On the quiet road back to his room, Jeong Taeui had somewhat calmed down.
In contrast, Christoph, who had been clutching Jeong Taeui's shirt and following him in a
daze, still seemed lost and kept trembling.
When they entered Seoik, Jeong Taeui turned his head and was startled. The darkness outside
had concealed Christoph's true condition. Although he knew Christoph didn't look well, he
attributed it partially to the dim lighting outside.
However, under the bright lights inside the building, Christoph's face looked deathly pale and
ghostly. His lips quivered as he muttered something. Jeong Taeui asked, "What?" but
received no reply. Christoph just mumbled to himself as if hypnotized.
It wasn't the first time Christoph had lost control and attacked someone with genuine intent to
kill, not just threaten. Jeong Taeui could tell from the way people looked at Christoph as he
clutched Jeong Taeui's shirt and followed him back to the estate.
Their expressions were more of disgust and fear than surprise. So, Jeong Taeui was sure this
wasn't the first time it had happened. However, it seemed this didn't occur frequently.
On the way back to the room, Christoph silently followed Jeong Taeui, unable to calm down.
Even after reaching the room, he remained in the same state.
Christoph's room, typically a quiet and peaceful place, shielded from prying eyes and
whispers, seemed like a place where he could gradually regain his composure, although it
might take some time.
But shortly after returning to the room, Jeong Taeui reconsidered.
"This is more dangerous than I thought."
Standing next to the chair by the door, Jeong Taeui took a deep breath, noticing Christoph's
incessant trembling, which showed no sign of abating.
Christoph's complexion grew paler. His body kept shaking, and his mumbling grew louder,
becoming intelligible even to Jeong Taeui.
With a face drained of blood, Christoph stared blankly ahead, his eyes barely blinking,
trembling continuously.
"… That won't happen… I won't let you get away with it… I'll kill you, I'll kill you… ! …
A…."
He uttered a low, hoarse growl like an animal. His voice seemed no longer his own, choked at
the throat, his green eyes trembling as if possessed."Christoph…Chris…."
Jeong Taeui called Christoph quietly, but his voice didn't reach him.
Not only Christoph's eyes and voice trembled, but his whole body continued to shudder.
Christoph's already hunched shoulders started to shake more violently, spreading to his entire
body.
Holding his trembling body, Christoph groaned like an animal, muttering and biting his pale
lips.
"Chris, calm down, Chris."
Jeong Taeui called his name repeatedly, but it was useless. Christoph didn't even look at him.
However, Jeong Taeui patiently kept calling his name.
How long had it been?
Christoph groaned with eerie sounds, biting his lips until they bled. Then he started
whispering so softly it was hard to hear, and eventually, Jeong Taeui could only hear his
labored breathing.
Christoph clung to his shivering body, seemingly calming down a bit. His vision now
included Jeong Taeui.
When their eyes met, Jeong Taeui called his name again.
"Chris… are you okay…?"
"… My head hurts…."
A weak voice emerged, both voice and body trembling as if suffering from the cold of winter.
"You'll be fine. It'll be okay. Everything will get better."
Though Jeong Taeui knew things were far from fine, he didn't know what else to say other
than these empty consolations. Even when Christoph gripped his hand tightly, digging his
nails into his skin, Jeong Taeui couldn't do anything else.
"It's too loud…. I keep hearing noises…. It's so loud, my ears hurt. My head too…."
Christoph muttered to himself as if hypnotized, his words seemingly directed at no one.
"What do you hear?"
Jeong Taeui quietly asked. But Christoph only muttered, "Too loud, too loud." His face
contorted, turning pale as if he could collapse at any moment.
Jeong Taeui realized this was far more dangerous than he had thought."Chris."
Jeong Taeui pulled at the hem of his shirt that Christoph was clutching. Christoph staggered a
few steps as if pushed. Seeing Christoph about to fall, Jeong Taeui instinctively reached out
to catch him.
In that moment.
Christoph's body tensed the instant Jeong Taeui touched him. Almost simultaneously,
Christoph violently pushed his hand away, punching him in the face and pushing him back.
"Don't touch me!"
Christoph yelled, his pent-up rage finally erupting. He screamed and glared at Jeong Taeui
with ferocious eyes, his blue gaze cutting like a knife.
"Too loud…Too loud! Too loud!!"
Christoph didn't seem to see Jeong Taeui, although his gaze was directly on him, his body
shaking more violently.
Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue as he saw Christoph's dangerously advancing steps.
"Damn it… Calm down, you damn brat…!"
For every step Christoph took forward, Jeong Taeui took a step back.
One, two, three. The distance neither increased nor decreased. However, at this rate, Jeong
Taeui's back would soon hit the wall.
Jeong Taeui could only groan in frustration.
Fortunately, the room had nothing that could become a dangerous weapon, and no guards
with iron rods were around. So, the situation wasn't life-threatening.…but even so, if those
hands grabbed him, the outcome wouldn't be pleasant.
How could he resolve this? Was there really no other option? Not a weapon, but something
else…
Jeong Taeui fumbled through his pockets, knowing he didn't have anything useful. But
suddenly, his fingertips touched something.
"...!"
It was a small, sturdy glass bottle, fitting snugly in his palm.
Jeong Taeui shook it slightly and opened the bottle.
"Whatever, you're going to be mad anyway."Jeong Taeui thought he might as well put up a bit of resistance before facing Christoph's
misplaced rage. He unscrewed the bottle cap. For a moment, he imagined a genie or a pile of
gold emerging from the bottle… It wasn't acid or anything like that, right?
Jeong Taeui looked directly at Christoph and opened the bottle with one hand. Even though
Christoph observed Jeong Taeui's every move, he didn't seem to care. No, his eyes didn't see
anything anymore.
