So even if he doesn’t tell him such things, it’s okay. Even if he hides something more than that.

But if he feels guilty about it, that’s not what Jeong Taeui wants.

“Actually, you don’t need to feel guilty or keep your distance from me.”

It’s true that Jeong Taeui doesn’t like Jeong Jaeui creating weapons, but that’s not something that should make him feel guilty. Although it’s possible he might feel a bit guilty because Jeong Taeui hates weapon development.

Jeong Taeui heard Jeong Jaeui sigh.

“I’m not doing it anymore. I don’t want to do that anymore…… Did you hear anything else from Uncle?”

Jeong Jaeui quietly said. Clearly, he was asking about things he could guess but wasn’t entirely certain about.

Immediately, Jeong Taeui realized that what Jeong Jaeui really wanted to know was about something more than weapon development. And Jeong Taeui knew what answer he wanted.

A lucky genius. The source of that absurd luck. However, after all, Jeong Taeui still couldn’t understand – perhaps no one could understand – whether the root of that luck was quietly buried deep in the ground or if someone had dug it up.

“I……”

Jeong Taeui cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable as he spoke. Perhaps by then, Jeong Jaeui had already realized what Jeong Taeui was about to say.

“I heard that I bring luck to you. That’s what I was told. But not from Uncle.”

After saying that, Jeong Taeui looked at the fruit basket. As usual, waiting for Jeong Jaeui’s calm expression. But contrary to his expectation, his face showed a hint of confusion, though only a slight change in his expression.

“……..Then who?”

“Ah. It was Ilay…… a man named Ilay Riegrow. He said he had met you before.”

“Yes, that’s right. T&R…….”

Jeong Jaeui nodded. Seeing him like that, he suddenly remembered the man whose name he had just mentioned.

Ilay Riegrow.

Is he looking for him? While he was away, Jeong Taeui had gone out on his own. Maybe Ilay is very angry right now.

But perhaps it wouldn’t take him long to find him. Ilay would easily guess where he was. There are very few Asians like him in Seringe at this time. Unless he also wore a chador like Jeong Jaeui, if anyone remembered seeing Jeong Taeui walking around looking as he does now, there would certainly be a truck coming to pick him up immediately.

If that’s the case, would he come here to find him?

Jeong Taeui thought as he frowned. Even if he knew he was in the mansion of an Arab – just like when they knew where Jeong Jaeui was – he couldn’t come here to find him. Nothing would change. Just like they couldn’t find Jeong Jaeui.

In the southeast of Seringe, where many mansions of wealthy people are located, they had targeted the mansion of a man named Raumaan Abid Al Saud, but in the end, they couldn’t find Jeong Jaeui.

In the Middle East, they quickly identified the area where royal mansions and wealthy Arabs were concentrated, but they couldn’t pinpoint where Jeong Jaeui might be among those high-walled buildings, could they?

Jeong Taeui had once joked about hiring a mercenary, having him wear a mask, and forcibly breaking into each mansion. Of course, it was just a joke.

In response to Taeui’s joke, Ilay replied as if throwing cold water on him.

There are numerous armed guards stationed to protect the auxiliary buildings where these royal families reside. And Ilay said that it’s impossible to break in from the outside unless all of them are gone. Even hiring a mercenary wouldn’t help, as it would be very difficult to infiltrate the auxiliary buildings, which are quite far from the main entrance, without exceptional skills.

“Come to think of it, I’m also trapped here with you…… I don’t even know where this place is.”

Jeong Taeui scratched his head, mumbling as if he had finally realized he didn’t know where he was. This was definitely a serious problem, beyond worrying that Ilay might kill many people to get him out of here.

If there was no hope of being rescued by people outside, then there was no other option but to escape from within.

What should he do? Jeong Taeui seriously considered it. If Ilay really thought that Jeong Taeui had taken advantage of his absence to escape—then even someone who had seen him at the night market with Xinlu the day before could give Ilay a clue, enabling him to bring a truck to take Jeong Taeui away…… If he got caught again, he would surely be in deep trouble.

No, no, I didn’t go anywhere with Xinlu. Jeong Taeui mumbled to himself, ruffling his hair. Suddenly, he felt a gaze quietly watching him. Jeong Taeui stopped his hand; it was Jeong Jaeui, staring at him blankly.

Jeong Taeui awkwardly lowered his hand. What if he asks why I’m doing this? It’s a long and complicated story to tell. Moreover, he didn’t want to say that his life was in danger just because of relationships with other men. (Yes, this was one of the things Jeong Taeui didn’t want to tell Jeong Jaeui.)

But in the end, Jeong Jaeui didn’t ask anything. With contemplative eyes, he just looked at Jeong Taeui in silence before slowly speaking.

“Taeui. When I heard that you were my Gil Sang Cheon……—”

But then he fell silent mid-sentence.

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

At first, Jeong Taeui couldn’t recognize who it was. He couldn’t even guess.

Of course not. Because this was the first time he had seen him.

The man was standing on the stairs.

Realizing that Jeong Jaeui had suddenly stopped speaking and was looking past him, Jeong Taeui curiously turned around. It was an unfamiliar face.

The Arab man, dressed in a sand-colored robe, was quietly looking down at the courtyard where they were sitting from the stairs.

After that, another man hurried over. It was the guard from the door. It seemed that the man in the white robe hadn’t hesitated to enter first without waiting for the guard to follow.

He had a chiseled face, somewhat pale, making it hard to guess his age. Only by looking into his cold, black eyes, which completely masked his inner thoughts, could one realize that he wasn’t just a naive youngster easy to deceive.

Then, the man spoke in a deep voice, uttering words Jeong Taeui couldn’t understand to the man beside him. The guard nodded and said something back to him.

The emotionless black eyes quickly glanced over Jeong Taeui and settled on Jeong Jaeui.

