PASSION Chapter 3 part 5
- HoshiMiya
- May 28
- 33 min read
As soon as Maurer saw Jeong Tae-ui, he grabbed him by the collar and wailed.
"My baby! My cute lady, how are you going to take responsibility, you bastard!!"
The Colt that had been snatched from Maurer was, of course, confiscated by my uncle and was now quietly sitting in the evidence storage room. I can only say that I will be able to get it back someday when I leave this branch.
His uncle, as if guessing who the owner of that Colt was, smiled meaningfully and said slowly, ‘Please give my regards to the guy who shares a room with you.’ It was Jeong Tae-ui who thought that the colleagues who had such a person as their superior were a bit pitiful.
"A colt is a small price to pay to save a life."
"Ah, that was Maurer's? No wonder, it was strange that Tay, who doesn't have a single possession, would have something like that."
"Don't cry, don't cry. Once I get to Hong Kong, I'll get you a new one. I know a reliable dealer on the black market. You can get a Colt easily, right?"
The colleagues who were next to Maurer each said a word. Jeong Tae-ui, who was looking somewhat embarrassed at Maurer lamenting that it was all useless, scratched his head and muttered.
"I don't know any black market dealers……. That's right, how about something like a one-year subscription to a puzzle magazine?"
Then Maurer, as if bursting with anger, raged and lunged.
Jeong Tae-ui slowly retreated behind his colleagues.
Regardless of how urgent the situation was, having arbitrarily snatched someone else's belongings, used them, and even lost them, I had nothing to say even if I had ten different mouths. Another gloomy thing happened for the next fifteen days.
Having belatedly attended the weapons engineering lecture, and then immediately being called in by the instructor for a thorough dressing-down with both harsh and bitter words, Jeong Tae-ui finally managed to escape only to find that the lunch break was already more than halfway over.
Even though not even half a day had passed, Jeong Tae-ui, whose mind and body were exhausted as if thousands of years had gone by, trudged to the cafeteria, but the cafeteria door was, of course, firmly closed. Seeing the red letters hanging on the door that said 'Out of service for a while due to an accident,' Jeong Tae-ui felt inexplicably guilty even though it wasn't his fault. He then saw the smaller text added below that read 'Temporarily use the Third self-study hall as the cafeteria until repairs are complete' and quickly left the spot.
When he went to the autonomous reading room, the colleagues who had already finished eating and were sitting there chatting greeted Jeong Tae-ui. Of course, there were also members from the European branch, so the atmosphere was still ominous, not much different from the morning, but since they had wrecked the cafeteria in the morning, neither side seemed to have any intention of causing trouble during lunch as well.
As soon as he entered the self-study hall, Jeong Tae-ui reflexively and quickly looked around, wondering if he might run into a face he didn't want to see. Since he wouldn't be able to avoid him eventually while doing joint training, he still intended to make every effort to avoid him.
Fortunately, that unpleasant face wasn't visible. Instead, there were only his colleagues, who greeted him with cheers that sounded like shouts of joy.
What a gutsy guy, a crazy guy, a loyal guy—there were all sorts of descriptive words. Of course, that phrase was mixed in there too: "You robber who stole my darling without permission!" was the lament.
Jeong Tae-ui, in the hastily arranged temporary cafeteria where even decent food wasn't readily available because he was late, barely managed to get two slices of bread and a carton of milk, which he chewed while listening to his colleagues' words absentmindedly.
For the next fifteen days, the regular schedule was planned to be general lectures in the morning and special lectures or special training in the afternoon. In other words, the real fighting would begin in the afternoon.
However, it was impossible for a number of people, slightly less than a hundred, to receive training all at once.
"Then how are the personnel divided for training?"
As Jeong Tae-ui asked while chewing bread, Ching explained, "It's the same as always. We divide into six teams, so fifteen train together. Of course, half will be from our side and half from the European side. That will randomly rotate, so you'll train with a different team each time."
Jeong Tae-ui recalled the weapons engineering lecture he had entered partway through. I mentally reviewed the unfamiliar faces that had been mixed in the classroom one by one.
"If it's random—meaning if I'm lucky, I might be able to spend the next fifteen days without meeting that certain person at all?"
When Jeong Tae-ui asked, holding onto a sliver of hope, Ching shook his head. Then, looking as if he understood why Jeong Tae-ui was asking such a thing, he made a pitiful face.
"If you're lucky, you might meet that specific person less often. But it's just 'less,' you're inevitably going to train together at least once."
"Of course, of course. Even if that weren't the case, everyone will undergo extreme training together on the weekend."
The colleague, who muttered that, suddenly grabbed Jeong Tae-ui's hand tightly and said.
"During the extreme training, everyone participates without exception and engages in a survival competition, so you'll get another chance. A chance to definitely finish that guy off."
"……It sounds like the day I go to the other world (die) is coming."
Jeong Tae-ui lost his appetite and put down the bread he was eating. He forced the food down with milk, but it got stuck in his throat and didn't go down well. At this rate, I won’t be digesting well either.
Suddenly, Jeong Tae-ui mumbled, "Huh?" as he stared at the bread in his hand for a long moment before tilting his head.
"Wait, weekend? ……What training on the weekend? We're supposed to rest. Isn't it free time from 5 PM on Friday to Sunday?"
Jeong Tae-ui furrowed his brow as he asked, and the colleague sitting next to him retorted as if he was talking nonsense.
