Sometimes it is normal to get angry about other people’s issues and sometimes it is not. There are times when you should intervene decisively and times when you shouldn’t. It depends on the situation and circumstances.

And right now……

“Before leaving this house, I will strangle that bastard with my own hands.”

Seeing Christoph gnash his teeth and vow to himself, Jeong Taeui slowly released his tightly clenched pinky finger.

“……Chris. Are you okay?”

Jeong Taeui gently asked. Christoph turned to him with a face full of rage.

“Not at all okay. Very…… very terrible. I want to vomit but can’t. It’s really awful. I feel…… disgusting…… Eugh…… ——I told you not to try to stop me when I try to kill him again. If you try to intervene, I will deal with you first.”

Jeong Taeui looked at Christoph for a few seconds without saying a word. After harshly stating this while clutching his chest in nausea, Christoph continued to glare at him as if asking why he wasn’t responding.

Jeong Taeui suddenly laughed. He felt relieved.

“Alright, I won’t stop you…… Don’t worry. Because I’ll stand by and testify in court that – ‘I saw nothing.’ “

Christoph was silent for a while, then suddenly frowned and laughed loudly. He muttered – “What the hell” – and also relaxed his shoulders.

But then, suddenly, Christoph’s face stiffened as if he remembered something and became serious.

“I need to shower. It’s filthy.”

His voice was full of discomfort as Christoph tried to get up. But as soon as he stepped off the bed, he collapsed.

“Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine…… Ugh, it’s leaking again……”

Christoph lay face down on the bed, shivering with a pale face.

Jeong Taeui stood beside him, wanting to help but hesitated, wondering if he should. He knew Christoph wouldn’t like being touched, but Christoph couldn’t get up by himself either. However……

“……Didn’t you shower and go to bed?”

Thinking back, he recalled that Christoph looked very neat while sleeping. Even now, though his pajamas were slightly wrinkled from movement, they still looked as clean as if they had just been taken from the closet.

“……No?”

Thinking it over, Christoph answered vaguely and fell silent.

Jeong Taeui also fell silent.

A strange silence passed between the two for a moment.

“Then…… that must be it.”

Jeong Taeui said vaguely. Christoph also nodded in agreement, looking skeptical.

There was only one hypothesis that could explain this situation, but no matter how much he thought about it, the hypothesis was too absurd to voice. Surely Christoph had thought the same.

Christoph staggered to his feet like a newborn calf, repeatedly falling and standing up. Although Jeong Taeui tried to offer his hand, Christoph – staring at the hand for a moment – refused, saying he didn’t want to be touched at the moment. With each step, he muttered – “I must kill him, I must kill him” – and finally made it to the bathroom.

Standing at the doorway, Christoph unbuttoned his pajamas and suddenly stopped as if thinking about something.

Although still feeling uncomfortable, Jeong Taeui noticed Christoph seemed preoccupied with something and decided to head back to his room. Seeing Christoph standing still, he asked, surprised.

“What’s wrong?”

“……No matter how much I think about it, I can’t remember washing myself and putting on pajamas.”

“Uh……”

Jeong Taeui hesitated, then fell silent.

The subject he wanted to avoid had finally come up.

Of course, Jeong Taeui found it strange too.

What was surprising was that Christoph – usually very meticulous – couldn’t remember how he had cleaned and dressed himself for bed. This was highly unusual.

But the reason Jeong Taeui didn’t voice his suspicion was because……

If Christoph had experienced something terrible with Richard and had fallen asleep in a foggy state, unable to remember, but was now clean and neatly dressed in bed……

In this situation, no matter how much he thought about it, there was only one conclusion. The problem was that the conclusion was too unrealistic.

However, after a moment of silent thinking, Christoph finally voiced the unrealistic conclusion.

“No one but Richard could have done that. He must have put me in pajamas and laid me in bed.”

“……Yes…… theoretically.”

Jeong Taeui was surprised to hear Christoph say this seriously. He thought Christoph would never believe this hypothesis, but Christoph had said it first.

Christoph looked at Jeong Taeui, who was scratching his head with a serious expression.

