In the afternoon, the entire sky was gloomy as if it was about to rain.

It was just yesterday that Jeong Taeui was leisurely enjoying the tranquility on a beautiful sunny beach, and now that seemed to have become a distant memory.

While looking out the window, he turned around because he felt someone had just left from outside the door. But he didn’t bother to check. Jeong Taeui’s room – or to be precise, Shima Qinwei’s room – was always frequented by people. Sometimes it was Alain, sometimes Ilay, and sometimes Aquino. Once, when Alain entered, Taeui asked him why he kept coming and going as if he were supervising him, even though he had no particular reason to do so. Alain simply smirked and replied:

“Because we really are supervising you. You don’t even know that the client, who was once so furious they ordered to have your legs broken as soon as they found you, reluctantly forgave you after you got on your knees, begged, and swore never to run away again? Isn’t that why you still have your legs?”

Taeui didn’t know about this incident, but hearing it now, he could only let out a bitter smile.

‘So that’s it, they’re openly watching me.’

Upon closer observation, he realized that this beautiful wooden mansion was heavily guarded. Those dressed like locals who frequently loitered outside were actually familiar faces, and they were undoubtedly concealing weapons. Even the fences, which appeared easy to climb over, were actually rigged with electric wires. Just a light touch would surely shock you like a sparrow struck by electricity, then you’d fall to the ground.

‘Anyway, I’m not planning on running away, so let them do whatever they want.’

Although he thought this, Taeui’s mood remained heavy. An uncomfortable feeling spread throughout his body, prompting him to step into the bathroom.

Under the stream of warm water, his spirit temporarily calmed, but the moment his eyes landed on the set of clothes hanging on the wall, the gloom returned.

‘It’s not even clothes. It’s swimwear!’

Since being dragged away from the beach yesterday by Alain, Jeong Taeui had nothing but a zip-up jacket and swim trunks. He hadn’t brought anything else.

‘Do I seriously have to wear this for three days straight……?’

The thought of it made Taeui’s mood sink even further. Although he had finished his shower, he stood blankly under the showerhead, completely unwilling to step out. At that very moment, the bathroom door suddenly opened without any prior knocking. 

After the door swung wide open, the person outside knocked lightly a few times. The one who showed no sense of propriety was none other than a familiar face, though in this situation, it was far from pleasant to see—Ilay.

“What…… is this?”

Jeong Taeui asked irritably, pulling out a towel to cover the lower half of his body. Ilay scanned him from head to toe, then smiled faintly.

“Is there really a need to cover up? Between you and me, that sort of thing doesn’t exist.”

“What are you talking about? Here, I’m Shima Qinwei, aren’t I? Between you and me, there’s absolutely nothing. We’re just strangers.”

Taeui snorted, responding in a sarcastic tone. Ilay raised an eyebrow, then smirked.

“If you’re Shima, then there’s even less need to cover up. In fact, it should be the opposite—you should reveal more to spark interest.”

“……”

Jeong Taeui cursed internally for a long moment, then threw the towel at Ilay’s face. When it came to this man, it made no difference whether he looked or not. Ilay caught the towel and chuckled softly. He simply stood there observing as Taeui walked past him, heading straight to the bed and plopping down. Taeui glanced at his own closed room door and then spoke up:

“That guy, he doesn’t seem to like you very much, does he?”

Although he didn’t specify who, Ilay seemed to understand instantly. He nodded without hesitation and replied: “Probably.”

‘Just as I thought.’

Taeui mused to himself. It wasn’t hard to notice that Aquino didn’t seem to like Ilay. Others could pick up on it just from how Aquino never looked Ilay straight in the eye, only glancing at him awkwardly with an expression of displeasure on his face. Although Aquino often said harsh things, whenever the typically quiet Ilay occasionally spoke up, Aquino would immediately fall silent, only stealing glances at him with dissatisfaction seeping from the corners of his eyes. Aquino seemed to harbor a lot of resentment inside, but he didn’t make it too obvious, which made his attitude toward Ilay appear stiff and unpleasant.

