* * *

“Hahaha, Moon Jinwoo. Try getting a taste of this today.”

“What if you get caught?”

“How would he know? You picked up the key card.”

“That’s true. We should put the key card back.”

“…”

I stopped dead in my tracks at Taeshin’s words. I turned to look at him. As I quietly looked up, Taeshin smiled and tilted his head.

“Should I put it back?”

“Uh…”

“But what if I get caught?”

“Huh?”

“With Jinwoo hyung’s personality, wouldn’t he get mad at me too?”

As he spoke with a slightly worried face, it suddenly hit me that Taeshin was in danger too.

With Moon Jinwoo, it wasn’t just tantrums; he’d give him a hard time for a while whenever he came to visit.

From the time I played hero and ruined the flower bed, to when I pretended to be an archaeologist and dug up the lawn, to when I flipped over all the furniture in the living room during my explorations—whenever I caused trouble and got caught by Moon Jinwoo, I got scolded, and Taeshin got the cold shoulder.

Especially when I broke my second brother’s glasses, the aftermath was beyond imagination.

Knowing Moon Jinwoo’s personality, it was clear I’d be dead if he found out it was me.

To avoid that, Taeshin confessed that he was the culprit.

As a result, Taeshin had to endure being Moon Jinwoo’s unofficial slave for a while.

He had to do all kinds of errands and endure annoying remarks about the new glasses being uncomfortable, but he didn’t complain. He bore the unfairness to keep his loyalty.

I decided back then that whatever trouble I caused in the future, I would make sure it didn’t affect Taeshin.

Of course, that resolve was broken just a few days later. I slipped on a wet road and sprained my ligament, but Moon Jinwoo still blamed Taeshin for just standing there watching.

If Taeshin hadn’t caught me, it would have ended with at least a serious head injury.

Anyway…

“I’ll take it…”

“What about the wine?”

I was about to take care of it myself to avoid any future trouble for Taeshin when he interrupted.

“This?”

“Are you going to drink it alone?”

I had the wine in my hand along with the key card. It was a rare wine my second brother had gotten with difficulty.

Keeping it at home would definitely get me caught, so destroying the evidence seemed the best option.

“I think so. It seems like…”

“Let’s drink it together. I’ll return the key card.”

“What?”

“It seems like a good idea. If we’re going to drink, let’s drink together.”

Taeshin, already an accomplice, boldly stepped in further. He could have backed out and maybe gotten some leniency.

Seeing him recklessly jump into trouble like a moth to a flame, I watched worriedly as Taeshin grabbed the key card from my hand.

“This is the 8th floor. I’ll get a room. Wait here.”

The brave soul jumped into action, taking the elevator to the 1st floor. He returned with the key card for an empty room on the 8th floor, smiling brightly.

Unable to mention Moon Jinwoo’s temperament, I followed him into the room.

“There are no glasses.”

“Then I’ll ask them to bring some. Should we order some snacks too?”

“Sure.”

“Room 804. Please bring wine glasses and…”

Watching Taeshin order room service, I plopped onto the bed and sniffed the wine.

The rich, cool aroma seemed sweet somehow.

As I sniffed repeatedly, Taeshin came over and ruffled my hair out of habit.

“Do you think it’ll taste good?”

“The smell is okay. Oh, Mom said she’d be really mad if I drank today.”

“Just drink moderately and go home.”

“What if Mom catches me and Moon Jinwoo sees? He might already know the wine is missing. Imagine me showing up smelling like alcohol. No way. If I get drunk and lose it, take me to your place. Got it?”

Thinking about getting scolded by Mom and harassed by my second brother made me shudder.

Taeshin found my reluctance amusing and snatched the wine bottle from my hand.

“If it comes to that, you can sleep here. We rented the room anyway.”

Oh, right. I had forgotten in my homebound mindset and nodded.

Soon, there was a knock at the door. I hid in the bathroom, feeling guilty, while Taeshin greeted the person.

The staff brought the ordered items and politely set them up. Sneaking a look, I saw Taeshin leaning against the wall, watching me.

“Why are you so scared?”

“…Who said I’m scared?”

“If we get kicked out, I’ll take responsibility, so relax.”

“Really?”

“Do you think I can’t take care of you?”

Feeling touched by his words, I looked at Taeshin’s back.

