Christoph's face, already as red as a persimmon, turned even redder. Seeing that face made
Jeong Taeui, who had been feeling normal until now, also feel a sudden flush of heat.
"Christoph..."
Jeong Taeui called out to him gently. Despite the reddened face, Christoph's expression
remained unchanged, raising his eyebrows as if to ask what Jeong Taeui wanted to say.
Seeing that expression, Jeong Taeui couldn't say anything else.
"Let's think about this a bit more... Understanding a person takes a lot of time. Think about it,
you don't know much about me, and I don't know much about you either."
Saying this while his 'brother' was being held made the situation even more ironic, but Jeong
Taeui spoke seriously.
Christoph listened to his words in silence and finally nodded.
A strange silence passed.
He furrowed his eyebrows as if unsure how to let go and leave.
In the end, Jeong Taeui reached out to touch Christoph's hand that was holding his younger
brother between his legs. But just as his hand was about to touch, Christoph quickly pulled
his hand back first.
Jeong Taeui paused and looked at Christoph. Although not clearly expressed, it seemed
Christoph was a bit flustered. Immediately after, with an expression as if nothing had
happened, Christoph stood up straight and mounted his horse, leaving behind only a - "Well
then" - before disappearing.
Left alone, Jeong Taeui, though not particularly willing, still reminded himself that if
someone had confessed their feelings, at least he should respond.
"Take care."
He put on the rest of his clothes, his mind seeming clearer, and as his reason returned, a
feeling of regret flooded Jeong Taeui, making him sit down on the ground.
*************************
Ilay would probably laugh his head off if he knew about this.
No, he wasn't the type to laugh out loud like that, but he would likely find it very amusing
and look at him with bright eyes.Thinking about it, he was always interested in noisy matters. Or rather, noisy matters always
followed him.
When something unrelated to him happened, he would watch with interest. But if it
concerned him, he would quickly and neatly handle it, even if it annoyed him greatly.
However, this wasn't something to be considered noisy or troublesome.
Honestly, Jeong Taeui couldn't understand why Christoph liked him—or why he said he liked
him—but nonetheless, it was something that couldn't happen but had happened. So it was
likely that Ilay would find it interesting and observe this matter keenly.
But there was one thing that worried him.
"What should I mention..." - Jeong Taeui muttered to himself, looking at the distant grass
with a reproachful gaze.
No matter what, saying, "He grabbed my 'younger brother' and confessed to me..."
would...Sound really weird.
Moreover, there was another thing that worried him even more, which was that instead of
firmly saying - "No" - until the end, he hadn't done that.
"..."
Although he often got entangled in strange matters, in this case, he might only laugh it off as
a joke because his opponent was Christoph. Whether he should consider himself lucky or not,
Christoph still held a strong belief that intimate relationships between two men were no more
than brotherly affection.
But these minor issues still concerned him.
"Maybe it's better to just keep my mouth shut."
But after thinking for a while, Jeong Taeui shook his head.
That wasn't a good solution either.
Considering the strange similarity between Christoph and Ilay, there was a chance that
Christoph would seek him out and directly confront him.
One trouble after another, troubles kept piling up...
"...Why do I keep getting involved in these messy situations... I just wanted to leave Berlin
for a while, to go out and have some fun, but fate keeps pushing me into these situations..."
Jeong Taeui banged his forehead against the railing. Thump thump.
In the end, the answer to the problem always returned to one conclusion.It was all because of that book. If his spirit and body were exhausted, he would blame the
book as the root of all troubles.
Suddenly, a cunning and cowardly thought popped into Jeong Taeui's head.
'If you really like me, then give me back that book.'
Should he ask for this...? ...Would that be too petty?
Jeong Taeui sighed. He rested his arm on the railing and leaned his cheek against it.
"Aigoo, I don't know. Whatever happens, happens."
"What happens?"
"..."
By now, even when someone suddenly appeared from behind and spoke to him, he was no
longer surprised.
Jeong Taeui just slightly turned his head to look over his shoulder. Ilay was approaching from
the stairs.
"Why are you alone? Where's Richard?"
Whenever Ilay appeared, he was usually with Richard, but today he was alone.
Ilay smirked as if at a loss for words.
"Do I always have to be with him? Now that I think about it, it seems like I often meet you
when I am with him."
"But even on a day off, being together is not great."
He walked over and stood behind Jeong Taeui.
Only then did Jeong Taeui remember seeing Richard walking with a woman who looked like
candy. He had been so preoccupied with his own problem that he had suddenly forgotten.
"Oh, right, that's true. I saw them walking in the woods earlier."
Jeong Taeui nodded and spoke, looking at Ilay.
"He was with his girlfriend. That woman was very beautiful."
"Girlfriend? Hmm... A small woman with long hair down to her waist, skin white as snow,
and a shy look?"
"Oh, you've met her already."
"No. Never met her."Jeong Taeui frowned in confusion, staring at Ilay.
"How do you know if you've never met her?"
"That's the type of woman he's liked for over ten years, never changing."
Ilay chuckled, but when the laughter faded, his eyes glimmered with suspicion.
"Walking with a woman... Did something happen when he met you?"
"With me? What could happen with me? We just happened to meet at the entrance of the
walking path, greeted each other, and passed by."
Jeong Taeui tried to recall if anything happened between him and Richard, but there was
nothing special. If anything had happened, it certainly wasn't related to him, but to...
...Oh.
Jeong Taeui glanced at Ilay and then slyly asked.
"Why do you ask, did he say something happened with me?"
"No. I happened to meet him while passing by the main building, and he didn't look well. The
guy who always wore a smiling mask was now showing all his true emotions on his face
without smiling at all."
"Hmm? ...Maybe he had a fight with his girlfriend."
Jeong Taeui tilted his head, thinking.
Although Richard had just met Christoph, and the atmosphere was a bit tense, it wasn't
anything new. Even in their fierce argument last time, Richard only showed a brief moment
of displeasure before quickly regaining his composure and putting on his usual cold smile.
But Ilay didn't agree with Jeong Taeui's very reasonable assumption. Instead, he glanced at
Jeong Taeui and smirked.
"He's not the type to argue with women and isn't naïve enough to show it all over his face
because of that."
"Um... Maybe he just argued with Christoph? Because he argued in front of his girlfriend, he
felt more annoyed."
"Christoph? Did you go into the forest with Christoph?" - Ilay asked with a skeptical
expression.
Jeong Taeui wasn't riding a horse, and Christoph only went into the forest when riding a
horse.
"Oh. No, I was taking a walk and met Christoph. Richard also happened to come by.""In such a large forest, three people meeting each other isn't easy..."
Ilay's gaze at Jeong Taeui narrowed even further.
"Um... I went to the stream to swim a bit, then Christoph happened to ride by. Then..."
Jeong Taeui was casually recounting what happened at the stream when he suddenly fell
silent.
After losing his guard due to the situation between Richard and Christoph, he remembered
another matter he was debating whether to mention or not.
Jeong Taeui stood at a crossroads. One path could lead to greater regret later, and the other
might not.
If that were the case, there was no need to think much. When things get serious, the biggest
regret is usually staying silent and hiding things.
"In fact, Christoph told me something quite interesting."
In the lightest, most joking tone possible, Jeong Taeui began to speak.
The body influences the mind, and words influence emotions. Saying this made him suddenly
find the matter genuinely interesting.
Thinking about it, being confessed to by someone like that, in such circumstances, at his age,
was indeed an interesting experience. More accurately, it was a rare occurrence.
Jeong Taeui suddenly burst into laughter when he looked at Ilay. Strangely, Ilay also laughed.
Both laughed happily. Then Ilay asked, with laughter still in his eyes.
"So? Did he say he liked you?"
"Um, yes, you know very well. Ha ha ha."
Jeong Taeui laughed loudly, responding as if it was a joke, but only received silence in return.
Seeing that, Jeong Taeui quietly retracted his smile and looked up at Ilay. Then immediately
wiped the smile off his face.
In that brief moment, Ilay's smile completely vanished. Instead, he raised his head and looked
down at Jeong Taeui with cold eyes.
It was strange. The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
At that moment, Jeong Taeui felt like he had stepped on one of Ilay's landmines. His intuition
told him that this situation was extremely dangerous.
But if Jeong Taeui also showed signs of backing down, the atmosphere would become
irreparable.He forced a laugh and patted Ilay's arm lightly.
"Hey. Why so serious all of a sudden? It's Christoph, Christoph, not someone else. I thought
you'd find it interesting."
"It would be interesting if it were someone else." - Ilay's voice rang out coldly.
Jeong Taeui no longer had the courage or confidence to change the atmosphere, so he
remained silent.
He hadn't expected him to take it so seriously...
"...Aren't you going to ask how I responded?"
Jeong Taeui tried his best to ease the tense atmosphere. But on the contrary, it only made the
situation worse.
Ilay whispered - "How did you respond...?" - looking at him with an even colder expression.
"You intended to refuse outright, but he didn't understand and kept persisting, so you said you
would think about it and postponed it, right?"
"..."
Jeong Taeui was speechless.
He always thought Ilay was a scary person, but now it felt even clearer. Truly a scary person.
He felt like his actions were always too easily read by him. Jeong Taeui tasted the bitterness.
"Why are you so serious? Kyle said something similar before, and you just laughed. This
time is no different. There's no difference."
/Flashback/
He couldn't remember exactly when, but a few years after living together, Kyle had realized
the relationship between Jeong Taeui and Ilay, and once, after getting drunk, he had
confessed while drunk.
"You should leave that brat and meet a decent man like me. Why ruin your good life
with him... It's such a pity..."
Jeong Taeui was touched by Kyle's concern and hugged him, saying - "Yes, that's how it
should be. - But that scene was witnessed by Ilay.
At that time, Jeong Taeui thought he was going to die, but Ilay just smirked and let it go.
Only Kyle got a hard slap on the face, and then, because he was drunk, he fell asleep.
(Actually, he passed out immediately because of the slap)Although it was a bit different, Jeong Taeui thought this situation was similar to the previous
one.
/End flashback/
However, this time, Ilay just sneered.
"Two different people. Christoph is more troublesome."
Ilay clicked his tongue and said. Then suddenly, he squinted at Jeong Taeui, staring intently.
"And what else?"