C Chapter 63 – Side Story: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2)

Chapter 63
Side Story: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2)

 

Something was suddenly thrust toward Dongbaek. She blinked several times as her eyes struggled to focus on the object that had appeared so abruptly before her. What lay before her eyes were peaches, ripened to an appetizing red and yellow hue.

“What’s this…?”

“…There was a peach tree over there.”

The one who offered the peaches was Yue Jin.

“Please enjoy them, Commander So.”

Using what appeared to be his outer garment as a makeshift bundle, he had gathered quite a few peaches and gruffly handed them over to Dongbaek.

Now that she thought about it, Yue Jin often brought her food. Ever since Lily’s birthday celebration, the frequency had noticeably increased. Although others also occasionally offered her things, the ones from Yue Jin stood out. It wasn’t just the quantity but the memorable nature of the gesture itself. There were likely more instances she couldn’t recall, which only added to the mystery.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy them.”

Dongbaek taking the bundle of peaches with a gracious smile. Yue Jin bowed briefly and walked back to join his comrades, his strides unhurried but firm.

Placing the bundle on her lap, a few peaches rolled off and tumbled to the ground. Dongbaek quickly grabbed one, rubbing it against her sleeve to clean it.

The peach was ripe and ready to eat. She bit into it eagerly, her cheeks puffing slightly as she chewed. The juice was sweet, the flesh tender. Swallowing with a satisfied gulp, she licked her lips lightly.

‘Mmm, this is delicious.’

But no matter how delicious they were, she couldn’t eat them all by herself. She’d take some home for Lily, and… Dongbaek handed a peach to Jin Jin, who was crouching beside her in his damp clothes.

“Don’t stay there in the shade, come over here where there’s sunlight. Here, take a peach.”

Jin Jin kept bowing and expressing his gratitude as he moved to where Dongbaek indicated. It was obvious he had been deliberately avoiding the sunny spot since it was clearly visible from where the soldiers were. Looking at the way he behaved around her—timid and overly formal—it was hard to tell who was the senior between the two.

Just as Dongbaek opened her mouth to devour another peach, she felt a peculiar gaze upon her.

“Hm?”

Dongbaek turned her head toward the gaze. Despite there being over a hundred people present, she pinpointed the exact direction from which the stare came. In fact, it wasn’t difficult since the person was still watching her. The owner of the gaze, who was staring so openly that it couldn’t even be considered furtive, was none other than Yue Jin.

‘Why is he looking at me like that? Surely he’s not upset that I shared the peaches with Jin Jin when they were meant for me alone….’

She chuckled at such a childish thought that seemed ridiculous even to herself. That straight-laced Yue Jin continued to stare at her blankly with his puppy-like gentle eyes. Curious about why he was looking at her that way, Dongbaek gestured for him to come over.

Though he had approached her earlier on his own to give her the peaches, this time it was Dongbaek who summoned him. Yue Jin obeyed immediately, striding over with the disciplined air of a soldier called to duty.

“7th Squad, Yue Jin!”

“Yes, Yue Jin. Why are you staring so intently? Do you regret giving me the peaches?”

Dongbaek raised her voice playfully, careful not to sound scolding.

“No, sir.”

Yue Jin denied it with a brief answer. Seeing that he seemed to have trouble continuing his words, Dongbaek pressed once more.

“I won’t know unless you tell me. I won’t scold you, so speak up.”

Speaking to someone as if coaxing a child not to be angry wasn’t appropriate when addressing a grown man in his twenties from a teenager. Was it just her imagination that she seemed to be playing the role of a babysitter today? If Cao Cao saw this, he would have been rolling on the floor laughing.

“…Commander So…”

Yue Jin stopped there and fell silent again. He appeared to be carefully choosing his words internally, and Dongbaek tried to guess what could be so serious as to require such consideration.

His dark eyes beneath thick eyebrows sparkled like ripe hazelnuts. However, compared to Dongbaek’s concerns, Yue Jin’s words were almost absurdly simple.

“I just enjoyed watching you eat with such pleasure. I’m sorry if it bothered you. I won’t do it again.”

“…What?”

Dongbaek blinked, caught off guard. Enjoying watching me eat? Well, I do eat heartily… Unable to fully accept such a questionable reason, Dongbaek stroked her smooth chin and let out a sigh.

Dongbaek decided to believe Yue Jin’s words anyway, compromising with herself that it was better to look good eating than bad.

Yue Jin had told the truth, in his own way. On Lily’s birthday, the image of Dongbaek eagerly eating the sweets he had given as a present had left a particularly strong impression. What had that thumping in his chest meant then? Why had he been so moved? Wondering if he might find answers by watching Dongbaek eat, Yue Jin kept bringing her food and observing.

Dongbaek ate well everything he brought. Despite her refined and neat appearance, she heartily enjoyed everything given to her. And each time he saw this, something stirred deep in Yue Jin’s chest.

