Passion Novel - Volume 6 - Chapter 151 - Hidden Track 1st

It was exactly three days later that they went to Berlin.

After spending those three days practically confined to bed, resting his body, Jeong Taeui gathered the passport Ilay had somehow acquired during that time—it wasn’t very good, and seemed like it wouldn’t last long, so it was probably similar to the one he’d asked his uncle for before—and went to Berlin with him.

It was only on the morning of their departure from Johannesburg that Jeong Taeui, tidying his almost non-existent luggage, asked Ilay, “Where are you going?”

Ilay didn’t answer. His brows furrowed in displeasure since morning, he merely cast a disgruntled glance at Jeong Taeui’s question about where he was going. With a feeling somewhere between disappointment and relief, perhaps leaning a little more towards disappointment, Jeong Taeui went to the airport with him.

And only after arriving at the airport, seeing Ilay getting his ticket at the same counter as him, Jeong Taeui looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Berlin? …Are you going to transit there to somewhere else?”

“No.”

Ilay replied curtly. He seemed to be in a terribly bad mood since morning.

Jeong Taeui gazed at him, then mumbled, “Hmm,” and after a moment of thought, cautiously asked, “Are you going back home too?”

He didn’t answer. The moment he heard those words, he just crumpled the ticket he held in his hand, his face flaring with anger.

Ah. Indeed.

Jeong Taeui guessed the situation and decided to keep quiet. Then he let out a small laugh. This man truly seemed to hate Rita’s nagging.

“If you’re going to frown like that, why don’t you get a house somewhere else, as you said?”

“You said you’re going to the main house in Berlin.”

“Uh, well, I am, but…”

Again, there was no answer. The crumpled ticket was crumpled one more time.

Before they safely left Johannesburg airport with the help of the corrupt police officer whose number his uncle had given him, Jeong Taeui contacted Kyle. When he informed him they were leaving now and that Ilay was also coming, Kyle was momentarily speechless but quickly regained his composure and said he would send Peter to the airport.

And so—they arrived at Berlin airport and were waiting for Peter, who was delayed, perhaps due to traffic.

While waiting for Ilay, who had excused himself to go to the restroom, Jeong Taeui wondered when Peter would arrive.

Recalling Peter’s punctual nature, Jeong Taeui chuckled, thinking that if he was stuck in traffic, he must be quite anxious by now.

It would be good if he could contact him, but Jeong Taeui had lost his phone long ago. Ilay had his phone, but he kept it off, claiming the battery was dead.

“The conveniences of civilization, you don’t realize how useful they are until they’re gone…”

Jeong Taeui wondered if it would be easier to just get a new one, but then shook his head. From now on, he was meant to live quietly indoors, living a cautious reclusive life. What need would he have for a phone? For the time being, a watch on his wrist would suffice as his only modern convenience.

Jeong Taeui glanced at his watch. Thirty minutes. He was good at waiting for people, but just standing around was boring.

“Did that guy who went to the bathroom drown?”

Grumbling to himself, Jeong Taeui looked towards the restroom. Then, he suddenly spotted a vending machine next to it. Inside, he saw Schultheiss beer.

“Oh…”

Jeong Taeui patted the coins jingling in his pocket and scurried over. It wouldn’t be right to just buy one for myself, he thought, and dispensed two cans. Tearing open his own and taking a few sips, Jeong Taeui let out a contented sigh. In his other hand, he held Ilay’s can, waiting for him to emerge from the restroom.

He didn’t come out for quite a while.

“He couldn’t have collapsed in there, could he?” Jeong Taeui mumbled, then stepped into the restroom.

But Ilay was nowhere to be seen.

He was a little flustered.

He thought perhaps he’d gone into a private room, but all the stalls were empty.

“…”

The guy who said he was going to the restroom wasn’t actually in the restroom. Jeong Taeui tilted his head. He tossed his empty can into the trash, having already finished his own, and tore open the other can’s pull tab.

Sipping on his second beer, Jeong Taeui pondered where on earth Ilay could have gone. Then, deciding he’d show up eventually, he turned to leave.

It was then.

He thought he caught a glimpse of Ilay on the mezzanine floor. He turned his head again, and there he was, walking away on the mezzanine.

The mezzanine, located between the first and second floors, was lined with airline offices and wasn’t as bustling as the first floor. But what business would Ilay have in an airline office? Jeong Taeui scratched his neck, then climbed the eastern-facing stairs—closer to him—to the mezzanine. However, on the mezzanine, which was lined with offices, only office workers occasionally passed by on their way to the restroom or break room; no other people were visible.

Did I see wrong? Then where on earth did that guy go?

Jeong Taeui walked, swishing the few sips of beer left in his can. Then, feeling the need to use the restroom himself, he headed towards the men’s restroom in the middle of the mezzanine.

Unlike the first floor, it was less used, so it was quieter and cleaner.

Jeong Taeui paused as he entered the restroom. A familiar voice was coming from inside. It was Ilay.

“What, you said you were going to the restroom, but you were here. But why go all the way up to the mezzanine…?”

Is it because it’s more comfortable where there are no people? …Well, I suppose even I wouldn’t want to show off something so monstrous in front of others. Jeong Taeui suddenly recalled a gloomy memory from his daily life and stopped dead in his tracks.

Ilay seemed to be on the phone with someone inside. Oh, come to think of it, he said his battery was dead, but he must have charged it somehow.

Jeong Taeui tilted his head, thinking he’d finish the rest of his beer before going in, and gulped it down. As he did, Ilay’s voice on the phone drifted into his ears.

“How much? 1.5 million? …Well. Yes, the compensation isn’t exactly satisfactory. I’ll pass this time. Oh, right. Don’t contact me for a while. …Hmm. I’ll contact you if I need to. Yes, I’ve decided to live as an unemployed person for a while. …Because there’s someone who’s responsible for feeding and housing me. …Got it. Don’t call unnecessarily. He’s quick-witted, he’ll figure it out quickly.”

…Gulp.

Jeong Taeui thought the beer going down his throat tasted unusually bitter. Just a moment ago, it had tasted wonderfully delicious, but why had its taste changed so much after just a few sips?

Jeong Taeui reduced his footsteps, quietly leaving the front of the restroom, and smacked his lips, which felt unusually bitter, perhaps due to the beer.

“…”

The quick-witted guy carefully threw the still half-full beer can into the trash. Then he gloomily returned to his original spot on the first floor.

He stood there for a moment, rooted to the spot, when he saw Ilay returning from the other direction.

What should I do about this? Should I just flip out? But it wouldn’t do any good anyway. What kind of suspicious work is that guy involved in, anyway? No, more importantly, why did I ever say I’d support that silver spoon in the first place?!

“What are you thinking so hard about? Staring at my face like that.”

Ilay, who had walked over nonchalantly, tilted his head, looking at the glum Jeong Taeui. Then he spotted the vending machine near the restroom in the distance, strode over, and pulled out two cans of Schultheiss. “Here, your favorite,” he said, handing over a can. Jeong Taeui took it, glumly muttering, “Thanks.”

Jeong Taeui glanced at Ilay, but he knew Ilay’s personality too well. There was no point in bringing it up; he knew all too well that once a foolish promise had been made, it couldn’t be taken back now.

Jeong Taeui gloomily sipped his beer. Next to him, Ilay, with a puzzled expression, asked, “What’s wrong, suddenly?” but Jeong Taeui only shook his head, offering no reply.

Exposing the truth would only lead to oppression.

It was as absurd as a proletarian promising to support a bourgeois if need be.