"Didn't you hear that we can't leave the island during the joint training period?"
"What are you talking about? There's no break for fifteen days. It's just continuous training. It's actually better on weekdays because we only train during regular hours. On weekends, they release people into the forest from Saturday afternoon to Sunday noon for life-or-death survival training."
"What is that! Then my stroll I planned for!"
Jeong Tae-ui's face hardened, and he shouted, banging on the table. The milk sloshed and spilled, wetting the surface.
His colleagues stared at Jeong Tae-ui in bewilderment, their expressions blank.
"Stroll? What stroll date?"
His colleagues all asked as if they couldn't understand, but Jeong Tae-ui was too dumbfounded to answer.
Training on the weekend was unheard of. It turned out that my colleagues thought it was so obvious that no one had told me. My uncle hadn't mentioned that there would be no days off during the joint training either.
──I hope the weather will be nice.
Suddenly, Jeong Tae-ui remembered what his uncle had said with a smile earlier. Before that, Xinlu had also tilted his head, muttering to himself, ‘Did I misunderstand?’
"Damn it……. So this is what it was."
Jeong Tae-ui suddenly lost all his energy and collapsed face down on the table. The determination he had made to survive until the weekend, even with less than fifteen days left to live, felt futile.
"Hey, why are you crying? Well, I understand more than enough how you don't want to do endurance training."
"Yeah. That's probably when the chances of dying are highest. ……And if there's someone you want to get rid of, that's the best time to aim for them too."
Gloomy words were exchanged above Jeong Tae-ui's slumped head.
Just a little while ago, I had been able to pull myself together with a sliver of hope remaining in my despair, but that hope had now vanished. All that was left was despair.
Seeing Jeong Tae-ui lying motionless on the table, completely drained, Tou patted his shoulder as if he understood everything.
"It's okay, it's okay. We're here for you. Do you really think we'd just stand by and watch you die?"
"Yeah. If you're ever in danger, I'll snatch the Colt from Maurer and shoot this time."
Pushing Maurer, who was yelling not to say ridiculous things, away, everyone offered a word of comfort. However, those words did little to console him; rather, they only foreshadowed a more bleak future.
"Cheer up, Tay. Why are you so down already? The real bloodbath starts this afternoon."
"Aah, right. Let's loosen up this stiff body. It's been a while since I've punched a human sandbag."
Suddenly, the voices around him grew louder, as if they wanted him to hear. Then, the European branch members sitting on the other side, who had been chatting noisily among themselves, started shouting roughly.
"All they learned was how to bluster, even though they'll get beaten from the start and won't be able to do anything."
"Do they only teach how to fight with words in the Asian branch? And they're terrible at that too."
Here we go again. Jeong Tae-ui, who was lying face down on the table in a gloomy mood, was now forgotten as they started fighting like a pack of dogs. The two shouts that had been directed at each other were getting closer and closer.
Jeong Tae-ui lifted his head with a dejected expression. Everyone was standing and hurling harsh insults and shouts at the European branch members, and the curses coming from the other side were just as fierce. Behind his colleagues who stood like a wall in front, Jeong Tae-ui looked at Maurer, who was sitting behind him as well, and asked with a tired face.
“Every day for the next fifteen days is going to be like this……."
"Today is mild since it's the first time in a while. As the days go by, sparks will really fly, and you'll see something like this."
Maurer still glared sullenly at Jeong Tae-ui but grumbled a reply anyway. Jeong Tae-ui murmured sadly.
"And in the afternoon, we will start earnest sparring with those guys."
"Yeah. Today it's free individual sparring. Boxing, judo, aikido, kendo, and so on. Just pick two and follow their rules, and the rest is completely up to us."
“What the hell? If you allow the rules of both martial arts, there's practically no limit. That's not sparring; it's just a dogfight.”
“Of course, it's no different from a dogfight. If it were a proper sparring match under strict rules, would such resentment have built up?”
“Still, training with other branches was similar, so why is it only like this with the European side?”
“Well, it's my first time in a joint training with the European branch, so I don’t know for sure, but maybe if I get beat up by those guys during training, I'll understand a bit.”
“……”
Maurer had never experienced the pandemonium of the European and Asian branches clashing, but having gone through the mill at other branches, he had a better grasp of the current situation than Jeong Tae-ui.
Leaving the two of them behind, the dispute between their colleagues and a group of European branch members was escalating. Initially, they were just trading insults and slander across the central serving table, but they gradually moved closer, increasing the intensity, and now they were throwing whatever they could grab, like spoons and forks. It looked like if they got just a few more centimeters closer, they would be pulling each other by the collar over the table and engaging in a full-blown physical fight.
Rather than getting involved in that fight, I would rather be called a traitor and slip away, but they were blocking the way to the door, so I couldn't leave. There were no windows behind me that led to the hallway either.
Even though this was supposedly the milder side of the fighting, Jeong Tae-ui was already exhausted, and he sighed, wondering how much darker things would get in the future. He rolled up his sleeves. There was no choice. When they started fighting, I would pretend to join in and then make a run for it.
However, just as Jeong Tae-ui made up his mind to pretend to join the fight and then escape, a helping hand reached out from an unexpected place.
“You bastards! You wrecked the dining hall, and now you’re going to ruin this place too?! Don’t you want to eat?! If you don’t want to starve, get out there and fight, you sons of bitches! And pay for all the broken tables, chairs, and equipment, you damn bastards!”
