He didn't know who was in his room, but he hoped they wouldn't cause trouble just because he came back to get his books. It was his room before, after all.
Jeong Taeui felt uneasy remembering Tou's words and the tense atmosphere outside, but he still decided to go. If there was a problem, he would take the book and run. Hopefully no one would chase him to the point of causing trouble.
Probably not. Although they often forget, the staff at UNHRDO are all good senior staff.
Jeong Taeui patted his chest twice and stood up, about to return to his room when he heard the door open. Tou was walking in. Then the door slammed shut loudly.
"…What happened? Fell in the bathroom and into the toilet?"
To Jeong Taeui's question, Tou just glared at him without answering.
The aggressive figure walked in, like he had just been beaten up badly somewhere and couldn't vent his anger, returning angrily.
"Why are you glaring at me like that, I'm scared... Did you have a clash with the European branch group?"
Jeong Taeui asked softly, Tou's angry face became even more ferocious. It seemed to have hit the bull's eye.
Less than half an hour after the European branch members arrived and the trainers gave them instructions not to cause trouble, the instructions were useless. Or perhaps this guy was still sitting in the toilet at the time, so he argued, 'I never heard that instruction'.
"They deliberately bumped into me as they passed by. When I was about to hold them back and give them a punch, the guide came right at that moment... Damn, I should have hit them first and then thought about it."
"Alright, you did the right thing by holding back. What good would it do to make a ruckus from the start? There'll be plenty of opportunities to sneak attack them without a guide anyway, right?"
Jeong Taeui patted Tou's shoulder and chuckled. At that moment, although his face was still upset, Tou seemed to have calmed down a bit.
Just like when he was in the same squad as Lieutenant Kim and they didn't get along. He himself had to console his subordinates a few times. In the end, he was the one who caused a big scene and was discharged.
Jeong Taeui sighed and walked away. While Tou took a beer from the fridge and took a sip, he looked at Jeong Taeui and asked.
"Where are you going?"
"Um... I'm going to the bathroom too."
If he said he was going to get something from the room, Tou would definitely insist on following him or grit his teeth and stop him. He didn't want either of those things, so Jeong Taeui hesitated for a moment before giving the safest answer. Tou finished his beer and warned him.
"If anyone touches you, hit them before the instructor gets there."
"Oh... I'll keep that in mind."
Jeong Taeui didn't turn back, waved his hand and left the room.
As soon as he stepped out into the hallway, he could feel the tension creeping up on his skin as he saw men standing in menacing groups here and there in the hallway. Some were from this branch, some were from that branch. They stared at each other and whispered something, the situation was truly about to erupt into conflict.
"It's a better relationship than I imagined."
Jeong Taeui sighed and continued walking.
The distance from Tou's room to Jeong Taeui's room was quite far. Normally it didn't seem close, but now in this atmosphere it felt even further away.
"Hey, Taeil. Where are you going?"
One of the groups of people standing in the hallway greeted each other. Normally, they never greeted each other, and they didn't even bother to recognize each other's faces, but when faced with an external enemy, their internal solidarity naturally emerged. In a situation where enemies were lurking around, they greeted each other very friendly. Jeong Taeui also calmly raised his hand to greet back, despite the fierce gazes of the unfamiliar faces from afar.
"Go to the bathroom."
"The bathroom is right here."
It seemed strange to say that while passing by the restroom right in front of him, so the first person to speak up asked again. Jeong Taeui shrugged.
"I just like the familiar toilet near my room. I'm a bit sensitive."
"Ha ha ha, this guy is special."
He smiled as if in disbelief but said nothing more.
Jeong Taeui gently put his hands in his pockets and continued walking, passing by the people from the European branch. As Jeong Taeui passed by, one of them took a step forward, immediately a few people from his branch who were standing in the distance showed signs of being ready to step forward. Ready to fight immediately if anyone touched their person.
The man from the European branch seemed hesitant to approach Jeong Taeui, but after looking around, he folded his arms and stepped back. Immediately, his teammates who were about to help Jeong Taeui also stepped back.
What a nuisance. Not only was it dangerous to himself, but he also ran the risk of becoming a spark that could ignite a conflict. Jeong Taeui shook his head inwardly. The solidarity of these not-so-close teammates, like wearing a silly outfit, felt uncomfortable and he just wanted to laugh bitterly.
