Under these underground bases, there is no such thing as natural light. If the lights are not on, everything sinks into darkness. And he has always lived underground since he came here.

Suddenly, he felt a longing for the light of dawn.

Perhaps the longer I stay away, the stronger the desire to escape from this place becomes.

Taeui enters the room, chooses a secluded spot, turns off the lights, and sits down in front of a small table. He looks out the window next to him. Oh, in the lower levels underground, there certainly wouldn’t be any real windows like here.

This place has extremely luxurious architecture and a perfect air conditioning system. However, he still feels suffocated and confined. Taeui takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. In such a quiet and serene early morning, he thinks he can hear something.

Taeui suddenly remembers his older brother. When he was sitting on the swing in front of the house with his eyes closed. The porch was filled with flower pots that his mother had planted when she was alive. Even though no flowers were blooming. They were all covered in overgrown leaves. Taeui woke up earlier than dawn and left the room to go to the bathroom, he saw his older brother sitting amidst the lush green leaves.

“Hyung, haven’t you slept?”

Jeong Taeui glanced at the clock with sleepy eyes and approached his older brother. Jaeui opened his eyes, looked at Jeong Taeui, and shook his head.

“No, I just woke up.”

“Well, that’s good. Are you cold?”

Taeui rubbed his arms in the chilly air of a late autumn morning.

“Just a little.”

His older brother replied briefly and shrugged. It was still dark outside and he couldn’t immediately tell, but Taeui could see that his lips were slightly pale.

Taeui clicked his tongue and returned to the room to take out his jacket and put it on his older brother’s shoulders.

“Is there something you haven’t figured out, hyung?”

Taeui squatted on the porch and looked up at his older brother. Sometimes, if he had time to think about something, he would sit obediently like a doll.

“No… I just thought I would hear that sound if I sat here.”

Jaeui put on the jacket and leaned back in the chair, rocking it a few times. He tilted his head as if he could hear some sound, then fell silent and gradually closed his eyes.

Jeong Taeui looked at his older brother for a while and stood up because he was sleepy and wanted to go to the bathroom. Then he quietly turned back to look at his older brother, sometimes saying his incomprehensible words, which had become familiar now.

Perhaps Jaeui felt like this at that time.

In the quiet darkness, the bluish dawn, it seemed like he wanted to hear a sound that couldn’t be heard now.

Taeui quietly opened his eyes. The dark dawn still existed around him. (He must have fallen asleep at some point). However, it was brighter now. The faint blue light faded and the room regained its own color.

The desk caught his eye. The neatly arranged desk indicated the absence of its owner without revealing any of the owner’s personality. No one could know what kind of books the owner liked, whether they were careless or meticulous just by looking at that desk.

Thinking about the owner while sitting alone like this also made him think of his older brother. That was because before he came here, his older brother mainly talked to their father, but after their father passed away, he often contacted his older brother more.

Both of them didn’t even know that they looked so alike.

But his hyung would never betray him. Not because he loved him or because they were a family, not even because of morals. It was just completely natural. His older brother would never abandon Jeong Taeui. He wouldn’t even think of the words “give up” in any situation. Just like him.

On the other hand, his uncle was someone who could turn his back on the people he loved, no matter how difficult and painful it was. His uncle was the type of person who could do things he didn’t want to do to achieve his goals.

“You seem smart… but in reality, you’re not…” 

Taeui sighed like a long breath. He knew that his life could be difficult because of his uncle, but in the end, he couldn’t hate his uncle.

Jeong Taeui pursed his lips bitterly and closed his eyes.

At that moment, it seemed like a sound echoed. Jeong Taeui opened his eyes.

Footsteps from afar were approaching. The old creaking sound of the wooden floor. The footsteps were neither slow nor fast but heavy. Jeong Taeui looked towards the Instructor’s room door. Perhaps Kyoho had arrived early, or maybe it was a member coming up to breathe in the fresh air.