If the serving staff, who had been silently clearing the leftover food amidst their brawl, hadn't been hit by a chopstick thrown by one of them and exploded in anger, banging the serving spoon against the food containers like crazy, the fight would have escalated into a physical altercation within minutes.
Those who bowed down even more to the serving staff than to the branch supervisor, let alone the headquarters director, immediately lowered their voices and could only glare at each other, muttering, “Just you wait until the afternoon sparring session, you bastards. I’ll beat you until you cry likes babies.”
Most of those who said, ‘Just you wait, you bastards, I’ll beat you until you cry like babies,’ kept their promises. They lined up in order, glaring at each other as if they were about to devour each other even before the starting signal for the sparring was given. As soon as the signal dropped, they charged at their designated opponents. And they fought literally to the death. They all succeeded in beating their opponents until they cried tears and blood.
In other words, they all got beaten up that badly.
Jeong Tae-ui, who was relatively late in the order, repeatedly watched his colleagues and the opposing men crawl out covered in blood, and he became completely fed up with the situation.
“Aren’t they all crazy?”
Jeong Tae-ui said very seriously, rubbing his chin. Yeon-ho, who was standing right behind him in the next turn, nodded very gravely.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about! The only cure for psychos like them is to beat the crazy out of them.”
“……”
He always acted so lively and refreshing that I thought he was somewhat normal, but this guy's gone mad too……. Turns out it's not that the people are bad, it's that the environment in this place is terrible. It's a society that pressures you to fight.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Yeon-ho with pity for a moment before turning his head. Even now, two men were locked in a vicious brawl right in front of him, biting and tearing at each other. The instructor seemed to be only watching to make sure they didn't violate the rules of their respective martial arts, regardless of how much blood soaked the floor. Only when one of them indicated defeat or when the outcome was clearly decided would the instructor stop them.
The infirmary is going to be packed today. There won't be enough beds to lay them all down, and judging by the looks of them, and if they were laid down next to each other in the infirmary, they'd probably still throw things and fight even while lying down. They'll run out of medical supplies.
Jeong Tae-ui was skeptical about what good would come of making them fight like this, and whether there was even a need for such a joint training exercise. However, as the sparring progressed, he put those thoughts aside.
After each round of sparring, the instructor pointed out one or two things that would be good to note from the previous match. For example, he'd mention how when one person swung their left arm from a certain direction, the opponent blocked it by bending their right leg at a near-perfect right angle. It was so accurate that it was beyond astonishing, almost eerie. Even when they replayed the recorded footage to double-check, the instructor's observations were never wrong.
What was also surprising was that the men who seemed to be just mindlessly shouting and cheering while surrounding their sparring colleagues actually had a solid grasp of which movements influenced the outcome and what each person's strengths and weaknesses were.
It was a dogfight, but it was excellent research material for the spectators. And the spectators were skilled enough to understand that material.
Jeong Tae-ui scratched the back of his neck and muttered to himself. Yeah, it's something I rarely feel, but even though these guys are lunatics like this, from an outside perspective, they're top-notch elites. Even that colleague who's being dragged out covered in blood after getting beaten to a pulp and simultaneously dishing it out, was someone who was registered with the Military Intelligence Agency and had obtained special permission under the guise of two years of job training to learn at the branch from last year until the end of this year. There were also many others who were registered with other public institutions and came in the form of training to further their self-development.
……It's baffling how such capable guys can be so ready to risk their lives over something so trivial.
Jeong Tae-ui muttered, shaking his head and sighing.
"Don't sigh. Do you really think you'll die? If things look bad…… well, I can't bring myself to say you should surrender, but if things get really bad, just faint and get carried out. But make sure you land at least one good hit on that bastard."
Yeon-ho said from behind, gripping Jeong Tae-ui's shoulder firmly. It seems like this friend had completely misunderstood my feelings. He probably thought I was sighing because I was nervous about my upcoming turn.
'Well, it's true I don't want to get beaten and I’m anxious,' Jeong Tae-ui thought as he looked at the opposing side. He then examined the opponent he would be facing.
He looked strong just from the first glance. Jeong Tae-ui wished he could hope that the guy just looked menacing but was actually ridiculously weak, but those muscles clearly weren't from a gym; they looked like they were built through real combat. His eyes and expression were also incredibly calm.
Just by looking, he seemed like one of the top two strongest guys in that group……. I really have the worst luck.
The sparring match before his turn had ended, and after the instructor's summary of key points and the team members' discussion, Jeong Tae-ui's name was finally called. He stood up with a face that looked like he'd bitten into a bug.
"Win and come back!"
"Smash him into pieces!"
“We believe in you, master of cheap shots!"
None of the cheers pouring in from around him sounded pleasant. The slightly better one was "Win," but he had no confidence whatsoever in meeting that expectation.
While I lacked the confidence to win against someone like him, I take pride in being a good judge of people. He looked at the man standing before him and thought bitterly. I don’t stand a chance against that man.
In that case, there’s only one thing I can do.
"Getting hit as painlessly as possible."
Jeong Tae-ui muttered to himself, bracing himself. Soon, the instructor gave the starting signal, and he began to engage with the other man.
His opponent was someone who had formally and systematically learned various types of martial arts from the basics. Moreover, he was adaptable and skillful. It would be difficult to win against such a person by facing him head-on. Not just winning, but even holding my own would be tough. Evading was the best strategy.