As soon as the bottle was opened, a familiar bitter scent hit Jeong Taeui's nose.
Chloroform.
"..."
Jeong Taeui frowned involuntarily. Dark memories flashed through his mind, along with
Ilay's smirking face when he handed him the bottle.
But now wasn't the time for those thoughts. In this situation, the chloroform was a godsend.
Like finding a jackpot amid a mountain of debt.
Jeong Taeui pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and poured the liquid into it. His
vision blurred slightly from the strong scent, and he had to hold his breath for a moment.
"…!"
Behind him was a wall.
The distance between him and Christoph was shrinking.
Jeong Taeui clenched his teeth in determination. Then he approached Christoph and grabbed
his neck.
As soon as his hand touched Christoph, he recoiled. Christoph violently swung his hand to
brush him off, elbowing Jeong Taeui in the ear. His vision wobbled.
"Chris…!"
Jeong Taeui frowned but didn't let go. He pressed the chloroform-soaked handkerchief over
Christoph's nose and mouth. Christoph struggled violently, continuously punching Jeong
Taeui's stomach in resistance. Jeong Taeui was beaten mercilessly.
Damn it. Being beaten repeatedly made his whole body ache. His face, already swollen from
the earlier hits, throbbed painfully.
It seemed today was a day of endless beatings.
Jeong Taeui grumbled about the pain but didn't loosen his grip on Christoph's nose.
Eventually, Christoph's struggles slowed. His hands, which had been gripping Jeong Taeui's
collar, gradually lost strength. With a final low groan, he collapsed.Jeong Taeui quickly caught Christoph, supporting his limp body against his shoulder like a
heavy rag doll.
"…Phew…"
Jeong Taeui let out a long breath once he was sure Christoph was completely unconscious
and still.
He carefully moved Christoph's unsteady body to the nearby bed.
"This kid is really simple…"
Jeong Taeui laid Christoph down, then rubbed his aching back with a grimace. He looked at
the unconscious Christoph with a frown, not saying a word.
The trembling and the muttering had stopped. The pale, corpse-like face no longer moved a
muscle, gradually reddening.
"…"
Jeong Taeui quietly watched him. He felt a chill, though the weather was quite warm. He
rubbed his arms involuntarily. Christoph lay there quietly. It was hard to believe this was the
same person who had been raging just minutes ago.
"Hey… You really have issues… Huh? And not just one or two. What are you going to do
about it…"
Jeong Taeui sat at the edge of the bed and sighed.
Suddenly, he felt a sense of frustration. He rubbed his temples. Only after everything settled
did the pain from Christoph's beating resurface. Jeong Taeui groaned continuously.
Jeong Taeui sighed and carefully examined his body.
Every touch to a bruised spot made him wince, but there were no significant injuries other
than the pain.
However, Jeong Taeui still glared at Christoph with dagger eyes. This pain would surely
linger for days.
Christoph, unconscious, looked like a statue on the bed.
Was there anyone as beautiful as this? That face alone could captivate anyone. He could be
loved by anyone if he wanted.
"… Hm? What are you going to do…?"
Even though Christoph couldn't hear, Jeong Taeui whispered, almost like a sigh.
He looked at Christoph in silence, then suddenly reached out.When he came to his senses, Jeong Taeui's hand had already brushed against Christoph's
delicate, beautiful face, like touching an untouchable sculpture.
Even though Christoph wouldn't wake up, Jeong Taeui hesitated, his hand hovering near
Christoph's forehead.
Gently, he reached for a lock of hair on Christoph's forehead.
But then.
"If you leave chloroform around without ventilation, you won't stay conscious either."
A familiar voice with a slight smile suddenly spoke from behind, like a dagger to his heart.
Jeong Taeui's trembling fingers inadvertently brushed Christoph's cool, smooth forehead. He
really did feel like a statue.
Jeong Taeui quickly pulled his hand back and turned around.
"Any news from Richard?"
"I just got a call. Oliver woke up shortly after arriving at the hospital. Some tests are back,
some aren't, but there's nothing major."
"That's good…"
Jeong Taeui nodded. Only then did the tension in his chest ease slightly.
"I'm the one who needs medicine for a headache…"
Maybe the relief from the prolonged tension caused his headache to return. Knowing where
the headache medicine was, Jeong Taeui opened Christoph's drawer and took out the bottle.
"Tsk tsk." - Ilay clicked his tongue.
"You should have ventilated the room from the start."
"No, no. This headache isn't just from the chloroform."
As Jeong Taeui muttered, Ilay went to the window, opened it wide, and smirked.
"If it's a headache, it's not because of seeing me, is it?"
"You always have chloroform with you to stay safe, don't you?"
"I only bring it when I'm with Christoph. See, it's useful now."
"... It must be hard carrying anesthetics for two months, huh, Rick."
Hearing Jeong Taeui mutter, Ilay blinked at him with a smile.Jeong Taeui's years of experience told him there was danger in that smile. He widened his
eyes at Ilay.
"What now? What's the problem?"
"I don't like that name."
Jeong Taeui stared blankly at him for a moment, hearing those low words.
It had only been a few hours since he had threatened to not let him off if he dared call him
Ilay.
"Just this once, just this once."
"No need to keep distance when there are no spies around, Taeil."
Jeong Taeui stared at his lips with an annoying smile, then sighed. Fine, do whatever you
want.
"I just left Berlin, who would have thought I'd run into you here… You look quite dapper
now, Ilay."
When Jeong Taeui spoke curtly, Ilay Riegrow laughed heartily.
He silently counted in his head.
Two months and ten days.
It had been two months and ten days since they had last faced each other in a room like this.