Passion (BL Novel)

Buried between his thighs, his cock flickered in and out of sight every time Illei moved his hips upward, and it felt unbearably hot. The fluid starting to seep from the tip soaked his thighs. A sticky, wet sound echoed from his tightly clenched groin, creating an eerie illusion. The sensation and the sound were so vivid, it felt as if they were actually having sex—and Jeong Tae-ui flinched in horror. His insides were burning hot, yet a chill crept through his chest, and his body trembled from the unfamiliar sensation.
But without a doubt, Tae-ui’s body was feeling pleasure. His painfully erect cock, unable to endure, spilled its fluid inside Illei’s hand.
"… …!!"

Maybe he had let out a sound. It seemed like he had made some embarrassing noise he didn’t even want to acknowledge with his own ears. In that moment, Tae-ui widened his eyes and clamped his hand over his mouth—just as a soft groan escaped from behind him. And his thighs and groin were thoroughly soaked.
Gilsangcheon [noun]
A goddess who bestows fortune and virtue. She has a beautiful face, wears heavenly robes and a crown, and holds a wish-fulfilling jewel in her left hand. Also known as Gongdeokcheon, Gongdeokcheonnyeo, or Gilsangcheonnyeo.
In an encyclopedia that looked at least a dozen years old, there were a few bold lines followed by a lengthy explanation in tiny print. He vaguely recalled seeing it back when he was reading a bunch of books on mythology. A goddess who grants virtue and fortune. In Indian mythology, she’s called Lakshmi, and her characteristics are similar. The illustrations in Indian mythology books depicted her as a beautiful woman pouring out wealth.

Jeong Tae-ui read the entry in the encyclopedia several times. He understood what the words meant. He understood what kind of deity Gilsangcheon was—a figure who brings fortune to those close to her.
But while he understood the dictionary definition, he still couldn’t quite grasp what Illei had meant by what he said.
—"You know, you’re Jeong Jae-i’s Gilsangcheon."

The faint smile that had accompanied those words hadn’t sounded like a mere joke. And yet, interpreting them at face value didn’t feel quite right either. Still, the words lingered in his mind.
What a ridiculous thing to say. A goddess who brings fortune to the one who worships her. If he took Illei’s words literally, then it sounded like he was saying Tae-ui was the one giving his older brother all his good fortune.
But Tae-ui had never felt like that was true. He didn’t believe it. Fortune was something one was born with—it wasn’t something a human could grant to another. Besides, if Illei’s words were to be believed, then everyone around Tae-ui should’ve been blessed with luck. And that wasn’t the case. Only his brother had that extraordinary luck.

—"So he might look gentle on the outside, but he's got greed in him too. Still... I didn’t expect he’d actually go after Gilsangcheon for himself."
Illei’s words resurfaced in his mind. Jeong Tae-ui sat with his chin resting in his hand, sinking silently into thought.
There was no way to come to any clear conclusion—not when he didn’t know anything for certain. But those words left a bad aftertaste. They made him feel both irritated and melancholic.

To obtain Gilsangcheon. But the Gilsangcheon that was being pursued wasn’t Jeong Tae-ui the person.
Tae-ui clicked his tongue. He suddenly felt silly for thinking so deeply about it. In the end, Illei’s words had just floated ambiguously in the air.
Damn it. What the hell. He barged into someone else's room for no reason, spouted nonsense, and did stupid shit…

As Tae-ui grumbled to himself, his face suddenly turned bright red. The moment he said "stupid shit," the memory of what had happened then came rushing back.
From his thighs to his groin, then up to his lower belly and all the way to his chest—those slow, white, trailing touches were engraved into his body and revived again now, vivid and burning.
"Hey, hey. Snap out of it."
Jeong Tae-ui slapped himself on the cheek a couple times. Hard enough that the smacking sound echoed across the far end of the library. His cheeks immediately turned red. But better to be red from a slap than from vivid, perverted thoughts.

