"The doctor seriously said that you almost died."
Although the wound wasn't in a particularly dangerous place or very large, the amount of
blood lost was near the dangerous level.
The doctor said that if it had been a little later, the situation could have been very serious, and
after grumbling for a long while with a stern face, he finally turned away.
The person who should have heard those words was still unconscious on the bed, while Jeong
Taeui, who got scolded instead, had to drag his tired body back to his room.
While Jeong Taeui was being scolded by the doctor, Ilay had disappeared somewhere and
only returned to Taeui's room when everything was over. Hearing the doctor's words that
Jeong Taeui recounted angrily, Ilay laughed derisively while applying ointment to the blue
bruise on his elbow.
"If just this much could kill you, then what am I? A ghost?"
"...Meaning you're not human."
Jeong Taeui massaged his shoulders and neck for a moment before extending his hand for the
ointment when Ilay was done.
Ilay, who was about to close the ointment jar, placed it in Jeong Taeui's hand with a curious
look.
"Are you hurt somewhere else?"
Taeui was injured all over. His whole body ached. His joints creaked. All thanks to someone
driving a car into him from behind. Though he thought this, Jeong Taeui decided not to say it
out loud, opened the ointment jar, and started applying it to his neck.
"I'm not injured, but maybe a bit dislocated. I'm aching all over."
Jeong Taeui mumbled as he applied the ointment to his neck. But Ilay pushed Taeui's hand
away and grabbed his neck.
"The neck... Let me see."
With an irresistible strength, Ilay pulled Jeong Taeui closer and made him sit with his back
turned to him. Immediately, Ilay pulled Taeui's shirt from the bottom up, and in the blink of
an eye, Jeong Taeui found himself sitting bare from the waist up.
Ilay's hands slowly moved from his neck down his back as if checking his body, making
Jeong Taeui shiver.Even though Taeui felt ticklish and squirmed, Ilay continued to press and knead Jeong Taeui's
body, then slowly pressed down each cervical vertebra with his thumb.
"If you get hurt in the neck, it can easily become a chronic condition... You should take
care of your body more carefully. You've only been away from home for a short while
and look at you now."
Hearing Ilay's reproachful tone, Jeong Taeui felt annoyed. He rubbed his eyes as a heavy
sense of fatigue washed over him.
"Because someone rammed into me from behind, that's why I'm like this... If it were you,
could you stand it?"
'Thanks to the person who was tailing me less than a meter away.'
Saying that, Jeong Taeui suddenly remembered what had happened a few hours ago.
On the road along the riverside. After Richard jumped out of the car carrying Christoph.
Jeong Taeui had driven like a madman. If he were to join a race at that speed now, he would
definitely be in the top ranks.
He knew this wouldn't be easy.
Jeong Taeui thought it was hard to keep a distance of more than 1 meter when the cars were
close together, especially when the opponent was Ilay.
However, Jeong Taeui still hoped. He just needed to maintain a distance of more than 1 meter
once and the time for that was more than 10 minutes. If he followed the route Ilay had
mentioned, there would be at least three sharp turns. The car's structure and the running
trajectory would ensure that the distance would increase at the corners. If he used them well,
he could create a distance of more than 1 meter.
So he risked driving at a dangerous speed, even worried that the engine might explode.
As a result...
"Ah ha…. You really tried to escape."
The hand pressing down on his neck suddenly increased in strength.
Jeong Taeui was startled and screamed.
"HOW COULD I NOT RUN AWAY WHEN SOMEONE RAMMED A HOOK STRAIGHT
INTO ME! IF IT WERE YOU, WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT?!"
After screaming, he realized he had said something stupid.
This man wouldn't run away. He would stop the car and deal with it right then and there.Jeong Taeui hurriedly corrected himself.
"N-but you didn't have to hit the car so hard, it's lucky there wasn't an accident, huh."
"Huh? Ah... At that speed, there wouldn't be an accident."
The person who shamelessly hit the car from behind said casually.
