Passion Novel - Volume 4 - Chapter 88

Unaware of Jeong Taeui’s thoughts, the man seemed to regard Jeong Taeui as a very kind and good young man. Watching him look with such grateful eyes and repeatedly thank him, Jeong Taeui thought that while his uncle also liked old books, this man took it a step further.

Then his uncle came to mind. Thinking about whether his uncle would be so happy if he found a desired book somewhere, Jeong Taeui’s heart ached a little. That’s why, when the man sadly said he had been robbed, Jeong Taeui readily lent him money and felt inclined to drive him to Berlin.

Although he said he lent it, he had no intention of getting the 50 euros back. He would take it if offered, but he didn’t feel compelled to demand it. Hadn’t his uncle said so? That even money given to beggars could be claimed as expenses.

Thinking that, he kindly decided to drive the man to Berlin. However, the problem arose afterward. It was after he readily nodded to the man’s words, who insisted on repaying the favor by having him stay at his house in Berlin.

After starting the car and embarking on the journey to Berlin, he talked with the man. The man looked at least ten years older than Jeong Taeui, so after being told to drop the formal speech and speak comfortably, the man relaxed his stiff, formal tone a little. And with a smile, he asked a question he was bound to ask.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t heard your name yet. Your name is…?’

‘Ah… —Kim Youngsoo.’

Jeong Taeui said the name, still unfamiliar even to himself, and met the man’s eyes in the rearview mirror. He felt a sudden pang of guilt for no reason.

He had deliberately chosen that name, the most common surname and given name in Korea, for his passport and other documents, but he belatedly thought it would have been better to choose a name that was easier to pronounce. Sure enough, the man, finding the unfamiliar pronunciation difficult, tilted his head and opened his mouth.

‘Kim Yong-soo… —?’

‘Haha, it might be hard to pronounce, so just call me Kim.’

Jeong Taeui said with a laugh. The man, who had murmured “Kim,” nodded and asked.

‘Korean-descent?’

‘More like Korean… rather than Korean-descent. How did you know so well? Usually, Europeans can’t distinguish the nationality of East Asians just by their names.’

‘I have several Korean friends among my acquaintances. Especially a very close colleague of mine is Korean. He also likes old books, so we share a hobby. That’s why we contact each other more often.’

The man spoke proudly. Jeong Taeui nodded appropriately as he drove. The roads in Europe were well-maintained, and there weren’t many cars, making driving easy. It was comforting to know that even if he let his mind wander a bit while driving, the chances of an accident were much lower than when he drove in a major city in Korea. A Korean friend who liked old books. The world of maniacs was narrow and deep, so perhaps his uncle might even know that person. Jeong Taeui nodded casually, agreeing.

‘I see. I only know a few things about old books and don’t know much, but my uncle has that hobby. If you’re interested, I’ll introduce you later. It would be good to exchange books you don’t have…’

Then the man was silent for a moment. Then he sighed and shook his head.

‘No. Valuable books are not meant to be lent out. Unless it’s to sell them, or perhaps to exchange them for another valuable book that’s not of one’s preferred genre. Especially old books, they need to be handled with care.’

‘Ah, yes…’

He didn’t seem like a bad person, but he was indeed a maniac. He had something in common with Morer. Jeong Taeui felt a slight relief that his uncle wasn’t as excessive as this man. But then the man smiled broadly and changed the subject.

‘However, getting to know someone with the same hobby is a pleasant thing. I’d like to meet your uncle sometime.’

“Indeed,” Jeong Taeui replied, continuing the conversation.

“My uncle also seems to have friendships with people who like old books, so it must be enjoyable for them to gather and talk about their favorite things.”

Then the man said, “Ah, that’s right!” and opened his mouth cheerfully.

“I do other work now, but I used to deal in old books. Doing that work, I got to know a lot of people in this field. I still keep in touch with them, and it’s nice because conversations flow easily.”

