When he was still in Dar es Salaam, Jeong Taeui had already been quite tired. Amid the noise of the crowd, his fatigue multiplied.

But as soon as he set foot on this island and leisurely walked along the quiet and peaceful road, his mind seemed to relax and feel rejuvenated. The curious and well-meaning gazes of the occasional strangers passing by also radiate warmth. Jeong Taeui liked the solemn but oppressive atmosphere characteristic of Islam.

Suddenly, he felt someone watching him. When he looked down, a young black girl came out into the yard with a wooden basket to collect fallen fruits and was looking up at him. Perhaps she was a girl hired to help out here. Although the features of black people were more prominent, it seemed she was of mixed Arab descent. But it didn’t appear that she was Muslim, as she was not wearing a headscarf and was dressed in a robe.

If she wasn’t a Muslim woman, it wouldn’t be dangerous to talk to her. Moreover, the girl was too young to be considered a woman, perhaps only fourteen or fifteen years old.

Jeong Taeui smiled at the cute girl who was looking at him with bright eyes and waved gently. The girl seemed startled, shrank back, quickly picked up the fruits, and hurried into the house. Even so, her gaze up at Taeui was very gentle, it seemed she was just shy.

Jeong Taeui smiled. Maybe she found it quite strange to have a guest in an inn that rarely had visitors? Or perhaps it was because he was a rare Asian.

Jeong Taeui looked away. Outside the fence, small, low, shabby houses were lined up, quietly sinking into the darkness. He was immersed in the dim night, with one or two lights lit outside the window. From somewhere far away, he could hear a foreign language that sounded like a mother calling her child. Wondering if this was the same everywhere in the world, Taeui laughed to himself.

He liked this feeling. It wasn’t familiar to him, but he remembered the moment.

And then the sound of water in the bathroom stopped. When he turned his head, Ilay was coming out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel.

Jeong Taeui stepped down from the window sill. There were a few insects flying around the room. He thought he should close the window, so he leaned out the window and pulled the door shut. Then he suddenly realized, outside the stone wall, someone was looking in this direction.

The dim darkness limited his vision, and he couldn’t see the person clearly. In the corner of the alley, a boy was staring at Jeong Taeui. The boy looked at him as if he were a strange creature. When their eyes met, the boy was startled and quickly turned his head and ran across the small alley.

“…?”

Jeong Taeui scratched his head. What was so strange about an Asian person? Or maybe many people here had never seen an Asian before?

But he didn’t think that the boy was just passing by…

Jeong Taeui pondered for a while, and before he could think more about the answer, Ilay came up right behind him.

“It’s late, it’s so dark. What are you looking at?”

As he finished speaking, the garden below was lit up with three or four small lanterns. Not very bright, but enough to walk around the garden at night.

“Hmmm. It looks nice. I could eat fruit or swim in the pool.”

Jeong Taeui nodded with a serious face and turned around, but immediately frowned. He hadn’t dried himself properly, so water droplets fell from his body, wetting the floor. His naked body, without even a towel, was exposed shamelessly without a hint of embarrassment.

Jeong Taeui glanced down.

It hadn’t risen, almost making his heart drop.

If it had been aroused while showering, it would have been a big problem.

Jeong Taeui turned back and leaned against the window sill. Ilay came beside him and looked outside. He thought to himself that the window sill wasn’t very high, so from the outside, one could clearly see him being naked, but he said nothing. After all, he felt very embarrassed (while the person in question didn’t seem embarrassed at all).

“I think I heard something running.”

Ilay muttered, Taeui bit his lip, and suddenly his spine chilled. He really was a devil. Not only did he have sharp ears, but he was also damned perceptive.

For a moment, he thought of telling him about the black boy who had looked over here in the corner of the alley, but then he decided not to. Something that wouldn’t help was better left unsaid.

“Um. I thought I heard something, so I looked, but it was too dark to see anything.”

“Hmm…?”

Jeong Taeui pretended not to know and mumbled, thinking that if he said – “I didn’t hear anything at all.” he might be mocked immediately. Ilay glanced at Jeong Taeui but didn’t say much.

“Oh. The girl is back. HELLO—”

Jeong Taeui saw the black girl from earlier returning to the garden with the lights on and waved. The girl was heading towards the back door, her clothes changed, probably having finished her shift and going home. Taeui smiled and waved, this time the girl hesitated and waved back. Then, seemingly embarrassed, she quickly ran out the door.