“Back when I was working at the European branch of UNHRDO, we worked together for a while. About two months, I think.”

“――.”

While taking a beer can from the minibar, Jeong Taeui furrowed his brows at Ilay’s words. If it was during that time – or really, even before or after that time – wasn’t Ilay already infamous everywhere under the nickname ‘Crazy Rick’? If someone held a grudge against him, it wouldn’t be surprising at all. 

“Back then, the feeling was the same as now. Persistent, suspicious, and gloomy. Not the kind of person to be pleasant.”

“Then did you deal with him harshly?”  

“No. As far as I remember, I never exchanged a single private word with him. But back then, sometimes a few useless types who enjoyed causing trouble would show up in groups, and I handled them rather moderately. It seems that in one of those instances, he was among them.”  

Hearing Ilay say that apart from that, there was absolutely no connection between them, Jeong Taeui simply nodded and suddenly frowned.  

“What a headache. People like that tend to harbor petty grudges for a long time.”  

“Possible. But I don’t think he’s bold enough to seek open revenge.”  

“Timid people with grudges are often even more of a nuisance than anyone else.”  

Hearing Taeui grumble, Ilay suddenly let out a soft laugh.  

“He’s sharp and unnecessarily perceptive. That’s why, Taei, you have to be careful. Don’t let him catch onto any suspicious points.”  

“……What?”  

Jeong Taeui looked up at Ilay doubtfully as he lowered his voice unusually, then suddenly, Ilay moved closer, leaning down until his face was almost touching Taeui’s.  

“I’m saying you need to do everything perfectly. As Shima Qinwei―a heavy sexual deviant―your behavior is far from convincing. Neither your actions nor your reactions are fitting.”  

“What do you mean they’re not convincing?”  

“The moment you hear the letter ‘S’ in the word ‘sex’, even your eyes should change. You have to act like you’re at the peak of arousal, like when you’re in ecstasy and I’m thrusting into you.”  

‘Ah, I can’t stand it!’

Jeong Taeui unconsciously couldn’t control his expression, letting out a look full of irritation, about to shout something at Ilay.  

But right at that moment, Ilay quietly raised his hand, placing his index finger in front of Taeui’s lips, signaling him to be silent. Taeui froze for a moment, his eyes meeting Ilay’s refined ones. Then Ilay tilted his head slightly back and spoke in his usual calm tone.  

“If there’s something, come in, Aquino.”

As soon as Ilay’s words ended, the silence outside was disrupted by a slight noise. Then the door swung open, and Aquino stepped into the room.

Aquino, with his gloomy expression, quickly scanned the room with a sharp, cold gaze that made Taeui frown slightly. Taeui asked:

“Why were you lingering outside instead of coming in right away?”

“I was going to come in. ……Hmph, still doing that thing, huh?”

Aquino glanced at Taeui, who was sitting on the bed stark naked, and spoke with a disdainful tone. The taste of beer instantly turned bitter for Taeui. He clicked his tongue and raised an eyebrow:

“Why not just say it outright, Aquino? Didn’t you come in here because you wanted to see this scene?”

When Taeui stretched and deliberately teased, Aquino’s expression darkened immediately, and he spat out a string of curses:

“You shitty brat, do you think everyone is like you?”

“This one doesn’t even blink, but your reaction seems far more interesting.”

When Jeong Taeui tilted his chin toward Aquino after first doing the same gesture to Ilay, with a tone full of mockery, the expression on Aquino’s face became even stiffer. He gritted his teeth, seemingly feeling insulted by the comparison.

“Shut up, and put some clothes on, lunatic. Stop letting that worthless thing dangle around.”

“It’s not like I’m planning to stick it in you, so why are you so uptight? Or…… is that what you want? I do have standards, but if you really do want it, I don’t mind. Just know, you’d better prepare yourself for some pain…… understand?”

