PASSION Chapter 2 Part 7

Chapter 2 Part 7

The room was spacious. Plenty of room for three people. Three double beds, no visible closet but what looked like built-in wardrobes behind those doors in the wall, and all necessary items like storage cabinets, desks, and bookcases were equipped.

"Fill and use the fridge in front of the wardrobe yourself. Though not much fits, it's enough for a few cans of beer and two or three snacks. If you just want to wash up a bit, see that sink in the corner? You can wash there. Some guys sometimes pee there too when they're too lazy to go to the bathroom, so better not to collect water there."

".... Whoever it is, I hope whoever shares the room with me doesn't do that."

The bathroom being quiet was good. That was convenient, and Tae-ui himself wasn't particularly fastidious either. But that's going too far. He wanted to catch and beat up whatever crazy bastard peed in the hand washing sink just once.

When Tae-ui muttered as if disgusted, Tou shrugged.

"You'll probably use it alone until new recruits come in. Or unless someone in recovery manages to return safely. The former will probably be faster."

"Seems those guys in recovery were hurt pretty badly."

"Mm..... Fortunately they shouldn't have trouble living as regular people, but it'll be hard to return to this life with those bodies. But their compensation and retirement pay should be enough to play alone for decades if they live frugally. Since it happened during internal training after all."

Indeed, Tae-ui nodded.

So if one successfully completed the program and got placed in other companies or embassies one became an incredibly high income earner, and even if one got injured there was no financial difficulty. Plus facilities equipped to this level.

He could understand why people were desperate to enter this organization.

Tou seemed to think he had explained enough, or perhaps could no longer suppress his urge to smoke, as he walked toward the door saying:

"Go to the office on the ground floor and ask the Support Staff for keys. Since Shin Lu handles member welfare and internal life, go get keys from him and there should be notes about living rules too, get those, and if you have any other questions you can ask him. Or you can ask me about simple questions too. My room is 15. ...Want me to go with you? I was going up to smoke anyway."

"No, go ahead. I'll go slowly. But will Support Staff be in the office at this hour?"

"Someone should be on duty. If you go and say you have business with Shin Lu they'll call him."

"Got it. Thanks."

With a "don't mention it" wave, Tou left. And left alone in the room, Tae-ui finally let out a long held-in sigh and slumped into a nearby chair.

There were almost no personal items visible in the room besides the basically furnished items. Though it was natural the dead person's things were cleared out, seems the people in recovery took their things too.

He checked the drawers, closet, desk. Though not completely emptied, some clothes, books, and small items remained. The completely dust-free empty portion of furniture must have belonged to the person who died.

No matter how unlikely they were to return, he couldn't freely use space that still had owners. Naturally the dead person's space became the remaining portion.

Tae-ui looked around the room carefully. Though he couldn't organize his luggage today since he had left his bag, there wasn't much to organize anyway. Though he had taken time to pack carefully even with his uncle urging him about time being short, there weren't many important items, and since he had set a limit of half a year, he only brought what he immediately needed. Since everything from indoor clothes to uniforms, even down to underwear and toothbrushes would be provided, there wasn't much to pack.

If there was anything important in that bag... perhaps the key. A key thrown loosely in the bag without even being put on a ring to jingle. The house key for after half a year.

He had cleaned the house thoroughly before leaving. It had taken dozens of times longer than packing. He had also left a simple note for his brother who might return at an unknown time.

Come to think of it, what would his brother be doing now. Though there was no need for worry no matter what he was doing - he was that kind of person - Tae-ui felt he wouldn't worry even if he heard his brother's plane had crashed.

Whatever he was doing, if he wanted to meet again, they would. Since whatever he wanted came easily to him.

Tae-ui lay down on one of the neatly made beds.

Though his body was tired, sleepiness didn't come as expected. His body was heavy but his mind was clear.

Being alone for a while. It would be relatively quiet and comfortable, but there would also be many inconveniences as a newcomer. Would have to knock on other doors to ask even small questions.

Having thought that far, Tae-ui suddenly glared at the ceiling then got up slowly.

Though he probably wouldn't need room keys since they likely didn't lock doors anyway, those living rule notes or whatever seemed necessary. Tae-ui didn't even know where to eat or what to do tomorrow.

Shin Lu, was it? Support Staff meaning administrative staff.

Tae-ui scratched his head as he got up. The coming half year felt like a thousand years.

Would definitely feel unsatisfied without strangling his uncle's neck at least once. Should twist that face a bit when stopping by his room on basement level 1 on the way up.

***

Tae-ui clicked his tongue.

No matter how new he was to this place, he hadn't expected to get lost inside a building. Especially in a place barely the size of an elementary school playground.

It started with the elevator.

Of course he knew where the elevator Tou had taken was. That worn-down looking elevator around the corner from the stairwell. Though they had turned several corners, he hadn't forgotten a path he had come once.

