Jeong Taeui thought he understood the capabilities of this man when he quietly touched the
glass of wine beside him. Eric sat down in front of Christoph with a heavy expression.
"Christoph. Can't you let this go just this once? Richard is indeed in the bar, but he is
currently meeting a very important guest. I can't call him out right now."
"That's not my concern. I need to handle my business and leave immediately."
"Listen, Chris. Please understand my position. You know I owe Richard a lot. He entrusted
me with this bar. If anything goes wrong while I'm in charge, how could I face him? I'm
begging you to reconsider this one time. It's not that I don't want to bring him here. As soon
as that important guest leaves, I'll inform him right away. Okay? Please wait a bit longer, just
a little."
"As I said, that's not my concern—"
"Oh, oh, oh... Suddenly, my knee... I haven't been able to do any proper work anywhere
because of this knee... In such a difficult situation, I'm truly grateful to Richard for trusting
me with this bar. I'm very grateful to him... Oh, but of course, I'm very happy that I sacrificed
my knee to save you!"
"..."
It seemed like a blue flame was burning in Christoph's eyes. His clenched fist on the table
trembled slightly.
After a few seconds, Christoph finally sighed bitterly and relaxed his fist. He asked with clear
annoyance.
"When will that important guest leave?"
"Huh? Oh, well... Since he just arrived, it might take a while... I'll seize the moment when
he's not paying attention to meet Richard and inform him. I'm sure Richard will come
running once he knows you're here."
Hearing that, it sounded like their relationship was quite good, but Jeong Taeui thought about
how they could start fighting the moment they saw each other. He silently sipped his wine.
Christoph looked at Eric with loathing—this wasn't the first time he had been dragged into
such a situation—Chris sighed quietly.
"One hour. I won't wait any longer; you handle it yourself.""One hour? So soon?! …Oh no, it's okay, there will surely be an opportunity within that
time."
Eric suddenly shouted in a panicked voice but, upon seeing Christoph's face, which was
almost losing patience, immediately changed his tone and smiled brightly.
Jeong Taeui thought he might have understood why Richard hired this man as the manager.
He held his wine glass and looked around the bar once more. However, no matter how
carefully he looked, he didn't see anyone resembling Richard.
... Oh, if they're meeting an important guest, they must be in a private room. Probably in the
hallway inside...
Jeong Taeui glanced at a small hallway next to the restroom sign, mostly hidden by a large
potted plant, and pondered.
But...
"What's the matter?"
Christoph, who was drinking the water he had just requested, asked when he saw Jeong Taeui
looking around. Jeong Taeui shrugged and replied, "Nothing."
"The layout of this place is quite strange. If you go down that hallway, there must be private
rooms. Besides, the atmosphere in this bar feels a bit..."
Jeong Taeui stopped mid-sentence.
The atmosphere in the bar felt somewhat... dangerous.
The staff here, too; the structure of the bar had many escape routes, and cameras might be
hidden in the ceiling and corners.
Moreover, the bar's area was much smaller than initially expected when entering the building.
The bar wasn't small, but compared to the building's size, it was much smaller. This meant
there were quite a few unseen rooms.
If it were just to ensure safety for illegal liquor trading, it wouldn't make sense.
When Jeong Taeui mumbled that – Eric – who was mixing cocktails at the opposite table,
raised an eyebrow upon hearing those words. He glanced at Jeong Taeui and then lowered his
head without saying anything.
Next to him, Christoph casually said—"Ah, right."
"Because this is a 'dangerous' bar."
"'Dangerous' bar...?"(*Idk if it is correct or not, but '위험한 가게 ' is kind of refers to a location with many risk
factors and dangers, often associated with illegal or hazardous activities.)
"Although Richard owns and manages this place, broadly speaking, it belongs to Tarten. This
is where Tarten's clients frequently visit. Therefore, it's natural to have many private rooms."
Hearing Christoph speak casually, Jeong Taeui remembered Tarten's business.
The information industry. A private intelligence agency.
"Ah... That's indeed the case."
Jeong Taeui nodded. Thus, even if the bar's structure was a bit odd, it was understandable.
