PASSION Chapter 3 part 3

"Whoa, What a sight, what a sight……"

Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and muttered as he entered the dining hall.

If there was one thing these branch men had in common, it was that they would never miss a meal, no matter what. So, the dining hall, equipped to accommodate their numbers, was packed. It felt like ages ago that the dining hall had been unusually deserted, with half the branch members having left just yesterday and the day before.

The European branch and the Asian branch were seated and were strictly divided. Even if there were empty seats on the other side while their own side was full, they would never go and sit there, preferring to eat standing up.

However, that wasn't the truly astonishing thing. That much was more than predictable.

Every single one of the men had some part of them busted up. Among them, there was a guy with a blood-stained bandage wrapped around his broken head, and another with plasters the size of pot lids stuck all over his shoulders and neck. In severe cases, some even had splints on their arms and legs.

This was the state they were in even before starting proper training, so the future was not just anticipated, but felt incredibly daunting.

Only a few people who hadn't been involved in last night's brawl or who happened to be away at the time and hadn't had the chance to get hurt were walking around unscathed. And Jeong Tae-ui was one of them. The path ahead of Jeong Tae-ui had been completely devastated, making it impossible for him to get involved in the fight.

"Wow……, the atmosphere for breakfast is just fantastic."

Maurer, who followed Jeong Tae-ui into the dining hall, muttered in disgust. Maurer also had plasters on his wrists and various other places. He had just poked his head in to see what all the noise was about and had almost been swept away, getting lightly hit in the process. He had no intention of joining the fight, but he wasn't the type to just stand there and get hit, so he ended up punching back, and before he knew it, he was quite injured himself.

Having selected a few of the self-serve dishes, Jeong Tae-ui turned around, then stared blankly at the forks and knives in the cutlery holder. He sighed and took out a pair of chopsticks instead.

"I don't think forks and knives have ever looked so threatening to me before."

I couldn't shake the feeling that everyone in the dining hall was holding a weapon in their hands.

However, just as Jeong Tae-ui was about to turn around to find a seat with only chopsticks on his tray, he saw a man a few steps behind him picking up a fork with a tray containing only toast, salad, and coffee, and he flinched.

"Looking at it that way, the chopsticks you picked up are just as dangerous. When you think about it, there are nothing in this world that can't be used as weapons."

Sure, you would say that? You’re someone whose thumb is more lethal than any weapon, was the thought that rose to the tip of Jeong Tae-ui's tongue, but he barely managed to swallow it down.

The man glanced at Jeong Tae-ui's tray, which held only rice, a few side dishes, and a couple of pieces of meat, and spoke to him in a friendly tone.

"Is that all you're going to eat? Haven't you heard the saying that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day?"

"I have heard that, but have you by any chance heard the saying 'Pot calling the kettle black'?"

As he said this, looking intently at the man's tray, the man laughed out loud. His low, quiet laughter sounded pleasant. This man, who could be said to be the source of all those numerous wounds on those numerous men, was himself completely unscathed. Not a single part of his neat attire was disheveled.

"Hmm. I don’t see any empty seats. ……Ah. There are two empty seats over there. Shall we go?"

He very naturally nodded to Jeong Tae-ui. Slightly flustered, Jeong Tae-ui looked back, thinking of using Maurer as an excuse to refuse, but Maurer, who disliked getting involved in incidents as much as Jeong Tae-ui did, had already moved far away and was sitting at another table.

Jeong Tae-ui remained silently for a moment, but it would have been ridiculous to say, ‘I can't eat with you because you're from the European branch,’ and I couldn't very well say what was on my mind, ‘If I stay with a prickly person like you, I might get hit by a stray stone any time, so I'll stay far away from you.’ So, he silently followed behind him.

This wasn't good, this was a bad omen.

My uncle had advised me. Just unconditionally stay out of sight. Jeong Tae-ui, of course, had that advice engraved in his heart. Even without being told, that was what I wanted anyway.

