A voice came from behind him, echoing over Jeong Taeui’s shoulder. A voice he was very familiar with and had heard many times before.

Jeong Taeui brushed the sand off his hands and stood up straight. He turned his head.

“I’m not doing anything that requires a weapon, and I won’t do anything to you.”

A few steps ahead, a familiar face stood there. The person was thinner and a bit more gentle than the images in Jeong Taeui’s memory, and that person was Xinlu.

Jeong Taeui raised an eyebrow slightly.

It had only been a few months, yet the bright and cheerful child seemed to have disappeared. The gaunt face of the person in front of him exuded a clear masculine scent.

“A matter that requires a weapon……”

Muttering that, Xinlu smiled awkwardly, not the bright, radiant smile Jeong Taeui knew, but a low, calm one. An unfamiliar expression on a face he had once been familiar with.

“So. Are you planning to do something?”

Jeong Taeui asked softly. If so, it would be a waste, he muttered. He didn’t have anything that could be used as a weapon. The worthless coins in his pocket wouldn’t do anything.

“I’m not particularly concerned about the method or type of weapon. If I can do something with a suitable method and accompanying weapon, I will, but if not, achieving the goal is the top priority anyway.”

“Everyone should live with that attitude. By the way, how have you been lately?”

Jeong Taeui asked as he sat down, the soft sand forming a small mound next to where he sat. Seeing Jeong Taeui unconsciously raise his hand to touch his chest pocket, Xinlu smiled faintly and took out a cigarette from his pocket.

Jeong Taeui looked up at him as he received it.

“Have you been smoking, Xinlu?”

“At UNHRDO? I don’t smoke often. Sometimes I feel like smoking, so I keep it with me, but I rarely use it there. Not to the extent of buying it to smoke regularly, just occasionally. Just like you, right?”

“Hmmm, but my smoking has increased a lot at UNHRDO, I…….”

‘What the hell, is it because of me that this adorable kid has been influenced by such negative things?’ – Jeong Taeui grumbled with a gloomy expression. Xinlu rummaged through his pockets and took out a lighter. He flicked and held it. The wind blew, and the flame went out. He flicked it again and cupped his hand to shield it from the wind.

“……”

The hand holding the lighter extended unguardedly toward Jeong Taeui’s mouth. It was a hand that he could grab and break immediately if he wanted to. Both Jeong Taeui and Xinlu knew that. And they both knew Jeong Taeui wouldn’t do that.

Smoke rose from the tip of the cigarette.

“Come to think of it, I think this is the first cigarette I’ve smoked since leaving UNHRDO.”

“Really?”

“Hmmm…… did I smoke before? I don’t remember. But after leaving UNHRDO, I hardly smoked anymore. At least, I don’t remember buying cigarettes with my own money.”

“I guess not. But I’ve been smoking since leaving UNHRDO.”

Xinlu took out a cigarette for himself, placed it in his mouth, and sat down next to Jeong Taeui. Along with the clicking sound of the lighter, another plume of smoke rose.

“By the way, how’s the guy?”

“That man?”

“Your subordinate in Hong Kong. He was taken to the hospital after Ilay caught him.”

“Oh. That guy? He’s dead.”

Hearing Xinlu’s calm reply, Jeong Taeui hesitated a bit. He looked at him with a strange gaze, and for a moment, Xinlu’s eyes flashed the answer: ‘He was killed.’

But then, after that brief moment, Xinlu looked out to sea with indifferent eyes, and Jeong Taeui quietly flicked the ash from his cigarette. He thought it was better not to ask anything further. All he could say was: “That’s unfortunate”, and received a half-hearted response from Xinlu: “Yeah, it’s unfortunate.”

“You must have put in a lot of effort to get here.”

“Not really. Compared to not knowing where you were, coming to a faraway place like Africa was a hundred times more convenient. It’s really nice to be able to meet you.”

Xinlu said with a smile. His voice had no hint of jest.

A happy smile bloomed on Xinlu’s lips as he looked at Jeong Taeui. The cigarette in his mouth looked quite strange. But finally, Jeong Taeui found something familiar in this man, that smile with squinted eyes. The cigarette was almost down to the filter. Jeong Taeui held the cigarette in his hand, thought for a moment, then stubbed it out in the sand and took it out. He felt a bit guilty for putting out his cigarette on the beautiful white sand.

