“I just suddenly thought that it would be nice to be with you… It was the first time I had that thought, so I concluded that I liked you. But… is it really like that?”

Christoph looked up, puzzled, meeting Jeong Taeui’s gaze with his blue eyes under long lashes.

Jeong Taeui silently looked at him for a moment before slowly sighing.

“Just because it feels good to be together doesn’t necessarily mean you like someone.”

“But now I can endure you touching me. I can endure it.”

Christoph repeated. His cold voice was almost as if he was angry, making Jeong Taeui widen his eyes in surprise. Then, in a calm voice, he said,

“Being able to endure it doesn’t mean it’s okay.”

If you have to endure something that makes you uncomfortable, it’s just a kind of endurance training for yourself.

Jeong Taeui slowly withdrew his hand from Christoph’s cheek. Christoph looked at him silently.

There was a slight mistake.

There was no reason for Christoph to like him.

Although liking often has no reason, there was no logic to show that the person should be him.

Christoph had told Jeong Taeui that he liked him, as if it was mandatory.

Perhaps Christoph also felt that slight mistake. Even if he couldn’t clearly identify it, he surely noticed it.

Christoph quietly looked at Jeong Taeui for a moment. But unable to conclude, he just said once more, weakly – “I like you” – as if to reassure himself.

“You can touch me.”

“Because you can endure it. ‘Endure’ is something you can do with anyone if you want.”

“But with you, it’s okay.”

Jeong Taeui only nodded instead of replying.

If that’s what he wanted, he could adjust accordingly for a while. As long as he was still here.

A brief silence followed.

Christoph couldn’t truly smile, and Jeong Taeui couldn’t see a true smile from him, and neither thought about learning how to smile anymore.

It was then that they heard voices coming from below the tower.

Christoph and Jeong Taeui almost simultaneously turned to look towards the stairs.

The sound of footsteps and lively, energetic voices indicated that the people coming were children, still a few floors away.

“……Ah.”

Jeong Taeui muttered unconsciously.

Previously, he had met the children here once. In hindsight, it seemed to be on the same day of the week and at the same time as today.

That meant…

“Maybe the children are coming here.”

Christoph murmured. Although he frowned slightly, he didn’t seem too displeased.

“Ah… Christoph, the person bringing the children could be Richard.”

Jeong Taeui scratched his head and said.

Immediately, Christoph’s expression, which had been only slightly displeased before, changed completely. His face instantly turned sour and annoyed.

“How do you know?”

As if unwilling to believe, Christoph frowned and asked Jeong Taeui. Jeong Taeui shrugged, saying that he had met them before.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

Christoph muttered as he stood up. Jeong Taeui didn’t feel the need to leave just because Richard was coming, but thinking that Christoph clearly didn’t like it, he stood up as well.

When there are two particularly incompatible people in a group, those around them will feel exhausted. However, in this case, perhaps those around them wouldn’t feel as exhausted as Jeong Taeui, because they would also be involved in the altercation.

While Christoph grumbled about the place being somewhat uncomfortable, the children had reached the rooftop.

“…Oh.”

“Oh? It’s you again.”

“Oh? Christoph is here too!”

The new children who had arrived recognized Jeong Taeui and cheerfully called out. But seeing Christoph, they were even more surprised. These children were also Christoph’s students.

Jeong Taeui raised his hand to greet the noisy children running over. Seeing Oliver in the group, Jeong Taeui unconsciously exclaimed, “Ah.”

Oliver no longer had any wounds on his head; he smiled and greeted Jeong Taeui and also smiled brightly at Christoph standing next to him.

Christoph maintained his usual indifferent, annoyed, and troubled expression.

“Oliver, it looks like you’ve healed completely. No more bandages.”

“Yes, I was discharged a few days ago.”

The boy replied politely and smiled. Then, he glanced at Christoph.

Christoph still kept his cold attitude and didn’t react.

After greeting, the children quickly scattered across the rooftop as if their task was done.

Richard was probably trailing behind the children, so he hadn’t appeared yet.

“Before he shows up, it’s better to go down.”

“If we go down now, we might run into him.”

“…We could go around the lower floor and out the back door.”

Christoph replied grumblingly, although Jeong Taeui’s suggestion seems reasonable.

Jeong Taeui followed Christoph as he walked out. Suddenly, he spoke.

“Oliver, it’s a relief that the boy has recovered.”

Christoph slowed down a bit. He looked at Jeong Taeui with a frown, then glanced at Oliver, and finally looked back at Jeong Taeui.

“I’ve already told you, I don’t care.”

“Yeah,” Jeong Taeui nodded calmly. Anyway, he didn’t mean anything else. Just seeing Oliver and Christoph at the same time reminded him.

Although he said he didn’t care, Christoph still stopped walking. He looked at Oliver from a distance, his gaze seemed to be looking into a distant void.

“It’s just, when I see Oliver, I remember something. Because that kid looks very similar.”

He murmured as if talking to himself. His face looked slightly sad.

“Like Richard?”

Jeong Taeui asked, then answered his own question, adding, “They really do look alike,” and nodded to himself.

Christoph glared at him angrily.

“No! I don’t care if they look alike or not! If they look alike, I hate it even more!”

“Oliver and Richard look alike. They look like twins.”

“No, their inner nature is completely different. Oliver is more like Olivia.”

Christoph muttered angrily. Hearing his voice filled with both anger and sadness, Jeong Taeui decided to remain silent. He looked at Oliver again.

The boy was thinking about a toy or a puzzle with another child. Jeong Taeui didn’t know Olivia, and he still thought Oliver looked like Richard. But perhaps, to those who knew Olivia, Oliver resembled her more.

“Olivia is Richard’s sister, right?”

Jeong Taeui asked again. Christoph nodded.

Jeong Taeui intended to say something to Christoph but closed his mouth.

There were no words to say.

What more could he say?

Was Olivia the one you buried the dog with in her grave? — He couldn’t ask that.

Jeong Taeui silently watched Oliver through Christoph’s eyes.

At that moment, Christoph suddenly spoke, as if reading Jeong Taeui’s thoughts.

“It was a stray dog with no owner. Olivia used to secretly feed it. When she had to be hospitalized and couldn’t take care of it, she asked me to take care of the dog.”

Jeong Taeui slowly looked up at Christoph.

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.