Immediately after, Xinlu stepped out with a tray from a small room. The tea looked dangerous, so Jeong Taeui quickly stood up and took the tray. Xinlu’s smiling face saying – “Thank you” – was also very adorable.

As his uncle had said, his taste had never changed. For the second time in his life, his heart raced wildly before such a lovely and beautiful young man.

“Have you adapted to this place now? It’s tiring, isn’t it?”

Sitting opposite Jeong Taeui, Xinlu spoke. Jeong Taeui momentarily pondered what that meant, but when he realized that Xinlu was asking about his condition after being here for a few days, Jeong Taeui nodded with an – “Ah.”

If he said he wasn’t tired, that would be a lie. In reality, just practicing and completing all the tasks during office hours from 8 a.m to 5 p.m left him with plenty of free time to rest. Whether he drank alcohol or smoked, no one would say anything, so the schedule here was much more relaxed than in the military.

However, the tasks during official training were quite strenuous. He felt he had to complete twice the amount of work in half the time. There was a lot to learn, and the members working with him were top talents from the outside, so it wasn’t easy to compete with them.

Carlo, with his massive physique, wasn’t afraid of anyone. Tou always hovered around with simple thoughts, and Alta was a hot-tempered person reeking of alcohol….. Thinking further, the madman he had seen in the video yesterday was also a rare talent…..

Jeong Taeui didn’t want to think about anything anymore. He sighed deeply to lighten his empty head. In what direction would the world around him turn?

“Are you tired? I have dried fruit soaked in honey. Would you like some?”

Suddenly, Jeong Taeui was startled when he realized Xinlu’s presence. Xinlu was looking at him with a concerned expression.

He didn’t know when, but Xinlu’s face had come right in front of his eyes. He could even see the glistening fine hair on Xinlu’s ears. The cheeks were also round like a child.

His heart skipped a beat for a moment. When Xinlu came closer, the scent of soap also wafted to his nose. Suddenly, his chest felt hot.

But it wasn’t just his chest that felt hot.

“Um….. I’m not very tired, but if it’s from you, I also want to try.”

Jeong Taeui forced a smile and tried to speak calmly. Xinlu gently responded, “Yes, yes,” and stood up to go to the private room.

As soon as Xinlu disappeared from view, Jeong Taeui carefully, without making a sound, started pounding his chest like crazy.

What’s wrong with you, Jeong Taeui? You’ve only met him for a few days, and you’re already showing such an ugly side. Snap out of it, Jeong Taeui! He’s still just a kid. Look at the fine hair on his ears and the cheeks still full of youth. How can you have such dark thoughts about a child?

But on the other hand, he could also hear a whisper in a corner of his heart. If he’s 22 years old, he’s clearly an adult. There’s no reason to feel ashamed of having such thoughts. Besides, he’s not forcing Xinlu to do anything. Look, they’re still just drinking tea together, and the atmosphere is very good, isn’t it?

Jeong Taeui was struggling with a mess of thoughts clashing in his mind. In any case, the top priority was to calm his body, which was heating up from the soft fragrance. Jeong Taeui wondered if it was because it had been accumulating too much lately. Yes, thinking back, it had been over a month since he last properly enjoyed that fragrance, but he still had a long way to go. He had to control himself.

Jeong Taeui pounded his chest like he was thirsty. He took deep breaths and slapped himself until his body cooled down a bit. At the same time, Xinlu returned.

“What’s wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable somewhere?”

Seeing Jeong Taeui pounding his chest, Xinlu looked at him strangely and placed the plate of dried fruit down. Jeong Taeui smiled and shook his head, smoothing his chest.

He silently drank his tea and looked up.

Even though Xinlu looked very young, he wasn’t a child. The gentle curves of his eyes, the moist full lips, the round cheeks, and the smooth white skin made him look younger than his actual age, especially in a sensual aspect.

Xinlu raised his head, perhaps sensing his gaze. Then he smiled. Jeong Taeui felt a little guilty. Did Xinlu read something in his eyes?

“Hey, I heard that Jeong Jaei-hyung used to work at the headquarters before. He’s your brother, right?”

“Huh? Jaeui-hyung? Yes, that’s right.”

Jeong Taeui nodded, relieved to have a topic to talk about. Perhaps the news that Jaeil was his brother had spread throughout the branch. Indeed, with over a hundred people trapped in one building, there couldn’t be any secrets. Though this wasn’t really a secret.

