“……Christoph?”

It seemed like someone mumbled in his dream. Jeong Taeui lifted his head from the book and looked towards the bed.

But it appeared he had misheard.

Christoph still had his eyes closed.

He lay sleeping soundly just as he was when Jeong Taeui had entered the room, curled up like a newborn and with his arms crossed over his chest as if hugging himself.

Jeong Taeui sat down in the chair next to the bed and gently fanned Christoph with the book he had been reading and watching him.

Christoph had mentioned feeling slightly feverish and unwell which worried Jeong Taeui, but fortunately that he didn’t seem to be in any particular pain. After confirming Christoph had fallen asleep, Taeui gently placed his hand on his forehead to check his temperature. He found that, while it was slightly warmer than usual, it was still nearly normal.

Not knowing what else to do, he sat down in the chair by the bed and picked up a book nearby to read. He thought if Christoph showed no signs of waking up, he would return to his room after a while.

While reading, he heard Christoph mumble something.

But when he turned his head, Christoph was still sleeping soundly. Perhaps he had misheard.

“……”

Jeong Taeui set aside the complex philosophy book he had never read, despite having finished a chapter without understanding anything. He then tilted his head to look at Christoph.

He was sleeping very peacefully.

Underneath the pale and bright face, Christoph was wearing neatly arranged pajamas reflecting his meticulous nature. All buttoned up to the collar.

Jeong Taeui always thought sleeping in just underwear was the most comfortable. There was a time when he was super exhausted, he bathed and then fell asleep completely naked. But the next morning, he felt more tired than ever and couldn’t get out of bed the entire next day. Since then, he has never slept completely naked again.

Even now, when feeling a bit tired and wanting to sleep comfortably, he would only wear underwear and perhaps a light shirt over it. Looking at Christoph – who adhered perfectly to his dressing rules even when sleeping – Jeong Taeui felt a sense of admiration.

“Silent and motionless, like a statue.”

Jeong Taeui muttered while looking at Christoph.

Soft blonde hair fell across his forehead and cheeks, his white skin slightly tinged with red around the cheeks and his straight nose.

Though he already knew, looking at him like this, he really was perfect……

“……Your eyes look a bit swollen.”

Jeong Taeui tilted his head.

Now, upon closer inspection, his eyes did seem a bit swollen.

However, normally it wasn’t noticeable and each time he looked, he thought those eyes were flawless, so this must be a temporary condition. It seemed they had only just started to swell.

“You haven’t been sleeping long. Why are your eyes swollen……?”

Jeong Taeui muttered, puzzled.

While he was staring at Christoph for a long while, the boy suddenly stirred as if sensing his gaze. Once, twice, his eyebrows moved slightly, then furrowed and after that, his eyelids slowly opened.

Blue eyes appeared beneath them.

Their eyes met.

“……”

“……”

Neither spoke for a long time.

Jeong Taeui sat at arm’s length from Christoph, elbows on his knees, chin in hand, staring at Christoph. Christoph, still lying in his sleeping position but with his eyes open, stared back at Jeong Taeui.

*Blink, blink* Each time he blinked, if one listened carefully, they could hear the rustling of his long eyelashes touching.

“……Taei.”

Christoph suddenly whispered, breaking the silence.

Jeong Taeui raised an eyebrow before answering.

Now he noticed not only were Christoph’s eyes swollen but his voice was hoarse too. Anyone would think he had just woken up after sleeping for twenty hours.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Jeong Taeui asked, wondering if Christoph was seriously ill despite appearing fine. Christoph just blinked a few times, looking puzzled as if he didn’t understand the question.

“Me?”

Christoph furrowed his brow slightly as if he didn’t understand what Jeong Taeui was talking about.

As usual, Christoph didn’t look pleased upon waking up. But he lay there quietly, blinking as if he wasn’t fully awake yet.

While furrowing his brow and blinking with a dazed expression, Christoph suddenly asked.

“Have you been here the whole time?”

“Huh? Oh…… for about 30 minutes?”

“……While I was sleeping, did you……”

Suddenly Christoph’s beautiful eyes narrowed sharply. Jeong Taeui instinctively moved back a little.

Had he noticed that Jeong Taeui was staring at him? But just looking shouldn’t be a problem. It’s only looking. Would he demand compensation for that……?

“You hugged me.”

The cold voice made Jeong Taeui’s jaw drop.

“NO!!!”

This accusation was truly beyond endurance.

Jeong Taeui nearly shouted reflexively, eyes wide and moved further back.

“First, if I wanted to hug you, I would do it while you’re awake, not secretly while you’re sleeping. Why would I sneak around just to hug you? I’m not that despicable or mean! Second, I don’t have that kind of interest! I’ve never looked at you that way and even if it were Ilay sleeping, I wouldn’t secretly hug him like that!”

But if it were Ilay, as soon as Jeong Taeui put a knee on the bed, he would wake up.

