Jeong Taeui didn’t turn around but glanced over at him. Ilay was wearing only pants, his upper body bare. He walked over slowly, hands in his pockets. Ilay looked at Gable, then at Jeong Taeui, and sat down on the bench next to him.

“I think I heard my name……?”

Ilay said slowly. Before Jeong Taeui could respond, Gable answered with an expressionless face.

“I was just asking how the two of you met, but he didn’t say much.”

“Oh, really? That’s a big deal. But Gable, you started a conversation with him first? So you like him, don’t you?”

Gable remained silent, seemingly lost in thought instead of affirming. After a few seconds, Gable shook his head.

“I think it’s better to know the basic information about the person I’ll be working with, that’s all.”

Gable emphasized the words “that’s all” and paused before adding.

“Besides, it’s not unusual for me to be here at this time.”

Ilay looked at Gable, then glanced at the pool a few steps away and nodded.

“Alright…… It seems you still swim in the mornings. Did Nana and Taei interrupt you? Don’t worry about them and enjoy your swim.”

“No, you two go ahead and talk. There’s a beach ten minutes away, I’ll go there. So if Anna looks for me, please let her know.”

Gable immediately stood up and walked away, not towards the gate but around the pool and into the garden, following a small path hidden behind the bushes. Jeong Taeui stared blankly, thinking: ‘Is there a separate gate there too?’

“It seems he really likes swimming.”

“I often see him at the pool early in the morning, unless there’s something special going on.”

Ilay said vaguely. Jeong Taeui nodded and looked at Gable again. His figure gradually disappeared from his sight.

“Swimming…… He looks slim but has a great physique. Is it because he exercises diligently?”

Jeong Taeui murmured, and Ilay, beside him, smiled.

“When he was in the military or even at UNHRDO, there were probably very few people he encountered who didn’t exercise.”

Thinking about it, yes…, “…but……” Jeong Taeui tilted his head in doubt. Although he agreed with Ilay, his perspective was slightly different.

“No, not everyone who exercises has a body like that.”

In fact, if you think about it, swimming might not be very useful for training to have a great physique. Among Jeong Taeui’s friends, one guy even reached the national swimming championship, and although he had a well-built body, it didn’t look as slim and beautiful as Gable’s.

Jeong Taeui got lost in memories of his friend who always flaunted his muscles and suddenly turned his head back.

Ilay was sitting relaxed, his hands draped over the back of the bench, looking towards the pool. No, to be precise, he wasn’t looking at anything specific; he was just staring aimlessly.

This man also had a beautiful body. Jeong Taeui had thought so, but more than that, it wasn’t just the body of an ordinary person. His hands and feet were soft, and sometimes Jeong Taeui suddenly felt that the lines of his ears and jaw were just as delicate.

Whenever he had such thoughts, Taeui felt it was a pity about Ilay’s personality.

Jeong Taeui sighed and shook his head. It was unlucky that he had to face Ilay’s bad habits every day.

When would he be free? When time passed and this man’s persistent grudge faded, could he go somewhere else? No, considering Ilay’s personality, he could only conclude that if one day Ilay found tormenting him too boring, he would directly kill him.

…………That was the reality.

Jeong Taeui become horrified by his own thoughts and rubbed his arms as goosebumps formed.

At that moment, Ilay, who had been staring indifferently at the grass, suddenly spoke up.

“Don’t go anywhere you like, Jeong Taei.”

He turned to look at Taeui and said: “Don’t think about going out alone without saying anything.”

Jeong Taeui frowned and vaguely replied.

“Even if I tried to escape this tiny island, I’d be caught in no time.”

If he were to escape, he would plan it thoroughly and aim for a certain opportunity, perhaps even leaving a note saying – “Don’t look for me.” to annoy Ilay.

But Jeong Taeui’s meaningless words seemed to make Ilay understand it differently. “Haa”, Ilay just looked at him.

“You’re thinking about running away again. You’ve thought about it once more.”

“……..”

Wasn’t that what he said before? Jeong Taeui blinked with a crooked smile. Damn it. He had made a mistake again.

This man wanted to corner him, right? Jeong Taeui sneaked a glance at Ilay, who quietly tapped the back of the bench. It seemed his fingers were contemplating something, and after finishing that thought, nothing good would come to Jeong Taeui.

“Let me ask you something.”

His fingers stopped tapping, and his deep voice spoke slowly. Jeong Taeui frowned. See, this was it. There was no reason to ask such a vague question here.

“Well…… I wish I could answer. What is it?”

“Why do you want to run away?”

Jeong Taeui immediately shut his mouth and stared at Ilay.

His voice remained indifferent as if he didn’t care about Jeong Taeui’s answer. His gaze was fixed on the clear water of the pool.