When Jeong Taeui laughed loudly, Ilay looked down at him with meaningfully narrowed eyes. Jeong Taeui noticed his eyes and asked in surprise – “huh?”

“What’s wrong? Isn’t it cute?”

“Jeong Taeil, that’s the type of woman you like, right?”

“What?”

Jeong Taeui looked at Ilay blankly, his tone became strange. Then, realizing his hidden meaning, Taeui distorted his face.

“Hey, what’s her taste in women? That girl looks like she’s only 14 or 15 years old. A girl like that… I just find it cute to have a girl walking around working hard like that .”

“Even if she has the body of a teenager, her mind will still be like other women. But, you can’t be with women.”

Jeong Taeui couldn’t refute what he said for a moment, he muttered – “Ugh” and then fell silent. He was mostly right, but there was still something that hurt his pride as a man.

“Not liking women doesn’t mean I can’t handle women. You speak as if I’m incapable.”

When Jeong Taeui grumbled, Ilay smirked.

“I know it’s not impossible.”

A low voice suddenly whispered in his ear. “Uh.” Jeong Taeui didn’t even have time to think as Ilay’s hand gripped his crotch. He recoiled reflexively, the memory of Ilay’s delicate hand squeezing him still vividly in his mind.

Ilay chuckled, perhaps noticing the tension on Taeui’s face. He leaned in close to his ear, licking the edge, and whispered.

“You don’t need to worry so much. I won’t touch it without reason.”

In other words, if there was a reason, he would definitely make him pay the price. The reason was that Ilay could do anything he wanted as long as he felt like it.

“What are you thinking about? Sitting still on the windowsill while I’m showering?”

Ilay’s hand left his crotch and wandered up to his waist, caressing him. He whispered into Taeui’s ear, his lips lightly brushing the edge and slowly moving to his cheek, making Taeui let out a small moan – “Um.”

Why does this man have such a bad habit? Whenever he sees me, all he can think about is…

Look, when I was at UNHRDO, this bastard treated me like a useful tool for masturbation. Remembering that part of his memory, Jeong Taeui suddenly felt uncomfortable.

“You have a bathroom in your room, so why come to mine and use my shampoo and soap? That’s what I was thinking about.”

Hearing this, Ilay chuckled.

“I prefer the shampoo and soap in your bathroom. And I also lack patience.”

If he didn’t have the patience to go back to his own room to shower, then surely he wouldn’t have the patience to restrain other desires either.

Jeong Taeui unconsciously recoiled as he felt a hand slip under his shirt, slowly caressing his body from waist to chest. The ticklish sensation spread all over him.

Strange. Initially, he wasn’t someone who would do such things, right? Jeong Taeui didn’t think Ilay was the type to have intimate actions with others, but why…

But then Taeui quickly concluded that maybe he just didn’t know this side of him, and perhaps Ilay had always been like this. After all, he had only seen him with others a few times by chance. And such actions weren’t something he could observe in just a few accidental encounters.

“So, do you think you can find Jeong Jaeil?”

Ilay whispered softly into Jeong Taeui’s ear. When he tried to turn his head in the opposite direction, Ilay’s pale hand gripped his chin, holding it in place. Ilay bit and nibbled at his earlobe as if warning him not to do anything foolish.

As Jeong Taeui dropped his head onto Ilay’s shoulder, frowning from the sudden sharp pain, Ilay smiled contentedly and stroked his face with the hand still cupping his cheek.

“Let’s see, I don’t know. How could I know when I haven’t even left this place?”

“Hmm. Twins usually have a special sense… or something like that, right?”

“I don’t know about other twins, but we definitely don’t have that. By the way, shouldn’t we be having dinner?”

Jeong Taeui said softly, trying to push Ilay’s shoulder away. But that solid body didn’t budge. If only he would let go and step back as if he were just playing with him, but Ilay showed no such signs.

Jeong Taeui calmly stared at the ceiling, then felt something hard beneath Ilay’s clothes pressing against his groin.

“…Ilay.”

“…Hmm?”

“…Do you really like me that much?”

Ilay’s lips, which had been gently placing light kisses on his lips, suddenly paused.

Only after blurting out the question did Jeong Taeui wonder if he was going to get hit. The question seemed like a joke delivered by a clown with a sense of humor just enough to earn a mocking laugh.