But in this situation where even evasion wasn't really an option, all I could do was try to get hit with less pain.
If there was one fighting skill Jeong Tae-ui was better at than others, it was that: getting hit with less pain.
It was a survival technique mixed with his own brand of cunning, and it had actually been quite useful and he'd often used it effectively even in the military. There were several methods, but the most basic one that Jeong Tae-ui used easily was this. When the opponent swung a fist, I would move in close, right next to them, and then step back slightly at the moment of impact—a method that others might scoff at if they heard about it. However, when used well, there were few techniques as useful.
But even so…….
"It's not like it doesn't hurt, damn it."
Getting hit repeatedly, not just once or twice, naturally hurt. Even if he could get hit with less pain, it was just slightly less painful; it wasn't as if the pain was halved or reduced to the point where I barely felt it.
Amidst the exchanges of blows, Jeong Tae-ui would occasionally seize an opportunity to land a punch or kick on his opponent, all the while internally repeating, ‘This hurts like hell.’
However, the man fighting Jeong Tae-ui also seemed displeased with the somewhat strange feeling of his punches landing, his expression growing increasingly sour. Whenever he received even a light counter-attack or two, his complexion would worsen.
Judging by that look, if I take one solid hit now, I'll definitely be carried off to the infirmary.
It was then that Jeong Tae-ui thought this. The man finally threw a punch straight at him with a face full of frustration, and Jeong Tae-ui briefly considered just taking this one hit and collapsing. But the fist came much faster than his deliberation, hitting him squarely before he could even try to evade.
"Guh……."
Not even a proper scream escaped him. In the moment he was struck by that fist, Jung Tae-ui realized, So I really have been getting hit with less pain until now. It hurt so much it took my breath away, and it felt like my insides were about to spill out of my mouth. And on the other hand, I thought it was a good thing and promptly pretended to pass out.
I desperately wanted to end it like this, and in truth, I was in too much pain to stand properly.
As Jeong Tae-ui lay prostrate, looking like he was saying, "I surrender," his opponent seemed even more agitated. He had an expression that said he couldn't calm down because he hadn't had a satisfying bout and his opponent had already given up. Seeing that expression, Jeong Tae-ui managed a refreshing smile despite the pain.
You damn bastard, I've taken this much of a beating, how much more do you want?
Whether that meaning got across or not, fury blazed even brighter on the man's face, but the instructor had already called for a stop. The man reluctantly stepped back, letting out a frustrated breath.
Lying there, Jeong Tae-ui hoped one of his comrades would come and carry him out, but all he got in return were cold words telling him not to exaggerate and to quickly clear the spot for Yeon-ho.
Tch, some ungrateful bunch of teammates. Jeong Tae-ui grumbled as he slowly got up and moved aside.
Behind him, Tou, who was the last to go, was beaten mercilessly, just like most of the others, but he also delivered some merciless blows in return. It took quite a long time for him to finish his match and be dragged out, and by then, it was already past regular work hours.
The actual fighting time for each person wasn't that long, but the time the instructor spent pointing out key aspects and the team members spent discussing each fight was several times longer. So, even though there were only about seven or eight sparring matches, the time dragged on considerably.
They had been fiercely cursing and jeering at the opposing side, but as they neared the end of their day, fatigue was evident on their faces. It was tiring enough just to watch and analyze, but having to go in and fight themselves once in a while must have been exhausting.
Jeong Tae-ui felt the same way. The moment the instructor announced the end of the day and left the sparring room, he collapsed face down on a desk. Next to him, his teammates were already starting another argument, displaying the same behavior they had in the cafeteria at lunchtime. But Jeong Tae-ui had neither the energy nor the inclination to stop them, then or now.
After bickering loudly for a while, Tou, gulping down water, noticed Jeong Tae-ui and approached him.
"You took quite a beating earlier, so didn’t that drain all your energy? Go back to your room and get some sleep."
"You're the one who looked like you were covered in blood from head to toe, but now you look perfectly fine."
"What do you expect when those bastards could make a stone Buddha lying down jump up!"
Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth. Here, that seemed like the wisest way to protect myself.
Following the same pattern as lunchtime, their voices were gradually rising as they argued. It was only because their entire bodies were exhausted from the day's work that they weren't already grabbing each other by the collar and rolling around on the bloodied floor.
Jeong Tae-ui staggered to his feet. He walked around the back of the sparring hall, where curses and insults were flying, towards the door. Yeon-ho, who was still wiping the blood that was slowly trickling down his forehead, asked Jeong Tae-ui where he was going.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at him with a tired face, then replied in an even more weary voice.
"I'm on my way to receive my punishment for violating the rule ― the personal possession of weapons within the branch is prohibited."
"What? Wasn't getting called into the instructor's office the end of it?"
"He didn’t let me off that easy……. He wants me to make ten hand-written copies of the United Nations Human Resources Development Organization's disciplinary code."
"Personally tran……. …….Shall I help you?"
"If the handwriting is different, he said he'll make me do another ten volumes, and the person who helped will also have to do ten volumes separately."
"Hmm……. Well, good luck. My heart is with you, cheering you on."
With Yeon-ho's pitying gaze on his back, Jeong Tae-ui waved his hand lightly and left the sparring hall.
I desperately wanted to go straight back to my room and collapse on my bed, but my uncle had kindly specified the deadline for submitting the ten transcribed volumes along with the punishment: the morning after three days. All my break time would have to be forfeited.
