PASSION Chapter 3 part 4
- HoshiMiya
- May 21
- 9 min read
I begged and ended up getting a mouthful of insults.
Grabbing Jeong Tae-ui's cheek and pulling it mercilessly, his uncle repeatedly said, "Aigoo, you idiot, aigoo, you fool, how can you be like this on the first morning of joint training?" And every time, Jeong Tae-ui replied, "I know, I know," without fail.
The person who saved Jeong Tae-ui, was rubbing his cheek that seemed to have stretched a meter, and someone who happened to enter the instructor's office.
"Correctional Officer Jeong Chang-in. Are you busy? ……You look busy. Would it be alright if I intrude for a moment?"
The person who said that calmly with a smile was the Vice-director, Rudolf Jantille, his uncle's direct superior.
As soon as he entered, the uncle let go of Jeong Tae-ui as if nothing had happened and shook his head.
"What do you mean by you’re intruding? It's all finished here. ……Go on now."
Seeing his uncle, who had the face of a strict instructor and spoke with feigned sternness, made him feel a little queasy, but Jeong Tae-ui wisely retreated without a word, just slightly bowing his head. As he turned around, he encountered the Vice-director and bowed his head again. As he was about to leave with a silent nod, the Vice-director's gaze fell upon him.
"Ah, yes, this young man is your nephew, isn't he?"
He was speaking to the uncle, but his gaze was still directed at Jeong Tae-ui. Jeong Tae-ui, who was about to leave, hesitated. Since they were talking about me, it was awkward to pretend not to notice and leave. The uncle nodded smoothly with a smile.
"Yes, that's right."
"Hmm. So this young man is the brother of researcher Jeong Jae-uii."
"Yes, Jeong Jae-ui is the older brother and this one is the younger brother. They're twins, so there's no age difference though."
"Hmm. Yes. This young man……."
The Vice-director's gaze turned to Jeong Tae-ui with a renewed interest. In the past, when he first came here, he had briefly greeted him as a sort of entry report, but at that time, this man was busy and couldn't exchange more than a few words properly. Jeong Tae-ui had taken it easy, assuming that greetings with high-ranking people were usually like that anyway.
Clearly feeling the Vice-director's gaze scrutinizing him from head to toe, Jeong Tae-ui inwardly sighed.
Hyung must be really famous. It's something I was already used to, but being stared at so openly like this has been rare since I became an adult.
"But if you're here, what’s your brother doing?"
The Vice-director suddenly asked. It was only after a few seconds that Jeong Tae-ui realized the question was directed at him, and he hesitated for a moment, saying, "Haa."
"My brother gets along fine even without me."
Giving the most standard answer, Jeong Tae-ui glanced at his uncle. It's not like brothers are a married couple or a patient and caregiver, and there's no reason for us to be in trouble just because they're apart, yet I’m hearing all sorts of things.
The uncle, who had been watching from the side, finally interjected when he made eye contact with Jeong Tae-ui.
"It's not like twin brothers always stick together. Well, even if they're apart, the bond of brotherhood will always continue."
"Ah, yes, that's right."
The Vice-director nodded while still carefully looking over Jeong Tae-ui.
Jeong Tae-ui swallowed a sigh, wondering if this man was also trying to find differences between him and Jeong Jae-ui.
It couldn't be helped, it was my fault for having a famous brother, but it seemed Hyung was particularly famous within this organization. Seriously, everywhere he goes, it's all about Jeong Jae-ui, and it's starting to get tiresome.
His uncle gestured as if to tell him to leave and said to the Vice-director, "Come to think of it, we received a call from the Second Military Affairs Division of the headquarters……." and the Vice-director immediately listened to him.
Jeong Tae-ui bowed his head and left the instructor's office.
By the time Jeong Tae-ui, who had been called to the instructor's office right after the morning commotion and got a scolding, came out, the regular morning schedule had already begun. Since everyone in the branch probably knew what had happened, he wouldn't get a harsh word from the instructor for being a little late, but skipping it entirely would definitely result in double the punishment.
Ah…… I don't want to go in. Thinking about it, the regular schedule I had to attend now was weapons engineering. The word that I had a firearm must have spread by now, so without a doubt, the strict weapons engineering instructor would be giving me a hard time. I might even get hit with a Colt.