So he should have gone to that elevator, but unfortunately that elevator was quite far from Tae-ui's room. With an elevator visible just turning his head the opposite direction from his room, he had no intention of going all the way to the far elevator.

Anyway, buildings tend to have the same structure on each floor. Even accounting for some differences in layout, this type of building especially tended to be similar by architectural design.

So he thought he could take that elevator up and follow the corridor back the way he came, but.

"Damn, what kind of building is laid out like this. It's completely different from the lower floor."

Tae-ui cursed while pulling at his hair.

It was his first time encountering a building with such different structures between floors. Though different corridor lengths could be understood, having different bathroom locations was ridiculous. An incredibly inefficient, absurd structure. And they said what about sewage plumbing?

After wandering this floor for ten-some minutes, though he had found several more elevators during his wandering, they weren't in the locations he was looking for. They were elevators at corners turned from stairwells.

...No matter how strangely the building was built, surely the elevator and stair locations couldn't be different on each floor. If such a fourth-dimensional building existed it would be worth reporting to architectural societies.

"Damn it. Why isn't there even a single person around."

Come to think of it, it was natural not to find people in this vast place when most of the hundred-some people on this island were currently on basement levels 5 or 6, and normally wouldn't have much reason to come to basement level 1, but Tae-ui let out what must have been his umpteenth curse since coming to this floor.

Though he had been confident in navigation even in the military. No, he hadn't even needed to read maps. Tae-ui had quite good sense of direction, so even when carrying a subordinate who had sprained his ankle while marching through forests at midnight with drowsy minds from lack of sleep, he never got lost even taking shortcuts off their return path to find closer routes.

However, there would be no maps inside a building, so he could only rely on his senses.

Uncle, you really make people suffer in various ways. Why do you live in this kind of building.

Tae-ui ground his teeth and stopped. Then tried to gauge his position. Though he didn't know the building's overall structure or where the outer walls were, he carefully recalled his movement path since entering this building. .... Still couldn't figure it out. Then, ... no choice but to wander until he found it.

Tae-ui sighed then started walking aimlessly again, though knowing it wasn't a good method.

Come to think of it, this corridor he was passing somehow seemed similar to the lower floor. The same style doors faced each other in a zigzag pattern.

Perhaps these rooms were also dormitories like the private quarters below. If so, they would be for the superiors said to stay on this floor. ...Maybe I've unknowingly found the right place?

While briefly thinking that, Tae-ui sighed when he saw glass sliding doors at the edge of his vision.

Guess not.

Assuming they used the same doors, those glass doors he had seen on the lower floor were bathroom doors. The bathroom Tou had shown him while guiding him to the private quarters looked exactly like that. Open the glass sliding doors and there would be another frosted glass door inside, enter through that and turn around the wall blocking straight ahead and there would be the changing room. And beyond that the bathroom.

"But... if high-ranking people all have bathrooms attached to their rooms, why is there a shared bathroom on this floor. Or maybe it's not a bathroom."

Tae-ui briefly stopped in front of it.

Though it didn't matter either way, he was somewhat curious. There was no rush anyway. Though he hoped the person he had met earlier would be there when he found the office and called for the Support Staff.

"Since I'm lost anyway, maybe I'll wash up before going."

Though he had no such intention, Tae-ui muttered half-resignedly as he opened the door, and could tell this was indeed a bathroom too. Opening the frosted door inside revealed a wall like a partition, and turning behind that was the changing room.

And there was one person there.

Perhaps startled by Tae-ui's entrance from when he opened the door, he stood frozen like a statue with wide eyes quietly staring at Tae-ui.

"Uh, ...ah, um, well."

Clear eyes looked up at him from about a span below. Eyes so large they seemed like they would roll out if tapped, widened in surprise.

The boy---though he looked close to one, he couldn't be a minor if he was in this building. This very youthful young man was wearing only pants and holding a shirt in one hand, perhaps having just finished bathing or about to start. No, seeing his dry hair, he might have been about to go in.

For a moment no thoughts came to Tae-ui's mind.

Uh, did I make some mistake? But there's nothing that could be called a mistake. Just happened to run into each other. Then why do I feel like I made a mistake, like I should apologize?

Such thoughts briefly crossed his blank mind. But still he couldn't understand why.

Just then, the light peach-colored smooth skin caught his attention. Soft, it looked like downy hair would feel silky smooth if stroked. Above that would rise the faint scent of soap. Or baby milk.

In that moment he became flustered for no reason.

He seemed to understand why he felt like he had made a mistake. But actually that reason didn't make sense. Why feel that way when he hadn't seen the private parts of some noble young lady.

His uncle's face flashed through his mind, smiling ambiguously while saying sexual relations with minors was a crime. No, but since there were no minors in the branch as he had said, it wasn't a crime. Before that, it's stranger that thoughts of crime come up from seeing just a man's bare upper body.