Passion (BL Novel)

“...What?”
“This is not a place where actual laws are enforced. The powerless have no way of appealing their grievances, and depending on the situation, people may die, yet everything will be swept under the rug.”

The uncle paused for a moment. Jeong Taeui silently watched him. Then, he suddenly smiled weakly.
“Uncle, that’s too much... You should have told me earlier. What am I supposed to do now, bringing me all the way to the tiger’s den and saying this?”
“I believe the result would have been the same even if I had told you earlier.”

The uncle also smiled. Jeong Taeui sighed with a “Oh,” and shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, I guess I’ll have to trust the feeling you mentioned and try to survive somehow. If I die, please at least gather my bones.”
“Haha, well, it’s not like it’s completely lawless here.”

“So, should I be cautious or not?”
“There’s no harm in being cautious either way.”
The uncle smiled and turned around. This time, he didn’t stop or look back and entered the building. Jeong Taeui followed him, shaking his head slowly.

At times like this, he envied his older brother, who could never be defeated by luck alone.
The office, meeting room, lecture room, training hall, laboratory, dormitory, dining hall, and everything else was supposed to be underground, yet as soon as they entered the building, the uncle didn’t head underground but walked toward an old, worn-out door at the end of a wooden corridor with holes scattered about—what was inside, Jeong Taeui couldn’t tell.
However, upon sensing Jeong Taeui following him, the uncle paused for a moment, turned around, and saw Jeong Taeui tilting his head. The door quietly opened right beside him. A young man appeared from inside the door.

“Tou!”
The young man, who had slowed his steps upon seeing Jeong Taeui standing right in front of him, turned to shout toward the uncle as if it was a pleasant surprise. Upon seeing the uncle, the young man straightened up and slightly bent at the waist.
“Are you busy?”

“No, I was about to go out for a smoke.”
Jeong Taeui nodded, thinking that this was one difference from the military, while inwardly sighing at the reality of the shared language in the branch—English. Just as he sighed inwardly, the uncle suddenly pointed at him with his index finger, which made Jeong Taeui swallow his sigh.
“Take this guy down below. Show him the room that Kiyomi used, and help him bond with the other members since he’s new.”

“Ah, okay.”
The young man scratched his ear as though it was a bother but nodded without complaining.
The uncle finished his words, waved his hand lightly without looking at Jeong Taeui, and opened the worn door to enter. Only the young man and Jeong Taeui remained in the corridor.
The young man looked Jeong Taeui up and down, then entered the door he had just come out from. He waved his finger, and Jeong Taeui followed suit, scanning the young man from head to toe before entering. The young man chuckled quietly.

Inside the wooden door was an elevator. It looked like the sliding door of a dilapidated school building, but it opened and closed silently, which gave a refreshing shock. Once inside, the functionality of the elevator was flawless.
“Are they pouring all the budget into making this look even older...?”
Jeong Taeui muttered to himself while inspecting the interior, then glanced at the young man, who was still watching him.

Though he had the appearance of a middle officer, his pale skin and slightly narrow bone structure suggested he wasn’t pure Han, possibly having some minority blood in him.
The young man looked at Jeong Taeui with a curious but not overly intense gaze, then tapped his chest a few times with his index finger.
“Tou. Tou Qing In.”

“…Jeong Taeui. You can just call me Taeui.”
“Taei... ok.”
The pronunciation was slightly off, but Jeong Taeui didn’t bother to correct him. It seemed pointless.

“Did you transfer from another branch? Or are you a complete newcomer?”
“I’m new. It seems it’s common for members to come and go between branches.”
“It’s not that common, but it’s not that rare either. You’ve got a solid stance for a newcomer. What were you doing before this? Didn’t work at some company or something?”

“I was unemployed.”
Jeong Taeui responded seriously without laughing, but the young man named Tou burst out laughing as though he had taken it as a joke.
“Well, you’re probably not from the European branch, but it’s whatever. Welcome.”

After a brief handshake with Tou, who held out his hand, Jeong Taeui tilted his head slightly.
“You seem to have quite a bad relationship with the European branch.”
Jeong Taeui had heard it from his uncle, but for Tou to immediately say, “You’re probably not from the European branch,” was a bit off-putting. It was like hearing about the bad blood between his former squad and that damn Kim Sergeant’s squad.

