Passion Novel - Volume 1 - Chapter 15

Either way, hellish hardship would continue for two weeks, starting three days from now.

Jeong Taeui walked slowly behind the murmuring colleagues. He didn’t feel like going downstairs with them in this subtly tense atmosphere, so he changed direction at the stairs.

Even if he went into his room and closed the door, he would still hear the colleagues coming and going and chattering outside in the hallway. Right now, he wanted to be in a quiet place.

For that, his uncle’s room was still the best. First of all, there were hardly any people on that floor, and also, his uncle had been constantly absent for the past few days, probably busy.

I’m grateful for this one thing, Uncle, Jeong Taeui thought as he fiddled with the key in his pocket, reaching his uncle’s room. As expected, the room was empty again today.

Without even taking off his jacket, Jeong Taeui collapsed onto the bed and buried his face in the blanket, staying like that for a while. Then, at some point, he heavily lifted himself up. If he stayed lying down, he felt like he would fall asleep. For the past few days, training and education had been packed tightly throughout the regular hours, and even during free time, he had been bothered by his colleagues, so he must be tired.

“What are they going to do if they exhaust people like this in the preliminary stage before even starting the full-fledged training… I’ll probably die from exhaustion first.”

Jeong Taeui sighed and muttered to himself, pulling a book from the bookshelf. He had been coming here every day, reading dozens of pages and then leaving. It was a book he could easily finish if he put his mind to it, but his body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton, so even that wasn’t easy.

Jeong Taeui took the book and went back to the bed, lying down and glancing at the phone. The phone, silently waiting, showed no signs of ringing.

It was more comfortable when the phone didn’t ring when he was alone in someone else’s room, but very occasionally, a call from that white hand was quite pleasant. Not just pleasant, though.

Jeong Taeui turned to the page he had left off. He saw words that his uncle had jotted down in the margins here and there throughout the book. It was his uncle’s reading habit to write down anything that came to mind while reading in the adjacent blank spaces. Looking at the words his uncle had written, he could trace what his uncle had been thinking while reading the book, and that was also a kind of enjoyment.

Before coming here, meeting his uncle hadn’t been very frequent. Both Jeong Taeui and his brother, as well as his uncle, had personalities that meant they would only see each other once or twice a year at most, but they didn’t feel awkward or distant. They would even treat each other as if they had seen each other yesterday, even if it had been years.

However, when his uncle occasionally came home, he mostly spent time with Jeong Taeui’s father, and after his father passed away, he would talk with Jeong Jaeui, so Jeong Taeui hadn’t actually had many conversations with his uncle.

Come to think of it, his uncle was quite a remarkable person within the family. It certainly wouldn’t have been easy for someone born and raised in an ordinary family to secure a position as a warden at UNHRDO.

‘What I ultimately yearn for is no different from what people hundreds of years ago, and hundreds of years in the future, will yearn for. But will that be the reason for humanity to remain human?’

Jeong Taeui traced the sentence added in his uncle’s handwriting at the bottom of the book page with his fingertip.

When Jeong Taeui first opened this book, a faint smell of dust had risen. His uncle had probably read this book quite a long time ago and then closed it. So, this passage was a fragment of his uncle’s thoughts from many years ago, when he was younger or even a child.

Tracing the buried thoughts of another person had its own unique flavor.

What I ultimately yearn for. Jeong Taeui felt like he knew it, yet he didn’t. He had never remembered yearning for anything. Always as it was, as it flowed.

‘Perhaps it’s that Jeong Jaeui suffers more from anxiety and anguish than you do. That’s what I mean by being human.’

Suddenly, Ilay’s words flashed through his mind.

Perhaps his brother had yearned for something. Someone who got whatever he wished for and had nothing in his way—how would Jeong Taeui know if something like that existed in a place he couldn’t even imagine?

“But if so, then that word ‘human’ is terribly negative.”

Jeong Taeui gave a bitter smile.

He had been tracing the pages, one sentence at a time, when he must have dozed off.

His mind became a pitch-black void, and countless random thoughts unrelated to his will crossed his mind, then they mixed, separated, and mixed again.

Someone woke him from that unconscious chaos.

