Looking back, Jeong Taeui had never dated anyone,
not even once.

He had experienced feelings of excitement when
facing someone, but before he realized his emotions, that person had
disappeared. He had many experiences in bed, but it was hard to call it love.

There was a young man who was his bed partner for a
while – the same one involved in that knife fight – but their relationship
wasn’t romantic, so Jeong Taeui couldn’t understand the young man’s actions
afterward. He realized he could only have such relationships without
progressing any further.

After that, he never met anyone he wanted to protect
for life, and besides, he had no time because military life was already enough
trouble.

So, this current feeling was strange. But not bad at
all. Even unrequited feelings felt good. Seeing someone that made him feel
comfortable was a pleasant experience.

“Sorry…”

Jeong Taeui said as he entered a room with four men
inside. Three were in charge of logistics, and one was the deputy minister.

When Jeong Taeui saw the deputy minister he had met
on his first day, he straightened his clothes and stood at attention by the
door. Perhaps the man had just finished his work, he nodded slightly and walked
past Jeong Taeui out of the room.

Rudolph Gentil. He was his uncle’s direct superior.

Jeong Taeui didn’t know much about him, having only
exchanged brief greetings once. But from what he had heard, he was a gentle yet
formidable character.

He guessed that Gentil might be someone cheerful on
the outside but difficult to read on the inside. But all those assumptions were
very vague.

In any case, it didn’t concern him much. He only
needed to focus on staying alive for the next six months, so whoever had a dark
heart didn’t matter.

“Taeil-hyung? What brings you here?… and what
happened to your shirt?”

Jeong Taeui had been staring at the deputy
minister’s back but turned around when he heard a familiar voice.

Xinlu, sitting near the window, seemed slightly
surprised to see his appearance.

“Huh? Oh, my shirt got torn during training. I came
to get a new one, is that alright?”

Jeong Taeui smiled awkwardly and touched his torn
shirt.

“Of course, it’s alright.”

Xinlu responded and went into the room inside the
office, returning with a new set of clothes.

“Thanks. What should I do with this one? Should I
take it off and give it to you, or just throw it away?”

“Hmm… It’s pretty badly torn, so it’s hard to fix.
You can just throw it away… Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Getting hurt is a daily occurrence. It’s nothing.
Thanks for worrying.”

Jeong Taeui smiled awkwardly. Xinlu also smiled
lightly and whispered.

“Please be careful.”

Xinlu, the youngest here, had been extremely shocked
to see him in the bathroom that day. But after meeting and talking a few times,
he seemed to have lowered his guard, often calling Jeong Taeui as ‘Hyung’ and
being friendly.

“…”

From his position, Jeong Taeui could see the top of
Xinlu’s head. He was touching the torn part of Jeong Taeui’s shirt, checking if
it could be repaired. The faint scent of soap made him want to touch it.

Jeong Taeui’s fingers trembled as he debated whether
to touch that hair. But he quickly dropped his hand when Xinlu looked up. If
his uncle saw him like this, he would surely click his tongue and call him
unmanly.

“You’ve worked hard today. I hope you get used to
this place soon.”

Xinlu said with a smile. Only then did Jeong Taeui
realize the sun was setting. When he turned his head outside, orange-red clouds
drifted across the vast sky. Being underground all the time, he had no sense of
time unless he checked a clock.

“The sky is beautiful.”

Jeong Taeui mumbled in awe. It wasn’t just because
he hadn’t seen the sky for a long time, but also because the blend of red and
blue was truly beautiful.

“There are often snakes out there, right?”

“Pardon? Yes. The evenings are beautiful. But it’s a
bit dangerous in the forest, though it’s fine by the beach.”

“Hmm… Do you want to go for a walk?”

“…Now?”

Xinlu asked, looking confused. Jeong Taeui smiled
and nodded. Internally, he marveled.

Turns out he had the courage to ask someone out
normally if he put his mind to it. It meant he wasn’t just a blushing turtle.
After all, he was famous in many gay bars… no, that wasn’t something to be
proud of, so forget it.

Jeong Taeui was only proud of his bravery, but his
face was already bright red.

Xinlu stared at him with a strange look, seemingly
holding back laughter. Seeing that expression, Jeong Taeui felt a bit uneasy,
but thankfully, Xinlu didn’t look annoyed.

“…uh… don’t you like it?”

“Rather than disliking it… I’m not done with my work
yet. You can go alone, the breeze feels nice.”

Xinlu smiled and shook his head. Jeong Taeui felt a
bit disappointed but tried not to show it. He mumbled – “That’s fine too.”

He intended to go for a walk alone but lost the will
due to his disappointment. Asking for something, hoping, then feeling let
down—people were such capricious creatures.

“Alright, work hard then. See you later. Good luck.”

“Yes, Taeil-hyung… ah, wait!”

Xinlu seemed hesitant for a moment before calling
out again. Jeong Taeui stopped at the door, about to leave, and turned back,
puzzled – “What is it?”

Xinlu smiled awkwardly at him.

“Tomorrow or the day after, let’s go together. I
know a beautiful place where people rarely go.”

“Huh?… really?”

“Yes. If you’re okay with it…”

“Of course, that’s great… yeah, let’s do that.
Anytime. After training, I don’t have anything to do.”

Jeong Taeui nodded, feeling both
surprised and pleased by this sudden event. He touched the useless pager
provided by the branch subconsciously and added, ‘You can contact me anytime.’
“Yes.”

Xinlu replied with a bright smile and returned to
his desk. Alone in the hallway, Jeong Taeui stared blankly where Xinlu had
stood, then clenched his fist in silence.

See, it was worth trying. If not today or tomorrow,
then the day after would be a chance to be alone together.

