Passion (BL Novel)

However.
"……I think I would have preferred a blunt and gloomy voice…"
It was a tiny voice, as small as an ant’s crawl, yet that man somehow managed to hear it. With a sigh, he mumbled and then, with a languid smile, said,
"Is that your taste? That's quite unique. But I thought you'd prefer the voice of «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» a delicate and young boy."
"Either way, it's still far from your voice, Ilay."
Jeong Tae-ui muttered with a sigh. Then, suddenly, he rushed to the iron bars, gripping them and straining to look outside. It seemed useless, but still, if the instructor was still nearby, he desperately wanted to beg to be moved to a different room.
"I don't want to share a room with this bastard. I still want to live."
But deep inside, even if he cried out desperately, the instructor, who had disappeared, was unlikely to return, and even if he did, it was uncertain whether he'd listen to Jeong Tae-ui's request.
Jeong Tae-ui inwardly cursed the instructor who had given him the task of guarding the room.
"This crazy old man, he said he'd lock up the ones who didn't cause problems, but what's this? Locked up in the same room with this guy who could kill someone with his bare hands for ten days without moving. What the hell am I supposed to do? And on top of that, there's nowhere to escape in this prison. If I die here, I'll haunt this whole prison as a ghost."

Gripping the bars that wouldn't budge no matter how much he shook them, Jeong Tae-ui remained slumped. Then, behind him, there was the sound of movement. He tensed, clenching his fist around the bars, listening closely.
Ilay slowly stood up and approached Jeong Tae-ui. The sound of his bare feet lightly tapping on the floor grew closer. Then, when the sound was just behind him,
"Il-"
As Jeong Tae-ui turned around and clenched his fist, Ilay bent forward. Then, as though feeling around a corner by the door, he handed something to Jeong Tae-ui.
"Hand. Show it to me."
In a calm voice, Ilay spoke, and as Jeong Tae-ui had half-expected, he did not seem to have any intention of strangling his neck or twisting his arm.
Jeong Tae-ui looked down at what Ilay was holding. Although it was too dark to see clearly, the long object that reflected a faint light seemed to be a key. He remembered that Ilay had mentioned earlier that the key had been wedged in a gap in the stone wall next to the iron door.
"Ah, thanks."

Jeong Tae-ui extended his hand, feeling taken aback. When he held out both hands quietly, Ilay grabbed the handcuffs and twisted them toward the keyhole, inserting the key. The clacking sound of the rusted key struggling to turn echoed in the air.
Wait. Now that he thought about it, it was a nice gesture, but this guy must have seen exactly where the key had fallen and watched silently while Jeong Tae-ui fumbled around on the floor earlier. He hadn't said a word, just watched. It was a bit awkward to simply say thanks.
Jeong Tae-ui had a complicated feeling, but as the handcuffs finally came off, he reflexively thanked Ilay again. After hours of being restrained, his hands finally freed, he sighed and shook them a few times. It was only a few hours of being tied up, but it had felt suffocating. How miserable must those old criminals who had been locked up with swords have felt?
He paused for a moment, remembering those who were long gone.
By the way… Now that his hands were free and his body loosened, there was still one problem left. This problem seemed the most troublesome and dangerous, but there was no key to solve it.
"…So, for the next ten days—do we stay together?"
Jeong Tae-ui muttered slowly. He had never been inside this prison before. On the other hand, this man, Ilay, had been in prison before. At least, he knew more about it than Jeong Tae-ui. For example, could the room be changed halfway through?

"Didn't you just say that? It seems like we’ll be staying together for a while," Ilay answered calmly.
"Well—I did say that…"
Jeong Tae-ui mumbled, trailing off. From his side, he heard Ilay laugh.
Jeong Tae-ui sighed and sat against the wall. He felt depressed again. Well, if you’re locked in a room with someone who killed four people—and if you count those he killed before, the number’s countless—then if you're calm, it’d be stranger.
"But I didn’t expect you to come in. What’s your crime?"
Ilay thought for a moment and then answered.
Jeong Tae-ui, thinking privately that Ilay was right to guess correctly, shrugged and answered indifferently, "It's for aiding a crime. Though, I don't even know whose crime I aided."
Jeong Tae-ui glanced at Ilay, who laughed again.
"You truly are in for a difficult time."