“You bastard……”

“Now that I think about it, haven’t you been circling around my room, sneaking glances, just because you wanted to see this scene?”

While practicing the role of Shima Qinwei, Jeong Taeui began to find it amusing to tease people. ‘Wow, even I find myself obnoxious.’ If Aquino were to shout: “You bastard!!” and charge at him, then considering the despicable and timid personality of a sex-crazed creep like Shima Qinwei, he would probably respond like this:  

“Don’t hit me! Don’t touch me! If you hit me, I won’t do the decoding anymore. Go tell your client that, say it’s because you hit me, so I’m taking a break today, delay it for another day. Go ahead and tell them that!”  

Jeong Taeui hurriedly yelled, curling into himself, raising his hands to cover his face as if in utter terror. Aquino looked down at him with a flushed face, as if unable to believe something this troublesome could exist in the world, and growled:

“Put on some clothes right now, you damn pervert!”

“Then give them to me, will you?”

Taeui sneered, making Aquino glare at him angrily:

“Why the hell should I give you clothes?”

“Ask him.”

Jeong Taeui jerked his chin toward the door. Aquino whipped around, locking eyes with Alain, who had just poked his head in to see what was going on. In his hand was an apple, which he was munching on ravenously while blinking his large eyes to take in the scene.

“What’s everyone doing here? Oh, why is he half-naked? How funny.”

Alain said: “So embarrassing”, but his gaze wasn’t the least bit bashful, blatantly roaming over Jeong Taeui’s body with a lecherous grin. Ilay, meanwhile, picked up the bed sheet from the bed, tossed it to Taeui to cover himself, then walked over to stand by the window and gaze outside. Meanwhile, Aquino continued wearing his face of irritation, as if everything in the world annoyed him, glancing angrily around before locking his eyes on Alain and glaring at him.

“Why the hell did he say to ask you about his clothes?”

“Huh? Clothes? Oh——as soon as we found him yesterday, I threw them all out to keep him from running away again. Even if he’s some kind of exhibitionist, I didn’t think he’d dare try to escape buck naked, you know?”

Alain replied with utter nonchalance, as if he understood the whole situation perfectly, showing not the slightest hesitation.

‘That guy really knows how to play his cards.’

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue helplessly in his mind. At that exact moment, Aquino, still irritated, pointed to the clothes hanging in the bathroom and yelled:

“Just wear those rags!”

“Well, all right then…… But hey, why are you so eager to see me dressed? Clearly, you’ve been sneaking glances into my room this whole time.”

Jeong Taeui cracked a sly smile and didn’t forget to toss in a teasing remark. Ilay, standing with his arms crossed by the window, also turned his head slightly and smirked.

Aquino’s face was now flushed red as though his anger had reached its peak. He glared at Ilay, grinding his teeth audibly. Then finally, he spat out a venomous remark through clenched teeth:

“All you ever think about is sex, sex, sex, you lunatic. If you like it so much, why don’t you shove it into your own hole and moan about it. Someone like you needs to be taught a proper lesson to know fear——Yeah, maybe that guy over there should try stuffing it in you.”

Aquino jerked his chin toward Ilay, who was standing by the window, his tone coated with sarcasm. In that moment, Jeong Taeui was utterly stunned, unable to utter a single word.

‘Wow…… How can a person, no matter how furious they are, say something so vicious? Even for someone as nasty as him, accusing Ilay of something like this is just too much.’

In a split second, Taeui couldn’t hide his shock. He looked back and forth between Aquino and Ilay. In his line of sight, Ilay raised an eyebrow slightly and then let out a faint smile.

“Alright, if that’s what you want, I can oblige. Honestly, I thought he was quite my type from the beginning.”

For some reason, watching Ilay lick his lips and hearing that low, almost whispering tone sent an indescribable feeling of danger. Regardless of whether Aquino was surprised or not, Jeong Taeui immediately felt on edge, a cold chill running down his spine as he looked at Ilay.

