Even though Jeong Taeui screamed with a pale face, Ilay continued pressing buttons on the
control panel one or two more times and finally muttered with satisfaction - "Alright"
Next to him, Jeong Taeui glared at Ilay with an irritated look and sighed. After all, it wasn't
anything new. What more could be said?
Jeong Taeui sighed and turned away, intending to lie back down on the bed again. Ilay took
out another set of headphones and put them on Jeong Taeui's ears.
"...?!"
"Anyway, that guy already knows this device is installed. There are times when both know
but pretend not to."
"Who is it?"
Jeong Taeui frowned curiously, unable to resist the temptation of the crime. Taeui listened
through the headphones.
["Christoph. Are you trying to blind me?"]
Oh my god!
As soon as Jeong Taeui heard that voice, he recognized it. He looked at Ilay with a shocked
expression.
He thought the device was installed in today's guest's room, but it turned out to be this
person.
"Why install an eavesdropping device when those two are always together... Would you be
sad to be apart for a second?"
"Aha, I'll remember that joke, Taeil."
"Oh my... No, no, it's just a joke. Just a joke."
Jeong Taeui hurriedly waved his hands. It was terrifying if this man said he would remember
something. Even after many years, thinking it was forgotten, he could unexpectedly appear
and catch Jeong Taeui off guard.
From the sound coming from the headphones, it seemed like only Richard and Christoph
were in Richard's room.
It was understandable for Christoph to chase Richard to see him cry, but thinking of
Christoph once considering Richard's room a dreadful place made Jeong Taeui chuckle softly."Christoph is a bit cute, isn't he?"
Jeong Taeui pointed to the headphones and said. Ilay only slightly frowned, seemingly
disagreeing. Meanwhile, the sound continued from the headphones.
["Now that I think about it, it's hilarious. They say you never leave that guy's room at night.
Is it because a happy body equals a happy mood?"]
Richard's unpleasant voice made Jeong Taeui tilt his head. Wait, this doesn't seem good...?
["Who is staying in whose room every night? Whose room?"]
Christoph's tone was full of annoyance. Then came Richard's response.
["You. In Kim Young S–... Oh no, Jeong Taeui's room, to be exact."]
"..."
Ilay's dark eyes turned towards Jeong Taeui.
Immediately, Jeong Taeui almost jumped up, sitting upright and shaking his head wildly.
"No, no, no. You know why Christoph comes to my room! You saw the results today too, that
smile!"
Even though Jeong Taeui hastily justified himself, Ilay only stared at him with narrowed eyes
like bullets. Until Jeong Taeui's face twisted as if about to cry from anxiety, Ilay smiled
slightly and turned away.
"I don't have enough imagination to think that idiot would drag you to bed every night."
"...!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!"
"Well, maybe just a little mischief as long as there's no sensitive touch. I think you're smart
enough to handle that, Taeil."
Ilay glanced at him, and Jeong Taeui immediately shut his mouth and nodded frantically.
Cold sweat broke out.
Recalling the recent past, Taeui felt a pang below. Not pleasure, but almost fear. When he did
something wrong, Ilay could sometimes catch and devastate him mercilessly.
Jeong Taeui gloomily changed the subject.
"Surely, you have to adjust the frequency accurately to hear clearly... When did you install
this device?"
The excellent performance of the device, capturing the smallest sounds and movements in
detail, surprised Taeui.
"The day before I officially came here.""....Truly talented..."
Jeong Taeui mumbled halfway, losing his spirit. Then his eyes suddenly became sharp.
"Is there one hidden in my room too?!"
Ilay turned his head away after glancing at Jeong Taeui.
Seeing Ilay not answering, Jeong Taeui widened his eyes and shouted - "Hey, hey!" - but no
reply came.
Damn it, maybe he should use a detector as soon as he gets back to his room.
Jeong Taeui cursed inwardly, thinking about where a microphone could be hidden in his own
room.
[There is still the final negotiation, but you can guess what the final condition will be. Right,
Christoph... If they ask for our people, what will you do?]
Richard's voice echoed in his ears.
Jeong Taeui could easily guess who 'they' and 'them' were in the story. And he quickly
realized this was what Ilay wanted to hear.
The fact that the eavesdropping device was installed on the other side was clear, so there
were no high expectations. But sometimes, small clues could be grasped from non-verbal
things.
They wouldn't hear anything from here, but Jeong Taeui still held his breath.
No answer from Christoph was heard. He seemed silent.
If the Saudi side demanded Jeong Taeui or Ilay.
What would Christoph do?
The image of Christoph's indifferent face not answering appeared in Taeui's mind. He could
guess Christoph's current expression.
Finally, Richard's voice continued.
[So you can't be too close to Jeong Taeui... It's a pity, Christoph. The first person you
could approach directly.]
A vague cruel tone.
Jeong Taeui frowned.
"Is this a personality issue or a problem in their relationship?"
"What do you think?""Both."
"You understand well."
Jeong Taeui sighed and clicked his tongue.
Anyway, he had heard that Christoph was helping Richard these days. Taeui thought that
despite the conflicts, they could temporarily live together. But hearing this, he saw no signs
of emotional attachment from their time together.
"Have these two ever worked together before?"
Jeong Taeui asked casually, not expecting much. But Ilay nodded.
"Ah, long ago, they did a project together. Before Christoph gave up his inheritance rights as
part of the candidate training process to test cooperative skills."