“Quite bad? Haha, you’ll find out next month. Starting next month, we’ll have joint training with the European branch, and those bastards will be coming here. Just to let you know, if there’s a particularly unlucky bastard, it’s okay to quietly get rid of one or two. Our branch will cooperate.”
The tone was too serious to be a joke. It sounded like the relationship between their squads was even worse than his old squad’s with Sergeant Kim’s.
“Ah, the camaraderie. How nice.”

“What can I say? We all have to help each other out.”
Tou chuckled cheerfully and then, just as the elevator stopped, they both got off. Jeong Taeui followed behind and was slightly surprised.
The fifth floor below ground. A long white hallway stretched out before him. The carpet was so thick that the sound of footsteps was barely audible. It was a stark contrast to the dilapidated, crumbling underground school they had just been in. Jeong Taeui never expected such a neat, tidy space to exist here.

“Were you expecting a damp, rat- and cockroach-infested basement with webs everywhere?”
Jeong Taeui didn’t imagine it to be that extreme, but it wasn’t entirely wrong either.
“Is there a BOQ here?”

As they walked down the fairly long hallway, Jeong Taeui asked, and Tou, looking back at him, gave an “Aha!” as if he understood.
“You were an officer, weren’t you? Which military were you in?”
“…”

“No comment? That’s fine. Everyone’s got things they don’t want to talk about. Here, it’s not called BOQ, it’s called Sane Shil (Private Room). Three people per room. But the Sane Shil is one floor below. Here, we have the free training room, library, and multimedia room. If you want to relax, read, or watch movies, most of the things to do are on this floor.”
“I just want to drop off my stuff first.”
Jeong Taeui, holding a small Boston bag, said this, and Tou, as if amused, took the bag from his hand.

“Really? Then I’ll carry it for you. You should build some bonds with the others first. We’ll be sharing life and death together, so you should talk to them a bit, right?”
“…”
“From 5 p.m. is free time, so right now everyone’s doing their own thing, but most people will be in the free training room.”

Jeong Taeui silently followed Tou, who was walking ahead, carrying his bag. Maybe this was the expected procedure here.
But there was one thing that was comfortable. Except for the nine superiors, the rest were all equal peers. It was convenient to move around knowing that everyone was an equal. Even though, of course, some might try to bully the newcomers. But as long as they were supposed to be equal, it made things easier.
As they reached the free training room, the door was twice the size of a normal one, and when it opened, a spacious area unfolded in front of them. It looked like a gymnasium, with a few pieces of slightly more intimidating training equipment scattered around.

Inside, about forty to fifty people were engaged in various activities. Some were sitting together in groups, chatting, while others were lying down as if resting. Most of them, however, were hanging onto exercise equipment, seemingly working on building basic strength.
"Free time, yet there are so many people here. Quite dedicated, I see," Jeong Taeui remarked.
"If you don’t want to die, you better start adding some muscle before next month. Even though there’s only about two weeks left. If the European branch comes here, I’ll be the one who dies first," Tou responded, clenching his fist.

Tou scanned the room briefly before walking toward a group of six or seven men who were gathered together. They were sitting apart but had enough distance between them for Jeong Taeui to recognize they likely shared a common identity.
Jeong Taeui silently nodded. They were probably a team, and, judging by how Tou was acting, they were likely part of the same team.
As Tou approached, the others noticed both him and Jeong Taeui. They stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Jeong Taeui—the unfamiliar face.

"Tou, the guy who went out for a smoke, did he leave his cigarette pack behind?"
"Right, usually, he smokes at least three cigarettes in a row. Why is he back so quickly?"
The men chuckled, and their gaze shifted to Jeong Taeui. It wasn’t just them—others in the room also cast curious glances his way.

"He’s a new guy. I brought him here to help him bond with the team. Our new teammate," Tou said as he exchanged a few words with the others.
While Tou was talking to them, Jeong Taeui casually scanned the room. Most people seemed to be in their mid-20s to early 30s. The youngest appeared to be in his teens, while the older man doing abdominal exercises seemed to be close to 40. The majority were likely in their late 20s.
Physically, they were all in good shape, regardless of their height or build. Jeong Taeui could tell they put in serious effort to stay fit. Fortunately, no one fit his personal preferences, which was a relief. On the other hand, if he did find someone like that, it would have been a problem.

"Ah, Taei? Twenty... five?" one of the men, who had been lounging on a mattress near the wall, suddenly jumped up and approached. His voice was playful, and the others laughed in the background. As Tou took a step back, the man walked toward Jeong Taeui.
Jeong Taeui eyed him carefully. The man appeared to be testing Jeong Taeui, though there was no malice in his expression.
"I'm Carlo Sagisawa. I’ll be turning thirty in seven months. Anything else you want to know?"