Jeong Taeui wanted to maintain the same posture, but his body wasn’t stable enough and leaned back slightly. He couldn’t see the emotions on Ilay’s face as it was too close, but he could feel Ilay’s gaze looking down at him.

Just as Taeui thought, in the next moment, a burst of laughter hit his eardrums. Ilay laughed loudly for a long time, and as if in a very good mood, he patted Jeong Taeui’s arm lightly as if he had met a good friend in a bar and replied.

“Taeil, you say things I’ve never heard or thought of in my life. Alright, alright. You’ve asked that question before, why are you asking it again now… Oh, right. I’ll say it if you want to hear it.”

“No, I don’t want to hear it…”

“Taeil. I like you. I love you. So take it off.”

A smile spread across his lips, but those seemingly useless and unlikely words were spoken in an extremely serious tone.

Jeong Taeui tilted his head back slightly and looked up at Ilay as he pulled back enough for him to see his face. Jeong Taeui raised his eyebrows in surprise. He didn’t expect to see a faint smile at the corner of his eyes. It might have been an illusion, but those eyes seemed to be smiling gently, making him look like any ordinary person…

But that face, if he didn’t manage to take off his clothes now, that ordinary face would turn into a madman’s face immediately.

Holding onto his belt buckle, Jeong Taeui had a gloomy expression for a moment. He had only been here for less than three hours. He had just arrived at the inn and unpacked (though he didn’t have much stuff) – in less than an hour. Finally reaching his destination after a day of hardship, only to start another round of hardship was too harsh.

Ilay watched intently as Taeui fumbled with his belt buckle with a gloomy face. Taeui leaned against the window frame. Ilay reached out and placed his hand on the sill as if to wrap him in his arms and asked slowly in a low voice.

“Should I ask a similar question? Jeong Taeil. Don’t you like it?”

“Huh?”

Jeong Taeui looked at him puzzled, seemingly not understanding his question for a moment. He couldn’t think of anything he didn’t like temporarily, but in this situation, it had to be one of two things. Either he didn’t like him, or he didn’t like having sex with him.

“….”

Jeong Taeui once again got lost in his own random thoughts.

‘Don’t like him’ – as soon as he thought of the first answer, it felt like something was boiling inside him. So, what’s there to like about this crazy murderer? Besides, he said he could slit his throat anytime and was determined to keep him by his side for life and make him suffer to death.

….. … But even when considering those things, he suddenly felt it was funny. He didn’t hate this man. Clearly, he hated some of his things, but those things didn’t dominate his feelings towards him.

Alright, so the first answer could be ruled out.

So, did he hate having sex with him? As soon as he threw out the second answer, anger surged within him. How could he like that damn thing every time it pierced him? He’d get stabbed once, and the next day he’d be bedridden all day.

But again, if he thought about it, having sex with him wasn’t that bad (except when he first put it in). Jeong Taeui was a very simple person; he enjoyed the sexual pleasures it brought. And he was extremely satisfied with Ilay in this aspect, as he always brought him to the peak… … Yeah, except for that damn thing.

Jeong Taeui really wanted to scream in frustration that he would enjoy having sex with him if he could cut off half of his penis.

Ilay looked down at Taeui, who was struggling with his thoughts for a moment. Watching him sigh softly, wondering what the answer was, suddenly, the smile disappeared from his face.

“I guess you don’t like it. Alright… even if you don’t like it, there’s no other way.”

“Huh?”

Jeong Taeui was stunned before he could properly finish his answer. Ilay’s hand tightened and grabbed Jeong Taeui’s crotch. It wasn’t strong enough to hurt him, but the grip was firmer than before, making the intent clear.

At that moment, Jeong Taeui wondered if this man was really going to put an end to him today.

“Hey!”

Jeong Taeui grabbed Ilay’s arm. Ilay just looked at him silently.

“I have to look for my brother tomorrow. I just got here today, and I’m starving. If I end up bedridden all day tomorrow, do you really want me to die?”

However, Ilay only smirked slightly.

“That’s your problem.”

Jeong Taeui tried to push his arm away with all his strength, but it was undeniable that no matter how much strength he used, he couldn’t compete with him, and that made him furious. If he had Ilay’s strength, he could have easily broken his arm in a second.

Jeong Taeui suddenly felt drained of all energy, and he let go of his arm.

“Then… at least let’s eat something first. I’m about to pass out here. You wouldn’t want to do it with someone who’s passed out like a corpse, right?”

Jeong Taeui weakly sought a way out. If he starved like this and then got exhausted to the point of being bedridden, he would truly die.