“Maybe he did it out of some leftover conscience.”

If Richard had a conscience, he wouldn’t have done that in the first place, but for now, Jeong Taeui said it to comfort. Above all, the more surprising thing was that Christoph admitted the possibility that Richard might have done a good deed—although it wasn’t clear if it could be called a good deed.

He thought if it were the old Christoph, even if all evidence pointed to Richard taking care of and dressing him, Christoph would firmly deny it and rather believe he had sleepwalked.

Christoph paused for a moment, he looked at Jeong Taeui then down at himself.

The clean, smooth pajamas had been freshly washed and were neatly pressed. His body was thoroughly cleaned with no dirt or stains. Even though he still felt uncomfortable inside.

“Richard……”

Christoph spoke softly, as if lost in thought.

“What?” – Jeong Taeui asked back, his heart pounding heavily.

Even if Richard had done something terrible, could Christoph still be willing to acknowledge some small good deed?

Jeong Taeui stared at Christoph with curiosity.

After a moment of silent thinking, Christoph suddenly tilted his head slightly and spoke in a low voice.

“Did he smear Nessus blood* on it?”

(*Nessus blood: a concept originating from Greek mythology. Nessus’ blood contained poison and was used to smear on the hero Heracles’ shirt => leading to his death. In this context, Christoph suspects Richard might have smeared poison on his pajamas.)

Jeong Taeui silently looked at Christoph. Christoph, seemingly considering it a reasonable hypothesis, asked Jeong Taeui for his opinion with shining, eager eyes.

“……Does the clothing stick to your skin?”

“No……”

“Does it feel like it’s burning when you wear it?”

“No.”

“Then it’s not.”

“……Probably not.”

Though he nodded in agreement, still frowning in confusion, Christoph stepped into the bathroom.

Jeong Taeui sighed, looking at Christoph with admiration – who always looked at Richard with hatred – such a malicious emotion very fitting for this situation.

He felt exhausted.

He still had much to learn about judging people. Remembering the first time Richard came to Berlin, he had thought Richard looked friendly and had a good impression of him, which earned him a cold look from Ilay.

“……”

He sighed again and gently patted his heavy chest a few times.

He decided that after returning to his room, he wouldn’t shower but would immediately lie down on the bed. He trudged heavily out of Christoph’s room.

It was as if someone had been hiding somewhere and waiting for the right moment. As soon as the door to Jeong Taeui’s room opened, the phone rang.

*RING RING RING* – The short and hurried ring was from the intercom.

“Huh” – Jeong Taeui hesitated for a moment, then quickly walked over and picked up the receiver.

“What’s going on? I’m listening.”

As soon as he picked up the phone, he spoke and there was a brief silence on the other end before a response came. Only then did Jeong Taeui realize – ‘Oh, is this someone else?’  – and scratched his head.

In this mansion, there were only a handful of people who could call him. Among those few, the most likely candidate was someone who had just entered the bathroom a few minutes ago and was now taking a shower. So, the next most likely person was……

“……Hello?”

Jeong Taeui answered cautiously, as if to correct his earlier statement. This time, the person on the other end responded without hesitation.

[“It seems like during your time here, you haven’t made any friends. You always think it’s me calling.”]

“Oh, so it is you.”

As expected. It was Ilay.

Jeong Taeui frowned and grumbled, then flopped onto the sofa, feeling like he was about to fall into a deep sleep.

“I was planning to come to your room.”

When Jeong Taeui mumbled this, the person on the phone asked – [“Why, is there something wrong?”]

There wasn’t any particular reason. When he left Christoph’s room, the thought of stopping by Ilay’s room crossed his mind as he headed back to his own. When one is tired, random thoughts like this sometimes appear.

However, as he slowly walked toward the main staircase and stopped before reaching it, he realized that Ilay’s room in The East Wing was too far considering his tired state of mind and body.

Forget it. Nothing worth mentioning and if anything went wrong, it would just be more exhausting.

Jeong Taeui came to this conclusion and returned to his room.

[“How is Christoph?”]