After going through a few times like that, Jeong Taeui finally reached his room.
Because it was located in the hallway, there was no one near the room. Neither his teammates nor the people from the other branch could be seen. Only one person from the European branch was watching from afar, but he had no intention of coming closer to cause trouble. On the contrary, he looked at Jeong Taeui with an extremely strange expression.
Jeong Taeui looked at him with suspicion and opened the door.
Just walking through the hallway was enough to cause trouble, let alone meeting in the same room. Maybe the situation was not a joke like Tou said, it was an invasion of territory. Really, if anything happened, I would have to grab my books and run.
Not knowing who the scary-faced person was in his room, Jeong Taeui entered the room with a feeling of both anxiety and anticipation, and stopped when he saw who was inside.
There is one person in the room.
The man was lying on Jeong Taeui's bed, as if he had lived there for a long time, turning the pages of a book. When he heard the door, he only glanced at Jeong Taeui.
The book you're reading costs $3,500. Don't touch it like that.
But the words stuck in his throat, unable to come out. Because he recognized the person immediately.
Jeong Taeui's eyes were glued to his face.
His face was as white as transparent. His delicate features were hidden by thick-rimmed glasses but still stood out. He looked like a gentle, devoted researcher in some laboratory, but when he looked straight into his narrow eyes, Jeong Taeui's heart turned cold.
Jeong Taeui knew this person. A crimson mark was deeply engraved in his mind.
Riegrow…. Rick.
A gentle smile bloomed on the blood-stained face that filled the screen.
Jeong Taeui stared at him and closed the door, only when he heard the sound of the door closing did he realize his mistake. Why did he close the door? Even though it didn't make any sense, leaving the door open would make him feel connected to the outside world, and would make him feel a little more comfortable. Or at least it would be easier if he had to run away.
Now he understood the strange expression the European had on his face as he looked at him from afar. He knew who was in the room.
This bastard. No matter how much his brothers considered the people of the Asian branch as enemies, when the lives of people of the same species were in danger, they should at least give a warning.
Even though Jeong Taeui had only heard Tou and his teammates criticize the people of the European branch many times, for the first time he felt intense anger towards them.
"Who owns this book?"
Jeong Taeui was cursing silently in his mind when he heard Riegrow's gentle voice.
Jeong Taeui paused.
The voice was low and soft. That strange sound seeped into his ears like water, a sound that Jeong Taeui had never heard or imagined before. Furthermore, the voice of this man named Riegrow, Jeong Taeui had never thought of a similar feeling.
The man picked up the book and asked gently, not looking like he was about to slash Jeong Taeui's throat or leave him in a pool of blood. In fact, with a faint smile on his lips, he looked friendly.
"No... This is the book I borrowed. Rare books must be kept carefully and returned, so I came to get it back."
"You want it back now?"
Riegrow asked regretfully. It seemed like he was reading a very interesting passage, his face showing regret.
"I'll probably finish reading in about two or three hours. Can you wait?"
"... No problem."
Jeong Taeui replied with a strange feeling.
There was something different about it. After talking to him for a few sentences, he felt like he was facing a completely normal person. Maybe he had remembered this crazy guy's face wrong. The video quality wasn't very good, so maybe that face wasn't him... No, that couldn't be it.
As Riegrow thanked him with a smile on his face, Jeong Taeui was busy doubting his own memory, but his eyes had never misjudged people, especially those with such a strong impression.
"Even if you're a psychopath, you probably aren't crazy 24 hours a day."
"Huh? What?"
Jeong Taeui muttered incoherent words to himself, then flinched when Riegrow asked again.
"Huh? What?" Jeong Taeui pretended not to understand and shrugged. Riegrow stared at Jeong Taeui and then chuckled lightly.
"Come to think of it, waiting two or three hours is boring. Okay, I'll give it back to you."
Riegrow closed the book and handed it to Jeong Taeui. He gently shook the book as if to give it to him.
"No, you keep reading, I can come back later. It's uncomfortable to stop halfway."
"I read this book a long time ago so I know the content. I just miss it when I read it again. It's okay, just take it."
