2.1 Fragile
Awareness always arrives abruptly.
He didn’t know if this was true for others. But at least for Jeong Tae-ui, it was.
Looking back on the past, it seemed to be the case most of the time. Important realizations didn’t build up slowly and gradually; they always happened suddenly at some moment, like a light switching on in his head.
When he was still a teenager, hiding in the restroom with friends, giggling and coughing while smoking cigarettes, and suddenly realized he liked men; when a few months ago, while watching the evening news with Kyle and exchanging a few trivial words, he headed to his room saying, “Get some rest then,” and suddenly realized he would never spend this kind of time with his original family again; and on several other occasions when he suddenly thought, ‘Ah,’ those realizations came abruptly, without any causal relationship to what he was doing, thinking, or feeling at the time.
Perhaps trivial daily occurrences, unnoticed, accumulate and ripen, and then at some moment, they burst open like touch-me-nots, leading to realization.
As far as Jeong Tae-ui could remember, it was mostly like that. He suddenly realized something at some point. For no reason, just because.
It was the same not long ago while he was watching a classic movie at home.
Watching a boy tilt his head while walking through a quiet, foreign alleyway on the screen, Jeong Tae-ui reached for the plate beside him. As he tried to pick up a piece of fruit, his hand brushed against another. Ilay, who was sitting on the opposite side of the plate, was also reaching for the plate while keeping his eyes on the screen.
The brushed hands nonchalantly picked up pieces of fruit and brought them to their respective [Read on Read BL NovelsRead on Read BL Novelsleft:-9999px;">]mouths, and that was all.
The moment he swallowed the fruit, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
This is where I belong, he thought.
Neither in a negative nor a positive sense; it was just that.
He realized it then. Perhaps this had been the most natural position from the very beginning.
After regaining his composure later, he thought of that realization as very painful and sank into a brief depression, but at the time, without judging it as good or bad, he regarded it as something natural.
That was how it was.
Awareness worked like that, suddenly pulling things into his mind that he might have never even considered before.
* * *
Right… things he had never even considered before…
Jeong Tae-ui blinked and thought.
Facing a situation he had never even imagined, he was suddenly thinking that. Awareness always arrives abruptly…
Opening his eyes, Jeong Tae-ui saw a face right in front of him, directly above his head, and wondered for a moment what that was. For a few seconds, he couldn’t recognize the face.
Of course, he knew whose face it was. It was a face that could never be forgotten or mistaken once seen. There couldn’t be two such living sculptures.
“That’s strange… Why is Christophe’s face over there…?”
He thought it was a statue carved with incredible likeness, but the eyelids were occasionally blinking and moving.
Logically, based on past experience, there was no way Christophe would be there.
This was Jeong Tae-ui’s room—specifically, a guest room assigned to him in the west wing—and it was currently an early hour, not even seven o’clock. Unless there were other plans, a man who usually woke up only when the sun was high in the sky—and struggled immensely with low blood pressure despite waking so late—could not possibly be there.
“Am I still asleep?”
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head while resting on his pillow and stared intently at the face. The face was also silently looking down at Jeong Tae-ui. With a somewhat displeased expression.
Ah, now that he looked closer, it was slightly different from the face he knew. The contour of the face was different. The Christophe he knew didn’t have a face that puffed out like that. A sharper, smoother jawline was one of the characteristics of that sculpted face.
“He really does look like him.”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered to himself and reached out his arm.
The moment he reached out to feel the face that was standing blankly by his bed and looking down at him, the expression turned unpleasant, and the face stepped back.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve sleeping in until this hour while staying at someone else’s house. Get up, you lazy bum.”
When that sculpted face spoke coldly, Jeong Tae-ui finally realized. Suddenly, abruptly.
It’s the real thing.
Once he realized that, he woke up instantly.
“What happened to your face?”
Jeong Tae-ui bolted upright. At that, the man stepped back another pace, as if fearing he might accidentally be touched.
Christophe rubbed his face as if annoyed and spoke grumpily.
“Why don’t you look at your own face before saying that?”
“Huh? My face…?”
Answering blankly, he reflexively turned his gaze to the half-length mirror hanging on the wall in front of the bed. In it, his own reflection was visible alongside Christophe. Half of his face was rounded and swollen.
“Gasp…”
As he carefully rubbed his cheek, Jeong Tae-ui felt a throbbing pain from a torn wound inside his mouth, and only then did he recall the memory he had completely forgotten. Come to think of it, he had been beaten yesterday. Severely.
Jeong Tae-ui slowly looked at Christophe. His face was a sight to behold, even more so than Tae-ui’s. It was quite plumply swollen.
“You’ve added some flesh to the sculpture.”
When Jeong Tae-ui blurted this out, Christophe immediately glared at him. Jeong Tae-ui quickly shut his mouth. Then, scratching his head, he looked around the room again.
Although the face in the mirror had changed slightly, the scenery in the room was no different from yesterday. Except for the fact that this man was standing in this room at this hour, it was a normal daily routine.
Though that one difference was creating a strong sense of incongruity.
“…What brings you here. At this hour. In this place.”
“You…”
Christophe dragged out the beginning [visit our site]of his sentence. For some reason, he seemed to be in an even worse mood today. Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head and looked up at him worriedly.
“What. Does your head hurt again? Tsk…”
“—It’s because you dumped something like chloroform on me.”
Ah, right.
At Christophe’s fierce words, Jeong Tae-ui remembered one more thing he had forgotten.
Jeong Tae-ui glanced at Christophe’s reaction. Then, he gave a silly “hehe” laugh and made a gesture as if to lightly hit him with the pillow.
“I thought you wouldn’t remember, but you remember everything… Then you must also know the circumstances that left me no choice. I barely suppressed my heartache just to ensure you wouldn’t commit an unexpected crime against me…”
It didn’t work at all.
Christophe seemed to snatch the pillow Tae-ui was swinging and used it to mercilessly smack Tae-ui’s head.
“Ugh…”
Since it was a cotton pillow, it didn’t hurt that much, but his head shook for a moment.
However, he frowned and rubbed his head as if it hurt terribly. This was to avoid a second attack.
Whether the acting worked or Christophe had only intended to hit him once, he threw the pillow to the foot of the bed.
“You, your arm.”
After a brief silence, Christophe suddenly asked.
Jeong Tae-ui, who had been rubbing the head that was hit by the pillow, asked, “Huh?” Seeing that blank face, Christophe knit his brows.
“Yesterday. You were grazed. By the baton.”
“Huh? Ah, right. That happened. I think it’s fine, though.”
Today is a day of many realizations.
Jeong Tae-ui nodded. Since he had forgotten about it himself after being hit, he didn’t think it would be anything major, but he rolled up the short sleeve of his left arm.
“…Oh.”
He thought it wouldn’t be much, but there was a dark bruise slightly above his elbow.
“Well, you think it’s fine?”
Repeating the words Jeong Tae-ui had said, Christophe expressionlessly pressed the bruise with his index finger.
“Aaaagh…! I take it back, I take it back!!”
Jeong Tae-ui shuddered and recoiled. Christophe, who had been persistently poking the center of the bruise, only withdrew his hand when a single tear welled up in the corner of Tae-ui’s eye.
“Never again block my path when I’m holding a weapon. Yesterday, you were lucky that Richard was lingering around, so I decided to deal with him first; any other time, I would have killed you first.”
Christophe spoke while looking at Jeong Tae-ui with desolate eyes. Hearing [Read on Read BL Novels]him add that if he did it one more time, he would truly die, Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips bitterly.
It’s been a streak of bad luck since this morning. He thought he saw something he hadn’t seen before as soon as he opened his eyes, and the words he hears are that he’ll be killed.
“Why are there so many people who want to kill me?”
Jeong Tae-ui sighed and muttered. The moment he heard those words, Christophe’s eyes suddenly flared fiercely.
“Who else? Which bastard said that?”
“…Ilay.”
Thinking, Why is this man getting excited on my behalf again? Jeong Tae-ui named the person who had told him last night, ‘If you do that again, you’ll die by my hand.’ At that, Christophe fell silent.
“If it’s that guy… … …he’s not the kind of person who would… but then again, he might…”
Muttering contradictory things within a single sentence, Christophe looked down at his feet for a moment. For some reason, his expressionless face looked a bit gloomy.
Anyway, he couldn’t guess the reason for the sudden visit. …If it wasn’t because he held a grudge over the chloroform, it seemed he came to warn him never to obstruct him while he was holding a weapon again.
Jeong Tae-ui stared at him blankly, pulling at his messy, sticking-up hair. As expected, it’s a pity when that sculpted face is damaged. Next time, should I tell Ilay to hit me instead of Christophe? With a heart of sacrifice for the sake of a work of art.
……. But if I say that, I feel like something terrifying might happen, so let’s just forget it…….
“I won’t get in your way as much from now on. ……That’s why you came, right?”
Jeong Tae-ui spoke up slightly, seeing him standing there blankly with no intention of moving.
Christoph, who had been standing silently staring at his feet, lifted his head. The gaze he cast upon Jeong Tae-ui was somehow dissatisfied. Even though his face remained expressionless, that was the feeling he gave off.
“……?”
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head. Christoph spat out bluntly.
“Yeah. I came to say that. So you don’t go out of your way to get beaten up again.”
Hearing him put it that way, it almost sounded like he was worried. Jeong Tae-ui beamed.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“Thanking the guy who hit him……”
Christoph clicked his tongue. That cold gaze looked as if he were staring at a complete idiot. However, even those words made Jeong Tae-ui happy for some reason, and he chuckled.
Christoph, still with a dissatisfied face and a frown, muttered in a voice just as dissatisfied as his expression.
“Give me your arm. Your face, ……I’ll apply some ointment.”
“Huh? My arm?”
For a moment, Jeong Tae-ui didn’t understand what he was talking about. It was only after seeing him pull tape and a tube out of his pocket that he muttered, “Oh……” once more.
“You’re going to treat me?”
When Jeong Tae-ui asked abruptly, Christoph frowned [Read on Read BL Novels]slightly. After a few seconds of silence, he opened the tube cap and tore open the gauze packaging before speaking bluntly.
“It looks hideous. Having an elbow like that lingering in front of my eyes.”
“Oh, right……. ……Should I do it?”
Jeong Tae-ui awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck with his other arm, quietly watching Christoph’s hand as he grabbed his arm and began to slather and rub in some ointment.
Jeong Tae-ui reached out, saying he would do it himself, but Christoph didn’t even look at the hand. Hesitantly, Jeong Tae-ui withdrew his hand again.
“You hate touching other people, so are you okay with this?”
Jeong Tae-ui asked while watching Christoph carefully rub over the bruise. Christoph muttered as if telling him to stop talking nonsense.
“What do you take me for? Of course it’s fine if I’m the one touching you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to take down enemies.”
Listening to Christoph mutter that while shooting with a gun might be different, but whether cutting with a knife or hitting with knuckles, contact with the opponent is inevitable, Jeong Tae-ui just smacked his lips and thought, Ah, right.
It was a very concise reason, but as he thought about it, something [unauthorized copy]felt strange. This distinct smell piercing his nose was quite familiar.
Jeong Tae-ui stared intently at the ointment Christoph was rubbing into his arm. The cloudy color, the smell, and the sensation of it gradually becoming hot…….
“Is this by any chance……”
“Hmm? When I went to Hong Kong to meet Jeong Chang-in a while ago, I received it as a gift from a staff member named Gyo-ho in the medical unit. I haven’t used it myself, but he praised its effectiveness highly.”
“…….”
More than hearing a familiar name from Christoph’s mouth unexpectedly, the origin of this medicine lingered in his ears longer. It was surprising how far it had spread without him knowing, or perhaps the accidental connection was just shocking. This pharmaceutical company should probably make Luther an honorary salesperson.
“Isn’t this the famous Tiger Balm that’s used for bruises, muscle pain, insect bites, and even headaches…….”
“You know it too? Hmm, is it a medicine commonly used in the East? That fellow praised it until his mouth went dry.”
Christoph seemed slightly pleased to hear such a thing from someone who had no logical connection to the medicine’s route. It’s only natural to be happy when you hear that something you possess is a good item. Natural, but…….
“Turn your head. I’ll put some on your visit our siteface too. ……You have a bruise near your eye. Here too……”
“Ack, wait! You can’t put that near the eye—!!”
He shouted in haste, but he was a step too late.
Before Jeong Tae-ui could even finish screaming, at the same time Christoph said “here too,” he scooped up some ointment and rubbed it right onto the bruise beside the eyelid.
“……! ……!! ……!!!”
Long ago, back when he was still wearing a school uniform, a friend had told him that when studying for exams, he applied Antiphlamine near his eyes to stay awake, saying it would wake him up instantly. Naively, Jeong Tae-ui had believed those words and tried it.
The memory of that moment came back as vividly as if it had happened yesterday.
Yes, he certainly woke up instantly. Except that he spent the whole night streaming tears, so his exam studies went down the drain.
Even after quickly scrubbing his eyes with a towel, Jeong Tae-ui groaned while clutching his eyes for a while, and in front of him, Christoph just stood there silently.