"…Ugh… that hurts…"
Even though he’d hit himself, he regretted how hard he’d gone. Still rubbing at his cheek, Tae-ui looked back down at the encyclopedia. Next to the text was a small illustration of a fairy-like woman, somewhat resembling a celestial dancer. Supposedly it was meant to be Gilsangcheon, but she didn’t look like someone who would bring fortune and wealth. If anything, she looked strangely forlorn.
A goddess who brings blessings to those who worship her—there must be plenty of people who approach her purely for those blessings. No wonder she looks so pitiful.

Tae-ui rested his chin in his hand and thought of his brother.
Tae-ui was lucky—lucky enough to not bother opening his mouth again to say so. In contrast, even though they were twins, he was incredibly ordinary. He remembered his mother once saying to his maternal grandmother, almost as if it were a relief, “Still, it’s a good thing Tae-ui isn’t terribly unlucky just because Jae-i is so blessed.”
Old folks often believed such things. That someone’s extreme good fortune came from devouring another’s luck. Maybe because he’d heard that kind of talk so often, his mother would sometimes look at him with worried eyes.

But now that he thought back on it, maybe that worry was of a slightly different kind.
His brother wasn’t just lucky—he was also smart. So much so that he had been kidnapped more than once. And yet, every time, he returned without a scratch.
Whenever that happened, his mother would stroke Tae-ui’s hair and whisper to him. Be careful. Your brother will always be fine—but you might not be.

He was too young to understand what that meant back then. Later on, he simply thought it was natural: Jae-i was a lucky person, so of course he always came back safe.
—"You’re Jeong Jae-i’s Gilsangcheon."
“…What a stupid thing to say.”

Tae-ui snorted.
"If I’m really making everyone around me so damn lucky, then shouldn’t I be the lucky one first? But look at my life. No maniac killers around, no handsome guys with sweet faces obsessing over taking my virginity."
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt gloomy. Nothing had gone right since he came to this island.

“…Wait a second.”
He blinked. Nothing had gone right since he came to the island. In other words, ever since he’d been separated from his brother—since Jae-i went missing—everything had gone wrong. So maybe Illei was half right. But flipped.
Maybe he was always unlucky to begin with, and his brother’s presence had just been sharing the fortune, allowing him to live a more or less average life. Yeah, that explanation made more sense. How absurd would it be for someone who shares good luck with others to be unlucky themselves?

But Tae-ui frowned again and shook his head.
They hadn’t spent their whole lives stuck together. Since entering the military academy, he’d been living in the dorms, only going home on weekends. After graduation, he entered service and again lived away. They only lived together up through high school, and after he was discharged from the military, they lived together for a few months before Tae-ui came here.
If they had to be together to share fortune, then he should have been terribly unlucky during those years apart. But he wasn’t. Sure, he’d met that pain-in-the-ass Lieutenant Kim, but still—he’d enjoyed his time in the academy and military, and Jae-i had been racking up accomplishments somewhere Tae-ui didn’t even know about.

Even while living apart, they’d both lived their lives without any major issues.
“This whole thing doesn’t make any damn sense… and I’m the idiot looking it up because someone said something weird.”
Grumbling, Tae-ui slammed the encyclopedia shut.

Maybe it was because of that strange conversation, but he suddenly wanted to see his brother. Not that there was anything he particularly needed to say. It would probably be the same as always—just a casual “you home?” followed by a string of meaningless chatter. Like, “I have plans with a friend tomorrow,” or “some drunk picked a fight with me the other day.”
It wasn’t like he needed his brother. He had other people to vent to, seniors to share joy with, juniors to drink away sorrow with. It didn’t have to be his brother. But even so, he wanted to see him—for no particular reason, just to have another one of those pointless conversations.
Maybe that’s what family was.

