Chapter 2 Part 17

“Why are you having a staring contest with a book? If you want to read it, you can borrow it. Just be careful with it since it was hard to acquire, and return it cleanly.”

“I don’t have the guts to borrow books worth 3500 dollars.”

“3500 dollars? I didn’t pay that much for that book, who told you that?”

Jeong Chang-in carefully wrapped a wet towel around Jeong Tae-ui’s neck and then took a robe out of the built-in closet and put it on.

Taking off the damp towel, Jeong Tae-ui leaned back in his chair and languidly spoke to his uncle, who appeared upside down to him.

“Someone who seemed like a used bookstore owner. They had very pretty hands.”

“Hands? Who are you talking about?”

Jeong Tae-ui raised his eyebrows slightly, surprised. He thought his uncle would understand just from that description. Was he the only one who thought those white, delicate hands were beautiful?

“He said he acquired Laurent Castillet’s Mythology. The 1925 edition. He said it was 3500 dollars.”

“What? Laurent Castillet’s Mythology?”

Jeong Chang-in’s face immediately brightened. With wide eyes and a broad grin, he approached Jeong Tae-ui again. Even the way he cinched his robe seemed joyful.

“Uncle… did you collect these books for such a huge sum of money? If there’s a fire, you’d cry tears of blood.”

“What are you talking about? For the 1925 edition of Mythology, that’s a bargain, a steal. So, who’s that grateful intermediary? I should call them back to express my thanks.”

“Ilay.”

When Jeong Tae-ui spoke the name of the hand’s owner, Jeong Chang-in paused. Then he looked at Jeong Tae-ui with a very strange expression. For the first few seconds, his face showed he didn’t know the name, as if it were unfamiliar, but then he seemed to remember. He nodded, saying, “Ah.” But the next moment, he stared intently at Jeong Tae-ui with an even stranger look.

“…Who did you say?”

“He said his name was Ilay. I didn’t catch the full name. He seemed to know you well, Uncle. When I mentioned I was your nephew, he immediately knew I was the second one.”

“Ilay… he said that? He did?”

“That’s what I heard… but hearing you say it like that makes me doubt myself. Maybe I misheard the pronunciation because it was a mechanical voice. You don’t have any idea who it could be?”

“Then you can just call back the caller ID, so don’t worry about the book,” Jeong Tae-ui added, but Jeong Chang-in shook his head.

“No, I know who it is. It’s just that I haven’t heard that name in a long time, so I’d forgotten it.”

“Does he have multiple names?”

“That’s a sign of a swindler,” Jeong Tae-ui muttered with a snicker. However, the calm tone of that low, cool voice and the image of those elegant, beautiful hands simply didn’t connect with the word “swindler.” But it was also hard to say he perfectly fit the image of a used book broker, so it was impossible to describe a person by just their voice and hands.

“His hands were truly beautiful.”

As Jeong Tae-ui muttered, Jeong Chang-in, who was taking wine from the cellar, looked at Jeong Tae-ui with a complicated expression.

“Hands… yes, I’ve never really thought about it, but now that you mention it, I suppose his hands were quite fine.”

“Maybe it’s just me who thinks so. He also said it was the first time he’d ever heard his hands were pretty.”

“I suppose so.”

The way he said it, as if it were so obvious, made Jeong Tae-ui briefly doubt his own sense of aesthetics.

Jeong Chang-in returned to his usual calm expression, smiled nonchalantly, and spun the corkscrew with his fingertips. As he easily inserted it into the wine cork and pulled it out, he muttered to himself.

“He’s probably heard his hands called frightening, but when would that guy have ever heard them called pretty?”

“? Come to think of it, his fingernails were indeed neatly aligned like shards of glass… His hands were beautiful to the point of being frightening.”

Jeong Chang-in just smiled without responding to Jeong Tae-ui’s words.

“So, Tou showed you the way here, right? It’s right near the elevator, so it wasn’t hard to find, was it?”

Jeong Chang-in changed the subject. Jeong Tae-ui, who had been momentarily recalling those white hands, only then remembered a small grudge he held against his uncle. Even while wandering lost, he had cursed his innocent uncle, wondering what kind of building structure this was. Then, what came to mind again was the young man like cotton candy he had encountered in the shared bathroom.

His face flushed again.

Jeong Chang-in, who was bringing out two glasses, looked at Jeong Tae-ui with curious eyes, as if amused. His expression seemed to have suddenly changed from flustered to blank, and then a flush rose to his face, making it quite amusing to watch.

“Why? Did something happen? …Did our team members play some mischievous prank? They’re a bit like that. They’re not bad guys, but when a newcomer arrives, they’re happy to have more colleagues, so they sometimes play mischievous pranks. You can think of it as the mindset of little kids teasing someone they like.”

Whatever situation Jeong Chang-in imagined, he comforted Jeong Tae-ui, saying, “Don’t worry too much about it, it’s just men.” Jeong Tae-ui shook his head, even as he suspected that the situation his uncle was imagining might be even more awkward if it involved men.

“I don’t know what you’re imagining, but I had no problems with my team members. I got lightly beaten up, but that was partly my fault too.”

“Is that so? Then what’s the problem? Tou took you, so you must have interacted with them immediately. So, did the problem happen after you parted ways with them?”

A sweet scent spread from the golden liquid Jeong Chang-in handed him. Jeong Tae-ui inhaled the sweet aroma and clicked his tongue bitterly.

“Uncle. You said instructors live on this floor.”

“That’s right. Other members, including the aides, are on B6. Why, do you want to move up? Then get promoted.”

Jeong Chang-in joked with a playful smile. His gaze carried a light that tried to discern the sincerity behind Jeong Tae-ui suddenly bringing up the topic.

“…I took the wrong elevator and was wandering lost when I met someone.”

Jeong Tae-ui began the story as if nothing was wrong. However, as he recalled that person, he felt unnecessarily nervous. Jeong Chang-in, amused, observed Jeong Tae-ui’s expression and urged, “And then?”

“He seemed to be just about to enter the bathroom, but he told me the way, and that’s how I found my way here.”