“From his appearance, the way he speaks, even his thoughts that are written all over his face, everything perfectly suits my taste. Actually, I’ve already considered trying it once. Besides, I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t been able to ‘relieve myself’ for days.”

‘Damn it!’ – Taeui screamed internally.

Then it dawned on him that Ilay was the type of person who, after wrapping up his work, would make up for any time spent constrained by tormenting someone all night long.

“Really? Are you serious?”

Aquino furrowed his brows tightly and murmured the question. But then, as though struck with an amusing idea, he smirked, casting Jeong Taeui a meaningful glance.

“Alright, fine. Let this guy get stuffed for once. What could be better than having Rick be the one to do it? Hah, let’s see if having that thing of his pierce through him will make him understand what he’s done.”

Sneering, Aquino shot a glance at Jeong Taeui, his eyes practically screaming: ‘Rick’s got his eye on you now, your life is over……’ And Taeui couldn’t help but agree with that sentiment.

“Stop joking. No matter how much I like sex, I still need to choose the right person. With him, I can’t. It just won’t get hard, it won’t get hard.”

Taeui tried to calm his panicked heart, hastily waving his hand in protest. But at that moment, Aquino’s face briefly showed a strange expression. Although he quickly returned to normal, in that fleeting instant, his eyes flickered with a hint of suspicion, causing Taeui to startle and instantly fall silent.

‘It doesn’t seem like I said anything suspicious……’

Taeui reviewed the words he had just spoken in his mind but decided it was best not to give Aquino more reasons to be suspicious. He quickly stood up, noticing the sky outside had turned pitch black.

“Today I want to do it with a young, handsome guy. It seems I can focus better on decoding if I do so. I’m going out to pick a few people.”

Recalling Shima Qinwei’s preferences, Taeui spoke as he headed toward the bathroom. He put back on his swim trunks, the only piece of clothing he had left. Aquino, still observing Taeui with narrow, scrutinizing eyes, suddenly widened his gaze as if something had just caught his attention.

“What? Where are you planning to go?”

“The red-light district. Why? What’s strange about that? Today I want to pick someone myself. Just because you people follow me around all day doesn’t mean I have to lock myself in this house forever, right?”

Jeong Taeui glanced Aquino up and down as if puzzled by his reaction, causing Aquino to glance back and forth between Ilay and Alain. But neither of them said anything, merely watching in silence. Annoyed, Aquino muttered something under his breath and fell silent. In truth, as described, Shima Qinwei going out himself to find someone in the red-light district wasn’t uncommon, so Aquino had no reason to object.

‘That’s right, it’s night now, and I should have asked for a partner to be brought for me. But instead of doing that, saying I’ll go out myself to relieve stress might make it easier to dodge suspicion.’

‘Damn it, playing the role of Shima Qinwei is really tough. On top of that, his twisted hobbies! This is insane.’

Jeong Taeui cursed the dead man in his mind, trying his best to mimic the kind of things that man might typically say:

“Tonight I’ll need to screw some really cute ones. People like you don’t do it for me at all.”

However, as soon as those words left his mouth, Jeong Taeui realized he had made a mistake. Aquino smirked mockingly, his expression seemingly saying: ‘Talking nonsense again, huh.’ Alain maintained his ever-present cheerful smile, but what sent chills down Taeui’s spine was the faint, dangerous smile of Ilay beside him. At that moment, Taeui felt a pang of regret, realizing he had made an error.

‘That guy is truly petty in the most unexpected ways……’

Jeong Taeui’s heart suddenly felt a tightening in his chest. He hurriedly turned around, intending to say something to justify himself. But the moment his eyes met Aquino’s gaze – filled with doubt and distrust, as he had been looking at him with little faith all along – Taeui clamped his mouth shut and swallowed his words.

The only thing Taeui could do was awkwardly turn away, walking while silently praying that the guy wouldn’t take it too seriously and interpret everything in the worst possible way.