Passion Novel - Chapter 132

Jeong Taeui ambled along the street as if taking a stroll, assessing the situation. He couldn’t be certain, but he felt he could probably shake them off if he put his mind to it. After all, he was quite confident in escaping from anyone but the most formidable opponents. If there was only one person, and his leg had been fine, he could have just run a 100-meter dash and shaken them off.

Although his leg wasn’t fully recovered, Jeong Taeui considered attempting it but then gave up. He didn’t want to needlessly expend energy if they weren’t directly harming him, and honestly, even if he managed to shake off the surveillance and safely leave Hong Kong, he wasn’t confident he could shake off Ilay Riegrow, now that his identity had been revealed.

If he ran away again and got caught… Oh, what a brilliant life. This time, he might actually lose his limbs.

Jeong Taeui’s heart pounded as he recalled the chilling feeling he had when he encountered Ilay in the birch forest. If he had been a little weaker, his heart might have stopped at that moment.

Having an unfamiliar gaze constantly following him was unwelcome, but there was nothing he could do about it. He went into a late-night bookstore and bought books, walked the streets and bought drinks, visited the night market for snacks, and even though he wasn’t particularly interested, he went into an arcade selling camera equipment to browse. Then he returned to the hotel after enjoying a couple of beers at a shabby pub in a secluded spot by the sea.

During all that time, though the gaze followed him, he was never interfered with. If he thought about it a little differently, it was a hundred times better to have such an almost imperceptible gaze following him than to have Ilay himself right beside him.

It continued to be the same afterwards.

Whenever Jeong Taeui went for a walk—or, more precisely, from the moment he left his room—the trailing gaze relentlessly followed him. However, there was no interference whatsoever.

The day before yesterday, wondering how far the non-interference would go, he grabbed only his passport, wallet, and other essentials and took a bus to the airport. He had a tiny thought of subtly leaving the country if there was no intervention until the very end. But indeed, they wouldn’t let him off that easily. The phone rang as soon as he arrived at the airport. It was an unknown number, but he already knew who was calling before he even answered.

No, I really wasn’t trying to leave, I’m not that stupid, he thought, preparing his excuses as he answered the phone. But his excuses seemed to have been fully anticipated already. With hardly any anger, the familiar voice simply grumbled as if annoyed,

‘Your passport—or Kim Youngsoo’s passport—won’t clear customs anyway, so just enjoy the airport and go back. It’s hard for me to leave right now, so don’t bother me.’

With those words, he hung up without waiting for a reply.

Jeong Taeui stood in the middle of the airport, glaring at his phone. Ha, a hollow laugh escaped him. Travel ban. Right, there’s no place he can’t control. To even impose a travel ban on him, it felt like he was some great criminal. He thought about breaking the neck of the surveillance guy following him and actually taking a stowaway ship.

But in the end, Jeong Taeui had no choice but to do as he was told, sightseeing at the airport and returning. And that day, as soon as he returned to the hotel, he completely emptied the mini-bar in his room. From bottled water, which cost as much as a cocktail at a fancy bar for a 500ml bottle, to all sorts of drinks and snacks—except beer—he poured everything down the toilet, furiously beating the diamond spoon, which wouldn’t bat an eye at that much money, with a cotton ball.

But now that he thought about it…

“…If they make me pay the room bill when I check out, that’ll be a real disaster…”

Jeong Taeui muttered, glaring fiercely at the Repulse Bay Centre.

Another day was drawing to a close. The day after tomorrow was Friday.

If Ilay’s routine was the same as before, he would come out of the island to Hong Kong on Friday night to handle company matters over the weekend. Perhaps Jeong Taeui’s brief respite would end then. But even so, what would he do? Ilay would have to return to the branch when the weekdays returned. And Jeong Taeui, no longer affiliated with UNHRDO, couldn’t enter there.

Surely he wasn’t planning to keep him cooped up in the hotel like this. Working him to death on weekends and leaving him alone on weekdays. Surely not. He wasn’t some local mistress…

Thinking that, Jeong Taeui suddenly fell silent. The taste of beer instantly dropped, and he muttered a strange sound, “Ugh…” before flopping onto the bed.

“Has your life really hit rock bottom, Jeong Taeui… hey.”

Jeong Taeui struggled painfully, trying desperately to erase the chilling words from his mind, then collapsed, exhausted. He stared blankly at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.