Jeong Taeui suddenly felt confused, not knowing what Ilay was getting at. He couldn’t answer right away.

The reason he wanted to run away? If he voiced it, a string of negative words would come out, but Ilay…… he wasn’t the type to care why someone wanted to run away from him. To him, if someone didn’t like being around him, they could just leave without him caring about their reasons.

“If it were you, wouldn’t you run away?”

Jeong Taeui finally stopped worrying about his random thoughts and lay down on the hammock. But he received an even more terrifying response.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t run away. I never bet on something I can’t win from the start.”

Yes, if you want to run away, go ahead and try. He can catch you anytime. That’s what he meant, right? Jeong Taeui bitterly licked his lips, feeling it was a very blatant warning.

But just when he thought the conversation had ended, Ilay spoke again after a while.

“Tell me. The reason you want to run away.”

“……I can’t say because I don’t know.”

“I’m thinking of a few reasons why you might want to leave, but I’m trying to find out which one it is.”

Jeong Taeui looked up at the sky, with Ilay’s resentful voice echoing in his ears. The sun was gradually rising, the morning mist seemed to be dissipating, leaving a bright blue sky.

The reason to run away?

It would be better if he could figure it out himself, but clearly, this man was determined to wait for an answer from him.

“What, do you want to hear me curse you?……. Oh, it’s because I don’t want to be dragged into trouble by your name and end up dead somewhere if I stay near you.”

Jeong Taeui grumbled in reply. His words were half-joking, half-serious, but that was just one of the most basic reasons. He didn’t know how he would die. If he made a mistake, he could die at this man’s hands, or he could die by being shot by someone attacking Ilay, or he could die at the hands of someone else while trying to escape from him. There were many reasons for his death, but only one conclusion: it seemed he would never die for a reason of his own making.

“Okay…… preserving one’s life is, of course, the most important issue. And?”

“And what?”

“If that’s all, why do you want to run away from me?”

He still asked indifferently, as if he didn’t care about the answer. Ilay started tapping his fingers on the back of the bench again. He seemed to be lost in thought once more. Jeong Taeui frowned at those fingers, not knowing what they were thinking.

“I-I really……” – Jeong Taeui paused and sat up. He scratched his head and bit his lip in frustration.

“The things in the past, tying you up, beating you, obviously I can’t do that again – You said it yourself, preserving my life is most important. Look, in a situation as bad as this, striving to live in a more comfortable environment is natural, right? Not just humans, even animals would do the same.”

“What’s the current situation like? Are there many issues?”

Jeong Taeui looked up fiercely at Ilay. When would he get the chance to rip that calm and composed mouth off?

“Ilay. Ilay Riegrow. You said it before. You said you would kill me when you found me. Even if you’re not killing me now, you said you’d make me suffer for the rest of my life. What idiot would want to live in misery for the rest of their life?”

Even if there was such a person, it wasn’t him.

Jeong Taeui felt that revealing his true feelings at this moment wasn’t wise at all. But Ilay couldn’t deny the things he had actually said in the past. On the contrary, it was even stranger for Ilay to ask him such a question.

“Torture you for the rest of your life……? Ah, right. You did say you hated being by my side terribly.”

A fleeting look of confusion crossed Ilay’s face at Jeong Taeui’s answer. But then he nodded as if remembering something. His tapping fingers on the bench suddenly added a bit of force.

“Then let’s ask again. Why don’t you like it?”

“Huh?”

Jeong Taeui’s brows furrowed as he stared at Ilay. Why was he asking such difficult questions today? Normally, he could have easily answered, but the way it was asked so naturally made Taeui realize he had never seriously thought about it.

He was still looking at the grass with a weary expression. He seemed, in some way, less alert than usual. Even when he had just woken up, Jeong Taeui had never seen him this unfocused.

“I’ve thought about it, Taei. I’ve never really harmed you.”

Jeong Taeui had no choice but to widen his eyes. This man didn’t even realize that harming someone didn’t necessarily mean killing them. If not, how could he say such a thing? Above all, if Jeong Taeui hadn’t been a bit more aware and protective of himself, he would have been dead long ago.

Seeing Jeong Taeui frown without replying, Ilay seemed to understand his thoughts from his silence. He thought for a moment, then spoke.

“However, I could have almost done it.”

Jeong Taeui scratched his head. How on earth could this man say such things? Although his words were strange and made him think for a while, one thing was certain.

“Obviously, when I’m around you, bad things always happen, every day.”

Jeong Taeui muttered. Just yesterday. The way he acted without regard for anyone. Maybe it was the first time he felt his heart being torn apart so intensely.

He couldn’t expect basic humane treatment from this man, and he couldn’t stay with someone like that for long. It was disrespectful to himself.

