The night of the incident.
As usual, Jeong Taeui spent the entire afternoon laboriously organizing Christoph's books in
the library, and it was only late in the evening that he managed to drag his exhausted body out
of the room.
He had asked Christoph hundreds of times when he would return the books, but the only
response he ever got was - "If you want them back, just do as I say."
In reality, even though Jeong Taeui was tasked with doing such things, it wasn't a big deal.
Except for the first day, which was quite tiring, the subsequent days were relatively easy.
Sometimes, he would have to fumble around a bit to change the structure of the library,
which meant rearranging the order of the bookshelves, and doing that alone was rather
exhausting.
Other than that, it was mostly minor chores or simple bookkeeping.
However, like most things, waiting in uncertainty and not knowing when the promise would
be fulfilled was very tiring.
"Oh...I don't know. Someday, I will give them to you."
Jeong Taeui sighed and dusted off his clothes.
He didn't know where this damn dust came from, but every day it piled up even though he
cleaned it every day.
After just a little time in the library, his hands were already dark.
Jeong Taeui intended to close the library window before stepping out. As he approached the
door, he saw Christoph in the yard below.
As was his usual routine when he had little to do in the afternoon, Christoph had just returned
from riding.
He was heading towards a large stable behind Seik and the main building but stopped when
he made eye contact with Jeong Taeui.
Even though Christoph's limbs didn't appear to be exerting any effort or force on the horse,
Jeong Taeui couldn't help but marvel when he saw the horse calmly stop.
"Can he even communicate with horses?"
Jeong Taeui murmured as he rested his chin on his arm on the windowsill. Christoph
shrugged.Jeong Taeui closed the window, went to the bathroom to wash his hands, and left the office.
After dusting off his clothes, he decided it wasn't necessary to change, so he went to the
restaurant as he was. The atmosphere there was not particularly harmonious, so he wondered
if he might have to change again after bathing and putting on clean clothes.
As he descended the stairs, Christoph also came in. He was removing his riding gloves and
raised an eyebrow when he saw Jeong Taeui standing on the stairs.
"Did you rearrange the layout?"
"Uh, kind of. I just organized the order of the bookshelves a bit."
"Alright, continue after eating."
"Devil," Jeong Taeui grumbled under his breath and glared at Christoph. Christoph walked
towards him with an indifferent expression.
"They're torn. Throw them away."
Jeong Taeui caught the gloves Christoph tossed to him. They were dark brown leather gloves,
slightly torn, possibly scratched by rose thorns or something similar.
"Hm....what a pity."
Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue and muttered. Christoph glanced at him.
"Then fix them and use them."
"No, I don't usually wear gloves. Besides, I'm more used to throwing gloves away."
Jeong Taeui folded the gloves and put them in his pocket, adding that he would throw them
away when he saw a trash bin.
In recent years, nothing had happened, but back when Jeong Taeui worked at UNHRDO, he
frequently had to dispose of Ilay's gloves. Not just the torn ones, but also perfectly intact
ones, the only common factor being they were soaked in blood to the point of being stiff.
At first, Jeong Taeui had considered washing and reusing the gloves but eventually decided
against it. No matter how regretful he felt, the number of gloves discarded daily was more
than one pair. Who knew if some vengeful spirit haunted those gloves? It seemed better to
just throw them away.
".... Now that I think about it, he is wearing gloves again."
Jeong Taeui remembered this fact only now. Ilay's unfamiliar elegance kept surprising him,
so it was only now that he recalled that the first time he met Ilay in this house, he was
wearing gloves.
"He doesn't wear them at home?"Christoph said after hearing Jeong Taeui's mumbling. Jeong Taeui shrugged.
"Uh, it's been a while since I saw him wearing gloves."
So he almost forgot about it, but it seemed he still wore them when he went to work.
Jeong Taeui once thought Ilay's personality had changed a bit, but apparently not.
"With that personality of his, no matter if they share the same blood, he can't live decently,
but it seems he's living quite peacefully lately."
Christoph suddenly muttered. Jeong Taeui glanced at him. Christoph noticed the look and
glared back as if to ask why he was looking at him like that.
"I heard you're friends with Ilay. Childhood friends."
"Who said that?"
Christoph immediately frowned. Although his expression wasn't clearly shown, compared to
his usual emotionless face, it seemed he was quite annoyed hearing that.
"Isn't it true? I heard you used to play together when you were kids."
"It wasn't playing. Sometimes, when adults met for work, they brought their children along,
and we met. -Oh, right. If playing with an ax against a kid you find annoying counts as
playing, then you could say that."
"...."
Jeong Taeui had heard Kyle calmly say that Ilay had a slightly peculiar personality since he
was a child, but.... .
Jeong Taeui scratched his head, losing his appetite.
"Well, not all people of the same age can be friends. If playing together as kids made you
friends, you and Richard would be friends too."
As soon as he finished speaking, Christoph frowned even more. His eyes bulged as if he had
heard something he really didn't want to hear.
"I said we're not friends!!!"
"...Listen to me carefully. I mean, you and Richard aren't friends either."
Jeong Taeui involuntarily took a step back and said. Christoph frowned at him, clicked his
tongue, and started walking.
