Chapter 1 Part 4

“Look. Even now, my uncle is saying strange things again.” When Jeong Tae-ui glared at him with white eyes, perhaps noticing the cue, his uncle immediately put on a serious face. The way he emphasized, “I’m telling you, it’s true,” seemed a bit suspicious, but he wasn’t someone who would lie. Moreover, a feeling soon came over Jeong Tae-ui. “Was it this?” he thought.

Perhaps father didn’t want to tell his children directly that he had promised to give one of his sons to his younger brother. Could it be? It seems that “strange remark” was this. Come to think of it, back then, father had been silent for a moment before quietly adding:

‘When the time comes, treat your uncle as you would your father and follow him.’

Did “when the time comes” mean when his uncle demanded it?

He didn’t know. But if it was something father had accepted, he had no intention of arguing or raising his voice. Though not present, his older brother would probably come to a similar conclusion as Jeong Tae-ui. Jeong Tae-ui was quick to give up. One could say he adapted to his given environment, or that he adjusted quickly.

“Yes, uncle… Coincidentally, my cousin brother just stepped out. Should I tell him to call you when he returns?”

When Jeong Tae-ui spoke, his uncle laughed aloud. His smiling face strongly resembled his older brother’s. Indeed, if they were this similar, there would be no difficulty in calling them father and son. Come to think of it, their personalities also seem to have similar aspects.

By the way, his older brother would be surprised when he returned this time to find his father suddenly changed. No, perhaps he wouldn’t be surprised. Jeong Tae-ui didn’t really recall ever seeing his older brother surprised — at least, not outwardly expressing surprise.

“There’s no time to look for someone who isn’t here. Go, starting today, you, Tae-ui, are my son. Let’s go together. Pack your things. They’ll hand out all the miscellaneous stuff there, so just pack the essentials simply.”

His uncle said, rubbing his chin as if amused. Laughter tinged his voice. However, Jeong Tae-ui, hearing those words, was not amused. To hear such a string of strange things with almost no time difference on the same day was a rare experience in its own way, but it wasn’t enjoyable.

“Me?”

“Yes, Jeong Tae-ui. My son.”

It seemed a heavy burden was about to settle on his shoulders. Only then did Jeong Tae-ui look directly at his uncle with a serious expression, his mouth twisted.

His uncle’s sudden appearance and claim to paternal rights after not having said a word until now was one thing, but what was the reason his uncle, who had been living well as a bachelor without a wife, suddenly needed a son?

“Can’t I not go?”

“Come, thinking of it as filial piety, my son.”

“No, father. Can’t I just be an unfilial son?”

His uncle laughed heartily. There was a considerable age gap between his father and his uncle; the age difference between his father and uncle was only three years less than that between his uncle and Jeong Tae-ui. So, rather than an uncle, he felt more like an older brother.

That uncle, after laughing deeply, stood up and approached Jeong Tae-ui. Then, he suddenly hit Jeong Tae-ui, who was looking at him suspiciously. It was a kind of violence difficult to describe with a cute word like “light tap.”

“Ow!”

As Jeong Tae-ui clutched his head and glared at him with displeasure, the man, still smiling, calmly said:

“This brat, I went to all that trouble to get him discharged, and instead of being grateful, what? An unfilial son? You deserve a few more hits.”

“Ow! Ah! Ack! It hurts, uncle! I’m serious, it hurts!”

Even his heavy hand was similar to his older brother’s. Indeed, it seemed better for his older brother to be this man’s son. His older brother, due to his uniquely languid personality, was unrelated to violence, but sometimes, when he would tap Jeong Tae-ui’s back to call him when he was spaced out, or slap his cheek to wake him from sleep paralysis, his hand was extremely heavy.

After thoroughly beating Jeong Tae-ui, his uncle, as if nothing had happened, casually massaged his hand and sat back down, while Jeong Tae-ui rubbed his bruised head, muttering sulkily.

“I wondered why I was so easily discharged with so much compulsory service left… Did uncle help me?”

“Yes. Jae-ui mentioned it. That his younger brother, whose body and mind were torn to shreds and battered, was crying in the military.”

“…Well… ‘battered to shreds’ is a bit much.”

He had almost died in the military hospital, and his comrades had picked fights with him, causing him some emotional distress, but “torn to shreds”… perhaps he was.

The problem began when he was assigned to the same unit as the guys he got along with the worst back at the military academy. In the end, he almost killed someone, almost died himself, and was discharged, completely cutting ties now. He didn’t want to think about it anymore, and there was nothing left to think about.

Jeong Tae-ui, feeling depressed as forgotten memories resurfaced, quietly sighed. He had been discharged four months ago and was currently one of the unemployed youth. Although his leg still ached when the weather was bad, it had healed completely and his body was fine, so he had just been thinking it was time to do something.

“Alright. Why do you suddenly need a son? Where are you planning to send me?”

When Jeong Tae-ui asked, seemingly giving in, his uncle also wore a less playful smile.

“A son is fine, no matter who. Anyway, I need someone useful. Not long ago, we had a huge fight with those guys from the Europe Branch, and our numbers dropped significantly. We just need to beef up our headcount.”

“…”

“…That’s an excuse. Actually, I need someone lucky.”

His uncle paused for a moment. Jeong Tae-ui waited silently for him to continue. He already knew, without needing to be told, that the talk about headcount was an excuse. As his uncle said, if you lined up all the people desperate to get into that place, the line would stretch to the other side of the world, so if it were merely a matter of numbers, there would have been no need to specifically come all the way here. However, if they needed someone lucky, Jeong Tae-ui didn’t fit the bill, and his uncle knew that.