Step by step, the footsteps grew closer. The sound echoed through the hallway. Jeong Taeui stared intently at the office door until the sound stopped in front of the Instructor’s office.

Then, the door opened. The man behind the door stopped when he saw Jeong Taeui sitting alone in the dark office. Because he was sitting in the dim light that couldn’t reach outside, he couldn’t see him clearly. He frowned and looked at Taeui.

Jeong Taeui recognized this man. The man he had been waiting for had arrived.

It was McKeen. He even wondered what the chances were that he would come to the office early. But it seemed that like him, this man couldn’t sleep peacefully either.

McKeen raised an eyebrow after recognizing the person sitting behind the desk as Taeui. He walked to his seat, pulled out a chair and sat down, then spoke.

“You’re early, Instructor Riegrow hasn’t arrived yet.”

McKeen’s voice was deeper than usual. Jeong Taeui nodded silently, even though he was almost hidden by the partition, he still nodded.

McKeen opened the newspaper on the desk as he usually did. The sound of flipping through the pages echoed in the silent space. After slowly flipping through one or two pages, McKeen asked him calmly as if nothing had happened.

“Alright, have you completed your task?”

“Um… I’m still working on it.”

Jeong Taeui suppressed the strength in his hands tightly holding his coat. A vague sense of worry filled his chest.

The sound of flipping the newspaper suddenly stopped. After a moment of silence, McKeen asked.

“Still working on it?”

There was a hint of confusion in his voice. It was only when he heard that hesitating voice that Taeui’s restlessness diminished somewhat.

“I have completed everything as you said, I just haven’t sent it to the address written at the end.”

“……. Why?”

McKeen asked briefly. Contrary to Taeui’s gradually diminishing sense of worry, his tone became more unstable.

McKeen folded the newspaper that hadn’t been flipped a few pages yet. Then he left his seat and walked towards Jeong Taeui. McKeen stopped at the empty chair opposite him and sat down, his gaze never leaving him for a moment since then. Jeong Taeui also looked back at him.

He suddenly thought. This situation is really ridiculous.

From the beginning, he knew that the tasks that McKeen and his uncle assigned to him were illegal. So now he has no right to sit here and preach morality. Even if he doesn’t intervene in this matter, someone else will complete it. The secret will still be leaked. And anyone can use someone else’s hand to do this.

So now he will look like a clown if he tries to pretend to be a moral person when he already knows all the rotten things in it from the beginning. But even so, these things are still like a sharp knife hanging over his neck, making it impossible for Taeui to close his eyes and ignore them.

There was a faint rustling sound here and there.

“Do you know what those files are?”

Jeong Taeui looked up at McKeen and asked directly. His gaze never left him, his eyebrows furrowed.

Jeong Taeui felt that even if he turned into a clown now, it didn’t matter, he just hoped that all his speculations were wrong. The fact is, even if someone sells nuclear weapons to an armed group in the Middle East, he doesn’t care. He is not the type of person who will try to prevent the impossible. He also doesn’t care if McKeen sells something anywhere. Even if it is something very dangerous, he doesn’t care. 

But he can’t bear the fact that his uncle is taking and illegally using what his brother has researched and developed. Even though he just realized it in a moment.

If all these speculations are false, he will politely apologize for making a fuss unreasonably and return to his room right now to send those files. Then he will accept the blame without any objection.

But why isn’t he answering the phone? Even if it’s for some trivial reason, it still makes him worried and restless at this moment.

McKeen silently looked at Taeui’s indifferent face for a long time, then sighed in disgust.

“You must know that this is something that cannot be spoken.”

“I know.”

“Then what’s the problem here? I guess by now you don’t care whether this is done properly or not anymore, so you just don’t like the idea of your brother’s ideas being leaked?”

