Passion (BL Novel)

That damn cluster should have been thrown into his uncle's room, not the ballroom. No, before that, he shouldn't have gone in and out of his uncle's room and answered those damned calls. No, before that, he shouldn't have followed me into this damn corner of the island.
The starting point was always that ominous sound of footsteps that morning. When you heard the doorbell ringing repeatedly and those footsteps, didn't you already know who that person was? But you were an idiot who opened the door and let your uncle into the house.

After a few months, when he returned home, he decided to stick by his brother's side no matter what happened. Then he wouldn't have had such bad luck.
Jeong Tae-ui was in the worst mood since the morning. His mood had been on a steep downward curve for the past few days, but this morning was the worst of the worst.
Rumors usually spread quickly in a neighborhood like this. With a hundred people trapped in a cramped island, there's no way rumors wouldn't spread quickly.

The rumor that Jung Tae-ui was the new instructor spread first. That was okay. Although the guys from other teams looked at him with disdain, wondering why he was the new instructor, and talked about his uncle's background, the guys from the same team burst into laughter and said, "You're the instructor? The king of deadly and cowardly means, a person with a unique way of talking that makes people look good, a person with below-average fighting ability but quick intuition that avoids complete defeat, Jung Tae-ui?" They laughed at him, but still encouraged him in their own way. In fact, the instructor position is not a huge title, and it's not like everyone is competing to become the instructor, so it didn't really mean much.
However, around that time, a second rumor spread. It was about the new instructor.
The unbelievable rumor that he was coming from the European branch spread first. As soon as the rumor spread, his colleagues immediately rushed to Jeong Tae-ui—even the guys from other teams he wasn’t even close with—and asked him, “Is the new instructor really that damned guy from the European branch?” Jeong Tae-ui couldn’t answer and kept pretending not to know. I’m just doing what my uncle tells me to do, I don’t even know what the instructors do, how could I, a mere member, know who the new instructor is? The level of lies gradually became more and more advanced. So everyone who tried to find out something from Jeong Tae-ui returned empty-handed. Up until then, he was at least a nobleman.

The last rumor eventually spread. The new instructor from the European branch was someone who had originally been a member and had just obtained the qualifications to be appointed.
As soon as that rumor spread, there was an uproar in the branch, as if a hornet’s nest had been stirred. There were only a few members from the European branch who were qualified to be appointed. In fact, the members roughly knew what level of ratings each other had. Even if they didn’t particularly want a promotion or appointment, it became the standard for how high they could go when they went outside, so even if they didn’t say anything, the situation was obvious. It was the same in other branches.
There were almost no members with ratings that could become appointments. There were probably one or two in each branch. And there was only one person in the European branch who could do that.

Rick. Crazy Regrow. He was rumored to be the only crazy person in the entire headquarters and branch.
Before Jeong Tae-ui could realize that the rumor had spread and run away, the members who had rushed into the room to find out the truth about the rumor grabbed him by the collar and shook him. This was three days before the new instructor came.
At that point, it was unreasonable to say that someone might come. Normally, when a new instructor is appointed, they meet the instructor they will be working with a week or ten days in advance to get to know each other. In this case, since the case was so rare and the new instructor had something else to do, they skipped that process, but it was natural that they would at least know each other's names.

In the end, Jeong Tae-ui couldn't keep lying that he didn't know. With three days left, he thought lying wouldn't do much. He also thought that it would be better to prepare in advance than to panic when the nuclear bomb was going to fall anyway.
That's how it was revealed that the new instructor was the man from the European branch. Naturally, there was chaos within the branch. The branch members were so excited that they almost started a riot.
The team members of the deceased instructor Kipenhan were even worse.

He was the one who killed the instructor, not someone else. Even though the instructor had provided the cause, it was morally unacceptable to put the killer in the place of the dead. They stood up indignantly, saying that they would never go under that crazy man. There were two or three people who had packed their bags and left UNHRDO.
And the person who had managed to calm the situation down to a dangerous level was my uncle.
After neatly sending out the people who had packed their bags and left, my uncle divided the remaining team members into different teams. While doing so, he tried to persuade the other instructors, saying, "The new instructor needs to get used to this branch first, so it doesn't matter if I don't take charge of the team until then." The other instructors were beyond persuasion. Their reactions were so strong that there was no other way.

