Passion (BL Novel)

The United Nations Human Resource Development Organization (UNHRDO) aims to train and develop talented # Nоvеlight # individuals who can assist in the operation and maintenance of various institutions and private organizations, thereby distributing skilled human resources. It is the successor to the International Talent Development Organization, established in 1946, and is also known as UNHRDO (United Nations Human Resource Development Organization).
The UNHRDO is a non-profit organization focused on the dispatch, transfer, and distribution of talent in various fields. Its headquarters is located in New York, USA, with regional offices in Berlin, Germany (Europe), Hong Kong, China (Asia), Canberra, Australia (Australia), Johannesburg, South Africa (Africa), and São Paulo, Brazil (South America).
(continued)

 
When they arrived at Chek Lap Kok Airport, the car that was waiting for them was already there. The large man, who definitely didn’t seem like a driver, silently greeted Joo Hyuk’s uncle and started loading the luggage. Joo Hyuk’s Boston bag, the only piece of luggage aside from his uncle’s, was placed next to his uncle’s bags. After putting his bag in, Joo Hyuk climbed into the car and sat beside his uncle, who was already seated.
The thin pamphlet his uncle handed him contained brief descriptions and photographs of their upcoming destination. It was clear that it wasn’t intended for public relations purposes, but Joo Hyuk still skimmed through it. It was a thin, uninformative brochure that took only a few minutes to read. Moreover, he had already done a quick search online before leaving.
As Joo Hyuk fanned himself with the pamphlet, the car left the airport. His uncle silently took the pamphlet from Joo Hyuk’s hands and flipped through a few pages before chuckling. It was clear his uncle thought it was just a waste of paper too.

“If you think of it as an organization to train diplomats or influential figures, it’s easier to understand.”
“Even if you put it that way, it still sounds like they’re just training people to sell them off to various organizations.”
“Well, people who want to be sold off gather and apply, so it’s mutual cooperation.”
His uncle’s reply wasn’t defensive despite the sarcasm. Joo Hyuk casually flipped through the pamphlet his uncle handed him again. He ignored the meaningless words and instead focused on the images—pictures of imposing buildings, modern meeting rooms, and rows of well-dressed men standing in line with serious expressions.
“Among those people, do you see anyone who fits your taste?”
His uncle peeked at the pamphlet from the side and smiled. Joo Hyuk scrunched up his face and tilted his head.

“I’m not really into walking the straight path... I don’t think I’d be interested in someone who exudes so much of a manly scent. I prefer something soft and sweet, like the scent of soap or milk. But I doubt I’ll find anyone like that in this industry.”
“The smell of soap or milk... Minor’s sexual offenses are a crime even in China. Well, it’s practically an extraterritorial zone once you cross the fence of the branch, but there are no minors inside. Feel free to touch them as you please.”
“...Uncle. To think you’d turn someone into an unprincipled minor offender in the blink of an eye... I’ve never viewed someone with a one-digit age or anyone with a ‘1’ before their age in that way.”

His uncle chuckled quietly. Joo Hyuk stared at him before casually speaking.
“If you were just twenty years younger, I think you’d be my type.”
At that moment, a smile disappeared from his uncle’s face. He blinked and looked at Joo Hyuk oddly, but after a moment, he snickered. As if he understood, he shrugged and changed the subject.

“You’ll figure it out once we get there, but do you have any questions for now?”
“Well... It’s hard to have any questions when I don’t know anything. I don’t even know what I don’t know, to be honest. As you said, I’ll learn as I go along once I get there.”
Joo Hyuk put the pamphlet on his lap and gazed out the window. The route from the airport to the city was familiar, with wide highways devoid of much to see.
“Was the place my brother worked at the headquarters?”
“That’s right. He was a thorough brain type. I heard they still want him at the headquarters.”

Joo Hyuk glanced at his uncle.
“Brain type? Is that how headquarters and the branches are divided?”
“It’s not always like that, but generally, yes. The headquarters is like a brain house. If you have the skills, even if you have physical disabilities, you can get in. The branches require strong physical ability. ...That doesn’t mean you can get in just by being good at fighting, though. To put it simply, the branches focus on training people like MacGyver.”
“MacGyver... I don’t think I’m cut out for that.”
“What? After a few months of rolling around, you’ll be fine.”
Joo Hyuk gave his uncle a disgusted look before slowly voicing some of the thoughts that had been coming to his mind.

