PASSION Chapter 3 part 6

Indeed, Jeong Tae-ui finally understood the actions of his colleagues who had been making a fuss about conserving energy and building up their strength in preparation for the joint training since he first arrived on this island.

To say that a day felt like a thousand years might be a slight exaggeration, but he was easily ten to twenty times more tired than during normal training.

When training with colleagues from the same branch, I could at least fundamentally engrave in my heart the thought that the opponent wasn't genuinely trying to harm me when sparring. However, now, even the slightest spar requires me to be intensely alert and tense. There were too many jerks from the European branch whose intention to break a limb of an opponent from another branch under the excuse of a sparring mistake was clearly written on their foreheads.

Even during breaks, I couldn't relax. Since they shared the same resting space, I constantly had to be on edge, wondering if a rock would fly at me from anywhere, or if someone might even shoot an air rifle if I was unlucky.

The only time I could truly relax was after finishing the regular daily schedule and returning to my room, after entering the room and locking the door. Even then, if I left the room to go to the bathroom or shower, I had to either skillfully avoid or confront the ever-present sparks of conflict scattered everywhere until I returned to my room.

Jeong Tae-ui, who was so bothered by this that he even stopped by the bathroom on his way back to his room immediately after finishing the regular schedule, collapsed onto the bed as soon as he entered the room. Even after returning to his room, I couldn't feel completely at ease. This was because I had to fully receive Maurer's resentful gaze.

Alright, I was wrong, I was wrong. That damn Colt, I'll clean out my bank account and buy you a hundred of them later…….

Jeong Tae-ui, sprawled on the bed, mumbled to himself. Even speaking out loud felt exhausting.

Maurer was still absorbed in his puzzle, casting a cold gaze, and considering that Tou hadn't returned from the bathroom for quite some time, it seemed he was either getting involved in a fight somewhere or creating one himself. His stamina, which allowed him to constantly start small and large disputes every single day without getting tired, was truly admirable.

"Hey, someone paged you."

Jeong Tae-ui, who was lying face down on the bed, half asleep, heard Maurer's grumpy voice informing him. Jeong Tae-ui just groggily lifted his head, glanced at the pager he'd thrown on the desk, and buried his face back in the pillow. Even checking it was too much of a bother. However, a moment later, Maurer's voice was heard again.

"Hey, it came again."

"……Where's it from?"

What kind of guy pages me when I'm dead tired, Jeong Tae-ui mumbled, grumbling with a pained voice. Maurer picked up the pager and checked the number. Then he said indifferently.

"It's number 114."

"114……. Why would the phone number directory service be looking for me…….?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? There’s a message for you too. Check it."

Maurer tossed the pager. The small device landed precisely next to Jeong Tae-ui's pillow. Lying face down, Jeong Tae-ui half-opened his eyes and glanced at the pager. Seeing the indicator light blinking below the screen, it seemed a message had indeed arrived, just as he said.

Checking or anything else is a pain. It's probably just some notification about submitting something, or a period of caution, or some other such guidance.

114, if it's 114, where the hell is that? Room 14 on the first basement floor? What was there? Ah, there were the instructors' rooms. And the administrative officers. If it's 14, among the administrative officers, it’s the lowest…….

Jeong Tae-ui's eyes snapped open, and he shot up. As the person who had been lying like a dead body suddenly sprang up, Maurer, who had been burying his nose in a magazine a little distance away, was startled and looked back at him repeatedly.

"If it's the lowest ranking of Administrative officers, that's Xinlu." 

"Huh? T-that’s right. Why suddenly?" 

Maurer asked, rubbing his chest. His face looked as if Jeong Tae-ui was suddenly talking in his sleep.

Jeong Tae-ui didn't bother to answer and quickly checked the message.

As expected, the person who paged me was Xinlu. The message content was nothing special; it simply told me to take care of my health. Although Jeong Tae-ui's face was full of weariness even from that trivial message, his expression darkened the moment he checked the second message.

'See you on the weekend, then. Have a good night.' Weekend. That word made him remember. Come to think of it, I still hadn't told Xinlu that I couldn't meet him on the weekend. I hadn't had a chance to go to the office, nor had I accidentally run into Xinlu.

"I should tell him……, that I can't go……." 

