PASSION Chapter 4 Part 21

Chapter 4 Part 21

He couldn't understand why he felt bitter. Probably something Rigrow himself wouldn't care about at all, yet his mouth tasted needlessly bitter.

Well, it would be stranger not to fear such a madman.

Tae-ui walked a bit faster, not wanting to hear more of the men's talk. After putting some distance from the rear, he could again see Rigrow's figure far ahead. People were sparse around him as if there was a barrier.

Seeing that made him smile bitterly. Well, for a man who had earned so much hatred that enemies aiming for his life were scattered even within his own branch, it would be funnier if people gathered around him casually.

Come to think of it, even Tae-ui himself probably wouldn't help if someone tried to kill that man now. Especially remembering that cold yet desire-filled gaze looking at Shin Lu.

Dangerous. Threatening. Intimidating. He was a man one could never be comfortable around. Even more so if he coveted or looked down on something precious to oneself.

That's when Rigrow seemed to suddenly slow his steps. Tae-ui, who had been watching his back, unconsciously slowed too. He turned around. Tae-ui reflexively lowered his head slightly and looked away. As if nothing was wrong, he said a few words to someone behind him then turned back around.

Tae-ui sighed while pressing and bending his hat brim to pull it even lower.

They stopped after walking another three or four hours. From the faint sound of the sea, it seemed the ocean was nearby. Hearing the sea sound naturally reminded him of Shin Lu, and Tae-ui's expression softened without realizing.

"With this killer fog and the sound of water, this is really something."

"Something good, or something eerie?"

Following the instructors' words, the men who stopped walking realized this was where they would spend the night and started finding suitable ground. There was a not-too-large clearing in the middle of the forest. Though called a clearing, it just meant trees hadn't grown there, with bushes and rocks scattered about, taking quite some time to level the ground.

The instructors too seemed unwilling to cross dangerous bridges unnecessarily, as the other team's men went to a slightly separate clearing with a few trees between. Though they could still see each other just by turning their heads, the positions were distinctly divided.

"I'll take the corner spot... yeah, under that rock over there looks good."

Tae-ui quickly claimed a spot furthest from the European side, where a large rock created shade. The rock blocked sightlines.

"Snakes and bugs tend to burrow into such corners."

Tou, who was clearing bushes, advised seeing Tae-ui like this, but Tae-ui shook his head. There was someone beyond he wanted to be even further from than snakes and bugs. Seeming to understand this feeling, Tou said nothing more.

After chasing away a lizard crawling in the rock's shade and settling in, Tae-ui listened to the distant sound of the sea. The faint sound of water coming through the fog-blurred dark surroundings created a strange feeling.

While Tae-ui was entranced by the water sounds, his colleagues gathered dry branches and lit a bonfire in the middle of the clearing. Six or seven men who made places around the fire and set guard duty order could have slept from exhaustion but chatted instead of sleeping.

The group beyond the trees was the same. Though not seeming to chat warmly, they too appeared to have found their places around their bonfire.

Though there was wariness about fights breaking out or vicious acts happening in the night, neither side seemed to want to spark trouble first. Even with a detestable, insufferable group right next to them, their own tired and exhausted bodies took priority.

Though Tae-ui thought there was no real need for guard duty, knowing it would be useless to say so, he didn't bring it up at all. He knew he would just hear "Don't you see those villains over there watching us with sharp eyes waiting for a chance?" Better to avoid criticism and just take his guard shift easily when it came.

Suddenly feeling a gaze, Tae-ui looked up. His uncle sat on top of the rock where Tae-ui had made his shaded spot. Sitting on the rock that looked uncomfortable to sit on with its curves, his uncle carefully looked around before finally giving his gaze to Tae-ui.

"Isn't it uncomfortable sitting there?"

"As the leader, I need to sit where I can see everyone for now."

His uncle spoke smiling, half joking and half serious. The Officer attached to his uncle could be seen standing guard a few steps away. Tae-ui smiled slightly and got into his sleeping bag. His guard shift was third.

Thinking he would wake vaguely around one or two in the morning, stay awake for an hour, then fall back into an ambiguous sleep, Tae-ui closed his eyes with a quiet sigh. Though closing his eyes didn't bring immediate sleep, he caught or let pass his colleagues' quiet murmuring mixed with the distant water sounds.

"Wonder where all the other teams are. Wonder which teams they met."

The languid voice was Carlo's. Probably speaking to his uncle, as from atop the rock his uncle muttered "Well" before laughing.

"They're probably all similar. Where could they meet worse company than us?"

