But when he begged, he only received scolding.
The uncle pinched Jeong Taeui's cheeks and dragged him, repeating the words "Oh, you idiot, oh, you fool, how did you end up like this on the first morning of training?" and each time, Jeong Taeui would reply with "I know, I know."
The one who saved Jeong Taeui from that situation was the timely appearance of a person in the training room.
"Jeong Changin, are you busy? … Oh, it seems like you are. Can I bother you for a moment?"
The person who was smiling calmly was the uncle's direct superior, Vice Minister Rudoph Gentil.
When he saw him enter, he immediately let go of Jeong Taeui and shook his head.
"I'm not busy, everything is done. … Let's go."
Seeing his uncle say that with a stern expression, Jeong Taeui felt a little uncomfortable but wisely knew to bow his head and back away. As he turned away, he even met the vice minister and bowed.
The Vice Minister, although he was talking to his uncle, kept his eyes on Jeong Taeui.
"Oh, right, this guy is your nephew, right?"
Even though the question was directed at the uncle, his eyes did not leave Jeong Taeui. Jeong Taeui paused for a moment when he heard his name mentioned. This made him feel a little awkward, not knowing whether to continue walking or stop. The uncle, with a smooth smile, nodded in confirmation.
"Yes."
"Hm. So this guy is researcher Jeong Jaeui's older brother?"
"Yes, Jeong Jaeui is the older brother and this child is the younger brother. Because they are twins, there is no age difference."
"Hm, is that so. This guy…"
The Vice Minister looked at Jeong Taeui carefully. When Jeong Taeui first came here, there was a brief greeting, but the man was busy at that time and couldn't talk much. Jeong Taeui felt that meetings with important people often went like this, and he skipped it.
Feeling the vice minister's scrutiny, Jeong Taeui sighed inwardly. It seemed like his brother was quite famous. Even though he was used to it, being stared at like this was rare since he had grown up.
"But if you were here, your brother would find it difficult?"
The Vice Minister asked suddenly. It took Jeong Taeui a few seconds to realize the question was directed at him, and then, he faltered in his answer.
"Even if I'm not around, my brother will be fine."
Jeong Taeui gave the most neutral answer and glanced at his uncle. He didn't think his lack of presence would be difficult for his brother, but having to hear these questions was really quite frustrating.
The uncle saw Jeong Taeui and the vice minister looking at each other, and finally spoke up.
"Because we are twins, we don't always have to be together. Even if we are far apart, our brotherly love will always be there."
"Ah, that's right."
The Vice Minister nodded but continued to observe Jeong Taeui closely. Jeong Taeui felt as if he was looking for differences between himself and his brother. Even though he knew that having a famous brother was inevitable, his observation made him feel more and more tired.
The uncle signaled for Jeong Taeui to leave and said to the vice minister, "Ah, I received a contact from the headquarters' 2nd Military Department…" The vice minister immediately noticed it.
Jeong Taeui bowed and left the training room.
After being scolded and called into the training room in the morning, Jeong Taeui was late, but since the incident was already known to everyone, he was not reprimanded much. However, if he missed this session, he would definitely receive a heavier punishment.
***********************************************
"Ah... I don't want to go in."
Thinking back, he needed to attend a formal weapons training class now. Jeong Taeui was sure that the extremely strict weapons training instructor would scold him severely for carrying a gun. He might even get a beating with a Colt.
Jeong Taeui looked out the window. The officers' room was on the ground floor, so he could see the hallway. The weather was wonderful. This made his mood even more gloomy.
As he slowly walked towards the elevator, Jeong Taeui passed in front of the office. He stopped.
If there was nothing to do, it would be awkward to sneak into the office. But it would be nice to see Xin Lu for a bit to dispel the gloomy mood. However, if there was nothing to do, there was still nothing to say.
But it seemed like the heavens also felt sorry for Jeong Taeui's gloomy mood today.
As Jeong Taeui walked through the office slowly like an ant, he saw a familiar face rounding the corner of the hallway. Xin Lu, who had probably just returned from the restroom, was holding a wet handkerchief and putting it in her pocket as she walked. When she saw Jeong Taeui, Xin Lu's eyes widened and then he smiled happily.
"Taeil hyung. Why are you here at this hour? Aren't you going to class?"
"Huh? Oh, I was just about to come in. I just had something to do in the staff room… The weather is nice today."
Even though it's good to be together, there's always a lack of topics to talk about. Because we don't know much about each other, there's no common topic to talk about, so we can only talk about the weather.
"Yes. But according to the weather forecast, it will be cloudy from tonight. It will rain tomorrow and the day after. After that, it will be clear."
"Um. If the weather is clear, we can take a walk on the beach too."
"Okay."
Xin Lu nodded happily in agreement to Jeong Taeui's casual remark. Jeong Taeui was secretly happy and began to wait for the day when the weather would clear up.
Xin Lu looked at the room that Jeong Taeui had just left with a suspicious look.
"What's the matter in the officer's room... Oh."
His face suddenly became worried.
"I heard something big happened this morning. Hyung, are you okay? Is that why you were called in?"
Rumors of it had spread throughout the area, there was no reason for Xin Lu not to know.
