Chapter 4 Part 30

Ilay League-row’s head tilted. Slightly, his hand rose. His hand, as if frozen, seemed to touch Jeong Tae-ui’s wrist, which was motionless and silently staring at Ilay League-row, then slowly, as if caressing, it crept up. From the elbow to the shoulder, to the neck, the cold leather gloves felt as smooth and soft as a snake. The dark indigo gloves, almost black, were spotless and blood-free, yet somehow, the smell of blood seemed to emanate from them.

That hand swept up from his cheek to his ear, then to his hair. It was a soft and gentle touch. That hand was capable of twisting Jeong Tae-ui’s neck at any moment.

The hand reached the back of Jeong Tae-ui’s head. The broad palm cupping his head gently pulled Jeong Tae-ui towards him. As if lightly embracing him. His shoulder drew closer, right before Jeong Tae-ui’s eyes.

A gentle, low voice whispered in his ear.

“That… is that yours?”

Jeong Tae-ui flinched, convulsing subtly, as if he understood and yet didn’t.

Ilay League-row was looking at Shinru’s room over Jeong Tae-ui’s head. Perhaps at Shinru himself, just beyond the door. With narrow, cruel eyes.

“It’s not, then?”

Instead of Jeong Tae-ui, whose tongue was stiff, Ilay League-row found the answer himself.

He laughed joyfully. After stroking Jeong Tae-ui’s head a couple of times, he willingly released his arm. Jeong Tae-ui, who had been as good as trapped in his arms, ended up stepping back. All he could do was glare fiercely at Ilay League-row.

“Don’t glare like that. I’m not going to take what’s yours completely. For me, tasting it occasionally when I want to is enough.”

He said with a laugh. That languid voice spread through his chest like a thick cloud of unease.

“Ilay League-row. Don’t.”

Jeong Tae-ui said stiffly. But he didn’t answer. As if Jeong Tae-ui was no longer in his thoughts, he glanced at Shinru’s room once more, then turned away.

“Ilay League-row!”

Jeong Tae-ui shouted. Ilay League-row, who was walking a few steps ahead, seemed to turn his head for a moment, but didn’t stop or change direction, continuing to move away, merely saying with amusement,

“To properly claim what’s yours, you must have the qualifications. Do you have the confidence to save even your own life when you’re thrown naked into hell?”

He waved his hand lightly. Then he turned towards the stairs and disappeared from view.

Jeong Tae-ui stood alone, staring at the empty corridor where no one remained.

“The weather is absolutely terrible. They said it would clear up tonight, but it’s clearing up my ass. All those weather service guys should be fired.”

A grumbling sound was heard from up ahead. By the voice, it was Tou. Though only a few meters away at most, they had to distinguish the speaker by voice.

It wasn’t just because it was night. Nor was it just because there were many obstacles blocking their view in the forest.

The fog that began to fall in the evening settled everywhere in the forest, without exception. It was so thick that as they made their way through it, their collars eventually became damp.

“More than those weather service guys, I want to strip all the instructors who make us do a night march in this kind of weather.”

The guy mumbling a little behind Tou was Qing Ren-zhao. The laughter heard next to him was Carlo Sagisawa’s.

“I can put up with the night march, but I can’t forgive the way they wear us out with martial arts sparring all afternoon and then tell us to depart immediately without any warning.”

This voice was unfamiliar, so it must be someone from another team. Hearing the voice speaking through gritted teeth, it sounded like he still had plenty of energy.

Jeong Tae-ui thought his uncle would surely say, ‘They haven’t worn them out enough,’ but he still let out a small laugh at the remark. Morrer, walking right beside him, looked at Jeong Tae-ui and grumbled.

“Are you in the mood to laugh? My legs feel like lead.”

“It’s just one of those days, what’s the big deal.”

“It’s not just one day. Once the march is over, it’s straight into endurance training, man. There’s no rest.”

Morrer gnashed out his words, seemingly annoyed. This guy also seemed energetic enough to need less rest for a while. Jeong Tae-ui chuckled imperceptibly, but his smile soon vanished.

Indeed, there was no rest. Every day was a continuous string of tension, and in the afternoons, they mostly engaged in group sparring, spending time that was practically no different from a gang fight with the Europe Branch members. Today, too, they listened to lectures in the morning as usual—though after a few days, they were practically having sword fights with their tongues even during lectures—and in the afternoon, they continued martial arts sparring.

It must have been the same for other teams, not just Jeong Tae-ui’s. It was martial arts sparring where, no matter how many times you knocked someone down, the next opponent kept coming. If it had been with teammates, they might have taken breaks, sparred gently, and even let each other win, but it wasn’t like that when the opponents were Europe Branch members, like sworn enemies.

Most of them thought that even if they were exhausted to death, they had to brilliantly throw that guy down and at least snap an arm. Jeong Tae-ui had no reason to bear such grudges and wanted to go easy on each other, but it was just a pity that his opponents didn’t think the same way. He couldn’t just quietly offer his limbs to guys who attacked him with the intent to devour him.

The regular workday ended, and with it, the day finally concluded. Just when they thought it was over, an instructor suddenly called them to a halt as they were tidying up and preparing to leave. And said: there would be a 20-kilometer night march tonight, so they should go to the cafeteria, eat, and reassemble within 30 minutes.

At that moment, Jeong Tae-ui was probably not the only one who wanted to throw the headgear in his hand at that instructor. Because the rewarding atmosphere of having finished another day, despite being exhausted, instantly froze into a chilling silence.

20 kilometers wasn’t such a distance to make them look so miserable. That distance, which went about halfway around the island, was a march that could be completed in about five hours. Normally, they would have walked it cheerfully, chatting and feeling like they were on a picnic.