With a heavy heart, Jeong Tae-ui looked out the window. Since the instructor's office was on the ground floor, I could see outside from the hallway. The weather was very nice. I feel even more depressed.
He walked slowly towards the elevator and passed by the office. Jeong Tae-ui slowed down his pace.
It would be strange to just stick my head into the office without any business. Still, I wished I could see Xinlu even for a moment to wash away my gloomy mood. But then again, I wouldn't have anything to say if I went there without a reason.
But it seemed that today, someone took pity on Jeong Tae-ui's gloomy mood.
Jeong Tae-ui, who was passing by the office as slowly as an ant, could see a longed-for face coming around the corner of the hallway from the front. Xinlu, who was walking back from the restroom, putting a just-used handkerchief into his pocket, saw Jeong Tae-ui and widened his eyes. He immediately smiled brightly.
"Tay hyung. What brings you here at this time? Haven't you started your schedule?"
"Unn? Oh, I'm about to go. I had some business in the instructor's office for a moment. ……The weather is really nice today."
It was nice to be together, but we always lacked topics of conversation. Since we didn't know much about each other, we didn't have any common ground, and there was nothing to talk about. So, we had nothing to bring up other than topics like the weather.
"Yes. But according to the weather forecast, it's supposed to get cloudy in the evening. It said it's going to rain tomorrow and the day after. And then it's supposed to clear up the day after that."
"Unn. When it clears up, it would be nice to go for a walk on the beach again."
"Shall we?"
Xinlu readily nodded at Jeong Tae-ui's casually dropped remark. Jeong Tae-ui inwardly cheered and from that moment on, he eagerly began to wait for the day the weather would clear up.
Xinlu looked at the instructor's office where Jeong Tae-ui had just come out and tilted his head slightly.
"But what suddenly happened in the instructor's office……, ah."
Suddenly, his face clouded over.
"Come to think of it, I heard there was a big incident this morning. Hyung, are you alright? Is that why you were called in?"
It was something that had spread throughout the entire branch, so there was no way Xinlu wouldn't know about it in this small building.
Xinlu, approaching him and asking with a worried tone, looked even more endearing and lovely, and Jeong Tae-ui stared at him blankly.
Seeing this bright and beautiful face brought considerable comfort to my heart. My chest felt warmly relieved.
"Hmm, just a little. It wasn't a big deal. Were you alright?"
Thinking about it, the administrative officer's living area was different from the team members', but there was only one place they used together: the cafeteria. Usually, he wouldn't have a chance to meet the administrative officer unless he was visiting the office for some business, but I often encountered him in the cafeteria during mealtimes.
Suddenly, his heart belatedly sank.
What if Xinlu had been in the cafeteria at that time? What if he had gotten caught up in that fierce fight? What if he had been hit and injured by flying pieces of stone or wood?
Without realizing it, Jeong Tae-ui reached out and grabbed both of Xinlu's shoulders. Xinlu looked up at Jeong Tae-ui with a bewildered expression and tilted his head.
"Hyung……?"
"Hey, you usually don't run into the members unless there's a specific reason, right? Other than the cafeteria?"
"Yes? T-That’s right. Even at the cafeteria, I tend to finish my meals early, so I go when it's not crowded. For lunch and dinner too, I go and eat before the members finish their regular schedule, so…… I don't really run into the other members even at the cafeteria."
Hearing that and thinking about it, he realized that he certainly hadn't seen Xinlu in the cafeteria before.
Jeong Tae-ui, relieved by Xinlu's obedient answers despite not knowing what was going on, spoke seriously.
"Hey, you know how the European branch members are here right now? Well, among them, there are some people you shouldn't associate with, so to speak. Very dangerous people. So—"
Jeong Tae-ui explained gently, not going into too much detail but enough for him to understand. Xinlu nodded as if he immediately understood what Jeong Tae-ui was trying to say.
"I probably won't run into the European branch members anyway, but I'll still be careful. Thank you for your concern, hyung."
Xinlu smiled brightly. Seeing that flower-like smile, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly felt embarrassed and quietly let go of Xinlu's shoulder. I feel a little sad about the loss of the soft touch.
"What. Of course I'm worried. You are……"
Jeong Tae-ui stopped talking mid-sentence. He couldn't finish his words. I feel that anything I said after that would be so embarrassing that my face would burn.