Tae-ui pushed the encyclopedia aside and started swinging his legs from the chair. Come to think of it, his brother’s birthday was coming up. His birthday too, of course. Maybe he’d be able to call home then. If not on the exact day, then a few days before or after. His brother would probably call—he always had. When they lived together, they’d celebrate face-to-face. When apart, it was just a phone call.
Not that it was ever anything big. They’d talk about random stuff on the phone, then someone would go, “Oh, right. It’s your birthday,” and the other would reply, “Happy birthday. Yeah, you too,” and then they’d go right back to chatting about nothing.
“Hmm… if I call home around our birthday, maybe he’ll be back.”

Tae-ui muttered as he slowly rocked back and forth in the creaking chair. Maybe he wouldn’t be back. It seemed like he’d be away for a while. But even if not, Jae-i would still call. They hadn’t promised anything, and it wasn’t like a call was mandatory, but he just knew—it would happen.
“…Don’t tell me he’s gonna act like we cut ties and not call at all.”
He suddenly furrowed his brow and murmured. The memory had just returned. A few months ago, before they separated—when they’d still been living together—his brother had said something the night before leaving. He’d pointed at their pinky fingers and said they should cut the red string between them. He’d even mimed snipping it with scissors.

Tae-ui had thought it was weird. But his brother was always doing inexplicable things, so he hadn’t thought much of it. Surely that wasn’t the reason he’d left... right?
 
Jeong Tae-ui suddenly stopped the hand that had been tapping rhythmically on the desk. Another one of those incomprehensible things his brother had said floated into his mind.

—"When someone lives too fortunately, life gets boring. I need to experience a bit of misfortune too."
"……."
Jeong Tae-ui blankly stared up at the library ceiling. The white ceiling was old, and because of that, stains had formed here and there. As he traced the stains with his eyes, Tae-ui sank into thought for a moment.

If Illei was right...
Then did his brother know?
But what, how much, in what way—Tae-ui had no idea. He had no way of guessing. He didn’t know how he and his brother were connected, to what extent, or why things had turned out that way. Just being twins wasn’t enough to explain it. There were plenty of twins in the world.

“Or maybe everyone around me just happens to get lucky…”
He tilted his head and muttered. Then he let out a soft laugh. That didn’t seem to be the case. It was true there weren’t many truly unlucky people around him, but there weren’t any particularly lucky ones either. Only his brother was the exception.
“For fuck’s sake. Now it’s like I’m some kind of special chosen one or something.”

He mumbled jokingly and stood up. The lunch break was nearly over. It was time to return to regular duties.
Normally, given his position as an adjutant, he would be expected to stay with the assigned instructor until the end of the schedule. But Tae-ui didn’t see the need for that. The role of an adjutant was to handle errands or assist the instructor if they were in danger. But during lunch, there was no work to do, and imagining Illei being in danger was nearly impossible.
Illei Ligrow needing help in a dangerous situation? Even trying to picture it seemed ridiculous. If anything, Tae-ui would be the one needing help. What kind of danger could that monster-like human even encounter?

From the start, Tae-ui had made it clear he would move around freely outside of official hours, and Illei hadn’t insisted otherwise. In fact, he didn’t want someone constantly hovering nearby. He was the type who found that sort of thing bothersome.
“Ugh… I’ve got to see that stone-cold face again.”
Tae-ui sighed and pushed in his chair. That monster was probably somewhere terrifying someone senseless right about now. Though, in any case, it’d still be somewhere within this facility.

The afternoon was free. There were only desk duties in the instructor’s office—no lectures for the members.
A moment to breathe. Whenever Illei held lectures and Tae-ui had to watch him from the back of the classroom, he was always plagued by stomachaches. He had to keep his eyes wide open, constantly on edge, wondering if someone would suddenly get beaten to death. And after lectures, the cold glares from the members were directed not just at Illei, but at him too. It was really terrible for his digestion.
He was just about to get moving toward the instructor’s office when the library door opened and a few men walked in. Not paying them much mind, Tae-ui picked up the encyclopedia to return it to its place—only to sense their eyes on him and lift his head. They glanced at him.