“Xinlu, I’m sorry.”

Jeong Taeui said as he put the unburned cigarette butt into his pocket. His voice almost whispered, mingling with the wind, the waves, and the distant conversations of people, so small that he himself could barely hear it, but Xinlu seemed to understand what he was saying.

He stuck the nearly burned-out cigarette into the sand and smiled gently.

“But in the end, you didn’t do anything wrong. You just feel guilty, that’s just your nature, and that’s understandable. But honestly, you don’t need to apologize to me. In fact, it should be me who apologizes.”

“Hmm…… Maybe.”

Jeong Taeui nodded in agreement. Then, Xinlu laughed as if he had heard something funny.

“Well…… then let’s take it slow now. Hyung.” 

“Take what slow? Are you planning to take me away?”

“By knocking you out, by drugs, or by force?” Jeong Taeui said while looking at Xinlu’s delicate wrist. No, come to think of it, those slender wrists were surprisingly strong.

Xinlu, about to approach Jeong Taeui, hesitated for a moment. And then he stared at him with a confused look.

“I was going to…… but don’t you like it?”

“Of course not. Who would like to be dragged away?”

“Then what should I do?”

“What should you do? You can’t take me away.”

“But you won’t voluntarily go with me.”

“Yeah. I need to find my brother.”

“You mean Jeong Jay? You don’t need to find him. Wherever he is, he will live well and eat well.”

Jeong Taeui remained silent.

He looked at Xinlu and frowned. Xinlu shrugged confidently, and suddenly, his gaze became serious as he looked directly at Jeong Taeui.

“I don’t care who asked you to find Jeong Jaeil. I don’t care what happens to the one called Jeong Jaeil. I just need you.”

“Xinlu.”

“So come with me, hyung.”

Xinlu stood up, the sand falling gently. After stepping back and shaking the sand off himself, Xinlu extended his hand toward him.

“Hyung. I did something wrong that day. But it was because I liked you too much that I lost control. Obviously, you like me too, but something is wrong here, and I got so confused and angry. I wanted to have you somehow. Really. All of them. I did it because there were too many people who liked you.”

Jeong Taeui listened to Xinlu’s anxious voice and looked at the hand in front of him. It was a soft and lovely hand. There had been times when he couldn’t resist wanting to touch that hand.

Jeong Taeui reached out and touched that hand. Xinlu’s worried and smiling expression brightened slightly.

“Taei-hyung.”

“Xinlu. How have you been lately? Since leaving UNHRDO. You used to enjoy working there.”

Jeong Taeui calmly asked while touching Xinlu’s hand. Xinlu’s expression, which had brightened, now became gloomy.

“Um…… I’m doing very well. My father handed over a small business to me, so I started learning the trade not long ago. I quite enjoy it too.”

“Really, that’s good. I’ll visit if I have the chance.”

“……Hyung.”

Xinlu’s face turned expressionless. He frowned, and the soft hand touching Jeong Taeui’s withdrew.

“I’m sorry.”

When Jeong Taeui whispered, Xinlu’s hand gripped tighter. Finally, that hand let go of Taeui’s and clenched into a fist.

“……Hyung, you like me.”

Xinlu said coldly. He looked at Jeong Taeui with a blank expression. For a moment, Jeong Taeui felt a pang in his chest.

“Yes, I like you. Because you’re so adorable and sweet. But…… I’m sorry. The relationship you want and the relationship I want are very different.”

“No, the relationship you want is the same as mine.”

“Then the ‘relationship you think I want’ has changed.”

Jeong Taeui said softly, his tongue tingling.

Maybe it was him who had changed. He still found the boy in front of him adorable, but he couldn’t meet the expectations Xinlu had. Once again, he felt that his feelings had faded and his demeanor had changed. Nonetheless, he felt sad about it.

Xinlu just looked down at Jeong Taeui. He saw a fleeting anger on the mature yet unfamiliar face he had never seen before, mixed with sadness, resentment, and even pity.

“I…… You. No. Since leaving UNHRDO, I’ve only thought about you. I can’t live without you. Somehow, you must stay by my side. Why can’t you? Why are you like this? Why can’t you be with me? Were you with someone else when you went missing? You should be by my side…………—I only thought about that, hyung……”

“Even if I don’t want to?”

Xinlu was silent for a moment at Jeong Taeui’s low question. After an unknown amount of time, he briefly answered.