“Then the three branches are all pretty much the same?”
“Hmmm, that’s right. The training process is the same. So, sometimes, a few people are swapped out every quarter, depending on the circumstances. But the atmosphere is slightly different at each branch. The South American branch is a little weird, the African branch is unpredictable, the Australian branch is somewhat annoying, and the European branch is just horrifically unlucky.”
His tone was cheerful, but the content had quite a gap.
“You don’t get along with the European branch?”
“Headquarters and the branches don’t get along, and the branches themselves don’t either. It’s just how it is when groups are in competition. Among them, the Asian branch and the European branch are particularly antagonistic. Once a year, there’s a joint training for about two weeks. It’s pretty intense... Quite a spectacle.”
“...”
It seemed like his uncle didn’t just dislike the European branch, but rather enjoyed the intense situations that arose whenever there was a conflict, which probably involved creating bloody battles on purpose.

His uncle, despite his somewhat kind-looking face, was a person of significant contrast in terms of his thoughts and appearance. Sometimes even Joo Hyuk, who knew him well, would find himself stunned by him.
Joo Hyuk sank deeper into the seat. The cushion was comfortably soft.
He had been constantly pushed around and forced to keep up with his uncle, who had stormed through everything like a whirlwind, leaving no time to rest. With his eyes closed, it felt like he could fall asleep right away.
Perhaps sensing this, his uncle spoke softly.
“You’ll need some time to adjust, but you should get some sleep now. We’ll be at the pier soon, and it’ll be harder to wake up once you take a light nap.”
“Pier?”
Joo Hyuk turned his head. The car was already entering the city, with buildings beginning to fill the streets. Flashy, disorganized signs littered the area, and old, worn-down buildings stretched in rows, just like the low-rise apartments he had lived in. Above the gaudy storefronts, cracked and peeling buildings hung clothes out on ropes, the old buildings clearly showing their age.

“Is the branch on Hong Kong Island?”
“No.”
“Then why the pier?”
“You have to take a boat.”
“…Is it in Macau?”
His uncle burst out laughing. Joo Hyuk looked at him awkwardly. Since they were leaving from the Kowloon Peninsula, it was natural to think of Macau as the next destination.
His uncle shook his head.
“It’s Yi Island. It’s a little further from Hong Kong Island, but it’s technically part of the Hong Kong-China administrative region. However, it’s effectively an extraterritorial zone. The Asian branch of the UNHRDO is located there.”

“Ah... It sounds like a place where prisoners were kept in the past to prevent them from escaping.”
“Well, it’s not like that idea was completely absent.”
His uncle said this while still laughing and then looked at Joo Hyuk.
“Every other week, from 5 pm on Friday to 5 pm on Sunday, you’ll have free time. If you want, you can come out and hang out then. The boats run between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula for the members.”
“Now that you mention it...”
“Hmm?”
“The UNHRDO’s Asian branch is on that island, but it seems like only the Asian branch is there, right?”
“Correct.”
“...”
Joo Hyuk let out a bitter smile and shook his head.

They passed the bustling main street and curved around a grand hotel, and in the distance, the pier came into view. Looking absentmindedly at Hong Kong Island across the sea, Joo Hyuk suddenly turned his head.
“Come to think of it, I have one more question.”
“Hmm?”
“How should I address you over there?”
His uncle smiled. Then, with an expression that mixed family warmth and authority, he said,
“Instructor Jeong Chang-in, or simply, Instructor.”
It seemed it took about an hour to leave the peninsula and reach Yi Island.
Though it was a remote island with only the branch office, Joo Hyuk had imagined it to be a small, uninhabited island, but to his surprise, it was quite large. After reaching the Yi Island pier, they had to take another car and drive along the beachside road to go further inside.

The forest lining the path looked unusually dark and dense as the sun was setting.
“This looks like a place where wild beasts or poisonous snakes might appear.”
Joo Hyuk muttered, and his uncle calmly nodded.
“Poisonous snakes do come out. So, you need to watch your step at night. --But don’t worry too much. There aren’t any venomous ones that would kill you instantly. If you perform first aid properly, you won’t die.”
Joo Hyuk gave him a stunned look. Was his uncle trying to reassure him?
It seemed like a bad idea to come here. Even with half a year, if you think about it, half a year is far too much time for someone to die if things go wrong.
He thought of just waiting until the next weekend and then escaping to Hong Kong, but his uncle suddenly remembered something and spoke up.
“Right. I won’t be able to leave for about a month. The joint training with the European branch starts in two weeks. Two weeks. Before that, it’s a special training period, so no going out. Even during the joint training, no going out. It’ll pass quickly, though, so make sure to adjust well in the meantime.”