Through his one functioning eye, he could see Christoph staring at him sullenly, [visit our siteclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">stolen content]but a hint of bewilderment was visible in the hand tightly gripping the ointment bottle.
Jeong Tae-ui pressed his eye with one hand and waved the other to signal that he was okay. Then, he voiced the question that had popped into his head.
“Come to think of it, Jeong Chang-in—my uncle? How do you know him?”
“Ah? Oh, right, your uncle. I know him by face through Kyle’s introduction. I occasionally borrow books from him.”
I see, so there was a connection on that side.
Jeong Tae-ui nodded. He took out some wet wipes he had kept in the nightstand drawer and rubbed his eyes while facing Christoph.
Christoph was quietly watching Jeong Tae-ui. More accurately, he was watching Jeong Tae-ui’s eyes, which were hidden by the wet wipe.
“……. ……I think it’s getting better now.”
Jeong Tae-ui replied, blinking his eyes as if nothing were wrong, while wiping away the tears from the still-stinging heat. Looking at those reddish eyes, Christoph said nothing.
Perhaps he felt a little guilty.
Jeong Tae-ui looked down at his arm, which was perfectly wrapped in gauze and bandages with no further need for care. These were medical supplies Christoph must have prepared and brought before coming to this room.
“…….”
Jeong Tae-ui glanced at Christoph. Christoph was still glaring at the bruise near Jeong Tae-ui’s eye. Along with the red eye next to it.
“This guy is truly unpredictable……”
Jeong Tae-ui sighed and muttered softly to himself. Christoph, who had been glaring at Jeong Tae-ui’s eye, seemed to have missed the words and gave him a puzzled look, but Jeong Tae-ui shook his head, saying it was nothing.
Come to think of it. …….
He felt that bringing this up at a time like this was a bit of a foul, but regardless, Jeong Tae-ui had a task to achieve.
Jeong Tae-ui pretended to rub the bruise near his eye and asked slyly.
“By the way, when can I get Kyle’s book……”
“Hmm? Ah. That, whenever I feel like it later.”
As expected, it didn’t work at all.
He had hoped that appealing to guilt and sympathy might work a little.
Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips, said “Right,” and took his hand away from his eye.
Thanks to wiping it off immediately after applying the ointment, the burning sensation had mostly disappeared. Now it was just a bit warm around the eye. The tears had stopped too.
Christoph watched Jeong Tae-ui for a moment and then stood up. And just as when he entered—though Jeong Tae-ui hadn’t seen him enter because he was asleep—he walked toward the door without hesitation.
“Well, I’ve said everything I wanted to say, so I’m leaving. Don’t ever interfere when I’m taking down someone else again. In those cases, I can’t guarantee your safety either.”
Jeong Tae-ui answered in a slightly dazed voice, “Oh, okay,” while watching his back.
The version of Christoph from yesterday was nowhere to be found.
The man who had lost focus in his eyes, whose face had turned leaden, and whose whole body had been trembling finely, now looked as he usually did—confident and bored with everything, as if nothing had happened.
“……Chris.”
Jeong Tae-ui called out to him abruptly. Just as he was about to open the door and leave, he arched an eyebrow and looked back at Jeong Tae-ui.
He hadn’t asked specifically, but from his attitude and words, he could tell that Christoph remembered everything that happened yesterday.
He remembered all those moments when he had lost his reason, been swept away by madness, and surrendered himself entirely to emotion.
I wonder how that feels.
The feeling of remembering and recognizing one’s own madness.
“……. It says that ointment is also good for swelling. You should try putting some on your face too. Just avoid the eyes.”
Jeong Tae-ui spoke calmly. Christoph frowned slightly and turned his head away as if stolen [Read on Read BL Novels]contenthe were talking nonsense.
However, just as he was about to step out the door, he suddenly paused and turned back. He stared blankly at Jeong Tae-ui.
Jeong Tae-ui looked back at that face, which seemed to be hesitating over something he wanted to say.
It’s always like that. There are things you want to ask but cannot, and things you want to say but do not. His father had once told him that as those unspoken words pile up over time, they eventually melt and disappear in the distant future. That is why time is precious between people.
At the time, Jeong Tae-ui didn’t understand the meaning of those words. He still doesn’t understand them exactly. He just occasionally thinks, Ah, is it something like this?
……Will he build that kind of time with this man? Or will he not?
He couldn’t know. Human relationships do not persist through the desire of one person alone, and sometimes, even when both desire it, things do not proceed as hoped.
But at the very least, he hoped he could watch until this man crossed that anxious and precarious tightrope.
“What. Do you want to put ointment on my eyes one more time?”
Jeong Tae-ui spoke to him as he stared [stolen content]silently. Christoph grimaced as if telling him to stop talking nonsense.
After maintaining silence for a bit longer, he finally spoke.
“Come to think of it, did Rick tell you to go back to Berlin?”
Jeong Tae-ui fell silent.
He faced the expressionless face, unable to tell what he was thinking.
“He did say that. But I’ve decided to stay here for a while. ……I have to get Kyle’s book back.”
Adding, “So please just give me the book back,” Jeong Tae-ui let out a deliberate sigh.
Christoph seemed lost in thought and nodded a couple of times, but this time too, he gave the same answer as before.
That he would do it later, whenever he felt like it.
* * *
The atmosphere in the west wing was even more grim.
Then again, it might be stranger if it weren’t grim. It was only yesterday that Oliver—Richard’s young son—had been rushed to the hospital after sustaining a head injury because of Christoph.
According to the rumors, fortunately, Oliver wasn’t seriously hurt. He heard that the test results were normal and that he was now walking around the east wing perfectly fine.
“Yeah, that’s a relief.”
Jeong Tae-ui answered half-heartedly while staring at the chessboard.
Damn, no matter which piece I move, either the rook or the knight is going to be eaten within a few moves.
Groaning, Jeong Tae-ui had been staring at the chessboard without moving for over ten minutes. In front of him, Yohan continued talking while tossing [unauthorized copy]and catching the pawn he had taken from Jeong Tae-ui two moves ago.
“Right. Imagine if there had been a problem. The whole house would be a battlefield by now.”
“Hmm……. But you said Oliver lives in the east wing, so why is Richard in the west wing? Why is there a separated family in the same house?”
Should I take the bishop with the knight? ……No way. If I do that, it’s check in ten moves.
After ten minutes of deliberation, Jeong Tae-ui pushed the knight diagonally.
“Ah, usually when people get married or have families, they move out or live in an annex, but Richard is divorced. Oliver is being raised by the grandmother now. So Oliver lives in the east wing with the grandmother, but Richard, who is still a succession candidate, cannot live in the east wing. ……Check.”
Yohan had scanned the chessboard briefly during the short time he was speaking and moved a pawn the moment he finished. Jeong Tae-ui quickly checked the position of the pawn he had moved. It didn’t look particularly threatening, but he thought hard to see if there was a hidden move.
“Hmm……. If it’s your grandmother, she’d be Richard’s grandmother too.”
“Right. And Christoph’s grandmother as well.”
“Hmm……. Then she must be quite elderly.”
“Right. She already passed eighty a few years ago. But she’s still very healthy.”
“Then is she the highest elder of Tarten?”
“In terms of genealogy, yes. Practically, the Elder is treated as the highest elder……, uh, you just moved that!”
“I didn’t move it! I just touched it for a second!”
“What do you mean! The world of chess is heartless! There’s no such thing as canceling a move! Now, it’s my turn.”
“Hey, hey! No, it’s my turn! I didn’t move it, I told you I didn’t move it!”
Jeong Tae-ui quickly put back the pawn he had been fiddling with and covered the chessboard with his body to make sure no pieces fell over.
“You cheap…… Fine, I’ll let it slide once. Okay, how are you going to move? Hurry up.”
Yohan grumbled and leaned back. Only then did Jeong Tae-ui lift his body off the chessboard.
“Hmm,” Jeong Tae-ui straightened his collar and sat up, starting a staring contest with the chessboard again. In front of him, Yohan took a sip of beer and, perhaps bored of just waiting, continued talking.
“If you’re talking about the highest person in Tarten, it’s the Elder. He’s the eldest uncle, and there’s quite a large age gap between him and my father or the other uncles.”
“Hmm……. And the one who succeeds that eldest uncle is the successor, right? Instead of making the atmosphere grim by forcing them to compete, why can’t they just comfortably leave it to his child and divide the shares?”
“Ah, the Elder never married. Besides, it’s a tradition in Tarten to choose the successor through competition. The atmosphere does get a bit grim, but there are advantages to that as well.”
“……Check……”
Jeong Tae-ui carefully moved the bishop. Then he glanced at Yohan. Yohan looked at it nonchalantly, thinking, Huh? He moved the bishop? and swallowed another sip of beer. Jeong Tae-ui also drank his own share of beer placed beside him.
Then, realizing he was frowning, he rubbed the crease between his eyebrows.
To be honest, he was surprised.
Jeong Tae-ui had enjoyed playing Janggi or chess since he was young. Generally, he spent his time running [stolen content]around outside, but on rainy days or days when he didn’t feel like going out, he would flip through visit our sitebooks at home or sit side-by-side with his brother to play Baduk, Janggi, or chess.
He couldn’t say he was exceptionally skilled, but he won overwhelmingly more often than he lost when competing with others.
However.
He was being pushed back—not so miserably as to be one-sided, but still quite noticeably.
Did this guy do nothing but play chess for every meal…….
It looked like he was going to lose this bet. He had been dreaming of eating a five-star full-course meal, but instead, he was about to lose. In contrast to Jeong Tae-ui’s heavy expression, Yohan was very gleeful.
On the day he first arrived, while listening to Christoph’s explanation of the west wing’s layout, he had been told that the basement hall of the west wing was equipped with games like chess and billiards, but that it was better not to go because there were many idiots. Regardless of his words, a fair number of people were coming and going.
Even now, beside where Jeong Tae-ui and Yohan sat facing each other with the chessboard between them, there were three or four men clutching cues around a billiard table, men playing poker with cards in their hands, and even men playing Jenga in a corner in the back.
……Setting other things aside, seeing those two men sitting opposite each other in the corner, gloomily tapping at Jenga, made him empathize with Christoph’s words a bit…….
Jeong Tae-ui thought that if they heard him, they would probably get [unauthorized copy]furious and say, ‘You’re just as fond of gambling yourself,’ and he shook his head.
Looking at it this way, it seemed like a gathering of idle loungers, but the fact that each of them carried themselves quite impressively once they went outside gave him a feeling that was hard to describe.
“Let’s see, a bishop……. ……Hehehe, are you trying to take the knight?”
Yohan, who had been staring at the chessboard for a moment, laughed gloomily. Jeong Tae-ui flinched. Damn, the full-course meal……. Damn, my money…….
Jeong Tae-ui sank back into thought, glaring at the rook Yohan moved.
“Anyway, even if the atmosphere has become more grim, things must have worked out well for you.”
“Me, what?”
Jeong Tae-ui’s response wasn’t particularly sweet, even to Yohan’s gleeful voice.
“I heard that at the scene yesterday, you blocked Christoph as he was heading toward Richard with a steel baton. Because of that, the guys under Richard were muttering that you might actually be a decent fellow, contrary to expectations.”
“Haha, how simple-minded.”
“If I pass that message along, they’ll probably withdraw that thought immediately.”
“…No, don’t tell them. I want to live a comfortable life.”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered, resting his chin on his hand as he stared down at the chessboard.
Now that I look, a pawn has already reached here. I need to take it quickly before it turns into a queen, he thought, sinking into serious contemplation.
“By the way…”
While staring blankly at the board in thought, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly asked in a languid voice. Yohan, responding with a curious “Hmm?”, also began to examine the chessboard.
“Did Richard have a sibling? Someone who looks like Oliver.”
“Hmm…? Who told you that?”
Yohan lifted his gaze from the board and glanced at Jeong Tae-ui. He scratched his chest with a reluctant expression; it seemed this wasn’t a particularly pleasant topic. Jeong Tae-ui Read on Read BL Novels]on Read BL Novels">Read on Read BL Novelsjust brushed it off, saying, “No, just wondering.”
“He did. Though she died more than ten years ago. But she didn’t really look like Oliver. Oliver takes after Richard. The only thing she had in common with Oliver was the name. Olivia.”
Yohan spoke calmly, as if it wasn’t a story that needed much hiding.
“Hmm…”
“Why? Did that come up during the fight yesterday?”
“Yeah, sort of.”
“Then Chris’s mother must have been mentioned too.”
“Yeah, you know a lot.”
“Good grief, why do those guys have to go as far as driving nails into chests when they could just fight with their fists?”
Yohan clicked his tongue.
After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Jeong Tae-ui moved his knight back and looked at Yohan.
“The atmosphere in this family is really bad.”
“Those two are especially like that. They view the others as mediocre competitors, but those two act as the catalyst.”
“That’s why I try so hard to remain neutral,” Yohan said proudly as he moved a pawn.
“…Ack! Just two more squares and it’s a queen! Dammit, that’s why I should have used the rook…!”
