PASSION Chapter 4 Part 1

Chapter 4 Part 1

3. Rigrow

From morning that day, a brutal atmosphere swirled in the air.

From the moment he took his first step outside his room, that stinging air was palpably felt on his skin.

After half the branch members left for the South American branch, the branch that already had too few people for the building felt empty, but the increasingly thick brutal tension prevented any feeling of quietness.

Tae-ui was somewhat put off by the rigid expressions on the faces he met on his way to the bathroom.

It wasn't like some mortal enemies were coming, yet they were all so stiff and blue.

As he scratched his head while entering the bathroom, Tou, who must have already finished breakfast as he was brushing his teeth, mumbled a greeting with his toothbrush in his mouth.

"Hey, Tae-ui. You woke up late. Did you pack everything?"

"Your foam is spraying... I wish you'd spit that out before talking."

Tae-ui muttered while stepping back half a step. Tou laughed out loud before resuming brushing.

At least this guy was better. Seeing even one face that wasn't wearing a death mask like the others made him feel better. Tae-ui approached the sink next to Tou and started wetting his neck with hot water while speaking:

"I don't have much to pack anyway. I'll just bring myself later."

"Hmm... But, will that be, okay, for two weeks?"

Tou spoke intermittently while rinsing his mouth.

Tae-ui had to vacate his room by this evening. Not just Tae-ui, but several branch members were in the same situation. When members from the European branch arrived, they would stay there, so members from rooms with fewer people would temporarily move to other rooms.

The members heading to the South American branch had left for the airport early Saturday morning, leaving only those who would stay.

And now it was Sunday. Though normally they would leisurely enjoy their day off, now wasn't the atmosphere for that. In just a few hours, people who might as well be mortal enemies would arrive in droves.

Tae-ui would be staying in Tou's room. One of Tou's roommates had gone to South America so he would move there.

Though grumbling 'Damn it, why do I have to give my room to those damn bastards,' the members moving rooms packed their simple belongings and moved one by one. Some were even preparing to move everything, saying they didn't want 'those damn bastards' touching even a bit of their things.

Wiping his wet eyes with a towel several times, Tae-ui shrugged while looking at Tou's reflection in the mirror.

"If I need anything later I can just stop by my room to get it."

"Don't even think about it. What good would come from running into the European branch guy using that room?"

"Why not? It's originally my room."

"That doesn't matter. It would cause an uproar practically equivalent to territory violation."

"...Good grief."

Tae-ui muttered what must have been his umpteenth "good grief." It was short for "good grief, such hostile relations are really hard to understand."

The electronic clock mounted on the bathroom wall showed a time too late for morning but too early for lunch.

Tae-ui took a dry towel from the mountain of them stocked on the shelf and wiped his face. His complexion in the mirror wasn't very good. Though he had forgotten upon waking, his dreams seemed to have been unsettling.

Perhaps the fact that - according to his colleagues - incredibly vicious and disgustingly horrible guys were coming from the European branch had unconsciously weighed on his mind. Though he had thought himself not the type to get tense about such things, he was unexpectedly sensitive it seemed.

What had flashed through his dreams was gloves black as blood. Where those black gloves touched turned dark red. The hand pulled away from the neck of a man who collapsed with rolled back eyes. A vivid bright red mark remained on the neck.

"..."

Perhaps because the warm moisture remaining on his nape cooled and dried taking heat with it, a chill ran down his spine.

"What's wrong? Standing there blankly all of a sudden."

Tou spoke strangely while lightly patting Tae-ui's back. Tae-ui, who had half covered his face with the dry towel, glanced sideways at Tou.

"He'll be here soon."

"? Who?"

"Rick."

Tou closed his mouth. He too stared at Tae-ui silently as if instantly infected by that anxious atmosphere. Then clicking his tongue, he shrugged.

