After a moment of silence, Xinlu awkwardly raised his eyes and exclaimed: “Hyung! Your cigarette! Your cigarette!”, pointing to Jeong Taeui who bent down, startled to see the cigarette butt had fallen to the ground and set fire to the dry grass, quickly stamping it out.

Jeong Taeui’s hands trembled as he picked up the cigarette butt and tucked it into his pocket. When he took out his last cigarette to light it, the lighter refused to ignite. His fingers continuously fumbled.

‘Wait, what did I just hear? It seems like I heard something strange but can’t remember,’ 

Taeui thought: ‘Just now, Xinlu called me Taeui-hyung and then stuttered something……. Ah, why won’t this lighter work?’

The lighter still wouldn’t ignite despite multiple attempts. Xinlu, his face flushed with embarrassment, approached and took the lighter from Taeui, lighting the cigarette for him.

“Thank you”, Taeui said, taking the lighter back from Xinlu and pocketing it without another word.

“…….”

“…….”

An uncomfortable silence spread. Xinlu stood close enough that he could reach out and touch Taeui.

Taeui looked at Xinlu, dazed, and exhaled smoke. Xinlu coughed lightly twice. At that moment, Taeui started and said, “Sorry,” turning his head to blow the smoke away. He then extinguished the cigarette after only a few puffs. If Tou saw this, he would certainly glare, but now it didn’t matter.

“…….So……. is everything okay?”

After a moment of hesitation, Taeui blurted out and immediately wanted to bite his own tongue.

What am I asking? Okay, in this context, what does that even mean?

As expected, Xinlu widened his eyes at Taeui. Taeui stammered: “No, sorry. I didn’t mean that. I meant……. are you uncomfortable?”

Xinlu looked at Taeui, who was awkwardly explaining, with a confused face, then slowly shook his head.

“Not uncomfortable. Just too busy lately, so I haven’t been anywhere……. Since then, even looking at women doesn’t evoke any feelings…….”

Xinlu’s neck turned bright red as he spoke with embarrassment. Seeing this, Taeui’s face reddened even more.

If someone saw this scene, they would surely laugh out loud. Two grown men standing face to face, blushing, just looking at the ground. But even if someone laughed, Taeui didn’t care. Maybe, maybe his heart was swelling with intense emotion.

Taeui lightly kicked the cigarette butt under his foot. After a long silence, Xinlu whispered softly.

“Taei-hyung. When we drank tea a few days ago…….”

Taeui started and stomped on the cigarette butt. His feet slowly shifted.

“Because when you touched me……. I felt like I smelled soap and you were so close to me…….”

“Yeah, got it…….”

Xinlu nodded, mumbling. Still blushing to his ears, he bowed his head, and Taeui was no different.

Suddenly, Xinlu slowly raised his head. He glanced at Taeui with shiny black eyes. The bright, sparkling eyes made Taeui’s heart tighten.

Just as Taeui was about to turn away, Xinlu smiled slightly. A shy smile just barely curling the corners of his mouth. Taeui couldn’t take his eyes off that smile.

“……. Hyung. Let’s go back. I’ll wait here……. No, I also want to see the sea one more time.”

Saying this, Xinlu walked past Taeui towards the beach. Taeui stood there, staring at Xinlu’s receding back, and when Xinlu turned around with a confused look, Taeui hurriedly followed.

His heart pounded. As if he had seized an incredible opportunity, his heart was racing.

Unbelievably, he closed his eyes and opened them again, and Xinlu was still smiling there.

Ah, not everything is always unfortunate.

Even if tonight there were hundreds of men like Rick from the European branch, he could endure it.

**********************

They arrived at exactly 8 P.M, after dinner.

Jeong Taeui thought back to whether he had ever felt such tension in his life. Never. Not even when he fought Lieutenant Kim to the death, and that battle escalated into a brawl among the squads.

After completing a brief orientation in the second basement conference room, they moved to the sixth basement. The atmosphere in the hallway was truly intimidating. More than a dozen men with special grudges against the European branch stood guard in the hallway, glaring at them menacingly, while those coming down the stairs also looked at them coldly.

Jeong Taeui didn’t want to get involved in this confrontation at all. He had anticipated this situation and planned to hide in his room when they arrived, but unfortunately, he stepped out of the bathroom after his shower just as they arrived.

Seeing a group of strangers coming out of the stairs, Jeong Taeui thought: ‘Ah, they finally arrived’, and seeing his colleague standing in front of him, he quickly wove through the crowd and headed to his room. Out of habit, he initially headed to his own room but then changed direction to Tou’s room, where he would be staying for a while.

In the room, only Tou and Maurer were present. Although from different teams, they had met and talked several times, so it wasn’t unfamiliar.

“They’ve arrived, right?”

Maurer, engrossed in a puzzle magazine, muttered around a pencil in his mouth. Taeui replied, “Yeah, they’re here,” and sat down on the bed, drying his hair.

This Maurer guy didn’t seem to have much animosity towards the European branch. Perhaps because he had only been here for a few months and hadn’t experienced the brutality of the European branch. Tou once said that. But for Taeui, who had only been here a few days, sympathizing with Maurer, who only had a sense of normal competition, was much easier than having a fierce grudge against the European branch like Tou.

“Where’s Tou?”

“Bathroom. Took a comic magazine with him, so he won’t be back anytime soon.”