While Jeong Taeui hurriedly defended himself, Christoph looked at him with a skeptical expression.

“Really……?”

“Really!”

“……Alright.”

Still looking doubtful, Christoph tilted his head. Then he tilted it the other way. After repeating this a few times, he whispered as if he understood but was still skeptical.

“If you say so, I’ll take it that way.”

‘It’s not just “take it that way” I really didn’t touch you! You hate being touched; if I secretly touched you, I’d face severe consequences!’

Jeong Taeui screams internally but decided not to say it out loud. He didn’t want to talk more and risk making things worse.

“But why did you suddenly say that? Did you have a dream or something?”

Jeong Taeui sighed and asked.

“Dream?” – Christoph furrowed his brow again. He frowned for a while, his eyes wandering, then he tilted his head as if trying to recall a hazy memory. His cheeks, pressed against the pillow, puffed out softly.

Jeong Taeui resisted the urge to press on those cheeks, knowing it would be misunderstood and lead to accusations in this situation.

“It wasn’t a dream…… I’m sure someone hugged me. Someone held me tight from behind, clinging to my back, making it hard to breathe and uncomfortable. I struggled but couldn’t get free; I just wanted to wake up and deal with them……”

“That was a dream.”

Jeong Taeui concluded firmly.

There were at least two clear pieces of evidence in Christoph’s words that it was a dream.

First, if someone had hugged Christoph, considering his nature, he wouldn’t have let it happen. Don’t even talk about hugging; just lightly touching him would make him retaliate severely. Moreover, if someone didn’t know about Christoph’s aversion to physical contact and carelessly entered his room, it would only make him worse.

Second, even if someone hugged Christoph from behind, he wouldn’t just think about dealing with them after waking up but would handle it immediately.

As Jeong Taeui tried to explain logically, Christoph still looked at him skeptically but seemed to accept it, though with lingering doubts.

“Really?”

“That dream felt so real?”

“Yeah…… I was tired and sleeping. Suddenly, someone hugged me from behind. I could hear steady breaths and feel their breath on my shoulder. It made me itchy and sent chills down my spine, so I shrugged.”

“……Then why didn’t you wake up?”

“My eyes wouldn’t open. I couldn’t move a finger.”

“Ah, that’s sleep paralysis.”

Jeong Taeui provided a definitive conclusion. (Detective Jeong Taeui was back in action once more.)

This time Christoph’s expression became less skeptical and he asked with wide eyes.

“Sleep paralysis?”

“Yes. You couldn’t open your eyes or move.”

“Yes.”

“That’s sleep paralysis. Haven’t you experienced it before? I get it often when I’m tired

“I’ve never had it……”

Christoph nodded and mumbled as if sighing. His face mumbled: “Ah, so that’s sleep paralysis. This is the first time.” He muttered and finally seemed to let go of his suspicion, returning to normal.

Christoph – whose face had been tense – now looked calm again and suddenly lifted his head to look around. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table and then furrowed his brow.

“But why am I sleeping at this hour?”

“Huh? ……You said you were sick. Richard told me.”

“Sick?…… Me? Richard said that?”

Christoph tilted his head, not understanding.

“Yes. He told me to check on you. He seemed worried.”

The last part was a bit of a lie.

Of course, the tone did seem concerned, but Jeong Taeui didn’t believe Richard was truly worried about Christoph. He wasn’t the type to worry over a slight fever.

As Jeong Taeui spoke, Christoph also looked skeptical, as if what he heard was impossible.

“He was worried? Huh. ……But why am I sick?”

Christoph mumbled, not understanding.

Jeong Taeui remained silent. A strange feeling passed through him.

The conversation felt like one with an amnesiac. Christoph’s gaze was still hazy, as if not fully awake.

“……Chris. Earlier, when you had tea with guests from Saudi Arabia and then left the guest room with Richard after applying Tiger Balm on his eye…… did you have a fight and get hurt?”

Not wanting to admit he had eavesdropped, Jeong Taeui tried to remind Christoph of his memory.

Was he still not fully awake? Did he think this was a dream?

As Jeong Taeui tilted his head, wondering, Christoph furrowed his brow and mumbled – “Hmm.”

“Tiger Balm…… Yes…… And after that…… what happened?”

As expected, it was clear he wasn’t fully awake.

Christoph slowly shook his head as if it was very heavy, then sat up. He leaned on the bed as if very tired.

At that moment.

As he leaned against the headboard, Christoph suddenly shuddered.

Seeing Christoph recoil and his eyes widen, Jeong Taeui was also startled and widened his eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, down there……”

Christoph mumbled to himself, then reached down his pajamas. With eyes wide like a shocked child, he touched his butt.

“What’s wrong?”

“Down there it is a bit wet…… ……Something is leaking……”

Christoph said hesitantly, his face looking bewildered. Then, immediately, he froze in a terrible way.

Expression vanished from his face in an instant.

