Passion Novel - Chapter 131

Kyle put his friend’s call on hold and answered the phone. His brother wasn’t one to call without a reason, nor was he one to call for just any reason. And a farewell? That was unthinkable. His friend knew that too, so he was clearly joking.

However, the answer to Kyle’s curt greeting was a gentle voice, tinged with a slight hesitation.

‘Kyle? It’s Taeui.’

“Taeui?! Ah, right.”

Kyle pulled the phone away from his ear, checked the screen again, and replied. The number on the screen was indeed his brother’s. Kyle tilted his head, a question mark forming in his mind, but his voice softened automatically as he said,

“What brings you to Ilay’s phone? Did he make you call?”

As he spoke with a half-joking laugh, Jeong Taeui hesitated slightly again from the receiver.

‘Well… I’m leaving for Hong Kong soon with Ilay. If I had known earlier, I would have said a proper goodbye this morning, but it happened so suddenly… I’m sorry and thank you. I owe you a lot for everything during this time.’

“Huh? You’re leaving? When are you leaving?”

‘In 30 minutes.’

Kyle was silent for a moment, listening to Jeong Taeui’s words, which sounded apologetic.

“Why don’t you at least have dinner? It’s too sudden.”

‘Ah, I’d like to, but Ilay seems to be in a hurry. He said he has to return to the Hong Kong branch by tomorrow.’

“That’s his problem. Why don’t you send him ahead and stay a bit longer?”

‘As if I can do that.’

“Tell him you’ll die before you go.”

‘…Then I really will die.’

Suddenly, the voice on the phone became gloomy. Kyle also became gloomy. He fully understood the reality of those words. He had thought there were few people as unfortunate as himself, having such a peculiar-tempered younger brother, but suddenly he wondered if there might be someone even more unfortunate than him.

“Alright, then take care. It’s a shame. If you ever come to Germany again, be sure to visit.”

‘Yes, I really owe you a lot for everything. Thank you.’

Neither Kyle nor the young man on the other end of the line prolonged the conversation once a decision was made.

The young man exchanged a few more words of greeting and hung up. Kyle sighed lightly and put his phone back in his pocket. He then looked up at the ceiling, blinked a couple of times, and finally picked up the call he had put on hold.

“Sorry, did you wait long?”

‘Two minutes and a bit. It’s fine. I was just tidying up some work too. So, what did Rick say?’

“Hmm. It was a farewell. He said he’s going to Hong Kong right away.”

“…”

A brief silence came from the other end of the line. He was clearly thinking about the correlation between Rick and a farewell.

“It was your nephew. Ilay’s number showed up, so I thought it was him, but it wasn’t.”

‘Ah. Taeui? He’s going to Hong Kong? Not Tanzania? …Ah. Right, Rick caught him.’

The voice on the phone, adding, poor guy, was not joking. Kyle genuinely agreed with that statement. Kyle was silent for a moment. Then, a mutter escaped his lips.

“That’s really strange, strange…”

That low, ambiguous murmur must have been heard across the phone, but his friend didn’t ask anything. Well, perhaps he wasn’t the only one who found it strange. Kyle pondered for a moment but couldn’t come to a conclusion, so he asked his friend.

“What exactly did Taei do to Ilay to make him run away?”

‘…Well. He seemed to have been living quietly until his stress level exceeded the limit at some point… …It’s somewhat my fault.’

His friend’s voice even sounded depressed. Kyle tilted his head in confusion. His mind was still unclear, but he decided to drop the subject there. He had finished reviewing the fax in his hand.

“Anyway, your nephew… it seems that genius, who has become our institute’s greatest public enemy, is indeed in Seringe.”

‘Did you get any new information?’

“Hmm. It seems to be Raman Abid Al Saud.”

‘Raman… Ah. Is that the man who is under Prince Faisal?’

Kyle closed his mouth and raised an eyebrow.

It wasn’t surprising, but still, this friend sometimes surprised him. Of course, he knew that his friend also had his own subordinate intelligence agency, but knowing that man was a separate issue from having an intelligence network.

“You know him well. He’s a man who has always been quietly hidden, never really standing out. I only heard his name when I was searching for Jeong Jaeui’s whereabouts.”

