Those who threatened: “Just wait, this afternoon during the practice match, I’ll make you cry”, mostly kept their word. Before the command to start the match was given, they were lined up, ready as if about to tear each other apart.

They stared daggers at each other, and as soon as the signal to start sounded, they rushed at their designated opponents. It was literally a ‘fight to the death’. They succeeded in beating their opponents to the point where tears and blood flowed endlessly.

In other words, they themselves were also beaten to a pulp.

Jeong Taeui, positioned at the rear, watched his teammates and opponents crawl out one by one, covered in blood, and was utterly shocked by the situation.

“Are they all crazy?”

Jeong Taeui said seriously while rubbing his chin, and the person standing right behind him, Yuan Hao, also nodded solemnly.

“Yes. For such lunatics, the only cure is the stick. Beating them like this is actually good for them. Where else in the world would they learn such things?”

“……..”

He always acted cheerful and bright, so Jeong Taeui thought this man was normal, but it turned out he was crazy too……. Clearly, the people weren’t bad, but this area had issues. It was truly a society that forced people to drink alcohol*.

(*A society that forces people to drink alcohol: referring to an environment or system that forces people to do things they don’t want to or are unwilling to do.)

Jeong Taeui looked at Yuan Hao with pity for a moment, then turned away. Right in front of him, two men were fighting like cats and dogs. They were tearing at each other. The instructor seemed only concerned with whether they followed the established combat rules, regardless of whether the floor was soaked with blood. If someone declared defeat or it was clear the match had a winner, he would stop the fight.

Today, the infirmary would undoubtedly be overwhelmed. The beds wouldn’t be enough, and looking at their condition……. If they were to lie together in the infirmary, they would continue throwing things at each other and fighting even while lying down. Surely, we would run out of medicine.

Jeong Taeui doubted the necessity of this mixed training and wondered if such fights would actually improve anything. But as the matches continued, he set aside those thoughts.

After each match, the instructor would point out the key points from the just-concluded fight. He observed and remembered each small detail so accurately, such as the opponent turning to block with the right foot at an almost right angle when the other’s left hand swung up. When they replayed the recorded video, the instructor’s words were completely accurate.

More surprising was that even the men around, who seemed to be shouting like mad, understood which moves affected the outcome and knew the strengths and weaknesses of each person.

The fight seemed chaotic, but for the spectators, it was excellent study material. And the spectators were so good that they could recognize that.

Jeong Taeui scratched his neck and muttered to himself. It was true, even if he only realized it occasionally, these seemingly crazy people were actually excellent when viewed from outside. Even the teammate who had just been dragged out covered in blood was a special agent from the Central Intelligence Agency–CIA*, authorized to study at the branch from last year until the end of this year as part of a professional training course. Many people came from other public agencies to develop themselves through internships.

(*Central Intelligence Agency – CIA: an important intelligence agency of the United States federal government responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through human intelligence.)

…….Why would such excellent people easily trade their lives for such trivial matters?

Jeong Taeui shook his head and sighed.

“Don’t sigh. Don’t worry about dying. If things get too bad……. well, I can’t say surrender, but just pretend to faint and let someone carry you out. But before that, try to hit your opponent hard.”

Yuan Hao grabbed Jeong Taeui’s shoulders and spoke from behind. It seemed this friend misunderstood Jeong Taeui’s intentions, thinking he was worried because it was almost his turn.

Jeong Taeui thought that he really didn’t want to get beaten himself and felt worried as he looked at his opponent. And he observed the person he would be fighting.

Just a glance showed that the opponent was very strong. He hoped that the fierce appearance was just a bluff and that he was actually weak, but looking at his muscles, it was clear that those muscles were formed through real fights, not in a gym. His eyes and expression were also very calm.

Clearly, he was one of the strongest in this group. How unlucky for him…….

After the previous match ended and the instructor summarized the key points and discussed with his teammates, Jeong Taeui stood up with a grimace as his name was called, as if he had just chewed a bug.

“Win and come back!”

“Beat him! Beat him!!”

