Passion Novel - Volume 1 - Chapter 2

Not entirely because of that, but also because of his father’s request, the brothers were close to their uncle. Except for the occasional inconvenience, their uncle was a pleasant and good person. But Father, in Heaven, Uncle says strange things more than once or twice.

“No, not both, only one. Before you were born, knowing you were twins, your older brother said he would give one of you to me. So originally, you should have been separated at birth and lived as cousins… …because the two wriggling babies clung to each other so closely, he gave up on separating one of you, so you avoided separation.”

See? Uncle is saying strange things again. When Jeong Taeui stared at him with blank eyes, noticing the look, the uncle immediately turned serious. The way he emphasized “it’s true” seemed suspicious, but he wasn’t someone who would lie. Moreover, he suddenly had a feeling. Was it this?

Perhaps his father didn’t want to tell his sons directly that he’d agreed to give one son to his brother. That was it; that strange statement was this. Thinking back, his father had paused briefly before quietly adding,

“When the time comes, treat and respect your uncle as you would your father.”

Did “when the time comes” mean when his uncle demanded it?

He didn’t know. But since his father had accepted it, he didn’t intend to argue or raise his voice. Though not present, his brother would likely reach a similar conclusion. Jeong Taeui was quick to give up. It could be said he was compliant to his environment, or that he adapted quickly.

“Yes, Uncle… My cousin is coincidentally out right now. Should I tell him to call you when he gets back?”

When Jeong Taeui spoke, his uncle laughed out loud. His laughter was very much like his brother’s. Indeed, with such resemblance, there would be no difficulty in saying they were father and son. Their personalities also seemed similar.

Anyway, when his brother comes back this time, he’ll be surprised by the sudden change of father or, maybe not? Jeong Taeui didn’t remember ever seeing his brother outwardly surprised by anything.

“There’s no time to look for a non-existent person. Go. From today, Tae-yi, you are my son. Come with me. Pack your things. We’ll divide the unnecessary items there, so only pack essentials.”

His uncle rubbed his chin, seeming amused. A hint of laughter was in his voice. However, Jeong Taeui did not find it amusing. It was quite a rare experience to hear such strange things in such a short span of time, but it was not enjoyable.

“Me?”

“Yes, Jeong Taeui. My son.”

A heavy burden seemed about to fall on his shoulders. Jeong Taeui finally looked his uncle straight in the eye with a serious face, his lips twitching.

Suddenly appearing after remaining silent until now and claiming his father’s rights, his uncle’s unexpected behavior is one thing, but why does his uncle, who has been living a good single life without a wife, suddenly need a son?

“Can’t I refuse?”

“Think of it as filial piety and come. Son.”

“I don’t want to, Father. Can’t I just be an unfilial son?”

The uncle laughed heartily. There was a considerable age gap between the uncle and his father; the difference in age between the father and uncle was only three years less than the age difference between the uncle and Jeong Taeui. Therefore, he felt more like an older brother than an uncle.

The uncle, laughing deeply, got up and approached Jeong Taeui. Then, he unexpectedly struck Jeong Taeui, who was looking at him suspiciously. It was violence that couldn’t be described with the cute term “love tap.”

“Ouch!”

As Jeong Taeui clutched his head and glared at him resentfully, the uncle, still smiling, calmly said,

“This kid, I even got you discharged from the army, and instead of being grateful, you want to be an unfilial son? You deserve more.”

“Ouch! Ow! Ugh! It hurts, Uncle! It really hurts!”

Even the force of his hand was similar to his brother’s. Perhaps it would be better for his brother to have this man’s son. His brother, due to his characteristic languid personality, was unconcerned with violence, but when he patted Jeong Taeui’s back to wake him up from his daze or slapped him to wake him from being sleep-paralyzed, his hand was exceedingly forceful.

After beating Jeong Taeui, the uncle calmly rubbed his hands as if nothing had happened and sat down again. Jeong Taeui, rubbing his head, mumbled sullenly.

“I thought it was quite surprising that you got me discharged from the army so easily… Did you help, Uncle?”

“Yeah. Jaeui mentioned it. That his younger brother, whose body and mind were tattered and devastated, was crying in the army.”

“….What…devastated?”

He almost died in the military hospital, and his colleagues constantly picked fights with him, so he did suffer mentally, but… whether he was devastated… I don’t know.

Being assigned to the same unit as the people he got along worst with at the military academy was the problem. In the end, he almost killed someone, almost died himself, and is now completely cut off from them. He doesn’t want to think about it anymore, and there’s no need to.