Ilay looked down at Taeui with a hint of amusement in his eyes, then suddenly let go of him and turned around. Jeong Taeui stared at his back in surprise. Of course, he had pleaded, but he never thought Ilay would easily listen to his plea like that. Surprisingly, this man also had a human side.

……

But before Jeong Taeui could breathe a sigh of relief, Ilay had already gotten on the bed and sat down. Ilay leaned against the wall and spread his legs wide casually. He looked directly at Jeong Taeui, his erection visible under the fabric, just as he had felt earlier.

“Having sex after eating is great, but first, we need to put out this fire.”

“Taeil. Come here.”

“….”

“Come to think of it, you said you’d do it with your mouth the other day.”

Ilay snapped his fingers, calling Taeui. His eyes were fixed on the bulge under Ilay’s pants.

Yes, of course, he had said that in a desperate moment, but looking at that thing…

Jeong Taeui stared at it with a gloomy expression, and Ilay’s voice rang in his ears again.

“Taeil. Come here.”

He looked up and met Ilay’s gaze. Those eyes were cold.

Damn it, what’s gotten into you now, you bastard. Jeong Taeui muttered under his breath, scratched his head, and walked toward Ilay in despair. Alright, go ahead and use me, I will definitely, absolutely take the opportunity to escape next time.

“Jeong Taeil, stop thinking about useless things.”

Sometimes, Jeong Taeui was scared of this man’s frightening sharpness. He wondered if Ilay could actually see through his mind. It was so real it didn’t seem like a joke at all. So, he could only obediently sit down in front of him and try to clear his mind as much as possible.

But before he could even try to clear his mind, the swollen bulge in front of him made his brain go blank.

Look at that, this thing… it’s definitely a weapon.

Ilay’s eyes never left him. He watched Taeui hesitating with a dark expression, then suddenly grabbed his head. He shoved Taeui’s face into his crotch roughly. Jeong Taeui lost his balance and fell face-first into his lap. Before he could catch his breath, a hot piece of flesh rubbed against his face.

“It’s painfully swollen. I hope you take care of it properly this time. If it’s not satisfied correctly, whether you’re starving or not, I’ll still shove it deep into your hole. Suck it well.”

A sharp whispering voice gently spoke.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue, crazy bastard.

Something like a fierce flame suddenly ignited within him. Jeong Taeui sharply said as he grabbed the protruding shaft with both hands.

” ‘I like you or I love you,’ don’t ever say those words again. Mocking like that is more annoying than being treated this way. If you want to suck, then suck, if you want to lick, then lick. Fine. As you wish.”

Jeong Taeui coldly responded to him, then opened his mouth to take in the large penis. Damn it. This thing couldn’t even fit in his mouth. No, the moment he put it in his mouth, he regretted it deeply. Even though he had only gotten the head in, it already filled his entire mouth, making it hard to breathe.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Is doing it with my mouth really better than having it inside?

Jeong Taeui broke out in a cold sweat as he managed to get half of it into his mouth. The hot shaft occupied his entire mouth. Should he lick it instead of taking it all in? Jeong Taeui seemed unsure of what to do with just the head in his mouth, so he looked up at Ilay, but his brows immediately furrowed.

This seemed to be the worst situation.

Ilay’s cold face looked down at Jeong Taeui. No emotion. He quickly realized that Ilay was in an extremely, extremely terrible mood.

I should be the one feeling terrible, not you. Jeong Taeui felt it was entirely unfair. But before he could do anything, a hand reached out and gently pushed his head down. A muffled groan mixed with his breath escaped his mouth but was blocked by the warm shaft.

“Suck and lick as you wish, huh? Well said, Jeong Taeil. Suck and lick… if you spill even a drop of the cum I shoot today, you’ll experience hell, so you’d better make sure to swallow it all.”

He wanted to retort that he wanted to see what hell was like, but he couldn’t say anything as his mouth was occupied. Ilay held his head and pushed down, the enormous shaft sliding into his throat and starting to thrust. Three thrusts hit his uvula, triggering his gag reflex.

But he couldn’t even gag.

He couldn’t breathe, he felt like throwing up. Jeong Taeui struggled, but the strong hand holding his head didn’t budge. Tears welled up at the corners of his eyes, something he didn’t even realize.

“What’s wrong? Why isn’t your mouth moving? Does it only work when it’s sprouting sarcasm, this mouth?”

