Passion: Diaphonic Symphonia Novel - Chapter 52

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.

Both of them looked around the makeshift tower in silence, without saying anything.

Suddenly, Jeong Taeui was about to open his mouth to say, “Should we go down now?”

Just as Christoph was about to turn to say something similar, a little girl ran up to him.

“Christoph, Christoph! I learned how to breakfall the other day, but I can’t do it well! Heidrich keeps bragging that only he’s good at it! What should I do?!”

The girl complained, panting indignantly, her face red. The little boy who was shouting, “You can’t even do that, so you went to learn it again?” from a distance behind her seemed to be Heidrich.

Christoph frowned annoyedly, looking down at her, and she flinched, but she didn’t want to retreat helplessly in front of her friend who was teasing her from behind, so she clenched her fists tightly and didn’t move an inch. “Christoph, please teach me,” she pleaded, her voice almost crying.

Jeong Taeui glanced at Christoph. Christoph seemed eager to get down from here. Although he couldn’t hear anyone coming up from below yet, the man who taught the children would soon be here. And Christoph definitely didn’t want to run into that man.

“Ask Richard to teach you.”

Christoph said coldly and turned to leave. Then the girl exclaimed, frustrated,

“I learned it from Richard! But how can I tell Richard directly that I don’t know how?!”

“…I think it would be more efficient to tell him rather than me.”

Christoph frowned. But the girl seemed to have her own pride. Jeong Taeui quietly smiled at her desire to appear as if she had perfectly understood and mastered it in one go.

“Breakfall, huh… How about this, if I show you a demonstration, do you think you’ll understand?”

When he asked the child, she frowned and tilted her head, saying, “Hmm.” She seemed unsure if she would understand by just watching.

“Should I do it?”

Jeong Taeui looked back at Christoph, who was displaying all his annoyance on his face and frowning terribly—though it still didn’t show much—and smiled, and Christoph shrugged. “Suit yourself,” he mumbled.

Jeong Taeui turned back to the child. Then he bent down to meet the child’s gaze.

It pained him a little to see the child looking at him suspiciously, as if thinking, Isn’t this the ajusshi who ran errands? But Jeong Taeui smiled and extended his hand to the child.

As he extended his hand with a serious and elegant gesture, as if asking a lady to dance, the child hesitated but lightly placed her hand on his.

At that moment.

“Alright, then, try as much as you know first. Ready?”

As soon as Jeong Taeui finished speaking with a smile, he lightly twisted his body and threw the child.

Just before she hit the ground, he lightly supported her waist and behind her knees, helping her to easily roll her body.

However, the child, who had not expected to be thrown like that at all, fell straight to the ground. The child, who had fallen softly without impact with Jeong Taeui’s assistance, blinked, looking at the sky above her.

“…Oh my. I must have done a breakfall without realizing it.”

The child whispered, her eyes wide. She blinked again, saying, “It didn’t hurt at all,” and her face looked very happy.

“Why did you assist her? You’re supposed to learn by experiencing the pain.”

Christoph, who had been watching the whole thing, clicked his tongue and mumbled bluntly. Jeong Taeui scratched his head vigorously.

“Hmm… is that so…? Then just watch carefully from the side. It’s butt to back, shoulder to arm, in that order.”

Jeong Taeui, who had calmly taught the child, looked back at Christoph. At his intense stare, Christoph, who had been standing with his arms crossed and a displeased look, frowned.

“What?”

“Throw me down.”

Jeong Taeui said, pointing to himself.

Christoph openly displayed extreme annoyance and let out a displeased sigh, then approached Jeong Taeui. And without a word of warning, he simply grabbed Jeong Taeui’s arm and pulled. A short impact came to his ankle and slightly below his knee, and Jeong Taeui’s body lost its balance.

“…”

The next moment, Jeong Taeui was lying on the floor.

Christoph, who had thrown Jeong Taeui to the ground at a speed that would have caught him off guard if he hadn’t anticipated the attack, was now standing upside down above him, looking down.

Christoph glanced at the child with an unpleasant look.

“See? That’s how you do it.”

“…I don’t quite get it. Please show me again.”

The child said boldly and brightly. Seeing that she didn’t back down even when Christoph’s gaze instantly turned fierce, and even added, “Please show me a bit slower,” this child seemed destined for great things.

“What’s the big deal? It’s just showing it one more time. Then, throw me down a bit slower.”

Jeong Taeui said, getting up with a sigh. Christoph shook his head with a frown.

“I can’t do it slower.”

“Huh?”

“I wasn’t taught for sparring.”