It didn’t feel good. Their stares weren’t friendly—and these days, no one in the division looked at Tae-ui with friendly eyes. Nine times out of ten, it was the prelude to a confrontation.
And of course. Just as he tried to pretend he didn’t notice and turn his head, one of them came over and openly picked a fight.
"What are you doing here without your precious Instructor? Shouldn’t you be trailing after him and waiting on him?"

"Yeah, the instructor’s lecture is about to start soon. What are you doing here? Skipping duty? You’ll get chewed out if you get caught."
Tae-ui responded flatly. If they were going to keep picking fights, couldn’t they at least switch up their repertoire?
One of the guys, who stepped up next, at least seemed slightly more reasonable than his friend. He gave Tae-ui a reluctant look and asked bluntly.

"Tae-ui, I’m not in your team so it’s not really my business, but you don’t seem like a bad guy. Actually, you seem decent. So why the hell are you tagging along with that psycho?"
He was tired of explaining. That he hadn’t volunteered for this adjutant position.
Normally, the adjutant role was filled after first gathering applicants from within the branch, then selecting from them. It wasn’t something forced onto someone completely uninterested.

Yeah—normally.
The moment his uncle had called him to the instructor’s office, he should’ve known something was off. At the time, he didn’t even know how the system worked. He thought if higher-ups ordered something, he had no choice but to obey. If he’d known he had a say in the matter, he never would’ve accepted. …Then again, who’s to say his uncle would’ve accepted his refusal either.
Tae-ui let out a long sigh. The guy who’d spoken second frowned slightly, maybe misinterpreting that sigh.

"Everyone’s got their circumstances, sure. But still, why that guy? Why pick a position where you’re helping someone like him?"
He probably assumed Tae-ui had been blackmailed or forced into it somehow. Honestly, Tae-ui would’ve preferred people thinking that—it might make them less inclined to start shit.
Just when Tae-ui thought this encounter might end peacefully thanks to that second guy’s relatively calm tone, the third guy ruined it.

"No, you’ve got it all wrong. He’s not doing this because of any circumstances. From the start, he’s just been one of that psycho’s people. You remember, right? When that European instructor and those two guys—Kieffen and Karl—were killed? The only other person there besides that maniac was this guy. Doesn’t it seem suspicious he’s the only one who survived? If he wasn’t on that psycho’s side, no way he would’ve made it out alive."
This one was treating Tae-ui like an accomplice to murder from the get-go. Tae-ui stood silently in front of them, unable to even walk past with them blocking the way, just listening to their words.
He’d already heard these accusations. Not just once, but countless times. Some even said, “He’s the same kind of freak as that lunatic.” That kind of insult—being equated with a monster even clusters couldn’t contain—was deeply humiliating.

Other insults he could ignore, but not that one. That one lingered.
Tae-ui glanced at the clock on the wall behind them. Lunch break was almost over. If they were here to borrow books, they’d better do it and get back to work. Were they planning to stay here picking a fight until the last second?
“You not going?”

He tossed out the words casually. They blinked, apparently confused. He said it again, slower.
“You not going? Look at the clock.”
He gestured toward the wall clock with his chin, but none of them looked—except one. Instead, their faces twisted, as if taking offense to what he said.

"Oh, I see. You’re telling us to fuck off, huh?"
Humans could really be twisted. How did “You not going?” become “Get lost”? Then again, once someone’s marked, no matter what they do or say, it’ll be taken the wrong way.
Tae-ui glanced at the second guy. His face was tight with discomfort and hostility as he glared at Tae-ui. Seeing that, Tae-ui couldn’t help but feel equally bitter.

If nothing had happened, he might have gotten along decently with these guys. The ones picking fights—if you looked closer, most of them had close friends or teammates who were badly injured or even killed during joint exercises with the European branch. People didn’t usually pick fights over nothing.
Sometimes personalities just didn’t match. But even then, it wouldn’t have come to this.
It would be a lie to say he didn’t feel regret. Even if he’d be gone in six months, he had wanted to get along with his colleagues in the meantime—whether on the same team or not. He wanted to build reliable relationships, like he had in the military with his platoon before being discharged.