Suddenly, a vaguely heard voice flickered through his mind.

—Shut your mouth and follow me obediently. I won’t stop you from meeting Jeong Jaeui.

“…”

He hadn’t misheard.

Jeong Taeui stared blankly at the ceiling, then abruptly sat up. I won’t stop you from meeting Jeong Jaeui, he had clearly said that.

As far as Jeong Taeui knew, Ilay Riegrow, though extremely unpredictable and difficult to understand, did not make empty promises. Especially not promises of that kind. In fact, Jeong Taeui’s relatively quiet stay in the hotel, occasionally going for walks, might have been partly due to those words.

“Is he going to drag my brother here or something?”

He blurted out, then shook his head. Dismiss that thought for now. The idea of someone like Jeong Jaeui being dragged around by anyone was unimaginable.

The most likely possibility was, If you behave, I’ll let you go find your brother.

Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps Ilay, having decided to be kind-hearted, had decided to give Jeong Taeui special consideration.

“…A person with too much time on their hands thinks all sorts of things.”

Ilay being kind-hearted, he thought, that’s as unimaginable as Jeong Jaeui being dragged around by someone.

Among the various possibilities he could pinpoint, the most plausible one, when considering reality, was one: mutual interest.

Finding Jeong Jaeui might be a threat to some, but for organizations and companies related to Ilay, it definitely led to a clear advantage. At the same time, if they lost the advantage—Jeong Taeui personally wanted to phrase it this way, as from an organizational perspective, Jeong Jaeui was no longer viewed from a human perspective—they could suffer significant losses.

In other words, Jeong Taeui bringing Jeong Jaeui would be advantageous to the organization, and by extension, to Ilay Riegrow. Since Jeong Taeui, who could no longer escape, could be easily found anywhere in the world, it would be beneficial for Ilay to put aside his petty grudge and send Jeong Taeui to Jeong Jaeui.

“…But I’m still not keen on that either.”

Jeong Taeui muttered bitterly. He just wanted to see his brother.

He didn’t think about bringing his brother back, or rescuing him, or anything like that. He just wanted to meet him after a long time, exchange a few words to ease his longing, and then say, “Goodbye for now. See you later.”

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his neck.

But even so, if he were released on the condition of bringing his brother back, Jeong Taeui would, of course, be willing to agree for his own peace of mind.

As he thought about this, his chest and mind grew increasingly complicated, and Jeong Taeui needlessly pulled at his perfectly fine hair. He could only lament his bizarre fate.

Jeong Taeui abruptly stood up. He had just returned to the room, but he felt stifled again. When his mind was cluttered with thoughts, moving his body to distract himself was the best solution. He already knew that if he huddled quietly when depressed, the gloom would gradually swell like a monster and eventually consume him. He also knew that it was never a pleasant feeling.

He realized it about half an hour after leaving the hotel. Jeong Taeui sat on a bench in Mid-Levels, sipping orange juice and looking up at the darkening sky and he thought quietly.

Why had the tail suddenly doubled?

At first, he hadn’t noticed. He thought there was nothing one couldn’t get used to, and since the surveillance had been relentlessly following him for days, he had mostly ignored it. He had nothing embarrassing to show, and he truly had no intention of running to the harbor to catch a stowaway ship. As long as they didn’t overstep, he wouldn’t interfere with them either.

So he walked around without a care, and then suddenly realized. Something feels strange, but what is it? He thought casually, then noticed. The tail had somehow doubled.

Jeong Taeui quickly finished his juice, then, with the straw still in his mouth, pulled it out and dangled it, thinking quietly.

Did they add another one because I pretended to run to the airport? What’s the point of adding another one when both of us clearly know it’s just a formality?

Jeong Taeui sighed. Moreover, the newly added tail wasn’t even that competent. He could easily shake them off if he put his mind to it.

“Even if I can’t run off anywhere else, isn’t this too much…? I wouldn’t ask for someone so competent that I wouldn’t even notice their presence, but still, this is too much.”

Jeong Taeui chewed on the straw and grumbled. Then he put the straw back in the cup, threw it into the trash can right next to the bench, and stood up.

Let’s think positively. Maybe they added another one so they could play nicely together.

“If so… then I guess I’ll play.”