When his uncle made this deliberate joke, quiet laughter rose here and there. Perhaps because it was a tired night, everyone's laughter was somewhat subdued. Tae-ui too smiled slightly as sleep started to come.

"I saw Instructor Grimson's team doing quite well recently. Seems their sparring results this week were quite good."

Someone else asked. His uncle answered "Their results this week were good. But you never know, there's still another week left." Tae-ui tilted his head with eyes closed. Results, huh. It seemed they kept scores on which teams performed better even during joint training. Come to think of it, he had heard something about that.

"Last joint training's prize was a week's vacation for the whole team, right? Wonder what they'll give this time."

"The prize before that was a 30,000 dollar team bonus. Probably something at that level."

"I'd prefer vacation over money. Right now I just want to collapse and rest properly for three days."

"That's only if you get the best results, not everyone gets it... Ah well, let's work hard next week."

Everyone talked in not-too-loud voices. Tae-ui nodded thinking 'Right, I'd prefer vacation over money too.' Judging from the conversation context, it seemed they gave rewards to the best performing team after joint training ended.

"I'm not hoping for first place, but I do hope we can at least get better results than Instructor Grimson's team."

When his uncle muttered while pretending to sigh deeply, brief laughter arose.

"Well, lately both Instructor Grimson and somehow there's been tension... Could it be his promotion review is coming up?"

Carlo laughed while speaking as if joking. His uncle also laughed and answered "When you say it, it doesn't sound like a joke."

Promotion. Come to think of it he had forgotten, but that's what the half year period was about.

How was it going? His uncle's superior was Rudolf Gentil. They needed to push him up to the Director General position, wonder if it was going well.

But thinking about it, Tae-ui couldn't understand why he specifically had been dragged here. Even if called someone who would survive luckily until the end, after coming in and hearing about it, the atmosphere didn't seem quite so vicious that everyone would die. Rather it seemed like an unlucky few got caught up in incidents and died... Uncle, there weren't that many people around.

However, thinking differently, the person his uncle had originally wanted to bring was his brother. If his lucky brother had been attached, perhaps that luck would have helped his uncle too. Then he had been brought as a chicken instead of a pheasant.

...

Well, whatever. He would just wait for time to pass amid the flowing situation. If his uncle asked for help with something he would help, if not then whether he helped or the opposite without knowing, he could only deal with what was before him.

Tae-ui exhaled deeply. Mixed scents of damp grass and earth filled his lungs. With a subtle saltiness. This was the sea smell. Sea sounds. Sea smell. Grass smell and earth smell. The quiet rustling of insects somewhere. The crisp sound of leaves colliding in the wind. Such things evoked an unfamiliar nostalgia and melancholy comfort.

Wind sounds that cut through the silence at times. Night scents that suddenly invaded his nostrils after quiet moments. Such things tensed the right side of his mind and relaxed the left.

A lonely and quiet time that was just bearable enough.

Breaking that time, someone quietly grabbed his shoulder and shook it. Tae-ui opened his eyes. In front of him, Qing was tapping and pointing at his wrist watch.

Sitting up while blinking his eyes in confusion, Tae-ui discovered everyone had fallen asleep with only the bonfire crackling and burning. When he turned his head, his uncle who had been talking quietly sitting on the rock was nowhere to be seen.

Though he thought he had just closed his eyes briefly, it seemed he had dozed off deeply without realizing.

"Time passed so quickly already. Thought I just closed my eyes for a moment. Oh my, my back..."

Muttering "my back" while massaging his shoulders as he got up, Tae-ui hunched against the chilly night air. Qing, who had been the guard before Tae-ui, crawled into his sleeping bag with very sleepy eyes.

"Good luck for an hour. I'm going to sleep first. See you tomorrow morning."

Qing pulled his sleeping bag zipper up to his nose, just wiggled a few fingers out at his head in goodbye, then completely buried himself in the sleeping bag. Saying "Yeah, sleep well," Tae-ui sat leaning against the rock his uncle had sat on while rubbing his chilly forearms.

It was quiet. The only movement was the bonfire flames, undergrowth and leaves in the wind, or occasionally small animals running in the distance. Everything else was embraced in night's silence.

Tae-ui suddenly turned his head. Beyond the trees he could see the European branch group. They too were quietly still in the night forest. The young man standing guard on that side kept rubbing his eyes and yawning sleepily. Then meeting Tae-ui's eyes, he straightened his posture with a deliberately stern face. Tae-ui, who had thought about waving since they had met like this by chance, just smiled seeing him like that.