Hearing Maurer’s answer without taking his eyes off the magazine, Taeui nodded.

They waited so long for them to arrive, but when they did, he was in the bathroom. But maybe sensing their presence, Tou would rush out soon.

Even in the room, one could feel the tension outside. Although no fights had broken out, occasional curses and screams could be heard.

“In this situation, a fight wouldn’t be surprising. The tension is too high.”

“A fight……. I don’t want that.”

“Yeah, me neither. But if Tou hears this, he’ll stop us and lecture us.”

Taeui glanced at Maurer, and they both laughed.

“Tou is a good person, but he’s too hot-headed.”

Maurer said nothing, just shrugged in agreement, then returned to his magazine.

Taeui began tidying up his belongings. But there wasn’t much to tidy.

Since joining this branch, he hadn’t brought much luggage, so moving rooms for a few days didn’t require much. Just enough to carry by hand.

“Can I use this empty toothbrush holder?”

“Yeah, go ahead. Just don’t mix them up. Once, Tou bought a new toothbrush the same color as Nick’s, and they argued daily about whose was whose.”

Maurer, still focused on the magazine, answered in full. Taeui checked the color of his toothbrush and placed it in the bathroom. As he put his underwear in the drawer, he heard more stories about similar past troubles and double-checked his own underwear. Regretting bringing plain white ones that would easily get mixed up.

When closing the drawer, it got stuck. After a few tries, Taeui frowned and pulled the drawer out completely.

“What’s stuck here……. Oh.”

Taeui pulled out a metal object peeking through the underwear.

It was a Beretta*.

Feeling its cold weight in his hand, Taeui glanced at Maurer. Maurer was still buried in his magazine.

In the branch, personal weapons were prohibited. At most, knives or non-lethal guns were allowed. Sometimes people secretly hid guns, claiming they were toys when caught. But this one in his hand felt real.

Taeui held the Beretta and gently tapped it in his palm. It was loaded. Just disengage the safety, and it could fire.

At that moment, Maurer inadvertently turned his head and saw Taeui holding the Beretta. His face immediately changed. He jumped up and grabbed the gun from Taeui. Taeui instinctively stepped back.

Maurer’s face twisted as if he had bitten into something bitter. Taeui chuckled softly.

“Is it yours? Carrying an illegal weapon.”

“Give it back! It’s a rare model!”

Maurer yelled, his face irritated, reaching for it.

Recalling that Tou had mentioned his roommate was a gun fanatic who always hid gun models in the room.

Tou, an expert, wouldn’t mistake a model gun for a real one. So this room likely had model guns too. The gun fanatic he had heard about turned out to be this guy. A puzzle enthusiast with an unexpected hobby.

“I’ll remove the bullets first.”

Taeui easily handed the gun back to Maurer.

That’s it. There are many dangerous people here. Surviving in this environment isn’t easy.

Taeui pulled Maurer closer and felt his jacket pocket. Maurer yelped and recoiled.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Just checking……. Oh.”

“Wait, I heard you have feelings for Xinlu! Don’t touch me, I’m innocent! I’m not interested in men!”

“I don’t want to either……. But what is this?”

Taeui laughed as he pulled out a Colt 22* from Maurer’s pocket.

“Why are you carrying this?”

“That’s my baby! Give it back! Why do you keep touching my guns!”

Maurer yelled angrily, snatching the gun from Taeui. Taeui easily handed it back.

There are people like this everywhere. He once had a colleague who was a gun fanatic, decorating his house with model guns. When asked: “How did you not get caught?”, he replied: “If you don’t tell, there’s no problem”. And he decided to keep silent.

Taeui had met several people fascinated by weapons, unable to break free. And now, he had met another one.

“You’re Instructor Jeong’s nephew, right?”

Maurer looked at Taeui with a sharp gaze. Taeui nodded and smiled.

“If I say my roommate is a gun fanatic, you’ll shoot me before my uncle can storm in, right?”

“Of course! If you talk, you’ll die!”

Maurer pretended to threaten, then put the Colt back in his pocket.

“Do you always carry it……. What if you get caught?”

“Just keep quiet, and it’s fine!”

Maurer shouted, turning back to his desk. His anger and worry were evident in the way he roughly handled the magazine afterward.

Taeui smiled and continued tidying his belongings. But the tidying was so quick it felt meaningless as there wasn’t much.

Taeui sat on the bed, looking around the room. Unlike his own room, which he had to himself, this room housed three people. For someone who didn’t like to keep too many belongings like him, this room was cluttered with stuff and felt truly lived-in.

Taeui smiled. Instead of feeling strange, he felt nostalgic.

Not only during his time at the military academy but also at the BOQ (Bachelor Officers’ Quarters) of the military, he had shared rooms with classmates and colleagues. At that time, there was a period when the room was filled to the brim with stuff. Among those he had roomed with, one person couldn’t throw anything away and kept collecting things. Eventually, another colleague couldn’t stand it anymore, scolded him to throw things away, leading to a bit of a disagreement, but it was soon resolved.

This room had a lot of stuff, but compared to then, it was nothing. This level was acceptable.

As Taeui recalled those memories, the noise outside continued. Occasionally, curses and screams, and sometimes the clash of metal could be heard. A fight could break out anytime without surprise.

*****************************

*Baretta: