Jeong Taeui checked the drawers, the wardrobe, and the desk. However, it was not completely cleaned, so there were still some clothes, books, and small items left. It seemed that the dust-free closet was the one used by the deceased.
No matter what, that person won't be coming back. But you can't just casually touch a place that already has an owner. Jeong Taeui looked around the room carefully. He had left his luggage with the group of people, so there was nothing to organize, nor was there anything important that needed to be kept safe. After all, the uncle kept insisting that he was in a hurry and didn't have time, and he didn't bring anything except the things he needed for the next half year. He heard that everything from clothes, uniforms, even underwear to toothbrushes were given to everyone here, so he didn't bring anything.
The most important thing in that bag was…. The key, right? The key that was thrown into the bag… was the key that he would need half a year later.
Before leaving, he cleaned the house once more and left a simple note for his brother who didn't know when he would be back.
I don't know what he's doing now. But no matter what he's doing or where he is, you don't need to worry about him. Because even if his plane crashed, there's nothing to worry about.
No matter where he is, as long as he wants, you will see him again. Because anything he wants can be easily done.
Jeong Taeui walked over to the neatly made bed and lay down.
His body was tired but the drowsiness did not last as long as he thought. His mind was unusually alert.
For the time being, he would be staying here alone. It was quiet and comfortable, but there were also some inconveniences for someone who had just arrived here for the first time. If he wanted to ask something trivial, he would have to knock on someone else's door.
Thinking of that, Jeong Taeui suddenly opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling before slowly standing up.
He wouldn't lock the door anyway, so he didn't really need a room key. But there must be some rules here. He didn't know where to eat or what to do tomorrow morning.
Tou said there was someone named Xin Lu, right. And Kyoho, are those people from the logistics side?
Jeong Taeui scratched his head and got up from the bed. It had only been half a year, but it felt like a thousand years had passed.
It was true that if he didn't strangle his uncle once, the discomfort in his heart wouldn't be relieved. So on the way up, he had to stop by his uncle's room in the first basement to squeeze his face a bit to feel better.
***********************************************
Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue.
He didn't think he could get lost in this building, even though it was his first time here. And even more so in a place that was only as big as an elementary school playground.
All the problems started with that elevator.
He knew exactly where the elevator Tou had taken him to was. It was a dilapidated-looking elevator right at the corner of the staircase. Even though he had passed by it a few times, he could never forget the path he had taken that one time.
So, it would be better to take that elevator, but that elevator was far from Jeong Taeui's room. He didn't think he would leave his room and walk that much further just to take that elevator.
Because the structure of each floor in the building is relatively similar. Even if there are differences in layout, these types of buildings are particularly similar in terms of architectural design.
So, Jeong Taeui thought he just needed to take the closer elevator and go in the opposite direction.
"Damn. What kind of design is this building? Doesn't it look different from the floor below."
Jeong Taeui muttered and swore while scratching his head.
This was the first time in his life that he had seen a building with such completely different floor plans. Different corridors were fine, and even the location of the toilets was different. Wasn't such a design absurd and useless? What about the drainage system?
In the ten minutes he had been wandering around on this floor, he had found a few more elevators, but they weren't the ones he was looking for. They should have been the ones around the corner.
No matter how strangely designed this building is, the elevators on each floor cannot be different. If there is a building with such a four-dimensional architecture, should I report it to the architectural association?
"Damn. Why isn't there a single person here?"
But then again, most of the people here were concentrated on the 5th or 6th floor, and normally, if nothing special happened, they wouldn't go to the first basement floor. But even so, Jeong Taeui couldn't help but curse a few times when he set foot on this floor.
When he was in the army, he was very confident in his ability to read maps. No, he didn't even need a map, he had a pretty good sense of direction, never getting lost even when he had to carry his backpack on his back and take a shortcut in the forest that was closer than the main road, with a low spirit due to not sleeping well the night before.
In this building, there is no map and can only rely entirely on feeling.
Uncle, you and everyone have had a hard time. How can you live in a building like this?
Jeong Taeui gritted his teeth and stopped, trying to estimate the location. He didn't know the entire structure of this building nor what was inside the walls, but he slowly thought back to the distance he had walked since entering this building…. As expected, he was still clueless. Then he could only randomly walk until he found it.
Jeong Taeui sighed. Even though he knew that it wasn't a good way, he still moved forward without any direction.
The hallway he was walking through seemed similar to the one downstairs, also identical doors zigzagging symmetrically to each other.
Perhaps these rooms, like the one downstairs, belonged to someone who had to stay here. Probably the higher-ups in the building… … he might have come to the right place and not even realized it.
Thinking about it for a moment, Jeong Taeui sighed as he saw a sliding glass door at the end of his vision.
Not.
Just now Tou led him past the bathroom, which looked like this. Open the sliding glass door and go inside, there will be another frosted glass door, go inside further and turn to the dressing room, inside that is the bathroom.
"But why do the senior staff use the shared bathroom? Or is that not a bathroom."
Jeong Taeui stopped one step before that door.
Even though it wasn't good, he was still a little curious. Time wasn't pressing, finding his uncle's room wasn't a big problem. Just take any elevator on this floor down to the 6th basement or go back up to the ground level and then find the same elevator as the one he entered first.
"I'm lost and have to wander around like this. Should I take a shower?"
