Chapter 4 Part 16

“Huh? Oh, I’m about to go. I had some business at the Instructor’s Office for a moment. …The weather is really nice today.”

It was good to be together, but they always lacked topics of conversation. Knowing nothing about each other, they had no common topics and nothing to say. So there was nothing to bring up except subjects like the weather.

“Yes. But looking at the weather forecast, they said it would get cloudy from the evening. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow and the day after. Then, it’s expected to clear up the day after tomorrow.”

“Right. When the weather clears up, it would be nice to go for a walk on the beach again.”

“Shall we?”

Shinru readily nodded at Jeong Tae-ui’s subtly dropped hint. Jeong Tae-ui secretly cheered and, from that moment, eagerly began to await the day the weather would clear.

Shinru looked at the Instructor’s Office, where Jeong Tae-ui had just come from, and tilted his head slightly.

“But what happened suddenly at the Instructor’s Office…? Ah.”

Suddenly, his face clouded over.

“Now that I think about it, I heard something big happened this morning. Are you okay, hyung? You were called in because of that, weren’t you?”

It was something rumored throughout the entire Branch; there was no way Shinru wouldn’t know about it in this confined building.

Shinru, approaching and asking in a worried tone, looked even more endearing and lovely, and Jeong Tae-ui stared at him, entranced.

Seeing this bright and gentle face brought considerable comfort to his heart. His chest felt warmly relaxed.

“Hmm, just a little. It was nothing serious. You were okay, right?”

Thinking about it, Support Staff lived in a different area from the members, but they used the same dining hall. Ordinarily, there was no reason to meet Support Staff unless it was to visit their office for a specific purpose, but during meal times, they would not uncommonly run into each other in the dining hall.

Suddenly, his heart sank belatedly.

What if Shinru had been in the dining hall then? What if he had been caught up in that brutal fight? What if he had been hit and injured by a flying stone chip or a piece of wood?

Jeong Tae-ui unconsciously reached out and firmly grasped Shinru’s shoulders. Shinru looked up at Jeong Tae-ui with a bewildered expression and tilted his head.

“Hyung…?”

“Listen. You don’t really run into members unless there’s something specific, do you? Besides the dining hall?”

“Huh? Uh, that’s right. As for the dining hall, I tend to finish my meals early, so I go when it’s quiet. For lunch and dinner too, I go and eat before the members finish their regular duties, so… I don’t really run into other members in the dining hall.”

Hearing that, and thinking back, it seemed true that he had never seen Shinru in the dining hall before.

To Shinru, who answered obediently despite not understanding, Jeong Tae-ui first let out a sigh of relief and then spoke seriously.

“Listen. Europe Branch members are here right now, you know. But among them, there are, how shall I put it, some people you absolutely shouldn’t associate with. Very dangerous people, I mean. So—”

Jeong Tae-ui explained calmly, not overly detailed but enough to be understood. Shinru soon seemed to grasp what Jeong Tae-ui was trying to say and nodded.

“I probably won’t run into Europe Branch members anyway, but I’ll still be careful. Thank you for worrying about me, hyung.”

Shinru smiled brightly. Seeing that flower-like smile, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly felt shy and subtly released Shinru’s shoulders. He felt a slight regret for the soft touch.

“Don’t mention it. Of course I’d worry. You are…”

Jeong Tae-ui stopped speaking mid-sentence. He couldn’t finish his thought. Any words he added after that would feel embarrassingly intimate, making his face burn.

A brief silence fell. It was an awkward and shy silence, but now he didn’t dislike even this kind of silence.

Shinru, who had been bowing his head and looking down at his feet, suddenly glanced up at Jeong Tae-ui, then subtly reached out and took Jeong Tae-ui’s hand. Jeong Tae-ui, startled, instinctively flinched his hand back. In doing so, soft fingers slipped into his palm.

“…Eh, ehehe…”

Shinru, looking down, laughed awkwardly, his face bright red. Jeong Tae-ui, with a similar expression, also laughed, “ehehe.” The warm, white fingers in his hand felt pleasant. Had they been cold, that would have been nice in its own way too.

Standing face to face, their faces flushed, awkwardly holding hands, they remained like that, silently just holding hands for a long time. It was only when Jeong Tae-ui felt a gaze and looked up that they finally separated.

His uncle, coming out of the Instructor’s Office, was staring at them.

Over Shinru’s shoulder, Jeong Tae-ui’s eyes met his uncle’s, who was silently watching them intently.

“…”

“…”

When their eyes met, his uncle slowly blinked a couple of times. He slowly blinked. Slowly, a subtle smile spread across his expressionless face. Was it just Jeong Tae-ui’s imagination that it looked like a “you two are really having fun…” kind of smile?

Jeong Tae-ui, out of defiance, wanted to hold Shinru’s hand even tighter and stay there for a long time, but he knew that any moment his uncle would say, ‘You’re not going to your morning duty, how long are you going to stay there?’ — and the Vice Director-General would also likely emerge soon — so he reluctantly released Shinru’s hand.

Fortunately, Shinru, who had not yet noticed that subtle smile behind his back, stammered with a flushed face.

“Then, hyung, when the weather gets better…”

“Yeah. The rain will stop by the weekend, and the weather will be nice, so let’s see each other then. We can take a leisurely walk.”

When Jeong Tae-ui said that, Shinru made a strange face for a moment. Then, tilting his head, he muttered to himself, “Did I misunderstand?” and soon smiled brightly.

“Yes, hyung. See you on the weekend then.”

“Yeah, okay. …And if we can see each other before then, we will. Anyway, take care of yourself.”

“You don’t need to worry, hyung. You should be careful not to get hurt yourself,” Shinru said lovingly as he turned around, and his uncle subtly slipped back inside the Instructor’s Office.

After Shinru went into his office, his uncle came out of the Instructor’s Office again. He saw Jeong Tae-ui standing blankly in the hallway and waved his hand.