5.3 A Moment of Rest

“Hey. Wake up. …Hey, Jeong Tae-ui.”

He heard a voice shouting nonchalantly beside him.

‘Nonchalantly’ ‘shouting’… what a strange sensation, Jeong Tae-ui thought within his hazy consciousness as he opened his eyes.

In his peripheral vision, he saw a familiar face. More accurately, a profile.

That sculpted, straight profile belonged to someone who was calling Tae-ui’s name with a bored expression, unaware that Tae-ui had even opened his eyes.

Indeed, if it’s this man, he’s capable of having such a relaxed face even in a situation urgent enough to shout, Tae-ui thought as he closed his eyes again. For some reason, he was incredibly sleepy. Drowsiness washed over him as if lead weights had been attached to his eyelids, making it unbearable.

But why on earth was he shouting? Looking at his expression, he didn’t seem that urgent. …Ah. It’s because the surroundings are noisy. With that loud banging sound, you wouldn’t be able to hear a normal voice. But why is it so noisy…

“Tae-ui. I told you to wake up.”

That same bored shouting knocked against the eardrums of Jeong Tae-ui, who was wandering through a swamp of sleep. Tae-ui forced his eyes open again.

“Do you know how to handle a helicopter?”

“Huh? Heli…?!”

Christoph asked Jeong Tae-ui, who had only managed to half-open his blurry eyes. Tae-ui frowned in confusion at the sudden question.

“If it’s an LCH model, I can probably handle it roughly, but why suddenly…?”

Rubbing his heavy eyelids with his hand to force them open and lifting his head, Tae-ui finally opened his eyes properly as he heard a nonchalant voice mutter, “Really? That’s good.”

And exactly three seconds later, his sleepiness vanished as if he had been doused in cold water.

“You kept lingering and talking nonsense, so I gave unauthorized copyyou a smack unauthorized copyand you passed out. I put it on auto-pilot, but I didn’t know how to hover in place, so I’ve just been circling around.”

The casually muttered words didn’t even fully register in his ears. What flew into his consciousness before those words was the panoramic view of the town unfolding before his eyes.

The night view of the city was visible dozens of meters below. The helicopter had left the downtown area and was flying over a quiet neighborhood. And there, in the middle of the high sky, Jeong Tae-ui was floating.

He had passed out, and upon waking, he was in the sky.

Tae-ui blinked and looked around in bewilderment. Because it was night, he couldn’t see the outside clearly. Regardless, he knew he was inside a helicopter flying through the air.

“Wait a minute, why am I in a place like this…?”

“Or perhaps, is there somewhere nearby we can land?”

As if he had no intention of resolving Tae-ui’s doubts, Christoph only said what he wanted to say. How should I know that… Tae-ui muttered, but he began searching the outside for an open space to land the helicopter, eventually tilting his head.

The town was dark with few lights because it was a residential area. [unauthorized copy]Since it was night and he had never looked down from [unauthorized copy]this altitude, it was hard to tell, but it felt familiar.

Even that small park visible just over there looked strangely familiar. Tae-ui stared intently at the park in the darkness—a place he felt he might have visited for walks several times—then glanced around and turned to Christoph.

“Is this Berlin?”

“You said you lived here for several years; you can’t tell just by looking? How cold.”

“It’s pitch black, I’m seeing it from this altitude for the first time, and I just woke up from a sleep so I’m out of it! If I recognized it immediately, that would be the weird thing!”

Only after shouting at Christoph, who was scolding him for being cold, did Jeong Tae-ui finally wake up properly.

His head throbbed. The effects of the drug hadn’t fully worn off yet, making his vision subtly dizzy, as if convex lenses had been placed inside his pupils.

One by one, memories began to return, albeit slowly. Those memories, which surfaced with an almost surreal quality as if they were dreams, were undoubtedly things that had happened in reality. Considering the current reality of flying over Berlin in a helicopter, there was no other answer.

“Where is Ilay?”

That was the first memory to spring forth.

The sight that had appeared terrifying even to Jeong Tae-ui’s eyes.

The way he had stared into space with an expressionless face and subtly unfocused eyes, then suddenly dashed forward, snapping the necks of several people in an instant as he headed straight for his target—recalling that image made the back of Tae-ui’s neck grow cold belatedly. At the time he witnessed it, he had felt nothing, as if his mind had been paralyzed.

He had forgotten because he had been living a peaceful life.

That was the nature of the man known as Ilay Riegrow.

Tearing a person’s throat out while smiling slowly with a fully conscious mind.

And such a man had collapsed.

He felt as if that weight was still resting on his shoulders.

“Ilay.”

Tae-ui asked again, looking at Christoph.

“Don’t you remember?”

However, Christoph asked back with a puzzled expression.

He… remembered.

Just before losing consciousness, Tae-ui had handed Ilay over to Christoph, who had reached out. Rather than handing him over, it was more like Christoph had snatched him away, but Christoph was the only person there he could somewhat trust.

If it had been anyone else, he would never have let him be taken.

…How could he do that while unable to even steady his own body…?

He didn’t know. But somehow, he wouldn’t have let him be taken.

Though, in the end, it turned out that Christoph was also—regarding Ilay—a man who couldn’t be trusted.

“You just left him behind…”

Tae-ui sighed.

Then again, in that situation, they couldn’t have brought Ilay along. No, he didn’t know the details of what happened while he was unconscious, but it was a miracle that Christoph had managed to get even just Tae-ui out of there.

But to leave a man who had enemies everywhere, a man who had lost consciousness, in a place where Richard—the man who had betrayed him—was present.

“I hope you’re not saying you’re worried about Rick.”

Christoph spoke indifferently while scanning the outside for a suitable Read on Read BL Novelsplace to land the helicopter. Tae-ui pondered for a moment, cupping his [visit our site]chin, then sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

“I guess we can’t go back to Tarten.”

“If you’re saying that seriously, I’ll put you back to sleep.”

Tae-ui nodded.

In truth, no matter how many times he thought about it, Ilay Riegrow was not a human being one needed to worry about. If anything, he should worry about the other humans left behind where Ilay was abandoned.

Strictly speaking—by normal standards—it would be a laughingstock for everyone if he were worried about that monster who had poured so much of that drug into his body and still turned the banquet hall upside down, when Tae-ui himself had fainted and staggered after receiving barely half a dose.

“Well, he might show up in Berlin perfectly fine by tomorrow.”

When Tae-ui muttered this, Christoph shook his head firmly.

“Perfectly fine? It’ll be a miracle if [stolen content]he doesn’t show up drenched in blood. Then [unauthorized copy]again, does being [Read on Read BL Novels]drenched in someone else’s blood count as being ‘perfectly fine’?”

Tae-ui thought that if they had been colleagues, this man would likely know Ilay better than he did in that regard, but the image of Ilay drenched in someone else’s blood wasn’t particularly pleasant.

He’s a guy who earns such steadfast belief in his inhumanity even from a former colleague, yet I’m still worried about him. I guess I’m still not used to him, Tae-ui thought as he pointed to the park passing by the bottom right of the helicopter.

“The only place that seems remotely suitable for landing is that park over there, but I’m not sure if it’s wide enough. Should we try it anyway?”

Tae-ui leaned the pilot’s seat back and leaned forward from the rear seat to grab the controls. Making a wide turn back toward the park they had already passed, he examined the view below through the tilted window.

“A park… …Kyle’s house was around there.”

Looking down, Christoph rubbed his chin as if lost in thought, then glanced up. He estimated the location, which was hard to see because of the darkness, and asked.

“How long does it take on foot?”

“Three minutes. If you run, you can get there in less than a minute.”

The park where he occasionally went for walks at dawn or in the evening was very close to the house. It was so small that there was little difference between going there and leisurely walking between the front and back yards of the house, but he still visited occasionally to feel like he was stepping outside the walls for some fresh air.

“Three minutes…” Christoph muttered, then suddenly glared at Tae-ui from the corner of his eye as a thought occurred to him.

“Despite being an international fugitive, you didn’t hide quietly in your house and went for leisurely walks?”

“…I don’t really have a rebuttal, but why is it that hearing that from you makes it so hard to accept…?”

Comparing his own past actions with this man’s, he could assert with certainty that this man had committed acts far closer to those of a fugitive.

Feeling the unfairness of the world in this regard, Tae-ui lowered the altitude of the helicopter. He gauged the geography of the town by the positions of the scattered streetlights and the width of the dark spaces, and as he lowered the altitude further, the town became easier to see. Now he could tell where everything was.

“By the way, are you okay?”

Tae-ui asked abruptly while lowering the altitude further according to Christoph’s gestures. Christoph, who had unauthorized copybeen [stolen content]beckoning him to go lower—a [stolen content]little more, just a little more—cast a puzzled look.

“Is it okay for you to have left Tarten like that?”

Tae-ui deliberately looked outside and muttered in a casual tone. However, he couldn’t help his voice from dropping.

He had no way of knowing exactly how he had ended up here after losing consciousness, but judging by his final memory and the atmosphere of the time, he couldn’t have left on good terms.

Looking at the bloodstains splattered on the instrument panel and the windshield, he could easily imagine the situation left behind.

No answer came from Christoph.

Perhaps he hadn’t heard.

Inside a helicopter where one had to raise their voice above normal to have a conversation, Tae-ui might have spoken too quietly.

However, he didn’t feel like raising his voice to ask again, so Tae-ui remained silent.

Meanwhile, the helicopter reached the airspace above the dark park.

“What do you think? Does it look like we can land?”

“I don’t know… Go down a bit more. The streetlight is too dim.”

The helicopter’s altitude had already dropped to a height where the buildings on the ground were visible in considerable detail. It was fortunate that it was a residential area; he wouldn’t have been able to fly at this height in a downtown area with towering buildings.

Once he lowered the altitude to the point where it seemed impossible to go any further, the park finally became distinguishable enough under the faint streetlights.

“…Ugh. This won’t work.”

Tae-ui clicked his tongue as he looked down through the window.

He had thought that the open space in the center of the park, though narrow, would be sufficient to land [unauthorized copy]one helicopter if they were careful, but now, regardless of the stolen contentwidth, it wasn’t a situation where they could land.

In the few weeks since Tae-ui had last visited, construction was underway in the park.

It wasn’t a major project—at a glance, it seemed to be nothing more than renovating a fountain—but lumber and bricks were piled up around it. They would likely be blown away by the wind pressure from the propellers.

Tae-ui raised the altitude slightly again. Then, remembering something, he turned to Christoph.

“There was a school across the main road. I don’t think it was that large, but a school playground should be plenty of space to land.”

“No.”

As soon as Tae-ui finished speaking, Christoph cut him off.

“Too far.”

“It’s further than the park, but it’s stolen contenta distance [stolen content]that takes less than a few minutes on foot.”

“No, it’s not. Actually, even the park is too far.”

Christoph shook his head. After a brief silence, Tae-ui finally understood.

From landing to entering the front gate of the house.

Even a distance of just a few minutes was a long way if they had to fight through the people guarding the path.

Tae-ui stretched out and leaned back into the seat, letting out a long sigh.

Their location would have been known by now anyway. There was no need to think about where those circling this area would go.

“I’m committing another sin against Kyle like this…”

Tae-ui muttered bitterly and scratched his head.

In this situation, there was one thing that had to be considered above all else.

To minimize the risk of the escape becoming futile. In other words, the distance from the landing site to the destination had to be shortened as much as possible.

And since the only place near the house suitable for landing a helicopter was that park—and they couldn’t even land there—the options they could choose were extremely limited.

 

 

It took quite a while to wake the unconscious pilot. It seemed Christoph had beaten him quite severely.

The pilot, who showed no sign of waking even after Tae-ui shook him and patted his cheeks for a long time, finally twitched and moved his eyelids with a low groan—perhaps instinctively feeling a threat to his life—when Christoph rolled up his sleeves and said coldly, “He’ll wake up if I hit him harder.”

Whether he knew he had just saved his own [unauthorized copy]life or not, the pilot, [stolen content]upon opening his eyes, gripped the controls while sobbing, [stolen content]with Christoph holding a gun to his head.

Soon, they reached the airspace of their destination.

Above Kyle’s house.

Looking down from an unfamiliar angle at the house he had lived in for several years, Jeong Tae-ui put on his goggles. As soon as the helicopter door opened, a blast of wind rushed in, making it difficult to even keep his eyes open.

Beside him, Christoph, who merely narrowed his eyes slightly without bothering to wear goggles, looked down for a moment and then nodded.

“Good. Give me the parachute. There should be some on board.”

Christoph held out his hand with an air of confidence, as if asking for something he had left in storage. The pilot, looking bewildered, shook his head frantically.

“Uh, there aren’t any—”

“—No way. Where in the world is there unauthorized copya helicopter without a parachute? [stolen content]Stop playing visit our sitegames and just hand it over.”

Christoph openly displayed his irritation, waving his palm.

“I—I really don’t have—”

Without asking a second time, Christoph slapped the pilot across the face. Since it was only a slap with his palm, the pilot didn’t lose consciousness this time, but he clutched his head in pain, flustered and lost.

What did that pilot do to deserve this? Feeling pity for the unlucky man, Jeong Tae-ui fumbled under the seats in the back.

“Helicopters are all pretty much the same. If there’s a place to keep a parachute… ah, found it.”

After only a few feel-arounds, Jeong Tae-ui pulled out a large bundle that had caught his hand.

Upon finding the parachute, which was covered in dust as if it hadn’t been used in a long time, Christoph didn’t look happy; instead, he glared fiercely at the pilot. He then leaned back to search the remaining space behind the rear seats. He tilted his head and searched for a while, then checked under the seats again, and even fumbled through the overhead cabinets where such a large bundle could never possibly fit before finally withdrawing his hand.

His desolate gaze returned to the pilot.

“Why is there only one?”

“W-well, this aircraft itself is for emergency maneuvers, so…”

As the pilot stammered a desperate excuse, Christoph looked ready to explode in anger, but Jeong Tae-ui barely managed to hold him back.

“What can we do if there isn’t another? We’ll just have to make do with this.”

After soothing him, Jeong Tae-ui examined the canopy, tracing the letters printed on the cover, and clicked his tongue softly.

“It’s a lightweight one. If the load limit is 80 kilograms… let’s say it can somehow hold up to 90, no, 100 kilograms, but I’m 70 on my own… You weigh more than 30 kilograms, right?”

Instead of an answer, a fist flew toward him. Slightly tilting his head to dodge the punch, Jeong Tae-ui murmured thoughtfully, “Hmm.”

“Trying to get two people down with this one is a bit too much of a gamble.”

“Still, we have no choice. Well, it’ll be fine. Some guys I knew once jumped while hanging onto a 120-kilogram load with three people.”

Christoph muttered as he checked the canopy’s connection hooks. It seemed he intended for the two of them to jump together using this single parachute.

“Three people on 120 kilograms? Was that actually okay?”

As Jeong Tae-ui calculated whether two people on an 80-kilogram one might somehow work, a nonchalant answer flew back.

“No, it snapped halfway. One spent four months in the hospital, and two spent half a year. …Okay. Check complete. Let’s jump.”

“Wait, hold on… how can you be in the mood to say ‘let’s jump’ right after saying that…?”

Jeong Tae-ui urgently grabbed Christoph’s sleeve. Christoph, who was fastening the safety clip to one of Jeong Tae-ui’s shoulders, glanced at the grabbed sleeve and then stared blankly at Jeong Tae-ui.

“Do you have another way?”

“…Let’s lower the altitude as much as possible and jump onto the trees… Then we might get away with just minor injuries…”

Following Jeong Tae-ui’s suggestion, the helicopter lowered its altitude. It descended to a height where one might have heard of someone jumping and surviving.

With the parachute slung over one shoulder each and the safety clips connected, the two threw themselves from a height not much different from the one humans find most terrifying.

It was too high to jump without protection, but far too low to deploy a parachute normally, so they opened the canopy almost simultaneously the moment they leaped from the helicopter into the void.

Rrip. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but there was a sound like something tearing from the canopy that snapped open above their heads. Their hearts, which had plummeted during the brief freefall, bounced back lightly as their bodies jerked to a halt against the suspension lines.

Perhaps that parachute had been specially crafted.

Despite being labeled for an 80-kilogram load, contrary to their worries, it didn’t immediately tear or snap even while carrying nearly double that weight. Though they were falling at a very precarious speed.

“Fortunately, it seems to be holding for now.”

Falling at a speed much slower than freefall but significantly faster than a typical parachute descent, Jeong Tae-ui murmured to Christoph, who was pressed tightly against his side.

“Hmm. I hope it holds until the end. Still, at this rate, we wouldn’t die even if it snapped right now. We’d just break a few bones.”

Muttering chilling words with a casual expression, Christoph steered the canopy toward the courtyard.

The sound of wind roared above them.

It was a sound that allowed one to vividly feel the sensation of flying through the sky.

A sensation where only the sound of the wind could be heard amidst a silence that left the ears feeling muffled.

However, Jeong Tae-ui could not enjoy that long-lost sensation for long. Because mixed in with the wind, he heard an ominous skritch.

He whipped his head up to see [stolen content]a line beginning to fray [Read on Read BL Novels]at one end of the canopy, which was pulled taut by the safety clip.

“Hey… wait, the direction! Change the direction completely and go toward the pool, hurry!”

Jeong Tae-ui shouted urgently.

“What? The pool? That way?”

Christoph, who had been aiming for the center of the garden, pulled the line. The edge of the canopy curved, and the direction shifted.

However, the canopy, already torn quite deeply and no longer allowing for precise steering, veered far more than intended.

A massive, ancient tree loomed right in front of them.

“Ah, no, no! More to the right, the right! No! That’s a tree Peter put so much effort into growing…!!”

But Jeong Tae-ui’s cry scattered vainly into the air.

Rrip, rrip. The canopy, which had been tearing bit by bit precariously, finally ripped wide open before they could completely clear the lush tree. Along with the piece of cloth that could no longer function as a parachute, the two plummeted.

Looking back, it was actually a blessing that they fell onto the tree, using it as a cushion. Having fallen vertically from a height higher than the roof, they didn’t crash straight into the ground but barely managed to get caught on a branch as thick as a forearm.