Ilay’s deep, harsh voice echoed in his ears.

At that moment.

“Excuse me.” – A knock on the door followed by Gable’s voice calling from behind rang out.

In an instant, Jeong Taeui’s mind froze, and the hand pressing his head down paused. But immediately after, as if nothing had happened, the hand continued to hold his head, moving it up and down, pushing the shaft deeper into his throat. Jeong Taeui struggled. It was the sheer embarrassment that filled his mind, leaving no room for any other thoughts.

Even so, the hand gripping his head didn’t slow down. *Click*, the door quickly opened.

Time seemed to freeze. Jeong Taeui couldn’t move, as if he were frozen in place. Only Ilay’s hip continued to move, thrusting his erect member into his mouth.

Jeong Taeui felt like he was losing his mind. Ilay’s calm voice sounded in his ear.

“Is it urgent?”

After a moment of silence, another calm voice replied, as if nothing special was happening.

“Not urgent. I’ll be downstairs. You can come down when you’re done.”

Then there was another *click*. The door closed.

And that was it. The brief external interruption ended just like that. Gable didn’t say anything to Jeong Taeui, nor did he look at him with any harsh or disdainful eyes. It was just a normal voice, as if nothing had happened. Maybe when he met him later, he would still act as if nothing had happened.

But.

“…—.”

*Hic* Jeong Taeui almost couldn’t suppress the sobs rising in his chest. Even though he tried to hold back, the sobs couldn’t be heard with his mouth filled by Ilay’s large penis.

He was very uncomfortable. No, uncomfortable didn’t even begin to cover it.

It was terrifying and painful, as if his whole body were being torn apart. It was an emotion he had never felt before. Too late, Jeong Taeui realized this was the feeling of his pride being wounded.

Although he had nothing to be proud of, he had never thought he had anything like pride. He had never cared about the ego inside him that he needed to protect. But it had always been there.

However, now.

He was lying down like an animal, his head bowed and buried in another man’s crotch. His current portrait was truly pathetic.

“….”

Ilay’s gaze suddenly lowered, but Jeong Taeui couldn’t feel it. Tears welled up at the corners of his eyes, not because he was in an embarrassing situation, but because he was gagging and in pain.

In the midst of that extreme misery, Jeong Taeui couldn’t even lift a finger. It was truly a terrible and painful feeling.

“…Taeil.”

A deeper voice than usual sounded. But nothing seemed to reach his ears at this moment; his head buzzed, and Jeong Taeui remained motionless.

“Taeil. …—Taeil!”

Once again, a small, urgent, worried voice called his name. Jeong Taeui looked at him calmly. Their eyes met. Ilay was looking down at him with a very strange emotion. It was an emotion he had never seen on Ilay’s face before. He couldn’t even name what kind of emotion it was.

But maybe it wasn’t much different from Taeui’s at this moment. Ilay suddenly frowned and clicked his tongue. Then he let go of the hand holding Taeui’s head and pushed him away roughly. Jeong Taeui almost fell off the bed, but Ilay quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“….”

Jeong Taeui quietly lowered his eyes, feeling downcast, seeing the ugly, grotesque thing still standing in front of him. But soon after, Ilay got up and left the bed.

Walking toward the bathroom without saying a word, he suddenly stopped and yelled in frustration, as if he couldn’t stand the anger any longer. After the yell that shook the entire room, he spat out some harsh words in German and went into the bathroom.

And he stayed in the bathroom for a long time, continuously spewing out every curse he could think of. (*Verdammt: Damn it)

Why was he yelling like that? I’m the one who should be yelling and angry.

Jeong Taeui thought gloomily. But he didn’t even feel angry, as his mind was too heavy to make room for anger. Jeong Taeui hugged his knees despondently, watching Ilay’s back as he walked into the bathroom without a word.

Ilay was standing in front of the toilet. Taeui couldn’t believe his eyes; he was relieving his own desire. Muttering curses as he did so—maybe because of his mood, Jeong Taeui’s name sometimes appeared amid the incomprehensible German phrases. After a long time, he looked down and then stopped. The sound of dripping into the toilet echoed intermittently for quite a while.

When Ilay returned and stepped out of the bathroom, his face was fierce. The usual indifference was gone. His eyes had turned blue. He picked up his pants and put them on, glaring at Jeong Taeui with eyes as blue as glass.

