Jeong Taeui looked at Ilay with tired eyes, and this time he followed him towards the elevator, even though at this moment not even beer could attract the beerbibber inside him anymore.

Before going up to his room, Taeui thought that he should stop by the medical room to get some headache medicine, but then he remembered that it was already too late. If he went to Gyoho’s room to get the medicine, he would probably have to listen to his curses.

He just hoped that things could progress in a way that the headache wouldn’t get worse.

Taeui didn’t say a word until they got into the elevator and arrived at Ilay’s room on the first basement floor. He glanced at Taeui, but Taeui didn’t bother to speak either. And he only knew to laugh out loud, obviously making Taeui feel no better after that laugh.

“…You’re like laughing at a sad kid”

Jeong Taeui grumbled next to Ilay. He just took out the key and raised an eyebrow lightly.

Only after saying those words did Taeui realize that saying that was no different from admitting that he himself was like a sad child. But he had already said it.

“Let’s see. By just going to sleep, a wounded child can feel better when they wake up. But not you. After all, you can only let them (the things that hurt you) escape from your mind.”

Jeong Taeui bit his lip.

That’s why people shouldn’t do wrong things from the very beginning. It’s annoying to get angry, if you can just throw everything out of your head, that would be good. For the awareness of those around, it’s only natural to get rid of things that make you tired.

He sighed inwardly. Because that wasn’t entirely wrong. Even when hatred takes over reason and anger rises, how long can it last? If you get angry at someone, your energy will be consumed more severely. So a person can’t always stay in a state of anger, and eventually they can only say “ah” and bury that negative emotion.

But Taeui won’t forget what makes him angry or uncomfortable.

“It seems that what he did really hurt me….”

Taeui whispered to himself. The conclusions he reached while in the prison cell all day pointed to one thing. And it was an extremely disappointing result.

This time Ilay didn’t answer. He just opened the door and signaled for Taeui to come in.

Taeui entered the quiet room, stood for a while, then walked to the chair in front of the desk and sat down. Normally, he would just sit across from the bed, but now he didn’t care about any details anymore.

“… My uncle?”

When Jeong Taeui asked, Ilay took off his coat and shrugged, casually throwing it onto the bed.

“Instructor Jeong Changin is in Canberra.”

“That’s not it. I couldn’t reach him in the morning, but can you contact him for me now?”

Ilay laughed. From that short laugh and silence, Jeong Taeui realized that it wasn’t a coincidence that his uncle didn’t answer the phone. Ilay knew that he had noticed, as if feeling no need to answer, he went to the refrigerator and took out two cans of beer.

“Sure.”

Tossing a can of beer lightly into Jeong Taeui’s hand, Ilay opened his mouth. Taeui didn’t want to drink, but after fiddling with the can in his hand for a while, he still opened it. As soon as he opened it, small bubbles like rolling waves rose and fell onto the floor. He licked the foam off his lips and placed the beer can back on the table, wiping the foam on the table with his hand.

He didn’t even want to drink beer at this moment, so from the beginning he didn’t take the beer as he usually did.

Ilay took a sip of beer, glanced at Taeui as if he was enjoying himself. He leaned against the wall and tilted his head.

“Should I talk about the cause or the result?”

“Just talk about my uncle.”

Taeui replied briefly. He had thought about everything all day, but that was the most important thing.

Ilay looked at Taeui for a while and then smiled before suddenly asking.

“Have I ever told you that you’re the son of Instructor Jeong Changin… ah, it’s genetic, or maybe I misunderstood somewhere.”

Taeui furrowed his brows slightly.

He quickly understood what he was talking about. It’s not really a secret, but it’s not something anyone outside the family can know.

“…Just tell me what my uncle did.”

What he said didn’t really matter to him, he didn’t care about blood relations. To him, his father was already gone and his uncle was just his uncle.

“Jeong Changin has never personally mentioned it. I just happened to find out…. But really, the two of you don’t look alike at all. Unlike Jeong Jaeui. You’re completely different from them.”

Ilay laughed as if it was funny. Taeui sighed and tapped the armrest of the chair with the palm of his hand slowly. *Tap, tap.*

“You seem to know a lot. So, did you and my uncle plan this together?”

“It’s difficult to say that I planned for this. Of course, that’s not entirely true.

…—It’s true that me and your uncle know each other very well, in fact, he and my brother understand each other very well. There are many things that we do together. So you could say that I understand them the most out of all the Instructors here. But when it comes to this case, I’m just helping him. I’m only helping him a very small part compared to what you want.” 

