4.2 Bugger
It was exactly 30 minutes. Precisely 30 minutes. If there was an error, it was within 5 minutes.
Jeong Tae-ui glared at the wall clock, then glared at his wristwatch. Then he looked at the grandfather clock. Each of the clocks, with only a few dozen seconds of difference, pointed to nearly the same time.
“What, did the clocks stop? I feel like the batteries were changed only a few months ago.”
Ilay, who had been watching Jeong Tae-ui frown and glare at every clock for a while, spoke. As he did, he took off his own wristwatch and tossed it to Jeong Tae-ui. Tae-ui let out a small “Huh?” and reflexively caught the watch flying toward him, then shook his head, saying, “No, it’s not that.”
“No, they’re working fine. ……Why are you just throwing your watch? What if you drop it and it breaks?”
As he said this, Jeong Tae-ui tossed the watch back to Ilay. He knew Ilay would catch it without any trouble.
Sure enough, Ilay caught the heavy watch with one hand—which had been thrown quite hard, only slightly slower than a baseball fastball—and checked the time.
“10:50. Is the time the problem, or the clock? Why are you glaring at them with such fierce eyes?”
“The time. More accurately, the duration.”
Jeong Tae-ui frowned, leaned his arm on the window frame, and looked down outside.
In the courtyard visible through the window, several large sedans were lined up in front of the main building’s central stairs. They were the same vehicles as when the guests from Saudi Arabia had visited a few days ago.
Looking down at the group of Tobe’s people starting to emerge from the central entrance, Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue.
“It’s been exactly 30 minutes since they went in for the meeting. And since it’s 30 minutes from this point, the actual time they spent talking in the office was probably only about 20 minutes. If you include the time spent drinking tea and making useless small talk, it was 15 minutes at most.”
“Hmm. And?”
“Is it really necessary to travel all the way from Saudi Arabia to Germany and stay for four days for a 15-minute meeting? It’s a waste of resources and time.”
Ilay, who had been sitting in front of a laptop at the table, slightly raised an eyebrow. After staring at Jeong Tae-ui [unauthorized copy]for a moment, he chuckled [unauthorized copy]and took off his glasses. As he closed the laptop, the disk spun noisily before stopping.
“That’s just how it is. Why are you so worked up over it?”
Placing his glasses on the laptop and standing up, he leisurely approached Jeong Tae-ui and followed his gaze.
They were about to leave by car now.
“Don’t you need to see them off?”
“Why would I?”
When Jeong Tae-ui asked, Ilay countered as if it were a strange question.
True, this man was also a guest in this house. Unless there was a specific reason, guests didn’t see other guests off.
“You’re the one—you seemed quite close with Aziz. Aren’t you seeing him off?”
“No——I’m not, I’m not. Absolutely not. I’ll get caught in something again.”
Jeong Tae-ui frowned and waved his hand.
That was exactly why Jeong Tae-ui was worked up.
It was natural for the meeting to be short. Of course, considering the matters discussed between them and Tarten, 15 minutes felt excessively short regardless, but looking at it from another angle, it was actually easier to understand.
The more important the matter that had been considered for a long time, the less meaning the words ‘meeting’ or ‘consultation’ actually held. It was merely a process of fine-tuning opinions after both parties had already reached a conclusion.
‘They’re the same. They probably came with the conclusion already decided. It’s inevitable if the real power-holder doesn’t come. ——They’re just confirming if the other party’s circumstances are suitable to implement that conclusion.’
Jeong Tae-ui had been muttering about what requirements they would set as conditions for the loan repayment and what the result of the consultation would be, and that was what Ilay had told him.
But even so, 15 minutes was extreme.
“They played around for four days just to work for 15 minutes.”
As he watched the cars slowly begin to move, Jeong Tae-ui muttered crookedly, and Ilay murmured beside him.
“Ah. The car Aziz is in is passing below. Why don’t you wave?”
“I won’t! I told you I absolutely won’t!”
Jeong Tae-ui shook his head vigorously.
He had thought Aziz was the type of person who communicated well and would withdraw cleanly based on the situation, but after visiting Jeong Tae-ui’s room the other day to make a proposal and being rejected, he had been staring at Jeong Tae-ui very intently every time they crossed paths. He didn’t necessarily speak, but he stared very intently. With eyes that looked as if he had something he wanted to say.
Even today, as he happened to pass the group in the hallway who were heading to the office to discuss the loan repayment before leaving, he felt the back of his head tingling until he turned the corner of the hallway.
It was to the point where, when he heard they were leaving, he felt genuinely glad, [Read on Read BL Novels]visit our siteeven though he had [Read on Read BL Novels]no particular ill will toward them.
As Jeong Tae-ui sighed and watched the cars drive away, a voice came from beside him as if it had been waiting for the cars to vanish from sight.
“Now…… shall we ask. Why Aziz kept looking at you with such passionate eyes.”
That slow yet light voice sounded almost like a joke or a prank.
“Huh?” Jeong Tae-ui turned around, but seeing those narrowed, smiling eyes, he realized it was neither a joke nor a prank.
“……What is it. Why are you glaring at me so ferociously?”
“My. Do I not look like I’m smiling?”
I’d have to live with you for a day or two to see that face as a smile.
Jeong Tae-ui frowned and scratched his head.
“Ah…… it’s just that the man asked me for a favor, and I rejected it. So he kept staring at me after that.”
“Hmm,” Ilay nodded.
Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips and looked at Ilay.
Although Aziz had watched him quite overtly, they had hardly been together, yet Ilay had noticed. But…….
“If it bothered you that much, why didn’t you ask sooner?”
“From my position as someone currently staying at Tarten, it would be a bit troublesome if I snapped their necks right now.”
“……. Is it less troublesome to ask after they’ve left?”
“At least I won’t run over and snap them the moment I hear the story. I [unauthorized copy]have a lot to do right now.”
If I wrap up the Tarten business, handle the rest of the tasks, and then chase them, they’ll get to live for another ten days or so—knowing full well that the mutterings were a joke, yet they didn’t sound like one, so Jeong Tae-ui quickly waved his hand.
“There’s no reason to snap any necks. None at all.”
“I wonder about that.”
“I said there isn’t!”
Jeong Tae-ui frowned as he spoke, but Ilay, who had been briefly following the direction the car had departed, let out a hum of a laugh and replied.
“That would depend on what the favor was.”
Jeong Tae-ui shrugged nonchalantly.
“The kind of request I feel like I’ve heard hundreds of times since I was a kid.”
Now that he said it out loud, it really didn’t seem like a big deal.
He had heard requests to tell Jeong Jae-ui something or to ask something of him very often. Perhaps Jeong Tae-ui had heard them even more than his parents had. For some reason, people often came to him with such requests.
Jeong Tae-ui asked with a sudden seriousness.
“Do you think he’d actually listen if I asked him for something?”
“You? Asking Jeong Jae-yi?”
“Well—I’ve received requests like that often since I was young. Now that I think about it, whenever guests would come to the house and chat for a bit, there were times when they’d subtly ask me, rather than my father or mother, to put in a word with my brother.”
“That’s because you’re Jeong Jae-yi’s lucky charm.”
At Ilay’s simple answer, Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head vigorously.
“Put away those baseless things that make no sense…”
“So, what Aziz asked of you is related to Jeong Jae-yi.”
“Yeah,” Jeong Tae-ui nodded nonchalantly.
In truth, it was something he could have guessed without being told. If it was a matter that would lead them to seek out Jeong Tae-ui, whom they had never met, it could only be something like that.
“I don’t really want to pass that message along to my brother. In reality, if I asked for something, he’d probably do it even if he didn’t want to. Just like I do for him.”
Jeong Tae-ui sighed and muttered.
“Besides, most people making requests or proposals claim it’ll be a good thing for him too, but even if it looks good, there’s no way to know if it’ll actually be beneficial in the long run.”
He didn’t want to bother or burden Jeong Jae-yi, [visit our site]even slightly. As long as they could lean on each other occasionally while walking their own separate paths in life, that was enough.
Ilay gazed at Jeong Tae-ui blankly. With a soft sigh, he looked out the window again. However, he wasn’t looking at the scenery. He was staring into the void, lost in thought.
“Brothers, huh…” a low whisper drifted over.
Jeong Tae-ui glanced at him.
“Have you been away for nearly a month and now you’re missing Kyle?”
When Jeong Tae-ui asked with a smile, Ilay looked at him with a strange expression. It was a look that clearly said, Why on earth is that name coming up now?
Of course, he hadn’t asked because he truly believed that was the case, but still… He really is a guy with zero sense of familial reward…
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head.
“You seemed to be thinking [stolen content]about the theme of brotherhood. What are unauthorized copyyou thinking about so intently?”
“Just delving deeper into a thought I had a while ago.”
“What is it?”
Ilay continued to look at Jeong Tae-ui, his face still suggesting that half of his mind was churning through thoughts. Seeing as the hand rubbing his chin didn’t stop, it seemed he was grappling with a problem that was difficult to solve.
“Jeong Jae-yi is so incredibly lucky that no matter how much I think about it, I can’t come up with a way to get rid of him. In that case…”
Facing the biological younger brother of the lucky Jeong Jae-yi, Ilay was currently discussing how he could kill him.
Jeong Tae-ui frowned and clicked his tongue.
“I can’t believe you’re still thinking about that…”
Shaking his head in disbelief, he thought once again how fortunate it was that his brother was a lucky man. Indeed, if he weren’t, it would have been difficult for his brother to stay alive visit our siteuntil now, considering he had experienced all sorts of kidnappings and confinements since childhood.
“If you put it that way, even if I make a wrong request to my brother and things get messy, he probably wouldn’t suffer any harm.”
Jeong Tae-ui nodded to himself, muttering. He wondered if it would be okay to just pass the message along without feeling so burdened, but in the end, he shook his head.
Just because someone wouldn’t be harmed didn’t mean it was okay to make things tedious for them.
“… …Come to think of it.”
Something suddenly occurred to him mid-conversation.
Jeong Tae-ui stared intently at Ilay.
Ilay, who had been leaning against the window looking down at the courtyard, felt the gaze and turned back to Jeong Tae-ui with a puzzled look.
Back when Aziz had come to see him, Jeong Tae-ui had been on the phone with this man. And the Read on Read BL Novelsmoment Aziz arrived, as if perfectly timed, [visit our site]Ilay had also been receiving a guest on the other end of the line.
Considering the timing, the guest who visited him was likely—
“By the way, why did Malik visit you that night?”
Jeong Tae-ui asked in a casual tone. Ilay, who had been casting an indifferent gaze at the gardener moving through the courtyard with pruning shears, paused for a moment before slowly looking at Jeong Tae-ui.
“You figured it out.”
“Hmm… I took a guess with about an 80% probability, so I’m glad I was right.”
Since Ilay was considered a VIP in this house, he had thought for a moment that someone else might have visited, but it seemed his hunch was correct.
The reason Malik would have visited Ilay.
He had wondered about it briefly after Aziz left that night, but visit our sitehe had been too tired to think deeply and just went to sleep. And after that, burdened by Aziz’s silent gaze, he had forgotten about Malik.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Ilay, waiting for an answer. Ilay rested his arm on the window frame and looked outside; when Jeong Tae-ui’s gaze didn’t waver even after a long while, Ilay didn’t even look at him, simply reaching out to grab Jeong Tae-ui’s chin and turning his face away.
“Hey, what the—”
“If you stare at me like that, it’s burdensome, and I’ll want to eat you up, so look somewhere else.”
“Somewhere else where? …Like there?”
In the direction Ilay had turned Jeong Tae-ui’s head, the western end of the main building was directly in view.
The Tarten household members, having finished seeing off a VIP who had returned a couple of hours earlier than planned due to a sudden schedule change this morning, were now enjoying the extra leisure time.
Christoph, who would normally be standing beside Richard with a bleak expression, was currently crossing from the main building through the temporary tower toward the west wing.
It seemed he had just come down [unauthorized copy]from playing at the top of visit our sitethe temporary tower, as he ran into a child. [stolen content]It was one of the children Christoph taught.
The child greeted him with a bright, clear voice, and although Christoph’s face remained indifferent, he responded diligently to everything. Then, perhaps because of something the child asked, he frowned as if annoyed, said a few short words, and abruptly turned away. Behind him, the child called out to Christoph a few times as if sulking, but soon beamed a smile and turned back to go on their way.
“Isn’t Christoph surprisingly popular with kids?”
“He’s openly popular with kids. The ones he’s subtly popular with are probably the older crowd. …Though maybe not even that in this household.”
As if he had lost interest in looking outside, Ilay stepped away from the window and returned to the table. He turned back on the laptop he had been clinging to since morning, claiming the deadline for handing over work was tight.
Jeong Tae-ui leaned out, chest practically pressing against the window, watching until Christoph disappeared into the west wing.
“Right, right, he’s openly popular with kids. I ran into Oliver while walking the other day, and the injured one was actually worrying about Christoph. He wondered if Christoph felt guilty every time he saw him. That kid… he’s young, but he’s got a good heart, hmm.”
“My father, on the other hand, never had a good heart since he was young.”
“Yeah, right, Richard’s heart [stolen content]isn’t… …How would I know stolen contentthat? Why are you trying to make me badmouth other people?”
Jeong Tae-ui, who had been absentmindedly agreeing with Ilay, suddenly realized something was off and looked back with a scowl.
Ilay was smirking, his eyes fixed back on the laptop.
Hmm…? Somehow it feels like the topic was stealthily shifted…
Jeong Tae-ui felt a slight prickle of suspicion, but for now, the sight of the man before him was more captivating.
It was surprising that he responded diligently whenever Jeong Tae-ui spoke even while seriously staring at the monitor and moving his fingers, but what was truly surprising, even seeing it again, was that polished, neat impression.
I should take a good look. Once we return to Berlin, I won’t be able to see him like this at home even if I want to.
Jeong Tae-ui stared wide-eyed at Ilay, then suddenly burst into a silly grin.
“By the way… do you know you really look like a [unauthorized copy]corrupt [Read on Read BL Novels]lawyer [stolen content]or something when you wear glasses?”
The intermittent sound of typing stopped for a moment. Ilay glanced away from the monitor to look at Jeong Tae-ui. The gaze flying over the thin silver frames was perfect. A corrupt lawyer specializing in blackmail…
“No, I mean they actually suit you… You don’t look like someone in a 3D industry who fights on a battlefield while blocking guns and knives with his body at all.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
As Ilay replied nonchalantly, the door swung open without a knock. Christoph, whom he had just seen crossing to the west wing, was there.
He strode in, but slowed his pace slightly upon seeing Ilay there.
“Why are you here? This is Tae-yi’s room.”
Without even looking at Christoph, who spoke coldly as if picking a fight, Ilay leisurely tapped away at the keyboard.
“Is it strange to be in my lover’s room? For the record, I [unauthorized copy]slept in this room yesterday. In that bed. Clinging Read on Read BL Novelsto Tae-yi. Connected as one body.”
“HEY!!”
The one who screamed was Jeong Tae-ui, who had been standing by the window.
His expression had shifted slightly at ‘clinging to Tae-yi,’ and at the mention of being ‘one body,’ his eyes snapped open, and he let out a roar that shook the room, as if trying to cover up the words that had already escaped.
But what was said had been said, and what was heard had been heard.
No matter how much Jeong Tae-ui huffed with his cheeks flushed red, Ilay didn’t budge and didn’t even take his eyes off the monitor. And Christoph simply glared at Ilay with a bleak face.
“Why are you in this room? This is Tae-yi’s room.”
When Ilay shot back the question, Christoph tucked his chin and answered confidently.
“Is it strange to look around my own house? For the record, stolen contentI came to this room yesterday, and I’ve come every day for the past few days.”
“Aha… How’s the smiling practice going? Doesn’t seem like there’s much progress.”
“Trying not to smile as disgustingly as you do makes it quite difficult.”
Christoph hooked his foot around the chair next to Ilay, pulled it toward him, and sat down at a distance.
Come to think of it, although he had visited every day recently, he hadn’t been practicing smiling. He would just sit there with a somewhat exhausted face, stare at Jeong Tae-ui, and then leave. Whenever that happened, Jeong Tae-ui would click his tongue, thinking that having to work with someone you don’t get along with is truly a miserable existence.
“What were you two talking about?”
Christoph asked in a tone that made it unclear who he was addressing, though his eyes were on Jeong Tae-ui.
“Ah,” Jeong Tae-ui started to open his mouth, but Ilay answered first.
