PASSION Chapter 3 Part 10

Chapter 3 Part 10

Separate from their differing opinions, this kind of smoothly flowing conversation wasn't bad. Talking with this man was enjoyable in that sense.

Suddenly Ilay burst out laughing for some reason. His not-too-loud laughter continued briefly.

'Every time I talk with you, I think about how you really are different from Jung Jae-ui in many ways.'

"Well, I'm a different person. Have you been looking for traces of my brother in me while talking all this time?"

'Not exactly, but the thought that you're Jung Jae-ui's brother has remained in my mind.'

Tae-ui let out a laugh mixed with a sigh and "What."

Was this man also the type who approached those around him out of interest in genius Jung Jae-ui? No, but there was no sign of deliberate intent so it was hard to say he approached. It would be more accurate to say he just had more interest in Tae-ui from the point that he was Jung Jae-ui's brother.

He was past the age of feeling hurt by such things, and such situations had become frequent enough to be part of life that it wasn't a big deal anymore.

"You seem very interested in my brother."

When Tae-ui brought it up subtly, the man laughed it off casually.

'Are there people not interested in genius Jung Jae-ui? At least none around me.'

"Haha, true. So how do we compare?"

'Hmm? Compare... Though I've never consciously compared, well, let me think. ...No need to think long, it comes right away.'

"Ah, what is it?"

'Jung Jae-ui is more human. In various ways.'

Tae-ui closed his mouth. Like most things the man said, this too was quite unexpected. It was something he had never heard before - at least not directly - and also something he had never thought about.

In various ways, Jung Jae-ui was more human.

Tae-ui went "Hmm" and smiled bitterly. Though he had certainly never considered himself overflowing with humanity, he hadn't expected to hear such words. Though he knew well himself that contrary to people's prejudices about geniuses, Jung Jae-ui was someone with very rich human aspects.

"You must have either received some great slight from me without my knowing, or some great favor from my brother. This could easily be taken as an insult."

'That's not what I meant. For example... Right. The point that Jung Jae-ui probably suffers more anxiety and anguish than you. That's what makes him human.'

Tae-ui was again at a loss for words.

The man's casual words without much thought were particularly striking today.

Anxiety and anguish. Perhaps that was true. How could he know what was in his brother's mind without having been inside it? Since emotional intensity couldn't be extracted as absolute numbers, it wasn't something where you could compare who was more or less anxious.

"But objectively speaking, brother is someone so lucky you'd think he wouldn't know what anxiety and anguish are. He's someone who left home saying he needed to experience some misfortune."

Tae-ui muttered while shaking his head. Ilay watched him silently for a while. Somehow it felt like he was smiling across the monitor.

'Indeed Jung Jae-ui is extremely lucky. Overwhelmingly so. But have you ever thought about what might be at the root of that luck?'

The smile disappeared from Tae-ui's face.

He had felt something off for a while. There had been something nagging at him in the man's words but he hadn't known what it was, but now he vaguely understood.

This man knew something that Tae-ui had never thought about, never needed to think about.

"Though he's my brother, it seems you know him better than I do."

Ilay seemed to quickly understand the bitter meaning in Tae-ui's words. Going "Oh dear" and muttering as if troubled, he spread his hands.

'This is awkward. I didn't mean to upset you. Shall we drop this topic?'

Ilay concluded in a light tone. Tae-ui stared intently at his white hands before finally sighing. It wasn't a topic he wanted to pursue or think about.

'You seem much calmer now. Your flushed face has returned to normal.'

At those words, Tae-ui who had been tiredly rubbing between his brows turned his gaze to the mirror. As the man said, his face that had been bright red and refusing to calm had returned to normal.

While unnecessarily running his palm over his face once, Tae-ui heard Ilay's subtle voice:

'But if it's someone you're interested in while stuck on that island, it can't be a woman.'

To Ilay's ambiguously trailing words, Tae-ui answered sulkily:

"Of course not. I haven't even held hands with a woman since high school, except for handshakes."

'Ah, so that was part of what morally deviated sexually. I see.'

Ilay muttered as if understanding, almost to himself. Though he hadn't brought it up first, Tae-ui had never intended to hide his preferences and just shrugged.

"Yes, does that disgust you?"

'Disgust? Why should I be disgusted by another person's preferences?'

Ilay said with a laugh. Those words clearly drew a line. Even though they were talking so familiarly, they were clearly strangers. Both practically and emotionally.

That's when Tae-ui suddenly realized.

Though this man conversed so freely with Tae-ui, he felt no intimacy or fondness. Nor did he feel the opposite emotions. He was purely a stranger, nothing more and nothing less.

Though it was natural, Tae-ui felt a vague surprise. Only now did he notice, but he had felt quite familiar with this man. Though they had only met a few times over the phone, like most people would with someone they had talked with several times, Tae-ui had developed a familiarity proportional to the time spent together.

But such things were useless with this man. He wasn't someone whose intimacy increased proportionally with time. Thinking about it, there had been many signs of this, but he hadn't noticed at all. Even if they talked hundreds more times, this man's feelings toward him probably wouldn't change from those toward a stranger.

Setting aside whether he was cold or not, he deviated from normal people's emotional lines.

Speaking of being human, you seem like someone who couldn't say anything about anyone...

Those words rose to his throat but he swallowed them back without speaking. He had no intention of arguing, and now that he knew the man drew a line at being strangers, it felt presumptuous to give such advice to a stranger.

"That's too bad, I had actually come to like you quite a bit."

'Ah, if you mean in the sexually morally deviant sense, that's fine anytime.'

"...No. That's absolutely not what I meant."

Tae-ui muttered as if put off. Of course Ilay, who must have known, laughed softly.

Just then, a faint mechanical sound came from far away. The regular beeping sound seemed to be some kind of timer or alarm, or perhaps a call. It was coming from across the phone.

Ilay seemed to look back. He let out a deep sigh before tapping the desk with his fingertip.

'Every time I try to rest someone calls without fail. I need to go now.'

"Alright, let's meet again if we have the chance."

'Yes. ---Ah. Come to think of it, the joint training between the Asian and European branches is right around the corner, isn't it?'

"That's right. You know well."

A rare book broker, weapons broker, someone quite suspicious depending how you looked at it.

However, the joint training schedule wasn't particularly secret, and Ilay seemed to have - though the details were unclear - a close relationship with his uncle, so it wasn't strange for him to know.

'It must be tough having joint training right after joining the branch. I'll wish you luck. Try not to die.'

"That's quite an ominous thing to say while wishing luck, but thanks."

When Tae-ui muttered with an incredulous laugh, Ilay also seemed to laugh a little. And with that, the call ended.