His face turned pale, bloodless. Jeong Taeui looked at him with concern.

“Chris…… What’s wrong?”

“……”

Christoph didn’t answer.

He was glued to the end of the bed as if he couldn’t hear anything.

His pale lips began to tremble.

“Christoph…… Chris?”

Jeong Taeui gently called again and light slowly returned to Christoph’s glassy eyes. His cold, angry blue eyes stared into space as if seeing something.

“Chris.”

“……It’s nothing.”

Christoph answered curtly. But his deep voice had a slight tremor. It was a voice filled with uncontrollable rage.

His pale, expressionless face gradually turned red. The redness spread from his face to his ears and neck. Though covered by pajamas, it seemed his entire upper body, or perhaps his whole body, was heating up.

The hand that had been lying on the blanket now clenched into a fist. The knuckles turned white as the hand trembled.

Christoph was furiously angry.

Jeong Taeui looked at Christoph, who was seething with rage but trying to appear calm, saying nothing was wrong and he felt confused.

“……Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine! Damn it, it’s just…… it’s just a little wet!”

Now even the corners of Christoph’s eyes were red. His eyes, which were already slightly swollen, now with red corners, really looked like he had just cried or was about to cry at any moment.

“Wet……?”

Jeong Taeui looked at Christoph, who still had his hand under his pajamas, unable to move. After a moment of silence, he came to a conclusion.

He tried to choose the most gentle and least offensive words, but it wasn’t easy. No matter what words he used, it would end up being very embarrassing. So, Jeong Taeui decided to ask cautiously, using the softest words he could think of.

“……Bedwetting……?”

“NO!!”

As Jeong Taeui hesitated and asked softly, Christoph jumped up and yelled.

Looking at Christoph, whose face was flushed and trembling. Jeong Taeui felt that if Christoph actually cried, he would be completely flustered and not know what to do. So he quickly raised his hands and denied it.

“No! It was just a joke, just a joke.”

Thinking that Christoph’s gaze could kill a person, Jeong Taeui unconsciously took a step back without any particular reason.

Christoph stared at Jeong Taeui for a long time, then finally huffed and turned his head away angrily.

His lips were still trembling. His fists – gripping the blanket tightly – were also shaking. Seeing Christoph trembling with anger, Jeong Taeui scratched his head.

Though he had made a joke, if it was wet down there……

Seeing Christoph still stiff with his hand under his butt, Jeong Taeui slowly realized another possible reason for the wetness in that area.

“……Christoph. Did something bad happen with Richard?”

His voice was so calm and steady that it surprised even himself.

When things are too unrealistic, they become more real. Christoph flinched but didn’t deny or confirm, only slightly furrowed his brow.

A headache came. A very painful one.

Jeong Taeui firmly massaged his temples and glanced at Christoph. He was still staring into empty space with a cold and angry expression.

“Hey……”

He wanted to say something but didn’t know what, so he closed his mouth. He didn’t know what to ask.

Whether or not Christoph understood Jeong Taeui’s confusion, he stared into space as if looking at a mortal enemy for a long time before sighing in frustration.

“Never mind. Anyway, it’s not the first time having relations with him…… But I can’t forgive this. I have to kill Richard……!”

Christoph mumbled wearily, then shook violently with anger, gritting his teeth.

Jeong Taeui looked at Christoph with confusion in his eyes. Suddenly, it felt like someone lightly tapped the back of his head.

“What……?”

The word ‘relations’ coming from Christoph’s mouth sounded strangely familiar. It felt like he had heard a similar word recently. The word itself was shocking, but the actual content wasn’t that serious.

Jeong Taeui blinked and looked at Christoph, who was still angrily muttering – “How should I kill him?”

Maybe it was like last time. If it was just light contact…… But he said it was wet. If something happened that was enough to make it wet down there……

Thinking this far, Jeong Taeui shook his head.

He didn’t want to think about it further. Thinking wouldn’t help. Moreover, like the fable of the boy who cried wolf, when the word ‘relations’ came out of Christoph’s mouth, the situation suddenly seemed much lighter.

If you think about it carefully, just touching down there could be a serious matter, but compared to the worst-case scenario, it was much lighter.

Furthermore, even if it was truly the worst-case scenario……

“……Why?”

Christoph might have sensed Jeong Taeui’s intense gaze, for he turned with an angry, distorted face. Christoph mumbled: “That filthy thing in that filthy place……”, then suddenly pursed his lips and looked at Jeong Taeui with a displeased expression.

That filthy thing in that filthy place……

It seemed like suddenly understanding the situation more clearly, Jeong Taeui decided not to think further to avoid increasing his headache. He hurriedly shook his head.

However, as he shook his head to deny it, Jeong Taeui realized that he too was clenching his fists. He noticed his fists were trembling and tried to relax. Only then did he realize he was angry.

“Oh my……”

Jeong Taeui took a deep breath and slowly unclenched his fingers.