He is not in the room.
No, to be exact, he wasn't here. While walking and lost in other thoughts, Jeong Taeui opened the door and entered without even knocking, but there was no one in the room to scold him.
With the door unlocked and no one inside, he paused for a moment when he heard the sound of running water. He must be taking a shower in the private bathroom in the room.
Jeong Taeui saw a few familiar items placed haphazardly on the table and after confirming that this was his uncle's room. He went inside. Sitting on the large chair in front of the table, he slowly looked around the room.
His room is completely different from yours.
There was a lot more than furniture and electronics. There was a shelf along the walls filled with books.
Jeong Taeui touched a bookshelf within reach. He had a lot of rare books. His house, where he only returned less than 10 days a year, was filled with rare books that would make an antique book collector salivate with envy.
So Jeong Taeui would go to his uncle's house and stay there day after day without having to go out. He would read all the books and then call his brother and tell him about the contents of those books. Jeong Taeui didn't like books as much as his uncle or brother, but he liked them enough to know which books were rare. Now, among the books he was touching, there was one that he wanted to read but couldn't buy.
Jeong Taeui raised his eyebrows slightly and pulled out the book. He had tried his best to buy it but had given up in the end since the original book was no longer published.
I wonder where you find these things. It's so comfortable here.
Jeong Taeui exclaimed and slowly flipped through the books on the shelf. However, he couldn't focus on the book because the boy he had just met was still lingering in his mind.
"...Really. You're not even a teenager, what are you doing….get a grip Jeong Taeui."
Jeong Taeui patted his burning face and clicked his tongue. He slapped his cheeks a few times like that.
How the hell could URHDNO let such a fragile looking child into the middle of this dangerous island. But if it was on the first floor, it didn't seem like he was a member of any group.
Thinking of that, Jeong Taeui was slapped by reality.
This is basement number one. And you are on basement number six. If he is on the first floor… Could that kid be a governor, a vice minister, or a high-ranking officer…..
Jeong Taeui's expression stiffened. Only his hands were still absentmindedly flipping through the pages of the book, while his mind had long since gone blank.
That moment.
Jeong Taeui was about to call his uncle, but thinking about his uncle who would definitely not budge from the bathtub even if he called until his voice was hoarse, Jeong Taeui pressed the red button after thinking for a moment. His uncle told him to write down the necessary information, but there was no paper or pen. If it was something he could remember, that would be great.
"Yes. Hello."
When Jeong Taeui pressed the call answer button, the LCD screen above turned on. The image of the person on the other end of the phone appeared on the screen.
He couldn't be sure because the angle of view wasn't very wide, but it seemed like the person was inside. It was probably a private room. He could immediately see a built-in wardrobe right on the white wall.
And the man's body in front of him took up ⅓ of the screen.
Because the angle of view was very narrow, he could only see a part from his chin to his chest, along with a dark colored shirt. There was also a sleeve extending from that shirt, and finally a hand holding a porcelain cup.
His hand was very white. It was a delicately beautiful hand, and it seemed that his fingers were only suited to gliding over the piano keys. His hand was so large that the large cup he held in his hand seemed very small. But his fingers were so white and beautiful that you could see through them.
At each fingertip, the nails were neatly trimmed, the nails looking like pale glass.
"...Who are you?"
The sound of machinery is annoying.
The voice was stiff, like an answering machine recorded on an electronic device. The person on the other end of the line must have used a voice changer. The pale hand on the screen put down the cup, long fingers tapping the rim of the porcelain.
"What about Officer Jeong Changin?"
"Ah…—He's in the bathroom. If you have anything to do, I'll pass it on to him later."
Jeong Taeui replied, his eyes drawn to those beautiful hands that seemed to be carved from transparent glass.
There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment.
Jeong Taeui was still admiring those hands when a whispering voice rang out.
"So."
"Huh?"
"So who are you? The one answering the phone in that room?"
Perhaps because of his mood, his voice seemed to have dropped a little. It was as if he was lost in some distant thought. Even though it was just a strange mechanical sound, the unusually beautiful hand that was slowly caressing the cup made Jeong Taeui feel a clear change in the tone of his voice.