Ilay said while raising a small part of his finger.

“Just helping a small part.” – Jeong Tae-ui laughed sadly. – “So, did you already know that I would look into those documents and come to this point?”

Jeong Tae-eui didn’t want to hear anymore, so he immediately interrupted. Ilay remained silent for a while, but then shrugged nonchalantly.

“The chances are only about 50%, but I also think it’s very possible that your uncle won’t achieve what he wants. And I have also considered other possibilities that could happen.”

“…”

“If that’s the case, have you also thought about pulling me in and holding McKeen accountable?”

Ilay chuckled softly.

“Taei, you’ve been involved. Even if this is reported to other branches or headquarters, it won’t be easy to detect, but it will spread within the organization. And you will be responsible for everything, in any way.”

“But you don’t have to worry about that, I will help you stay here without any harm.”

It doesn’t matter. After all, his time is up. He doesn’t care if he gets fired or has any responsibilities.

Suddenly, Taeui realized that this might be the reason why his uncle set a deadline for him. Jeong Taeui leaned his head against the chair helplessly.

“……. So, what’s the result?”

The exhaustion was evident in his voice. Ilay finished his beer and threw the empty can into the trash bin before sitting on the bed. He shook his head modestly.

“Nothing.”

“Why?”

“Nothing. This is just one of the many unfortunate incidents caused by Jang Til and his subordinates. This alone won’t cause any damage. In fact, from the outside, it’s an “impossible accident,” but in reality, it’s an “unfortunate event.” Just like anywhere else. Of course, McKeen should give up on the promotion. In my opinion, he should leave UNHRDO.”

Jeong Taeui listened silently to Ilay, and when he stopped speaking for a while, he spoke softly.

“Not just McKeen.”

“Hmm…?”

“My brother also had a hand in this. Even though you’re talking about a “suspension,” my uncle helped with McKeen’s work. No, on the contrary, McKeen helped my uncle.”

And he was like a puppet being controlled like a fool in this matter. Taeui laughed sadly.

Then suddenly, Ilay burst into laughter. He had a relaxed laugh as if he had just heard something very amusing.

“Aha, ha ha ha, right, it’s clear that McKeen and Jeong Changin are on the same boat now. If you want to gather evidence, you can gather as much as you like. But hey, Taei.” 

Ilay suddenly lowered his voice with a smile on his lips.

“Instructor Jeong can’t leave UNHRDO. He is needed here.”

“…..to Vice Director Maoli?”

He didn’t intentionally laugh, but in the end, he still smiled. Ilay shook his head.

“No. He is the one that UNHRDO needs.”

Hearing words that seemed ordinary but contained a lot of meaning around them, Taeui took a deep breath. He felt like he was being trapped in an endless loop.

Yes, it can’t be that way.

Whether his uncle is a person of Vice Director Mao or Rudolph, Jeong Taeui didn’t know. He didn’t know how the situation would unfold in this case, or even how the power relationships would be after all these events. He didn’t want to know anything like that.

Jeong Taeui only cared about whether his uncle would be “discarded” after all this. 

It’s enough.

The headache became more severe. His head was buzzing, and his stomach was cramping.

Jeong Taeui clenched his fist. At that moment, a mechanical sound began to fill the quiet space as if it wanted to break through his headache.

The phone was ringing.

Ilay raised an eyebrow, looked at the clock, and muttered: “Ah!” He got up from the bed and walked to the desk with a big smile as if he knew who it was. He looked at the caller ID on the phone screen next to Taeui and nodded at him.

Jeong Taeui looked at the screen. The number 61-2 continued after the international dialing code. Canberra. At this hour, there was only one person who could call from Canberra.

Suddenly, the red color of blood disappeared from Jeong Taeui’s lips. He bit his lip anxiously and answered the call.

“…….”

‘Hello’ – He tried to say something but no words came out. So he held the phone and stood still. The person on the other end finally spoke after a period of silence.

[“Rick?”]

“…….It’s Taeui, uncle.”

[“Why are you there, Taeui? Did I dial the wrong number……… oh no, I didn’t.”]

The voice gradually became smaller as if checking the phone number and then returning. Nothing was different, uncle was still the same. Just like every other time he called. 

Maybe uncle still didn’t know. No, it could also be that it wasn’t what he had planned from the beginning. Even though he knew it couldn’t happen, Jeong Taeui still clung to the sudden thought in his mind, feeling sad.

“When will you come? I’ve been stuck in a ‘hunt’ all day today.”

