Passion: Suite

Today was bound to be tough, but it truly was. Almost unbearably so. Between practically no sleep, my body ravaged through the night, and the workload looming before me, everything felt overwhelming.
It wasn’t just me covering Hogan’s duties that made it difficult. Hogan himself was the problem.
“Ah, true… thanks to this, we’re all busy now.”
Uncle forced a bitter smile. I could only press my lips together in silence.
Hogan lay in the infirmary. He could at least move around, but his injuries were severe enough to require months of recovery—and likely long-lasting aftereffects.
An external instructor at the rank of coach had been gravely wounded and was now sidelined. And at the hands of a regular trainee, with no official reason given.
The branch office buzzed with gossip in an instant. Everyone above instructor rank and those handling administration suddenly had their hands full.
“I tried to handle it quietly, but it still got loud.”
I glanced awkwardly at Uncle. His instructions to me had been rendered useless. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t enough…” I muttered. Uncle shook his head without any real annoyance.
“Hm. But at least the story about him stealing data hasn’t spread. And—”
His gaze flicked briefly to my left thumb, meticulously taped by Ilrey before I left the room this morning.
“You didn’t get seriously hurt, so that’s enough.”
I wiggled my taped finger and sighed.
No rumor had surfaced that Hogan tried to steal data. Worse, there was no proof: I’d stepped on and smashed his memory card. At the time, my anger had left no room for second thoughts.
I scratched my head. “Should I have kept the memory as evidence?”
“Hm—no. If you had, it would have caused a real uproar and dragged Jaeui into it. In that respect, it’s better as it is.”
Uncle, murmuring that the branch never intended to suppress the scandal so much as to cover up Jaeui’s research, fell silent. He stared at his glass, droplets of condensation gathering on its surface, and exhaled.
“It’s just that Rick is a problem. We left Hogan in that state, but we can’t claim self-defense this time. Nor do we have grounds to say Rick ambushed him—if we did, it’d be a headache.”
I frowned. It seemed the situation had twisted in an unfavorable direction. I might have glimpsed Ilrey’s name once or twice among the frantic paperwork.
“So what happens now?”
“Well… if they file a lawsuit, we’ll have to deal with it. The branch will be blamed for negligence, but that’s nothing serious. Rick himself will have a harder time. He might end up in Eoryeong for a while.”
I stared at my glass wordlessly.
Was this my fault? Things went sideways because of me. Damn it—I shouldn’t have stepped in to help someone like Hogan.
“It’s weird, though—he looks so cheerful this morning despite the mess.”
“…”
Was that my fault, too? I’m no narcissist, but somehow it felt that way.
Seeing me blink without speaking, Uncle lightly patted my shoulder and said in a casual tone,

“Don’t worry too much. In the worst case, he’ll be out in a few months, maybe a year or two tops.”
“A year or two?”
“I visited him in the infirmary—it’s awkward.”
I was silent for a moment, recalling Hogan’s last pale, unnatural shape I’d seen last night.
“…Is he doing that badly?”
Uncle hesitated and forced a bitter laugh.
“His arm’s the worst. With a few months of rehab, he can handle daily life, but anything requiring strength or precision will be difficult.”
That meant a permanent disability.
Better than death, but as a survivor, he’d be left with the stark reality of a disability. A heavy burden.
“…That’s an unsatisfying outcome.”
I clicked my tongue bitterly.
“The branch got half what it wanted. We failed to extract his confession publicly, so Ilrey’s request couldn’t be fulfilled. …At least he failed to steal the data, so there’s some consolation.”
Beside me, Jung Chang-in sipped his tea aloud and muttered, “I’m not sure that’s right.”
“This morning I bumped into Rick briefly. He said squeezing Hogan for a confession again would be easy, but for you Taeui’s sake, he’s decided to give up here. …Thanks, Taeui. Looks like there won’t be another murder here, thanks to you.”
Uncle casually remarked that cleaning up after a death was a nightmare—reports piling up as tall as a person—his years on duty showed every ugly side of life.
“Thanks for what?” I hesitated, frowned, and stared at Uncle.
“You heard me. He’s giving up here.”
“But he’s supposed to face trial and go to Eoryeong.”
