PASSION Chapter 5 Part 19

Chapter 5 Part 19

Still, after passing puberty and growing with strength, such harassment decreased significantly. Perhaps because he wouldn't keep anyone suspicious close and would forcibly remove them if necessary. Or, though unlikely, maybe the brothers who had been very pretty in childhood attracting everyone's attention had lost that appearance while growing up.

Anyway, so during middle and high school when his growth spurt came early making him shoot up tall, he rarely encountered strange guys. Most people around him were good guys.

"Or maybe since I wasn't always with my brother from then on, strange people might have all gone to him without me knowing... Hmm. Then the conclusion would be those guys were originally targeting my brother. Well anyway, I didn't have much of that."

Adding that he didn't look gentle enough for anyone to pick fights with easily, Tae-ui shrugged.

Maybe that was why. Anyway, Tae-ui liked gentle and lovely people, and liking such people, he rarely kept anyone who might harm him close.

He couldn't remember exactly when it was. It wasn't too long ago, probably around when he graduated military academy or was just commissioned.

At that time, Tae-ui learned he would have to face Lieutenant Kim again at his new unit, and extremely displeased, he had vented those feelings at home. As Tae-ui grumbled while drinking several beers in succession, his brother who was spending time with one beer in front of him sighed and said something strange.

'Those who desire you are instinctively greedy people. They wouldn't be good to get close to.'

Hearing those words, Tae-ui had shuddered while looking at his brother with very displeased eyes, wondering if he was drunk on one beer or had eaten something wrong.

'Brother, hey, Mr. Jung Jae-ui. Where's your mind wandering, what are you talking about? I'm saying he picks fights over everything, not desires me. ...Why are you so dazed? Something worrying you?'

Getting suddenly worried at his brother speaking such contextually mismatched words, he had changed the subject like that. His brother had started to say something but closed his mouth, and Tae-ui, slightly drunk, had shaken him urging him to speak if he had worries. In the end, his brother had shared his concern then. That he was worried his only brother seemed to be becoming an alcoholic.

"..."

Even thinking again, his brother sometimes had incomprehensible aspects. Sometimes he wondered if this person was really a man the same age as him, but still they were close siblings who had never fought. If they had fought, it was either when very young, or when debating whether jjajangmyeon or jjamppong was superior.

"Wonder where he is and what he's doing now. Well, he must be doing fine on his own."

Tae-ui flopped back down. Ilay smiled faintly while looking at him.

"Seems you're worried since your brother is missing. From what I heard from Instructor Jung, it seems he still hasn't returned home."

Tae-ui snorted and waved his hand. Worry? Brother didn't need such things. Brother who got whatever he wanted - if he even thought 'I want to meet my brother,' somehow things would twist—like say, while walking he accidentally hit someone who turned out to be the UNHRDO Director General, who got very angry and threw him in solitary at the nearest branch, which happened to be here—and he would appear right here.

"Still, you never know. He might be secretly captured and imprisoned at some weapons development facility having his brain exploited."

"If he were someone that could happen to now, he would have been captured somewhere before even turning ten."

Tae-ui cut off Ilay's words as if leaving no room for reconsideration. Having said he had met Jae-ui, Ilay seemed to know about that luck too as he nodded in agreement.

This was comfortable, talking with someone who already knew about him. When Tae-ui talked like this, people who hadn't experienced Jae-ui or had only heard vague rumors would make doubtful faces saying how could that be possible no matter what. When even Tae-ui who had lived with him sometimes found his brother's luck unbelievable, it was natural for strangers to react that way.

Tae-ui suddenly looked at Ilay. Though there was no need to ask, he suddenly became curious.

"You said you've met my brother."

"Mm. Though it would be more accurate to say I glimpsed him in passing, it was such a brief time."

"Was that through uncle? Or because your brother is a weapons broker?"

Ilay smiled ambiguously. Then he answered briefly "Both." Tae-ui nodded.

Then Ilay suddenly asked:

"In this situation where Jae-ui's whereabouts are unknown, if you urgently needed to find him, how would you locate him?"

Tae-ui went "hmm" and frowned. He had never thought about that. Because whenever absolutely necessary, he could easily contact his brother. There were times when contact wasn't possible, mainly in one case: when contact would lead to something troublesome for his brother.

