“Damn it……!”

Despite worrying whether his face would still look human after all this, Jeong Taeui resolutely stood between the two of them instead of running away, silently cursing Richard for what he had done.

Terrible timing.

At first, Jeong Taeui thought that no matter what, he had to punch Christoph in the jaw and knock him out, regardless of what would happen next. However, by the time Jeong Taeui managed to get between them, Christoph had already swung the iron rod.

“…No…!!!!…!!!” – He couldn’t avoid it.

So, there was no choice but to minimize the damage as much as possible.

If he blocked that thing with his hand, his bones would shatter. His wrist might even get severed. But in this split second, Jeong Taeui couldn’t think of a better option.

Gritting his teeth, Jeong Taeui raised his hand to block the iron rod.

In that moment.

*CLANG*

The sharp sound of metal hitting metal rang out.

Just as Jeong Taeui was trying to block the iron rod, a long iron bar, the length of a palm, came out of nowhere and struck the iron rod. Then a series of *clang clang* sounds followed.

The iron rod in Christoph’s hand slipped out, clattering along the ground before stopping.

“You lunatic.”

Before Jeong Taeui could understand what had happened, a low, cold voice pierced his ears. And before he could identify the owner of that voice, a loud *Smack* rang out right beside him, causing his vision to darken and his eyes to go white for a moment. It took nearly ten seconds for Jeong Taeui to realize he had been slapped.

Jeong Taeui stood there, dazed, one hand holding his throbbing cheek. The slap was so strong that his ears were ringing.

Christoph continued advancing towards Richard even without the iron rod. Ilay grabbed Christoph by the collar and punched him hard in the face.

“Wake up, Christoph.”

With that, he slapped Christoph on the other cheek. Christoph’s head jerked to the side, staggering back. Christoph spat, his spit tainted with blood.

Jeong Taeui watched in shock, finally tasting the metallic flavor in his mouth—his insides were probably torn as well.

His senses slowly returned. Jeong Taeui looked around slowly. An iron bar lay on the ground; Ilay must have picked it up from somewhere. Next to it was Christoph’s iron rod.

It looked like he had seen that iron bar somewhere before… Jeong Taeui turned to look at the bench behind him. Indeed, one of the fixed iron bars at the back of the bench had been violently ripped out.

“… I was just hit by that monstrous strength… ugh… the more I think about it, the more it hurts…”

Jeong Taeui held his swollen cheek, groaning. The man with monstrous strength looked down at Jeong Taeui with icy eyes. He had helped him, but also injured him. Ilay spoke coldly, with a voice Jeong Taeui had never heard before.

“You’ve got a death wish, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t want to die… … at most, just lose a hand…”

Jeong Taeui mumbled a curt reply. He clenched his remaining intact hand tightly. Ilay glared at him with sharp, green eyes. Seeing this, Jeong Taeui lowered his head, trying to avoid the gaze.

Ilay looked at Jeong Taeui like he was a world-class idiot and turned away.

Christoph stood there with lifeless eyes.

He didn’t see Richard.

He just stood there, mumbling to himself in an almost inaudible voice.

Ilay slapped him several more times without hesitation, the *Smack, Smack* sounds tearing through the air. Though Christoph’s mouth was bleeding, Ilay didn’t hesitate.

“Wake up… have you lost your mind?”

He said casually, as if just greeting someone. Without waiting for Christoph’s response, he slapped him again.

“Riegrow. Stop it.”

As Ilay raised his hand to hit Christoph again, Richard intervened. He had been silently watching them from behind.

Even though he had just faced death minutes ago, Richard’s expression remained unchanged, even as Christoph approached him with the iron rod. He looked at Ilay and shook his head.

“That’s enough. I’ve said everything I wanted to say to him and got the reaction I wanted.”

Richard spoke calmly, as if he hadn’t been part of the recent chaos.

Ilay raised his palm, looking down at Richard before sneering.

“You’re mistaken, Richard. I didn’t stop him for you. This needed to end, and those words couldn’t go any deeper.”

“Fine, that’s why I’m asking you to stop.”

