Jeong Taeui suddenly noticed Christoph frowning while looking at him in silence. The subject of the conversation seemed unpleasant for him, causing Christoph to click his tongue and mutter irritably.

“Anyway, it’s only another week. Just one more week, after the succession decision is made, I will never come back here again.”

Christoph’s voice gradually lowered. Whether he felt regret or relief was unclear, but one thing was certain: ‘He would not be bound here anymore.’

That also meant the day Jeong Taeui would return to Berlin was not far off.

Jeong Taeui quietly nodded in agreement with his words.

“Yeah, I also don’t have any special reason to come to Dresden anymore. Anyway, I’ve been here for about a month, so it feels a bit regretful.”

“I’ve lived here for over twenty years and don’t feel any regret.”

Christoph spoke with a frustrated tone as he took a pair of cufflinks from a small drawer.

“But sometimes……”

He suddenly spoke in a softer tone but didn’t finish the sentence.

Jeong Taeui rubbed his neck and turned back to look out the window at the courtyard he had become somewhat familiar with. There were many things he had grown accustomed to and it was time to say goodbye.

“The decision about the succession…… Anyway, I should congratulate Richard before leaving.”

Jeong Taeui mumbled as if talking to himself, then suddenly felt a gaze on his cheek and turned his head.

Christoph was standing in front of the wardrobe, suddenly staring at Jeong Taeui as if he had thought of something.

“……?”

His eyes scanned from head to toe, narrowing sharply like a knife as if looking at something he didn’t like, causing Jeong Taeui to look at himself. But he saw nothing unusual.

“What is it?”

Jeong Taeui asked awkwardly after finding nothing special about himself, while Christoph suddenly frowned.

“Your outfit.”

“My outfit, what’s wrong with it?”

Jeong Taeui looked down at his clothes again.

A very simple outfit. Plain and unpretentious.

“If it’s for everyday wear, it’s fine…… But on that day, you should dress properly. Because there will be guests from outside. A modified suit won’t do, so wearing a classic suit would be better.”

Christoph advised with a serious face. Jeong Taeui blinked for a long time. Then asked with a skeptical look,

“Do I have to dress like that too? I’m not part of Tarten and I’m not related to any official matters. I’m just a guest.”

“When the succession decision is announced, people completely unfamiliar to you will come to congratulate you. If you don’t want to congratulate or don’t want anyone to notice, you don’t have to attend the celebration party.”

“The celebration party……”

Jeong Taeui frowned.

Just hearing that term made him dislike it. Terms like party, banquet, etc…….

“Even if you don’t attend, you can congratulate him in private later.”

“After the succession decision is announced, the chosen person will be so busy for a few days that they won’t have time to even meet their own parents……. Moreover.”

Christoph interrupted. He looked at himself in the mirror, as if to check his appearance, then continued quietly.

“……I will leave Tarten immediately after the succession decision is announced. And I will never return.”

Christoph’s eyes glanced towards Jeong Taeui. He looked at Jeong Taeui, then looked back in the mirror and continued speaking.

“If you decide to stay here after I leave, maybe you’ll have a chance to meet him and congratulate him in about a month.”

Hearing those words, Jeong Taeui frowned.

In retrospect, Jeong Taeui was Christoph’s guest. To be precise, he wasn’t a guest of Tarten. So in that case, as soon as Christoph left this house, Jeong Taeui would also have to leave. Even a month later.

Jeong Taeui scratched his head in frustration.

“If you’re not here, I don’t have any reason to stay either…… But before leaving, remember to return the book.”

He added: “Otherwise, Kyle will cry.” and once again reminded Christoph to return the book. As expected, Christoph didn’t answer. He completely ignored Jeong Taeui’s words and frowned as if dissatisfied with the tie knot, so he untied it and started retying it.

“Anyway, on that day, please try to wear something formal and not too flashy, but also not too simple.”

“Um…… but does it have to be a vest? Can’t I just wear a clean shirt and khaki pants?”

“……If you show up dressed like that, don’t pretend to know me even if we happen to meet.”

Christoph Tarten, the man who carefully chose his outfit for each event every morning and strictly adhered to dress codes for every place he went and every activity he did, asserted firmly.

Uh…… Jeong Taeui scratched his head while rolling his eyes.

“This is awkward……”

Christoph was adjusting the knot of his tie, must have turned back when he heard Jeong Taeui’s small mumble.

“What?”

“Ah, I don’t have a vest.”

The moment Jeong Taeui mumbled with an awkward look, Christoph’s fingers tying the knot suddenly stopped. He frowned and asked.

“You didn’t bring one?”

“Not that I didn’t bring one…… Actually, I never had one in the first place.”

Jeong Taeui shrugged.