Hearing this, Jeong Taeui felt even more exhausted. This person said that losing blood
wouldn't kill him, driving a car at hundreds of kilometers per hour into another car wouldn't
cause an accident.
"Taeil. Keep your promise."
"..."
"Taeui."
"Alright. Unless it's absolutely necessary, I won't touch Christoph. Is that okay?"
"Good."
This was the result after a fierce chase that was life-threatening.
[Unless it's absolutely necessary, do not deliberately approach Christoph]
This was really lucky. He feared that Ilay would make a more unreasonable request, but this
was reasonable.
In fact, Jeong Taeui felt relieved agreeing to this request.
He shouldn't get too close to Christoph anymore. It wouldn't be good for Christoph.
Jeong Taeui was always ready to cut off things he couldn't take responsibility for. So, at least
for Christoph's sake, he couldn't continue.
Taeui sighed, looking down at his legs while turning his back to Ilay, then weakly said.
"But please don't make me refuse if Christoph touches me... At least for now."
After a moment of silence from behind his shoulder, finally a soft - "Tsk" - sound was heard.
There was no clear answer. Jeong Taeui didn't say anything more either. He just groaned
softly because of the pain - "Ugh."
It was really a long night.
He had no strength left to resist and could only lie still, letting Ilay's magical hands massage
and knead his body. When he glanced at the clock with heavy eyes, it was almost dawn.
Jeong Taeui thought that if he slept now, he probably wouldn't be able to wake up for the
next three days.His body gradually softened under Ilay's massaging hands. To the extent that if he closed his
eyes, the drowsiness would flood in like waves.
Lying under those beautiful yet frightening hands and still being able to sleep, he told himself
in his head.
"Being an heir isn't an easy job."
"Tonight's events weren't due to being an heir; it was an issue between human relationships."
"No, that's not it..."
Jeong Taeui weakly shook his head. He thought of Richard, who might be at the bar now.
Richard had returned to the mansion just to receive minimal treatment, then got up
immediately. Even though he hadn't lost consciousness due to blood loss like Christoph,
looking from the outside, he was equally injured. Richard didn't rest but immediately
returned to the bar to handle the chaotic situation.
"Is being an heir that responsible? He looked so exhausted that he couldn't even drive."
Jeong Taeui sighed lightly and shrugged.
"Things need to be handled as soon as possible. The interior of the bar can be repaired in a
few days, but the innocent customers affected and the allies who were injured and have to
stay in the hospital for a long time…"
"But he himself is also on the brink of death..."
"He won't die."
Jeong Taeui was silent.
He wanted to say - 'That's because he's not a normal human; a normal person would be dead
by now'
- but saying it wouldn't help. The fact is, Richard didn't die.
"Your muscles are just a bit tense, not seriously injured... Lie down."
After thoroughly checking Jeong Taeui's neck, Ilay lightly patted his back.
Feeling comfortable under those massaging hands, Jeong Taeui obediently stretched out and
lay down. Immediately, the hands started massaging from his neck down his back. Then Ilay
even brought massage oil from the bathroom and applied it all over Taeui's back, massaging
it evenly.
Jeong Taeui sighed comfortably, seemingly dozing off. It felt really good.
"Ah... so comfortable~..."His dreamy voice made the massaging hands pause for a moment. Then those hands
continued to stroke down his back with the palms.
"Hearing you say that makes me feel 'comfortable' too."
"... Can I take a day off?"
Jeong Taeui mumbled sadly, making Ilay laugh. The large hands began to knead the muscles
on his back again.
"You're quite sharp."
"If I weren't a bit sharp, could I have survived until now? I don't have supernatural strength
like you, no special abilities like Christoph, and no heir responsibilities like Richard to
survive on willpower alone..."
Jeong Taeui mumbled as he drifted in and out of sleep, feeling a light breath near his neck. It
was Ilay's laugh from behind. Suddenly, Ilay asked a surprising question.
"What do you think the market capitalization of T&R is?"
"...?"
Jeong Taeui tilted his head while lying down. Even when awake, it was hard to guess, let
alone now when his mind was groggy.