“He’s very smart. Everyone says so. I heard you two are twins.”

“Hmm….. Yes, but my brother and I are different. From our faces to our brains to our personalities, he’s better than me in every way.”

Jeong Taeui took a piece of dried fruit and bit into it.

Nothing could challenge Jaeil. From the beginning, it was an obvious truth. Jeong Jaeil was someone no one could beat. Up until now, Jeong Taeui had gotten used to all kinds of reactions from people regarding his brother. Having experienced it for a quarter of a century, he couldn’t help but get used to it.

So now everything was fine. But recently, it had been a bit difficult because most people wanted to approach him just to get to Jaeil. If they made it clear from the start that they wanted to approach Jaeil, it would be so much better. The bitterness of knowing that the purpose of those who approached him lay elsewhere was unparalleled.

Jeong Taeui thought about the past for a moment and then smiled. Naturally, people would get used to anything that repeated too many times. The first few times could hurt and be painful, but when similar things repeated, the heart would be covered like a shield, so it wouldn’t feel anything anymore.

Jeong Taeui absentmindedly looked at the fine red color of the tea cup’s aroma.

So it was like that. For any reason, if this young man was really interested in Jeong Jaeil behind him and intended to use Jeong Taeui as a means…..

Then…..

Jeong Taeui smiled.

So what? He could only go with the flow.

Some things could be reached, but others couldn’t be touched. People’s hearts were like that.

But even if this boy did what others had done to him, he was still a lovely and innocent-looking young man.

“Do you want to meet him?”

Jeong Taeui asked as he enjoyed the aroma spreading in the tea cup. Xinlu, for a moment, opened his eyes wide. His face seemed not to understand what Jeong Taeui was saying. Then he seemed to understand and shook his head.

“I have no reason not to want to meet him, but….. I don’t know him.”

“That’s true…..”

Jeong Taeui only smiled calmly.

Thinking back, it wasn’t always that bad. After all, although they approached him to meet Jeong Jaeil, some of them still stayed with Jeong Taeui. If it weren’t for Jaeil, they would never have had the chance to know each other from the start, but in the end, they were still by his side.

“But it seems like you’re very popular.”

“Huh?”

“Because you’re brothers. Although you two don’t look alike, if you’re twins, there must be some resemblance. If you’re as smart as he is, you must be very popular.”

“…..”

Jeong Taeui held the teacup in his hand and blinked continuously. Xinlu seriously said this and drank his tea as if nothing was special. Jeong Taeui looked at him, puzzled.

What should he say? Those words seemed to lift his spirits a lot.

“Hmm….. My brother is popular. (Though it’s mostly among ambitious organizations in different countries). But….. I’m not popular at all.”

Jeong Taeui said, bewildered. Then Xinlu opened his eyes wide in surprise and looked at him.

“Maybe because you don’t know it. You’re also very popular. You look amazing.”

Xinlu smiled and clearly said, brushing the messy hair in front of Jeong Taeui’s forehead. His clean small hand slid across Jeong Taeui’s cheek and touched his ear.

“The contours of your face are also very clear….. I think you shouldn’t have such long sideburns, it will hide your face. Your neckline looks beautiful, so you can cut your hair short.”

“Um….. really?”

Jeong Taeui replied with a mind floating in the clouds.

He couldn’t move a finger. That hot hand slid over his forehead and cheek. The fingers touching his nape for a moment were very itchy. It was hard to breathe.

“Oh….. You’re hurt. There’s a bruise here. Wait, I have ointment, let me get it for you.”

Xinlu’s hand stopped between his shoulder and neck. Until now, Jeong Taeui hadn’t noticed the wound, but when he pressed it lightly, it hurt. Maybe he got hit during some fight.

Xinlu opened a drawer, took out an ointment bottle, and put a bit into his hand, then gently stroked Jeong Taeui’s neck.

“Oh no, it’s okay. It doesn’t hurt much.”

Jeong Taeui tried to stop Xinlu,

 but suddenly fell silent. His voice was a bit hoarse. Hearing his voice made him even more embarrassed.

Fortunately, Xinlu didn’t notice and started applying ointment to Jeong Taeui’s neck. The soft fingers gliding over his neck felt very comfortable, like a massage.

However, Jeong Taeui was very confused. Xinlu’s breath was still blowing into his ear. The steady breathing and warm breath made his face hot.

