Passion Novel - Volume 1 - Chapter 23

Suddenly, Jeong Taeui stopped his pen. Then he subtly asked Riegrow, who was turning his gaze back to the book,

“Earlier, you said you’d help with this.”

Then Riegrow slightly raised his eyebrows. He looked at the pile of notebooks and pens Jeong Taeui had stacked up, said “Ah,” and shrugged. It was as if he found it a bit unexpected that Jeong Taeui would bring it up.

“If you want help, I’ll help. Copying isn’t difficult, and…… but Instructor Jeong would quickly notice if the handwriting is different.”

It seemed he had said he would help, knowing full well. The point was, it wasn’t just empty words.

Jeong Taeui smiled brightly and held out the blank notebook and pen.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I just need to fill the required number of volumes. I’m not asking for much, just write one volume for me.”

“Hmm… Well, alright.”

Riegrow readily accepted the writing instruments. Soon, the sound of his pen smoothly scratching against the paper filled the air.

Jeong Taeui recalled his uncle’s words, “The person who helped will also have to handwrite ten volumes separately,” and for the time being, he pushed the thought of the ever-increasing burdens ahead of him into a corner of his mind. There were times when he wanted to make even his own body suffer, depending on the opponent and the situation he wanted to torment.

Let’s see how you like it. And I should try to reduce the time we run into each other.

Indeed, Jeong Taeui now fully understood the fuss his colleagues had made about building up their stamina and strength in advance to prepare for the joint training, ever since he first arrived on this island.

A day felt like a thousand years, which was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was at least ten to twenty times more tiring than regular training.

When training with colleagues from the same branch, he could at least go into sparring with the basic thought that the other person wouldn’t genuinely try to harm him. But now, even the most minor sparring required him to be on high alert and tense. There were too many guys with the blatant intention of breaking an opposing branch member’s arm under the guise of a mistake during sparring.

He couldn’t even relax during break times. Since he shared the resting space with them, he always had to be on guard, wondering if a rock might fly at him from somewhere, or if he might be unlucky enough to get shot with an air rifle.

The only time he could comfortably rest was after the regular workday ended, after returning to his room and locking the door. Even when he left his room to go to the bathroom or washroom, he had to either avoid or deal with the sparks of conflict scattered everywhere until the moment he returned to his room.

Too annoyed even for that, Jeong Taeui went to the bathroom on his way back to his room as soon as the regular workday ended and collapsed onto his bed as soon as he entered his room. He still couldn’t relax even after returning to his room, because he had to endure Moro’s resentful gaze.

Yeah, my bad, my bad. That Colt, I’ll buy you hundreds of them later, even if I have to empty my entire bank account……

Jeong Taeui muttered in bed. Even speaking out loud was tiring.

Moro, sending out chilly vibes, was still engrossed in his puzzle, and Tou hadn’t returned from the bathroom for a while, so he was probably either dealing with sparks of conflict somewhere or creating them himself. His stamina to constantly cause small and large disputes every day without getting tired was truly admirable.

“Hey, you’ve got a call.”

Moro’s sullen voice reached Jeong Taeui’s ears as he lay half-asleep on his stomach in bed. Jeong Taeui groggily raised his head, glanced at the pager he had thrown on the desk, and buried his face in the pillow again. He couldn’t even be bothered to check. But a moment later, Moro’s voice came again.

“Hey, it’s back.”

“……. Who’s it from?”

“What kind of bastard is calling when I’m dead tired?” Jeong Taeui groaned, and Moro picked up the pager to check the number. Then he said casually,

“It’s 114.”

“114…… Why would the phone number information service be looking for me……?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? There seems to be a message too, why don’t you check it?”

Moro tossed the pager. The small device landed accurately next to Jeong Taeui’s pillow. Jeong Taeui opened his eyes halfway while still lying down and glanced at the pager. The blinking light below the screen indicated that there was indeed a message, just as Moro had said.

Checking it and all that is too much trouble. It’s probably another notice to submit something or about some period of caution or whatever.

114, 114, where the heck is that? Room 14 on the first basement floor? What’s there? Ah, the wardens’ rooms were there. And the medics. 14 would be the lowest-ranking among the medics…….