‘No, it’s a coincidence. It was a few years ago, I met that man. To be precise, I only saw him accompanying Faisal as his attendant, so we didn’t talk much. He stood out in my memory because he was a prince, but his claim to the throne was far down the line.’

“He stood out in your memory because his claim to the throne was low?”

‘Hmm… He was a regrettable figure.’

Kyle muttered, “Haa,” as his friend paused to choose his words, then concluded his sentence carefully.

“A regrettable figure, huh. …You judged him well. They say he played a part in the growth of Faisal’s businesses, which shifted their focus from the succession struggle early on. Though it’s not widely known.”

‘Aha. So he’s like T&R’s James, then.’

Kyle clicked his tongue bitterly at his friend’s amused voice.

“Well, you could say that. If you mean a person who holds real power. Anyway—it seems that friend took our researcher very politely, secretly, and somewhat coercively.”

‘…But as far as I know, Faisal didn’t deal in military supplies.’

“That’s what I thought too. Well, we can consider a few possibilities. It’s something we need to look into further.”

‘Hmm. Did Raman have a villa in Seringe?’

“Yes. He bought the entire most expensive plot of land there. Moreover, for the past year or so, Raman has been quite frail and doesn’t seem to leave that place very often.”

His friend murmured, “Hmm.” Over the phone, it seemed as if he was nodding.

Kyle scanned the data Gable had sent once more. Based on that data, he jotted down additional things to investigate to ascertain its veracity or eliminate expected possibilities. His heart grew heavy at the thought that handing this memo to James would only increase his workload, and James would glare at him like a knife. He wished it could be solved by giving him a generous bonus, but it was no longer a situation that money could fix. (If he were to say such a thing, he’d likely be nagged to do some work himself, with James even offering him money.)

“Hey, Changin. I’m scared of James.”

Kyle muttered heavily, rereading the investigation tasks that had consumed several pages of memo paper. His friend, seemingly at a loss for words, just made comforting sounds like, “Yeah, yeah.”

“So, you take some responsibility for getting Jaei out of there.”

‘Ah? Ah… right, I will. Though I don’t know if it’ll go well.’

“It’s not just James I’m scared of. Our research institute’s director is scary too. Just mentioning Jeong Jaeui’s ‘J’ makes his eyes bloodshot with rage. He’s firmly resolved to dissect that damn genius’s brain before he dies. He was seriously looking into taking a brain dissection research course recently, you know.”

His friend laughed aloud, finding it amusing. Kyle sighed. He muttered weakly, “It’s not a joke,” but his friend didn’t stop laughing for a while.

‘Well, if Gable has looked into it and contacted you, then Jaeui is probably there nine times out of ten. Then what we need to consider is how that lucky guy ended up being kidnapped and confined for several months…’

His friend, who had finally stopped laughing, muttered with lingering amusement in his voice. And Kyle concisely stated the answer, which his friend must also have been thinking.

“He probably just doesn’t want to be released from there, that’s all.”

There was no other answer. Unless Jeong Jaeui’s astonishing luck had vanished overnight. But why would that luck, which had lasted for decades, suddenly disappear?

‘Well… maybe it’s because he cut the string.’

His friend suddenly muttered. Kyle raised an eyebrow at the ambiguous words, which sounded like he was talking to himself. But without a word, he pressed a button to call James and picked up the next document.

“Anyway, that’s all the news for today. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

‘Alright. It doesn’t seem like it’ll be smooth sailing, though. …I’m suddenly starting to hold a grudge against Moro too.’

His friend, who seemed to be calculating something for a moment, muttered with a sigh and then hung up after a couple of words of greeting.

Today, the Repulse Bay Centre somehow didn’t seem normal.

Jeong Taeui suddenly had that thought, then immediately shook his head. No, it wasn’t just today. It seemed that the days when the Repulse Bay Centre would seem normal would never come again in Jeong Taeui’s life. Unless T&R moved out of there…

“No, even if they moved, Repulse Bay Centre has already become a deep trauma in my mind.”

Jeong Taeui muttered, gazing vaguely at the Repulse Bay Centre directly visible through the transparent glass.

Thinking that Chinese geomancers might be quite effective, Jeong Taeui turned his head. Then he took a beer from the in-room bar.

It had been several days since he arrived in Hong Kong. Jeong Taeui was confined in a hotel room across from the Repulse Bay Centre.

