Chapter 124 – The North (8)

“Hey. Wake up”

Even now, when I close my eyes, I can clearly recall the old log roof. The trunk of the tree, which had been standing firm in the rain, was wrinkled like the face of an old man. The straw bed was so soft that I couldn’t easily let go of my tired body. My limbs stretched out as if I had fallen into a swamp, and I faced the old wooden roof with only my eyes barely open.

This log cabin, which must have lived longer than me, probably didn’t want to see it for such a long time.

“Hey, the owner told me to move all these things in the morning.”

I turned my head. Blue hair and blue eyes were staring at me clearly. He was a little taller than me and looked a little more mature than me, and he secretly demanded to be called hyung, but I never called him hyung.

His name was number 5. No. 5 was named because he was the 5th person to enter this house. I was number 17, and he helped me, the number that was earlier for me who had just entered.

“What?”

When I stretched out and asked a question, he kicked the cart in front of the door with a face full of annoyance. It was full of barrels with difficult letters I couldn’t read. The barrels looked quite heavy just by looking at them, so I felt myself frowning.

“Mother…”

“Hey, hey, don’t curse. Didn’t you hear what the master said?”

I was well aware of the rule No. 5 spoke of. [You mustn’t say bad words] The rule was to use only nice words for each other in order not to harm the harmonious atmosphere. No. 5 didn’t point out more to me, and I just nodded.

“Help me quickly. I can’t move this on my own.”

At No. 5’s request, I started moving my luggage together. The luggage was very heavy, but it wasn’t so much that two people couldn’t move it. The storage shed next to the dorm was already half-full of goods, as if other children had already moved their luggage.

We went to work without saying a word until half of the cart was empty. I worked hard even for the owner who feeds and puts us to sleep. The children who came here once tasted a miserable life as slaves. Knowing that hell is the only place to go if I get kicked out of here, I tightened my arms even more.

“Hey, hey, go slow.”

As I shortened my stride, No. 5 said with a puzzled face. I could feel him move faster, matching my steps. I stopped to match his movements, and the balancing No. 5 spoke to me.

“You can move again. Thank you.”

It didn’t take that long to move the leftovers. We wiped off our sweat and returned to our lodgings. Bath time was a long way off, but my shirt was wet and I felt uncomfortable. 5, who brought the empty cart back, said to me.

“You worked hard today too.”

“Huh.”

I nodded and threw myself back onto the straw bed. The world was rough, but this straw always hugged me warmly. Number 5 was sitting on a wooden chair in the corner. The chair swayed like it was dancing because its four legs were out of balance. No. 5 liked to deliberately twist his body and make noise with his chair.

“Hey.”

“Why?”

Bath time hadn’t come yet. After the sun went down, we were able to wash. Number 5 stopped tapping the floor with the chair and looked at me. The only time he saw me like this was when we were talking serious things. I showed my dislike, but No. 5 didn’t care.

“When can we get a name?”

We had no names. I was number 17, and the boy with blue hair was number 5. The child who worked the hardest and lived an exemplary life at the facility was given a name. ‘Luna’ after the moon, ‘Ignis’ in the sense of being a person full of passion since it has a fiery personality. The name given to it depends on the owner’s mood that day.

And, after the naming ceremony, the slave documents were burned on the altar. The child, who was no longer a slave, could leave the land as a freedman.

“I want to be a star.”

Number 5 said so. His eyes were watching the setting sun. The boundary between the light blue and ultramarine sky was filled with deep blue like silk. Like scattering sparkling jewels, the stars with their backs to the sun shone towards us. #5 looked at the stars through the window and said so.

“Because I want to become a wonderful person like the stars shining in the sky. They will ask you to name something related to the stars.”

“Do you like stars that much?”

I couldn’t help but be thrilled with the fact that I was given a name too. Because the only thing that defined us was price. A name is the most important element to express oneself, but the name that a slave made for himself was not recognized by anyone. No matter what I introduced my name, people would laugh at me and just give me a number.

