Passion Novel - Volume 1 - Chapter 10

Xinlu, the youngest person in this branch, had looked surprised and his face had stiffened when he saw Jeong Taeui again less than an hour after their encounter in the bathroom that day. However, that was only for a moment. After meeting and talking a few times, he seemed to have dropped his guard and started calling Jeong Taeui “hyung” and following him around affectionately.

“……”

The crown of Xinlu’s head was right below his eyes as Xinlu examined the torn collar, gauging whether it could be repaired. The faint scent of soap brushed against the tip of his nose. He wanted to touch it.

Jeong Taeui’s fingers twitched as he debated whether to touch the swirl at the top of Xinlu’s head, but he quickly lowered his hand and gave up as Xinlu looked up. If his uncle had seen that, he would have clicked his tongue at him for being spineless.

“You’ve worked hard today too. Not much regular work left.”

As Xinlu said that and smiled, Jeong Taeui finally realized that it was already late afternoon. Turning his head, he saw reddish clouds spreading across the sky outside the window. Always being underground, he couldn’t keep track of time without looking at a clock.

“The sky is so beautiful…”

Jeong Taeui murmured in admiration. It wasn’t just because he was usually cooped up underground and didn’t get to see the sky properly. The way the indigo and reddish-purple hues blended together across the expanse of the sky was truly beautiful.

“Hey, are there snakes outside here?”

“Yes? Yes. They come out a lot at night. But that’s more towards the forest; it’s okay if you go to the coast.”

“Hmm… Wanna go together?”

“…Now?”

Xinlu asked back in a small voice, looking slightly flustered. Jeong Taeui smiled and nodded. And inwardly, he admired himself.

I can ask someone out on a date without any hesitation if I put my mind to it. I’m not some timid guy who just blushes and stands around like an idiot. Believe it or not, I was famous for being quick with my hands in clubs… No, that’s not a good thing, let’s move on.

Jeong Taeui felt proud of himself, but his face was already quite flushed.

Xinlu looked at him intently with a strange expression. It looked like he was trying hard not to laugh, or maybe he was just troubled. Seeing that look, Jeong Taeui flinched a little, but upon closer inspection, it didn’t seem to hold any unpleasantness, which was a relief.

“Um…, do you not want to?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, but I haven’t finished my work yet. Why don’t you go alone, hyung? The breeze feels really nice too.”

Xinlu shook his head with a bashful smile. Jeong Taeui was disappointed but tried not to show it, muttering, “Oh, I see.” Suddenly, the sky and everything else felt gloomy.

He had thought about going out alone, but as the excitement that had momentarily swelled within him faded, so did the desire. Asking on a whim and expecting on a whim, humans are truly selfish creatures, Jeong Taeui thought, a bitter smile forming on his lips.

“Okay, then work hard, and I’ll see you later. Hang in there.”

“Yes, Taei hyung. …Ah, hyung!”

As Jeong Taeui turned to leave the office and walked away, Xinlu, who had seemed to hesitate for a moment, came to the doorway and called out to him. He then smiled shyly at Jeong Taeui, who turned back with a questioning “Huh?”

“Maybe tomorrow or the day after, let’s go together. I know a nice place where people don’t usually go.”

“Huh? …Oh…, really?”

“Yes. If it’s okay with you, hyung.”

“Oh, of course, it’s okay with me. …Yeah, sure. Anytime. Call me when you’re done with work. I don’t have anything else to do after regular hours.”

Jeong Taeui nodded quickly, a flustered smile on his face at the sudden turn of events. He then fiddled unnecessarily with the pager issued by the branch, pointedly adding, “You can call me anytime.”

“Yes,” Xinlu replied with a bright smile and a bow before returning inside the office. Jeong Taeui, left alone in the hallway, stared blankly at the spot where Xinlu had stood for a while before silently clenching his fist. See? It was worth saying something. Even if it wasn’t today, he would get to meet Xinlu alone tomorrow or the day after.

Jeong Taeui finally gave up trying to suppress the smile that kept creeping onto his lips and turned around.

His mood had instantly lifted. He even felt like going outside and looking around with a cheerful heart.

But since he would be going out with Xinlu soon, it would be better to save his outing for then.

Jeong Taeui hummed a tune as he walked towards the elevator. However, while waiting for the elevator, which was stopped at the fifth basement level, to come up, he shook his head.

There was still some time left in the regular work hours. He should go back as planned. But he had initially intended to ditch work with Xinlu. Just because that didn’t happen now didn’t make him want to go back and finish his sparring.

Not going back would likely result in a considerable reprimand later, but his already excited heart didn’t want to return.

“…In times like these, lounging around in a room full of food and things to read is the best…”

Muttering to himself, Jeong Taeui turned away from the elevator and went down the stairs.

