Chapter 6 – Part 1 (I won’t lose you 1 )

“Lieutenant, I need you to take a look at this!”

“Ha, ha. I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Soon, the screams of shouting soldiers pierced his ears.

A voice rose above the din.

“Anne, please, help me here!”

The walls within Evan’s walls shook violently.

He quickly scanned his surroundings: he was standing in a crowded field hospital.

Without realizing his shoe was off, Evan began to frantically search for someone. Then his eyes caught sight of a woman.

How long had she been running around…?

She was dressed in a beige military uniform stained with the blood of the wounded, and her exhaustion was evident on her face.

Evan stared at her in disbelief for a moment, then clenched his fists.

She was wiping the sweat off her forehead and around her eyes when she suddenly stopped and looked up.

Evan casually grabbed the bottle next to him and slowly walked over.

‘This happened before.’

As he expected, Anne staggered back, unable to open her eyes.

She let out a small groan of disbelief and Evan picked her up.

“Open your eyes. I’ll wash it out with water.”

He poured water over her eyes and carefully wiped the wet areas with his thumb.

Her body heat, proof that she was alive, transmitted to his whole body.

She urgently stood upright and stared intently at him.

She seemed unperturbed even upon seeing his face.

Continuing out of habit, he held her hand and spoke.

“First, take a break. Right now…”

“No. I appreciate the gesture, but there’s something more urgent.”

“What?”

She ignored his question and ran off into the distance.

Evan was beginning to wonder if what was happening was a mirage.

The only difference was that it had been a sunny afternoon when he’d first met her, but now it was drizzling, and he felt a little chilly.

Evan stood there for a long moment.

“Commander, what are you doing?”

“…….”

Adjutant Joseph picked up a distant boot and placed it in front of Evan.

After looking at the commander strangely when he didn’t answer, Joseph put one arm around his waist and said.

“Even if we’re not in the middle of a battle, you should still wear your boots.”

“…….”

Joseph, who thought the commander was behaving unusually out of character, placed his hand on Evan’s forehead.

It was as if a screw had been loosened somewhere in his usually stoic demeanor. Watching his superior closely, Joseph spoke up.

“Ah, do you have a fever or something? Are you unwell? I’ll call that army doctor you were talking about earlier. The soldiers say she’s incredibly skilled.”

“…How would you know that?”

Joseph replied with a shrug.

“Oh, the medical corps’ gossip spreads fast.”

…Unbelievable.”

Evan cursed under his breath.

His own adjutant before waking up hadn’t been this talkative.

Evan’s face fell in disbelief as he realized that the reticent lieutenant had been an act.

Realizing that the usually reserved Joseph’s demeanor was an act, Evan showed an expression of disbelief.

Evan couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with joy, wondering why this good fortune had come to him. His heart was pounding and his fingertips were shaking.

Trying to hide this, Evan ordered Joseph,

“Statement of Official Ranks.”

“What?”

“Just say something.”

“Can I really say anything? Come on, Commander, this isn’t going to be a thought test, haha.”

Hearing Joseph’s words, Evan groped himself. The muscles he hadn’t moved in a while had filled out again.

He felt something hard and angular in the pocket of his uniform.

An emerald that glowed in the dark.

It was a ring, a memento of his mother’s.

It was his mother’s relic. Tears formed in the corners of Evan’s eyes as he remembered the ring Anne had worn around her neck.

“Oh, are you curious about the stories circulating within the unit? Even though they’re mostly trivial, some are quite amusing. It’s hard to keep a stiff upper lip in the middle of a war… Commander?”

Joseph, scratching the back of his head, muttered to himself, “Ah, I talked too much, didn’t I?” and quickly went back to his paperwork.

Evan watched Anne examine the patient in the distance. His heart ached as he remembered the painful days of regret and loss.

Evan walked toward Anne with wide strides.

‘I hope this isn’t a dream.’

Worried that it might be a dream, Evan tried to keep a straight face, not wanting to disappoint himself, but it wasn’t as easy as he thought.

When the patient stabilized, Anne stood up. She was about to move to another patient when Evan quickly approached her.

He pulled her into a tight hug.

“Wow, what’s going on?”

“What? Did they have some connection before deployment?”

There was the sound of shuffling soldiers.

“Anne.”

“…No, I, I mean, what happened…. Can you let me go, all of a sudden….”

Her confused voice was vividly audible.

“Are you alive?”

“Yes? I, uh, I’m alive….”

Anne smiled awkwardly.

It was an odd response to a ridiculous question.

Evan muttered, unable to take his eyes off her.

“That’s enough. That’s all that matters.”

* * *

Anne had been having a terrible headache for the past week.

Even while eating, her head buried in her tray, she felt a persistent gaze.

Now she felt a bit afraid, as his blue eyes were always watching her, even when she passed by him by chance.

‘What, did I… do something wrong? No, but even if I did, he just stared at me like that without saying a word….’

Sometimes, she got angry when she noticed those blue eyes watching her even in the dark night.

‘“Am I being stalked now?’

In Kang Ba-wool’s world, this was clearly stalking, but the reaction of those around him was different.

Passing medics made heart signs with their hands, pleased that the commander was following her.

Anne narrowed her eyes.

Kyle, sitting at the desk with his head propped up, grinned and teased.

“So, Anne, what are you going to do? That person is pouring a lot of attention on you.”

“What nonsense are you talking about, Kyle?”

In a society with a class system, it was hard to believe a duke-born commander liked her. If he just wanted a one-night stand, that might be another story…

Anne scrambled to her feet.

She sighed heavily as she watched Commander Evan Davis do the same at the far table. The corners of Kyle’s mouth almost reached the tips of his ears.

“Kyle!”

“…Why? Can’t I even laugh freely?”

Anne threw her hands up in frustration at Kyle’s exasperated tone.

“Th-that’s not it. I’m serious!”

“Okay. Okay.”

“Oh… What is he trying to do? Should I ask him if he likes me?”

Phew.

Kyle burst into small laughter, and Anne glared at him resentfully. Kyle quickly straightened his face and spoke.

“Ah, sorry. Yeah, that might be best. If you leave it like this, it won’t be you I’m worried about, but… the commander might…”

‘He might collapse from lack of sleep. I really don’t know why he’s acting like this.’

It was hard to tell because Anne was trying her best not to pay Commander Evan Davis any mind.

But the medics in the field hospital watching the two of them could see what was coming.

Evan Davis would be brought to the field hospital at least once.

Because he hovered around Lieutenant Anne Riley’s vicinity for 24 hours, catching cat naps here and there.

Even while carrying a bundle of documents, he stayed close to Anne. Kyle rubbed his chin, thinking Evan’s behavior was strange as he kept a certain distance.

Anne tied her hair back into a ponytail and spoke.

“Ah, I’m going. Oh, and take good care of the epileptic patient.”

“But, Anne, we can’t keep that patient here forever.”

The average soldier could only stay in a field hospital for so long. A sudden attack like an epileptic seizure was usually unrecognized, and after a certain amount of time, he would be sent back to his unit.

After much deliberation, Anne wrote to the Evian family, the owners and benefactors of the Carl Hessentz Field Hospital, but all she got back was a profanity-laced reply.

“Hold on, I’ll think about it.”

Anne replied, and left the room.

She slipped out of the field hospital and headed down a less-traveled trail.

She’d been walking for about ten minutes when she felt a presence.

Anne looked around, hoping to find the commander, who must have followed her.

But unlike her expectation of running into him right away, she didn’t see Evan until she was well off the trail.

He was clearly following him.

There was only one reason she hadn’t seen him on the right path. Anne clenched her fists and shivered.

He’s gone into the woods.