“Hehehe, this is one of my special moves.”
Jeong Tae-ui clutched his head.
The free full-course meal was drifting further and further away.
Ignoring Jeong Tae-ui, who began to glare at the chessboard while muttering about how baseball [Read on Read BL Novels]only starts from the bottom of [visit our site]the ninth with two outs, Yohan noticed his beer was running low and got a new can from the minibar. In the meantime, Jeong Tae-ui scanned the board with piercing eyes to see if any cheating had occurred.
“Anyway, their personalities were different from the start, so they’ve always gotten along poorly, but as you can see, Christoph has a face like that. There were occasionally fools who followed him around because they liked him, and one of those fools was Richard’s younger sister. Olivia. Christoph found her absolutely exhausting. He openly mistreated her whenever she followed him. She was born with a weak body, couldn’t go to school, and spent half the year lying in a hospital, so Richard pitied her and cherished her especially… well…”
“…Please, just don’t tell me Christoph killed that girl…”
“If he had, one of them would have been ruined by now. Like I said, she was naturally frail. She was the kind of child who spent every change of season anxious about whether she’d survive until the next one. Around sixteen, I think… still, she lived longer than the doctors predicted. …She was a kind girl.”
Yohan murmured, narrowing his eyes and looking at the ceiling as if recalling the virtuous girl who died young. His voice sank slightly.
Jeong Tae-ui took his eyes off the board for a moment and looked at him. His mood also dampened. Things that die young are always poignant.
“Well… if she was a sister he cherished that much, I can understand the grief.”
Jeong Tae-ui said, fiddling with a chess piece.
Suddenly, that calm yet chilling voice from last night brushed past his ears.
—Are you angry because I said I’d decorate your mother’s grave with a corpse? Even though you killed a stray dog and bstyle="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[stolen content]uried its body in Olivia’s grave?
“…”
Jeong Tae-ui let out a heavy sigh.
Regardless of the circumstances, or whether the madness inside Christoph drove him to do such a thing, what was the point of thinking about it now?
“After Olivia died, there was some commotion—Christoph did some crazy things—and Richard made a big deal out of it. Because of that, Christoph’s family, who had been living in the annex of the mansion, had to leave. Since Christoph was still a succession candidate at the time, he was able to keep living in the west wing.”
“That seems a bit unfair. The person who actually caused the problem stays, while the family is kicked out.”
“The ‘family’ was just his mother, who remained a widow… but that was Richard’s goal anyway. …Hey, hey, why are you poking my bishop?”
“If only this wasn’t here, my knight could pass through. Dammit, you’ve blocked the path perfectly.”
“Hehehe, the full-course meal is mine~”
It was then.
Opposite Yohan, who was rubbing his palms together while happily staring at the board, footsteps descending the stairs could be heard from outside the open door behind Jeong Tae-ui.
Since it was a place people frequently entered and exited, Jeong Tae-ui didn’t pay it any mind and focused all his attention on the chessboard.
I have to catch that pawn before it becomes a queen, and the only piece that can take it right now is the bishop. But if I move the bishop, the rook will immediately call checkmate…
Jeong Tae-ui was lost in thought. Then, he suddenly remembered his brother.
When his brother was young, he wasn’t very interested in the types of entertainment other children his age usually liked. So, the game console their father bought him just gathered dust until it was eventually thrown out as scrap.
However, his brother quite liked these kinds of games. He wasn’t someone who expressed his likes and dislikes strongly, but whenever Jeong Tae-ui brought out a Janggi or Baduk board, he would find himself sitting across from him.
“Everyone really does have such different ways of playing…”
As Jeong Tae-ui muttered, Yohan, who had been silent for a moment for some reason, responded with a “Why?”.
“Even when I played with my brother, I almost never won, but it wasn’t… how should I put it, it didn’t feel like this. Rather than pushing me like this, he was someone [Read on Read BL Novels]who enjoyed it [stolen content]leisurely, like water flowing… playing with him made my mind feel peaceful.”
“That’s only because a full-course meal wasn’t on the line.”
“…”
Here he was, nostalgically remembering his estranged brother, and this guy’s mouth…
Jeong Tae-ui glared at him with sharp eyes.
It was then.
“Hmm. I see a full-course meal is on the line.”
A voice laced with amusement came from behind him.
Jeong Tae-ui had felt the presence of someone standing behind him looking at the board but hadn’t cared; however, the voice was familiar, so he reflexively whipped his head around.
Richard was standing there. As expected, Ilay was with him.
Facing the two men who were staring intently at the chessboard where he was currently losing, Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips bitterly and scratched his head.
The two sat in the empty seats at the table. Seeing them take cards out of the table drawer, it seemed they had also come to pass the time.
“You always seem busy in the afternoons; I didn’t know you spent your time playing in places like this.”
Jeong Tae-ui chose a neutral phrase, feeling he should offer a proper greeting. He didn’t bother speaking to Ilay next to him. To be precise, he didn’t speak to Riegrow.
Riegrow. And Kim Young-soo.
Everything happens for a reason. Come to think of it, Jeong Tae-ui didn’t even know why he was posing as Kim Young-soo, even though it was a name he used. Christoph had dismissed it by saying the name was just unlucky, but…
“Ah. The Elder is coming to the west wing this evening, so I returned early. I couldn’t risk getting caught in traffic and arriving later than the Elder.”
“Hmm?”
“Once a month, the Elder has a meal in the west wing. [[unauthorized copy]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">Read on Read BL Novels]So, no one makes appointments on that day. …Though I say that, you can just think of it as having a meal with an old man.”
Richard explained calmly with a smile.
The Elder I’ve only heard about, Jeong Tae-ui thought, nodding, then looked at Yohan and asked.
“Is it okay for me to join a meal like that?”
“Ah, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. Richard just said it. It’s just eating with an old man. Well, maybe for succession candidates it’s different, but for people who aren’t, you just have to focus on respecting the elderly.”
Yohan said, shrugging his shoulders. Depending on how one heard it, it could have sounded like a sneer toward Richard, a succession candidate, but Richard didn’t seem to mind at all. Yohan didn’t seem to have any particular malice either.
While Richard shuffled cards beside Jeong Tae-ui, Ilay, who had sat in the opposite seat—next to Yohan—with his arms crossed while staring at the chessboard, suddenly spoke.
“Looking at the situation, Yohan will be getting that full-course meal.”
To Jeong Tae-ui, who was glaring at the board, that indifferent and cold voice sounded like, ‘Why are you playing a game you’re going to lose, you idiot?’ In fact, Ilay seemed to mean exactly that, as he flashed a mocking look when Jeong Tae-ui glanced at him.
“Well… regardless of winning or losing, games are an enjoyable thing.”
Jeong Tae-ui, who had been distressed over the full-course meal until a moment ago—and actually still was—tried to mutter nonchalantly.
“I don’t quite understand the mindset of starting a game that is obviously a losing battle just because it’s ‘enjoyable,’” Ilay replied with a snort.
At that, Jeong Tae-ui, who had been pretending to be calm, snapped.
If this guy wants to play dumb, he should just play dumb. Why does he keep picking a fight?
“I find the defeatism of assuming you’ll lose without even trying even harder to understand.”
While speaking as if it were nothing, Jeong Tae-ui glared at Ilay. Ilay cupped his chin and slowly rubbed his lip with his finger, gazing intently at Jeong Tae-ui, as if he didn’t understand what he meant by those words.
Beside the fierce glares meeting in the air, Richard, having finished shuffling, dealt the cards with a calm smile.
“The spirit of challenge is admirable, but playing a betting game of chess against a Grandmaster is simply not cost-effective.”
“Huh?”
Jeong Tae-ui stared at Richard with a blank face for a moment. Richard met his gaze with a puzzled expression, as if he didn’t know why Jeong Tae-ui was looking at him like that.
Beside them, Ilay, seemingly realizing the meaning of those looks, murmured quietly.
“Yohan. Did you cheat again?”
Jeong Tae-ui blinked, staring at Ilay, who spoke calmly as if it were someone else’s business, and in the next instant, a light bulb went off in his head. He whipped his sharp gaze toward Yohan sitting in front of him.
“Cheat? What are you talking about… I just didn’t say anything. I just saw the chessboard and asked if he wanted a game. It’s boring if you just play, so I just put a little bet on it.”
Yohan spoke very composedly. However, his heart didn’t seem as composed as his tone; the look of ‘Dammit, I almost had it’ was clearly visible in his anxiously flickering eyes.
“Yohan. Were you a chess Grandmaster?”
Jeong Tae-ui asked in a low, soft voice. It was a voice that leaked admiration, as if saying, Wow, impressive.
“Uh… well. It’s common these days. I heard there are over a thousand unauthorized copycopy -->of them now. It’s not a big deal. I’m just average.”
Yohan’s answer was humble. There was an unusual amount of strength in his voice as he emphasized that it was nothing.
Jeong Tae-ui smiled at him.
Come to think of it, Alta, who taught him that flipping a table is only hard the first time, had also given him this piece of advice.
—Once you flip one table, flipping others is no problem at all.
“When I first heard that, I never dreamed I’d use that teaching so usefully…”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered bitterly. And as soon as he finished speaking, he gripped the edge of the table.
Gasp. A short groan seemed to burst from the opposite seat.
With a gentle smile still on his face, Jeong Tae-ui violently flipped the table.
* * *
The moment he entered the dining hall, Jeong Tae-ui thought for a second that he had come to the wrong place. This was not where he usually sat to eat.
Until now, Jeong Tae-ui had never seen so many people sitting in this dining hall.
The dining hall, which had space for about twenty people, usually had ten or thirteen people at most. In the mornings or afternoons, there were far fewer, and he sometimes ate alone; even in the evenings, it rarely exceeded ten.
But now, all twenty seats were filled.
If Yohan—who had continued to grumble even after being hit by the flipped chessboard, insisting, ‘I didn’t cheat, I just didn’t mention it’—hadn’t secured a seat for Jeong Tae-ui in advance, he might not have been able to eat.
“The Elder is incredibly popular.”
Entering the dining hall, where the atmosphere was so solemn it felt like one shouldn’t even breathe loudly, [Read on Read BL Novels]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[unauthorized copy]Jeong Tae-ui whispered to Yohan as he sat down. Yohan nodded.
“He’s the most popular person in Tarten. People gather like clouds wherever he goes, and the path he walks parts like the Red Sea.”
“…Come to think of it, I never asked, but what do you do for a living?”
Thinking it must be something involving his mouth, Jeong Tae-ui looked at him with skepticism. Yohan, interpreting this however he wanted, began to talk about professions that could gain 100% popularity with women. Of course, that 100% was based on a sample size of three.
Jeong Tae-ui ignored him, sat down, and looked around the dining hall.
There were no visible empty seats along the sides of the table.
Even Richard and Christoph, opposite him, had arrived and were already seated. They were wearing neat suits.
There were only two seats left unoccupied.
One wide seat at the very front of the table, and another seat next to it, separated by a corner.
The wide seat was likely for the Elder, and the seat next to it… perhaps for [[unauthorized copy]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">Read on Read BL Novels]a secretary. Or the second-in-command of the family.
“Wow… this is the first time this house has looked so reverent. They actually have a side that’s well-disciplined.”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered in admiration.
At that, Yohan, who was still rambling about popular professions for women, scratched the back of his neck. While Jeong Tae-ui was an outsider, Yohan stood out as the only one wearing a rough knit sweater and cotton pants while everyone else sat in suits or similarly neat attire.
“Of course he is. He’s a self-made man who practically led Tarten’s leap in growth. He possesses judgment, decisiveness, and execution… …there’s no point telling an outsider, you wouldn’t really get it. Just think of him as the person who made Tarten the giant kingdom it is now.”
Jeong Tae-ui nodded.
If Yohan, who was an interesting friend but had a somewhat twisted personality and a rebellious streak, praised him that much, he must be a truly remarkable figure.
Indeed, someone who could stand at the peak of a family of this scale and lead it in a progressive direction would certainly be an amazing person.
“Well, he’s just an old man who’s mostly retired from the front lines now, but one must respect the elderly.”
Yohan concluded the conversation with a slightly off-point remark.
Tarten.
He had heard that this family, which had split off from T&R, chose the information business as their family trade. A private intelligence agency operated in a manner close to kinship management.
If Kyle asserted that it was a trustworthy and substantial agency, it was certainly at a high level.
However, he had overheard that they were in debt. And by his estimation, it was a considerable amount.
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head.
He thought he heard they had taken out a loan, but loans—even private ones—aren’t that easy to secure. If they managed to get a loan despite that, they would need to have some kind of public-facing business entity, but a private intelligence agency… Are they linked to a public intelligence agency?
“But before that, if they’re in a situation where they need such a massive amount of money…”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered to himself as he picked up his fork.
While poking a tomato on his salad plate, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly felt eyes on him. He looked up to find the cold gazes of those around [visit Read on Read BL Novelsour site]him closing in. Their looks seemed to say, How dare he pick up his fork before the Elder has even arrived?
Jeong Tae-ui stealthily put his fork back down. Right, of course—when dining with an elder, one must not pick up their utensils first. Absolutely.
