"Damn it… …!"
Despite worrying whether his face would still look human after all this, Jeong Taeui
resolutely stood between the two of them instead of running away, silently cursing Richard
for what he had done.
Terrible timing.
At first, Jeong Taeui thought that no matter what, he had to punch Christoph in the jaw and
knock him out, regardless of what would happen next. However, by the time Jeong Taeui
managed to get between them, Christoph had already swung the iron rod.
"...No...!!!!...!!!" - He couldn't avoid it.
So, there was no choice but to minimize the damage as much as possible.
If he blocked that thing with his hand, his bones would shatter. His wrist might even get
severed. But in this split second, Jeong Taeui couldn't think of a better option.
Gritting his teeth, Jeong Taeui raised his hand to block the iron rod.
In that moment.
*CLANG*
The sharp sound of metal hitting metal rang out.
Just as Jeong Taeui was trying to block the iron rod, a long iron bar, the length of a palm,
came out of nowhere and struck the iron rod. Then a series of *clang clang* sounds followed.
The iron rod in Christoph's hand slipped out, clattering along the ground before stopping.
"You lunatic."
Before Jeong Taeui could understand what had happened, a low, cold voice pierced his ears.
And before he could identify the owner of that voice, a loud *Smack* rang out right beside
him, causing his vision to darken and his eyes to go white for a moment. It took nearly ten
seconds for Jeong Taeui to realize he had been slapped.
Jeong Taeui stood there, dazed, one hand holding his throbbing cheek. The slap was so strong
that his ears were ringing.
Christoph continued advancing towards Richard even without the iron rod. Ilay grabbed
Christoph by the collar and punched him hard in the face.
"Wake up, Christoph."With that, he slapped Christoph on the other cheek. Christoph's head jerked to the side,
staggering back. Christoph spat, his spit tainted with blood.
Jeong Taeui watched in shock, finally tasting the metallic flavor in his mouth—his insides
were probably torn as well.
His senses slowly returned. Jeong Taeui looked around slowly. An iron bar lay on the ground;
Ilay must have picked it up from somewhere. Next to it was Christoph's iron rod.
It looked like he had seen that iron bar somewhere before… Jeong Taeui turned to look at the
bench behind him. Indeed, one of the fixed iron bars at the back of the bench had been
violently ripped out.
"... I was just hit by that monstrous strength… ugh... the more I think about it, the more it
hurts…"
Jeong Taeui held his swollen cheek, groaning. The man with monstrous strength looked down
at Jeong Taeui with icy eyes. He had helped him, but also injured him. Ilay spoke coldly, with
a voice Jeong Taeui had never heard before.
"You've got a death wish, don't you?"
"No, I don't want to die… … at most, just lose a hand..."
Jeong Taeui mumbled a curt reply. He clenched his remaining intact hand tightly. Ilay glared
at him with sharp, green eyes. Seeing this, Jeong Taeui lowered his head, trying to avoid the
gaze.
Ilay looked at Jeong Taeui like he was a world-class idiot and turned away.
Christoph stood there with lifeless eyes.
He didn't see Richard.
He just stood there, mumbling to himself in an almost inaudible voice.
Ilay slapped him several more times without hesitation, the *Smack Smack* sounds tearing
through the air. Though Christoph's mouth was bleeding, Ilay didn't hesitate.
"Wake up... have you lost your mind?"
He said casually, as if just greeting someone. Without waiting for Christoph's response, he
slapped him again.
"Riegrow. Stop it."
As Ilay raised his hand to hit Christoph again, Richard intervened. He had been silently
watching them from behind.Even though he had just faced death minutes ago, Richard's expression remained unchanged,
even as Christoph approached him with the iron rod. He looked at Ilay and shook his head.
"That's enough. I've said everything I wanted to say to him and got the reaction I wanted."
Richard spoke calmly, as if he hadn't been part of the recent chaos.
