Chapter 1 Part 1

The moment the doorbell rang, Jeong Tae-ui flinched. Simmered black beans fell from the chopsticks he held, rolling away. It took only a few seconds for the jet-black bean to roll off the plate, leaving a sticky trail before stopping, but before that, the doorbell rang again impatiently.

Jeong Tae-ui nervously tapped the table with the end of his chopsticks, casting an anxious glance towards the entrance. He had a bad feeling ever since he faintly heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

No, to be precise, he’d felt uneasy ever since he woke up due to the throbbing pain in his knee from the rain that had been falling since dawn. His knee always ached when it rained or the weather was bad, but days when it throbbed particularly intensely like today were usually unlucky.

He had laid out a simple breakfast, feeling as gloomy as the silently drizzling, foul sky, and had taken a couple of spoonfuls. That’s when he heard footsteps from outside.

The dilapidated Row House / Apartment Building, over 20 years old, was so creaky that if even a cat entered the building, the sound would echo all the way to the rooftop, making it immediately noticeable.

And from the third floor, just below the rooftop, Jeong Tae-ui had felt a bad premonition from the moment he heard footsteps entering the building and ascending the stairs at this ambiguous time, a little past 7 AM.

And the moment the doorbell rang, that bad feeling became a strong reality.

Hardly anyone ever came to this house. His older brother, Jeong Jae-ui—the only other person living with him in this house—who had left four days ago and hadn’t been heard from since, had a key and wouldn’t ring the doorbell.

The rigid, heavy presence that had stopped outside the door rang the doorbell once more while he pondered. Clack, the sound of footsteps echoed again. It was a heavy, angular sound. It sounded like Military Boots.

The moment he recalled the word Military Boots, his ominous premonition deepened, and this time the doorbell rang three, then four times in quick succession. He had barely eaten a few spoonfuls, but his appetite vanished, and he put down his chopsticks.

The person outside, who brought this ominous feeling, showed no signs of retreating. His heart grew even heavier as he thought of someone who would relentlessly ring the doorbell without knocking or calling out.

……

Jeong Tae-ui went to the entrance, unlatched the door, and opened it exactly when the doorbell had rung twelve times. The person standing outside stepped back as the door opened. Those shoes, making an angular sound, were spotless Military Boots.

And above those shoes, a perfectly tailored, immaculate black Military Uniform sat in place. To be precise, it wasn’t a Military Uniform but a Full Dress Uniform or a Uniform, though the organization this man belonged to was not significantly different from the military.

The small Silver Badge attached to his collar looked unusually obnoxious. It wasn’t because there were countless people in the world desperate to wear that badge.

Whenever this man came to his house wearing that badge—formally dressed in his Uniform—nothing good had ever happened. Even so, this was only the third or fourth time he had seen this man in a Full Dress Uniform.

Black gloves removed a black hat. The man smoothly smiled, meeting Jeong Tae-ui’s gaze.

“Long time no see. Nothing unusual, right?”

It had been roughly three years since he last met this man. In that time, plenty of unusual things had happened.

He had nearly died clearing landmines, nearly died again from a rejection reaction during surgery, almost killed a man who had provoked him three times and was now asking for it a fourth, and was discharged without even completing half of his Compulsory Service period.

Jeong Tae-ui looked at the man with a complicated expression for a moment, then sighed and spoke.

“What unusual things could possibly happen to me that Uncle wouldn’t know about? You, Uncle, might have an unusual reason to visit unannounced at this hour. …Come in.”

He just had a bad feeling about this.

He didn’t dislike this man, but him showing up in this attire always made him uneasy. However, thinking about it, he was most likely here to see his older brother, so there was no reason for Jeong Tae-ui to feel ominous.

Nevertheless, Jeong Tae-ui stepped aside, feeling as if he were letting a Plague God into his house. The man’s eyes, upon seeing his expression, curved slightly as if in amusement, without any trace of displeasure. Closing the door behind the man who had entered, Jeong Tae-ui asked.

“When did you arrive?”

“Two hours ago. Came straight from the airport.”

“Oh, I see… But why didn’t you call first? Older brother isn’t here.”

The man, who had been lounging on the sofa in a relaxed posture that didn’t suit his impeccably sharp Uniform, paused at Jeong Tae-ui’s words and glared at him.

“He’s not here? When is he coming back?”

“How would I know? He left four days ago and hasn’t contacted me since. Did you only come to the country to see older brother? Then you’ve come all this way for nothing.”

“Is there no place you can contact him?”

“If he could be easily contacted just by trying, he wouldn’t be Jeong Jae-ui. You know that.”

Jeong Tae-ui perched on the stool opposite the man and said indifferently.

Jeong Tae-ui’s older brother was a person who lived a relatively regular life. If he was going to stay out for a day or two, he usually informed them of his plans, however briefly, before leaving. But sometimes, he would abruptly leave without notice and not return for days on end, and this was one of those times. Sometimes he would return in three or four days, but other times there would be no news for over two months, so it was impossible to guess when he would return this time.

However, he had a feeling that this time, he might not return for quite a long while. When his older brother left four days ago, he had said something incomprehensible.

‘Living too good a life is no fun. I need to experience Misfortune too.’

Recalling his older brother, who had left with a smile as incomprehensible as his words, Jeong Tae-ui fell into thought for a moment. He had always been a somewhat difficult person to understand, but even thinking about it again, what he meant by those words back then was not clear.

But…

“Hmm, what to do…”