Jeong Taeui put out his cigarette and picked up the cigarette case to put in his pocket, his hands also became flustered. He took out the remaining cigarette, tried to light it but the lighter didn't work. His fingers kept fumbling.
Wait, what did he just hear? It seemed like he heard something strange, like a part of his memory was missing, he couldn't remember. Oh right, just now Xin Lu called him Taeil hyung, then hesitated for a moment and said, that is... Ah, but why won't this fire burn.
Seeing that Jeong Taeui couldn't light the lighter even after tapping the lighter several times, Xin Lu, who was still bowing his head, red like a criminal, timidly approached. He gently took the lighter from Jeong Taeui's hand and lit it for him.
"Oh, thanks."
Jeong Taeui said, taking the lighter back from Xin Lu and putting it back in his pocket.
"..."
"..."
A vague silence passed. Xin Lu stood in front of Jeong Taeui, close enough to reach out and touch.
Jeong Taeui exhaled smoke in a daze as he looked at Xin Lu, who coughed twice. Only then did Jeong Taeui flinch, said "Sorry" and turned away, blowing the smoke in another direction. He then put out the cigarette before taking a few puffs. Perhaps if Tou were here, he would roll his eyes and get angry, but that didn't matter anymore.
"... Like this, ... is this okay?"
After a moment of hesitation, when he opened his mouth to ask, Jeong Taeui felt like cutting off his own head.
Why am I asking that? What does "are you okay" mean in this situation?
Xin Lu looked at Jeong Taeui with wide eyes of surprise. Jeong Taeui was confused.
"Ah no, that's not what I meant. I just,... I mean, I just wanted to know if you felt uncomfortable anywhere."
Xin Lu looked at Jeong Taeui who was frantically explaining with a bewildered expression. Then, he slowly shook his head.
"There was no uncomfortable feeling… It was just that I was too busy after that so I didn't have the chance to go anywhere,…and from then on, I also no longer felt interested in women..."
Xin Lu lowered her head as if embarrassed, her neck turning red. Seeing this, Jeong Taeui also felt his face turn even redder.
If anyone was standing nearby witnessing this scene, they would definitely find it funny. The two men stood facing each other with red faces, looking down at the ground. But even if someone laughed loudly, Jeong Taeui didn't care. Maybe, just maybe, something was stirring in his heart.
Jeong Taeui unconsciously pushed and pulled the long cigarette lying at his feet. At that time, Xin Lu did not say anything for a long time and then whispered softly.
"Taeil hyung. The other day while drinking tea..."
Jeong Taeui was startled, his foot touched the cigarette. He slowly moved his foot to remove the cigarette.
"Because you touched me, you smelled of soap, and you were so close, so..."
"Yes, is that so..."
Jeong Taeui nodded and whispered.
"That's all."
Xin Lu still had her head bowed, blushing, and Jeong Taeui was no different.
Then at some point, Xin Lu slowly raised his head. His sparkling eyes looked at Jeong Taeui, making his heart pound.
As Jeong Taeui was about to turn away, Xin Lu smiled slightly. It was an embarrassed smile, with just a slight curl of her lips. That smile made Jeong Taeui unable to look away.
"... Hyung. Let's go home together. But... No, I also want to see the ocean a little more."
Xin Lu said that and started walking towards the beach. Jeong Taeui stood there, rooted to the spot, just looking at Shin Lu's back. When Xin Lu turned back to look at him with a questioning look, Jeong Taeui frantically ran after him.
His heart was pounding like never before. It felt like he had struck a lucky streak.
Unable to believe it, he closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Xin Lu was still there smiling.
Ah, it's not just misfortune that comes to me.
Tonight, even though there were hundreds of men like Rick from the European branch coming here, he could still endure.
***********************************************
They arrived after dinner, exactly when the clock struck eight o'clock.
Jeong Taeui wondered if he had ever felt such a tense atmosphere in his life.
Never.
Even the day after he and Kim So Wi got into a fight that turned into a brawl between teams, he had never felt this tense.
When they went down to the 6th basement, the atmosphere in the corridor was indeed stifling. A group of people, especially those from the European branch who had a grudge against them, stood in the corridor, glaring at them without saying a word, and the people coming down from the stairs also stared coldly.
Jeong Taeui didn't want to get involved in this confrontational situation, he had predicted the situation would be like this and decided to stay in the room and not come out when they arrived, but unfortunately, when he came out of the bathroom after taking a shower, he ran into those guys.