“In the absence of clear cause and effect, the higher-ups will take time to decide. Before that, he’ll deal with him and then go in.”
“…”
I suddenly felt sorry for Hogan. His face would haunt my dreams, and he’d have to see more of this even after leaving here.
“Just don’t bring Hogan in front of me.”
I muttered in a somewhat gloomy voice: living with that man made me feel like I was sacrificing everything precious as a human. Uncle patted my back again as if he understood.
“Don’t worry too much. They won’t kill him.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Hm. He’s in an unusually good mood today. Earlier, he was so cheerful it made me uncomfortable—but he said he’d spare only a few toes.”
“Toes…?”
“He said you can live fine without a few toes,” Uncle said with a smile that seemed sincere.
“…Can I really not worry?”
I wiggled my own toes, feeling phantom aches, and shivered as I pictured the look Rick must have worn when he said that—casual, as though he was simply in a good mood today. A few toes missing wouldn’t matter.
I’d seen something like that before—not long ago. A few months back, I’d gone to meet Ilrey returning from an assignment at the terminal—coincidentally I had business there—and just as I approached him, a man lunged with a knife as if waiting for him.
Of course, the attack failed. Ilrey leaned back, dropped the man’s arm, and sent the knife clattering away.
But the man, eyes blood-red, grabbed and bit Ilrey’s arm—sheer malice on display. Ilrey, looking down at him in mild surprise, then let out a cold laugh.
‘You don’t need those teeth, do you?’
No warning—he punched the man’s nose. As blood spurted, Ilrey grabbed his shaken jaw and thrust his hand into the man’s mouth.
‘Shall I start with the front teeth?’ he asked. Then crack—solid crunch. The man screamed, but Ilrey casually bit off one tooth at a time, dropping each to the ground with an indifferent, “It’s okay. You don’t die from twenty teeth broken. I’ll leave the molars. I’m in a good mood today—I’ll see him again in a few days.”
He smiled as though that was enough.
“…”
I’m sure Rick wore that same expression when he spoke of Hogan’s toes.
“Well, he said he’d leave some toes. That’s leniency, right?”
Uncle tried to console me, but I eyed my bitter barley tea warily and asked,
“If he ends up in Eoryeong, won’t I be unable to see him for years?”
“Hm… you’ll worry for a bit, Taeui.”
“I’m not joking.”
I sighed. Even a few months would be a long time.
I didn’t really care about Hogan. Call him heartless if you want. My worry was for Ilrey.
Ultimately, there was no need to worry about him, but as Uncle said, if he faced trial it’d be a hassle. I might really not see him for months.
…If only I hadn’t smashed that memory card. The branch would be in real trouble. Maybe even Jaeui would be implicated. I should’ve kept it safe.
At that thought, my face twisted. My legs gave out, and I slid down against the window ledge, realizing something heavy.
The branch—and even my brother—had been relegated behind Ilrey. He was my top priority above all else. I’d sensed it vaguely, but realizing it anew was shocking.
I’m sorry, Jaeui. But you’ll be fine—after all, that royal will help you, right? So I don’t need to worry… (Besides, you’re the kind who doesn’t need worrying.)
Lost in that thought, another worry surfaced: How’s he getting along with that royal? Suspicious though he seemed, have they already…? From what I saw, once that royal took action, everything moved fast. But I told my brother to stay safe—at least that’s some comfort.
I scratched my head. There’s never a lack of worries in life. For now, above all, I need to ensure Ilrey’s safety.
Uncle, having finished his tea and simply stopping by to fetch some documents, patted my back again as he left.
“Just a couple more hours and today’s schedule is over. After today, training is almost done… You’ve worked hard, Taeui.”
Uncle picked up his files and headed to the door, pausing to look back. His final words carried gratitude, comfort, and apology. I met his gaze, shrugged lightly, and shook my head.
He smiled, turned, and stepped outside—but stopped at the threshold. Turning back, he looked at me as though he’d forgotten something.
“Taeui—seems you have a guest.”
He stepped aside and pointed outside. I tapped myself with an index finger, blinked, and leaned my head out.
Standing there, lips tightly sealed and staring bleakly at me, was Kim Jeong-pil.