Passion Novel - Volume 5 - Chapter 109

There were many people around here. Two blocks up, there were antique shops, and one block over was a place where movies were often filmed. A little further down, there was a main road. So, even at this hour, with the sun setting, many people were coming and going.

For such a populous area, it wasn’t particularly well-maintained. Perfect.

If they were following someone, they would know the local geography inside out, but chasing someone was always several times harder than escaping from someone.

Jeong Taeui gradually quickened his pace. He turned into a narrow alley, then turned again at the end of it. He turned his steps towards the main road below. And leisurely, yet with a rather quick pace, he headed towards the road.

He couldn’t hail a taxi. That would turn a light game into a serious pursuit.

If he crossed the main road and walked further down, he would find a rather unremarkable traditional market that tourists rarely visited, catering to the locals. Passing through the ordinary traditional market, Jeong Taeui let out a small laugh.

…Aha. The number of people has increased. Then, shall I start looking for a suitable location?

Jeong Taeui even hummed a cheerful tune as he roughly circled the area and then turned his steps again.

He had a spot in mind. On the way there, there was another, somewhat decent small side alley, and he briefly considered it as he passed by, but decided against it. It seemed fine for a loose pursuit like this, but if he were truly being seriously pursued, this place would be dangerous. One block over was a redevelopment area. If he accidentally took a wrong turn by a hair’s breadth, it would be difficult to escape. Moreover, he needed to be able to run if necessary, and Jeong Taeui’s leg wasn’t in a state to run.

“Hmm… I guess that place is better after all.”

La la la, his humming grew even more cheerful. He felt his mood lighten. Having a tail wasn’t so bad when he looked at it this way. Of course, he still disliked having a tail, but it was incomparably better than having Ilay himself attached to him.

If the person following him from behind had been Ilay Riegrow.

“…Why do I keep thinking scary thoughts…? I must be getting sick in the head.”

Jeong Taeui muttered, rubbing his lips, his smile instantly gone. If the tail had been that guy, he wouldn’t have even attempted this kind of game in the first place. If Ilay Riegrow was closely pursuing him and he was desperately running away…

“Whoa… No, no, why do I keep thinking like this, Jeong Taeui?”

Jeong Taeui vigorously rubbed his lips, which had even lost their color. Just the brief thought sent shivers down his spine. It was a horror unlike any other. If that happened, he might die of a heart attack the moment he was grabbed by the shoulder. Thinking about it, the fact that he hadn’t fainted when he encountered that guy in the birch forest at that time was commendable; he could praise himself for being quite bold and courageous.

Jeong Taeui rubbed his arms, which had instantly grown cold even in this warm season. Meanwhile, he reached the spot he had marked earlier.

A pedestrian bridge about one and a half stories high.

It was lower than typical pedestrian bridges over main roads, built over small, spiderweb-like alleys. But it was still too high to jump down from.

Jeong Taeui leaned his arms on the railing of the pedestrian bridge and quietly looked down. The footsteps following him slowed. Perhaps sensing that Jeong Taeui’s demeanor was different than usual, their gaze was more attentive than usual, but they seemed to be waiting and watching without approaching within a certain distance.

“If you sensed something was off, you should have rushed over and grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and dragged me back, you guys…”

Jeong Taeui muttered, looking down at the darkening alley. He looked around. Just a few steps away, there was a suitably large rock lying on the ground. When he picked it up, it felt heavy in his hand. It seemed to be a piece broken off from a brick, filling his hand, and he felt he could even use it to hit someone.

A little below the pedestrian bridge, beneath the roof of a stacked house, a chimney-like hook protruded. Jeong Taeui threw and caught the stone once, then immediately hurled it forcefully at the hook. Thud! A solid sound echoed, and the stone shattered into two or three pieces, falling down. The hook remained without a scratch.

“Okay… Well, if I fall from this height in an emergency… I’ll get hurt a bit, but I won’t die.”

It would be somewhat unfair to get hurt just playing around, Jeong Taeui muttered, shaking his wrist. He took a couple of deep breaths.

The next moment, Jeong Taeui flashed a bright smile towards a approaching gaze. He even waved a hand. Simultaneously, Jeong Taeui leaped over the railing, throwing himself down from the pedestrian bridge.

He thought he heard a short shout from a distance.

The building wall rapidly shot up before his eyes, and the ground drew closer. In the middle of that, the hook suddenly appeared before him. Jeong Taeui accurately extended both hands towards the hook. If he missed or failed to grab it, he would have to be prepared to break a leg.

“—!!”