I thought he was just tall, but he had grown in other ways too.

He used to be so shy he couldn’t even speak and followed me everywhere, but now he was reassuring me like this.

I smiled and sat across from him at the table.

“Hey, but I still need to go to college, so I can’t get kicked out.”

“I can pay for your tuition.”

“Hey, that’s not your money. It’s your parents’. By the way, don’t tell anyone you have a lot of money in college. You’ll get taken advantage of. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

Taeshin was so naive that I had to give him a serious warning. He was like a smart fool, or an innocent person, who believed everything.

When we first met in second grade at a charity party at Taeshin’s house, I had an inkling of his innocence, which only grew more evident as we became friends.

I didn’t want to go to the charity party, preferring to stay home and play with my Legos, but my older brother, who was in college, dragged me there.

I asked what a charity party was, and he answered with a complex term, ‘modern-day indulgence.’

Resigned to my fate, I found the party more enjoyable than expected. There were kids I knew from school, toys, and other fun things.

After playing in the large garden, I went inside to use the bathroom.

Afterwards, I wandered around the big house, marveling at the high ceilings and wide hallways filled with strange decorations. I ended up in a very quiet room.

The room was bright, with sunlight streaming through large windows covered with long, sheer curtains.

The first thing I noticed was the many books scattered on the floor.

There were books like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Greek and Roman myths, European history, The Prince, Chinese classical novels, and Korean folklore.

Amid the scattered books was a kid about my size, sitting on a large armchair.

“Hi?”

The kid was pale and silent, engrossed in a book as big as himself. I cautiously stepped inside, waving, but he didn’t notice.

Gathering courage, I jumped over the books and sat on the chair next to him. Only then did he look up from his book and notice me.

“Hi?”

This time, I waved my hand a bit more energetically and made eye contact with the child.

The child looked at me indifferently at first, then curiously with sparkling eyes, and soon looked at me quietly with a shy gaze, scratching his head awkwardly.

He seemed about the same age as me, but he didn’t speak and just watched, making me feel he was different from other kids. Was he a strange kid?

I subtly observed the child and read the title of the book he was holding.

‘Faust.’

The pronunciation made it clear it was a foreign language.

Judging by its thickness, it seemed like if I read one page before bed, I’d sleep soundly for ten years.

“Hey, we’re playing hide-and-seek outside. Do you want to join?”

Feeling awkward, I pointed my chin towards the outside and asked the child, assuming he was strange.

I asked thinking I’d go alone if he said no, but as expected, he didn’t answer and just kept looking at me.

“Hey, weirdo! Are you alive?”

“Huh? Park Kangseop?”

“Hey, Moon Sunwoo, what are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here.”

Just as I was about to get up to go play hide-and-seek, someone barged in.

It was Park Kangseop, a kid from the same elementary school. He looked surprised, his eyes wide open, and pointed at the child sitting next to me, mouthing words.

“Are you okay?”

“What?”

“Well, nothing… That kid’s an idiot, you might catch his stupidity if you stay near him.”

I was shocked by Park Kangseop’s words.

No wonder the kid didn’t respond even when I greeted him and talked to him; he really was strange… no, an idiot.

Feeling a bit uneasy, I looked back at the child still watching me. I considered running away but hesitated, seeing his transparent gaze.

“Anyway, weirdo, I came to check on you. Moon Sunwoo, aren’t you coming?”

“Uh… I’ll go.”

“Okay, I’m leaving first. He can’t talk, so hurry up and come out. It’s weird though, why is he with someone…”

Without caring, Park Kangseop closed the door and left. I glanced at the child who supposedly couldn’t talk and stood up. As I tried to leave to keep playing, I felt a tug on my clothes.

“Do you want to join?”

A small hand holding onto a heavy book was tugging at my clothes. I asked the child who looked up at me as if asking me not to leave, but he didn’t answer. After some thought, I took his hand and led him outside. The child followed obediently.

However, once outside, the child didn’t know how to play hide-and-seek, nor could he play ‘Red Light, Green Light’.

He didn’t know the rules of the games and kept following me around, making me the first to be caught every time.

I was a bit annoyed, but his sparkling eyes looking at me made me happy, so we paired up and played together all day.

That was my first meeting with Lee Taeshin.

* * *