He was taught only for practical use, for actually taking down people in real combat.

Christoph was saying that. So he only learned how to deal with opponents as quickly as possible, and he wasn’t used to showing it slowly for others to see.

“Ah, I see,” Jeong Taeui nodded. So, to Christoph, who gestured towards the stairs with his chin, indicating they should go down, Jeong Taeui said,

“Then I’ll throw you down. Slowly. Try to breakfall well.”

“You?”

Christoph made a strange face. He looked a little flustered and also displeased. Only when he saw him suddenly hesitate, just as he was about to shout something, did Jeong Taeui realize.

“…You said it was okay for me to touch you.”

“I didn’t say it was okay to touch me to attack me.”

“Attack, what attack… Here I go.”

Jeong Taeui smiled broadly and approached him.

Yes, a mischievous thought also subtly arose: let’s see how much his aversion to touch would allow for him.

Suddenly, the soft sensation of stroking his cheek just a moment ago came back to his hand. It was a surprisingly excellent texture.

“…”

Jeong Taeui, who was unconsciously looking at the sky with a slightly ecstatic expression, only came to his senses and mumbled to himself when Christoph was right in front of him.

Sorry. For a moment, I actually thought it would be truly ecstatic to sleep with you. Forgive me for manipulating you in my mind, even if only in my head. …I should keep this a secret from Ilay for life, because if I told him this, I’d probably end up in a bad state that very day.

But thinking about it, he wasn’t the type to enjoy being on the bottom anyway, Jeong Taeui grumbled, then grabbed Christoph’s lapel and arm.

Thump, he distinctly felt his body flinch in his hands. Jeong Taeui lightly lifted his body, which was reflexively trying to shake him off, into the air.

Whoosh, that’s the sound he seemed to hear.

Christoph, who twisted his body once in the air, drawing a slow but clear trajectory, clicked his tongue and rolled his body as he fell. His hand hit the ground, absorbing the impact with his entire body.

Even Jeong Taeui, who had thrown him, admired his exemplary performance.

He said he only used it for practical combat, but if there was a man who fought with such movements in real combat, he wouldn’t be able to kill him carelessly, just to keep watching those movements.

“In a way, he’s a man to be feared as an enemy,” Jeong Taeui thought with a slightly off-kilter admiration, then looked at the child.

“Did you watch carefully?”

The child, who had been staring intently with wide, unblinking eyes, ambiguously nodded. Judging by her sparkling expression, she had seen it properly but seemed unsure if she could actually use it herself.

“Yes… I saw it, but one more time—”

“Where do you learn by just watching? Go and practice to master it.”

Before the child could finish her sentence, Christoph, who had gotten up from the floor, shouted coldly. The child flinched, shrugging her shoulders and pouting her lips. With a foxy, sly glance, she smiled brightly and bowed, saying, “Yes, thank you.”

Jeong Taeui chuckled and looked back.

Christoph clicked his tongue and sat on the floor.

“My clothes got dirty. I’ll have to change again.”

He grumbled in a displeased tone, showing his annoyance.

A little dust had gotten on the back of his pants, his back, shoulders, and sleeves from falling down. Even though it wasn’t bright-colored clothing and wasn’t very noticeable, Christoph clicked his tongue as he brushed off the dust from his sleeve.

Jeong Taeui, feeling unnecessarily cheerful, took a step closer to him.

“Then let’s go back to your room. That’s good, I actually didn’t like those clothes.”

Then Christoph, who was checking if there was any more dust on his sleeves or hem, looked up.

“What don’t you like about them?”

His voice was harsh.

He had spent a long time and effort choosing those clothes that morning. So he seemed displeased to hear that they weren’t liked.

“The color of those clothes. That grass-green knit you wore the other day was prettier.”

“That’s been sent to the laundry.”

“Then that camel-colored one… no, that wasn’t very good. Then how about that navy shirt?”

Jeong Taeui approached his side and extended his hand.

Christoph, who was dusting off his clothes, looked at the hand with a puzzled gaze. And with a still bewildered expression, he placed the dust he had removed from his clothes onto Jeong Taeui’s palm.

“What is this?!”

“Didn’t you ask for it?”

Christoph said, looking puzzled at Jeong Taeui, who quickly brushed off the dust and extended his hand again.

“Why would I ask for dust?! I’m telling you to get up, I’ll help you!”

Jeong Taeui exclaimed in exasperation. Then he suddenly realized.

This man had never done this before.

He had never held someone’s hand to get up, or been helped by someone.

Always alone.

Completely by himself.

