Kiyomi's elbow hit the man's chest. With that force, it was no surprise that his ribs were broken.
But he only frowned slightly, at the same time, his hand grabbed Kiyomi's wrist that was pointing towards him and smiled when he saw the blunt knife he was holding.
The man twisted Kiyomi's wrist.
The video had no sound, but he could clearly see Kiyomi screaming in pain. The knife in his hand fell heavily to the floor.
The face standing sideways was expressionless.
Jeong Taeui unconsciously clenched his fists. A corner of his chest felt cold. All around was silent, not even a breath could be heard.
The man held Kiyomi's other arm and strangled him with one hand. The neck fit perfectly in that large hand. Wherever his fingers passed, they left long black marks on Kiyomi's neck.
Jeong Taeui frowned as he stared at the marks. There was no mud here, so the glove couldn't have been soaked with dirt. What the hell was that…..
And then, it hit him.
Not black. It was a red so deep that it looked like black. Perhaps the glove itself wasn't black, but was soaked with some sticky red liquid…
The expression on Jeong Taeui's face gradually disappeared. The moment he was frantically speculating about the red liquid, the man who was holding Kiyomi's neck in the video curled his thumb right above his collarbone and stabbed it.
"No way…."
Jeong Taeui exclaimed involuntarily. The images before his eyes were so vivid that his tongue froze and he couldn't form words. A chill ran down his spine.
The finger that had just passed through the middle of the neck was slowly pulled out again. Those fingers were stained with a liquid even darker than before.
Kiyomi's eyes turned white, after convulsing like a duck being slaughtered, he was mercilessly thrown to the ground. Jeong Taeui rubbed his chest, his eyebrows furrowed.
Once again, the man stood there, looking straight into the camera. Jeong Taeui rubbed his cold lips with his fingertips. He met his gaze. It was still the same pale and calm face, completely unrecognizable as the man who had just stabbed another man in the neck with his bare hands. That made his skin crawl even more.
He looked up at the camera for a moment, then suddenly sneered. Immediately after, the screen was covered by a black glove, and the video cut off.
There were other fighting videos following, but Jeong Taeui's retina seemed to have engraved the man's last smile. His heart was cold and trembling.
"What, this person…"
Jeong Taeui vaguely whispered, then, a soft reply came back by his ear.
"It's a lunatic from the European branch. Rick, a lunatic that no one from the European branch can touch."
Tou's facial expression hardened as he replied in a tired voice.
"Not only the European branch, he is famous for being untouchable even in the headquarters and all the other branches, that bastard."
Carlo's heavy voice rang out behind him.
"Riegrow of the European branch. Or otherwise known as crazy Rick."
"Riegrow…"
"Because of that guy, Kiyomi had to have a tube shoved down his throat and struggled to his death. It can be said that it was fortunate that he received timely treatment and barely survived."
Jeong Taeui seemed to be able to see the afterimage of the man in the other people's videos, then frowned and turned to look at Tou.
"But doesn't the organization have any measures? He was even caught on camera like that?"
Carlo heard that and sneered. The smile was both bitter and cruel.
"Hey, Taeil. That's called 'training'. Furthermore, it's also a counterattack of 'a member without a weapon' against 'a member with a weapon in hand'. Everything you just saw was training, okay?"
"Ha…that bastard has intentionally killed people many times already. He didn't even have any intention of covering it up. So he has been to jail many times."
Tou pointed his finger to the floor as if he just remembered.
"Oh, there's a cell in basement number 7. Anyone who goes in there once and comes out will be scratched and bruised. That's true. If you're locked up in a dark place for months, that's what you're supposed to be."
"..... But if it's that bastard, then isn't the jailer the one who's working so hard that his hair falls out and he's emaciated."
Jeong Taeui listened to their whispers and rubbed his goosebumps-covered arm.
Is it " I'll tear you to death before you tear me to death."
No, before that you should tear off the mouth that said 'If he smiled, it would be cute.'
Jeong Taeui used to think he had a good eye for people, but now it's the complete opposite.
Only now did he understand his colleagues' reactions. Jeong Taeui kept rubbing his arms. His spine was still shaking with cold. His heart was pounding with anxiety that couldn't be calmed down. His black eyes stared through the screen. His pale face. His black gloves. The red marks every time his fingers brushed against something.
"..."
"Alright. Did everyone take a good look? I'll point out some points to keep in mind, so pay close attention from now on."
On the podium, the instructor tapped the table and spoke. Once again, the videos played back. Jeong Taeui took a deep breath and carefully watched the videos again, feeling his heart heavy.
As a result, Jeong Taeui came to the conclusion that of the 36 strategies, running away was the best policy.
***********************************************
The library on the fifth floor basement was always quiet. Perhaps that was why he occasionally saw people sleeping with their faces buried in books among the old bookshelves.
Normally, he would sit in the corner reading between the bookshelves, but today someone had taken that spot, so Jeong Taeui went to the other side and sat down. There was a spacious table that could seat six people. But whenever he sat there, a familiar face or two would come over and start a conversation. That was why he liked that hidden corner, but the main reason was because it was a place where he could lie down and sleep as soon as he felt sleepy.
Jeong Taeui flipped through the pages of the book he had just picked up and silently glanced at the shelves.
But this quiet and comfortable atmosphere did not last long. A member came to this corner to see if he had the book he was looking for. It was a familiar face.
"You are here."