He had lived like a wanted criminal for many years.

In Berlin, he mostly stayed at home. Though not completely confined, he would stroll around the neighborhood and occasionally go to the suburbs for fun, but nowhere required a vest. Moreover, he always found vests too constrictive and disliked them, so he never had one in his wardrobe.

On the rare occasions he had to wear a vest – over many years, there was only one such occasion, which was James’ wedding – he borrowed from Kyle, who had a similar build to himself.

So, of course, he didn’t bring the vest – borrowed from Kyle – all the way here. Initially, when he came here, Jeong Taeui only planned to stay for a few days to find the book and then return. Therefore, he didn’t expect to stay this long.

As soon as Jeong Taeui finished speaking, Christoph almost stopped all his actions. He looked at Jeong Taeui with an almost astonished expression.

“You don’t have a vest…… at all?”

“Yeah.”

“How can that be?”

From Christoph’s perspective, someone who had all kinds of attire from seasonal vests (spring, summer, autumn, winter) to riding clothes, hunting clothes, hiking clothes, etc……, it must be hard to believe not having a vest. But from Taeui’s perspective, Christoph having all sorts of attire for various purposes seemed equally unbelievable.

“Such things do happen…… The fact is the most typical example is me standing right in front of you now.”

Jeong Taeui bitterly pursed his lips and lightly patted his chest.

Christoph continued to stare at him in disbelief. Facing that incredulous gaze made Jeong Taeui feel a bit embarrassed.

Then suddenly, Christoph’s eyes widened in anger.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SOONER!”

He suddenly shouted, causing Jeong Taeui to jump in surprise.

“Huh? No, I didn’t expect this to happen. Besides, I just heard you say we need to wear vests there.”

“Only a week left until the succession decision, it’s impossible to tailor one in time! There’s no other option but to buy a ready-made one. A ready-made suit!”

Just hearing Christoph’s exasperated tone made Jeong Taeui feel that buying a ready-made suit was equivalent to wearing a ragged and tattered outfit with a single hole in an empty closet.

“Even if it’s ready-made, I don’t mind…… but is it really necessary to buy one? I would rarely wear it.”

Jeong Taeui scratched his head and mumbled.

Last time when he borrowed from Kyle for just one occasion, Kyle had expressed surprise and suggested tailoring a new one, but Jeong Taeui refused. The next time he thought he would wear one would only be for occasions like his own wedding, Kyle’s, or his uncle’s or brother’s. Or for funerals, but from his perspective, such events didn’t seem likely to occur in the next 10 years and the probability of it happening later wasn’t high. It wasn’t something he wanted to prepare in advance.

Unlike Kyle, who would obediently give up and say – “Alright.” –  Christoph frowned and looked displeased.

“You have to buy one. It’s unacceptable for a person not to have any formal attire.”

Intimidated by Christoph’s resolute tone, Jeong Taeui couldn’t bring himself to ask to borrow a vest from him.

He began to wonder if there was anyone in the house who had a similar build to himself. After quickly running through a list in his head, he replied nonchalantly: “Yeah, I guess so.”

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

“Hmm? ……Fine? Maybe a classic-style vest would be reasonable and the best.”

The moment those words came out of Johan’s mouth, Jeong Taeui thought,

‘Definitely need to buy some clothes.’

Even though he thought about it, he couldn’t think of anyone among those he considered close who had a similar build to himself. So Taeui had planned to wear whatever he had, as long as it was neat.

Jeong Taeui, someone who never thought he would have to worry about attire, suddenly found himself lying on the sofa in front of Johan – who was lounging, playing video games – when the sun was already high in the sky. Seeing Johan’s scene made Taeui think that this was the perfect image of a slacker.

He cautiously broached the subject with Johan.

He hoped that Johan would say: “Oh, I’ll be wearing jeans and a hoodie.” And if he heard such an answer, Taeui would feel more confident about his plan to wear a shirt and khaki pants.

But when he asked about the appropriate attire for the succession decision day, Johan unexpectedly said: “Yes” but perhaps because he was born with a silver spoon, he seemed to think of nothing other than a vest.

Johan was blinking with an uncomprehending expression and replied that a classic-style vest would be reasonable and the best.

Hearing that answer, Jeong Taeui suddenly stood up.

Johan still focused on the game and mumbled. He didn’t even notice Jeong Taeui’s sudden standing up as if he had decided on something.

“Where are you going? Going to buy clothes?”

“To earn money to buy clothes.”

When Taeui left Berlin for Dresden, he brought almost nothing.

Initially, he thought he would stay for 3-4 days, worried about how long it would take to find the book and then return immediately – he even thought it could be a day trip if the circumstances were favorable – so he seriously followed Kyle’s instructions and brought minimal luggage, thinking it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Therefore, his wallet obviously didn’t have much money. Just enough for the return fare and a bit of emergency money for a few days’ stay.