However, the sturdy branch, unable to withstand their weight, buckled and crashed straight through a second-floor glass window. Simultaneously with the sound of shattering glass, the security system triggered, and a deafening alarm began to blare throughout the house. It was a sound loud enough to wake the entire village.

Lights suddenly flickered on here and there inside the house, which had been submerged in a quiet, secluded darkness. The sounds of neighbors opening windows to see what was happening followed in succession.

“Ugh…”

By the time the siren of a security company’s patrol vehicle began to be heard approaching from a distance, Jeong Tae-ui gave up on his situation, unable to free himself from the branch no matter how much he struggled, not knowing where his clothes were caught. Beside him, Christoph, similarly caught in the tree, seemed to squirm slightly at first but had already given up early and was hanging quietly like laundry.

“Why is this neighborhood so noisy in the middle of the night?”

At Christoph’s dissatisfied grumbling, Jeong Tae-ui finally exploded.

“This is not the time for you to be saying that!”

“Then you’re telling me you don’t find this noise loud? You can’t hear it?”

As Jeong Tae-ui glared at Christoph, lamenting that if only this arm caught in the branch were a bit freer, he would have grabbed that annoying collar and shaken him violently.

The light in the second-floor room where the branch had smashed through the window flickered on.

“My books!! Who is it!!”

The person who rushed in shouting, dressed in pajamas, was none other than the owner of the house, Kyle. As it turned out, the second-floor room with the broken window was the study he cherished like his own life.

“My books! My books…?!”

Ignoring the broken glass and the intruding [unauthorized copy]Read on Read BL Novelsbranch, Kyle visit our sitefirst scanned his bookshelves. Only after quickly verifying the list of books did he cast his gaze out the window.

“What is this? Why is there suddenly a tree…”

Muttering in confusion as he took a step toward the window, Kyle finally came face-to-face with the expression looking back at him awkwardly while dangling outside.

“…It’s been a while, Kyle…”

“Tae-yi?! What are you doing there?!”

“Well, it just happened…”

Far behind Jeong Tae-ui, as he tried to offer a poor excuse, the siren stopped outside the main gate. Instead, the sound of security guards running over noisily echoed.

He could faintly hear words like ‘thief’ and ‘robber’ mixed in. Meanwhile, Kyle belatedly discovered another shadow hanging from the branch behind Jeong Tae-ui.

“It’s noisy, so I’d appreciate it if you could turn off that alarm first.”

The moment Kyle saw that sculpture-like beautiful face practicing the height of audacity with a sulky expression, his heart sank and his eyes widened.

“Christi— no, Christoph! Why, why are you here!”

“What do you mean why? You love guests.”

“What I love are guests, not troublemakers!!”

Before Kyle could finish his denial, jumping up and down as if deeply wronged, a flashlight beam shone from beneath the tree.

“Over there! There are people caught up there!”

“Is it a thief?! Contact the police immediately!”

Along with the booming voices of the security guards, a familiar voice was heard.

Jeong Tae-ui shouted urgently.

“Wait, Peter! It’s me, it’s me!!”

“…—Tae-yi?!”

An elderly voice called out to Jeong Tae-ui in surprise. Jeong Tae-ui breathed a sigh of relief and nodded vigorously.

“Yes, it’s me! I’m sorry for the commotion in the middle of the night. But it’s nothing serious. Security officers, you can just go back. I’m sorry!”

As Jeong Tae-ui bowed his head repeatedly, the people below remained silent for a moment.

“Do you know them? They aren’t thieves?”

When the security guard asked suspiciously, [visit our site]Peter, [Read on Read BL Novels]who had been carefully observing Jeong [stolen content]Tae-ui hanging from the tree, shook his head and spoke.

“They aren’t thieves… but seeing how that branch is snapped, it’s clear that private property has been damaged. I believe it would be acceptable to contact the police.”

“Peter! I’m sorry! As soon as it’s light, I’ll put a splint on the tree immediately!”

Jeong Tae-ui cried out in despair.

Jeong Tae-ui, flailing in mid-air while apologizing to Peter; Christoph, hanging in the same mid-air with a composed face, grumbling dissatisfiedly that this neighborhood was too noisy even at night; the security guards and the disgruntled gardener looking up at them; and the homeowner in the second-floor study, clutching his head in even greater despair than Jeong Tae-ui. The person who resolved the chaos of the buzzing neighbors asking what had happened was Rita.

Bringing a ladder from somewhere and placing it at Jeong Tae-ui’s feet, she spoke in a low voice with a face so cold and stern that the people instantly shut their mouths.

“Come down first. Then, after I hear the full story slowly, we shall hand you over to the police.”

 

* * *

 

In the living room, which should have welcomed a cozy night, a heavy silence flowed along with untimely lights.

No, Kyle was the only one maintaining a heavy silence.

Jeong Tae-ui occasionally scratched his head and murmured “I’m sorry” with a troubled face, while Christoph was nonchalantly demanding a guest room from Kyle as if nothing had happened.

(Peter was in the middle of tending to the snapped branch with the garden’s outdoor lights on in the middle of the night, and Rita was in the kitchen brewing tea for them.)

“Right, I roughly understand why you two came here, but…”

Having heard the story from the two, Kyle spoke heavily. The way he had been pressing his temples for a while, as if suffering a headache, looked somewhat pitiful. The reason he looked exceptionally tired probably wasn’t just because he had been woken up suddenly late at night.

“You didn’t receive any word from Dresden?”

When Christoph asked as if it were strange, Kyle groaned and shook his head.

“I heard that Richard succeeded Tarten. So, since it was obvious he wouldn’t be in any state to answer the phone anyway, I just sent a congratulatory message and a telegram… That guy must have been a disaster from the very day of the succession.”

Kyle muttered with a sigh.

“What can he say when he’s the one who brought the disaster upon himself?”

As Christoph muttered, Kyle, who seemed immersed in agony with his hand on his forehead, flicked one eyebrow and looked at Christoph.

“I thought it was quite a relief, for some reason, that you two had become close enough recently for you to travel with Richard and help him with his work… but I suppose that wasn’t the case.”

Christoph did not answer. “Hmm,” Kyle muttered with a tired face, scratching his head and staring intently at Christoph.

Jeong Tae-ui, munching on the toast that Rita—who had coldly scolded him [Read on Read BL Novels]for not eating until this hour after he Read on Read BL Novelscomplained of hunger—had brought before Read on Read BL Novelsthe tea, looked back and forth between the two, wondering when the tea would arrive.

“Come to think of it, Kyle and Christoph are, um… childhood friends, for now.”

“Hmm? Ah, we never played ‘house,’ but in terms of family relations or seniority, that’s how it is. Whenever there was a big event in either family and we gathered in one place, the children usually hung out together.”

Kyle cast his gaze into the air as if recalling the distant past.

“But as you know, there’s a big gap between me and Ilay, so the age difference is quite significant. Even when I met them, we hardly ever played together.”

Jeong Tae-ui nodded as if he understood. If the age difference was nearly a full cycle, even if they had played together, it would be more accurate to say he looked after them rather than played with them. Furthermore, there was a world of difference between a ten-year gap among adults and a ten-year gap among children.

And yet.

“It seems you were close with Christoph.”

Watching Christoph sit casually in front of Kyle unauthorized copyand talk comfortably, Jeong Tae-ui felt a visit our sitestrange, ticklish feeling, as if he wanted to laugh.

He looked like a generous and benevolent older brother who was soft on his younger sibling.

Since Tarten and Riegrow were said to have been as close as if they were relatives, it might actually feel similar to having a cousin.

Jeong Tae-ui, who had almost no relatives, thought of his only sibling. A brother with no age difference at all.

Although the way it was expressed was different, thinking about it, Jeong Jae-ui was also a generous and benevolent older brother who was soft on his younger sibling.

Jeong Tae-ui knew. That if he spoke seriously, Jeong Jae-ui would nod to most things. Just as Jeong Tae-ui would nod to most things his brother wanted.

“That man wasn’t entirely wrong in his guess…”

As Jeong Tae-ui inadvertently muttered, the gazes of the two fell upon him. While Jeong Tae-ui rolled his eyes to look back and forth between them, Rita brought the tea.

Rita, who had to wake up in the middle of the night and brew tea for unexpected intruders, had a face that was utterly chilly. Although he was already [unauthorized copy]used to her [visit our site]always strict and cold expression, he couldn’t help but walk on eggshells given the situation.

Moreover, if one looked closely, the real power in this house wasn’t the owner, Kyle, but Rita, who had raised him from childhood and continued to do so.

“Mr. Jeong Tae-ui.”

Hearing her call his name with exceptionally crisp pronunciation, Jeong Tae-ui almost dropped the teacup he was just picking up. He was lucky that he only spilled a few drops of tea on the back of his hand.

“Yes… Rita.”

Jeong Tae-ui made the sign of the cross inwardly, and in that moment, he sincerely envied Christoph. After all, unlike himself, who was already neck-deep in this house, Christoph was a clear outsider and would likely escape Rita’s scolding.

“You look exhausted. Next time, please contact us in advance to let us know when you’ll be returning. Then I can prepare something so you won’t go hungry, even if it’s late at night.”

She spoke in her usual chilly voice, her white hair still neatly pinned up without a single strand out of place despite the late hour. Jeong Tae-ui remained silent for a moment, the teacup pressed to his lips. Then, he nodded.

“Yes, Rita. I’ll do that. Thank you. …It’s good to see you again after so long.”

Jeong Tae-ui beamed. Even seeing him smile with such genuine joy upon remembering the forgotten greeting, Rita didn’t so much as blink, merely giving a slight nod.

Jeong Tae-ui smiled softly.

He was back. Only now did that feeling truly sink in.

He liked this. The people of this house, the air, the atmosphere—everything felt comfortable and cozy.

“However, I would prefer it if you arrived at a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner, if possible.”

Despite her sharp words, added without fail, Jeong Tae-ui just chuckled and nodded.

“A reasonable time and a reasonable manner…”

Suddenly, Kyle muttered to himself. Having stared at the ceiling for a moment with a weary face, he stood up, walked toward the cabinet, and [Read on Read BL Novels]pulled out one of the ornate liquor bottles lined up inside. After popping the cork of a bottle of Hennessy in one go, he returned to his seat. Holding [stolen content]the bottle instead of a teacup, he took a couple of swigs of the potent liquor and murmured.

“I’m already starting to dread the people who will be visiting this house at reasonable times and in reasonable manners from now on.”

Letting out another sigh that seemed to sink the floor, he set the bottle down on the table with a clink. Then, with a quite serious expression, he looked at Christoph and asked.

“Christi…ph, I’ve been wondering for a while, do you happen to have some kind of grudge against me?”

“I think you called someone else just now.”

“You must have misheard. I called you, Christoph. Fine, let’s just go with Chris.”

At Kyle’s serious question, Christoph crossed his arms, tilted his head, and gazed intently at Kyle, as if actually considering whether he held a grudge. Then, he answered cleanly.

“I don’t. Not at all. It just so happens that you suffer because of my actions.”

“When it happens every single time, [visit our site]don’t you think there’s already an unauthorized copyelement of intent, hm?”

“Well, some relationships are just like that. Oh, right, for instance, perhaps James has felt that way all this time.”

Seeing how he drove the dagger in with such precise timing, it was clear that Christoph and Kyle were well-acquainted.

Watching Kyle shut his mouth and reach for the liquor bottle again, Jeong Tae-ui thought it would be nice if some of that liquor were poured into his own nearly empty teacup.

After Rita poured more tea instead of liquor and left the living room with the empty teapot, a subtle silence, much like before, flowed through the room again.

Kyle now looked less exhausted and more lost in thought, his face clouded with worry. The depth of the wrinkles between his brows betrayed the depth of his concern.

“Chris. You’ve made me agonize countless times, but this time is exceptionally special.”

Eventually, Kyle muttered a long sigh and opened his closed eyes.

Christoph brushed back his hair as if annoyed. After glaring at his own hair as if visit our sitewondering if he should stolen contentjust cut the damn thing off, he [visit our site]turned that chilly gaze toward Kyle.

“Come to think of it, I have a gift for you.”

“What?”

Kyle looked at Christoph with extreme suspicion and doubt as he brought up something completely random and disconnected from the context of the conversation.

Fumbling through his trouser pocket as if pulling out a picked-up pebble, Christoph flicked whatever he found inside toward Kyle. Catching it reflexively, Kyle tilted his head as he looked at the small object in his palm.

“A key?”

“Yeah. You can use it immediately if you know the password. The safe combination should be engraved on the back of the key. Commerz in Meissen.”

“This is…”

“I enjoyed the books. In addition to the books I took back [visit our site]then, [Read on Read BL Novels]I’ve also kept a 1888 edition of Fraunden’s ‘The Face of Time’ there.”

Kyle said nothing. He simply stared blankly at Christoph.

No wonder he had searched every library and bedroom until he was blue in the face, yet couldn’t find so much as a scrap of paper from a book; he had been barking up the wrong tree from the start.

But a Fraunden in exchange for borrowing books. Kyle had made a very profitable trade. It was more than enough to make up for all the mental anguish he had suffered.

Jeong Tae-ui was no longer particularly hollow or surprised; he simply mourned his own wasted effort.

“The password is…”

“1234.”

“…”

Before Kyle could even finish speaking his heavy words, a concise unauthorized copyanswer returned. At visit our sitesuch [unauthorized copy]a lazy combination of numbers, Kyle was lost for words once again.

“So, please take good care of Tae-yi.”

At Christoph’s immediate follow-up, this time it was Jeong Tae-yi who was momentarily speechless.

“You sound like someone who’s about to disappear.”

When Jeong Tae-ui blurted that out, Christoph looked at him as if he were the strange one and shrugged.

“I came to drop you off. I’m leaving soon.”

Then, Kyle asked.

“To where?”

“I don’t know, anywhere.”

Christoph reached out and pulled the liquor bottle in front of Kyle toward himself. Pouring just a couple of sips into his empty teacup, he continued speaking while staring at the color of the liquid, seemingly with no intention of drinking it.

“Of all the worries in your head, at least regarding the relationship between Riegrow and Tarten, I won’t be a stumbling block. Feel free to build a friendship with Richard, who has newly come to lead Tarten. No matter how much of a Richard he is, he’ll have no justification to demand that you hand over Tae-yi, who is staying as your special guest.”

But Christoph was different. Tarten could demand Christoph’s return as much as they wanted. Even though Christoph had left Tarten, he could not change the past of where he was born and raised.

“Come to think of it, the one they ultimately want is me. …No, to be precise, it’s my brother, but in any case, I’m the means they want. Why would they be so persistent with you—”

Jeong Tae-ui stopped mid-sentence and shut his mouth.

He felt they would search. No, they definitely would. A family member had massively disrupted family affairs and vanished.

“If it’s Richard, he’ll definitely search. Not only because of his position leading the family, but because since he was young, he’s had… how should I put it… something different from competitiveness, but anyway, he’s always clashed with you.”

Kyle muttered. As he did, he lifted the bottle again and this time downed a large gulp.

Despite the amount of potent liquor he consumed, there was no sign of intoxication, nor did his complexion redden; he simply clicked his tongue bitterly and rubbed his forehead.

“Good grief… I sent him away to prevent him from causing headaches by bolting in some other direction, and now things have tangled in this direction.”

At Kyle’s grumbling, Jeong Tae-ui, having a sudden realization, glared at him intently.

“Was the person you sent away to prevent them from bolting in another direction perhaps me?”

“…Why does this liquor taste like plain water… I heard that if it’s aged too long, liquor tastes like water. Is that why?”

Watching Kyle stare intently at the fresh bottle clearly labeled ‘3star’, Jeong Tae-yi briefly wondered what would happen if he ran to Commerz and set that safe on fire.

Then, deciding to stop thinking about things that had already passed, he turned his gaze to Christoph, who was staring innocently, like a child, at the liquor shimmering in the teacup.

Beautiful Christoph.

Though blood was splattered and dried in spots on his face and clothes, it couldn’t mar him—the sculpturally beautiful Christoph.

Jeong Tae-ui gazed at him blankly. Even so, there was no way to know what he was thinking or feeling.

“In that case, from the moment you leave here, you’ll be a hunted man as well.”

Kyle leaned back, sinking deep into the sofa. Only then did Christoph shift his gaze from the teacup and tilt his head as if it were no big deal.

“That’s how it is. I’m used to it because of work, so it’s nothing new. It’s just a bit tedious.”

“Now you won’t even be able to return to Dresden.”

“It was a place I didn’t want to go. This time too. From the start.”

After muttering in fragments, Christoph fell silent for [Read on Read BL Novels]a [stolen content]moment before adding in a voice barely audible: I shouldn’t have gone.

Hmm, letting out a sigh, Kyle slowly tapped the armrest of the sofa—tap, tap. The gesture was somehow lifeless, as if he had resigned himself to something.

It was then.

Breaking the short silence that flowed under the bright midnight lights, the phone began to ring.

Reasonably, it wasn’t a time for the phone to ring. If it were an emergency contact related to work, the mobile phone would have rung.

The moment the phone rang, Jeong Tae-ui frowned. Christoph merely glanced toward the phone and looked away, while Kyle let out a long sigh—who knew how many it had been tonight.

“A call where you can guess who it is even before answering is, almost without exception, a call you don’t want to take. Like right now.”

Kyle muttered weakly. Yet, at the same time, such calls are precisely the ones that must be answered. His hand, which had been about to pick up the receiver as if it were a heavy piece of iron, hesitated. After a brief moment of thought, Kyle pressed the button next to the receiver instead of lifting it.

The call connected immediately, and the speaker lamp lit up.

“Yes, this is Kyle Riegrow.”

‘I would like you to put Christoph on.’

That was the answer that came back as soon as he responded.

It was a low, dangerous voice. That anxious voice, slightly elevated like a cornered beast, flowed through the speaker.

Kyle remained silent for a moment. Then, slightly belatedly, he murmured, “Ah.”

“It’s Richard. It’s been a while.”

Then the voice fell silent. It seemed he had only then realized his mistake. The voice, murmuring “Excuse me” lowly, betrayed a hint of fluster.