He was bored anyway. He decided to think of it as a good thing. Jeong Taeui put his hands in his pockets and slowly walked out. And as if taking a stroll—which it actually was—he walked up a gentle slope, slowly surveying his surroundings.

There were many people around here. Two blocks up, there were antique shops, and one block over was a place where movies were often filmed. A little further down, there was a main road. So, even at this hour, with the sun setting, many people were coming and going.

For such a populous area, it wasn’t particularly well-maintained. Perfect.

If they were following someone, they would know the local geography inside out, but chasing someone was always several times harder than escaping from someone.

Jeong Taeui gradually quickened his pace. He turned into a narrow alley, then turned again at the end of it. He turned his steps towards the main road below. And leisurely, yet with a rather quick pace, he headed towards the road.

He couldn’t hail a taxi. That would turn a light game into a serious pursuit.

If he crossed the main road and walked further down, he would find a rather unremarkable traditional market that tourists rarely visited, catering to the locals. Passing through the ordinary traditional market, Jeong Taeui let out a small laugh.

…Aha. The number of people has increased. Then, shall I start looking for a suitable location?

Jeong Taeui even hummed a cheerful tune as he roughly circled the area and then turned his steps again.

He had a spot in mind. On the way there, there was another, somewhat decent small side alley, and he briefly considered it as he passed by, but decided against it. It seemed fine for a loose pursuit like this, but if he were truly being seriously pursued, this place would be dangerous. One block over was a redevelopment area. If he accidentally took a wrong turn by a hair’s breadth, it would be difficult to escape. Moreover, he needed to be able to run if necessary, and Jeong Taeui’s leg wasn’t in a state to run.

“Hmm… I guess that place is better after all.”

La la la, his humming grew even more cheerful. He felt his mood lighten. Having a tail wasn’t so bad when he looked at it this way. Of course, he still disliked having a tail, but it was incomparably better than having Ilay himself attached to him.

If the person following him from behind had been Ilay Riegrow.

“…Why do I keep thinking scary thoughts…? I must be getting sick in the head.”

Jeong Taeui muttered, rubbing his lips, his smile instantly gone. If the tail had been that guy, he wouldn’t have even attempted this kind of game in the first place. If Ilay Riegrow was closely pursuing him and he was desperately running away…

“Whoa… No, no, why do I keep thinking like this, Jeong Taeui?”

Jeong Taeui vigorously rubbed his lips, which had even lost their color. Just the brief thought sent shivers down his spine. It was a horror unlike any other. If that happened, he might die of a heart attack the moment he was grabbed by the shoulder. Thinking about it, the fact that he hadn’t fainted when he encountered that guy in the birch forest at that time was commendable; he could praise himself for being quite bold and courageous.

Jeong Taeui rubbed his arms, which had instantly grown cold even in this warm season. Meanwhile, he reached the spot he had marked earlier.

A pedestrian bridge about one and a half stories high.

It was lower than typical pedestrian bridges over main roads, built over small, spiderweb-like alleys. But it was still too high to jump down from.

Jeong Taeui leaned his arms on the railing of the pedestrian bridge and quietly looked down. The footsteps following him slowed. Perhaps sensing that Jeong Taeui’s demeanor was different than usual, their gaze was more attentive than usual, but they seemed to be waiting and watching without approaching within a certain distance.

“If you sensed something was off, you should have rushed over and grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and dragged me back, you guys…”

Jeong Taeui muttered, looking down at the darkening alley. He looked around. Just a few steps away, there was a suitably large rock lying on the ground. When he picked it up, it felt heavy in his hand. It seemed to be a piece broken off from a brick, filling his hand, and he felt he could even use it to hit someone.

A little below the pedestrian bridge, beneath the roof of a stacked house, a chimney-like hook protruded. Jeong Taeui threw and caught the stone once, then immediately hurled it forcefully at the hook. Thud! A solid sound echoed, and the stone shattered into two or three pieces, falling down. The hook remained without a scratch.

“Okay… Well, if I fall from this height in an emergency… I’ll get hurt a bit, but I won’t die.”

It would be somewhat unfair to get hurt just playing around, Jeong Taeui muttered, shaking his wrist. He took a couple of deep breaths.

The next moment, Jeong Taeui flashed a bright smile towards a approaching gaze. He even waved a hand. Simultaneously, Jeong Taeui leaped over the railing, throwing himself down from the pedestrian bridge.

He thought he heard a short shout from a distance.