Chapter 1 Part 6

He had never said anything about it or shown any sign, nor had he met his uncle very often, but he felt his uncle probably already knew. Or, even if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be surprised at all by Jeong Tae-ui’s words.

“If I go into a place swarming only with men, it’s dangerous.”

Jeong Tae-ui muttered gloomily. His uncle, seeing his sulky face, subtly raised an eyebrow, and the next moment, laughed as if amused.

“Who?”

Before he could fully grasp his uncle’s counter-question, his uncle asked again.

“You, or the other guys?”

Jeong Tae-ui subtly furrowed his brow. He pondered for a moment, then replied.

“If I had to say, it would be me.”

“You? Why, do you think the guys there will drag you away and pounce on you?”

Jeong Tae-ui glared disapprovingly at his uncle, who spoke as if amused. Eventually, he clicked his tongue and muttered with a sigh, as if giving up.

“Because I might drag all the people there away and pounce on them.”

“I didn’t realize your range of ‘offense’ was so wide. If you want to, and if it’s possible, go ahead and pounce as much as you like. As long as it’s not your superior, that place is fundamentally a society where power reigns supreme.”

“…You mean if you’re strong enough, you can just drag anyone away and pounce on them?!”

Jeong Tae-ui exclaimed in disbelief, and his uncle spread his hands, smiling faintly. Sometimes, it was hard to tell if this man’s words were a joke or serious. Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue impatiently, scratched his head, and glared at his uncle.

“Why are you pretending not to know, when you do?”

“Well, I wonder. In this context, the only thing I can guess and am anxious about is your tendency to be sexually attracted to the same sex. Is there anything else?”

“That’s enough for me to get tired.”

“Was it that tiring to beat up that one classmate of yours with the bad mouth and then get discharged?”

Jeong Tae-ui glared fiercely at his uncle for a while, then, as if exhausted, sighed and leaned his head against the wall. See, he knew everything all along. Since he had already guessed, it wasn’t surprising.

His uncle took a cup from the cupboard within reach, then grabbed the kettle also within reach and poured water. He sipped the plain water as if it were fragrant tea, savoring it, then spoke.

“Jeong Tae-ui. Regarding that matter, I might have been swayed to understand, or at least consider it, if you had given that as a reason from a slightly different perspective. But with the meaning you’ve given it, I can’t accept it.”

“A different perspective? What’s that?”

When he asked in a weary, drooping voice, exhausted from the verbal sparring, his uncle laughed playfully.

“For example, being afraid that the other guys might pounce on you.”

“Uncle, that joke isn’t funny…”

A deep sigh escaped him naturally. “No, it’s not much of a joke,” he mumbled afterward, even that sounded like a joke. What wasn’t a joke came next.

“Alright, do you have any other reasons?”

Jeong Tae-ui let out a very long sigh. Even after that, he remained silent for a while, then finally muttered, as if having given up on everything.

“…Half a year?”

Then his uncle’s eyes sparkling, and he smiled happily.

“Yes, half a year. Until the next Director-General is decided. After that, do as you please. You can quit, or if you like the life, you can continue. To add to that, even if you quit, scout offers will immediately pour in, so you won’t even have time to worry about finding a job. Unless your worry is where to go, that’s another matter. Being in our UNHRDO becomes a brilliant career.”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

Jeong Tae-ui felt as if all strength had drained from his body, and he slumped against the chair’s backrest. It felt as though he had completed an entire marathon—though there wasn’t a speck of proud accomplishment in him. Yet, the wall clock indicated it was only the time when people were just starting their day.

They say you can’t know what the future holds, but he never imagined such sudden, unexpected changes would come crashing down.

Yes, I told you I had a bad feeling since this morning. This is how it ended up, isn’t it?

Looking at it that way, his uncle’s words, that he had a good feeling and ‘chose’ Jeong Tae-ui, might have been very true after all.