“We were talking about how you’re a worker in a 3D industry.”
“WHEN DID WE TALK ABOUT THAT!!”
Jeong Tae-ui screamed again at Ilay, who had brought it up lightly in a nonchalant and honest tone. Ilay then took his eyes off the laptop and looked at Jeong Tae-ui as if he were strange.
“I did. I said that someone who roams the battlefield blocking guns and knives with their body is a 3D industry worker.”
“No, that was—”
He was about to say, I was talking about you, but he shut his mouth.
Thinking about it, there wasn’t a single person in this room who wasn’t a 3D industry worker.
Feeling as though he had dug his own grave once more, Jeong Tae-ui slumped powerlessly.
Then, feeling Christoph’s gaze staring at him, he quickly [Read on Read BL Novels]stolen contentwaved his hands and spoke [visit our site]up to try and salvage the situation.
“Ah, right, we were talking about how you’re popular with kids. I saw you crossing the temporary tower a moment ago. Didn’t you run into a child?”
“Ah—…”
Christoph muttered as if he knew who he was talking about, then fell silent. He then frowned and said,
“I’m not popular. I hate kids.”
“No, I mean it’s not that you like the kids, but the kids seem to like you, in this case…”
But it doesn’t seem like you actually hate kids that much. Though you find them annoying sometimes. Those words rose up, but he swallowed them, thinking Christoph wouldn’t appreciate them.
“Well… Ilay mentioned a moment ago that you’re popular not just with kids, but with adults too.”
Jeong Tae-ui shifted the arrow to Ilay. Christoph widened his eyes [unauthorized copy]in surprise and looked at Ilay, and for a [Read on Read BL Novels]moment, Ilay clicked the backspace key and clicked his tongue, perhaps having pressed the wrong key.
Christoph couldn’t believe the statement itself, nor could he believe that the person who said it was Ilay, so he glared at him intently.
Perhaps finding that bleak and fierce gaze particularly irritating, Ilay pressed backspace a couple more times and closed the laptop.
“Ah, right. It was like that when you were in the mobile task force. Not everyone, but among some guys with peculiar tastes. There were probably quite a few who couldn’t even bring themselves to speak to you because of your temper, but spent their time fantasizing about you.”
“…? What is that supposed to mean.”
When Christoph asked back with a frown, Ilay shut his mouth. Then he looked at Christoph—very, very intently.
To Jeong Tae-ui, that look spoke volumes: Where did such a natural-born idiot come from?
“Well, it’s a good thing. Just think of it as a good thing.”
Ilay gave a vague answer, perhaps too lazy to explain. Beside him, Jeong Tae-ui wondered [Read on Read BL Novels]to himself that it probably wasn’t Read on Read BL Novelsa good thing at all, but he didn’t say it.
Christoph remained silent, his eyes shifting as if he were pondering it alone. Unable to watch him tilt his head in confusion several times, Jeong Tae-ui quickly pulled a bunch of beer cans out of the refrigerator and stacked them on the table.
“The weather is bright and beautiful, so it’s best to have a refreshing beer at times like this. Here, here. These are good ones Kyle sent the day before yesterday, saying they were local specialties from his business trip.”
“…He doesn’t even send me a single cheap 500ml bottle of water, but he sends you boxes of local specialty beer?”
Ilay spoke bleakly, but Jeong Tae-ui ignored him lightly. He had heard similar complaints from Kyle’s mouth. Occasionally, when Ilay was away from home for a long time and suddenly sent a package of gifts to Jeong Tae-ui, Kyle would stand beside him watching him open the box, and upon realizing there wasn’t a single chestnut’s worth of anything for himself, he would gloomily mutter, ‘I don’t need brothers…’
“You reap what you sow. …Drink up.”
Watching Jeong Tae-ui beam as he suggested daytime drinking from the morning, Christoph silently popped the tab. After taking a few sips, he set it down and suddenly muttered.
“You two are close. Including Kyle.”
There was a faint trace of bitterness in [visit our site]his voice. [unauthorized copy]However, his visit our siteexpression remained indifferent and calm.
It was because of that difference. The reason why his heart felt a chill whenever he looked at Christoph.
“…”
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head and took a long gulp of beer.
“That’s why I told you. I can’t give you any.”
Beside him, Ilay muttered calmly and nonchalantly. His gaze toward Christoph was cold.
He set the beer can, which seemed barely touched, down on the table with a clink. Then, turning his gaze back to the laptop, he spoke casually.
“Christoph. I have no feelings toward you. I neither like nor dislike you. So, without any goodwill or malice, I’ll tell you as it is: you’re too much for this guy. So wake up from your dream early and find someone else, or just keep living as you have been.”
“—Why am I ‘too much’?”
Christoph, who had been listening to Ilay’s words with a pale face, suddenly protested as if he found it difficult to accept. Ilay’s answer to that protest was concise.
“Your temper is foul.”
“…”
Ugh… Jeong Tae-ui held his breath. He almost spat out the beer he was drinking. Christoph was right in front of him, and if he spat on this germaphobe, he doubted he’d live to see another day.
Every now and then, Ilay said things that weren’t technically wrong, but were things that should never come out of his mouth. Just like a moment ago.
Quietly pulling out a tissue to wipe the few drops that had escaped his lips, Jeong Tae-ui cleared his throat a few times and set the can down. Beside him, Christoph glared at Ilay, his eyes burning with intensity.
“Personalities can be adjusted. I can adjust.”
You have a nasty temper too, Tae-yi thought, unauthorized copybut seeing as they were avoiding a draining fight, he felt like siding with Christoph.
However, Ilay remained nonchalant despite Christoph’s claim.
“You can’t. Do you really think you can adjust a personality built over decades for someone you’ve barely known? It might be possible for a while, but in the long run, it’s impossible. If personalities don’t mesh from the start, it’s a struggle. That’s why you and Tae-yi won’t work.”
No, that means you and I meshed from the start, Tae-yi argued internally. To think I meshed with you from the beginning… I haven’t lived my life that recklessly.
Jeong Tae-ui wept tears of blood inside. He shouted only in his mind, knowing full well that speaking it aloud would only make things worse.
“…I can adjust.”
Christoph insisted, glaring fiercely at Ilay. Like a stubborn child, he muttered it once more. I said I can adjust.
Ilay flicked his gaze toward Christoph. A look of slight annoyance crossed his face. However, he muttered, “Fine,” sighed, stopped typing on his keyboard, and crossed his arms.
“Then let’s assume the personalities adjust. What about the body?”
When Ilay asked bluntly, Christoph hesitated for a moment. But he soon answered boldly.
“I… I can adjust that too. Why wouldn’t I be able to?”
“This guy isn’t satisfied unless it’s my size.”
“Hey!!”
Jeong Tae-ui screamed again, his face turning bright red. He felt like his head would explode before his vocal cords did.
But the two men, who had already erased Jeong Tae-ui from their consciousness, were simply staring coldly at each other.
“That’s…”
Christoph hesitated, his expression stiffening. After appearing to contemplate for a long [Read on Read BL Novels]while, he glanced at Jeong Tae-ui. He stared quietly at Tae-yi, who had given up on everything and turned his head away, before [Read on Read BL Novels]opening his mouth with a look of extreme wounded pride.
“Tae-yi, you… how about toys instead of the real thing?”
“… … … Why are you doing this too…”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered, feeling as if he might faint. They were clearly talking about him, yet Tae-yi’s opinion was nowhere to be found in the conversation.
“Besides, size aside, you can’t even put it in.”
“…What do you mean, I can’t?”
Ilay sighed, looked up, and cast a downward gaze at Christoph. At that openly condescending attitude, Christoph clenched his fists, looking indignant as he countered.
“Why don’t you fix your germaphobia before you speak. Even if it’s someone you like—assuming you like them—do you really think you could put your body where waste comes out?”
“That, —…”
Indeed, Christoph turned slightly pale at Ilay’s words. Perhaps he had imagined something very unpleasant, as he lightly rubbed the area near his stomach. To this, Ilay added a finishing blow.
“And it’s not just the penis that goes in the anus. You think you can somehow endure it because those two are similarly dirty? Not a chance. I put fingers in, and I often put my tongue in too.”
“Hey!!”
This time, Jeong Tae-ui leaped up and covered Ilay’s mouth. He felt like he was sweating through his eyes.
But it was too late. Once again, the words that needed to be said had been said, and the words that needed to be heard had been heard.
Christoph’s face turned white as a sheet in an instant. He pressed his hand over his mouth with a clenched fist. Fearing he might actually imagine it if he kept looking, his focus drifted slightly away.
“… …Not just the front, but the back… …you put your mouth there?”
A very heavy voice muttered weakly to himself. The end of the sentence trembled.
Ilay, having brushed off Jeong Tae-ui’s hand, snorted and pulled his laptop back toward him as if the game were already over.
“I do things even worse than that, so why are you…”
Fortunately, a bit of color returned to Christoph’s face at these words. It was because he couldn’t even begin to imagine what “worse things” could be.
Ilay fixed his gaze back on the monitor and added indifferently as a final note.
“If you’re going to eye someone else’s lover, you should at least have some physical skill. For now, leave the back alone and come back when you’re at least capable of putting your mouth on the front. …Actually, don’t come back.”
Ilay waved his hand as if shooing away an annoying mosquito. Then, as if he wouldn’t even bother responding anymore, his fingers began moving across the keyboard.
Just then, Christoph suddenly snapped his head up and shouted fiercely.
“A-as for the front, I did it yesterday—”
Thud…
Jeong Tae-ui, who had opened a new beer can, taken a couple of sips, and been lightly shaking the can, simply dropped it. Beer spilled from the fallen can, soaking the carpet yellow, but he didn’t care about that.
The sound of the keyboard, which had been clicking actively, also stopped.
Ilay’s gaze, which had been fixed on the monitor, moved very, very slowly toward Christoph’s face.
And Christoph—who had shouted impulsively and then stopped mid-sentence with his mouth open—froze like a statue, unable to move.
“…”
“…Yesterday?”
The first to speak suspiciously was Ilay, who had quickly hidden his [Read on Read BL Novels]bewilderment. He still had his hands on the keyboard, but his fingers weren’t moving as he stared intently at Christoph.
For a while, a thick silence settled over the room. For several dozen seconds, as the second hand ticked away, no one spoke.
Ilay leaned back in his chair. With his head tilted slightly, he watched Christoph through narrowed eyes.
Christoph, who had been leaden-pale, was now flushing red. In a few more moments, he looked as if he would turn the color of a roasted sweet potato.
The one to break the silence again was, once more, Ilay.
“You, who…”
However, as Ilay opened his mouth, he looked at Christoph—who had clamped his mouth shut the moment Ilay spoke, his face burning and his expression one of sharp, frustrated indignation as he glared at the table—and quietly waved his hand.
“…No, I won’t ask that.”
Ilay spoke softly and turned his gaze back to the laptop. Then, he focused on his work in silence.
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head and muttered an awkward, “Hmm.” He glanced at Christoph.
Christoph remained seated in his chair, his gaze fixed on the table. His expression froze coldly, as if an unpleasant memory had surfaced. Every now and then, his well-shaped lips trembled.
“…”
Jeong Tae-ui felt like a bad thought was about to occur to him, but he quickly shook his head. He didn’t really want to imagine it, and moreover, he felt certain that it wasn’t something he would be involved in.
Ilay, who seemed to have hit the backspace key by mistake, clicked his tongue and tapped the monitor with his fingernail before raising an eyebrow at Christoph.
“A guy who didn’t even properly know what oral sex was until recently…”
At Ilay’s clicking tongue and mutter, Christoph’s earlobes suddenly grew hot, and he glared at him as if he wanted to devour him.
“How do you know what I knew or didn’t know?”
Ilay didn’t answer the low, menacing voice. He merely shifted his eyes to acknowledge him and then ignored him.
“If you have something to say, say it properly, Rick. What do I—”
It was just as Christoph, feeling indignant, leaned forward over the table.
Knock, knock. The sound of someone knocking on the door came from behind.
Simultaneously, all the noise in the room stopped.
Christoph’s shouting, the sound of Ilay typing, and the sound of Jeong Tae-ui tapping his beer can.
No one answered, but the door opened without waiting for a response. And through that door, a man stepped inside.
“The guest rooms have poor soundproofing. The noise carries all the way outside.”
The man who entered, muttering in a calm voice, first looked at Jeong Tae-ui, who was closest, then at Ilay, who was watching him with faintly narrowed eyes, and finally at Christoph, who sat in the middle like a statue, expressionless and desolate.
“The schedule isn’t completely clear today. I have to head out soon, so don’t just play around and get ready to leave, Christoph. —I tried calling your room but you didn’t answer; as expected, you were here.”
The man speaking in that composed voice was Richard Tarten.
He eventually turned his gaze to Ilay and spoke with his usual calm smile.
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tease Christoph so much. After all, he’s a grateful friend who is helping me.”
“Me, teasing Christoph? Not a chance. I’ve never done such a thing.”
Ilay spoke with a snort. Richard, who watched him for a moment, chuckled and tapped the door with his knuckles.
“I’ve only just realized it myself. The [visit our site]guest rooms in the west wing don’t have very [Read on Read BL Novels]good soundproofing. There’s no need to be so sarcastic about [visit our site]him not knowing oral sex until recently, Rick.”
Ilay looked at Richard, who still hadn’t lost his gentle smile, with narrowed eyes. Then, he suddenly tapped the keyboard three times in a row, closed a task, and spoke.
“You misheard, Richard. I wasn’t being sarcastic about a guy who didn’t know oral sex until recently; I was about to comment on the lack of conscience of the person who made such a guy perform it.”
“Haa—…”
Richard slightly raised an eyebrow. After a moment of silence, he smiled nonchalantly. As if he had no intention of engaging further, he turned to Christoph, who was still frozen stiff.
“We have to return early today, so you must hurry, Christoph. Get ready and come to the main hall.”
Leaving those words, as if that was the only reason for his visit, Richard turned to leave. Then, he suddenly looked at Jeong Tae-ui.
“…?”
Jeong Tae-ui met the sudden gaze with curiosity. Richard looked at him for a moment before withdrawing his gaze. As he left the room, unauthorized copyhe added a final word to Christoph.
“Your mother contacted me saying she plans to arrive at Tarten late this afternoon, so shouldn’t you return before it’s too late to greet her, Christoph?”
As he finished speaking, Richard gave a gentle, smiling look with his eyes.
And at the end of his gaze, Christoph tightly shut his momentarily trembling lips. Looking at Richard with a slightly pale face, he muttered lowly, “I see, you’re right,” and stood up.
* * *
The moment he first saw her, he thought they looked alike.
They looked so similar that anyone could tell they were blood-related.
There were differences—her lines were finer and softer than Christoph’s, and her eyes drooped a bit more—but her overall appearance was a mirror image.
“But she could pass for an older sister with a significant age gap.”
Jeong Tae-ui suddenly muttered. Beside him, Ilay added, “There’s only about a twenty-year difference, so she could be seen that way.”
Much younger than he had imagined, she resembled Christoph even more than he had expected.
When Christoph’s mother, Bianca, stood before the stairs of the main entrance of the Tarten main building, Jeong Tae-ui couldn’t help but be impressed. Just as she resembled Christoph, she was sculpturally beautiful.
As the car she was in stopped, Christoph, who had gone down to the bottom of the stairs, opened the car door, and she stepped out to stand beside him. Whether they looked like mother and son or siblings, anyone could tell they were family.
Stepping out of the car, she looked at Christoph and gave a short greeting with a slight nod. “It’s been a long time.”
That was all.
Although Christoph bowed politely and said, “Yes, I hope you have been well,” she was already looking away from him.
She stood there and slowly looked around. From the long paved road leading from the outer gate to this spot, to the well-maintained courtyard, the west wing and east wing standing symmetrically beside it, and finally, the main building.
She narrowed her eyes. He could see her chest heaving as she took a sharp breath.
“Nothing has changed here.”
Whispering as if moved, she stood there for a moment longer, looking up at the main building, before slowly beginning to climb the stairs. Christoph followed silently behind her.
Standing in a slightly secluded spot at the top of the stairs, Jeong Tae-ui looked at the calm and quiet Christoph with curiosity.
He had never seen Christoph like this. Without a trace of coldness or indifference, he was simply composed and polite. Exactly like a well-raised scion of some noble family.
“The atmosphere suits her elegant appearance perfectly, but…”
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head slightly.
Something felt off. It wasn’t just because of the unfamiliar feeling. After watching Christoph for a moment, Jeong Tae-ui soon realized the reason.
