“Wow… Look at this bruise.”

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue while looking at himself in the mirror.

There was a considerable bruise on his side. By tomorrow, it would likely turn from purple to black.

“If this continues, I’ll soon look like a chameleon.”

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue again.

He looked at his body, covered in bruises ranging from red and green to purple and black.

Not long ago, he had been hit in the face, and his arms and legs were no better off. Over time, the bruises on each part had become quite colorful.

A bruise was a minor injury he could endure. But besides those, there were times when he was hit so hard that the pain lingered for one or two days or even more. For ordinary bruises like these, he wouldn’t feel much unless he bumped into something. If left alone, they would eventually heal on their own without him realizing it.

“Great, every wound will heal on its own.”

Jeong Taeui shook his head, then used the shower to rinse off the soap on his body.

Thinking about how he had accidentally scrubbed hard on a bruise and hurt himself, this time Jeong Taeui gently and carefully rinsed off the soap.

“Isn’t this just like domestic violence?”

Jeong Taeui sighed as he looked at the bruises all over his body.

He carefully rubbed the newest bruise on his side. Just a light touch made it sting. But by tomorrow or the day after, the bruise would start to get better and stop hurting unless he pressed on it.

“People really shouldn’t mess with guns. Does it look like this bruise was caused by a small rubber piece shot from a gun with half the force of a regular one?”

If it wasn’t an eraser but something harder, or if the model gun had greater force, Jeong Taeui might have ended up in the hospital.

Going to the hospital wasn’t scary, but surgery would be very painful. Due to his unique physical condition, he couldn’t use anesthetics.

Jeong Taeui mumbled as he turned off the water.

“The person who invented the gun should be recorded in history and punished forever.”

After drying himself with a towel, he looked at his flushed body in the bathroom mirror, feeling satisfied with his moderately toned muscles. Then, Jeong Taeui picked up a bottle of ointment from the bathroom shelf.

His side was in excruciating pain. This was a type of tiger balm that Christoph had left in his room this morning, saying he had received something useless.

Jeong Taeui wrinkled his nose at the strong, characteristic smell and gently applied a bit to his side.

“If the label ‘contains premium tiger bone’ on this ointment is true, then the reason tigers are on the brink of extinction is because the Chinese are hunting every tiger they can find to make this ointment.”

Jeong Taeui muttered racially insensitive remarks while applying the tiger balm, then turned to leave the bathroom.

But he stopped just before leaving.

There was a sound coming from the bathroom next door. The two bathrooms were connected by a ventilation shaft. Someone must be going in.

“Uh…….”

Jeong Taeui quickly put on his clothes and headed to the next room.

Christoph had finally returned.

It was quite late, already past dinner time.

“Hey Christoph.”

He knocked on the bedroom door while opening it.

As expected, his hearing was still good. Christoph was changing clothes in the bathroom.

It was too late to look away. Fortunately, Christoph was only taking off his riding clothes.

But it was still surprising.

He was extremely concerned about his attire, so he probably hadn’t done anything else in those clothes, suggesting he had been in the forest all afternoon.

Christoph leaned against the bathroom door frame and glanced at Jeong Taeui, who was staring blankly at him, then spoke briefly.

“What is it?”

Judging by his tone, he seemed to be in a better mood than before.

“Your hand.”

Jeong Taeui asked about what concerned him the most. Earlier, Christoph’s hand had been torn and covered in blood.

Christoph, who was unbuttoning his jacket, paused. Then he looked at Jeong Taeui with an unfamiliar expression.

“Did you come here just to ask that?”

Responding to Christoph’s frown and irritated tone with ‘Yes,’ Jeong Taeui looked down at his hand.

That hand, which had been bleeding heavily and covered in wounds, was now wrapped in white bandages, roughly tied twice and knotted on the back of the hand. Jeong Taeui stared at the hand unbuttoning the coat.

“Did you disinfect it properly and treat it correctly?”

“It’s just a minor wound. Why make a big deal out of it?”

Jeong Taeui frowned at Christoph’s indifferent tone, as if he had just haphazardly bandaged the wound without proper care.

No matter how he thought about it, that wound couldn’t be a minor one, but if Christoph said so, he decided to let it go.

“At least apply some medicine and treat it properly.”

Jeong Taeui moved closer and reached out his hand. Only when he saw Christoph’s eyes on his hand did he remember that this guy hated being touched by others.

Jeong Taeui withdrew his hand and clicked his tongue.

“Anyway, at least check and bandage it properly.”