"While it may not be of much help, you can look at the current situation from a different perspective."
"Oh? Tae-i, do you dislike me?"
At Ilay's laughter-filled words, Jeong Tae-ui furrowed his brows, clamped his mouth shut, and stared at him.
Words like that belong more to Ilay than to Rigrow. Thinking that, Jeong Tae-ui shook his head. Either way, they both belong to that man. They weren't separate individuals to divide.
"Mm. It's a difficult question to answer. But considering how you've acted around me so far, wouldn't it be much easier to dislike you than like you?"
"Mm. That's also a difficult question."
Ilay said with a wry smile. As he shrugged off his clothes, Jeong Tae-ui saw the bandage wrapped around his exposed shoulder. Ilay's hands worked skillfully to unwind the bandage, something he'd clearly done many times before.
When the bandage was removed, a grotesque, red, swollen scar appeared. The dim light cast a bloody glow on the raw flesh, making it even more horrifying. In this dim light, the imagination ran wild, evoking a more dreadful result.
Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue. Ilay shook a medicine bottle and opened it, pouring the contents onto the wound. The sharp smell of disinfectant filled the air. Even though the light was poor, Ilay seemed to know exactly where each medicine bottle was, as he quickly pulled out a few and laid them on the table.

"Ugh... If you were hit by shrapnel, it would probably get infected. To just lock someone in a prison like this with a wound... The department really went too far."
"Mm? If my wound gets infected and my health deteriorates, I'm sure there are quite a few people who would be happy about that. They might have even hoped for it. …I would like to say that, but let me point out that this place is quite different from what you think."
Ilay spoke mockingly. Jeong Tae-ui raised an eyebrow and looked around again. The dim, barely noticeable light, the cold stone walls and floor, the musty air—nothing had changed. The underground prison still looked the same.
"I'm not sure what makes you think that I'm thinking what you’re implying, but what exactly is so different here?"
"To give an example, the doctor will come in the evening. After all, the organization prides itself on being very attentive to the welfare of its members, internally and externally. Even though we're inside the prison."
"Welfare…"
Jeong Tae-ui repeated the word. He briefly reflected on whether it was him or Ilay who misunderstood the meaning of "welfare."
"I think it's absurd to talk about welfare in a prison like this… But I guess the food must be good."
After thinking for a moment, Jeong Tae-ui muttered seriously, and Ilay burst out laughing.
"Haha, ahahaha. Right, that's it. The food is very good. That's the most important thing. Besides, the doctor comes regularly to check on our health, and they do show some concern for the environment, but…"
"This environment doesn't deserve to be called 'concerned'."
Jeong Tae-ui said with regret. His words made him think about the kind of environment Ilay had come from. Perhaps this man’s destructive nature stemmed from an unfortunate environment.

"Is life so miserable for weapon traders…"
Jeong Tae-ui muttered to himself, tilting his head in confusion at the vast difference between this reality and his own. Ilay laughed again as if hearing him. He chuckled for a while, finding something amusing.
During that time, Ilay skillfully took care of his own shoulder wound, though Jeong Tae-ui was left standing idly, holding a bandage in both hands, watching. Once Ilay finished, he extended his shoulder to Jeong Tae-ui.
"Other things are not too difficult to do alone, but wrapping the bandage is a bit tricky."
"I saw you manage to wrap it fine when you were unwrapping it earlier."
"I could do it if you told me to, but if there's someone here to help, why go through the trouble of doing it alone?"
That made sense, and Jeong Tae-ui nodded. With his familiar hand movements, he began to wrap the bandage. Up close, the wound looked quite severe. The flesh was deeply torn, and even if it healed, scars would remain.
"…"
Jeong Tae-ui silently finished wrapping the bandage and then suddenly grabbed Ilay’s upper arm. As he wrapped the bandage, he was surprised. He had thought Ilay seemed a bit small in stature compared to his height, but now that he saw him bare, the man actually had more muscle than expected. Although his arms weren't overly muscular, they were as firm as steel.
If this monstrous man had a body that was as weak and small as his appearance, that would truly be an anomaly.
Ilay, after the bandage was wrapped, suddenly massaged his upper arm. He stared at Jeong Tae-ui, who was looking at him curiously, then extended his arm as if to say, "You can keep messing with it."
"You're not just some monster..."
Jeong Tae-ui muttered. Ilay sighed dramatically, as though feeling pity for himself.
"Oh, I see. I must be quite hated, huh? Calling a normal person a monster now."