Jeong Taeui, who was vaguely thinking that Ilay was asking about someone else’s well-being inappropriately, suddenly became alert. His eyes sharpened.

“Now that I think about it, you must know everything.”

[“What?”]

“Richard has gotten to that guy. You must have heard everything.”

[“Hmm? Oh.”]

Ilay’s tone pretended to be unaware, as if he had just remembered.

Anyway, Jeong Taeui stared at the phone and sighed. Knowing beforehand wouldn’t have changed anything. He might have been able to stop it immediately, but considering the overall situation, the result might not have been much better.

[“These people just meeting each other seems like they want to devour one another. So I figured something might have happened.”]

“No…… people who always want to devour others rarely take such extreme actions.”

Jeong Taeui pressed his aching temples and mumbled.

[“But still, he didn’t pass out or become unable to move, right?”]

“Yeah, he seemed a bit tired but was still alert and walking normally…… No, I think that’s not the main issue.”

[“Unless it’s a political issue between Richard and Christoph in this situation. So you’re talking about psychological burdens and shocks, right?”]

“Yeah, that’s right.”

[“Then how is the situation different from a few hours ago? The man you’re concerned about has already had a relationship with someone else. What’s there to worry about? I mean – ‘Finally did something disgusting’ – it’s the same now as it was before. Just the physical burden is different.”]

“……After hearing that, I realize it doesn’t seem wrong……”

Though it sounded like an excuse, Jeong Taeui couldn’t find a rebuttal immediately. Then, when he thought about Christoph, who had been trembling with anger and saying he would kill Richard, it didn’t seem like he was falling into a negative mindset. Jeong Taeui sighed and nodded.

“Actually, that’s true. So, what’s the matter?”

[“I just wanted to hear your voice.”]

“……Who are you?”

Jeong Taeui asked seriously, but it seemed like the person on the other end misunderstood it as a joke. A low chuckle echoed.

[“I called to check if you got back to your room safely.”]

Jeong Taeui wanted to give the same answer as before but didn’t dare to say it.

He wasn’t walking through a dangerous path at night but was just moving within the mansion. What could possibly make him return to his room unsafely? Besides, Jeong Taeui wasn’t a fragile woman needing such a concerned call.

“What could possibly prevent me from returning to my room safely? This house doesn’t have self-defense traps or anything.”

[“You know, Jeong Taei, you seem like the type who would follow strangers if they offered you candy.”]

“No, I wouldn’t!”

Jeong Taeui seriously denied it.

Actually…… something like that did happen. Nearly 30 years ago, when Jeong Taeui was still naive.

However, little Jeong Taeui didn’t follow. He didn’t really want to eat candy and moreover, he felt shy about accepting gifts from strangers he had never met.

The reason for not following might have been unusual, but still he didn’t follow.

However, the voice on the phone chuckled.

[“If I just said it was free, you wouldn’t follow. But if I said there’s candy over there that you wanted to give to your friend XX and asked if you wanted to go see it, you would follow.”]

“……”

That had happened before.

A man had told little Taeui that he had a precious book for his older brother and since his brother liked books, little Taeui had happily followed. Then, while on the way, they coincidentally met a neighbor lady who helped him.

“Have you investigated my background?”

Jeong Taeui asked suspiciously and there was a moment of silence on the other end. Only then did Jeong Taeui regret his slip of the tongue.

[“Taei…… Don’t make me really worry.”]

The man’s voice seemed a bit serious. Hearing such a tone, Jeong Taeui felt it was somewhat worth slipping up.

Jeong Taeui chuckled.

That was the reason. The reason why he stayed by this man’s side.

“Actually, if you look at the reality, the one who really needs to worry isn’t me but you……”

[“Me?”]

An unexpected answer came. Surely, no one had ever seen this man worrying about someone else.

“Yeah. Aren’t you afraid of being caught by anti-terrorist agents, or suddenly having an enemy attack with a knife, or accidentally detonating a bomb while on a mission?”

Though all of these scenarios seemed quite plausible, they weren’t very likely…… but still, it was fine.

On a night as tiring and sleepy as this, spending some time on such silly conversations was a good thing. It was even better that the other person was Ilay. Even more wonderful was hearing a laugh from the other end.