A moment of silence passed. It was a somewhat awkward and shy silence, but he didn't dislike this kind of silence anymore.
Xinlu, who had been looking down at his feet with his head lowered, suddenly glanced up to gauge Jeong Tae-ui's reaction, then quietly reached out and took Jeong Tae-ui's hand. Jeong Tae-ui was startled and instinctively flinched. But in that moment, delicate fingers slipped into his palm.
"……Eh, ehehehe……"
Xinlu, looking down, smiled awkwardly with a bright red face. Jeong Tae-ui, with a similar expression, echoed with an "ehehehe." The white fingers held in his hand were warm, which felt good. If they had been cold, that would have been nice in its own way too.
Standing face-to-face with flushed faces and awkwardly holding hands, they stood like that for a while without saying anything, just holding hands, until Jung Tae-ui, feeling a gaze at some point, looked up and they finally separated.
His uncle, who was opening the door to the instructor's office and coming out, was staring at them blankly.
Over Xinlu's shoulder, Jeong Tae-ui's eyes met his uncle's, who was silently watching them intently.
"......"
"......"
When their eyes met, his uncle slowly blinked a couple of times. Slowly blinked. Slowly, a subtle smile bloomed on his expressionless face. Was it just my imagination, or did it look like he was thinking, "aren’t you two having fun……?"
Jeong Tae-ui wanted to stubbornly hold Xinlu's hand even tighter and stay there for a long time, but I felt that if I stayed any longer, my uncle would say something like, "When are you going to get to your morning schedule?"—and I also thought the Vice-director would be coming out soon—so he reluctantly let go of Xinlu's hand.
Fortunately, Xinlu, who hadn't yet noticed the subtle smile behind him, hesitated and mumbled with a flushed face.
"Then, hyung, when the weather gets better……."
"Unn. It should stop raining and the weather should be nice by the weekend, so let's see each other then. Let's go for a leisurely walk too."
When Jeong Tae-ui said that, Xinlu made a strange face for a moment. Then he tilted his head and muttered to himself, "Did I misunderstand?" before smiling brightly again.
"Yes, hyung. Then I'll see you on the weekend."
"Unn. Okay. ……If we can see each other before then, let's do that too. Anyway, take care."
As Xinlu turned around after saying goodbye affectionately, "Don't worry, hyung, you're the one who should be careful not to get hurt," his uncle quickly slipped back into the instructor's office.
After Xinlu went into the office, his uncle came out of the instructor's office again. He saw Jeong Tae-ui standing blankly in the hallway and waved his hand dismissively.
"Are you done? I was wondering why you’re taking so long. If you skip out, you'll be stuck in the instructor's office all afternoon this time. Besides, wasn't the class you're supposed to be in now weapons engineering? Weapons engineering means Instructor McKinnon. If you get on his bad side, you'll have trouble for a long time."
Hearing his uncle add that Riegrew, who would only be staying for two weeks, was nothing compared to McKinnon, Jeong Tae-ui inwardly muttered, "Will I even be alive in two weeks?" But even so, I wanted to live until the weekend to go for a walk with Xinlu.
"By the way……, Xinlu……."
His uncle muttered to himself as if thinking about something else, then fell silent for a moment. The nuance of his words was strangely meaningful, so Jeong Tae-ui slightly frowned and tilted his head. His uncle just looked up at the ceiling for a moment, lost in thought, before finally waving his hand without saying anything more.
"I told you to go. This guy, you never listen when someone gives you advice out of kindness. Instructor McKinnon is the one you really don't want to get on the wrong side of among the instructors. No matter if you only have two weeks left to live, you shouldn't neglect planting tomorrow's apple tree."
"......"
When Jeong Tae-ui looked at his uncle resentfully, his uncle suddenly smiled deeply.
"You're going to take Xinlu for a walk on the weekend? I hope the weather is nice."
"......If the weather isn't good, we'll put on raincoats and go for a walk in the rain."
Jeong Tae-ui grumbled sullenly and turned to start walking towards the elevator. He heard his uncle, who was chuckling softly and thinking about something again, say kindly to his back,
"I'll definitely burn the books with you, so don't be too sad."
***
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Tâmago
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