Jeong Taeui, who had fallen asleep with the light on and the unfolded book covering his face as if the light was bothering him, woke up to the touch of someone removing the book. His uncle’s face was looking down at him intently.

“I can’t even sleep with glasses on, but you can sleep with something this heavy on your face?”

His uncle said, shaking the book as if amazed. Jeong Taeui groggily sat up on the bed, frowned with a sleepy, dazed expression, and scratched his head.

“I wondered why my dream felt so unsettling… it must have been because something was on my face…”

“Dream? How long have you been asleep to have already had a dream?”

His uncle smiled at Jeong Taeui as he took off his jacket and unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt. Jeong Taeui, still half-asleep, turned his head and looked at the clock. It was a bit early for midnight.

“I think I slept for about two hours. Dream… what was it about? I was being dragged by Uncle and trapped on some island, living a bloody life with vicious men…”

“Hmm… in my opinion, that doesn’t sound like a very ordinary dream. How about buying a lottery ticket?”

“Doesn’t ‘not a very ordinary dream’ mean it’s a very ordinary dream?”

“That’s right.”

“……. Uncle, have you perhaps recently changed your occupation? Like a sales job at a lottery promotion and sales agency…”

“Oh ho. Did such a thing spring up in Korea while I was away? That sounds interesting.”

While muttering, “With the gambling industry flourishing day by day, it might happen soon…” Jeong Taeui woke up completely. He got off the bed, took out water from the refrigerator, and drank it.

He brushed back his tousled hair and turned to see his uncle taking off his shirt.

“You seem busy these days. I’ve been coming here every day for the past few days to read, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Uncle.”

“It’s always crazy busy right before joint training. The paperwork alone is a mountain, a mountain. And I have to make arrangements here and there in advance in case a few guys die.”

“I sincerely hope I’m not one of the beneficiaries of those arrangements,” Jeong Taeui muttered, sitting down on the stool next to the bed and looking blankly at his uncle. His uncle, who quickly took off all his clothes and headed to the bathroom, didn’t outwardly show any signs of fatigue even though his voice was hoarse. Jeong Taeui had been reading in this room until past midnight every day for the past few days before returning to his room, so his uncle must have been finishing work past midnight every day as well. He had good stamina.

“Come to think of it, you ended up staying here.”

“Ah, yes. Are you going to South America, Uncle? I heard one of the instructors would be leading the team.”

“No, Golding is going this time, not me. I’ll go to another branch for the next joint training.”

His uncle’s voice came from the bathroom he had entered. There was a brief sound of water, followed by the bustling sound of lather, as if he was washing his hair.

“But you’re not very lucky with the lottery, are you? How did you end up staying in this place that’s bound to be ominous? Even with a 50% chance, you should have been able to draw a lucky ticket.”

“Lucky tickets are all drawn by people like Jaeui hyung.”

“Is there anyone else in the world like that bastard Jaei? The world’s unfairness is enough with just him.”

Jeong Taeui couldn’t help but laugh at his uncle’s muttering.

“Judging by the looks of it, this training doesn’t seem like it will end peacefully.”

His uncle said in an annoyed tone. Jeong Taeui stopped tapping the stool with his heel. He looked towards the bathroom as if staring intently at his uncle, who he couldn’t even see.

“That sounds rather ominous… Has the list of European branch members coming here been passed over?”

“Hmm… the final confirmation will be after their plane takes off tomorrow morning, but the general idea is set.”

“If the training isn’t likely to end peacefully… it seems there’s a troublesome guy mixed in with the branch members coming here.”

Jeong Taeui probed subtly. He couldn’t hear properly over the sound of the shower his uncle had turned on to rinse his hair, but he seemed to get a rough confirmation.

Riegrow. That madman Rick, the one no one in the European branch could handle. The man who left stark red marks with his black gloves.

Jeong Taeui would remain here at the Asian branch, and that man would come to find him.

He had lost count of the number of times he had thought of his brother as a lucky person, but he had never thought of his own life as unlucky. Perhaps he needed to revise that thought a little.

“He’s notorious for being completely insane… The members must be on high alert, but the wardens must be having a hard time too, if such a person is coming.”

When Jeong Taeui said that, he heard his uncle grumble, “Yeah, right.”