Christoph wasn’t looking at anything. He was silently following Bianca, looking only at her back. No, he wasn’t even really looking at her back. He was simply oriented toward her, like an old toy waiting for someone to wind its spring.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Bianca again. Looking far too youthful and beautiful to be the mother of a son in his thirties, she looked incredibly happy. A deep longing welled in her eyes, and a smile like a bursting flower bud lingered on her lips.
As she climbed the stairs, her gaze stopped on Jeong Tae-ui and Ilay standing at the top.
Looking at Jeong Tae-ui, she frowned very slightly with a look of curiosity, but when she shifted her gaze to Ilay, she stared at him intently. She didn’t take her eyes off Ilay until she had reached the top of the stairs, and as she stepped onto the final step, a broad smile suddenly broke across her face.
“I see. The young master of the Riegrow family! How long has it been?”
“It has been a long time.”
As she approached, lightly clasping her hands together and nodding her head, Ilay responded with a formal smile.
“I assume you’ve come because of the succession decision. Is everyone else in your family doing well?”
“Yes, thanks to your concern.”
Ilay’s answer was short and concise, and his expression held only a fabricated smile on his lips. He was making it very clear that he didn’t want to talk for long, but she didn’t seem offended and continued to smile brightly. No, it seemed as if nothing could dampen her mood right now.
Christoph, who had followed her up the stairs, stopped two steps behind her. Jeong Tae-ui looked at Christoph, who stood politely without making eye contact with anyone, feeling a bit strange.
Then, her gaze turned toward Jeong Tae-ui.
Looking at him with a rather puzzled expression, she turned her eyes back to Ilay.
“I don’t believe I’ve met this gentleman before…?”
“He is Christoph’s guest.”
“Oh, I see.”
At Ilay’s short answer, she nodded and glanced at Jeong Tae-ui. But that was it. After Ilay, who was looking down at her with cold eyes, paused for a moment and added, “And he is also my friend who lives with me at the house in Berlin,” she finally responded once more, “Oh, is that so?” and gave Jeong Tae-ui a smiling greeting.
As Jeong Tae-ui gave an ambiguous smile and greeted her, Richard came out, opening the front door.
He had likely come out only after seeing the car carrying her stop in front of the entrance, and he greeted her with that same kind smile, neither more nor less than usual.
“Aunt Bianca, it’s been a long time.”
As Richard approached, opening his arms slightly as if welcoming someone very close, her face lit up the moment she turned to see him. As if a light had been switched on, her face was more joyful and moved than it had been at any point so far.
“Oh my, Richard. You’ve [Read on Read BL Novels][unauthorized copy]grown so much! My lovely Richard, to think you’ve become so gallant.”
She approached Richard and pulled him into an embrace. Richard lightly patted her back a couple of times as she held him tight, then slowly stepped back. He then cast a sidelong glance at Christoph, who was standing behind her.
“I’m sorry. I intended to meet you at the airport, but there was a slight disruption in my schedule since this morning, and I simply couldn’t find the time. I wanted to send at least Christoph, but that didn’t work out either…”
“Oh, don’t say that. It was enough to come comfortably in the car I sent; I had no intention of taking away your time while you work so hard for the family. You are working for the prosperity of Tarten, after all.”
She shook her head with a gentle smile.
Watching her, Jeong Tae-ui wondered if that was what it would feel like if Christoph smiled. He then looked at Christoph, who stood behind her like a stone statue.
However, even seeing her—who looked exactly like him—smiling so radiantly right beside him, he couldn’t quite imagine that Christoph’s smile would feel like that. If Christoph were to smile, rather than being radiant, it would be more—
“Now, please come inside. You should greet the Elder first.”
“Oh, yes, you’re right. I shouldn’t be standing around like this.”
She whispered, clapping her hands as if surprised, and stepped lightly through the door Richard held open. Only then did Christoph, who had been standing still, follow behind her.
But just as Christoph was about to pass through the front door.
“Christoph, I’d like you to help me for a bit.”
Richard, who had been holding the door for Bianca, spoke softly. When Christoph looked at him, Richard smiled and made a request to Bianca, who was a few steps ahead.
“It would be alright if Christoph came with me, wouldn’t it, Bianca?”
At that, she widened her eyes and looked back. Then, she slowly shook her head in surprise.
“Of course. Please, do as you wish. I would be happy if that child could be of help to you, Richard.”
She spoke to Richard with a face full of a gentle and benevolent smile. Then, she walked away, following the servant who approached from behind.
Once she entered the mansion and disappeared from sight, a brief silence fell over the area.
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head slightly. He felt a subtle sense of incongruity. However, unable to pinpoint the nature of that feeling, he simply remained puzzled.
Then, seeing Christoph standing blankly before him, he forced a smile.
“You really resemble your mother, Christoph. Anyone would know you’re family no matter where you go.”
Christoph merely gave a quiet, “Yes,” in response.
It wasn’t that he was completely spaced out or distracted, but he was exceptionally quiet. His eyes, cast slightly downward, did not look around.
He had been like this for a while.
From the moment she arrived, Christoph, who had been waiting for her in front of the main building, [stolen content]had stood blankly at the bottom of the stairs like a sculpture the entire time. Even when Jeong Tae-ui went down to speak to [unauthorized copy]him, he only gave short, half-hearted answers, showing no sign of actually listening. Yet, it wasn’t as if he was ignoring him or pretending not to hear.
If he had to put it into words, it would be more accurate to say it was as if the person had changed, becoming introverted and serene.
“Get a grip, Christoph.”
At that moment, Richard stepped closer to Christoph and spoke coldly. Christoph lifted only his pupils to look at him. Slowly, a displeased and cold light clouded those eyes.
Christoph lifted his head and let out a low sigh. As he brushed down his shoulders and arms as if he were exhausted, he regained his usual aura. However, his face remained faintly stiff and tense.
“She’s still the same.”
Suddenly, Ilay laughed.
“Even after nearly ten years, nothing has changed.”
“I see. Has it been that long since I last saw her as well?”
Richard, who seemed to be recalling his memories by counting on his fingers, turned to Christoph and asked.
“It probably hasn’t been that long for you, has it?”
Christoph did not answer. He kept his mouth shut as if he didn’t want to respond and averted his gaze. Watching him, Ilay answered on his behalf.
“The last I heard of him receiving a vacation was four years ago, so it must have been at least four years.”
“A reunion of mother and son after a long time, then.”
Richard nodded.
And Jeong Tae-ui, who had been listening beside them, suddenly realized the identity of the incongruity he had felt earlier.
From the moment she stepped out of the car, she had not looked [unauthorized copy]at Christoph once. Not until she entered the mansion and disappeared from view. Aside from a [unauthorized copy]stolen contentsingle formal greeting, she had never spoken to Christoph. And Christoph had been the same.
Christoph, who had been silently enduring, lifted his head with a displeased expression. He spoke coldly to Richard.
“You said you had business. Aren’t you going?”
Faced with an attitude that suggested he didn’t want to hear any more of such talk, Richard arched an eyebrow.
“Business. Right. What should I do. Today’s schedule is finished…”
As Richard tilted his head and murmured, “Hmm,” as if lost in thought, Christoph glared at him with a frown.
“So you’re saying you held someone up for no real reason.”
His voice was clearly laced with displeasure. Richard looked at Christoph as if it were amusing and replied in a low, smooth tone.
“Or would it have been better for you to stay with your beloved mother, whom you [Read on Read BL Novels]haven’t seen in a long time? If so, be patient, Christoph. From today, she will be staying at Tarten until the succession is decided, so you can see her whenever you want. …Provided, of course, that she wants to see you.”
Christoph clamped his mouth shut. He glared fiercely at Richard, but no rebuttal came from his lips.
Watching them from the side, Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue, feeling uncomfortable. He scratched the back of his neck and cast a glance at Richard.
“It seems you dislike Christoph’s mother.”
It was a rather blunt statement, but there were no other words to smooth over the situation.
However, contrary to Jeong Tae-ui’s hope that Richard would vaguely brush it off and drop the subject, Richard laughed lowly and shook his head.
“There is no one more loyal to Tarten than she is.”
“That doesn’t exactly mean you don’t dislike her,” Jeong Tae-ui said with a sigh. Richard raised an eyebrow slightly but didn’t answer. He simply smiled. Then, he cast that smiling gaze toward Christoph and spoke softly.
“It’s quite ironic. You, who could be called the biggest rebel in Tarten, are [Read on Read BL Novels]completely loyal [unauthorized copy]to her. Even if her love is directed only toward Tarten, leaving no share for you.”
In that instant, Christoph’s expression shifted. Beyond anger to hatred, and beyond hatred to murderous intent.
Even though a clear murderous intent was directed at Richard, Richard didn’t even blink. Instead, he simply smiled as if he were enjoying it. Then, he pointedly raised both hands and took a step back.
“Fine. Today, do as you please. Whether you go to see her right now—she’s probably in the Elder’s room—or return to your room and sit there like a doll.”
After glaring at Richard, who spoke as if granting a favor, with chilling eyes for a while, Christoph suddenly turned around. He headed straight for the west wing. He strode away as if enraged and soon disappeared into the west wing.
* * *
Ever since coming here, I had woken Christoph up every morning.
It had become such a routine that it was now familiar, yet every time I woke him, I thought the same thing: Pygmalion must have felt exactly like this.
Christoph, who was weak in the mornings, rarely woke up before Jeong Tae-ui. So, for the most part, he remained asleep even after Jeong Tae-ui entered the room and stood by his bed.
In those cases, for a few minutes before waking him, Jeong Tae-ui would pull up a chair by the bed and sit there, observing Christoph.
With his quiet sleeping habits, he would simply roll onto his side and stay motionless. If one looked closely, his chest rose and fell slightly, but because his skin was exceptionally white, at a glance, he looked like a doll finely crafted from wax.
“…Christoph.”
When the time came, Jeong Tae-ui called him quietly. Then, despite being a heavy sleeper in the morning, he was quite sensitive to sound, and he slowly opened his eyes. Without changing his sleeping position, he merely lifted his eyelids.
In that moment, Jeong Tae-ui often felt a sense of awe, as if witnessing a statue turning into a human.
He saw it every morning, but it was a face that moved him every time.
“Wake up. It’s time.”
Jeong Tae-ui spoke to him quietly and stood up.
He went to the window, opened it to let in the outside air, and tied back the curtains.
“The sunlight is amazing… On a day like this, I should be going out. How’s the schedule today, is it packed again?”
Perhaps someone had just watered the courtyard, as the sunlight shattered brilliantly over the water droplets clinging to the low garden trees and blades of grass.
Squinting as he looked down at the courtyard, Jeong Tae-ui remained silent for a moment before turning around. Seeing no answer, he wondered if Christoph had fallen back asleep, only to find him sitting blankly on the bed.
His eyes, looking down at his clasped hands, were hazy as if still drenched in a dream.
“Christoph. …Are you in a bad mood this morning too?”
Jeong Tae-ui asked after a moment’s hesitation. Only then did Christoph lift his head. Deep blue glass-like eyes looked at Jeong Tae-ui. However, he remained silent for a while, as if unsure if he was actually seeing Jeong Tae-ui or not.
“Christoph?”
When Jeong Tae-ui called his name again, Christoph slowly nodded. Then he whispered like a sigh.
“I’m okay. I’m just still half-asleep. I had a dream.”
Jeong Tae-ui leaned against the window frame and crossed his arms. He asked quietly of Christoph, who was still hazily staring at the edge of the blanket.
“What kind of dream?”
“A dream from when I was young. But it’s not something that actually happened. Just a dream where a younger version of me appears.”
“What was it like?”
Christoph fell into thought for a while, humming, “Hmm…” Perhaps because he was still half-asleep, or because the memory of the dream was rapidly fading upon waking, the words didn’t come easily.
Jeong Tae-ui took some water from the refrigerator and poured it. When he approached and handed it to him, Christoph looked at it for a moment as if wondering what it was, then began to drink as if he understood. He spoke as he took sip after sip.
“I can’t communicate with people. It’s definitely not a language I don’t know, but we can’t understand each other. They don’t not know the language I use, either. I can’t understand their words, and they can’t understand mine. …So in the end, I stopped speaking.”
It was far too lacking in plot to be called a dream story, but by the time he finished, the water glass was empty and Christoph seemed to have mostly woken up.
He placed the glass on the nightstand and let out a quiet sigh. With that final sigh, he was completely awake.
Looking at the clock on the nightstand with his usual indifferent eyes, Christoph tilted his head in confusion.
“It’s only eight o’clock.”
“Yeah. You should get up slowly.”
“I only need to start getting ready to go out from eight-thirty.”
Despite being woken up only 30 minutes earlier than usual, Christoph glared at Jeong Tae-ui with dissatisfaction, as if his sleep had been interrupted for three hours.
“No wonder I couldn’t wake up and my head feels heavy…”
Muttering grumpily, Christoph, despite having just woken up, lay back down in bed and burrowed under the covers. Jeong Tae-ui quickly pulled the blanket down.
“Christoph. You should go and give your mother a morning greeting before we leave. To do that, you need to get up now.”
Jeong Tae-ui spoke, recalculating the time in his head. Yes, he had set the time with some leeway, but regardless, it was better to get up now to avoid being rushed.
But the moment Jeong Tae-ui said that, Christoph, who had been burrowed in the blanket, lowered it slightly. Lowering the blanket just enough to show his face, down to just below his chin, Christoph stared intently at Jeong Tae-ui.
It was a very strange expression. As if he had heard some bizarre and [visit our site]peculiar story, he stared at Jeong Tae-ui for a long time before tilting his head slightly.
“Did my mother call for me…?”
It was a faint, small voice. Thinking that the voice sounded truly like a young and innocent child, this time it was Jeong Tae-ui who made a slightly strange face.
“Not exactly… but when giving a morning greeting, you don’t only go if you’re called.”
As Jeong Tae-ui answered, Christoph’s large eyes half-closed. The suspicion and surprise vanished, replaced by a look that seemed to say, ‘Ah, whatever.’ Like a quiet disappointment.
Christoph pulled the blanket up a bit again.
“If she doesn’t call, I’m not going.”
At that calm voice, Jeong Tae-ui just blinked and looked at him.
No… his voice didn’t sound particularly Read on Read BL Novelsangry, [unauthorized copy]nor was there [unauthorized copy]any trace of stubbornness, but the way he said it…
“Hey, hey. You’re not a little kid who fought with his mom and is pouting. What are you talking about? If you live in the same house, you should greet your elders in the morning and evening.”
Jeong Tae-ui pulled the blanket down again. This time, he yanked it all the way down below the waist.
Christoph frowned as if it were bothersome, then looked at Jeong Tae-ui with that frowning face and got up with a groan. Brushing back his fallen bangs, he muttered with a sigh mixed with a groan.
“I misspoke. Let me rephrase. ‘If she doesn’t call, I cannot go’.”
Christoph corrected what he had said a moment ago.
After quietly correcting just one word, Christoph suddenly frowned and irritably gripped the hair he had been brushing back. As if something inside him was twisting, he gripped and released his hair out of habit, then finally got out of bed.
“Waking me up early for nothing just made my head heavy… I’m going to wash up.”
Muttering dissatisfiedly, Christoph paused on his way to the bathroom, turned back, and took [visit our site]a medicine bottle from the dresser. He poured some pills into his palm without counting and tossed them into his mouth.
Even while frowning and muttering, “Bitter…”, he chewed them like candy before disappearing into the bathroom.
Soon, hearing the sound of water flowing through the bathroom door left open by a hand’s width, Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head deeply before slowly beginning to tidy the blanket.
‘They are a mother and son who fear each other.’
A voice speaking lightly suddenly came to mind.
‘Only the reactions revealed are different, but they are afraid of one another. Can’t you feel it?’
While Jeong Tae-ui was deep in thought about Christoph’s mother, Ilay had suddenly murmured those words, as if knowing what he was thinking.
Repeating the word ‘fear…’, Jeong Tae-ui thought of the strikingly similar mother and son.
It wasn’t something he could pinpoint clearly. There was no way for Jeong Tae-ui to know in what way they feared and were afraid of each other. At least, not regarding the mother.
Christoph.
…Christoph was definitely noticeably different whenever he was with her. The same went for matters related to her.
“…It might actually be better if they didn’t meet.”
Jeong Tae-ui murmured unconsciously. Only when the voice reached his own ears did he realize he had been talking to himself. He quickly shook his head and let out a sigh.
