Passion: Diaphonic Symphonia Novel - Chapter 51

Jeong Taeui looked at Christoph with a blank stare, but seeing him lost in thought with his hand on his cheek, he sighed and closed his mouth.

“I just suddenly had that thought. That it would be good to be together. …It was the first time I’d had such a thought, so I concluded that I must like you. But… do I really like you?”

Christoph raised his gaze, his face showing doubt even to himself. His blue eyes looked at Jeong Taeui with confusion from beneath his long eyelashes.

Jeong Taeui stared back at him, then slowly sighed.

“Just because it’s good to be together doesn’t necessarily mean that.”

“But now, it’s okay for you to touch me. I can endure it.”

Christoph repeated. Jeong Taeui’s eyes widened at his cold tone, which almost sounded angry. Then he spoke in a quiet, subdued voice.

“Enduring it isn’t the same as it being okay.”

If it’s something you have to endure because you don’t want to, then it’s just practicing patience.

Jeong Taeui gently removed his hand from Christoph’s cheek. Christoph looked at Jeong Taeui intently.

There was a subtle sense of discord, as if things were slightly off.

There was no reason for Christoph to like him.

Although there was no inherent reason for liking someone, he couldn’t understand the probability of it being him.

He told Jeong Taeui he liked him. As if he had to.

Perhaps Christoph also felt that discord. No, it was his own matter. Even if it didn’t surface in his consciousness, he couldn’t possibly be unaware of that faint sense of incongruity.

Christoph looked at Jeong Taeui silently for a while. But perhaps he couldn’t come to his own conclusion, for he merely said, “I like you,” once more in a faint voice. As if speaking to himself.

“It’s okay for you to touch me.”

“That’s because you endure it. Anyone can endure if they want to.”

“Still, you’re okay.”

Jeong Taeui merely nodded instead of replying further.

If that’s what he wanted, it seemed fine to go along with it for a while. While he was here.

A moment of silence passed.

Neither Christoph, who hadn’t smiled satisfactorily, nor Jeong Taeui, who hadn’t seen that satisfactory smile, were thinking about laughter anymore.

That’s when it happened.

The sounds of people coming up from below the makeshift tower were heard.

Christoph and Jeong Taeui simultaneously turned their gaze towards the stairs.

The multiple sounds, still coming up a couple of floors below, were lively and cheerful enough to be heard even from a distance. They were the sounds of children.

“…Ah.”

Jeong Taeui mumbled without realizing it.

He had encountered children here before. Come to think of it, it seemed to be the same day of the week, around the same time, as today.

Which meant.

“Looks like the children are coming.”

Christoph mumbled in an annoyed tone. He frowned slightly, but it wasn’t a look of great displeasure.

“Ah… Chris. But it’s probably Richard who’s bringing the children.”

Jeong Taeui said, scratching his head.

At that moment, Christoph’s expression, which had been annoyed but not displeased, changed drastically. It instantly turned annoyed and displeased.

“How do you know that?”

As if unwilling to believe it, Christoph unreasonably interrogated Jeong Taeui with a sour face. Jeong Taeui shrugged, saying, “I ran into him once before.”

“If I had known beforehand, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

Christoph clicked his tongue and stood up. Jeong Taeui didn’t particularly feel like leaving just because Richard was coming, but considering Christoph’s blatant dislike, he sighed and got up to follow.

When two people in a group have an extremely bad relationship, those around them get tired. Although in this case, the people around them were fighting in a group, so they probably wouldn’t be as tired as Jeong Taeui.

While grumbling that this neighborhood was still a bit rough, the children reached the rooftop.

“…Oh.”

“Oh? There’s more.”

“Oh? Christoph is here too!”

The children, who had tumbled up without anyone being first, were happy to see Jeong Taeui there, saying there were more, and then looked even more surprised when they saw Christoph next to him. They were also children Christoph regularly taught.

Jeong Taeui slightly raised his hand to greet the chattering, running children. Then he suddenly mumbled, “Ah,” and saw Oliver, who was among the children.

Oliver, whose head showed no trace of his injury, smiled and greeted Jeong Taeui from a few steps behind. He also smiled innocently at Christoph, who stood beside him.

Christoph, as always, had an indifferent face with a hint of annoyance and bother.

