Passion Novel - Volume 1 - Chapter 25

Jeong Taeui had camped out countless times. He had slept under the stars, slept in the dew, and even slept in places where snakes and centipedes rustled. But those snakes weren’t venomous, and the people he camped with weren’t enemies who would try to slit his throat at any moment.

“Ah, well, you did have a reason to be careful with your life. But… looking at the notes you gave me, I saw unfamiliar handwriting. Whose writing is that?”

His uncle suddenly said with a subtle smile. Jeong Taeui closed his mouth. It’s that bastard’s, he wanted to say, so that the weight of ten volumes of copying would be added to that bastard as well, reducing the time they might encounter each other. But directly tattling like this felt somewhat awkward. However, just as Jeong Taeui opened his mouth to increase his own safety even a little, his uncle spoke first.

“But Jeong Taeui, even though that bastard’s free time and the duration of your life have a certain correlation, haven’t you considered that, when you look at the result, your life will become more dangerous?”

Jeong Taeui closed his mouth again. He wasn’t particularly surprised that his uncle had already recognized the owner of that handwriting. He wouldn’t be surprised anymore by anything this uncle, who could instantly classify and process mountains of documents, knew.

However, what his uncle had said was something Jeong Taeui himself had been slightly worried about. When the slight help Riegrow had given Jeong Taeui turned into poison for him, he wondered if it might have a reverse effect.

“Think wisely and give me your answer by the time we return to the branch tomorrow.”

His uncle said with a smile. Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue bitterly. At this rate, he would either have to insist it was his own handwriting until the end or silently accept the task of writing ten more volumes.

The forest grew denser. The sound of his companions ahead breaking off branches, muttering things like, “Damn it, I wish we could just burn all these trees,” was heard repeatedly. It seemed that every time they stepped where there wasn’t a proper path, branches and the like would scratch their faces.

Jeong Taeui, who was thankfully walking in the back, silently wondered quietly, “By the way, I heard that man has even killed an instructor before.”

Then, his uncle, who had been walking right behind Jeong Taeui, replied nonchalantly, “Hmm. That was in early last year. That instructor made a stupid mistake. His younger brother was also a member in the same branch and ended up bedridden for life at Rick’s hands. It happened during training, so there wasn’t really any basis for punishment, and it was overlooked, but he thought that wasn’t enough. Well, of course, that instructor probably wasn’t even trying to kill Rick, but the result was──.”

His uncle stopped talking at a point where Jeong Taeui could guess the rest even without hearing it. Jeong Taeui frowned. He knew that laws and regulations were originally made loosely enough to have loopholes, but he felt that in that man’s case, it was extreme.

But at the same time, the attitude of the European division members towards Riegrow came to mind.

It wasn’t the attitude of treating a close comrade. Reverence, fear, and unease were much greater. Considering that man’s personality and those kinds of stories, it seemed that Riegrow was a man with many internal enemies.

Yet, when Jeong Taeui thought of that man, completely unconcerned, freely wielding his lethal abilities and strutting around, his face involuntarily hardened.

“Unless he has some incredible backing… how could he possibly──.”

Jeong Taeui tilted his head, muttering to himself as if he couldn’t understand, when suddenly the formation stopped. The front of the formation, which had stopped as if some obstacle had appeared, simultaneously erupted in short, unpleasant shouts. Soon, the shouts doubled, then tripled.

“Oh dear. I expected it, but it seems an undesirable situation has arisen.”

His uncle muttered from behind Jeong Taeui and moved forward. Even without hearing his uncle’s words, the rough sounds coming from the front were more than enough to guess. They had encountered another marching team, and it was the European branch team.

There had been one rule since they started. Teams that encountered each other on the way would march together. So everyone hoped that if they did encounter another team, it would definitely be a team from the same branch. There were even people who openly shouted that if they marched with the European bastards, four or five heads would fly off overnight.

Jeong Taeui figured they would probably stay put for a while, so he leaned against a nearby tree. After placing his bag against the tree, he lowered his body slightly to relieve some of the weight of the pack. His shoulders felt a little lighter.

After waiting for a while, the commotion from the front subsided. At the sudden, unnatural decrease in noise, Jeong Taeui turned his head in that direction. The fog was still thick, and there were many obstacles obscuring his vision, so he couldn’t see the front, but he wondered if something had happened.

However, even after waiting a little longer, he didn’t hear any more ominous sounds, but instead heard occasional grumbling, quieter than before but still rough.

“What’s going on? Did someone start a fight up ahead?”

When Jeong Taeui asked Ching, who had been standing in front of him but had gone forward and then returned, opening his canteen with a grimace, he shook his head.

“That bastard’s there.”

“Huh?”

