Chapter 3 Part 14

Something was needed to cool his head. It felt like this intense heat wouldn’t subside even if a lifetime passed. Should he take a cold shower? Not just his head, but his body might need cooling too.

Jeong Tae-ui finished the remaining half of his beer and stood up.

Maybe he shouldn’t have drunk the beer. It felt like his face was just getting hotter for no reason.

Chastising himself for his foolishness, Jeong Tae-ui headed to the bathroom. It would be better to fill the bathtub with cold water and just immerse himself completely.

He turned on the cold water in the cleanly wiped bathtub and stared blankly at the rushing stream, when he thought he heard a faint mechanical sound mixed with the water noise.

Leaning halfway out of the bathroom, he looked around the room, and sure enough, as if Jeong Tae-ui had heard correctly, the phone on the desk was ringing. The quiet phone ring filling the room was now familiar.

Jeong Tae-ui closed the bathroom door and approached the desk. As he did, he saw his reflection in the mirror, and it was quite a sight. His flushed, red face, unable to hide his embarrassment, looked just like a fresh-faced adolescent boy.

“You need to get a grip, Jeong Tae-ui. How long has it been since you left the military for your mind to be so relaxed? This isn’t an easy place, so stop wandering around distracted.”

Mutting to himself and lightly tapping his cheeks a couple of times, Jeong Tae-ui looked at the number displayed on the phone’s screen, hesitated for a moment, then pressed the blinking lamp.

“Yes, hello?”

‘──It seems you’re the one answering every time I call these past few days.’

He had thought the number looked familiar, and sure enough, what appeared on the monitor was an elegant and beautiful hand.

Suddenly, it overlapped with Shinru’s hand. Shinru’s hand was smaller and lovelier than that. His slightly chubby knuckles were cute. It was different from that delicate hand, which seemed meticulously crafted and refined from wax and glass.

What would that hand feel like? It would surely be different from Shinru’s warm and ticklish touch.

Jeong Tae-ui was fed up with himself for thinking of Shinru even in this situation and let out a bitter laugh.

“Well, I’m the one who’s curious. How often do you call my uncle for the phone to ring every time I’m here?”

‘To be precise, you’re there every time I call, Tae-ui. However, I have been calling quite often lately. Until recently, I never called even once as the years changed.’

“Why? Did my uncle nag you to quickly get Laurent Castillet’s book?”

Jeong Tae-ui pulled a chair over, sat down, and gave a weak laugh. But thinking about it, this man wasn’t a used book dealer. Or perhaps he had a side business.

‘Haha, if it’s that, I’ve already sent it. It went by ship, but it should arrive before the end of this month.’

Ilay laughed. Although it was a mechanical voice, his cheerful tone felt refreshing. His heated mind seemed to cool down a bit. The coolness that came amidst the heat felt good.

He had debated whether to answer the phone, but it seemed he had done well to pick up. This man gave off a cool feeling.

Jeong Tae-ui brushed back his fallen hair and smiled faintly. “That’s good,” he murmured languidly, “when the book arrives, I’ll have to see it first.”

A brief silence followed on the other end of the line. The fingers tapping intermittently on the desk seemed to be probing him.

‘Tae-ui. What happened?’

A quiet voice, asking subtly. Though that voice, tinged with interest, could have been unpleasant, it wasn’t particularly bothersome, surprisingly. Rather, he felt like rambling on even in his exhausted state.

“Does it show that much?”

‘To say it doesn’t show, your face, well, it’s too flushed.’

“……”

Jeong Tae-ui roughly rubbed his face with the back of his hand. Just as he was cooling down a bit, the alcohol started to kick in.

‘You have a complicated look. What could be so troubling in that simple world, confined to one island?’

“……Ilay. You know…….”

Jeong Tae-ui trailed off for a moment. He hesitated, feeling like an old man drunkenly confiding in a stranger, but the words were already out.

“Was there ever a time when something sexually immoral happened to you?”

Jeong Tae-ui asked seriously. A brief silence passed on the other end, then the man answered in a slightly deflated voice, as if the topic was unexpected.

‘I’m not sure what you mean by something sexually immoral. What specific situation are you referring to? If it’s an unethical relationship, let’s see, are you talking about sexual relations with family members? Or a relationship with someone who is married? Or rape, molestation, or other acts that are taboo for humans……, from a conservative perspective, there could also be same-sex relationships. Well, there are too many, so I don’t know which one you’re referring to. Pick one.’

“……. Well…… if I had to pick one from that list…… it’s not something quite so depraved.”

Jeong Tae-ui muttered, slightly repulsed by the torrent of inhumane words. Hearing such things, he felt a little lighter. He hadn’t thought of anything that crossed such taboos. Though one exception existed.

‘Depraved, you say.’

Ilay seemed to laugh. But he didn’t talk about that further and continued.

‘My desires and emotions operate separately, you see. So, there have probably been quite a few instances of sexually immoral acts, judging by what you mean. Yes, I’m curious what this sexually immoral thing that happened to you today is.’

“……”

‘Why? Did some guy come and assault you?’

“……, …….”

This man’s thoughts are a bit extreme. Not only extreme, but they also jump in strange, unexpected directions.

Jeong Tae-ui let out a long sigh and gave a weak laugh.