Chapter 4 Part 28

My heart fluttered. So, I laughed. Perhaps Shinru felt something similar.

After laughing for a while, as the laughter subsided, an awkward and embarrassed silence filled the air again.

“Well, I’ll be going now. See you after training. …Oh, thanks for the message. I saw it.”

“Ah, yes. …I’ll walk you out.”

As Jeong Tae-ui stood up, showing signs of leaving, Shinru also stood and followed. Jeong Tae-ui chuckled again. Shinru was like a docile puppy trailing behind him, utterly adorable.

Jeong Tae-ui told Shinru there was no need to see him out to the door, but Shinru shook his head and came out of the room. They barely spoke as they walked down the hallway. There was nothing to say, and more than that, his heart was full just from the warmth conveyed by their gently clasped hands.

Two people, holding hands, walking side-by-side with flushed faces, without a word—if his uncle saw this, he’d give them that familiar look again. “Having a good time,” he’d think.

But who cares. Let him watch all he wants. After all, we’re just… we’re close enough to hold hands, you know.

Jeong Tae-ui glanced at the young man, who was about half a span shorter than him. From his softly swaying hair, the faint scent of soap still emanated. Thinking he wanted to bury his face in that hair, Jeong Tae-ui blushed again and smiled shyly.

That was the moment.

It was when the stairs were approaching. Since it was impossible to ask Shinru to go down to B6 with him, he felt a great regret at having to let go of his hand in front of the stairs.

Someone turned the corner of the wall in front of the stairs.

Clinch, he slightly tightened his grip on the hand he was holding. Being seen by anyone on this floor right now, revealing Jeong Tae-ui’s presence, was not a good thing. Although he might have been caught on surveillance cameras, it felt different from being directly caught by a person.

“Who could it be? If it were one of the Support Staff, at least it would be easier to explain,” Jeong Tae-ui thought, clicking his tongue, but the moment he recognized the person, he froze, even stopping his steps.

It was someone he had absolutely not expected to meet on this floor—or rather, someone he absolutely should not have met here. Ilay League-row, that vicious man.

That man also saw Jeong Tae-ui. Then his gaze slowly shifted to Shinru beside him. And then down, to their clasped hands.

Those pitch-black eyes, whose thoughts he couldn’t decipher, narrowed faintly. As if curious, amused, or perhaps displeased, or even covetous.

The moment his thoughts reached that last possibility, Jeong Tae-ui’s face hardened. He remembered the conversation he had with Tou on the morning shortly before his arrival here.

──There wasn’t a single young, pretty-looking guy who remained unscathed.

A chill went down his spine. Jeong Tae-ui reflexively tightened his grip on Shinru’s hand and stepped in front of him. Shinru fidgeted behind him, seemingly bewildered, but Jeong Tae-ui silently stood firm in front of him.

It’s dangerous. That thought instinctively flashed through his mind.

It wasn’t the kind of threat related to life or survival that he had felt before. It was a threat of possibly losing something precious, a threat perhaps more urgent and anxious than survival itself.

Ilay League-row stared intently at Jeong Tae-ui. As if his inner thoughts were completely revealed, an indiscernible expression, somewhere between a smile and something else, slowly formed on his lips.

“What’s wrong…?”

He said quietly. His voice held a faint but clearly discernible hint of amusement.

Jeong Tae-ui inwardly clicked his tongue. One shouldn’t show potential weaknesses to others. Especially not to a man as threatening and ferocious as this one. Yet, for a moment, he had revealed his own vulnerability.

“Shinru. You should go.”

Jeong Tae-ui said quietly over his shoulder. Shinru seemed to hesitate for a moment. Shinru’s gaze briefly landed on Ilay League-row. A cautious, searching look swept over Ilay League-row.

“Brother…”

“It’s alright, go back. See you later.”

Jeong Tae-ui gently patted Shinru, who was mumbling and holding onto his collar. Shinru hesitated a little longer but soon gave Jeong Tae-ui a brief farewell and turned around. As he walked back to his room, he looked back once, then twice. Ilay League-row was at the end of Shinru’s gaze. Ilay League-row also looked at Shinru with a subtle expression.

Soon, the sound of a door closing echoed from behind Jeong Tae-ui, and Ilay League-row, who had been staring intently over Jeong Tae-ui’s shoulder at Shinru’s retreating figure, finally turned his gaze back to Jeong Tae-ui.

Jeong Tae-ui looked at him uneasily.

He had run into someone he didn’t want to meet, in a situation he didn’t want to be in. Just his luck.

However, even after Shinru disappeared, Jeong Tae-ui’s unease didn’t vanish. This was because he had seen Ilay League-row’s gaze continuing over his shoulder. Until the moment Shinru entered his room, Ilay League-row had been staring intently at him. With great interest, through narrowed eyes.

“A pretty fellow.”

Ilay League-row finally spoke. A hint of pleasurable desire subtly infused his voice. Jeong Tae-ui’s expression hardened further. He looked directly at Ilay League-row and said stiffly.

“There’s no such thing as ‘pretty’ when it comes to a man.”

At Jeong Tae-ui’s words, Ilay League-row quickly formed an amused expression. Laughter crinkled around his eyes.

“Ah-ha. A man. Yes, that’s right. I don’t discriminate whether it’s a man or not, as long as I like them, but you seem to be different. How unexpected──.”

Ilay League-row let out a scoff, drawing out the end of his sentence meaningfully. Jeong Tae-ui’s mouth felt bitter. His words were excessively clumsy. A man like Ilay League-row would have already noticed the moment he first saw them. How Jeong Tae-ui felt about Shinru. It might have been better to just affirm it instead of trying to amusingly deflect.

A lingering discomfort settled in his chest. That man’s subtle gaze, directed at Shinru, remained stuck in a corner of his heart, refusing to be erased. The glass marble that he thought had just barely come into his hand was now precariously swaying.