Christoph was looking into the mirror.
It was unclear how long he had been standing in front of the mirror.
In the mornings, Jeong Taeui usually had no other plans besides waiting until almost noon to
go to Christoph's room and wake him up.
Christoph rarely woke up by himself unless he had to teach the children. He always woke up
late. Each time he woke up, he would usually frown and mumble that he couldn't open his
eyes and then start his day with complaints like "Too noisy" or "My head hurts."
But today, when Jeong Taeui entered his room, Christoph was already awake.
Judging by the fact that he was still in his pajamas, it seemed Christoph had just woken up
not long ago. One of Christoph's habits that Jeong Taeui found hard to understand was his
strict adherence to dress codes.
On normal days, he wore regular clothes, sportswear during training, and pajamas when
sleeping – most of these were similar to others. However, Christoph adhered to these dress
codes precisely for each situation, meaning there would never be any deviation.
In the morning, after getting out of bed and going to the bathroom, he would change clothes
immediately. Even if he had only a few dozen minutes of free time before going out, he
would never stay in his pajamas after a bath but would change into regular clothes at home
before changing again to go out.
This guy must have all kinds of psychological issues like obsessive-compulsive disorder, fear
of contact, personality deficits...
Thinking so, but living with Christoph, Jeong Taeui gradually got used to it. He was surprised
to see Christoph already up but figured he had just gotten out of bed. He was still in pajamas
with tousled hair.
Even with tousled hair and cute cat-printed pajamas – perhaps because he didn't want anyone
to see, he always quickly changed after waking up – but his appearance was still exceedingly
beautiful.
Christoph stood still looking into the mirror.
He stood there in front of the wall-mounted mirror, gazing at the reflection of Jeong Taeui
entering the room without turning his head.
At first, Jeong Taeui thought there was something on the mirror.
"What's wrong?"He approached, but the mirror only showed Christoph.
Even as Jeong Taeui got closer, Christoph only glanced at him through the mirror and then
continued to look at himself. Jeong Taeui stood silently observing.
Seeing the young man with a sculpted figure staring unblinkingly at his own reflection, Jeong
Taeui felt like placing a vase of daffodils at his feet.
Is he adding autism to his list of psychological issues?
Finding this unusual behavior fascinating, Jeong Taeui asked.
"Suddenly fell in love with your own face?"
"Don't say such silly things."
Christoph muttered drowsily.
Jeong Taeui didn't think Christoph was the type to be infatuated with his own face. He had
never shown that.
And even if he suddenly fell in love with himself starting this morning (with that face, it
wouldn't be surprising). But when Christoph firmly said it was nonsense, it surely wasn't.
"Or are you dissatisfied with something on your face and planning to fix it?"
"If you're just going to say stupid things, get out. It's annoying enough without you making it
worse."
Christoph interrupted Jeong Taeui irritably.
Jeong Taeui looked at Christoph skeptically, wondering if the person who confessed to him
yesterday and this person were the same. He opened the window and tidied the bed,
muttering to himself.
"Now I feel like a real servant."
"That's not it..."
When Jeong Taeui finished tidying the bed, Christoph suddenly muttered. His face in the
mirror wrinkled.
Jeong Taeui scratched his neck and looked at him curiously.
"Need my help?"
Not knowing what was going on but seeing Christoph struggling with the mirror, Jeong Taeui
asked. He thought Christoph would again call him annoying and chase him out, but Christoph
remained silent for a moment before slowly turning to look at him.
"Yeah... if that's the case...""So? How can I help?"
"How do I smile?"
Hearing Christoph speak in a calm tone, Jeong Taeui was momentarily speechless.
*******************
After hours of trying to smile continuously, his face felt like it was about to cramp.
The thought that a smile was the most beautiful human expression was strongly denied by
him.
Jeong Taeui continued to smile, facing Christoph.
Christoph stared intently at his smile.
Christoph's mouth moved slightly. The corners of his lips lifted a bit.
"It's the cheeks, it's the cheeks. Lift your cheeks."
Jeong Taeui smiled while pointing his index finger at the corners of his mouth and lifting
them. Christoph followed suit.
Something resembling a smile appeared.
As he had asked initially, it seemed there was nothing wrong with his facial muscles. If he
tried and made an effort, he could create an expression similar to a smile.
But the problem was, it didn't look like a real smile.
"..."
Finally, Jeong Taeui gave up on the smile. Now he couldn't even recognize his own
expression.
He lay down on the floor and sighed.
"Hey, get someone else to smile for me. I can't smile anymore. Oh, my face hurts..."
He rubbed his mouth corners.
Christoph shook his head.
He looked down at Jeong Taeui for a moment, shrugged, and spoke indifferently.
"Alright. It's a futile effort anyway."
"..."
Hearing that, Jeong Taeui felt uncomfortable.He sat up cross-legged, scratching his head, and stared at Christoph.