But that was no longer possible. She had come to Tarten, and although it was a mansion so vast that it would be hard to run into her by chance unless one intentionally sought her out, they were now in the same house.
Would Christoph then continue to spend his days as he did yesterday?
Jeong Tae-ui recalled the quiet and introverted young man he had seen yesterday. From a general perspective, the personality glimpsed yesterday would be far more constructive than his usual personality, but Jeong Tae-ui didn’t particularly like that version of him.
It wasn’t normal.
“No… come to think of it, since that guy isn’t exactly normal in his usual state, maybe yesterday’s version was actually…”
Muttering to himself, Jeong Tae-ui finished tidying up the bedding and took one last look around the room, which was always kept clean, when the sound of water in the bathroom stopped and Christoph emerged.
Hating it when water dripped on the floor, Christoph always wiped himself dry almost perfectly before stepping out. As usual, he went straight to the wardrobe and stared inside for a long while without moving.
“……. I guess I’ll be running into your mother quite often now.”
After a moment of hesitation, Jeong Tae-ui asked quietly.
He recalled how Christoph would become noticeably quiet and subtly freeze up whenever she called or whenever they crossed paths. He felt a bitter sense of reluctance, thinking that he might see that side of him more frequently from now on.
At that, Christoph seemed to pause for a moment before slowly turning back to Jeong Tae-ui. He looked at him with an expressionless face that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking, then turned back to the wardrobe. His hand pulled out a white dress shirt.
“We’ll hardly ever run into each other. My mother won’t be leaving the east wing.”
“Hmm? Ah, I guess that’s true if the buildings are different, but I occasionally run into the old gentlemen who live in the east wing on the walking paths. When I’m out at dawn.”
“I don’t go out at dawn, so I wouldn’t know. I’ve never run into them.”
“……. Hmm. When I go out at dawn, I sometimes see similar faces.”
Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips, thinking of the stern-looking ‘distant uncle’ he had passed by this morning—someone he encountered about once every few days.
Beside him, Christoph put on neat navy trousers and pulled out a tie of the same color with a small pattern.
“She prefers strolling in the inner courtyard attached to the back of the east wing. She’ll likely enjoy her tea time there as well. ……Unless my mother calls for you, the frequency of your encounters will be almost the same as it was before you came to Dresden.”
The frequency of encounters before coming to Dresden was exactly zero.
As Jeong Tae-ui scratched [Read on Read BL Novels]his head stolen contentwith an ‘Oh, right,’ Christoph added while pulling out a simple checkered jacket.
“Richard will probably call me occasionally. To have tea with my mother.”
“…….”
Jeong Tae-ui fell silent.
Ilay’s words came to mind again.
That for Richard, Bianca was the perfect card to use to torment Christoph. The most effective and easiest card to move—the ultimate trump card.
Christoph wasn’t unaware of this fact. The fact that he had no choice but to play along with Richard’s intentions, even while knowing it, showed the absolute power of that card.
But regardless.
Jeong Tae-ui let out a sigh of relief.
Since they were now living within the same walls, he had been worried about what would happen if Christoph remained frozen like thin ice all the time.
Fortunately, although he seemed a bit more drained than usual, he wasn’t significantly different. Perhaps it was because, as he said, they would hardly ever run into each other.
As Jeong Tae-ui gazed blankly at Christoph, the latter suddenly frowned. As if he found the topic of their conversation extremely distasteful, he clicked his tongue and spoke somewhat irritably.
“It’ll be over in a week anyway. The succession will be decided in one more week. Then I—will never return to this place.”
Christoph’s voice dropped slightly. Whether it was regret or relief, either way, he would no longer be bound to this place.
At the same time, it meant the day Jeong Tae-ui would return to Berlin was drawing near.
Jeong Tae-ui nodded quietly and agreed.
“Yeah. I mean… I don’t really have a reason to unauthorized copyintentionally seek out Dresden [Read on Read BL Novels]either. Still, it’s a bit a shame since I’ve been here for about a month.”
“I lived here for over twenty years before I left, and I didn’t feel the slightest bit of regret.”
Christoph spoke in a displeased tone as he opened a small drawer attached to the wardrobe and took out cufflinks.
“But sometimes…….”
However, he suddenly murmured in a slightly softened voice, but he never finished the sentence.
Jeong Tae-ui turned away, rubbing the back of his neck. He went back to the window and looked down at the scenery of the inner courtyard, which he was finally starting to get used to. Once you get used to many things, it’s time to say goodbye.
“The succession decision……. I should at least offer my congratulations to Richard before I leave.”
As Jeong Tae-ui muttered to himself, he suddenly felt a gaze piercing his cheek and turned his head.
Christoph, who had been standing in front of the wardrobe, was Read on Read BL Novelsstaring unauthorized copyintently at [unauthorized copy]Jeong Tae-ui, as if a sudden thought had occurred to him.
“……?”
The eyes scanning Jeong Tae-ui slowly from head to toe narrowed, as if something was displeasing. Unconsciously, Jeong Tae-ui followed that gaze and examined himself. But there was nothing different from usual.
“……What.”
He looked closely to see if something was stuck to him, but seeing nothing unusual, he asked somewhat awkwardly. Christoph suddenly grimaced.
“Those clothes.”
“What about my clothes?”
Jeong Tae-ui looked down at his attire once more.
It was an extremely plain outfit. Simple and inconspicuous.
“I don’t care what you wear normally……. But on that day, you must dress properly. People from the outside will be coming. A modified suit isn’t great either; it’s better to wear a classic suit.”
Christoph advised him with a serious face. Jeong Tae-ui blinked for a moment. Then, he asked skeptically.
“Do I have to dress like that too? I’m not a Tarten, I’m not an official, I’m basically just a freeloading guest.”
“Once the succession is decided, people you’ve never seen in your life will swarm in to offer congratulations. If you intend to ignore them and not offer your own congratulations, then it doesn’t matter if you don’t attend the celebration.”
“Celebration…….”
Jeong Tae-ui grimaced.
It was a word that triggered an immediate sense of aversion. Banquets, celebrations, and so on.
“I don’t necessarily have to attend something like [visit our site]that; I can just meet him separately later to congratulate him.”
“Once the succession is decided, the chosen one will be incredibly busy for several days, so it’ll be hard to meet even for their own parents. ……Besides.”
Christoph paused. He looked at himself in the mirror as if checking his appearance, then spoke quietly.
“……The moment the succession is decided, I will leave the Tartens. And I will never return.”
Christoph’s gaze flew toward Jeong Tae-ui. He glanced at him, then turned his gaze back to the mirror and continued.
“If you intend to stay here even after I’ve left, you can meet him and congratulate him in about a month.”
Hearing this, Jeong Tae-ui frowned.
Come to think of it, Jeong Tae-ui was a guest attached to Christoph. Strictly speaking, he wasn’t a guest of the Tarten family. Therefore, it was only natural that Jeong Tae-ui would leave when Christoph left this house. And a month?
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head vigorously.
“There’s no reason for me to stay here if you’re not. ……But make sure to return the book before you leave.”
Adding that Kyle would cry otherwise, Jeong Tae-ui urged the return of the book once more. As expected, no answer came. Ignoring the comment entirely as if he hadn’t heard it, Christoph frowned slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with the knot of his tie, and began to untie and redo it.
“Anyway, on that day, dress neatly—not too flashy, but not too plain.”
“Uh, um…… but does it have to be a suit? Wouldn’t a clean shirt and cotton pants be okay?”
“……. If you show up there dressed like that, please don’t pretend to know me even if we run into each other.”
Christoph Tarten—a man who glared into his wardrobe every morning to pick his clothes and strictly adhered to the dress code for whatever occasion or activity—spoke firmly.
“Uh……” Jeong Tae-ui’s eyes darted around as he scratched the back of his head.
“This is problematic…….”
Whether he heard the small mutter or not, Christoph, having finished adjusting the knot of his tie, turned his head.
“What is?”
“No, it’s just, I don’t have a suit.”
The moment Jeong Tae-ui muttered awkwardly, the fingers fiddling with the knot froze. Christoph asked, knitting his brows.
“You didn’t bring one?”
“You could say I didn’t bring one…… but I don’t actually own one.”
Jeong Tae-ui shrugged.
He had lived as a wanted man for several years.
In Berlin, he spent almost all his time at home. It wasn’t that he was completely locked up—he was free to take walks around the neighborhood and occasionally went to the outskirts—but he never needed a suit anywhere. Moreover, he had always disliked suits because they felt suffocating, so there were no suits in Jeong Tae-ui’s wardrobe.
In cases where he absolutely had to wear a suit—over the years, that had happened only once, for James’s wedding—he borrowed one from Kyle, who had a similar build.
So, naturally, there was no way he would have brought a suit—borrowed from Kyle—all the way here. In the first place, when he came here, Jeong Tae-ui thought he would be searching for the book for a few days and returning shortly; he hadn’t known he would stay this long.
As soon as Jeong Tae-ui spoke lightly, Christoph stopped moving. He then looked at Jeong Tae-ui with eyes bordering on horror.
“You don’t actually own a suit……?”
“Yeah.”
“How is that possible?”
“…….”
To Christoph, who owned everything from seasonal suits to riding gear, hunting clothes, and hiking gear, the idea of not owning a suit might be unbelievable. Conversely, to Jeong Tae-ui, Christoph—who owned almost every type of clothing for every possible purpose—was the mysterious one.
“It can happen……. The reality is right here in front of you.”
Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips bitterly and tapped his chest.
Christoph stared blankly at Jeong Tae-ui. Faced with that gaze of disbelief, Jeong Tae-ui looked back at him feeling a bit awkward.
Then, suddenly, Christoph’s eyes widened.
“Why didn’t you say anything until now!”
Jeong Tae-ui’s eyes darted around in bewilderment at the sudden outburst.
“Huh? No, I didn’t think something like this would [stolen content]happen. Besides, I only just heard from you that I visit our sitehave to wear a suit there.”
“If there’s only a week left, you can’t get one tailored! You’ll have to buy ready-to-wear, ready-to-wear!”
Judging by the sheer ferocity of his voice, one would think that having to buy ready-to-wear clothes was equivalent to being forced to wear the only remaining shabby, hole-ridden rag in an empty wardrobe.
“I mean, ready-to-wear is fine for me…… but do I really have to buy one? I’ll hardly ever wear it in the future.”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered, scratching his head.
When he had borrowed a suit from Kyle once before, Kyle had also looked surprised and suggested he just get one tailored, but Jeong Tae-ui had refused. After that, the only occasions he’d need a suit would be if Kyle, his uncle, or his brother got married, or if a tragedy occurred—the former seemed unlikely to happen in the next ten years in his view, and the latter was not something he wanted to prepare for in advance.
Unlike Kyle, who had simply conceded with a ‘Well, if that’s the case,’ Christoph frowned deeply with a look of extreme disapproval.
“You must buy one. It is unacceptable for a human being to live without a single set of formal attire.”
Overwhelmed by the firmness [Read on Read BL Novels]of his tone, Jeong Tae-ui couldn’t bring himself [unauthorized copy]to ask to borrow some clothes.
‘Let’s see, who else in this house has a similar build to me?’ Jeong Tae-ui wondered, scrolling through a mental list, and answered half-heartedly, ‘Yeah, I guess I should.’
* * *
“Hmm? ……I don’t know. A classic design would probably be the safest and best, right?”
The moment those words came out of Yohan’s mouth, Jeong Tae-ui thought.
‘I guess I really do have to buy clothes.’
No matter how much he thought about it, there was no one he was reasonably close to who had a similar build, so Jeong Tae-ui had been considering just wearing something clean visit our sitefrom what he already had, regardless of whether people stared.
Wrestling with the topic of clothing—a subject he thought he would never have to worry about in his life—Jeong Tae-ui tentatively brought it up to Yohan, who was practically lying down on the sofa in front of him, fiddling with a gaming device. (Seeing someone of his age in that posture with such a thing at high noon felt like watching the path to becoming a shut-in.)
He thought this guy might say, ‘Uh, I’m just going in jeans and a hoodie,’ and if he heard that answer, Jeong Tae-ui felt he could have great confidence in his shirt and cotton pants.
However, when Jeong Tae-ui asked what he should wear on the day of the succession decision, unexpectedly, Yohan—perhaps because he was born with a silver spoon—hadn’t even considered anything other than a suit from the start.
Yohan, who had blinked as if he didn’t understand the question, had given that answer. A classic design would probably be the safest and best.
The moment he heard that, Jeong Tae-ui stood up abruptly.
Without even glancing at Jeong Tae-ui, who rose with an air of sudden determination, Yohan remained absorbed in his game and muttered.
“Where are you going? To buy clothes?”
“To get money to buy clothes.”
When leaving Berlin for Dresden, Jeong Tae-ui had brought almost nothing.
Since he thought he would only stay for three or four days to find the book—thinking it might even be a day trip—he had brought some luggage following Kyle’s serious urging, but he hadn’t thought much of it.
Naturally, there was no money in his wallet. Just enough for the fare back and some emergency funds for a few days.
Those emergency funds remained intact. He had had no reason to spend money since entering this mansion. There was nothing that required money. (Considering he had worked himself to death organizing the library and cleaning, he should have been collecting a salary to take back with him.)
So while some money remained, no matter how he thought about it, it wasn’t enough to buy a suit. He didn’t know how much a suit cost, but it certainly wasn’t an amount that could buy a suit with the money meant for jeans and t-shirts.
Then there was only one conclusion.
He had to find someone he could ask for money.
And coincidentally, there was one diamond-spoon person in this [visit our site]mansion [stolen content]whom Jeong Tae-ui knew very well.
“Ilay, can we talk for a second?”
Jeong Tae-ui went to the VIP room in the east wing, which he had visited once before, and flung the door open, only to find the room empty.
It was already past evening. Since mealtime had passed, he had come thinking Ilay would be in his room, but he wasn’t.
“……. Ilay, you’re not here?”
Jeong Tae-ui stepped inside the room, looked around, and knocked on the door. But again, there was no answer.
“Hey, ……he’s not in the bathroom either. ……Not on the terrace. ……He can’t fit under the bed with that size, and the wardrobe would be difficult too…….”
Jeong Tae-ui walked to the center of the room, took a quick look around, and sat plunk down on the bed.
Where did he go?
He didn’t know Ilay’s exact range of movement within the Tarten estate, but if he wasn’t in his room outside of daytime, he was usually either in Jeong Tae-ui’s room or out for a walk.
“…….”
Still, seeing that the lights were left on, it seemed he would return soon.
Jeong Tae-ui dismissed the thought of going to look for him and decided to wait while lounging there. If he went looking and they missed each other, it would be a waste of time and effort.
……But more than that.
As he flopped onto the bed and rolled around, Jeong Tae-ui slowly shifted his gaze. The bed he was lying on, the desk, the bookshelves, the minibar in the corner of the spacious room, and the chandelier.
It was a room devoid of a sense of living.
The thought suddenly occurred to him.
This room, where a man named Ilay Riegrow had stayed for nearly three months, had everything it needed and nothing was inconvenient, but it lacked the most essential thing: the feeling that a person was actually inhabiting the space.
“But that’s not the room’s fault, it’s the person’s fault…….”
Jeong Tae-ui sat up from the bed.
Come to think of it, it had been like that for a while even a few years ago when they first arrived in Berlin. Within three days of moving in, Jeong Tae-ui had become completely accustomed to the house, strutting about as if it were his own and leaving his scent all over the rooms, while Ilay maintained that feeling of emptiness. For quite a long time after that.
Wherever he went, he left almost no trace of his presence unless it was necessary. It wasn’t intentional. It was simply his nature.
“Seems like his personality is as desolate as ever.”
Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue softly.
Now, the house in Berlin was not like that. A feeling remained that he was staying there. He often felt Read on Read BL Novelstraces [Read on Read BL Novels]of him in the smallest of places. It was a bit subtle, though, in that he felt them more in his own room than in Ilay’s.
Traces that Ilay lived there remained. In Jeong Tae-ui’s room in Berlin.
“…. Suddenly, I miss my room….”
Jeong Tae-ui murmured quietly. Then, he shrugged and let out a sigh. There wasn’t much time left. Once the succession was decided a week from now, Jeong Tae-ui would return to Berlin.
However, thinking of Berlin naturally brought one thing to mind.
Jeong Tae-ui picked up the phone on the bedside table. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t called yet to thank him for the beer.
After a few rings, a voice answered. Kyle was always easy to reach. There were rarely times when he couldn’t be contacted.