Last night, I had unfortunately run into this man head-on, not expecting that the person staying in my room would be him, but I thought that would be it. Fortunately, it had passed without much trouble – although the men who had been making noise in the hallway had suffered greatly – and I had been relieved, thinking that from today on, I would really live by sticking to secluded and shadowy places.

"Does it bother you?"

I hadn't even imagined that this man, smiling brightly in front of me, would go out of his way to talk to me. I had naturally assumed that yesterday was yesterday's business and today was today's, and we would just move on.

Jeong Tae-ui picked up some rice with his chopsticks and replied bluntly to the man sitting across from him.

"Bothered about what?"

It wasn't an answer that meant I wasn't bothered. There were a lot of things I was bothered about, but I couldn't tell which one the man was asking about. Was it the fact that the worst person to watch out for had spoken to me first? Was it the way he was talking to me as if they were somehow close? Or was it the cold gazes from the people sitting at the six-person table occupied by the European branch members?

The man laughed at Jeong Tae-ui's reply.

"I just thought it was bold of you to sit right in the middle of a table full of European branch members."

At his casually spoken words, Jeong Tae-ui, with chopsticks in his mouth, looked at him with displeasure.

"You were the one who told me to come here. And there weren't any other empty seats."

Jeong Tae-ui felt quite uncomfortable saying that. Not only the table I was sitting at, but the tables in the surrounding area were all occupied by European branch members. Glances like arrows rained down on me. They could have very well yelled, "You should sit somewhere else with your friends," but the reason they weren't was most likely because of the man sitting in front of me.

The men who had been at the same table as Jeong Tae-ui and this walking weapon, Riegrow, flinched and shut their mouths as they sat down. At that moment, Icould easily guess how this man was treated even by his own branch members.

……Come to think of it, maybe he didn't beat them up because they were from the Asian branch, but just beat up anyone who got in his way.

"He's not acting the same way even within his own branch, is he……?"

He muttered to himself while eating, and Riegrow, having heard him, asked back.

"Who?"

At that moment, Jeong Tae-ui paused with his chopsticks for a very brief moment, but then picked up some vegetables as if nothing had happened.

Ah, no, no. I absolutely must not stand out. Whether it's in a good way or a bad way, it's best to just be inconspicuous. I should just eat my meal quickly and disappear, and never show up in front of this man again.

Next to Jeong Tae-ui, who was silently shoveling rice into his mouth, the European branch members who had been sitting at the same table finished their meal and left like a receding tide. Four seats became empty at once, but no one came to sit there.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I never got to know your name yet."

Riegrow's casually muttered words reached his ears. The moment Jeong Tae-ui heard those words, his heart sank.

Damn it. The signs were getting worse and worse. It was natural for someone you just met to ask for your name, but coming from this man, it didn't sound ordinary.

"Um— can I ask you something?"

Jeong Tae-ui didn't answer the question. Instead, pretending to be nonchalant, he wet his lips with water and asked back. At that, Riegrow slightly raised his eyebrows as if to say, go ahead.

"Do you usually ask other people for their names?"

I had thought Riegrow was the type of person who had no interest in others. But thinking about it, even Jack the Ripper might have asked a prostitute, "What's your name?" when he first met her.

Riegrow smiled faintly, as if he found the question amusing.

"Of course I do. It's inconvenient if I don't know your name when I need to address you, isn't it? Don't you think so?"

"I only ask for the names of people I'm going to meet often enough that it would be inconvenient not to know their names."

Whether he understood the meaning behind Jeong Tae-ui's attempt to be indirect or not, Riegrow nodded his head as if saying, "Ah, I see." Jeong Tae-ui chewed his rice without knowing what it tasted like, all the while staring at him intently.

If you saw him from the outside, you would have thought he was a very handsome young man. Even if he were mixed in with the crowds on a busy street, he was neat and likeable enough to stand out. Depending on how you looked at it, you could even call him beautiful.