“After watching that video the other day, I even lost the will to fight… In your opinion, Uncle, if I end up fighting that person, do you think I’ll be safe?”

His uncle answered immediately without much thought.

“It’ll be tough.”

“Hmm…”

“It’s not just you, it’s the same for anyone. It’s hard for anyone to face someone like that and come out unscathed. Well, I guess if you’re prepared to give up bones to take flesh, there’s nothing you can’t do.”

“Give up bones to take flesh… that’s a loss for our side, isn’t it?”

“That’s just the kind of guy he is. You only saw one video, right? Ask the other guys who have experienced him firsthand. Even if there’s a brave soul willing to take him on, there won’t be any boastful braggart claiming they can handle him alone.”

Jeong Taeui fell silent. Even when his uncle spoke in a light tone, he never lied. And he had never made a wrong judgment, at least not in Jeong Taeui’s experience.

“……. I guess all I can do is run away well, to preserve this meager life of mine.”

“No, well, it’s not like that guy is a serial killer who just grabs and kills everyone he meets, so there’s no need to be that solemn. The important thing is not to get involved.”

His uncle came out of the bathroom. With a towel on his wet hair and walking out naked, he took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and gulped it down, straight from the bottle. As if all the moisture had been sucked out of his body, the 1-liter bottle emptied past the halfway mark in an instant.

“Are you done showering already?”

“No, I just washed my hair. I was thirsty. I’ve been swamped with work all afternoon without properly eating or drinking. And then, after dinner, the list of European branch members arriving the day after tomorrow came in, and it was a complete mess again. Anyway, if that guy is coming, the number of places I need to contact increases by one or two. Like the undertaker.”

“……. Uncle. I want to live.”

“Of course. The obsession with life is a human instinct. Everyone’s like that unless they’re suffering from depression or something.”

“If it’s about not getting involved, does that mean if I don’t provoke him first, I’ll be safe?”

His uncle didn’t answer for a moment, busy emptying the water bottle. After cleanly finishing the last drop, he wiped the few drops that had run down his chin with his fingertips and stared intently at his nephew.

“Do you think so?”

“……. Well……. I don’t know that person well, so I have no idea how to deal with him.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Hearing you say that, Uncle, I feel the same way.”

Jeong Taeui said gloomily. His uncle tossed the empty water bottle aside carelessly and went back into the bathroom, saying,

“It’s not a matter of provoking him or not, the best thing with a madman is just not to get involved. Once you’re tangled up with him, running away won’t do any good. You just have to stay out of his sight, no matter what.”

“Hmm… that’s difficult. This place is so cramped, I doubt there are even a hundred people in total. How can I, not being invisible, possibly avoid being seen?”

“It’s not like he grabs and slaughters everyone he sees. You just have to avoid getting on his bad side. Then, if you’re careful not to run into him during the training, you should be fine. The other European guys are unlucky too, but none of them are as hopeless as that one.”

The sound of water came again. “Ouch, hot! Why suddenly… is there something wrong with the control?” His uncle grumbled to himself, then started humming softly, as if he was okay now.

“Do you know him, that Riegrow guy?”

Jeong Taeui asked, sensing a familiar tone in his uncle’s voice. No answer came back, probably because he couldn’t hear over the sound of the water. But come to think of it, he probably wouldn’t be completely unaware. After all, that guy from the European branch was apparently famous enough that no one in the entire branch or headquarters didn’t know him, and his uncle must have gone to the European branch several times for work.

Two weeks.

Sitting on the stool, leaning against the wall, and staring blankly at the ceiling, Jeong Taeui gradually started to feel like things would somehow work out. His goal was to quietly hide in a corner and live a peaceful life, so it wasn’t likely he would do anything to attract attention. And in fact, two weeks wasn’t that long a period.

In such a short time that it was difficult to even make one friend, how easy would it be to make an enemy?

Yeah. Even if his colleagues pushed him from behind, even if he had to hear the sound of a traitor’s blade, he absolutely must not step forward. Unlike them, who had willingly entered this place for the benefits and future guarantees within the organization, he had been dragged here with a limited time frame of six months as a premise, so he was allowed to do that.

Jeong Taeui easily justified himself and nodded contentedly.

Just then, his uncle’s humming seemed to stop for a moment, and then he said as if suddenly remembering something.