“It’s been a while. Have you been doing well?”
「Tae-yi! Of course, everything is fine on this end. How about you?」
Upon hearing Jeong Tae-ui’s voice, he replied with a tone clearly filled with delight. It was a bright voice that made one feel good just by listening to it.
“I’m doing about the same. Did something good happen?”
「Indeed! Just today, just today! Your timing is truly impeccable, just today! A rare book I struggled to obtain from a small private auction in Brazzaville, Congo, has finally arrived! Can you even guess what it is, hm?」
“…. No, I couldn’t possibly guess….”
Along with the thought that there were auctions even there, suspicions bloomed as to how he had found out about a small private auction in such a place. Kyle was a man who had corners that remained completely mysterious even after living in the same house for several years.
The title of the book Kyle spoke of in his excitement was something Jeong Tae-ui had never heard of. However, seeing as Kyle’s voice had risen a pitch and he was speaking at that volume and speed, Tae-yi simply guessed that it must be of a value roughly equivalent to one of Moier’s books.
「Ah, right, come to think of it, did Chris return the book?」
“No, not yet…. Even when I mention it, he pretends not to hear me at all.”
As Jeong Tae-ui spoke awkwardly, Kyle’s voice finally dropped a pitch. His volume decreased slightly, and his pace of speaking slowed down.
I see, is that so… The voice sounded much more depressed than before, but perhaps because it was offset by the great joy he had gained today, it finally returned to a tone similar to his usual one.
“Ah, thank you for the beer you sent a few days ago. It was delicious.”
Jeong Tae-ui greeted him, recalling the purpose of his call. Kyle replied happily.
「Ah, that. Yes, I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s a beer that Chang-in once tried by chance when he came to Germany a long time ago and said was delicious.」
“Your uncle?”
「Mm. Come to think of it, there isn’t much time left until he comes to Frankfurt with your brother. About ten days? No, maybe less than ten?」
If it was around ten days or less, it might be almost the same day as the succession decision.
However, having already given up on Frankfurt, Jeong Tae-ui simply agreed, saying, “I see.”
「If you want, I can send more of that beer. James is currently in that region.」
“Yes, then I’d appreciate that.”
Jeong Tae-ui pondered for about a second before accepting the offer with a bright smile. Then, he added something that suddenly occurred to him.
“Ah, then when you send the beer, please include one 500ml bottle of bottled water. The cheaper, the better.”
「Bottled water? 500ml? A cheap one?」
Kyle asked back, sounding puzzled by the sudden, inexplicable request. Jeong Tae-ui glanced around the room where Ilay was absent and continued.
“When you sent the beer, Ilay grumbled that you didn’t even unauthorized copygive him a single bottle of cheap 500ml water.”
「What? No, has he ever sent me even a single ten-cent candy! Does he not think about how I’ve always bought various things and handed them to you, Tae-yi?!」
Kyle flared up instantly.
“Haha, he’s a bit narrow-minded.”
He’s the kind of guy who chases someone with an anti-tank gun just because they slapped him and ran away, Tae-yi added only to himself. As he soothed Kyle, Kyle enjoyed badmouthing his brother, agreeing, “That’s right, that’s right.”
These brothers really are something… thinking this, Jeong Tae-ui played along for a bit and then hung up.
Hearing his voice after a long time brought back memories of when he was in Berlin, making him feel a bit better. The thought that he could return soon made him feel even better.
He lay back down on the bed languidly, rolling over and lying on his stomach. As he buried his face in the fluffy duvet and stretched, his hand touched the floor. The soft rug spread beneath the bed tickled his fingertips.
While he was pleasantly stirring the floor, rubbing the rug, his hand [Read on Read BL Novels]suddenly caught on something. A hard, cold sensation.
“…?”
Jeong Tae-ui fumbled with his hand while still lying on his stomach. The sensation he felt beneath the bed was like a hard, smooth, square box… a flat and fairly large one.
“Hmm…? Under the bed, so a clothes box… no, it doesn’t feel like that, and it’s not a sensation of something that would normally be stored under a bed….”
Jeong Tae-ui slowly tried to pull it toward him. It was quite heavy, but it wasn’t completely immobile. With a grunt of effort, it slid out.
What emerged from under the bed was a box. A large, black metal case.
And Jeong Tae-ui remembered seeing that box. He had seen it when he first came to this room.
“Oh, this is….”
It was an object he couldn’t mention to [visit our site]anyone and was reluctant to even [stolen content]say unauthorized copyaloud to himself. A wiretap.
Staring blankly at the case that evoked nothing but crime, Jeong Tae-ui tapped it with his knuckles and then opened the latch.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t looked closely before; he wondered how this one was structured. It wasn’t his first time seeing a wiretap, but most of the ones he had seen were for educational or demonstration purposes, so he had never used a formal wiretap with such a high frequency band.
“The structure… as expected, the basic parts are similar.”
Although the circuits were intricately connected, he could roughly figure it out by staring at it.
“To get this thing moving, let’s see, first connect this circuit here… uh, I don’t think this position is right….”
While tinkering with someone else’s machine, Jeong Tae-ui forgot everything else. His eyes sparkled as he focused intently on the device.
He had liked things like this since he was a child. He often disassembled simple home appliances and tried to put them back together. If they broke, he could just dump it on his brother to disassemble and reassemble it for him, so there was nothing to worry about.
Having easily reconnected the loose [visit our site]circuits, Jeong Tae-ui flicked the switches. stolen contentSoon, a red light began to blink.
“Right, right. If I do it like this, it should work properly. …Now, is it actually working?”
Jeong Tae-ui pulled over an earphone and plugged it into his ear. He heard nothing. Even after waiting a while, there was no sound. It was the same after waiting a bit longer.
“…. Did I connect the circuit wrong….”
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his cheek and began to stare intently at the machine again. Lying flat on the bed with his chin resting on his arm, he peered into the case on the floor for a long time, then frowned and scratched his cheek again.
“I don’t know. It seems like everything is correct….”
He had absolutely no intention of using the wiretap for its original purpose. Such a thought didn’t even enter his mind. It was just that when a machine that clearly should have worked didn’t, a slight wave of doubt about his general mechanical ability washed over him.
“Hmm… or did they change the frequency?”
Jeong Tae-ui frowned, picking at his head with his fingertips.
However, after pondering for a few more minutes without finding an answer, just as he was about to give up with a ‘whatever’, it happened.
He felt as if he heard a presence through the earphone plugged into one ear.
“Oh. Wait, I’m hearing something, right, yeah.”
Returning to the boy who loved machines, Jeong Tae-ui murmured excitedly to himself. Then, he turned up the volume slightly.
He couldn’t yet make out what the sound was, but a slightly fast and rhythmic vibration was gradually growing louder. Then, another sound mixed in, and that too grew louder.
—Click.
Only after hearing that sound did Jeong Tae-ui realize that the noise he had been hearing until a moment ago was coming from outside the space where the transmitter was installed. And that sound just now was the sound of a door opening.
「So it means they’ll only give the final contact on the last day of the deadline. I know what they’re [stolen content]plotting, but they’re being tedious.」
The moment he heard that voice leaking through the earphone, Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth.
A person had gone all the way to the room, but where had the owner of the room gone with the lights on? He had entered the earphone. If the position of the transmitter hadn’t been changed in the meantime, it was likely in Richard’s room.
「Well, you never know. They might suddenly flip the story at the last minute and present entirely different conditions.」
「That would be better for your position.」
The transmitter’s location seemed to be the same. He could hear Richard responding.
Only then did Jeong Tae-ui realize that he was fiddling with a wiretap. Come to think of it, I’m currently committing a crime…
It would be better to quietly remove the earphone, turn off the switch, unplug the lines, close the case, and put it back under the bed, Jeong Tae-ui thought conscientiously. But just as he was about to remove the earphone from his ear.
「What did Malik say?」
A familiar name suddenly came up. Since there were no other sounds besides the presence of the two men, it was Richard asking Ilay.
「Hmm?」
「If Aziz went to see Jeong Tae-ui and Malik went to see you, their business might be similar, but not the same. I can more or less guess what Aziz would have said—….」
Richard trailed off. Ilay remained silent.
Now that he thought about it, he remembered. Jeong Tae-ui had definitely asked Ilay the same question a while ago. But the topic had changed before he could get an answer.
…Wiretapping does have its rewards, Jeong Tae-ui thought as he rummaged through the case and pulled out the other earphone.
It would be a lie to say he felt no pangs of conscience, but he forced himself to think that from Ilay’s perspective, this was just poetic justice, and temporarily locked the door of his conscience. At the same time, he calculated in his head that since Richard’s room was in the west wing, the moment Ilay left that room, he could quickly pack up the case and store it away, making it a perfect crime.
However, what reached Jeong Tae-ui’s [visit our site]ear [stolen content]as [unauthorized copy]he waited for Ilay’s answer was not the answer he expected.
「How should I interpret your intention in asking something you already clearly know?」
There was a faint trace of amusement. Then, a moment later, another quiet laugh was heard. Soon, Richard replied in a voice mixed with laughter, as if throwing up his hands.
「Because I can’t tell which way you’re planning to go.」
「My direction? It’s simple.」
Ilay answered nonchalantly.
「It’s troublesome to get rid of them, and I don’t like them… In that case, the best policy is to put them away in a place where they won’t be noticed at all. Preferably a place where they’ll never be seen again.」
「Haa.」
Richard murmured shortly, [unauthorized copy]making it hard to tell if he agreed or not. After a moment of thought, he continued.
「They’re presenting conditions that don’t sound bad, but we can’t know if that’s their true intention or if they’re plotting something else. …Personally, I lean toward the latter.」
「The latter. I suppose they have something else in mind that they want.」
Ilay spoke with a voice tinged with a subtle smile. Richard replied.
「For instance, if I were in their position, once I got the treasure I wanted, I’d burn the map so no one else could snatch it. It’s better to cut the root of the anxiety that someone else might take it at any time.」
「Ah… but in this case, that’s impossible. If you burn the map, the treasure disappears with it.」
Jeong Tae-ui blinked as he listened to their conversation, still lying on his stomach with his chin on his arm.
Why do these guys talk in such a hard-to-understand way? It’s not like I’m decoding a cipher.
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head and clicked his tongue.
The feeling that he was truly engaged in full-scale wiretapping began to grow stronger. If he didn’t stop here, he might actually fall down the path of crime. It felt as if one foot was already sunk up to the knee.
Come to think of it, I don’t think this is the first time I’ve eavesdropped on those two having a deep conversation… as he thought vaguely, a memory flashed back.
Yes, it had happened before. There was absolutely no intentionality like there was now; he had simply hidden in a place while running away, and that place happened to be where they were talking, but he had unintentionally overheard them then as well. And after that, so many things happened that he didn’t want to remember, that night….
Suddenly, memories surged up coldly in his chest, making Jeong Tae-ui’s throat tighten.
Now, he was fine even though he was eavesdropping with the intention to do so, but back then, he had been penalized despite having no such intention. Seeing that, it seemed the world wasn’t that fair.
“I don’t think there’s anything good to be gained from listening further… let’s stop.”
This time, Jeong Tae-ui really intended to remove the earphones.
However, just as he removed [stolen content]one earphone and was [visit our site]about to remove the other, a name was heard that made his hand stop instinctively.
「Treasure… come to think of it, on a different note, Christoph mentioned a while ago. That Jeong Tae-ui looks sparkling.」
When one’s own story comes up, it’s impossible not to listen. Moreover, the topic had jumped to a completely random place.
“….”
Jeong Tae-ui quietly plugged the earphone he had removed back in.
After a moment of silence in the earphone, Ilay murmured, “Hmm…”, and then asked.
「You mean, like a Buddhist painting? That thing with a round halo of light over the head?」
「Uh, I guess it’s something like that.」
Jeong Tae-ui remained silent.
A Buddhist painting… Had he been deified to that extent without realizing it? But considering how Christoph usually treated him, he certainly didn’t regard him as something that sacred.
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head, thinking that he really didn’t understand what went on in Christoph’s head—completely failing to consider the possibility that the words had been miscommunicated.
To look sparkling—if heard slightly wrong—or even if not heard wrong—was a very embarrassing thing to say. But right now, more than the embarrassment, he was more concerned by the subtle silence Ilay was maintaining.
「Why, does it bother you?」
At Richard’s voice flowing through the earphone, Jeong Tae-ui almost nodded without realizing it. But what followed was not Ilay’s answer, but an additional comment from Richard.
「And he added that if someone looks prettier than they actually are, it means you’ve fallen for them.」
Again, Ilay murmured an ambiguous “Hmm…”.
「What about you, Rick? When the rumor first spread that you went through [unauthorized copy]considerable [Read on Read BL Novels]trouble to pull some guy out [visit our site]of Raman’s villa and settled him in Berlin, more than a few people were surprised.」
After Richard asked that, Ilay, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth and said, “Well.”
「I’m not sure about looking prettier than he actually is. Because I know his appearance exactly as it is. From his eyes, nose, and mouth, to his hands, feet, and even his fingers and toes, I remember them as if they were captured in a photograph. He has never looked different from reality. …If that’s the case, I suppose I haven’t fallen for him.」
He could hear Ilay let out a short chuckle.
Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips. How should he put it—he was truly at a loss as to how he should react. In times like this, he felt glad that he was secretly eavesdropping from this spot.
「Hmm… He doesn’t seem to sparkle, does he?」
「He never has.」
「Really? Christoph said that Jeong Tae-ui looks like he sparkles.」
「He’s completely lost his mind.」
“Hey, hey. That’s not for you to say!”
Jeong Tae-ui blurted out a mutter, knowing full well they couldn’t hear him.
No matter how plain he looked or how much he lacked a certain ‘sparkle,’ for a man who had lived with him for several years to respond to a comment about him looking decent with ‘He’s completely lost his mind’ was just too much.
Feeling a slight sense of skepticism toward his relationship with Ilay, Jeong Tae-ui took out his frustration by clutching and twisting his innocent pillow.
「But he doesn’t look like he sparkles… though there are times when he looks precarious.」
Ilay, who seemed to have been lost in thought for a moment, continued calmly.
「Precarious, huh.」
Richard repeated the word, sounding puzzled. Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head as well.
He had never heard him say such a thing. Thus, he couldn’t tell what he meant by it.
「When that happens, it’s fatal.」
Suddenly, a hint of a smile laced Ilay’s voice. That voice, which sounded somewhat bittersweet, seeped strangely into his ears.
Fatal. That wasn’t the kind of word that should come out of that man’s mouth.
「Why, do you think you’d be helpless if he suddenly drove a knife into your neck?」
「Hardly. He’s not that kind of guy. Anyone else might be different, but Tae-yi would never try to harm me.」
Ilay answered immediately, as if there were no need to even think about it. This time, Richard fell silent. And Jeong Tae-ui could guess the reason for that silence. It was because he wouldn’t have known what to say either.
He had never once thought that Ilay suspected or guarded against him, stolen contentand in reality, [visit our site]he had never thought of harming him, but he hadn’t known that Ilay trusted him so firmly.
Jeong Tae-ui gave a shy smile. It seemed the years they had lived together were finally beginning to stack up as solidly as a tower.
「Surprising, Rick. That you trust someone that much.」
After a brief silence, Richard spoke in a tone of genuine surprise. At that, Ilay let out a questioning “Hm?” before responding with an “Ah.”
「No, no. That’s not what I meant. I mean Tae-yi isn’t stupid enough to try and harm me.」
“….”
Tower, my foot… There was a reason for the saying that a painstakingly built tower can crumble in an instant. Jeong Tae-ui once again twisted his innocent pillow.
「Then what part of it is fatal?」
Only then did Richard brush off his surprise stolen contentand ask [Read on Read BL Novels]instead [stolen content]with interest. Ilay paused again, speaking slowly as if organizing his thoughts.
「For example, it’s like this. When I can no longer live alone, but that guy could live alone just fine.」
「Hmm…?」
「There are times when I’m away from home for work, and then I occasionally think about it. That without him, everything is dry and tasteless.」
Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth.
Somehow… somehow… he vaguely wondered if it was okay to keep listening.
These weren’t words Ilay was saying to him. From the start, these were words he had no intention of letting him hear. So perhaps, he shouldn’t be listening.
For some unknown reason, Jeong Tae-ui rubbed his heating face with the back of his hand and looked at the eavesdropping device with a troubled expression. It felt as though the device had suddenly transformed into something incredibly difficult to handle—something he couldn’t quite bring himself to turn off, yet couldn’t justify keeping on.
