Chapter 2 Part 3

No matter how difficult it is, as long as you don’t die, you’ll eventually get used to it. Even if it’s agonizing anew each time you experience it, the repeated exposure will make you accustomed to it someday. …And if you happen to cause trouble at some point, unable to control your impulsive nature, that’s a matter of personal choice.

Jeong Tae-ui suddenly felt annoyed and scratched his head vigorously.

He had never regretted anything he had done so far. He had always deeply resolved never to do anything that he would regret, no matter what it was.

So, he didn’t regret beating that obnoxious classmate just enough so he wouldn’t die. He believed he had endured enough, having tolerated it for a full five and a half years before that incident. And as a result—though it was actually a complex outcome of various events—his discharge from the military, where he once thought he’d spend his entire life, was also not something to regret.

However, he couldn’t help but feel a twisting sensation in his stomach when he thought about the circumstances and his feelings at that time.

There are people who, having never been outdone by anyone, react very poorly when they first see someone else surpass them. His classmate, with whom he lay side-by-side in the military hospital just before his discharge, was one such person. To that classmate, Jeong Tae-ui’s sexual orientation was the perfect prey.

“Tsk,” Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and stretched somewhat uncomfortably in the car. He had traveled by air, car, and boat today, covering land, sea, and air. His body felt stiff and heavy, as if he needed to run a few laps around a parade ground to loosen up.

Just then, the car stopped.

Under the dimming sky, as the sun had already set, a dense forest tightly enveloped both sides. He hadn’t noticed when they had entered such a forest path.

“We’re here.”

The driver got out, and his uncle briefly spoke from beside him, so Jeong Tae-ui opened the car door. As he stepped out, he saw the building standing before him.

“Phew. To feel this tired after just this much, I really am getting old. Well, I’m over forty, so I can’t call myself young anymore.”

As his uncle mumbled to himself while following Jeong Tae-ui out of the car, Jeong Tae-ui, who had been staring at the building for a while, asked,

“Uncle.”

“Hm?”

“The Asia Branch building… is this all there is?”

“Yes. Just one building. Simple, isn’t it?”

“Then what about those magnificent buildings and sparring rooms and such that were in the brochure?”

“Ah, those are from the Americas Headquarters. Didn’t I tell you? Our branch’s facilities are the least civilized, and therefore optimal for physical training.”

“This… goes beyond being highly deceptive; it’s outright fraud.”

“No one applies after seeing that brochure anyway.”

As his smiling uncle said, people applied after seeing the organization’s name, not the brochure. And for Jeong Tae-ui, who had been dragged there by his uncle regardless of the facilities, it didn’t really matter. However, the building before him was no different from a dilapidated single-story school building on the verge of collapse in some rural village. Cracks ran everywhere, paint peeled, and pipes were completely rusted.

No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like a crumbling school building or a government office abandoned decades ago.

No, wait. If this is the only building…

“How many people are there in total here?”

“One Director-General, two Vice Director-Generals, six Chief Instructors (or, in other words, Instructors), ninety-six members, and five Support Staff (or, simply, auxiliary staff). That makes a total of 110 people.”

“Is that right…?” His uncle’s figure, counting on his fingers, didn’t even register in Jeong Tae-ui’s vision.

“How can 110 people all fit in here?”

“They fit. You know how you can easily squeeze ten or so people into a compact car if you push them?”

“No, where do they eat and sleep and train…?”

As Jeong Tae-ui pointed at the building with an incredulous expression, the driver, carrying his uncle’s luggage, brushed past him and entered the building first. The door opened with a chilling creak of rusted hinges. The sound made it feel as though a ghost might appear.

His uncle looked at Jeong Tae-ui’s face, laughed for a while, and then finally spoke a little more seriously.

“Underground. There are seven basement floors. With an area of 2,000 pyeong per floor, seven basement floors might not be described as vast, but it’s certainly no problem to accommodate over 100 people.”

Jeong Tae-ui looked at his uncle again with an astonished expression. Of course, seven floors of 2,000 pyeong each could even be considered excessively spacious for 100 people to roam around in, but…

“On such a small island, what kind of 2,000 pyeong underground facility has seven floors…?”

“It’s because it’s possible that we chose this island. Did you think we just picked any island in the Asia region and built a branch?”

His uncle spoke cheerfully and moved forward.

Jeong Tae-ui looked at his uncle’s back with suspicion for a moment, but when his uncle, standing at the open door, looked back, he hoisted his bag onto his shoulder and followed behind him.

His uncle, who had stopped to wait for Jeong Tae-ui to approach, saw that he wasn’t moving and walked closer to Jeong Tae-ui, who had stopped two or three steps away. As Jeong Tae-ui, with a puzzled look, tried to step back half a pace, his uncle suddenly ruffled his hair and said,

“Just don’t die.”

“…Huh?”

“This isn’t a place where real law applies. There’s nowhere for the powerless to appeal their grievances, and sometimes, a few people can die, and it’s covered up without a hitch.”

His uncle paused for a moment. Jeong Tae-ui stared at his uncle silently. Then, he suddenly chuckled weakly.

“Uncle, that’s too much… You should have told me that beforehand. What am I supposed to do when you drag me to the mouth of the tiger’s den and then say this?”

“I think the outcome would have been the same even if I’d told you beforehand.”

His uncle also laughed. “Good grief,” Jeong Tae-ui sighed and shrugged.

“I guess I’ll just have to trust your ‘hunch,’ Uncle, and try to survive somehow. If I die, please just collect my bones.”

“Haha, well, it’s not completely lawless, either.”

“Are you telling me to be careful or not?”

“Either way, there’s no harm in being careful.”

His uncle smiled and turned to walk away again. Following behind him as he entered the building without stopping or looking back this time, Jeong Tae-ui slowly shook his head.

At times like this, he envied his brother, whose luck no one could ever rival.