Jeong Taeui said again, but Christoph didn’t even listen. Instead, he frowned and glared at Taeui as if annoyed.

But suddenly, Jeong Taeui noticed Christoph’s expression change.

Christoph tilted his head, seemingly checking something, then tilted his head to the other side and asked Jeong Taeui.

“Your body smells like medicine.”

Is this guy a monster too? …… No, with this close distance, it’s not surprising he can smell the medicine.

“Yeah, I have some bruises. Oh, I used some of the ointment you left in my room.”

“Bruises? Where?”

Christoph frowned and gestured for him to lift his shirt.

Jeong Taeui grumbled as he lifted his shirt, “I tried using the ointment to see if it works. Now let me see your wound.”

Christoph looked at Jeong Taeui and remained silent for a moment.

“It looks quite painful. But I didn’t hit you…… Who did?”

“Ilay.”

When Jeong Taeui gave an unexpected answer, Christoph looked at him puzzled. He stared at Jeong Taeui for a while, as if facing something unbelievable, then shook his head coldly.

“Impossible. The way he touches you is strange, but even if he did, he wouldn’t leave a bruise like that.”

Jeong Taeui unconsciously nodded at the reasonable logic. “Oh, right.” – and laughed.

“It was just an accident.”

Hearing his answer, Christoph didn’t respond and looked closely at the bruise again. Then he clicked his tongue.

“Look at the clumped medicine. Why didn’t you apply it properly?”

“Hmm, I tried to apply it carefully.”

Jeong Taeui quietly defended himself and started gently rubbing the wound again.

“Are you stupid? Always getting hurt like this.”

Jeong Taeui looked at Christoph, clicking his tongue and scolding him like he was an idiot. Then he remained silent for a moment before sighing and responding.

“Look at the bandages on your hand. It’s like the pot calling the kettle black.”

“I didn’t get hurt by someone else.”

“Hurting yourself is much worse, much worse!”

Jeong Taeui angrily pointed at Christoph with his index finger and clicked his tongue.

Christoph didn’t even realize that what he was doing was essentially self-harm. If he got hurt, he didn’t think about not repeating it next time. And Jeong Taeui didn’t like that.

So he grumbled.

“Even if you get hurt, it’s better to be bruised than have those countless cuts.”

Jeong Taeui said, carefully massaging the bruise to avoid pressing on it. Christoph looked at the bruise for a while, then frowned.

“Open wounds are better, especially when stabbed or something.”

Jeong Taeui frowned at Christoph’s serious remark.

“Not at all. Cuts or stabs carry a high risk of death when severely injured and can get infected. It takes a lot of time and effort to recover. Bruises are clearly better.”

Moreover, the severity of each type of injury differs. Bruises, cuts, or stabs. Looking at the police intervention frequency, isn’t there a clear difference?

But Christoph shook his head.

“Injuries from impacts are usually from being hit by hands or feet, not weapons. If so, you’ll be touched by them. Rarely does an open wound come directly from hands, so if it’s an open wound, it means no direct contact. In that regard, bruises aren’t good at all.”

He added: “The worst part is not just being hit but also being touched.”

“…… Well…… so you hate bruises…”

Jeong Taeui licked his lips.

Depending on the person, pain tolerance varies, but this reason was new to him. Are all people with avoidant personality disorder like this?

Jeong Taeui looked at the ceiling for a moment, lost in thought.

When injured, both hurt the same. No wound is painless.

However, bruises heal over time as long as you don’t press on them. They might disappear without you noticing, and at some point, you’ll realize there’s no trace left.

But cuts are different. They continue to hurt until they heal. They bleed and fester. Even when they stop hurting, they leave scars.

Like anything else, wounds are something a person can choose. But Jeong Taeui still thought bruises were better.

“Anyway, it’s better to be hurt and not know you’re in pain.”

Because if you don’t know you’re in pain, you can’t do anything when you notice the bruise.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue and scratched his head. Meanwhile, Christoph had put his shirt back on.

“Let me see your hand.”

Jeong Taeui spoke with a serious tone. Christoph frowned briefly but then obediently unwrapped the handkerchief, adding: “Don’t touch it.”

Fortunately, the injury wasn’t as severe as Jeong Taeui had feared. It seemed more serious earlier because it was covered in blood.

Jeong Taeui sighed as he looked at Christoph’s palm. It appeared that Christoph hadn’t applied any disinfectant or treatment, but luckily, the wounds seemed to be healing and weren’t infected.