Finding the United Nations Human Resources Development Organization's rule book wasn't difficult. There was no need to wander through the numerous bookshelves in the library searching for a classification number; the books related to UNHRDO had their own separate shelf right next to the door.
Jeong Tae-ui sighed as he pulled out a booklet about the size of a notebook. Both its size and thickness were just like a notebook. It wasn't too thick to transcribe. However, the moment he opened the booklet and saw the densely packed, tiny letters inside, he couldn't help but sigh again.
The morning after three days. I should probably be grateful that he at least had time to sleep. Lunchtime, break time, any spare moment I had, I would have to be glued to it, but still, it seemed like I could finish it while still getting some sleep.
Jeong Tae-ui fanned himself with the booklet as he turned to walk towards the loan desk. But just as he was about to turn, a phrase written on the side of the bookshelf caught his eye.
'Loans are not permitted.'
"What the heck?"
Jeong Tae-ui abruptly stopped fanning himself with the book in his hand and muttered in astonishment. If it couldn't be borrowed, where was he supposed to get it to transcribe? Where would they even keep such a useless booklet?
However, no matter how many times he held it up to the barcode reader of the automated loan system, the booklet, true to its label, wouldn't register for borrowing. He briefly considered just grabbing it and running out, but then the recognition system by the door would surely go off, and the alarm would blare throughout the entire floor.
"Oh. Books related to the organization can't be borrowed externally. That's internal material. If you want to see it, you have to read it inside the library. Or you can borrow it with the warden's permission."
The man waiting in line behind Jeong Tae-ui had been peering over his shoulder, wondering what was taking him so long, and kindly informed him when he saw the book. Oh, thanks, Jeong Tae-ui said, stepping aside, still holding the book in his hand, utterly lost.
Internal material that can only be borrowed with the warden's permission. There was no way my uncle wouldn't know that when he told me to write this. The point was to hole up in the library whenever I had free time and just copy the book.
"……."
Sighing and fanning himself with the book, Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and turned around. Well, then I'd just have to bring a blank notebook and copy it here. When I thought about it, while I was stuck here transcribing, I wouldn't be bumping into those other guys, so maybe there would be fewer chances of getting into trouble, which might be a good thing.
Jellng Tae-ui gathered his writing materials and sat down at a desk in a corner of the library, opening the book. I wanted to grab anyone and ask for help, but my uncle's words about having to rewrite ten volumes if the handwriting was different were no joke.
Then, what if I copied one volume and then cleverly made copies and slightly altered them...?
Jeong Tae-ui briefly considered this but soon shook his head. Forget it. If I got caught trying to be clever, I wouldn't escape a disaster. My uncle wasn't someone to be trifled with.
Jeong Tae-ui rolled up his sleeves and began transcribing. I briefly wondered if this wasn't something they did to punish elementary school students, but still, wasn't this mild enough? Recalling his uncle's strict addition, "Make sure to write the clause about 'prohibition of personal weapon possession' in neat and clear block letters," Jeong Tae-ui decided to consider it all his own fault for being foolish.
However, about two hours into the writing.
"I should have just let some stranger die. I should have just let some stranger die……."
Such words were escaping Jeong Tae-ui's lips.
What kind of self-proclaimed righteous person was I, snatching away someone else's hidden gun—even though it had no bullets, so I could have died for nothing—saving the life of a stranger? I had even risked my own life for fifteen days! I must have been crazy. Completely insane. It was all that bad influence from the military.
Jeong Tae-ui gritted his teeth as he moved his hand. His wrist and arm ached. I thought about going to the infirmary and getting a pain patch, but considering the sparring match that afternoon, I doubted if there would even be any patches left for me.
But when he thought about it, Jeong Tae-ui and his team were relatively better off.
Before Jeong Tae-ui finished his work and came to the library, he had stopped by the infirmary hoping to get a pain patch or ointment for his bruised ribs, which ached from a hard elbow strike. He had asked an administrative officer, who looked like he had been swamped in the infirmary all afternoon, for some ointment. While the administrative officer was looking for it, Jeong Tae-ui casually looked around the infirmary and found several living corpses lying on the beds.
'Ugh, what is this…….'
On the bed right next to Jeong Tae-ui, there was even a lump of flesh that couldn't be called human. Splints were applied to all four limbs, and bandages were wrapped tightly around the torso, yet every bit of visible skin was covered in scabs. The face was so mangled and broken that it was gruesome to look at. Jeong Tae-ui had even cautiously placed his hand underneath to check if he was still breathing.
‘Here's the ointment. Ah—don't touch him, don't touch him. That guy is the unluckiest bastard who's come through here.’
The administrative officer, the medic, handed Jeong Tae-ui the tube of ointment and waved his hand when he saw Jeong Tae-ui looking at the patient. Jeong Tae-ui nodded as he accepted the ointment.
'Hmm. He does look terribly injured……, but how on earth do you end up like that fighting? Who fought this guy? Is it that one lying over there?'
Pointing to the next most gruesome-looking body after that patient, he asked, but the administrative officer shook his head.
'That guy's not here. He's probably out somewhere having fun right now, completely unharmed.'
'What? No way, the opponent is this messed up and he's fine—what kind of guy—'
Jepng Tae-ui trailed off, dumbfounded, then suddenly shut his mouth. A certain person had flashed into his mind. And administrative officer, as if he could guess who Jeong Tae-ui was thinking of, nodded silently.