Ilay added that because it was to test cooperative ability, they couldn't work alone, which
made Jeong Taeui widen his eyes in surprise.
"Really? What was the result?"
"Failure. A clear unprecedented failure."
"...."
"It was a typical example of how, no matter how good individual skills are. If there are
cooperation problems, the entire plan collapses."
"That's true" - Jeong Taeui mumbled, then fell silent. He scratched his cheek and tilted his
head, thinking.
"If Christoph is like that, it's not surprising, but Richard completing tasks perfectly is
remarkable."
"Yes, that's right. Richard did well, but Christoph ruined everything by refusing Richard's
help."
".... Christoph..."
Jeong Taeui had met many people who clearly distinguished between liking and disliking
others. He was one of them, but he had never seen anyone as clear-cut as Christoph.
"Richard must be grinding his teeth."
Jeong Taeui sighed and muttered, Ilay smiled faintly. The smile implied it was so obvious it
didn't need to be said.
Jeong Taeui licked his lips and focused back on the headphones.If the Saudi side demanded their people – this topic was clearly uncomfortable to eavesdrop
on but couldn't be ignored because it was too important.
Christoph's voice suddenly rang out after a silence.
["Give them Rick. He was the one who carried out the bombing anyway."]
"..."
So, this is how it is. He has enemies everywhere.
Jeong Taeui glanced at Ilay. Ilay listened to the statement with an indifferent, unbothered
face.
For Tarten, the situation wasn't easy either.
If they had to give someone as requested – although the specific request wasn't yet known –
the centuries-old relationship between the two families would crack.
But refusing a debt repayment request couldn't be rejected.
In fact, for Tarten, if everything could be resolved by giving Jeong Taeui, it would be much
better. They wouldn't lose friendship and could keep the contractual promises.
Richard surely hoped for that, but Christoph said. Just give them Rick.
Jeong Taeui could picture Christoph's face when he said that. He smiled and sighed.
It seemed Richard wasn't satisfied with that answer. His voice lowered a bit.
["Do you intend to interfere? A glass heart is not like a normal person of yours being swayed
and enchanted to the point of absurdity. Don't delude yourself by getting unnecessarily
excited and live true to yourself. You don't really like that person anyway. You don't know
how to."]
Feeling like his heart was heavy, Jeong Taeui remembered Christoph's painful words.
"I feel empty. Since birth or maybe before that…. From the root, I had nothing. Empty and
unable to be filled."
Jeong Taeui recalled Christoph touching his chest and head, wondering what part of himself
was missing. He tilted his head, thinking.
["Who says I don't genuinely like Taeil? I like him."]
Christoph's voice continued. His voice trembled slightly.
Jeong Taeui suddenly felt all eyes on him. Ilay was tilting his head, looking at him. Jeong
Taeui shook his head frantically with a bitter face.
He knew well the limits of what he could do.["So you intend to interfere?"]
Richard's slow voice continued. His tone changed to an oddly low one.
["If you keep trying to interfere. I'll make sure you can't."]
Immediately.
A heavy thud was heard. The sound of rolling. Loud and murky sounds transmitted through
the headphones.
"―…!"
Jeong Taeui instinctively looked at Ilay. Ilay, sensing Taeui's gaze, also glanced over. Their
eyes met.
"It seems they're fighting again."
Ilay said calmly.
As Ilay said. Short curses, screams, and heavy sounds all indicated a scuffle.
"Should we stop them?"
Jeong Taeui frowned and muttered. Ilay laughed lightly - "Haha."
"Wonderful. You mean - 'I heard you fighting, so I came to stop it.' - Is that what you intend
to say?"
Jeong Taeui suddenly fell silent.
Not just a coincidence of passing by... Taeui mumbled but then stopped. It felt too obvious.
"Oh, anyway, these guys fighting isn't new."
The problem was that every time they fought, it was like they were ready to see death. But if
it happened within the family compound, it was safer. At least, they wouldn't have to call the
police, and handling emergencies would be easier.
"Both are still not fully recovered, so their fight should be limited."
Jeong Taeui added, waiting for the fight sounds from the headphones to calm down.
He thought listening to this was like hearing a fighting game. Jeong Taeui suddenly looked
around.
This was the first time Taeui had really entered Ilay's room. Before, he only did some minor
tasks but never entered deeply and sat comfortably on the bed like now.
"Even though they say it's a VIP guest room at Dongik, it's so different from my room at
Seoik."Jeong Taeui pretended to be sad and grumbled.
"Then stay here from today" - Ilay replied without hesitation.
Jeong Taeui was startled and immediately withdrew. He almost dug his own grave.
"No, there are many elders here, and it wouldn't be good to disturb them. I still prefer Seoik.
Yes."
Jeong Taeui quickly shook his head. Ilay slightly raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly.
"People are lining up to get into Dongik. You have strange preferences."
"Huh?" - Jeong Taeui mumbled, looking around the room again.
Indeed, this room was fantastic. Not sure if other rooms at Dongik were like this. The
furnishings and layout were perfect. Not too flashy but with a hidden sophisticated charm.
Living here wouldn't be bad, but there were many beautiful houses outside like this room.
People were lining up to get in...
Jeong Taeui quickly found the answer to his curiosity.
"Only those with the Tarten surname, direct descendants and at the center of Tarten's power
can live in Dongik."