Christoph's gaze remained fixed on Oliver with an indifferent expression, and he said nothing
more.
"Christoph really hates her. Every time she follows him, he says something harsh."
Jeong Taeui suddenly recalled the words he had heard some time ago.
"… So, did you prepare food for it?"
"Yeah. Even though it was a stray dog, it was very picky. It had to have meat in its food, or it
wouldn't eat. When I approached, its tail would wag, but it would turn its head away."
"It was a very troublesome dog," Christoph added with a shrug.
Christoph. Christoph. It turns out that events from different perspectives can be explained in
completely different ways.
Jeong Taeui nodded in agreement. And he looked towards Oliver.
"That dog only followed Olivia… They're probably together now."
Christoph concluded the story calmly.
Jeong Taeui responded, "Yeah… that's right," once more.
A silence passed.
The two silently looked around from the tower.
And just as Jeong Taeui was about to say, "Let's go down," a child suddenly ran over to
Christoph.
"Christoph, Christoph! I tried to do a flip the other day but couldn't! Heidrich keeps bragging
that he can do it! How can I do it?"
The child panted angrily with a flushed face. From a distance, another child was teasing the
first child, as if to say, – "Since you can't do it, are you going to take more lessons?" – that
was probably Heidrich.
Christoph frowned as he looked down at the child. The child flinched but still clenched his
fists, refusing to back down in front of his teasing friend. The child pleaded, almost on the
verge of tears – "Christoph, please teach me."
Jeong Taeui glanced at Christoph. Christoph clearly wanted to leave. Although there was no
sound of anyone coming up, soon enough, the person teaching the children would come up
here. And Christoph did not want to meet that person at all."Ask Richard to teach you."
Christoph said coldly and was about to turn away. The child shouted in frustration.
"I already learned from Richard! But how can I tell Richard that I can't do it?!"
"… I think telling him would be more effective than telling me."
Christoph frowned. But the child still had his pride. Wanting to show that he understood and
could do it from the start, Jeong Taeui smiled lightly.
"A flip… If I demonstrate, will you understand?"
He asked, the child frowned and hesitated, unsure if he would understand.
"Should I do it?"
Jeong Taeui smiled at Christoph, who was scowling, then shrugged and said in a low voice:
"Go ahead."
Jeong Taeui turned back. He bent down so his eyes were level with the child's.
Although the child's eyes were full of doubt, as if asking: 'Is this man really a helper...?'
Jeong Taeui still smiled and extended his hand.
He was serious and elegant, as if inviting a lady to dance. The child hesitated and then placed
her hand on his.
Immediately.
"Then, let's start with what you know. Ready?"
Smiling, Jeong Taeui gently spun the child and threw her to the ground.
Before she hit the ground, he gently supported her back and behind her knees, helping her to
roll easily.
Perhaps not expecting to fall like that, the child fell to the ground. With Jeong Taeui's
support, she landed softly without pain and looked up at the sky, blinking.
"… Oh. I guess I really don't know how to do it at all."
She whispered wide-eyed. "But it didn't hurt at all," she added, looking very happy.
"Why help? Learning requires enduring pain."
Christoph, standing beside them, clicked his tongue and muttered gruffly. Jeong Taeui
scratched his head.
"Um… is this not okay…? Then watch closely. From the hips to the back, from the shoulders
to the hands."Jeong Taeui explained carefully to the child, then turned to Christoph. Christoph's eyes were
full of irritation.
"What now?"
"Make me do a flip."
Jeong Taeui pointed at himself.
Christoph sighed irritably and stepped towards Jeong Taeui. Without a word of warning, he
grabbed Jeong Taeui's arm and pulled hard. A quick push at the ankle and under the knee
made Jeong Taeui lose his balance.
"…!!"
In the next moment, Jeong Taeui was on the ground.
If he hadn't anticipated it, he would have fallen flat on his face. Christoph stood above him,
looking down, and then turned to look at the girl with a cold expression.
"Did you see that clearly? That's how you do it."
"… I don't really get it. Can I see it again?"
The child spoke with a mix of determination and curiosity. Although Christoph's eyes
immediately turned sharp, the child did not back down and requested again.
"Please, can you show it a bit slower?"
Seeing that determination, one could guess that this child might become someone significant
in the future.
"It's okay. Showing it once more won't hurt. Let's try doing it a bit slower then."
Jeong Taeui stood up and said. Christoph shook his head in disapproval.
"It can't be any slower."
"Huh?"
"I didn't learn this for practice."
"I learned it for real combat, to quickly eliminate others" – Christoph said. He only learned
how to eliminate his opponents as quickly as possible, so he wasn't used to slowing down
enough for others to observe.
Ah, Jeong Taeui nodded. Then he pointed to the stairs and said to Christoph:
"In that case, I'll take you down. Slowly. Try to follow along."
"You will do it?"Christoph looked at him with a strange expression. He seemed both surprised and displeased,
as if he was about to say something but hesitated, and Jeong Taeui noticed it immediately.
"… I can touch you, right?"
"It doesn't mean I'm allowing you to attack me."
"Attack…? I'll just do it."
Jeong Taeui smiled and approached him.
Alright, let's see how much this person who dislikes physical contact can endure from me.