“Xinlu. That’s enough, stop…..—”

His body became burning hot. Finally, Jeong Taeui grabbed Xinlu’s wrist and pulled it away. He told himself this was the most mature moment. But more harmful than anything was the reaction in his crotch.

The thin fabric of his pants was not enough to hide the part that was getting harder.

Xinlu, suddenly pushed away, looked at him with a puzzled expression. But then Xinlu soon realized Jeong Taeui’s gaze and looked down. He could feel Xinlu’s surprise as he looked down.

Embarrassment lingered on Jeong Taeui’s face. He didn’t know what to do at this moment.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue, feeling his head heating up. He felt angry at his own stupidity.

What am I doing? I’m not a teenager full of energy anymore.

He wished someone would suddenly rush in and punch him in the face, knocking him out completely.

“Hyung….. my hand..”

“…..So—…..Sorry…..”

Jeong Taeui realized he was still holding Xinlu’s small wrist tightly. Their eyes met. Childlike eyes blinked at Jeong Taeui. Facing those eyes, Jeong Taeui’s face heated up again.

He abruptly stood up from his seat, pushing the chair away. Jeong Taeui grabbed his empty hand nervously, not knowing what to do, just kept muttering: “Sorry”, and turned his head away. He should have explained or apologized more, but now he could hardly face that face.

Jeong Taeui hurriedly ran out of the office and stepped into the dark hallway.

He didn’t think he could be so easily disappointed in life.

Jeong Taeui took long strides, almost running towards the elevator. Two people passed him, but none of them intended to stop a guy with a red face to ask what happened.

Jeong Taeui wandered aimlessly with a troubled mind. When he came to his senses, he was standing in front of his uncle’s door.

He pulled the door handle hard, but it was locked. It seemed his uncle had gone somewhere. Anyway, that was good.

Jeong Taeui took out the key he always carried and opened the door, then stepped inside. The room was still arranged so neatly that not even a speck of dust could be seen.

He casually took off his shirt, opened the fridge, and grabbed a beer can, then gulped it down. Just a few sips and the can was empty. Not enough, Jeong Taeui grabbed another can and drank. This time he also finished it in one gulp. He took out another can and drank half of it. Only then did he feel his body calm down a bit.

Suddenly, a large mirror next to the table caught his eye. He directed his gaze to the person in the mirror. From his earlobes to his nape and even his face were all red. Seeing that, Jeong Taeui became even more embarrassed. He took the cold beer can and pressed it to his cheek. He wanted his cheek to cool down, but before that, his hand had already heated up.

Jeong Taeui stood there holding the beer can, then opened the fridge door and sat down in front of it.

His lower body had already fallen asleep for a long time, as if it had never woken up. But from his face to his chest, it was still burning.

“Damn it….. If it had stayed asleep like this, it shouldn’t have woken up in the first place. Why make things awkward?”

Jeong Taeui looked down at his pants and cursed. However, that mindless thing couldn’t understand his words. It was all because of his head.

Jeong Taeui sat on the floor in front of the fridge door, looking at his feet. Suddenly, he raised his hand to touch his nape, feeling the place where the soft fingers had just brushed.

The ointment was still slippery and hadn’t completely absorbed. He tried rubbing it in.

It was just an ordinary hand applying ointment for him, no way his body heated up even when he used his own hand to rub it hundreds of times. But because the owner of that hand was Xinlu.

“Maybe I’m really attracted to him….. what should I do?”

Jeong Taeui muttered aloud, but there was no answer. He thought that if he said it out loud, his mind would organize itself a bit, but he didn’t feel that.

Jeong Taeui raised the back of his hand to cool his burning face uselessly.

He needed something to relax his mind. If it stayed like this, it would take forever for the heated atmosphere to calm down. Should he take a cold shower? Maybe cooling his body would also cool his mind.

Jeong Taeui drank the rest of the beer can before standing up.

He had uselessly drunk beer. The more he drank, the hotter his face became.

Jeong Taeui cursed his own stupidity and headed for the bathroom. It was best to fill the tub with cold water and soak in it.

Jeong Taeui turned on the water, absentmindedly watching the stream flow. It seemed he had just heard a faint ringing sound mixed with the sound of water.

He half-stretched out of the bathroom and looked around the room. Indeed, he hadn’t heard wrong, the phone on the table was ringing. Now the quiet phone ringing filled the room had became familiar.