He shook the book again and spoke. His voice was gentle, but it carried a sense of danger. It was as if it was pulling the person in front of him deeper into the water.
Jeong Taeui felt it was strange to refuse further, so he shrugged and walked closer to him. With each step, tension seemed to spread from his feet to his head. It was like he was approaching a hungry beast.
"This book is not easy to find, is it? Have you read the other book?"
As Jeong Taeui held the book, Riegrow asked softly. Jeong Taeui stopped and looked at him. The hazy gaze as he looked at Jeong Taeui softened. He said.
"I know a very good antique book dealer. The book after this one is even more interesting. It's hard to find, but he can find it. If you want, I can introduce it."
"...The price must be quite high, huh?"
"Probably around 2-3 hundred dollars. Or go to Berlin, go to the German National Library and you can find an English version in the foreign books section. I saw it 5-6 years ago."
Even though the price of a book is not small, compared to 3500 dollars, it is really light, Jeong Taeui thought and felt very strange looking at him.
There was something different about him. He couldn't be called a serial killer, but he could talk about books like that. Moreover, when I saw him on the video with a cold gaze, he was now a cheerful and calm young man.
"It's very comfortable talking to you."
"Thanks. If you want to see any other books, just let me know."
Looking at Riegrow, Jeong Taeui felt something strange. In this place, finding someone who could talk like that was not easy. Maybe they would become close friends.
Jeong Taeui smiled and was about to say something.
But just before he spoke, there was a loud noise from the hallway. It was as if a door had been kicked open, or perhaps a wall had been smashed.
"Don't joke, you guys!"
"Look what they did!"
"Hey, come out here! You need to get beaten up!"
"Alright, let's fill the infirmary with you guys this time!"
Behind Jeong Taeui, just across the wall, loud screams and random blows rang out continuously.
Jeong Taeui closed his mouth and just blinked at Riegrow. Riegrow also smiled calmly, staring at Jeong Taeui.
He had forgotten. In fact, this man was no different from an enemy. Even if they fought right here, no one would find it strange.
"Um... Want to join?"
The subject of the question was the war outside. He just wanted to wait until that chaotic time passed in this room.
"Too noisy."
Riegrow, after a moment of silence, betrayed Jeong Taeui's expectations.
With a slightly annoyed tone, the gentle look on his face disappeared. As the smile disappeared and his voice turned cold, his expression changed dramatically.
Cruel and ferocious.
Jeong Taeui paused for a moment, then stood up and walked quickly towards the door.
As his hand touched the doorknob, Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue and stood up.
When that door opens, it will become a battlefield. If he is unlucky, he might have to fight that man right here, which he does not want. What should he do?
Even though he sighed and clicked his tongue, Jeong Taeui still prepared to move his wrist to warm up his body. Even if he was beaten, he had to at least warm up his body to avoid getting too injured.
As he thought so and stepped outside, Jeong Taeui realized that he had absolutely no place to participate - whether it was unfortunate or fortunate.
Riegrow stood in front of him, silently looking around the hallway for a moment.
The hallway was a mess. Team members poured out of every room, fighting wildly. Some were rolling on the floor, fighting chaotically.
Jeong Taeui had expected the officers to come again, but looking at this scene, he didn't think the officers' shouts could calm the situation.
Riegrow saw an iron pipe rolling towards his feet, picked it up with his toes and took it. The iron rod seemed to fit his hand perfectly, even more compact than a baseball bat. It was hard to believe that this hand had ever held a book before.
Jeong Taeui looked at his hand in surprise.
Perhaps out of habit, he was still wearing gloves. However, unlike the video he had seen earlier, the dark blue gloves looked much neater and calmer.
The iron pipe in his hand looked really out of place――just as Jeong Taeui thought that, he saw Riegrow walking away.
He advanced towards the two men fighting closest to him, a loud and chaotic noise rang out. Riegrow had already chosen his target.
"Too noisy..."
His voice was drowned out by the noise. In the indistinguishable noise around him, with a bored and frustrated look, he raised the iron pipe.
And immediately.
Crack.
In the chaos like hell, that sound still rang out clearly.
Not just Jeong Taeui, but it seemed like everyone heard it.