Chapter 2 Part 11

“I get it, so don’t be rough and let go. I’ll guide you. Honestly. But you didn’t bring your luggage. Go back and get it. I’ll wait here.”

“If I go back to get my luggage and then say I’m going to sleep, would they just let me go so easily?”

Half of it was a rhetorical question implying ‘no, right?’, and the other half was a genuine doubt about whether they would actually let him go.

But this time, too, Jeong Tae-ui’s intuition seemed right, as Tou hesitated and didn’t answer.

Jeong Tae-ui smiled and patted Tou’s back.

“It’s fine, there’s nothing valuable for anyone to take anyway, so I can just go look for it tomorrow. If no one’s taken it, it’ll still be there. More importantly, let’s go to the Male Dormitory Room. It was a three-person room, right? —Don’t make that face. When you think about it, it’s your fault for taking me to the Free Sparring Room for no reason when you should’ve just guided me gently to the Male Dormitory Room from the start, right? Ah, the spot where I got hit earlier is still throbbing. Tou, I think it was around here that you hit me…”

As Jeong Tae-ui massaged his shoulder and feigned a frown, Tou shrugged as if giving up.

“Alright, follow me. I’ll escort you politely to your room.”

He ignored the arriving elevator whose doors opened, having been pressed earlier, and moved towards the emergency stairs beside it, saying that way was faster.

B6 (Basement 6), though only one floor below, had a significantly different layout from the upper floors.

Along the straight corridor, identical doors were sporadically aligned, facing each other in a zigzag pattern. The corridor floor was covered in a softer, khaki-colored carpet than the 5th floor’s. On the walls hung elegantly glass-crafted lamps and casually placed picture frames. At the end of the corridor, on an antique console, sat a calmly arranged fresh flower arrangement. Next to it were a small glass table and two single couches upholstered in water buffalo leather.

“……It’s like I’ve come to a five-star hotel. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the room is like.”

As Jeong Tae-ui muttered, disgusted, Tou, who was walking ahead, chuckled.

“The rooms are similar too. Except there isn’t a bathroom attached to each room.”

“If they’re decorating so luxuriously, why not install a bathroom in each room? Why was that omitted?”

“Well, they said the sewage plumbing couldn’t be done that way. Something about not being able to run pipes to every room.”

“So, a communal bathroom and a communal toilet?”

“That’s right. Still, there’s a spacious one each on the east and west sides, so it never gets crowded. It’s quiet whenever you go.”

“Whenever I go…”

As Jeong Tae-ui asked again, skeptically, Tou, as if understanding what he was thinking, emphasized once more, “Mm. Whenever you go.”

With a face that said, ‘Well, that’s how it is where men live,’ Tou hummed and walked on.

On the way, he showed Jeong Tae-ui what he called the bathroom, which was still empty even now, during free time after regular work hours. Excellently equipped shower facilities and a large bathtub, partitioned by a glass door, sat forlornly inside.

“I suppose I’ll have to use it myself later.”

Jeong Tae-ui murmured, looking at the clear hot water pooling in the bathtub. Then, he suddenly asked Tou.

“So, do superiors use this too? Like the Director-General, Vice Director-General, or instructors?”

“No way. They live on different floors. Those individuals live on B1 (Basement 1), which is as close to the surface as possible. And their rooms each have their own attached bathrooms.”

“Haa.”

He briefly thought of his uncle, a man of elegant status. A seed of resentment was about to sprout towards the one who was the root of all these problems. He felt that he wouldn’t feel better until he went and choked him once.

“Where is Chief Instructor Jeong Chang-in’s room on B1 (Basement 1)?”

“Why, missing your uncle already? Heh heh, get off the elevator I just took, turn right, and it’s the second room after turning the corner.”

Tou spoke playfully and turned away from the bathroom. Pointing out that the toilet was next to it, he continued down the corridor. Jeong Tae-ui thought of his uncle, clicked his tongue inwardly, and shook his head, when Tou, who had been walking for quite a while, finally stopped.

“Here it is, the room you’ll be using.”

The room he indicated, tapping the door with his knuckles, was located quite deep within the corridor.

“This room used to be for one Japanese member from our team and two Russians from another team, but one of them died, and the other two are recuperating. …It’s unlikely they’ll return even after their recuperation ends.”

Tou muttered in a low voice and opened the door. It wasn’t locked and opened easily.

The room was spacious. Wide enough for three people. There were three double beds, and though no wardrobe was visible, the built-in door on the wall seemed to be it. Storage cabinets, a desk, a bookshelf, and other necessary items were all provided.

“The refrigerator in front of the closet, fill it yourself and use it. It won’t hold much, but a few cans of beer and two or three snacks will fit perfectly. If you just need to wash your hands quickly, you see the sink in that corner? You can wash there. But sometimes guys who are too lazy to go to the bathroom relieve themselves there, so it’s probably best not to collect water from it to use.”

“…Whoever ends up sharing a room with me, I hope they don’t do that.”

A quiet bathroom is fine. It makes things convenient, and Jeong Tae-ui himself wasn’t an overly clean person. But that’s a bit much. He wanted to see the face of the crazy bastard who would relieve himself in a hand-washing sink and give him a piece of his mind.

As Jeong Tae-ui muttered in disgust, Tou shrugged.

“You’ll probably have to use it alone until a new recruit arrives. Or until the guy who’s recuperating safely returns. Waiting for the former will probably be quicker.”

“So the guys who are recuperating must be pretty badly injured.”

“Hmm… Thankfully, they won’t have any inconvenience living as normal civilians, but it’s unlikely their bodies will recover enough to return to this kind of life. Still, the compensation and severance pay will be enough for them to live modestly and enjoy themselves alone for decades. After all, it happened during internal training.”

Indeed, Jeong Tae-ui nodded.