「Dry and tasteless… It’s not like you can’t survive.」
「But I don’t want to spend the rest of my life locked in a monastery without alcohol, cigarettes, or women.」
While looking at the device with a somewhat serious face, Jeong Tae-ui—who had been relegated to the status of alcohol, cigarettes, and women in an instant—buried his face deep into the pillow.
Seriously, this guy’s stories seemed to follow a context, yet they jumped all over the place. It was hard to keep up.
「Indeed, that is fatal.」
Richard laughed. His voice, adding that one can survive without alcohol, cigarettes, or women, but can’t really live without them, sounded as if he had reached a conclusion.
「But Tae-yi can live without such things.」
Ilay’s calm voice continued.
Jeong Tae-ui’s expression suddenly changed.
That was what ‘fatal’ meant. Something you cannot live without. Breathing, yet not feeling as if you are breathing.
But while it was fatal for Ilay, it wasn’t fatal for Jeong Tae-ui. That was what he was saying right now.
Suddenly, his chest throbbed. Whether it was because he felt slighted, angry, or depressed.
Life is sometimes cruel. Even if someone close dies, I remain alive. Even if I lament why I am alive when that person is gone, even if I feel I cannot even breathe without them, I still live.
Therefore, the statement ‘I cannot live without you’ is not an absolute fact. Everyone knows that. But on the other hand, everyone also knows that such a statement can be a truth.
Jeong Tae-ui frowned and scratched his head. He peeked his face out from the pillow and glared fiercely at the eavesdropping device, as if the device itself were Ilay. Then, he let out a sigh.
“As if I could just live perfectly fine on my own now.”
Quietly, with a sigh.
Jeong Tae-ui grumbled these words—which weren’t exactly a monologue—while tapping his finger against the edge of the metal case. He couldn’t stand it unless he did at least that.
“Why do you think I’m quietly living in Berlin? It’s because I want to be with you. The reason I stay there even though it’s suffocating, the reason I’m worried I’ll never see you again if I get caught… it’s all because of that. …Do you think I don’t like you? Do you think I would have spent years rolling around in bed with you through all that hardship if I didn’t like you? I’m not some masochist. It’s all because I like you, because I like you.”
Jeong Tae-ui stopped his sulky muttering and shut his mouth. His face felt hot for no reason. If talking to himself was this embarrassing, he could never say these things to his face even if he were dying.
“Ah… what is wrong with me, seriously, this is too embarrassing to handle…”
Jeong Tae-ui buried his face in the pillow again. Even the sensation of the fabric against his lips felt embarrassing, so he ended up biting down hard on the cloth.
“….”
Then, he lifted his head again and rested his chin on the pillow.
“I’m telling you, his personality is weird… He’s the type to badger someone whenever things don’t go his way just to drag embarrassing words unauthorized copyout of their mouth, so [stolen content]what’s so ‘fatal’ about him… You’re the one who’s fatal.”
Grumble, grumble—once he decided to open his mouth, a stream of complaints that wouldn’t end even if he spoke all night continued to flow.
“Then where did all those times I told you I liked you two or three times a week go? You don’t listen to a word anyone says. See if I ever say it again.”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered like a drenched monk, then sat up because he couldn’t stand it. He felt embarrassed for saying such things, and he felt embarrassed by the man who made him feel this way.
“Hurry up and come back… so I can rip some money out of you.”
Muttering his ultimate goal for the day, Jeong Tae-ui sighed.
Suddenly, his gaze shifted to the large mirror attached to the wall beside the bed. He locked eyes with himself in the mirror.
He was bright red. Before he knew it, from his face down to his neck, everywhere not covered by clothes was flushed.
“…—!!”
Seeing that made him feel even hotter, and his face turned redder.
His mouth was bone dry. Jeong Tae-ui ended up rubbing his parched lips with his finger.
Just then, he heard the sound of something being poured. It seemed they were drinking tea or water. After the sound of drinking for a moment, Richard spoke.
「Then why don’t you make it so that he can’t live alone either?」
「Ah… that’s a personality issue. It’s hard to work that on a guy like Tae-yi. Maybe if it were someone like Christoph.」
Jeong Tae-ui pouted his lips, thinking crookedly that those two should just wrap up their serious talk and leave instead of sitting side-by-side drinking tea and chatting.
Christoph… as he muttered that name, Richard suddenly laughed. For a moment, that low laugh sounded somewhat subtle.
However, Richard didn’t speak [Read on Read BL Novels]further on that. Instead, [visit our site]he abruptly asked something else out of curiosity.
「What is it that you like about him?」
「What? I don’t know…」
「Both you and Christoph are so captivated. To be honest, no matter how much I look, I just don’t get it.」
Thank you for not getting it. If another man like Ilay or Christoph appeared and clung to him like that, he felt he would think his already ruined life had finally reached its end.
“One is enough… I told you, one Ilay is plenty. I’ll pass on any more.”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered like a sigh.
Since several years ago.
The limit of what he could accept, and what he could give, had [unauthorized copy]been completely filled. [stolen content]The [visit our site]remaining part in his head was only the minimum required for Jeong Tae-ui to exist as Jeong Tae-ui.
…But it seemed they were lacking in communication.
Jeong Tae-ui suddenly stood up and sat cross-legged.
He felt as if he were suffering from emotional instability, but they really were lacking in communication. He hadn’t known that man thought of him in that way.
It was natural that one couldn’t know every single thought of another person, no matter how close the relationship, but he hadn’t known that man didn’t know him to that extent.
“It’s strange… He’s not the type to doubt people’s words. I’ve told him I like him so often, why isn’t he properly recognizing it?”
Or—to put it with a great deal of prejudice—does he think I’m some Type B Gemini who loves passionately today and turns ice-cold tomorrow?
Actually, that sounds more like your personality than mine, Jeong Tae-ui muttered, frowning sulkily.
“Besides, think about it rationally. I’m the kind of person who willingly spreads my legs in front of that ruthless, monstrous thing that could extinguish a century of love [Read on Read BL Novels]in an instant; do you think that’s possible with just [Read on Read BL Novels]a moderate amount of affection? …Damn it, I don’t think another human who can pour in more affection than this guy will ever appear in my life…”
While Jeong Tae-ui was heartbroken, covering his eyes with the back of his hand and letting out a sob because he suddenly felt like crying over his situation, voices continued to flow from the earphones.
When Richard spoke in a tone of bewilderment, as if he couldn’t understand the tastes of Ilay and Christoph, Ilay snorted as if Richard were stating the obvious.
「Your taste is candy and sweets. Small, fragile-looking women. There isn’t a single part of Tae-yi that fits that taste, so there’s no way he’d be your type. Isn’t it natural that you can’t see what’s good about him?」
「No, just because he’s not my type doesn’t mean I can’t see where his charm lies. But—yes, he is certainly a good person. A sturdy, decent person. The kind of person who would be good to have as a friend. However, I simply cannot tell where his sexual appeal is.」
「You don’t need to know. It would be a nuisance for me if everyone knew. Christoph is an absolute pain too. If it weren’t for a connection spanning nearly thirty years, he’d already be in the afterlife.」
Ilay spoke in a dissatisfied tone, clicking his tongue. Then, as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him, he fell silent for a moment before speaking subtly.
「Come to think of it, how was it sleeping with Christoph?」
Ilay asked with a smirk. visit our siteRichard didn’t say anything for a while, [stolen content]as visit our siteif the question were unexpected.
「Originally, Christoph wasn’t your type. Yes, with your fetish for seeing faces that are crying and struggling, I thought you’d definitely be thrilled to see Christoph’s crying face, but for a long time, you never laid a hand on a woman who resembled Christoph even slightly, so I once thought your taste was very firm.」
「Was it?」
He could hear Richard laughing. But soon, he added firmly.
「Even now, that kind of face isn’t my type. I don’t particularly want to see a face like that crying and suffering. …Yes, I don’t like that kind of face.」
Richard laughed bitterly. Nevertheless, he answered Ilay’s question.
「Fortunately, the physical chemistry isn’t that bad, so it’s worth doing. Well… it’s okay. I like it.」
Richard spoke in a light tone. However, the way he cut the sentence off with ‘I like it,’ as if he didn’t want to elaborate further, left no room for more conversation.
Jeong Tae-ui unconsciously rubbed his furrowed brow.
He didn’t want to talk about, nor did he want to hear about, what it felt like to mix bodies with someone. Moreover, at least for now, he didn’t want to hear words about Christoph coming from Richard’s mouth.
It was obvious that the man enjoyed tormenting others, so there was no way he could view him favorably or want to listen to him.
Jeong Tae-ui let out an unpleasant sigh, thinking that if they were having this conversation in front of him right now, he might have ripped that smiling face of Richard’s wide open.
Fortunately, it seemed they had no intention of maintaining that topic for long. Ilay spoke as if wrapping up the conversation.
「Next time you have a chance to talk to Christoph, tell him. No matter how much Tae-yi seems to sparkle to him, that guy is already mine. Even if he reaches out for a hundred days, he’ll never reach him, so tell him to stop wasting his foolish time and find another sparkling guy as soon as possible.」
「Sure, I’ll do that.」
「Even if I tell him myself, he doesn’t listen. He doesn’t even seem to listen when Tae-yi tells him.」
Ilay clicked his tongue. Richard responded with a faint smile after a slight delay.
「In his eyes, Jeong Tae-ui must truly look like he’s sparkling and shining. Well, Jeong Tae-ui has a completely different personality from him. A person that stable isn’t common. That’s probably why it looks so sparkling in his eyes.」
“…Hm?”
It felt like the tone was slightly crooked just now.
Jeong Tae-ui, who already didn’t have much fondness for the man, immediately narrowed his eyes and glared at the eavesdropping device when the man spoke about him in a subtly crooked manner.
Wasn’t the nuance something like, ‘I can’t see where the charm is, but where exactly is he sparkling?’
“I’ve never thought of myself as charming either, but there’s no need to speak so disapprovingly…”
Jeong Tae-ui frowned and scratched the back of his head vigorously.
Then, Richard suddenly broke the silence that had followed the pause in conversation.
「They say that when you fall for someone, they look prettier than they actually are… then what happens if the person is perfectly shaped to begin with? If they are a perfect human, to the point where they couldn’t possibly look any prettier.」
Like a monologue, somewhat puzzled and vague.
It seemed like a statement that didn’t necessarily seek an answer. It was as if a question floating in his mind had simply leaked out of his mouth.
To begin with, if one falls for someone who is so perfectly shaped that they couldn’t possibly look more beautiful.
“…That would truly be fatal…”
He didn’t know because he had never fallen for such a person, but he thought that if that happened, one might never be able to escape.
But thinking about it again, that premise was nonsense. A perfect face could not exist in this world. This was because each individual’s sense of beauty was different.
If there was a face that came close to perfection…
“…Chris?”
Jeong Tae-ui, who had been scrolling through a list of celebrities in his head, suddenly brought up another name. Now that he had said it, it was true. That face could be called close to perfection.
However, that was only because it was supported by the fondness Jeong Tae-ui had for him; in reality, there could be plenty of people who didn’t consider that appearance to be that enchanting.
「Since a face that looks perfect to everyone cannot exist, there’s no need to reach a conclusion on that thought.」
Ilay spoke in a disinterested tone, saying something similar to what Jeong Tae-ui had been thinking. Then, after a short interval, he heard Richard’s voice muttering ambiguously, “Right, I see.”
It was around then.
Just as a silence long enough to take two or three breaths settled in, Ilay opened his mouth.
「Then I shall be heading [Read on Read BL Novels]back now. ……It’ll all be over in just a few days. Not much time left.」
He showed signs of slowly pushing himself up. The sound of fabric brushing against fabric reached me, signaling his departure.
Ah, I should probably start tidying up and putting things away. No matter how I look at it, it would be a bit much to beam at him and say, ‘I’ve been waiting for you this whole time and heard everything you said.’ Moreover, there were a few topics scattered in there that I simply couldn’t bring myself to admit I’d overheard.
I’ll keep the things I heard today locked deep in my heart for the rest of my life, Jeong Tae-ui thought, patting his chest, which had suddenly become burdensome.
「You must be pleased, Richard. The decision on the successor, which you’ve waited over twenty years for, is finally right before your eyes.」
「I suppose. There’s only about a week left, so it really isn’t much longer.」
Richard murmured slowly, as if reflecting on the words Ilay had tossed his way.
One week.
Come to think of it, before he was even ten, he had been chosen as a candidate [stolen content]in the succession race and had lived his entire life receiving education, training, and practical experience to inherit Tarten. That must have been the only goal he ever had in his life. The succession of Tarten.
How would it feel when a goal that had been distant for decades finally narrowed down to a distance of a few days?
Jeong Tae-ui did not know such a life. Thus, he could do nothing more than vague imagination, and he didn’t even know if that imagination was correct.
However, he simply thought wistfully that perhaps it might not be a feeling of overwhelming joy and happiness as one might think.
「The conclusion is practically decided anyway, so we just have to wait for time to pass.」
Yes, that’s right, Richard murmured lowly. Then, he suddenly let out a soft laugh.
「So, how about it, Rick? After observing me for three months as one of the electors, do you feel inclined to cast your vote for my succession?」
「――Well. Three months isn’t enough time to truly know a human being.」
Seeing that twisted man speak like that, it seemed his rating of Richard was quite high.
If Richard had been below expectations, harsh sarcasm or ridicule would have poured from that mouth immediately. Or, if he found it too tedious, he might have ended it with a blunt answer telling him to just quit.
As expected, Richard will likely succeed without any major anomalies, Jeong Tae-ui thought, letting out a light sigh.
And once that happened, Christoph would leave this place. When he left, Jeong Tae-ui would leave too. And Ilay, having finished his business, would as well.
Unless some unexpected interference occurred—though he felt as if that interference was already approaching from a distance—Jeong Tae-ui would be catching his breath in Berlin in a week.
「Not enough for three months, huh……」
Suddenly, Richard murmured to himself and laughed lowly. Following a short, airy chuckle, he spoke lightly.
「Was it not enough even though you eavesdropped on my private life?」
Flinch.
Jeong Tae-ui nearly jumped out of his skin without realizing it.
「When are you going to remove that transmitting microphone attached to the inside of the bookshelf?」
When Richard added that, Jeong Tae-ui stared blankly at the bag containing the bugging device.
From the perspective of the person wearing the earphones of the very bug he was talking about, it was a statement that made his chest feel tight and a wave of guilt wash over him.
I’m sorry…… I didn’t intend to from the start, but I ended up eavesdropping too……
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head vigorously.
Strictly speaking, Ilay, who installed the bug, was the one reaping what he sowed, but this man was a pure victim. ……No, if he knew and just left it there, he wouldn’t be that pure, but regardless, he was a victim.
Even as Jeong Tae-ui felt unnecessarily sorry and awkward, the person who unauthorized copyhad actually installed the bug began to laugh out loud. It was a [stolen content]laugh that seemed to say, As expected, you knew. Indeed, Ilay had mentioned it before. That he would pretend not to know even though he did. Those words were true.
「Ah, right. There’s nothing more to examine anyway, so I’ll take it off since I’m here today.」
There was a sign of Ilay standing up. The sound of footsteps walking toward the mic grew louder. Those footsteps, heading toward the transmitting microphone, felt as if they were approaching him, making Jeong Tae-ui’s spine feel slightly chilly for no reason.
「By the way.」
Whether he was clearing the books or removing the mic, a strange noise followed the familiar sounds he had heard while organizing Christoph’s study. And then, Ilay’s voice, murmuring right in front of it, sounded exceptionally loud.
「When are you going to remove the voice recorder attached behind the nightstand drawer in my room?」
The moment that slow voice reached his ears.
Jeong Tae-ui froze. His body, his mind, and even his thoughts.
And he slowly turned around. Toward the [stolen content]nightstand [unauthorized copy]where the phone he had used [visit our site]to call Kyle a moment ago was resting quietly.
「That’s even worse than a bug. With a bug, I can’t know what you said when I wasn’t listening, but with a voice recording, I can listen to it all at once later.」
Hearing Ilay click his tongue, Jeong Tae-ui approached the nightstand slowly with a pale face. Then, he very gently pulled out the top drawer. His hands were as frozen as his expression, barely moving.
There was nothing inside the drawer. He pulled the drawer out completely and turned it over.
There. On the bottom of the drawer, a chip the size of a 500-won coin was attached. Blinking with a red light.