Like a child playing around, Jeong Taeui complained a little to his uncle.

Uncle laughed on the phone.

[“Have you heard the news from Ilay?”]

Uncle calmly spoke with the same normal tone as before. The expression on Jeong Taeui’s face disappeared upon hearing those words. He anxiously bit his lip again.

“Uncle… Did you plan to do that from the beginning?”

Jeong Taeui asked softly, and his uncle paused for a moment and said: [“What do you mean?”]

It didn’t mean that uncle didn’t understand what he was asking. Jeong Taeui fell silent. He took a few slow breaths in and out, but there was no response from the receiver.

His uncle already knew and predicted everything, and perhaps also knew how he was feeling right now. Just when that thought became frantic, something like a ball of fire surged up from his chest and blocked his throat. He was so angry that it was hard to breathe. All the sadness he had clung to earlier turned into anger. What he had hoped for from his uncle was so small. Maybe his uncle wanted something from him too, but it was completely different from what he thought.

“From the beginning.”

[“….”]

“…—THAT’S WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID FROM THE BEGINNING! No matter if it’s with McKeen or Rudolph, you just wanted to create pressure. If you had said that from the beginning, do you think I would have intervened in these things? No matter what you do, do you think I would have hindered you? Why is everyone like this….!”

The words burst out like a delayed bomb. Every second, every minute that passed made his heart feel constricted. The headaches kept pounding on Taeui. He wished his uncle could have told him everything beforehand. And then even if his uncle killed someone, he wouldn’t be as angry as he was now, and he wouldn’t feel as terrible as he did now.

It didn’t matter if his uncle took advantage or dirtied his hands in any way, it was fine. If his uncle needed his help, he would definitely do it.

But his uncle didn’t say anything.

Jeong Taeui screamed in anger and then bit his mouth shut again. His throat felt choked by the raging anger inside. So, as soon as he closed his mouth, the anger was like a trapped wild beast, unable to utter any more words.

Jeong Changin didn’t say anything, he didn’t even know what the person on the other end of the line looked like now. Taeui just held the receiver and breathed heavily.

Ilay had been watching silently all this time, and he quietly took the receiver from Taeui’s hand. Before he could let go, the phone was quickly taken away.

“Hello. Yeah, it’s me….—Uh, wait a moment. Okay, let’s talk later…..Alright, things will go the way you want. Okay… okay.”

Ilay hung up the phone after a few short sentences. Then, he turned to Jeong Taeui and said sternly.

“Calm down………Or no, have you calmed down yet?”

Then he added, “You’re really a hot-tempered guy.”

Jeong Taeui couldn’t help but laugh. The anger flared up so much that he couldn’t bear it anymore.

“You.”

“…–.”

“You already knew everything, from the moment you came to my room yesterday, and even before that.”

Ilay didn’t respond to Jeong Taeui’s words. However, the smile on his face faded, as if replacing an affirmative answer.

“Surely you thought to me that: ‘In just a few hours, he will act like a stupid troublemaker, then what time will he be able to get to the Instructor’s room?’ right? Those are the damn things you thought, aren’t they? Ha—Things like: ‘If I fuck him, if I put it all in, this stupid guy won’t be able to move, so he will be obstructed and have a little difficulty.’ Did you think like that?”

“Taei, you’re too excited. Calm down now.”

Despite Taeui’s outburst, Ilay still spoke calmly without showing anger or dissatisfaction. His innocent face made Taeui even more angry.

“Calm down… If it were you, could you stay calm, you bastard!”

Jeong Taeui threw the beer can he had just placed on the table towards Ilay. The beer can was still full, the heavy can flew towards him, who was only a few steps away, but he slightly tilted his head and avoided it. His face stiffened, as if he was not satisfied.

Taeui realized that he was extremely angry even though all this anger was not Ilay’s fault at all. But obviously, he knew everything and deliberately came to see him just to satisfy himself when he saw him being manipulated like a foolish puppet.

Taeui didn’t expect anything from this person. He and that man didn’t even have any special friendship, nor did they have loyalty as a subordinate to him.

But he still couldn’t stop hurting when he thought about those things.

“Taei, go back. If you’re next to someone who can’t even recognize who they are or what they’re doing, I’ll just want to wring the neck of that person.”

Ilay said calmly. Then he grabbed Taeui’s tired hand and pulled him out of his room. After seeing him pushed out of the hallway, he said: “So go.” as if nothing had happened before and closed the door.

With a distant sound, Taeui stood dazedly looking at the closed door in front of him like that for a long time.