Jeong Tae-ui looked at the phone strangely—as [stolen content]if the phone itself were Richard. He wasn’t the type of person to [Read on Read BL Novels]make such a basic mistake unless something was very wrong.

“I heard the news a moment ago. I heard you’ve succeeded Tarten. Yes, I already suspected it, but congratulations. Truly, congratulations.”

‘Thank you. …I should have informed you myself, but I apologize for the late contact. It seems Christoph delivered the news on my behalf.’

“Ah, well, something like that.”

‘You must have been surprised by a sudden visit at such an excessively late hour. I apologize on his behalf. I hope you can be generous.’

As he spoke, Richard’s voice returned to normal. It was a voice that sounded as pleasant and soft as the relaxed smile it carried.

Suddenly changing expression, Christoph glared fiercely at the phone.

“Why are you—on my behalf—”

As Christoph shouted, his displeasure fully evident, Kyle [unauthorized copy]quietly cut him off. However, [unauthorized copy]the voice seemed to have been transmitted through the speaker.

‘…It seems Christoph is beside you. Hearing his voice, I’m glad he doesn’t seem to be injured.’

The voice became faintly cold. It was a coldness that didn’t so much sink as it did chill the air.

‘I am truly sorry for the sudden intrusion. I am on my way to pick him up now, so please wait a moment. I entered Berlin a short while ago, so I will arrive soon.’

The moment those calmly spoken words were heard, Christoph’s complexion changed. It was likely not much different from Jeong Tae-ui’s frozen face.

Kyle, who had stopped rubbing his chin and remained silent for a moment, asked back.

“Berlin? You, right now?”

‘Yes. I believe I’ll arrive in about 15 minutes. I won’t impose for long. I’ll take Christoph and leave immediately.’

An apology followed, saying he was sorry for disturbing his rest.

Kyle held his chin and stared into space before abruptly asking.

“Many precious guests must have come to Dresden; is it alright for you to leave your house?”

‘…The guests precious enough that I shouldn’t leave the house departed immediately after the banquet. They are busy people. They said they had business in Frankfurt right away.’

“Hmm, I see…”

Kyle nodded. Then he asked again.

“For you to be in Berlin suddenly at this late hour, you must have had some urgent business here yourself. Well, that doesn’t matter, but anyway, you’re saying you’ll take Christoph?”

‘Yes. Then my business will be concluded.’

“Aha, I see,” Kyle muttered, looking blankly visit our siteat Jeong Tae-ui. When Jeong Tae-ui, who had been listening to visit our sitethe conversation with a serious face, noticed the gaze and looked back, Kyle shrugged and [Read on Read BL Novels]murmured only with his lips: They aren’t looking for you, Tae-yi.

I’ve always been part of the marginalized class, Jeong Tae-ui also murmured only with his lips, though he didn’t know if Kyle had recognized it.

But in his current state of mind, he wanted to remain part of the marginalized class. Now and in the future. Everywhere.

“I’m not going back, Richard.”

Then, Christoph spoke quietly.

Since it was a call through a speaker, it hadn’t meant much from the start, but as the target of the conversation suddenly changed, the voice on the other end cut off for a moment. However, the voice soon returned to the tone of a strict older brother soothing a troublemaker younger brother.

‘Christoph. Enough. To leave the house in a shambles and then barge into someone else’s home at this hour to cause them trouble. If you don’t return, do you intend to keep being a nuisance there?’

“No, I’ll be leaving here soon as well. But I’m not returning to Dresden.”

‘Christoph. Don’t say useless things—’

“I believe I told you. As soon as the succession was decided, I would leave Dresden and never return. I am not going back. I will no longer carry the Tarten name. …I no longer have a relationship with anyone in that house. Anyone.”

Anyone—there was a faint strength in those last words. The subtle tone must have been noticed over the phone.

After a period of silence, the voice that returned had lowered. It was low and chilling, just like the voice when he first called.

‘Christoph. Do you think it’s possible for you not to return here? As you please?’

“I don’t know… But at least it’s clear there’s no one who can call me back there.”

‘No one who can call you…?’

A low laugh mixed into the voice.

‘Christoph. After you left like that, your little aunt took Read on Read BL Novelsto her [stolen content]bed. It seems unauthorized copyshe was deeply shocked.’

Christoph remained silent for a moment at the voice reporting the fact as if it were truly regrettable. But he soon spoke calmly.

“Right… then it’s even better that I don’t go. Mother will only get worse if she sees me. If she sees that I’ve returned to Dresden. Since she said she doesn’t want that.”

‘—…’

“Richard. Now, no matter what words you say through Mother, I am not returning to Tarten. No matter what she says on your behalf, I already know her true feelings. Mother does not want me to return to Dresden and cause a stain on Tarten.”

Christoph looked down at the phone with an expressionless face. Then, he tossed out the words indifferently, as if it were nothing.

“She doesn’t want me to stain you with something filthy.”

A suffocating silence followed.

Both inside the phone and on this side.

Beside Kyle, who was frowning while looking puzzled, Jeong Tae-ui looked at Christoph without a word.

Watching Christoph speak those words calmly, without a single trace of emotion, without any sign of pain or agony, as if it were a natural part of his daily life, Jeong Tae-ui clenched his teeth.

The long-lasting silence was broken by a low voice.

‘Did Bianca say such a thing?’

A cold, emotionless voice, as devoid of feeling as Christoph’s expression, asked.

“Right.”

Christoph nodded. As if to say he had known.

‘Did Bianca say that? That it was filthy? Did she say you left a stain on me?’

Christoph fell silent. Instead of answering, he looked at the phone with a strange expression.

The voice asking again didn’t seem to be the same person he had been talking to just a moment ago. It was completely different; a chilling, terrifying light seeped through, enough to make one’s heart freeze. It was so palpable that anyone would have noticed.

“……. She didn’t say you were dirty. She didn’t mean that there was a flaw in you.”

Christoph spoke, frowning slightly. However, no answer came to that frail excuse. Instead, there was only a low laugh, like the sound of wind—ha…

‘You. …—You are filthy, you! Ha, ——ahahaha, you, ……you left a stain on me……?!’

Soon, the laughter grew louder, turning into something like a rough shout. It was harsh enough to send a chill down the listener’s spine. It was not the voice of the Richard that Jeong Tae-ui knew.

Then, the call suddenly cut off.

The blue lamp on the phone turned red, and only a long, unauthorized copy[stolen content]steady beep—tuuu— flowed from the speaker.

In the living room where a sudden silence had fallen, they stared at the phone without a word. Kyle, who had been staring at the phone as if frozen, slowly turned his gaze toward Christoph.

“The phone…….”

It was just as he opened his mouth, pointing at the device.

The doorbell rang.

It was the sound announcing that a visitor had arrived right in front of the main gate of the house.

The color seemed to drain from Christoph’s face for a moment. With a stiff expression, Jeong Tae-ui looked at the wide screen of the intercom. On the screen, positioned at a distance where they could recognize him even from where they sat, was the man they had been speaking with until just a moment ago.

The man’s face was expressionless.

As if the chilling screams from unauthorized copymoments ago had been a Read on Read BL Novelslie, Richard’s face was completely blank. No anger, no displeasure, not even composure or courtesy.

Hearing the doorbell, Rita came out. However, Kyle blocked her and picked up the intercom instead.

“You arrived earlier than expected. I suppose traffic wasn’t too bad.”

‘Where is Christoph?’

Richard did not respond to Kyle’s words. He simply called Christoph’s name immediately.

Christoph approached behind Kyle and reached out. From the intercom Kyle held—though there was no way for him to see that Christoph was there—a low murmur leaked through.

‘Come out, Christoph. Come back right now. Otherwise, I will return to Dresden and kill that woman.’

Christoph’s complexion seemed to stiffen slightly. However, after a moment of silence, he erased his expression again and answered shortly.

“I’m not going.”

‘Christoph, I am not joking.’

“Nor am I joking. ……You may be able to say anything to me as a joke, but even while I spoke as you commanded—even if I said things I didn’t want to—I have never told you a joke or a lie.”

Christoph spoke quietly. Then, he lowered the intercom, from which only a cold silence now flowed.

Kyle was watching Christoph from the side as if observing him. Then, he suddenly spoke up.

“I think I should rest. Too many things have happened all of a sudden. Yes, I need to rest.”

Christoph glanced at Kyle. Ignoring him, Kyle picked up the intercom again. When the screen turned on, Richard was still there. An ice-cold, expressionless face appeared on the screen.

“Are you still there, Richard? I must go and rest now.”

When Kyle spoke, Richard jerked his chin slightly and spoke bluntly.

‘My apologies. I will take only Christoph and leave shortly. Please let me in for a moment.’

“No, no, I can’t just let a guest in and then send them away. I should properly entertain you, but I’m afraid I’m exhausted. Richard, you seem quite tired yourself right now, so I would appreciate it if you went back to rest, cooled your head, and came again tomorrow.”

Jeong Tae-ui thought it was a bit much to turn someone away at the door on the grounds that he couldn’t let a guest in and then just send them away, but more than that, his eyes widened slightly at what Kyle said.

“He plans to stay here for a while. As my precious guest.”

Jeong Tae-ui wasn’t the only one who found Kyle’s words unexpected; Christoph, who had been blinking and looking at him with strange eyes, tilted his head slightly. Almost simultaneously, Richard, after a brief silence, spoke.

‘Christoph is my—Tarten’s brother.’

At those words, Christoph immediately frowned.

“I believe I told you I would no longer use that name.”

“……He says he won’t.”

When Kyle relayed the words that must have been clearly audible, Richard shook his head firmly. Then, looking directly at Kyle, he spoke seriously.

‘That is merely something Christoph says on his own. He is my family. I will take him back. I hope you will reconsider so that the long friendship between Tarten and the house of Gui does not fade.’

There was a subtle weight to the latter part of his sentence.

Kyle let out a breath—hmm…—as if troubled. However, Kyle’s expression didn’t change much. Without any sign of being flustered or panicked, he simply clicked his tongue, looking slightly inconvenienced.

“Richard. I’ve heard roughly what happened at the succession ceremony today—and the circumstances of why you’ve come here at this hour. I want to make it clear first that I have no intention of blaming or reprimanding you for that, but——.”

After setting that premise, Kyle glanced over his shoulder.

His eyes met Christoph’s, who was standing still, Read on Read BL Novelsleaning against the back of the sofa. That pale, [visit our site]indifferent face tilted slightly in curiosity upon meeting Kyle’s gaze.

Kyle suddenly narrowed his eyes. Like someone looking at a child standing blankly in an empty space.

“Despite the long friendship between Tarten and Riegrow, just as you have found a new, closer friendship that surpasses that bond, I too have relationships and situations that I must consider more important than the long-standing ties of our families.”

Kyle spoke quietly.

As he said, his tone was by no means blaming. It wasn’t an intention to retaliate because Richard had sided with Al Saud over Riegrow—or more accurately, over Ilay.

It was simply that Christoph was Kyle’s precious guest, and more than that, a cherished friend.

Richard said nothing. In truth, even if Kyle wasn’t blaming him, he likely had nothing to say.

“Christoph will be staying at my house for the time being. In any case, even if he leaves here for somewhere else, the Tarten intelligence network could easily find the whereabouts of a single person, so it shouldn’t matter.”

‘……You are saying you will not return Christoph to Tarten.’

“Of course not. I am not in a position to decide whether to return him or not. I am simply saying that as long as Christoph stays here, he is my guest whom I must protect. Where he goes is his freedom. I hope you understand my position.”

Those words weren’t just for Richard. They were for Christoph as well. Christoph stared at Kyle, who was looking at him, with eyes that found him utterly bizarre. He blinked those blue eyes.

“……. You’re telling me to stay here?”

“As you wish.”

At the concise but not cold answer, Christoph blinked a few more times. For a moment, his expressionless face seemed to waver, and then he lowered his gaze slightly, like a child who had suddenly lost heart.

“Go back and rest, and come again tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will welcome you as my guest as well, so we can meet and perhaps have a meal together.”

Kyle spoke to Richard again.

The moment those words reached his ears, Christoph snapped his gaze up and glared at Kyle. However, Kyle covered Christoph’s [visit our site]mouth with his stolen contentpalm [unauthorized copy]and pushed it away just as he was about to shout, concluding his words to Richard: “Then, I would like you to leave now.”

‘……. Then I shall visit you again tomorrow. I apologize for the great intrusion at this late hour.’

Though he seemed reluctant, Richard answered readily.

His gaze seemed to shift momentarily toward where Christoph was, even though he couldn’t see him.

But he soon turned around and got into the car waiting behind him. The car soon departed, and only the silence of the dark night remained on the screen.

Phew… Kyle let out a long sigh and put down the intercom. And the moment he turned around, he came face-to-face with Christoph, whose eyes were flashing fiercely.

“I’m not meeting that guy. I’m not eating with him either.”

Looking at Christoph, who asserted himself decisively, Kyle, who was already exhausted to the limit, responded simply.

“Is that so? Then get out of this house. Take Tae-yi with you.”

Jeong Tae-ui, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa in the back just listening to their conversation, widened his eyes as the topic suddenly flew toward him like a bolt from the blue.

“Wait, why me too……!”

“If you don’t like it, then both of you stay here and be good guests.”

Kyle, who snapped back and glared, now looked beyond exhausted—he looked devastated. It seemed his words to Richard about needing to rest weren’t entirely empty; he began to trudge toward the bedroom, appearing to have no intention of sitting on the sofa again.

“I’m going to go finish my sleep. You two go and rest as well. Sorry, but Tae-yi, please show Chris to the guest room. I…… I feel like several hundred years’ worth of fatigue is hitting me all at once.”

Kyle gave them a light wave of his hand and turned away. His retreating figure looked profoundly sorrowful. A similarly sorrowful monologue followed him in a mumble.

“Let’s see, how am I going to clean up this mess……. Tarten is one problem, but Al Faisal, Al Saud……. And since this disaster has happened, who knows what kind of headache Ilay is stirring up now, ……ah, James is definitely going to say he’s quitting this time. He’ll surely vanish the moment he throws down his resignation. How on earth am I going to keep him this time……!”

Jeong Tae-ui hurriedly caught Kyle, who was about to leave the living room while mumbling in grief.

“Kyle, wait……. Even so, after what happened today, it might be better not to meet Richard for a while…….”

Jeong Tae-ui tried to speak hurriedly, but Kyle looked up at him bleakly.

“My heart is burning black because I don’t even know if my only biological younger brother is alive or dead; do I look like I have the mental capacity to worry about other people?”

Facing Kyle, who leaned in and asked seriously from a distance of less than a span, Jeong Tae-ui quietly let go of the arm he was holding.

“……I’m sorry. Please go and rest.”

That was all he could say.

It was because he could vividly feel Kyle’s heart—how he had just roughly patched over the situation with nonsense without even knowing what he was saying, and how he simply wanted to rest right now.

He’s probably not burning with worry because he doesn’t know if [visit our site]he’s alive or dead, but because he doesn’t know what he’s up to, Christoph muttered, but Kyle didn’t seem [unauthorized copy]to hear, letting out one last sigh that sounded like the earth was collapsing before leaving the living room.

And so, only Christoph and Jeong Tae-ui remained in the living room. Just like when Jeong Tae-ui had first gone to find him in Dresden, they were left alone again.

Standing before a path of thorns that they couldn’t have imagined then—a path that couldn’t even be compared to that time—they just blinked and looked at each other.

Then, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly laughed. Even though there was nothing to laugh about, a laugh suddenly escaped him.

“I sang so loud about wanting to come back to Berlin…… but even after coming back, nothing has changed.”

“Why. It’s changed for the worse.”

Christoph spoke nonchalantly. There was such a huge gap between that casual face and those words that Jeong Tae-ui flopped onto the sofa and laughed.

Christoph, sitting beside him in that worsened situation, looked at Jeong Tae-ui and, at some point, smiled faintly. An unfamiliar smile unconsciously appearing on his lips.

 

* * *

 

Perhaps every person has their own unique body temperature.

Jeong Tae-ui had once had such a thought. That thought, which had surfaced for a brief moment and then disappeared, forgotten for a long time, came back to him now.

There was a palm cupping his cheek.

He could immediately tell whose touch it was, gently caressing his cheek. He could tell by the body temperature.

Ah…… it’s Ilay.

He thought vaguely in his sleep. Read on Read BL NovelsHis body, which had stiffened for [Read on Read BL Novels]a moment, relaxed comfortably again [unauthorized copy]upon recalling that familiar warmth.

He could recognize his temperature instantly. Even right after soaking in hot water, or right after brushing snow off a car with bare hands, he could tell his temperature.

It was different from the actual temperature. His hands could be cool sometimes, and warm at others. But something was always the same. That’s how he knew.

The touch was the same.

Whether it pressed hard, rubbed gently, or brushed as if barely touching, he could easily recognize his hand.

Therefore, Jeong Tae-ui didn’t need to open his eyes.

No, in truth, he didn’t want to. He was terribly tired and sleepy. His mind was so exhausted it felt knocked out; he didn’t want to lift a single finger.

‘Tae-yi. ……Are you dead?’

See. It is this guy.

Even if it wasn’t that voice whispering low like the wind in his ear, Ilay was the only person Jeong Tae-ui knew who would mutter such ominous words into a sleeping person’s ear.

——I’m not dead.

Jeong Tae-ui muttered grumpily. He was still so tired he didn’t want to lift his eyelids, but he felt he had to respond to that. Otherwise, the man might actually think he was dead and bury him.

He heard a sign of laughter.

Then, the hand that had been on his cheek pulled away, and instead, a different warmth touched him. Something slightly rough and dry—lips.

Those lips rubbed against Jeong Tae-ui’s cheek before moving to his lips.

A tongue lightly licking the gums was a signal to open his mouth.

——I’m sleepy.

Jeong Tae-ui muttered, frowning. However, through the gap in his teeth opened to speak, a tongue pushed in as if it had been waiting.

——I’m tired. I want to sleep now. Do it later.