'Yeah, that guy.'
'…….'
Suddenly, the patient's case didn't seem so ordinary. If things had gone just a little differently, it could have been me lying here in this state.
Jeong Tae-ui looked down at him with a horrified expression and opened the tube of ointment he had received from the administrative officer. The familiar scent that wafted out the moment he opened it made him frown and look back.
'What is this.…… Tiger Balm?!'
'Hmm. Haven't you seen it before? They sell it everywhere. It's quite useful, so you should buy some when you go to Hong Kong after training. Quite a few team members buy it and keep it stocked in their rooms. There are so many injuries, after all.'
My maternal grandmother had applied it to me a few times when I was very young, but I still remembered this nostalgic ointment because of its unique smell. Jeong Tae-ui stared at it somewhat bewildered. He had expected some more professional bruise ointment since this was the infirmary.
As if he had quickly read Jeong Tae-ui's expression, the administrative officer said seriously.
"Hey, don't look down on this. Look at the instructions here. Muscle pain, sprains, insect bites, even headaches! It says you can use it for all sorts of things."
"No way, ointment for a headache…….? Are you supposed to rub it on your head? Or eat it?!"
"Anyway, it clearly says so in the instructions, look."
It was true. The English instructions definitely listed headaches as one of its uses.
"Wow……, looking at this is giving me a headache……."
Jeong Tae-ui muttered, wondering where on his head he was supposed to apply the ointment. Even as he did so, more injured people were flooding into the infirmary, and the administrative officer, looking swamped, dolloped a generous amount of the ointment onto Jeong Tae-ui's side, roughly rubbed it in, and then pushed him out, telling him not to come back for such minor injuries.
Having been kicked out of the infirmary, Jeong Tae-ui had come to the library after confirming that no one among the crowd in the infirmary was in worse shape than the half-corpse lying on the bed.
"……."
Even as he copied the book, the scent of Tiger Balm wafted gently from his side, hidden beneath his clothes. In fact, as he moved his pen like this, it felt like he should just slather the ointment all over his entire arm, starting from his wrist, but the thought of how pungent the smell would become made him sigh.
"I should have just run away with hyung before Uncle came. I should have just bolted before Uncle came……."
The mantra escaping his lips had changed. In this situation, there were more than one or two things to regret, so the most fundamental regret had surfaced.
There were countless other regrets stemming from that fundamental one, but the regret that currently weighed most heavily on his mind was the one that had freshly sprung up after seeing that living corpse.
I shouldn't have even brushed past that lunatic. I should have stayed out of sight, hidden away.
Since things have turned out this way, the best course of action is to stay as inconspicuous as possible and, during the unavoidable joint training, to blend in with the other colleagues.
Jeong Tae-ui sighed, pushing aside the one volume he had barely finished copying and stretched his body.
There was no one in the library. It was usually a quiet place, but today, being the first day of joint training, everyone was too busy to read, so the library was almost empty. Only occasionally would one or two people come in, pick out the book they needed, and leave immediately.
Jeong Tae-ui patted his stiff shoulders and tilted his head from side to side. Only one volume was done yesterday. How would I ever finish the remaining nine? Even as he sighed, he had no choice but to open a new notebook and write down the first line.
Regulations of the United Nations Human Resources Development Agency Article 1 Organizational Structure of the Agency…….
"You're working hard. Judging by your notes, I’m guessing you have nine more to write?"
It was then that a slow whisper reached him from over his shoulder.
Scribble. The pen slipped. Jeong Tae-ui glared at the crooked line drawn over the perfectly written letters and cursed under his breath. Damn it.
His back was exposed. This was fatal. Even if a knife were plunged into my jugular vein right now, there would be no way to avoid it. Especially since I hadn't even realized someone had come right up behind me.
Jeong Tae-ui, who had momentarily flinched in tension, slowly relaxed his shoulders. This was a situation where I had no choice but to surrender completely. The moment I try to move, a knife will be lodged in his back.
Yeah, kill me if you want……….
Jeong Tae-ui continued writing next to the wrongly drawn line, speaking in an expressionless tone.
"There probably aren't any books worth reading here.”
Come to think of it, despite the gruesome rumors surrounding this man that were hard to even imagine, he had a rather peculiar taste when it came to books. Jeong Tae-ui doubted if there would be any book in this library that would suit his fancy.
"Yeah. The books in your room seem like they'd be more interesting."
However, even as he said that, the man seemed to have found a book to his liking, as he sat down a couple of shelves away from Jeong Tae-ui with a book in his hand.
Jeong Tae-ui stared at him with bewildered eyes at his unexpectedly compliant retreat. Of course, I hadn't wished for a violent confrontation, but I had certainly thought that there would be trouble the next time I met this man.
The man, Riegrow, looked exactly the same as he had in the morning. Just like he had looked last night. The only thing that had changed was his attire; his calm and relaxed movements, his flawlessly pale face, and the expression that showed no signs of fatigue were all the same.
He didn't seem to pay any attention to Jeong Tae-ui, as if he had never spoken to him, and sat down to open his book. Then, he silently turned the pages. The gaze behind his glasses was fixed steadily on the book.
Did this guy perhaps forget……. that I pointed a gun at him this morning?