“I believe in you. The master of tricks!!”

No words of encouragement sounded pleasant. The best encouragement, “Win,” wasn’t something he was confident he could live up to.

Even though he wasn’t confident in winning, Jeong Taeui was quite confident in his ability to read people. Looking at his opponent, he bitterly thought that he couldn’t beat that man.

So the best method was just that method.

“Getting beaten up less painfully is the best.”

Jeong Taeui muttered to himself, then gathered his spirit. When the instructor signaled to start, he began to face his opponent.

The opponent had learned various martial arts in a structured manner from the beginning, step by step. Additionally, he was very flexible and clever. Facing someone like that directly was hard to win. Don’t even think about winning; just dealing with him was hard. It was best to avoid.

But in a situation where he couldn’t avoid it, the only way was to try to get beaten less painfully.

If Jeong Taeui had any combat skill better than others, it was the skill of ‘Getting Beaten Less Painfully’.

It was a survival skill with a bit of strategy, but Taeui had found it very useful in the military. There were several methods, but Jeong Taeui’s basic and easiest method was to get close to the opponent when they swung their fist and slightly pull back at the moment of impact. A method that others might laugh at but was very effective if used correctly.

But anyway…….

“It still hurts, damn it.”

Of course, getting hit continuously was naturally painful. Getting beaten less painfully just meant reducing the pain a bit, not eliminating it or reducing it to an unnoticeable level.

While trying to find an opportunity to punch or kick his opponent each time he was hit, Jeong Taeui kept mumbling in his mind – ‘It hurts so much’.

But the man facing Jeong Taeui also seemed dissatisfied with the vague punches, his expression becoming increasingly grim. Occasionally, when hit lightly once or twice, his face became even more unpleasant.

Seeing that face, Jeong Taeui thought that if he got hit one more time, he would surely be sent straight to the infirmary.

At that moment, the man finally showed anger and threw a direct punch. Jeong Taeui was considering whether to take that punch and collapse, but he got hit before he could think further.

“Cough…….”

Jeong Taeui couldn’t cry out. At the moment he was punched, he realized that until now, he had really been hit as painlessly as possible. That direct punch hurt so much that he felt his internal organs wanting to burst out of his mouth. And part of him felt lucky and collapsed to the ground.

He really wanted to end it there and was in so much pain that he couldn’t stand up.

When Jeong Taeui lay straight and said, “I lost,” his opponent seemed even more angry. His expression showed dissatisfaction with not having a satisfying fight as his opponent had already fallen. Seeing that expression, despite the pain, Jeong Taeui smiled lightly.

‘Isn’t this beating enough for you, bastard?’

It seemed that meaning was conveyed to his opponent, making his face even angrier, but the instructor had ordered a stop. He had to stand up, sighing in frustration.

Jeong Taeui lay there, hoping a teammate would come and carry him out, but he only received cold words telling him not to pretend and to quickly make way for Yuan Hao.

Sheesh, no reliable teammates. Jeong Taeui muttered and slowly stood up.

Yuan Hao was the last one, though beaten to a pulp, he had also dealt not a few blows. After a long time, he ended his match and dragged himself out when it was well past regular working hours.

The match time wasn’t long, but the instructor pointing out key points and discussing with teammates took a lot of time, so only about 78 matches had taken a considerable amount of time.

Despite constantly scolding and mocking each other, by the end of the day, everyone was visibly exhausted. Analyzing and observing were tiring enough, not to mention having to participate in a match, so it wasn’t surprising they were worn out.

Jeong Taeui was no exception. As soon as the instructor declared the end and left the room, he collapsed onto the table. His teammates continued their verbal fights and began to fight similarly to noon, but Jeong Taeui had no strength or thoughts to stop them.

As they loudly argued for a while, Tou, who was drinking water, approached Jeong Taeui.

“Did you get beaten up badly earlier? Go back to your room and sleep.”

“What about you? You looked like you were bleeding from head to toe, but now you look healthy.”

“Those guys made even a reclining Buddha stand up*.”