As a result.
Jeong Tae-ui began to worry about who he should get the micro cluster to throw into his uncle's room from.
The fact that the team had disappeared meant that it was essentially just the instructor and his instructor. In other words, from now on, he had to stick with that guy and overcome all kinds of adversity.
"Should I ask Alta? If it's that broker from before, he might be able to get the cluster too. Yeah, I'm asking him to get that one too while I'm getting the Colt."

Jung Tae-ui sat in the bathroom and muttered to himself.
It might have been better if he had brought Jung Tae-ui a little later and thrown him into this situation. If he had teamed up with Illei without knowing anything and had made him fight a war of nerves and a melee with the hundred or so members who hated Illei for some reason, it would have been hard, but mentally, it wouldn't have been that hard. But in this situation...
"Damn, where did my luck go? Jae-ui, Jae-ui, please give me some too."

Jung Tae-ui sighed and left the bathroom, reciting his brother's name like a superstitious person.
As he was washing his hands at the sink, he sighed at the sight of his gaunt appearance over the past few days, when the bathroom door opened and a familiar face came in. Their eyes met in the mirror.
"Oh, Wienho."

He greeted them with his eyes and spoke. However, Wienho, who met Jeong Taeui, hesitated and suddenly frowned, turned around, and strode into the bathroom. His expression clearly showed his displeasure. The sound of the bathroom door closing rang out.
"……."
Should I just grab that guy, drag him out, and beat him up? Why does that bastard ignore people?

Jeong Taeui thought that for a moment, but soon gave up. If he was going to drag him out and beat him up like that, Wienho alone wouldn't do. He had to drag all of them out and beat them up, even though they were on the same team - they would be on different teams the moment they became teachers.
After rumors spread that the new instructor that Jeong Tae-ui would be following was Lee Gi-ro, the atmosphere quickly became tense. They didn’t even say a word to Jeong Tae-ui, who had kept his mouth shut and pretended not to know, as if they were looking at a traitor. In the case of the radicals, they would even spit at Jeong Tae-ui as if they were unlucky.
I wanted to just drag them all out and yell, “What did I do wrong to you!” but I held back because I thought that would only have the opposite effect. I held back, thinking that if I kept going like this, things would get better. But they didn’t. It got worse day by day.

Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and came out of the bathroom, and on his way to his room, he encountered a few more familiar faces. However, they weren’t all that different from Wien-ho. When they saw Jeong Tae-ui, their faces hardened and they frowned. They were the ones who had been joking around and playing around with Jeong Tae-ui until a few days ago, giving off a strong vibe that said, “Don’t talk to me or come near me.”
“That really sucks… It wasn’t like this when I went to see Lieutenant Kim’s platoon to do some work.”
At that time, he could do whatever he wanted. When he went to see that damn platoon to do some work, even the new recruits were ticking, so he just exploded. Lieutenant Kim happened to be out of his seat, so he dragged them all down and beat them up. Even insubordination, you have to be careful about the time and place. After that, he had another feud with Lieutenant Kim who found out about it later, but that was a good thing.

"I didn't do it on purpose, and while you were being unfairly angry at me for several days, I just held it in and listened to you silently. Shouldn't you let your anger out now? What kind of men are you with the brains of a bandage..."

Grumbling, Jeong Tae-ui muttered to himself as he walked to his room. It had been like this for the past few days. He felt sick.
Uncle. Can't you just throw me out and leave? I don't know when I'll end up throwing a cluster in your room.
Jeong Tae-ui grabbed his throbbing stomach and frowned.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, he really wanted to leave. Jeong Tae-ui was actually weak to stress, so even when he was in the military, he always took stomach medicine even if something bothered him for a few days. He still needs stomach medicine now. No, he didn't need stomach medicine, but he wanted to get out of here. He missed his peaceful home. Seriously. There have been many times since I came here that I thought I had bad luck, but I don't think I've ever been this tired.
Jeong Tae-ui sighed and went into his room. He took his stomach medicine first and looked at his watch. It would be time to start his regular workday soon. However, he was not going to start his regular workday today.
It was 9 o'clock today. At 9 o'clock this morning, the new instructor is officially admitted to the Asia branch. Soon, Ilay Regrow will be assigned to the Asia branch, not Europe. He will be appointed as an instructor, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) and Jeong Tae-ui will be appointed as his instructor.

"Ugh... I feel sick..."
Jeong Tae-ui frowned and lay down on the bed, his stomachache not subsiding for a while even after taking medicine.
Ilay should be in Hong Kong by now. He might have gone to the dock to depart from Hong Kong to this island, or he might have just boarded a boat. The time to see that man was approaching.

That was also the cause of his stomachache. Not only was his colleagues being cold to him, but the fact that he would have to face that man every day from now on was also a burden. He would be with that intimidating man. That dangerous man who would always be on edge, wondering when he would bite his neck while they were together.
He had a hard time, he had a hard time.
While mumbling to himself and calculating in his head how many more months he would have to stay here, the phone rang. Frowning, Jeong Tae-ui sat up. The lamp blinked green and the phone rang continuously. It was an extension line.

"Yes. This is Jeong Tae-ui."
'This is the office. There will be an inauguration ceremony soon, so please come to the general's office by 8:50.'
The stiff voice that started talking right after picking up the phone was Shin-ru. He felt like he was losing energy.

"Uh, thanks for letting me know, Shin-ru."
'… … .'
When Jeong Tae-ui greeted weakly, there was a moment of hesitation and silence on the other end of the line, and then the call ended. Jeong Tae-ui stared blankly at the receiver and put it down.

Shin-ru has been like this lately. He hasn't come to my room or sent me any messages. Jeong Tae-ui sent several text messages to check on his well-being, but he never replied. Furthermore, whenever they met for work, he would just say something in a stiff voice and pass by.
"Oh my, that damned officer has become a public enemy for everyone."
Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue bitterly. Then he looked at his watch, sighed, and stood up. There wasn't much time left until 8:50. It would be just in time for him to wash up, change into his uniform, and head to the general's office.

Jeong Tae-ui became more and more depressed as he prepared to go out. If he was this depressed since the morning, he would know how to handle today. No, since today was the day he would officially become a officer and meet Il-lay, he might have an incomparably gloomy life from now on. Just thinking about it made him lose his strength.
Just before he finished getting ready and left his room, he looked at the calendar. There were still three months left until the half-year promised. “No, you have to think positively. Just hold on for about three more months.”
Jeong Tae-ui’s voice, speaking positively, was very gloomy.

The general’s office was on the basement floor. It was located in the innermost part of the building, in the center that could not be seen from the outside. The general’s office, which was hidden in a place where you had to open the door on the not-so-wide ground floor and turn four corners, was only once that I had been there. Just to the door.
I had once gone to the general’s office as a porter to move a heavy picture frame, but I couldn’t go inside and had to move the luggage from outside the door. At that time, I had grumbled, half-jokingly, that it was a castle in the clouds that ordinary members couldn’t enter. I thought I wouldn’t go into that room until the day I left this branch.
Jeong Tae-ui arrived at exactly 8:50, exactly to the minute.

When I knocked and went in, the instructor was tidying up the room. Watching him tidy up the room, even though it was clean and didn’t need to be cleaned up, he checked to see if there was anything crooked, and then left.
I don’t know. If anything, he’ll just act however he wants for the next three months or so, thinking he’s just killing time, and then leave as soon as he’s done. Jeong Tae-ui didn’t want to suffer from stomachache anymore, so he made that easy decision. But he wondered if it would actually work out.
Jeong Tae-ui looked around the general’s office, which he had never been in before and had never heard from his colleagues who had. There was nothing special about it. The large, high-quality desk, bookshelf, and filing cabinet were no different from the personal offices of heads of other companies or government offices. Inside, there was a door that seemed to be a bathroom, and another door next to it.

“……?”
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head, but soon figured it out on his own. It seemed to be connected to the bedroom. As if to support that thought, the general appeared inside the door after a while. The general, who had taken his seat before the vice ministers and instructors, stopped when he saw Jeong Tae-ui.
"Are you the younger sibling of Researcher Jeong Jae-i?"

Jeong Tae-ui raised his eyebrows slightly. It was already a well-known fact that everyone knew, but in this branch, people usually started by saying, "Are you the nephew of Instructor Jeong Chang-in?" It was refreshing to hear about a slightly different relationship first.
"Yes, that's right."
"Hmm, that twin brother?"

Jeong Tae-ui nodded. Even if they weren't twins, he was the only brother of his older brother. He had no direct family, and they were the only two brothers left in the world. The only relative he had was his uncle, whom he occasionally met, but that uncle took his nephew to an unknown island and made him suffer a terrible fate. ... ... Thinking about it made me depressed again. I can't do this, I can't do this. As Jeong Tae-ui was comforting himself, the general looked at him intently. Jeong Tae-ui made a puzzled face, but instead of avoiding his gaze, he met his gaze. Perhaps this man would exude an air of being no ordinary person, even if he were wearing an ordinary jumper and cotton pants and pulling out weeds in the neighborhood park. There was something about a person who had overcome adversity and reached a certain level on his own. Even if he was just sitting still, his gaze would naturally be drawn to him.
The extraordinary man, who had a shabby expression like any ordinary old man, stared at Jeong Tae-ui for a while before suddenly smiling brightly like a Hahoe mask. Then he muttered as if he was talking to himself.
"Yes, then you are that Gil Sang-cheon."

"……?"
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head with a slight frown between his eyebrows. An unknown word came out.
Gil Sang-cheon, I think I've seen it before when I read the theory of world mythology. In Indian mythology, it's probably called Lakshmi... But before Jeong Tae-ui could properly recognize the question, the door to the general’s office opened. And the vice-ministers and instructors came in a line.

Jeong Tae-ui felt sorry as he watched his superiors politely greet him and enter whenever they met the general. He should have greeted him first as soon as he came out, but he was just blankly staring at him, and didn’t the general speak to him first?
He realized his mistake belatedly and glanced at the general, but he seemed to not care at all and accepted the instructors’ greetings.
His uncle was the last of the instructors to come in. He greeted the general first and then took his seat, and his eyes met briefly. Normally, his uncle would have smiled at him, but on this day, he looked forward as if he hadn’t seen him.

Indeed, this was not a private meeting, but an empty seat. Jeong Tae-ui nodded in understanding. And then he realized anew why he was standing here. Today was the day a new instructor was appointed to the Asia branch. And he himself, that instructor.
The inauguration ceremony wasn't grand. It was just a simple greeting in the general's office where only the instructors gathered. After that, the members met for the first time during each lecture. … … In that man's case, it wouldn't be the first time.
Jeong Tae-ui's face hardened. The clock hands were perpendicular. It was 9 o'clock.

As if he had deliberately waited for that time, the door to the general's office opened at exactly 9 o'clock.
"I brought the newly appointed instructor."
The instructor who had picked him up at the airport said. And then the man next to him came in.

A brief silence flowed through the general's office. It seemed like the air there had changed in an instant. A calm and cold silence.
The man was standing in front of him.
Ilay Regrow.

Jeong Tae-ui clenched his fists without being seen, his expressionless face still. My spine went cold.
He was the same. Just like the first time I saw him, just like the last time I saw him, he had a neat and tidy expression and a faint smile. Maybe he wasn’t smiling, but had always had that kind of expression. Calm and relaxed, like a well-fed beast always looking for something to play with.
Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue inwardly. How could he be so nervous all of a sudden? I thought I had become so used to him, but after only a few weeks away, I felt like I would be overwhelmed by his tyrannical aura again.