“Even if you don’t want to.”

Jeong Taeui stared blankly at Xinlu. He sighed and stood up from his seat. Instead of taking Xinlu’s outstretched hand, he stood up by himself and brushed the sand off his pants. Grains of sand fell and slipped into his shoes.

“That’s exactly why we can’t be together. And that’s why I don’t want to be with you.”

Jeong Taeui spoke in a low voice. A brief flash of malicious anger appeared on Xinlu’s face. Xinlu’s face darkened.

Jeong Taeui thought it was absurd. He felt he had seen this expression somewhere, along with what he had felt with Xinlu back at UNHRDO.

Without needing much thought, he resembled that man. At that moment, a man appeared from among the low trees, leisurely walking towards them.

One hand in his pocket, the other rubbing his neck as if it was sore, Ilay RieGrow was walking towards Jeong Taeui. His gaze was fixed in this direction, not leaving Jeong Taeui for a second. His slow, leisurely steps took him along the dirt path that meandered through the white sand.

Gable followed a few steps behind, looking directly at Taeui with an expressionless face. Even when he glanced at Xinlu, there was no change in his expression. Only then did Jeong Taeui recall what he had said: “It’s not safe here, so don’t go out alone.”

Perhaps he didn’t mean that the security was terrible. Gable had known that someone was after Jeong Taeui. Just as Ilay RieGrow had known.

Noticing Jeong Taeui’s gaze shifting over his shoulder, Xinlu only half-turned his head before turning back, uncertain if it was the face he expected.

“You said you couldn’t be with me because of that, didn’t you? Hyung?”

Xinlu spoke. His expression had changed. Gone was the face that used to smile gently, replaced by the look of a newly matured lion cub. Unstoppable, resilient, and confident.

“That’s just an excuse. Because you’re with this man.”

Jeong Taeui didn’t respond. He couldn’t respond. Because the truth was, Xinlu was right. It wasn’t just Xinlu forcing him to follow his desires.

But he was with Ilay, not Xinlu.

“You look very happy, can I join you? I see a happy face here.”

A slow voice cut through from over Xinlu’s shoulder. The seemingly enthusiastic voice approached from behind him. Five steps, four steps, three steps, two……——

Jeong Taeui’s movement was almost reflexive, perhaps due to old habits. An unconscious protection before the need to shield an innocent, lovable child from a fierce and malicious man.

Pushing Xinlu aside, Jeong Taeui stepped forward, positioning himself between Ilay and Xinlu. For a moment, Jeong Taeui thought he had made a mistake and clicked his tongue. He had done this instinctively without careful consideration, and that was his error.

Ilay, raising his hand, suddenly halted. The smile faded from his face, replaced by a cold expression. His hand stopped mid-air, then he flipped it over, looked down at his palm, and folded each finger in.

“You’re not the one I want to shake hands with, Taei.”

“……..”

Jeong Taeui stood there, confused. Stepping back now would be ridiculous, but continuing to block him like this was even more absurd.

“Um…… But I want to shake hands with you. Nice to meet you.”

Jeong Taeui said hesitantly. He reached out to grab Ilay’s clenched fingers with both hands, shaking them vigorously.

“……”

“……”

A dark gaze bore down on the bowed head of Jeong Taeui. Behind Ilay, he could hear Gable chuckling softly. When Jeong Taeui looked up, Gable was already looking at him with his usual cold expression.

Jeong Taeui looked down at the pale hand enveloped in his own, pondering for a moment why he had to hold it. But after thinking it over, he didn’t want to see Xinlu torn to pieces by the fangs of the monster before him.

“Taei…… I’ve thought about this before, but it seems you’re misunderstanding something about this kid. But never mind, that’s not important.”

A sigh fell on the top of his head. As soon as that deep voice ended, the hand Jeong Taeui was holding withdrew, then grabbed his wrist and pulled him forcefully.

“…….!”

Xinlu, who had been standing behind him, now stood behind Ilay, while Jeong Taeui found himself behind Ilay.

Ilay turned his back on him and took a step forward.

“Alright, it’s a beautiful face after all, so shall we greet each other once more?”

Ilay said with a smile. His white teeth showed between slightly parted lips. It was terrifying and sharp, as if they could easily bite someone to death.

Jeong Taeui looked at him and rubbed his neck. He felt that things were becoming a bit complicated and messy.