Jeong Tae-ui muttered gloomily. He then stared blankly at the pager placed by the head of his bed. I could only hold onto a sliver of hope that maybe some huge situation would arise and the weekend training would be canceled, giving everyone free time, but if such a situation occurred, neither Xinlu nor I would be able to comfortably go for a walk anyway.

"...Ugh." 

Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and suddenly got up. Maurer, who was clutching his puzzle magazine, looked at Jeong Tae-ui with a strange expression.

"I'm going to go see Xinlu for a bit."

Jeong Tae-ui briefly said, putting the pager in his pocket and heading towards the door. I could have called, but I feel like it was better to say something like this directly, face-to-face.

"Xinlu? He won't be in the office now since it's past hours, will he?"

"Then I'll just go to his room. What's the problem?"

"During the joint training period, the first basement floor is off-limits to team members. Meeting instructors personally is prohibited. Xinlu's room is on the first basement floor too, you know." 

Maurer's muttering, as if Jeong Tae-ui were saying something foolish, hit the back of Jeong Tae-ui's head. Jeong Tae-ui paused, then his eyes widened, and he turned back to look at Maurer. Maurer frowned, as if asking, Didn't you know?

No, it’s not that I didn’t know. But I forgot about it.

That's right. Seeing Xinlu privately would be difficult without contacting him beforehand.

Jeong Tae-ui hesitated for a moment. But since I had already decided I needed to go see him, now I want to see him more. ……Yeah, I definitely had to go see him. There was no benefit in delaying it and suddenly breaking the promise for our plans for the weekend.

Jeong Tae-ui gave Maurer a light wave and left the room as he was. Maurer shouted, 'Huh, hey!' but he pretended not to hear.

The moment he stepped out the door, the biting air prickly against his skin again, but there wasn't any major problem. I had no intention of provoking anyone first, nor did I intend to respond to sarcastic remarks thrown his way. No one bothered to grab and stop Jeong Tae-ui, who just passed by without reacting even when they subtly tried to pick a fight. He could hear words like 'Tch, coward', but if I could avoid unnecessary fights, I would listen to such back talk a hundred, no, a thousand times over.

His feet habitually stopped in front of the elevator, but feeling that leaving a trace indicating he was going to the first basement floor wasn't good, he turned his steps towards the stairs.

Since he went up and down so often, he could now climb six or seven floors by stairs without a problem, but the steps on these stairs were quite high. They were arranged in a long line, seemingly twice the height of normal stairs. Naturally, the height between floors was considerable, and the ceiling was seen far above.

When I asked why the building design was like this, my uncle just smiled and calmly said, 'To make you exercise.'

"Even without this kind of exercise, everyday life is training, Uncle." 

Jeong Tae-ui grumbled to his uncle, who couldn't hear him. Whenever there was something to grumble about, I would just vent to my uncle, whether I was listening or not. It helped me feel a bit more stable.

Upon reaching the first basement floor, he saw an unfamiliar sign attached to the iron door: 'Entry Prohibited Except for Residents.'

This meant that people who didn't live on this floor—in other words, members—should not come here.

Jeong Tae-ui pretended not to see the sign and opened the door and entered. I half expected the door to be locked or for someone to point a gun at me the moment I opened it and growl, 'I told you entry is prohibited,' but that didn't happen.

Standing in the first basement hallway, Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head at the laxness, which was no different from usual in restricting entry despite the sign being posted. Did it mean they were relying on the members' conscience? This wasn't a school; they should rely on something more reliable.

Since there were originally very few people staying on the first basement floor, I rarely ran into anyone even when freely moving around. Jeong Tae-ui paused his steps, which he was taking leisurely. Come to think of it, there were surveillance cameras scattered everywhere on this floor—and throughout the entire building, not just this floor.

"…….Does this mean they'll find me later and scold me if I get caught on camera?" 

Jeong Tae-ui let out a sigh.

But I wondered if that really mattered, as I had a rough idea of where the surveillance cameras were located. Since I knew, other members probably did too. I could walk the path by only stepping through the camera blind spots.

However, thinking again, I realized that no matter what, when entering an instructor's room, I would inevitably step out of a blind spot. Naturally, I would be caught on camera. Furthermore, there might be cameras I didn't know about.

Jeong Tae-ui fell into thought for a moment. Should I just go back? Anyway, I could just page him.

However, while his mind knew that was the wiser option, his feet were already walking down the hallway. Ah, whatever. I almost wished I would get caught and thrown into solitary confinement. After all, it was just a prison; how much worse could the facilities be?

