Three days later, they finally arrived in Berlin.

Jeong Taeui had spent nearly the entire three days resting in bed. During that time, Ilay had brought him a passport. Ilay mentioned that the quality of this passport wasn’t very good, so it couldn’t be used many times. Jeong Taeui figured it was similar to the kind his uncle had said he would arrange for him previously. Jeong Taeui packed his things and prepared to go to Berlin with that passport.

In the morning they left Johannesburg, while Jeong Taeui was busy packing his luggage (though he didn’t have much to call luggage), Ilay barely moved. Seeing this, Jeong Taeui asked him.

“So where are you planning to go now?”

Ilay didn’t bother to answer. He just frowned irritably and shot Jeong Taeui a displeased look at his question about where he would go. With mixed feelings of sadness (because Ilay wasn’t going with him) and relief (for escaping from this crazy guy), Jeong Taeui headed to the airport. However, the sadness seemed to outweigh the relief.

It was only when they reached the airport and Jeong Taeui saw Ilay getting a ticket at the same counter that he looked at him in confusion.

“Berlin? …….Is your flight connecting there before going somewhere else?”

“No.”

Ilay replied curtly. He had seemed extremely annoyed about something all morning.

Jeong Taeui stared at him blankly, then mumbled: “Hmm” and after thinking for a moment, he tentatively asked,

“Are you coming home too?”

Ilay didn’t respond. At that question, he just scowled and crushed the ticket in his hand.

“Aha.”

Jeong Taeui silently sighed.

So that’s it.

Jeong Taeui, having somewhat figured out the situation, decided to stay silent. But then he burst out laughing. This man decided to return simply because he hated hearing Rita’s nagging. 

“If you hate going home so much that you grimace like that, wouldn’t it be better to stay somewhere else as you said?”

“You said you would stay at my house in Berlin.” – Ilay replied sulkily.

“Yes, I did, but so what?”

Once again, Jeong Taeui received no answer. The already crumpled ticket in Ilay’s hand was now being squeezed even tighter.

Jeong Taeui contacted Kyle before going through the boarding procedures at Johannesburg airport, safely with the help of the corrupt cop his uncle had given him the contact for. He informed Kyle that he was leaving right now and mentioned that Ilay would be coming with him. Kyle was speechless for a moment before quickly regaining his composure and assuring him that he would send Peter to pick them up at the airport.

So ——When they arrived at Berlin airport, they had to wait for Peter for a while as he was stuck in traffic during rush hour.

Jeong Taeui wondered when Peter would arrive while Ilay went to the restroom.

Remembering Peter’s character, who was extremely punctual and now had to crawl through traffic inch by inch, Jeong Taeui laughed, imagining Peter’s face at that moment.

It would have been nice to contact Peter, but Jeong Taeui had lost his phone a long time ago. Ilay had a phone, but he said it was out of battery.

“The marvel of civilization lies in the fact that when it’s a part of daily life, people don’t realize how convenient it is, but when it’s gone, they see how inconvenient it is without it…….”

Jeong Taeui thought that he should buy a new phone, but then he quickly shook his head. From now on, he would have to live quietly in hiding. So why would he need a phone? At this point, a watch on his wrist would be more important to Jeong Taeui than anything else.

Jeong Taeui glanced at his watch. It had been 30 minutes. He was confident in his patience, but just standing and waiting in one spot was getting boring.

“Did that guy die in the bathroom or something?”

Grumbling, Jeong Taeui turned towards the restroom. However, his eyes were drawn to the vending machine nearby. Especially to the cans of Schultheiss, which were shining enticingly.

“Oh…….”

Jeong Taeui jingled the coins in his pocket and quickly walked to the vending machine. Thinking it would be fine if he only bought one for himself, he nevertheless ended up taking two cans. Opening one, he took a few sips and let out a satisfied sigh. Holding the other can for Ilay, he waited for him to come out of the restroom.

But Ilay didn’t come out.

Jeong Taeui thought that maybe Ilay had really passed out there, so he went inside. However, Ilay was nowhere to be seen.

Jeong Taeui was a bit puzzled.

He thought Ilay might be in one of the stalls, but they were all empty.

“………”

The guy had vanished after going to the restroom, and he wasn’t in there. Jeong Taeui tilted his head in thought. He tossed his empty beer can into the trash, opened the other can, took a sip, and wondered where Ilay had gone. But then he figured that Ilay would show up eventually.

At that moment.

Jeong Taeui thought he saw Ilay’s figure on the second floor out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to look more closely, he saw a familiar figure walking by. The second floor housed airline offices and was not as crowded as the first floor. But what business did Ilay have up there? Why had he gone there? Jeong Taeui scratched his neck and walked up the stairs on the east side to the second floor. However, he only saw office staff occasionally going in and out of break rooms or restrooms, and no one else.

Was he mistaken? Where had Ilay gone?

Jeong Taeui took a few more sips of beer and walked forward, needing to use the restroom, so he headed to the men’s room on the second floor. Just as he reached the door, he stopped when he heard a familiar voice inside. It was Ilay.

“What the……. I thought you went to the bathroom. But why come up to the second floor…….”

Maybe because it’s less crowded here?……. Hmm, if Jeong Taeui had something as monstrous as that, he probably wouldn’t want others to see it either……. <…….>

But then, his thoughts were interrupted by painful memories related to that monster.

Ilay was probably on the phone with someone inside. Oh right, didn’t he say his phone was dead? When did he charge it?

Jeong Taeui tilted his head back and took another gulp of beer, intending to finish it before going inside. Meanwhile, Ilay’s voice continued on the phone, and Jeong Taeui could hear it.

“How much? 1.5 million(Euro)?……. —- Well, that fee isn’t too tempting (too low), so I’ll pass this time. Oh, and another thing. Don’t contact me for a while……. yeah, if necessary, I’ll reach out later. Yes, I’ve decided to live like an unemployed person for a while……. That way, someone will take responsibility for supporting me…….— Okay, don’t call me unless it’s important. He’s very perceptive and will figure it out right away.”

*Gulp.*

Jeong Taeui choked on his drink. For some reason, the beer that had just flowed down his throat suddenly tasted bitter. This was supposed to be a good-quality beer, so why did it taste so different after just a few sips?

Jeong Taeui quietly tiptoed out of the restroom, not sure if the bitterness was from the beer or something else.

“……..”

He threw the can with a few sips left into the trash and dejectedly returned to his original spot on the first floor. He stood there for a while until he finally saw Ilay coming back from a distance.

What should he do about this? Should he expose Ilay? But that didn’t seem necessary. Besides, what was this crazy guy even up to? And why did he boastfully claim he would support this spoiled brat with a diamond spoon in his mouth?

“What are you thinking so deeply about? Why are you looking at people like that?”

Ilay walked over leisurely and tilted his head, noticing Jeong Taeui’s troubled expression. Then, seeing the vending machine nearby, he walked over and took out two cans of Schultheiss.

“Here, it’s your favorite.”

Jeong Taeui took the beer can from Ilay and replied glumly.

“Thanks.”

He stared at Ilay for a while, contemplating, but he knew Ilay’s personality very well. He needed to lay his cards on the table, but Jeong Taeui also knew that after making those nonsensical promises, even knowing the truth behind them wouldn’t make any difference.

Jeong Taeui took a sip of beer with a face as dejected as a soggy rice cake. Ilay leaned down, looking at his despondent face, and asked.

“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly like this?”

But Jeong Taeui just shook his head without responding.

Even if he exposed the truth, he would only be suppressed.

That would be as unreasonable as the promise of the proletariat to support the bourgeoisie in this situation.