Passion Novel - Volume 1 - Chapter 22

Jeong Taeui brought his writing supplies and sat down at a desk in a corner of the library, opening the book. He wanted to grab anyone and ask for help, but his uncle’s words about having to rewrite ten volumes if the handwriting was different weren’t a joke.

Then, what if I copy one volume and then cleverly make copies with some slight alterations…?

Jeong Taeui briefly considered this but then shook his head. Let’s not. If I get caught trying to be clever, I’ll be in deep trouble. That uncle of his isn’t someone to be taken lightly.

Jeong Taeui rolled up his sleeves and began copying. He briefly thought it was ridiculous, like punishing an elementary school student, but still, wasn’t this relatively mild? Remembering his uncle’s strict addition, “Write the section on the prohibition of personal weapons in a neat and clear standard script,” Jeong Taeui decided to blame it all on his own foolishness.

However, about two hours after he started copying…

“I should have just let that stranger die. I should have just let that stranger die…….”

Those words were flowing from Jeong Taeui’s mouth.

What kind of self-proclaimed righteous person was he, snatching away a gun that someone else had carefully hidden—even though it didn’t even have bullets, so it would have been a pointless death—and saving a stranger’s life? Even risking his own life for fifteen days. I was crazy. I was crazy. I just picked up bad habits in the military.

Jeong Taeui gritted his teeth and moved his hand. His wrist and arm ached. He thought he should go to the infirmary and get a pain relief patch, but considering the sparring that afternoon, he doubted if there would even be any patches left for him in the infirmary.

But when he thought about it, Jeong Taeui and his team were relatively better off.

Before Jeong Taeui finished his work and came to the library, he had stopped by the infirmary to get some pain relief patches or ointment for his bruised ribs, which ached from a hard elbow strike. He asked Kyoho, who looked like he had been swamped in the infirmary all afternoon, for some ointment. While Kyoho was looking for it, Jeong Taeui casually looked around the infirmary and found several living corpses lying on the beds.

‘Ugh, what is this……?’

On the bed right next to Jeong Taeui, there was even a lump of flesh that couldn’t be called human. Splints were applied to all four limbs, and bandages were wrapped tightly around the torso, yet every visible patch of skin was covered in scabs. The face was so mangled and broken that it was gruesome to look at. Jeong Taeui even slightly touched underneath to see if he was really breathing.

“Here’s the ointment. Ah—don’t touch him, don’t touch him. That guy is the unluckiest bastard who’s come here.”

Kyoho, the medic, handed over the ointment and waved his hand when he saw Jeong Taeui looking at the patient. Jeong Taeui nodded as he accepted the ointment.

‘Hmm. He looks very badly injured……, but how do you even fight to end up like this? Who fought this guy? Is it that guy lying over there?’

When he asked, pointing to the corpse that looked next most gruesome after that patient, Kyoho shook his head.

“That guy isn’t here. He’s probably out somewhere having fun right now, completely unharmed.”

“What? No, how can the opponent be unharmed when the other guy is this messed up—”

Jeong Taeui was speaking in disbelief but suddenly closed his mouth. It was because someone suddenly came to mind. And Kyoho nodded silently, as if he could also guess the person Jeong Taeui was thinking of.

“Yeah, that guy.”

“…….”

Suddenly, the patient’s gruesome appearance didn’t seem so ordinary. If things had gone just slightly differently, Jeong Taeui himself might have been lying in that spot in that state.

Jeong Taeui looked down at him with a disgusted face and opened the ointment Kyoho had given him. The familiar scent that wafted out as soon as he opened it made him frown and turn away.

“What is this…… Tiger Balm?!”

“Hmm. Haven’t you seen it before? They sell it everywhere. It’s quite useful, so you should buy some and bring it back when you go to Hong Kong after training. Quite a few members buy it and stock it in their rooms. There are so many injuries, after all.”

Jeong Taeui stared at the nostalgic ointment with a slightly bewildered expression, even though his maternal grandmother had only applied it to him a few times when he was very young, because he still remembered its unique smell. He had expected there to be some more professional bruise ointment in the infirmary.

Kyoho, who quickly read Jeong Taeui’s expression, said seriously,

“Hey, don’t look down on this. Look at the instructions here. Muscle pain, sprains, insect bites, even headaches! It says you can use it for all sorts of things.”

“No, what kind of ointment is for headaches…? Are you supposed to rub it on your head? Or eat it?!”

“Anyway, it’s clearly written in the instructions, look.”