Richard smiled awkwardly. He gave a warm smile as if asking a favor from a close friend and looked straight at Ilay.

That expression was no different from when Jeong Taeui first saw him, exuding a friendly and amiable atmosphere.

… Yes. Okay, Ilay, you were right. Christoph was also completely right. This man is a pervert and someone Jeong Taeui shouldn’t associate with. His heart was too sinister.

Jeong Taeui struggled to accept this truth. He stared at Richard in disbelief.

Ilay clicked his tongue and lowered his hand, and Richard smiled and thanked him.

Then, a man who had parked a short distance away, waiting for Richard, hesitated before saying something to him. Richard nodded and walked towards the car.

“I’m heading to the hospital now. Oliver must be getting checked out.”

Richard left those words as a goodbye, waved to Ilay, and then looked at Jeong Taeui.

He gave Jeong Taeui a meaningful look as if searching for something, then finally smiled and said.

“Thank you for trying to sacrifice yourself for me. Thanks to you, I’m still alive.”

“… What? I didn’t do anything.”

He had only tried to block it with his body. In fact, Ilay had resolved everything. He had no intention of sacrificing himself for Richard.

In truth, the reason Jeong Taeui acted like that was…

“Tonight, Seoik will be noisy.”

Christoph suddenly mumbled and looked at Richard.

He still stood there quietly, seemingly oblivious.

Jeong Taeui suddenly felt anger rising within him, something boiling up.

He didn’t want a defenseless ‘ghost’ like Christoph to appear in front of those who had been watching the drama unfold indifferently from afar.

His heart ached, as if he were seeing someone vulnerable, exhausted both physically and mentally.

“Christoph. Let’s go inside.”

Jeong Taeui moved towards him. Christoph stood there vacantly, his eyes dull like a doll’s. His lips trembled slightly.

Immediately, the sound of a car door closing echoed. Richard, sitting in the car heading to the hospital, looked at Christoph with wide, happy eyes, a gaze that also caught Jeong Taeui’s attention.

Soon after, the car left the building and disappeared from sight.

“Do you think he would have died if you hadn’t intervened?”

Ilay’s voice sounded in his ear. Jeong Taeui remained silent, looking in the direction the car had disappeared, not responding.

Meanwhile, among those who had been watching from a distance, an older man approached them, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.

“Mr. Riegrow.”

Judging by how he respectfully addressed Ilay and his attire, he seemed to be a senior employee. There were about four or five people in such positions in this house.

“We need to know what’s happening, so please come to the main building for a moment.”

Jeong Taeui, hearing this, looked at Christoph.

His skinny shoulders still trembled, and his pale lips showed no sign of blood.

“Christoph… let’s go inside. We’ll go back to the room first.”

Jeong Taeui spoke softly. Even in times like this, Christoph might not realize someone was trying to get close to him.

He stood frozen, unable to move. In the end, Jeong Taeui grabbed Christoph’s sleeve and slowly led him away.

In that moment.

“Kim Young Soo-ssi?”

A familiar voice called out the unfamiliar name. Jeong Taeui paused for a moment, then turned to look at Ilay.

Ilay about to head to the main building with the employee, tossed something to Jeong Taeui just as he turned his head. He looked down at his palm in confusion. It was a small glass bottle, brown in color and about the size of two fingers, with liquid sloshing inside.

“This…?”

Jeong Taeui looked up curiously.

However, after confirming Jeong Taeui had received the item, Ilay turned and walked away without any explanation, leaving Jeong Taeui to watch his retreating figure disappear into the darkness.

Jeong Taeui raised an eyebrow and looked at the glass bottle again. He shrugged and put it in his pocket, then approached Christoph to address the most immediate issue.

*******************************

On the quiet road back to his room, Jeong Taeui had somewhat calmed down.

In contrast, Christoph, who had been clutching Jeong Taeui’s shirt and following him in a daze, still seemed lost and kept trembling.

When they entered Seoik, Jeong Taeui turned his head and was startled. The darkness outside had concealed Christoph’s true condition. Although he knew Christoph didn’t look well, he attributed it partially to the dim lighting outside.

