PASSION Chapter 3 Part 3

Chapter 3 Part 3

While wiggling his fingers and debating whether to touch the crown of his head, Tae-ui quickly lowered his hand and gave up as Shin Lu raised his head. If his uncle had seen, he would have clicked his tongue at him for being gutless.

"You worked hard again today. Not much left of the regular schedule."

When Shin Lu said that with a smile, only then did Tae-ui realize how late in the afternoon it had gotten. Looking out the window, reddish clouds were spreading across the sky. Always being underground, he couldn't get a sense of time without looking at a clock.

"The sky is really beautiful..."

Tae-ui murmured in admiration. It wasn't just because he was cooped up underground unable to properly see the sky. The colors truly were very beautiful as azure blue and reddish purple mixed across the expanse of sky.

"They say snakes come out here, right?"

"Yes? Yes. They often come out at night. But that's more in the forest area, it's fine if you go towards the coast."

"Hmm------. Want to go together?"

"...Right now?"

Shin Lu asked quietly, seeming slightly flustered. Tae-ui smiled and nodded. And internally he admired himself.

See, when I put my mind to it I can ask for a date naturally too. I'm not just someone who stands around blushing like an awkward fool. Though I was known for being quick with my hands at clubs... no, that's not something good so let's move past that.

Though Tae-ui was feeling proud of himself, his face was already bright red.

Shin Lu stared at him with a strange expression. It seemed like he was trying to hold back laughter, but also looked somewhat troubled. Seeing that look, Tae-ui flinched slightly, but looking closer it didn't seem to show any displeasure at least, which was fortunate.

"Um..., you don't want to?"

"It's not that I don't want to, but I'm not done with work yet. You should go by yourself, Brother. The wind seems nice too."

Shin Lu smiled brightly and shook his head. Though Tae-ui was disappointed, he tried not to show it and just muttered "Oh, I see." Suddenly the sky and everything else made him feel gloomy.

Though he had thought about going out alone, once his briefly inflated spirits deflated, that thought also faded. After arbitrarily getting his hopes up by himself after arbitrarily asking by himself - humans really are selfish creatures, Tae-ui thought with an internal bitter smile.

"Alright then, keep working hard, and I'll see you later. Hang in there."

"Yes, Brother Tae-ui. ...Ah, wait, Brother!"

As Tae-ui turned to leave the office, Shin Lu, who had seemed to hesitate for a moment, came out to the office doorway and stopped him. Then seeing Tae-ui turn back with a puzzled "Hm?", he smiled shyly and said:

"Let's go tomorrow or the day after. I know a nice place where people don't really come."

"Huh? ...Oh..., really?"

"Yes. If that's okay with you, Brother."

"Oh, of course it's okay with me. ...Yes, sure. Anytime. Call me when you're done with work. I don't have anything else to do after regular hours anyway."

Tae-ui quickly nodded while smiling awkwardly despite his surprise. Then he unnecessarily added "You can contact me anytime" while fidgeting with the pager issued by the branch.

Shin Lu brightly smiled and said "Yes" before going back into the office, and Tae-ui, left alone in the hallway, stared blankly at where he had been standing before silently clenching his fist. See, it was worth trying to ask. Even if not today, it means we can meet alone tomorrow or the day after.

Tae-ui gave up trying to hide the smile that kept rising to his lips and turned around.

His mood had instantly improved. Now he felt like going outside to look around happily.

But since he would be going out with Shin Lu soon, it would be better to save the outdoor excursion for then.

Tae-ui headed towards the elevator while humming. However, while waiting for the elevator stopped at basement level 5 to come up, he shook his head.

There was still some time left in the regular schedule. Normally he should go back. But he had originally planned to skip out with Shin Lu anyway. Now that that was the case, he didn't feel like going back to continue sparring.

Though he would probably get scolded severely later for not returning, his excited heart didn't want to go back.

"...At times like this, the best thing is lounging in a room full of food and reading material..."

Muttering to himself, Tae-ui turned away from the elevator and went down the stairs.

His destination was his uncle's room, full of food and reading material. The key jingled pleasantly in his pocket.

