"Well, anyway, the conclusion doesn't change, but this timing isn't great. If necessary, the
succession decision date might be postponed."
"Is that possible?"
"Well, it depends on how we wrap up the conversation with the upcoming guests, but who
knows."
Johan murmured indifferently, flipping the newspaper lazily.
Guests! As the succession day approached, Jeong Taeui thought there would indeed be many
visitors and nodded. Meanwhile, his eyes skimmed a small article on the economic page.
It was a short piece examining the impact of rising oil prices, alongside Ali's succession of
Bandar Al-Fad at the end of last year and his vague statements about Saudi Arabia's oil
policy.
Noticing Jeong Taeui's gaze, Johan glanced at the article briefly and murmured – "Oh, I see."
"This man seems to have succeeded brilliantly after defeating Rashid and becoming the
minister. Probably thanks to strong backing from his brother."
"Brother?"
Jeong Taeui felt the name sounded familiar but found it difficult to recall names from the
Middle East, so he asked again. Johan couldn't remember immediately either. He murmured
with a furrowed brow.
"Oh, that guy. The one who withdrew from the power struggle early and went back to
managing the business. Ab... Ab..."
Johan kept mumbling - "Ab… Ab…" - trying to remember, then seemed to give up and
shrugged. After that, he sighed.
"I hoped Rashid would win, but life doesn't always go as planned."
"Why? Is he from the moderate faction?"
"No, Ali's ascendancy strengthens that faction like wings on a tiger. Well, I don't know. It's a
matter for the seniors and Richard to worry about. I just have to wait for the fruits to fall into
my lap."
Bored with the conversation, Johan waved his hand and leaned back. Jeong Taeui murmured
softly - "Hm" - and his eyes lowered back to the newspaper.
There were no particularly interesting or important articles.Oil prices are rising, huh. Come to think of it, his brother mentioned receiving an oil field as
a gift. His wallet would probably get fatter. But he never cared about his wallet growing.
Jeong Taeui looked up at the ceiling for a moment.
Something was bothering him, like a mouse gnawing at his brain, but he couldn't pinpoint
exactly what it was.
In this chaotic and complex state of mind, the only thing Jeong Taeui could do right now
was―.
"...Maybe I should check if Christoph is alive or dead."
In this chaotic situation, the first thing to do was to check if the man in a coma was still alive.
Last night, the man had been brought back to the villa in a state like a corpse. It needed to be
confirmed, even if it was a bit late. He had to see if he was alive or not.
This morning, when the angry old men left noisily, Johan had been dragged along. He tried to
say – "It seems Christoph won't wake up for a while" – After leaving Johan alone, Jeong-tae
dragged his heavy feet away from the dining room.
******************
Christoph lay alone on the bed, almost buried under the blanket.
Except for a few tubes leading from bags hanging above the bed to the bed, he looked like he
was sleeping normally.
The blanket covered him up to his chin, looking as if he were in a deep sleep. Christoph lay
there quietly.
Jeong Taeui looked at his still pale face for a while, then gently pulled the curtain beside the
bed. Light filtered into the dim room as the curtain was slightly drawn. Golden sunlight hit
the foot of the bed.
It seemed much better. Compared to lying like a corpse in the shadow of the curtain, at least
the sunlight at the foot of the bed made the room a bit warmer.
"Christoph. ...Sleeping?"
He gently asked the sleeping person. No answer.
Jeong Taeui pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down.
Though he looked like a corpse last night, now, although still pale, at least he looked alive.
"Hey... because of you, the old men are causing a ruckus, and you can sleep peacefully. The
house is in chaos.""Although this happens once or twice, this time it seems more serious..." - Jeong Taeui
sighed, muttering words that didn't even reach his ears.
/Flashback
/
Last night, when Richard carried Christoph to the riverbank.
Jeong Taeui took a moment to speak when he saw the two soaked and bloody. The scene in
the dark night was indescribable.
When Richard called Jeong Taeui's name precisely, Taeui stood speechless for a while, then
reached out to try to support Christoph from Richard, when Ilay, standing behind, reminded
gently.