It was no easy feat to support the entire body weight that instantly bore down on a short piece of metal while jumping from a high place. The acceleration from the jump, carried by his entire body weight, struck his arms. Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue briefly and frowned. Slip, one hand grabbed the hook but slipped. He hurriedly braced himself with the other hand. Using that hand as a support, he re-gripped the hook with the slipped hand. His body swayed precariously.

“Oh no… dangerous, dangerous.”

Jeong Taeui muttered in a low voice only after firmly gripping the hook with both hands to support his body. His body, swinging like a pendulum, slowly slowed down. When he lifted his head, two people were running towards him on the pedestrian bridge above. He lowered his head again, and the distance to the ground was about 2 meters.

Jeong Taeui smiled broadly, looking at the tails he saw up close for the first time. “Bye-bye,” he muttered in a small voice, unsure if they heard him, and let go of the hook. A moment later, he felt the heavy thud of the ground beneath his feet. Jeong Taeui frowned again—this time a little more than before. He landed almost entirely on his good leg. Still, a tingling pain, as if twisting his entire leg, shot through the cast as it hit the ground, and his good leg also took a considerable strain.

He rolled his body to disperse the impact, but he still had to crouch there for a few seconds, muttering, “Ouch, ouch.” After a short while, Jeong Taeui slowly stood up, confirming that although his ankle hurt terribly, there was no problem walking. And after that, there was nothing to do but run.

There was no law saying they couldn’t follow him in the same way. But seeing the frustrated looks on the tails’ faces, he felt a bit sorry for them, so Jeong Taeui smiled and shouted so they could hear,

“See you at the hotel in a bit. I’m just going for a walk and then I’ll head back.”

As Jeong Taeui lightly turned and quickly ran off, limping, he heard the men on the pedestrian bridge shouting something behind him, but Jeong Taeui pretended not to hear. Not only could he barely hear them, but even if they shouted in Chinese, Jeong Taeui had no way of understanding.

Jeong Taeui stopped only when he had gone far enough from the spot that he no longer felt the tail behind him.

In fact, since he had easily shaken them off this time—it was probably easy because they weren’t prepared—he could have just run away as far as he could, but he gave up since he wasn’t confident he wouldn’t be caught again in a week.

“Did I shake them off for nothing? I wonder if I’ll have three tails starting tomorrow.”

Jeong Taeui said that, yet showed no sign of remorse, and walked leisurely. His leg throbbed, but his mind felt refreshed. Jeong Taeui tapped his cast, which would remain on for a while longer. And he thought, I guess my body is tougher than I thought.

By the way, where was this?

He could roughly guess his location. He was confident in his sense of direction. He slowly walked through the alleys, enjoying the unfamiliar scenery of the narrow streets.

It was a quiet residential area. Yet, it wasn’t completely deserted, and a typical alley scene for evening appeared. Small shops were visible here and there.

Even when he had surveillance, he had walked the streets as usual, as if it wasn’t there, but walking without actual surveillance felt particularly special. Jeong Taeui let out a relaxed sigh.

He had originally intended to return to the hotel quickly. Having nowhere else to go, he planned to head straight for the main road and then the hotel. But since this feeling of relaxed ease was rare, Jeong Taeui slowed his pace.

A shabby eatery appeared in the distance. Oh, it’s mealtime, he thought, and leisurely went inside, eating slowly. It wasn’t a particularly delicious place, but perhaps because his mind was at ease, he ate until he was satisfyingly full. After leisurely enjoying the tea and fruit slices offered by the kind owner, it had grown quite late. The sky was already dark.

“Shall I head back now, then?”

He felt as though he could fall asleep with a happy heart tonight, even if he were to be cursed at by that guy over the phone when he returned. Jeong Taeui stretched and took a step. And through a narrow alley, he headed towards the main road.

But it was then.

Jeong Taeui paused for a moment, then quickly resumed his normal pace.

They had caught up again.

“Better than I thought…”

Jeong Taeui chuckled, feeling a presence approaching from a little distance behind him. He had shaken them off only to be caught again, but he wasn’t particularly annoyed. It felt like returning to reality after a fun game, so there was nothing to be displeased about. Jeong Taeui, who had intended to return to the hotel quietly anyway, walked leisurely, not caring whether they followed or not. The side alley leading to the main road was sparsely populated. Jeong Taeui’s footsteps echoed unusually loudly in the quiet alley.

The moon appeared directly ahead in the distance. Jeong Taeui walked slowly, enjoying the moon in a leisurely mood, but soon he slowed his pace again.