Jeong Taeui had seen those eyes before. “I will kill you.” – That was what those eyes said. These were not the eyes of a human being, absolutely not. These were the eyes of a ruthless, blood-soaked killer looking at his victim.

“…Alright, this is complicated and troublesome.”

He whispered softly. Those green dagger-like eyes looked at Jeong Taeui with a burning intensity.

I will really kill you.

Each second passed slowly, Jeong Taeui felt breathless to the point of pain. After a few minutes, Ilay took a step towards Jeong Taeui, then suddenly stopped. Once again, his face darkened.

“…Damn it.”

He muttered a curse and turned around, striding out of the room. Only the sound of the angry door slam was left behind.

Jeong Taeui silently stared at the door, sitting there like a lifeless doll for a moment, then sighed as usual.

“Damn… that was what I was going to say.”

“Everything that made me feel good here has been blown away…”

But there was no use in complaining further, so Jeong Taeui got up from the bed. Suddenly, he placed his hand on the corner of his eye. The tears had dried long ago. Earlier, he had been so embarrassed and in pain that the tears had come out on their own.

Jeong Taeui muttered – “Insects can come in if they want.” then threw the window wide open. He climbed up on the windowsill and sat down, looking at the desolate garden below and sighed.

It was puzzling. Understanding him now was harder than when he followed him at UNHRDO and witnessed him turning people into pools of blood. At least back then, his actions were consistent, and he could predict how he would react in any situation. But now, he couldn’t grasp his emotional fluctuations anymore.

“…But that beastly bastard seemed a bit confused, didn’t he…? No, he’s not the kind of person who would be like that.”

Jeong Taeui rubbed his still aching jaw and caressed his sore throat. He couldn’t figure out what wind had caused Ilay to suddenly stop what he was doing and leave like that.

But even so.

“…Ah… I will never forgive you. I can’t forgive you.”

Jeong Taeui whispered like a sigh. His sudden changes of heart were not new, but this time, it was unforgivable. At least he should have given him some space to maintain a minimum level of dignity.

“How am I supposed to face Gable now…”

Of course, Gable would act like nothing happened, and Jeong Taeui would do the same. But the awkwardness within him would not disappear because of that.

Jeong Taeui frowned and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Ah, I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know anything… I don’t know anything at all.”

In fact, this wasn’t the first time he had shown such an embarrassing side – though it wasn’t exactly very embarrassing. But what was he supposed to do now?

His pride was hurt not because of Gable. His pride was hurt in front of the man named Ilay RieGrow – the one who had pinned him down in that situation and the way he handled the situation afterward.

“I get it… This is what you want me to endure when I’m with you.”

Jeong Taeui muttered bitterly. The strength in the hand gripping his hair also loosened.

“Ah, I don’t know…” Jeong Taeui helplessly lamented once more, then looked down at the garden.

At that moment, he could feel someone staring at him.

“…?”

Jeong Taeui turned his head. The gaze came from outside the stone wall. Somewhere beyond the fence, someone was watching him. But Jeong Taeui couldn’t see clearly, only a small corner shrouded in darkness. That was where the black boy had stood earlier.

“Is someone there?”

Jeong Taeui threw a question into the air even though he couldn’t see anyone. His low voice cut through the quiet garden and reached beyond the wall. But no one replied.

Jeong Taeui was about to say something else but then heard a knock at the door behind him.

“Excuse me.” A high-pitched voice came from outside the door. Jeong Taeui responded – “Ah, yes.” – and jumped down from the windowsill. The door to the room opened slightly, and the landlady he had met earlier peeked in.

“Aren’t you hungry? Come down to the dining room; we have food.”

“What? Oh, yes. Thank you.”

Jeong Taeui smiled at the invitation and nodded. The landlady smiled brightly and closed the door as she left.

Those words made his hunger return. Jeong Taeui looked at the open window for a moment, then scratched his head and turned toward the door.

He went downstairs, feeling it would be awkward to face Gable or Ilay in the dining room. But they had mentioned they had something to discuss and went to Gable’s room. So Jeong Taeui finished his plate clean, lightly patted his full stomach. By the time he returned to his room, Ilay still hadn’t shown up.

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

Jeong Taeui groggily opened his eyes, sighed wearily, and looked at the unfamiliar wallpaper on the ceiling. Before his brain could ask – “Where is this place?” – Taeui already remembered where he was.

Ah. Alright. This is Seringe.

When arriving at a new place, it takes a few days to get used to it. He realized this truth mainly after waking up from a deep sleep on a morning like this.