Thinking back, how long had it been since he had a meaningless phone chat with this man? ……It wasn’t bad.

And at that moment, there was a heavy knock on the door.

“……?”

Jeong Taeui turned his head in surprise toward the room door and a voice came from the phone.

[“A guest…… I guess I have to hang up now.”]

“Huh…… Huh?”

The knock seemed to be at his own room door and as Jeong Taeui shook his head in confusion, a clicking sound of annoyance came from the phone.

[“An annoying intruder at this hour. Alright, have a sweet dream.”]

After saying the last words, the call ended.

Jeong Taeui stared blankly at the phone.

No way the phone’s performance was so good it could transmit the knock so clearly……

Then the knocking sounded again. This time, it was definitely at Jeong Taeui’s room door.

What perfect timing.

Jeong Taeui put down the receiver and headed toward the door. He thought about the few people who might come to his room at this hour and opened the door.

“What’s going on?”

“…… Sorry for the late visit. I wanted to talk for a bit.”

A man stood before Jeong Taeui, who greeted him with a friendly idiom. The man hesitated a bit, then nodded politely and spoke.

A distinguished guest from Saudi Arabia, he was dressed in a Thobe and Ghutra, creating a stark contrast with the surroundings.

“I…… I’m sorry. I thought you were my friend.”

Jeong Taeui quickly apologized and stepped aside.

This was the man who accompanied Malik. His name was…… He had heard it before but couldn’t recall…… Asking for his name again would be extremely rude.

While Jeong Taeui was sweating nervously, the man quietly entered the room and sat at the table Jeong Taeui had indicated. Jeong Taeui then sat in the chair opposite him.

The man stared at Jeong Taeui for a while. His dark brown eyes seemed to be searching for something on every corner of Jeong Taeui’s face. Finally, he spoke.

“My name is Karim Aziz.”

“Oh, yes…… I am Jeong Taeui.”

Thankfully, the man had said his name first, which relieved Jeong Taeui’s concern about forgetting his name.

“You look a lot like Mr. Jeong Jaeui.”

When hearing the familiar name from Aziz’s mouth, Jeong Taeui raised his eyebrows slightly, then quickly nodded and smiled: “Oh, yes.”

“Really? Many people say we are brothers but don’t look alike.”

“No. Just looking at you, it’s obvious you’re brothers.”

Aziz’s firm statement with a shake of his head seemed sincere. Even so, Jeong Taeui thought about his brother, who he believed didn’t resemble him much and nodded vaguely.

“I suppose you’ve met him.”

Switching the conversation topic, Jeong Taeui suddenly thought about the guest who should have visited Ilay.

……Aha.

Knowing the reason and predicting a phenomenon were different things, but it wasn’t too hard to guess the reason afterward.

“I met and talked with Mr. Jeong Jaeui once a few years ago.”

Aziz spoke calmly.

Unlike Malik, Aziz smiled less and spoke quite directly, but that made Jeong Taeui feel more at ease. At least he didn’t feel obliged to be overly friendly.

“Perhaps he’s not an interesting person to talk to……”

Jeong Taeui smiled, thinking of his often silent brother who muttered to himself when deep in thought and Aziz shook his head.

“He is an excellent person. Even at a young age, he had such great insight that I wondered if I could keep up with him in the future.”

Aziz, who seemed a few years away from graying hair, spoke quietly and lowered his eyes.

Jeong Taeui felt a bit embarrassed and scratched the back of his neck. Then he sighed inwardly, realizing the conversation might continue in this direction.

Jeong Taeui pondered for a moment, then lifted his head.

At times like this, prolonging the conversation wasn’t good. He had experienced this many times.

“Thank you for respecting my brother. I haven’t seen him in years, so I haven’t heard any news about him. Hearing your news about him after such a long time is pleasant. When we were young, we lived together, but as we grew older, we began to lead separate lives, almost no different from strangers.”

“Of course, I still care about him” – Jeong Taeui added, smiling broadly.

Aziz looked at Jeong Taeui intently.