Passion Novel - Volume 2 - Chapter 36

UNHRDO… the water might be seriously bad here. The members are like this, and the instructors are like that. Later, even after he got out, if he saw anyone planning to come here, he felt it would be his duty as a human being to advise them to reconsider carefully.

Jeong Taeui shook his head and stood up. The discomfort of the darkness was gone, and the facilities were well-equipped, so it seemed like a good time to wash up. Come to think of it, he hadn’t even splashed water on himself for three or four days already. Jeong Taeui was relatively better off. Among his colleagues, there were plenty who hadn’t even gone near the bathroom since training started.

…Well, he had actually seen a guy who, when tired, found it too bothersome to go to the bathroom and just took care of things in the sink near his bed, so what more could he say?

Jeong Taeui vowed that even if the day came when he could change rooms, he would never share a room with Alta.

“Where are the underwear?”

“Underwear?”

As Jeong Taeui rummaged through the drawers, Ilay, who had been reading, asked back with a puzzled expression. Jeong Taeui, in turn, looked at him with a bewildered face.

“There should be underwear provided, right? I was dragged here in the early morning without bringing anything. The old man didn’t say anything either. So, isn’t it natural that everything is provided inside?”

“The only clothing provided here is clothes. You could say towels are also provided clothing if you consider using them as a substitute for a gown.”

Jeong Taeui stared at him blankly. The clothes provided were the loose-fitting elasticated sweatpants, like the grayish prison uniform Ilay was wearing and that Jeong Taeui had changed into upon arrival. Come to think of it, when he had taken out these clothes from the drawer, he hadn’t seen any other underwear or anything. But he had naturally assumed they would be somewhere in another drawer.

“……Did you bring all your belongings?”

“You, a material witness, didn’t even have time for that. Do you think the person at the center of the incident would have had such time?”

“Then what are you wearing?”

“Nothing. Want me to show you?”

Ilay mockingly grabbed his waistband and pretended to pull it down. Jeong Taeui frowned and flatly refused.

“Enough. I don’t particularly want to see such an unsightly thing.”

“Unsightly? That’s harsh. You see that unsightly thing every time you go to the bathroom anyway.”

“Mine is a much cuter and more lovable size than yours. Don’t compare it to something so monstrous.”

Jeong Taeui spoke firmly, but something felt off, so he just put on a brazen face. Actually, what he said was true. Jeong Taeui frowned, recalling the naked Ilay he had unintentionally seen at the beach a few days ago. Anyone who sleeps with that guy must be dying. He had even looked at the young man who was with him at the time with pity. He seemed like a rather small young man; it was a wonder his mouth hadn’t been torn from ear to ear that day. He offered his deepest condolences to anyone who had shared a bed with that monster.

Jeong Taeui turned his back on Ilay, who was laughing loudly for a long time as if he had heard something incredibly funny, and went into the bathroom, giving up on the underwear.

Damn it, he had recalled something unnecessary. That imposing body whose outline was faintly visible in the dim light on the dark beach, and that atmosphere that overwhelmed the surroundings as he calmly walked out naked. Perhaps because they were in the middle of the act, the mixture of sweat and body odor had been suffocating. As a fellow male, it was a strong vitality that awakened the instinct to tuck his tail between his legs and get out of his territory.

Jeong Taeui looked at the full-length mirror fixed to the shower wall. A familiar figure was reflected in it. It wasn’t a figure that would make him shrink or feel inferior anywhere. It wasn’t exceptionally great, but it easily met the average standard for men. No, in fact, it surpassed the average; it was a body he could confidently show off. The man outside was just excessively above average. He had thought he was lean, but once stripped, he was solid; that was cheating.

Jeong Taeui grumbled under his breath as he stepped into the shower. Soon, warm water streamed down, soaking his body. As he doused himself with the warm water from head to toe, his body seemed to relax and melt away.

He wished he could soak in a warm bathtub for the entire ten days he was in here, but unfortunately, there was no bathtub. However, even just a showerhead pouring out hot water was a sufficiently luxurious facility for a prison.

“At this rate, it loses its meaning as a prison. It’s more comfortable and relaxing than being outside.”