This handsome young man, who looked like a painting even as he carelessly bit into a piece of toast, crumbs falling messily, looked a bit younger in person than he did in the video. He might even be a year or two younger than me. ……Or, since there's also a rumor that bathing in blood makes you younger, he might actually be quite old, older than he looked.

"How old are you?"

Jeong Tae-ui, who was rudely leaning on his elbows on the table and staring intently at him, asked an equally rude question without any hesitation.

Riegrow seemed a bit taken aback by the unexpected question, but he answered with amusement.

"Are you usually the type to ask other people's age often? Or is it because I seem like someone you'll be meeting often enough that it would be inconvenient not knowing my age?"

Jeong Tae-ui didn't ask any further at Riegrow's witty retort. I just felt increasingly gloomy. I had even briefly thought that if we ran into each other, maybe because we knew each other, Riegrow might go easy on me if we faced off in a sparring match.

But my uncle had said. Just unconditionally stay out of sight.

It's already too late, Uncle. What should I do? If I die, please don't forget to burn my books with me.

As Jeong Tae-ui mumbled his will along with his rice, he suddenly saw Riegrow's hand picking up his coffee cup. A pair of neat, dark-colored gloves flawlessly covered his hand.

"You seem to really like gloves. You're always wearing them."

"Hmm?"

Riegrow looked at his own hands as if it were something new. "Aah," he said, clenching and unclenching his fists a few times, then shook his head.

"Not really. It's less convenient than leaving my hands bare."

"Then why do you always wear gloves?"

"I don't like getting blood on my hands. It's sticky, and when it dries, it doesn't wash off easily."

"Come on. We're just here to eat in the dining hall, what reason would there be to get blood on your hands—"

Jeong Tae-ui, who had been speaking with a dumbfounded expression, couldn't finish his sentence.

Suddenly, a man violently threw open the dining hall door and ran towards them.

The man, who was from a different team than Jeong Tae-ui and whom he had never spoken to, had a terrifyingly hardened face and, with bloodshot eyes glaring at Riegrow, immediately charged at him.

"Riegrow! This is Croy's gun that you killed him with!"

What he held in both his hands as he shouted in a frenzy was a .50 caliber revolver.

The color drained from Jeong Tae-ui's face in an instant. That crazy bastard! Who brings such a terrifying weapon, capable of easily destroying a dining hall, in the morning!

"If you want to die, you should die alone, you son of a bitch……!"

Jeong Tae-ui, who didn't have even a sliver of loyalty to stand in front of Riegrow, muttered a curse under his breath and quickly stepped aside. In a situation where someone might shoot them in the forehead trying to fire such a high-recoil weapon with bare hands, not knowing whether they might get hit or not, the dining hall became a scene of chaos.

Jeong Tae-ui quickly ducked behind a thick pillar right next to him and anxiously examined it.

With a pillar this size, even if he fires four or five shots at it, it'll probably break apart. No, but it's a six-shooter, so he probably won't just keep firing at the pillar. Besides, there's no reason for him to target me.

Even though it wasn't perfectly safe, Jeong Tae-ui, having at least hidden himself, instinctively reached inside his jacket. But his pockets were empty except for dust.

Damn it, he clicked his tongue and turned his head, when he suddenly saw Maurer a few meters away, crawling under a table.

"Maurer!"

Jeong Tae-ui immediately dashed towards him. Right after, BANG!! A gunshot, close to an explosion, shook the air. Something broke behind him, and stone fragments flew and hit Jeong Tae-ui. His ears were ringing from the gunshot. Damn it, you crazy bastard! If I survive this, you're going to get it from me!

Jeong Tae-ui crawled next to Maurer, who was looking around in panic, and grabbed his collar. And whether he screamed or not, he forcefully pinned down the resisting Maurer and reached into his clothes. As expected, the cold metal of a weapon, which he always carried, came into his hand.

Turning his head, Jeong Tae-ui saw Riegrow standing alone calmly in the chaotic dining hall. And the man holding the gun a few meters away from him.