“People have different emotions – a bit different from you – but the most important thing is to control their own emotions. That’s the foundation of each person’s life, so at the very least, that shouldn’t be shaken.”

But for this man, it wasn’t the case.

Thinking back, Jeong Taeui realized he had grown up in a very beneficial environment. And he was aware of that himself.

At first, he didn’t realize it because he lived in a typical home like any other family. There was nothing special about his family, except that he had an extraordinary brother. So he thought everyone was like that.

But soon, he realized how precious and grateful it was for a person to grow up and receive complete love from their parents and siblings.

“Thanks to my parents, I can maintain the personality of a saint even when next to a man like this…… Thank you, Mom and Dad.”

Jeong Taeui whispered to himself and bowed to his deceased parents. And he thought, since he already had a good personality, could he get a bit more luck? After all, he needed to live a bit too.

“So. You can’t control your emotions when you’re with me?”

Ilay suddenly asked. Jeong Taeui stopped his ‘conversation’ with his parents.

“It’s not that I can’t control them, but it happens beyond my will……”

Jeong Taeui paused and closed his mouth.

Why was this man asking such questions early in the morning? Moreover, they were all very difficult for him to answer. He didn’t even know how to answer them properly.

Jeong Taeui scratched his head again and glanced at Ilay. As usual, his face was hard to read. When he sat there so resolutely, it was impossible to guess what he was thinking.

Why did he hate this man? He wondered if anyone else in his past life had started a conversation with such a question. And, of course, no one had.

But this man was wrong from the start. It wasn’t that he took the wrong direction; he was wrong from the very beginning.

Jeong Taeui lay back down on the hammock. The morning was bright but not too cold, and he thought he could fall asleep again like this. If this man wasn’t here, maybe he could close his eyes and kill some time with a nap.

“But you’re wrong. The things people say can vary greatly depending on who they come from. Sometimes I hate being around you, but I never said I didn’t like you……”

Jeong Taeui spoke unconsciously, voicing his true feelings. Maybe after hearing this, Ilay would ask: “Why don’t you like being with me?” again…….

“If there’s a reason why you don’t like being with me, what is it?”

“……”

Jeong Taeui turned his head on the hammock to look at Ilay. He wasn’t even looking in this direction, just staring at the grass.

“Why are you asking when you don’t even care what I think or feel? It’s just my wish, it doesn’t matter.”

“Tell me.”

“Look, even now. You don’t even realize I have my own thoughts. Who could be happy in an unequal relationship?”

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue. Anyway, this man wouldn’t understand. Ilay RieGrow wasn’t stupid or dumb. From the start, he had lived rationally, clearly understanding everything – and he knew his own nature very well. But Jeong Taeui didn’t understand why he kept repeating such questions.

Then, for the first time, Ilay turned his eyes towards Jeong Taeui. Shifting his indifferent gaze from the grass to him. For the first time, Jeong Taeui saw a strange emotion flash across his slightly frowning face.

“Jeong Taei. The one who decides whether you and others are equal or not isn’t someone else but yourself. I’ve never thought you were unequal to me.”

“Right. Keep holding on to that thought. If you think back about it now, even about yesterday……”

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue and spoke. Yes, yesterday too, precisely just a few hours ago.

Ilay didn’t say anything. He just stared at Jeong Taeui in silence. But Jeong Taeui couldn’t read whether that gaze was positive, negative, or something else. In any case, he had no intention of trying to convince or explain to this man what equality in human relationships meant.

This peaceful morning had been completely shattered.

“Yesterday,……”

Suddenly, Ilay opened his mouth but then fell silent. A strange sensation ran down Jeong Taeui’s spine. He wasn’t sure if he was getting sleepy again. He glanced at the overcast sky gradually brightening, then closed his eyes.

But thinking about it made him irritated once more.

Yesterday, or rather, just a few hours ago, he had tried to bury that memory once. Why dig it up again? Why treat him so inhumanely?

Jeong Taeui closed his eyes and mouth, thinking that if Ilay ever requested something similar again, he wouldn’t hesitate to say: ‘I hate this.’

“Yesterday,…… I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

In that moment.

Along with a sigh, those strange words entered his ears. Jeong Taeui’s eyes widened, and he instinctively directed his blank, doll-like eyes toward Ilay.

What the hell did he just hear? Jeong Taeui thought he must have misheard something. It was as if those words were in a strange language he couldn’t understand. There was nothing wrong with the content of each word, nothing wrong with Ilay’s voice, but the serious problem here was the connection between the content and the person saying it. Or maybe the problem was just with his ears.

Jeong Taeui turned to look at Ilay with suspicion. Ilay was gazing indifferently at the fruit trees across the garden. His expression was the same as always.

