Chapter 4 Part 24

“Didn’t you see it while you were copying? It should detail the items regarding the basis for punishment.”

“There was punishment for killing someone, but there was no item with the condition ‘in front of an Instructor’.”

Jeong Tae-ui grumbled sullenly. Actually, even the cases of killing someone were described very ambiguously. It was like “if you hang it on your ear, it’s an earring; if you hang it on your nose, it’s a nose ring.” To briefly summarize the item, which was explained over three pages, it’s simple: ‘Treatment varies depending on the situation’.

Ilay League-row seemed to think for a moment, then tilted his head and answered, “Well…”

“I’ve never killed anyone in front of an Instructor, so I wouldn’t know. However, when I killed an Instructor, they put me in Eoryeong for eight months.”

Scratch. The pen slipped again. Jeong Tae-ui glared at the line he had scribbled over and fell silent.

Damn it. If he’s the kind of guy who kills even Instructors, dragging someone out from among their colleagues and choking them to death would be nothing. Suddenly, his shallow calculations were completely shattered.

“To add, it was self-defense. Just like this morning.”

Ilay League-row continued speaking. But the last few words were better left unsaid.

Jeong Tae-ui spun the pen around his fingers. His mouth tasted very bitter. He briefly wondered if he had misunderstood the meaning of ‘self-defense’, but no matter how he thought about it, it seemed the man in front of him was the one who was mistaken.

“To add one more thing, the dictionary definition of self-defense refers to an unavoidable act of harm taken against an aggressor to prevent an imminent and unjust infringement upon oneself or another.”

This man wasn’t mistaken. Jeong Tae-ui felt he was incredibly brazen to refer to his own actions as “unavoidable.” The words that rose to his throat trembled, threatening to escape his lips.

“Speaking of this morning’s incident, I wonder if the act of harm against the aggressor wasn’t excessive.”

He couldn’t hold back and blurted out a comment. But Ilay League-row shook his head.

“You heard it too. The words ‘shoot him’. That guy, if I had let him off lightly, would have tried to strike me from behind until the very end. Considering the future threat, it was an unavoidable choice for me. Besides, he’s perfectly alive, that guy. Though he’s probably holed up in Eoryeong by now.”

“Right, is that why you killed that Instructor too?”

When Jeong Tae-ui asked, Ilay League-row let out a low laugh. Then, after a subtle and somewhat troubled silence, he spoke briefly.

“Something like that, yes. I actually almost died. No matter who I am, if it hadn’t been that extreme, I wouldn’t have killed the Instructor. I regretted it so much even after I killed him.”

Staring intently at him as he spoke with feigned regret, Jeong Tae-ui again wanted to say “My mouth is completely dry” that rose to his throat, but he swallowed the words.

In the end, though he couldn’t know the exact reason, it meant that this man could calmly kill someone, even an Instructor—or perhaps even a Vice Director-General or Director-General—if he had a reason or an excuse. If so, using people as shields to escape this man’s notice was probably impossible.

Did this mean the conclusion was simply that hiding was the best option, no matter what? Though he didn’t know if that was even possible.

“What’s wrong with me lately? Has bad luck stuck to me?”

Jeong Tae-ui threw his pen onto the notebook and muttered. He wasn’t exactly a lucky person to begin with, but since coming here, it had gotten a bit extreme. What is this?

“They say Jeong Jae-ui is an incredibly lucky person, but aren’t you?”

As Jeong Tae-ui muttered, Ilay League-row suddenly asked. Jeong Tae-ui only looked at him with his eyes. He was about to grumble, “That news sure travels fast,” but then he thought about it and realized it was a fact everyone in this branch already knew anyway.

“Just because we’re brothers doesn’t mean we’re born with the same fortune. I’m ordinary. Right now, I even feel below ordinary.”

“Aha…”

Ilay League-row said only that, then smiled subtly. But he didn’t say anything else.

Jeong Tae-ui thought of his brother, whom he hadn’t seen in a while. In such a situation, if it were his brother—though his brother wouldn’t even be in this situation—this man would probably suddenly leave this island due to an unexpected accident, or perhaps die from a bite by a dozen venomous snakes that had inexplicably snuck in.

Jeong Tae-ui, with a very serious expression, pointed at Ilay League-row and muttered.

“You should consider yourself lucky that I’m not my brother. Otherwise, by now, your fortune would have turned very dark.”

Then Ilay League-row burst into laughter. He wondered if he’d even understand, but this time too, the man seemed to have understood Jeong Tae-ui’s words perfectly.

“Right, I appreciate that. In that spirit, I won’t do anything to you today, so don’t be so on edge and relax.”

“If possible, I’d appreciate it if you could do that for a whole fortnight.”

“Well… I’m not very good at controlling my emotions either, so I can’t make promises I’m not confident about.”

It sounded like he intended to settle things once before the fortnight was over. Looking into those cool, composed eyes, he knew it wasn’t just his imagination.

Jeong Tae-ui tasted the bitterness in his mouth again and picked up his pen. In any case, minimizing the time he spent encountering this man was probably the most passive resistance he could offer.

Suddenly, Jeong Tae-ui stopped his pen. Then he subtly asked Ilay League-row, who had turned his gaze back to the book.

“Earlier, you said you’d help with this, didn’t you?”

Then Ilay League-row raised an eyebrow slightly. He looked at the pile of notebooks and pens Jeong Tae-ui had, said “Ah,” and shrugged his shoulders. It was as if he found it somewhat surprising that Jeong Tae-ui would bring that up.

“If you ask for help, I’ll help. Copying isn’t a difficult task, and… but Chief Instructor Jeong would quickly recognize different handwriting.”

It seemed he had offered to help, knowing all of this. The point was, he wasn’t just paying lip service.

Jeong Tae-ui smiled wryly and held out an empty notebook and a pen.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. We just need to fill the number of volumes. I’m not asking for much, just write one volume.”

“Hmm… Well, alright.”