Ilay raised his palm, looking down at Richard before sneering.
"You're mistaken, Richard. I didn't stop him for you. This needed to end, and those words
couldn't go any deeper."
"Fine, that's why I'm asking you to stop."
Richard smiled awkwardly. He gave a warm smile as if asking a favor from a close friend and
looked straight at Ilay.
That expression was no different from when Jeong Taeui first saw him, exuding a friendly
and amiable atmosphere.
… Yes. Okay, Ilay, you were right. Christoph was also completely right. This man is a pervert
and someone Jeong Taeui shouldn't associate with. His heart was too sinister.
Jeong Taeui struggled to accept this truth. He stared at Richard in disbelief.
Ilay clicked his tongue and lowered his hand, and Richard smiled and thanked him.
Then, a man who had parked a short distance away, waiting for Richard, hesitated before
saying something to him. Richard nodded and walked towards the car.
"I'm heading to the hospital now. Oliver must be getting checked out."
Richard left those words as a goodbye, waved to Ilay, and then looked at Jeong Taeui.
He gave Jeong Taeui a meaningful look as if searching for something, then finally smiled and
said.
"Thank you for trying to sacrifice yourself for me. Thanks to you, I'm still alive."
"... What? I didn't do anything."
He had only tried to block it with his body. In fact, Ilay had resolved everything. He had no
intention of sacrificing himself for Richard.
In truth, the reason Jeong Taeui acted like that was…
"Tonight, Seoik will be noisy."
Christoph suddenly mumbled and looked at Richard.
He still stood there quietly, seemingly oblivious.Jeong Taeui suddenly felt anger rising within him, something boiling up.
He didn't want a defenseless 'ghost' like Christoph to appear in front of those who had been
watching the drama unfold indifferently from afar.
His heart ached, as if he were seeing someone vulnerable, exhausted both physically and
mentally.
"Christoph. Let's go inside."
Jeong Taeui moved towards him. Christoph stood there vacantly, his eyes dull like a doll's.
His lips trembled slightly.
Immediately, the sound of a car door closing echoed. Richard, sitting in the car heading to the
hospital, looked at Christoph with wide, happy eyes, a gaze that also caught Jeong Taeui's
attention.
Soon after, the car left the building and disappeared from sight.
"Do you think he would have died if you hadn't intervened?"
Ilay's voice sounded in his ear. Jeong Taeui remained silent, looking in the direction the car
had disappeared, not responding.
Meanwhile, among those who had been watching from a distance, an older man approached
them, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.
"Mr. Riegrow."
Judging by how he respectfully addressed Ilay and his attire, he seemed to be a senior
employee. There were about four or five people in such positions in this house.
"We need to know what's happening, so please come to the main building for a moment."
Jeong Taeui, hearing this, looked at Christoph.
His skinny shoulders still trembled, and his pale lips showed no sign of blood.
"Christoph... let's go inside. We'll go back to the room first."
Jeong Taeui spoke softly. Even in times like this, Christoph might not realize someone was
trying to get close to him.
He stood frozen, unable to move. In the end, Jeong Taeui grabbed Christoph's sleeve and
slowly led him away.
In that moment.
"Kim Young Soo-ssi?"A familiar voice called out the unfamiliar name. Jeong Taeui paused for a moment, then
turned to look at Ilay.
Ilay about to head to the main building with the employee, tossed something to Jeong Taeui
just as he turned his head. He looked down at his palm in confusion. It was a small glass
bottle, brown in color and about the size of two fingers, with liquid sloshing inside.
"This…?"
Jeong Taeui looked up curiously.
However, after confirming Jeong Taeui had received the item, Ilay turned and walked away
without any explanation, leaving Jeong Taeui to watch his retreating figure disappear into the
darkness.
Jeong Taeui raised an eyebrow and looked at the glass bottle again. He shrugged and put it in
his pocket, then approached Christoph to address the most immediate issue.