Jeong Tae-ui headed towards Xinlu's room. I hadn't gotten lost again since the first time I wandered here. It was fortunate that I at least had a sense of direction and didn't forget a path I had taken once.

Xinlu's room wasn't too far from the stairwell. It was a quick walk straight down the hallway and just one turn. On the way, he wondered what excuse he would make if he happened to run into someone, but that didn't happen.

Tap tap, he knocked on the door with his fingertips. He waited for a moment, but there was no answer. Thinking that the sound was too quiet to be heard, or perhaps he wasn't in the room, he knocked a little harder.

"If he's not in the room, I'll just be caught on the surveillance camera with no result. This is a failure……" 

Jeong Tae-ui muttered to himself, clicking his tongue. Even if I was going to meet him directly to tell him, maybe I should have called first.

However, dispelling Jeong Tae-ui's worries, the door opened a moment later. Xinlu, who was sticking his head out through the door, opened just a couple of hand-spans, asking Who is it?, and seemed surprised to see Jeong Tae-ui.

"Tay hyung. What brings you here? You shouldn't be here right now…… Please, come in for now."

Xinlu glanced around and pulled Jeong Tae-ui into the room. Only then did I wonder if my visit might cause trouble for Xinlu, but it was too late to regret it. Besides, now that I was here, there was no point in thinking about it.

More than anything, it was my first time in Xinlu's room.

A person's room wasn't all that special, but Jeong Tae-ui looked around the room with a curious expression. It was a clean and simple room. It wasn't cluttered with unnecessary items, but it also wasn't too bare.

"Wouldn't it be troublesome for hyung if someone else saw you? What brings you here so suddenly?" 

Xinlu asked with concern, bringing out two cans of beer. Seeing the beer in his hands, Jeong Tae-ui was momentarily surprised, but thinking about it, Xinlu, no matter how lovable he was, was already an adult. He was old enough to drink beer without it being strange. It was more unusual to find it surprising.

Jeong Tae-ui accepted the beer and thanked him, then hesitated for a moment. Since it was a room he stayed in alone, there was no need for a guest sofa, so Jeong Tae-ui sat on the bed. Xinlu pulled up a desk chair and sat in front of him, quietly waiting for Jeong Tae-ui to speak.

"Um, about the weekend……."

"Ah, yes. I checked the weather forecast, and they said it would be clear on the weekend." 

Xinlu smiled widely when Jeong Tae-ui brought up the topic. Jeong Tae-ui inwardly clutched his chest, saying, "Ugh." Hearing him say that, when I had come to cancel the plans, made me feel incredibly awkward. Normally, I would have been overjoyed, but now I just felt extremely uneasy.

"Uh……." 

As Jeong Tae-ui fumbled with his words and his expression clouded over, Xinlu seemed to notice the change in his demeanor. He tilted his head and just watched Jeong Tae-ui silently.

“Well, they said there's training this weekend too that I didn’t know about. It seems…… I can't get out of it.”

He said, "So...," and then hesitated, unable to finish his sentence. To his surprise, Xinlu nodded as if it was nothing, and said.

 "Ah, I see. I thought something was strange. It seemed like both last time and the time before that, during joint training, it always lasts for a full fifteen days without a break, and I wondered if this time would be different."

Xinlu nodded as he spoke, then suddenly his smiling mouth turned into a slight frown, as if disappointed.

"I was hoping we could take a leisurely walk together, hyung…… It's a shame."

"Uh, sorry……." 

Jeong Tae-ui bowed his head and apologized.

I felt a little relieved, though. Right, he already knew. Come to think of it, it was natural that Xinlu, who had been here longer than me, would already know. It seemed I had worried unnecessarily on my own.

However, since he had broken the promise, Jeong Tae-ui looked at Xinlu apologetically. Xinlu, who had a look of disappointment, saw Jeong Tae-ui's expression, shook his head, and smiled again.

"No, it's alright. That's just how the training schedule is, you know. Still, once the training is over, we'll have that week off, so we can go for a walk then. It’s not like the beach is going anywhere."

"Unn. ……Let's go for a walk after joint training."

When Jeong Tae-ui said that, Xinlu nodded happily. Then, he replied with a hum of agreement.

“After training is over, we can leave the island on the weekend, so let’s go to Hong Kong together to have some fun. I have a few things I need to buy there anyway.”