"It seems I'm not the only one thinking this way. My uncle said not to associate with you."
"Instructor Jeong? No way. All the affection built up over the years…"
Jeong Tae-ui twisted the truth a bit, thinking inwardly, "Uncle, please consider this a small act of revenge." He wondered if his uncle, too, had experienced the feeling of betrayal he'd felt after coming here. He also rationalized that it might help in the long run.
But when he thought about it, it wasn't really a lie, so his guilt was minimal. Moreover, he hadn't relayed the exact words his uncle said, so he kept whatever small "friendship" there was between his uncle and Ilay intact.
"Have you known my uncle for long?"
Jeong Tae-ui asked, still considering how ill the man was, while he placed the medicine box back on the shelf. In the process, he hit his head on the shelf and muttered a curse under his breath, "If you're going to talk about welfare, at least turn on some lights."
Ilay was silent for a moment before slowly answering.
"Well… I met him quite a while ago, but we only started contacting each other recently."
"Hmm, how do you know him?"
"Could say we’re book friends."
Jeong Tae-ui thought, "Probably planned this with my uncle." If that were true, Ilay would likely follow up with, "To be precise, your uncle is acquainted with my brother." He wasn't particularly curious, nor did he expect to get a satisfying answer.
"…"

Jeong Tae-ui suddenly laughed at the thought. Ilay, hearing the laugh, asked, "What?" Jeong Tae-ui simply shook his head.
Perhaps he really did think of this man as extraordinary, but in a way that went beyond the usual sense. The idea that Ilay had a brother seemed so strange. It felt like when you imagine someone as infamous as Adolf Hitler to be a solitary figure, with no family at all.
"Your brother’s a weapon trader, right?"
"Mm. Until a few years ago, my father did it, but now he’s retired, and my brother has inherited it. Until my father retired, my brother was more or less an ordinary businessman. He dealt with books. His main business was the reprint of old books, and although he lost a huge amount of money in the process, he managed to make a lot of passionate book friends."
Jeong Tae-ui nodded at Ilay’s words. He could understand the relationship between his uncle and Ilay’s brother. The fact that his uncle and this man were "book friends" also made sense in this context.
"Dealing with old books, then trading weapons… His career certainly spans quite a broad range."
"My brother knows how to run a business. A person who knows how to sell things is bound to succeed in business. In that sense, a small local store or a multinational company is no different."
"But you said he lost all his business money in the old book business?"
"Ah, that was just a hobby. His real work was something else. He still sells weapons and does other things."
There was no reason to ask in detail, but it seemed Ilay's brother also had a turbulent past. Well, that seemed to be the kind of person who could be Ilay’s brother.

As Jeong Tae-ui nodded, Ilay, stretching as if his body was stiff, stood up. He tapped his neck, arms, and knees, then stood up fully. Jeong Tae-ui, sitting down, looked up at him. From this angle, Ilay seemed very tall. In fact, when standing next to him, the height difference was surprisingly noticeable, but his physique, which appeared thinner than expected, made him seem not as tall at first glance. However, moments like this made Jeong Tae-ui realize how big Ilay actually was.
"Staying in here gives me some free time, which is nice, but since I can't move properly, my body gets all stiff. It feels like there’s fog inside my body, and it’s uncomfortable."
"So, are you planning to run 100 meters in here?"
Jeong Tae-ui joked, and Ilay chuckled. Then, facing the wall, he distanced himself slightly.
"If I run around here about ten times, it would be like running 100 meters, but if I want to work out, I’d rather jog. If I run 10 kilometers, then I’ll need to do about a thousand laps."
"I’d be dizzy before that."
As Jeong Tae-ui said that, Ilay assessed the distance from the wall, then suddenly dropped to the ground and stood upside down. He lightly pressed his toes against the wall to support himself. Jeong Tae-ui, who had been sitting against the wall, locked eyes with him.
"How about a hundred push-ups? One, two..."
Watching Ilay do push-ups while upside down, Jeong Tae-ui scowled.
"Hey, stop. What are you doing with a shoulder like that? Even if the doctor comes in the evening, this is too much."
"Thanks for worrying. But I’m not using my right arm much, so it's fine. I’m supporting myself on the wall to maintain balance. Five…."