Even in that aspect, Jae-ui was consistently lucky.

"Since he's not someone I can contact just by wanting to, if he doesn't want to meet me, there's no use trying to find him. It's like innate talent, not something effort can solve."

Or rather, there was one way to meet Jae-ui. When meeting would be purely beneficial for Jae-ui. When wanting to meet him for business that would bring him luck, it was easy to find him.

Having such thoughts, Tae-ui scratched his head roughly. Since he had never tried to meet his brother thinking and calculating like that before, trying to think about it was difficult.

"Come to think of it, brother's birthday is the end of the month after next."

When Tae-ui suddenly remembered and muttered, Ilay raised his eyebrows and said amusedly:

"Jae-ui's birthday? Then it's your birthday too. You're talking like it doesn't apply to you."

"Ah—it's not that, we've just celebrated each other's for the past few years. Since he celebrated mine."

He barely thought about his own birthday. Well, it's not like they did anything particular for his brother's birthday either. Just remembered the day to contact each other and if both had time, ate together. After their parents passed away, with almost no relatives to contact, just the two of them remained, and since neither had lovers, birthdays naturally became just the two of them.

"...Though since neither of us is the type to diligently celebrate birthdays, we would often only remember days later and just meet to eat when our schedules matched."

"Hmm. Then this year too, either Jae-ui will come find you to spend your birthdays together, or at least contact you."

"Well, we might get in touch around then. Wonder if he'll be back home if I call then."

Tae-ui muttered indifferently while looking up at the ceiling. Then suddenly feeling Ilay's gaze staring at him, he turned his eyes to him.

"What?"

"No, I was thinking before too, you seem like close siblings. I'm envious."

Ilay shook his head while smiling subtly. As Tae-ui was shaking his head ambiguously, saying he wasn't sure if they were close enough siblings to be envied like that, he suddenly stopped moving.

Faintly, he seemed to hear something from above. Beyond the ceiling, or beyond that, or above that.

Ilay seemed to notice why Tae-ui had paused. He glanced up at the ceiling then went "ah" and nodded. Tae-ui looked at him who seemed to know something.

"Probably radiation response training. Since we're entering the latter half of the second week. They always do it once near the end of joint training."

"Radiation response... no, what are they detonating for vibrations to be felt even here?"

Tae-ui muttered with a disbelieving face. This building had quite wide floor spacing. Plus the inner and outer walls were thick so ordinary sounds didn't transmit. Even thin-walled areas were just corridors in zones where people stayed like the men's rooms. The floors and outer walls were said to be air raid shelter level.

"Feeling it here means it's right above, right? Basement level 6... where the men's rooms are? They don't tell members where they'll detonate each time. Seems it's the floor above this year."

"Radiation response training inside the building... Thinking about it, UNHRDO's officers must be insane. Do they have excess budget rotting away?"

"Think of it like tearing up and repaving perfectly good roads at year end because of administrative budget. They set quarterly budgets after finishing joint training each quarter."

"... So there are always irrational systems everywhere."

Tae-ui muttered bitterly. But detonating anywhere they pick - though men's rooms might be fine having nothing important, it would be quite troublesome if they detonated on the ground floor or important floors near ground level. If they detonated on basement level 5, the branch might not suffer much damage but members would have to wander looking for rest areas for a while.

"Wherever they detonate it'll be inconvenient for days... Ah. Maybe they should just drive everyone outside and detonate in the forest or somewhere like basement level 4."

"Can't do it there."

When Tae-ui counted floors one by one, Ilay smiled and muttered softly. Tae-ui glanced at him.

Come to think of it, he didn't know what was on level 4. Being a restricted area, the door to level 4 was always locked. Even the elevator didn't stop at level 4. Though authorized personnel could enter since it said authorized personnel only, Tae-ui knew nothing about it.

"Why? Is there some robot secretly protecting Earth hidden on basement level 4?"

When Tae-ui spoke, Ilay laughed out loud but didn't answer. Tae-ui waited a bit more but seeing no sign of an answer coming, he turned his head. Since this building had quite wide floor spacing, it seemed like a giant robot could fit if done right. Then where would that robot deploy from? Would it dig a tunnel out?