Taeui’s uncle spoke in a nonchalant manner. Or rather, it seemed like he cared less about the position of General Director than Taeui did. Taeui tilted his head slightly before deciding not to care anymore either. Anyway, he just needed to get through the next six months, complete the task assigned to him, and then leave.

“By the way, the other day you received a message from Rick.”

His uncle said as if glossing over it quickly. Taeui was flipping through a book indifferently but stopped. Instinct made him frown a little, but his uncle didn’t seem to notice and continued talking.

“These days, the situation at the European branch seems rather chaotic. Well, the position of instructor just became vacant, and if another branch sends someone over, that position will need to be filled as well. Sometimes, there are large-scale transfers.”

Taeui kept flipping through the book……. For some reason, he had a bad feeling.

“Didn’t they say that you can’t transfer directly from the European branch to the Asian branch?”

“Oh, no. Unless there’s a justifiable reason, it rarely happens. While it’s not impossible in principle, unwritten rules are also important, so an applicant selected from the European branch would likely be the first to be excluded. Unless there’s something special.”

His uncle nodded as he spoke, while Taeui felt an unusual anxiety, his chest becoming unstable, causing him to sigh. He recalled Ilay’s words mentioned casually when they were still at Eoryeong.

“In my case, the accomplishments I’ve accumulated are like a golden tower. It seems that now the discussion about promotion has come up. Whether I want it or not.”

Taeui lowered his head for a while and then asked his uncle:

“So if there’s someone eligible for promotion in the European branch and there’s a vacant position in the Asian branch, what happens?”

“They would transfer a suitable person from another branch to Asia, and the person in the European branch would go to the empty branch……. Why? Is there someone suspicious in the European branch that you’re worried about?”

His uncle suddenly asked. Taeui frowned for a moment then shook his head. “No, it’s nothing” – He replied, trying to dispel his anxiety with his words. Just overthinking. He must be too sensitive. If he truly had to worry about this situation…….

Maybe that person would transfer to a branch with joint training in three months, and then they would meet again.

Taeui mumbled as if talking to himself. When he finished speaking, he suddenly sensed another ominous sign. They say that thinking too much about bad things makes them come true. Damn, he needed to get it out of his head.

Taeui shook his head vigorously to dispel the thought. Watching Taeui like that, his uncle smiled suddenly, for reasons unknown.

“By the way, I heard that lately, you’ve been quite close to Xinlu. It’s said that he’s frequently been in your room. At night, too.”

“……………”

Taeui was startled, then silently closed his mouth. He stared intently at his uncle. This person really could never be ignored. He was too tired of trying to guess how much his uncle knew and what he was paying attention to.

“Uh……. well……. that’s true.”

“Last week, I heard you went to Hong Kong with Xinlu, and he booked a room at the Peninsula—a Grand Deluxe room*. …….Did you look at the room carefully?”

“Or were you so busy looking at something else that you didn’t even notice the room?” His uncle stretched out the sentence with a sly grin. Taeui frowned under his calm expression. There was no secret here anymore. How did the news spread so quickly?

“A Grand Deluxe room? I didn’t know that. It was a nice room, wasn’t it? I only remember it was big enough to hang up all the muddy laundry.”

Taeui responded curtly. His uncle hesitated for a moment, then looked at him with a curious expression and asked:

“What do you mean by muddy laundry? I haven’t heard about that.”

“It seems the rumors haven’t gone that far. That day, Xinlu wasn’t feeling well and collapsed before he could get into the room.”

“…………..Ha.”

His uncle seemed surprised. Maybe a little regretful too. Most likely regretful, as his sharp eyes seemed to be looking for something to tease.

“It’s not easy, poor Xinlu.”

“Isn’t it Xinlu who’s unfortunate, not me?”

When Taeui asked again, his uncle looked at him with eyes full of implications. Then he smiled in an unusual way.

“Xinlu, indeed. Just your type. Attractive appearance, gentle, and with a mild and innocent personality.”

“……………”

“But he also has something unexpected……. Just live together and slowly you’ll understand.”