“That son of a bitch I want to tear to pieces. We ended up marching with the team that bastard’s in. Damn it, are they crazy? What kind of hellish sight are we supposed to see with that lunatic in the middle of the night──?”

At Ching’s outburst, Jeong Taeui’s face also crumpled. Well, there goes sleep tonight, he thought, amidst the voices talking about how even one watch wouldn’t be enough. With his face still scrunched up, Jeong Taeui looked ahead. In front, it seemed the discussion had been somewhat settled, and they were showing signs of starting again. And unfamiliar faces walked to the back, mixing in here and there among the group. Of course, they all had the same sour expressions.

“I’d rather go into a snake pit, why does it have to be these bastards we run into──.”

“Hmph. If we go with guys more poisonous than snakes, at least the snakes won’t come.”

Conversations laced with veiled threats passed back and forth. Jeong Taeui pulled his hat down low, his collar up high, and kept his head bowed as the European branch members mingled amongst them with grim faces.

The formation started moving again. Falling behind and glancing back, Jeong Taeui saw a sinister-looking back of a head in the distance, barely visible through the fog. That head, a full head taller than others, looked utterly menacing the moment he saw it, and he knew instantly.

Further away, further away, he slowed his pace, and before he knew it, Jeong Taeui had been pushed to the very rear of the formation. Although they were mixed together, the Asian branch men walked in groups towards the front and middle of the formation, while the European branch men clustered from the middle to the back.

Jeong Taeui soon realized that most of the men walking around him were European branch members, but he had no desire to move forward and simply kept walking. In any case, almost no one paid attention to him, walking alone and keeping his face hidden.

Having fallen this far back, there was quite a distance, and the location where that menacing head had been was now shrouded in fog. The way it flickered in and out of view through the mist made him feel even more ominous.

Come to think of it, wasn’t this situation a perfect opportunity for that man?

The fog was thick. They were deep in the forest. They were even staying the night here. Moreover, it wasn’t as if they were completely surrounded by the enemy. In other words, if he wanted to, he could probably kill someone without a trace, bury them in the forest, and pretend nothing happened.

“Damn it. We got stuck with the Asian bastards. We have to spend the night with those dirty sons of bitches?”

“Don’t joke. We have to divide the area and make sleeping arrangements anyway. How can we sleep mixed in with those guys? Just walking a few meters away from them like this makes me sick.”

“Bad luck stuck to us. Ever since coming to this damn Asian branch, there hasn’t been anything worthwhile.”

Jeong Taeui heard the European branch men walking nearby grumbling. He chuckled to himself. He had already heard the exact same words, just with Asia and Europe swapped, in a previous rant. It seemed everyone lacked creativity even when cursing.

“But I’m more worried about Simon than the Asian guys… Is that bastard really okay?”

One of them suddenly muttered, his voice tinged with vague unease and worry.

“Yeah, tell me about it. Oh, but I don’t see him. Where did he go?”

“He went towards the front earlier. Behind Rick. Is it okay to leave him like that? I’m really uneasy.”

“Hmm… still, surely not. That bastard knows his place, what could he possibly do?”

“You never know. People can do anything when they suddenly snap. If he goes crazy and stabs him in the back at some point, it’s game over.”

“Nah. Even if he tries to ambush him, there’s no way Rick would get stabbed easily. It would be amazing if he even grazed him.”

“Even if he did get stabbed, would the blade even go in? Maybe not even a drop of blood would come out. Anyone here seen Rick bleed?”

“You have to see blood for that, there’s definitely no blood flowing in that bastard’s body.”

They spoke as if joking, but they didn’t laugh. They only bitterly twisted the corners of their mouths. As if just talking about it would bring bad luck, they were cautious and uneasy.

Walking a few steps away and listening to their words, Jeong Taeui also felt the same unease and subtle anxiety that they were feeling.

He soon realized who they were talking about. That man who inspired both awe and unease, not only in the people from the other branch but also in the people from his own branch. Riegrow, also known as Rick.

“Ugh, screw it. I don’t care if Simon guts Rick or not, I just hope he doesn’t do it in front of the Asian guys. What good is it to show those bastards our internal problems?”

“That’s right. But if I were Simon, I would have wanted to kill Rick too.”

“Even if I weren’t Simon, I wouldn’t like that bastard much. What’s the point of being on the same team as someone like that? All we see are ugly sights day after day. Ugh, I wish the teams would get split up.”

“Ever since I got on the same team as that guy, I can’t look at meat the same way. I might unintentionally become a vegetarian.”

“Honestly, it’s a relief that we’re at least on the same team in the same branch. Imagine running into him as an opponent in sparring or joint training, what bad luck that would be.”

Jeong Taeui felt a subtle bitterness at their words. It was as if he had starkly realized what kind of human Riegrow was. A human who couldn’t blend in even within his own team, floating alone and isolated. Everyone felt a sense of relief and at the same time uneasy fear at the fact that he was on their team. He was someone they never wanted to get close to, but couldn’t afford to have as an enemy.