As Jeong Tae-ui stared at him with a suspicious look, Riegrow, who was turning the pages of his book, seemed to sense his gaze and looked up. Their eyes met. Riegrow, who had been calmly meeting the gaze of Jeong Tae-ui, who hadn't even thought of looking away and was staring blankly, paused for a moment as if thinking about something, and then closed his book.
"Why? Do you need help?"
With that, as if readily offering his assistance, he gestured for the remaining notebooks and pen.
"I guess this is your punishment for violating weapon possession. It’s not too bad. It seems Instructor Jeong went easy on you because you're his nephew."
Jeong Tae-ui frowned at the nonchalant way he spoke without even a hint of a smile.
"You seem to want to say that I'm receiving special treatment. If that's the case, then I have a question for you. If I'm getting off easy because I'm the instructor's nephew, then who are you and what's your connection that allows you to go around perfectly fine without any sanctions after beating someone to a pulp?"
Then, he laughed and waved his hand dismissively.
"There's no need to get so defensive. I simply thought that Instructor Jeong dotes on his nephew quite a bit. I'm not displeased even if you received no punishment at all. Don't get angry, I'm just stating the obvious."
"......Have rumors of my uncle and I being related spread throughout the European branch too?"
"News of the rare brave soul who pointed a gun at my neck reached my ears before the long hand of the clock could even make a full rotation. You’re the messenger of Justice, who was dragged to the Asian branch by his uncle less than a month ago Jeong Tae-ui-ssi."
So he didn't forget after all. But why is this lunatic being so quiet?
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head and stared at him silently. He raised his eyebrows as if finding Jeong Tae-ui amusing.
"Why that face? Shouldn't I be the one glaring?"
"......"
"Or did you think that the moment I saw you, I would immediately sink my teeth into the back of your neck?"
"Yes."
At Riegrow's question, Jeong Tae-ui frowned unhappily and replied. Riegrow laughed.
"Maybe so, but I don't feel the urge to do that right now. Let's wait a little longer."
Having said that, he opened his book again. And as if wanting not to be disturbed any further, he kept his eyes on the book and didn't look up again.
Jeong Tae-ui stared at him for a moment before turning his gaze away and starting to move his pen again. While mechanically moving the pen, he slowly pondered the words the man had spoken. The words he pondered the longest were the very last ones.
I don't feel the urge to do it right now. Let's wait a little longer. And the interpretation of those words came to me quickly, even before I could repeat them a few times. It meant that he simply didn't feel like doing it at this moment, but he was ready to sink his teeth into the back of my neck whenever the mood struck him. That could be in the next minute, or it could be on the day the joint training ends.
It would be better to just act now. What's the difference between this and being told to keep his nerves on edge for the next two weeks?
Suddenly, a surge of anger welled up inside him, and he gripped the pen tightly. Scratch, the notebook tore, leaving a hole.
Suddenly, the obnoxious Lieutenant Kim came to mind. That guy was the same. When the news that Jeong Tae-ui was involved in a stabbing incident at a gay bar reached the school, Lieutenant Kim was the first to overhear it. At that time, that guy looked at Jeong Tae-ui with a sneering laugh and muttered audibly, "Well, there's no need for rumors to spread right away," or something like that.
Are all unlucky bastards similar in that way? No, but Lieutenant Kim was just unlucky, not dangerous like that guy. Looking at it that way, Lieutenant Kim was better. Though they were both equally annoying.
Driven by his surging resentment, Jeong Tae-ui's speed picked up, and before he knew it, he had finished copying the second volume and was pulling a new notebook towards him. He wrote down the first line again. Regulations of the United Nations Human Resources Development Agency Article 1 Organizational Structure of the Agency, blah blah blah.
The advantage and disadvantage of such simple work was that while my hand kept moving, other thoughts didn't leave my head. Perhaps because I was facing an immediate threat to my life, only the dark fortnight ahead filled my mind.
"Nothing's really changed. Anyway, I'll just hide myself well out of sight, and when it's unavoidable, I'll stick close to my colleagues, and then somehow I'll manage to save my life……."
Even if he was called petty and cowardly, if his safety was guaranteed, Jeong Tae-ui was prepared to follow the instructors around for the entire fortnight. Surely they wouldn't commit murder in front of an instructor.
Muttering to himself as he moved his pen, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly felt a gaze and looked up.
There was no way he could have heard the very small mutterings I made only to myself, but Riegrow had been watching Jeong Tae-ui with an amused expression since some point. When their eyes met, he smiled as if urging him to continue.
"......What happens if you kill someone in front of an instructor?"
Jeong Tae-ui paused his pen and asked, since their eyes had met anyway. His intentions might be obvious, but this wasn't the time to hide them. Riegrow chuckled deeply and pointed with his finger below Jeong Tae-ui's hand.
"Didn't you see while you were copying? It should be detailed in the punishment section there."
"There was punishment for killing a person, but the condition of 'in front of an instructor' wasn’t there."
Jeong Tae-ui muttered grumpily. In fact, the case of killing someone was also described very ambiguously. It was a matter of if it hangs on the ear, it's an earring; if it hangs on the nose, it's a nose ring,’ and the item explained over three pages could be summarized simply. It was 'different treatment depending on the situation.'
Riegrow seemed to think for a moment, then tilted his head and replied, "Well."
"I don't know because I've never killed anyone in front of an instructor. However, when I killed an instructor, they put me in the detention center for eight months."