“It affects your evaluation. It becomes difficult to get a good placement later if there’s a record of being in Eoryeong.”

Ilay had entered unnoticed. Jeong Taeui flinched and turned around to see him standing beyond the glass partition. He was standing in front of the toilet, relieving himself while calmly looking at Jeong Taeui.

“That’s why those who hope to go to a specific place, or those who have a particular preference, or those who want to be sold for a higher price, try their best to get good scores. Haven’t you noticed after spending a few days together? Their eagerness to win in sparring or training and their diligence in attending lectures aren’t solely due to their competitive spirit or thirst for knowledge. Although there are some who live as they please, saying ‘whatever will be, will be.'”

“Are you talking about yourself?”

Jeong Taeui grimaced and rubbed his body. There was soap next to the sink outside the shower booth, but seeing Ilay standing right next to it, he somehow didn’t feel like going over there. So he just rubbed his body with his bare hands under the stream of water, clicking his tongue with a bitter taste in his mouth.

When using a public bath, it was common to see one person washing their face next to someone using the toilet, and another person washing their hair next to them, but it still didn’t feel good to have someone doing their business next to you while you were showering. Especially if that person was watching with such an interested gaze.

“Haha, I do live as I please, but ‘whatever will be, will be’ isn’t my style. Besides, even if I go in and out of Eoryeong multiple times and cause trouble, in my case, my accumulated achievements are like a golden tower. It seems like promotion talks are starting to come up now. Whether I want it or not.”

“Promotion? I thought UNHRDO guards weren’t positions that members got promoted to.”

“Usually, that’s the case. You need to meet certain qualifications, and it’s difficult to meet those qualifications if you remain just a member. But in my case, I’ve been out on external assignments a lot. Ah, that’s right. Your uncle also started as a member originally.”

“Yeah, I think so… But.”

Jeong Taeui started to speak but then closed his mouth for a moment. It felt a bit ridiculous to say it. But even in the midst of that, the blatant gaze was quite annoying. Jeong Taeui raised his eyes and stared directly at Ilay, saying,

“What are you looking at?”

“No, it’s just… you have quite the physique. You wouldn’t be lacking anywhere. You must be popular, Taei. No wonder that kid was smitten.”

Ilay said with a grin. Jeong Taeui looked at Ilay with a face as if he had heard something bizarre. He glanced at the thing Ilay shook off and tucked back in after finishing his business and thought with a disgusted look, If you got hit even once with that thing, you’d die.

Dealing with guys who competed over their manhood by the size of their member was enough when he was in the military. He had found it ridiculous to see guys bragging about being one millimeter bigger or smaller. What good was the size of that thing anyway? When he had said that, one of his close friends had laughed and said, “You say that because you’re average,” and then launched into a long-winded explanation about large members and male virility.

But seeing that man, he could somewhat understand the feelings of guys who felt intimidated by their own member size. First of all, even he, who had never thought about such things before, felt an urge to cover himself in front of that blatant gaze. Well, would anyone feel comfortable being stared at so openly?

Jeong Taeui met Ilay’s gaze, openly showing his considerable discomfort, but Ilay didn’t even flinch. He hesitated to explicitly say “Don’t look,” so Jeong Taeui frowned and stepped out of the glass booth, starting to dry himself with a towel. Then, he glanced up at Ilay, who was standing there blankly.

“If you’re done with your business, why aren’t you leaving? Haven’t you ever seen a person before?”

“I’ve seen plenty of people, but it’s the first time I’ve seen you like this… By the way, can I ask you something?”

Ilay asked with a grin. Jeong Taeui looked at him suspiciously, wondering what this guy was up to, and then reluctantly nodded.

“You haven’t slept with that kid, have you? What about other guys? Do you have any experience?”

Jeong Taeui frowned. That was an excessively personal question. So that’s why this guy had started so awkwardly with “Can I ask you something?”

He clicked his tongue. Of course, he had experience. He didn’t know if this man’s standards were inhuman even in that regard, but Jeong Taeui was average or above average in that area as well.

“Yes.”

“With a man?”

“Yeah.”