Seeing a group of strange men coming out of the stairs, Jeong Taeui thought, "Ah, it's finally here.", then seeing his teammates standing in front of him, he quickly passed through them and headed towards his room. He was about to go to his room out of habit, but then changed direction to Tou's room, where he would be staying for a while.
There was only Morer in the room, he was also in the same room as Tou. Even though they were on different teams, Jeong Taeui had met and talked to them a few times so he didn't feel awkward anymore.
"Are you here yet?"
Morer muttered as he stared at his puzzle magazine and chewed on his pencil. Jeong Taeui replied, "Yeah, it's here.", then sat on the bed and brushed away his wet hair with his hand.
Fortunately, Morer had no personal grudge against the European branch. He had only been here for a few months, and had not had the chance to experience the cruelty of the European branch like Tou had, according to Tou. Morer was like Jeong Taeui, only having normal rivalry with them compared to Tou's intense hatred.
"Where are you going?"
Going to the bathroom. I brought my comic books, so it won't be long."
Hearing Morer's answer while still focused on the puzzle game, Jeong Taeui nodded.
The person who always hated the European branch and was always looking forward to their arrival was in the restroom. But perhaps even while in the restroom, sensing their presence, Tou could immediately rush out.
Even though he was only in the room, Jeong Taeui could clearly feel the tense atmosphere outside. There was no conflict, but the occasional curses and screams still rang out as if to prove it.
"It's like the atmosphere is like a fight could break out at any moment. It's so tense."
"Fighting.... I don't like it."
"Yeah. I don't want to either. ...… If Tou hears these words, he'll probably get angry and start a long speech."
Jeong Taeui glanced at Morer and smiled. Morer also smiled.
"Tou too, is a good person but a bit hot-tempered."
Morer did not reply, but only shrugged in sympathy, then returned to the puzzle game.
Jeong Taeui began unpacking his belongings. There wasn't much. Since he had almost nothing when he first came to this branch, he didn't need much since he was only staying here for a few days. He could easily carry it in his hands without having to put it in his bag.
"Can I use the old toothbrush holder?"
"Yeah, whatever. As long as there's no mistake. Tou bought a new toothbrush before, and its color was the same as Tic Tac's, so the two of them argued every day because of the mistake."
While still focused on the puzzle, Jeong Taeui glanced at the color of his toothbrush as he listened to Morer's answer and put it in the bathroom. When he put his underwear in the closet, he also looked again and felt a little regretful for bringing plain white underwear that could easily be mistaken.
When he closed the cabinet, he felt something stuck inside and couldn't close it. After opening and closing the cabinet door several times, Jeong Taeui frowned and pulled the cabinet door open completely.
"What's wrong here... Ah."
Jeong Taeui took out a piece of metal stuck in the pile of underwear.
It is a Beretta gun.
The cold feeling in his hand made Jeong Taeui glance at Morer. Morer was sitting with his back tilted to this side, still focused on the puzzle game.
In this branch, carrying personal weapons is prohibited. Even if they are allowed to be carried, they are only knives or guns that are not capable of causing harm. Sometimes, gun enthusiasts secretly carry guns and when discovered, they still stubbornly say that they are toy guns, but the feeling in their hands is real.
Jeong Taeui held the Beretta, tapping it lightly on the palm with his other hand. There were bullets in the magazine. Just remove the safety and you can fire immediately.
At that moment, Morer turned his head, spun the ballpoint pen and saw the Beretta in Jeong Taeui's hand.
His face instantly changed color. With a look of panic, Morer immediately stood up and rushed forward, trying to snatch the gun from Jeong Taeui's hand. Jeong Taeui reflexively stepped back.
Slowly, Morer's face changed into a displeased look. Jeong Taeui silently said "Ah" in his heart and smiled.
"Is that yours? Carrying a personal weapon is against the law."
"Give it back! It was something I worked hard to get, this model!"
Morer shouted with an angry face and held out his hand.
Thinking back, Jeong Taeui remembered that Tou had mentioned that his roommate was a gun enthusiast and had a lot of model guns. Jeong Taeui thought that Tou wouldn't mistake real guns for model guns, so perhaps Morer really had a lot of model guns in his room. It seemed that the gun enthusiast roommate that Tou mentioned was Morer. It was quite an unexpected hobby for someone who was always immersed in puzzles like that.