He picked up the water glass right in front of him to moisten his lips and looked around. Further ahead, he saw Christoph and Richard sitting on either side of an empty seat.
It had been exactly one day since the commotion caused by Oliver’s injury. In other words, about twenty-four hours ago, those two had been in a confrontation so vicious that anyone watching from the side would have turned pale. Jeong Tae-ui had even nearly had to put his own life on the line while caught between them.
Yet now, they sat silently in their places as if nothing had ever happened. Whenever their eyes happened to meet by chance, the gaze was utterly desolate, but they didn’t go out of their way to engage in a staring contest; they simply sat there.
“Yesterday’s atmosphere felt like they could’ve just beaten a few people to death, so I wondered if Round 2 was starting here in the dining room,” Jeong Tae-ui muttered, patting his chest where his heart throbbed with a mix of relief and anxiety.
“They can’t fight in front of the Elder,” Yohan suddenly spoke up from beside him, as if stating the most obvious thing in the world.
Indeed, it seemed the Elder was someone who commanded absolute reverence.
However, seeing Christoph—who Tae-ui thought would be arrogant to everyone regardless of status—sitting so politely gave him a strange feeling.
Seeing Christoph sitting quietly, unlike his usual self, made him look like a beautiful and virtuous young man, creating a stolen content[stolen content]an>scene that looked like a painting.
If that guy were just a little more normal, he could have lived a very fulfilling and rewarding life.
Lamenting something that couldn’t be helped, Jeong Tae-ui shook his head.
It was then.
The door opened, and an old man and a young man entered together. The polite young man, who opened the door and pulled out a chair for the old man while supporting him with a respectful half-step lead—a sight that made Jeong Tae-ui doubt his own eyes for a moment—was Ilay Riegrow.
Dressed neatly and slickly today, looking even more like some unscrupulous lawyer, Ilay was whispering something to the old man. The old man laughed and agreed with him.
“…Why is that man entering last with the protagonist when he’s not even the protagonist?” Jeong Tae-ui muttered displeasedly.
Once again, Yohan answered kindly.
“He’s a guest of honor. No matter how much of a superior the Elder is, you can’t just have a guest in your home sit at the table beforehand like a subordinate.”
Jeong Tae-ui nodded silently, sensing that Yohan [Read on Read [stolen content]BL Novels]felt the need to add, [unauthorized copy]Just so you know, calling him a guest of honor isn’t my opinion, it’s just the general consensus. He then turned his head back.
Once the Elder finally took his seat and Ilay sat in the spot next to him—where Tae-ui had thought a secretary might sit—every seat in the dining room was finally filled.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at the Elder, whom he had only heard about until now but was seeing in person for the first time. He carefully observed the old man, who appeared ordinary at first glance.
It was difficult to guess his age. He figured he was somewhere within the broad range of sixty to seventy.
His build was slightly smaller than average, and his gently smiling face looked no different from any other elderly man passing by on the street.
However, his clear presence and weight were not inferior to any of the young men standing beside him to support him.
“It seems everyone has been waiting for me. Please, begin.”
Without any grand greeting, the old man gestured to them and spoke, then picked up his own fork first to bring some vegetables to his mouth. The meal began.
Just as Yohan had said, the atmosphere was nothing more than comfortably eating a meal in the presence of an elder. There was no stiffness or awkwardness. Such feelings existed only for a few of the men who were wearing suffocating suits and had significantly reduced their speaking.
“He looks like just an ordinary old man.”
Yohan, who was already excitedly shoveling food into his mouth, shrugged at Jeong Tae-ui’s comment.
“Who looks ‘not ordinary’ just by looking at them? Everyone is either surprising or not once you get to know them.”
“Someone who doesn’t look ordinary just by looking…”
“Ah. There is one.”
Yohan spoke nonchalantly and continued to pick at his food.
While transferring some extraordinary food, like grilled matsutake mushrooms, onto Yohan’s plate—it was the first time he’d ever developed a trauma toward food—Jeong Tae-ui glanced at the person who didn’t look ordinary.
Christoph was eating quietly. Beside the old man, he said nothing and simply ate, just as he did during other meals. However, the way he focused on eating silently without once lifting his head was somehow different from usual.
“I think this is the first time I’ve seen Christoph sitting so meekly,” Jeong Tae-ui muttered with a hint of admiration.
Christoph was sitting there like a literal gentle lamb. At a glance, he didn’t even make eye contact, [unauthorized copy][visit our site[Read on Read BL Novels]style="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">]as if he were frightened of something.
“He’s one of only two people Christoph treats gently.”
“Really? Who’s the other one?”
“His mother.”
Yohan spoke clearly even while focused on eating. Hearing him speak so distinctly with food in his mouth, Tae-ui reaffirmed his thought that this guy was born to make a living with his mouth.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Yohan, who was devouring food at a very pleasant speed, with admiration before scooping some food for himself.
“So, I heard you’ve been having dinner in the west wing lately. Is it not too tiring?”
Suddenly, the old man’s voice drifted over.
Unlike other times, people were speaking in quiet voices, so the voice of someone sitting far away was clearly audible.
The affectionate voice, sounding as if he were speaking to a young stolen contentclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">visit our site]stolen content -->grandson, was directed toward Ilay, who sat beside him.
Ilay, who had been picking up an appetizer, smiled and shook his head.
“How could it be tiring? Everyone has gathered after a long time, so I’m just taking this opportunity to rest and mingle. Everyone is very kind to me.”
Clink.
Jeong Tae-ui dropped his fork.
He felt as if he had just heard something unbelievable. Or rather, should he say an unbelievable tone of voice?
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Ilay with eyes bordering on horror.
As always since arriving here, Ilay—looking like a sophisticated young gentleman—was chatting harmoniously with the old man, as if they were a close grandfather and grandson.
“Hey… does the Elder actually believe those words…?”
“Rick, listen. That guy was swinging an axe before he was ten. Everyone outside knows his temperament; there’s no way someone inside—especially an>someone in a position where all information flows in—wouldn’t know.”
“Then how can he lie so calmly?!”
“Why? There’s no lie in the words themselves. Would that guy find it tiring? Is there anyone who isn’t kind to him? It’s also true that they’ve met after a long time. No part of it is a lie.”
“Deliberately concealing facts is also included in lying!”
Jeong Tae-ui glared at the Grandmaster who had deliberately concealed the facts. He was chewing on cooked vegetables, pretending not to notice.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Ilay again with a mixture of horror and distaste and poked at his plate.
Come to think of it, he had heard that Tarten and Riegrow were close enough to exchange people whenever there was a family event. They were said to be similar to close relatives.
Looking at it that way, if he were to act out against this Elder, it would be on the level of an atrocity. Although he had heard that the man had pointed a gun at his own brother, he had never heard that he’d done so to a parent, so it seemed he maintained at least—really, at the very least—some basic human decency.
Jeong Tae-ui breathed a sigh of relief without realizing it. Immediately after, realizing what he’d done, he felt a momentary despair at the reality that he had to confirm the man’s meager humanity through such a thing.
“So, from your perspective, how is it? Are there any boys who show the potential [unauthorized copy]style="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">[visit our site]to inherit Tarten?”
The old man continued speaking to Ilay with a smile.
At that moment, tension suddenly swept through the group.
Although Ilay’s opinion wasn’t particularly weighty, there was something about words coming from the Elder that couldn’t be taken lightly.
Jeong Tae-ui soon noticed the tension and scratched his cheek. Are they really this competitive?
“But I heard there are a few succession candidates. Besides Richard, who else is there?”
“Huh? Ah. Let’s see, Fritz and… who else was it, Max…? Anyway, there are two or three more, but you don’t need to worry about them. They might be ‘a few’ in name, but in reality, there’s no one else fit to inherit besides Richard. I mean, those two are smart, but Richard is such an overwhelming strategist that they’ve had almost no chance to stand out.”
“Then the competition doesn’t even exist. Why is the atmosphere like this?”
“Hmm—I don’t think it’ll happen, but there are variables. The others could team up, or there’s the possibility of someone pulling a last-minute stunt right before the succession…”
“A last-minute stunt? What’s that?”
“Ah, well, soon—”
Yohan, who had been speaking, suddenly choked and grabbed his throat, as if the food he had been shoveling into his mouth had gotten stuck. Jeong Tae-ui wanted to just leave him be, but fearing he’d see something disgusting within seconds, he quickly handed him a tissue and a water glass.
But he was a bit too late. Yohan coughed before he could cover his mouth with the tissue. Jeong Tae-ui, who had quickly leaned to the side, escaped unharmed, but the young man sitting across from him suffered a miserable fate.
“…You’re really something…”
Jeong Tae-ui shook his head and pulled his plate closer. He was defending himself in advance, lest he suffer from Yohan’s fallout again.
“So, Richard, I heard you met McCarthy recently.”
The old man now addressed Richard.
Richard replied with a calm smile.
“Yes, I heard he happened to have business in Berlin, [stolen content]so I went to meet him. He said he’s still at M15.”
“Hmm, I see… Is everything running smoothly over there?”
“He said there were no major problems overall. It just seems they had some friction with the Mukhabarat in secret recently due to counterintelligence issues. It seems Shinbet was involved as well, but I haven’t heard the details on that, so I’m looking into it.”
“I see,” the old man nodded slowly.
Jeong Tae-ui sank into a moment of contemplation. He understood the atmosphere of this family less and less.
If he heard correctly, the security agencies or counterintelligence bureaus of at least three countries were involved. Based on the words alone, it might sound like a trivial matter, but it didn’t seem like the kind of cozy conversation to have at a family dinner.
Jeong Tae-ui glared at the innocent Yohan for no reason. Yohan looked back at him with a face that asked why he was glaring while wiping his mouth with a tissue.
“The atmosphere of this family is really hard to keep up with.”
“Right? I find it hard too. Above all, daughters are too rare in our family. If we had some older or younger sisters, the family atmosphere would bloom brightly, but instead, it’s just swarming with guys.”
Jeong Tae-ui wanted to pinch the mouth of Yohan, who was claiming that a female ratio of less than 20% in the same generation was something strange, stolen content[class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">unauthorized copy]but he refrained for fear of seeing another unsightly scene.
Jeong Tae-ui silently ate the food on his plate. It would be better to eat quickly and just leave. This atmosphere wasn’t exactly comfortable.
“I don’t like him, but Richard is definitely the real deal. The Elder built the foundation of Tarten, but Richard was the primary contributor in solidly recovering that foundation, which had been financially unstable, in a short period. That guy is a born businessman. He’s skilled at deals and negotiations.”
Yohan spoke after swallowing the food in his mouth with water.
“I heard Tarten was a place with strong internal stability.”
“Hmm, but the last few decades were a bit tough. The Elder took some big risks. In the end, it was a great choice, but regardless, financial burdens lead to mental stress.”
“…Hmm?”
“The miraculous achievement of slashing the debt ratio by more than half in a short time is almost entirely Richard’s doing. Considering that, there’s little chance anyone other than him will succeed.”
To Yohan, who continued to prattle while glancing at Jeong Tae-ui’s plate as if he were still hungry, Jeong Tae-ui simply gave him the whole plate. Wondering where all that food went, he glanced at Yohan’s scrawny frame.
Because Kyle had said Tarten was a trustworthy and stable place, Tae-ui had vaguely thought it was being operated soundly, but it seemed there had been surprisingly large debts. Then again, managing funds is the most important part of any operation.
He didn’t know if it was always like this when dining with the old man, but the Elder was speaking to each person at the table in turn. Seeing as he was moving clockwise from the left, it seemed to be his habit.
He had expected the highest elder of the family to be a more stern and fearsome person, but seeing him talk with the young men of his grandsons’ generation, he seemed like a gentle and affectionate grandfather. He thought he’d been called a great-uncle, so there was certainly a large gap in their generations.
Jeong Tae-ui’s gaze shifted to Christoph, who was next to the old man. If they were speaking in that order, Christoph, who would likely be the last to converse with the old man, was still focusing on his meal with his head bowed.
Looking at him like this, he truly was a beautiful and polite young man. If he were always like this, his life would have been very easy.
As Tae-ui looked at him with pity, Christoph suddenly lifted his head. Perhaps because of the conversation, he looked at the old man for a moment. Then he bowed his head again. The corners of his mouth twitched faintly. His eyes curved.
Ah. He’s smiling.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at him with a feeling of novelty.
Christoph almost never smiled. In terms of a literal ‘smile,’ Tae-ui had never seen one.
Even when there was something to smile about, he didn’t—his mouth or eyes might curve slightly, but that was it. However, because the characteristic [stolen [Read on Read BL Novels]content]coldness and indifference vanished from his expression, it was easy to tell.
“The Elder is a good person,” Jeong Tae-ui muttered impulsively.
Christoph liked that old man. It might have been closer to admiration or respect, but he clearly had a fondness for the old man. It was a pity it didn’t show well.
Yohan, who had emptied more than half of the plate Jeong Tae-ui gave him in an instant, tilted his head. “Huh? Well, yeah.”