“Ah, really. Then going together would be great. I also owe Tou some cigarettes.” 

Jeong Tae-ui readily agreed with a happy heart.

Having come to postpone the weekend's plans and ending up making two new ones – a walk and a trip to Hong Kong – I felt more than satisfied. While it was a shame that the anticipation for this weekend had dissolved into nothing, I had secured double the plans for the future.

“Still…… It’s a bit disappointing, though. I was looking forward to it.”

In front of Jeong Tae-ui, Xinlu's slightly bowed head and whispered voice could be heard. The moment he registered that sound, Jeong Tae-ui's face flushed red.

It was strange. Although Jeong Tae-ui knew that his rationality wasn't quite right when Xinlu was in front of him, he was actually quite used to dating – or rather, going through the motions of dating. How to entice someone with words and take them into my arms was something I had easily picked up after going to clubs a few times, without anyone even needing to teach me. Because of that, I considered dating or spending the night with someone to be not difficult at all.

Yet, I just couldn't easily reach out to this young man. Perhaps this is what people mean when they say, “Love makes you more careful.”

I found myself to be amusing, but I didn't dislike this feeling. Jeong Tae-ui smiled shyly, his face still flushed.

Just then, Xinlu tentatively reached out his hand. And his hand hovered over Jeong Tae-ui's fingertips, as if about to overlap. Small fingernails tickled the tips of Jeong Tae-ui's fingers. Xinlu's gaze, slightly watching for a reaction, drew closer.

Jeong Tae-ui almost burst into laughter. How childish yet adorable this seduction was. I had never received such a blatant yet cute seduction. At this point, I could just smile and smoothly take that hand in return. And with a light kiss on those fingertips and a smile, it will be a done deal.

However.

My hand simply wouldn't move. His flushed face just grew hotter and hotter.

Jeong Tae-ui looked at Xinlu. Those slender fingers that were lightly touching the tips of his fingers.

His mouth felt dry. His anxious mind whispered, Now, now is the time. It's okay now.

Jeong Tae-ui clenched his fist. And then, he impatiently reached out his hand. After a moment's hesitation, his hand grabbed Xinlu's shoulder.

I can't face him. It would probably look utterly ridiculous if I did. A man whose face was as red as a boiled octopus, looking completely flustered. For this moment, I wished Xinlu wouldn't look at me.

Jeong Tae-ui half-rose his body. And pulling the hand that was holding Xinlu's shoulder, he awkwardly brought his lips to Xinlu's face. Originally, I had intended to bravely kiss him on the lips. But I was too nervous and missed it. He ambiguously kissed a spot closer to the cheek than the lips.

But what was important in Jeong Tae-ui's mind at this moment was not where he had kissed. I kissed him for the first time. Xinlu's soft skin had touched my lips.

On the face he had brushed as lightly as a feather, he felt Xinlu's surprised gaze looking at him. Unable to meet that gaze, Jeong Tae-ui pulled back and wiped his bright red face with the back of his hand.

"……"

"……"

For a while, silence hung in the air. Jeong Tae-ui kept his head bowed, just fidgeting uselessly with his fingers. He stole a glance up and saw that Xinlu was the same. His fair cheeks were flushed, and his head was down.

Is it okay? He's not angry, is he? His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would explode.

Though Jeong Tae-ui didn't know what to do, a smile was almost about to break through his lips, so he pressed them together. But the corners of his mouth kept softening.

Jeong Tae-ui subtly raised a hand to cover his mouth. And when he cautiously looked at Xinlu, Xinlu had already raised his head and was looking at Jeong Tae-ui. When their eyes met – Jeong Tae-ui standing awkwardly with his mouth covered – Xinlu suddenly burst into laughter, his face bright red.

Hearing the quiet but cheerful, bead-like laughter, Jeong Tae-ui, who had been looking at Xinlu with a little bit of bewildered expression, eventually started laughing too.

His chest felt ticklish. That's why he laughed. Perhaps Xinlu felt a similar way.

After laughing for a while and the laughter subsided, an awkward and sheepish atmosphere settled between them again.

"Um, well then, I'll get going now. See you after training. ……Ah, thanks for the message. I read it."

"Ah, yes. ……Um, I'll walk you out."

As Jeong Tae-ui got up and showed signs of leaving, Xinlu also stood up and followed behind him. Jeong Tae-ui felt another smile bloom. He was simply adorable, following meekly behind like a puppy.

He told Xinlu there was no need to come out all the way to the door, but Xinlu shook his head and came out of the room anyway. They barely spoke as they walked down the hallway. There was nothing really to say, and more than anything, but his heart was full just from the warmth conveyed through their lightly clasped hands.

Holding hands and walking side-by-side, their faces flushed, the two of them silent – if Uncle saw this, he'd give us that look again. The one that says, "Look at you two having fun..."

But what does it matter? Let him look all he wants. We're already close enough to hold hands, you know.

Jeong Tae-ui glanced at the young man about half a span shorter than himself. A faint scent of soap still wafted from his soft hair. Thinking he wanted to bury his face in that hair, Jeong Tae-ui blushed again and smiled awkwardly.

That's when it happened.

They were nearing the stairs. It was a shame I couldn't ask him to go down to the sixth basement floor together, and I was regretting having to let go of his hand by the stairs.

Someone turned the corner from the wall in front of the stairs.

Fl-inch, he slightly tightened the fingers of their clasped hands. There was no benefit to anyone seeing them and realizing Jeong Tae-ui was on this floor. Although they might have been caught on CCTV, being seen directly by a person felt different.

Who could it be? It would be easier to make an excuse if it were one of the Administrative officers, he thought with a click of his tongue. The moment Jeong Tae-ui recognized who it was, he flinched and even stopped walking.

It was someone he hadn't expected to meet on this floor at all—or rather, someone he shouldn't have met here. Riegrow, that fearsome man.

The man also saw Jeong Tae-ui. Then his gaze slowly shifted to Xinlu beside him. And then moved downwards, to their joined hands.

His dark eyes, revealing nothing of his thoughts, narrowed slightly. It was a look that seemed as if he was interested, amused, or perhaps displeased, or even covetous.

The moment the last possibility crossed his mind, Jeong Tae-ui's face hardened. The conversation he'd had with Tou on the morning not long before he arrived here came back to him.

── There wasn't a single young, pretty boy he didn’t get his hands on.

A chill went down his spine. Jeong Tae-ui instinctively tightened his grip on the hand he was holding and stepped in front of Xinlu, blocking him. Xinlu fidgeted behind him, looking bewildered, but Jueog Tae-ui stood silently, shielding him.

Dangerous. That thought instinctively flashed through his mind.

It wasn't the same kind of danger I had felt before, danger related to life or survival. This was a danger of potentially losing something precious, a more urgent and anxious danger than perhaps even survival itself.

Riegrow gazed intently at Jeong Tae-ui. As if reflecting Jeong Tae-ui's inner thoughts entirely, an expression that was hard to tell if it was a smile or something else slowly bloomed on his lips.

"What's wrong……?"

He spoke quietly. His voice held a faint but clearly discernible amusement.

Jeong Tae-ui inwardly clicked his tongue. One should not show anything that could be a weakness to others. Especially not to a man this threatening and brutal. Yet, for a moment, I had completely exposed my own vulnerability.

"Xinlu. You should go back now."

Jeong Tae-ui said quietly over his shoulder. Xinlu seemed to hesitate for a moment. Xinlu's gaze briefly met Riegrow's. A cautious, examining look swept over Riegrow as if probing him.

"Hyung……"

"It's okay, go back inside. See you later."

Jeong Tae-ui gently patted Xinlu, who was clinging to his lapel and mumbling. Xinlu hesitated for a while longer, but then briefly bid Jeong Tae-ui farewell and turned back. As he headed back to his room, he looked back once, then twice. Xinlu's gaze landed on Riegrow. Riegrow also watched Xinlu with a subtle look.

Soon, the sound of a door closing came from behind Jeong Tae-ui, some distance away, and only then did Riegrow, who had been staring intently at Xinlu's retreating back over Jeong Tae-ui's shoulder, turn his gaze back to Jeong Tae-ui.

Jeong Tae-ui looked back at him uncomfortably.

I ran into someone I didn't want to meet, in a situation I didn't want to be in. Just my luck.

However, even after Xinlu disappeared, Jeong Tae-ui's unease didn't fade. This was because he had seen Riegrow's gaze continue over his shoulder. Until the moment Xinlu entered the room, Riegrow had been staring intently at him. With great interest, with narrowed eyes.

"What a pretty guy." 