Christoph continued explaining to Jeong Taeui – who was nodding continuously.
"Initially, this place was a club specializing in large-scale drug and opium trading. It was later
bought and renovated, hence the unusual structure."
"Ah... And you're telling me all this?" - Jeong Taeui stopped nodding and looked at Christoph
with suspicion.
Given the story's content, this wasn't something to easily share with an outsider.
Christoph nodded and responded - "Hmm"
"If there's an incident causing trouble for this bar, it will be Richard who faces difficulties. If
you want to spread this story, go ahead."
"Ah..."
Even if he spread it, those who listened would only be Ilay Kyle or his uncle and brother. But
they seemed to know everything already. Having a special bar like this wasn't surprising.
Now, something else bothered Jeong Taeui more.
"I always thought only the western part of Tarten was dangerous, but this place is no less
so..."
Jeong Taeui mumbled while finishing his wine.
He waved his hand to decline when Eric tilted the bottle to pour him more, instead requesting
a beer. Although the wine had a good taste and feel, beer suited his palate better. Eric seemed
willing to offer free beer, which pleased Jeong Taeui greatly.
However, the gloomy atmosphere made the beer taste less enjoyable...
"The atmosphere here is really scary."
Jeong Taeui shrugged and muttered. Christoph nodded slightly but didn't seem to care.After all, he didn't care about anything. Before Eric handed him a wet towel to wipe his face
and hands, Christoph's whole body was covered in blood.
But Jeong Taeui did care.
From the beginning, it had been this way, but now the countless hostile glances staring at
them made him even more uncomfortable.
Though he had grown accustomed to such looks in the western part of Tarten, it seemed more
intense at Richard's bar. The atmosphere felt like it could explode at any moment.
"Even though this is Richard's bar, isn't the atmosphere here too bad?"
When Jeong Taeui mumbled, Christoph took a sip of water and replied nonchalantly.
"By now, there should be news."
"What news?"
"The six guys we left at the stable."
"..."
Oh, right.
Jeong Taeui nodded as he finally understood. He glanced at Christoph, who paid no attention
to the hostile gazes around them. Except for his face and hands, which were cleaned with a
wet towel, the rest of Christoph's body was still covered in blood. Fortunately, the dim
lighting made the bar quite dark, making it seem like he was wearing black clothes. But in a
bright place, it would be a horrifying sight.
Yes. They had every right to be angry.
It wasn't pleasant to see an enemy suddenly appear, threaten to overturn the bar, and call out
the bar owner. And then realize all the blood on him belonged to their comrades...
... These people were indeed aggressive. They might want to grab a mop and beat him out of
frustration.
"Hmm, really troublesome..."
Jeong Taeui sighed and mumbled. Christoph was sitting right next to him and asked -
"What?"
"Since earlier, I've wanted to go to the restroom, but I'm afraid of getting into trouble on the
way."
Jeong Taeui looked up and scanned the bar with a distressed expression. The path to the
restroom in the corner looked very dim. It seemed like a tough road ahead."There's a high chance I'll be dragged away and beaten on the way to or back from the
restroom."
"....Do you want me to go with you?"
Christoph looked at Jeong Taeui, who was mumbling heavily, and asked with a puzzled
expression but then spoke loudly and arrogantly. However, Jeong Taeui shook his head and
waved his hand.
"It's better for one to stay here so if the other doesn't return, they can call the police. If both
get beaten, what then?"
"In that case, don't you think separating would mean danger hitting each one individually?"
Hearing Christoph's words, Jeong Taeui realized that, nodded, and said - "Ah, I see" - He
looked up at the dim ceiling light for a while before deciding.
"That means no matter what, it's dangerous."
Christoph didn't respond. He didn't think it was dangerous, but according to the story's flow,
any conclusion was the same.
Jeong Taeui replied - "Then" - and stood up.
"I'll go to the restroom. Hope I'll return safely."
Feeling regretful for saying such solemn words just to go to the restroom, Jeong Taeui turned
and walked away.
This wasn't a joke.
As soon as he got up from his seat, Jeong Taeui had that feeling.
As soon as he left the bar counter and headed towards the restroom, he felt sharp glances
aimed at him.