“It’s good when your hobbies align. But if you dealt with old books, did you mean something like a used bookstore?”

“No, I’m saving that for when I’m older, and I ran a business when I was younger. It was about reprinting rare old books, but since there wasn’t much demand, it was hard to keep the company going.”

“Haa… yes…”

Jeong Taeui replied vaguely and fell silent. Suddenly, his chest felt heavy, as if a stone had rolled in. He felt like sighing involuntarily.

What was it? A bad premonition just crossed his mind. One that would certainly not be good if it came true…

‘But now that I think about it, I haven’t heard your name yet. Your name is…?’

Jeong Taeui quietly asked during the man’s brief pause. The man looked surprised for a moment, then shook his head, saying “Oh,” and smiled bitterly.

‘I haven’t even told you the most basic thing. My apologies, Kim. You can call me Kyle.’

‘Ah, yes. Kyle… that’s a good name.’

Jeong Taeui said the name aloud once and smiled. The stone in his chest was lifted. Right. I’m just worrying for nothing. There’s no way I could be that unlucky.

‘People might often mistake it for a first name. Usually, Kyle is used more as a first name.’

But I do know someone who uses Kyle as a family name, Jeong Taeui added, continuing his sentence. Then the man said calmly.

‘Ah. It’s my first name. I write my full name on business cards, but when speaking, I always use only my first name. Whether it’s someone I’m meeting for the first time or someone I’ve seen many times. Because my younger brother has practically monopolized our family name.’

‘Haa…’

‘My younger brother really hates being called by his first name. If anyone other than someone he’s permitted accidentally calls him by his first name, he throws such a fit, it’s unbelievable. He makes such a scene that it’s embarrassing to tell others… So in our family, only he is called by the family name, and everyone else is called by their first name. Even in official settings for public work, he’s called Kyle now.’

“…”

Somehow, his head felt dazed. The ominous premonition was not going awry; it was fitting perfectly, piece by piece.

Jeong Taeui dared not ask further and closed his mouth. However, the words he didn’t want to hear were the ones that entered his ears most clearly.

‘Thanks to that, I’ve never had to put a title before my surname. Like Mr. Riegrow.’

Damn it.

Jeong Taeui gripped the steering wheel tightly. He must have unconsciously pressed the accelerator, as the car zoomed forward, picking up speed. The man looked at him with a puzzled expression, and he quickly took his foot off the accelerator.

‘Ah… —Then… —Mr. Kyle Riegrow…?’

‘That’s right. Though I’m rarely called by my full name. Haha, just call me Kyle. Everyone calls me that. Besides, if you call me Riegrow, in our house, it refers to my younger brother, so everyone would get confused.’

‘Ah, I see.’

Jeong Taeui nodded, not even knowing what he was doing. Suddenly, everything went white before his eyes. It was fortunate that the road was almost straight and there were hardly any cars. If this were the middle of a major city in a small country, there would undoubtedly have been an accident by now. Jeong Taeui nervously fumbled for the radio on the dashboard and turned it on. He felt like he needed to hear any other sound to distract himself. Otherwise, he would surely crash the car into a guardrail.

A forgotten, absurd thought suddenly came to mind. The 50 euros he lent, he absolutely had to get it back. What the hell was this talk of charity for beggars? For someone who was born with a diamond in their mouth.

The man suddenly turned on the radio and looked at the silent Jeong Taeui with a puzzled expression, but he didn’t seem to think much of it. He hummed along softly to the old pop song playing on the radio. Jeong Taeui held the steering wheel with one hand and rested his chin on the window frame with the other, sinking into gloom.

Why was his life constantly being tackled lately? To think that the person he decided to give a ride to, believing him to be a decent human being, happened to be someone intimately connected to a guy he hated—or rather, shouldn’t associate with.

