Of course, he knew that rare books were always traded at astronomical prices, but he didn’t realize the prices could be that high. Now that he thought about it, this whole room and even his uncle’s house were treasure troves. He understood why people would resort to stealing books. Jeong Taeui looked at the book on the table with a curious expression and tried to guess its price, but his uncle had already stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hair, and approached him, patting his shoulder.

“Why are you staring at that book? If you want to read it, you can borrow it. But since it’s a rare book, make sure to read it and return it carefully.”

“I don’t have the courage to borrow a book worth $3,500.”

“$3,500? This book isn’t that expensive. Who told you that?”

His uncle wrapped a wet towel around Jeong Taeui’s neck while pulling a robe from the closet and putting it on.

Jeong Taeui sat on the chair and leaned back, speaking lazily with an upside-down view.

“Someone like the owner of an antique bookstore. He had very beautiful hands.”

“Beautiful hands? Who is it?”

Jeong Taeui raised his eyebrows slightly in confusion. He had said enough that he thought his uncle would quickly guess, but his uncle seemed unaware. Was he the only one who found those delicate white hands beautiful?

“He said he found Laurent Gastiye’s Mythology. The 1925 edition. He said it costs $3,500.”

‘What? Laurent Gastiye’s Mythology?’

A hint of pink appeared on his uncle’s face. With wide eyes and a bright smile, he approached Jeong Taeui. His fingers, busy fastening the robe, seemed to reflect his happiness.

“Uncle…… Have you spent a lot of money collecting these books?”

“What are you talking about? The 1925 edition of Mythology, oh my, that price is too cheap, way too cheap, really cheap. By the way, who is this kind-hearted broker? I should call back to thank him.”

“Ilay.”

When Jeong Taeui calmly mentioned the name of the owner of those beautiful hands, his uncle paused for a few seconds. Then he looked at Jeong Taeui with a very strange expression. At first, it seemed as if the name sounded unfamiliar, and his uncle didn’t know who it was. But then it seemed like he remembered right away. ‘Ah,’ he nodded, but the next moment, he looked at Jeong Taeui even more strangely.

“Who?”

“He said his name is Ilay. I didn’t hear the full name, but he seemed to know you very well. He knew right away I was your second nephew when I told him I was your nephew.”

“Ilay…… He said that? That name?”

“I heard it that way…… but seeing your reaction, I’m not so sure now. He used a voice modulator, so the pronunciation wasn’t very clear. But don’t you have any idea who it might be?”

“If that’s the case, you can just call back that number, so there’s no need to worry about the book.”

Jeong Taeui added, but his uncle just shook his head.

“No, I know who it is. It’s just that I haven’t heard that name in a while.”

“Does that person have many names?”

“That’s a sign of a scammer.” – Jeong Taeui grinned and muttered. However, the calm, cold tone and the elegant, beautiful hands of that person didn’t quite align with the word ‘scammer’. Still, it was hard to say that person looked like an antique book broker either, so it was not easy to judge someone by their hands and voice alone.

“His hands are really beautiful” Jeong Taeui murmured, while his uncle, taking out a bottle of wine from the refrigerator, looked at him with a complicated expression.

“Hands…… Right, I never paid attention, but now that I think about it, they might be fine.”

“I wonder if I’m the only one who thinks that way. He also said it’s the first time someone told him his hands are beautiful.”

“Probably so.”

What does he mean, ‘probably so’? Jeong Taeui briefly doubted his own sense of aesthetics.

His uncle returned to his usual calm demeanor, smiling as he twisted the corkscrew into the bottle. It wasn’t difficult to pull it out, and as he did, he began speaking.

“I don’t know if he’s ever heard that his hands are scary, but to say they’re beautiful is certainly unprecedented.”

“? Huh? His nails are straight and neatly trimmed like glass…… his hands are also beautiful to the point of being intimidating.”

His uncle didn’t respond to Jeong Taeui’s comment but simply smiled.

“Right. Did Tou show you this place? Since it’s close to the elevator, it shouldn’t have been too hard to find.”

