XIV

Much to Yongsun’s bemusement, the sergeant engages her in small talk on their way to the infirmary tent. She had expected a ranking officer to be nothing but professional, strict, stone-faced and, perhaps, a bit mysterious as well. Sergeant Moon is nothing of the sort, openly asking Yongsun questions about her life.

«So, are you a doctor or are you an engineer?» Sergeant Moon asks nonchalantly, as if she has asked the question so many times it has lost its meaning, the underlying question being whether or not the government has cheated itself and hired the wrong set of hands to do someone else’s job.

«Engineer.» Yongsun answers plainly. The sergeant swallows thickly, Yongsun notices how her hands clench together by her sides. Yongsun lifts her gaze, the sergeant catches her eyes and smiles weakly at her and confesses that she also had a different career path in mind, but ended up in the military, just like Yongsun.

The sergeant easily carries the rest of the conversation after having noticed the hesitancy in Yongsun’s voice. Yongsun is grateful for the sergeant’s kindness and perceptiveness and silently prays that the sergeant will not end up on a medical bed with the need for new flesh. At the end of the conversation Yongsun learns that the sergeant’s full name is Moon Byulyi.