"Yeah. Are you loosening your knuckles and ankles because of me?"
Carlo burst into laughter. Whether it was a habit or some form of intimidation, he approached Jeong Taeui, cracking his knuckles and stretching his joints as he moved. Then, standing right in front of him, he smiled mischievously.
"No, no, I was just about to work out. Why? Are you scared? You don’t look like you’re afraid."

"Well, I’m a bit of a different person on the outside than on the inside," Jeong Taeui muttered.
Carlo laughed again, taking it as a joke. But Jeong Taeui felt a little uneasy. Carlo was built like a tank—muscle-bound and strong, with a large frame. It wasn’t a good sign.
"Yeah, a different kind of person, huh? So, how about it? Want to warm up with me?"

Jeong Taeui wasn’t interested in fighting him, not with that build. He had no confidence in his physical strength, and there was no way he’d want to fight for the top position by exchanging punches. He wasn’t looking to win a battle of brute force.
But Carlo didn’t give him a chance to refuse.
Without another word, Carlo lunged at him, grabbing his wrist with one hand and his opposite shoulder with the other, pushing him down with his leg.

It was instantaneous.
Jeong Taeui’s vision spun as the ceiling seemed to come closer and then recede, followed by a sharp impact on his back. He instinctively tried to roll, but the blow still left him breathless for a moment.
Over him, Carlo was grinning, squinting his eyes in exaggerated amusement.

"Really? You were a soldier? You’re way too soft. How are you supposed to be useful if you’re like this? Get up."
From behind, loud laughter and jeering whistling filled the air. Jeong Taeui glared up at Carlo—this Western-named, mixed-race man with a handsome face that wasn’t quite oriental.
"Get up?" Carlo sneered, not moving his weight off Jeong Taeui’s shoulder and arm, pinning him down. He was effectively immobilized.

If Jeong Taeui didn’t have the technical skill or strength to fight back, he would have no chance of standing up. His chances of victory in this situation were slim—probably nonexistent.
"Get up, huh?"
"Yeah, if you can, then feel free."

Jeong Taeui, despite being pinned down, smirked.
He didn’t hesitate—his right leg, the only part of him that had a bit of movement left, shot upward. With a swift knee to Carlo’s groin, he struck.
"Ugh!"

The gasp came not just from Carlo, but from the men around him. Everyone fell silent in shock.
Then, the quiet was broken by loud exclamations.
"That son of a b****! So low!"

"That’s so cowardly!"
The man who had been sitting lazily next to Carlo jumped off the mattress and rushed toward Jeong Taeui. This man was slightly shorter than Jeong Taeui but had a solid, muscular build like a rock.
Looks like the real test is coming. Perhaps I’ll have to fight my way through, or worse, deal with some humiliation today. But I wonder if this place even has proper medical facilities.

Jeong Taeui sighed inwardly, his hand slipping into his jacket pocket. The moment he did, the man coming toward him hesitated.
"Planning to use a weapon now that you’re playing dirty?" the man shouted with a thunderous voice.
Jeong Taeui didn’t flinch. He calmly approached the man.

The opportunity was fleeting. The man froze just for a moment.
That was all Jeong Taeui needed.
Grabbing the man by the collar, he reacted just as the man threw a punch. Simultaneously, Jeong Taeui struck the man’s chin with his hand, pushing him back with a swift kick to the knee.

The man collapsed, and Jeong Taeui quickly mounted him, his knee pressing down on the man’s chest. The room grew silent again. The once intimidating crowd now looked on with a much different expression, one of hostile recognition.
Jeong Taeui exhaled silently.
"I was just trying to survive, but if you want to talk about being cowardly, then we should start with the difference in our size and strength," he muttered, staring down at the man.

The man, glaring back with fire in his eyes, finally spoke up. "If you hadn’t distracted me with that cheap trick, the tables would’ve been turned by now."
"I know."
The man’s words could be considered the whining of a loser, but Jeong Taeui quietly muttered to himself. After all, the man had been slow to fight him seriously, and that hesitation had helped Jeong Taeui.

The man gripped Jeong Taeui’s wrist, twisting it as if to break it. With a surge of strength, he was attempting to overpower him.
Jeong Taeui knew that in terms of raw strength, he couldn’t match ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) this guy. Even if he fought with everything he had, he might only last a minute. The situation was likely to reverse quickly.