Jeong Taeui recalled the soft feel of Christoph's cheek when he touched him before. It felt
wonderful.
"..."
Jeong Taeui looked up at the sky with a slightly dreamy expression, looking up at the sky,
and only when Christoph approached did he snap back to reality and think to himself.
'Sorry. For a moment, I thought it would be great to sleep with you. Please forgive me for
imagining that. …If I told Ilay this, today next year would be my death anniversary, so I'll
keep this secret forever.'
But come to think of it, Christoph never liked being overwhelmed. Jeong Taeui thought as he
grabbed Christoph's collar and arm.
He could clearly feel Christoph's body tense in his hands. Jeong Taeui gently lifted him.
'Whoosh…'
The sound was like the wind swiftly passing by. With a slow yet clear motion, Christoph spun
in the air, and as he fell, he rolled to cushion the impact. His hand supported him on the floor.
Jeong Taeui was also surprised by the way Christoph fell, like a true performance. He
couldn't help but be amazed.
Christoph had said that he only learned for real combat. If there was a man fighting with such
extremely proficient moves like this, people might want to watch Christoph's performance
rather than kill him.
In a sense, this is a terrifying person if he becomes an enemy, Jeong Taeui thought, then
turned to look at the child.
"Did you see it clearly?"
The child watched with wide eyes, then nodded vaguely. Judging by the child's bright
expression, it was clear she had seen it clearly but wasn't sure if she could do it herself.
"Yes… I saw it clearly, but one more time―.""Just watching isn't enough to learn. Step up and practice."
Before the child could finish speaking, Christoph sat up and said coldly. The child flinched,
shrugged, and pursed her lips. With a bright but slightly sulky smile, the child bowed in
thanks.
Jeong Taeui smiled lightly and then turned to look at Christoph.
He was sitting on the floor with an annoyed expression.
"My clothes are dirty. I need to change."
Christoph grumbled in displeasure, brushing off the dirt from his sleeves, even though the
clothes weren't light-colored and the dirt wasn't easily visible.
Jeong Taeui felt cheerful and took a step closer to him.
"Then let's go back to the room. It's good, actually, I don't like this outfit either."
Christoph looked up.
"What don't you like about it?"
His voice became intense.
This was an outfit he had carefully chosen that morning. Hearing Jeong Taeui say he didn't
like it, Christoph felt displeased.
"The color of the outfit. I think the green sweater you wore last time looked better."
"That one is in the laundry."
"How about the ivory shirt… No, that one isn't nice either. What about the dark blue shirt?"
Jeong Taeui moved closer to him and extended his hand.
Christoph looked at his hand in surprise. Then, still looking surprised, he brushed the dust
from his clothes onto Jeong Taeui's hand.
"What!!"
"Isn't this what you wanted?"
Jeong Taeui angrily brushed off the dust and extended his hand again.
"Why would I want dust! I want to help you stand up!"
Jeong Taeui exclaimed in exasperation. Then he realized something.
This guy had never done this before.He wasn't used to someone taking his hand and helping him up or being assisted by someone.
Always alone.
Always by himself.
So, he didn't even think to ask for help. He didn't know that he could ask.
Jeong Taeui looked at Christoph, who still seemed confused, and felt warmth in his heart. He
silently watched Christoph for a moment before asking.
"Are you really okay with me touching you?"
Hearing that, Christoph seemed a bit uneasy. Clearly, he wasn't okay, but he didn't want to
admit it.
"Can I touch you?"
Jeong Taeui asked again, and before Christoph could answer, he grabbed his wrist. Christoph
flinched and instinctively wanted to pull away, but Jeong Taeui didn't care and pulled him up.
"Stand up."
He pulled Christoph's hand diagonally upwards. Eventually, Christoph relied on Jeong
Taeui's hand to stand up.
Jeong Taeui still held his hand for a moment even after Christoph was standing.
Christoph clearly felt uncomfortable, but because he had said he wasn't bothered, he
remained silent. Even though he was clearly thinking, "Why don't you let go," he endured it.
Jeong Taeui still held Christoph's hand and even asked.
"Can I touch your cheek again?"
"..."
"It's very soft. It feels great. Can I touch it?"
"No—."
"You said earlier that I could."
"..."
With a darkened expression and a look of annoyance from Christoph, Jeong Taeui happily
reached out towards him.
As the hand approached, Christoph gradually backed away. Seeing this, Jeong Taeui
tightened his grip and pulled him back. Then he touched Christoph's cheek."...!"
With a frown and a lowered gaze, Christoph's face now looked like that of an innocent girl
being harassed by an old pervert. Jeong Taeui inwardly frowned.
Nevertheless, he continued to caress Christoph's cheek. Slowly, he even touched other parts
of Christoph's face. As he felt each clear feature of Christoph's face, it felt like touching a
statue in a museum with a sign that said: "Do not touch."
"…Stop it now…"
Finally, Christoph couldn't bear it anymore and spoke in a cold voice.
Jeong Taeui, who was engrossed in touching Christoph's cheek, suddenly stopped when he
saw the man who had just come up the stairs.
It was Richard.
"..."
"..."
No sound was heard, perhaps he had come straight up the stairs from the room below.