“Everyone likes the Elder. He’s someone worthy of respect. But since there’s only one Elder and he’s so busy, he can’t look after everyone individually. He only makes time like this occasionally.”
Yohan spoke with a hint of boastfulness, as if to say he wasn’t someone you could see easily.
I see, Jeong Tae-ui nodded. He looked at Christoph again. Like a shy boy sitting next to a hero he admired, that was how Christoph sat.
Jeong Tae-ui ended up smiling.
It was the first time he’d seen such a side of him—and it was still surprisingly unexpected to the point of being unbelievable—but it wasn’t bad.
“I heard Christoph was originally a succession candidate too.”
“Hmm? Yeah.”
“It might have been better if he hadn’t quit halfway. He would have been able to meet the Elder more often.”
Since Christoph liked the man so much, it would have been nice if he could have seen him more frequently.
As Jeong Tae-ui spoke regretfully, Yohan spoke while chewing a mouthful of food.
“I don’t know… well, it’s true that Christoph was the only one capable of competing on equal footing with Richard at the time, but even if he had stayed until the end, he probably wouldn’t have been chosen as the successor.”
“…Because he’s a violent madman?”
“Ability is the most important, but when it comes to becoming the leader of a group, personality can’t be ignored either.”
No, if we’re talking about personality, Richard also seems to have a twisted side… Jeong Tae-ui thought, but he kept his mouth shut. Since it was a side that was usually nowhere to be found, he felt there was no need to speak as if he were badmouthing him. Anyway, on average, wasn’t he a fairly excellent person?
“Right, personality is definitely important. unauthorized [unauthorized copy]copyAnd Christoph’s personality is a bit lacking.”
Jeong Tae-ui nodded, openly badmouthing Christoph. Even if he didn’t exactly hate the guy, he was well aware that the man’s personality was severely lacking.
However, Yohan’s response, which came after a brief pause, was slightly different from what Jeong Tae-ui had intended.
“Rather than a personality issue, how should I put it… he’s just a bit mentally unstable.”
The bluntness of the remark made Jeong Tae-ui flinch involuntarily.
He couldn’t exactly say those words were a lie, but to say ‘that guy is crazy’ so nonchalantly—as expected, this guy’s mental world was extraordinary as well.
“He’s a lost cause. From where I stand, he’s already failed at living a good life.”
Jeong Tae-ui frowned at Yohan’s words, spoken casually as he emptied his plate.
He felt uncomfortable with the way Yohan judged the happiness or misery of another person’s life.
He knew how Christoph appeared to others and understood the reasons why, but he couldn’t help feeling displeased [Read on Read BL Novels]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[unauthorized copy]when hearing such blatant remarks.
“I know you don’t like Christoph, but I don’t think you need to go that far.”
Perhaps Jeong Tae-ui’s discomfort leaked through his words.
Yohan glanced at Jeong Tae-ui, chewed his food in silence for a moment, and swallowed. Only then, having finished his meal, did he pick up a napkin and wipe his mouth. He then looked straight at Jeong Tae-ui. As always, his eyes weren’t exactly cold, but they maintained a certain detachment.
“I don’t know what you think, but I don’t hate Christoph. Although I have no desire to be near him or get close to him when I see him occasionally have a fit and try to slaughter people, separately from that, I don’t hate him. If I had to be precise, I’d say I’m more on the side of liking him—though I say ‘if I had to be precise’ because I don’t actually like him that much either. And while I greatly enjoy talking behind people’s backs, I’m not so twisted that I’d go out of my way to speak ill of someone I don’t even hate.”
Yohan spoke with his face wrinkled. He didn’t seem offended by Jeong Tae-ui’s comment. His tone was light and cheerful, as usual.
“But that guy is a lost cause. When I think of him, I feel pity and sorrow, but with that personality, it’s hard to be happy. …Or, even if he does become happy, the form of that happiness will be significantly different from what is generally imagined.”
Yohan shrugged. As if there was nothing he could do, and no relationship to speak of.
Just then, spotting the dessert on a tray being brought over by a servant in the distance, his eyes sparkled, and he concluded the conversation dismissively.
“Regardless, it’s not a problem someone else can handle for [stolen [visit our site]content]him. …Is that a mille-feuille? Crème brûlée? I’d prefer something refreshing like a sorbet, if possible.”
Jeong Tae-ui stared blankly at Yohan, whose interest had completely shifted.
He wasn’t wrong. While he didn’t wish for it to be the case, the statement itself was something Jeong Tae-ui found convincing.
He let out a quiet sigh. Even Yohan’s final remark wasn’t incorrect. Life is not something that can be handled on someone else’s behalf.
Feeling a bitter taste in his mouth for some reason, Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head vigorously.
It was then.
Suddenly feeling a stinging sensation near his forehead, he turned his head slightly to find Ilay watching him. It seemed he had also finished his meal.
He didn’t know how long Ilay had been watching, but their eyes met.
“…?”
Jeong Tae-ui looked at him inquisitively. A gaze flew from behind the glasses. Feeling it would be strange to avoid the gaze, he stared back intently. After a few seconds of locking eyes, it occurred to him that staring at [visit our site]unauthorized copywm: visit our site -->each other like this in front of other people was even stranger, but by the time that thought hit, a staring contest had already begun.
It was while he was staring with wide eyes, on the borderline between glaring and simply looking.
“By the way, you are… let me see… ah, right. I heard Christoph’s friend was staying here; you must be that young man.”
Feeling the sudden shift of attention toward him, Jeong Tae-ui turned around with a confused ‘Huh?’. People were looking at him with strange expressions.
“Eh? …Huh?”
After blinking for a few seconds and looking around, he realized the elderly man had spoken to him.
Hurriedly turning his head, he replied with a polite-sounding “Ah, yes,” and quickly put on a smiling face. But it was already too late.
The old man asked with a warm smile.
“I see. You must have something to say to Rick, seeing as you were staring at him like that.”
“What? No, well…”
Jeong Tae-ui was startled, breaking into a cold sweat as he looked back and forth between the old man and Ilay. To an outsider, it looked exactly as if he had been caught secretly staring at Ilay.
“Rick was staring at me…”
As Jeong Tae-ui stammered, Ilay arched an eyebrow. He widened his eyes in mock confusion, as if saying ‘Me?’, and then let out a short laugh. His expression clearly read: ‘I didn’t do that, but since you say so, I’ll just stay quiet.’ It was an expression anyone could read.
‘No, I really…’ Jeong Tae-ui muttered, then shut his mouth. He felt like beating his chest in frustration, but it was obvious that would only have the opposite effect.
Jeong Tae-ui changed his tactic.
With a completely solemn and serious face, he looked slowly at the old man and Ilay and spoke.
“I’ve always thought so, but today he is exceptionally sophisticated and handsome, and I was captivated by his courtesy and sincerity in escorting you, sir. Since I am merely a temporary guest in this house… I wanted to take in his image, wondering when I might see him like this again.”
Only the first three phrases were lies. The rest were pure truth. At least in meaning.
When would he ever see this guy wearing the mask of a polite, well-mannered, and intellectual young gentleman [visit our site]again? It would be a waste not to observe it closely now.
As soon as he finished speaking, Jeong Tae-ui stared intently at Ilay again. With wide eyes.
A moment of silence followed. Ilay stared silently at Jeong Tae-ui, and Jeong Tae-ui stared back. The gazes of the other people shifted between the two of them.
The silence was broken by the old man’s laughter.
“Ho ho, indeed. Riegrow is a young man who attracts a lot of attention. You have a keen eye.”
At the old man’s benevolent laughter, Jeong Tae-ui briefly felt like explaining, ‘That’s not it,’ but decided to keep his mouth shut.
Beside the old man, Ilay watched Jeong Tae-ui for a moment longer, then turned his head slightly, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint smile as he spoke to the old man.
“Since he has given me such excessive praise, I would like to meet him separately later to greet him properly.”
While the old man alone laughed and told him to do so, the others remained silent. Not a single person among them failed to hear those words as ‘Just you wait until later.’ Not even Jeong Tae-ui.
Damn it, why do I always dig my own grave?
With a face as pale as ash, Jeong Tae-ui hung his head low as the old man’s questions moved on to the next person.
Jeong Tae-ui resolved that if Ilay ever brought up those words later, he would insist they were pure praise, and he began eating the lemon sorbet—it seemed Yohan was blessed with a knack for getting good food—that had been served for dessert.
Only after emptying the sorbet in a few spoonfuls, like an angry man, did Jeong Tae-ui steal a glance at Ilay. This time, he was careful not to engage in an overt staring contest.
Ilay, likewise, had his head turned toward the young man currently answering the old man’s question, but his pupils were directed at Jeong Tae-ui. His arm was resting on the armrest, his chin and mouth supported by his interlaced fingers, so it wasn’t clearly visible, but for some reason, his eyes seemed to be smiling.
Suddenly, something hot surged in his chest, and Jeong Tae-ui snatched the dessert bowl from Yohan, who had been happily savoring his treat, and swallowed a mouthful of cold sorbet. Yohan wailed beside him, but he ignored him. This guy would just call a servant and ask for another bowl anyway.
His face felt hot for no reason.
The hint of a smile in that gaze, narrowing slightly as it watched him, felt somehow embarrassing. So, he didn’t look that way again.
Eventually, it seemed the old man had spoken to every young person sitting at the table. He turned his gaze to Christoph, the last one.
“So, Chris. How have you been faring?”
At the old man’s question, Christoph finally raised his gaze slightly to meet him. His face, looking at the old man with transparent eyes, looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected to be spoken to.
However, as soon as he saw the old man’s gentle smile, Christoph dropped his gaze again.
“I am doing well thanks to you, sir.”
His voice was slightly lower and more subdued than usual.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Christoph, who remained with his head bowed, listening to the old man’s voice. In this moment, he was a beautiful and pure young man.
“If he were always like that, who would see him as a madman… It would be much better if he stayed that way.”
As Jeong Tae-ui muttered to himself, Yohan, who had—unsurprisingly—received a new sorbet from a servant, murmured beside him.
“Wrong, totally wrong. Once people have a certain perception of someone, it’s over. Do you think the term ‘label’ is scary for nothing?”
Jeong Tae-ui pinched the back of Yohan, visit our unauthorized copysitewho was spitefully saying that once someone is disliked, everything they do looks hateful.
“I heard you’ve left the T&R mobile task force. What have you been doing lately?”
The old man asked, carefully observing Christoph’s face. As he had with everyone else, his face showed an unmistakable affection for his nephew.
It was an affection given equally to all. From the grandson whom the world called the most outstanding, to the grandson who was the object of the world’s fear and hatred, he gave his love impartially.
“Right now… I am resting for a while.”
Christoph answered hesitantly. The old man nodded, saying, ‘I see.’
The meal was nearly over. In terms of food, it was already finished. However, the gathering continued as the old man continued his conversation with them.
Feeling it was time to wrap up the evening, the old man asked for the cane he had leaned against a pillar. Watching Christoph quickly stand up to bring him the cane, Jeong Tae-ui also rose from his seat.
Today’s schedule was over. He could go to his room to sleep, read a book, or just rest. Or maybe watch a movie, he thought as he walked.
Amidst the bustling atmosphere as others stood up one by one, content">stolen contentJeong Tae-ui stole a glance at Christoph, who was standing quietly beside the old man like a good boy. He let out a short laugh.
It was then. The old man, who had turned to leave the dining room leaning on his cane, suddenly looked carefully at Christoph. Christoph looked at the old man inquisitively, but as their eyes met, he awkwardly dropped his gaze.
The old man spoke in a somewhat quiet voice.
“Come to think of it, your mother said she wanted to come for the succession day. I told her to do so.”
At that moment.
Crack.
Jeong Tae-ui felt as if he heard something break.
That sound came from within Christoph’s eyes.
His eyes, which had frozen cold and widened in an instant, were shattering like ice. Upon a face that had turned stark white.
* * *
Maybe I’ll take a walk in the forest this evening.
Jeong Tae-ui thought as he looked down at the forest in the distance.
The forest, which met the majestic mountain range wrapping around the back of the mansion, became denser the deeper one went, but the paths were well-maintained up to a certain point.
Along with spacious walking trails, there were also equestrian courses, where Christoph often went to ride his horse.
Jeong Tae-ui also occasionally strolled there in the evenings when he had spare time.
Perhaps because most people used it only for riding, Jeong Tae-ui had never encountered anyone else while walking the trails. He only occasionally heard the sound of horses galloping in the distance.
“Right, I should go for some forest bathing this evening. It’ll relieve some of the mentastolen [visit our site]contentl and physical fatigue.”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered, pitying his own mind and body, which had become worn down in ways he didn’t even realize since coming here.
The forest was quite magnificent. Oaks and chestnuts, which had become rare in Germany, filled the interior of the forest, making it spacious yet lush. Lying under a tree and looking up at the leaves covering the sky was enough to make one forget everything.
There was a birch forest behind the house in Berlin, but the oak forest here was denser and more silent.