He didn’t know why he felt bitter. It was probably something Riegrow himself wouldn’t care about in the slightest, yet his mouth felt dry and unpleasant.

Well, it would be stranger if you weren’t afraid of such a madman.

Jeong Taeui didn’t want to hear any more of the men’s talk and quickened his pace slightly. After putting some distance between himself and the rear, he saw Riegrow’s figure again in the distance ahead. There were few people around him, as if a barrier had been erected.

A wry smile appeared on his face at the sight. He was a man who had earned so much animosity that even within his own branch, there were enemies aiming for his life, so it would be even funnier if people were casually gathered around him.

Honestly, even Jeong Taeui himself probably wouldn’t help if someone tried to kill that man right now. Especially when he thought of that cold yet desire-filled gaze that had been directed at Xinlu.

Dangerous. Threatening. Intimidating. He was a man you could never be comfortable around. Even more so if he coveted or belittled something precious to you.

Just then. Riegrow suddenly seemed to slow his pace. Jeong Taeui, who had been watching his back, also unconsciously stopped and slowed down. He turned around. Jeong Taeui reflexively lowered his head slightly and looked away. As if nothing was wrong, he said a few words to the person behind him and then turned his head back.

Jeong Taeui sighed and pressed down on the brim of his hat, bending it further down to pull the hat even lower.

They stopped after walking for another three or four hours. Judging by the faint sound of the sea, it seemed the ocean wasn’t far away. The sound of the sea naturally reminded him of Xinlu, and Jeong Taeui unconsciously relaxed his expression.

“The fog is killer, and with the sound of the water, it’s absolutely fantastic.”

“Are you saying it’s fantastically good, or fantastically eerie?”

The men, who had stopped walking at the guards’ command, knew this was where they would spend the night and began to clear the ground as best they could. There was a not-so-wide clearing in the middle of the forest. Even though it was a clearing, it was just that no trees grew there; bushes and rocks were scattered everywhere, so clearing the ground took quite a while.

The guards, perhaps not wanting to cross any dangerous bridges unnecessarily, had the other team’s men move to a clearing a little further away, separated by a few trees. It was still close enough to see each other by just turning their heads, but the locations were distinct.

“I’ll take the furthest corner… yeah, under that rock looks good.”

Jeong Taeui quickly went to the spot furthest from the European branch, where a large rock cast a shadow, and settled down. The rock blocked his view.

“Snakes and bugs like to burrow in such secluded places.”

Tau, who was clearing away bushes, advised Jeong Taeui when he saw him, but Jeong Taeui shook his head. There was someone over there he wanted to be further away from than snakes and bugs. Knowing his feelings, Tau didn’t say anything more.

After chasing away a lizard crawling in the shade of the rock and settling down, Jeong Taeui listened to the sound of the sea coming from afar. The sound of the water, faintly heard amidst the hazy darkness caused by the fog, had a strange feel to it.

While Jeong Taeui was lost in the sound of the water, his companions gathered dry branches and lit a bonfire in the middle of the clearing. The six or seven men who made a circle around the fire and decided on the order for the night watch were tired from the whole day, so they should have been able to fall asleep, but they kept murmuring amongst themselves, unable to easily drift off.

The group beyond the trees was the same. They didn’t seem to be chatting merrily, but they too had each found a suitable spot to sit around their bonfire.

There was a wariness that a fight might break out in the middle of the night, or that someone might take advantage of the darkness to do something sinister, but neither side seemed to have any intention of starting trouble first. Even if a hateful and tiresome group was right next to them, their own bodies being tired and exhausted came first.

Actually, Jeong Taeui wondered if there was even any need for a night watch, but he knew it would be useless to say anything, so he didn’t even bring it up. If he did, he would undoubtedly hear something like, “Can’t you see those vicious enemies over there, glaring at us and waiting for an opportunity?” It was better to just not get cursed at and take it easy when his turn for watch came.

Suddenly, Jeong Taeui felt a gaze and lifted his head. His uncle was sitting on the rock above him, where he had taken a shaded spot. Sitting on the rock, which looked uncomfortable to climb onto due to its uneven surface, his uncle slowly looked around before finally meeting Jeong Taeui’s gaze.

“Aren’t you uncomfortable sitting there?”

“Well, as the leader, I need to sit where I can see everyone.”

His uncle said with a half-joking, half-serious smile. A few steps away, the adjutant who was always with his uncle could be seen standing guard. Jeong Taeui chuckled and slipped into his sleeping bag. His turn for night watch was third.