“Oh yeah, starting tomorrow, don’t come to my room until the joint training is over.”

Jeong Taeui tilted his head. He could see his uncle’s arm lathering soap through the open door. He then turned his gaze to the book lying on the bed.

“I haven’t finished reading that book yet.”

“Just take it with you. Personal contact between members and wardens is prohibited during the joint training period.”

Actually, it’s prohibited in principle even normally, his uncle added, speaking with feigned sternness.

My guts aren’t quite up to borrowing something worth 3500 dollars…, Jeong Taeui muttered inwardly, but he picked up the book within reach. Then he stood up and sauntered over to the bathroom door.

“Uncle. If I die during the training period, please make sure to bury this book with me, since I haven’t finished reading it yet.”

“People who die without children aren’t buried, they’re cremated… I’ll burn it with me.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you just said I wouldn’t die?”

“A person’s fate is… well, yeah, I don’t think you’ll die.”

His uncle paused for a moment, then nodded and said casually. Hearing him say it so casually made it sound all the more truthful, and Jeong Taeui chuckled.

Soon, the sound of a strong stream of water poured out from the bathroom. It seemed he was just going to finish showering and come out today, not fill the bathtub.

Should he go back now? Today and tomorrow might be the only days he could sleep comfortably for a while, and he needed to replenish his depleted energy even a little.

However, for some reason, his feet wouldn’t move. Jeong Taeui thought for a moment about why, and then a story that had been lingering in his heart like a stain for a while came to mind.

“……”

It wasn’t a particularly pleasant topic, but he had to say it anyway. He felt like he should at least give his uncle a hint that he knew.

Jeong Taeui leaned against the bathroom door, looked up at the ceiling for a moment, and then suddenly blurted out,

“By the way, Uncle. Since when has my brother been involved in weapons development?”

It wasn’t a particularly loud voice, and he had just said it casually, but a moment later, the sound of water in the bathroom abruptly stopped. Along with the stopped water, his uncle also fell silent for a moment.

“Where did you hear that?”

His uncle’s voice was as nonchalant as Jeong Taeui’s.

“Broker Laurent Gastier. I thought he was an antiquarian bookseller, but it turns out he’s not.”

“He told you all sorts of things. Did that bastard call again today?”

“No, I didn’t hear it today. It’s been a while, and I’ve been forgetting about it, and I haven’t had a chance to see you for a while either. And well, there’s no point in being curious anyway… Hmm, it doesn’t seem like he did it while living with me, so was it since he was at UNHRDO?”

“He received many requests even before that, but you could say he started participating in earnest then. What else did that bastard tell you?”

His uncle clicked his tongue as he answered, still in a nonchalant tone, without particularly trying to hide anything. It seemed like it was news he didn’t really want to share. Well, it wasn’t something he would want to share.

“He didn’t say much. But is my brother still doing that?”

“No, he stopped now. He made it clear from the start that he would only do it while he was at UNHRDO. It seems he received countless requests even after leaving UNHRDO, but he turned them all down.”

“I see,” Jeong Taeui nodded.

Come to think of it, during the few months Jeong Taeui had been discharged from the military and back home, he had occasionally received strange phone calls. The international calls with a tone that clearly indicated the caller was not an ordinary person weren’t surprising, as he had often received them before because of Jeong Jaeui. But he had briefly wondered what kind of person would persistently look for Jeong Jaeui, who hardly ever went out of ???.

Jeong Taeui straightened up from where he had been leaning against the wall.

That was enough. In fact, even if he was still continuing the development, it wasn’t Jeong Taeui’s place to say anything, and since he had stopped, he didn’t want to delve into it or even think about it. He would just have to pinch his cheek once when they met later. For using that good brain for such a thing.

“Then, I’ll be going now. I can come back after the joint training is over, right?”

“Yeah.”

His uncle answered without even sticking his head out of the shower room. Jeong Taeui reached out and shook the book in front of the bathroom door.

“I’ll borrow this, Uncle.”

“Yeah. Don’t treat it too roughly. It’s a pain to get another one.”

“Yes, yes.”

Of course, as if I’d carelessly toss around something worth 3500 dollars, Jeong Taeui added inwardly, turning towards the door.