Scratch. The pen slipped again. Jeong Tae-ui glared at the line that had crossed out the line above it and shut his mouth.
Damn it. If he's the kind of guy who kills instructors, pulling me out and killing me, who’s hiding among comrades wouldn't be a big deal. Suddenly, his shallow calculations were completely shattered.
"Incidentally, that was in self-defense too. Just like this morning."
Riegrow continued speaking. However, it would have been better not to add the last few words.
Jeong Tae-ui twirled the pen between his fingers. His mouth felt incredibly bitter. I briefly wondered if he had misunderstood the meaning of 'self-defense', but no matter how I thought about it, it seemed like the other man was the one who misunderstood.
"To add one more thing, the dictionary definition of self-defense refers to an unavoidable act of causing harm to an aggressor in order to prevent danger and unjust infringement upon oneself or another."
This man didn't misunderstand. Jeong Tae-ui felt that he was incredibly shameless for calling his own actions 'unavoidable'. The words that rose to his throat fluctuated, wondering whether or not to leave his mouth.
"Speaking of this morning's incident, don't you think your use of unavoidable force against the aggressor was a little excessive?"
Jeong Tae-ui couldn't hold back and blurted out. However, Riegrow shook his head.
"You heard him too, didn't you? The words telling me to shoot. If I had let that guy go carelessly, he would have aimed to strike me from behind until the end. Considering the future threat, it was an unavoidable choice for me too. Besides, that guy is alive and well, isn't he? Although he's probably stuck in the detention center by now."
"I see, so is that why you killed that instructor too?"
When Jeong Tae-ui asked, Riegrow let out a low laugh. Then, after a subtly awkward silence as if he was a little troubled, he spoke briefly.
"Well, sort of. I actually nearly died back then. Even I wouldn't have killed an instructor if it hadn’t been for that. Do you know how much I regret killing him?"
Looking intently at him as he spoke with a seemingly regretful expression, Jeong Tae-ui wanted to say "my mouth is dry," which had reached his throat again, but he swallowed the words.
In any case, this means that if he has a good reason, this man could calmly kill someone, even an instructor—and probably even a vice-director or a director. If so, using a human shield to escape this man's sight would be impossible.
In conclusion, hiding unconditionally is my best option. I didn't know if that was even possible.
"What's wrong with my life these days? It’s like I’m cursed with bad luck."
Jeong Tae-ui muttered, throwing his pen onto the notebook. I wasn't exactly a person who was particularly lucky to begin with, but it had gotten a bit worse since I came here. What the hell?
"They say Jeong Jae-ui is one of the incredibly lucky men on earth, isn’t that the case for you?"
Riegrow suddenly asked when Jeong Tae-ui muttered. Jeong Tae-ui just looked at him. He wanted to grumble about how fast news traveled, but then he realized it was a fact that everyone in this branch knew anyway.
"Just because we're brothers doesn't mean we have the same fortune. I'm just average. It feels like I'm above average right now."
"Aha……."
Riegrow just said that and smiled subtly. But he didn't say anything else.
I thought of my Hyung, whom I hadn’t had seen for a while. In a case like this, if it were Hyung- though he wouldn't have ended up in such a situation in the first place - this man would probably suddenly leave this island due to an unfortunate accident, or unexpectedly be bitten by a dozen venomous snakes that had sneaked in and died.
Jeong Tae-ui pointed at Riegrow with a very serious face and muttered.
"You should be glad that I'm not my brother. Otherwise, your future would be looking pretty bleak right now."
Then Riegrow burst into laughter. I wondered if he would understand, but it seemed this man had understood my words properly this time too.
"Yes, I’m grateful for that. In that sense, I won't do anything to you today, so stop being so tense and relax, don't be so on edge."
"It would be nice if you could do that for the entire two weeks while you’re at it."
"We’ll see……. I'm not very good at controlling my emotions either, so I can't make promises I'm not sure I’ll keep."
It sounded like he was determined to see things through before the 2 weeks were up, one way or another. Looking at those calm eyes, Jeong Tae-ui knew it wasn't just a feeling.
Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue bitterly, picked up his pen again. At any rate, reducing the time he spent encountering this man was probably the most passive resistance he could offer.
Suddenly, Jeong Tae-ui stopped his pen. Then he casually asked Riegrow, who was turning his gaze back to his book,
"Earlier, you said you'd help with this."
Riegrow raised an eyebrow slightly. He looked at the piled-up notebooks and pens that Jeong Tae-ui had, then said, "Aah," and shrugged. It seemed he found it a little unexpected that Jeong Tae-ui would bring that up.
"If you ask me to help, I will. Copying isn't difficult, and, ……well, Instructor Jeong would notice if there’s a different handwriting right away, though."
It seemed he had offered to help knowing everything. The point was, it wasn't just empty words.
Jeong Tae-ui smiled broadly and held out an empty notebook and pen.
"It's okay, it's okay. I just need to write up the required number of volumes. I'm not asking for much, just write one copy for me."
"Hmm……. Well, alright."
Riegrow readily accepted the writing tools. Soon, the scratching sound of a pen flowed as smoothly as water.
Jeong Tae-ui recalled his uncle's words, who had said, "Anyone who helps you will also have ten copies," and pushed aside the thought of the increasing number of copies he would have to face. Everyone has a person they want to see suffer, even if they themselves have to suffer in the process.
Let's see you suffer too. And let's try to reduce the chances of running into each other.
***
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Tâmago
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