"Well. Since there are rare cases where people change after final confirmation, we can't know. But if that guy comes... it'll be really gloomy for two weeks. We'll probably see quite a few ugly sights."

Tou muttered with a face like he had bitten a bug, recalling something. Well, this guy had been here during the last joint training with the European branch, so he must have experienced the whole situation firsthand. Even if he hadn't experienced it himself, he would have felt the bloody incidents and rumors of that time on his skin.

"I heard several guys saying they'll definitely cut his throat if he comes this time."

Tae-ui muttered, recalling the voices of some guys from other teams talking in groups when he was in the break room or cafeteria. Tou's expression grew fiercer.

"Well if I could, I'd want to cut it too. There's probably no one among us who doesn't want to behead that madman and hang it on a pole. But..."

Though Tou didn't continue, Tae-ui could well imagine. It would be difficult, or even if possible, would require considerable sacrifice beyond expectations.

He could tell the moment he saw the footage. That man was someone you shouldn't try to face but should avoid.

"Plus that guy is bad in ways other than fighting too, so if you provoke him wrong you'll really see hell."

Tou clicked his tongue and spoke bitterly. Tae-ui wiped his jaw where a water droplet had rolled down from his hair with the towel again while looking questioningly at Tou. Tou looked at the mirror with an uncomfortable expression as if not wanting to speak, then blurted out:

"That guy, if he finds a man pretty enough to eat, he'll beat them until they can't move then mount them. After joint training with the European branch, no young and pretty guy in any branch was left unscathed."

"What...?"

Tae-ui briefly doubted his ears at the unexpected words. After confirming he had heard correctly, he doubted his comprehension. Surely "mount" didn't only mean what he was thinking. However, looking at Tou's context, it seemed to mean exactly what Tae-ui thought.

"A few years ago, there was a guy who tried to kill him for revenge after a close colleague ended up hospitalized for life by his hands. But unfortunately that guy was quite pretty. Well... so in the end, as reality often goes, it didn't flow toward good triumphing over evil, and instead of getting revenge he just got mounted... There were even guys who tried to harm themselves because they couldn't handle their anger."

"That's really... ...unfortunate."

"Mm... Anyway yeah. That guy is bad in every way. Anyway, if you provoke him wrong, you'll just end up disgraced."

After concluding thus, Tou suddenly looked Tae-ui up and down in the mirror. Then he grinned slyly.

"But well, you're fine. You don't need to worry about anything except staying alive."

Tae-ui muttered "Well thanks" and raised his hand to smack the back of Tou's head.

Young and pretty, delicate men. Like someone who looked like Shin Lu, for instance.

Suddenly frowning as he thought of someone who perfectly fit that description, Tae-ui realized he shouldn't be just nodding calmly like this.

"Hey, doesn't that mean Shin Lu needs to be careful?"

When Tae-ui grabbed Tou's wrist and spoke, Tou turned with a "Hm?" and blinked.

"Ah... oh. Come to think of it, you're right. But well, what chance is there for a member and Support Staff to meet? Plus there's even less chance with people from other branches. And no matter how bad that guy is, surely he wouldn't cause trouble by touching Support Staff."

"Is that so... that must be right, hm?"

"..."

Tou's blank stare returned to Tae-ui's urgent questioning. Eyes that seemed to say "This idiot lovesick fool..." Only then did Tae-ui flinch and close his mouth. Had he shown too much?

"You don't need to worry, the instructors will look after the Support Staff, so just worry about your own life if Rick comes here. No one but yourself will look after a branch member's life."

His words were correct. Before worrying about others, Tae-ui didn't even have firm confidence he could look after his own life.

"Hmm... It would be best if some personnel accident happened and that Rick person didn't come."

Though he knew there was little chance of that, Tae-ui muttered with a trace of hope.

"Well that's true, but anyway those guys will arrive this evening so we'll know then."

"They must be in Hong Kong by now."

"Ah yes. I hope they come in staggering from jet lag."