"A few minutes ago, I reminded you not to forget the promise."
Hearing that low voice, Jeong Taeui involuntarily stopped. Richard stood a few steps away,
looking at him.
The streetlight behind made Richard's face unclear. But his strange eyes were easily
recognizable.
It was like looking at something rare and odd, cautious and cold.
...Cold.
Jeong Taeui vaguely realized that Richard had no special fondness for him. Richard always
smiled politely at everyone, but Jeong Taeui wasn't foolish enough to mistake that for
fondness.
But what was this feeling? Like a completely different person from what he had known,
Jeong Taeui just silently looked at him.
Noticing Jeong Taeui's gaze, Richard looked down at his feet for a moment, then looked up
with his usual smile. He carelessly dropped Christoph, as if discarding a disgusting snake
from his shoulder. Jeong Taeui caught Christoph just before he hit the rocks and glanced at
Ilay.
"Hey, a little help wouldn't hurt, just helping out."
Jeong Taeui argued that helping an unconscious person was a human duty.
Ilay shrugged indifferently but didn't stop him.
"Jeong Taeui."
When Jeong Taeui started walking towards the car with Christoph on his back, he turned
around at the sound of his name from behind. The one calling his name clearly and slowly
was Richard.But Richard didn't seem to have anything to say to Jeong Taeui. He just glanced at him for a
moment, then turned to Ilay.
Richard, with an unhappy and displeased face, yet calm, looked at them. He smiled slowly at
Ilay.
"So that's it."
"..."
Ilay was silent for a moment at Richard's meaningful words, then also smiled faintly. As if
saying –"So what" – A cold and arrogant smile.
Richard shrugged lightly. Then he looked away from Jeong Taeui - who was carrying
Christoph like a corpse - and looked at Christoph.
"He knew from the start, didn't he?"
"I don't know."
"If he wanted it without knowing, it's pitiful, and if he knew and still wanted it, it's stupid...
Ha."
Richard chuckled lowly. With that joyful sneer, Jeong Taeui felt bitterness.
Richard was always polite and serious. In the bar before, when everyone treated Jeong Taeui
roughly, thinking he was Christoph's ally, only Richard remained polite. And probably would
always be. To everyone.
But he despised Christoph to an extreme. Though his nature and attitude were always polite
and kind, the hatred for Christoph was so strange and obvious, it was hard to understand.
Perhaps with such a nature, treating calmly and kindly, then coldly cutting off, made more
sense.
/
End flashback/
"...Well, anyway, you hated him. You don't care about anyone."
Jeong Taeui looked at the sleeping Christoph and suddenly murmured.
Though his face still exposed outside the blanket looked mesmerizing, under the blanket,
there must be many bandages wrapped around his body.
When Jeong Taeui pulled the curtain a bit more and turned back, he saw Christoph opening
his eyes. At the moment he turned, Christoph's crystal-blue eyes met his.
"Oh my god...!"Startled as if seeing a porcelain doll suddenly open its eyes, Jeong Taeui flinched and stared
at Christoph.
"...Awake? How's your body feeling?"
A beat late, Jeong Taeui asked and quietly patted his own heart.
Ah, it really startled him. Because of his statue-like appearance, when he opened his eyes like
a porcelain doll, it startled him even more. Luckily it was daytime, if it were dark at night, he
might have had a heart attack...
Gently patting his chest, Jeong Taeui sat back in the chair beside the bed. But immediately
after, he realized.
Christoph had opened his eyes but wasn't looking at Jeong Taeui. His gaze was directed
somewhere in the distance, as if seeing nothing.
"...Chris?"
Long lashes blinked once. Then his eyes focused on Jeong Taeui.
Christoph looked at Jeong Taeui but said nothing. Just stared blankly like a lost person.
Seeing those eyes, Jeong Taeui gently asked.
"Does it hurt?"
After a moment of silence, Christoph spoke in a hoarse voice.
"My head hurts... There's a ringing in my ears."
Jeong Taeui heard him mutter that it was too noisy.