His uncle changed the subject. Jeong Taeui, still absorbed in the memory of those delicate white hands, suddenly recalled his minor grudge against his uncle. Wandering around trying to find the way, he had almost wanted to throttle his uncle while grumbling about the house’s bizarre layout. Then the image of the soft, cotton candy-like young man in the shared bathroom flashed through his mind.

Jeong Taeui’s face flushed again.

His uncle, bringing over two glasses, noticed Jeong Taeui’s reddening face with curiosity. He seemed amused watching Jeong Taeui’s naturally red face.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Did the guys in our team joke around? They tend to do that. They’re not bad people, but when a new member joins, they play pranks for fun. You can think of it as kids teasing someone they like.”

His uncle consoled him, adding: “Don’t pay too much attention to it; it’s just men being men.”

Jeong Taeui looked at his uncle with suspicion and shook his head.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I don’t have any problems with my colleagues. I did get a light hit, but that was because I messed up first.”

“Really? So what’s the problem? Tou must have shown you around, so they couldn’t mess with you much. Did something happen after you left?”

A sweet fragrance wafted from the wine glass his uncle handed him. Jeong Taeui sniffed the sweet scent and clicked his tongue bitterly.

“Uncle, I heard there’s a warden on this floor?”

“Yes. The other members, including Kyoho, are on the sixth basement floor. Why do you want to come up here? Want to go out?”

His uncle joked while laughing, his eyes seemingly trying to find the hidden truth in Jeong Taeui’s words.

“…… I took the wrong elevator and ran into someone while I was lost.”

Jeong Taeui said calmly, but thinking about that person made him feel strangely uneasy. His uncle, entertained by Jeong Taeui’s expression, urged him to continue, ‘And then?’

“I think he was about to take a bath, and he showed me the way here.”

“…… Oh…… Alright, so who was it? Didn’t you ask his name?”

As if already having an idea, his uncle smiled knowingly. Jeong Taeui shook his head.

“No, I just asked for directions. He seemed very young, like he wasn’t even an adult yet. He looked soft…… He also looked a bit Western, but I think he’s Chinese.”

“Haha, he looked very young? Seems like your preference hasn’t changed. Could it be……”

His uncle shook his head enthusiastically, as if he could read Jeong Taeui’s mind. Jeong Taeui choked up and stared at his uncle.

“So, are there any minors here?”

“No…… but what’s wrong with being underage? Just be patient, wait a while, and reap the rewards when they grow up. Kids grow up in the blink of an eye.”

“Uncle, that’s not what I meant…… So…… who was that person?”

“Anyway, you already know who he is.”

Jeong Taeui grumbled as he asked. His uncle turned to look at his flushed face, then smiled and turned away.

“……An innocent kid. Jaeui said that love is quite complicated, but your reaction is so naive. I heard there was even a knife fight between two guys, and you were the one caught in the middle, right?”

“Did my brother say that?”

Jeong Taeui frowned and clicked his tongue. He had indeed had a rather colorful past. He had slept with a young guy a few times just because he found him cute, but the guy had a difficult and often irritable personality, so they didn’t date. The guy himself had said so. It was just a casual relationship where they met when they needed each other.

So, Jeong Taeui had trusted and believed that, but apparently, reality was different.

Jeong Taeui didn’t know why, but he was quite popular in the same-sex clubs. So, not long after, other people approached him, and then another guy showed up.

This person wasn’t ordinary either. So, between the ex and the new guy, a real bloody commotion broke out.

Because of that, Jeong Taeui had to be summoned to the police station for investigation. During that process, rumors spread to the military academy where Jeong Taeui was studying. After that, a series of hardships followed.

“So who was that person?”

When Jeong Taeui asked stiffly, his uncle smiled and shrugged.

“Perhaps you’ll meet again soon. He’s Xinlu. He’s responsible for the welfare and internal life of the members.”

“……Xinlu…… does he also live on this floor?”

“Yes, except for the members, everyone else lives on this floor. Even outside guests. When members from other branches come for joint training, they stay on the same floor as you.”