Christoph seemed to think it was a useless effort; he frowned slightly.
"No... don't frown like that, lift it up."
Jeong Taeui sighed and spoke softly. Christoph raised his eyebrows and followed his words.
Jeong Taeui pondered.
"What is the problem? The lips are curved correctly, the eyelids are working to create the
curve... but why doesn't it look real..."
While Jeong Taeui muttered seriously, Christoph waved his hand. He returned to his usual
indifferent expression.
"Alright. Thinking back, I don't really want to smile at anyone that much. There's no occasion
where I need to smile. I've lived like this so far without any issues."
"No, I used to think that smiling was instinctive."
Actually, he still thought so, but he said it in the past tense because he felt uncertain.
But Christoph was right. Even if he could create a smile on his face, if he didn't genuinely
want to smile, it was meaningless.
"...It's a pity."
Jeong Taeui muttered.
The reason he tried to smile to the point of cramping his face was because he felt it was a
pity. He was curious to see what Christoph's face would look like with a real smile.
An angelic face (but with a devil's mouth), but still, it was an angelic face. He had never seen
a painting of an angel smiling brightly.
If Christoph smiled, it might look like that. Suddenly thinking so, he had insisted on bringing
him to the rooftop of this tower and practicing since then.
But it wasn't easy.
"...Take a break."
Jeong Taeui lay down again.
Above him was the sky. The sunlight was nice. He didn't sit on the bench under the shade of
the roof but sat here on the floor.
"..."Jeong Taeui looked up at the sky for a while, then turned his gaze to Christoph. That beauty
was truly 360 degrees flawless.
Christoph was looking down at the scene below from the tower railing. He followed his gaze.
To the left was the forest, to the right was the villa with the mountains behind, in front was
some grass and a large stable.
Although obvious and he had never thought about it, this was Christoph's home.
Before leaving here, he had lived a life surrounded by all these things.
"How is it here? Is life good?"
"Dresden or Tarten."
Jeong Taeui asked casually, then closed his mouth at the counter-question. In his mind,
Dresden and Tarten were two separate places. As if Tarten was an autonomous region within
Dresden.
"Both."
Christoph thought for a moment, then said.
"Yeah, good."
That was all.
Jeong Taeui waited for more explanation, but he didn't seem to want to say more. Although
Jeong Taeui looked at him curiously, that seemed to be all.
Jeong Taeui intended to ask more but then gave up. Actually, if someone asked him about his
home, he wouldn't have much more to say either. Because it's familiar and comfortable. That
was the greatest advantage of the place he was born and grew up in.
Familiar and comfortable.
Even Jeong Taeui, who easily adapted and became familiar with any place, still found home
the most comfortable. Perhaps when he returned to his hometown, it would feel a bit strange,
but Kyle's home in Berlin was the place he felt most comfortable.
After just a short time here, he had gotten used to and felt comfortable with the atmosphere of
this place, even if he didn't like it much, but the best place was still Kyle's home in Berlin.
"..."
"The place you should be."
Suddenly, he recalled a conversation.The place Jeong Taeui should be. Or the place he was supposed to be. Or the place he
shouldn't be.
"If you don't like the place you have to be or, conversely, if you like the place that doesn't
belong to you, what should you do?"
Jeong Taeui muttered. Christoph looked at him as if he didn't understand what he was saying,
but he didn't ask back. Anyway, Jeong Taeui wasn't expecting an answer to that question.
Jeong Taeui looked at Christoph. He was still looking down at the scene below the tower.
Absent-mindedly. As if lost.
"How is it here? Is it easy to live?"
"Yeah, good."
Maybe Christoph really liked this place. However, this was not a place meant for him. There
wasn't a single place here truly meant for him.
"I moved houses when I was young, before I could even be aware of it, and I don't have many
memories of the house I lived in before, probably around middle school."
Jeong Taeui suddenly pulled out a memory from the past. Christophe glanced over.
"Anyway, it was just the neighboring city, so it wasn't too far. If I decided to, I could return to
that old house immediately. But because there was no specific reason to go, I rarely went
back."
The first time he returned was after graduating high school. Right before entering the military
academy. At that time, he suddenly remembered and was somehow prompted to go for a trip.
The place he lived had changed a lot. In just a few years, an empty lot in front of the house
had a building erected, and the house with a large yard next door had become an apartment
complex.
But the alleys and scattered sights still matched his memories, and as he walked those streets,
he felt nostalgic and happy.
He still loved and missed that place, but it was no longer his. Walking through those streets,
he realized that truth and returned with a sense of regret.
"...Chris."
Jeong Taeui lay with his hands behind his head, looking silently at the sky, calling Christoph's
name. He didn't turn back but seemed to be listening.
"Does it bother you?"
"About what?""Ilay called you a fool who doesn't know how to smile."