It was true. The English instructions clearly listed headaches as one of its effects.

“Wow……, looking at this is giving me a headache…….”

Jeong Taeui muttered, wondering where he should apply the ointment for a headache. Even as he did so, the injured were steadily pouring into the infirmary, and Kyoho, looking swamped, scooped out a generous amount of ointment and quickly rubbed it on Jeong Taeui’s waist before pushing him out, adding that he shouldn’t come back for such minor injuries.

Having been kicked out of the infirmary, Jeong Taeui had come to the library after confirming that among the people crowding into the infirmary, no one was in a worse state than the half-dead person lying on that bed.

“…….”

Even now, as he copied the book, the scent of Tiger Balm was faintly wafting from his ribs under his clothes. In fact, as he was moving his pen like this, it felt like he should just pour the ointment all over his entire arm, starting from his wrist, but the thought of how pungent that smell would become made him sigh.

“Before Uncle came, I should have just run away with Hyung. I should have just bolted before Uncle came…….”

The mantra escaping his lips had changed without him realizing it. In this situation, there were more than one or two things to regret, so the most fundamental regret had surfaced.

There were countless other regrets stemming from that fundamental regret, but the one that bothered him the most right now was the regret that had sprung up anew after seeing that living corpse.

I shouldn’t have even brushed past that crazy bastard. I should have stayed out of sight and hidden myself.

Now that things had turned out this way, the best course of action would be to hide as much as possible so as not to be noticed, and during the inevitable joint training exercises, to blend in with his colleagues.

Jeong Taeui sighed and pushed aside the first volume he had barely finished copying, stretching.

There was no one in the library. It was a quiet place to begin with, but today was the first day of joint training, so perhaps everyone was too busy to read, as the library was almost empty. Only occasionally would one or two people come in, pick out the book they needed, and leave immediately.

Jeong Taeui patted his stiff shoulders and tilted his head from side to side. Only one volume yesterday; how would he ever copy the remaining nine? Sighing like that, he had no choice but to open a new notebook and write down the first sentence.

United Nations Human Resource Development Organization 

Article 1 Organizational Structure of the Agency…….

“Having a hard time. Looking at the rest of the notebooks, it seems you have nine more to write?”

It was then that he heard a slow whisper from over his shoulder.

Scribble. The pen slipped. Staring at the crooked line that went over the neatly written letters, Jeong Taeui cursed under his breath. Damn it.

His back was turned. This was fatal. Even if a knife was plunged into his nape right now, there was no way to avoid it. Especially since he hadn’t even realized someone had come right up behind him.

Jeong Taeui, who had momentarily flinched in tension, slowly relaxed his shoulders. This was a situation where he had no choice but to completely surrender. The moment he moved to dodge, a knife would be plunged into his back.

Yeah, if you’re going to kill me, then kill me…….

Jeong Taeui continued writing next to the wrongly drawn line, speaking curtly.

“There aren’t many books worth reading here.”

Come to think of it, this man, despite the ominous rumors surrounding him that were hard to even imagine, had a rather peculiar taste in books. Jeong Taeui doubted if there would be any books in the library that would suit this man’s fancy.

“True. The books in your room seem much more interesting.”

However, even as he said that, the man seemed to have found a book worth reading, as he sat down a couple of spaces away from Jeong Taeui with a book in his hand.

Jeong Taeui looked at him with surprised eyes at his unexpectedly easy withdrawal. Of course, he hadn’t wanted a knife fight to break out, but he had definitely thought that there would be trouble the next time he met this man.

The man, Riegrow, looked exactly the same as he had in the morning. And the same as he had looked last night. The only thing that had changed was his attire; his calm and relaxed movements, his flawlessly pale face, and his expression, which showed no signs of fatigue, were all the same.

He didn’t seem to pay any attention to Jeong Taeui, as if he had never spoken to him, and sat down and opened his book. Then, he silently turned the pages. His gaze behind his glasses was fixed on the book without wavering.

Did this bastard forget…? Didn’t he forget that I held a gun to his head this morning?

As Jeong Taeui glared at him with a suspicious look, Riegrow, who had been turning the pages, seemed to sense his gaze and looked up. Their eyes met. Riegrow, who had been calmly meeting the gaze of Jeong Taeui, who was staring blankly without even thinking of looking away, paused for a moment as if thinking, and then closed his book.

“Why? Need help?”

As he said that, he gestured for the remaining notebooks and pens as if willingly offering his assistance.