McKeen took an ashtray that was placed right next to the window and placed it on the table. Then he opened the drawer under the small cabinet next to it and took out a pack of cigarettes from it. McKeen opened the pack of cigarettes and handed it to Taeui as if asking if he smokes. Taeui was about to say no, but still took one, but he didn’t light it, he just silently put it down in the ashtray groove.

Jeong Taeui laughed bitterly.

Indeed. Those formulas are indeed his older brother’s. If McKeen knows that they belong to Jaeui, then of course you must know too.

“Can I ask you something? How did you know about it? Was it your previous field of expertise? I heard you used to serve in the military.”

“I don’t know anything, I’m just guessing. So, did my brother do ‘that’ after all?”

Jeong Taeui whispered carelessly. McKeen’s eyebrows furrowed as if he had misheard something.

He thought he would have to bite his tongue seven times before speaking and choose his words more carefully. But regardless, he had heard what he wanted to hear.

Alright then… Now is the time to think about what to do next.

This leak will eventually happen sooner or later. If people like McKeen and others take action, Jeong Taeui won’t have to worry about it. No, actually, the direction of this matter is still quite good. There is only one problem, and that is his uncle’s involvement. And because it has gone beyond the usual moral boundaries, Jeong Taeui doesn’t want to have any connection to it.

The truths are gradually being revealed, but he still can’t believe it. Even when everything is becoming a mess right now and then it will eventually settle down, someone else will come along and do the same things.

“If this matter is exposed, both you and Instructor Jeong Changin will face big trouble.”

Jeong Taeui whispered to himself. He didn’t mean to threaten, those words just slipped out. But McKeen seemed to understand it differently.

He took a puff of his cigarette and looked at Jeong Taeui. Then he replied while flicking away the cigarette butt.

“Instructor Jeong Changin has a friend. He is very confident that nothing will go wrong and everything will be completed according to plan. Even if this matter is discovered, we won’t face any major trouble like you’re threatening. On the contrary, you should be more careful. Anyway, this matter is not as serious as you think.”

“Threat? I didn’t intend to threaten anyone.”

“Then why did you say those words?”

Taeui remained silent.

What a humorous thought.

Now he only cares about his own fate after all these things. He wishes someone would come and teach him what to do to overcome it. All he can do now is find his uncle and interrogate him.

Why? Why does it have to be his own brother? Why did he try to take away what his brother had researched to exchange it with someone else? Why did his uncle do something like this?

Taeui wants to know why. His uncle will surely have a reasonable answer that can convince him at this moment. Then his heart will no longer ache like it does now. After answering everything, maybe his uncle will just tell him not to worry about things that are not as terrible as this anymore.

Jeong Taeui remained silent for a while, he bowed his head and whispered to himself.

“Uncle, what the hell are you thinking… Why?”

Why is it like this? Those whispered words were meant for his uncle, but it seems that McKeen also heard them. He looked at Taeui with a puzzled expression for a moment. Like looking at a strange and eccentric person. For the first time, a hint of trouble passed through his face.

McKeen is not important to Jeong Taeui, so he doesn’t care what he thinks.

Jeong Taeui helplessly looked at McKeen, murmuring what he always wanted to ask his uncle.

“Why… Why did you do that… …”

“….”

McKeen silently looked at Taeui, his gaze as if trying to penetrate him. At the same time, a loud laughter echoed. The sound burst out from outside the door, resonating through the hallway excitedly. McKeen’s face hardened, and Jeong Taeui frowned slightly.

Although he told McKeen about this, it doesn’t mean he intends to tell anyone else. He knows very well that no one should hear about this.

But there is a man standing outside the door.

Taeui didn’t even hear his footsteps approaching, but now, he was standing there, leaning against the door and listening to their conversation since who knows when. Before the door was fully opened and he could take a closer look to confirm, Jeong Taeui already knew who he was.

“That’s a masterpiece, Taei.”

Ilay said with a smile on his lips.

This is the man that just a few hours ago he was still struggling on the bed with.