Taeui was silent in contemplation. He could somewhat guess what his uncle meant by “unexpected.” Suddenly, he felt disheartened.

Seeing that expression, it seemed his uncle had guessed something, so he spoke with amused deliberation:

“Moreover, he’s a perfect match to be a lover. He’s smart, perceptive, and agile enough to take on the important role of an instructor in our branch. Additionally, despite his looks, he comes from a very good family. The son of a prestigious and wealthy business family in China, well-known by everyone.”

Taeui frowned at his uncle with a strange look. His uncle appeared very enthusiastic, but didn’t seem to be joking. Taeui looked up at the ceiling and chuckled lightly. Xinlu indeed had the appearance of a well-bred noble young man from a distinguished family, but hearing those words made him feel somewhat distant. Well, no matter how great a family he came from, it didn’t matter. Even if it were so, wasn’t he also from a family no less prestigious, with an outstanding brother and an equally talented uncle?

While thinking about those things, Taeui recalled the surprise that Xinlu brought, and he felt even more disheartened. Clearly, what his uncle referred to as “unexpected” wasn’t the story about Xinlu’s family.

In a mood like he had just swallowed something bitter, Taeui got up from the bed. He looked at his uncle with a sulky expression, then turned his back, seeing his uncle smiling amusingly at him.

“I’m going now.”

“Leaving already? Not borrowing any books to read?”

“I’ll come back to read later.”

Taeui sighed weakly, not even bothering to look back but just waved his hand. He heard his uncle chuckle softly behind him, making him feel even gloomier.

“Taeui.”

Just before stepping out of the room, his uncle suddenly called out to him, as if he had just remembered something. Taeui had taken one step outside the door, but turned his head back. His uncle spoke to him quietly, still holding that meaningful smile that he couldn’t decipher.

“Hang in there. It’s only six more months––you just need to endure a few more months, that’s all.”

“…….? Yes, I will. Take care, uncle.”

Taeui nodded at his uncle’s encouragement, then stepped out of the room. Suddenly, he felt his chest tighten.

************************

When he opened his eyes, the space around him was pitch black. He glanced at the ceiling for a moment and then looked at the glow-in-the-dark clock by his bed. It was still not yet 5 in the morning. This is the time when most people are still asleep, except for a few members used to waking up early.

Even though Taeui had woken up, it took him a few seconds to realize why. The phone was ringing. The *beep beep* sound wasn’t too loud and not disturbing, but it had been going off incessantly for some time.

“…….”

Taeui frowned and sat up. He looked at the phone with annoyance, then sluggishly got up and walked closer.

The only person who could be calling at this hour……. must be his older brother.

The image of a person suddenly appeared in his mind. Although his brother generally had quite a regular lifestyle, sometimes he did things out of the ordinary, like suddenly going out overnight. His unusual actions were rarely serious, just calling when everyone was asleep or saying he was stepping out for a bit and then calling to ask Taeui to bring his passport to the airport two hours later.

Because he had been living with someone like that for a long time, whenever there was a call at this hour, his first thought was usually of his brother.

Hmm……. wait. There’s no way his brother has this number.

That thought briefly crossed his mind as he picked up the phone. “Why are you calling at this hour?” he said casually, then suddenly realized that if it was his brother, he probably could just dial any random sequence and still miraculously reach him.

Looking at the indicator light after picking up the phone, he saw it was red. It was an external call. If it had been an internal branch call, he would have immediately thought of his uncle, Xinlu, or a coworker needing to contact him via the internal network. But if it was someone from outside calling at this hour……. maybe it was his uncannily lucky brother wanting to talk about something…….

Seriously thinking about it, if a stranger heard his thoughts, they would probably look at him in astonishment and seriously tell him to see a doctor. Taeui spoke into the receiver again when he heard no response.

“Hello?”

Still no answer. Taeui frowned. Maybe it was a wrong number or a prank call. Being woken up for such a meaningless call made him irritated.

“Really……. calling at this time…….”

[“I guess you’re still doing well.”]

Just as he was about to hang up, a deep voice came through the receiver. He froze. His hand suddenly gripped the receiver tightly. His sleepiness vanished instantly.

Even if he heard it while sleeping, he could never mistake this voice. A slow voice with a slight smile, with a hint of laziness in it.

“…….So early in the morning, today is truly a bad day…….”

Taeui clicked his tongue. The laughter echoed from the other side. The more he listened, the more dejected he felt. Dangerous, dangerous. This was someone he no longer had the chance to meet, but his instincts sounded a strong alarm in his head. Talking for long did no good. Wasn’t he exhausted the last time too?

[“You haven’t visited Instructor Jeong’s room lately, have you?”]

“No, I went yesterday and the day before.”

Taeui muttered in disagreement. Ilay. Ilay Riegrou. He didn’t understand why this man was calling him.

“What do you need? If you want to call my uncle, you’ve got the wrong number.”

[“No, I’ve already talked to your instructor. Asked about you, and he told me quite a lot.”]

Uncle. What on earth had his uncle been saying? But wait, why did this man care about his situation?

Taeui suddenly fell silent. He didn’t know why this person was calling, and couldn’t guess what his uncle had said. Regardless, nothing unusual had happened lately.

[“You’re still getting along with that adorable kid, right?”]

Ilay slowly started talking. Taeui frowned. Xinlu. He didn’t want to talk about Xinlu in front of this man. There was no reason to feel threatened since they wouldn’t meet again, but somewhere inside, he still felt an unease.

……. But at the same time, thinking back, he was still annoyed. Xinlu, that boy, why did he easily give himself to this jerk while showing disdain for him?

While frowning and thinking, Ilay’s voice continued.

[“So, does he suit your taste? He’s really attractive, but for me, he’s missing a bit of spice. I prefer someone a bit more seductive.”]

“Did you just call to say those things? If you want to talk about such dirty matters, speak to someone else or call Xinlu directly. This time, he surely won’t want to see you ever again.”

Taeui expressed his discomfort clearly. He was annoyed at the thought that this person had woken him up just to talk about such personal matters. He didn’t want to hear anything about other people’s private lives.

[“Ahaha, not at all. I’ve been busy recently. Just finished work and suddenly remembered you. Got curious about how you were doing, so I called. Your instructor never answers my calls anymore either…….”]

Ilay’s voice dropped slightly. It was as if he knew that Taeui was intentionally avoiding him.

Taeui clicked his tongue. He intended to hang up but then felt it wasn’t the right thing to do, so he just gripped the receiver tightly. By now, his sleep had vanished long ago.

The last time he met this man was right before he left for Europe, when he was sleeping with Xinlu. And after that, the two just faced each other without exchanging a word. If he had to recall the last time they actually talked, it was at Eoryeong. He didn’t even get to say a proper farewell. Anyway, the other person didn’t care about such things.

“Right, I haven’t said a proper goodbye. I intended to say farewell that time but the circumstances didn’t allow it. I guess I should say it now. ‘Goodbye.’”

There was no intention of meeting again, so let it be ‘goodbye.’ He just hoped this call would truly cut all ties between them. It was really bothersome and irritating. This feeling seemed to have conveyed over the phone, as the other man laughed.

[“You seem to be in a bad mood. Why so irritated? …….Is it because of him?”]

“Not really……. no” – Taeui tried to deny but then shrugged and nodded. Denying was pointless, he knew well that the other would not believe him. He remembered that incident. Each time it crossed his mind, anger welled up inside him, and bitterness filled his tongue.

Once, he wondered why he was so angry. It wasn’t just because Xinlu was with that man. Jeong Taeui wasn’t the type to be overly concerned about a partner’s faithfulness, possibly because he had never truly loved anyone deeply. Moreover, Xinlu was no longer with that man now.

No matter how much he thought about it, he concluded that the real reason was the look that man had given him at that time. He couldn’t determine exactly what the look meant, but when Ilay was holding Xinlu, he was staring at him the whole time. And it carried a faint smile. That look somehow made him incredibly furious.

[“Haha, Tay, we’ve talked about this before. You heard me say that I never used any force to drag him to bed. He came to me first.”]

“Yes, I know. That’s why I stood still without intervening. But I never promised that I wouldn’t be angry about it.”

[“Oh……. Indeed. That’s true. It seems I was careless in my promises.”]

The man chuckled as if he realized his mistake. Taeui still couldn’t understand the purpose of this call, so he started to feel anxious. He hated having to probe without knowing the reason.

“You don’t need to explain that to me anymore. Why did you call to make excuses?”

[“Aha. Of course. The reason I called you, besides having some free time after being busy, is because you and I are close friends.”]

He almost dropped the receiver. Or he wished he had. At this moment, he wanted to pretend to drop it and cut the call. It felt like he had just heard something he shouldn’t have, something that brought no benefit at all.

His face turned completely pale; Taeui truly couldn’t fathom this man’s intentions. Why did this lunatic call? His anger gradually turned into fear. He didn’t think the advice from his uncle – to never get involved with that lunatic or even get noticed by him – would still hold its value until now.

Anh was about to ask: ‘When have we ever been close?’, but then fell silent. There was no need to stir up trouble unnecessarily. Even so, Ilay’s words were indeed strange. Ultimately, Taeui could not endure it any longer and decided to reply indirectly.

“If we were that close, why didn’t you say goodbye when you left?”

The night before, he had clearly planned to say goodbye to Ilay, though he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to do it. Ilay responded nonchalantly:

[“Ah, I thought we’d meet again soon enough. There was no reason to say goodbye when we wouldn’t be apart for long.”]

Taeui’s palms were clammy with cold sweat. This time, he really wanted to hang up. The ominous feeling that had been lurking in his chest since picking up the phone grew heavier.

“Why did you say we’d meet again?”

His heart pounded like a drum. The unease weighed down his heart. Not understanding what this man was trying to say made his anxiety worse. He wanted to shout and ask why he was calling!

[“Why? Isn’t it true that as long as people want to, they can always meet again? Unless they’re dead.”]

“I don’t want to.”

Taeui replied immediately, and from the other end, a low chuckle sounded once more, as though the other person had heard something amusing.

Taeui remained silent for a moment, then brought his hand to his forehead. He felt his head heat up. He didn’t have the strength to continue this roundabout conversation; it had already worn him out. His voice naturally lowered, sounding weary and melancholic.

“Why are you calling me? Do you really think we’re that close?”

[“Why do you think that?”]

Just from the way he wasn’t serious, wasn’t angry but reacted with amusement, said enough.

Taeui didn’t answer and waited for the other to continue. Conversing with someone so unexpected sapped more energy than he thought.

Ilay seemed to realize he wouldn’t get a reply, so he chuckled softly. Then, using his playful tone, he answered frankly.

[“Nothing particularly important. I just happened to think of you. While talking, Jeong Jaei was mentioned.”]

Indeed, once again he was brought up alongside his brother. It happened so often that it no longer bothered him.

“Then call him. Don’t call me.”

[“Jaei is currently missing. Do you know where he is?”]

And immediately, Taeui sensed something. Maybe this was the real purpose of the call. Though perhaps not the main reason, Ilay must have intended to ask this from the start.

“I was stuck with him for a few days, we’ve already talked about this, haven’t we?”

It was understandable that Taeui’s voice became sharp. Clearly, he had discussed this with Ilay and said he didn’t know.

Ilay chuckled again and spoke in his calm voice, as if it were nothing special:

[“I’m just asking again since time has passed. A lot of people around me are looking for him.”]

“Then tell them to keep trying. No one in the family knows where he is, so they’ll have to find him themselves.”

A gentle laugh echoed from the other end: [“I will.”]

If one were to judge by voice alone, Ilay seemed like a friendly and warm person. His rich, resonant voice was pleasant, and his open manner of speaking was refreshing. If one only conversed over the phone without meeting face to face, he could be quite captivating – just as Jeong Taeui had felt before meeting Ilay Riegrow.

[“So then, live well. Take care until we meet again.”]

Ilay smiled lightly and said goodbye, while Taeui was too exhausted by the call to do more than sigh in response: “Yeah, you too.”

Only after the phone hung up did the phrase “until we meet again” really catch his attention.