That’s why he didn’t even know how to ask for a hand. He didn’t even consider that such a request was possible.

Jeong Taeui looked down at Christoph, who was still staring at his hand with a bewildered expression, and suddenly felt a warmth in his chest, closing his mouth. Then, after watching him silently for a while, he asked,

“Is it really okay for me to touch you?”

Hearing those words, Christoph looked a little uneasy. In fact, his face showed that it wasn’t okay. But he seemed reluctant to say it out loud.

“You said it was okay for me to touch you, didn’t you?”

Jeong Taeui asked again, and this time, before he could answer, he grabbed his wrist. Flinch, he felt his arm pull back again, instinctively trying to shake off Jeong Taeui’s hand. But Jeong Taeui ignored it and pulled his arm.

“Get up.”

He pulled his arm diagonally upwards. Only then did Christoph use that hand to quickly stand up from the floor.

Jeong Taeui didn’t let go of his arm even after he stood up.

Christoph seemed uncomfortable, with all his attention focused on the hand gripping his arm, but perhaps because of what he had said himself, he kept his mouth tightly shut.

Christoph glared at Jeong Taeui with a face that clearly said, ‘Why don’t you just get the hint and let go?’, but Jeong Taeui pretended not to notice and kept holding on. He even went a step further and asked,

“Can I touch your cheek again?”

“…”

“It was really soft. The texture was incredibly good. Can I touch it?”

“No—”

“Earlier, you said I could touch it, didn’t you?”

“…”

Receiving Christoph’s fierce, ashen gaze all over his body, Jeong Taeui happily reached out his hand to him.

As his hand approached, Christoph’s upper body slowly recoiled. Jeong Taeui firmly held the arm he was still gripping and pulled him closer. Then he cupped his cheek with his hand.

“…”

Looking at Christoph’s frowning, downcast expression, Jeong Taeui felt like an old man harassing an innocent maiden, and he made a bitter clicking sound with his tongue.

Even so, he continued to stroke his cheek. Soon, he subtly touched other parts of his face. As he confirmed his distinct features with his hand, he briefly thought it was like touching a museum sculpture with a “Do not touch” sign.

“…Now, you should probably stop…”

It was when Christoph, finally unable to bear it, opened his mouth ominously.

Jeong Taeui, who was holding his arm with one hand and stroking his cheek with the other, feeling ecstatic, flinched when he saw the man who had just come up the stairs.

The man whose gaze met his over Christoph’s shoulder was Richard.

“…”

“…—.”

Given that there was almost no sound, he must have come directly from the West Wing or the main building downstairs and climbed up.

Richard stopped walking, his eyes slightly wide, looking at them. Jeong Taeui, for reasons unknown, felt somewhat awkward and stopped moving, just quietly staring at him.

He was usually a man who would smile and greet first when their eyes met, but he was strangely quiet today… Just as Jeong Taeui was thinking this.

Christoph, noticing that Jeong Taeui’s movements had stopped and his gaze was directed over his shoulder, turned his head to follow that gaze.

“…”

As soon as he spotted Richard standing there, Christoph’s face completely lost any warmth it had left.

With a face filled only with displeasure and coldness, he clicked his tongue and muttered softly, “So I finally ran into that unpleasant face.”

Jeong Taeui, who had removed his hand from Christoph at that, rubbed the back of his neck and furtively observed them.

Since the children were there, a violent situation wouldn’t likely erupt, but the atmosphere was very bleak. It wouldn’t be strange if any word suddenly became a trigger for a fight at any moment.

“The children are waiting over there.”

Jeong Taeui, who had given him a polite nod, quickly pointed his finger at the children playing among themselves a little distance away. Immediately after, he grabbed Christoph and said,

“Aren’t you going to change your clothes?”

He spoke brightly and cheerfully, smiling widely towards both of them. Recalling the proverb that you can’t spit on a smiling face.

The two men were silent for a moment, looking at Jeong Taeui. Although they were rarely two people who would fight without a specific reason, there was a desire to quickly escape this bleak atmosphere.

Christoph clicked his tongue and moved towards the stairs. Richard also walked onto the rooftop, brushing past him by about a span.

As Christoph stepped onto the landing and was about to take his first step down the stairs, Richard, who had already stepped out from under the stairwell’s awning into the sunlight, suddenly stopped.

“Looks like you’ve cured one of your diseases.”

With his usual gentle expression, but with a hint of mockery in his voice, he said, turning his head halfway over his shoulder.

Jeong Taeui, who was about to follow Christoph down, flinched. Christoph, who was a few steps ahead, also stopped walking.