Despite being so tired he didn’t want to move a finger, he ended up turning his head. However, fearing that opening his eyes would mean he had to wake up, he kept them firmly shut and grumbled.

‘You can keep sleeping.’

The touching lips whispered.

Jeong Tae-ui muttered a dissatisfied mmm, but eventually let out a sigh.

——I’m telling you, I’m really tired……. Do you know how hard today was for me? You might not know, but all sorts of things happened since this morning……. My body is tired, and my mind is in tatters…….

‘Right. Right. Keep sleeping.’

Even as Jeong Tae-ui continued to grumble, the lips did not stop. Rather, he laughed low as if it were amusing, his breath blowing into the mouth.

——I’m really sleeping? If you later say something like “Can you really stay with your eyes closed?” and torment me like you did once before, I’ll be angry.

He laughs again. Yes, sleep more, rest for now, you must have been very exhausted, he whispered, kissing him quietly.

……. Could this guy be someone else and not that guy? For some reason, the voice was very sweet. It was a sweet and soft voice that was rarely heard.

But the voice was pleasant to hear. So, Jeong Tae-ui let out a contented sigh and lightly sucked the tongue that was ravaging his mouth.

At that moment, the moving tongue paused.

He felt a flicker of curiosity, but sleep rushed in like a tide, and his consciousness receded like an ebb.

Just as a light flickers off and then suddenly turns back on, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly thought, oh.

He felt the sensation of something licking near his stomach and waist. Judging by the coolness of his skin, it seemed his clothes had been removed from his body at some point. It went without saying who had done it.

――What… Can’t I sleep? Hmm?

He mumbled grumpily again. Seeing the touch stroking his thigh was direct skin-to-skin, he realized he wasn’t wearing anything below. No, it seemed he wasn’t wearing a single thread on his entire body.

‘I told you that you could sleep.’

The voice whispering near his lower abdomen moved a bit further down. While Jeong Tae-ui was frowning and letting out small “uh, uh” sounds, a limp piece of flesh was sucked into a moist mouth.

As he let out a small moan, the muffled voice spoke again.

Telling him to relax his body and sleep comfortably, to just leave it to him—hearing that, Jeong Tae-ui, who had flinched for a moment, decided to obediently follow those words.

Just as promised, he soon felt good. Rather than the suffocating and anxious pleasure he had vaguely worried about, [Read on Read BL Novels]it was Read on Read BL Novels[Read on Read BL Novels]a sensation like floating in warm water. It was slow, warm, and pleasant.

Drowsily, he drifted toward the surface of sleep and then sank back down into the distant depths; his consciousness wavered and swayed like that.

――Good…

When Jeong Tae-ui murmured, the man laughed below.

How much time had passed? It didn’t seem to have been very long.

While swaying, carried by the pleasant waves, the shimmering surface of light above his head drew closer. The speed at which it approached increased bit by bit, and at one point, the light rushed violently before his eyes.

――Ah, …!!

A short gasp escaped him. Simultaneously, something poured out pleasantly from below in a sudden surge. His body instinctively recoiled, arching and leaping several times.

Along with those movements, the light that had [unauthorized copy]been intermittently drawing near and receding [Read on Read BL Novels]finally drifted far away again. Only then, amidst the pleasant silence, did Jeong Tae-ui suddenly think.

――… …By any chance, … No way, …

As he murmured sporadically, a low voice followed.

‘I enjoyed the meal.’

――Ugh, … …You swallowed it?

‘Mm.’

Muttering as if it were nothing, he made a sound as he pushed himself up. To Jeong Tae-ui, who was grumbling, “Why would you swallow that?” the man pressed his lips against his.

Wait, kissing after swallowing that, even if it’s mine, is a bit… no, because it’s mine, I hate it even more, Jeong Tae-ui thought, frowning deeply. However, regardless, the man overlapped their lips several more times.

‘Did it feel good?’

He asked, seemingly ignoring Jeong Tae-ui’s protests. Jeong Tae-ui grumbled in his mouth for a moment, but then relaxed his body and answered, “Yeah.” That it felt good.

‘I see. Then it’s my turn to enjoy myself.’

――… Saying this now might make me sound cunning, but I’m still sleepy…

‘You can just sleep. I told you, go to sleep.’

Lips touched his eyelids and then pulled away.

Maybe I should try to get up, the thought flashed through his mind for a moment, but he was still deathly tired. In fact, now that his lower half had melted and relaxed, he felt even sleepier.

――Yeah, then sorry, but I’m sleeping. I’ll pay you back when I wake up later.

Having said that, Jeong Tae-ui began to breathe softly and steadily again.

Along with the sound of a chuckle, a hand approached. That hand took Jeong Tae-ui’s hand and guided it toward his own groin.

Soon, a thick piece of flesh touched his palm. That exceptionally hot piece of flesh hung heavily, but once he guided Jeong Tae-ui’s fingers to wrap around it, it seemed to quiver slightly.

The pulse felt clearly within his palm gradually quickened. The large hand overlapping Jeong Tae-ui’s began to move.

The hotly throbbing organ soon stiffened and rose. Not only that, it swelled to the point where it couldn’t be fully encompassed by a single hand.

Even so, to be so large that one hand couldn’t grip it all is a bit too much… but this guy has big hands, so maybe he can, Jeong Tae-ui thought, overwhelmed by the volume in his hand even in his hazy state.

Eventually, the thing swelled as much as it could and became hard. It was nearing the end.

Suddenly, he seemed to let go of Jeong Tae-ui’s hand, and there was a rustling sound. While Tae-ui wondered about it even in his sleep, the man quietly moved Tae-ui’s hand away. Following that, there was a slight sound of something tearing.

Ah, a condom.

… …A condom? Why a condom when he’s using his hand?

It was the moment Jeong Tae-ui raised that question.

Lifting and spreading Jeong Tae-ui’s legs, he positioned himself between them.

――I… I… told you I want to sleep…

As Jeong Tae-ui murmured with a face that looked like he was about to burst into tears even while intoxicated by sleep, the man leaned over him and whispered.

‘It’s okay. Just relax and be comfortable. I’ll go slowly.’

――Can’t we do it next time…

‘No.’

――…

‘Not today, Tae-yi. Today, I absolutely must feel you. That you are truly here. …I thought my heart was going to stop today.’

Their chests touched. As his breath brushed against his ear, the hotly heated flesh pressed firmly against him from below. Even in his sleep, he felt breathless.

‘I never once thought that my heart was weak.’

Perhaps because his body was limp from sleep, and truly fortunately, although his breath was slightly caught, it wasn’t painful or difficult enough to snap him wide awake.

Jeong Tae-ui gasped in short breaths and pulled his waist back slightly. He moved his hips bit by bit so that he could be contained more comfortably.

――Yeah. Your heart is definitely not weak. It’s very strong.

‘Right. And yet, I thought I was breaking. visit our siteAs I stolen contentwas losing consciousness, I thought perhaps my heart [stolen content]was shattering and that’s why my awareness was fading.’

His voice became low and rough. The grip on Jeong Tae-ui’s waist tightened. When Jeong Tae-ui frowned with a small “ugh,” he quickly loosened his grip.

――Mm… but look, you’re fine. It’s okay.

The moment he said that, Jeong Tae-ui slightly regretted it. As the organ settled deep inside him began shallow and deep thrusts, he felt like he wouldn’t be “fine” or “okay” at all. He should have said it was very difficult and that he felt like he’d die if he moved too much.

However, it was too late for regrets, and moreover, it was evident that he was moving much more carefully and slowly than usual, so Jeong Tae-ui decided to keep his mouth shut.

Soon, the inside of his body became wet. He could feel the sensation of the splashing moisture seeping out. The tight piece of flesh began to enter and exit much more comfortably.

My body has really been broken in to fit this man, he thought with a sigh, but he didn’t feel bad about it.

Hearing his name called repeatedly in that low voice—Tae-yi, Tae-yi—Jeong Tae-ui hugged him.

Even the rhythm of his body swaying to match [unauthorized copy]him until he exploded inside felt, for some reason, like a cradle [unauthorized copy]being gently rocked, making him feel good like a shimmering wave.

And when that swaying stopped abruptly at one point, Jeong Tae-ui, matching the violent pulsing throb inside him, poured out another faint wave of his own.

 

 

As soon as he opened his eyes, the wall clock came into view. It was an early hour, slightly past five. Outside the window, it was still a dark, dusky blue.

He had stayed here for several years and was familiar with the room, yet to think it felt so unfamiliar just because he had been gone for a few weeks.

He was sure that after today, he would become accustomed to it again and forget this feeling, but he thought once more that human senses are quite fickle, whether one realizes it or not.

With eyes still heavy with sleep, Jeong Tae-ui scanned every corner of the room, realizing that he had returned to his room in Berlin.

“…Ouch…”

Jeong Tae-ui suddenly frowned. As he opened his eyes and his mind slowly cleared, the headache he had forgotten in his sleep resurfaced.

His head throbbed. It was bearable, but the sticky headache, as if oil instead of blood were flowing in his head, was quite unpleasant.

Then again, even over-the-counter sleeping pills make one’s stomach feel bad and cause headaches, let alone when administered directly via injection. He could only hope it was the kind of thing that left no aftereffects.

Tapping his head as he sat up, Jeong Tae-ui had to mutter “…ouch” once more.

Not only his head, but his waist was also throbbing with pain. It felt stiff, as if he had slept in a bad position.

“Hmm…? …I guess I suffered more than I realized in Dresden. Well, they say people often get sick when they finally relax…”

Jeong Tae-ui murmured as he got out of bed. The moment he stepped outside, his waist throbbed sharply again, making him frown, but it didn’t hinder his movement.

“What… at my age, [Read on Read BL Novels]it’s embarrassing enough to have an erotic dream, [Read on Read BL Novels]but could my body actually be [unauthorized copy]following the dream…”

Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head vigorously, glanced around his empty room for no reason, and lightly patted his groin. There was nothing unusual. He wondered if he had had a nocturnal emission at his age, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

He couldn’t remember exactly, only fragments, but he had a dream that would be embarrassing to tell others. He didn’t know if it was because he slept in a bed where such things had happened so often, or because he had been thinking of Ilay until he fell asleep.

“Now, Jeong Tae-ui… stop spacing out and wake up.”

Jeong Tae-ui shook his head vigorously and opened the door.

Still, despite having slept for only a few hours, he felt relatively refreshed. Although his head was throbbing from the headache and his lower back was aching as if he’d slept poorly, he felt reasonably light.

Since he had finally returned, maybe he’d take a slow look around the house; thinking this, Jeong Tae-ui stopped the moment he stepped into the living room.

Kyle, whom he thought would be sleeping, was sitting there.

At the sound of Jeong Tae-ui trailing off Read on Read BL Novelswith an “uh…”, Kyle, who had been sitting on Read on Read BL Novelsthe sofa flipping [visit our site]through a newspaper, looked up.

“Are you up already? Why don’t you sleep more? Didn’t you only get three or four hours?”

Kyle, who spoke while looking at the clock, must not have slept peacefully because of Jeong Tae-ui, who had burst in like a bolt from the blue in the middle of the night, yet he sat there with a fresh face.

Then again, Kyle had always been the type who didn’t need much sleep. He was a man who always woke up at dawn to exercise, organize the day’s work, and then start his day.

“I feel light, maybe because I slept deeply. Is there any interesting news?”

Jeong Tae-ui spoke instead of a greeting as he sat in front of Kyle, looking at the newspaper Kyle had been flipping through. Kyle closed the last page and shook his head.

“Fortunately, I don’t see any particular articles. It seems that fellow hasn’t caused any trouble yet—or perhaps it hasn’t been reported yet—.”

“…”

The answer that came back was completely different from what Jeong Tae-ui had intended. However, in that answer, [Read on Read BL Novels]he felt he could see the twists and turns of the visit our sitetumultuous life Kyle must have endured while living as Ilay’s brother.

Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head and murmured, “I guess so…”

Come to think of it, several people had died in that place yesterday alone. If the man whose neck was broken hadn’t come back to life, there were three or four that Jeong Tae-ui vaguely remembered. And he didn’t know what happened after that.

“Or maybe he used his influence to suppress it before it became an article… though depending on the opponent, he might not be able to.”

Jeong Tae-ui murmured gloomily, recalling the time when he himself had proudly graced the newspapers as a terrorist long ago.

Right, I lived confined within the walls of this house after that… thinking somewhat exaggeratedly, Jeong Tae-ui looked out the full-length glass window of the living room and flinched.

In the dim dawn, there was a man in the still-dark garden outside.

Sitting perched under the large tree that Peter had worked so hard to prune last night, staring blankly this way, was Christoph.

Having not thought of him at all, Jeong Tae-ui was [Read on Read BL Novels]startled to [visit our site]suddenly make eye contact and unconsciously gasped, causing Kyle to look back in curiosity. Upon seeing Christoph, Kyle looked back at him with an “ah.”

“That fellow woke up earlier than I did. When I came out, it was dark, and he was sitting on the sofa alone. I was startled too because something moved in the dark…”

Hearing the added comment that he seemed to have barely slept, Jeong Tae-ui stared back at Christoph as if in a staring contest.

Christoph, who looked more like he was simply directing his gaze this way rather than looking at Jeong Tae-ui, tilted his head slightly. Jeong Tae-ui gave a small smile and lightly raised his hand.

“He must be tired too… He’s been busy every day since he started helping Richard. Is he the type who can’t sleep well when the sleeping environment changes?”

“He seems as sensitive as ever.”

Kyle clicked his tongue and picked up a newspaper from another publisher. He thought it must be hard to read seven different types of newspapers every morning without fail, but Kyle always managed to read them all without taking much time.

Jeong Tae-ui suddenly turned his gaze to look at Kyle. Despite his ordinary face, his dissatisfied, frowning expression flickered toward Christoph before returning to the newspaper. Jeong Tae-ui chuckled.

“But you like Chris.”

“What, I do?!”

Kyle shouted, eyes wide. However, after facing the beaming Jeong Tae-ui, he eventually let out a sigh.

“He’s pretty.”

“…”

Jeong Tae-ui fell silent.

“Why?”

“No… it’s just a bit unexpected.”

Jeong Tae-ui shook his head. How should he put it, the reason was unexpected. In the several years he had lived with Kyle, Kyle had never [Read on Read BL Novels]expressed a preference for another person’s appearance. He might have said someone was [visit our site]pretty, but he had never said he liked someone because they were pretty.

“Really? I guess people don’t know, right? That fellow is pretty if you just watch him quietly.”

To Jeong Tae-ui, who mumbled, “No, I mean, it’s clear he’s pretty even at a glance,” Kyle added, perhaps intending to defend Christoph in his own way.

“He doesn’t know how to speak indirectly and his hands fly out to people quite casually, so there are times when he makes me frown, but if you watch him quietly, he’s pretty because his mind is simple. It’s easy to understand how he thinks.”

Only then did Jeong Tae-ui understand with an “ah.” He wondered if his German was poor, but it seemed this man simply used words in a strange way.

“Is he similar to a younger brother with a large age gap?”

“Something like that.”

Kyle nodded. Then, as if a thought occurred to him, he sighed.

“Younger brothers with a large age gap, whether Read on Read BL Novelsit’s my own biological brother unauthorized copyor that fellow, they all just cause heartache…”

Jeong Tae-ui laughed.

“Still, I think you adore Christoph more than Richard, who doesn’t cause you heartache.”

“Uh, no. I adore Richard too. I like him too. But I don’t really worry about him. I don’t feel anxious. Because of that, I do care a bit more about Christina. …Though I’ve been too busy living to pay much attention. But is it that obvious?”

Kyle asked Jeong Tae-ui subtly while taking off his glasses. He seemed to hope it wasn’t very obvious. Jeong Tae-ui shook his head.

“No, it’s not. But it just seems that way.”

It wasn’t that it wasn’t obvious at all. He felt it occasionally in the pitying gaze or the subtle tone of voice. He felt like an older brother anxiously watching a young sibling walk precariously.

“I see, I see… But Tae-yi, I like you too. You’re pretty too.”

At the compliment he was hearing for the first [visit our site]time in his life, Jeong Tae-ui [unauthorized copy]instantly became as mute as a fish. However, he soon gave a shaky smile and shyly laughed, saying, “I like you too.”

Kyle truly liked people. He liked humans in a general sense, but he also bestowed generous affection on each person around him without making it obvious. He didn’t go out of his way to reach out to those who were already doing well, but he provided maximum help to those who needed it.

He was a man who always lived life joyfully. That’s why Jeong Tae-ui liked him. It was a completely different feeling from Jeong Jae-ui, but to Jeong Tae-ui now, he was like an older brother.

Whether he knew or not that confessions of liking were flying around, Christoph, who had been staring blankly at Jeong Tae-ui and Kyle chatting happily through the glass, suddenly stood up and came inside.

“Is it fun?”

Entering while asking sullenly with a joyless face, Christoph flopped down next to Jeong Tae-ui. Then, he plucked a grape from a shallow wooden basket on the table and put it in his mouth.

“Yeah. Kyle says he likes me, says I’m pretty.”

Jeong Tae-ui pointed to himself with a beaming smile. With a grape in his mouth, Christoph looked at the two of them alternately, his eyes rolling in a very bizarre expression.

“…Really? …Does Ilay know?”

A faint trace of worry seeped into his blunt tone. Like someone who had discovered a tremendous secret they weren’t supposed to know, he lowered his head and stared intensely at the grapes.

…Ah, I see. So this is what ‘pretty’ means.

Jeong Tae-ui smiled. When he murmured, “Well, I’m not so sure,” Christoph asked cautiously once more.

“Do you… still like him?”

“Hmm—well, I do like Kyle. Yeah.”

As Jeong Tae-ui spoke with a smile in his eyes, Christoph fell silent. However, the words he suddenly muttered afterward made Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth.

“Then why not me?”

“….Huh?”

“If you like someone other than Ilay, then I could work too. Why Kyle?”

Christoph’s eyes seemed to sharpen, and he suddenly glared at Kyle. Kyle’s eyes widened.

“Look at this, why am I—no, more importantly, you two—”

This time, Kyle looked back and forth between the two with a highly suspicious gaze.