“So that’s the punishment for the weapons violation. Light. Instructor Jeong must have gone easy on you because you’re his nephew.”

Jeong Taeui frowned at his emotionless and matter-of-fact words.

“You seem to want to say that I’m receiving special treatment. If so, then I have a question for you. If I’m getting off easy because I’m the instructor’s nephew, then what’s your relationship with whom that allows you to go around perfectly fine without any sanctions after beating someone to a pulp like that?”

Then he smiled and waved his hand.

“There’s no need to get so defensive. I just thought Instructor Jeong dotes on his nephew. It’s not that I’m displeased that you might not have received any punishment; I’m just stating the obvious, so don’t get angry.”

“……. Has the rumor of my relationship with my uncle spread all the way to the European branch?”

“News of the rare brave soul who held a gun to my neck reached my ears before the long hand of the clock could even make a full rotation. Mr. Jeong Taeui, the champion of justice who was dragged to the Asian branch by his uncle less than a month ago.”

So he didn’t forget after all. But why is this crazy bastard being so quiet?

Jeong Taeui tilted his head and stared at him silently. Riegrow raised his eyebrows as if he found it amusing.

“Why that look? Shouldn’t I be the one glaring?”

“…….”

“Or did you think that just looking at you, I’d immediately bite your throat out?”

“Yes.”

Jeong Taeui answered Riegrow’s question with a displeased frown. Riegrow laughed.

“Maybe I would, but I don’t feel like it right now. Let’s wait a little longer.”

Having said that, he opened his book again. And as if not wanting to be disturbed any further, he focused his gaze on the book and didn’t look up again.

Jeong Taeui watched him for a moment before looking away and starting to move his pen again. While mechanically moving his pen, he slowly pondered the man’s words. The words he pondered the longest were the very last ones.

I don’t feel like it right now. Let’s wait a little longer. And the interpretation of those words came to him quickly, even before he had repeated them a few times. It meant that even if he didn’t feel like it at this moment, he could bite his throat out whenever he felt like it. That could be in just a minute, or it could be on the day they returned after the joint training.

It would be better to act now. What’s the difference between this and being told to keep his nerves on edge for fifteen days?

Suddenly, a surge of anger welled up inside him, and his hand gripping the pen tightened. Rip. The notebook tore, leaving a hole.

Suddenly, that annoying Lieutenant Kim came to mind. That guy was like this too. When news that Jeong Taeui was involved in a knife fight at a gay bar reached the school, Lieutenant Kim was the first one to accidentally overhear it. At that time, that guy had also looked at Jeong Taeui with a sneering smile. And he had muttered, as if for everyone to hear, “Well, there’s no need for rumors to spread right away, is there?”

Are all annoying bastards similar in that way? No, but Lieutenant Kim was just annoying; he wasn’t dangerous like that guy. Looking at it that way, Lieutenant Kim was better. It was a fifty-fifty situation.

As his resentment grew, Jeong Taeui’s speed increased, and before he knew it, he had finished copying the second volume and pulled a new notebook towards him. He wrote the first sentence again on the first page. United Nations Human Resources Development Agency Disciplinary Regulations Article 1 Organizational Structure of the Agency blah blah blah.

The advantage and disadvantage of such simple work was that while his hand kept moving, no other thoughts came to his head. Perhaps because he was facing a threat to his life, only the dark fifteen days ahead floated in his mind.

“Nothing’s really changed. Anyway, I just need to stay well hidden and out of sight, and when I can’t avoid it, stick close to my colleagues, and then I should be able to at least save my life…….”

Even if he was called petty and cowardly, Jeong Taeui was prepared to follow the instructors around for fifteen days if it guaranteed his safety. Surely they wouldn’t commit murder in front of an instructor.

Muttering to himself as he moved his pen, Jeong Taeui suddenly felt a gaze and looked up.

There was no way he could have heard the very quiet muttering under his breath, but Riegrow had been looking at Jeong Taeui with an amused expression for some time. When their eyes met, he smiled as if to say, “Go on, do more.”

“……. What happens if you kill someone in front of an instructor?”

Jeong Taeui stopped writing for a moment and asked, since their eyes had met. He knew his intentions were obvious, but this wasn’t the time to hide them. Riegrow chuckled deeply and pointed with his finger to below Jeong Taeui’s hand.

“Didn’t you see while you were copying? It should be detailed in the punishment section there.”

“There was a punishment for killing someone, but there wasn’t a clause that specified ‘in front of an instructor’.”