(*Reclining Buddha stand up: a metaphorical way to describe being so shocked or amazed that even something that seems immovable and unaffected would react.)

Jeong Taeui remained silent. Here, staying silent was the best way to protect oneself.

They grew louder, like the noon process. If not for the exhaustion after a day’s work, they might have grabbed each other’s collars and fought on the bloody floor.

Jeong Taeui stood up, staggering. He walked towards the door while still hearing the swearing and mocking behind him. Yuan Hao, still wiping blood from his forehead, looked after him and asked where he was going.

Jeong Taeui looked at Yuan Hao with fatigue and replied in an even more tired voice.

“Going to be punished for violating the ban on personal weapons in the branch.”

“What? Didn’t you get called to the instructor’s office earlier?”

“He told me to hand-copy ten volumes of the UNHRDO regulations.”

“Hand-copy……. Do you need help?”

“If the handwriting is different, I’ll have to copy ten more volumes, and the helper will have to copy ten volumes as well.”

“Uh……. good luck. I’ll support you in spirit.”

Receiving Yuan Hao’s sympathetic look, Jeong Taeui waved and left the training room.

He wanted to go back to his room and lie down immediately, but his uncle had assigned the punishment along with a deadline for submitting the ten hand-copied volumes. The deadline was three days later in the morning. So he had to give up his rest time.

Finding the UNHRDO regulations book wasn’t difficult. No need to search the library shelves, the books related to the UNHRDO were neatly placed right by the door.

Jeong Taeui pulled out a book the size of a notebook and sighed. The size and thickness were manageable, not too hard to copy. But when he opened the book and saw the dense lines of text inside, he sighed again.

Three days later in the morning. Fortunately, there was still time to sleep. Although he had to make the most of every moment, it seemed he could finish on time.

Jeong Taeui fanned himself with the small book and then walked towards the borrowing desk. But as soon as he turned around, his eyes caught sight of the sign next to the bookshelf.

[Not for borrowing]

“What the hell is this!?”

Jeong Taeui stopped and muttered. If he couldn’t borrow it, where would he copy it? What place here would have such useless books?

But no matter how hard he tried to input the barcode into the automatic borrowing system, the message – [Not for borrowing] – still appeared, and the book wasn’t recognized. He thought about just taking the book out, but knowing that the recognition system at the door would sound an alarm throughout the floor if he did that, he dismissed the idea.

“Oh. Books related to the organization cannot be borrowed. They are internal materials. If you want to read, you must read in the library. Or if urgent, you need the warden’s permission.”

A man waiting behind Jeong Taeui looked over his shoulder and explained kindly. Jeong Taeui responded – “Oh, thanks” – then made way for the person while still holding the book, standing there stunned.

You needed the warden’s permission to borrow internal materials. No way his uncle didn’t know this and told him to hand-copy. Surely, the intention was for him to sit in the library every time he had free time to copy the book.

“……..”

Jeong Taeui sighed and turned around, fanning himself with the book. Then he realized he would have to bring an empty notebook here to copy. Thinking back, sitting here copying the book might avoid getting involved in trouble with others, so perhaps it was a good thing.

Jeong Taeui took his writing tools and sat down at a table in the library, opening the book. Although he wanted to ask someone for help, remembering his uncle’s words that if the handwriting was different, he would have to copy ten more volumes, he knew that wasn’t a joke.

So, copy one volume and then cleverly copy it again…….

Thinking about it for a while, Jeong Taeui shook his head. Forget it. If caught for cheating, the consequences wouldn’t be light. His uncle wasn’t an easy person.

Jeong Taeui rolled up his sleeves and began copying. Although it felt like a punishment for elementary school students, it wasn’t too harsh. Recalling his uncle’s words – “Copy the section banning personal weapons beautifully and carefully” – Taeui decided to blame all this on his own stupidity.

But after two hours of copying…….

“I should have let that guy die. I should have let that guy die…….”

Jeong Taeui muttered.

He began questioning which heroic idiot saved a stranger’s life by taking a hidden gun – even an unloaded gun that could lead to meaningless death. And for half a month now, he had lived under threats to his life. Madness. The military had ruined him.