It was better to run away unnoticed from the beginning. If I buttoned it wrong once, it would be wrong all over again. Now, I couldn’t unbutton it and put it back on.
Jeong Tae-ui, who had looked away for a moment without realizing it, tightly shut his mouth and looked away again. He looked straight at the man. His gaze slowly looked around the general, vice-minister, and then the instructors, and finally reached Jeong Tae-ui. The moment his gaze met with that of Jeong Tae-ui, who was looking at him with a blunt face, the smile on his lips seemed to have deepened a little. His eyes also seemed to be slightly crooked, perhaps because of his mood.
Long time no see.

His slightly parted lips seemed to have said that. Jeong Tae-ui wiggled his eyebrows slightly, but the man soon turned his head and stood in front of the general.
The general greeted him first. It was a greeting that was so formal that it was not worth listening to. The vice-ministers greeted him next, and then he greeted the instructors. In the meantime, Jeong Tae-ui quietly observed him. There was no way that anything had changed in just a few weeks, but he examined him carefully as if he was looking for even a single speck of dust.
He was as if he had been plucked straight out of the past. Especially that subtle smile.

Jeong Tae-ui, who felt bad seeing that smile that was hard to read, clicked his tongue so that it wouldn’t be heard. Then suddenly, his hand came into view. Still wearing clean dark colored gloves. 
The DO uniform was formally equipped with gloves, but the gloves that the man was wearing did not look ordinary.
He said that wearing gloves was more cumbersome than bare hands, but he wore them because he didn’t want his hands to get bloody. While saying that, he wore gloves even when he was enjoying a peaceful morning. Of course, that peace was soon shattered, but he wore gloves on countless other peaceful mornings. And in this place too.

The man, who always took it for granted that his hands would get bloody, must be thinking that this situation was similar.
Jeong Tae-ui stared at the gloves. At that moment, the man, who had exchanged formal greetings with the instructors, looked at Jeong Tae-ui as if he found it amusing and suddenly held out his hand.
“Do you like these gloves? Or do you want the contents inside them?”

“――The latter is more beautiful, but I don’t really want either. The gloves that will get bloody, or the hands that will get bloody.” Jung Tae-ui frowned and spoke stiffly. For a moment, the others around him fell silent. Only one person, the one who heard it, laughed cheerfully.
"Okay. If you want, I said I'd give it to you, so tell me whenever you want."
I don't need a hand cut off at the wrist... ... Jung Tae-ui muttered and suddenly held out his hand.

"Then I'd like you to give me the glove. I don't want the contents, but it's nice to look at."
The man looked slightly surprised. He looked down at the hand Jung Tae-ui held out, and at some point he chuckled. Then he coolly took off the glove.
"Okay, if you want, the glove is all you need."

The man leisurely took off the glove and put it in Jung Tae-ui's palm. Jung Tae-ui looked at the man's hand as he put the glove in his pocket. It was still a beautiful hand, almost pale. Now, it was even creepy.
Jung Tae-ui suddenly felt a subtle silence and turned his head. The guards standing in the room were looking at him with strange eyes. Maybe he didn’t like having part of his uniform taken away during the inauguration ceremony. Or maybe he was wrong to speak informally to someone who would become his superior.
Feeling the somewhat heavy atmosphere, Jeong Tae-ui kept his mouth shut, but among the gazes that were looking at them as if searching, there was someone who suddenly burst into laughter. It was his uncle. He turned his head and laughed softly for a while, and when the people’s gazes turned to him, he raised both hands and muttered in a quiet voice, “Excuse me.” Then he spoke to the man.

“Rick――No, Instructor Ilay Legrow. That man is the young man who will be your instructor and help you. He was originally on my team, but from this moment on, he is on your team. Let’s call him Jeong Tae-ui.”
The man’s gaze returned to Jeong Tae-ui. A faint smile appeared on his bleak eyes. He extended his hand to Jeong Tae-ui as if asking for a handshake.
“I will take good care of you in the future. In many ways.”
"……I am."

The clue 'various' was very bothersome, but Jeong Tae-ui barely hid his bug-bitten face and held his hand. The white hand grabbed Jeong Tae-ui's hand. Jeong Tae-ui's line was buried in the large, generous hand.
He thought the glass-like smooth hand would be cool, but it was surprisingly warm, and Jeong Tae-ui was surprised by that.