Passion Translation "Fanfictions"

Vol 1 - Chapter 15: The second phone call

"Oh are those the hands?"

["What?"]

Jeong Taeui reflexively responded with some excitement as the person on the other end of the line gave a short reply.

"Those hands."

Jeong Taeui pointed to the corner of the screen where the white, delicate hands appeared. The hands lifted as if the person was looking at them.

"Your hands are so beautiful that I recognized them immediately."

["Haha, thank you for that. It's the first time in my life I've received such a compliment, so these hands will be very happy."]

The man on the other side of the screen laughed and spoke. The voice was still mechanical but not as heavy as the first time Jeong Taeui heard it.

["Is Officer Jeong bathing again? It seems like you often go there, you must be the favorite nephew."]

"No, my uncle is not here. I just come to read books. Because my uncle's room has a lot of books."

["Ah~. Officer Jeong's hobby is quite decent."]

The white hands leisurely tapped on the table. The nails looked as clear as glass, very cold; Jeong Taeui really wanted to touch them once to feel the cool glass-like sensation on each fingertip.

["Do you like my hands that much?"]

"Huh?"

["Your eyes look like they want to devour them."]

He laughed. Jeong Taeui also smiled and shrugged.

"Is it that obvious? No, they are very beautiful, but they don't suit me, so I can only admire them."

Jeong Taeui spoke beforehand in case the man mentioned again that after he died, he could take the hands once more. The man smiled satisfactorily as if he could read all those thoughts of his.

Jeong Taeui suddenly became curious. People say that by looking at someone's hands, one can somewhat understand their life. What about this man? He didn't think the man would have to do heavy work, but if it was desk work and holding a pen all day, it didn't seem fitting either. People who deal in old books might do some dirty work, but those hands and dirty deeds seemed completely unrelated.

"Ilay...?"

Jeong Taeui blurted out his name. Now that he thought about it, this was the first time he had called the man's name. He still smiled and casually responded: "Hmm?"

"When I told my uncle your name, he looked a bit confused. It seems you have many names, right?"

["Ahahaha, really? Let's see, because Officer Jeong doesn't call me by that name. I only have one name. I haven't done anything wrong, so there's no reason to use many names."] <👀>

"Hmm - If you are a dealer in old books, then perhaps... What are you doing?"

The man remained silent. The beautiful white hands tapped rhythmically on the table. It wasn't an expression of annoyance; he seemed to be deep in thought while staring at Jeong Taeui, though Jeong Taeui couldn't actually see his face but could feel a piercing gaze through the lens.

After a while, he slowly answered as if he had finished thinking.

["Sometimes I help my brother with the family business. Maybe I will continue doing that, but I don't know... What should I do for a living? I've never thought about it, but hearing you say that makes me worried now."]

Jeong Taeui also began to worry about his future while listening to the man's voice (which didn't have a trace of worry).

If he could safely leave here after half a year, he would be unemployed. Of course, if he followed his uncle's advice, it wouldn't be difficult to find a good job with his background. But what could he do for a living? He didn't know what he wanted.