“It’s rare to see such a wonderful forest in private ownership. I can understand why that guy doesn’t come back for a long time whenever he goes into the forest.”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered, looking down at the entrance of the forest, which was less than a few minutes’ walk from the mansion.
Christoph was in the forest now. Several hours had passed, but he had not yet returned.
…And until just a moment ago, Jeong Tae-ui had been cleaning his study, which was smeared with blood, and had only just come out to catch his breath.
Christoph was unstable. He had always had an unpredictable, precarious side to him, but it had increased significantly over the past few days.
Today, under other circumstances, it wouldn’t have been something to escalate that far.
While Christoph was briefly away, a servant had brought a message from the main building. Since it seemed to be a matter requiring an urgent reply, the servant, finding Christoph absent from the room, intended to leave a note on his desk. In doing so, he had apparently rummaged through Christoph’s drawer looking for writing utensils to add a request for a quick response.
Unfortunately, that was when Christoph returned.
Since morning, he had been muttering that he had a headache and that his ears kept ringing, pacing the room anxiously, and had eventually gone to the main building to get medication stronger than what he already had.
Jeong Tae-ui had followed him, fearing that as soon as he received the medicine, he might chew and swallow more than the allowed dose—something that had happened once before.
This time too, seeing the amount of medicine he had received, which was several times more than necessary, Jeong Tae-ui had frowned and said, ‘I’ll keep it, so why don’t you just ask me whenever you need it?’ but Christoph didn’t even pretend to listen. Fearing that further provoking him—since he had been in a bad mood since waking up, perhaps due to a nightmare—would be dangerous, Jeong Tae-ui kept his mouth shut. He planned to somehow sneak the medicine away once the guy’s mood improved.
That was when it happened.
As soon as they returned to the west wing, Christoph, unable to wait until they reached the room, had popped several pills into his mouth and chewed them with a pale face as he headed for the study, only to find the door open.
Jeong Tae-ui, following a few steps behind, also realized the door was open when he saw Christoph slow his pace.
Christoph, who seemed to stop for a moment, then hurried his steps. With an expressionless face, he violently flung open the half-open study door.
Bang—as the door opened abruptly, the servant inside turned around in surprise. He was rummaging through an open drawer.
‘Ah… you’re back. I was going to leave a note and go, and though I know it’s rude, I was just looking for a pen…’
The servant’s flustered, apologetic explanation didn’t reach its end.
‘Why did you enter without permission?’
Christoph spoke lowly. The gaze he cast upon the servant was frozen cold.
The servant was terrified. He had foolishly only now remembered who Christoph was. What kind of person he was.
‘It was an urgent, urgent message, so I thought I should deliver it immediately—’
‘Did I say anyone could enter my room?’
‘I-I’m sorry. I was only delivering the message—. Ah, th-that Read on Read BL Novelsstyle="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">]aria-label="Read on Read BL Novels">Read on Read BL Novelsmessage was sent by Christoph-nim’s great-uncle—.’
The servant, on the verge of tears, tried hurriedly to change the subject. But those words seemed to fall on deaf ears.
Before Jeong Tae-ui could even click his tongue and say something, Christoph approached him.
Without saying or hearing another word, he strode toward the desk where the servant stood trembling, and on the way, he grabbed whatever his hand landed on from a display cabinet.
It was a porcelain doll. A hat-wearing figure about knee-high.
There was no time to stop him.
Approaching the servant, who was frozen in place with wide, terrified eyes, Christoph struck him down without blinking.
Thwack— With a jarring sound, the porcelain doll shattered. The head of the elegant mother holding a baby, the baby, the body, the arms and legs—all lost their shape and scattered into countless fragments. Drenched in blood.
The servant let out a piercing scream and curled up on the spot, clutching his head. Bright red blood streamed down between the fingers gripping his scalp.
Christoph looked down at him coldly. Not stopping there, he struck the servant again [Read on Read BL Novelsclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">stolen content]and again with the porcelain doll, which was still half-remaining in his hand. He continued until the servant was covered in blood and his voice grew hoarse from screaming.
Jeong Tae-ui’s face hardened as he rushed toward him. He grabbed Christoph’s arm and forcibly shoved it away.
‘Stop it, Chris!’
‘I believe I told you not to touch me.’
Christoph spoke coldly. It wasn’t that rare, strange tremor or the unfocused, bluish gaze. He was looking at them with his usual rationality—though his mind was sunken a bit more chillingly than normal.
He raised his hand. He threw the remaining piece of porcelain, now reduced to the size of a large glass cup, at Jeong Tae-ui. Hard.
Jeong Tae-ui flinched and dodged; the porcelain flew exactly through the space where his head had been and shattered against the wall behind him.
No more of the porcelain doll remained. Only blood-stained shards were scattered here and there.
Jeong Tae-ui, who undoubtedly would have been badly injured if hit, looked down at the broken pieces behind him with a grim expression before turning his gaze back to Christoph. In that moment, he frowned and shouted.
‘Chris! Your hand!’
Christoph’s hand was a mess of tears. It was expected, given that he had gripped broken porcelain and swung it repeatedly, but Jeong Tae-ui hadn’t noticed because Christoph’s expression was so indifferent.
‘Damn it, who in their right mind hurts someone else while damaging their own body, you idiot!’
Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and approached him.
Christoph didn’t answer, merely staring blankly at Jeong Tae-ui with a look of bewilderment.
However, when Jeong Tae-ui asked to see his hand, Christoph simply turned around and walked out of the study.
Jeong Tae-ui started to chase after him, but then he saw the servant curled up and groaning in blood behind him, so he approached him instead.
In the end, Christoph did not return until someone had been called to take the servant to the hospital.
Standing blankly in front of the study, which was a mess of blood and scattered pottery shards, Jeong Tae-ui heard in passing that Christoph had gone into the forest on horseback. He then unleashed a torrent of curses at the empty room’s owner.
‘He leaves a person in that state and goes stolen Read on Read BL Novels]aria-label="unauthorized copy">unauthorized copycontenthorseback riding for pleasure?! Good grief, you lunatic. Look at the state of this room. Do you think his own blood isn’t mixed in there?!’
And so, after pouring out every curse he could think of in the empty room, he began cleaning the study while grumbling, “I wonder if he even treated his hand.”
Quite some time passed by the time he finished scouring the entire room for fragments that might have splattered into every unseen corner.
He put a bandage on the tip of his finger where a drop or two of blood had formed after being lightly scratched by a shard, and he clicked his tongue upon seeing the bloodstains that had dyed the knees of his pants while wiping the bloody floor. By the time the room was fully cleaned, he was truly exhausted, both mentally and physically.
He felt a desperate craving for cigarettes, which he had almost completely quit while staying in Berlin.
Recalling the sheer scale of the mansion and how far he was from the outer gates to go buy some, Jeong Tae-ui thought for a moment and then went to find Yohan. He didn’t know if Yohan smoked, but if he didn’t, Yohan surely knew more people than he did, so he planned to pester him to get a single cigarette from anywhere.
Yohan, who was momentarily horrified to see Jeong Tae-ui appear in blood-stained pants, mentioned that he didn’t smoke much but might have something a friend had left behind long ago. After searching through drawers, desks, and even the wardrobe for a while, he finally produced a pack. It was nearly new, with only one cigarette missing.
I’m stressed, so I’ll just chain-smoke, Jeong Tae-ui thought as he looked for a suitable place to smoke several in a row. The place he arrived at was where he stood now. A spot with a great view and a good breeze, overlooking the forest in the distance.
It was a rest area with a simple aerial garden, located at the very top of the auxiliary tower that connected the west wing to the main building.
Originally, the main building, east wing, and west wing were intended to be built as a single structure, but due to issues with the building’s structure and function, they were built as three separate buildings. Instead, this auxiliary tower was erected as a connecting aria-label="unauthorized copy">unauthorized copystructure to allow easy movement between the floors of each building.
He had heard that the auxiliary tower between the east wing and the main building was symmetrical to this one and shared the same structure.
Since the function of the auxiliary tower was solely to connect the main building with the east and west wings, the floors below the rooftop consisted entirely of corridors. A small artificial garden had been created on the roof, making it a good place to catch one’s breath while looking far into the distance and feeling the wind.
In other words, this place—which was outdoors and breezy yet not overly conspicuous to others—was perfect for smoking. Especially for someone like the current Jeong Tae-ui, who wanted to chain-smoke.
“He’s got problems…”
Muttering that the guy definitely had some problems, Jeong Tae-ui was puffing on his second cigarette.
Almost everyone feared Christoph. Even those who didn’t dislike him didn’t want to be near him.
It was understandable.
Earlier, when the servant was sent to the hospital covered in blood, the people who contacted the hospital and arranged transport were horrified and clicked their tongues, but they weren’t surprised that such a thing had happened. It meant such incidents occurred frequently.
“…Whew…”
He tilted his head back and blew cigarette smoke toward the sky. In the meantime, the second cigarette had almost burned down.
Without hesitation, Jeong Tae-ui took out another one and lit it. Perhaps because it had been a while since he last smoked, his throat already felt scratchy.
It was then.
From below the auxiliary tower, which was open except for its basic frame, he heard the sound of a group of people coming up.
It was the sound of children.
He listened closely to see if they were crossing to another building via the tower, but the sounds were moving upward.
He thought they might exit into the building on the floor immediately below, but the footsteps passed that floor and continued to climb.
Jeong Tae-ui hurriedly put out his cigarette. He couldn’t keep a cigarette in his mouth while children were coming, even if it were adults.
He quickly extinguished the cigarette, put the long butt back into the pack, and waved his hand through the air. The lingering smoke soon vanished. Simultaneously, he heard the sound of small feet [stolen content]style="position:relative;display:inline;">[unauthorized copy]lute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[unauthorized copy]leaping up the final step and stepping onto the rooftop.
“Oh.”
“Oh…”
He had already known they were coming from the sounds, but seeing the child stop in surprise with an “Oh,” he felt he should pretend to be surprised as well.
Following the girl who came up first, four or five other children followed. They also exclaimed, “Oh, oh,” upon seeing Jeong Tae-ui standing there.
“Did you all come to play together? You’re getting along well.”
Jeong Tae-ui said with a smile. They were all familiar faces. They were the succession candidates for the next generation that Christoph was teaching.
They were children who had to compete fiercely from a young age, around ten or eleven. This was how Christoph or Richard must have been in the past.
“No way, I don’t play with him. He always wants to just read books.”
“That’s better than you, who wants to play puzzle games every single day!”
As soon as Jeong Tae-ui mentioned they were getting along, the children began chatting noisily, pointing at one another and saying they wouldn’t play with them or that they were boring. Jeong Tae-ui smiled as he watched them.
Richard and Christoph probably weren’t like this. He felt that even at this age, their relationship likely wasn’t much different from how it was now.
Among them, Jeong Tae-ui looked at Oliver, who was smiling and saying, “The reason you keep losing to Wolf is that you don’t know the trick; I’ll teach you later.” He now had a large piece of gauze on the back of his head but was walking around as if nothing were wrong.
“Oliver, is your injury okay?”
When Jeong Tae-ui asked, Oliver nodded immediately. Clear eyes looked up at him.
“It hurts a bit only when I apply new medicine, but otherwise, it’s fine.”
“I see. …You must have been very surprised.”
At that, Oliver wrinkled the bridge of his nose. He hesitated with a small “Mm,” then shook his head with a wrinkled smile. Jeong Tae-ui gently patted his head.
It was then.
Slightly later than the others, Richard appeared on the rooftop. And as always, Ilay, who followed Richard wherever he went inside the mansion, appeared right behind him.
The moment Jeong Tae-ui saw Ilay, he muttered ugh internally. In contrast, Ilay widened his eyes slightly and gave a faint smile. It looked like a smile that said, I was just getting bored, and here you are, making Jeong Tae-ui want to step back for no reason.
“What brings you here?”
Richard greeted Jeong Tae-ui while gesturing for the children to gather. Behind him, Ilay scanned the surrounding scenery before focusing his gaze. He slightly arched an eyebrow.
“You came to smoke.”
Even the children who ran up first didn’t know, yet this guy, who showed up last, had a nose like a bloodhound.
However, there was no reason to feel ashamed just for smoking. Jeong Tae-ui shrugged, as if to say, So what?
“Alcohol and now cigarettes…”
Ilay clicked his tongue and turned his head. stolen contentHe was visit our siteundoubtedly nagging Jeong Tae-ui for liking beer—somewhat excessively.
But then, Ilay stopped as he turned his head. He stared blankly downward.
“…?!”
In an instant, his gaze turned bleak. He paused, as if about to take a step toward him. For a moment, those pitch-black pupils turned cold as ice, making Jeong Tae-ui flinch.
But in the next moment, Ilay glared downward for a bit longer and then clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“Where did you get blood on your knee…”
Muttering that, he scanned Jeong Tae-ui from head to toe. He ghost-like spotted the small bandage on the fingertip, and his gaze turned bleak once again.
“Oh, I just got poked by a piece of glass…”
Jeong Tae-ui spoke quickly and rubbed over the bandage as if it were nothing.
Only then did the children notice the bloodstain on Jeong Tae-ui’s Read on Read BL visit our siteNovelsknee and start making a fuss.