Jeong Taeui couldn’t stop grinning. His mood lifted
quickly. He wanted to go outside with this good mood but decided to wait for
the time to go out with Xinlu.

Jeong Taeui hummed and moved to the elevator,
shaking his head while waiting for it to come up from the 5th floor.

It was still training time, so he had to return to
the training room. But he didn’t feel like going back there with his good mood.

“…At times like this, it’s best to
roll around in a room full of food and books to read…” Jeong Taeui mumbled and
turned back before the elevator arrived, heading down the stairs.

His destination was his uncle’s room = a place with
lots of food + books to read.

Jeong Taeui twirled the key hanging from his finger
and walked cheerfully.

His uncle’s room was on the first basement floor. As
usual, he didn’t encounter anyone; it was extremely quiet. If a murder happened
here, it would take a long time for someone to discover it… well, maybe not.
Surveillance cameras were installed everywhere.

Jeong Taeui looked at the cameras mounted on the
corners, pointing toward his uncle’s room. Before entering, he looked up at the
camera and politely knocked on the door.

It was more a formality, not really necessary. If
his uncle was inside, the door would be unlocked; if not, it would be locked.
Moreover, his uncle probably noticed someone approaching the moment he turned
the corner.

Jeong Taeui knocked a few times and tried the
handle. Finding it locked, he raised an eyebrow and took out a key from his
pocket. It was the key he had just received with his uncle’s consent. His uncle
had happily told him to come and read books whenever he wanted.

The room was as tidy as ever. Although it had
everything necessary, it didn’t feel inhabited at all.

“Even Uncle has a side like this…”

The room was spotlessly clean. Whenever his uncle
wasn’t here, it felt like a model room, uninhabited. It felt like a hidden
corner of his uncle’s personality. Jeong Taeui sighed.

He casually opened the fridge, grabbed a can of
beer, chugged it, and threw himself on the perfectly smooth bed. After rolling
around on the bed that had no human scent, he lay down and reached for a book
within arm’s length on the shelf.

He came here daily out of habit when he had nothing
to do, lying down and reading books. Every day, reading a few dozen pages
leisurely.

Looking at the bookshelf filled with rare books,
Jeong Taeui thought his brother Jaeui would love it. But maybe Jaeui had
already read this much.

His lucky brother had no reason for him to worry,
but Jeong Taeui still wondered what he was doing now and where he was. Had he
returned home, or was he locked in a library or a research institute somewhere,
continuously reading or working without rest?

Yesterday, Jeong Taeui tried calling home
to check, but no one answered. Even though it was midnight, if Jaeui didn’t
pick up, he was  likely somewhere else.

Suddenly, the image of Jaeui using his finger to cut
a red thread flashed in his memory.

Although he didn’t think Jaeui hated him enough to
want to sever all ties, how should he put it? At that moment, his feelings were
strange.

Jeong Jaeui was very lucky, so he could get anything
he wanted easily. Even if he pretended to sever their relationship, it might
actually be severed.

“I don’t like that… I don’t feel anything.”

Jeong Taeui lay face down on the bed, spread his
arms, and looked at his pinky finger, searching for a trace of an invisible red
thread he had mentioned was tied there. But could Jaeui really cut it?

Jeong Taeui wiggled his pinky a few times as if
checking whether the other end of the invisible thread moved.

Suddenly, a mechanical sound echoed in the quiet
room. It was a familiar sound he had heard before. When he turned his head, the
phone was flashing red.

“…”

Jeong Taeui stared at the phone, which continued to
blink and emit a mechanical sound, pondering whether it was okay to answer
someone else’s call. In reality, it didn’t matter if he didn’t answer, but the
phone kept ringing insistently, making him feel he had to do something.

Jeong Taeui got out of bed, looked at the number
displayed on the phone screen. If it was for his uncle, he had no idea whose
number it was, but he still looked at the unfamiliar number.

It was an international call. If the number started
with 49… wasn’t that Germany’s country code? He wasn’t sure.

While he was still thinking, the call ended. Jeong
Taeui returned to the bed, picked up the book, and used it to cover his face,
thinking about his brother again. When Jaeui slept, he often did this. Jeong
Taeui once asked if it wasn’t heavy, but Jaeui replied that a book of a few
hundred pages couldn’t be that heavy. Jeong Taeui had been amazed that Jaeui’s
face was still intact despite often falling asleep with something like that on
it.

In retrospect, Jeong Taeui wasn’t much like his
brother. Even though they were twins, they didn’t seem to have anything in
common. From appearance to personality, even luck.

“…Even so, my face is still more handsome. Even if
other things can’t compare.”

In fact, their appearances were so different that it
couldn’t be said who was more handsome or less.

Jeong Taeui pulled the book down a bit and turned
around. Although he couldn’t see it lying down, there was a large mirror next
to the table. Jeong Taeui got up, approached the mirror, and peered closely at
his reflection. A young man with a calm face was reflected in the mirror. Even
though he hadn’t lived half his life, he looked very tired.

Jeong Taeui stroked his face while looking in the
mirror. It felt like touching winter snow. From his eyes to his nose and mouth.
Almost at the same time, another mechanical sound rang out. It was still the
same number as before.

Not letting the other side wait too long, he quickly
answered. If he ignored a persistent call like that, they would call back soon
enough.

“Yes, hello.”

When he pressed the flashing red button, the liquid
crystal screen above lit up. There was nothing reflected there except a white
shirt. He only caught a glimpse of a photo frame corner at the edge of the
screen. But he couldn’t tell what was in it because the screen was too small.

“Haha. It’s the nephew answering again.”

It seemed like he had heard this voice somewhere
before. Then a pair of hands appeared in front of the screen. If it was those
hands, he remembered them clearly. They were so beautiful they were
unforgettable.