But no. He was just ridiculously unlucky. Caught up with a lunatic like that, and cursed with an uncle like that.
Uncle. Even if I leave in six months, I will never forget that you threw me into the jaws of hell for half a year. May you savor my grudge for a long, long time—like a snake coiled in the dark. …Though no matter how deeply I resent you, I’m not the type to get revenge, so it’s pretty useless anyway.
"Tae-ui. I’m telling ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ you this for your own good—cut ties with that bastard. You haven’t been at UNHRDO for very long, so maybe you don’t know. But he’s truly insane. He’ll drag you down just by being near you. He doesn’t care if it’s someone close—he’ll still hurt them without hesitation."

The third guy still looked at Tae-ui with pity and offered sincere advice.
That was the unfortunate part. If not for all this, Tae-ui might’ve become good colleagues with someone like him. In the military too, guys like that always made for solid teammates.
What a shame. Truly.

Tae-ui didn’t want to argue or clash anymore. He just nodded.
“Got it. Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep it in mind.”
This was the exhausting part. When your colleagues stopped being trustworthy companions and became people to be wary of—bitter, distant strangers. If it wasn’t a situation you could change or avoid, all you could do was get worn down.

Luckily, it didn’t seem like they were planning to drag this out forever, and Tae-ui didn’t want to keep dealing with them either. Entertaining this kind of thing had no end.
Just as they were finally turning to leave, still with sour looks, something made them freeze. Their faces went pale like they’d seen a ghost, and one of them even stumbled backward.
Tae-ui froze too. He realized their eyes had landed on something right behind him.

"Jeong Tae-ui, your social circle is shrinking fast. That won’t do, now will it?"
A slow, amused male voice came from just over his shoulder. Judging by the sound, not even a hand’s breadth away.
Tae-ui frowned. Come to think of it, this had happened before—back during joint training with the European branch. He’d been quietly alone in the library then too, and Illei had suddenly appeared behind him, startling him. Just like now—though he didn’t show it outwardly.

"Illei… how long have you been there?"
 
Jeong Tae-ui muttered in annoyance. He had been wondering who that monster might be terrifying during this peaceful lunch break—and turns out, it was here.

Illei reached past Tae-ui’s waist and grabbed the encyclopedia Tae-ui had been holding, lightly taking it from him. He flipped through to the page where Tae-ui had left the bookmark and murmured quietly, “Haha.”
“Gilsangcheon, huh… This drawing’s way too ugly. I wouldn’t even get hard for a woman like this.”
Illei muttered playfully, then handed the encyclopedia back to Tae-ui. Then he shifted his gaze to the group of men standing in front of him, glaring at him.

“What? You got business with me?”
Tae-ui clicked his tongue as he saw the men staring at Illei with stiff, hostile expressions. Stepping aside, he said to Illei,
“They were here for me. It’s got nothing to do with you.”

Illei lowered his gaze. His cold eyes looked at Tae-ui like he found him laughable.
“If that’s true, then fine. But if they were here for me, then it’s none of your business. I told you before not to interfere, didn’t I? You want us both to end up annoyed?”
It was the same expression as always. Maybe even with the faintest smile, like he was in a good mood. To someone who didn’t know him, that face would seem pleasant and refined. He’d probably look exactly the same ten or twenty years from now. And one more thing that would never change was that cold, barren gaze.

Tae-ui clicked his tongue inwardly.
Yeah, that second guy—what was his name, Jo?—you were right. This bastard is the kind who can harm people close to him without a second thought. Even if it’s his own adjutant, even if it’s someone he spends over half the day with, even if it’s a friend who plays land-grab games with him—if the situation calls for it, he’ll snap your neck without hesitation.
So once again, Tae-ui found himself about to blurt out, I keep telling you, I didn’t choose to be tangled up with this guy. If possible, he wanted to make an announcement over the PA system to the entire division: I’m only doing this because I was forced to, so please stop picking fights with me.