When Jeong Taeui answered curtly and bluntly, Ilay laughed. Right, come to think of it, he did say something like that during a call before, that he was sexually immoral. He chuckled amusingly as he muttered that to himself.

“Were they all guys like that kid, to your taste?”

Jeong Taeui nodded, thinking Ilay was asking pointless things. Even after drying himself with the towel, there was still some dampness left, so he was reluctant to put on his clothes right away. He could just wrap a towel around his waist, but being naked in front of this dangerous man felt too defenseless. It was like facing a wild beast without any weapons. Come to think of it, that man could easily kill someone with his bare hands, while Jeong Taeui didn’t even know if he could properly kill someone even if he were given a weapon.

Old man. This was definitely a personnel misjudgment. What am I supposed to do being in the same room as a guy like that? You should have put me with someone who’d pull out a .50 caliber revolver and threaten to kill him instead.

“People have preferences. I have occasionally held well-built guys, but I prefer someone with a good feel and soft skin.”

“Ah… so you’ve never been on the receiving end.”

Jeong Taeui paused, the clothes he was about to pick up still in his hand. He then glanced at Ilay with a very strange look and left the bathroom. The thin gray tracksuit—or rather, prison uniform—clung uncomfortably to the remaining dampness on his body, making him click his tongue in annoyance.

“People have preferences. I’m not particularly inclined that way. Never even thought about it,” Jeong Taeui said calmly. In fact, he had a very minor trauma. He couldn’t remember exactly when it was now, but it seemed to be in the early summer, not long after he entered high school.

One of the gym teachers happened to be absent, so they ended up playing soccer during gym class with seniors who were a year above them. After gym class, he went to the water fountain, quickly took off his sweaty clothes, and was washing his back when a senior poured water for him from behind. Thanking him, he enjoyed the cool water, but he couldn’t help but feel that the hand that was stroking his back and waist was strangely lingering. But he dismissed it as his imagination, and soon enough, things went wrong.

After that, that senior often called him out to buy him meals or drinks, and Jeong Taeui, while bewildered at how they had become so close, thought he was a good senior and followed along. Then, as summer grew stronger, they were lounging on a mattress in the cool shade of the gym storage room when suddenly the senior fell on top of Jeong Taeui.

Whether he was in the judo club or the hapkido club, he was shorter than Jeong Taeui but about 1.5 times his size. No matter how much Jeong Taeui struggled, the other guy was desperately clinging to him, making it difficult to pull him off. In the meantime, that damn guy, who wasn’t even worth calling a senior, shoved his hands haphazardly into Jeong Taeui’s clothes and groped him all over.

Finally, panting heavily, he leaned in to kiss him, and a horrified Jeong Taeui, without regard for seniority, just threw a punch. He then ran out without even hearing what the senior was shouting behind him and never saw that senior again.

Actually, even back then, Jeong Taeui knew his own preferences. He felt more comfortable with men than women and thought it would be nice to be intimate with them. But thanks to that senior, he learned one more thing. People definitely had distinct preferences. He didn’t want to be under that senior, nor did he have any desire to hold him. That person was just a senior. A simple acquaintance.

Come to think of it, that senior was still a high school student back then, which was quite pitiful. You should always think about whether your preference matches the other person’s, even if they are your type, before making a move. I hope you’ve met a good partner and are doing well now, xx senior. (He even forgot his name.)

Jeong Taeui shook his head, recalling the bitter past. Then, a sudden ominous premonition flashed through his mind, and he looked at Ilay.

“You… didn’t your preferences overlap with mine?”

“Hmm?”

“That guy you touched at the beach, weren’t you also fond of slender and soft guys?”

“I’m not particularly picky, but those guys are nice to be on top of. They also feel good to hold.”

Ilay nodded. Jeong Taeui sighed in relief, as if reassured, and said sternly, “Let me tell you, you are not my type. I have no interest in holding men bigger than me. So, don’t even think about expecting anything like that from me.”

Ilay stared at Jeong Taeui, who was speaking solemnly with even his index finger raised, with a very dumbfounded expression for a moment. Even if you look at me like that, no means no, Jeong Taeui thought, glaring back at Ilay without losing. Ilay stared intently at Jeong Taeui without blinking, then suddenly burst into laughter.