The man slowly descended the stairs. His steps were slow and heavy, carrying an indescribable sense of oppression, as if the air around him was freezing with each step he took closer to them.

Jeong Taeui didn’t take his eyes off the man but slightly turned his head to ask Jeong Jaeui.

“Who is he?”

When Jeong Taeui whispered, the man raised an eyebrow, showing displeasure at something. Perhaps it was because he didn’t like hearing a language he couldn’t understand.

He didn’t look like someone’s subordinate. No, a man like this couldn’t possibly be anyone’s subordinate. If he were under someone’s command, sooner or later, he would decapitate his master to seize power for himself.

In that case, was he part of the security team or the police?

Jeong Taeui glanced at the man but didn’t see him holding any weapons like a knife or gun, although it was possible he had a weapon hidden under his robe.

Suddenly, an unrelated thought crossed Jeong Taeui’s mind.

He could be sure that if a dangerous-looking man like this took an interest in him, Jeong Taeui wouldn’t even consider trying to escape. Being watched by someone like this was already miserable enough; attempting to escape would be even worse.

But Jeong Taeui didn’t have to ponder for long before he got an answer.

It wasn’t Jeong Jaeui who answered his question; instead, he started speaking to the man, revealing his identity to Jeong Taeui.

“Raumaan. It seems you returned earlier than usual.”

To Jeong Taeui’s surprise, he learned the man’s name through Jeong Jaeui’s words.

Raumaan.

Jeong Taeui turned back to look at the man. He had descended the stairs and stopped a few steps away from them.

“This man is……”

“I am Raumaan Abid Al Saud. Do you like this mansion?”

Before Jeong Taeui could finish his sentence, the man responded in English. His tone in English was somewhat gentler than the deep voice he used when speaking to the guard earlier. Perhaps it wasn’t just a difference in language.

Not only did his tone change, but his facial expression did as well. He had a calm smile on his face, yet it was so cold that Jeong Taeui felt it was somewhat eerie. It was as if he had become a different person.

“……I am Jeong Taeui. This mansion is indeed very beautiful.”

Which one was the real face of this man? The terrifying cold face or the one with a welcoming smile for guests?

“Jeong Taeui. Ah, it seems you are the younger brother.”

Raumaan thought for a moment and then repeated Jeong Taeui’s name clearly. It was rare for a foreigner to pronounce his name so accurately. Then, he nodded and looked at Jeong Jaeui.

Jeong Jaeui also nodded.

“This time, you returned earlier than usual. Is there something wrong?”

“No, nothing is wrong. Because a guest suddenly arrived here, I postponed my work to come back.”

The corners of Raumaan’s eyes wrinkled as he glanced at Jeong Taeui. He murmured: “A guest? I don’t even remember how I got here.” Then he glanced at the guard behind him. More precisely, just last night, he had been knocked out by the man.

However, even if he said that, there was no way the man behind it all would care about what he said.

But……

Jeong Taeui looked at the man who had just greeted him briefly. Then, he frowned slightly.

How on earth could people say this man was very ill? It was Gable, wasn’t it? Gable had said that, right? How could you call a man with such great intelligence, who could hide his brother so well that Jeong Taeui was the first to know about his whereabouts, ill?!…… No, maybe he didn’t know. Although he appeared healthy on the outside, perhaps he was weak inside. Yes, he did have to go to the hospital as regularly as eating meals, right?

While Jeong Taeui was convincing himself, he also thought that the plan to take this man hostage and threaten him to escape had probably gone up in smoke.

The man had no idea what Jeong Taeui was thinking beside him. After exchanging a few brief greetings, he no longer paid attention to him. Instead, he looked straight at Jeong Jaeui and asked if he was ill, if there was anything inconvenient about living there, and if he needed anything, he could let him know at any time. Then, in a somewhat indifferent tone, he continued.

“Are you ready to accept my proposal?”

His voice was slightly gentler than before. It was a deep, friendly tone, like a wolf trying to coax a lamb with a soft voice.

But no matter what tone he used, Jeong Jaeui quietly shook his head, as if it had no effect on him. The man continued speaking without showing any sign of disappointment.

“Just one type, one item is enough. I won’t make unreasonable demands. It just needs to perform slightly better than the current anti-tank guns on the market. What we need isn’t necessarily that weapon itself—of course, the weapon is important—but what’s more important is that it’s a ‘weapon created by Jeong Jaeui’”

Since when did Jeong Jaeui become a famous weapon brand? Jeong Taeui thought. Jeong Jaeui’s eyes glanced at him as if reading his thoughts, and Jeong Taeui quickly turned his head, pretending not to know anything.

“I have no intention of creating any more weapons.” – Jeong Jaeui responded.

“Even if you can’t leave here unless you accept my proposal?”

That was clearly more of a threat than a proposal. But even if it was a threat, it wasn’t something that could shake his brother.

Turning back to look at the birds on the branch, Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue.

At least, they were lucky this man wasn’t as bad as other kidnappers who would resort to harsh methods like throwing someone into a damp dungeon and starving them until they agreed to their demands.

Of course, no matter how great it was, if you couldn’t get out, a prison was still a prison. But it seemed Jeong Jaeui didn’t mind much. He wasn’t the type to need a spacious, comfortable place, just the minimum necessities to meet his needs.

“If you accept the proposal, I’ll let you out of here soon. Of course, I’ll also pay you a fair amount.”

Raumaan added, but received no response. Jeong Jaeui only shook his head without saying a word.

For a moment, everything fell silent.

However, as if this conversation had been repeated many times, Rahman nodded as if he had expected the result.

“That’s unfortunate. I’ll wait again. Whenever you change your mind, let me know.”

Jeong Jaeui still didn’t reply, only giving a vague nod.