The strange feeling he had noticed earlier turned into certainty as he slowed down.

The footsteps behind him didn’t stop. Even when Jeong Taeui stopped completely, the sound of approaching footsteps from behind actually quickened slightly.

And it wasn’t just from behind. From an alley diagonally to his side, footsteps were approaching simultaneously.

It was intuition.

Perhaps it was just someone passing by. But Jeong Taeui’s body moved before his thoughts did.

He ran towards the diagonal alley, where the footsteps were approaching. After a few steps, he encountered a man head-on and, without a word, swung his fist. The man flinched, slowed his steps, and barely dodged the punch.

And immediately, he returned a punch to Jeong Taeui.

…Bingo.

It was at least a relief that it wasn’t just a passerby. Though the situation, with another person rushing him from behind, was anything but fortunate.

“Hey, hello? You hit me just because I played a prank—”

Whoosh, the air whistled from a punch that narrowly grazed his nose. Jeong Taeui fell silent.

“What, this isn’t a prank… I’d die if I got hit. Wait, wait, I was going back to the hotel. I’m on my way back to the hotel, sirs.”

He shouted desperately while dodging, but it was no use. The two men simply swung their fists without a word. They looked like they were going to beat him down and drag him away.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue anxiously.

These were different men from the ones on the pedestrian bridge earlier. Indeed, he thought the tail had doubled, and these must be the second tail.

Damn it, I played a prank on the first tail, so why are the second guys trying to punch me?

Jeong Taeui glanced over his shoulder. Even in a sparsely populated alley, it was unlikely that no one would pass by… He quickly scanned his surroundings. It seemed fate wasn’t trying to kill him, as he saw a shadow entering the alley in the distance.

Contrary to Jeong Taeui’s inner relief, the men who noticed the shadow seemed to think they needed to finish him quickly. Their punches grew even more vicious, and one of the men pulled something from his pocket. It was a gray spray can with nothing written on it. Jeong Taeui frowned. From experience, he had never seen anything good come from such an item. Nine times out of ten, it was for anesthesia or paralysis. With such an item appearing, there was no time.

“Are these guys crazy…? Why are they suddenly going wild and trying to beat me up after just following me quietly, huh?!”

Jeong Taeui shouted in a low voice. Then he clicked his tongue and fully absorbed the first man’s kick, aimed at him, with his elbow. Simultaneously, he cursed inwardly, “Damn it!” and kicked the second man in the neck with his casted foot.

Ugh! A scream burst almost simultaneously from the man and Jeong Taeui. Thinking that his ankle might never recover, Jeong Taeui instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them, tears welling up. Seeing the spray can rolling in front of him, he quickly picked it up. And with it, he furiously struck the first man’s head.

Damn it, what the hell is this? Why are these guys suddenly losing their minds and trying to beat someone to death?

Jeong Taeui, who had wildly thrashed the men with the corner of the spray can until it was severely dented, then, on impulse, held his breath, grabbed the man’s neck, and sprayed the can directly into his face. A strange scream was heard, then seemed to subside slightly.

Finally, Jeong Taeui threw the spray can with all his might, hitting the man’s head, then turned and bolted.

Ilay, you bastard, did you really come at me like this just because I played a slight prank on your surveillance and turned off my phone? That’s too much. We both know I can’t go far anyway. Jeong Taeui chewed on curses inwardly as he ran to the main road in one breath, then glanced back. There was no sign of anyone following. Perhaps those men had collapsed in the alley and passed out. But he had no inclination to go back and check on the situation.

Jeong Taeui hailed a taxi that happened to be approaching. He gave the hotel name, and only after the taxi started moving and a little more time passed did he let out a long sigh. His throbbing leg began to feel hot. He was really going to become crippled at this rate.

“Indeed… so this is how he intends to torment me, by making me anxious…”

I thought he was leaving me alone for a few days, huh, Jeong Taeui muttered, leaning his head back against the seat and closing his eyes.

If only he had had any inclination towards gambling addiction, how attractive this situation would have been, where he could frequent the casino at any time. Moreover, he had a hefty sum of money in his hands (though it was someone else’s money) that he could spend as he pleased.

No matter how much money one had, it could disappear in an instant if one tried to gamble it all away, but fortunately or unfortunately, Jeong Taeui had little interest in gambling.

He could enjoy a few games, betting tens of dollars—or even hundreds of dollars when his pockets were full of someone else’s money that he could spend without guilt—but he wasn’t bold enough to jump into games where serious money was exchanged, nor did he enjoy losing money to professional gamblers he couldn’t beat.

