One day, while Jeong Taeui was in the hospital, he heard that Jeong Jaeui had been kidnapped again. However, because this had happened so many times and each time he had miraculously returned; the family, though worried, also felt somewhat reassured. And, as usual, Jeong Jaeui returned in the evening with a calm expression.

So, perhaps it was that day.

When he was sleeping in the hospital and suddenly woke up, Jeong Jaeui was standing by his hospital bed. Without their parents, he was in Jeong Taeui’s care unit.

He sat down next to the bed, looked down at him, and remained silent. For some reason, Jeong Taeui didn’t say anything either. It was as if he were dreaming, simply facing him.

After a long while of looking at him, Jeong Jaeui left the hospital room. Jeong Taeui fell asleep again.

“Later, on the way home, I realized. You are the one who dispels the misfortune that befalls me.”

“……I didn’t know that.”

Jeong Taeui mumbled softly, and Jeong Jaeui smiled faintly.

“It’s something that can’t be explained in words. Actually, the incident where you got injured just before being discharged from the army and faced danger during surgery, and I got kidnapped and trapped here…… Or even other unforeseen events. It can’t be put into words, but it exists.”

“That’s too vague…… hyung. I’ve never felt like I was such a mysterious and amazing person. Can you say something that I can understand?”

“Maybe I was mistaken.” – Jeong Taeui sighed.

The more he listened, the stranger it sounded. It felt like he was listening to a program about supernatural stories or some mystical experiences. And it felt unreal.

Jeong Jaeui was silent. In that silence, Jeong Taeui realized there were still many things left unsaid. But after waiting a while and hearing nothing more from Jeong Jaeui, he felt perhaps he had said all he needed to say for today. Jeong Taeui sighed.

But if……

At least, if what he said was true.

If all those things weren’t just coincidences, if Jeong Taeui really did affect Jeong Jaeui. Then this truly was a heavy and frightening relationship.

Suddenly, a corner of his chest felt constricted. The pressure, completely different from regular pain, squeezed his heart, making it hard to breathe.

“That’s how it is. Actually, this is something you don’t even need to know.”

Jeong Jaeui whispered as if he wanted to end the conversation there. Perhaps, if he hadn’t overheard his uncle or anyone else mentioning that he was Gil Sang Cheon, he wouldn’t have brought it up himself.

“You don’t need to know about this heavy and awkward connection between us.”

Jeong Taeui remained silent at his brother’s sad tone, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

“……I’m not like that.”

“……?”

“I still don’t understand and don’t know what Gil Sang Cheon is supposed to be, but even if it were true, I wouldn’t feel burdened or awkward. So, even if there is something that makes you feel heavy, awkward, or distant, I think it’s wonderful to have a bond stronger than anyone else’s with you.”

Jeong Taeui grumbled in disagreement.

What? Is that how you see me? Damn it. Do you feel burdened because of it? He grumbled while pursing his lips and furrowing his brows.

Jeong Taeui mumbled as if joking but thought about it seriously.

He regarded their relationship in this way. It was a different matter from whether he liked or disliked him. Jeong Taeui didn’t think his brother hated him. Perhaps he loved himself as much as he loved Jeong Taeui. But beyond that, he saw their connection as heavy and awkward.

No matter how Jeong Taeui affected him, he would take it seriously, whereas Jeong Taeui would not.

“Damn…… what is this? It’s so frustrating. Is it the red thread that you cut or something? Why did you pick up the scissors, cut it, and run out of the house? That’s why you ended up being trapped like this.”

Jeong Taeui stood up and then sat back down. When he turned his head, he saw Jeong Jaeui looking at him with a strange expression. He stared at him for a moment, blinked, raised his hand to look at his palm, and mumbled.

“It seems like it can’t be cut that easily…… yeah, no way it can be cut that easily.”

Jeong Taeui said dejectedly. He bluntly grabbed Jeong Jaeui’s hand and pulled him closer. And Jeong Jaeui looked at him with that strange expression again.

“Give me your hand. Let’s tie it back together. Wait, is it on your pinky finger?”

“Huh? Uh…… but you can’t tie it back.”

While holding his hand, Jeong Jaeui sat up. He continued to look at Jeong Taeui strangely.

Jeong Taeui raised an eyebrow.

“I can’t tie it back. Yeah, how can I tie an invisible thread? But if you could cut it with scissors, then you can also tie it back. Go ahead, tie it back.”

“It’s not…… no, that’s not the problem.”

Jeong Jaeui was about to say something and thought for a while, then quietly mumbled to himself. Jeong Taeui curiously glanced at him and touched the edge of Jeong Jaeui’s pinky finger. He pretended to hold an invisible thread in the air and made a tying motion. He pondered for a moment about what he was doing, but it didn’t really matter. This was a symbol.

And that symbol was trust.

Suddenly, he recalled a voice he had heard before. Yes. That was what Ilay had said.