I’ll probably wake up vaguely around one or two in the morning, stay awake for about an hour, and then fall vaguely asleep again, Jeong Taeui thought with a quiet sigh as he closed his eyes. He didn’t fall asleep right away, so he listened to or ignored the faint sound of the water and the low murmuring of his companions.

“I wonder where the other teams are. Which teams did they run into?”

The languid voice belonged to Carlo. He had probably spoken to his uncle, because from the rock, his uncle murmured, “Well,” and then laughed.

“They’re probably all in similar situations. Who knows, maybe they’ve run into an even worse bunch than us.”

His uncle made a deliberate joke, and quiet laughter rippled out from various places. It was a tired night, so everyone’s laughter was subdued. Jeong Taeui, who was starting to feel sleepy, chuckled softly.

“I saw Instructor Crimson’s team doing quite well recently. It seems their sparring record has been pretty good all week.”

Someone else asked. His uncle replied, “Their record has been good this week. But you never know, there’s still another week left.” Jeong Taeui tilted his head with his eyes closed. Records. It seemed they kept score of which team performed better even during joint training. Come to think of it, he seemed to have heard something like that before.

“The prize for the last joint training was a week’s vacation for the whole team, right? I wonder what they’ll give us this time.”

“The prize before that was a team bonus of $30,000. I bet they’ll match that level.”

“I’d rather have a vacation than money. The way I feel right now, I just want to quit everything and crash for a solid three days.”

“That’s only if you get the best score, it’s not like they’ll give it to just anyone… Ugh, let’s try harder next week.”

Everyone spoke in voices that weren’t very loud. Jeong Taeui nodded, thinking, Yeah, I’d rather have a vacation than money too. Judging from the context of the conversation, it seemed that after the joint training, the team with the best performance would receive a reward.

“I don’t expect to come in first place, but I do hope we score better than Instructor Crimson’s team, at least,” his uncle muttered, pretending to sigh deeply, which elicited a few short laughs.

“True, Instructor Crimson and everyone else have seemed a bit tense lately… Could Instructor’s promotion review be coming up?”

Carlo joked with a laugh. His uncle also laughed and replied, “The way you say it, it doesn’t sound like a joke.”

Promotion. Come to think of it, he had forgotten, but the six-month period was finally here.

How is it going? His uncle’s superior was Rudolph Jantille. The talk was about pushing that person up to the position of director-general. I wonder if it’s going well.

But when he thought about it, Jeong Taeui didn’t know why he had been dragged into this position in the first place. Even if he was supposedly the lucky one who would survive to the end, from what he had heard since coming here, the atmosphere didn’t seem that extremely dangerous, where everyone was dying off. Rather, it seemed that only a few unlucky ones died in accidents… Uncle, there weren’t that many people around.

However, on the other hand, the person his uncle had initially wanted to bring was his brother. If his lucky brother had been around, that luck might have helped his uncle too. Then he had been called in as a substitute.

…….

Well, what did it matter? He was just waiting for time to pass in the flow of events. If his uncle asked him for help, he would help, and if he didn’t say anything, he would just have to deal with whatever was in front of him, whether it helped or hindered him without his knowing.

Jeong Taeui took a deep breath. The damp smell of grass and soil mixed together filled his lungs. And a subtle salty scent. That was the smell of the sea. The sound of the sea. The smell of the sea. The smell of grass and soil. The quiet rustling of insects somewhere. The dry rustling of leaves brushing against each other in the breeze. Those things evoked a strange longing and a melancholic comfort.

The sound of the wind, quiet and then suddenly heard. The scent of the night, still and then suddenly piercing his nostrils. Those things tensed the right side of his heart and relaxed the left.

A time that was lonely and desolate enough to be just bearable.

Breaking that time, someone gently grabbed his shoulder and shook him. Jeong Taeui opened his eyes. Ching was in front of him, tapping his wrist watch to indicate the time.

Blinking in bewilderment, Jeong Taeui sat up and saw that everyone else was already asleep, with only the bonfire crackling and burning. When he turned his head, his uncle, who had been sitting on the rock and talking in a quiet voice, was also nowhere to be seen.

He had thought he had only closed his eyes for a moment, but it seemed he had fallen into a deep sleep without realizing it.

“Has it gotten this late already? It felt like I only closed my eyes for a second. Ugh, my back…”

Muttering about his back, Jeong Taeui stretched his shoulders as he stood up, shivering in the chilly night air. Ching, who had been on watch before Jeong Taeui, had sleepy eyes and crawled into his sleeping bag.

“Good luck for the next hour. I’m going to sleep first. See you tomorrow morning.”

Ching pulled the sleeping bag zipper up to his nose, wiggled a few fingers from under the covers by his head, and then wriggled down until he was completely buried in his sleeping bag. “Yeah, sleep well,” Jeong Taeui replied, rubbing his cool forearm as he leaned against the rock where his uncle had been sitting earlier.