Jeong Taeui’s eyes snapped open, and he shot up. Moro, who had been engrossed in his magazine a short distance away, was startled by the sudden movement of the seemingly dead person and glanced back and forth in surprise.

“The youngest medic, that would be Xinlu.”

“Huh? Y-yeah, that’s right. Why suddenly?”

Moro asked, clutching his chest. He looked like he was wondering if Jeong Taeui was suddenly talking in his sleep.

Jeong Taeui didn’t even think about answering and quickly checked the message.

As expected, Xinlu was the one who had called. The message content was nothing special. It just said to take care of his health. Jeong Taeui, whose face was already ashen at that insignificant message, darkened his expression the moment he checked the second message.

‘Then I’ll see you on the weekend. Have a good night.’ Weekend. Hearing that word, he remembered. Come to think of it, he hadn’t told Xinlu yet that they wouldn’t be able to meet on the weekend. He hadn’t had time to go to the office, and he hadn’t even run into Xinlu by chance.

“I have to tell him…… I can’t go…….”

Jeong Taeui muttered gloomily. Then he stared blankly at the internal phone on his bedside table. He briefly held onto a sliver of hope that some huge situation might have arisen, canceling weekend training and giving everyone free time, but if such a situation did occur, then of course neither Xinlu nor he would be able to leisurely go for a walk.

“…Tch.”

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue and jumped up. Moro, clutching his puzzle magazine, looked at Jeong Taeui with strange eyes.

“I’m going to go see Xinlu for a bit.”

Jeong Taeui put the pager in his pocket and said briefly as he headed for the door. He could have just called, but he felt like this was something he should say in person.

“Xinlu? It’s past his shift, so he probably won’t be in the office?”

“Then I’ll just go to his room, what’s the problem?”

“Civilians aren’t allowed on the first basement floor during joint training. It’s forbidden to meet with the wardens privately. Xinlu’s room is on the first basement floor too.”

Moro’s words, muttered as if he was saying something stupid, hit Jeong Taeui in the back of the head. Jeong Taeui paused and then turned back to Moro with wide eyes. Moro frowned, as if asking if he didn’t know.

No, he knew. But he had forgotten.

That’s right. Seeing Xinlu privately would be difficult without contacting him in advance.

Jeong Taeui hesitated for a moment. But since he had already decided to go see him, a longing to see him welled up in his heart. ……Yeah, I should go. There’s no point in suddenly breaking a promise by telling him late.

Jeong Taeui waved his hand lightly at Moro and left the room as he was. Moro shouted, “Hey, you!”, but he pretended not to hear.

The prickly air stung his skin again the moment he stepped out of the door, but there weren’t any major problems. He had no intention of provoking anyone first, and he had no intention of responding to any petty provocations. No one bothered to stop Jeong Taeui, who just brushed past them without reacting to their sly taunts. “Tch, coward,” he heard from behind, but if he could avoid unnecessary fights, he would listen to those taunts a hundred times over.

His feet habitually stopped in front of the elevator, but he realized that indicating he was going to the first basement floor wouldn’t do, so he turned towards the stairs.

He went up and down so often that he could now handle six or seven floors without any trouble, but these stairs had unusually high steps. The steps, which seemed to be twice the height of regular stairs, stretched out endlessly. Naturally, the floor-to-ceiling height was also considerable, and the ceiling looked far away.

When he asked why the building design was like this, his uncle had smiled and said nonchalantly, “For exercise.”

“Even without this, my life itself is training, Uncle,” Jeong Taeui grumbled to his uncle, who couldn’t hear him, as he climbed the stairs. Whenever there was something to grumble about, he would just vent to his uncle, whether he heard it or not. It made him feel a bit calmer.

When he reached the first basement floor, there was an unfamiliar sign attached to the steel door. Restricted Access to Non-Residents.

Meaning anyone who didn’t live on this floor—in other words, the civilians—shouldn’t come here.

Jeong Taeui opened the door as if he hadn’t seen it. He had wondered if the door might be locked or if someone would point a gun at him the moment he opened it and growl, “It says restricted access!”, but that didn’t happen.

