smiled. However, his hands were still clasped together, and he was slowly caressing Remili’s hand with his small hand.

“Oh, I see⋯⋯.”

She was alone in the room with the man she once held in her heart. But for some reason, Remili felt like she kept thinking of someone else’s face.

“If I hadn’t trusted Songrad so much, what would Kindle be like now? It’s just a hypothesis, though.”

Remili turns her head at Memer’s words.

“Well, I decided not to think about it as anyone’s fault.”

“Honey, it’s about time you knew. Kindle was used as a long-term pawn and then thrown away. To the family that served him faithfully for generations. ”

Now, Memer was getting so close that their bodies were almost touching. Her nerves were starting to focus on the part of her left side that was touching him.

“⋯⋯.”

“You can hug me.”

“⋯⋯!”

Memer whispered.

“Don’t think of it as just my personal greed. The captain doesn’t know anything about what happened in the South. As a person involved, as someone who shares the same grudge, if you just give me your opinion once… .⋯Ugh!”

Before Memer could finish speaking, Remili pushed him down on the bed, her upper body completely covering his small frame.

In the small room where only the sound of the wind could be heard, no one moved and the silence continued. Memer smiled slightly. I expected it, but I didn’t think it would be this easy.

“Please be gentle⋯.”

“⋯⋯Sorry.”

But suddenly, Remili jumps up from her seat.

“Why⋯?”

Memer made a face as if he couldn’t understand.

“I think it’s enough to use it as a long-term thing and then throw it away.”

At Remili’s words, his expression began to distort. She picked up the glass, put it aside, and reached out to Memer, who was lying down.

“⋯Is that so? Then do whatever you want.”

He shook Remley’s hand away and got up from his seat. He pushed her away with nervous steps, picked up his coat, and ran outside.