However, under the bright lights inside the building, Christoph’s face looked deathly pale and ghostly. His lips quivered as he muttered something. Jeong Taeui asked, “What?” but received no reply. Christoph just mumbled to himself as if hypnotized.

It wasn’t the first time Christoph had lost control and attacked someone with genuine intent to kill, not just threaten. Jeong Taeui could tell from the way people looked at Christoph as he clutched Jeong Taeui’s shirt and followed him back to the estate.

Their expressions were more of disgust and fear than surprise. So, Jeong Taeui was sure this wasn’t the first time it had happened. However, it seemed this didn’t occur frequently.

On the way back to the room, Christoph silently followed Jeong Taeui, unable to calm down. Even after reaching the room, he remained in the same state.

Christoph’s room, typically a quiet and peaceful place, shielded from prying eyes and whispers, seemed like a place where he could gradually regain his composure, although it might take some time.

But shortly after returning to the room, Jeong Taeui reconsidered.

“This is more dangerous than I thought.”

Standing next to the chair by the door, Jeong Taeui took a deep breath, noticing Christoph’s incessant trembling, which showed no sign of abating.

Christoph’s complexion grew paler. His body kept shaking, and his mumbling grew louder, becoming intelligible even to Jeong Taeui.

With a face drained of blood, Christoph stared blankly ahead, his eyes barely blinking, trembling continuously.

“… That won’t happen… I won’t let you get away with it… I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you… ! … A….”

He uttered a low, hoarse growl like an animal. His voice seemed no longer his own, choked at the throat, his green eyes trembling as if possessed.

“Christoph…Chris….”

Jeong Taeui called Christoph quietly, but his voice didn’t reach him.

Not only Christoph’s eyes and voice trembled, but his whole body continued to shudder.

Christoph’s already hunched shoulders started to shake more violently, spreading to his entire body.

Holding his trembling body, Christoph groaned like an animal, muttering and biting his pale lips.

“Chris, calm down, Chris.”

Jeong Taeui called his name repeatedly, but it was useless. Christoph didn’t even look at him. However, Jeong Taeui patiently kept calling his name.

How long has it been?

Christoph groaned with eerie sounds, biting his lips until they bled. Then he started whispering so softly it was hard to hear, and eventually, Jeong Taeui could only hear his labored breathing.

Christoph clung to his shivering body, seemingly calming down a bit. His vision now included Jeong Taeui.

When their eyes met, Jeong Taeui called his name again.

“Chris… are you okay…?”

“… My head hurts….”

A weak voice emerged, both voice and body trembling as if suffering from the cold of winter.

“You’ll be fine. It’ll be okay. Everything will get better.”

Though Jeong Taeui knew things were far from fine, he didn’t know what else to say other than these empty consolations. Even when Christoph gripped his hand tightly, digging his nails into his skin, Jeong Taeui couldn’t do anything else.

“It’s too loud…. I keep hearing noises…. It’s so loud, my ears hurt. My head too….”

Christoph muttered to himself as if hypnotized, his words seemingly directed at no one.

“What do you hear?”

Jeong Taeui quietly asked. But Christoph only muttered, “Too loud, too loud.” His face contorted, turning pale as if he could collapse at any moment.

Jeong Taeui realized this was far more dangerous than he had thought.

“Chris.”

Jeong Taeui pulled at the hem of his shirt that Christoph was clutching. Christoph staggered a few steps as if pushed. Seeing Christoph about to fall, Jeong Taeui instinctively reached out to catch him.

In that moment.

Christoph’s body tensed the instant Jeong Taeui touched him. Almost simultaneously, Christoph violently pushed his hand away, punching him in the face and pushing him back.

“Don’t touch me!”

Christoph yelled, his pent-up rage finally erupting. He screamed and glared at Jeong Taeui with ferocious eyes, his blue gaze cutting like a knife.

“Too loud…Too loud! Too loud!!”

Christoph didn’t seem to see Jeong Taeui, although his gaze was directly on him, his body shaking more violently.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue as he saw Christoph’s dangerously advancing steps.

