Situated on the southern coast of the island, Baheb is quite a peaceful place. From August to October, during the cool monsoon season, it’s bustling with surfers, but outside of that period, Baheb remains quiet and serene.

It only comes alive once a week on Friday evenings. This is because of the night market held in Baheb’s central square. The crowd is so thick that Jeong Taeui wonders if the entire population of Seringe flocks there.

However, not many people come to the ‘market’ just to buy essential items. If it’s just for regular shopping, many traders operate in various places throughout the week.

The central square of Baheb is very large, with a small fountain in the middle, and traders spread out their stalls around it. There are many common items in the market, but also many rare things that can be found in regular wholesale markets.

And on the other side of the fountain, near the ruins of a now-collapsed castle, there’s a flea market. There, anyone can bring items they no longer use at home or bring handmade goods to sell. Since it’s not a fixed market, it can be very crowded at times, but also very quiet at others.

Jeong Taeui and Xinlu arrived in Baheb just as the sun was setting.

Maybe because it wasn’t time for the market yet, the square still looked very deserted. Occasionally, a few traders arrived early to get good spots, but there were very few people browsing and buying. It would be another hour or two before the night market started. Jeong Taeui heard a white man, who looked like a tourist, say this as he glanced at a travel book he was holding.

Surprisingly, such a small book had information about such a remote place, which was crazy. Jeong Taeui noticed the small book the man was holding. When he was in Berlin, he had heard Kyle talk about it so much that it constantly rang in his ears. Jeong Taeui recalled the memory of Kyle saying he had to give up his business after publishing such a book. But Taeui said nothing more.

“The empty lot over there has something like a stone wall. Hmmm……. —it’s like marking a territory.”

Xinlu looked around the sparsely populated square as if puzzled, then directed his gaze into the distance.

Next to the square, scattered stone walls have been torn down, revealing flat ground, with grass growing thickly behind it.

“Ah, I’ve heard it used to be a castle.”

“Castle ruins? Has this island been inhabited for so long? Long enough to build an entire castle?”

Xinlu widened his eyes as he looked at Jeong Taeui walking ahead. In just a few hours, this market would be packed.

“According to the people who have lived here for generations, yes. A few hundred years ago, there was a highly developed civilization here.”

“Hmmm. Places like this are quite common. But if what they say is true, it seems the valuable ruins here are poorly managed.”

Xinlu walked towards the stone walls, curiously peering inside. It seemed like it was originally a circular structure with many layers, but most of it had been demolished, leaving only some remnants.

There’s even a bustling flea market here, so it’s likely not poorly managed, but rather intended for demolition from the start……. Jeong Taeui followed a few steps behind Xinlu. Observing the pile of stones regarded as a castle and watching Xinlu intently examine the surroundings, Jeong Taeui smiled. Seeing Xinlu’s figure intermittently appear and disappear behind the stone walls, he wondered if this would resolve his doubts about the boy. Jeong Taeui took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Ilay would be back soon. If he returned today, he would probably end up as a corpse……. Err Well, he didn’t know.

Jeong Taeui hesitated as he tried to sit on the pile of stones but then stopped. Although it was said to be unmanaged, it was still a precious ruin, so he shouldn’t sit on it. Jeong Taeui quietly sat on a large rock nearby instead.

The sky turned a deep blue. In the distance, stars twinkled faintly. After the red-purple streaks of the setting sun disappeared, countless stars would replace the sun to shine.

A starry night like tonight could only be seen in a vast, desolate place in the Southern Hemisphere like this. This was a sight Jeong Taeui would never see in the big cities of distant countries where he had lived or visited. When he came to this island and saw the Milky Way clearly spanning the high sky like a river flowing through the night sky, Jeong Taeui was speechless for a while.

In such a beautiful place, he felt more confident that somewhere on this island, his brother was there too. Here, with both Xinlu and Ilay, there were indescribable emotions welling up inside him.

On a beautiful day, Jeong Taeui’s mood also relaxed.

Jeong Taeui exhaled a contented sigh, blowing smoke into the deep blue sky.

“I wonder if I can share these peaceful moments and beautiful sights with someone…….”

“If it’s you, I can say it with you, hyung.”

He inhaled sharply. Jeong Taeui almost choked on the smoke, coughing violently. Xinlu, who had been intently looking at something under a stone wall in the distance, was now standing right next to him.

Does this kid know how to teleport or something? Jeong Taeui smokes his cigarette, staring at Xinlu in astonishment. Xinlu intended to sit on the stone wall next to Jeong Taeui but, after a moment’s thought, sat down on the rock where Jeong Taeui was sitting. Jeong Taeui squinted, this was one of the things he liked about Xinlu.

“Ah……. That’s great. Thank you, it’s wonderful to see you again.”

Xinlu smiled as he spoke. Jeong Taeui raised an eyebrow, the ash from his cigarette falling. Xinlu continued speaking words that he couldn’t immediately understand.

“A few years ago, I visited Africa. Every three years, UNHRDO opens its branches and allows candidates to visit. Candidates can’t choose which branch they’ll go to, and I ended up at the African branch, staying in Johannesburg for a few days. Since I was already in Africa, I decided to look around a few places before heading back.”

Jeong Taeui nodded, silently waiting for the rest of Xinlu’s story. Perhaps it was a simple feeling of guilt when Xinlu recounted a story about UNHRDO, the nostalgic look on his face made Jeong Taeui’s mouth feel bitter as he exhaled a puff of smoke.

