LEE HOWON

Being the new member of a group isn’t easy. You have to memorize the names of the other members, understand everyone’s rank and position, and adapt yourself to the existing habits the group uses to function. Being both a new member and the youngest is even more troublesome. All the frivolous, y tasks are delegated to you. This situation is exactly the one that Lee Howon finds himself in.

Since early that morning Howon had to carry and load all the baggage onto the carts. Once he had finished with one cart, more would appear. The other new members were in the same boat, but he was made even busier because every now and then the seniors called upon him, telling him to do this and that, giving him additional tasks. Although he was busy and the tasks were tiring, a smile never disappeared from his lips. He even made time to help his friends with their own tasks, beyond what he already had to do. That was why the members liked Howon, he always smiled and helped them.

That day, Howon's team would carry out a mission of sending food and other commodities. Since the incident, commonly called The Breaching, in the Shiganshina District two years ago, the other districts inside Wall Maria had become isolated. They were caged within the high walls bordering their districts, and food was becoming scarce. Thus, all the teams in the Survey Corps took turns in sending food to the districts within Wall Maria. Except to the Shiganshina District, of course, since no one lived in that district anymore.

Although the delivery missions had been going on for quite some time, this was the very first mission for Howon and his classmates. They had just graduated from the military academy two weeks ago, but before they could do anything they had to finalize their training. Once they were deemed sufficient, they were sent to join in the delivery mission. Nothing was particularly special about the mission, the formation was quite simple and they only had to guard the food, staying out of danger as much as possible.

That is why the mission took place at night; the danger risk was much lower than during the day. Still, it was a risky mission.The possibility of getting killed was always looming over their heads.

When the sun was right above the heads, all the food had been delivered from the warehouse and loaded in the wagons and carts, which were parked next to the front gate, ready to be send out. They only needed to wait for the sun set. Two of the new members were forced to stay and watch the carts, while the other soldiers had their lunch break. Howon stayed in the eating quarters only long enough to finish before he ran back to join his friends who were assigned to watch the carts.

"Hi, Soryong, Daeryong," Howon greeted, raising the bags of food in his hand high.

Soryong and Daeryong cheered as they snatched the bags from Howon. "Whoa, you are really an angel, Howon," said Soryong.

"Definitely," Daeryong agreed, "we almost starved to death out here. What was in those seniors' mind when they told us to watch these carts? Did they think we don't need to eat? It would be ironic if I die of starvation when I’m guarding carts full of food. It’d be like a mouse dying in a barn! Moreover, we also need to rest and recharge after carrying tons of rice sacks since this morning, and on top of that we'll have a long journey tonight."

Howon chuckled. "Ah, you sound like you're assigned to guard the carts till tonight when in reality you only have to stand guard for an hour. Just bear with it, you'll be replaced by someone else after the hour ends."

"Howon, don't you know, one minute feels like one hour when you're starving. Then, one hour… feels like one day," said Daeryong in a serious tone, noisily chewing the food that Howon had brought him.

"Go back to the post," Soryong suggested to Howon, ignoring his twin. "Get some rest. It's hot here, you'll get tired easily. You worked hard, right? After our shift ends, we'll come back to the post too."

"It's okay, I'll keep you company. I don't have watch duty, so I'm alright," Howon refused, shaking his head.

"Oh… Howon, you're sooo kind. You're really so understanding, to tell you the truth I've been so bored because I have to stand guard with Soryong. You don’t know, but he’s a cold man, aren't you? Since earlier, he hasn’t responded to anything I’ve said. Maybe instead of dying of starvation, I'll die of boredom first," Daeryong sighed.

"Yah, you're the one who is too mouthy," Soryong barked, raising his hand and trying to hit Daeryong's head. But Daeryong nimbly dodged it and stuck out his tongue, making fun of Soryong.

Howon snickered again.

Soryong and Daerong were his close friends since attending the academy. Though they were twins, they had very different natures, Soryong was more calm whilst Daeryong was more carefree and hot-blooded. Besides that, they were identical.

"But Howon, you're really are kind," said Soryong suddenly, no longer paying attention to his brother who was still sticking his tongue out, "too kind, actually. I'm afraid because of your kindness you'll be used by people, or make you’ll fall into a troublesome situation."

Howon smiled. "That won't happen," he said.