“Damn it… Calm down, you damn brat…!”

For every step Christoph took forward, Jeong Taeui took a step back.

One, two, three. The distance neither increased nor decreased. However, at this rate, Jeong Taeui’s back would soon hit the wall.

Jeong Taeui could only groan in frustration.

Fortunately, the room had nothing that could become a dangerous weapon, and no guards with iron rods were around. So, the situation wasn’t life-threatening.…but even so, if those hands grabbed him, the outcome wouldn’t be pleasant.

How could he resolve this? Was there really no other option? Not a weapon, but something else…

Jeong Taeui fumbled through his pockets, knowing he didn’t have anything useful. But suddenly, his fingertips touched something.

“…!”

It was a small, sturdy glass bottle, fitting snugly in his palm.

Jeong Taeui shook it slightly and opened the bottle.

“Whatever, you’re going to be mad anyway.”

Jeong Taeui thought he might as well put up a bit of resistance before facing Christoph’s misplaced rage. He unscrewed the bottle cap. For a moment, he imagined a genie or a pile of gold emerging from the bottle… It wasn’t acid or anything like that, right?

Jeong Taeui looked directly at Christoph and opened the bottle with one hand. Even though Christoph observed Jeong Taeui’s every move, he didn’t seem to care. No, his eyes didn’t see anything anymore.

As soon as the bottle was opened, a familiar bitter scent hit Jeong Taeui’s nose.

Chloroform.

“…”

Jeong Taeui frowned involuntarily. Dark memories flashed through his mind, along with Ilay’s smirking face when he handed him the bottle.

But now wasn’t the time for those thoughts. In this situation, the chloroform was a godsend. Like finding a jackpot amid a mountain of debt.

Jeong Taeui pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and poured the liquid into it. His vision blurred slightly from the strong scent, and he had to hold his breath for a moment.

“…!”

Behind him was a wall.

The distance between him and Christoph was shrinking.

Jeong Taeui clenched his teeth in determination. Then he approached Christoph and grabbed his neck.

As soon as his hand touched Christoph, he recoiled. Christoph violently swung his hand to brush him off, elbowing Jeong Taeui in the ear. His vision wobbled.

“Chris…!”

Jeong Taeui frowned but didn’t let go. He pressed the chloroform-soaked handkerchief over Christoph’s nose and mouth. Christoph struggled violently, continuously punching Jeong Taeui’s stomach in resistance. Jeong Taeui was beaten mercilessly.

Damn it. Being beaten repeatedly made his whole body ache. His face, already swollen from the earlier hits, throbbed painfully.

It seemed today was a day of endless beatings.

Jeong Taeui grumbled about the pain but didn’t loosen his grip on Christoph’s nose.

Eventually, Christoph’s struggles slowed. His hands, which had been gripping Jeong Taeui’s collar, gradually lost strength. With a final low groan, he collapsed.

Jeong Taeui quickly caught Christoph, supporting his limp body against his shoulder like a heavy rag doll.

“…Phew…”

Jeong Taeui let out a long breath once he was sure Christoph was completely unconscious and still.

He carefully moved Christoph’s unsteady body to the nearby bed.

“This kid is really simple…”

Jeong Taeui laid Christoph down, then rubbed his aching back with a grimace. He looked at the unconscious Christoph with a frown, not saying a word.

The trembling and the muttering had stopped. The pale, corpse-like face no longer moved a muscle, gradually reddening.

“…”

Jeong Taeui quietly watched him. He felt a chill, though the weather was quite warm. He rubbed his arms involuntarily. Christoph lay there quietly. It was hard to believe this was the same person who had been raging just minutes ago.

“Hey… You really have issues… Huh? And not just one or two. What are you going to do about it…”

Jeong Taeui sat at the edge of the bed and sighed.

Suddenly, he felt a sense of frustration. He rubbed his temples. Only after everything settled did the pain from Christoph’s beating resurface. Jeong Taeui groaned continuously.

Jeong Taeui sighed and carefully examined his body.