Of course, he knew that rare books were always traded at sky-high prices, but he didn't know the prices were this high. Now that he looked back, this room and his uncle's house were all treasure troves. He also understood why there were people who made a living stealing books. Jeong Taeui looked at the book on the table with strange eyes and tried to guess how much it was worth, but his uncle had come out of the bathroom at some point, toweling his head as he approached and patted him on the shoulder.
"Why are you staring at that book? If you want to read it, you can take it home and read it. But since it's a hard book to find, read it and return it carefully."
"I don't have the guts to borrow books that cost $3,500."
"$3,500? This book isn't that expensive. Who said that?"
He wrapped a wet towel around Jeong Taeui's neck and took out a cloak from the closet to put on.
Jeong Taeui sat on the chair and tilted his head back, speaking lazily with his vision turned upside down.
"Someone like the owner of an antique bookstore. His hands are very beautiful."
"Beautiful hand? Who is it?"
Jeong Taeui raised his eyebrows a little in confusion. He had said so much, he thought you would quickly guess, but you didn't know? Was he the only one who found those delicate white hands beautiful?
"He found Laurent Gastiye's Mythology. The 1925 edition. He said it cost $3,500."
"What? Laurent Gastiye's Mythology?"
A blush flashed across his face. With wide eyes and a bright smile, he walked closer to Jeong Taeui. His fingers were clasping the collar of his cloak, looking happy as well.
"Uncle…. Did the owner spend a large sum of money to collect these books?"
"What are you talking about? The 1925 edition of Mythology, my God, that's too cheap, too cheap. Oh, by the way, who was that nice broker? I'll have to call back and say hello."
"The one."
When Jeong Taeui calmly replied to the name of the owner of the beautiful hand, he seemed to pause for a few seconds. Then, he looked at Jeong Taeui with a very strange expression. For the first few seconds, it was as if the name sounded strange and he didn't know who that person was, but then he seemed to remember right away. 'Ah', he nodded, but the next second he looked at Jeong Taeui with an even stranger expression.
"Who?"
"He said his name was Ilay, I haven't heard his full name, but he seems to know you very well. Because just by saying I'm your nephew, he already knew I was the second child."
"Ilay…. Did he say that? That name?"
"That's what I heard… but looking at you like this, I'm not sure. Because he's using a voice changer, his pronunciation isn't very clear. But can't you guess who it is?"
"If so, you can just try calling that number again, so you don't need to worry about the book."
Jeong Taeui added but he just shook his head.
"No, I know who it is. I haven't heard the name in a long time so I forgot."
"Does that person have many names?"
That was the mark of a swindler. Jeong Taeui grinned and muttered. But his calm, quiet, slightly cold tone and his graceful and beautiful hands seemed completely unrelated to the three words 'swindler'. However, it was also difficult to say that he looked like an antique book dealer, so it was not easy to judge a person just by looking at his hands and listening to his voice.
"His hands are really beautiful."
As Jeong Taeui muttered, his uncle took out the wine from the refrigerator while looking at him with a complicated expression.
"Hand…. Yeah, I never paid attention but now that I think about it, it's probably okay."
"I don't know if I'm the only one who thinks that. He also said this was the first time someone told him his hands were beautiful."
"Probably so."
Maybe that's what it is, Jeong Taeui briefly doubted his own aesthetic sense.
He regained his usual composure, smiling as he turned the screw on the cork on the bottle. It wasn't hard to pull it out, he said.
"I don't know if he's ever heard that hand is scary, but to say it's a beautiful hand, he definitely hasn't."
"? Huh? His fingernails are straight and neat like glass…. and his hands are also beautiful to the point of being scary."
He didn't respond to any of Jeong Taeui's words and just smiled.
"That's right. Did I tell you about this place? It's right next to the elevator, so it shouldn't be too hard to find."