Riegrow finally said. A hint of pleasant desire flickered in his voice. Jeong Tae-ui's expression hardened further. He looked directly at him and said stiffly.

"Why would you call a guy ‘pretty’?"

At Jeong Tae-ui's words, a look of amusement quickly spread across Riegrow's face. Laughter crinkled around his eyes.

"Ah-ha. A man, you say. Yes, of course. I personally don’t care about someone’s sex if they catch my eye, but it seems you do. That's unexpected──."

Trailing off meaningfully, Riegrow chuckled. Jeong Tae-ui's mouth felt bitter. His words had been overly clumsy. A man like this would have already noticed the moment he first saw them how Jeong Tae-ui felt about Xinlu. It might have been better to just affirm it rather than trying to deflect with such an awkward remark.

His chest felt uneasy. The subtle gaze this man directed at Xinlu kept catching in a corner of his chest and wouldn't disappear. The glass bead, which he thought had finally come into his hand, was shaking precariously.

Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue. It seemed there was no good reason to drag out the conversation. Besides, when I thought about it, the situation of confronting this man alone like this was not at all favorable to me.

"What are you even doing here? This floor should be off-limits."

Jeong Tae-ui said this, knowing he wasn't exactly in a position to ask so boldly, and looked in the direction the man had come from. That way was towards the instructors' rooms. The European branch's instructors who had escorted the European branch members were also staying on this floor, but their rooms were in a different direction.

Jeong Tae-ui suddenly tilted his head. Why would this man have a personal reason to meet an instructor from this side? Or perhaps he was exploring the branch building? However, I can’t seem to think of any particular reason either. The UNHRDO didn't have another organization it was specifically in conflict with, so there was no organization or group that would be likely to try and spy on them.

For a moment, I considered the Riegrow-spy(說) theory, but it’s not sharp conclusion.

Perhaps sensing what Jeong Tae-ui was thinking, Riegrow wore a faint smile. However, he didn't answer that question, instead giving an answer that was expected.

“I believe that doesn’t just apply to me alone. Why did you come here? --Though I can already see why you’re here without needing to ask."

Riegrow muttered slowly. Then, he suddenly tilted his head and let out a small laugh.

"But what were you doing with that pretty young man? His face was quite deliciously flushed."

At his low voice, Jeong Tae-ui's face hardened instantly. At the subtle tone in which he murmured, "What were you doing coming out?" the sensation of Xinlu's cheek against his lips came back to him. His face grew hot.

Jeong Tae-ui unconsciously raised his hand and wiped his face with the back of it once. But as soon as he did, he thought he had done something unnecessary. It only made his face hotter, and in front of him, Riegrow let out a low chuckle.

Jeong Tae-ui felt a surge of anger. There was no reason for him to be laughed at by others. Neither he nor Shinru.

"Whatever I was doing coming out, it's none of your business."

"Well, I wonder if that's true. I'm also curious, you see. What kind of reaction would that pretty young man show if I did this or that to him. How warm his breath would be, how adorable his crying sounds. Things like that── you know."

Riegrow drew out his words, whispering. Jeong Tae-ui glared at him coldly.

Damn it. I had a persistently uneasy feeling from earlier, a bad premonition, and this was it after all.

He became nervous. As anxiety set in, his mouth felt dry. If someone looked at Xinlu with covetous eyes, no one would feel good about it, but even more so with this man. Beyond just not feeling good, a profound unease washed over me. It was an overwhelming sense of crisis.

Furthermore, this lunatic, despite his twisted personality and preferences, was externally perfectly attractive. He had a body and face that were useful enough that a dozen people would immediately gather if he just snapped his finger.

Honestly, I had to admit what needed admitting. The only thing I was better at than that guy was his humanity.

Whether it was face-to-face, body-to-body, or strength-to-strength, there was nothing I could claim to be better at. The only reason I could confidently assert that I was ahead in humanity was not because I was exceptionally superior, but because that man was frightfully inferior.

“So what you're trying to say is, you like Xinlu?”

“Xinlu? Ahaha, so that young man's name is Xinlu, is it? Yes, he’s not bad. No, actually he's quite good, if it's him.”

Riegrow said. At the same time, he took a step towards Jeong Tae-ui. And then another step.

The moment he began to walk slowly with relaxed steps, Jeong Tae-ui frowned.