“Where are you hurt? How did you get hurt?”
“You should go to the hospital. Can you walk?”
Amidst that energetic commotion that gave him no room to speak, it took some time for Jeong Tae-ui to explain that the blood wasn’t his own.
Richard, who had been watching him silently, spoke quietly.
“It must be Christoph.”
That voice was cold, without a hint of a smile. Just as it always was whenever he spoke of him.
It seemed the news that Christoph had sent a servant to the hospital had already spread throughout the mansion. Both Richard and Ilay had looks of understanding on their faces.
Jeong Tae-ui smiled bitterly and shrugged.
He felt as though he had used up all his energy for the day just by cleaning the bloody floor. He wanted to avoid any conversation that would sink his mood further.
“Ah—by the way, what brings you here with the children?”
If Richard had appeared with only Oliver, he would have thought a father had simply brought his son out for some fresh air, but bringing all these children along led to the only conclusion that he was babysitting.
“Ah, I decided to teach the children some basic weapon handling.”
Richard shook the hard case he was holding. Jeong Tae-ui made a strange face upon seeing the case.
“Guns!?”
The idea of teaching children how to handle weapons was strange enough, but the notion of putting guns in their hands was completely unexpected.
“Guns… I mean, I think it’s better to know than not to know, but there are plenty of other good things. Why start with guns…?”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered, scratching the back of his head. However, his voice, which was small enough to be nearly a monologue, seemed not to reach Richard, who was already surrounded by children and opening the case.
Instead, the person who answered Jeong Tae-ui was Ilay, whose ears were as good as his nose.
“These children are in a position where they need bodyguards and must be taught self-defense as much as possible.”
Jeong Tae-ui nodded.
That was true. These children were specifically chosen among the various children roaming the house. Consequently, they would face far more dangerous situations than the other children.
In truth, even if children knew self-defense, there was a basic difference in physical strength compared to adults, so it wouldn’t be of much use, but considering the worst-case scenario, it was naturally better to know than not to know.
“They’ll have to be careful.”
Muttering this, Jeong Tae-ui himself had nearly been kidnapped several times as a child, though he had never actually been taken. It was because his older brother, who had actually been kidnapped several times, was such an outstanding talent.
Even Jeong Tae-ui, who had no special traits and possessed nothing, had faced the threat of kidnapping, so it went without saying for these children.
Hmm, I see, Jeong Tae-ui thought, nodding as he looked at Richard and the children, then glanced at Ilay. Ilay met his gaze with his arms crossed.
“Did you learn too, when you were young?”
Thinking about it, this man’s family was no different from this one. It was likely he had lived with bodyguards since childhood.
Jeong Tae-ui couldn’t quite imagine what it felt like to have others always protecting—monitoring—him, and yet still having to learn self-defense or weapon handling just in case.
However, Ilay’s answer was simple.
“No. They didn’t even bring up the idea of me learning.”
“Really? Maybe Riegrow implemented a safer method of protection compared to Tarten.”
“No. My older and younger brothers learned. My father just didn’t make that offer to me.”
“…Aha.”
Jeong Tae-ui didn’t say more and simply nodded.
Thinking about it, these children were around ten or eleven. Then, the age when that family visit our sitestyle="font-size:0;color:transparent;display:inline;">unauthorized copytried to teach their children self-defense would have been similar… and he had said that by then, this guy was already swinging an axe.
The father, who must have judged that various weapons should not be placed in this son’s hands, seems to have possessed excellent foresight. Even if it ended in a useless result.
“What about Christoph.”
Jeong Tae-ui suddenly blurted out his name. Ilay’s gaze dropped.
“Did Christoph not need to learn either? Did he already know how to handle weapons?”
Ilay kept his arms crossed, slowly tapping his arm with his finger. His gaze toward Jeong Tae-ui was cold.
“If you’re asking when he learned how to handle weapons, I don’t know, but his personality and mental state were like that from a very young age.”
“I see…”
Jeong Tae-ui nodded.
Richard had taken the children to the round table in on Read BL Novels">Read on Read BL Novelsthe center of the aerial garden and was unpacking the contents of the case. Inside was one completed gun and the pieces for another, disassembled by part.
“What. Are you shocked after seeing a scene drenched in the blood of people that guy beat down?”
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Ilay with a skeptical eye. If it were anyone else, perhaps, but this was absolutely not something this man should be saying.
“If I were to be shocked by seeing things drenched in human blood, I would have been shocked hundreds of times and developed a neurosis by now.”
There was even a time when throwing away gloves soaked in blood was one of his regular duties.
As if it were someone else’s business, Ilay nodded, “Ah,” as if a forgotten memory had just resurfaced. Seeing him mutter that it had been like that, it was clear this man had no conscience.
As Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and turned his head back toward the forest, Ilay suddenly let out a low snort and spoke.
“It seems you thought too simply. There’s no way you didn’t notice his temperament; did you get fooled by his appearance without realizing it?”
Jeong Tae-ui frowned slightly and looked at Ilay. However, regardless of that gaze, Ilay continued.
“There are always those kinds of people. Those who know everything in their heads, yet are fooled by what their eyes see. —Now, think about it. Christoph Tarten was one [Read on Read BL Novels]wm: Read on Read BL Novels -->of the top operatives even when he was in T&R’s mobile task force. In other words, it means he took on and completed a vast number of brutal assignments. Do you not understand what that implies?”
He did.
Killing people was a trivial matter to him.
“Shall I put it in simpler terms? When the Kosovo crisis broke out, he was just a young man in his early twenties. And that man, deployed there at that age, is someone who is still spoken of as having carried out a European version of the killing fields.”
He had heard that too. The story of him standing alone amidst a mountain of corpses was a staple topic for those who gossiped about Christoph.
“Rick. That’s not it.”
Jeong Tae-ui spoke up.
What Ilay was talking about was subtly different from what Jeong Tae-ui wanted to say.
“There are certainly spaces where killing is permitted. Killing in a special environment where no matter how many people you kill, you aren’t held accountable—where murder is not defined as illegal—is not a matter for others to judge, unless it was a crime committed against humanity. Whether the person considers themselves a murderer because of it or not, others cannot say such things to him. Whether it was the Kosovo crisis or another battlefield he was called to as a mercenary, the events there cannot be questioned now, nor do I intend to.”
“Which means you believe that killings occurring here can be held accountable.”
Jeong Tae-ui fell silent. A cold smile played at the corners of Ilay’s eyes.
“You don’t want to hold him accountable, but your head tells you otherwise, so it’s a headache, isn’t it? You want to accept everything graciously, but reality and your values won’t allow it? —Just like when your brother laid hands on a weapon.”
Ilay’s voice dropped as he spoke the last words. He leaned down, pressing his lips close to Jeong Tae-ui’s ear, whispering in a low voice that burrowed deep inside. The moment he heard those words, Jeong Tae-ui flinched slightly.
Ilay laughed. He straightened up and put his hands in his pockets. With a crooked smile, he continued.
“There is only one problem in this situation. It’s not that complicated. His daily life is strictly different from the daily lives of others. If this current situation is a problem, it means he is not where he belongs, but where he should not be. Don’t you think so?”
“…—.”
“I—and I likely know more about him than you do—can say this definitively. This is not the place where Christoph can be.”
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Ilay. No words came from his mouth. No words he wanted to say even came to mind. He simply listened to those words that he could not refute.
Ilay moved. He walked toward where Richard was showing the children how to assemble a disassembled unauthorized copystyle="position:relative;display:inline;">[unauthorized copy]gun [unauthorized copy]while they sat around him. Jeong Tae-ui stood there blankly for a moment before following him.
The children were watching Richard’s fingertips intently. When his hand hooked the spring to the firing pin, when he aligned the front sight with the barrel, they watched without even blinking, as if they wouldn’t miss a single detail.
After slowly assembling the disassembled gun, he took it apart again. Then he asked the children, ‘Can you do it?’ The children nodded. However, seeing one child who nodded ambiguously, saying, ‘I think I might be able to,’ Richard disassembled and reassembled the gun once more, this time slightly faster. This time, every single child nodded that they could do it.
They were smart children.
They were grasping the position and structure of those numerous parts, which must have been unfamiliar upon first sight.
Among such smart children, only one would be chosen. Twenty years from now.
“Hmm… what is this, are they practicing with toys?”
Ilay muttered as he peered at the parts the children were fiddling with behind them. Richard, who had been watching the children’s small hands, shifted his gaze.
“Toys? I made them exactly like the real thing. Only the power has been drastically reduced; the structure and size are not a single millimeter off from the real thing.”
“What does it matter if it’s the real thing when there are no bullets anyway.”
Ilay chuckled and scanned the children.
“Five… I suppose no child gave up on the succession from the start this time.”
Ilay asked abruptly, as if gauging the number for a moment. Richard, who had turned back to watch the children’s progress, looked at Ilay with curiosity, then replied, “Ah,” as if he had understood what he meant.
“There weren’t any. All five of these children accepted.”
“In your time, one gave up from the start.”
“Mm. That was Yohan. He was very clever too; I don’t know why he gave up.”
“He gave up from the start because he was clever.”
Richard laughed aloud. He nodded, thinking that might be true, and glanced at Ilay with a lingering smile on his face.
“Why bring that up all of a sudden?”
“I was just in the middle of a conversation about the importance of the ability to properly distinguish between the place where one belongs and the place where one does not.”
“Hmm…?”
This time, Richard tilted his head slightly, finding Ilay’s words difficult to grasp. He looked at Jeong Tae-ui as if asking for an explanation.
However, Jeong Tae-ui couldn’t answer either. He couldn’t answer something he didn’t know.
“Does giving up the succession… mean different things depending on the timing?”
Jeong Tae-ui sought an answer from Ilay. Ilay smiled. Richard seemed puzzled by what had been discussed between them, but he soon answered on Ilay’s behalf.
“That is correct. Whether one gives up the right to have a possibility of succession—that is, becoming a succession candidate—from the beginning, or gives up halfway through.”
“How is it different?”
“Whether one does not have to take responsibility for the [unauthorized copy]wm: unauthorized copy -->choice, or whether one must. That is the difference.”
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Richard in silence for a moment. Then he looked at Ilay, and finally at the children assembling guns in front of him, before speaking.
“So you mean if they give up the right to succession from the start, there are no disadvantages, but if they give up halfway, they must pay a corresponding price.”
Richard nodded. Jeong Tae-ui thought for a moment and asked again.
“Do the children know that?”
Since he was speaking in a place where the children could hear everything, they surely knew, but he wondered how much they actually knew and understood.
Richard smiled and said, “Of course.”
“Since their lives are at stake, it is only fair that the children are given a choice. When we first present the choice to the children, we tell them everything they need to know. Whether they will participate in the competition to inherit the Tarten name or not. If they refuse to participate from the start, that’s the end of it. That child loses the possibility of inheriting the Tarten name, but they don’t need to pay a price for it. They can live normally, mingling with others, without any disadvantage and in freedom.”
Jeong Tae-ui looked down at the children.
The child with fast hands was already almost finished assembling the gun. The child with clumsy fingertips was a bit slower.
However, in other fields, the fast child might lag behind and the slow child might lead.
A person superior in every aspect cannot exist, and therefore, it is necessary to determine their overall superiority and inferiority through the means of competition. Not a coincidental superiority over a short period, but an inevitable one that emerges after observing long-term competition.
Right now, one cannot judge which child is better or worse. Because a child who is lagging now could grow at an astonishing speed. Then, as they become adults and achieve the tasks set before them one by one, a definitive gap eventually emerges that everyone—even themselves—cannot help but acknowledge.
Just as everyone currently considers Richard the most superior.
“That means there are disadvantages if they give up in the middle of the competition.”
Jeong Tae-ui asked back, thinking of Christoph. As far as Jeong Tae-ui remembered, he had heard that Christoph also quit halfway.
Richard looked at the gun of the child who had almost finished assembling it, then scanned the floor around them. He picked up a spring that had fallen and handed it to the child. The child, looking like they were about to cry, began to disassemble the gun again. Richard smiled and kindly told them to try again slowly. With that same smiling face, he continued calmly.
“If they decide to enter the competition at the very beginning, from then until they become adults, that child can gain all the experiences they desire under the full support of the Tartens. Things they want to learn, things they want to know, things they want to master, or things they want to see, hear, or feel—they can receive support for all of it. …You may not believe it, but providing a perfect environment for one child requires an enormous amount of money. An amount that would be hard to save in a lifetime through ordinary means. All of that is provided to those children.”
Jeong Tae-ui gave a meaningless response, “Yes…”, and waited for what came next.
“Now… but what happens if a child gives up the succession competition halfway through? All the effort up to that point goes to waste. Not only the funds and the child’s own time, but the time, effort, and materials of the other people who poured everything into providing for that child—everything becomes useless. Therefore, it is only natural that a corresponding penalty be imposed on the child who gives up.”
“…….”
Penalty.
The child must give back what they had received.
As he said, what was provided by others was time, effort, and materials.
Among those, the thing that could be returned.