But still, there was a reason he couldn’t exactly say, Take it all up with him instead. As Illei’s adjutant, Tae-ui had a goddamn obligation to protect him if someone tried to threaten or harm him.
While Tae-ui stood between three men and one monster, worrying about what might happen in the next few minutes, the men under Illei’s gaze stayed silent. Then the first one spoke, voice laced with sarcasm.
“Business, huh… Well, it should be with you, but since you’re the big shot instructor, guess we had to settle for the adjutant instead.”

You could call it guts, but picking a fight with someone you can’t possibly beat isn’t bravery—it’s stupidity. From Tae-ui’s perspective, mouthing off to Illei like that was no different than volunteering for a hospital bed. Utterly idiotic.
Finally, Illei smiled. Up until now, his expression had been unreadable—but now, some emotion flickered across it. Tae-ui knew. That smile didn’t mean the same thing it would for a normal person. These unlucky, dumb bastards.
“I don’t hate guys who pick fights with me for no reason. Sometimes it’s even fun. I like that they’ve got the guts I don’t.”

Illei stepped forward with a faint smile. That slow, quiet tone made it sound like he truly found them amusing. He even sounded gentle.
Tae-ui decided to stay out of it. There was nothing to gain from stepping in. If he did, the guys would hate him for taking the psycho’s side, and Illei would give him something worse than a scolding for meddling. Nothing good would come from getting involved. He wasn’t the type to stick his neck out for justice anyway.
But just as he was about to quietly back off and observe, surprisingly, the second guy stepped forward.

Tae-ui frowned. He’d expected the mouthy first guy to take the lead—but the second one? Then again, maybe he had expected it. That’s how the world worked. The guy who stirred up trouble never dealt with the consequences; it always fell on someone else. Someone who had little to do with it got dragged into the mess. You really had to wonder if fairness existed at all.
“Maybe fairness is just an illusion made up by communists…”
Tae-ui grumbled, twisting his mouth.

He kind of liked the second guy. If that man got beat into a bloody pulp, he’d probably feel bad. Still, even feeling bad, he didn’t feel like stepping between him and Illei’s smile. All he could do was sigh at the unfortunate future he saw coming.
Just then.
A short chime rang, signaling the end of lunch. The library didn’t have speakers, so the sound had drifted in from the hallway outside.

The men hesitated. Illei merely glanced toward the hallway, expression unchanged. Tae-ui checked the time, then looked sideways at Illei.
“I’m really not trying to interfere or anything,” Tae-ui said casually, fiddling with the worn corner of the encyclopedia like it was nothing.
Illei shot him a sharp glance. A look that said, Are you really trying to start something?

“Illei. McKeen’s a real pain in the ass. If he marks you once, he’ll hound you forever. Not that I’ve experienced it, but my uncle told me.”
Illei looked at him curiously, as if wondering why he was suddenly bringing that up.
“This afternoon, McKeen has no lectures. Which means the only people in the instructor’s office will be you and him. If you mess around and show up late, it’ll leave a bad impression. I’m saying this for your own good. I really don’t want to interfere.”

Tae-ui made sure to tack that last part on.
Illei raised an eyebrow and stared at Tae-ui. Then he glanced over at the men. He stared at them for a few seconds, then suddenly smirked.
“Well, well… So you’re going to go and make this annoying for me, huh… Tae-ui. If you interfere, it’s not just you who’s going to get hurt. These guys? I was going to deal with them eventually no matter what you do. But if you butt in, you’ll just end up tired too.”

Shit. Stepped on a landmine.
Tae-ui took another step back. With a blank face, he looked at Illei and muttered, “Fine, do whatever you want,” then gave the encyclopedia a lazy shake like he was going to put it back on the shelf.
Damn it. If I’m unlucky, today’s going to suck. Thinking he could gloss over things with Illei was a stupid idea.