In fact, it was slightly different from the dictionary definition of “confinement.” Jeong Taeui could, according to his will, play in the hotel’s casino or bar, or even go outside and wander around Hong Kong. He didn’t have many places to call, but he could freely call anyone.

Even right now, Jeong Taeui had just returned after reading a book he had bought a few days ago and stacked in his room, then gotten bored and aimlessly wandered the streets.

“But even with surveillance, isn’t that still confinement, nothing else?”

Jeong Taeui grumbled softly. Who knew? There might even be surveillance cameras or listening devices in this room. But he didn’t care. Let them listen if they wanted. He wasn’t saying anything wrong. For several days now, Jeong Taeui had been trapped behind these invisible bars.

As soon as they returned to Hong Kong, Ilay left Jeong Taeui alone in the hotel and went to the UNHRDO Asia branch by himself. After Ilay disappeared, leaving only the words to “play quietly for a few days” without any further explanation, Jeong Taeui was momentarily blank.

Ilay was gone.

Without Jeong Taeui having any intention of escaping or looking for an opportunity, Ilay had turned his back cleanly and vanished first.

For a very brief moment, the thought, What a windfall! crossed his mind, but it quickly disappeared.

Thinking about it, Jeong Taeui had no way to escape even if Ilay disappeared from his sight right now, unless he came up with a clever plan again. He had no means to leave the country without a passport or other identification, short of illegal entry. And of course, no fool would attempt illegal entry without identification, planning a proper escape.

Identity.

It was the most basic requirement for doing anything illegal. There was very little one could do without an identity. Considering safety, it was almost nothing.

He thought about forging a new identity and running away again, but that thought also vanished as soon as it crossed his mind. Ilay wasn’t the kind of person to fall for the same trick twice, and the “technicians” who could genuinely create forged identities were limited. Jeong Taeui didn’t know how to contact such technicians without going through someone else, and even if he tried, he could vividly imagine Ilay showing up instead and sitting there, waiting at the meeting point with the technician.

Forget it. My life is always on the brink, even when I’m behaving, so why try to die?

Jeong Taeui, who had been sprawled on the bed, suddenly got up. And looked out the window.

The menacing Repulse Bay Centre was the first thing that caught his eye, and Jeong Taeui instinctively frowned. It was in such a clear, well-visible location that he suspected Ilay had deliberately chosen this room. Jeong Taeui quickly turned his head away.

The sun had long set, but the city, a city that never slept, was as bright as day. Looking down from this vantage point, this large city, which somehow seemed very unfamiliar, Jeong Taeui had returned to it not long after leaving.

Running away so boldly, and yet somehow it feels pathetic…

Jeong Taeui awkwardly scratched his head and turned around.

It was the first day back in Hong Kong, a place he hadn’t expected to visit for a long time. Moreover, whatever the future held, he was currently alone. For a bleak and miserable future, he would sit at a port overlooking the Kowloon Peninsula and drink beer alone.

He thought someone might be standing guard inside the room door, blocking his way, but no one stopped him until he left the hotel. Literally without any obstruction, Jeong Taeui walked out of the hotel. It was the moment he briefly entertained the futile hope that he might just bolt right then and there. He was exactly ten steps out of the hotel.

At that moment, Jeong Taeui suddenly stopped.

“…”

Jeong Taeui sighed, looking up at the reddish night sky where no stars were visible.

Let’s see, one guy following me… two… No, just one.

A bellboy’s curious gaze approached Jeong Taeui’s back, as he had lightly stepped out the hotel’s main entrance but then suddenly stopped exactly ten steps away and was staring blankly at the sky. And from somewhere a little further away, there was one more gaze watching him.

Jeong Taeui remained there for a moment, then suddenly chuckled and walked on, limping, his still-unhealed foot touching the ground.

He wouldn’t have thought him such a fool; if he had put someone like that on him, Ilay must have known Jeong Taeui would quickly notice. In his current state, with his leg not fully recovered, it would be difficult to escape no matter who was assigned to him. No wonder. Yes, he wouldn’t just release his prey from the cage and leisurely disappear. No, more than that, this wasn’t for surveillance. It was merely a means to let Jeong Taeui know he wasn’t just left alone. Wherever Jeong Taeui went, it was within invisible bars.

Actually, it’s not particularly unpleasant, but if I wanted to be annoyed, I certainly could be…