Sensing the gazes like arrows from front and back, Jeong Taeui followed the restroom sign.
The restroom sign glimmered under the dim light – truly a lit sign! – leading the way into the
hallway. Along this hallway, it turned once more after about 10 meters, and at the end, there
was another restroom sign.
The restroom wasn't too deep inside, but the bar's structure was indeed peculiar.
Reaching the end of the hallway, Jeong Taeui glanced around.
There were several paths leading to the restroom.
One path led from the bar hall that Jeong Taeui had just walked through. Another path led
from a wide, empty hallway that didn't seem connected to anything. And inside, there wasanother path.
"The structure is really strange; it's easy to get lost."
Jeong Taeui mumbled— "Could this be reported for building code violations?"—and tilted
his head in wonder.
As he was heading towards the restroom, Jeong Taeui suddenly stopped and tried going in the
opposite direction. He was curious about what was in that hallway.
From the moment Jeong Taeui took a few steps into the path connecting to the hall, the
interior of the other side's hallway completely changed.
A thick, soft carpet stretched to the end of the hallway. The light was gentle and bright
enough, shining down on the heavy oak doors on both sides of the hallway.
"Oh my, it seems like poor guests have to sit in the hall with uncomfortable seats and drink
cheap liquor, while wealthy guests are taken to these luxurious rooms and drink expensive
wine like water."
While looking around the hallway, Jeong Taeui mumbled in the tone he had learned from a
clever little girl he met while playing with Christoph's students.
There might be people inside one of those rooms, but from the outside, it was impossible to
tell. The hallway looked really out of the ordinary.
Jeong Taeui shrugged and turned away.
Anyway, that place had nothing to do with him. He had no reason to enter those rooms, and
even if he did, he couldn't afford the drinks there.
Returning to the hallway and heading towards the restroom, Jeong Taeui suddenly stopped.
"...Huh." - A short sound escaped his mouth unconsciously.
The hallway stretched far ahead.
In the distance, a man opened a door and stepped into a room. It was the room at the far end
of the hallway.
When Jeong Taeui turned back to the hallway to go to the restroom, the man had already
entered the room. When Jeong Taeui turned his head, he only saw the man's shoulder and
back before he disappeared behind the door.
The sound of the door closing softly echoed.
"...Huh...?"
Jeong Taeui tilted his head in confusion.That man looked familiar. Even though he didn't see the face clearly, the silhouette of the
shoulders, back, and the way he walked seemed very familiar.
Among the people Jeong Taeui knew, there was someone like that...
"... Ah…Impossible..."
Jeong Taeui pondered for a while and then laughed, shaking his head. That man couldn't be
here. At this hour, he should be resting in the VIP room in the eastern part of Tarten.
Jeong Taeui shook his head and entered the restroom.
The restroom was spacious and empty.
In a place of this scale, even considering the time, it was quite rare for the restroom to be
completely empty. Jeong Taeui nodded as he realized the reason.
With this scale, there might be one or two other restrooms. Moreover, each room could have
its own restroom, so it was understandable for no one to be here.
Jeong Taeui nodded as he approached the toilet.
"After all, humans cannot predict the future..."
He sighed and mumbled as he began to relieve himself. In fact, since being in the library with
Christoph, he had wanted to go to the restroom. He had held it for quite a long time.
"This morning, I thought I would have a peaceful evening, but who knew I would have to
leave Tarten and end up in a bar."
Thinking that, Jeong Taeui continued to mumble "Will I be able to return to Berlin with that
book tomorrow and live peacefully? Who knows? Always have to live with hope!."
Meanwhile, he finished his business and was adjusting his clothes.
Suddenly, behind him, there was a loud noise, and the restroom door opened.
Two men stepped in. One of them closed the door and stood blocking it.
Jeong Taeui, just pulling up his zipper, mumbled.
"If two men come into a restroom together and close the door, it's almost certain they're gay
or—"
Before he could finish his sentence.
The man approached Jeong Taeui and swung his fist at his head. No—To be precise, although
the man's fist was raised, Jeong Taeui quickly moved his head to the side, narrowly avoiding
the punch.