Everyone has moments when they must give up something to gain something else. Jeong Taeui had experienced this a few times. Sometimes what he wanted was trivial, but other times it was significant, and what he had to trade was equally substantial.

Over a long period, he sometimes wondered if it would have been better if he hadn’t made such choices back then. But regardless, he didn’t regret his past decisions, though thinking back on them was inevitable.

Xinlu had left UNHRDO because of him. That was Xinlu’s choice, and there was no place for Jeong Taeui to interfere with it. So logically, he knew it wasn’t his fault. But even so, Jeong Taeui couldn’t help but feel guilty and heavy-hearted. Perhaps one day, long in the future, or maybe just soon, Xinlu would think about it. That it might have been better if he hadn’t made such a choice back then.

“Things can’t be changed. That’s how people live.” Jeong Taeui mumbled to himself as he brushed off the ash. Xinlu began his story with UNHRDO but ended with something unrelated.

“The sky here is so beautiful…….—But for those who have never seen it with their own eyes, no matter how you describe it, they will never imagine it. The sky stretches endlessly and those clouds with the bright full moon.”

Looking up at the sky, Xinlu murmured as if dreaming.

On the pitch-black sky, twinkling stars appeared one by one. Jeong Taeui seemed to understand the sky Xinlu was talking about. Faced with such beauty, he could only remain silent.

“I want to have it. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Maybe in the future, no matter what other scenery I see, nothing will compare to it. Even if I see that sky again in the same place in the future, it might not be as beautiful as the sky I saw that day. I don’t know. It’s just that, at that moment, I really, really wanted to have that sky.”

“……. I see…….”

“I couldn’t just treat it like a photo and hang it in my room. No matter how good the camera is, it can’t capture the beauty of seeing it with your own eyes.”

Xinlu fell silent. Jeong Taeui also remained quiet. Then he sighed and took out a pack of cigarettes, pulling one out. With a click, a quiet sound, a puff of smoke rose.

After taking a couple of drags and exhaling, Xinlu continued speaking, and a faint smile appeared on Jeong Taeui’s face.

“Thinking back now, I’ve never felt so desperate as I did then. I wanted to go crazy, but I couldn’t do it……. That really…….”

Next to Xinlu, Jeong Taeui was lost in thought. He tapped the nearly burnt-out cigarette on the rock and spoke up.

“Yes. You can’t bring the sky down and hang it in your room. Nor can you use opium to make it addictive.”

Xinlu laughed heartily. He spoke with the cigarette still in his mouth.

“Since I was a child, I have always gotten what I wanted.”

Jeong Taeui didn’t respond.

Whether it’s people or the sky, neither can be owned like possessions. So, he couldn’t do that. No, even the sky is divided by national borders, and each country has its own airspace, let alone people. While nations fiercely protect their airspace, on the ground, people are still sold like livestock, whether by their own choice or someone else’s.

Right now, Jeong Taeui isn’t very confident. If Xinlu really wanted to turn him into an addict by drugging him for a few days, he wasn’t sure he could escape, even if it wasn’t opium.

But.

Jeong Taeui had once liked Xinlu. Xinlu had once been a very lovable child. So, he hoped Xinlu wouldn’t choose such a path. Although Xinlu might find satisfaction in such twisted happiness, Jeong Taeui still wanted him to be happy in another way.

“One day, when time has passed, would you……. still want to be with me if I became the way you wanted?” (meaning becoming an addict)

Jeong Taeui suddenly asked. In reality, it wasn’t really a question but more of a playful comment. Xinlu didn’t respond. Jeong Taeui took out a second cigarette. He didn’t know what the answer would be. He truly didn’t know and had no way of finding out. The only thing he could know was what he was thinking at this moment.

But in that hidden corner of his heart, a vague but undeniably clear feeling was speaking.

“Tell me again, Taei.”

A familiar voice whispered in his ear, suddenly echoing in his mind.

“…….”

His heart skipped a beat, as if he stopped breathing for a moment. Thankfully, the darkness perfectly concealed Jeong Taeui’s blushing face. He quietly lowered his head and stared at the tip of his shoes as if a bug had flown past his feet, then brushed off some ash from the cigarette.

His neck was burning. The sound of his voice, the warmth of it, the moist breath on his ear, the warm hand touching his skin, stroking it—each moment was vividly replaying in his mind as if it was happening right now.

How strange. And how embarrassing.

Looking back, although he had never seriously thought about himself, it seemed that he was quite popular in his own way. There were a few people who liked him. He had been confessed to a few times. He even heard such words from people in his neighborhood whom he met daily in the past.

There was nothing for Jeong Taeui to feel uncomfortable about because of that. He didn’t have any problems with it. He would thank the person, but that was all. If Jeong Taeui didn’t have feelings for the other person, he would stop right there. He wouldn’t be bothered or agitated by such things.

But.

………. Was it because he was afraid? Or was it because he felt nervous? He didn’t know if it was because Ilay was not someone he could respond to normally like others, so perhaps it was because he was anxious.

Jeong Taeui slowly shook his head and thought about it. If a man named Ilay Riegrow liked him. (No, he didn’t even need to add the ‘if’ anymore. He wasn’t someone so cautious or timid.)

Thinking about it made his nape feel hot. He didn’t know what to do or how to find an answer. Jeong Taeui just felt really confused.

‘Could it be that I liked him?‘

Deep in his thoughts, an unexpected answer popped up in his mind. His nape was burning. The heat quickly spread from his ears to his entire face.