That emergency money remained untouched. Since moving into this mansion, he hadn’t had to spend any money. There was no reason to spend money. (Even considering the amount of work he had spent cleaning and organizing the library, he might have to be paid a salary before returning.)

So even though he had a little money and even thinking about it carefully, it was certainly not enough to buy a vest. He didn’t know the price of a vest, but it was clear he couldn’t buy one with the amount of money sufficient to buy jeans and a cotton T-shirt.

Finally, there was only one option left.

He had no other choice but to find someone he could ask for help.

And luckily, in this mansion, there was a walking diamond spoon he knew very well.

“Ilay, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Jeong Taeui went to the guest room in The East Wing wing, where he had been once and opened the door but found the room empty.

It was already too late. He thought Ilay would be in the room after dinner but didn’t find him there.

“……Ilay is not here?”

Jeong Taeui walked into the room, looked around and knocked on the door. Once again, no one answered.

“Huh…… Not in the bathroom…… not on the balcony…… can’t be under the bed with that body and unlikely in the wardrobe……”

Jeong Taeui walked to the center of the room and looked around again then plopped down on the bed.

Where had he gone?

He didn’t know exactly the range of Ilay’s activities within Tarten, but if he wasn’t in the room at night, he would usually be in Jeong Taeui’s room or strolling somewhere.

“……”

However, since the light in the room was still on, he might return soon.

Jeong Taeui briefly thought about going to look for Ilay but then decided not to and stayed here to wait. If he went out to search and missed each other, it would just waste time and effort.

……But more than that.

Jeong Taeui rolled around on the bed and started looking around. From the bed he was lying on, to the desk, the bookshelf, the minibar in the spacious corner and the chandelier in the corner.

It was a room lacking a sense of liveliness.

He suddenly thought of that.

This room, where a man named Ilay Riegrow had stayed for nearly three months, had everything necessary and wasn’t lacking or inconvenient in any way but was missing the most important thing. That was the feeling of someone living in this space.

“But that’s not the room’s fault, it’s the fault of the person living in it……”

Jeong Taeui sat up on the bed.

Thinking back, things had been like that when they first moved to Berlin a few years ago. While Jeong Taeui quickly adapted to the house within three days of moving in, then moved around as if making it his own space and filling it with his scent, Ilay kept that empty feeling for a long time.

Wherever Ilay went, he hardly left any traces of himself anywhere unless absolutely necessary. That wasn’t intentional but was his natural personality.

“That gloomy personality hasn’t changed.”

Jeong Taeui said in a low voice.

Now, that wasn’t the case anymore at home in Berlin. There was a sense that Ilay was living there. He could feel Ilay’s traces in small places. This was strange but often felt most clearly in Jeong Taeui’s room rather than Ilay’s room.

There were signs that Ilay was living there. In Jeong Taeui’s room in Berlin.

“……Suddenly, I miss my room……”

Jeong Taeui quietly whispered. Then he shrugged and sighed. Only a few days left. After the succession decision was made, Jeong Taeui would return to Berlin.

But when he thought of Berlin, another thing naturally came to mind.

Jeong Taeui picked up the phone placed on the bedside table next to the bed. He remembered he still hadn’t called to thank Kyle for the beers.

The phone only rang a few times before someone picked up. Kyle was always easy to contact. Rarely did he not answer the phone.

“Long time no see. How have you been?”

[“Oh, Taei! Of course, everything’s fine here. How about you?”]

Hearing Jeong Taeui’s voice, Kyle responded with evident joy. Just hearing it made his mood lift.

“Same here. It sounds like you have some good news?”

[“That’s right! Today, today! You called at the perfect time, just today! A rare book that I struggled to buy from a small members-only auction in Brazzaville – Congo, has arrived! Can you guess what it is?”]

“……No, I have no idea……”

Jeong Taeui thought – ‘Is there even an auction there and how did Kyle know about a small members-only auction in such a place?’

Kyle always had hidden aspects that even after living together for many years, he couldn’t fully know.

The book title that Kyle enthusiastically mentioned was one Jeong Taeui had never heard of. However, judging by Kyle’s excited and faster-paced voice, he could guess it was a book of value comparable to Moyers’ books.

[“By the way, has Chris returned the book yet?”]

“Not yet…… Even though I’ve reminded him, he acts like he didn’t hear.”

Jeong Taeui said awkwardly and Kyle’s voice lowered. The volume decreased and the speaking speed slowed down.

[“Oh, I see……”]

Kyle’s voice sounded much sadder than before, but perhaps because of the great joy he had today, his tone soon returned to normal.