Jeong Taeui tossed and turned, thinking he would wake up feeling this strange for about three more days. Before closing his eyes again, he suddenly opened them wide when a familiar face appeared before him.

“….!!!”

His tongue was stiff, which was good. Otherwise, he might have screamed uncontrollably.

Jeong Taeui blinked in surprise and rubbed his heart, which felt like it was about to drop and then beat wildly again for a while. Right in his line of sight was a face sleeping peacefully with eyes closed. It was a face he knew all too well. Not a face with terrifying expressions, but simply an ordinary face. He had seen it many times before. So it wasn’t too surprising to suddenly face it. But even so, he was startled enough to nearly jump out of his skin.

When he woke up and opened his eyes, even if he had witnessed him killing someone with blood-red lips, he wouldn’t have been surprised. But that wasn’t the reality now.

Jeong Taeui fumbled beside the bed and picked up a glass of water. After taking three or four gulps, he felt a bit calmer. He woke up. And the first thing he saw right after opening his eyes in the morning was this face. The face that woke him up and made him immediately alert.

Jeong Taeui put the glass down and looked at his face with a complicated expression.

“…?”

He couldn’t describe it. Clearly, he had slept alone in the bed last night. That was natural because this was his room. But when he opened his eyes, this man was lying next to him.

Even though he wasn’t as sharp as Ilay, he wasn’t a very deep sleeper either… So how on earth did this man manage to climb into his bed without him noticing? No, more than that, why was he squeezing in with him on this bed, leaving his own spacious bed empty?

Jeong Taeui stared at his face for a moment, then got out of bed. His sleepiness had been blown away. Jeong Taeui looked from the wallpaper on the ceiling to the face of the man lying next to him with a dazed mind. He slowly recalled his memories. Then he remembered.

Yes. He remembered that part of his memory. The accumulated resentment from the previous day. Whether anyone came in or not, the heartlessness of pushing him into that desperate situation was clear in his mind, and he fully remembered the resentment he had almost forgotten.

Until he closed his eyes to sleep, he hadn’t seen Ilay return. He didn’t see him at dinner; he didn’t go to his room, and Ilay didn’t come to his. So he hadn’t seen him since then.

In the end, Jeong Taeui was too tired to be angry at anyone else, so he decided to forget it and go to sleep as usual.

And this was the face he saw right when he woke up.

“….”

Jeong Taeui looked down at the man with a twisted expression. He remembered everything, so let the resentment from yesterday burn again.

Jeong Taeui scratched his head, thinking, but the resentment had been extinguished and couldn’t flare up as fiercely as yesterday. Fine. Humans can only harbor grudges against other humans, not against someone from another species like him.

Jeong Taeui sighed. The moment he pulled the blanket off the bed, the man, who was sleeping lightly (sometimes he wondered if he even slept), immediately opened his eyes. His clear eyes, without a trace of sleepiness, looked at Jeong Taeui. It was always like this. This man could be completely alert with cold eyes even right after opening them.

“What time is it?”

“Five-thirty.”

Jeong Taeui looked at the clock and answered, and Ilay closed his eyes again and said softly.

“Sleep some more.”

“No, I’m awake.”

Jeong Taeui got out of bed. Then, Ilay opened his eyes again, watching Taeui get dressed, then reached out from under the blanket and scratched his head. Taeui drained the half-full glass in one gulp.

Ilay sat up and looked at the clock again. And then, as if he remembered something, he said,

“I just remembered, I got a call from your brother yesterday, he sends his regards to you.”

“Kyle? … I’ll call him later.”

Jeong Taeui mumbled as he put on his t-shirt.

“Yeah.” Ilay replied.

Somehow everything felt too normal. Yesterday, this man had acted like he wanted to kill him, looking extremely resentful and furious when he left the room.

Jeong Taeui glanced at Ilay. The indifferent expression on his face was the same as usual. As if nothing had happened. Ilay got up as well. He stood up and went into the bathroom. The sound of water running from the shower could be heard. Jeong Taeui thought to himself that he was using his shampoo and soap again, but he just sighed, shrugged, and quietly left the room.

He felt a bit suffocated. In the end, whether he was angry or disappointed, it didn’t matter to Ilay. Seeing such an indifferent attitude, he lost all energy to be angry.

Yes. That’s the relationship between people. They can only accumulate good things with each other… It seemed he had never had any good memories with him at all.