Before even being curious about what exactly his uncle knew, Joo Hyuk, for a moment, seriously considered strangling him.
Staring at his uncle’s neck, Joo Hyuk’s attention was drawn away as he made eye contact with the driver through the rearview mirror. The driver smiled faintly when their eyes met.
It was the same driver who had come to greet them at the airport. He had driven from the airport to the pier and then on to the island. ...He couldn’t have seen the boat too, could he?
The man also had that same rough military scent—though his uncle had insisted several times that he wasn’t a soldier nor was the island connected to the military. He likely shared that same aura with everyone they’d meet on the island.
While thinking this, Joo Hyuk sighed and turned his head. The energy to strangle his uncle had completely vanished.
“That ‘unlucky’ European branch and ‘bloody’ joint training... I guess I came at the perfect time for some misery. ...Actually, you probably dislike me, don’t you?”
“Not at all.”
His uncle laughed. Joo Hyuk felt like he had fallen into the trap with no way out.
Joint training, huh? He had been used to that kind of training. He had spent years in it. Just four months ago, he was still a military officer. What kind of training would they have here?
No matter how tough it gets, he would get used to it as long as he didn’t die. Every time it was hard, he would eventually become accustomed to it. ...And even if he lost control of his temper and caused some problems, that would be his own decision.
Suddenly irritated, Joo Hyuk scratched his head.
He had never regretted anything he had done. He had deeply engraved in his mind not to have regrets about anything he did.
So, he didn’t regret giving that troublesome classmate a beating that barely left him alive. He had endured for five and a half years, and that was more than enough patience. What resulted, though, was a complex mix of many things, but in the end, his discharge from the military was not something he regretted.
Still, when thinking about the situation back then and the feelings he had, it twisted his insides.
Some people, who have never been behind others, when they finally see someone ahead of them, end up looking ugly. That was what happened with the classmate he had laid next to in the military hospital just before his discharge. The classmate had found Joo Hyuk’s sexual preferences to be the perfect prey.

Tsk, clicking his tongue, Joo Hyuk stretched in the car, feeling uncomfortable. He had been all over today: airplane, car, boat. He felt sore all over, like he needed to run a few laps around the drill ground to stretch out.
Just then, the car stopped.
The sky was already darkening, and thick forests surrounded both sides of the road. How long had they been on this wooded path?
“We’re here.”
The driver got out, and his uncle briefly said something before Joo Hyuk opened the door. Stepping outside, he looked at the building in front of him.
“Whew. To think I’m feeling tired from just this little bit... I must be getting old. Well, I’m past forty, so I can’t exactly say I’m young.”
His uncle muttered to himself as he followed Joo Hyuk down. Joo Hyuk, who had been staring at the building for a while, asked,
“Uncle.”
“Hmm?”
“The building for the Asian branch... Is this it?”
“Yeah. One building. Simple, huh?”
“Then what about those fancy buildings, the conference halls, and such in the brochure?”
“Oh, that’s the headquarters. Didn’t I tell you? Our branch isn’t as civilized, so it’s perfect for physical training.”
“This... This is beyond just misleading; it’s straight-up a scam.”
“Anyway, nobody applies based on the pamphlet. People apply because of the name, not the brochure.”
As his uncle smiled, Joo Hyuk, despite himself, felt indifferent about it. What really bothered him was the building right in front of them, which looked no different from a crumbling school building in a rural village on the brink of closure. Even the walls were cracked, the paint peeling, and the pipes completely rusted.
It was obvious it was a decaying school building or a deserted government office from decades ago.
Wait a second... if there’s just this one building...
“How many people work here?”
“One director, two deputy directors, six instructors—also known as instructors—ninety-six members, and five clerks. Total of 110 people.”
“Really?” Joo Hyuk glanced at his uncle, counting on his fingers, but his uncle didn’t seem to notice.
“110 people... how do you fit them all in here?”
“They fit. You know, you can cram at least twenty people into a small car, right?”
“Wait, where do they eat and sleep for training?”
Joo Hyuk asked, incredulous, pointing at the building. The driver, who had passed by him with his uncle’s luggage, entered the building first. The door creaked loudly, and the rusted hinges made a chilling sound.

The eerie noise made Joo Hyuk feel like a ghost would appear at any moment.
Looking at his expression, his uncle laughed for a while before speaking more seriously.
“Underground. Seven floors down. It’s about 2,000 pyeong. It’s not huge, but it can easily accommodate over 100 people.”
Joo Hyuk stared at his uncle again, his face one of disbelief. Seven floors of 2,000 pyeong was way too much space for just 100 people, but...
“What do you mean, seven floors of underground space... on an island this small?”
“That’s why we chose this island. Do you think we just picked some random island in Asia for the branch?”
His uncle said cheerfully and continued walking.
Joo Hyuk watched his uncle with a suspicious gaze for a moment, but when his uncle turned back, he shrugged, slinging his luggage over his shoulder and following.
Waiting for Joo Hyuk to catch up, his uncle stopped a few steps ahead. When Joo Hyuk didn’t move, he walked up to him and suddenly ruffled his hair.
“Don’t die.”