The memories that he had forgotten resurfaced, making Jeong Taeui gloomy; he sighed quietly. He was discharged four months ago and is currently an unemployed young man. Although his leg still ached in bad weather, he had fully recovered and was thinking that he should start doing something.

“Right. Why do you suddenly need a son? Where are you sending him?”

When Jeong Taeui asked, seemingly dejected, the uncle also showed a smile that wasn’t playful.

“A son is good, anyway. I need someone useful. I lost a lot of people in a big fight with the European branch recently. I need to fill the numbers.”

“…”

“…That’s an excuse. Actually, I need someone lucky.”

The uncle paused. Jeong Taeui waited silently for him to continue. He already knew that the talk about numbers was an excuse. If he needed people, he could find them even on the other side of the world, so there was no need to come this far. But Jeong Taeui wasn’t lucky, and the uncle knew that.

“In six months, our branch’s chief will go to the US headquarters. That means the two vice-chiefs will fight for the position behind the scenes. There’s always factionalism, wherever you go. So, I’m involved, which makes things difficult for me. I have to help my direct superior get the chief’s position. In short, we’ll have to fight fiercely within the branch for the next six months. There will be many underhanded and despicable tactics. So I need a subordinate who can survive that period by sheer luck.”

“I’m not that lucky.”

“Hmm——-It’s a case of settling for second best, I guess. What do you think?”

“What do I think? What kind of person would be happy to be called second best?”

Jeong Taeui answered gruffly, but he wasn’t particularly offended. If Jung Jaeui was considered the best, being considered second best was something to be grateful for. Jung Jaeui was that exceptional. He only understood half of his uncle’s words. The half he understood was, “This is something that will cause a lot of trouble if I get involved.” The mention of factional infighting was one thing, but his uncle’s workplace was almost indistinguishable from the military, a place Jeong Taeui, in his current state, didn’t even want to look at.

“Uncle worked for the Asian branch, right?”

“That’s right.”

“If you want someone who’s luckier and more capable than me, there are as many as the stars in the sky. Just pick anyone.”

“You can’t say that after I’ve already told you about the internal issues.”

“Issues? It’s practically an open secret, isn’t it? Fight well, and get promoted safely.”

Jeong Taeui waved his hands dismissively, stood up as if to end the conversation, and began to clear the empty dishes. His uncle then grabbed his wrist. Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue. Seeing his uncle’s face, he seemed serious. This was going to make it hard to refuse.

“Uncle… You know I can’t do it. I can’t.”

Jeong Taeui sighed audibly and muttered. His uncle then asked seriously,

“Tell me why you can’t. If it’s a reasonable reason, I’ll look for someone else.”

“You know why.”

“I do…?”

He couldn’t understand what his uncle was thinking. Judging by his words alone, there was no reason why he needed Jeong Taeui specifically. Perhaps Jung Jaeui, but someone like Jeong Taeui was a dime a dozen.

“Uncle, I hate the military. I’ve had enough of that authoritarian and closed-off environment.”

“This isn’t the military. We just do a lot of physical training. The hierarchy and atmosphere are different from the military. It might be considered closed-off because we often handle classified matters, but it’s not authoritarian. If you join, the only ranks above you will be the Director General, two Deputy Directors, and six instructors. You’ll barely ever see the Director General and Deputy Directors. The rest are your equals. Now, any other reasons?”

“……I’m also physically weak.”

“I know you’ve recovered.”

“I just don’t go to the hospital anymore, but my knees still ache and my body stiffens if the weather is bad.”

“Everyone there is the same. They’ve all been shot a time or two and broken a few bones. Come on, any other reasons?”

“And I don’t meet your requirements. I’m average in both luck and ability.”

His uncle’s eyes narrowed again. After looking at Jeong Taeui for a moment, he slowly said,

“I need someone who can do what they’re told and survive. But I think highly of you, Jeong Taeui. I think I have a pretty good understanding of you, but for reference, I did look at your records from your military academy days until now. You possess something crucial to survival.”

“What is it?”

“Street smarts.”

“…….”

The conversation seemed to be getting serious, then suddenly an unexpected word popped out. Jeong Taeui, who had been expecting some kind of praise, felt deflated.

“Uncle… street smarts? That’s….”

“Disappointed?”

“More than disappointed——Yes, I’m disappointed.”

As Jeong Taeui slowly shook his head and muttered, his uncle chuckled softly.

“You shouldn’t be. While Jaeui has exceptional luck, for the average person, street smarts are essential for survival. In other words, intuition. Depending on the situation, having slightly better or worse intuition than others can mean the difference between life and death.”

