"Did you meet Rick at UNHRDO?"
"Yeah, that's right. You know a lot."
"Ah, you're famous, Jeong Taeui." - Hearing his name right after such a sudden statement,
Jeong Taeui looked at Christ with a puzzled expression. Then he burst out laughing.
"You got the wrong name. Ilay is the one who's famous." - Taeui
"Oh—well, that goes without saying." - Christoph pulled the stool closer to the sofa and
propped his legs up on it. His voice became tired, as if he was about to fall asleep.
"When that guy joined UNHRDO, everyone wondered if they recruited people without
checking their personalities."
Did everyone think that way...
"But I heard the mobile unit over there is full of crazies too."
"Yeah. We don't have personality checks, but we still pass."
"I don't think the issue is whether or not there are personality checks..."
Jeong Taeui spoke very seriously, but Christoph didn't seem to care much. He reminisced
about the past and whispered with distant eyes.
"When the news came that the guy was promoted to officer at the Asian branch of
UNHRDO, everyone questioned the legality and ethics of UNHRDO. They wondered what
kind of human resources training was going on."
"Even though it's a nest of crazies, it seems like most people in the squad are still somewhat
sane. They don't defend each other."
Defending each other would definitely get criticized if they praised Ilay becoming an officer
of UNHRDO.
However, Christoph just snorted and laughed.
"Defending each other? It's all about internal divisions over there."
".... How...even so, you guys still conducted terrorism together..."
"Actually, we made contact with extremists beforehand and even paid them. ...Well, those
who participated in the terrorism back then were also crazy fanatics worshiping Reigrow."Meaning – 'Wow, that's really crazy' – Jeong Taeui nodded. At that point, Christoph suddenly
stopped and stared into space before turning his gaze back to Jeong Taeui.
"There were other rumors at that time. People said that he must have been diagnosed with a
terminal illness, otherwise why would he do things that made him a wanted criminal and
have to live a restricted life like that. When that rumor spread, many people were delighted."
"..."
"Amidst countless such rumors, you suddenly became famous. The Asian man that Riegrow
brought into Kyle's house."
"...I became famous in that sense?"
"Yeah. You didn't know?"
I really didn't know.
No one intentionally told him about those things, and anyway, he rarely left Berlin. Most of
the time, he lived and spent peaceful days at home.
The feeling of waking up one morning and finding yourself suddenly famous like that...it
never felt comfortable at all. He didn't want to become famous that way. It was like suddenly
becoming a terrorist one day and seeing your wanted posters all over the newspapers.
"After that, I didn't take many outside jobs, so it's been a long time since I met him."
Christoph counted on his fingers as if trying to recall how long it had been, then suddenly
looked at Jeong Taeui. And asked:
"How does he live at home? Living with you?"
"With me?"
Jeong Taeui frowned.
If you just ask how he lives at home, he could answer, but asking how he lives with him is
hard to answer.
"How he lives…...well, we each do our own thing. When both are busy, no one cares about
the other. But if only one is busy, the other helps a bit, brings beer to drink, or just leaves the
other alone to work while playing alone. When both are free – though that rarely happens –
we just lie at home or go somewhere together."
"Hmm... Right, living like that is also okay."
Christoph whispered as if he found it interesting. His voice was as if he had discovered
something new, as if he had never lived that way or thought about living that way.
"You know, I think Rick will definitely not die peacefully."Christoph suddenly said, not an easy topic to hear, but Jeong Taeui also had to nod in
agreement. He also thought the same. In fact, now he wouldn't be surprised if Rick was found
with a mutilated body.
Even though, to him, Ilay was a terrible, evil person that he could still endure. But surely
many people in the world couldn't stand him, considering him an intolerable villain. And that
was the result of what he had done, so he couldn't blame them.
"Well, that could happen." - Taeui
"Like you said, I don't think he can live a normal, easy life. I always think he will live in
bloody places with lots of screaming and shouting." - Chris
Jeong Taeui didn't respond but couldn't help but agree. Even he thought Ilay was more suited
to living in danger than living peacefully.
"But now he lives like that..."
Christoph mumbled as if talking to himself. Then he suddenly looked at Jeong Taeui. Jeong
Taeui felt pressured being stared at and slightly frowned.
Christoph suddenly stood up from the sofa. He approached Jeong Taeui and sat on the edge
of the bed next to Taeui.
He stared at Taeui's face.
A face that couldn't tell what it was thinking, staring at Taeui intently and slightly tilting.
"Maybe I can too."
Christoph said. He wasn't speaking to Jeong Taeui but as if talking to himself, just softly
mouthing the words.
"Now my headache is gone, and I no longer hear the noises that made my ears hurt. So I can
too."
"Chris..."
"Every day is like that. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, and the day after. Everyday is like that. It
will keep going like that. Last time, it was so noisy and headache-inducing that I wanted to
smash my head with a hammer. But even when I regained consciousness, it was still noisy..."
"Chris."
Christoph silently rubbed the bed sheet. His hand was as white as the plain white bed sheet.
White hands but not like Ilay's. Christoph's hands looked like porcelain. As if they would
shatter if touched.
Christoph raised his head to look at Jeong Taeui. His face was as calm as usual but looked
very fragile and unstable. Thinking back, he was always like that. Beneath the emotionlessface.
"Stay with me."
"Christoph."
"I can treat you well too. I can do that too."
His voice rang out painfully in his ears. At the same time, Christoph leaned towards Jeong
Taeui. He grabbed Taeui's wrist.
The next moment, their lips touched.
"...?!"
Jeong Taeui frowned. His lips lightly touched, but when he tried to move away, Christoph's
lips followed. A gentle kiss on the lips. As if scared or disgusted, his lips trembled. This
might be the first time Chris had such contact with someone.
Jeong Taeui tried to pull his wrist away from him. But he couldn't.
Taeui was very panicked.
Although not tightly gripped, no matter how Taeui tried to shake or struggle, Christoph's
hand didn't budge a centimeter.
At this moment, Jeong Taeui realized that Chris was much stronger than he appeared.
"Hey. This is too much!"
Jeong Taeui turned his head and shouted, but Christoph didn't care. He could feel that Chris
was shivering, feeling it was both novel and scary when his cheek or lips touched him.
Just recently – though only through his clothes – he had touched his crotch, and now it was
his lips. This was outrageous, this crazy guy.
Jeong Taeui wanted to shout like that, but first, he had to get out of his wrist hold. He kept
shaking his wrist forcefully, but Christoph's hand still didn't move.
But at that moment.
Exactly at that moment.
The door opened.
Jeong Taeui's room door opened, and the sound of footsteps entering suddenly stopped.
...Oh my god.
Looking over Christoph's shoulder, he saw Ilay enter with a large box in his hands.He stared at them on the bed for a moment with an emotionless face, then slightly narrowed
his eyes.
He didn't rush but slowly walked to the table and placed the box down. You could hear the
sound of heavy objects colliding inside.
Then he walked over.
Still those slow steps.
No change in expression.
But Ilay's steps quickened as he approached the bed, and his face showed an unclear
expression of either a smile or something else. Just scary, very scary.
"I made it clear."
The low voice sounded beside his ear.
"Why don't you understand and do this?"
Ilay's hand grabbed Christoph's nape as he said - "made it clear" - and pulled him away from
Jeong Taeui. And as soon as he finished the last sentence, Ilay punched Christoph in the
stomach. Without hesitation.
A terrible sound like hitting a bag of meat rang out.
"Wake up, you fool. Can't distinguish who can touch and who can't? Better avoid dangerous
things that don't suit you, have you forgotten? Wake up, Christoph."
The sound of punches continued.
The scene was strange.
Though the punches were hard, making terrible sounds, there was no screaming. Christoph
only frowned slightly but didn't make a sound.
—Because he knew if he cried out, he wouldn't be able to endure and would keep crying out.
He could cry out. Once he cried out, the cries would continue like water breaking a dam,
unstoppable.
Jeong Taeui felt a pang of pain in his heart.
When Ilay punched for the fourth time, Jeong Taeui sighed heavily and ruffled his hair. He
called Ilay's name.
"Ilay."
Hearing his voice, Ilay paused his punch. His cold eyes turned to Jeong Taeui. As if saying –
'Try saying something.'Oh no, he's really angry.
Jeong Taeui scratched his head and sighed.
"In this situation, it seems I'm the real victim. Can you let me have a chance to hit him?"
Hearing his tired words, Ilay stared at him for a moment, then slowly released his fist. He
threw Christoph onto Jeong Taeui's bed.
Christoph's knee hit the edge of the bed. The sound of it was painful, but he didn't move at
all, didn't even blink. To the point that Jeong Taeui doubted if he could feel pain.
Christoph raised his head. If his hand wasn't holding his stomach, no one would know he had
just been beaten so hard.
"...It's like getting your own medicine, Chris. But I agree with the advice that you should
wake up."
Jeong Taeui stood up from the bed, hands on his knees. He shook his wrist a few times and
walked over to Christoph. Immediately, he punched Chris straight in the stomach. Without
holding back, he aimed directly at his belly.
Christoph held his breath for a moment. His eyebrows barely twitched.
"You hate others touching you, but you do this to others. Wake up."
Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue and said. Then he turned away.
Ilay stood with his arms crossed at the table, watching them with a displeased look. Jeong
Taeui felt it hard to speak, only sighed.
Looking at Jeong Taeui, Ilay opened the box and took out an aluminum can, tossing it
without a word. Taeui caught it reflexively and opened his eyes wide.
"What is this... ah. Is it..."
"My brother told me to give it to you. ...So, how did his lips feel?"
Hearing such an ordinary question, Jeong Taeui, who was pleased about the beer can, quickly
became dejected.