On his way to his uncle's room after reaching basement level 1, he didn't run into anyone as usual. It really was a floor with few people. A murder could happen here and it wouldn't be discovered for a while─...or maybe not. Since there were surveillance cameras installed everywhere.

Tae-ui headed to his uncle's room while noting each surveillance camera installed in inconspicuous places. Before entering his uncle's room, he politely gave a peace sign to the one camera there before knocking on the door.

Knocking was somewhat pointless. If his uncle was inside, the door would obviously be unlocked, and if not, it would be locked. So it wasn't necessary as a means of asking for the door to be opened. Though it probably wouldn't serve as a way to announce his arrival either. His uncle would have noticed someone approaching from when he turned the corner.

After knocking a couple times and waiting briefly, he pulled the door handle. The door was locked. Tae-ui slightly raised his eyebrows and took out the key from his pocket. It was a key he had received earlier with the room owner's permission. His uncle had readily given him the key, saying to come whenever he wanted and read whatever books he liked.

The room was neat and tidy as always. Though it had everything necessary, sometimes it didn't even feel like someone lived there.

"Uncle has an unexpectedly bleak side too..."

The spotlessly clean room with not a speck of dust always gave this impression when his uncle wasn't there. Like a model room where no one lives. Since that feeling somewhat resembled the other side occasionally seen in his uncle, Tae-ui sighed.

After freely opening the refrigerator and downing a can of beer in one go, Tae-ui threw himself onto the perfectly made bed without a single wrinkle. Only there was there finally a human scent, as the bed met his body with just the right amount of spring. Lying face down, he pulled out a book from the bookshelf within reach.

If there were no other plans after finishing regular hours, he would come here every day to lounge and read. Several dozen pages each day, slowly savoring each sentence.

Looking at this bookshelf full of hard-to-find books, he thought Jae-ui would really like it. Though, perhaps he had already read this much and more.

Though there was no need to worry about that lucky person, he was curious. What would he be doing right now? Had he returned home? Was he holed up in some library or research institute spending days without sleep absorbed in books?

He had tried calling home yesterday as a test but no one had answered. Since there was no answer even close to midnight, it seemed right to assume he was still wandering around somewhere.

Suddenly, he recalled his brother's gesture of cutting with his fingers saying they should cut the thread of fate between them.

He didn't really think his brother hated him or wanted to cut ties. But how should he put it. He had felt strange in that moment.

His brother was someone so lucky that everything went as he wished. So when he made that gesture saying he would cut their ties, it felt like the ties between them really would be cut.

Perhaps in that moment their ties really were cut. If so, would they never meet again?

"I don't want that... It doesn't even feel real."

Tae-ui lay there looking at his outstretched hand. He searched for traces of the invisible red thread that might have been tied to his pinky finger as his brother had said. But could such a thing really be cut?

Tae-ui wiggled his pinky finger back and forth several times. As if checking if an invisible red thread end might flutter.

That's when it happened. A quiet mechanical sound reached Tae-ui's ears as he lay there blankly staring at his hand. It was a sound he had heard before. Looking over, he saw a red light blinking on the telephone.

"..."

While blankly staring at the phone that kept blinking and emitting mechanical sounds, he briefly considered whether he should answer someone else's phone. Though he knew without having to think that not answering would be easier in many ways and leave no room for trouble, the phone rang quite persistently.

Tae-ui looked at the caller number displayed on the phone monitor. Though Tae-ui wouldn't know what numbers might call his uncle, he slowly traced the unfamiliar number.

It was an international call. If it started with 49... Germany? The numbers after would be the area code, but he didn't know that far.

During that time, the call ended. Tae-ui went back to the bed and picked up his book. However, thoughts of his brother once raised wouldn't easily fade, so he ended up covering his face with the book. His brother often slept like this. When asked if it wasn't heavy, his brother had instead asked what was heavy about a book of just a few hundred pages. It was amazing that his features were still intact despite always sleeping with things on his face like that.

Come to think of it, he didn't really resemble his brother. Though they were twins, there wasn't a single similar trait worthy of that name. Not their faces, minds, personalities, or fortunes.

"...Well, at least my face is better. Even if I can't match him in anything else."

Though actually their faces were so different in impression that there wasn't even a basis for comparison of who looked better.