"I don't know... Probably very large."
"20 billion USD." (Stock in 2024 is ~70 billion USD, possibly more as it's not exact. This is
just market capitalization, not actual net worth.)
Hearing that number, his mind cleared up, but then he sank into sleep again, thinking about
that unrealistic figure. Even so, he still mumbled.
"Why suddenly boast about money, you diamond spoon..."
Once again, he felt a light breath near his neck.
"The assets of T&R have nothing to do with my personal assets... But if I were rich,
wouldn't that be good for you? You could just live comfortably and spend money like
water."
"Huh?... No, I just want to earn money and spend my own money..."
"Ah, right, you said you would earn money to support me for life."
Hearing this, he woke up completely.
"What?! No wait, n-not for life, just until you can fend for yourself..."Saying it out loud seemed strange. No, even though he had known this fact for a long time,
even if Jeong Taeui didn't earn money, this man would still live very well and comfortably.
But before Jeong Taeui could complain about this unfairness, Ilay had continued pressing on
his stiff back muscles and spoke again.
"Tarten doesn't have such large total assets. But the 'products' they handle and trade have far
superior value. But the remarkable thing is that T&R is still stable. Even if my brother dies
today, the company won't be in danger. But with places that rely on information, it's
different. The weight carried on one mouth is different. And when the center is shaken, the
impact will spread to the branches. Simply put―."
Ilay paused. Jeong Taeui, half asleep, half awake, opened his eyes slightly and responded
with a - "Uh-huh." But immediately, Ilay grabbed his shoulders and twisted sharply, making
Taeui sit up.
"IT HURTS!!!"
"What did you do to make your muscles as hard as rocks?"
"If you went through a night as eventful as tonight, being stiff is natural! Simply put, what?!"
"If such minor things make you like this, you can't sit in an important position in Tarten."
"I wouldn't sit there even if you offered it for free! IT HURTS...!"
It seemed like Ilay had no intention of letting Jeong Taeui sleep peacefully tonight.
Jeong Taeui hesitated, considering whether to give up the massage and try to sleep or
postpone sleep to continue relaxing his body... and eventually chose the latter. This wasn't
something that happened often; in fact, Ilay's hands brought a very comfortable feeling.
Though at the moment, those hands pressing into his stiff muscles were causing him pain.
"If someone is vulnerable or needs rest like that, he won't be able to sit in that position."
Hearing Ilay's confident words, Jeong Taeui sighed painfully to ease the pain.
"Christoph was wise to give up the struggle early."
"Are you worried?"
Hearing Ilay's mocking question, Jeong Taeui was silent. He thought for a few seconds, then
sighed and shook his head.
"No... even if he gave up, his condition isn't any better. Maybe it's not just because of that
struggle."
"There's nothing more foolish than worrying about someone who doesn't value their own
life."Ilay patted Jeong Taeui's lower back lightly as if signaling he was done. When Jeong Taeui
lifted his head and said – "Thank you" – Ilay took the shirt Taeui had carelessly thrown aside
and wiped his back, then gently helped him lie down.
"Christoph shouldn't have given up the competition halfway."
"Hmm?"
"Or rather, no matter what happened, he shouldn't have returned to Dresden."
Ilay spoke in an unserious tone while wiping the oil from his hands with the handkerchief
placed on the table beside the bed.
"Unfortunately, Richard has a very high sense of pride, although he rarely shows it. And his
memory is good enough to remember the smallest details from before he matured. The worst
part is, he knows how to be patient for a long time to achieve his goal."
"...Just hearing that, I still don't understand why that's unfortunate and terrible."
"Imagine a sense of pride that no one can hurt being trampled on, and he doesn't forget but
remembers every detail to take revenge over a long period. Then suddenly, everything falls
apart."
"..."
"If it were me, I would kill that person."
No, if it were the man in front of him, the patient waiting process would never exist. He
would solve everything immediately when he felt uncomfortable.
Jeong Taeui bit his lip, scratching his chin. He looked at the ceiling for a moment, then shook
his head.