I had momentarily forgotten. The fact that there was nothing good about running into this man. No, rather, if I saw even the tip of his hair from a hundred miles away, I  should have quickly run away. The sensation of this man's neck touching the muzzle of the gun I held was still vivid.

He flinched, reflexively almost retreating, but Jeong Tae-ui soon changed his mind and stood his ground. If I thought about it, it was already too late to run away. Then, retreating pointlessly would only make me look ridiculous. Besides, surely he wouldn't go so far as to kill someone in a hallway like this…… though he probably would.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Jeong Tae-ui standing stiffly rooted to the spot, Riegrow shrugged and smiled. However, that smile was even more chilling. Walking slowly but without stopping, he was already only a few steps away from Jeong Tae-ui. Yet, he kept walking.

One step, two steps, one more step.

Jeong Tae-ui met his black eyes, which were fixed on him, head-on and tensed his entire body stiffly.

How far are you planning to come? I was already within arm's reach.

However, even so, Riegrow walked closer. One step, and then, finally, he stopped.

They were barely two or three hand-spans apart. From there, Riegrow was looking down at Jeong Tae-ui. His eyes were as cold as ice. Even though there was clearly a faint smile on the corners of his eyes and mouth, his gaze was as sharp as a blade.

This was a dangerous position. No, it was beyond dangerous. Jeong Tae-ui again blamed his own foolishness. In this position, if this man made a move, nine times out of ten I would be caught. I wouldn't even be able to attempt to escape with a shallow trick. I should have at least made him stop his feet a few steps back.

"That's strange……, where did all that nerve I saw the other day go, huh?"

Riegrow said quietly. It sounded like he was even humming a happy tune.

Jeong Tae-ui looked at him squarely. Eyes so chillingly frozen, he didn't seem human. I got goosebumps. I couldn't believe a man like this existed.

"Jeong Tae-ui."

The voice calling his name slowly. Its clear and precise pronunciation seemed to assert, 'I know you, precisely as much as this pronunciation.'

Riegrow's head tilted slightly. Gently, his hand came up. His hand, frozen and unmoving, seemed to touch the wrist of Jeong Tae-ui, who was silently looking at Riegrow, before slowly, as if stroking, crawling up. Past the elbow to the shoulder, the neck, the feel of the cold leather glove was smooth and soft like a snake. The dark navy gloves, almost black, were spotlessly clean without a trace of blood, yet he felt as if he could smell blood from somewhere.

That hand swept from his cheek to his ear, then through his hair. The touch was soft and gentle. Yet, that hand was one that could twist my neck at any moment.

The hand reached the back of Jeong Tae-ui's head. The broad palm covering his head slightly pulled Jeong Tae-ui towards himself. As if lightly embracing him. His shoulder drew close, right before Jeong Tae-ui's eyes.

A gentle, low voice whispered in his ear.

"Is he…… yours?"

Flinch, Jeong Tae-ui convulsed faintly, a movement that was hard to discern.

Riegrow was looking at Xinlu's room over Jeong Tae-ui's head. Or perhaps at Xinlu himself, who was just beyond the door. With slender, cruel eyes.

"It's not, is it?"

Riegrow found the answer himself, instead of the tongue-tied Jeong Tae-ui.

He laughed with delight. Stroking Jeong Tae-ui's head a couple of times, he willingly released his arm. Jeong Tae-ui, who had been practically held and trapped within his arm, ended up taking a step back. All I could do was glare fiercely at Riegrow.

"Don't glare like that. I'm not saying I'm going to completely take away something that’s yours. For me, tasting it sometimes when I want is enough."

He said, smiling. That languid voice spread through his chest, becoming a thick anxiety.

"Riegrow. Don't."

Jeong Tae-ui said stiffly. But he didn't answer. As if Jeong Tae-ui was no longer of any interest, he looked towards Xinlu's room once more, then turned and walked away.

"Riegrow!"

Jeong Tae-ui shouted. Riegrow, who was walking a few steps ahead, seemed to turn his head for a moment, but without stopping his steps or changing direction, he continued to move away, merely speaking as if amused.

“To properly claim what's yours, you need to have the qualifications for it. When you're thrown naked into hell, are you confident you can even manage to save your own life?”

He lightly waved his hand. And then, turning towards the stairs, he disappeared from view.

Jeong Tae-ui stood alone, stock-still, only glaring at the empty hallway where no one remained.

***

------

Credits:

Translator: Hoshi Miya

Editor/Proofreader: Tâmago

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