Jeong Taeui scratched his head, blinked as he looked around the room, then stepped out of bed. The smooth wooden floor felt pleasant against the soles of his feet. After a few steps, he felt a soft carpet underfoot.

In reality, the room wasn’t as spacious as he had initially thought. It contained only a large bed and a few potted plants placed haphazardly beside it. The space was just enough to move around comfortably. Jeong Taeui slowly scanned the room and noticed an open door, so he stepped outside.

Beyond the door was an open space.

No, he wasn’t sure if it could be called ‘outside’.

He was standing in the middle of a square building with an open central courtyard, four hallways forming a square with a vacant middle area. Each hallway had a grand door in the center, and a polished stone floor led straight from the bedroom to the outside.

Jeong Taeui stepped out, squinting against the bright sunlight. The stone floor beneath his feet was warmed to a comfortable temperature by the sun.

In the middle of the enclosed courtyard (about the size of three or four classrooms) was a small square stone pool, large enough to fit a few dozen people. The water was crystal clear.

“Am I in some sort of cathedral?”

Jeong Taeui sighed and muttered to himself.

Step by step, he moved toward the pool, feeling as if he had entered a quiet mosque.

There was a man sitting by the pool, intently examining a small box in his hands. He seemed lost in his own thoughts as he fiddled with the mysterious box.

Jeong Taeui immediately walked toward the man. Perhaps the man knew Jeong Taeui was approaching, but he didn’t look up, remaining engrossed in his thoughts and the small box. Finally, Jeong Taeui stopped a few steps away and quietly looked down at him.

“Anyway, if there was a spring in that secret box, it would have been there already. But there seems to be something a bit unusual about it.”

Jeong Taeui suddenly spoke, and the man mumbled: “Yes, it’s rather unusual”, without lifting his gaze from the box.

“There are 12 springs. The wooden plate at the end acts like a key. When you lift it, it compresses and then pops out instantly, like a ball. It’s a really interesting idea.”

He spoke calmly, closed the box, and handed it to Jeong Taeui, saying: “Do you want to take a look?”

Jeong Taeui smiled, stayed silent for a moment, then accepted the box. He then sat down beside Jeong Jaeui. He knew that even if he opened the box and examined it, he wouldn’t understand its inner workings. No, if it were a simple toy like this, he might be able to grasp it, but in most cases, he never fully understood the items his brother showed him.

Jeong Taeui fiddled with the box and looked at Jeong Jaeui.

“By the way, where are we, hyung?”

“Let’s see. I’m not really sure.”

“……Do you at least know this is Tanzania?”

Jeong Taeui grumbled about why he had to be the one to inform his brother of such things, but then he reconsidered, realizing it might actually be possible. Then, with a hint of surprise, his brother paused and said: “This is Africa…… I’m not really sure.”

Jeong Taeui licked his lips and scratched his head. His brother blinked a few times, lost in thought, and muttered indifferently.

“Islamic culture is common in the Southern Hemisphere…… Zanzibar? ———No, Seringe.”

“That’s right. Seringe.”

His brother didn’t even seem to notice such a place existed until asked. But Jeong Taeui wasn’t surprised that he could pinpoint the name of the island after just a few seconds of thinking.

Jeong Taeui smiled and spoke to the man, who seemed so indifferent that he didn’t even know where he was.

“I couldn’t contact you because you were stuck in a place like this. But I thought you might reach out to me on our birthday.”

“Ah…… I tried to find a way to contact you, but I had already discarded everything. Whenever I thought of how to reach you, another thought would pop up. So, I ended up forgetting.”

Jeong Jaeui spoke with an expression not much different from usual. But Jeong Taeui smiled, feeling a vague sense of regret for his brother’s unchanging demeanor.

“Last night, I dreamed about you, so I thought I should try to contact you somehow, but it seems everything worked out quite easily.”

“……Ah…… I see. So that’s why we met.”

Jeong Taeui smiled thoughtfully.

Everything was just the same. Nothing could change in just a few months, and he was the same too. Jeong Jaeui was still Jeong Jaeui, exactly as he had been when he disappeared.

He suddenly felt really good.

Under the deep blue sky, in this quiet, desolate place, he met the person he wanted to see.

Jeong Taeui sighed contentedly and lay down, spreading his arms wide, looking up at the face looking down at him, and said: “A bit late, but happy birthday, hyung.”

He gave a gentle smile. A gentle smile appeared on his brother’s calm face. Without a doubt, he was Jeong Jaeui, Jeong Taeui’s brother. The one he hadn’t seen for many months.

Jeong Jaeui nodded and responded: “You too. Happy birthday, Taeui.”

[END VOL 5.]