「Ah…… if you noticed, you should have taken it off. Since you’re always alone in your room anyway, there was no real utility because the recordings only picked up the sound of you turning pages or tapping a keyboard. Well…… it’s not as if I’d be happy listening to the sounds of you calling Jeong Tae-ui into your room to enjoy cloud and rain pleasure.」
「Aha……」
Gasp, so he means he heard all the sounds of me and Ilay doing this and that on this bed, he thought in a distant corner of his mind, but Jeong Tae-ui remained frozen, clutching the chip with a face still pale with shock.
The fact that the sounds coming from this room were being recorded meant, in other words――.
「Here, take it. The recording tape. Since it’s today’s portion, there probably isn’t any recorded content.」
Following Richard’s casual voice, there was a small thud, as if a light object was being received.
「A 3mm tape? I won’t be able to listen to this without a dedicated device.」
「Want to give it a try? Since it’s the tape from after five in the morning, you’ll probably hear the sounds of you waking up and moving around.」
「Hmm. I haven’t used this type yet……. How does it come out? How’s the sound quality?」
Inside the earphones, a hellish scene was unfolding.
Jeong Tae-ui was merely frozen like a block of ice, unable to even blink.
Meanwhile, Richard, who had received the tape back unauthorized copyfrom Ilay, [stolen content]had inserted it into the playback device and started it.
「It only records when a sound above the set decibel level occurs, so sounds that don’t happen or are below the set value aren’t recorded at all. When it does record, the time is also marked. So it’s convenient to check. Here.」
Soon, a sound like Ilay speaking on the phone, mixed with a slight mechanical noise from the tape playback, flowed through the earphones. Yes, that part isn’t my responsibility, so please do as you wish, hearing the business-like voice, it seemed he had taken a work-related call in the morning.
Hmm, it’s recorded quite clearly, the performance is decent, Ilay’s indifferent murmur followed.
And then.
Finally, the terrifying sound began to be heard.
――Ilay, you’re not here?
What was heard in the earphones was his own voice, mixed with mechanical noise.
Suddenly, a chilly silence flowed from the other side. [unauthorized copy]On both ends, the only thing audible was the mechanical visit our sitesound. The people were silent.
Snap.
Without realizing it, Jeong Tae-ui broke the chip in his hand.
However, unlike the bug, sounds continued to flow from that devilish machine, which had been transmitting records up until the moment the chip broke.
What did I say? What did I say after entering this room?!
He desperately racked his brain, but his frozen mind wouldn’t turn. Rather, every time a fragment of what he had said came back to him, his mind grew colder and paler.
And now, at this point, Jeong Tae-ui knew very well what he had to do.
He had to run away immediately.
* * *
The tragedy of Jeong Tae-ui was that the places he could run to were obvious.
He couldn’t run into the forest in the middle of the night and spend the night there—and even if he did, he couldn’t hide there forever—nor could he ask another person for salvation. If he did, he’d end up ruining someone else’s life too.
Having no choice, he returned to his room, locked the door, dove into bed, and pulled the duvet over his head.
No matter what happened tonight, he would not open that door. Let him knock on that door for a hundred days; he wouldn’t open it.
Jeong Tae-ui knew this was nothing more than a temporary escape, but right now, it was his only sanctuary.
“As expected, there’s no such thing as a perfect crime……. Why did I do that?”
To think the day would come when he could so desperately understand the hearts of people who regret committing a crime.
Jeong Tae-ui buried his face in the pillow, rubbing it vigorously and letting out a scream-like groan, Uuuugh.
“…….”
In truth, he felt like he was going to die from embarrassment rather than fear.
While he lay motionless in bed immediately after locking the door, his mind, as reason and memory slowly returned, detailed his actions after entering Ilay’s room.
What he had said.
He didn’t remember every tiny detail, but the words he felt he ‘could never say openly in front of that guy for the rest of his life’ came back with absolute precision.
It was while he was clutching [stolen content]his head in agony, [Read on Read BL Novels]remembering a word or two, then another word or two.
Suddenly, he thought he heard something. The sound approaching leisurely was the sound of heavy dress shoes. Those footsteps were getting closer and closer.
Flinch, Jeong Tae-ui reflexively curled his body and pulled the duvet up further. With only his eyes exposed and his whole body wrapped in the blanket, he carefully listened again.
But suddenly, he heard nothing.
He waited a bit longer, but still, there was no sound.
“……?? I definitely heard footsteps.”
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head. Still, no sound was heard, and the outside remained quiet.
“……. Did I hear wrong?”
It was the moment Jeong Tae-ui murmured, tilting his head.
“Tae-yi. Open the door.”
A voice that was quiet and low, yet as clear as if it were right in his ear, echoed from outside the door.
He’s here.
At the thought that what was bound to happen had finally happened, Jeong Tae-ui looked at the door with a face that had instantly turned haggard. Outside, that man was standing.
Staring intently at that door—his final, meager line of defense—Jeong Tae-ui pondered for a very short moment.
Would he be more lenient if I just opened the door quickly and clung to him as soon as he entered? No, maybe I should keep acting like a brat until the very end……
Rationally, the former would have been better, but Jeong Tae-ui’s jumbled emotions supported the latter, which provided immediate comfort.
No, think realistically. Opening the door myself is a much better method. ……But [stolen content]with what face can I look at that guy……
If the emotion dominating Jeong Tae-ui had been fear, his hardened reason would have chosen the former. Having lived with that man for several years, he had become somewhat accustomed to the fear of such situations—or rather, he was slightly numb to it.
But right now, it wasn’t fear. Rather than fear, as the words he had spoken revived in his ears, his whole body trembled from unbearable awkwardness.
If his memory had faded even slightly, it might be different, but right now, he felt he absolutely could not face that man. He might actually die of embarrassment.
Jeong Tae-ui murmured, ‘I really can’t do it, I have to wait until my memories and emotions fade a bit, I absolutely can’t right now,’ and burrowed deeper into the duvet.
Then, suddenly, the outside seemed to go quiet.
He heard a light tap tap on the door, but as Jeong Tae-ui held his breath and stayed still, the sound stopped.
However, it was exactly five seconds later.
After a grace period of exactly five [visit our site]seconds, a massive sound, like a bomb exploding, BANG!! ――violently struck the door.
As Jeong Tae-ui, startled, tightly closed the duvet in front of his face, a calm and quiet voice reached his ears, one so composed he might have thought he misheard.
“I told you to open the door, Tae-yi.”
A low and composed voice that didn’t match the explosive roar from a moment ago at all. A wolf coaxing baby goats to come out by saying he wouldn’t hurt them might have had a voice like that.
“Not opening it? ……How tedious.”
But that man, who was even more ferocious than the wolf that swallowed the baby goats whole, took action the very next moment.
――CRACK!
A terrifyingly chilling sound of destruction pierced his ears.
Jeong Tae-ui stared blankly at the door in disbelief. [unauthorized copy]Even if the soundproofing wasn’t great, it was a sturdy, solid wooden door with double-swinging panels that fit together well.
Once more, a chilling crack was heard. Crunch, crunch, snap, after that sound was heard about four times, the door was no longer a door. It could no longer serve its purpose as a door.
With the final scream of the door, snap, a hole was punched right above the doorknob. A hole large enough for a slender person to pass through.
Jeong Tae-ui stared blankly at the door, which was hideously broken with a gaping hole.
Why had he stupidly forgotten?
Of all things to forget, he had forgotten something important that he must never forget.
His brain must have gone beyond frozen to becoming a complete idiot.
Beyond that large hole, the man’s waist was visible. Only the waist, and a clothed one at that, yet he felt he could admire himself for recognizing who the man was just from that, but instead, he lamented his own foolishness and practically collapsed onto the bed.
The man’s hand reached through the hole.
That hand, wearing navy gloves that fit well, fumbled for the doorknob that had been locked from the inside, unlocked the latch, and was about to open the door when he paused, pulled off the gloves, and tossed them aside. Then, the white hand that Jeong Tae-ui liked appeared.
He had already known the feelings of people who viewed those beautiful hands with terror, but he realized it once again now.
In front of Jeong Tae-ui, who sat wrapped in a duvet with only his eyes peeking out, the door finally opened.
Step, he appeared with the low sound of dress shoes.
The man, the possessor of monster-like destructive power, Ilay Riegrow, who tapped the floor with the toe of his shoe to shake off the wood fragments, walked straight toward Jeong Tae-ui. He stopped a few steps from the bed.
“…….”
Jeong Tae-ui looked up at him with only his eyes. He looked down at Jeong Tae-ui with a face devoid of much expression.
“What is this. You didn’t answer when I called and didn’t open the door, so I [Read on Read BL Novels]thought you were either [unauthorized copy]asleep or in the bathroom, but you’re sitting on the bed wide awake.”
Murmuring as if to himself, Ilay took one step closer.
A tense atmosphere lingered. Only within a radius of about 30 centimeters of Jeong Tae-ui.
Looking down from directly above at Jeong Tae-ui, who sat huddled under the duvet like a silent anthill, Ilay finally spoke.
“You said you came to extort money. Then you should extort it; why did you just leave before I went back?”
Gasp…… right, come to think of it, I did say that, my wretched tongue……
Jeong Tae-ui froze in shock at the first words, which came from his mouth in an unexpectedly soft voice. He had forgotten, but thinking back, Jeong Tae-ui had originally visited Ilay to ask for money.
“How much do you need?”
Without even asking why he needed it, Ilay abruptly asked for the amount. Perhaps too impatient to wait for an answer, he rummaged [Read on Read BL Novels]through his pocket, took out his wallet, and pulled a card from it. Then, he dropped it onto the nightstand.
“Well then, the business you came for has been settled.”
Without asking further, Ilay, having efficiently resolved Jeong Tae-ui’s business, turned around and perched himself on the edge of the bed. Sitting within arm’s reach, he tilted his head.
“Now, shall we settle some of my business…?”
It wasn’t easy for a low, quiet voice to sound this terrifying.
Ilay turned his head. He stared silently at Jeong Tae-ui, who was curled up under the blanket with only his eyes showing, and then reached out his hand.
Seeing Jeong Tae-ui slide backward as the hand approached, Ilay let out a smirk and suddenly gripped the blanket tight.
“Jeong Tae-ui. Don’t you think we need to have a deep conversation?”
“A deep conversation… that sounds great, but…”
Because Ilay yanked the blanket away in one swift motion, Jeong Tae-ui tumbled across the bed. He hit Ilay’s knee hard, letting out a short, pained groan.
Ilay clicked his tongue. He brushed away Jeong Tae-ui’s hand as he clutched his head and frowned, checked his forehead, and muttered, “You’re fine.” Even then, he watched blankly as Jeong Tae-ui slowly scooted away, and only when Tae-ui reached the edge of the bed with nowhere left to retreat did Ilay slowly shake his head.
“Wooden doors, blankets, or a distance of less than two meters are not effective cover.”
With that, he stood up abruptly, took just two steps, and sat down right next to Jeong Tae-ui.
“You’re not a stupid guy, yet you occasionally do things that are incomprehensibly foolish.”
Glancing sideways at Ilay, who was muttering as if he truly couldn’t understand, Jeong Tae-ui whispered to himself, That’s because you don’t have the nerves to feel flustered or ashamed…
Come to think of it, he didn’t know how many times this man had shown human emotions. There were a few rare occasions. Though it had been years ago, there had been moments related to Jeong Tae-ui where he had seen a face that made him think blankly, I never imagined I’d see this side of Ilay Riegrow.
This man could be flustered, could be enraged [unauthorized copy]enough to show [stolen content]great emotion, or could be humanly happy.
…Because of that, he had come to realize that a sliver of humanity remained amidst the man’s inhumanity, but he still felt he had never seen virtues like shame or a conscience.
Right now was a perfect example.
“No, but still, what are you going to do about smashing someone else’s door like this…?”
Right now, just a few steps away from them at the entrance, the door was dangling like a tattered rag.
Next to the doorknob, there was a hole large enough for a person to potentially pass through, and the hinges were half-torn off, meaning Jeong Tae-ui could probably rip it off with his own strength now.
Regardless of the issue of compensation, to commit such an act of violence in a house that had treated him as a VIP and given him a nice room—there was a limit to ingratitude.
Furthermore, on a more trivial note, the room, which already had poor soundproofing, could now be considered completely devoid of it. With a hole gaping like that, people outside would be able to see in even if the door were closed; it looked like he’d have to go into the bathroom and shyly change his underwear every single time.
As Jeong Tae-ui muttered while looking at the [stolen content]door with troubled eyes, [Read on Read BL Novels]Ilay glanced at it nonchalantly.
“It doesn’t matter. Richard told me to do as I pleased.”
“…”
Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth.
Hearing those words, he realized. This man had already anticipated that such a situation might occur. But Richard was Richard. He undoubtedly would have smiled and consented to the destruction of the door without a second thought, without even considering Jeong Tae-ui’s personal safety. Resentment surged toward Richard as well.
However, the problem that came to mind more urgently upon hearing that name wasn’t the door. Even if he broke a hundred doors, what he wanted to confirm more anxiously was…
“…Did the two of you listen to that recording… until the end?”
“The playback device was only there, so unfortunately, yes.”
He had expected it, but seeing Ilay nod [visit our site]instantly made Jeong Tae-ui depressed. Read on Read BL NovelsHe had been depressed to begin with, but after hearing that, he felt as if he had fallen to the very bottom of the abyss.
It was embarrassing and awkward enough that this guy had heard it alone—he wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury his head in it—but to think there was another person who had heard every single word.
Jeong Tae-ui slowly reached for the blanket Ilay had pushed aside, but his hand was caught midway by a white, beautiful hand.
“Before you cover yourself with the blanket again, Jeong Tae-ui. Shall we confirm the most important thing first?”
“…? …What.”
Suddenly, the look in Ilay’s eyes changed.
Until a moment ago, he had been treating Jeong Tae-ui with a calmness and composure that belied the man who had violently smashed a door, but suddenly, he narrowed his eyes sharply and stared intently at Jeong Tae-ui.
Wondering why this guy was suddenly glaring at him so chillingly, Jeong Tae-ui shrank back and waited for his words.
“When was it that you said you liked me two or three times a week, consistently?”
The words Ilay threw out were slightly outside the range of his expectations.
He thought the first thing to address in this situation should be why he had used the listening device without permission, but since that was what came out first, he decided to set that issue aside for now.
The desolate voice speaking while looking straight at Jeong Tae-ui sounded as if he were accusing him of lying. Even the narrow gaze looking at Jeong Tae-ui was an accusatory one.
While there were mountains of questionable things about other parts of his life, Jeong Tae-ui had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of regarding the truth or falsehood of what he had said, so he snapped his eyes open and lifted his head. No, rather, this was a matter where he should be the one getting angry.
“What do you mean ‘when’! I must have told you hundreds of times by now! No, not hundreds—two or three times a week, and at least two or three times each time, so it must be thousands of times!”
“When did you do that? If you had said it even once, I would naturally remember.”
Ilay even snorted as if he were listening to nonsense. Jeong Tae-ui let out a short, breathless “Ha” and looked at him in disbelief.
The nerve of this man.
Despite being told he was liked countless times, instead of feeling sorry for not remembering, he insisted it had never happened and glared back.
Jeong Tae-ui gasped, staring blankly at Ilay with his mouth open.
“Of course, if you ask for evidence, I don’t have any saved, but still! Yes, I told you just a while ago when we were sleeping! Does it make sense that you don’t remember that!”
Jeong Tae-ui shouted, thumping his chest as if his heart were breaking. He wondered when it was that he had been trembling and hiding under the blanket to avoid this man, who was now the one with fire in his eyes.
Then, Ilay, who had opened his mouth to raise his voice in turn, suddenly stopped as if a thought had occurred to him. He stood there for a moment with his mouth open, looking down at Jeong Tae-ui as if thinking about something, and then slowly closed his mouth.
A moment of silence followed.
In that silence, Jeong Tae-ui alone breathed heavily in frustration, glaring at Ilay. The intensity in Ilay’s eyes, which had been glaring fiercely at Jeong Tae-ui, gradually faded. Eventually, those eyes watched Jeong Tae-ui with great suspicion, or perhaps bewilderment.
“…Let me ask you one thing, Tae-yi.”
“What. When did I say it? What hour, minute, and second?”
As Jeong Tae-ui asked back sullenly, having regressed to the level of an elementary school student, Ilay remained silent for a bit longer before speaking.
“By any chance, those thousands of times you say you told me you liked me… are you talking about…”
“What.”
