Chapter 4 Part 17

“What are you doing? Go. If you skip, this time you’ll be rolling around in the Instructor’s Office all afternoon. Besides, you were supposed to attend Weapon Engineering, right? That’s Instructor Mckin’s class. If he catches you, you’ll have a headache for a long, long time.”

Jeong Tae-ui heard his uncle add that Ilay League-row, who would only be staying for two weeks, was nothing to worry about. Internally, Jeong Tae-ui wondered, Will I even be alive in two weeks? But still, he wanted to live until the weekend to take a walk with Shinru.

“Speaking of which… Shinru…”

Jeong Chang-in seemed to be thinking about something else, muttering to himself and falling silent for a moment. The nuance of his words was subtly meaningful, making Jeong Tae-ui frown slightly and tilt his head. Jeong Chang-in lifted his gaze to the ceiling, lost in thought, then eventually waved his hand without saying more.

“I told you to go. This kid, he really doesn’t listen when someone offers kind advice. Among the instructors, Instructor Mckin is the toughest one to get on the bad side of. Even if you only have half a month left to live, you shouldn’t neglect planting the apple tree for tomorrow.”

“…”

When Jeong Tae-ui glared resentfully at Jeong Chang-in, his uncle suddenly broke into a deep smile.

“You’re going to take a walk with Shinru this weekend? I hope the weather is good.”

“…If the weather’s bad, I’ll just put on a raincoat and walk in the rain.”

Jeong Tae-ui grumbled sullenly, then turned and began walking towards the elevator. He heard Jeong Chang-in, who was still smiling softly and thinking about something, say kindly to his back:

“Don’t worry too much, I’ll make sure to burn the books with you.”

As soon as Morrer saw Jeong Tae-ui, he grabbed his collar and wailed.

“My darling! My sweet little lady! How are you going to take responsibility for this, you brute?!”

The Colt, which Jeong Tae-ui had confiscated from Morrer, had, of course, been seized by Jeong Chang-in and was now sitting quietly in the confiscated items storage. The only explanation given was that it would be returned when he left this branch one day.

Jeong Chang-in seemed to have guessed who the Colt’s owner was, as he smiled meaningfully and slowly said, “Please send my regards to the fellow you share a room with.” Jeong Tae-ui felt a bit sorry for his colleagues who had such a superior.

“Losing one Colt for saving a person’s life is a small price, isn’t it?”

“Ah, that was Morrer’s? No wonder, it seemed strange for Tae-ui, who has absolutely no belongings, to have something like that.”

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. I’ll get you a new one once I go to Hong Kong. I know a reliable fence. A Colt should be easy enough to find, right?”

The colleagues next to Morrer each offered a word. Jeong Tae-ui, who was looking awkwardly at Morrer lamenting that it was all useless, scratched his head and muttered.

“I don’t know any fences… How about, a one-year subscription to a puzzle magazine?”

At that, Morrer suddenly exploded and lunged, flailing wildly. Jeong Tae-ui subtly retreated behind his colleagues.

Even though it was an urgent situation, there was nothing he could say, even if he had ten mouths, given that he had arbitrarily taken someone else’s item, used it, and even lost it. Another gloomy thing had happened for the next two weeks.

After finally entering the Weapon Engineering lecture late, and then immediately being called out by the instructor and thoroughly scolded, it was already past half of the lunch break when Jeong Tae-ui was finally released.

Half a day hadn’t even passed, but Jeong Tae-ui, feeling as physically and mentally exhausted as if thousands of years had gone by, trudged to the cafeteria. Naturally, the cafeteria door was firmly shut. Seeing the red letters on the door that read, “Temporarily out of use due to an accident,” Jeong Tae-ui felt a pang of unwarranted guilt. He then quickly left after seeing the small note below it: “Temporarily using the Third Self-Study Room as a dining hall until repairs are complete.”

When he arrived at the self-study room, his colleagues, who had already finished eating and were chatting, greeted Jeong Tae-ui. Of course, there were Europe Branch members present, and the atmosphere was still as tense as it had been that morning, but it seemed neither side intended to cause any more trouble during lunch, having already destroyed the cafeteria that morning.

As soon as he entered the self-study room, Jeong Tae-ui reflexively scanned his surroundings. He hoped he wouldn’t run into the face he didn’t want to see. He knew he couldn’t avoid encountering him eventually during the joint training, but he intended to make the utmost effort to avoid it.

Fortunately, that unpleasant face wasn’t visible. Instead, there were only colleagues who greeted him with cheers resembling shouts of welcome.

They called him various things: this gutsy guy, this crazy guy, this loyal guy. Of course, Morrer’s lament was mixed in there too: “You robber who just took my darling!”

Jeong Tae-ui managed to get two slices of bread and a milk carton in the makeshift temporary dining hall, where not much edible food was left due to his late arrival. He chewed them slowly, listening to his colleagues with half an ear.

For the next two weeks, the regular schedule would consist of general lectures in the morning and special lectures or special training in the afternoon. In other words, actual combat would begin in the afternoons.

However, it was impossible for just under a hundred people to train all at once.

“So how are they dividing the people for training?” Jeong Tae-ui asked, chewing his bread, and Qing Ren-zhao explained.

“It’s the same as always. They divide us into six teams, so fifteen people train together. Of course, half will be from our side, and half from the Europe Branch. They’ll rotate randomly, so you’ll train with a different team each time.”

Jeong Tae-ui recalled the Weapon Engineering lecture he had briefly attended. He tried to remember each of the unfamiliar faces mixed in the classroom.

“If it’s random—does that mean if I play my cards right, I might not have to meet a specific person at all for the two weeks?”

Jeong Tae-ui asked, holding onto a sliver of hope, but Qing Ren-zhao shook his head. He then gave Jeong Tae-ui a sympathetic look, as if he understood why Jeong Tae-ui was asking such a question.