An unbelievable sight unfolded before his eyes.

Riegrow effortlessly tipped over and stood up a solid six-person dining table made from a whole piece of cedar, a table that would require three or four strong men to move. And then, without much effort, he kicked the table, which was blocking his path like a shield.

BANG!!!

The sound of another ear-splitting gunshot rang out. The thick table flying towards the man was shattered by the bullet, becoming tattered pieces, and the splinters that bounced off Riegrow's slightly turned body rained down.

"Now you have four bullets left, right?"

Riegrow muttered calmly, then ducked behind the pillar next to him, tipping over the table beside it again. He grabbed the legs of the table and threw it at the man. The table shattered with another deafening sound. This time, even the fragments didn't reach Riegrow, hidden behind the pillar.

"Three bullets left. If you can't hit me with those, you're dead."

Riegrow seemed to be enjoying himself. A cheerful smile hung on his lips. Jeong Tae-ui, who had been held back by Maurer beside him, pleading, "Give me my gun, my baby, hurry up and give it back," shook him off and ran, keeping low. Twice more, explosion-like sounds rang out in succession as he ran behind the man.

"You crazy bastard, why start a fight you can't win, risking your life?"

Jeong Tae-ui muttered, grinding his teeth.

One bullet left. The surroundings were already a terrible ruin.

The distance between the man and Riegrow was only about four or five meters.

The man's neck was drenched in sweat. And in front of him, Riegrow was smiling faintly with a calm expression. He lightly caught a piece of wood the size of a forearm that had bounced off him, tossed it up and down a couple of times, then playfully threw it at the man. But it wasn't playful. The sound of the wind from the piece of wood passing just above the man's instinctively ducked head could be heard. If it had hit him, he would have at least been knocked unconscious.

It was that moment.

Jeong Tae-ui instinctively knew that was the moment.

The moment when a person's life hung by a thread. The instant Jeong Tae-ui felt that, he moved.

As the man lowered his head, Riegrow dashed forward. It was almost at the same time as he threw the piece of wood.

The man, wearing a joyful smile, would have seen the demon rushing towards him like an arrow.

BANG!!!

It felt like the ground shook. Jeong Tae-ui, who was close by, winced and closed his eyes at the deafening sound that made his ears ring. A short groan escaped his lips.

And the moment he opened his eyes, he saw it.

Riegrow, having moved under the man, grabbed his wrist, twisted it sideways, and broke it. Stone fragments and dust rained down from the ceiling where the bullet had struck. And with his other hand, Riegrow was calmly choking the man, firmly pressing down on his carotid artery.

"Oh…… missed."

Riegrow's smiling mutter echoed in the space that was deafeningly silent.

When those words spread, everyone present could realize.

Riegrow had intended to grab the man's gun hand and turn the muzzle towards his own head. He was deciding the man's death without a second thought.

The man stared at Riegrow with wide, terrified eyes. The hand on his neck lightly caressed it.

"Let's meet again in the next life."

Riegrow's eyes softened as he smiled. His low voice whispered like a song. His large, eerie grip, capable of easily breaking a person's neck with bare hands, tightened.

At that moment.

"Let go of that hand."

A quiet voice rang out.

The muzzle of the Colt held by Jeong Tae-ui, standing behind Riegrow, stopped against Riegrow's cervical vertebrae.

Riegrow, still gripping the man's neck, froze. He tilted his head back slightly, pressing his neck against the gun muzzle, and muttered with a calm smile.

"If you shoot this close, your wrist won't be safe either."

"Don't move. I think having my wrist broken is a hundred times better than losing someone else’s life."

"......I misjudged you. I absolutely despise meddling fools who risk their lives for something that isn't their business."

"I said don't move."

The hand holding the Colt tightened. Without blinking, whispering, Jeong Tae-ui focused on his every minute movement. At the same time, he cursed himself inwardly.

What's the big deal about some stupid guy dying? Why am I sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong? He might as well dig his own grave, cover it with sod, and lie down in it.