After playing a few games of poker at the blue-lit “entertainment” tables inside the casino, he quickly lost interest and stood up to leave, scratching his head.

Since returning to the hotel the day before yesterday, he hadn’t left once.

He had intended to enjoy a leisurely stroll, but then he was suddenly subjected to a menacing pursuit, which naturally dampened his desire to go out. More than that, his ankle was completely ruined.

It had already been ruined, and he had overworked it without rest. Even a healthy ankle would be in bad shape, so it was no surprise that his was in agony.

He somehow limped from the taxi to the elevator, but by the time he reached the guest room floor, his body started to feel wobbly, and the moment he entered the room and closed the door, he collapsed on the spot. His ankle was one thing, but he must have inhaled some gas while holding his breath spraying the men. The ground before his eyes swayed and danced.

Surely I won’t be unable to get up like this, that thought was the last memory remaining in his consciousness.

At some point, he regained consciousness and found himself lying in front of the room door, and the clock pointed to lunchtime the next day. He had been asleep for over 12 hours without opening his eyes even once.

Well, at least the headache isn’t severe, so it must not have been bad gas, he thought, counting himself lucky as he got up. He was conscious, but his ankle still hurt terribly, he was hungry, and thirsty. Still, he felt somewhat better after sleeping, and although he still limped, he could manage to walk, but he didn’t feel like going out and wandering around.

Jeong Taeui didn’t leave his room at all that day. After a simple meal from room service, he spent the entire time in bed, flipping through the unread book. Occasionally, he would shake his leg, confirming that the pain was gradually subsiding, and then, relieved, he spent his time only in the room.

He waited to see if Ilay would contact him because he had shaken off the surveillance—he was fully prepared to exaggerate and complain that his ankle had been completely ruined because of those surveillance guys—but surprisingly, no contact came. He must have confirmed that Jeong Taeui had returned to his room, so perhaps it meant he wouldn’t interfere just for shaking off the surveillance, as long as he returned obediently.

Jeong Taeui, who had leisurely lounged in his room all day, sleeping, eating, and playing, found himself bored after a full day and finally went out. He didn’t feel like leaving the hotel, but slowly exploring the hotel and enjoying its facilities wasn’t bad. If his interests aligned, the casino would be the best place to pass the time, but unfortunately, he wasn’t the type to get engrossed in gambling, so Jeong Taeui played only a few games and then left.

He had never thought that spending time aimlessly without anything to do was torture. Before his discharge and before going to UNHRDO, he had spent several months at home, enjoying himself with a very relaxed mind. In fact, then and now, there was nothing particularly different, except that he couldn’t meet his friends. He went out when he wanted, read when he wanted, slept when he wanted, ate when he wanted, and unlike then, he didn’t worry about “what to do for a living” or “I should start earning money soon.”

The problem is still just one.

This instability, not knowing when this peace would surely be shattered, prevented him from fully enjoying his leisurely time. The moment Ilay Riegrow appeared before his eyes, that peace would be shattered.

“Damn it. I wish I had just gone to Seringe alone and inquired about my brother’s news.”

A complaint naturally flowed from his lips.

Since he was going to be idle anyway, it was better to have something to do, even as a pastime.

Jeong Taeui, who had left the casino and walked up to the ground floor, stopped the moment he stepped onto the last stair.

From the grand hall in front of the lobby on the ground floor, piano music resonated. Moon River, arranged in a languid jazz style, filled the hall. Through the full-length windows leading to the garden, the day was darkening. It would have been the perfect song to play in three or four hours.

It was a song his mother used to play on quiet moonlit nights when he was a child. Hearing it after a long time made him nostalgic and eased his tangled feelings, so Jeong Taeui sat down at a table in the open cafe that occupied the lobby. He thought about having a cup of tea and enjoying the piano music before returning to his room. However, as he sat down, ordered tea from the approaching waiter, and turned his head, Jeong Taeui spotted a familiar face at the edge of his vision.

The man, sitting not far away, seemed to be waiting for someone, glancing at his watch and flipping through a folder of documents. He must have felt Jeong Taeui’s gaze, as he looked up. Their eyes met.

Where had he seen him before? He didn’t have to think long. Come to think of it, the last time they met was also at this hotel, in this lobby. Only the table they sat at was different.

It was the arms dealer Jeong Taeui had dealt with before.

“Ah.”

“Oh…”

Even though they weren’t far apart, it was too far to have a conversation. However, Jeong Taeui readily stood up and walked over to him.