Jeong Taeui grumbled sullenly. In fact, even the case of killing someone was very ambiguously stated. It was a case of ‘it depends on the situation,’ a three-page explanation that could be briefly summarized as ‘treatment varies depending on the circumstances.’

Riegrow seemed to think for a moment, then tilted his head and said, “Well, I don’t know. I’ve never killed anyone in front of an instructor. However, I did kill an instructor, and they put me in the disciplinary confinement for eight months.”

Scribble. The pen slipped again. Jeong Taeui stared at the line he had crossed out and closed his mouth.

Damn it. If he kills even instructors, then even if I hide among my colleagues, it would be a piece of cake for him to drag me out and cut off my breath. Suddenly, his shallow calculations were completely shattered.

“To add to that, it was self-defense. Just like this morning.”

Riegrow continued. But it was better not to add the few words that followed.

Jeong Taeui twirled the pen on his fingers. His mouth felt very bitter. He briefly wondered if he had misunderstood the meaning of self-defense, but no matter how he thought about it, it seemed like the man was the one who had it wrong.

“To add one more thing, the dictionary definition of self-defense is the act of inflicting harm on an aggressor as an unavoidable measure to prevent an imminent and unjust attack against oneself or another.”

This man didn’t have it wrong. Jeong Taeui thought it was incredibly brazen of him to call his own actions ‘unavoidable.’ The words that had risen to his throat trembled, on the verge of spilling out.

“Speaking of this morning’s incident, I can’t help but think that the act of harm against the aggressor was excessive.”

He finally couldn’t hold back and blurted out a word. But Riegrow shook his head.

“You heard it too. He told me to shoot. That guy is the type who, if you let him go carelessly, will try to stab you in the back until the very end. Considering the future threat, it was an unavoidable choice for me. Besides, he’s still alive, that guy. Even if he’s locked up in disciplinary confinement right now.”

“Yeah, so is that why you killed that instructor too?”

When Jeong Taeui asked, Riegrow chuckled softly. Then, after a slightly troubled and subtle silence, he said briefly,

“You could say so. I was actually on the verge of dying. No matter how capable I am, I wouldn’t have killed the instructor if it hadn’t been that serious. I regretted it so much even after killing him.”

Looking intently at him as he spoke regretfully, Jeong Taeui again wanted to say, “My mouth is dry,” but he swallowed the words.

In the end, although he didn’t know the exact reason, this man was saying that he could calmly kill even an instructor—probably even a vice-director or a director—if there was a good enough reason or pretext. Then, it was safe to assume that using a human as a shield to escape this man’s notice was impossible.

Did that mean the only conclusion was to just hide unconditionally? He didn’t know if that would even be possible.

“Why am I like this these days? Did I step in dog poop?”

Jeong Taeui threw the pen onto the notebook and muttered. He wasn’t exactly someone known for his good luck to begin with, but it had been particularly bad since coming here. What was with this?

“They say Jeong Jaeui is an exceptionally lucky person, aren’t you?”

Riegrow suddenly asked as Jeong Taeui muttered. Jeong Taeui only glanced at him. He almost grumbled about how fast news traveled, but then he remembered that it was a fact everyone in this branch knew anyway.

“Siblings don’t necessarily share the same luck. I’m average. Though, I feel like I’m below average right now.”

“Ah…….”

Riegrow just said that and smiled subtly. But he didn’t say anything else.

Jeong Taeui thought of his brother, whom he hadn’t seen in a while. In a situation like this—though his brother probably wouldn’t even find himself in this situation—his brother would probably cause this man to suddenly leave the island due to an unexpected accident, or he would somehow get bitten by a dozen or so vipers that suddenly appeared and die.

Jeong Taeui pointed at Riegrow with a very serious face and muttered,

“You should consider yourself lucky that I’m not my brother. Otherwise, your aura would be very dark right now.”

Then Riegrow burst out laughing. Jeong Taeui wondered if he even understood, but this time too, the man seemed to have properly understood Jeong Taeui’s words.

“Yes, I am grateful for that. In that spirit, I won’t do anything to you today, so try to relax and not be so on edge.”

“I wish you’d be like that for the entire fifteen days.”

“Well…… I’m not exactly good at controlling my emotions, so I can’t make promises I’m not sure I can keep.”

It sounded like he was saying that he would definitely settle things once before the fifteen days were over. Looking at those coolly sunken eyes, Jeong Taeui knew it wasn’t just his imagination.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue bitterly and picked up his pen. In any case, reducing the time he spent encountering this man was the most passive resistance he could offer.