Taeui was puzzled by Ilay’s presence here at this hour. It’s still too early for other Instructors and Assistant Instructors to come here. So did he happen to come early?

……Coincidentally, why?

It’s impossible. He didn’t even hear his footsteps. No matter how careful he was, the old wooden corridor would betray him with creaking sounds. So, Ilay was sure they were in the Instructor’s room.

“Ilay……You…”

Jeong Taeui tilted his head and looked at Ilay. He opened his mouth but no words came out immediately, instead a smile briefly passed through Ilay’s eyes as he looked at Jeong Taeui. However, that gaze quickly left him and landed on McKeen. He looked at McKeen with a puzzled expression, and vaguely opened his mouth, “That’s right…”.

McKeen’s face became more and more tense, a hint of anger slowly appearing on his face.

“Is that so? You conspired with Riegrow.”

Taeui groaned and opened his eyes.

“No…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence, even though he tried to deny it, but in the end, he could only swallow the remaining words.

Taeui didn’t agree or have any appointment with Ilay at this hour. But now he was here, even though he was hanging a surprised expression on his face, that smile seemed to say that he knew everything from the beginning.

Jeong Taeui bit his lip and looked at Ilay with a strange gaze. When their eyes met, Ilay smiled faintly, but he didn’t say anything to him. And then Ilay turned to McKeen and spoke in a softer tone than usual.

“I don’t know what Instructor McKeen is talking about. I just came early because there was unfinished work from yesterday. If I knew you two needed to talk privately, I would have come a little later. It’s really difficult…”

“…—.”

McKeen stared at him with a suspicious look.

Indeed. Taeui vaguely thought with his wrinkled brain that Ilay must have prepared all the options to perfectly justify his presence here. So even if Taeui had a private meeting with another Instructor and was caught by him, and he knew everything that had happened, he could still arrange it without causing any threat.

On the contrary, Taeui himself was the one in trouble. Even if there were no direct ripple effects, it couldn’t be certain what problems would arise internally. (Meaning that because Ilay knew everything, it had gone beyond control.)

Taeui stared at Ilay while thinking vaguely like that. With a faint smile, Ilay added.

“What are you two talking about? It seems like I can’t help…”

He muttered and took something out of his pocket and started fiddling with it in his hand. A short mechanical sound similar to the sound of a lighter came out. Taeui stared at the silver voice recorder about the size of a finger that he slowly put back into his pocket and pretended not to know anything.

Now, Taeui couldn’t pay attention to McKeen anymore. Ilay had captured his full attention.

His mind, which was seemingly covered in darkness, suddenly lit up slowly. Invisible voices in his head awakened his vague consciousness. The casual words brushed past his ears as if they were only meant for him to hear.

“Instructor Jeong Changin doesn’t like Rudolph very much.” – Taeui remembered what Ilay had said before.

“Like a joke.” – He muttered.

Jeong Taeui looked at Ilay with an indifferent face, his mind still immersed in the dark shadows. But there was one thing he knew for sure at this moment, Ilay knew everything. From the moment he stepped in here or even before that.

“I don’t know if there’s any misunderstanding, but it seems like that’s not something my authority can resolve. And I don’t want to create a tense atmosphere with Instructor McKeen.”

“— But first, with my authority, I will send my lieutenant to Eoryeong* for a while. We’ll talk about the rest of the story later, okay?”

(*Eoryeong is the name of a prison, Ilay sent his bae to jail :D)

Ilay’s voice seemed to come from a non-existent space.

Jeong Taeui stared at him without blinking, and Ilay also glanced at him. A cold smile appeared in that gaze.

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

(The point is that what Taeui is doing is taking (to be precise, stealing) data related to the dangerous weapon that his older brother has researched to use it illegally, it directly relates to national security. Later, there is an even bigger secret related to it that shatters Taeui’s heart. The phrase “That’s a masterpiece, Taei.” from Ilay is referring to that weapon. He has known about it and has been involved in this matter for a long time.>)