His destination was his uncle’s room, which was full of food and things to read. The key he felt at his fingertips jingled pleasantly in his pocket.

As always, he didn’t encounter anyone on his way to his uncle’s room on the first basement floor. It was truly a deserted level. Even if a murder happened here, it wouldn’t be noticed for a long time—…no, that wouldn’t be right. There were surveillance cameras everywhere.

Jeong Taeui pointed out each of the cameras installed in inconspicuous places as he headed towards his uncle’s room. Before entering his uncle’s room, he politely gave a peace sign to the one camera there and then knocked on the door.

Knocking on the door was pointless. If his uncle was inside, the door would undoubtedly be unlocked, and if he wasn’t, it would be locked. So, at least as a means of asking him to open the door, it was an unnecessary action. It probably wouldn’t even serve as a way to let him know he had arrived. His uncle would have already realized someone was approaching the door from the moment he turned the corner.

He knocked on the door a couple of times, waited a brief moment, and then pulled the doorknob. The door was locked. Jeong Taeui slightly raised his eyebrows and took out the key from his pocket. It was a key he had received with the room owner’s permission some time ago. His uncle had readily given him the key, telling him to come anytime he wanted and read any book he liked.

The room was, as always, neatly organized. It had everything one could need, yet sometimes it didn’t even feel like someone lived there.

“Uncle has a surprisingly desolate side to him…”

The pristine room, devoid of even a speck of dust, always felt this way when his uncle wasn’t there. Like a model home, untouched by life. That feeling vaguely resembled the hidden side of his uncle that he occasionally glimpsed, and Jeong Taeui sighed.

He freely opened the refrigerator, took out a can of beer, and drained it in one go before collapsing onto the perfectly made bed, not a single wrinkle in sight. Rolling around a few times on the mattress with just the right amount of firmness, he finally managed to create a faint human scent. Lying face down, he reached out to the bookshelf within reach and pulled out a book.

He made it a habit to come here after his regular work hours, if he had nothing else to do, and laze around reading. Dozens of pages each day, slowly savoring each sentence.

Looking at this bookshelf filled with books that were hard to find elsewhere, he thought Jaeui would really like it. No, maybe he had already read all of these and more.

There was no reason to worry about that lucky guy, but he was curious. Where and what could he be doing right now? Had he returned home? Was he holed up in some library or research lab, engrossed in books for days without sleep?

He had tried calling home yesterday as a test, but no one had answered. Since it was close to midnight and no one picked up, it seemed right to assume he was still wandering somewhere.

Suddenly, the image of him making a cutting motion with his fingers, saying it was time to sever their ties, flashed in his mind.

He didn’t really think his hyung disliked him or wanted to cut off their relationship. But what should he say? He had felt a strange sensation at that moment.

His hyung was so lucky that everything went his way. So, when he made a gesture like he was going to cut their ties, it felt like the bond between them would really be severed.

Maybe at that moment, the connection between him and Jeong Jaeui had been cut. Would they never be able to meet again then?

“I don’t like that… It doesn’t really feel real.”

Lying down, Jeong Taeui spread out his hand and looked at it. Just like his hyung had said, he looked for traces of the invisible red string that might have been tied to his little finger. But could it really be cut?

Jeong Taeui wiggled his little finger a few times as if to check if the end of the invisible red string was swaying.

It was then. A quiet mechanical sound reached Jeong Taeui’s ears as he lay blankly staring at his hand. It was a sound he had heard before. Turning his head, he saw a red light blinking on the phone.

“……”

Staring intently at the phone that kept flashing and emitting mechanical sounds, he briefly considered whether he should answer someone else’s phone. In fact, without even needing to think, he knew that not answering would be more convenient in many ways and would eliminate any possibility of trouble, but the phone kept ringing so persistently.

Jeong Taeui got off the bed and looked at the caller ID displayed on the phone’s monitor. He had no way of knowing any numbers that might call his uncle, but he slowly traced the unfamiliar number.

It was an international call. If the number started with 49… was that Germany? The following digits would be the area code, but he didn’t know that far.

In the meantime, the call ended. Jeong Taeui went back to the bed and picked up his book. However, once the thoughts of his hyung arose, they didn’t easily fade away, and he ended up covering his face with the book. His hyung often slept like this. He had asked if it wasn’t heavy, but his hyung had retorted, asking what was heavy about a book of only a few hundred pages. It was amazing how his facial features remained intact even though he always slept with something like that on his face.

Come to think of it, he wasn’t very similar to his hyung. Even though they were twins, there were no similarities that would warrant that label. Not their faces, not their hair, not their personalities, not even their luck.

“……Still, my face is better. Even if I can’t beat him in anything else.”