Jeong Taeui glanced at the IV tubes under the blanket. Though they contained painkillers,
Christoph still frowned and requested them.
Trying to sit up, Christoph's face furrowed even more. Though he didn't groan, the expression
on his face showed brief pain. But before he could feel the pain, he looked at the IV on his
wrist with annoyance and murmured irritably.
"What is this...?"
"Don't you remember what happened last night?"
Jeong Taeui asked Christoph while Chris mumbled, as if not understanding why these things
were attached to him. Christoph frowned, looking at Jeong Taeui several times. His eyes still
dazed, as if trying to remember. Then he slowly nodded and murmured softly.
"I remember... Falling into the river..."Christoph slightly tilted his head, slowly recalling bit by bit with a somewhat disgruntled
face. It seemed he couldn't clearly remember everything.
Well, losing a lot of blood and a foggy mind couldn't be unaffected. No wonder when all his
strength was drained just to stand on his own feet.
Jeong Taeui watched Christoph tilting his head, lips pursed as if trying to remember an event
months ago, then sighed.
Anyway, he seemed fine. Though his body was inconvenient, seeing him awake and moving
without major issues relieved Jeong Taeui a lot.
Thinking back, Christoph wasn't one to get stressed easily by tense atmospheres. As long as
he was healthy, it was fine.
While consoling himself with - 'Anyway, I'll leave soon'
- Jeong Taeui suddenly saw
Christoph clenching his fist and was startled.
Christoph looked at his clenched fist with a cold gaze. His pale face suddenly flushed with
fierce anger.
"...W-what's wrong?"
Jeong Taeui pushed the chair back a few inches and asked.
The person who had just tilted his head, with a slightly disgruntled and indifferent attitude,
had vanished. Instead, Christoph was filled with rage as if ready to tear someone's throat out
immediately.
"Richard... I will kill you."
The grinding teeth mixed with his voice.
Jeong Taeui always felt threatened by Christoph's voice, and this time was no exception.
Taeui moved the chair back a bit more.
"Still angry... Richard will probably be bandaged for days too. Let's call it even."
Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue and pulled the curtain slightly to block the sunlight that had
penetrated deep into the room.
When Jeong Taeui hesitated to speak to Christoph - who seemed ready to rush out and find
Richard immediately.
Suddenly, Christoph's face turned white as if he remembered something.
"...I feel like vomiting."
Mumbling like that, Christoph covered his mouth, emitting a strange groan. Seeing that,
Jeong Taeui quickly grabbed a nearby trash can and handed it to him. Christoph almostsnatched the trash can and immediately started vomiting with painful and unpleasant sounds.
As if wanting to vomit everything out, Christoph continued for a long time. Each time it
seemed to stop, he would grab the trash can and vomit again, though there was nothing left.
Jeong Taeui frowned, patting Christoph's back as he kept dry heaving.
Is there something wrong with the medicine? He seemed fine, but was he really not okay?
Why did he suddenly suffer from such nausea?
As Jeong Taeui seriously considered whether to go out and call a doctor, Christoph, with a
pale and veined hand, grabbed his sleeve and still bent over the trash can, choked out.
"Water... towel."
"Oh, wait a moment."
Though he seemed a bit calmer, since Christoph had vomited so much before, Jeong Taeui
was still worried. He hurried to the bathroom, wet a towel, and came back. Christoph leaned
against the headboard, quietly wiping his mouth with the towel. Jeong Taeui handed him a
cup of water.
Christoph rinsed his mouth, occasionally pausing due to nausea. Finally, after a long time, he
set the cup down and sighed in frustration.
Meanwhile, his eyes gleamed like a blue flame as he stared into space and muttered.
"Richard, you son of a bitch..."
But he suddenly fell silent. As if the nausea returned, he covered his mouth with his hand.
Jeong Taeui looked at Christoph with a mix of concern and skepticism.
Christoph's hatred for Richard was well-known to Jeong Taeui, but this time it seemed more
intense. Did he dream of meeting an arch-enemy on a narrow bridge right before waking up?