Jeong Taeui gritted his teeth and continued writing. His wrist and arm ached. He thought about going to the infirmary for painkillers, but recalling the afternoon match, he doubted if there would be any medicine left for him.

But thinking back, Jeong Taeui and his team were still lucky.

Before going to the library after work, he stopped by the infirmary to get ointment for the bruised side hit by an elbow. While searching for the ointment, he noticed a few people lying like corpses on the beds.

“Heavens, what is this…….”

Right next to him was a bruised mass hardly recognizable as ‘human’. Limbs splinted, body wrapped in bandages, and exposed skin covered in dried blood. The face was so severely injured it was unrecognizable.

He even checked if the person was still breathing.

“Here’s the ointment. Hey, don’t touch, don’t touch. He’s the unluckiest guy among everyone here.”

The medical Assistant Warden – Kyoho – handed Jeong Taeui the ointment and warned him not to touch the patient. Jeong Taeui took the ointment and nodded.

“Yeah. He looks seriously injured……. How did he end up like this? Where is his opponent? Is it the guy lying there?”

Jeong Taeui pointed to the second most severely injured person and asked. Kyoho shook his head.

“He’s not here. He’s fine without a scratch and probably playing somewhere.”

“What? How could his opponent be so severely injured, yet he’s unscathed…….”

Jeong Taeui stopped speaking when he suddenly thought of someone. Kyoho guessed who Jeong Taeui was thinking of and nodded.

“Yes, ‘him’.”

“…………..”

Suddenly, the image of the patient wasn’t normal anymore. If there was just a slight difference, the person lying there could have been Jeong Taeui.

Jeong Taeui looked down at the patient with a tired expression and opened the ointment Kyoho gave him. The familiar smell immediately hit his nose, making him grimace.

“What the hell……. ‘Tiger Balm’?!”

“Yeah. Never seen it? It’s sold everywhere. Pretty good stuff. After this training session ends, you can buy some in Hong Kong and keep it in your room. Many people do that because they often get injured.”

Jeong Taeui stared at the ointment reminiscent of the times his grandmother applied it to him as a child because of its distinctive smell. He thought the infirmary would have more specialized medicine.

But Kyoho, seeing Jeong Taeui’s expression, seriously said.

“Don’t underestimate this. Read the instructions. It can be used for muscle pain, sprains, insect bites, even headaches!”

“Headaches? Is the ointment for applying to the head or eating?!”

“Anyway, the instructions are clear, just read them.”

Indeed, it was true. The description in English included headaches.

“Damn, reading this gives me a headache…….”

Jeong Taeui muttered, wondering where to apply the ointment on his head. Meanwhile, more injured people continued pouring into the infirmary. Kyoho, saying he was too busy, applied a bunch of ointment to Jeong Taeui’s waist and pushed him out, telling him to leave and not return for such a minor injury.

Jeong Taeui, after being kicked out of the infirmary, went to the library. He checked and saw that none of the injured people in the infirmary were in worse condition than the one lying on the bed.

“…………..”

Even while copying, the Tiger Balm smell lingered from his side covered by clothes. In reality, with the pen movements, he felt the need to apply the ointment all over his arm, not just his wrist, but thinking of that terrible smell made him sigh.

“I should have escaped with my brother before uncle arrived. I should have run before uncle came…….”

His mutterings turned into regret for past decisions. In this situation, there were many things to regret, and the deepest regrets surfaced.

Regrets stemming from deep regrets were many, but what bothered him most were the new regrets that appeared after seeing that near-dead body.

He shouldn’t have gotten involved with that lunatic. He should have stayed hidden and not been discovered.

In this situation, it was best to try to remain as hidden as possible. If unavoidable during joint training sessions, he would blend in with his teammates.

Jeong Taeui sighed, stretching after finishing copying a book.

The library was empty. Though usually quiet, today was the first day of joint training, so no one had time to read, making the library almost deserted. Only occasionally did one or two people come in, take the necessary books, and leave immediately.

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

*Tiger Balm: