"Huh?"
"After he confessed to you, nothing special happened, right?"
Ilay's low and resolute voice immediately silenced Jeong Taeui. In his mind, he pictured
Christoph's flushed face and his clumsy hand touching his crotch. Instinctively, he knew that
if he mentioned this, it would turn into a disaster.
Jeong Taeui quietly looked up at Ilay without saying anything, causing Ilay's eyes to narrow
further.
"Taeil!"
"Nothing special happened. Christoph still thinks that physical relationships between men are
very innocent."
Jeong Taeui said. Ilay stared at him for a moment, not entirely convinced, then nodded.
"Yes, that's right."
He looked down at the scene beneath the tower with a displeased expression, lightly tapping
the railing. Jeong Taeui felt uneasy, not knowing what he was thinking.
Suddenly, Ilay's fingers stopped. He stood still for a moment, then abruptly turned around.
"I'll talk to him directly. Although I'm not sure it will work."
With that, Ilay walked briskly towards the stairs. Jeong Taeui stood stunned for a moment
before hastily following him.
*******************
This situation was truly awkward.
As they stood in front of Christoph's door, Jeong Taeui thought so.
Perhaps it would have been better to pretend ignorance and stay silent. Then return to Berlin
and let everything pass without a trace.
Jeong Taeui hung his head despondently beside Ilay. As Ilay prepared to grab the door
handle, he spoke without looking at Jeong Taeui.
"If we don't resolve this with Christoph, he'll cling on all the way to Berlin."
Jeong Taeui took a deep breath and glanced at him.This guy is like a devil, seemingly able to read other people's thoughts. It felt as if he had
been seeing through Jeong Taeui's mind all along.
Ilay continued.
"Sometimes you do unpredictable things, but usually your thoughts show on your face. It's
true because you don't try to hide your thoughts or feelings; you just show them." you like a book, Taeui :D>
With a short smile, Ilay concluded.
Jeong Taeui scratched his head. As Ilay said, he rarely felt the need to hide his thoughts or
feelings.
But Ilay being able to read his thoughts so easily was not simple. While Jeong Taeui was
mumbling, Ilay had already stepped into Christoph's room.
Christoph was in the library. He sat on a single sofa by the window, feet up on a stool,
flipping through the pages of a book in a comfortable posture.
When Christoph's eyes turned to Ilay, followed by Jeong Taeui stepping in, Jeong Taeui
clicked his tongue softly. This situation was truly awkward.
If he had to compare, it felt like bringing an adult to a children's quarrel.
"Later than I expected."
Christoph said indifferently, not bothering to get up from the sofa. He closed the book and
placed it on the windowsill but showed no intention of standing up.
Ilay stood beside him, tilting his head to look at Christoph. Suddenly, he smirked and asked.
"Chris. What do you intend to do?"
"Give him to me."
"..."
Jeong Taeui felt like he had heard this conversation somewhere before. A familiar,
inexplicable feeling.
While lost in thought, he asked himself. - 'What about my opinion?'
Surrounded by two men arguing over who would own him, Jeong Taeui mocked himself.
Speaking of Ilay Riegrow and Christoph Tarten, no matter who looked at Jeong Taeui, they
would look at him with pity.
But fortunately, the situation did not turn as dangerous as Jeong Taeui initially feared. The
conversation proceeded more calmly than expected.Jeong Taeui still felt uneasy, but not as much as at the start. He pulled a nearby chair and sat
down to observe.
When the two of them decide, let me know. Then I'll decide what I want to do.
Jeong Taeui watched them for a while, then noticed the small bar in the corner of the library.
He walked over and grabbed two cans of beer, preparing to sit and watch the rest of the
conversation.
Ilay remained standing next to Christoph, looking down at him intently. As if pondering
something, he suddenly asked.
"What do you like about him?"
Upon receiving the question, Christoph intertwined his fingers, tapping them lightly on his
knee. Christoph tilted his head and remained silent for a long time, seemingly unable to come
up with an answer.
Although Jeong Taeui did not genuinely expect a specific answer about what made Christoph
like him, he still looked at Christoph with wide eyes.
Hey, if you don't know, don't say you like someone and confuse them like this.
Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue and took a sip of beer. He felt Christoph's eyes on him,
searching for an appropriate answer.
"Let's see... I don't know. Thinking about it, there's nothing particularly likable...?"
With Christoph's response, the beer can in Jeong Taeui's hand was crushed halfway.
What is he doing, just playing around with me?
Feeling like he had just acted out a melodramatic romance movie on his own, Jeong Taeui
sorrowfully took another sip of beer. Today, the beer tasted bitter.
"But I feel like it would be good to be with him."
Christoph spoke slowly, still uncertain, looking at Jeong Taeui holding the crushed beer can.
"If we lived together, I think it would be better. Not sure how, but at least better than those
idiots out there."
It was a rather vague answer. Not sure exactly how it would be better, but thinking it would
be.
Jeong Taeui sipped his beer, pondering over the answer.
But perhaps he understood to some extent.Standing next to Christoph now, the man looking down at him, if asked what he liked about
Jeong Taeui, might not be able to answer either.
Just thinking that living together would be better.
Having or not having it would be fine, but still thinking having it would be a bit better.
Jeong Taeui looked at Ilay in silence.
He felt like a bland boiled chicken on a holiday feast table, an unnecessary existence rarely
touched, but missed if absent.
But it's true. Looking back, it seemed so. Many people in this world live together like that.
Having or not having it would be fine, but always thinking having it would be better.
Sometimes their presence is annoying, but still thinking having them would be better.
"So just let me have him."
After that vague answer, Christoph said. His indifferent face looked as if he could say -
"Never mind" - at any moment, but he didn't.
Ilay looked Christoph up and down. Then suddenly he sneered.
"So you don't know what's better, but you think it would be better anyway?"
"Yes, that's right."
"When I first brought him back, I thought the same."
Ilay glanced at Jeong Taeui. He nodded. He had come here with a sacrificial spirit, but they
just thought having him would be better. Truly grateful to their ancestors.
"But do you know how many years have passed? I spent all that time holding onto him,
making him mine. To make him fit for me. And now you want him? You want what's mine?
...Christoph Tarten, are you out of your mind?"
Ilay spoke coldly, his low voice dry.
But Christoph said nothing. He didn't seem scared or intimidated. He was simply thinking.
"But I need him. I want him."
"Christoph. You know, to keep someone by your side, you need to be worthy."
Ilay's voice suddenly dropped lower. His gentle voice whispered in Christoph's ear.
On Christoph's quiet and dull face, a hint of icy emotion appeared.
The hand on the armrest of the sofa suddenly clenched into a fist, then relaxed. His lips
opened and closed."Riegrow. I rarely feel happy. So let's talk about this later. Right now, I feel very good. Very
good."
The whispering voice slowed and lowered, dragging out the final words. Very good. There
was a slight tremor.
Suddenly, Jeong Taeui thought.
Today, he didn't say it was annoying.
Usually, from the moment he woke up, Christoph would mumble about how annoying things
were with an irritated look. Some days he said it more, some days less, but basically, he said
it every day.
But today, Jeong Taeui hadn't heard it. Christoph didn't look happy, but he certainly looked
calmer than usual.
"Don't provoke me. Don't make me more annoyed. It's rare to have a quiet day like today. So
don't bring out those damned noises."
Christoph spoke quietly.
Ilay squinted. It seemed that if he said a little more, Christoph would truly go mad. A faint
smile appeared on his face.
"Then let me say this one thing. I do not permit it."
Christoph didn't respond. Ilay continued.
"For now, I'll just watch. With less than a month left, I don't want to get involved in
troublesome matters. Christoph, I just want to leave here peacefully after finishing my work."
"I don't want to cause trouble for Tarten and you either."
He added with a light smirk.
Jeong Taeui crushed the empty beer can and watched them.
Although he felt the situation was extremely tense, it seemed like nothing major would
happen.
However, at the same time, the words sounded like a warning that he wanted to leave
peacefully but couldn't because of a troublemaker.
Jeong Taeui frowned slightly. The hidden meaning behind those words seemed to envelop his
mind, leaving a vague feeling of discomfort. Ilay leaned towards Christoph, whispering
something inaudible, then straightened up as if he had finished saying what needed to be said.
He stepped back.
"I've warned you. Don't say later that you weren't warned."Ilay turned away. It seemed he had said everything he needed to. He walked quickly towards
the door but suddenly stopped and looked at Jeong Taeui sitting nearby. He slowed his pace
and smiled gently. It was the smile he usually gave Jeong Taeui, but this time it had a cold
edge. His final words echoed coldly.
"Christoph. If you covet things you shouldn't, you'll only bring misery to yourself. A fool
who neither feels pain nor laughs has no right to desire anything."
The last words were chillingly strange.
Jeong Taeui felt his heart race at Ilay's clear warning directed at Christoph.
Ilay continued towards the door. As he passed Jeong Taeui, he left a generous remark.
"Comfort him well and then come back to your room."
******************
persistently tries to take Tae away from him would either be dealt with swiftly or provoked
and taunted like he did with Xinlu.
But with Chris, Ilay seems to take a more straightforward and advising approach. He's
serious and almost treats Chris like a junior he needs to guide (sincerely). The way Ilay talks
to him is like scolding a child from his own family for doing something wrong. Probably
because Chris is not cunning and a bit naive…>