Strange. It started as a joke, so why wasn’t it ending as one?

Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips and waved his hand.

“No. No. I like you too. In the same sense that I like Kyle. It’s different from the sense of liking Ilay. Okay?”

After staring at him blankly for a moment, Christoph stolen contentfinally [unauthorized copy]seemed convinced—though his stolen contentface remained distinctly unpleasant—and nodded with a “Hmm.”

Kyle rested his chin on his hand and frowned, scanning every inch of Christoph and Jeong Tae-ui’s faces before shrugging.

“Whatever. In any case, this doesn’t seem like a suitable topic for a long conversation. Jokes like this either become awkward or boring if they go on too long.”

Jeong Tae-ui shrugged and nodded. As often happens when one intentionally tries to change the subject, a brief silence passed between them.

“Do close friends often say things like that?”

Christoph asked, perhaps wondering about it. Receiving the gaze of a man whose eyebrows were slightly knit in confusion, Kyle seemed to be searching his memory.

“No, if anything, I think people do it less when they’re close. For example, family members generally don’t say those things to each other. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s probably true. I don’t think I’ve ever said things like that to my brother,” Jeong Tae-ui agreed, recalling his own memories. The memory of spending a long time in one place with someone he could call family was now distant, but it was the same even when he thought of friends or colleagues from his school days. Surprisingly, there weren’t many occasions to say “I like you.”

“I suppose that’s why those words are so easily misunderstood.”

Jeong Tae-ui smiled and shrugged. The conversation just now had simply failed as a joke because of the target, but he had seen several cases where words were conveyed differently than intended, resulting in chaos. Those words were among the easiest to misinterpret.

Then, he suddenly locked eyes with Christoph.

Wondering what he was thinking, Christoph stared at Jeong Tae-ui without even blinking. His blue eyes seemed to waver ever so slightly.

Eventually, he nodded and murmured, as if trying to contribute to the conversation, “Right. I’ve never said those things to my family either.”

He spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

For a brief moment, the smile vanished from Jeong Tae-ui’s face.

He wanted to say that wasn’t right, that it shouldn’t be that way, but he couldn’t.

It’s not that those words aren’t spoken by default. They aren’t spoken because they are naturally understood even without being said. If they couldn’t be felt stolen contentwithout stolen contentbeing spoken, then they were words that had to be said.

Perhaps finding his sudden silence strange, Christoph looked at him. Jeong Tae-ui merely mumbled, “Uh, well…”

“Come to think of it, while talking to Chang-in on the phone a while ago, your brother’s name came up. He was asking for your contact information.”

At that moment, Kyle spoke to Jeong Tae-ui, casually shifting the topic.

“Ah… yes. He called me.”

Jeong Tae-ui followed the new topic. Yet, a corner of his heart felt a sharp ache. It might have been because Christoph looked so nonchalant, with a completely ordinary expression.

“Right. I heard he’s coming to Germany soon. Did you agree to meet?”

“Ah. No. I’m just planning to stay in Berlin. Given the current situation, I don’t think it’ll be easy to meet—”

Jeong Tae-ui paused mid-sentence. Kyle looked [visit our site]at him curiously as he froze stolen contentfor Read on Read BL Novelsa few seconds, his lips still shaped around the word “easy.”

“…Actually, I might end up meeting him. Seeing as my brother says he wants to. As you know, things involving my brother always happen regardless of my will.”

Jeong Tae-ui gave a bitter smile.

Perhaps by now, his brother had forgotten that he wanted to meet Jeong Tae-ui. Or perhaps he had given up entirely and decided to see him next time. If so, they might not meet this time and instead meet later.

But in reality, whether he met his brother or not didn’t matter. That was how it had become in the current situation.

“A forum in Frankfurt at this point… I have a bad feeling about the omens. I’m not sure if my brother will be okay.”

To be precise, it wasn’t that the forum was held at a dangerous time, but rather that things had become dangerous to coincide with the forum, but Jeong Tae-ui slowly shook his head.

“The organization will take good care of him, so what is there to worry about? Especially since it’s none other than Jeong Jae-yi.”

“I’m not worried about [stolen content]my brother’s personal safety, but unauthorized copyrather, unauthorized copythe situation just doesn’t look very good.”

Jeong Tae-ui rubbed the bridge of his nose.

It would have been better if he didn’t know, but since he had already heard something, he couldn’t help but be concerned.

“It would be a huge problem if a forum attendee were kidnapped.”

“Of course it would. Not just a general attendee, but if the actual protagonist were kidnapped, it goes without saying.”

As Jeong Tae-ui murmured, Kyle agreed without a moment’s hesitation. However, when Jeong Tae-ui let out a groan, Kyle added more, perhaps intending to ease his distress.

“But in this situation, the kidnapping itself is the challenge. Jeong Jae-yi currently has a clear affiliation. Besides, you’ve been in UNHRDO yourself.”

Jeong Tae-ui nodded. Regarding that part, Jeong Tae-ui had already argued that a kidnapping was absurd.

The talent cultivation organization where Jeong Jae-yi was currently stationed had a process [Read on Read BL Novels]of tempering people [visit our site]that [unauthorized copy]was almost at the level of soldier training. If he were surrounded by a group composed of such people, kidnapping would be impossible unless his brother intentionally stepped outside their perimeter.

If one were to discuss the possibility—

“If someone serving as an instructor there stepped forward, they would know the system well, so it would be easy to find a loophole.”

Christoph chimed in, crunching the grapes right down to the seeds.

Yes, that was the problem.

Even so, extracting him without making a noise would be impossible, but if Ilay stepped forward, the possibility wasn’t zero.

…Above all, if that man stepped forward, the thought of what he would do and how he would blow things up to make it happen was even more terrifying.

“But the contract with Raman is essentially broken. Ilay no longer needs to extract my brother. In that case… I wonder how Raman will act in this situation.”

Jeong Tae-ui slowly tapped his chin with his knuckles.

Last night, Richard had said that they had gone to Frankfurt shortly after.

If kidnapping became impossible, there was only the direct approach. Meeting the person in person to draw out the desired answer. While at the UNHRDO headquarters, the organization could completely block external contact according to the individual’s wishes, but once they stepped outside, the story changed. At least as far as meeting in person went, it would be possible in some way.

Meeting Jeong Jae-yi might be possible, but to draw a word of consent from his lips—

“If it were me, I’d target you.”

Christoph answered as if he had pinpointed exactly what Jeong Tae-ui was thinking. Jeong Tae-ui frowned and looked at Christoph, then scratched his head, thinking, I guess so.

“Back to square one.”

He felt as if he had spun around in circles only to stop and find himself exactly where he started. Murmuring, “If I keep spinning like this, I’ll turn into butter before I reach a conclusion,” Jeong Tae-ui sighed. At this rate, no further speculation could be made unless an actual situation occurred.

“I wonder if Ilay is okay…”

Scratching his head as if he were about to tear it out, he unconsciously muttered to himself, thinking of the man who had almost played a major role in that problematic kidnapping plot.

He was a man who didn’t need worrying about in a different sense than Jeong Jae-yi, but the last image of him in Jeong Tae-ui’s memory was of him lying unconscious.

The only saving grace was that neither Raman nor Tarten were ultimately targeting Ilay, but on the other hand, he was a man who had committed so many atrocities that one never knew where he might have planted an enemy; a hidden victim might have taken the opportunity to stab him while he was unconscious.

“There’s no news at all, so… I’m kind of anxious.”

He had murmured it very softly, but the living room was so quiet that the sound had carried. When he snapped back to his senses, he found Kyle staring at him in silence. The expressionless face, only blinking, was so bizarre that Jeong Tae-ui became slightly flustered, wondering if he had said something wrong.

As Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head in confusion, Kyle slightly raised an eyebrow, rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, and then shook his head, saying, “No, no.”

“Well… I don’t think there’s much need to be anxious.”

Saying so, Kyle dropped his gaze back to the newspaper. Beside him, stolen contentChristoph, who was eating grapes, stolen contentmurmured as [visit our site]if he were hearing the most absurd thing.

“You should worry about the people who actually need worrying about. A guy who killed three people while running, even after being hit with that much propofol.”

“What, he killed three? At the succession ceremony?”

Kyle, who had heard the general circumstances and the cause-and-effect relationship but not the detailed situation, quickly lifted his head from the newspaper and asked back.

“I didn’t check exactly, so he might have killed more.”

Facing Christoph, who spoke with utter composure about events that happened in his own household—despite having stormed out with the intention of cutting ties—Kyle slowly covered his forehead with his hand. Hearing him mutter, “Even at that place,” it seemed the location was the problem more than the fact that he killed three people. Then again, it was far too late to be surprised about him killing people.

“But then again, Rick had every reason to lose it,” Christoph murmured, popping a grape into his mouth. Watching him chew and swallow the grape whole, skin and seeds included, with a look of slight admiration, Jeong Tae-ui replied, “Is that so?” Christoph frowned as if he were stating the obvious.

“I would have lost it too. If someone I made a pact with stabbed me in the back at a critical moment.”

“It certainly wouldn’t be pleasant, but thinking about it, Ilay is Read on Read BL Novelsmore surprising to unauthorized copyme. I didn’t think he was the type stolen contentof person to trust others so easily.”

He had never thought of Ilay as a naive human who would blindly trust the contents of a contract and the partner just because a deal was made. Rather, he was more likely to be the one stabbing the other in the back.

“Ah… right. You’ve never been on this side. You said you were only at UNHRDO for a short while.”

Christoph nodded as if he understood.

“It’s like your life depends on a single condition attached to a pact. Whether a single letter is added or not determines if the probability of heading to the afterlife increases or decreases; let alone if there was a problem with the pact itself, it’s not even worth mentioning. In this world, the unilateral breach of a pact is taboo.”

Christoph spat out a short grape stem from his mouth and glanced at Kyle.

Kyle remained silently focused on the newspaper. Whether he wasn’t listening or was pretending not to, Christoph continued after watching Kyle turn the page with a calm face for a moment.

“Furthermore, if it’s Riegrow and Tarten, you have to see it as being beyond the realm of credit or trust. Even if Tarten turned his back on Riegrow to join hands with someone else, it should never have resulted in stabbing Riegrow in the back.”

Adding a bit of personal sentiment, Christoph noted that since Rick knew his own temperament, Read on Read BL Novelshe probably didn’t [Read on Read BL Novels]expect to be stabbed in the back so decisively, and then he concluded shortly.

“In other words, they essentially told him that they would accept whatever he did—or rather, to do as he pleased if he could.”

“…Somehow, this is getting bleaker…”

Jeong Tae-ui pulled on his bangs. In his heart, he wanted to tear them out completely, but wondering what sin his innocent hair had committed, he let go.

“Then we reach the conclusion that the whereabouts of the problematic Ilay are important.”

Jeong Tae-ui sighed and spread his arms with slight exaggeration. However, no answer came to those words.

“You’ll find out when you meet Richard,” Kyle said, folding the newspaper.

Jeong Tae-ui silently watched from the corner of his eye as the expression vanished from Christoph’s face at the mention of that name.

“Um… are you really planning to have a meal together in this house?”

It was awkward to face each other for various reasons. At the very least, he didn’t think any meal would taste good, no matter what delicacies were served.

However, Kyle picked up the last newspaper, opened it, and said calmly, “As long as he doesn’t firmly let go of my hand, I have no intention of letting go first. Also, in any case, the one caught off guard in this situation is Ilay as an individual, not Riegrow.”

Furthermore, Kyle added that it’s not common for that man to be stabbed in the back, so isn’t it amazing? There was a feeling of somewhat mischievous satisfaction in Kyle’s voice.

Recalling Kyle’s past, where his insides had been scorched black more than a few times because of Ilay, that feeling might not have been just his imagination.

 

* * *

 

A shadow fell over his face.

The reddish light that had been shimmering over his closed eyes was blocked and turned blue. Christoph slowly opened his eyes.

“Oh, did I wake you?”

Jeong Tae-ui was looking down at him from above. He was holding a large bucket in one hand. Perhaps it was his imagination, but it seemed like something foul was smelling from the bucket.

“What is this bucket shaking in front of my face,” Christoph murmured bluntly. If he let go, it would hit his face directly.

“Huh? Ah. Fertilizer. Peter asked me to bring it.”

“It smells a bit because I made it myself, right? But it’s all natural ingredients,” Jeong Tae-ui added with an innocent smile, and Christoph glared at him with all his might.

“If it’s fertilizer made from natural ingredients…”

“Ah—what do you call it in German… um… compost? Manure?”

Hearing Jeong Tae-ui murmur and recite words while tilting his head, Christoph immediately shifted his body and sat up.

“You’re shaking that thing over my face?!”

“Ah. Sorry. I thought you were sleeping.”

“Don’t bring it close even if I’m sleeping!”

Christoph shouted fiercely. Saying “Okay,” Jeong Tae-ui obediently set the bucket aside and sat down beside Christoph under the shade of the tree. Christoph gazed steadily at Jeong Tae-ui, who closed his eyes and leaned his head against the tree trunk, looking content.

“Do you like it?”

When Christoph suddenly asked, Jeong Tae-ui only rolled his eyes to look at him and gave a short “Yeah.”

“I suppose you liked going to the forest in Dresden, too.”

As Christoph nodded and murmured, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly started laughing out loud, as if something were funny. When Christoph frowned in confusion, he waved his hand.

“You were the one who liked the forest paths more than me. You went horseback riding almost every day. You went often even during the time you couldn’t ride because the horse was injured.”

At Jeong Tae-ui’s laughing words, Christoph shook his head coldly.

“It’s not that I liked the forest that much. It’s just that people rarely went there, so I didn’t have to encounter people as much as I would inside the house.”

It was always quiet and secluded there.

Back when he was still living in Tarten, competing as one of the succession candidates, he was always surrounded by people within a curriculum so tightly packed there was hardly any time to rest. In the midst of that, the only place where he could taste silence alone, other than his own bed, was that spot.

“Really? I wonder why, it’s such a wonderful forest. Then again, I rarely ran into anyone else there. ……Ah. I think I ran into Richard once.”

Jeong Tae-ui murmured as if it stolen contentwere strange. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he added a comment that unauthorized copymade Christoph raise an eyebrow slightly.

“That’s rare. He doesn’t go there often either.”

At Christoph’s words, Jeong Tae-ui looked even more surprised.

“He explained the walking paths so well that I thought he went there frequently.”

“Ah……. He used to go often a long time ago. Olivia loved strolling through the forest.”

Because her health was so frail, she rarely actually walked the forest paths, but whenever she felt well, she would occasionally spread a mat near the entrance of the forest to sit and rest. He had run into them several times during those moments. And every time, Olivia had smiled with genuine delight. All while Richard smiled calmly beside her, though in truth, he hadn’t been keen on it.

She always smiled. Whenever she ran into Christoph there, she was always glad to see him. No matter the circumstance.

—Did Olivia really like you? ……No, if it were me, I wouldn’t have.

Suddenly, a low voice with a unauthorized copyRead on Read BL Novelscruel glint surfaced in his ears. It was something he had heard not long ago.

Beside the silent Christoph, Jeong Tae-ui, who had been looking up at the sky, murmured.

“Olivia……. You said she looked like Oliver. Then she must have looked like Richard too.”

Christoph remained silent for a moment longer before speaking slowly.

“She didn’t look exactly like Oliver, but they resembled each other enough that it was easy to tell they were siblings. ……I hated that.”

He hated it. Or rather, it didn’t sit well with him. She was Richard’s sister as it was, and on top of that, they even looked alike. That was why he didn’t want to be close to her.

And yet.

Whenever Olivia saw Christoph, even from a distance, she would approach him happily. Always, without fail. To a degree that felt strange.

“Even though she spent more time lying in bed than wandering outside, I ran into her more often than anyone unauthorized copyelse. She approached me every time she saw me. So every time—no, occasionally at stolen contentother times too—I wondered. Read on Read BL NovelsWhy is that? Why does she like me? Does she really like me?”

Christoph fell silent.

In the end, that question was never answered. Now, it could never be.

Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head and looked at Christoph. Then, he turned his gaze back to the sky.

“I see……, then if she had stayed a bit longer, maybe you would have grown to like Olivia too.”

Jeong Tae-ui murmured as if talking to himself, and when Christoph looked at him quizzically, he scratched his head and added, “Huh?”

“That’s how it works when you think about someone often.”

Christoph blinked. Is that so? he murmured, tilting his head. He thought about it for a while longer, but he couldn’t quite grasp it.

For a while, he watched Jeong Tae-ui Read on Read BL Novelsin silence. After staring for unauthorized copya long time at that pleasant face leaning against the tree trunk, he suddenly spoke.

“Tae-yi. I like you.”

Jeong Tae-ui opened his eyes and looked at Christoph. Christoph did not break his gaze from the man, who looked perhaps flustered and surprised.

“……I used to think that, but now I’m not sure. I really…… you……”

Christoph trailed off mid-sentence. He simply stared blankly at Jeong Tae-ui.

Meeting his gaze, Jeong Tae-ui looked slightly troubled for a moment and opened his mouth as if to say something. But just as the sound was about to escape his lips—

“Were you two here together?”

The glass door leading toward the guest rooms opened, and Kyle stepped out.

Having been practically dragged away to the office by James, who had visited early in the morning, he had unauthorized copyonly just returned and was still wearing his suit. However, in an instant, he stripped off his clothes in front of them and walked over in his underwear, throwing [visit our site]himself into the pool beside them. With a hearty splash, water sprayed near where they were sitting.

After remaining submerged for quite a while, he suddenly popped up, exhaling a refreshed breath and wiping his drenched face with his palms.

After wiping his face a couple of times, his eyes met Jeong Tae-ui’s through his fingers, and he exclaimed, “Ah,” as if just remembering.

“Come to think of it, Tae-yi, Peter was waiting for you in the front garden. Something about bringing fertilizer.”

“What? ……Ah!”

Jeong Tae-ui stood up abruptly with a look of dismay. He grabbed the bucket he had set down and gave Christoph a light wave before hurrying away.

As Christoph stared blankly at Jeong Tae-ui’s retreating back as he disappeared around the building, Kyle, who had been swimming back and forth in the pool, finally floated on his back, seemingly satisfied with the amount of water he had cut through.