"Take the bullets out, they're real."
Jeong Taeui obediently handed the gun to Morer.
In fact, there are many potentially dangerous people in this branch. This makes Jeong Taeui worried about his future in this environment.
Jeong Taeui suddenly pulled Morer closer and stuck his hand inside Morer's vest. Morer let out a strange scream and pulled back.
"Hey! What are you doing!"
"We're both men, there's nothing you have to worry about. Let me see... Ah ha."
"Hey, hey! I heard you have feelings for Xin Lu! Don't touch me, I'm still pure! I don't like doing things with men!"
"Don't worry, I don't have any intentions towards you... But, what is this?"
Jeong Taeui smiled brightly, taking out a small piece of metal from Morer's vest pocket.
"Oh, Colt.22... Looks pretty cute. What are you going to use it for?"
"Give it back! That's my baby! Why do you have to touch my kids!"
Morer got angry and grabbed the Colt from Jeong Taeui's hand. Jeong Taeui shook his head and laughed.
It seems like there are gun enthusiasts everywhere. Jeong Taeui recalls a classmate who was also obsessed with guns and decorated his entire house with model guns. When asked if he was afraid of being caught, the friend said that as long as it wasn't revealed, he would be fine.
Jeong Taeui has met a few people fascinated by guns before, and now he meets another one.
"You're Officer Jeong's nephew, right?"
Morer looked at Jeong Taeui with sharp eyes. Jeong Taeui smiled wryly.
"If I told you my roommate was a gun enthusiast, you would probably shoot me before my uncle got there."
"Of course! If you say it, you're dead!"
Morer made a false threat and hid the Colt in his pocket.
"You always carry it with you... You'll get caught."
"Just be quiet!"
Morer yelled and turned back to the table. He glanced at Jeong Taeui once more and opened the puzzle magazine, clearly annoyed.
Jeong Taeui smiled and continued to arrange his things. However, the arrangement quickly ended because there weren't many things.
Jeong Taeui sat on the bed and looked around the room. Unlike his own room, this room had three people. While Jeong Taeui didn't like to keep a lot of things, this room was filled with miscellaneous items.
Jeong Taeui smiled lightly. This feeling was not unfamiliar, but rather very familiar. When he was in military school or the army's BOQ, he had shared a room with his comrades. Back then, there was also someone who couldn't throw away his belongings, causing the room to be filled with stuff. After an argument, everything was resolved.
Although this room is full of junk, compared to before, it is still light and bland. It can even be said that this is an ideal place to live.
While Jeong Taeui was recalling old memories, it was still noisy and chaotic outside. Occasionally, the sound of metal clashing could be heard, as if a big fight was about to break out.
The European branch members had gone to their rooms, temporarily quieting the noise from the hallway. Although they shared the same floor, the two branches had divided their areas. The European branch members were near the west staircase, while Jeong Taeui's branch was near the east.
Even so, the atmosphere was tense as if a fight could break out at any moment. No one wanted to get involved, but the tension between the two groups was obvious. Even the supervisors only pretended to intervene.
"Just don't get caught in the middle of a war..."
Jeong Taeui muttered. Morer heard and nodded in agreement, then turned back to the puzzle magazine.
Jeong Taeui laughed. He was used to the competition between his teammates, but he had never really participated. He only participated in light activities like sports competitions.
Starting tomorrow is joint training, but from the very beginning, the atmosphere is so tense, it's worrying.
Jeong Taeui remembers what his uncle said about not dying and tells himself that he won't be among those unlucky few.
He looked around the room and noticed the bookshelf filled with books belonging to Tic Tac, Tou's former roommate who had moved to the South American branch. Tic Tac was known to be a bookworm, and his bookshelf was filled with books stacked one on top of the other. With this many books, Jeong Taeui wouldn't feel bored during his stay here.
"…Ah."
Suddenly, Jeong Taeui remembered the book his uncle lent him. He had left it in his room. Although his uncle said the book was not worth $3,500, in Jeong Taeui's eyes, all the books on his uncle's bookshelf were worth that much.
He left the book on the table after reading it last night. Although the book was not damaged, Jeong Taeui was still worried because it was the most precious book among his belongings and not his.
"Damn… I have to go get it."
Jeong Taeui grumbled. Although no one had any reason to vandalize his books, the thought of a book that wasn't his being left behind for half a month made him nervous. It was a $3,500 book that he couldn't afford to pay for.