“We recover the materials that went into raising that child. They must pay that amount.”
“Wait, you said it was an amount that couldn’t be saved in a lifetime.”
“Yes, through ordinary means.”
When Jeong Tae-ui asked, Richard nodded readily. Jeong Tae-ui looked at him with an incredulous expression.
“By what non-unilateral method are they supposed to pay that money back?”
“That is at the discretion of the person.”
The conclusion was so concise that Jeong Tae-ui was momentarily speechless.
“Similarly, the time and effort that must be repaid are recognized as the cost of acquiring those materials. …To put it simply, they just have to pay the money.”
The words What kind of family is this? surged up to his throat.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Richard with a blank face, then looked down at the children again.
The second child to complete the assembly was checking to see if anything was missing. The child, who had been quietly pulling the firing pin, caught Jeong Tae-ui’s eye and gave a shy, beaming smile.
“Then, if they compete until the end, until [stolen visit our sitecontent]a successor is chosen, they don’t have to pay that cost.”
Jeong Tae-ui asked without even looking at Richard. “That is correct,” he replied. Jeong Tae-ui remained silent for a moment.
“Then why would anyone give up halfway when they could just stay until the end and avoid that penalty?”
“Because everyone thinks differently. Once a successor is chosen, the remaining competitors must live under the successor, helping him with his work. —If someone lacks the confidence to be chosen as the successor but possesses a temperament that hates working under others, wouldn’t they rather pay a massive indemnity to be free from another’s commands?”
Richard’s voice was calm.
Ilay, who had been listening silently beside him until then, laughed softly.
“He’s talking about you. If you had no chance of being chosen as the successor, you would have chosen to pay the indemnity even if it took your whole life. Since you’re a man who can’t work under anyone.”
Richard raised an eyebrow but shook his head with a smile.
“Surely not, not at all. And I am not certain that I will be the successor.”
“That’s not humility; it’s called hypocrisy.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Despite Ilay’s scoffing words, Richard responded nonchalantly. Then, he told the children who had finished assembling to disassemble them again. He added that once they assembled them one more time, he would teach them the most effective way to use them for children of their age.
Jeong Tae-ui fell into thought while watching them.
Just as one person cannot judge another, one cannot criticize a certain structure or method simply because it is unfamiliar. Every method has its advantages as well as its disadvantages.
However.
“Making them choose at such a young age, there must be a high possibility of regret later. It seems cruel to me.”
Jeong Tae-ui spoke with a bitter smile.
It was a story he could have swallowed without saying, —a story that would bring him absolutely no benefit to mention—but in the end, he said it.
However, Richard shook his head with that gentle face.
“Regardless of the time, one must take responsibility for one’s own choices.”
Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth.
This was the thinking of the man named Richard. And likely, this was the thinking of the entire Tarten family, who had actively—or passively—agreed to the continuation of this method.
Jeong Tae-ui pondered a bit more, but soon let out a quiet sigh.
If it’s something happening with their own consent, I suppose it doesn’t matter.
“Christoph knew well where he belonged and where he didn’t. It’s just a pity he didn’t realize it sooner, so he didn’t have to shoulder the burden of indemnity.”
Ilay muttered slowly. In his voice, which held a faint trace of a smile, there wasn’t a shred of pity.
Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue. He pulled at his hair for no reason and sighed again.
Ilay looked down at Jeong Tae-ui. He shifted his gaze to look far [Read on Read BL Novelsclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">Read on Read BL Novelsstyle="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">]into the forest. As if he knew that Christoph was there.
“This is not the place where he belongs.”
“……Yeah. You’re right.”
Jeong Tae-ui agreed weakly. He was so drained that there was no strength in his voice.
As expected, today is not a very good day. Fatigue is just piling up in his mind and body. ……Come to think of it, he wondered how many good days he’d actually had since coming here.
“Yeah. Right. The T&R mobile task force, that den of madmen, would have been a more fitting place for him.”
“Ah, that’s true. …….”
After saying “that’s true,” Ilay, who had spent time with Christoph in that den of madmen, frowned ambiguously.
Jeong Tae-ui gazed blankly at the forest.
Occasionally, the faint sound of a short shout or the presence of a galloping horse could [Read on Read BL Novelsclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">visit our site]be heard, as if someone were spurring their horse from near the entrance of the forest.
He thought of Christoph, who handled horses so well that he barely made a sound, and if one only watched, it was impossible to tell how he was doing it. There were even times when he wondered if Christoph was actually talking to the horses.
He does not fit in here.
Yet he blends in so naturally in places that are not here.
“…….”
Jeong Tae-ui sighed and shook his head.
He should stop thinking. At this rate, only unpleasant thoughts would keep coming to mind.
“……By the way.”
Once he consciously blocked out the thoughts of Christoph, something he had been bothered by while listening to the story earlier, but had momentarily forgotten, came back to him.
Jeong Tae-ui stared intently at Ilay, then shifted his gaze visit our siteto Richard. This time, with a look of sheer astonishment, tilting his head as if he couldn’t believe it, Jeong Tae-ui asked slowly.
“Earlier, you said the person who was offered to be a succession candidate but refused was Yohan. Surely, that Yohan……?!”
“As far as I know, there is only one Yohan in this house.”
“Ah, come to think of it, you two seemed to get along quite closely, ……He’s an interesting fellow.”
The compliment “interesting fellow,” spoken after a brief hesitation, didn’t sound ordinary. It translated to him as if Richard were saying that the guy also had a slight illness in his mind.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at them with a horrified face.
Now and then, while talking, he would be impressed, thinking, This guy is actually quite smart, but that was a separate issue.
Come to think of it, he recalled being told that Christoph had also been a leading succession candidate until he quit…
“…It seems… Tarten doesn’t place much importance on the personality of the person who becomes the successor?”
If that were the case, no matter how outstanding one’s abilities were, how would the household even function? But then again, the elder he had seen recently seemed to be a person of wonderful character. As Jeong Tae-ui sank into this copy -->unauthorized copydilemma, he failed to notice Richard’s ambiguous, silent smile in front of him.
In his stead, Ilay gave a playful smile and said something not particularly pleasant to hear to both of them.
“He’s saying there’s a significant problem with your personality, Richard.”
Only after hearing Ilay add, as if in admiration, “What an excellent eye you have,” did Jeong Tae-ui realize what he had just said to Richard.
Gasp. His face stiffened, and he hurriedly began to make excuses, saying, “No, that’s not it, what I meant was…” Richard simply smiled and told him, “It’s alright,” but Jeong Tae-ui felt as if he had knocked over a water jar. A water jar whose contents could not be gathered back.
Well, it was true that he had secretly thought this man also had many personality flaws, but he hadn’t intended to make it so blatant. He had been talking about Yohan, so why did Richard get dragged into it?
Jeong Tae-ui bitterly reflected on his mistake. Then, he glared fiercely at Ilay, who bore heavy responsibility for this situation. Deciding to settle the matter somehow, he chose to shift the target.
“But still, I don’t think it can be compared to the T&R Mobile Unit, where they practically hire people by ranking their personalities in reverse… I feel like there were problems not just with the personalities, but with the selection process there as well.”
He didn’t particularly like the tactic of attacking others to avoid his own disaster, but he had no choice now. Besides, even if he was attacking someone else, hadn’t that person caused the problem in the first place?
At Jeong Tae-ui’s words, Ilay, who still hadn’t [unauthorized copy]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[unauthorized copy]lost his cheerful glint, narrowed his eyes and suddenly gave a sly smile.
“That Mobile Unit where Christoph played a part.”
I’m talking about you, you!
Jeong Tae-ui screamed in his mind, but Ilay muttered as if it were someone else’s business, as if he had nothing to do with the place.
“And about that problematic selection process… most of them are guys I’m quite familiar with, but the one who picked them out was my brother. Yeah, I thought there were quite a few problems too… I’ll let him know later.”
Gasp…
Somehow, it felt like he had knocked over another water jar.
No, what I want to say is, Jeong Tae-ui tried to gather his words again.
What I want to say is about the problems with your personality.
“I mean, like, about that personality I’d only heard rumors about—the one that was supposedly very famous back [[Read on Read BL Novels]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">stolen content]at UNHRDO’s European branch.”
“Aha… Well, there were some issues with the selection process there. To be honest, I didn’t particularly intend to be an instructor at that organization, nor did I know they’d put me in that position.”
“Exactly! A selection process that ignores personality and puts people in key positions based solely on ability is also very problematic!”
“It was partly because of the connection to arms dealing, but anyway, the person who secretly pushed me into that position was one of the instructors at the Asian branch. Jeong… what was his name again…?”
“…”
Better to just keep his mouth shut. He was going to break every single water jar he had left.
Richard, who had been sitting with his chin resting on the table, rolling his eyes between the two, seemed puzzled as to why Jeong Tae-ui suddenly went silent, but he didn’t bother to ask.
Just then, as if to help Jeong Tae-ui, who had begun to exercise his right to remain silent, a child asked while fiddling with a gun he had disassembled and reassembled.
“If I pull the hammer here and then pull the trigger, the bullet comes out, right?”
“That’s right. I’ll teach you how to load the ammunition in a bit.”
Richard answered, shifting his attention to the child. Ilay, looking down at the child fiddling with the gun, murmured, “Hold on,” and took the gun from him.
As Richard had said, it was a model made to look exactly like the real thing. There was no difference in appearance. Looking at the gun in Ilay’s hand, Jeong Tae-ui was impressed. Models these days are made so well.
Ilay gripped and released the gun a few times, muttering.
“As expected, it’s much lighter. At this rate, even toy bullets won’t work properly. No, does it even fire?”
He tapped the barrel with his fingertips and then pulled the hammer. Click. A sound much lighter than the real thing echoed.
“Even for children’s practice, the feeling of firing this is quite poor.”
Ilay spun the gun once, gripped it again, and with a smirk, pointed the muzzle at Jeong Tae-ui. Jeong Tae-ui frowned at the muzzle aimed at him.
“Stop it. Even if it’s a model, the fact that you’re the one holding it makes my spine tingle.”
“Haha, even I can’t kill a person with an empty gun…”
It was then.
The child, who had been looking back and forth between the two with a slightly bewildered face since Ilay had aimed at Jeong Tae-ui, shouted urgently, “Uh!” as Ilay pulled the finger resting on the trigger.
But the shout was a step too late.
Pop! With a light sound, Ilay’s wrist shook slightly. The barrel and the front sight of the gun, clumsily assembled by the child’s hands, gaped and twisted slightly.
Simultaneously with that short, light bursting sound, a short cry of “Ah!” escaped Jeong Tae-ui’s mouth. With his face contorted, Jeong Tae-ui bent his waist and slowly crouched down on the spot.
For a few seconds, silence flowed.
Richard stood up with a panicked face, and the children all stared with wide eyes. Only the child who had assembled the gun muttered haltingly with a comically distorted face.
“I was curious about how strong it was, so I cut up an eraser and put it in… Mister, are you okay?”
In the momentarily frozen air, the child approached Jeong Tae-ui in bewilderment.
Jeong Tae-ui, who had been curled up clutching his stomach, finally managed to mutter brokenly after a moment of silence.
“If possible… I’d prefer my brother… but is that really an eraser? Why does it hurt so much… damn it.”
As Jeong Tae-ui muttered in a dying voice, the frozen atmosphere loosened.
The children murmured that they were surprised, and Richard let out a light sigh and smiled.
“It’s a relief it was a model. If we had practiced with the real thing, at this distance, even an eraser could have been dangerous depending on where it hit.”
“Ugh… my side…”
Jeong Tae-ui slowly stood up, rubbing the area between his side and stomach.
It actually hurt quite a bit.
The moment he was hit, the impact was enough to make his waist bend instinctively.
Did I get a bruise? he muttered to himself while rubbing his waist, then suddenly glanced at Ilay.
“So, just because I tried to give an evaluation of your personality, you just go ahead and shoot me with a gun…?”
No matter how he looked at the circumstances, it was by no means Ilay’s fault, but Jeong Tae-ui, who had been on the defensive until a moment ago, used his pain as leverage to cling to the issue.
Ilay was staring intently at Jeong Tae-ui while still holding the gun.
Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth.
An expressionless face. A face that looked as if the door to emotional expression had been locked, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. He couldn’t even guess what was on his mind.
“Il…—, …Riegrow.”
He called his name.
Then, as if returning from another world, he looked at Jeong Tae-ui with a dissatisfied face.
“A person doesn’t just break from being hit by a piece of rubber.”
If anyone else had said it, it might have been different, but for the person who fired it to say such a brazen line made Jeong Tae-ui glare at him with piercing eyes.
Ilay, seemingly losing interest, lightly tossed the gun back to the child.
“If the barrel misaligns just from firing one piece of rubber, it’s insufficient even for practice. Since you’re from a wealthy family, why not spend money on a good one instead of skimping on this?”
Hey, if you’d used a good one, I’d be dead by now, Jeong Tae-ui grumbled from the side, but Ilay only gave him a fleeting glance and didn’t answer.
I guess it’s useless to cling to this.
Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue inwardly while rubbing his throbbing side.
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