Without a second thought, Jeong Tae-ui, who had acted purely on instinct, now wanted to bite his tongue off. But what was done was done. I was prepared to see it through to the end. Somehow, I have a scary feeling that this monstrous man would keep moving like a zombie even if his head was smashed.

Riegrow chuckled. A low laugh, and his shoulders moved up and down slightly.

"Haha, this is quite something. What should I do……."

Riegrow, muttering as if he were troubled, slowly released his grip on the man's neck. Perhaps because he was overly tense, Jeong Tae-ui flinched involuntarily as Riegrow's hand moved.

He didn't need anyone to tell me what that "What should I do?" meant. It meant, how should I take care of this new guy?

Jeong Tae-ui's hand tightened on his weapon.

Just one moment, if I let my guard down for even a single moment, that would be the second in which he’ll die.

The moment Riegrow completely released his hand from the man's neck.

That's when the man, who was on the verge of passing out, instead glared with bloodshot eyes and began to shout.

"Shoot! Just shoot, I tell you! Shoot me!"

At that shout, Jeong Tae-ui, who was at his limit of tension with every minute movement of Riegrow, almost pulled the trigger.

Seeing the man in front of him, who was shouting such things and unaware of the favor of being rescued from danger, Jeong Tae-ui felt a surge of anger.

"...You two crazy bastards are a perfect match made in heaven. You wanted to die, and I got in the way, is that it? You son of a bitch, you're going to get a beating from me later - if you’re still alive."

Just as Jeong Tae-ui was saying this through gritted teeth, Riegrow, who seemed to be letting go of the man, smiled slightly and lifted his heels off the ground.

In that instant, a dark premonition washed over him.

Just then,

"What in the world are you all doing?"

An icy voice rang out from above. Several sets of footsteps approached rapidly from the direction of the door. Jeong Tae-ui, who had almost pulled the trigger of his Colt, stopped his movement and turned towards the sound.

His uncle was entering. Behind him followed his uncle's captain, the same driver from before. The moment Jeong Tae-ui saw his uncle's face, he muttered, "Ugh."

His uncle, who entered with a blank expression, briefly looked around and, as if he understood the situation, walked straight towards them unarmed. He saw the Colt in Jeong Tae-ui's hand and frowned.

"Personal possession of weapons is prohibited within the branch. Didn't you know that, Jeong Tae-ui?"

"……I know."

"Whose is it?"

".......It's mine."

"Yours, you say. Alright, if you say so, then let's go with that. Now, come up to the instructor's office immediately."

Although his uncle had spoken, Jeong Tae-ui hesitated for a moment. Riegrow was still standing in front of me, the gun barrel pressed right against the back of his neck. The moment I moved that muzzle even slightly, it felt like this man would tear my throat out.

This man was not one to restrain himself just because others were watching.

His uncle turned his gaze to the man still held by Riegrow.

"Luixin. Were you trying to kill him?"

"----Yes! This bastard deserves to die!"

"Alright, you go and spend some time in the detention center. Cool your head off there for about six months."

His uncle finished speaking concisely to that man as well, and then looked at Riegrow. The look on his uncle's face clouded over with a sigh. It clearly showed he was troubled.

"Riegrow."

When he met his uncle's eyes, Riegrow frowned briefly as if in difficulty, and then smiled with an awkward light in his eyes, his expression still troubled. He shrugged slightly and pleaded, sounding wronged.

"I didn't do anything. Suddenly, someone points a .50 caliber revolver at me, what am I supposed to do? Just stand there and get shot to death? I had no choice but to defend myself if I wanted to live."

Riegrow's excuse, spoken with a mix of formal and informal language, was theoretically very valid. Even though the arm of the man he was holding was twisted at an unnatural angle and was turning blue and swollen, and even though it was overwhelmingly clear that he was stronger.

His uncle clicked his tongue a couple of times, looking annoyed. Then, he glanced at Jeong Tae-ui, who still had the gun pointed at Riegrow's neck, and spoke to him.

