STABLE BOY ; Trash of the Count's Family

16. NAMES THAT BIND

Finally, they made it to Perthle.

"Hi Young Master, are you headed out? Unfortunately Sunbae went out with the knights," South told him. "I will take you on the carriage but I'm sorry if we crash."

"You have some guts saying that to my face."

The coachman went out to help the knights with restocking and other errands. Ron also went with them, but otherwise they had free time before their trainings and chores started. It was very nice to have a young master that didn't care what they were doing.

"Don't worry, Young Master-nim!" Hans quickly amended, like he was covering for South, "I will drive. South will come with us to watch the carriage when we go, alright?"

And so South went to prepare the horses.

He downed a paper packet of his medicine powder and grimaced at the taste. But he'd rather not fall asleep on the job in a foreign town, so he was going to obediently take his daily dose.

-

"Don't be so grumpy with me, Ponychael," South saddled up the horse that seemed rather huffy, "Pengallope didn't want to come, so you have to go with Christallion."

Christallion grunted at him. Ponychael chewed on South's shirt, and South panicked.

"Wait! No! This is my last nice shirt!"

Hans laughed at him. "I'm sure Leon-nim will get you new ones," he assured.

South paused.

"Who's Leon-nim?"

Hans looked at him, befuddled.

"Your coachman sunbaenim?" he stated, bewilderingly, because how did South not know the name of the man who was pretty much his direct senior in work? 

The man he worked closest with!

And then South paled.

"Why did you tell me his name," he said, a horrified whisper— looking down at his wrist, frowning when he didn't find what he was looking for and then kneading his fingers into his face with a groan.

"Aahhhh I could've gone a longer time without knowing it!"

Hans was very confused, but decided that South was just being dramatic. But just in case, he made sure: "You do know my name, right?"

"Please be quiet, sunbae." South seemed genuinely annoyed.

"Okay." Hans changed the subject, turning to the horses, "you paired up the horses differently today, huh?"

South accepted the subject change happily.

"Ponychael really wanted to come," he said. "Usually I put him and Pengallope together because they're siblings, but she didn't want to come. So, I put Christallion here since he's older and less likely to quarrel."

Hans seemed rather interested. "They quarrel?"

South huffed, "Ponychael is very impatient, so he doesn't have friends."

Ponychael squawked in protest, leaning over to engulf South's entire head in his jaws. 

South didn't even react. 

Christallion grunted warningly, and Ponychael slowly backed up, chastised, but didn't seem pleased anymore.

South nodded like he didn't just almost get mauled by a horse.

"See? Christallion is one of our older horses that are still active, so the horses respect him," he said. "Other than Pengallope, he's the only one that can pull a carriage with Ponychael. At least, from the horses we brought."

"Ohhh," Hans was in awe, "so, like Ron-nim?"

South thought about it and shrugged.

"Kind of."

Hans chuckled, getting on the driver's seat and helping pull South up. "You sure know a lot about the horses! That's very admirable."

"I've been working here some years, it's my job."

And then South realized what Hans was doing— he was keeping the conversation going, making them comfortable, preventing the ride from being awkward— he made South annoyed before, but now South was comfortable again talking so much.

Hans was very good at making people feel comfortable around him. 

He wasn't charismatic or strong, but he survived as a capable butler in the Henituse house like this— he's attuned to hospitality more than anyone else.

That's why Cale could entrust him with so much without any worry.

South thought that was rather cool, South could never be able to easily get along with just anyone like that.

"You really like nicknaming, huh?" Hans said. "What about me? Am I just sunbae like Leon-nim?"

South frowned.

Hans laughed, deciding to backtrack, "oh, nevermind me! I'm just talking. I'm very happy with just sunbae—"

"What do you want to be called?"

Hans froze. Then he spun to South with eyes so excited, "I can choose??"

South grimaced, "it's just a name! Why are you so happy?"

Hans chuckled, "then, call me Hyung!" he said. "I'm the youngest usually, so I never have any dongsaeng. You can be my first!" then, seemingly registering he was being too overenthusiastic, "please?"

South sighed.

Hans was giving him puppy dog eyes now.

He's such a corgi.

"Okay," South said, and Hans celebrated. "But..."

South reached up to his shoulder, to the crook of his neck and shoulder on the left— and sighed again.

"Don't offer up names so easily, Hyung," South warned him. "Names bind people. Even nicknames, they can be so restricting sometimes. Don't give your name so easily to anyone other than me, okay?"

Hans blinked with confusion.

"But—"

"Just promise me, or I won't call you Hyung anymore."

"Okay, promise!"

"Good. Now, let's go before Young Master-nim scolds us for taking too long to start moving the carriage."

"Right!"