Jeong Taeui muttered in despair as he opened the bathroom door. Sure enough, it was also a bathroom. When he opened the opaque door inside, a wall appeared like a partition like the one downstairs, inside it was a changing room.
There is someone in there.
As soon as Jeong Taeui opened the door and entered, he seemed very surprised.
"Um….ah…..that."
The person in front of him looked at him with wide eyes, he looked more like a boy than a grown man. There couldn't be minors in this building. He was only wearing a pair of long pants, as if he had just finished showering, and he was still holding a shirt in his hand. No, his hair wasn't wet, so he was probably about to take a shower.
Jeong Taeui was motionless for a moment.
Oh, I think I made a mistake. But it's not really a mistake, it's just a coincidence. But anyway, I think I made a mistake, and what's the reason I need to apologize?
That thought flashed through his blank mind. But Jeong Taeui still couldn't find any reason, because the smooth, peach-like skin caught all his attention. It was so soft that if he touched it, his hair would be just as smooth. Was there a faint scent of soap on him, or was it the scent of milk?
In that moment, Jeong Taeui suddenly became confused. It seemed like he knew why he felt like he had made a mistake. But that reason didn't make sense either, he hadn't even seen the boy's bottom. So why?
"Which team are you from and which deputy minister are you under? Or are you here to hear news from me? Are you here as a prison guard or an officer?"
He said coldly with an icy face.
Only then did Jeong Taeui startle as if he had just woken up from a dream and scratched his neck. It seemed like his mood had become so bad because of him.
"I got lost….I was just going to see Officer Jeong."
"Is it Officer Jeong Changin? Leave this room, go all the way down the road and turn right. Go all the way to the dead end and from there turn right again. Look to the right and you will see the elevator. Turn right and go to the second room next to it."
"Um… okay."
Although it was an insincere answer, it was very helpful. If you can calculate the direction, it is easy to find.
"Well then…. thanks."
Jeong Taeui greeted awkwardly. The young man still looked uncomfortable but shrugged in response. His bare shoulders seemed to shine.
Now all he had to do was leave this place, but Jeong Taeui's legs refused to move. Such a beautiful young man, it would be nice to be able to look at him a little longer. He immediately turned his gaze towards him and spoke as he moved.
"Still not going?"
It looked like he was about to take off his clothes. The young man threw his shirt into the basket and started unbuckling his belt as if he was about to take off his pants. Seeing Jeong Taeui still standing there, he frowned suspiciously.
Jeong Taeui blushed. He was embarrassed without reason.
"No… … go. See you then."
Jeong Taeui waved as he left the bathroom without looking back. He walked slowly to the right as the young man had said. It was only after walking all the way to the end of the street that his mind cleared up a bit. Jeong Taeui raised his hand to his cheek, even his ears were burning.
Jeong Taeui stood there in shame. Then he shook his head, turned to the right, and walked away.
He was not a person who was easily agitated. He had often heard people say that he was a bit indifferent and like a wooden stone. But the truth was that even when he was embarrassed, he would not show it on his face. But now, even without looking in the mirror, he knew that his face was showing the embarrassment.
"Damn it…. Why didn't you tell me there was such a kid."
Jeong Taeui tried blaming his poor, clueless uncle once. Of course, there was no response.
He had been like this before. That kind of mind going blank and being able to only hesitate and be confused. Those old memories had long since fallen into oblivion.
That was when he was still a freshman. Jeong Taeui - a teenager who always wanted to grow up early, or worse, tried everything he could (to prove that he was mature) since he was a high school student. He slept with both men and women. And soon realized that he was more attracted to other men than women. And the soft bodies of other boys when hugged were more to his taste.
When he went to a friend's house to play during the summer vacation and met his friend's cousin. It seemed that person became his first love.
Not too skinny, smooth white skin, big eyes and cute expression like cotton candy.
At that time, he was the same as he is now.
Face flushed, heart pounding, mind blank, breathing shaky.
He found an excuse to go to his friend's house for several days after that and gradually got to know his cousin. Although their relationship had become closer, he still felt nervous every time he saw him. He couldn't help but glance at that smooth skin.
Soon after, that friend's cousin returned home after summer vacation, ending Jeong Taeui's empty first love.
Even then, Jeong Taeui's taste is still cute, adorable, fresh boys who make his heart melt.
But guys his age or even older who looked like him were rare. So he almost never actually saw anyone like that anymore. Occasionally, if he did get an impression of someone who looked like him in the club, he would just happily settle for them.
However, he never thought that someone of his type would appear in such a remote place.
"What to do…."
Jeong Taeui muttered.
What to do? Why is there someone so perfect for me here?
Actually, thinking back, it's not certain that the two of them would end up in bed together. He had absolutely no intention of raping or sexually harassing the other person, so if he was straight, he would end up here. The probability of that is very high. Even if he was lucky enough to have the same sexual orientation as him, his time here would only be half a year.
What should he do now. Jeong Taeui muttered without knowing what to do.
Meanwhile, the long hallway had come to an end. Jeong Taeui looked at the wall in front of him and couldn't help but sigh before turning right again.
Sure enough, as the young man said, the elevator was right next to the stairs. It was the elevator that Tou had led him down earlier.
"Turn right at the second, second…. that's right."
Jeong Taeui moved according to what the young man said. He quickly found his uncle's room.