Only a sign was attached; in terms of restricting access, it was the same as always, with that usual laxness. Jeong Taeui scratched his head in the first basement hallway. Did they mean to rely on the civilians’ conscience? This wasn’t some school; there were things you should and shouldn’t trust.

Since there were originally very few people staying on the first basement floor, he rarely ran into anyone even if he wandered around freely. Jeong Taeui was about to walk leisurely but paused. Come to think of it, this floor—not just this floor, but the entire building—was covered in surveillance cameras everywhere.

“……. If I get caught on camera, they’ll find me later and punish me severely, huh.”

Jeong Taeui hmm-ed and sighed.

But he doubted if it would really matter, as he roughly knew where the surveillance cameras were. If even Jeong Taeui knew, then the other civilians would know too. He could just walk around, stepping only in the blind spots of the cameras.

However, thinking again, he would inevitably have to step out of the blind spots no matter what when entering the warden’s room. He would naturally be caught on camera. Moreover, there might be cameras that Jeong Taeui didn’t know about.

Jeong Taeui pondered for a moment. Should he just go back? After all, he could just call.

But even though his head knew that would be the wiser option, his feet were already walking down the hallway. Ah, whatever. It might even be better if he got caught and they threw him into disciplinary confinement. It’s just a prison; how bad could the facilities be?

Jeong Taeui headed for Xinlu’s room. He hadn’t gotten lost again since getting lost here the first time. He was thankful that he at least had a sense of direction that didn’t forget a path he had taken once.

Xinlu’s room wasn’t far from the stairs. Go straight down the hallway and turn just once, and you’d be there quickly. On the way, he worried about what excuse he would make if he ran into anyone, but that didn’t happen.

Tap, tap, he knocked on the door with his fingertips. He waited for a moment, but there was no answer. He wondered if Xinlu hadn’t heard because the knock was too soft, or if he wasn’t in his room, and knocked a little harder again.

“If he’s not in his room, I’ll just be caught on the surveillance camera with no results. This would be a disaster…….”

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue, talking to himself. Even if he was going to say what he needed to say in person, he should have called first.

However, dispelling Jeong Taeui’s worries, the door opened a moment later. Xinlu, who peeked out from the two-span opening of the door and asked, “Who is it?”, looked surprised when he saw Jeong Taeui.

“Tae-ui hyung. What brings you here? You’re not supposed to come here right now…… Please come in.”

Xinlu glanced around and pulled Jeong Taeui into his room. Only then did Jeong Taeui wonder if his visit might cause trouble for Xinlu as well, but it was too late to regret it. Besides, now that he was here, there was no use in thinking about anything else.

Above all, this was his first time in Xinlu’s room.

A person’s room wasn’t that different from any other, but Jeong Taeui looked around curiously as he entered. It was a neat and simple room. There were no unnecessary items, but it wasn’t too bare either.

“If other people see you, you’ll get into trouble, hyung. Why did you suddenly come here?”

Xinlu asked worriedly, taking out two cans of beer. Seeing the beer in his hand, Jeong Taeui was briefly surprised, but then he remembered that Xinlu, no matter how adorable he was, was already an adult. Drinking beer was nothing unusual for his age. It was stranger that he was surprised.

Jeong Taeui accepted the beer, thanked him, and hesitated for a moment. Since it was a room where he lived alone, there was no real reason to have a guest sofa, so Xinlu pulled the desk chair over and sat down in front of Jeong Taeui, who was sitting on the bed, and quietly waited for Jeong Taeui to speak.

“Um, about the weekend…….”

“Ah, yes. I saw the weather forecast, and it said it’s going to be clear on the weekend.”

Xinlu smiled brightly as Jeong Taeui started to speak. Jeong Taeui groaned inwardly and clutched his chest. Hearing those words in a place where he had come to cancel their plans made him feel incredibly guilty, even though he would have been overjoyed to hear them normally.

“Uh…….”

Xinlu seemed to notice the cloudiness on Jeong Taeui’s face as he stammered. He tilted his head and just silently watched Jeong Taeui.

“Well, I didn’t know, but they said there’s training on the weekend too. It’s…… I don’t think I can get out of it.”