Perhaps it was all a coincidence, and even if this man’s name was Kyle Riegrow, his brother might not be the person Jeong Taeui knew. All the other subtly fitting situations might also be coincidences.

Thinking that, Jeong Taeui looked back at reality and fell into gloom again. Ilay’s brother, who had lost all his business funds in an old book reprinting business and was now a weapons dealer.

Kyle, who had run an old book reprinting business, closed it down due to poor performance, and was now doing something else.

Ilay’s brother, whose family name was—naturally—Riegrow.

This man, whose full name was Kyle Riegrow.

The madman Riegrow of UNHRDO, whose name no one dared to utter carelessly.

Kyle’s younger brother, who threw a fit if anyone called him by his first name.

If it matched up this much, it would be more surprising if he were a complete stranger. Jeong Taeui wanted to bang his head on the steering wheel. If Kyle hadn’t been next to him, he would have pulled over to the shoulder and slumped over the steering wheel, regardless of whether the police came or not.

—If anyone other than someone he’s permitted accidentally calls him by his first name, he throws such a fit, it’s unbelievable. He makes such a scene that it’s embarrassing to tell others.

Kyle’s words from just a moment ago came to mind.

Of course. If Kyle’s brother was indeed the madman Jeong Taeui knew, he would throw a fit beyond just a fit, a blood-red spectacle so embarrassing that one couldn’t even tell others, only secretly appeal to the police or a psychiatrist. Jeong Taeui casually passed by the picturesque scenery outside, wondering how he could part ways with this man as quickly as possible. Given Ilay’s personality, he probably didn’t keep in close contact with his family, but if by any chance this man called him now and something went wrong, and he got caught unluckily, it would be a disaster of epic proportions.

He wanted to tear out his own mouth for offering to drive him to Berlin. But since it had come to this, he might as well drive to Berlin at the maximum speed limit and get there quickly. After dropping this man off, he would flee without looking back.

Jeong Taeui firmly made up his mind and glanced at Kyle in the rearview mirror. He saw him humming along to the radio, looking out the window.

He didn’t resemble Ilay much. If you looked closely, there might be some partial resemblances, but he didn’t really seem similar. Well, there was quite an age difference. Since this man said he was friends with his uncle, he was more than a full cycle older than his brother. Jeong Taeui paused for a moment, then cautiously asked.

‘But if you were robbed of everything… couldn’t you call home for help? Didn’t they at least leave you your phone or something?’

‘Ah? No, not at all. They took everything except my passport. Still, I should be grateful they left me my passport.’

And thanks to that, he got a bunch of treasure-like books in that village, Kyle added, his mouth naturally widening as he thought of the books.

‘…Your family must be worried because they can’t reach you. Your brother, for instance…’

Jeong Taeui spoke, somewhat relieved that the possibility of Ilay calling was gone for now. Kyle’s eyes widened, and then he suddenly burst into laughter.

Jeong Taeui knew perfectly well why the man was laughing so boisterously, so he wasn’t particularly flustered and waited for his laughter to subside. Of course. He would laugh too if he heard something like that.

Ilay worrying. He imagined it for a moment.

…It felt like he would die laughing.

Jeong Taeui’s laughter, which felt like it would make him clutch his stomach just from imagining it, was interrupted by Kyle’s words, whose laughter was just subsiding.

‘Well. He’s not really the type to worry… My brother is, how should I put it… a bit unique, I guess? He’s a bit lacking in affection compared to ordinary people.’

Jeong Taeui thought Ilay had a truly good brother. To describe such a personality as “unique” or “a bit lacking in affection” was impossible unless one’s family had truly rose-tinted glasses on. …Or perhaps he was softening his words out of embarrassment for having such a relative.

‘So, that guy hardly ever comes home. No, he actually dislikes coming home. He’s working abroad right now, and even if he comes back to the country for business occasionally, he doesn’t stop by the house.’

Jeong Taeui’s impending laughter stopped dead. His ears perked up.