Jeong Taeui blinked for a long time, unable to stop staring at Ilay in bewilderment, even sitting up.

“……”

Jeong Taeui kept staring at him with a dazed look, as if he had just woken up, and ruffled his hair that had been rubbed by the hammock.

…….He must have misheard, right? He definitely misheard. No, even if the world were ending, this man would never say such things. Yesterday, he was pretty angry, so he’s hearing such absurd things now, isn’t he? Or maybe he’s just too tired these days.

Jeong Taeui tilted his head and looked at Ilay, blinking. Seeing him sitting there as if nothing had happened, he doubted himself again whether he really misheard.

What was that? It was an illusion. Surely.

Jeong Taeui licked his lips, sighed, and lay back down. It felt like he had just experienced a very strange hallucination. Maybe because he woke up early today, he might end up falling asleep again without realizing it.

Jeong Taeui looked up at the sky. It was no longer overcast; today was a clear day. It felt like a waste to go back to sleep on such a beautiful morning, but enjoying the waste could also be considered enjoying leisure time. Moreover, who knows? If he fell asleep here, would he hear strange hallucinations like he just did?

Jeong Taeui sighed and closed his eyes. Fortunately, Ilay didn’t say anything more. Ever since he came out here, he had only been saying strange things. Maybe everything that just happened was just a dream.

Jeong Taeui closed his eyes, and even though he had just woken up, he felt like he could fall back asleep. He quickly fell into a near-unconscious state, but the feeling of being stared at interrupted him.

He could feel that gaze. If he opened his eyes right now, he would probably meet Ilay’s eyes staring at him. Jeong Taeui couldn’t help but mind that gaze, wondering if he should avoid it.

*Rustle*

A sound of footsteps stepping on the grass approached him slowly and finally stopped next to Jeong Taeui.

It seemed like Ilay was intent on disturbing his early morning nap. Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue and opened his eyes.

“What’s wrong with you again…….”

But Jeong Taeui didn’t finish his sentence.

Ilay looked down at Jeong Taeui, who frowned with his eyes closed, showing his annoyance. Then, suddenly, Ilay grabbed his collar and easily pulled him up from the hammock.

Jeong Taeui raised an eyebrow, feeling his upper body suddenly suspended in mid-air. “What now……” – Jeong Taeui tried to grumble.

But before he could, Ilay’s tongue filled his mouth.

“……—?”

Taeui didn’t even have time to say anything. One of Ilay’s hands cradled his cheek and ear, while the other held onto his collar, and then Ilay bent down and gave him a deep kiss.

To be precise, it wasn’t a gentle kiss at all; his tongue explored his mouth as if trying to devour him. Jeong Taeui struggled to breathe. From his tongue, teeth, to his lips, Ilay’s relentless probing left him unable to voice any protests.

“Ilay.” – Jeong Taeui tried to call his name, but even those words were swallowed.

“Ya…… Ilay,…… I can’t breathe.”

Jeong Taeui wanted to tell him to ease up because he was suffocating, but he couldn’t utter a single word. Yet somehow, Ilay seemed to understand his thoughts.

Was it because he had swallowed all those words, making him understand???

Just when Jeong Taeui was about to pass out from lack of air, with his eyes already covered in a thin layer of haze, Ilay threw him back onto the hammock. Jeong Taeui coughed and tried to catch his breath, looking up at him.

Standing by the hammock, Ilay looked down at Jeong Taeui. But the moment their eyes met, Ilay’s brows seemed to knit together. He immediately turned away and walked toward the house.

“……—.”

Jeong Taeui grasped his collar, trying to regain his breath, staring blankly at Ilay’s retreating figure. Ilay stepped inside and disappeared into the house.

“……?!……—”

Jeong Taeui blinked at the closed door, then looked up at the sky, then down at the ground. Finally, he fixed his gaze on the closed door. Ilay had completely disappeared behind it.

Jeong Taeui lowered his head and rubbed his lips as if trying to tear them off. His fingertips were wet. Their mixed saliva made it hard to tell whose was whose, sticking to his fingers.

This was the first time Ilay had kissed him like that.

To be precise, this was the first time Ilay had kissed him without anything happening afterward. Had he ever spoken about strange questions and unrelated matters, then suddenly kissed him and disappeared like this? No, Jeong Taeui didn’t think there had ever been such an instance.

“Uh……..”

A trace of confusion appeared on Jeong Taeui’s face.

“Yesterday…… I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

“That, that…… Did I really not mishear that……?”

Jeong Taeui covered his face with his hand.

“Um, ugh……”

He muttered some meaningless words. No way. Ilay couldn’t possibly show his human side to him like that. That surely wasn’t his intention. He shouldn’t suddenly reveal a human side of himself with those words. Impossible.