Clicking his tongue, Tae-ui slowly walked over to the shelf he’d pulled the encyclopedia from. Since he’d resolved not to interfere, he figured he might as well avoid watching whatever brutal scene was about to unfold. Let them deal with it however they want. That’s how he’d always handled it.
Tae-ui put the encyclopedia back and stayed there for a while, tapping the shelf with his fingertips until enough time passed to reasonably leave.
Come to think of it, he’d never properly gone up against that guy. Sure, he’d be knocked out in a second if he did, but still—he’d never even sparred with him. Back when Illei had come during the joint training with the European branch, maybe there could’ve been a chance, but the first week passed without incident, and the second week he’d been stuck in the restricted zone the whole time, so they never had a proper match.

Well, they had scuffled a few times inside the restricted zone, mostly out of boredom. Illei had treated it like a game, but even in those moments, Tae-ui had gotten a clear enough picture. He knew damn well he couldn’t handle Illei in a fight.
If it came down to facing him… what the hell would he even do?
“…….”

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no answer. Just two options: run for his life, or get knocked out before dying.
And once Illei was done roughing them up, he’d probably turn around and complain—Why’d you interfere and make things worse? Tae-ui smacked his lips.
“Better to just get knocked out before dying. He wouldn’t beat someone who’s already unconscious… Right? …Then again, it’s Illei. He might just slit my throat while I’m still conscious.”

As he murmured to himself, sighing over his bleak future, Illei’s relaxed voice came from the other side of the shelf.
“Who are you talking about?”
 

Flinch. Jeong Tae-ui’s hand, which had been brushing the top of the book, came to a stop. Across the shelf, through the empty gap above the books, he could see Illei standing there. Only his chin and mouth were visible, partly hidden behind the books.
“You already knocked them all down? I didn’t hear a thing.”
“You were worrying about McKeen for my sake, so I figured I’d go along with what you said.”

“…Did you just let them go?”
Tae-ui asked skeptically, finding the claim hard to believe. Through the gap above the book, Illei’s lips curved into a smile. A flash of white teeth peeked out before being tucked back behind his lips.
“You liked the one in the middle, didn’t you.”

He asked suddenly. Tae-ui tilted his head, then realized who he meant and recalled the earlier moment. The guy in the middle must have been the second man—the one who had picked a fight, yes, but the most civil about it.
“Ah… yeah, he was the best of the three. How’d you know?”
“He seemed like someone who’d get along well with you, if the circumstances were right. You, who’s basically a loner in this division.”

Illei spoke with a faint chuckle, then slowly stepped around the shelf and approached. His figure appeared from the other side of the shelves, and as he entered the narrow space between them, it suddenly felt full.
Tae-ui looked at him head-on. That slow approach through the dim library shelves almost felt like a scene out of a horror movie. And yet, strangely, if anything, it was a relief—it didn’t actually feel all that terrifying. When you thought about it, this was a pretty alarming situation: alone in a deserted corner of the library, face-to-face with a killer. And yet, there was no sense of crisis. Apparently, Tae-ui had grown used to this man—used to him in a way that was both unsettling and familiar.
Smacking his lips bitterly, Tae-ui asked him:

“So… you planning to deal with this ‘annoyance’ right here?”
He quickly ran through the math of how long it would take for someone to find him if he got beaten unconscious right here. The shelf directly in front was full of novels, so people came by often. But this section was full of collected works—nobody came here.
If he was lucky, he’d be found quickly. If unlucky, it might not be until evening during library closing rounds. Hopefully, if that were the case, Illei would at least leave him injured just enough to be a nuisance, but not enough to threaten his life.

Tae-ui stared straight up at Illei as he asked, and Illei let out a quiet laugh. He tilted his head slightly and gazed down at him.
“You really are such an amusing little thing…”
The softly spoken murmur brushed past his ear and disappeared. Then suddenly, Illei bent down a little. At eye level now, he stared at Tae-ui as if examining something rare and strange. His eyes moved slowly—over his nose, his lips—watching each detail like it was something precious. Tae-ui raised a brow.

“Jeong Tae-ui. I’m going to say this one last time.”
Illei’s voice suddenly lowered. The way people do when they’re about to reveal something sincere. His tone was serious and slow, and he spoke clearly.