So……, he said, then hesitated, unable to continue. Xinlu, surprisingly unperturbed, nodded and said, “Ah, I see.” Then he smiled brightly.

“I figured as much. It felt a bit strange. Like last time and the time before that, during joint training, it always seemed like we had continuous training for fifteen days without any breaks. I wondered if it was different this time.”

Xinlu nodded as he said that, then suddenly frowned slightly, his smiling lips turning down as if he was disappointed.

“I was hoping to take a leisurely walk with hyung…… It’s a shame.”

“Oh, sorry…….”

Jeong Taeui bowed his head apologetically.

Even so, a small sense of relief washed over him. Ah, so he already knew. Come to think of it, Xinlu had been here longer than he had, so it was only natural that he would already know. It seemed he’d worried for nothing.

But breaking a promise was still breaking a promise, so Jeong Taeui looked at Xinlu apologetically. Xinlu wore a disappointed expression, but when he saw Jeong Taeui, he shook his head and smiled again.

“It’s alright. Training schedules are always like that. But we get to rest the week after training ends, so we can go for a walk then. The beach isn’t going anywhere.”

“Yeah… Let’s go for a walk after training.”

At Jeong Taeui’s words, Xinlu nodded, looking pleased. Then, he hummed and replied, “After training, we can also go off the island on the weekend, so it might be nice to go to Hong Kong together. I have a few things to buy, too.”

“Ah, really? Then I’d like to go with you. I need to pay Tau back for cigarettes anyway.”

Jeong Taeui readily agreed, feeling happy.

Postponing their weekend plans but making two new ones—going for a walk and going to Hong Kong—made him feel incredibly satisfied. He was a little disappointed that his anticipation for this weekend had gone up in smoke, but he had double the plans to look forward to now.

“Still… it’s a bit of a shame, though. I was looking forward to it.”

In front of Jeong Taeui, Xinlu lowered his head slightly and whispered. The moment Jeong Taeui registered the soft voice, his face flushed crimson.

It was strange. Although Jeong Taeui knew his reason wavered whenever Xinlu was in front of him, he was actually quite experienced in the ways of romance—or rather, in the steps leading up to it. He’d easily learned how to lure someone with words and hold them in his arms during his clubbing days, without anyone teaching him. So much so that he considered dating or spending the night with someone not a difficult task.

And yet, he simply couldn’t easily reach out to this young man. Perhaps this was exactly what they meant by the common saying: you can’t treat someone you’re smitten with carelessly.

He found himself ridiculous, but he didn’t dislike this feeling either. Jeong Taeui smiled sheepishly, his face still red.

Just then, Xinlu hesitantly reached out a hand. His fingertips hovered near Jeong Taeui’s, as if about to overlap but not quite. A small fingernail brushed against Jeong Taeui’s skin. Xinlu’s gaze, slightly cautious, drifted upwards.

Jeong Taeui almost burst out laughing. What a childish yet adorable invitation. He’d never received such a blatant and cute lure before. At this point, all he had to do was smile languidly and take that hand. And then, lightly kiss the fingertips and smile, and the deed would be practically done.

But.

His hand wouldn’t move. Only his already flushed face grew hotter and hotter.

Jeong Taeui looked at Xinlu. Those slender fingers lightly, gently touching the tip of Jeong Taeui’s finger.

His mouth felt dry. His anxious mind whispered, Now, now is the time. It’ll be alright now.

Jeong Taeui clenched his fist tightly. And then, his impatient hand reached out. Hesitating for a moment, his hand settled on Xinlu’s shoulder.

He couldn’t bring himself to look at Xinlu’s face. He’d probably look ridiculous if he did. A man with a face as red as a boiled octopus, completely at a loss. He hoped Xinlu wouldn’t look at him right now.

Jeong Taeui half-rose. And pulling on the shoulder he held, he abruptly pressed his lips to Xinlu’s face. He’d originally intended to kiss Xinlu’s lips with determination. But he was so nervous that he missed. He ended up vaguely kissing somewhere closer to his cheek than his lips.

But at this moment, what mattered to Jeong Taeui wasn’t where his lips had landed. It was that he had kissed him for the first time. His lips had touched Xinlu’s soft skin.