“Thinking about it, given your personality, it wouldn’t be that strange if you took a liking to Tae-yi. ……But Tae-yi is off-limits. Ilay truly treasures him. Though, as someone who sees them every day, it’s still something I find hard to believe.”

Floating on the water, Kyle threw out the somewhat abrupt comment. Only then [stolen content]did Christoph shift his vacant gaze [unauthorized copy]from the direction Jeong Tae-ui had vanished to look at him.

Within the calm words, delivered as if just tossing out a remark, there was a faint trace of concern. Perhaps he was worried that Rick and Christoph might fight, or perhaps he felt pity for Christoph.

“Why do you like Tae-yi?”

Christoph asked. Without a hint of confusion at the lack of context, Kyle smiled, wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes.

“Because he’s pretty.”

“…….”

“Hmm?”

“……No, it’s nothing.”

At Kyle’s short stolen contentunauthorized copyquestion asking why, Christoph’s eyes darted visit our sitearound before he shook his head.

But thinking about it again, it was understandable. He was sparkling; there was no reason he couldn’t be called pretty.

Indeed, Christoph thought, nodding to himself. After a moment’s thought, he asked again.

“Do you really like him?”

“Yeah.”

At the answer that came back immediately and without hesitation, it was Christoph, the one who had asked, who fell silent.

How could he know that? How could he know what that feeling was?

Christoph stared blankly at the man whose eyes were etched with smile lines instead of age. Then he murmured, Right, it was a phrase that could be said easily.

It is a phrase that can be said easily. Even without thinking that way, stolen contentor even in a state [unauthorized copy]where one hasn’t realized Read on Read BL Novelsthey don’t think that way, words can always be spoken easily.

It seemed Christoph’s monologue was audible to Kyle.

Kyle turned to look at Christoph and straightened his body from the surface of the water. Hopping out of the pool and sitting down, he said something abrupt with a surprisingly serious expression.

“Have you ever thought that words have power?”

Christoph frowned suspiciously. I wonder, he thought, shaking his head.

“If you hear something repeatedly, you eventually start thinking that way without even realizing it. Depending on the situation, that can become a very scary thing.”

Christoph looked at Kyle with a strange expression.

He couldn’t tell what Kyle was trying to say.

He had that side to him. He had always been that way. Ever [unauthorized copy]since Christoph was very young, [Read on Read BL Novels]there were parts of Kyle that unauthorized copyChristoph couldn’t understand. There were many things Christoph didn’t understand about other ordinary people, but this was different.

Occasionally, when people of the same generation—those who could be called ‘brothers’—gathered, most were around Christoph’s age. Among them, Christoph was relatively old, but Kyle was far older than Christoph. As the oldest among them, he had already been an adult compared to the others from the first time Christoph saw him as a young child.

Strangely, while Kyle had certainly been more adult-like than actual adults when Christoph was young, at some point, he had become a person with eccentric and clumsy sides. Perhaps the childhood memories were wrong.

One of those eccentricities was this: occasionally bringing up things where it was impossible to tell what he was trying to say.

Kyle smiled faintly, slightly knitting his dark, wet eyebrows.

“That’s why important words should always be spoken after thinking about them several times.”

“Important words,” Christoph murmured, repeating the phrase. “Yes, important words,” Kyle repeated, as if advising a child.

Christoph stared at Kyle. Then, he suddenly brought up something that had crossed his mind several times.

“Kyle. I think you become more of a child as you get older.”

At Christoph’s words, Kyle blinked with a slightly taken-aback expression.

“If my memory serves me right, before I was even chosen as a succession candidate—back when you were in the gifted education institute—you were an adult-like person who possessed both vitality and intelligence, receiving admiration from the adults for your sharp insight into people and things and your deep thoughtfulness. ……To put it simply, you didn’t talk much and were often lost in thought, so you seemed like you had some sort of aura.”

At the final remark, which brought up a memory from over twenty years ago, Kyle clutched his chest as if he had been struck.

“Ah…… right…… those were embarrassing childhood days…….”

“What changed you like this?”

Was it because a psychopath was family, or because of the pressure of inheriting the family business? As Christoph murmured these things, Kyle smiled bitterly.

“People tend to live without knowing who they actually are until a certain moment arrives. ……But why bring that up all of a sudden, it’s heartbreaking…….”

“You told me to speak after thinking visit our siteabout [stolen content]it several times. [Read on Read BL Novels]I’ve thought about it occasionally for a long time.”

“No, that’s not what I meant, Chris……”

Kyle flopped onto the grass and rolled over onto his stomach. Lying with his belly on the dirt and splashing his feet in the water, he indeed did not look very adult-like.

“Then what is it? Something that should be said after thinking about it several times.”

When Christoph asked, Kyle raised an eyebrow, smiled broadly, and sank into thought with a “Hmm.”

“Right. For example, words like this. I like Tae-yi. I like Rita and Peter too. Ilay also, ……let’s think about Ilay a bit more.”

Kyle murmured with a gloomy face, as if his mood had suddenly darkened.

That guy is the karma cast upon my life, and loving even karma requires constant effort and discipline, Kyle murmured gloomily, but upon meeting Christoph’s eyes, he sighed and laughed weakly, realizing he was talking nonsense.

How much do you have to laugh to get wrinkles like those? As Christoph looked at the wrinkles at the corners stolen contentof Kyle’s eyes with a [unauthorized copy]hint of envy, Kyle suddenly smiled [stolen content]gently. Those wrinkles deepened beautifully.

“And Christoph, I like you too.”

At Kyle’s words, Christoph’s expression went blank. He stared at Kyle as if he had just heard something completely unexpected and eccentric, then slowly tilted his head.

“Me?”

To the suspiciously blinking Christoph, Kyle gave a generous smile and nodded. After thinking for a moment, Christoph shook his head. Then, he spoke in a somewhat unsure tone.

“I don’t know.”

“Is that so? I thought you liked me too.”

To Kyle’s surprised response, Christoph didn’t think for as long this time; he just shifted his eyes for a moment and abruptly murmured.

“I never did.”

Christoph frowned slightly, but Kyle didn’t seem to mind the expression or the answer, asking “Really?” and laughing out loud.

A person doesn’t necessarily know themselves perfectly, Kyle added. Depending on how one took it, his words could sound incredibly arrogant, but Christoph simply stared at him with a peculiar expression.

How should he put it? Somehow. He wasn’t sure. But still.

Christoph rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit confused by the fragmented, unknown sensations surfacing here and there.

It wasn’t a bad feeling. But a faint, unknown sensation, close to a distant anxiety, lay beneath. Would it be more correct to say he was afraid? It felt different, yet similar.

Like that—strange sensation—of flinching when something touches your body at an unexpected moment.

Those words poked at somewhere inside his chest in that same strange way.

“Strange…….”

Christoph murmured to himself. Kyle asked with his eyes what was strange. Christoph slowly rubbed his chest.

“I thought this place had become even emptier. Because I couldn’t taste things well.”

It wasn’t just taste. His sight, hearing, and smell all seemed to have grown dull. Even though his senses were clearly alive, it felt as if some part of them was paralyzed—yes, exactly like the sensations one feels while dreaming.

As if the part of him that felt sensations had been wrapped in several layers of thick cloth.

“Since when?”

Kyle asked, frowning slightly. “No, it’s not that serious, it’s not uncomfortable or hindering anything,” Christoph answered indifferently, but he thought about it.

It hadn’t been that long. Or perhaps it was a very recent occurrence.

But on the other hand, it felt as if cloths that had been laid down one by one a very long [unauthorized copy]time ago had Read on Read BL Novelssuddenly wrapped around him all at once.

Dully. Like a slightly tingling paralysis.

“As I thought, it’s poking a bit here…….”

Christoph placed his hand over his heart. Then he looked up at Kyle.

“Say it again.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow with a “Hmm.” A look of realization soon flashed across his puzzled face. He readily complied with Christoph’s request. “As much as you want,” he said with a warm smile.

“I like you, Christoph.”

“……Say it again.”

“I always wish for you to be happy. My beloved Christoph. Because I like you.”

Using a deliberately exaggerated tone, yet with a sincerity that was clearly evident, Kyle spoke again.

Christoph remained silent. He looked down at the hand resting on his chest for a long time.

“Did I perhaps want to hear those words?”

Christoph asked Kyle. With a face of pure curiosity, like a child asking an adult something they didn’t know. The smile faded from Kyle’s face.

“Did you want to hear those words?”

Kyle asked back instead of answering. Then, after being lost in thought, Christoph slowly shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

Christoph raised his gaze from his chest and looked at Kyle again.

He didn’t know. He couldn’t tell. But he felt that if he heard it more, if he heard it a bit more, he might know. He didn’t know what ‘it’ was, but he felt that by doing so, he might discover something.

“Tell me again.”

Christoph whispered. Was it his imagination? He felt as if his throat were trembling. He tilted his head in confusion and touched his neck, but it wasn’t trembling. And yet, he felt as if it were.

“My young Christoph. I like you.”

Even though Christoph could no longer be called young, for some reason, Kyle whispered that. As if turning back time to say words that should have been heard long ago. Tenderly, as if he would say them dozens or hundreds of times, as much as needed.

“One more time.”

As Christoph said that, he finally realized. It wasn’t the outside of his throat that was trembling. The inside of his throat was trembling. That was why his voice was shaking faintly.

“Christoph. I like you.”

Benevolent and tender. In a tone like a father who embraces everything generously.

Strange. Why was his throat so hot? The inside of his throat felt hot, as if he had swallowed a small ball of fire. No, perhaps it was his chest that was hot.

—Chris. I like you.

Suddenly, he remembered a low breath that had seeped into his mouth.

The tender voice that had whispered repeatedly between overlapping lips, heard just a short while ago.

The voice from that moment, when his heart had suddenly become anxious for no reason and he hadn’t known what to do, was vividly engraved in his heart.

The voice he had kept closed off in the depths of his consciousness, as if locked away in memory.

“…―.”

Only now.

So belatedly.

“Chris?”

A voice sounded, seeming bewildered or perhaps troubled. Kyle’s affectionate gaze was resting on Christoph’s eyes. However, his vision wavered and blurred, making it impossible to see clearly.

“……Chris.”

Christoph lowered his gaze.

Only now does he realize that the soft voice engraved in his memories was actually a terrifyingly sharp blade. Only now, as it rose to the surface of his consciousness, could he recognize the fact that he had been hurt back then—a fact he hadn’t known at the time.

“……You didn’t just say stolen contentthose things because [unauthorized copy]you were curious about [stolen content]how I would react, did you.”

Christoph whispered.

Kyle fell silent for a moment. Realizing the meaning behind that low, trembling whisper, instead of asking who had told him such things, Kyle gazed at Christoph as if searching him for a long while before finally smiling slowly. He shook his head without a word.

“You didn’t say them just to enjoy watching my reaction, either.”

Again, Kyle shook his head.

“I like you, Christoph.”

My young and small brother—the gentle voice that followed, seeping into his ear.

“Tell me one more time.”

Christoph said.

His expressionless, pale face was trembling faintly. Without even looking at Kyle, keeping his gaze lowered, Christoph spoke, relying solely on that actual gentle and quiet voice to cover the voice in his memories. He asked for it one more time.

His white cheeks were wet. It was such a trivial thing. And yet, his cheeks were drenched and would not dry.

“Then maybe I could like you, too.”

It was a whisper like a sigh.

 

* * *

 

Jeong Tae-ui was staring blankly Read on Read BL Novelsat the wrinkled hands that were snip-snapping away unauthorized copywithered leaves with pruning shears.

Peter, who had worked as a gardener his entire life, had his life etched into those hands. His hardened, blackened hands were full of scars, both large and small.

“I guess there are many opportunities to hurt your hands when you’re a gardener.”

Jeong Tae-ui looked down at his own hands, recalling his own past, which had been rough in its own right. There were the hands of a man with small scars here and there. Yet, looking at his own hands after seeing Peter’s, they seemed remarkably smooth.

“Since this is work that deals with life, there are things that must be protected even while hurting one’s hands.”

Peter muttered nonchalantly.

Looking at those calloused hands that could now grasp small thorns without hesitation, Jeong Tae-ui murmured, “Life, huh.”

“It’s nice that trees live for a long, long time as long as they aren’t cut down.”

“Even grass that lives for one season and dies lives on through the seeds it leaves behind.”

At Peter’s words, Jeong Tae-ui smiled and said, “I see.”

As he did, he thought of someone who couldn’t live long and perished young.

Jeong Tae-ui had never even seen the girl who was said to resemble Oliver—or Richard.

Therefore, even upon hearing that she had sadly left the world at a young age, he only felt a slight pang of pity that settled his heart; he didn’t feel deep sadness or grief.

Rather, his thoughts drifted toward the living Christoph rather than the pitiful girl who died young.

He recalled Christoph’s expressionless face when he mentioned Olivia’s name. With a tone that seemed indifferent and even slightly annoyed, he recounted her memories one by one, sporadically.

In those moments, Christoph surely didn’t know what kind of face he was making.

“My brother liked plants too, so when we lived together at home, there were many pots of all sizes inside. Since there were so Read on Read BL Novelsmany, one or two would occasionally wither and die, and it was [unauthorized copy]sad to see that happen to things we had cared for so meticulously for so long. ……But, even though all life is precious, it wasn’t as sad as when a person dies.”

Jeong Tae-ui vaguely recalled old memories, his gaze fixed only on the hands plucking dry leaves. It was a memory he rarely thought of these days.

The experience of someone disappearing forever, whether from afar or up close.

It was a sense of loss that could not be explained by the word ‘sad’ alone.

Even if one lost someone they only knew by face, though the degree might differ, that sense of loss was unavoidable.

“Maybe it’s more so because once you die, there’s no turning back. Even if you think later that it would have been better to do this or that, there’s already nothing you can do.”

Jeong Tae-ui smiled bitterly.

It was the same when his parents passed away. ‘Serve them while they are alive’ is a phrase heard so commonly, yet it was never easy to carve into one’s heart.

Jeong Tae-ui had nothing in his memories that remained as regret. He had visit our sitealways respected and loved his father and mother to the best of his unauthorized copyability. [stolen content]Rather than making a conscious effort, he simply lived that way.

He had made them sad at times, such as when he was hospitalized after getting seriously injured while playing with friends, but nothing remained as a lingering heartache.

And yet, when he thought of them now, a sense of longing remained.

“There are children who fail to treat their parents well, even though they know it will undoubtedly weigh on their hearts for a long time. Is that kind of relationship limited only to parents and children?”

Peter said indifferently. “I suppose so,” Jeong Tae-ui murmured.

Would that be the case? Did Christoph know? That so long after, when bringing up Olivia’s story, he would make such a face.

“No matter how you live, it’s best to live without regrets.”

“I agree. ……But it doesn’t seem easy, Peter.”

Jeong Tae-ui did not look back at the past. He always tried to [unauthorized copy]do things he wouldn’t regret unauthorized copylater. However, unauthorized copytime did not always flow according to one’s will.

Jeong Tae-ui let out a light sigh and shrugged his shoulders. Then, staring blankly at the old man in front of him, he suddenly spoke with a smile in his eyes.

“Would it be good to live with the heart of someone who plants an apple tree today, even if the world ends tomorrow?”

“If the world ends tomorrow, I wouldn’t plant a tree. Planting one would only make the tree pitiful.”

Peter said, raising one of his snow-white eyebrows.

“Still, if I were to die tomorrow, then I should plant a tree today.”

After watching the blunt hands snip away withered branches for a while, Jeong Tae-ui called him with a laugh.

“Peter.”

Peter glanced at Jeong Tae-ui while cutting a yellowed, withered leaf and [unauthorized copy]tapping unauthorized copymedicine onto the cut surface with his fingertip.

“Live a long life. Yes, it would be nice if you lived as long as that tree.”

At that, Peter widened his eyes and exclaimed, “Do you even know what kind of tree this is?!” He grumbled that telling an old man to live for thousands more years wasn’t a blessing.

Jeong Tae-ui ended up laughing.

“It really is good to be back in Berlin,” he murmured, sweeping up the withered leaves fallen on the soil with a broom. He thought he should help Peter later when he made compost from these withered leaves.

It was then.

“What a wonderful scholar tree. It’s rare to see a tree grow so healthy and beautiful even in a botanical garden; it’s magnificent.”

A voice carrying a soft smile sounded from behind him.

The smile vanished from Jeong Tae-ui’s face.

Following Peter, who was looking over his shoulder, Jeong Tae-ui slowly turned his head.

Richard was standing there.

With the same gentle smile in his eyes as the one he had seen in Dresden.

The appearance he had seen through the narrow screen of the intercom last night was nowhere to be found. As if that had never happened, he was there, consistently mild-mannered.

“Ah……, you’ve arrived.”

Jeong Tae-ui stopped sweeping. After a very brief hesitation, Jeong Tae-ui smiled as usual.

“I intended to come sooner, but since I came in a hurry after finishing the succession yesterday without even having the leisure to handle the aftermath, I couldn’t find any time during the day, so I’m a bit late. I did contact Kyle in advance.”

Jeong Tae-ui looked at the clock, which was slightly past five. He must have stolen contentbeen frantically busy. He had heard before unauthorized copythat after the succession ceremony, one would be so busy for several days that they wouldn’t even be able to show their face.

Yet, if he could come at this hour, he must have lived in a flood of work throughout the day. Especially considering the banquet hall had been turned upside down last night, it went without saying.

“Where is Christoph? Is he in his room?”

As if he didn’t have the leisure to chat leisurely with Jeong Tae-ui, Richard spoke bluntly. Jeong Tae-ui shook his head, leaning the broom against the wall.

“No. He should be in the courtyard with Kyle right now. ――Peter, I’ll see you later.”

Readily accepting the pot Peter handed him, asking him to put it in the storage room on the way, Jeong Tae-ui looked at Richard. Instead of saying ‘it’s that way’ to guide him, Jeong Tae-ui turned and walked ahead first, and Richard followed silently behind him.

