PASSION Chapter 2 Part 4

Chapter 2 Part 4

When Tae-ui muttered this, Carlo laughed again. Though he seemed to take it as a joke, it was somewhat true. He had been told before that his inside and outside were different, and right now he really wasn't feeling comfortable inside. The hands that Carlo was casually shaking were, to slightly exaggerate, as big as pot lids. The arms connecting those hands to his shoulders had very solidly attached muscles. The legs extending below his boxer shorts were the same. There was no way to feel comfortable with such a build approaching.

"Right, friend whose inside and outside are different. How about helping me warm up a bit?"

Though his impressive muscles and sturdy build wouldn't tell everything, still Tae-ui had no desire whatsoever to clash with this man. This side would lose a hundred times out of a hundred. He had never been confident in raw power to begin with, and had no desire to fight like beasts determining leadership to stand above him.

However, he wasn't given a chance to say he wanted to decline.

Carlo pounced on Tae-ui immediately after finishing his words. He grabbed one wrist with one hand, the opposite shoulder with the other hand, and swept his legs to push him down.

It happened in an instant.

His vision spun half a circle as the ceiling approached then receded, then a fierce impact transmitted through his back. Though he reflexively broke his fall, a sharp shock briefly stopped his breath before disappearing.

And right above his head, Carlo was smiling with an exaggerated frown.

"What's this, heard you were military but you're too sloppy. How can we use you like this? Come on, get up."

Whistles of mockery and raucous laughter swept by from behind. Tae-ui stared up at the man with a face that was neither mixed-race beautiful nor far from it, but had Western features on an East Asian face despite his Western name.

Though Carlo said to get up, he didn't move away. He still held Tae-ui's shoulder and arm while pinning his thighs with his knee. He had properly fixed his center of gravity too.

Unless you had mastered techniques to an advanced level or had King Kong level raw power, there would be no way to get up. - At least not by normal methods.

"You said to get up?"

"Yeah, if you can get up, by all means."

"Fine. No restrictions on methods."

Tae-ui's action was almost simultaneous with his words. He raised his right leg - the only part he could move by a few inches - and drove his knee into Carlo's groin.

"Ugh."

The cry didn't come only from Carlo's mouth. The men watching and laughing also lost their words with shocked faces and let out single syllable sounds.

The silence that briefly fell didn't last even a few seconds before being torn apart by shouts similar to screams.

"For a man to use such a dirty-!"

"Cowardly-"

While the victim himself was curled up unable to move, the men behind shouted while jumping up and down furiously at Tae-ui who had quickly escaped from underneath and stood up. Tae-ui snorted.

"When I need to save my own skin, what's dirty or not doesn't matter. If we're talking about what's unfair, the difference in weight class between this guy and me was unfair to begin with."

One of the men who had been sitting lazily beside Carlo until just now jumped down from the mattress when that statement riled him up. The man approaching with sleeves rolled up aggressively was shorter than Tae-ui but had a very solid and heavy boulder-like build.

Mountain after mountain. Was this one the leader's direct subordinate or something? Seemed like he should be prepared to be rolled up in a mat for his initiation today. He wondered if they had proper medical facilities in this island corner.

While internally sighing, Tae-ui put one hand in his jacket pocket. When he put his hand in his pocket, the man striding forward slowed his steps slightly and flashed a wary look.

"After using dirty tricks, are you going to pull out a weapon too?!"

The man roared like thunder. Regardless, Tae-ui approached the man indifferently, paying no mind. For just a moment, the man hesitated.

That was the only chance he would get.

Tae-ui grabbed the man's collar. The man reflexively struck at that hand. Almost simultaneously with the man swinging his fist, Tae-ui, still with his hand in his jacket pocket, drove upward into the man's chin. Then, just as Carlo had done to him earlier, he swept the man's legs and struck his solar plexus to knock him down.

When he straddled the man's chest with his knee, almost mounting him, the surroundings were quiet. He could feel hostile gazes pouring down, completely different from earlier.

Oh boy, definitely getting rolled up in a mat.

Not knowing Tae-ui's internal sigh, the man glared up at him with fierce eyes as if he hadn't taken any damage.

"If I hadn't been distracted by your cowardly use of a weapon to disturb my focus, the situation would be reversed right now."

"I know."

Though it could be considered just the loser's excuse when said by the one pinned down, Tae-ui muttered with a sigh. Plus, the fact that this man hadn't really intended to beat him up also helped Tae-ui. Because he had soft intentions of just threatening or teaching him a lesson, he got caught so easily.