Jeong Taeui was wondering what to say since he didn't know who the other party was, so he chose the most normal answer possible.
"I'm the nephew of the owner of this room, the one who leisurely bathes while knowing that someone is calling. If there's anything, I'll pass it on, so just say it. But there's no pen and paper here to write it down, so I hope it's brief. My memory is terrible."
As soon as Jeong Taeui finished speaking, the other end of the line burst out laughing for a moment.
"Um, then it must be the second nephew. Your name is….?"
.....Jeong Taeui. What about over there?"
Jeong Taeui quickly realized the situation. The other man knew about him. No, to be exact, he knew Jeong Changin's family connections very well. Even the fact that he had two nephews, one of whom was a smart and famous genius.
It seems that everyone in this branch knows that Jeong Jaeui is Jeong Changin's nephew, so it wouldn't be strange if others also knew about their family relationship.
The man on the other end of the line was silent for a moment and then spoke.
"The one."
Jeong Taeui nodded. Ilay. It's good that this name is also easy to remember.
The man who identified himself as Ilay fell silent again. Another hand appeared on the screen. It was his left hand, two beautiful white hands intertwined.
Jeong Taeui let out a sigh, and then Ilay opened his mouth.
"What's up?"
"Nothing…. but haven't you heard anyone say that your hands are beautiful?"
"Hand?"
Jeong Taeui didn't know if it was true or not, but he could feel that there was a bit of confusion in that voice. He didn't know if he was looking down at his hands, his fingers that were intertwined suddenly relaxed and moved the knuckles up and down, those curved joints looked like a beautiful painting.
He clenched his fists again, then opened them again, then clasped them together again and spoke with interest.
"Let me see, this is the first time I've heard those words. Do you like my hands?"
"Um, it's beautiful."
"Haha, then. After I die, I will give you this hand. But instead, put your hand on my arm. Even if it is just a corpse, it would be a bit pitiful if it did not have a hand."
".....I refuse. That hand doesn't suit me anyway. If it were attached to my body, only that hand would stand out."
Jeong Taeui wrinkled his nose and grimaced, the joke was as cruel as it was true.
Ilay found those words interesting, and he smiled gently.
"Um, it doesn't seem to fit. Your hands suit your face very well."
His voice was laughing.
Jeong Taeui only now realized that the corner of the screen on his side seemed wider than the other. He unconsciously touched the front lens with his hand.
"It seems like this camera has a wider angle. Well, just seeing those pretty fingers on the screen isn't bad either."
Ilay seemed to smile again.
"If you're there now, that means you just joined the Asia branch, right?"
Jeong Taeui shrugged.
"Yes, thanks to your blessing, I was able to enter here without going through any procedures."
"Ah ha. That's quite a big umbrella."
Ilay said while laughing, Jeong Taeui also laughed, thinking back, what he said was true.
A splash of water was coming up in the bathroom. He must have just finished soaking and would be out soon.
"I think he'll be out soon, can you wait for him for a moment? If not, can I pass on a message for you? Or you can call him back later."
Thinking back, he still hadn't heard the reason why the man had called. When Jeong Taeui spoke, Ilay let out a tired mumble. 'Um.'
"Please tell me that I have found the book he is looking for. Laurent Gastiye's Mythology, 1925 edition, $3,500."
Jeong Taeui couldn't help but fall silent when he heard that. If it was Laurent Gastiye's mythology, then that was a book he had heard of and wanted to read at least once. That was it, but….
"3500 dollars? For a book?"
When he exclaimed with wide eyes as if it sounded absurd, Ilay laughed as if knowing exactly what he was thinking.
"If you tell Officer Jeong, he will be pleased that he got it for such a cheap price. So please tell him for me, I will see you again if I have the chance someday."
The beautiful hand waved lightly in front of the screen as if in greeting. The call was disconnected immediately after that.
Jeong Taeui stared at the dark screen in front of him once more, then sighed and leaned back in his chair.