Would it be okay? Taking Richard straight to them without any prior warning. No, but since Rita must have opened the door, she might have already gone to Kyle to deliver the news.

“Did you go back to Dresden and come back?”

When Jeong Tae-ui asked over his shoulder, an answer immediately returned.

“Yes. There were many things that had to be done. ……I apologize for the intrusion of visiting so suddenly at such a late hour last night.”

To the politely speaking Richard, Jeong Tae-ui shrugged slightly and said, “No.” It wasn’t a greeting he deserved to receive.

Walking without saying much to each other, Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head, feeling somewhat unsettled.

Come to think of it, he felt he was in a position to demand an explanation from this man.

But on the other hand, this man had merely stood by during Raman’s affair and helped slightly in another direction; it was hard to say he had done anything directly to Jeong Tae-ui.

Furthermore, even when he visited last night, he didn’t demand Jeong Tae-ui’s custody. He only sought Christoph, someone related to his own family. In other words, Jeong Tae-ui was an outsider to him.

“Dresden, ……the atmosphere must be a bit bad right now.”

Jeong Tae-ui slowed his pace, walking ahead of him by about half a step.

Only after speaking did he wonder if it was an uncomfortable topic, but Richard gave a calm, awkward smile.

“Since a major event and a commotion happened simultaneously, there is indeed a somewhat chaotic atmosphere. However, it will be fine in a few days. Thank you for your concern.”

To the man who didn’t forget his manners and added that final sentence, Jeong Tae-ui, who had been in the middle of that commotion, could only mutter ambiguously, “No, well…”

He even felt a sense of admiration.

Richard was perfect. Perfectly polite.

It wasn’t just his words. Even his attitude, and even his expression, showed no sign of being displeased or uncomfortable.

It seemed as though there was no room for any problem between them.

To be able to draw a line so politely yet coldly.

Was this man truly the same person who had come here last night?

Jeong Tae-ui suddenly recalled the man from last night, in whom not a single shred of composure could be found. That man had been anxious and urgent, a chilling aura blooming over a face that was trying hard to suppress emotion. Unlike the man walking behind Jeong Tae-ui now.

Jeong Tae-ui looked back at Richard. Feeling the gaze and meeting Jeong Tae-ui’s eyes, he smiled with a puzzled face.

‘His face is much milder now, but the human side of him was actually better yesterday.’

Jeong Tae-ui murmured inwardly and scratched his temple.

Then, the words he had shouted briefly yesterday suddenly flashed through his mind. The words that had growled so chillingly that they made the listener’s face turn pale.

“By the way, is Christoph’s mother doing alright?”

Jeong Tae-ui asked with a feigned light tone and a smile.

No matter what, he surely hadn’t killed her as those words yesterday suggested; it was just a literal question.

Although she had told Christoph never to return to Tarten, her position couldn’t have been comfortable after her son left in a way that harmed Tarten so much. Perhaps she really had taken to her bed or developed a nervous disorder.

“Ah……, she.”

Richard paused for a moment. But soon he smiled and shrugged slightly.

“She is bedridden, but she is fine.”

“Uh……, she wasn’t injured during the commotion, was she?”

“No. It seems she was just a bit shocked.”

Richard said only that and fell silent. Sensing that he didn’t want to say much [unauthorized copy]more, Jeong stolen contentTae-ui didn’t ask further.

Indeed, since she was someone who seemed mentally fragile, it wouldn’t be strange if she were shocked amidst yesterday’s commotion.

But.

Jeong Tae-ui suddenly smiled bitterly.

He realized anew that he really didn’t like her very much.

Even hearing that she was bedridden, he didn’t feel worried. No, rather, he unexpectedly felt pleased that Richard had been angry with her last night.

Jeong Tae-ui still didn’t particularly like Richard either, but he conveyed that feeling to him anyway.

“Thank you for being angry at her for Christoph’s sake.”

But it was then.

For the first time, the smile vanished from the face of Richard, who was walking slightly behind Jeong Tae-ui.

“There is no reason for you to thank me.”

An ice-cold voice returned.

Jeong Tae-ui flinched and looked back at him. Richard looked at Jeong Tae-ui expressionlessly. However, that gaze was as cold as a honed blade.

Jeong Tae-ui opened his mouth, but since no appropriate words came to mind, he let out a light sigh and closed it.

‘Ah, yes, you mean it’s an internal Tarten matter,’ he thought about being sarcastic internally, but he didn’t even feel like doing that and erased it from his mind.

The supply warehouse was visible in the distance. The warehouse was located a bit further in, in the opposite direction of the courtyard.

Jeong Tae-ui lightly shook the pot he had received from Peter and looked back at Richard.

“I’m going to put this in the warehouse for a moment; would you mind waiting a bit? Or…….”

“I know which way the courtyard is, so I’ll go ahead.”

Richard answered and stepped forward before Jeong Tae-ui could even finish his sentence.

Indeed, there was no way he wouldn’t know the general layout of this house. In the first place, something like guidance wasn’t even necessary.

Saying he would follow shortly, Jeong Tae-ui walked briskly toward the warehouse.

He really wasn’t an easy man to deal with. If possible, he wanted to live without ever dealing with him again.

Up until now, there had been a few people he felt he didn’t want to deal with—and since he was currently living with a prime example of such a person, life was unpredictable—and there were cases where he eventually got along reasonably well with them, but this man was uncomfortable. Yes, rather than ‘dislike,’ ‘uncomfortable’ was the right word.

In terms of human qualities, this man might actually be better than Ilay, but it seemed that whether one clicked with another person was a matter separate from personality. No, that’s not to say Ilay’s stolen contentpersonality was Read on Read BL Novelscompletely wrecked……, ……or so he wanted to say…….

After setting the pot down next to the warehouse door, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly remembered the man whose whereabouts he didn’t need to worry about but who weighed on his mind.

‘Oops, I should have asked in advance.’

Clicking his tongue and tapping his head, Jeong Tae-ui turned around, thinking he should hurry back and ask about that first.

Richard would surely know.

The last memory Jeong Tae-ui had of seeing Ilay was the sight of him collapsing after being injected with propofol at the Tarten banquet. After that, Jeong Tae-ui had also lost consciousness, and when he woke up, he was in the helicopter with Christoph. He had no choice but to leave Ilay behind.

If so, was he still in Tarten? Perhaps he was imprisoned, or perhaps he still hadn’t woken up due to the effects of the drug. Or perhaps he had been moved elsewhere, or…….

“…….”

Jeong Tae-ui soon sighed and shook his head.

It was no use. Since he had no contact and no news at all, his thoughts kept drifting in strange directions.

He felt he would be at peace only after returning and asking. Moreover, on the other hand, he was worried in another way.

Although Kyle would be with him, he was worried that Christoph, who had stormed out of Tarten in such a manner, would be confronting Richard.

Surely he couldn’t just drag him away by force, nor was there any way to mobilize physical power at Kyle’s house, but if they were in a hostile standoff, he was the one who had created the fundamental reason for it.

His walking pace gradually quickened. By the time the courtyard came into view, Jeong Tae-ui was practically running.

However, upon reaching the courtyard, Jeong Tae-ui came to a sudden halt.

Richard was standing there.

At the corner of the path leading to the courtyard, he visit our sitestood tall [visit our site]like a stone statue with his back turned, [Read on Read BL Novels]gazing out at the courtyard.

There was no need to check what he was looking at. There were only two people in his line of sight.

Kyle and Christoph were talking. They were still too far away from where Jeong Tae-ui stood to see clearly, but the two were sitting facing each other.

And at the entrance to the courtyard, Richard was simply watching them. Wondering at the sight of his back, standing without the slightest movement, Jeong Tae-ui approached him. Though he thought it unlikely, he asked.

“Were you perhaps waiting for me? If you had gone ahead and spoken with them…”

As he spoke, thinking he was sounding foolish, Jeong Tae-ui soon fell silent. It was only when he reached directly behind Richard that he could see exactly what he was looking at.

As if unaware that Jeong Tae-ui had even arrived, the person he was watching was Christoph. For a moment, Jeong Tae-ui’s gaze was also pinned to Christoph.

His face was wet.

It was a deeply strange sight.

Christoph’s expression was not much different from usual. With a calm face like an expressionless doll, he sat before Kyle. He looked like a precise and delicate sculpture that could not possibly possess emotion.

And yet, the cheeks of that sculpture were constantly becoming wet. Transparent tears—strange for not being blue despite flowing from those eyes—continued to stream from those deep blue eyes. Continuously. Ceaselessly, as if there were no end in sight.

Christoph. Words failed to leave the mouth that had opened instinctively to call him.

“…”

Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head hesitantly. He looked toward them with a troubled expression.

It felt awkward to call out to him. It felt even more so with Richard standing beside him. Just as much as he hated showing his own crying face, he felt that Christoph’s crying face was something that should not be seen.

Jeong Tae-ui glanced at Richard, who was silently watching them with an unreadable expression, and clicked his tongue inwardly.

But until the moment Jeong Tae-ui had left that spot, there had been stolen content[stolen content]nothing worth crying over. Kyle had jumped into the pool to swim, and in the process of nearly brushing [Read on Read BL Novels]past him, Jeong Tae-ui had stood up from beside Christoph. Until then, he could swear nothing had happened.

If so—even though he was watching silently with a gentle face—perhaps Kyle had done or said something cruel to make him cry, or maybe a very spicy speck of dust had gotten into his eye…

Considering these highly unlikely possibilities, Jeong Tae-ui shifted his gaze back to Richard, who must have been watching them from here before he arrived. He wondered if he could discern something from Richard’s complexion, but there was no expression on his face. He simply watched them, still and silent.

“…”

Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head back to look at the sky and muttered to himself, Now, what should I do?

However, that awkward deliberation did not last long.

Kyle, who had briefly looked away from Christoph, spotted them standing there.

 

 

Kyle looked troubled.

He looked once at Christoph’s wet eyelashes as he quietly cast his gaze downward, then at Jeong Tae-ui, and finally at Richard standing beside him. He frowned slightly in embarrassment, then, as if he had no choice, leaned toward Christoph and whispered something in his ear.

At that moment, Christoph’s shoulders flinched slightly.

After remaining frozen for a moment, Christoph suddenly stood up—without once looking back toward where they stood—and dove into the pool behind Kyle.

Having suddenly plunged into the water without warning while fully clothed, Christoph remained submerged for a long time. In the meantime, Kyle stood up with a startled “Oh.”

His body was already dry, with only dirt and dried grass clinging to the parts that had touched the ground. …Though, having entered the water in only his underwear and then lying and rolling on the ground immediately after, almost his entire body was covered in dirt.

“You’ve arrived, Richard. It would have been better if you’d sent word before coming.”

Smiling nonchalantly as if nothing had happened, Kyle opened his arms lightly, his Read on Read BL Novelsface filled with a look of [unauthorized copy]great welcome, quite unlike the previous night.

“Kyle, if you’re thinking of hugging instead of greeting, I think it would be better to brush off the dirt on your chest, stomach, arms, and legs first.”

When Jeong Tae-ui spoke, Kyle finally looked down at himself and clicked his tongue. “Oops.”

“Right, I’m in no state to welcome guests. My apologies. Please wait a moment. I’ll go rinse off quickly. I’ll tell Rita, so please have some tea.”

Kyle lightly brushed off the dirt, but ultimately, as if giving up on his still-dirty body—and still dressed only in underwear—he turned and walked toward the house.

Richard, who had remained silent until then, spoke for the first time.

“Tea is unnecessary. I will be leaving soon. I only came to pick up Christoph.”

Speaking in a low, slow, but firm tone, he did not look at Kyle, but kept his eyes on the pool.

Kyle, who had just stepped toward the glass door, [visit our site]paused and slowly Read on Read BL Novelsturned around. He looked at Richard for a visit our sitemoment and then smiled calmly.

“Richard. I thought you had come to my house as a guest.”

Only after hearing that quiet, low voice did Richard turn his eyes toward Kyle. Eyes devoid of laughter looked at Kyle, but he soon nodded obediently, as if realizing his mistake.

“I apologize. Excuse me. …Please go inside. I will be here.”

Kyle nodded and went inside. The glass door closed quietly, creating a boundary between the inside and outside of the house.

The outside was quiet. Only the distant sound of cars and the presence of people beyond the wall could be heard faintly; aside from the chirping of birds, the exterior was serene.

In that place, the calm sound of water echoed.

Christoph, who had been submerged in the pool for a long time, quietly stood up from the water.

Naturally, his entire body was soaking wet. Even if stolen contentthe [Read on Read BL Novels]hair clinging to Read on Read BL Novelshis skin from the water didn’t half-cover his face, it wouldn’t have been strange for his cheeks to be wet anymore.

Christoph brushed back his wet hair as if it were a nuisance. After wiping his wet face with his palm, his usual expression remained. A blank and cold face.

As if he couldn’t even see Richard watching him silently, Christoph stepped out of the pool. Puddles quickly formed around where he stepped.

“Are you okay?”

Jeong Tae-ui asked casually. Christoph glanced at Jeong Tae-ui sullenly and muttered in a displeased tone.

“…My clothes are all wet and clinging to me. It feels disgusting.”

The way he grumbled that he would have brought a swimsuit if he’d known he’d go into the pool was exactly like his usual behavior of strictly adhering to a dress code, which somehow made Jeong Tae-ui feel relieved.

“I need to change my clothes.”

Christoph muttered and turned to leave.

But it was then.

Richard, who had been watching him silently without moving an inch, grabbed his arm. Flinching for a moment, Christoph shook off the hand and glared at him with blue eyes.

“Don’t touch me.”

He spoke shortly in a low voice that wasn’t agitated, and tried to turn away again. But this time, Richard gripped Christoph’s arm again, in the exact same spot he had held before. Firmly, so that he could not easily break free.

“Let’s go back now, Christoph,” Richard said quietly. However, his faintly suppressed voice revealed that he was not as calm as he appeared.

“Let go.”

Christoph shifted his sharp gaze from his captured arm to Richard’s face.

“I’ve told them to clear out the room next to mine [visit our site][stolen content]in the east wing. Your things have probably all been moved there by now.”

Christoph looked at Richard, who spoke while completely ignoring his words, as if he had been caught off guard.

I see, Richard will be living in the east wing now, Jeong Tae-ui thought in a corner of his mind, frowning slightly.

Richard wasn’t even considering the possibility that Christoph wouldn’t go to Tarten. Whether he wanted to or not, Richard intended to take Christoph back to Tarten one way or another.

Christoph glared at him for a long time, then slowly relaxed his body. He glanced displeasedly at his still-held arm, but as if giving up on that, he raised his head again.

“Yes, I’ve thought about it too, Richard Tarten. Why I should return to Tarten.”

The words, which had paused for a moment, continued.

“But there was no reason to.”

Richard’s eyes narrowed as he met Christoph’s blue pupils. Christoph continued.

“For the sake of Tarten? Not a chance. I told you I would abandon that place. I will not work for that place, nor for you, anymore.”

“…No, even if you don’t want to, you are a useful talent for Tarten. You must be at Tarten.”

Richard shook his head. Christoph remained silent for a moment before speaking again.

“I had a debt to pay back to Tarten.”

“I believe I told you that if you returned, I would consider it settled.”

“No, that’s not necessary. I will certainly repay it. With that amount of money, they should be able to hire someone with talent like mine.”

Christoph slowly bent the arm Richard was holding. Then, with a twist, he shook off his hand. The hand, which seemed to hesitate for a moment, let go obediently.

“I am leaving Tarten. You can say Tarten exiled me, or that you kicked me out. [unauthorized copy]I don’t care either way. I will make unauthorized copysure that nothing I do brings shame to Tarten.”

Christoph took a step back. Having finished speaking while facing Richard head-on, he fell silent for a moment. Perhaps he was waiting for Richard’s answer, but Richard also remained silent.

Suddenly, Christoph shrugged his shoulders.

Though it was late summer, at this time of year when it overlaps with autumn, it was a chilly time to stand outside in soaking wet clothes as evening approached.

Cold, Christoph muttered, his lips fluttering unconsciously, then suddenly stiffened his expression. He clamped his bluish lips shut so as not to say it again.

He turned away. Dripping water, he moved to open the glass door and step inside.

At that moment.

“If it hadn’t been a joke, would you have said that to me as well?”

Richard broke the silence.

As if lost in thought, he glared at some point in the air for a moment, then looked up at the west where the evening glow was beginning to fade, his face still as ordinary as ever.

At those words, which sounded almost like a monologue, Christoph, who was about to go inside, looked at Richard with a puzzled expression, as if he didn’t understand the meaning.

“If it hadn’t just been something I said because I was curious about what you would say.”

Richard added softly. At that moment, Christoph’s body flinched slightly.

“If it hadn’t been because I wanted to enjoy watching your reaction.”

Richard slowly turned his gaze. At this hour when everything was sinking into a blur, only that gaze was exceptionally cold and clear.

“Would you have said those words to me?”

He added the final words lightly, as if singing.

Christoph stood frozen in place, staring at Richard.

The two stood in a standoff, as if in a staring contest.

At some point, the corners of Richard’s mouth twitched minutely. Faint wrinkles formed around his mouth, as if he were smiling.

“One more time…? I can tell you a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand more times. How many times do you want? I’ll tell you as much as you wish. Tell me, Christoph. How many times must I say it before you’ll listen to me? If it’s just a matter of wagging a three-inch tongue, I can do it as much as you like.”

Christoph wasn’t the only one who looked as if he had frozen solid while staring at Richard.

Jeong Tae-ui also felt his heart grow cold amidst those unfathomable words.

A cold, smooth sensation, like stroking a reptile, was vivid. A chill ran down his spine.

Richard, who was coldly shaking something Jeong Tae-ui couldn’t identify, was visit our sitewearing a smile. It was a smile Jeong Tae-ui had [Read on Read BL Novels]never seen before. No, the corners of his mouth were turned up, but it wasn’t a smile. It wasn’t a sneer, sarcasm, or contempt.

It was rage, frozen cold at its peak.

Why?

He couldn’t tell what Richard was angry about. He couldn’t tell what had made him so cruel. He could only instinctively feel that those words were extremely brutal and harsh.