“He doesn’t come home? But it’s his own house…”

“No, no, um… You probably haven’t seen my brother, so it’s hard to guess, but he really has a weak sense of that. There’s an old lady who takes care of the house, and he hasn’t come home for quite a while, saying he hates her nagging. The other day, he even came to the same neighborhood to meet someone, but he didn’t even show his face at home and just left.”

“So Rita tried to call him to nag him, but he somehow knew and didn’t answer the phone,” Kyle murmured vaguely.

Jeong Taeui thought that perhaps his luck was turning. To find out about a place that that guy absolutely—well, not absolutely, but usually—didn’t visit. If what he said was true, wasn’t it safer than most hotels? Yes, come to think of it, there was also the saying, “The darkest place is under the candlestick.” Jeong Taeui glanced at Kyle. His thoughts had done a 180-degree turn from a few minutes ago. He desperately hoped that Kyle’s offer to let him stay at his house in Berlin wasn’t an empty promise. Given the situation, his house seemed to be the only way to survive.

“By the way, Kim, you said you were being chased by someone.”

Jeong Taeui was jolted out of his brief reverie by Anton’s sudden question. He had finished his plate without realizing it; the chicken dish was gone. Still, he felt full, so no one else must have eaten it. Jeong Taeui wiped the corner of his lips with his thumb and licked it—Rita frowned behind him—and murmured, “Hmm.” Rumors tend to spread a little differently from the truth.

“More like… there’s someone I shouldn’t run into.”

“Right, who is it? Let’s see, if you shouldn’t run into them, is it a woman problem or a money problem?”

Anton counted on his fingers. Then Alsveldt, sitting next to Jeong Taeui, said indifferently.

“Either one is very bad, very bad… For example, if you stole a woman from a Southern Italian man, you might get shot and die somewhere.”

“If it’s Southern Italy, even creating a grudge over money is a headache,” Anton chimed in, nodding. In their indifferent, bantering conversation, Jeong Taeui had somehow become the protagonist who traveled to Sicily, accidentally fell in love with a seductive gypsy woman who was the mafia boss’s mistress, and then eloped with her after stealing the boss’s money. Jeong Taeui broke off a piece of steamed fish that Rita had served and put it in his mouth, muttering absurdly.

“It’s all good, but then where did the gypsy woman and the stolen money go…?”

“They’ve already passed away at the hands of an assassin sent by the boss.”

“Right, and you become a lone wolf burning with vengeance.”

“…”

They were perfectly in sync. Anton and Alsveldt said so with very serious faces, not even smiling. Kyle chuckled next to them. Then he gestured to Anton and asked.

“By the way, what happened to that matter you mentioned before, Anton? About Katarina.”

“Oh? It’s been over for ages. By now, she and Mark are probably happily inside a fish’s belly.”

Anton frowned and waved his hand. Jeong Taeui stopped his fork, which had been picking at the steamed fish. His appetite suddenly vanished. Come to think of it, he had vaguely heard that this American named Anton led a gang. He also heard that Alsveldt, who was so in sync with Anton, was similar.

A weapons dealer and a gang. A truly fantastic combination.

Jeong Taeui had lost his appetite and was full, so he put down his fork and knife. He then rubbed his lips with the back of his hand again and received a sharp glare from Rita.

The owner was so fond of people that this house was always overflowing with guests. Today’s guests were Jeong Taeui, Anton, and Alsveldt. At yesterday morning’s table were Jeong Taeui, Alsveldt, and a certain Englishman who had left yesterday afternoon and was now gone. The day before yesterday were Jeong Taeui, that Englishman, and a German who was also now gone. And since Alsveldt was said to be leaving this afternoon, Jeong Taeui and Anton were scheduled to remain tomorrow. Of course, if another guest arrived today, that person would be added.

“Are you going to the office today, Kyle?”

Alsveldt seemed to have finished eating too, as he put down his fork and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Kyle hummed and nodded.