“Oh……”

Jeong Taeui murmured. He hadn’t thought about the logistics person. Now that he thought about it, Xinlu didn’t have much muscle, nor did he have any wounds or scars. With a body like that, there was no way he could be a member or a warden who had gone through numerous hardships. Naturally, eliminating all those possibilities, it left only logistics. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

Jeong Taeui scratched his head, then remembered the smooth and flawless skin and blushed again. His uncle stared at him, making him feel a bit self-conscious. So he shook his head to clear his mind, but it was useless.

“Living long enough to see this side of you. It truly makes life worthwhile.”

His uncle said it was amazing, but his tone was full of amusement. Jeong Taeui looked at his uncle with dissatisfaction and suddenly remembered why he had come here.

“But isn’t this too much? Uncle, I just want to stay alive and return in six months, but they say this place is a complete survival game.”

“Hmm?”

“I heard that countless people die during joint training. The number of injuries is countless. Why did you drag me into a survival game? It’s really too much.”

The truth was that what he had heard wasn’t as serious as that, but he couldn’t help but exaggerate a little. His uncle simply justified and reassured him.

“In cases of minor or serious injuries, one might have to go to the hospital, but deaths are rare. Don’t worry.”

“Yes…… but you know. If I get seriously injured, it would be a huge problem.”

“Yes, I know. If you get seriously injured, I’ll take you to the most advanced hospital immediately, so don’t be angry. I didn’t bring you here to kill you.’

His uncle said, laughing in a light tone. Jeong Taeui sighed.

As his uncle had said, if he were injured, even if it meant traveling the world, his uncle would do everything possible to save him. That was more out of duty than affection for his nephew, but his uncle had never been lax about such matters. So Jeong Taeui wasn’t worried about that. He just wanted to grumble a bit because of the dark future he foresaw. And in reality, it was very unlikely for Jeong Taeui to get seriously injured.

Yes, if Jeong Taeui were seriously injured, it would lead to many problems, especially since he couldn’t undergo surgery due to his unique physical condition. Whether he wanted it or not, his body was prone to severe rejection reactions to foreign substances injected into it more than the average person. One day, Jeong Taeui was seriously injured while clearing mines and was taken to the hospital, where they inserted a metal rod to fix his broken bone. But he had to undergo surgery again due to severe rejection.

“Well, I’m leaving now, it’s late. You must be tired too, so get some rest.”

“Isn’t this the book you took out to read? I’ll lend it to you; just take it and read it.”

His uncle stood up and handed him the book Jeong Taeui had left on the table. Jeong Taeui stared at the book for a moment. Although well-preserved, it couldn’t entirely escape the power of time, and the golden letters on the cover seemed to have faded. He was really afraid to touch the $3500 value.

“No…… I’d rather come here to read. This book is too valuable to borrow.”

“Is that so? I don’t mind, but if you’re comfortable here, that’s fine. When you get the room key from Xinlu, also get a spare key for my room. I’ll contact him. So, I guess you’ll have to get the key and the rulebook right away, won’t you?”

Jeong Taeui paused at the door after hearing his uncle’s words.

He did plan to get the key and the rulebook. He was going to find someone on duty and ask them to call the person in charge.

But now, the person in charge was still in the bathroom. He didn’t know if it was appropriate to call him now, and even if he could, it would be disturbing.

Seeing Jeong Taeui’s flushed face, his uncle spoke up as if he knew what he was thinking.

“If it’s Xinlu, he’ll probably be working overtime in the office after he finishes bathing. He has low blood pressure, so he won’t stay in the bathtub for long. Besides, he’s quite a workaholic. So even if you go now, you won’t be disturbing him.”

His uncle looked at him meaningfully, and Jeong Taeui glared back with a dejected look. Yes, he was attracted to that boy. Even if it wasn’t to the point of liking him, he still wanted to see him again and learn more about him.

Jeong Taeui felt embarrassed for no reason. Falling for someone isn’t something to be ashamed of.

His uncle, seeing Jeong Taeui’s expression, smiled calmly as if he had changed his mind.

“To love someone is a wonderful thing. To love and be loved. It’s the foundation of the world.”

“……You’re really good at saying things that make people feel embarrassed.”

Jeong Taeui grumbled, looking at his uncle with a mixed expression of annoyance and resignation. Then, leaving his uncle’s laughter behind, he walked out of the room.