Jeong Tae-ui is subtly challenging his uncle's reasoning. I’m guessing that the uncle's real motivation for seeking a new member goes beyond the need for additional manpower. Despite the uncle's pause and the tense atmosphere, Jeong Tae-ui seems confident in his understanding of the situation. I understand that uncle is looking for someone with specific qualities, most likely related to luck or fortune, which I myself does not possess.
“In half a year, the director of our branch is going to the US headquarters. So, the two vice directors are secretly competing for that position. As you know, there's always infighting in any organization. Since I'm working under one of them, I'm caught in the middle. I have to help my direct superior get the director position. In other words, for the next six months, there's going to be intense internal battle within the branch. And in the midst of all that, there will be a lot of dirty tricks. So, what I need is someone who can survive all that.”
“My luck isn't so great.”
“Um------- it’s like saying a chicken instead of a pheasant. What do you think?” (the idiom means ‘Well, it's better than nothing, I guess.’)
“What’s there to feel better about? Who would be happy to hear that it’s like saying a chicken instead of a pheasant in this scenario?”
Jeong Tae-ui replied gruffly, but he wasn't particularly offended by the words themselves. If someone of Jeong Jae-ui's caliber was a pheasant, then being compared to a chicken was more than I could ask for. Jeong Jae-ui was that exceptional of a person. I only half-understood his uncle's words. The part Jeong Tae-ui grasped was, "It's something that will be a headache if I get involved." Even the term "factional strife" itself, and considering the place where his uncle was, it was almost like a military society, a direction Jeong Tae-ui, as he was now, didn't want to look towards.
“Isn’t uncle in the Asian branch?”
“That’s right.”
“If there's someone who wants to get in there and is luckier and more capable than me, there are as many as the stars in the sky if you look. Just go and pick anyone.”
“I've already told you everything, even the dirty secrets inside, so you shouldn't react like that after hearing it all.”
“Don't pretend it's a secret. Everyone knows about it already. Good luck sorting it out and getting that promotion.”
Jeong Tae-ui waved his hand dismissively, as if to end the conversation, and started to clear the empty plates. But his uncle grabbed his wrist firmly. Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue in annoyance. Judging by my uncle's serious expression, it seems like he is serious. This is going to make it difficult to say no.
“Uncle……. you know, this already. I can't do it.”
Jeong Tae-ui sighed loudly and muttered to himself. His uncle, taking a serious tone, asked.
“Give me a good reason why it won't work. If it’s reasonable, I'll consider someone else.”
“You know already.”
“I do……?”
I couldn’t understand what on earth this man was thinking. Judging only by his words, there was no reason why Jeong Tae-ui had to be the necessary person. It’s not like he’s Jeong Jae-ui, but there are countless people like Jeong Tae-ui in the world.
“Uncle. I don’t like the military. I've already experienced enough of that authoritarian and closed-off environment.
“We aren’t the military. Sure, we do intense physical training, but our hierarchy and culture are completely different. Since we handle sensitive cases, it might seem closed-off, but it's not authoritarian. If you join, your superiors would be the director, two vice-directors, and six instructors. But you'll barely see the director or vice-directors. Everyone else is just a colleague. So, anything else?”
“……. and I'm not very strong.”
“I know you're all better now.”
“It's just that I don't have to go to the hospital, but my knees still ache and my body feels stiff when the weather is bad.”
“There’s no one like that there that isn’t like that. Everyone there has been shot at least once and broken a few bones, so is there anything else?”
“Also, I don't fit the qualifications my uncle has in mind. I'm just an ordinary person, neither lucky nor particularly skilled.”
Uncle narrowed his eyes again. After a brief, subtle glance at Jeong Tae-ui, he spoke slowly.
“I need someone who can follow orders well and stay alive for a long time. That said, I do think highly of you, Jeong Tae-ui. Even though I think I already know quite a bit about you, I've still taken the time to look over your records from the military academy to the present. You see, you have the most important thing to survive.”
“What’s that?”
“Tact.”
“…….”
Just when it seemed like the conversation was getting serious, an irrelevant word popped out. Jeong Tae-ui, who had been listening, expecting some sort of praise, felt deflated.
“Uncle……. Do you mean by Tact…….”
“Why are you disappointed?”
“I wouldn't say I'm disappointed------ yes, I am.”
Jeong Tae-ui slowly shook his head and mumbled, and his uncle chuckled softly.
“There's no need to be disappointed. While someone like Jae-yi has special luck, for most ordinary people, what's essential for survival is 'tact'. In other words, intuition. Depending on the situation, whether your intuition is slightly better or worse than others can determine life or death.”
His uncle's voice lowered slightly. After graduating from high school, I was working in a place where men and the smell of gunpowder mix, but I have never been in a place that separates life from death. All I did was train. I had never experienced the countless life-and-death crossroads that my uncle had. The closest I had come to death was through an ordinary accident, not in the fierce struggles of life. Yet, I understand what my uncle meant by 'intuition'.
------
Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Tâmago
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