Jeong Taeui glanced at the person. It was Yuen Ho. Behind him, Ching was also walking over.
Yuen Ho strode forward, picked up the book Jeong Taeui was reading, and tilted it to the side.
"Reading something? ... Sun Tzu's Art of War? This kid reads some weird books sometimes. Reading stuff like this won't help you in real life, man."
"Do you know of any book that writes about the 36 precepts as neatly as this one?"
Jeong Taeui replied gruffly and took the book back. When he tried to dismiss the notion that these classical theories were just outdated, Yuan Ho waved his hand and took a step back.
"Yeah, yeah, watch carefully. The tactics instructor will definitely treat you well."
Jeong Taeui thought about his uncle for a moment. His uncle was the one in charge of strategic theory. He chuckled and said, 'No way.'
His uncle was not the type to favor model students. To put it bluntly, he was more interested in the oddballs. His uncle was no ordinary person.
"But why did you suddenly mention the 36 strategies? Are you planning to run away somewhere?"
"Um…Yesterday's training video. After watching it, I think that's the only way to save my life. If one doesn't have enough confidence to win, then they'll have to run away, even if their life afterwards is miserable, they can only prolong it for a few more days."
Yuan Ho and Ching laughed heartily. Perhaps they thought what he said was a joke.
"Some people understand that, but some don't…. well. Well, you look like someone who would survive even if you were thrown into the deep forest."
Ching nodded and muttered, Yuan Ho also nodded in agreement.
Jeong Taeui wondered how his image had fallen so much in just a few days. But he couldn't deny it so he just shrugged. He thought it was the feeling his uncle always talked about.
In a very short moment, he can make his decisions and quickly judge the best course of action, or what is best within the limits of his ability. What to ignore and what to gain in return for the highest efficiency when weighing between his opponent and himself.
However, if you have to face a monster, it is best to throw away your manly pride and face reality. That is, as soon as you meet him, just run away immediately.
"But….. It doesn't say here how to best escape either.."
Jeong Taeui muttered as he flipped through the pages of the book. As expected, the two people beside him burst out laughing as if it was a joke.
Looking at those grinning faces made Jeong Taeui want to take the book and smash it into their faces. He looked down at the book and then back up at the two faces.
Jeong Taeui closed the book and took out a pager from his pocket. He looked at the unfamiliar number. Pagers were only used within the branch, but the number was unfamiliar. He had only known the numbers of the instructors who had contacted him so far.
"If it starts with 07, where is the number?"
Jeong Taeui replied, 'Huh?' when he heard Ching's voice in his ear and looked down at his pager. He had nothing to hide either. Ching added.
"If it starts with 07, it's on the ground floor, definitely an office."
"Office? Who's there calling me…."
Jeong Taeui muttered, raising his eyebrows, then suddenly fell silent. Then, he stared at Ching without blinking. He took a step back because his gaze seemed to be pressuring him.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"....No… please put the book back on the shelf."
Jeong Taeui stood up, threw the book to Ching and immediately ran out.
"The shelf behind?"
The scream echoed behind but Jeong Taeui just ran out of the study and pretended not to know.
This useless memory. That's right. If that person didn't contact me yesterday, then of course it would be today! I went to bed disappointed last night and forgot about it.
The elevator stopped at the first floor, so Jeong Taeui ran up the stairs because he didn't want to wait. Jeong Taeui was panting as he ran from the 5th basement floor to the ground floor.
He rubbed his panting chest as he walked to the office door. Office hours had ended, so only the person assigned to the night shift was left.
Jeong Taeui took a deep breath before knocking on the door. If his uncle saw this on the camera later, he would probably laugh so hard he would hold his stomach. Not long after, the door opened.
Xin Lu was left alone in the office. He looked at Jeong Taeui and smiled brightly.
"Taeil, you're here."
"Um…uh…Are you here alone?"
"Yes, I'm on night duty today…You must be busy today too, right?"
No, I was just reading a book in the library because I was free. Although it was a bit annoying to be interrupted, I came here immediately when I got a call. But if you're on night duty, you can't go out for a walk."
"Yes. It was originally Kippen's turn today, but he had something urgent to do so I had to change him. So it'll probably be difficult to go for a walk today, sorry."
Xin Lu bowed his head in apology and whispered. Even so, Jeong Taeui couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment. That was it. It was a notice to cancel this appointment.
Even though he tried not to show it, it seemed like Jeong Taeui's expression betrayed him. Xin Lu hesitated a bit when she saw his face and smiled shyly.
"But anyway, I don't have much work today, so I'll just sit and watch…. Would you like to sit down and have some tea before leaving? Not long ago, Vice Minister Jang Til came back and brought me some really good tea. If you're not busy, please sit down."
"Um? Okay. I'm not busy either…. What kind of tea is it?"
"It's green tea buds. Do you like tea?"
"I've never had it. Is it green tea?"
"No. It's fresh tea leaves…. It smells good. I'll give it to you right away, try some."
Xin Lu entered the small room inside and fumbled around for a while. The sound of water and teapots clanging against each other could be heard.
Jeong Taeui hesitantly tilted his head to look through the crack in the door, then furtively sat down to look at the camera installed in the corner of the office.
Yes, it was fine if they couldn't go for a walk. Although it would be nice to walk along the beach and look at the starry sky and the vast ocean, more importantly, being with Xin Lu was more important. If they were together, what was wrong with staying at home? They could have a quiet conversation over a cup of tea.