He reacted more violently to Ilay. Richard was someone Christoph didn't even want to
consider as a friend more than Ilay, so it seemed Richard held a significant, though negative,
meaning for Christoph.Indeed, where there are friends, there are enemies. If you accumulate good feelings together
over a long time, that person is your friend. If you only have bad memories, that person is
your enemy.
"You've known each other since Oliver's age, right?"
Jeong Taeui asked while counting on his fingers. If so, it was a relationship spanning about
twenty years. If there were only unpleasant memories, it was no wonder they became hostile
to each other.
Christoph, who was walking half a step ahead of Jeong Taeui, bluntly responded without
hiding his displeasure.
"Since we were kids."
"Oh... So you've known each other for quite a long time. .... Oliver looks exactly like
Richard when he was little."
Christoph glanced at Jeong Taeui. The face that had been scowling and hostile just a moment
ago, making one feel injured just by looking, softened a bit. Christoph hesitated, seemingly
reluctant to say anything nice about the son of someone he hated, but finally clicked his
tongue and spoke.
"The faces are quite similar, but their personalities are entirely different. Their natures are
different too. That kid is okay. ... He looks more like his uncle."
He lowered his voice at the end, making the latter part difficult to understand.
Jeong Taeui seemed to hear him say the boy resembled Richard's sibling, and he widened his
eyes in surprise.
"Richard has a sibling?"
It wasn't surprising that someone had siblings. Jeong Taeui had an older brother, and even
Ilay had both a brother and a sister.
Looking like his uncle? It seemed Richard's family genes were strong. If he had a sibling who
looked like him, they would likely be very handsome or beautiful.
Jeong Taeui, while walking, imagined a sibling who looked just like Richard, and then
noticed Christoph suddenly stop. He halted so abruptly that Jeong Taeui lost his balance for a
moment, but fortunately, he managed to stop safely and avoid bumping into him.
If he had accidentally touched him, Christoph might have shot a bullet-like glare at him and
punched him immediately.
Jeong Taeui stopped a few centimeters away and slowly stepped back. He tilted his head and
peered over Christoph's shoulder, wondering why he had suddenly stopped, but saw nothing
ahead."Christoph?"
Jeong Taeui called doubtfully. But there was no response.
Christoph stood frozen at the main staircase. He stared blankly at the empty staircase as if he
were seeing memories from the past come to life.
His lips suddenly turned pale and trembled uncontrollably. He probably wasn't aware of it, as
his face remained almost unchanged, except for the constant trembling of his lips.
"Chris!!!"
Jeong Taeui called his name softly and cautiously again.
Hearing Jeong Taeui call his name, Christoph slowly turned his head and looked at him. His
lips stopped trembling.
"....Too noisy."
"I'm hungry." < I luv his pookie >
Jeong Taeui said while looking directly at him. He hadn't intended to say it, but perhaps due
to fatigue, his voice was a bit hoarse.
Christoph frowned at Jeong Taeui. He looked surprised to hear those words from him, and for
a moment, he looked at Jeong Taeui as if he had taken the wrong medicine.
If it were someone else, it wouldn't matter, but since this expression appeared on Christoph's
face, Jeong Taeui found it amusing and couldn't help but laugh. Christoph responded
irritably.
"If you're hungry, then go eat."
Christoph clicked his tongue and continued up the stairs. "Oh," Jeong Taeui grabbed the
banister and called out.
"What about you?"
"After I shower."
"It's not that dirty, it's fine."
Christoph stopped at the top of the stairs and frowned down. Jeong Taeui looked up and saw
the riding clothes Christoph was wearing.
"..... Okay. Come after you shower. I'll go eat first."
Jeong Taeui wondered if it would matter if he ate in his riding clothes, but Christoph would
never do that. He was the type to spend an hour each morning - though slightly exaggerated -
just rummaging through his wardrobe.Only after Christoph disappeared upstairs did Jeong Taeui head to the dining room.
Not only was he hungry, but he was also really, really hungry. After organizing bookshelves
all afternoon, his stomach growling was only natural.
"If I keep working like this, maybe I can take these muscles to a moving company later... if I
have time..."
Jeong Taeui massaged his arms, no longer sore after a long period of hard work. His muscles
seemed to have become firmer, making him feel a bit happy.
"Yes, train to have a great body and be loved by everyone..."
Jeong Taeui entered the restaurant, massaging his firm arms and unconsciously patting his
inner thighs. But the atmosphere today seemed different from usual. He looked up and
murmured: "Why is it so quiet today?"
He had thought there weren't many people, but that wasn't the case. The number of people
was the same as usual, the tables were full. The faces at the tables looked slightly different,
but the seating arrangement was the same as yesterday.
Christoph's and Richard's seats were always empty unless they were there...
Jeong Taeui looked around the restaurant. The atmosphere was unusually formal and quiet
today, and finally, his eyes rested on the usually empty seat at the front. At the same time, his
hand, which had been massaging his arm, suddenly dropped.
Richard was there.
Sitting across from Christoph's empty seat, Richard was in his usual spot, eating and
occasionally chatting with the man next to him.
However, for Jeong Taeui, Richard was always good. The only problem was the person next
to him. And in Jeong Taeui's eyes, there was only the person conversing with him at the
moment.
Indeed, no matter how many times he looked, he almost didn't recognize him in that elegant
suit he wasn't used to seeing, and the gloves he wore caught his eye.
Ilay. He was sitting there.