The uncle’s voice softened slightly. He had never experienced the countless life-or-death crossroads he had witnessed. The close calls he’d had weren’t during intense life-or-death struggles; they were simply common accidents. However, I seemed to understand what the uncle meant by “feeling.”

“So, what’s next?”

“Huh?”

“The other reason?”

The uncle gestured, as if urging him to continue. His expression indicated that what had been said so far wasn’t a sufficient explanation. If it had been, he wouldn’t have objected.

Jeong Taeui silently looked at him. He returned the gaze, patiently waiting for Jeong Taeui to speak without further prompting.

Occasionally, Jeong Taeui was surprised by his brother, Jeong Jaeui. This wasn’t about his well-known genius or luck, which were as familiar as the air he breathed. It was when he realized how well Jeong Jaeui understood him.

Having grown up together for over twenty years—even if their lives weren’t always intertwined—they knew each other well, or so he thought. Yet, Jeong Jaeui often surprised Jeong Taeui.

This happened when Jeong Jaeui pointed out aspects of Jeong Taeui’s personality or thoughts that he himself hadn’t been aware of. Without deliberate observation, Jeong Jaeui naturally grasped people’s true natures.

In that respect, this uncle possessed a similar nature to Jeong Jaeui.

“…”

He had never mentioned it, never hinted at it, and they hadn’t met often, but the uncle seemed to already know. Or, even if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be surprised by Jeong Taeui’s explanation.

” …If I go to a place filled with only men, it’s dangerous.”

Jeong Taeui mumbled gloomily. Seeing his sullen face, the uncle raised an eyebrow slightly before bursting into amused laughter.

“Who?”

Before Jeong Taeui could fully understand the question, the uncle continued.

“You? Or the other guys?”

Jeong Taeui frowned slightly, lost in thought before answering.

“Strictly speaking, it would be me.”

“You? Because you think those guys there are going to gang up on you?”

Jeong Taeui glared at the amused uncle, eventually sighing in resignation.

“Because I’m likely to gang up on everyone there.”

“I didn’t know your protective range was that wide. If you want, and if you can, go ahead and gang up on them. It’s a society where strength reigns supreme, as long as it’s not your superior.”

” …So you’re saying it’s okay to gang up on anyone as long as you’re stronger?!”

When Jeong Taeui exclaimed in disbelief, the uncle chuckled, spreading his hands. Sometimes, it was hard to tell whether this man was joking or serious. Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue, scratching his head irritably, and glared at the uncle.

“You know, why do you pretend you don’t?”

“Well, regarding this, I only suspect that you have a sexual attraction to the same sex. Is there anything else?”

“That’s enough to make me tired.”

“Was beating up that obnoxious guy in your unit and getting discharged that tiring?”

Jeong Taeui glared fiercely at his uncle for a while, then sighed wearily, leaning his head against the wall. See? He knew all along. Since he had suspected as much, it wasn’t all that surprising.

The uncle took a cup from a nearby cupboard, filled it with water from a kettle, and sipped it, savoring it as if it were fragrant tea, before speaking.

“Jeong Taeui, regarding that matter, I might have considered it if you’d presented it from a slightly different perspective. But based on your explanation, I can’t accept it.”

“A different perspective? What’s that?”

His voice was weary from the argument. The uncle laughed playfully.

“For example, that you’re afraid the other guys will gang up on you.”

“Uncle, that joke wasn’t funny….”

A sigh escaped him involuntarily. No, it wasn’t even really a joke, he mumbled to himself afterward, though even that was said in a joking tone. What followed wasn’t a joke.

“So, is there another reason?”

Jeong Taeui sighed deeply. He remained silent for a while afterward, before finally muttering as if giving up entirely.

“….Six months?”

His uncle’s eyes lit up, and he laughed happily.

“Yes, six months. Until the next director is decided. After that, you can do whatever you want. You can quit, or if you like the work, you can continue. Furthermore, even if you quit, you’ll have so many job offers pouring in immediately that you won’t even have time to worry about finding a job. Unless you’re worried about where to go, that is. Having been with our organization will be a brilliant addition to your resume.”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

Jeong Taeui felt all the strength drain from his body, and slumped back against the chair. He felt like he had just finished a full marathon—though he felt absolutely no sense of accomplishment. Yet the clock on the wall showed it was barely time for people to begin their day.

It’s said that you can’t know what the future holds, but this sudden, unexpected change was really something.

Yes, I had a bad feeling about this morning. And look what happened.

Come to think of it, maybe his uncle’s words about his intuition being right about Jeong Taeui were quite accurate after all.