“I think I need to go out for a bit this afternoon. When are you leaving, Alsveldt?”

“Hmm. My flight is at 1 PM, so I should leave before lunch. But you said you were going to rest until the weekend, and you’re already going back to work? What a workaholic.”

“No. I want to avoid work as much as possible. It’s not that I want to go; it seems Ilay contacted the company and pestered them about something. Since he doesn’t answer the phone at home, I have to go to the office to find out. And an old acquaintance is coming for the first time in a while.”

Jeong Taeui silently listened to their conversation while sipping the last cup of black tea Rita had served. A name he didn’t want to get involved with had come up.

Ilay. But hearing that name from someone else felt somehow unfamiliar. Jeong Taeui had never seen anyone call Ilay by that name before. Well, if he even forced his family to call him by his family name, that would be a bit much, wouldn’t it?

Jeong Taeui nodded to himself. Then he thought about why Ilay had taught him to call him “Ilay.” However, he had thought about it briefly before, but no answer came. What did he know about the actions of that fickle guy whose mind he wanted to probe?

“If an old acquaintance is coming after a long time, someone will be coming to the house this afternoon too, then.”

Jeong Taeui, displeased by the ominous name that had come up, subtly changed the subject. Kyle said, “Huh?” then shook his head.

“No, that friend is coming for a separate matter, so there will probably only be a call to the company this afternoon. We made plans to meet tomorrow morning, so if that friend agrees, they’ll stay here tomorrow.”

“I see,” Jeong Taeui nodded. It seemed that having a continuous stream of guests every day had already become a daily routine in this house. Combining what he sometimes overheard from the gardener and other servants, it seemed there had always been guests since Kyle’s parents, who originally lived in this house, moved to the suburbs. To be precise, Kyle’s guests had frequently come and gone even before that, but it had gotten worse since he took over the house. Usually, guests stayed for two or three days, but he heard that in some cases, people stayed for several months. Kyle was said to be greatly pleased if a guest stayed for a long time, so it made sense.

At this point, the concept of “guest” wouldn’t even apply. It was more like a constant family, but was it similar to the feeling that the family’s faces and personalities changed every day?

Jeong Taeui fell into thought for a moment, but since he didn’t have such a family, he couldn’t imagine it. He only had one brother whose appearance and personality had remained unchanged since birth—excluding growth.

Brother… But how on earth could he find that person?

The fact that Jeong Taeui was looking for someone and also being chased was already known to everyone in the mansion. Jeong Taeui hadn’t intentionally tried to tell anyone, but given the atmosphere of this house, where there were no particular secrets and everyone spoke freely—even the guests were in that kind of mood—such information naturally flowed out during conversations.

Kyle offered to help him find the person as much as he could, but Jeong Taeui shook his head.

Asking Kyle to find his brother… Absolutely not. If it were anyone else, maybe, but he could never ask this man. He would undoubtedly prick up his ears as soon as the name Jung Jae-eui came up. Then the probability of the information reaching Ilay would increase exponentially.

No, absolutely not.

Jeong Taeui smiled calmly and politely refused, saying, “I couldn’t possibly impose that much… I’ll try to find him myself.”

“By the way, Kim, why are you only polite to Kyle and not to us?”

Jeong Taeui, who was making slurping noises while drinking his black tea and once again drawing Rita’s sharp gaze, suddenly raised an eyebrow as Anton abruptly asked with displeasure. He slowly put down his teacup and said indifferently.

“Well, Kyle is a grateful host whose face I meet, and even if I contact him by phone, he’s not going to tell me to leave the house. And you all are just fellow guests, like me.”

Then Anton groaned, “I have no rebuttal,” and Kyle turned his head slightly and chuckled. His face, just a little, resembled Ilay’s.

Jeong Taeui silently watched Kyle for a moment, then turned his head. And he finished the remaining tea.