Chapter 4 Part 12

Oh, no, no. I absolutely must not be noticed. Whether for good or ill, the best course of action is simply to not be noticed. I should just eat quickly and disappear, never to appear before this man again.

Beside Jeong Tae-ui, who was silently shoveling down his rice, members of the Europe Branch who had been sitting at the same table, having finished their meal, rose and flowed out like the tide. Four seats became vacant at once, but no one came to sit there.

“Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve heard your name yet.”

Ilay League-row’s mumbled words drifted into his ears. The moment Jeong Tae-ui heard them, his heart sank.

I’m screwed. The omens were rapidly turning for the worse. While it was natural for someone new to ask for a name, coming from this man, it didn’t sound ordinary.

“Hmm— May I ask you something?”

Jeong Tae-ui didn’t answer the question, but feigned nonchalance, wetting his lips with water, and instead asked a question of his own. He then raised an eyebrow slightly, as if to say ‘go ahead’.

“Do you usually ask for other people’s names a lot?”

He thought he was a man who had no interest in other people. But on second thought, even Jack the Ripper might have asked ‘What’s your name?’ when he first met a prostitute.

Hearing that, Ilay League-row wore a faint, amused smile.

“I suppose so. It’s inconvenient if you don’t know someone’s name when you want to call them, isn’t it? Aren’t you?”

“I only ask people whose names I’d be inconvenienced not to know because I expect to see them often.”

Whether Ilay League-row understood the meaning Jeong Tae-ui was trying to convey indirectly, he simply nodded, saying “Aha.” Jeong Tae-ui chewed his rice, not tasting it, and stared blankly at him.

If he had seen him outside, he would have thought him a very decent-looking young man. He was so clean-cut and appealing that he would stand out even amidst a bustling crowd. Depending on one’s perspective, he could even be described as handsome.

This handsome young man, whose casual act of haphazardly biting a piece of toast and letting crumbs fall seemed like a picture, appeared somewhat younger when seen in person, something Jeong Tae-ui hadn’t noticed when watching him in videos. He might even be a year or two younger than Jeong Tae-ui. …Or, considering there’s a theory that bathing in blood makes one younger, he might be considerably older than he appeared.

“How old are you?”

Jeong Tae-ui, who had been staring at him with his elbows on the table, in breach of etiquette, nonchalantly blurted out another impolite question.

Ilay League-row seemed somewhat taken aback by the unexpected question, but answered as if amused.

“Do you usually ask other people’s ages a lot? Or is it because you think we’ll meet often enough that it would be inconvenient not to know my age?”

Jeong Tae-ui didn’t ask anything further of Ilay League-row, who responded with an amused air. He simply grew increasingly depressed. Surely, even if they ran into each other, as acquaintances, he might go a little easy on him during sparring.

But his uncle had said, “Just don’t get noticed, no matter what.”

It’s already too late, Uncle. What do I do? If I die, don’t forget to burn my books with me.

Jeong Tae-ui, grumbling and chewing on his last will and testament along with his rice, suddenly saw Ilay League-row’s hand picking up a coffee cup. A neat, dark-colored glove impeccably covered his hand.

“You must really like gloves, always wearing them.”

“Hmm?”

Ilay League-row looked at his own hand as if it were a new sight. He said “Ah,” clenching and unclenching his fist a few times, then shook his head.

“Not really. It’s more troublesome than bare hands.”

“Then why do you always wear gloves?”

“I don’t like getting blood on my hands. It’s sticky, and once it dries, it’s hard to wash off.”

“But why would your hands get bloody when you come to a restaurant to eat rice――.”

Jeong Tae-ui, who had begun speaking with an incredulous expression, couldn’t finish his sentence.

Suddenly, a man burst through the restaurant door and ran towards them.

The man, who was not on Jeong Tae-ui’s team and whom he had never spoken to, charged straight in, his face hardened ferociously, glaring at Ilay League-row with bloodshot eyes.

“Ilay League-row! This is the gun of Kroy, whom you killed!”

In his hands, as he screamed venomously, was a .50 caliber revolver.

The color instantly drained from Jeong Tae-ui’s face. That crazy bastard! Who on earth barges in first thing in the morning carrying such a dangerous weapon, capable of easily wrecking a whole restaurant?!

“If you’re going to die, die alone, you bastard…!”

Jeong Tae-ui, who felt not an ounce of loyalty to stand in front of Ilay League-row, muttered a low curse and quickly stepped aside. In a situation where it would be a miracle if he didn’t shoot himself in the forehead trying to fire such a high-recoil weapon with bare hands, without knowing whom he’d hit, the restaurant plunged into chaos.

Jeong Tae-ui quickly darted behind the thick pillar right next to him, anxiously inspecting it.

A pillar of this size would break apart if he fired four or five shots at it. No, but it’s a 6-shooter, so he wouldn’t fire that many rounds at the pillar. Besides, there’s no reason for him to aim at me.

Although he couldn’t say he was perfectly safe, after hiding himself, Jeong Tae-ui instinctively patted his pockets. But only dust flew out of them.

Damn it, he clicked his tongue and turned his head, when he suddenly spotted Morrer, who had crawled under a table a few meters away.

“Morrer!”

Jeong Tae-ui immediately sprinted towards him. Immediately after, a gunshot, close to an explosion, rattled the air. Something behind him shattered, and fragments of stone flew, hitting Jeong Tae-ui and passing by. His ears were ringing from the gunshots. Damn it, you crazy bastard! If you survive this, you’ll get a beating from me later!

Jeong Tae-ui crawled next to Morrer, who was frantically looking around, and grabbed him by the collar. Then, regardless of whether Morrer screamed, he forcibly pinned the struggling man down and reached into his inner pocket. Sure enough, a cold piece of metal, which Morrer seemed to always carry, came into his hand.

Turning his head, Jeong Tae-ui saw Ilay League-row standing alone and unfazed in the chaotic restaurant. And the man pointing a gun at him, a few meters away.