Yue Jin quietly marveled. Ah, so that’s why—I enjoy watching Commander So eat with such pleasure. It was a characteristically straightforward, simple, and innocent conclusion for Yue Jin.

“Alright, then. It’s not like I minded that much. Don’t worry about it.”

Given Yue Jin’s demeanor—he seemed like he would never look her way again if she said it bothered her—Dongbaek had no choice but to say it was okay.

At Dongbaek’s permission, Yue Jin bowed deeply, apologized once more, and left. Dongbaek didn’t dwell on this incident for long, filing it away in her memories as just another occurrence. Just something to remember as, ‘Ah, that happened.’

However, unlike Dongbaek, who easily forgot about it, Yue Jin took this as explicit permission and committed it firmly to memory. After this, he continued to scrape together whatever he could from his meager means to keep feeding Dongbaek.

Dongbaek let out a soft sigh. As Yue Jin strode back to his position, there were sudden sounds of heads turning here and there. Though she had thought everyone was too busy to pay attention, it seemed they had all been eavesdropping with pricked ears. Even for Dongbaek, talking about being watched and eating well was somewhat embarrassing.

Just then, there was a sound of birds taking flight. A flock of white birds embroidered the sky, which was already tinged orange. Come to think of it, they had been there for quite a while. Seeing the sun setting, Dongbaek thought this was perfect timing and clapped her hands.

“Alright, alright! That’s it for today—dismissed!”

Along with the cheerful, clear sound of clapping hands, hundreds of soldiers responded with a resounding “Yes!” Their voices were so loud that the bushes rustled. It was hard to believe these were the same men who had been barely alive this morning.

Well, at least today’s little outing was worth it. Dongbaek stood up with a satisfied smile, dusting off her clothes.

-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-

Lily smiled brightly when she received Dongbaek’s outer garment as she came home much later than usual.

“You must have had a lot of work today.”

Exhausted from watching over soldiers who behaved no better than children all day, Dongbaek gave a tired smile as she removed her clothes.

“The weather was unbearable, so I took the subordinates out to play in the water for a bit.”

Dongbaek said, lying back on the long sofa. Lily brought her tea and sat close beside her.

“You went swimming? Oh, that must have been fun.”

“What’s fun about it? I just had to watch, couldn’t even get in the water myself.”

Lily smiled gently at Dongbaek, who was uncharacteristically pouting and complaining. Their relationship hadn’t changed even after Lily learned that Dongbaek was a woman.

Dongbaek’s hair slipped down onto her forehead. Lily reached out with her well-groomed, delicate fingers to fix it.

“You say that, but I know you enjoyed watching your subordinates have fun.”

“No, really, I was quite annoyed this time! In this heat, too!”

Dongbaek was genuinely sulking. That Yue Jin, teasing me like that. What’s with staring at me while I eat? And Wang Bi too, trying to tempt me when he knows I can’t go in—how frustrating!

While outside, she could handle men old enough to be her father like children, at home in front of Lily, Dongbaek turned into a whining child. It was a side she couldn’t show in front of Zhang Rang or even Geum Danyo.

Even before Geum Danyo, who knew she was a woman, Dongbaek always had to present herself as a proper man. To prove she had no regrets about her choice. To keep Geum Danyo from worrying.

But Lily accepted Dongbaek no matter what. No matter who you are, I’ll always love you. Those words from Lily had become an even stronger mental support than Dongbaek had expected.

Lily stroked Dongbaek’s fine hair as if soothing her. After some time passed like this, Dongbaek suddenly clapped as if remembering something.

“Ah, I have a good idea!”

Dongbaek sat up abruptly and brought her face right in front of Lily’s nose as she spoke. Though Lily leaned back in surprise, Dongbaek’s large hand pulled her shoulder first. Dongbaek exclaimed excitedly with an animated expression.

“Let’s go swimming in the valley, just the two of us. What do you think? I’ve been given tomorrow and the day after off, so let’s take this chance to go on an outing.”

Her eyes sparkled with joy as she spoke. Lily, caught off guard by the sudden suggestion, blinked rapidly, her round eyes rolling in confusion. But soon she nodded at Dongbaek’s words, breaking into a smile as lovely as if she had bitten into a red jade.

Where should we go? What should we bring? What should we do when we get there? The ideas flowed out of them, their conversation bubbling with excitement.

And then there were the peaches. The ones Yue Jin had gathered earlier were still sitting at home, plenty for them to bring along.

Under the moonlight, Dongbaek and Lily whispered to each other, planning their little trip together. The white moonlight filtered softly into the room, illuminating the two of them. It was a delightful time, like a dream.

Like a midsummer night’s dream, leaving only a lingering resonance before fading away.

-ˋˏ ༻❁✿❀༺ ˎˊ-