Ilay continued counting with no sign of strain, speaking casually. Jeong Tae-ui looked at him as though he were a monster. He was thinking the same thing in his head. A crazy mind and a monstrous body—this was truly a difficult opponent to face.
Now, Jeong Tae-ui could understand a bit of what Ilay meant by "welfare." When the doctor came in the evening—the doctor wasn’t just someone who distributed medicine, but also a licensed medical professional—Jeong Tae-ui realized this.
The doctor entered the cell, muttering, "I really don’t like coming here. It feels like sticking my head into a wild animal’s cage." He fumbled around the area near the intercom, and at the same time, the lights in the cell turned on. It wasn’t the whole cell, but a faint light glowed from a door in the corner. Upon closer inspection, Jeong Tae-ui noticed a translucent glass door, almost opaque.
Having grown accustomed to the darkness, the faint light was enough to make the cell visible, but for the doctor, who seemed not used to the darkness, he muttered, "The facilities here are ridiculous," as he opened the door. Inside was a combined bathroom and restroom. There were partitions made of glass, but they didn’t really serve as privacy screens.
"I really wonder what that old man was thinking when he made this place..."
Jeong Tae-ui muttered in disbelief, glaring at Ilay. He’d seen Jeong Tae-ui fumble around in the dark and crash into various things while struggling to find his way, yet Ilay hadn’t said a word. At the very least, he could have turned on the lights, or even just helped. Even though the entire cell couldn't be lit up, if only the bathroom lights had been on, it would have been enough to alleviate the discomfort of feeling around.
Sitting by the bathroom door, Ilay pretended not to notice Jeong Tae-ui’s thoughts. The bathroom light was a bright white, and Jeong Tae-ui’s eyes, still accustomed to the darkness, were momentarily blinded by it. He sat in the dim corner, allowing his eyes to adjust.
When his eyes adjusted, he looked around. Compared to the men's room where Jeong Tae-ui had been, this room seemed stark and barren. There were no furniture like beds or closets, just a low table and a small cabinet. The bathroom was similar—while the facilities were adequate, there were no small items in sight. But in truth, compared to other prisons, it was quite a decent space.
"Well, if this is what 'welfare' means, I suppose it's well done."
It was certainly far from the typical meaning of welfare, but at least the environment was good. Only the essentials were provided, but those essentials were of good quality, and there were no difficulties using them.

Jeong Tae-ui, now that his eyes had adjusted, approached Ilay. The doctor, having unwrapped the bandages, was checking the wounds. Looking at the wound under the light, Jeong Tae-ui furrowed his brow. It had been faintly visible under the dim light earlier, but seeing it clearly now, it looked much worse. It seemed like the flesh had been scraped away with a spoon. It was a miracle it hadn't gotten infected yet.
"It's not easy for someone to walk around like this..."
Jeong Tae-ui murmured with a sigh, briefly thinking that this man might not even be human. Or, if he was human, surely from a completely different race.
Upon hearing this, Ilay nodded in agreement, then, with a subtle smile, he spoke.
"Well, I think if you were in a situation like this, you’d probably endure it just as well."
"Thanks for the faith, but I’m not good with pain. I can’t handle it. And no matter how I think about it, I don’t think I’ll ever be in a situation where I’ll be calmly doing push-ups while injured."
"What? You actually did that?!"
The doctor, who had been listening nearby, shouted in surprise. Ilay turned his head but said nothing, leaving the doctor to rant. Jeong Tae-ui felt sorry for the doctor. In many ways, there couldn’t be a more thankless patient than Ilay.
As the treatment ended quickly, Jeong Tae-ui heard the doctor muttering in disbelief, "His recovery is really fast…" He thought to himself that this man was not just lacking in humanity but also in recovery, strength, and health.

Putting a monster like this in the same room—he couldn't help but feel resentful toward the old man who had done this. The doctor said, "I’ll leave for now and come back tomorrow. If anything happens, contact me through the intercom." As he turned to leave, Jeong Tae-ui asked urgently, gripping the bars.
"And the Shillu?"
"Mm?"
"Shillu. Is she okay?"
Let me know if you'd like any further adjustments!