“What?”

It was never pleasant when someone suddenly burst into laughter while looking at your face. Jeong Taeui frowned and looked at him. Ilay, who couldn’t stop laughing for a long time and even leaned against the wall as if his strength had given out, finally stopped after quite a while. Then he waved his hand.

“Ah, okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Yeah…….”

Jeong Taeui nodded at Ilay’s compliant answer. Even so, he looked at him with suspicion. The fact that Ilay was so pleased at the news that he wasn’t Jeong Taeui’s type made Jeong Taeui feel a bit uneasy, as if his own pride had been slightly damaged.

Prison life wasn’t as bad as he had thought. He had wondered if it would be similar to confinement in the military prison, but hearing his colleagues say that “once you go to Eoryeong and come out, you’re skin and bones,” he had thought it would be much worse. But this was like a sanatorium, no different from resting.

What in the world did those guys who spent months in a place like this and came out skin and bones do to end up like that? Did they starve themselves in a hunger strike or something?

A few days after entering Eoryeong, the answer to Jeong Taeui’s question, which had been lingering as he rolled around in the dark, came quickly. It was from Ilay, who had chuckled at his words.

“You came to a comfortable place thanks to your uncle. Even in Eoryeong, this side is just a simple detention facility. You’d have to go to the other side to experience the real Eoryeong.”

At Ilay’s reply, Jeong Taeui recalled the scene when he had arrived. When the elevator on the 7th basement floor opened, the door split into two sides. Both were symmetrical, identical-looking dark iron doors. The view inside also looked similarly dark and gloomy. So he had just accepted it and forgotten, but it seemed that had been the fork in the road between heaven and hell.

Jeong Taeui looked at the ceiling for a moment, then turned his head towards Ilay.

“But why did you come to this side?”

He had been unfairly brought here, so he could understand that, but wasn’t it unfair that this man, who had killed several people—though he claimed it was self-defense—was lounging in a comfortable detention facility?

However, even at Jeong Taeui’s words, Ilay only smiled briefly and didn’t give a proper answer. He simply replied, “It’s because I have good connections, you know,” whether he was joking or serious.

“So, you’ve never been to the real Eoryeong properly either, have you?”

“Hmm——I have once.”

“Ah? What did you get in for?”

He was curious what crime Ilay had committed to end up in that “real Eoryeong” that he hadn’t even gone to for killing people. But this time too, Ilay didn’t answer and just smiled subtly. Jeong Taeui soon realized that he wouldn’t get an answer and turned his attention elsewhere.

He would never have gotten close to a man like this outside. Not only because of his mentality of killing people nonchalantly, but also because Jeong Taeui fundamentally didn’t like such people. Someone who seemed to be hiding something, yet at the same time didn’t seem to offer any room for probing. Actually, his uncle was somewhat of that type too, but family was different.

“You were in the military in your country until recently, weren’t you?”

Ilay suddenly blurted out. Jeong Taeui glanced at him with surprised eyes. The small lamp at the head of the bed was on, casting large, flickering shadows.

“You can think of Eoryeong as a mix of military prison, regular prison, and torture chamber. Actually, it rarely goes as far as torture, but the greater the crime, the higher the proportion of torture chambers. While you’re in Eoryeong, you can assume you won’t be able to sleep lying flat on your back. Even so, they don’t let you sleep properly, so eventually you’ll just collapse unconsciously, whether sitting or kneeling.”

Ilay spoke in a light tone. From that tone, Jeong Taeui realized that he had experienced such a situation. He slightly frowned. Jeong Taeui had also been in military prison, but just sitting upright all day felt like his back was breaking. Even thinking about those memories now made him shake his head involuntarily, so he didn’t even want to imagine a place worse than that.

Jeong Taeui stared blankly at Ilay. Looking at him leaning against the wall, silently reading a book, he seemed ordinary. His neat and even gentlemanly appearance as he calmly read a book was quite a sight to behold. If he stayed still like this, he had a look that would easily win the favor of many people, so how did his personality become so ruined? Did he have such an unfortunate family environment?