All the young slaves had the experience of being slapped for naming themselves. A slave trader with a bulging belly or a missing front tooth would sneer at me with a vulgar grin.

[That’s a great name! But there you are just number 132. Got it? Don’t say crazy things about the name. Can you understand?]

There was only one way for a slave to get a name. Either get the name [Unknown Person] After dying, or get a name before entering a noble family. All slaves taken to factories, quarries, and mines were called by numbers.

“I like stars. It brightens up the night.”

“Then it’s better to call it the moon or the sun.”

Number 5 shook its head at my question. He said with an awkward smile.

“That is too embarrassing. I can’t stand in front of others. I just want to be the person who silently helps others by their side when they shine brightly. So that he can shine more than anyone else,”

Number 5 looked at me again. That gaze seemed to ask what name I wanted. I rolled over and said.

“I don’t know. I’ve never thought about what to name. I just thought that it would be enough if I received it, and that it would be nice if I could receive it with a cool name.”

I got up again. Number 5 was staring at me, waiting for my next words. I asked.

“If you get out of here, where will you go?”

No. 5 said.

“First of all, I want to start farming in the countryside. You can go to a farm or something and work there for a reasonable fee. If you save money like that, you go to the city. And I will study in the city. I want to study hard and find something I can do.”

Issue 5 had a specific plan. That’s what I thought then. Maybe, after spending a long time here, wouldn’t I be able to have the same thoughts as No. 5? Wasn’t that because #5 stayed here too, he could make plans for the future?

“I envy you. There are so many things I don’t know yet, I don’t know where to start learning.”

“Because the master also teaches me to study here. You can learn as much as you want.”

Those words really made my heart race.

Because I also wanted to see the beautiful future drawn by No. 5.

I said to number 5.

“If it goes well, will you let me work?”

“I hate you for being skinny.”

“Wow, that’s too much.”

Jokes were made I didn’t mean it when I asked to do the work, and when I said I didn’t like it because I was thin, I didn’t mean it. Unlike words that draw a line, we cross the line with laughter and face each other. Laughter rang out, and bath time was approaching.

“I-over there…”

We laughed and turned around. A girl with white hair stuck her head out and knocked on her door. It was funny how she knocked even though the door was open, so I laughed. Number 5 asked.

“What?”

“Ah, I’m number 13. That… It’s bath time for the men, so let’s get together quickly.”

She was a smaller child than me. The name No. 13 and her slender appearance aroused my curiosity. Number 5 saw me following the direction where Number 13 had disappeared and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Did you like it?”

“No.”

At that time, I didn’t know much about number 13. I just thought he was a timid kid.

I closed my eyes again and opened them.

Memories began to rewind at a rapid pace like a torrent overflowing in the rainy season. Evan, who was a slave in the facility, was facing familiar sensations with wide eyes and chains. Hopelessness and helplessness. As we were torn apart, we met eyes several times, but couldn’t do more than that.

Because if you scream, you’re right. Because whenever I tried to run away, I was beaten to death.

Number 13 was being carried away in a carriage while sobbing.

Number 5 tried to escape, but was beaten and dragged. I quietly walked down the street.

I went through several owners again like a transfer station, and the last slave trader I met looked at my face here and there and said this as if patronizing.

“Yes, you will now go to the famous Plancian family. Got it? Your name is evan I don’t need another name. You are Evan.”

At that time, I thought it didn’t matter how the name was attached. I thought everyone who could brag about the origin of my name was dead. I thought I was going to die miserably after being beaten up by a nobleman.

But on the one hand, I thought it was fortunate that I got a cool name.

“No. 17.”

With that voice, my mind that went back to the past came back like a wave. I was standing in the middle of a tavern in the north. The clerk was glaring at me as I stood there, and people glanced at me.

And that didn’t matter.

Now. Number 5 was alive and well in front of my eyes. I hesitated, blinking, not knowing what expression to make. My head was dizzy and I was out of breath. Both Alice and Lorena looked at me in bewilderment.

Number 5 approached me and said.

“You got a cool name?”

What should I answer?

I just laughed