Soryong's face suddenly turned grim. "For the mission tonight, I want you to promise me that you'll think about your own safety first. If there's a danger and we can’t handle it, you have to run, understand? Don't think about other people, you have to stay alive."

"It's alright, Soryong, I'm sure the mission tonight will go smoothly," Howon reassured. "We’ll all get home safely."

"Hey, So," Daeryong interrupted. "Aren't you going to say the same thing to me? I want you to ask me to stay alive too," he whined.

Soryong clicked his tongue. "You’re like a cockroach, you won't die even if you've been stomped over and over again."

Daeryong eyes widened. "Wh--haat…? A cockroach? Hey, So, are you forgetting the fact that you're my twin? That means you're a cockroach too! Hahahahaha!" He rolled on the floor, holding his tummy. His laughter ringing loudly.

Soryong's face turned red. "Stupid, I mean you won't die that easy, I won't let that happen," he mumbled. But Daeryong was too busy laughing and couldn't hear him.

Death. That word might sound horrible to most people, but not to Howon. He wasn't afraid to die and that was why he joined the Survey Corps without hesitation. Graduating eighth in his class from the academy, Howon could have joined the Military Police, since only the top ten were allowed to become members of the elite unit. However, Howon thought being a military officer would be boring, they’re only in charge of guarding the royal family and maintaining peace in the Capital. Being a gatekeeper was also less than ideal. Howon prefered to be a member of the Survey Corps, because the unit that had the smallest number of members due to the high death-rate. The Survey Corps were always on the front lines when facing danger.

But no one had to know about that, it was Howon's secret. The others only had to know him as the angel-hearted Howon.

That night was bright, the sky was clear, and there was no possibility of rain. It gave them an advantage, because a clear night made it easier for them to see the smoke-signals and keep their eyes open for the danger that might come anytime. Howon's team departed right when the sun set in the formation that they already knew well, with the district gate shutting immediately after their troupe passed. They moved in a line with Commander Jonghwan galloping at the front and the carts loaded with food in the middle.

If danger arose, red smoke would be sent into the sky to relay the message to Commander Jonghwan to be on high alert. Commander Jonghwan would then send green smoke as a signal to change their direction. The new direction would then be passed through the members so that the team could move together and avoid the danger.

Together with the other new members, Howon was given the duty of guarding the wagons and carts, while the senior members rode their horse at the outer edge of the formation. So far they had only changed their path twice before again heading east toward their destination. Actually, they would be closer to their destination if they left from the east-district of Wall Rose, but there was an extremely thick, dense forest they would have had to trek through that would only increase the potential danger of their mission due to what might be lurking behind the trees. By traveling through the Trost District their path to the east-district of Wall Maria was be easier since the land was flat and nothing could block the members sight. Though their fighting maneuvers work better when there are high buildings, when delivering food they prefer to avoid danger rather than confront it.  

They were a quarter of the way to their destination when, from afar, they saw the ruins of a village. In the front of the line Commander Jonghwan fired his green smoke to the right, trying to redirect where the team was heading. A second later red smoke was sent from the right-wing, moving them back the way they were going. It was too late to try and change direction again; they had to pass through the abandoned village. Without being commanded, everyone on the team became highly alert, cautiously directing their horses through the ruins of houses long since uninhabited.

It felt spooky trotting through the wrecked village, having to guess what could have caused such destruction. Everyone, especially the new members shivered when imagining it, moreover the night wind had picked up, slipping between the ruined walls. Almost all of them tightened their uniform cloaks, green, waist-length and embedded with their insignia, two crossed wings, that they were obliged to wear on every mission beyond the Walls.

The end of the abandoned village could be seen when Howon realized the presence of danger. Commander Jonghwan and the other team members in the front line must have missed it since it was initially hiding behind the ruins of a house. Slowly the danger crawled out from behind the wall only ten meters from Howon. It wasn’t even three meters in height and its movement was slow, but it was still a danger, and it was right in the middle of their formation.

It was the first time for Howon to see the danger with his own eyes, all this time the cadets only ever saw them in photographs, and had never fought them directly. Howon didn't dither, without hesitation he reached for the smoke gun in his waist and fired the danger signal: red smoke.

"Titan!"
 

beta by: Minsoph74

Author's Note :

Please bear with me, I work 9 hours a day and sometimes I have to work in weekend too and my laptop is died and my office's internet blocked almost all fun sites, aff included TT__TT

Till next update~