“Oliver, you must be all better now. No gauze or bandages on your head.”

“Yes, I went to the hospital for the last time a few days ago.”

The boy answered politely and smiled shyly. Then he glanced at Christoph.

Christoph merely gave him a cold stare, pretending not to know.

After the children had all chattered and greeted them, they scattered in front of them, as if their business was done, and wandered around the rooftop.

Richard seemed to be coming up slowly behind the children, as he was not yet visible.

“I should go down before I see that unpleasant face.”

“You’ll run into him on the way down.”

“…I can just go to the West Wing or the main building from the floor below.”

Christoph retorted grumpily to Jeong Taeui’s plausible remark.

As he followed Christoph, who was striding away, Jeong Taeui suddenly opened his mouth.

“It’s a relief Oliver’s all better.”

Christoph slowed his steps slightly. He looked down at Jeong Taeui with a frown, then glanced at Oliver, and finally looked back at Jeong Taeui.

“I think I told you before, I don’t care.”

“Right,” Jeong Taeui nodded casually. It wasn’t meant to have any other meaning anyway. He just remembered it when he saw Oliver and Christoph in the same place.

However, even though he said he didn’t care, Christoph stopped walking. And for a moment, he looked at Oliver from a distance. His eyes were blank, as if looking at something other than Oliver.

“It’s just that, when I see Oliver, it reminds me. He’s very similar.”

He whispered softly, as if to himself. Jeong Taeui looked at his face, which seemed a little subdued, and then suddenly said,

“To Richard?”

“They’re very similar, aren’t they?” Jeong Taeui added, nodding to himself, when Christoph glared at him fiercely.

“No! I don’t care if he’s similar to that guy or not! No, it would be even more unpleasant if he were!”

“Oliver and Richard, they look alike, don’t they? It’s enough to believe they were made from the same mold.”

“They don’t look alike, their insides are completely different. Oliver looks more like Olivia!”

Christoph clicked his tongue and shouted. Realizing the anger and impatience in his rough voice, Jeong Taeui closed his mouth there. And he looked at Oliver again.

The boy, who was deep in thought with another child, holding some toy or puzzle, still resembled Richard in Jeong Taeui’s eyes, who didn’t know Olivia. But who knows? To those who knew Olivia, he might look exactly like Olivia.

“Olivia, then Richard’s sister?”

Jeong Taeui asked again. Christoph nodded.

Jeong Taeui, who was about to open his mouth to Christoph, who was staring intently at Oliver, closed it again.

He had nothing to say.

What could he say to him?

Olivia, the one whose grave you buried a dog’s corpse in? – He couldn’t ask such a thing.

Jeong Taeui silently followed Christoph’s gaze and looked at Oliver.

Then, suddenly, Christoph quietly opened his mouth. As if he had read Jeong Taeui’s thoughts.

“It was a stray dog without an owner, but Olivia secretly fed it and doted on it. When she was hospitalized and couldn’t take care of the dog, she asked me to look after it.”

Jeong Taeui slowly looked up at him.

Still looking at Oliver, Christoph said nothing more, his face expressionless.

—Christoph was very fed up with that dog. He openly mistreated it whenever it followed him.

Jeong Taeui suddenly remembered something he had heard once.

“…So, did you give it something delicious?”

“Yeah. For a stray, it was picky, so I had to give it food with meat in it for it to reluctantly eat. When I approached, its tail would wag, but it would just turn its head away.”

“It was a pretty annoying dog,” Christoph added, shrugging.

Christoph. Christoph. How differently people see others.

“Right,” Jeong Taeui nodded. And he looked at Oliver.

“That dog also only followed Olivia… so they’re probably together now.”

Christoph finished his sentence casually.

“Right… right,” Jeong Taeui said one more time.

A moment of silence flowed there.

Neither Christoph, who ultimately hadn’t smiled satisfactorily, nor Jeong Taeui, who hadn’t seen that satisfactory smile, were thinking about laughter anymore.

That’s when it happened.

The sounds of people coming up from below the makeshift tower were heard.

Christoph and Jeong Taeui almost simultaneously turned their gaze towards the stairs.

The multiple sounds, still coming up a couple of floors below, were lively and cheerful enough to be heard even from a distance. They were the sounds of children.

“…Ah.”

Jeong Taeui mumbled without realizing it.