Actually, their appearances were so different that it wasn’t even a matter of who was better looking.

Jeong Taeui slightly lowered the book from his face and turned his gaze. His own reflection wasn’t visible from his current position, but there was a large mirror hanging next to the desk.

Jeong Taeui got up again and approached it, pressing his face close to the mirror. A man with a calm expression was reflected. He hadn’t even lived half his life yet, but he already looked somewhat tired.

He ran his hand over his reflection. The cool surface of the winter mirror touched his fingertips.

As he traced his eyes, nose, and mouth, the lamp blinked again. Almost simultaneously, the mechanical sound rang out. It was another call from the same number.

This time, he didn’t wait long before answering. A call that came in so quickly in succession would inevitably ring again soon if he didn’t answer.

“Yes, hello.”

When he pressed the lamp button, the monitor lit up, and the screen on the other end of the line appeared within it.

Nothing was visible. Just a white wall. Only the corner of a frame was faintly visible at the edge of the screen. He had no way of knowing what was depicted in that painting, the colors of which were hard to discern on the small screen.

“──Hahaa. It’s the nephew again.”

A voice that sounded familiar spoke. Then, a hand reaching forward to rest on a desk appeared on the screen. He remembered that hand well. It was an unforgettable, beautiful hand.

“Ah, a hand.” 

“What?”

Jeong Taeui reflexively blurted out, and a short, questioning reply came from the other end, sounding puzzled.

“A hand.”

Jeong Taeui momentarily thought he had answered incorrectly, but with an indifferent expression, he tapped the white hand on the monitor. The hand moved within the screen. It seemed to be looking at its own hand.

“Your hand is so pretty, I’ll remember it right away.”

“Haha, that’s kind of you. My hand will be pleased to hear its first compliment.”

The man laughed from the other side of the monitor. It was still a mechanical voice, but it didn’t sound as grating as the first time he heard it.

“Is Instructor Jeong showering again? You seem to go there often, nephew.”

“No, Uncle isn’t here. I just came to read a book. Uncle’s room has a lot of good books.”

“Ah─. Instructor Jeong has good taste.”

The white hand tapped the desk playfully. The glass-like, smooth fingernails looked extremely cold. He wanted to stroke them once. The cool shards of glass attached to each finger.

“Do you like my hand that much?”

“Huh?”

“You’re looking at it with eyes that could devour it, it’s quite charming.”

He said with a chuckle in his voice. Jeong Taeui also chuckled and shrugged.

“Was I that obvious? Well, yeah, I’m coveting it. It wouldn’t suit me, so it’s just for admiring.”

He added that preemptively, half-expecting the man to say he’d cut off his wrist and give it to him after he died. The man seemed to have guessed Jeong Taeui’s thoughts and chuckled merrily.

Jeong Taeui suddenly tilted his head. They said you could tell a bit about a person’s life by looking at their hands, but he couldn’t figure this man out at all. He didn’t seem like he’d do rough work, but he also didn’t seem like he’d be stuck at a desk holding a pen all day. Even an antique book dealer would have some calloused hands, but those hands simply didn’t fit that image.

“Ilay…?”

Jeong Taeui spoke. Come to think of it, this was the first time he had called the man by his name. The man replied naturally with a still amused “Hmm?”

“I mentioned that name to my uncle, and he seemed a bit confused. Looks like you have several names.”

“Ahaha, did he? Well, Instructor Jeong doesn’t call me by my first name. I only have one. I’m not doing anything bad, so there’s no reason to use multiple names.”

“Hmm──if you’re an antique book dealer, that’s one thing… but what do you actually do?”

Jeong Taeui trailed off for a moment before asking. What kind of work would someone with hands like that do?

The man was silent for a moment. Only the sight of his white hand tapping the desk, tap, tap, was visible. It didn’t seem like displeasure, but rather that he was looking intently at Jeong Taeui, lost in thought. A cool gaze from behind the lens.

Finally, as if he had finished his brief contemplation, he replied slowly, “I occasionally help my brother with the family business. He’ll probably take over that work, so I… well, I wonder what I’ll do to make a living. I’ve never thought about it, but hearing you say that makes me a little worried.”

Listening to that voice, which showed no hint of worry, Jeong Taeui suddenly began to worry about his own future.

If he got out of here safely in six months, he would be an unemployed bum anyway. Of course, according to his uncle, just having been here would make it easy to find a job, but what kind of work could he do to survive? He didn’t even know what he wanted.

“I’ve become a complete wreck since I was discharged…”

He muttered with a deep sigh, and it seemed that the sound reached the other side.

“Discharged? Were you a soldier? Well, there are occasionally those who go there after being in the military. But that’s interesting. Jeong Jaeui’s younger brother is a soldier… Haha.”