The man grabbed Tae-ui's wrist that was pressing his shoulder. Then he started applying force as if to break that wrist. As if to throw him off with raw power.

Tae-ui had no confidence in matching this man's raw power either. Wonder if he could last even a minute going all out to resist. Probably the situation would completely reverse before long.

Damn, I've never been beaten up badly in my life until now, wonder how much it'll hurt. It'll probably hurt a lot. Hope they at least get me to the hospital in time.

Feeling the increasingly ominous gazes around him, Tae-ui clicked his tongue. Then he muttered to the man barely a span away.

"But you know what. As you said, being cowardly and dirty as I am, what do you think I have in my pocket that made you lie down so docilely. Are you immune to having your throat cut?"

He pressed the hand still in his pocket just below the man's neck.

The man's eyes met Tae-ui's as he muttered indifferently with an expressionless face. Against the man's neck, through a single layer of cloth, a sharp tip touched. For an instant the man's eyes widened. And seeing those eyes, Tae-ui smirked.

"But the problem is... you can't cut a throat with a ballpoint pen."

Tae-ui pulled the pen from his pocket and tossed it aside as he got off the man's body and sat sprawled on the floor. The man glared at the ceiling with furrowed brows before suddenly jumping up and shouting at Tae-ui in a trembling voice.

"You bastard, not only are you cowardly but you use shallow tricks too, this won't do. Let's fix that attitude of yours today."

"Yeah, that's a good idea, but I'm first. Alta."

The one who muttered in an eerily low voice was Carlo, who had finally taken his hands away from his groin and stood up from the floor.

Tae-ui looked at him gloomily. He had planned to just quietly preserve his life and slip away after half a year, but why did he have to worry about his life right from the start. If he had to point to a cause, it was that guy's fault for bringing him here.

Though it probably wasn't Tou's fault since this was likely the natural course of events, Tae-ui glared gloomily at Tou looking for someone to direct even pointless resentment at. Tou, who had been watching among the group, flinched and frowned when his eyes met Tae-ui's. Growing depressed to the point where even his spirit withered, Tae-ui stared glumly at the floor.

"By the way, whose connection got you in here?"

When a shadow fell over his head and he looked up, Carlo had approached right in front of him with rolled up sleeves. Seems he wanted to check the background first before beating him to a pulp.

Just as he was about to say there was no such thing, Tou quickly called out first.

"Instructor Jung. Instructor Jung Chang-in brought him."

"Instructor Jung?"

Carlo glanced briefly at Tou then asked Tae-ui again with puzzlement.

"How do you know Instructor Jung?"

".... If I say we're close, will you leave my attitude alone?"

Carlo tilted his head briefly as if considering.

"Let me hear it."

Speaking in a tone that clearly suggested he'd still need to fix the attitude after hearing it, Carlo prompted Tae-ui, who sighed like a breath and stated the simple truth.

"He's my uncle."

"Instructor Jung is? ...Your actual uncle?"

When Carlo's voice rose, the surroundings stirred. Tae-ui was somewhat internally flustered, though it didn't show outwardly, at the unexpected reaction from those around him.

Was his uncle such a well-known person that they would be this surprised? Perhaps the instructor position has unexpectedly strong influence.

"Tai...Jung Tai... Then what's your relationship with Jung Jae-i? I heard rumors that Jung Jae-i was also Instructor Jung's nephew?"

Carlo, who had been muttering Tae-ui's name with slightly incorrect pronunciation, asked again with a serious face. Having heard his brother's name also with slightly incorrect pronunciation, Tae-ui was surprised again.

He hadn't imagined his brother's name would come up in this situation. No, more than that, he didn't understand why his brother's name should come up here at all. Though, since they said members sometimes transfer between branches rather than staying attached to one branch, perhaps they had worked together when his brother was briefly at headquarters in the past.

"He's my brother."

"Brother? Your brother? Jung Jae-i is? Your actual brother? That famous genius researcher, that elite genius who left without regret when his contract ended even though headquarters begged offering vast wealth and power? That Jung Jae-i who's also incredibly lucky and succeeds at everything he touches?"

While backing slightly away from Carlo who was shouting excitedly, Tae-ui frowned.

This was news to him. But originally he and Jae-ui hadn't been interested in each other's work. So perhaps it had actually been like that. It seemed likely.

It seemed his brother was an even more amazing celebrity than he had thought.

"Yes, that's right. My brother. ...So will you leave my attitude alone?"

He hoped his brother's luck might transfer to him slightly, riding on that reputation.