He had encountered children here before. Come to think of it, it seemed to be the same day of the week, around the same time, as today.

Which meant.

“Looks like the children are coming.”

Christoph mumbled in an annoyed tone. He frowned slightly, but it wasn’t a look of great displeasure.

“Ah… Chris. But it’s probably Richard who’s bringing the children.”

Jeong Taeui said, scratching his head.

At that moment, Christoph’s expression, which had been annoyed but not displeased, changed drastically. It instantly turned annoyed and displeased.

“How do you know that?”

As if unwilling to believe it, Christoph unreasonably interrogated Jeong Taeui with a sour face. Jeong Taeui shrugged, saying, “I ran into him once before.”

“If I had known beforehand, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

Christoph clicked his tongue and stood up. Jeong Taeui didn’t particularly feel like leaving just because Richard was coming, but considering Christoph’s blatant dislike, he sighed and got up to follow.

When two people in a group have an extremely bad relationship, those around them get tired. Although in this case, the people around them were fighting in a group, so they probably wouldn’t be as tired as Jeong Taeui.

While grumbling that this neighborhood was still a bit rough, the children reached the rooftop.

“…Oh.”

“Oh? There’s more.”

“Oh? Christoph is here too!”

The children, who had tumbled up without anyone being first, were happy to see Jeong Taeui there, saying there were more, and then looked even more surprised when they saw Christoph next to him. They were also children Christoph regularly taught.

Jeong Taeui slightly raised his hand to greet the chattering, running children. Then he suddenly mumbled, “Ah,” and saw Oliver, who was among the children.

Oliver, whose head showed no trace of his injury, smiled and greeted Jeong Taeui from a few steps behind. He also smiled innocently at Christoph, who stood beside him.

Christoph, as always, had an indifferent face with a hint of annoyance and bother.

“Oliver, you must be all better now. No gauze or bandages on your head.”

“Yes, I went to the hospital for the last time a few days ago.”

The boy answered politely and smiled shyly. Then he glanced at Christoph.

Christoph merely gave him a cold stare, pretending not to know.

After the children had all chattered and greeted them, they scattered in front of them, as if their business was done, and wandered around the rooftop.

Richard seemed to be coming up slowly behind the children, as he was not yet visible.

“I should go down before I see that unpleasant face.”

“You’ll run into him on the way down.”

“…I can just go to the West Wing or the main building from the floor below.”

Christoph retorted grumpily to Jeong Taeui’s plausible remark.

As he followed Christoph, who was striding away, Jeong Taeui suddenly opened his mouth.

“It’s a relief Oliver’s all better.”

Christoph slowed his steps slightly. He looked down at Jeong Taeui with a frown, then glanced at Oliver, and finally looked back at Jeong Taeui.

“I think I told you before, I don’t care.”

“Right,” Jeong Taeui nodded casually. It wasn’t meant to have any other meaning anyway. He just remembered it when he saw Oliver and Christoph in the same place.

However, even though he said he didn’t care, Christoph stopped walking. And for a moment, he looked at Oliver from a distance. His eyes were blank, as if looking at something other than Oliver.

“It’s just that, when I see Oliver, it reminds me. He’s very similar.”

He whispered softly, as if to himself. Jeong Taeui looked at his face, which seemed a little subdued, and then suddenly said,

“To Richard?”

“They’re very similar, aren’t they?” Jeong Taeui added, nodding to himself, when Christoph glared at him fiercely.

“No! I don’t care if he’s similar to that guy or not! No, it would be even more unpleasant if he were!”

“Oliver and Richard, they look alike, don’t they? It’s enough to believe they were made from the same mold.”

“They don’t look alike, their insides are completely different. Oliver looks more like Olivia!”

Christoph clicked his tongue and shouted. Realizing the anger and impatience in his rough voice, Jeong Taeui closed his mouth there. And he looked at Oliver again.

The boy, who was deep in thought with another child, holding some toy or puzzle, still resembled Richard in Jeong Taeui’s eyes, who didn’t know Olivia. But who knows? To those who knew Olivia, he might look exactly like Olivia.

“Olivia, then Richard’s sister?”

Jeong Taeui asked again. Christoph nodded.

Jeong Taeui, who was about to open his mouth to Christoph, who was staring intently at Oliver, closed it again.