"Ugh."
Jeong Tae-ui let out a groan. With his mouth still shaped like he was groaning, and his face frozen in shock, he stood there, unable to move. From his stiffened hand, a photo fluttered down.
Jeong Tae-ui couldn't bring himself to pick up the photo that had fallen to the floor. Though he had only caught a glimpse of it for less than a second, the image was seared into his mind, leaving a shocking impression that clung to his eyelids, refusing to fade.
"What... did I just see...?"
His face pale with shock, Jeong Tae-ui's lips trembled. He couldn't move his frozen body, so he merely glanced downward. The photo lay there, face down, right in front of his big toe. He stared at it vacantly, as if unable to believe what he had seen.
Maybe it was a mistake. People sometimes see things that aren't there. Yeah, and after all, I've been chronically sleep-deprived lately, right? I've been stealing naps during the day because I can't sleep well at night, so it wouldn't be strange if I saw something wrong.
Reluctantly, Jeong Tae-ui crouched down. His fingers hesitated as they reached for the photo. He didn't have the courage to flip it over, but he had to confirm that what he had seen was just a trick of his eyes. Bracing himself, he flipped the photo. The moment he did, a breath escaped his lips. He wished it could have been a sigh of relief, but instead, it was a groan of despair.
"Oh, God..."
The photo fluttered out of his fingers again, landing by his feet without flipping over this time, fully revealing its contents. In the image, a person Jeong Tae-ui knew very well was sobbing. Naked, tied to a bed, their most vulnerable parts exposed, they were crying uncontrollably.
No, saying they were completely naked would be incorrect. To be precise, something was lodged between their buttocks — more specifically, a gun barrel had been deeply inserted into their rectum.
***
Jeong Tae-ui had already heard that Maurer would be visiting today. While having breakfast, Kyle had suddenly mentioned it as if he'd just remembered.
"Come to think of it, Tae-ui, you know Maurer, right?"
Jeong Tae-ui paused with his spoon halfway to his mouth and turned to Kyle.
"Oh... yeah, I know him."
"That's right. You two got along pretty well when you were staying at our place, didn't you?"
"No, I don't really remember getting along with him... But why are you bringing him up?"
As memories of Maurer flooded back into his mind, Jeong Tae-ui's appetite vanished, and he set his spoon down. He rubbed his lips with his thumb absentmindedly, only to notice Rita glaring icily at him from across the table. Quickly raising his hands, he explained,
"Nothing's there. It's just a habit."
Kyle, either oblivious to Jeong Tae-ui's bitter expression or pretending not to notice, smiled warmly as he continued,
"Maurer's arriving later this afternoon. He's decided to spend his year-end vacation here. He'll probably stay at this house tonight, although he'll be heading to his hometown tomorrow."
Jeong Tae-ui murmured an unenthusiastic "Oh, I see," and wiped his mouth again for no reason, despite nothing being on it.
He vaguely recalled hearing that T&R had recently been developing some kind of prototype. Something ambitious, meticulously prepared. It sounded like the kind of thing that would make enthusiasts flock to it. And now, here he was, actually coming. That gun enthusiast.