He immediately changed the subject. Jeong Taeui, who was still immersed in that white hand, now remembered the small grudge he had with his uncle. As he wandered around looking for a way, he wished he could strangle his uncle and grumble about what kind of house structure this was. Then, the young man who was as soft as cotton candy in the shared bathroom appeared in his mind again.
Jeong Taeui's face turned red again.
He brought two cups while looking at Jeong Taeui with curious eyes. He seemed to be very happy to see her bewildered face suddenly turn red.
"What's wrong? Is something wrong?..... Are the guys in our team playing around? Those guys are like that. They're not bad guys, but if someone new comes in, the number of members will increase, so they're just playing around for no reason. You can just think of it as the mood of kids playing around with someone they like."
Then he comforted her, 'Don't worry too much about it, we're just men.'
Jeong Taeui looked at him doubtfully and shook his head.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but I don't have any problems with my colleagues. I got hit lightly, but it was my fault anyway."
"Is that so? So what's the problem? I guess Tou took you away so they didn't bother you much. So the problem arose after leaving that place?"
A sweet scent wafted from the cup of wine that he handed him. Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue bitterly as he smelled the sweet scent.
"Uncle. I heard there is a warden on this floor?"
"That's right. The other members, including Gyoho, are on the 6th basement. Why do you want to go up here? Do you want to go out?"
He laughed and joked. His eyes seemed to be searching for the truth hidden in Jeong Taeui's words.
"....I took the wrong elevator and accidentally met someone while I was lost."
Jeong Taeui spoke calmly, but when he thought of that person, he felt strangely restless. He looked at Jeong Taeui's expression happily and urged, 'What happened next?'
"I think he was going to take a bath, he showed me the way here."
'.....ah... okay, so who is it? Didn't you ask his name?"
As if he already knew, the uncle smiled slightly. Jeong Taeui shook his head.
"No, I was just asking for directions. He looked very young, like he was underage. He felt soft...He looked a bit Western but he seemed to be Chinese."
"Haha, you look very young? Looks like your interests are still the same. Could it be…"
He shook his head excitedly as if he could read Jeong Taeui's mind. He choked up and stared at him.
"So, are there any minors here?"
"No… but what if I'm not old enough? Just wait patiently for a while and harvest the rice after it grows. Children grow up in the blink of an eye."
"Uncle, that's not what I meant…. ….so….. who is that? That person?"
"You know who he is anyway."
Jeong Taeui asked while grumbling. He turned his head to look at his red face and then smiled and turned away.
"....Naive boy. Jaeui said that love is complicated, but why is your reaction so naive? I heard that there was a clash of knives between two boys and you were the one in the middle, right?"
"Your brother told you that?"
Jeong Taeui frowned and clicked his tongue. He had been that kind of guy before. He had slept with a young man a few times because he thought he was cute, but he had a very annoying and angry personality so he didn't date him. He said so himself. It was just a casual relationship where he would find someone to date when he needed them.
So, he had great faith and no doubts about it, but in reality it didn't seem to be the case.
Jeong Taeui himself didn't know why, but he was also popular in gay clubs. So it wasn't long before other people approached him, and then another person appeared.
This person was not an ordinary person either. So between the old person and the new person, a truly bloody riot broke out.
As a result, Jeong Taeui was summoned to the police station for investigation. During that time, rumors spread all the way to the military academy where Jeong Taeui was studying. Then came a series of difficulties.
"So who is that person?"
When Jeong Taeui asked stiffly, he smiled and shrugged.
"Perhaps we will meet again soon. He is Xin Lu. The one in charge of the welfare and internal life of the members."
"....Xin Lu….does he live on this floor too?"
"Well, everyone except the members are on this floor. Even the outside guests are the same. When members from other branches come for joint training, they will be on the same floor as you."
"Has..."
Jeong Taeui muttered. It was him, he hadn't thought of the logistics officer. Thinking back, he didn't have much muscle, nor did he have any wounds or scars. With a body like that, there was no way he could be a member, nor could he be a prison guard who had gone through so much hardship. Of course, eliminating all those possibilities left only logistics. Why hadn't he thought of that?
Jeong Taeui scratched the back of his neck, then remembered that smooth and flawless skin, and blushed again. His uncle stared at him, his gaze making him feel a little guilty. So he shook his head to clear his mind, but it was useless.
"Only after living for a long time have I seen this side of you. Indeed, living long is worth it."
He said it was miraculous, but his voice was clearly filled with excitement. Jeong Taeui looked at his uncle with displeasure and suddenly remembered why he came here.
"But isn't that too much? Uncle, I just want to stay alive so I can return in half a year, but they say this place is a complete battle for survival."
"Huh?"
"I heard that countless people died during the joint training. Countless people were injured. Why did you drag me into a survival game? It's too much."
Actually, what he heard wasn't that serious, but he couldn't help but exaggerate a little. He just made excuses and reassured him.
"In case of minor or serious injuries, you may need to go to the hospital, but it is rare for anyone to die. Don't worry."
"Yes…. but you know that too. If I get seriously injured, I'll be in big trouble."
"Ah, I know. If you were seriously injured, I would have taken you to the most advanced hospital immediately, so don't be angry. I didn't bring you here to kill you."
He said with a gentle smile. Jeong Taeui sighed.
Like I said, if you were injured, I would do everything I could to save you, even if I had to travel all over the world. It was more of a duty as an uncle than a feeling for my nephew, but I had never been one to do things carelessly. So Jeong Taeui wasn't worried about that. He just wanted to grumble a little because he saw a dark future ahead. And the reality was that it would be difficult for Jeong Taeui to get seriously injured.
Yes, if Jeong Taeui was seriously injured, he would face many problems, especially since he could not undergo surgery due to his special constitution. Whether he wanted it or not, his body would have a higher rejection reaction to foreign substances injected into his body than the average person. One day, Jeong Taeui was seriously injured while clearing mines and was rushed to the hospital, where they inserted an iron rod to connect his broken bone. However, he had to undergo surgery again because of the severe rejection reaction.
"Well then, I'll go. It's late. You must be tired too, so you should rest."
"Isn't this the book you took out to read? I'll lend it to you. Just take it home and read it."
He stood up and took the book that Jeong Taeui had left on the table and handed it to him. Jeong Taeui stared at the book for a while. Although it was carefully preserved, it could not stop the power of time, the golden words on the cover of the book seemed to have faded. He was really afraid to touch the number 3500 dollars.
"No… I'd rather come here and read it. This book is too valuable to borrow."
"Really? I don't care, but if you feel comfortable here, then fine. When you get the room key from Xin Lu, get another key to my room. I'll contact him. Then, I guess you'll have to go get the key and the rules right away, right?"
Jeong Taeui stopped at the door after hearing what his uncle said.
He was going to get his keys and the rules board, he was going to grab whoever was on duty and ask him to call the person in charge.
But now, the person in charge was still in the bathroom, he didn't know if it was okay to call at this time, and even if it was possible, it would be a bother to that person.
Seeing Jeong Taeui blush, he immediately opened his mouth as if he knew what he was thinking.
"If it's Xin Lu, he'll usually work overtime in the office after taking a bath. He has low blood pressure, so he won't soak in the bath for long. He's also a workaholic. He's working right now anyway, so even if you come, it won't be a bother."
Jeong Taeui glared at him meaningfully, his face sullen. Yes, he was attracted to that boy. Even if it wasn't to the point of liking him, he still wanted to see him again and know more about him.
Jeong Taeui suddenly felt embarrassed for no reason. Having a crush on someone wasn't something that needed to be hidden.
He looked at Jeong Taeui's expression and smiled calmly as if he had changed his mind.
"To love someone is a wonderful thing. To love and be loved. That is the foundation of the world."
"....You're really good at saying things that make people feel embarrassed."
Jeong Taeui grumbled at his uncle, looking neither annoyed nor happy. Then, leaving his uncle's laughter behind, he walked out of the room.