The reason Christoph’s face looked even paler than before wasn’t just because it was getting dark as the sun set.

“Is it fun?”

But when Christoph quietly threw out that one sentence, this time it was Richard who froze.

“Are you enjoying this, Richard? Was it satisfying? …Yes, you can feel good about it. To be honest, it hurt me to a degree that surprised even myself. Though I only realized it hurt a moment ago. That was more effective than anything else you’ve ever done. …Congratulations, Richard.”

Without a hint of annoyance or displeasure, [visit our site]Christoph delivered each word quietly with a stolen contentface as pale as a wax doll. Then, he took a quiet breath, as if doing [Read on Read BL Novels]so might fill some empty void, even if only a little.

“So now, even if you tell me a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or ten thousand times more, your words will not reach me.”

Christoph finished speaking.

And as if this was truly the end, he turned away without waiting for Richard’s answer. Behind him, as he stepped through the glass door, Richard’s shout echoed.

“Christoph!!”

It was a roar so loud it felt as if it would crush one’s heart.

A roar. Richard was angry. Eyes as piercing as a predator’s stared intently at Christoph.

“You didn’t have any feelings for me anyway. Yes, negative feelings perhaps, but you didn’t have a single feeling other than that. So don’t try to use those words as an excuse. Hurt? You were hurt?! Were you the kind of human to be hurt that much? Was I a human capable of hurting you that much?! Stop with those ridiculous words! You—have never been hurt. You’ve never been that way.”

Richard was roaring, insisting that it must be so.

That Christoph does not feel pain. That he had never been hurt by Richard’s words. That it couldn’t have been. He screamed thus, exploding with a rage directed at someone unknown.

Then.

“Richard!!”

There was a shout.

It was Christoph who flinched at the shout. But at the same time, Richard also fell silent.

“Do you even know what you are saying right now?”

In contrast to the shout from a moment ago, Jeong Tae-ui spoke quietly, frowning.

Richard looked at Jeong Tae-ui with cold eyes. A voice as chilly as that gaze echoed lowly.

“This is not something for you to interfere in.”

The veneer of politeness he always wore like a mask had been stripped away. Yet, he didn’t seem to realize it. Just as Jeong Tae-ui, hearing those words, remained unfazed.

“I will not interfere in what happened between you and Christoph. Regardless, it must have been something Christoph accepted in some way. But are you saying I shouldn’t interfere in a friend’s matter even when it comes to unacceptable verbal abuse?”

Jeong Tae-ui’s calm yet direct gaze flickered from Richard toward Christoph. Following that gaze, Richard saw Christoph looking at Jeong Tae-ui with a strange expression. Suddenly, his face contorted.

A low laugh escaped him. After a brief silence, Richard spoke, donning a veneer of politeness, even if it was only a thin shell.

“Friends… I didn’t know he had such things. Well, very well. Mr. Jeong Tae-ui. I do not know which words you considered abusive, but even if they were, they are part of a situation involving the same incident. And while there are things friends can intervene in and things they cannot, this is the latter.”

It was just as Richard’s razor-sharp words reached their conclusion.

The moment Jeong Tae-ui frowned slightly and opened his mouth to speak, a sigh and the sound [Read on Read BL Novels]of unauthorized copyclicking a tongue cut through.

“It is not a very beautiful sight to see my guests at odds in my own courtyard. It puts me in a quite awkward position.”

Kyle was approaching, his brow furrowed as if he were truly troubled and perplexed. A short silence fell over the group at his appearance, as he seemed to have come through the front hall and across the front yard to approach them from behind.

The one to break the silence was Richard.

“My apologies, Kyle, but although you were kind enough to invite me, circumstances are unfavorable today, so I shall visit as a guest another time. I will take my leave now.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned without hesitation and stepped firmly into the house where Christoph stood with one foot on the threshold. Then, without giving him a chance to say a word, he grabbed Christoph by the elbow and pulled him out ruthlessly.

“…!”

Dragged out unexpectedly and brought down into the courtyard, Christoph was pulled a few more steps by the brute force before he could finally brace himself and stop.

“Let go of me! I am not going with you!”

Screaming fiercely in a sharp voice, he swung his free arm at Richard. Richard, who didn’t dodge—or perhaps had no intention of doing so—took the punch to the face with a fairly loud thud.

However, as he turned his slightly skewed head back, he grabbed Christoph’s remaining wrist without giving him a moment to escape.

“Richard. Christoph is my guest,” Kyle said, unable to watch the rough scuffle any longer. Richard gave Kyle a brief glance.

“In that case, since I am not a guest of the Riegrow family, will you kick me out?”

Kyle fell silent.

In essence, Richard was saying that his and Christoph’s positions in this house were the same. No, rather, that he was the one more fittingly described as a guest of the Riegrow family.

As if intending to snap the wrist holding him, Christoph shook off Richard’s hand with all his might. Breathing heavily, Christoph looked back at Kyle.

“Kyle, do as you please. I have no intention of being in the same place as [visit our site]Richard. Whether you stolen contentwelcome him as a guest and I leave this place, or I stay and he leaves.”

And Christoph waited for Kyle’s answer.

He already knew he was not in a position to tell someone to choose according to their preference. No one present was unaware of that—not Christoph himself, who said it, nor Kyle, who heard it.

However, at least by Kyle’s answer, regardless of how he responded, he would no longer be burdened by them.

Faced with an unwanted choice, Kyle looked at Christoph in silence. His gaze slowly shifted to Richard and stopped. Finally, after a very brief glance over Jeong Tae-ui, his eyes dropped as if he were lost in thought.

But he wasn’t lost in thought.

Kyle chose silence.

He neither cast Christoph out to choose friendship with the Tartens, nor did he drag Richard out of the spot.

Kyle’s quiet gaze, as he looked stolen contentaround [Read on Read BL Novels]at them once more, spoke that the silence itself was a choice, not a deliberation.

At some point.

Suddenly, Richard laughed. With a laugh that was not much different from when he was angry, he looked back at Christoph. He took a step, standing directly in front of Christoph.

“Christoph. Let’s go back.”

It was a quiet voice.

The tone, seriously sunken as if it had never been excited by anger or agitation, sounded almost soft.

“Come back with me. No one will hold you accountable for anything. As one of the masters leading the Tartens, you only need to sit in the seat prepared for you.”

Along with those words, he reached out his hand toward Christoph.

It was the final opportunity he was offering. visit our siteNever again would such a gentle touch approach visit our sitehim accompanied by such a soft voice. This was the end.

Christoph looked down at the hand for a moment. Then he raised his gaze to meet Richard’s eyes.

“Farewell, Richard Tarten,” Christoph said quietly.

Richard’s gaze, which had been staring intently at Christoph, cooled chillingly. Murmuring “I see,” he withdrew his hand. Once that hand had slowly moved away to a place Christoph could no longer reach, Richard raised his head.

“I understand your intent. Fine, I will stop trying to bring you back to the seat prepared for you in Tarten. I will not visit this place again to cause a disturbance.”

He spoke readily and took a step back. His cold gaze declared to Christoph:

“But do not forget, Christoph. By abandoning Tarten, you have become a sinner of Tarten, not its master. I—and Tarten—will no longer consider you kin.”

“…As you wish.”

“When we meet again, we shall be strangers.”

Richard took his eyes off Christoph. Turning away without hesitation as if to leave immediately, he gave a slight bow to Kyle. Kyle also nodded bitterly.

Walking away without another word, Richard paused just as he was about to leave the courtyard, as if remembering something, and looked back. An ice-cold gaze pierced Jeong Tae-ui.

“That’s right… I heard that while I was away from home to come here to Berlin last night, Rick regained consciousness. By the time I returned to Dresden, he had already killed twelve people who were unlucky enough to encounter him and had left Tarten—half of whom were Tarten brothers. I heard he came straight to Berlin as soon as he left—but judging by your reaction, it seems he didn’t stop here, which is strange.”

Richard laid out the facts in a mechanical tone, as if delivering a situational report. As he spoke the final words, seeing Jeong Tae-ui’s expression harden into a strange look, he gave a slightly twisted smile and paused before saying, “Strange, isn’t it.”

For a moment, Jeong Tae-ui looked at Richard as if he had lost his soul. Richard looked on with satisfaction, but Tae-ui had no room to care about that.

He said Ilay had left Tarten.

The fact that he had left overnight even after receiving that amount of sedative, and that he had taken out twelve people on his way out, should have stopped being surprising by now, but Jeong Tae-ui stared at Richard blankly for a moment before letting out a short sigh. Ha… That man had increased the number of people who wouldn’t find it strange to stab him at any moment.

Since he couldn’t reach him or find any trace of him, he had been secretly worried that he might have been stolen contentshot by someone [Read on Read BL Novels]while unconscious, though he doubted it. Knowing that wasn’t the case was a relief for now.

Thus, while mourning the twelve dead, he felt a contradictory sense of relief and sighed. Only then did the latter part of the sentence hit Jeong Tae-ui a step late.

“Berlin… Berlin?”

Jeong Tae-ui asked back, puzzled. Then he whipped around to look at Kyle. Kyle hesitated, “Uh…” and rolled his eyes for a moment before shrugging as if pretending not to know.

“He stopped by very briefly at dawn. He suddenly barged in at dawn saying he wanted to check if you had returned… for about an hour? He stayed that long and then left. …Since he went straight to your room and stayed only there before leaving immediately, I thought you would know.”

Jeong Tae-ui stared blankly at Kyle. While he blinked, half-out of it, vague memories began to surface one by one.

The dream from dawn—a memory like a texture—that had come to him quite vividly even in a head that was throbbing and not functioning properly due to the medication; the pointless, tingling ache in his waist; the languid body.

It wasn’t a dream.

“…Ha…”

Jeong Tae-ui pressed his hand to his forehead.

No matter how much the medicine had messed with his head, how could he have believed that was a dream without a shadow of a doubt? That voice. That touch, and that body heat. It had been so clear.

“Why didn’t you tell me!”

Feeling resentful toward Kyle for no reason, he muttered while glaring at him, to which Kyle shrugged again.

“Seeing as he left without saying anything, I thought he did it on purpose. …I figured if he came and left without a word, it might not make you feel great, so.”

Even if Kyle had told him, Ilay would have already been gone, but was it because his own heart was twisted that he couldn’t purely appreciate that subtle consideration? But if he left immediately, where on earth—?

He felt as if he already knew the answer, but just as Jeong Tae-ui rubbed his temples, harboring a sliver of hope and anxiety simultaneously, Richard continued, looking down at him.

“One more thing, I received word just before coming here that he was spotted in Frankfurt. However, it was mentioned that he seemed to be searching for weapons; I do not know what he intends to do with [stolen content]them. There is an important forum coming up there soon, so I hope nothing happens. unauthorized copy…If he causes trouble this time, Kyle, even you will find it difficult to handle.”

The words, spoken as if genuinely worried, seemed directed at Kyle, but in reality, they weren’t. To those words, which both the speaker and the listener clearly understood, Jeong Tae-ui replied coldly.

“Do you think I’ll go to such a dangerous place just because you provoke me like that?”

Kyle didn’t answer. He simply raised an eyebrow slightly. After a few seconds of silence in front of him, Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips bitterly and scratched his head.

“…You read me perfectly…”

As Jeong Tae-ui muttered weakly, Christoph gave him a fierce look. The voice calling his name, “Tae-yi,” was sharp. Richard’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at Christoph. As if that had been what he wanted from the start.

“No wonder my brother wanted to see me… Good grief…”

Shaking his head, Jeong Tae-ui let out a sigh that could have sunk the ground. His voice, muttering that he knew it would be like this, sounded somewhat sorrowful.

Christoph, who had been glaring at Jeong Tae-ui, soon clicked [stolen content]his tongue in dissatisfaction. It can’t be helped, he muttered stolen contentunder his breath, and though there was no way Richard could have heard it, Richard cast a glance at Christoph.

Cold eyes, curved in a way that resembled a smile, looked at Christoph.

“Christoph. We will meet again soon. …Outside this house, where there is no one left to protect you.”

Those short words were the last Richard threw at him before leaving. Leaving a greeting of “Then, good luck” to someone unknown, he turned around.

Christoph stared at Richard’s back as he passed through the courtyard and disappeared toward the main gate without looking back once, continuing to gaze in that direction long after he was gone.

“…Well now… this is going to be difficult.”

Kyle’s voice broke the strange silence that had lingered.

Only then did Christoph, who had been staring expressionlessly toward the courtyard entrance, flinch and turn his eyes this way.

As if he had been tense the whole time, the gaze that had been frozen ice-cold extinguished its bluish, sharp light the stolen contentmoment he confirmed the presence stolen contentof Jeong Tae-ui and Kyle. With a silent sigh, Christoph wiped his face with the back of his hand for no reason. Then, as if suddenly realizing, he muttered.

“…It’s cold.”

Remembering that Christoph, who was huddling his shoulders, was still wearing his wet clothes, Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue. Oh boy.

“Hurry inside, take a hot shower, and change your clothes.”

“I’m fine. It’s bearable. Though I should shower because I feel gross. …Yes. Even if it’s cold, it’s bearable.”

Christoph muttered as if talking to himself. That he was fine.

Muttering so with bluish lips that didn’t look fine at all, Christoph soon followed Jeong Tae-ui’s words and obediently turned back into the house.

Was it because the tension had left his body? Or because he was huddling from the cold? His back looked exceptionally small.

Jeong Tae-ui let out a long, quiet breath and rubbed his forehead. Somehow, today, which had [visit our site]been relatively peaceful visit our sitecompared to visit our sitethe tumultuous yesterday, felt more exhausting.

“Why don’t you go inside and rest as well? There’s still some time left before dinner.”

Kyle said quietly. Jeong Tae-ui caught his gaze briefly through the fingers of the hand that had been sweeping down his face after his forehead.

“Ah… yes. …Somehow I’m exhausted.”

“I’m a bit exhausted too. I’m at that age now.”

“No, I don’t think it’s because of age…”

Jeong Tae-ui spoke weakly and gave a small laugh. After a short pause, he muttered in a slightly lower voice.

“Somehow, I feel like I’ve made things difficult.”

“For whom?”

Jeong Tae-ui smiled with a subtly distorted face and just scratched his head.

For whom.

There were so many people that came to mind immediately that it was hard to pinpoint just one. And among them was the man in front of him.

As Jeong Tae-ui just kept smiling, Kyle clicked his tongue lowly and said.

“The one who’s in a difficult spot is you. In this situation, if you leave here, you’re the primary figure who will be engaged in a thrilling chase.”

“Ah—” Jeong Tae-ui muttered, tilting his head. But even thinking about it again during that short time—even thinking about it for a long time—he still couldn’t not go.

“I guess I have no choice,” Jeong Tae-ui laughed, and only then did Kyle mutter that it was troublesome and shake his head.

“If you’re planning to leave because of Ilay, I can stolen contentguarantee that [Read on Read BL Novels]bastard probably visit our sitehopes you won’t set a single foot outside this house.”

Jeong Tae-ui could nod in agreement on that part, but it was already too late.

Above all, Ilay had stopped by Berlin, yet he had left abruptly on his own without waking Jeong Tae-ui or leaving any word. The sheer audacity of it.

“Now that things have turned out like this, do you think that guy didn’t know what I’d do?”

Kyle laughed, saying that was true. Jeong Tae-ui laughed along with him, then suddenly stopped.

“I’m actually more concerned about Christoph.”

At Jeong Tae-ui’s words, Kyle only nodded silently. However, he couldn’t guess exactly what that meant.

“Earlier, when Christoph told Kyle to choose between him and Richard.”

Jeong Tae-ui suddenly remembered and blurted out.

“If Kyle had said he wouldn’t welcome Richard as a guest—that he would take in Christoph—he might have been able to persuade Christoph to stay here somehow.”

He couldn’t be sure, but he had a feeling that would have been the case.

If Kyle hadn’t chosen silence by standing in the middle but had instead taken Christoph’s side, then Jeong Tae-ui felt he could have coaxed Christoph into staying here for a while.

“Though it’s useless to say it now,” Jeong Tae-ui muttered, then suddenly looked up, bewildered. He spoke to Kyle with a look of dismay.

“I’m sorry, Kyle. I think I misspoke. I didn’t mean anything else, so please don’t misunderstand.”

In truth, Kyle’s choice in that situation was the most correct.

It was Christoph’s fault for forcing such a choice upon him.

Even if Christoph had no intention of asking him to take his side, that kind of choice should not [unauthorized copy]be unauthorized copypresented to another person.

Jeong Tae-ui likely would have made the same choice as Kyle, and that was the right thing to do. That was a clear fact.

It was just that, separately from that, he felt a sense of regret. That Christoph, too, would soon be leaving this house.

Kyle nodded as if he understood what Jeong Tae-ui was saying, then suddenly laughed.

“Right… in truth, I have a strong tendency to move according to my mood at the moment, so under normal circumstances, I would have sided with Christoph. Besides, there are plenty of people who would stand behind Richard, but very few who would stand with Christoph.”

Jeong Tae-ui laughed along. Then, he grumbled with a playful tone.

“Then why didn’t you just bring Christoph in and kick Richard out? While making it clear that he should stop chasing Christoph.”

He added with a shrug, “Though he’s not the type of man to quietly follow orders he doesn’t like, still.” As he turned his gaze toward Kyle, the smile slowly faded from his face.

It had been a joke, and Kyle likely knew it was a joke, yet there was no playful smile on his face.

Instead, with a slightly bitter and troubled smile on his lips, he murmured lowly.

“Right. You were standing behind Richard, so you wouldn’t have seen it.”

Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head.

He thought about what he had missed while standing behind Richard.

As he wondered what it could be, something he had seen from behind suddenly flashed through his mind.

Deep blue eyes blinking quietly. Tears flowing incessantly from those eyes. A stark white face, drenched.

Why had he been crying like that?

Beside the silently contemplative Jeong Tae-ui, Kyle—who had seen something different from Tae-ui back [stolen content]then—continued as if [visit our site]talking to himself, “I simply [stolen content]couldn’t let Richard leave like that.”

“It’s because you don’t know what kind of face he was making at the time.”