He felt Xinlu’s surprised gaze on his face, which had been brushed as lightly as a feather. Unable to meet that gaze, Jeong Taeui drew back and wiped his lips with the back of his hand, his face a deep red.

“… …”

“… …”

A silence stretched between them for a while. Jeong Taeui fiddled with his innocent fingers, twisting them unnecessarily as he kept his head down. He cautiously raised his eyes, and saw that Xinlu was the same. His fair cheeks were flushed, and he was looking down.

Is it okay? Is he angry? His heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst.

Jeong Taeui felt flustered, but at the same time, a silly smile threatened to break out, so he tightened his lips. But his mouth kept relaxing.

Jeong Taeui subtly raised a hand to cover his mouth. And when he carefully looked at Xinlu, he saw that Xinlu was already looking up at him. When their eyes met, Jeong Taeui standing awkwardly with his mouth covered, Xinlu suddenly burst into laughter, his face still flushed.

Jeong Taeui, who had been looking at Xinlu with slight bewilderment at the quiet but bright, tinkling laughter, soon found himself laughing along.

His chest felt ticklish. That’s why he was laughing. Perhaps Xinlu felt something similar.

They laughed for a while, and as their laughter subsided, an awkward and embarrassed air returned.

“Um, well, I should get going now. Let’s see each other again after training… Ah, thanks for the message. I read it well.”

“Ah, yes… Um, I’ll walk you out.”

As Jeong Taeui stood up, indicating he was about to leave, Xinlu also rose and followed him. Another smile bloomed on Jeong Taeui’s face. Xinlu, quietly trailing behind him like a puppy, was endlessly endearing.

He told Xinlu, who had come to the doorway, that he didn’t need to come out, but Xinlu shook his head and stepped outside the room. They walked down the hallway almost in silence. There was nothing to say, and more than anything, his heart was full just from the warmth radiating from their lightly clasped hands.

Two people walking side by side, holding hands, their faces flushed and silent—if his uncle saw this, he’d give them that look again. Having fun, are we…

But who cared? Let him look all he wanted. After all, they were close enough to at least hold hands.

Jeong Taeui glanced at the young man, who was about half a hand shorter than him. A faint scent of soap still wafted from his swaying hair. He thought about burying his face in that hair, then blushed again and smiled sheepishly.

Just then.

They were approaching the stairs. He couldn’t very well ask Xinlu to go down to the sixth basement level with him, so he was feeling a pang of regret that he would have to let go of this hand in front of the stairs.

Someone rounded the corner of the wall by the stairs.

Umph, the fingers holding his hand tightened slightly. He didn’t want anyone to see that Jeong Taeui was on this floor right now, no matter who it was. Even though he might have been caught on surveillance cameras, being directly seen by someone felt different.

Who is it? If it’s one of the instructors, I could at least make an excuse, Jeong Taeui thought, clicking his tongue inwardly. But the moment he recognized the person, he froze, his steps halting.

It was someone he hadn’t expected to encounter on this floor at all—or rather, someone he shouldn’t have encountered here. Riegrow, that vile man.

The man also saw Jeong Taeui. Then, his gaze slowly shifted to Xinlu beside him. And then down, to their clasped hands.

His pitch-black eyes, unreadable, narrowed slightly. As if something was interesting, amusing, or displeasing, or perhaps covetous.

The moment the last possibility crossed his mind, Jeong Taeui’s face hardened. The conversation he’d had with Tau that morning, not long before arriving here, flashed through his mind.

──There hasn’t been a single young and pretty one who’s remained unscathed.

A chill ran down his spine. Jeong Taeui instinctively tightened his grip on Xinlu’s hand and stepped in front of him. Xinlu fidgeted behind him, looking bewildered, but Jeong Taeui stood his ground, silent and firm.

Dangerous. The thought struck him instinctively.

It wasn’t the same kind of threat he had felt before, related to life or survival. It was a threat that something precious might be taken away, a threat perhaps more urgent and anxious than survival itself.

Riegrow stared intently at Jeong Taeui. As if his inner thoughts were completely visible, a smile, or something that resembled one, slowly bloomed on his lips.

“What’s wrong…?”

He spoke quietly. A faint but clearly discernible laughter was mixed in his voice.