"Release Luixin and take two steps forward. My poor team member is trembling behind you."

"Are you talking about that poor subordinate who's poking my neck with a gun?"

Riegrow muttered as if he was wronged. "That's too much, Instructor," he grumbled, but he released Luixin. Before letting go, he pressed down once more on the twisted forearm. Then, he lightly slapped the back of the screaming man's head with his palm. Even though it was supposed to be light, there was a loud thwack, and the man's eyes widened as if they would pop out.

Seeing the revolver on the ground, his uncle turned around and nodded. The captain standing a step behind him stepped forward and picked it up. His uncle took it, weighed its heavy heft, and clicked his tongue. He tapped the incredibly heavy weapon, perfect for destroying objects beyond just killing people, and then suddenly struck Luixin with the barrel.

"You crazy bastard, who's foolish enough to aim this kind of thing at a person? You're going to retake the weapon engineering course from the beginning when you get out of detention center."

His uncle clicked his tongue and tossed the revolver back to the captain. Then, he kicked Louisin, who had collapsed without even being able to scream, with the tip of his shoe and rolled him out of the way.

Riegrow, his path now clear, subtly smiled and straightened up. It was obvious that pressing his neck against the gun barrel had been intentional. Riegrow chuckled and slowly took one step forward. And then another step.

Jeong Tae-ui, keeping his gaze on him without rushing, slowly lowered his gun. His uncle, who had come up beside him, held out his hand, and Jeong Tae-ui placed the Colt on it.

Riegrow, having taken two steps back as his uncle had instructed, turned around. Jeong Tae-ui, who had been staring intently at him, met his eyes. Riegrow was looking at him with a faint smile. Jeong Tae-ui noticed his hand clenching and unclenching as if in regret.

Just then, what would have happened if my uncle had arrived just a little later? I couldn't know how this man would have acted. However, the dark feeling of unease that had instinctively overwhelmed me at that moment still clearly chilled my spine. I realized anew how truly dangerous it had been. ……No, perhaps what's truly dangerous is yet to come. Indeed, now I understood why this man always wore those gloves, supposedly because he didn't like getting blood on his hands.

Jeong Tae-ui became very depressed.

It seemed the military education emphasizing camaraderie still hadn't worn off. What did it matter if some guy I had no connection to died? His body had moved reflexively.

Suddenly, he felt a gaze on him and turned his eyes gloomily, only to find his uncle looking at him. His uncle was looking at him with an "you idiot" expression and made a clicking sound with his tongue. His uncle had given him valuable advice in his own way, but he couldn't have done anything more clearly to get on his bad side.

"Jeong Tae-ui. What in the world were you planning to do with a gun that didn't even have a magazine?"

His uncle said with a look of utter disappointment. The Colt dangling from his uncle's hand looked very light.

Jeong Tae-ui didn't say anything, his face glum. I had known the weight of the Colt ever since I took it from Maurer's grasp. But to stop that man, I had no choice but to take that gamble.

Riegrow, who had been watching Jeong Tae-ui from a short distance, paused for a moment. A strange expression came over his face. Then, he let out a "ha" of disbelief and laughed. It seemed the more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it became, and his low, intermittent laughter continued for a while.

Then, that laughter stopped abruptly.

Riegrow looked straight at Jeong Tae-ui and murmured, as if engraving the words in his mind.

"Tae-ui, Jeong Tae-ui, you say."

It was the most accurate pronunciation I had heard from someone else recently. Hearing that whisper, as if Riegrow was rolling his name around in his mouth, made Jeong Tae-ui even more depressed. A future full of difficulties was already unfolding in that voice.

Uncle, instead of Luixin, could I go into the detention center? I don't mind being locked up for the entire six months, so please isolate me.

I should go up to the instructor's office and beg my uncle, even if I have to cling to his pants leg.

***

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Credits:

Translator: Hoshi Miya

Editor/Proofreader: Tâmago

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