At that time, he had said that and also claimed that he owned Jeong Taeui. Perhaps at that moment, he had thought the same way Jeong Taeui did now. He considered him his own, and he didn’t need to capture and bind him to himself, just…… he was his, and he believed that. Just like what he was doing now.

“…….”

Jeong Taeui released Jeong Jaeui’s hand. Suddenly, the voice, expression, and every touch of that man appeared in his mind as if he were right next to him.

“You know you are mine.”

His gentle, warm voice from back then.

“Remember well, Taeui. From today…… From now on, every day, you are mine.”

His hot breath, every light touch of his, his body temperature pressed close against him.

“Taeui, what’s wrong?”

Jeong Jaeui suddenly called out to him from beside him.

Jeong Taeui thought the night sky was too bright tonight. He wished those stars would shine just a little less. Then he could hide his flushed face.

Jeong Taeui mumbled, “No, it’s nothing”, and used the back of his hand to cover his reddened face. He bowed his head in silence.

At that moment.

Suddenly feeling something unusual, Jeong Taeui looked up. At the end of the western corridor, the wooden door was open. In the darkness of the long hallway, a tall figure was silently standing there.

In the darkness, the man stood like a predatory beast. With cold, deep-set black eyes, the owner of this mansion was quietly observing the two of them.

For a moment, his heart felt cold.

He didn’t know how long the man had been standing there. Without a trace, without a sound, he stood there.

…… ……Ah, that’s right. Now that he thought about it, his brother had also said that he sometimes came here at night, and perhaps tonight was one of those nights. The man’s pitch-black eyes met his. But before Jeong Taeui could pretend not to know about his presence, he turned and walked through the door.

“…….?”

Jeong Taeui tilted his head, curiously looking at the man’s retreating figure. Then he met Jeong Jaeui’s gaze.

“What’s wrong? Taeui.”

“Huh? No…… just now…… No. I must have seen it wrong.”

Jeong Taeui scratched his head as he answered. He tilted his head and mumbled – “Ah. I don’t know.” – then lay back down on the floor.

He could feel Jeong Jaeui’s silent gaze on him. When he turned his head, their eyes met again. He stared for a long moment before lying back down.

The two lay there with their heads close together, quietly looking up at the sky before them.

Clearly, they had thought the same things when they saw similar things before, but now he didn’t know what his brother was thinking at all. However, maybe it wasn’t the same anymore. Jeong Taeui thought this with a bit of regret.

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

“You are mine.”

That voice echoed repeatedly in Jeong Taeui’s mind.

Since waking up in the morning, Jeong Taeui had sighed and lamented inwardly.

“I’m not Ilay’s.”

He mumbled softly to himself, then wondered if saying that had any effect.

He looked around to see if anyone had heard him, but it seemed to have no effect. Those voices kept echoing in his head.

“No, because I belong to myself.”

Jeong Taeui felt like crying and buried his face in his arms.

He knew the truth. The truth that a person cannot belong to someone else. Ilay was someone who wanted to own others according to his will, and even though he could be with him, he couldn’t force him to become his possession against his will.

He completely belonged to himself. His body, his mind, and his spirit.

But because it was his, he was also entirely responsible for everything he did to himself.

“I have to take responsibility and wake up……”

Jeong Taeui shook his head.

He suddenly thought, wondering what was happening outside.

Since Jeong Taeui arrived here, he had heard that Ilay had turned an Arab man into a bloody mess. He didn’t seem too angry or worried, as Raman had told him. But after that, he hadn’t received any more information.

What was he like now? He hoped Ilay wasn’t just randomly capturing and beating up every Arab he encountered. If he did that, he could become an enemy to all Arabs. The Arabs, with a Bible in one hand, could still hold a sword in the other to attack him.

“Let’s see…… it must have been a real spear.”

It was a relief that he wasn’t that bastard, Jeong Taeui thought about the guard and silently prayed that if something like that happened, it wouldn’t be while he was beside him. But what exactly would Ilay do? Maybe he had already guessed that Jeong Taeui was here. But what could he do in this situation?

If it was like this, there wasn’t much else that could be done. They still wouldn’t be able to do anything, just like when they guessed Jeong Jaeui was here but couldn’t take him away.

Ilay……

Perhaps his attitude had changed a bit.

When arriving in Seringe, or even before that, he had always maintained an indifferent attitude about whether he found Jeong Jaeui or not, even though he knew Jeong Jaeui was an indispensable figure for both T&R and UNHRDO. Maybe, if it wasn’t because Jeong Taeui wanted to come here, he wouldn’t have bothered with Jeong Jaeui’s disappearance at all.

Now it seemed like he had started searching for him more diligently…… But the method he used to find people…… if he went around killing every Arab, it would no longer be a small issue.

Meanwhile, Jeong Jaeui briefly thought that outside the fence, there could be a group of Arabs rising up against that man.

“…….”

If there was some way to contact him, it would be great. Even if it was just for a moment.