As Xin Lu approached with a worried voice, Jeong Taeui felt a lot of comfort. Seeing this bright and cute face, his mood became warmer.
"Yeah, just a little. Nothing serious. How about you?"
Thinking back, the logistics and other members lived in different areas, but there was one place they used together, the dining hall. Although they usually didn't have the chance to meet, meals were the rare times they could meet.
Suddenly, Jeong Taeui's heart sank.
If Xin Lu had been in the cafeteria at that time. If she had been caught up in the fierce conflict. If she had been injured by flying rocks or pieces of wood.
Jeong Taeui couldn't help but reach out and grab Xin Lu's shoulder. Xin Lu looked up at him with a confused expression and tilted her head.
"Hyung…?"
"Oh, you didn't run into anyone strange, did you? Besides the cafeteria, did you run into anyone else?"
"Huh? Oh, that's right. In the cafeteria, I usually eat quickly so I come early, there aren't many people around. I also eat lunch and dinner before the other members finish their regular classes, so I rarely see anyone else in the cafeteria."
Hearing Xin Lu's reply, Jeong Taeui breathed a sigh of relief and spoke seriously.
"There are members from the European branch coming in right now. Among them are people who should not be contacted. They are very dangerous people. So"
Jeong Taeui explained carefully, not in too much detail but enough to understand. Xin Lu nodded as if he understood what Jeong Taeui meant.
"Even though I won't be meeting the European branch members, I'll still be careful. Thank you for worrying, hyung."
Xin Lu smiled brightly. Seeing his flower-like smile, Jeong Taeui suddenly felt embarrassed, and slowly let go of Xin Lu's shoulder. The soft feeling of his hand left a trace of regret.
"It's nothing. It's natural to be worried. I..."
Jeong Taeui couldn't continue his sentence. It seemed like any additional words would turn into embarrassing words.
A moment of silence passed. Although silence was somewhat awkward and uncomfortable, Jeong Taeui no longer hated silence so much anymore.
Xin Lu was looking down at his feet, suddenly glanced at Jeong Taeui, then gently reached out and grabbed Jeong Taeui's hand. Jeong Taeui was startled and couldn't help but pull his hand back. Xin Lu's soft fingers fell into his palm.
"...And, in..."
Xin Lu bowed his head and smiled shyly with a red face. Jeong Taeui also smiled shyly. The warmth of the hand felt good. Even if the hand was cold, it would feel good.
As they stood facing each other with warm faces and awkwardly holding hands, they stayed like that for a long time, until Jeong Taeui felt her gaze and stopped.
His officer uncle just came out and looked at them intently.
Jeong Taeui looked over Xin Lu's shoulder and met that meaningful gaze.
"…"
"…"
When their eyes met, he blinked a few times. A subtle smile appeared on his expressionless face. It seemed like a smile of satisfaction with what was happening...
Jeong Taeui wanted to hold Xin Lu's hand longer, but because he was afraid that if he stayed any longer, there would be words like 'How long are you planning to stay here without going to school?', he regretfully let go of Xin Lu's hand.
Fortunately, Xin Lu still hadn't noticed the ambiguous smile behind, and with a little hesitation, said with a red face.
"Then hyung, when the weather is clear..."
"Yeah. The rain will stop this weekend and the weather will be nice. We can go for a nice walk."
Jeong Taeui said so, Xin Lu looked at him with a strange expression. Then he wondered if he misunderstood, then smiled brightly.
"Yes, hyung. Then see you this weekend."
"Yeah. Um… It would be nice if we could meet before then. Anyway, take care of yourself."
"Don't worry, hyung, and you have to be careful not to get hurt too," Xin Lu said cutely and turned away. The uncle had already sneaked back into the officer's room.
When the uncle came back from the training room, he saw Jeong Taeui standing quietly in the hallway and waved his hand.
"What are you still standing here for? If you skip class, you'll be stuck in the training room all afternoon. Besides, today's subject is weapons engineering. McKin is the teacher. If he catches you, you'll be in big trouble."
The uncle added that if so, Jeong Taeui wouldn't be able to make it to the competition in fifteen days, making Jeong Taeui wonder if he would live until then. But he still hoped to survive until the weekend to go for a walk with Xin Lu.
"More… Please Lu…"
The uncle seemed to be thinking about something else, muttering to himself in silence. The feeling from his words seemed to have hidden meaning, causing Jeong Taeui to frown and tilt his head. The uncle looked up at the ceiling for a while, then finally said nothing more and waved his hand.
"Go. This kid, other people have kindly advised him but he just won't listen. If the guards target him, McKin will suffer the most. Even if he only has half a month to live, he has to earn a living for tomorrow."
"…..."
When Jeong Taeui looked at his uncle with a resentful gaze, his uncle suddenly smiled brightly.
"Going for a walk with Xin Lu this weekend? Hope the weather is nice."
"... If the weather is bad, I will go for a walk in the rain in a raincoat."
Jeong Taeui muttered with a sulky look on his face and turned to walk towards the elevator. The sound of his uncle chuckling and saying something friendly came from behind.
"I will burn the books for you, so don't worry too much."