“The times when we’re mixing bodies, and at the very end, when you’re feeling it and ejaculating, you mutter ‘It feels good, it feels good’—are you talking about that?”
“You know it, so why are you saying you’ve never heard it!”
“…”
As Jeong Tae-ui’s face instantly flushed red and he shouted sullenly to visit our sitemask his embarrassment, Ilay Read on Read BL Novelsquietly shut his mouth. He then looked at Jeong Tae-ui with an indescribable, ambiguous expression.
As if all the energy had suddenly drained from his body, Ilay let out a quiet sigh and covered his face with his hand. He then lightly massaged his temples with his thumb as if he were exhausted.
“You know, you tell me I lack common sense… but sometimes I think you’re the one who needs to learn some common sense.”
At Ilay’s quiet mutter, Jeong Tae-ui’s breath caught again. Common sense—he might have taken it from anyone else, but it was the last thing he wanted to hear from this man.
Sensing the disbelief in Jeong Tae-ui’s gaze, Ilay frowned slightly and clicked his tongue.
“Saying it feels good at a timing like that obviously means the pleasure is intense; who would think that’s a confession of love?”
Hearing Ilay’s words, which sounded like he was lecturing a dull child, Jeong Tae-ui stared at him blankly and then closed his eyes. He lifted his head and let out a long sigh.
“Ilay… Ilay, think carefully. Try to recall your memories. Think about when you started shouting that it felt good while we were mixing bodies.”
As far as Jeong Tae-ui remembered, except for the initial period when he was terrified, seriously thinking he [stolen content]would surely be split in two and die tonight, he had been saying it since the time he became somewhat able to endure it. From the time when he couldn’t feel it through penetration and only ejaculated from the stimulation in front, Jeong Tae-ui had clearly told this man that it felt good.
“I’ll give you the recent times, but do you think I felt a pleasure intense enough to shout that the act was good at the beginning?! Think carefully about that thing you see in the bathroom every day!”
As he argued, memories of the first time he was dealt with by this guy came back, bringing tears to his eyes. He thought he was going to die back then, but he barely survived because human lives are so tenacious.
After tearing up for a moment while recalling the past, Ilay was looking down at Jeong Tae-ui with a strange look.
“What.”
Jeong Tae-ui, thinking of the past that was still agonizing enough to make him break into a cold sweat, muttered fiercely. Ilay slightly raised an eyebrow and answered ambiguously, “No…”
In a situation where the tables had completely turned from before, Jeong Tae-ui glared relentlessly at Ilay, who was now silent.
Then, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly wondered why this man, who didn’t possess the virtue of being discouraged, was staying so quiet without responding, and the tension in his eyes relaxed.
After being silent for a while, Ilay spoke [unauthorized copy]visit our siteup as if he had been waiting for the moment Jeong Tae-ui relaxed his gaze and his anger subsided slightly.
“Then, your words now mean that the ‘it feels good’ you said at those times wasn’t about the sex, but about me.”
“That’s right.”
Only after answering quickly and nodding did Jeong Tae-ui pause.
He felt as if he had said something that would be too embarrassing to say face-to-face with a cool, rational mind in his usual state.
Thinking Oh, oh, Jeong Tae-ui slowly lifted only his pupils to look at Ilay. And then, he flinched.
Ilay was smiling. He was looking down at Jeong Tae-ui with a very deep smile.
Seeing that smile, Jeong Tae-ui thought to himself, Ah.
I see. It was good that I said it. It was good that I told him properly. Although Read on Read BL Novelshis [stolen content]face was on fire with embarrassment and awkwardness right now, it wasn’t easy to see Ilay’s face smiling happily like this.
“Tae-yi.”
Suddenly, he whispered. As Jeong Tae-ui muttered a hesitant “Uh,” he called him once more.
“Tae-yi.”
“What.”
When it reaches this point, both embarrassment and awkwardness are almost abandoned. Jeong Tae-ui let out a deep sigh and glanced up at Ilay.
Before he knew it, Ilay had moved right up against him. Wrapping his arm around his shoulder as if embracing him, the hand covering Jeong Tae-ui’s cheek softly stroked his face.
“Do you like me?”
Their foreheads touched. He whispered softly, as if sharing a secret. For [Read on Read BL Novels]some reason, Jeong Tae-ui became very shy and tried to pull back slightly, but the arm around [visit our site]his shoulder, while soft, held him firmly and did not let go.
“…Yeah. I like you.”
Jeong Tae-ui answered honestly. His cheeks grew hotter, but at a distance where their foreheads were touching like this, it probably wouldn’t be visible. Though the hand stroking his cheek might feel his rising body temperature.
“If that’s the case, as long as you like me, you won’t leave Berlin.”
“…Yeah. If you keep staying there.”
“Even if you’re no longer wanted and become a free man?”
“Yeah. If you keep staying there.”
And if he moved elsewhere, Jeong Tae-ui would go with him. At least as long as he wanted him to.
Jeong Tae-ui repeated the same answer. Hearing that response, which was Read on Read BL Novels[Read on Read BL Novels]devoid of hesitation or ambiguity despite the shyness, Ilay laughed softly.
“What’s this, we’ve been together for years, why are you being so formal all of a sudden?”
As Jeong Tae-ui muttered slightly sullenly, Ilay chuckled.
“It feels good to hear it in words. Because you almost never say things like that.”
Did I? As Jeong Tae-ui recalled his vague memories, he suddenly tilted his head. Even with their foreheads still touching, his eyes snapped open.
“Now that I think about it, you’re the one who says those things even less!”
“Ah… was I?”
Ilay asked back as if he hadn’t known.
Now that he thought about it, it was true. Until now, Jeong Tae-ui had been too flustered by the embarrassing words coming out of his own mouth to think straight, but recalling the memories, Ilay was the man who almost never said such things.
“Come to think of it, I suppose that’s true.”
Hearing him mutter so nonchalantly made Jeong Tae-ui feel subtly irritated.
How could he be the same way and then press others?
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head slightly, pulling his face away from him and clicking his tongue. He glared at him with disapproval. Though the fierce gaze softened again shortly after.
In truth, he didn’t necessarily need it in words.
Of course, he would be happy enough for his face to catch fire if he heard it, but he wouldn’t feel lonely or anxious just because he wasn’t told.
Because he knew.
Ilay treated Jeong Tae-ui ‘specially.’
Sometimes, because of that special treatment, Jeong Tae-ui received pitying looks from others—and there were times when Jeong Tae-ui himself sobbed, saying he hated this kind of specialness—but the only person who knew the gentle side of the man named Ilay Riegrow was surely Jeong Tae-ui.
If that gentleness, which appeared only for a fleeting moment and was like the tip of an iceberg, could be revealed, he couldn’t even imagine how massive the block of ice beneath it must be.
You’re being fooled, poor Tae-yi, Kyle would sometimes hold onto Jeong Tae-ui and feel sorry for him while slightly drunk, but they simply didn’t know.
“Without you, Tae-yi. It tastes bland.”
Ilay suddenly spoke.
Jeong Tae-ui, who had been lost in thought, looked up. Huh?
He heard what the man said, but he couldn’t immediately understand the meaning of the words.
However, before Jeong Tae-ui could ask “What is?”, Ilay slowly scanned Jeong Tae-ui as if [unauthorized copy]looking at a strange and peculiar object. Those eyes, which looked cold at a glance, seemed to mutter, You really are strange.
“I thought about it. What it was like before I met you. I thought nothing had changed much and there was nothing special, so I wondered if anything had actually changed, and as I thought about it quietly, nothing came to mind.”
“…”
Looking at Ilay, who was muttering somewhat languidly, Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips bitterly.
Although the door ended up like that, I’m grateful I survived… I never hoped for words like ‘My life changed because of you,’ but still, I think he didn’t have to tell me ‘It’s the same before and after meeting you.’
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head, thinking, My life was completely turned upside down after meeting this guy.
“But coming here and staying for a couple of months before you arrived, I suddenly realized that since you weren’t here, there was nothing to get angry about.”
The story was getting stranger and stranger.
With a slightly appalled face, Jeong Tae-ui looked at the [visit our site]mouth from which Ilay’s words were flowing.
“It was like that before I met you, too. There were trivial things that made me angry, but nothing that made me lose my mind. If I got slightly angry, I could just remove the cause.”
“So you’re saying that if I’m just not around, there’s nothing to get angry about…?”
As Jeong Tae-ui checked with suspicion, Ilay nodded with an utterly nonchalant face.
“Right. As long as you aren’t around, there’s nothing to make me particularly angry or unpleasant.”
Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth and stared at him intently. The context of the conversation had shifted somewhere. Until just a moment ago, it had been a bit shy, a bit awkward, but still pleasant; now, the direction of the talk had suddenly twisted completely.
Jeong Tae-ui sighed and scratched his head.
“So what. Are you telling me to get out of Berlin?”
“Ah—if that happened, I’d probably get Read on Read BL Novelsangry for the first time in a while. Very certainly.”
“What do you want me to do about it?”
Jeong Tae-ui glared. He looked at Ilay with sharp, piercing eyes, but it was frustrating that he couldn’t glare properly because their faces were too close.
As expected, glaring from such a close distance lacked impact and instead looked comical; Ilay suddenly let out a chuckle. Then, he abruptly licked Jeong Tae-ui’s eyelid.
“Ack! You just licked my eye! Ow, ow…”
Thinking seriously that the line ‘As long as you aren’t around, there’s nothing to make me angry’ should actually be his line, Jeong Tae-ui rubbed his eye. However, Ilay brushed his hand away and gently swept his lips over the eyelid, where tears had already begun to well up.
“When you aren’t here, my senses are dim. I hardly get angry, and I rarely feel unpleasant. There’s nothing to make me feel good, and nothing is enjoyable.”
“…—”
Jeong Tae-ui fell silent. He wordlessly felt the sensation of the lips moving slightly over his eyelid.
“It’s dry… without any stimulation. It’s as if my mind is becoming dull. I don’t feel much of anything. I’m moderately amused, moderately pleased, and moderately angry.”
Ilay’s quiet voice dropped slightly lower.
Jeong Tae-ui listened to that voice as if possessed by something. Then, he suddenly muttered.
“Alcohol, cigarettes, women…?”
Words he had heard briefly earlier flashed through his mind.
At that moment, Ilay suddenly burst into laughter. Laughing loudly, he pulled his head back slightly and looked down at Jeong Tae-ui.
Strange. It was strange. Ilay’s face looked exceptionally joyful today. Or perhaps it was just because of this moment.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at him with his head tilted slightly, [unauthorized copy]then let [Read on Read BL Novels]out a soft sigh [Read on Read BL Novels]only inside his mouth.
He had just realized something else. Regardless, if Ilay was happy, Jeong Tae-ui was happy too. For most things, as long as he was enjoying himself, that was enough.
“But you don’t really do alcohol, cigarettes, or women much.”
Even as he muttered this, Jeong Tae-ui thought he was sounding a bit dim-witted. It didn’t fit the flow of the conversation, but he said it anyway, feeling inexplicably awkward.
Ilay lowered his head slightly and looked at Jeong Tae-ui with a faint smile, counting them off one by one.
“I used to drink quite a bit, but I don’t much these days. I can drink if I want to, but unless I occasionally feel like it, I don’t. Same for cigarettes. I played around with women quite a bit in the past, but lately—for the last few years—I haven’t touched them.”
“Then your life was dry anyway.”
“Ah… the point where those three things became tedious almost overlapped with the time I went to UNHRDO’s Asia branch. There was something there that was more stimulating than all three combined.”
“….”
Jeong Tae-ui wanted to ask something, but thinking about the answer he would receive, he decided it was better not to hear it and kept his mouth shut.
However, for some reason, this man always seemed to answer first, as if he could sense it. Just like now.
“So, you’re the one who stole all my alcohol, cigarettes, and women, Tae-yi.”
“No, no, let me tell you, I think there’s a misunderstanding.”
“You bear the greatest responsibility for making the trivial pleasures of life fade like that, Tae-yi.”
Ilay smiled broadly. Seeing his eyes narrow into a smile, he seemed to be in a truly good mood. …I told myself not to do this. Now even I’m starting to feel okay with it.
Jeong Tae-ui sighed. He gazed steadily at Ilay and then asked, “Then what if…”
“What would you do if I told you to quit alcohol, cigarettes, and women instead of me?”
“I’d quit.”
The answer came out instantly without a shred of hesitation. He didn’t even seem to be joking or lying. Instead, he looked at him strangely, as if wondering why he was asking something so obvious.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Ilay with a somewhat perplexed face for a while.
He had intended for that to be the case from the start, but he didn’t expect him to assert it so definitively. But still.
“…Alright. I’ll take responsibility. If you’re throwing away the three great pleasures of life, I should take responsibility…”
Well, you don’t necessarily have to quit everything—except the women, Jeong Tae-ui added, waving his hand dismissively, which made Ilay smirk.
He pulled Jeong Tae-ui closer. Then he licked his lips. Tasting the lips bit by bit, as if licking a sweet candy, Ilay eventually kissed him deeply.
For a moment, his breath was stolen, but since this wasn’t the first or second stolen contenttime, he had grown used to it.
Jeong Tae-ui breathed slowly through his nose, letting out a languid sigh.
Suddenly, he felt good. As he smiled quietly, Ilay, perhaps feeling that smile inside the kiss, lowered his face slightly and looked at him inquisitively, as if asking why.
“Nothing. …Because I like you.”
When Jeong Tae-ui spoke softly, Ilay raised an eyebrow with a peculiar expression. Then, letting out a sigh like a groan, he whispered, “Tae-yi.” This time, the mouth that covered his lips didn’t seem like it would move away anytime soon.
How much time had passed?
After exploring the inside of his mouth for a long while, Ilay suddenly whispered low.
“You taste like beer.”
“Huh? …Ah, I had a can or two [visit our site]before going to your room… [visit our site]does the smell still linger?”
“Hmm—it doesn’t matter. Since you’ve decided to become my alcohol. A tongue that tastes of alcohol tastes quite good too.”
Licking slightly as if truly tasting him, Ilay suddenly asked in a joking tone, as if he had just thought of it.
“What about you?”
“Hmm?”
“If you had beer and me on both sides and had to quit one.”
“Huh? What are you talking about, obviously—”
Jeong Tae-ui opened his mouth to speak with a laugh, as if it were absurd, but he reflexively thought of the refreshing taste of beer and hesitated for a split second. It was a very, very brief moment.
The moment he realized that short gap [stolen content]made his following words unnatural, Jeong Tae-ui [stolen content]quickly tried to fix it visit our siteby kissing Ilay, but he was a step too late.
This exceptionally perceptive man was not the type to let things slide clumsily or obliviously at times like this.
“….”
The silence of Ilay, who remained quiet, became increasingly frightening. Jeong Tae-ui tried his best to escape this crisis by pretending not to notice and giving him cute, little pecks on the lips, but an ominous shadow was growing darker.
“…I see.”
Jeong Tae-ui clung to Ilay’s neck, licking his lips like a cat in a desperate attempt to gloss over the situation, but the voice that finally leaked from Ilay’s lips was very low and sunken. The warm, pleasant voice from a moment ago was nowhere to be found.
“I understand your intentions very well, Tae-yi.”
He spoke quietly, then grabbed Jeong Tae-ui’s shoulders and gently pushed him away.
Jeong Tae-ui’s gaze, looking at Ilay with a bewildered face and eyes shaking [visit our site]with anxiety and nervousness, was desperately pleading, but Ilay looked at him silently and spoke.
“I asked a question that was too cruel for someone who loves beer so much. Fine, then quit me. I’ll help you.”
Having said that in a very heavy voice, Ilay suddenly began to pop open his shirt buttons one by one. Before the anxious-looking Jeong Tae-ui could react, Ilay had thrown off all his clothes and, without a word, grabbed the struggling Tae-ui—who was trying his best to make excuses, saying, “Wait, wait a second, I was just thinking about something else for a moment…”—and stripped him bare in the blink of an eye.
“Hey, wait, look at the state of that door, anyone passing by can see everything, no, even the voices can be heard in the hallway, let alone…! Wait, Ilay, I really made a mistake just now, I was wrong…!”
“There’s no need to worry so much. I told you I’d help. With a method that is ‘merciless and brutal enough to cool a hundred years of love in an instant,’ as you once said.”
“No, wait, that’s not it, wai—!!”
No more excuses could come out of Jeong Tae-ui’s mouth. After that, for a long while, only sounds that defied meaning burst forth.
Until the words ‘I’ll quit beer’ finally came out.
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