As Jeong Taeui muttered, “I’m glad you aren’t seriously hurt,” Christoph quietly rewrapped the bandage.

“Speaking of which, the messenger from earlier had to get dozens of stitches at the hospital.”

“Hmm.”

Christoph mumbled as if he didn’t care much, but Jeong Taeui continued.

“The treatment was a bit difficult because of the shards embedded everywhere, but it ended well.”

Christoph nodded. However, instead of listening to what Jeong Taeui was saying, he responded in a dry tone.

Jeong Taeui sat on the stool at the foot of the bed. Then, as he watched Christoph change clothes, he spoke again.

“I met Oliver today… He was smiling and playing happily. You don’t need to worry anymore.”

Christoph coldly looked at the wardrobe in silence for a moment as he hung up his clothes. Then he turned his head to look at Jeong Taeui with a slightly annoyed expression.

“I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding, but I’m not worried.”

Christoph closed the wardrobe door while looking directly at Jeong Taeui. Jeong Taeui could sense the irritation in the way Christoph quietly closed the door.

“Let me clarify something for you. I don’t care about that patient at all. I forgot about him as soon as I left this room and only remembered because you brought it up a minute ago. Don’t misunderstand me.”

“Sorry about that.”

Jeong Taeui apologized immediately after Christoph finished speaking. From the start, he hadn’t intended to argue with him.

“It was just something that crossed my mind. I didn’t think you would be concerned.”

Jeong Taeui looked directly at Christoph, who frowned back at him. Those bright blue eyes seemed curious about the person sitting before him.

“Hmm” – Christoph sighed irritably and spoke in a bored tone.

“It’s not just that annoying guy; it’s always like this. I don’t remember what I did to anyone. Nor do I need to think about it. But—”

Christoph paused for a moment. As if struggling to find the right words, he muttered while choosing his words carefully.

“It’s just too noisy.”

“… Like waking up every morning feeling annoyed?”

“Yeah… like that.”

Christoph replied and sank into thought.

He often felt that way. Most mornings were like that.

Christoph often had trouble waking up in the morning due to his unique physical condition, and even when he did wake up, he was always in a bad mood. Occasionally, when Jeong Taeui went to wake him up, he had to deal with a grumpy Christoph five or six times a week.

The whispered voice constantly echoed in his ear.

Sometimes it sounded like a loud shout, sometimes like a quiet sound, and sometimes, on a lucky day, it was a faint whisper almost impossible to hear.

Jeong Taeui could guess the intensity of the voice he couldn’t hear by observing Christoph’s mood.

The voice seemed a bit subdued at the moment.

“People are like that.”

Jeong Taeui suddenly said, stretching his back but immediately wincing and exclaiming: “Ah.”

The bruise on his side was throbbing.

Jeong Taeui bent over again and rubbed the bruise, continuing to speak with a grimace.

“It’s okay. As long as you like yourself, that’s enough. Regardless of what others think. Ultimately, you are the one who decides if you’re happy. For example, even if you betray everyone and they curse you to live a miserable life, if you don’t care and continue living happily and contentedly, they can’t force you to be unhappy.… Let’s not dwell on whether that fits the true definition of happiness.”

Anyway, he didn’t look very happy, Jeong Taeui thought but didn’t say.

Maybe it was because his side hurt, but everything tasted more bitter today.

Jeong Taeui noticed Christoph looking at him strangely.

What he said wasn’t meant to be comforting. In fact, there was some harsh criticism in it. Jeong Taeui felt uncomfortable.

… Not good, not good… Today, in the end, he still didn’t feel good at all.

Jeong Taeui sighed and gave a more specific example.

“Look at Ilay. Surely there are one or two people who want to kill him. The number of people who hate him is several times the number of those who like him combined.”

Actually, Taeui wondered if anyone liked that man among the few people he knew—maybe a handful.

“But he still lives very well, doesn’t he?”

Ilay wasn’t affected by what others said, and no matter how people objectively viewed him as a villain with a terrible personality, he lived leisurely and happily.

Good people being blessed and bad people being punished was just a luxury wish of this society.

Good people could live happily. However, even living a happy life was very difficult. And villains might get punished, but they could still live happily.

That’s how the world was. But Jeong Taeui still couldn’t fully grasp the principles of how the world worked.

“At least you should have made some noise when you came in.”

“Why me? I should be the one wondering what you two are talking about.” – Ilay

Before he realized it, Ilay had already stepped into Christoph’s room from the doorway and was smiling.