"What did you talk about?" The voice came from the other side of the open window.
Without lifting his head, Taeui replied, "You."
"Then why are you like this?"
Taeui shrugged but remained in the same position.
"What is it? Are you sad?"
When Taeui didn't reply, Ilay reached towards him and played with his hair. Taeui lifted his head to look at Ilay. He was expecting to see an angry or frustrated expression, however, Ilay looked calm.
'How are you so calm?'
Ilay's hand dropped from his head and stayed on the window sill. His ring glinted under the sun, and Taeui couldn't help himself from reaching for it, touching it with his fingertips. Feeling the warmth spreading from his fingers.
"I'm sorry. I lost the ring," said Taeui, looking up at Ilay. "I looked everywhere for it, but I can't find it."
"That's fine. I don't care about it."
"You should." Taeui raised his voice, clenching his hand tightly. "I lost the ring that you gave me. Why are you okay with it? Why don't you care? Why are you not blaming me for losing it?"
"So, I should be angry?"
"Yes!"
Taeui's anger spiked. Why was Ilay so okay with him losing the ring? Why did he look calm even after having to lie to his family because of him?
His thoughts were a mess. He wanted Ilay to blame him for the mess they were in, but he also felt slightly at ease when Ilay continued to act as if nothing was wrong.
"Taeui." Ilay's voice broke the spiral thoughts he was having, and he locked eyes with him again. Ilay motioned with his hand for Taeui to bring his left hand closer. Taeui did so without a word.
Ilay held his hand in his, fiddling with his ring finger. "Since you lost your ring… does that mean you lost your feelings for me?" Ilay's eyes were cold, but his expression and the way he caressed Taeui's hand was gentle.
"No. Of course not." Taeui's brows quirked, and he looked at Ilay as if he didn't understand what he said for a moment. "Why would you say that?"
"A ring…" Ilay started, looking directly at Taeui, his eyes gentle as he held his hand. "A ring doesn't and can't carry all that I feel for you. It is just a simple universal representation of my feelings. I can buy you a thousand rings, and still it wouldn't show how much you mean to me. So no. I don't care if you lose it, not even if you don't wear it, because I know you are mine either way."
Taeui's cheeks turned red. He nodded, and a long sigh left his mouth. He was feeling so down about losing his ring that now, that Ilay put it in another perspective, he almost felt stupid for feeling that way.
"We can buy another ring, and this time, you can choose them if that's what you want. I just don't want to see you like this."
"But why aren't you angrier that we keep lying to your family because of me?"
Ilay sighed and looked at Taeui with an expression that said 'you can be so dumb sometimes' that made Taeui feel irked.
"This is why I said you keep messing up. Well, both of us. When something happens, we both wallow in our own thoughts instead of talking it out."
He didn't need to think long about that; Taeui knew it was true.
"I'm not angry that you introduced yourself as a friend. I'm angry that you started feeling bad about it and became depressed because of it. But what makes me really angry is that you said we can't sleep together. And let me tell you, my patience is running thinner by the day."
The way the sun shone on Ilay as he crossed his arms looking down on Taeui with his cold eyes brought him a warmth he had missed since his family arrived.
"Thank you," said Taeui, smiling at him. The knot that was bothering him had dissolved almost to nothing, and he could breathe properly again.
"You better stop looking at me like that because one of these days, I might snap and eat you up wherever you are. I won't care who sees it."
"Don't joke like that."
"It's not a joke."
"I know."
Taeui, after thinking for a moment, looked up at Ilay again. "But I'm not sure how to bring it up."
"You are overthinking again. Just say it."
Of course, for Ilay, it was simple to just go out and say it like it was nothing. That was one of the things that made him who he was. But for Taeui, the logistics weren't as straightforward as he wished.
"Uncle Ilay, why aren't you eating with us?" asked Scarlet, running to him.
Ilay laughed, seeing his niece's tangled hair and mouth full of bread crumbs. "I was calling him to play with us," he replied, pointing at Taeui.
Scalert's expression was similar to Ilay's as she looked at him suspiciously. "He can be on uncle Kyle's and Amber's team. We need more prey, or it's too easy for us."
"...prey?" Taeui looked at Ilay and seeing his smirk he knew he was the one who taught her that.
"But this guy is really good at running away. You have to be careful."
Taeui gave a soulless chuckle, looking away. Ilay had a knack for bringing it up at any time. Even after years, he was still bitter about it.
"Okay," she said, smiling and shrugging as if it would still be easy to catch him.
As Taeui was about to say they were indeed uncle and niece for being so similar, Ilay talked first. "You can't say 'okay' with that expression."
Ilay crouched down in front of his niece as if giving her a pep talk. "Listen, when playing games, you don't just play the game. You also play the players."
Scalert looked at him, confused, her face leaning to the side. "I don't understand."
"Of course you don't, and you shouldn't. Why are you teaching her something like that?" Taeui said, looking at Ilay exasperated.
Ilay didn't even look at him, instead still facing Scarlet he continued. "You have to make your opponent fear you before and during the game. If they are scared of you they are more likely to mess up."
Scarlet nodded.
"So first you have to work on your mean face."
"Ilay don't teach her weird stuff. Come on."
Scarlet looked at Taeui as if he was interrupting their pep talk and narrowed her eyes.
"Yes, like that," said Ilay, watching her expression. "Now look at him as if he were a bug, and he either disgusts you or he isn't worth your time. But never give them an expression that shows you hate them. A bit harder. Now cross your arms, lift your chin and smile just a tiny bit."
Taeui watched dumbfounded as Ilay gave his niece pointers to improve her mean face. The worst was that Scarlet was using those pointers right away and when she looked at him again once her expression was approved by Ilay, Taeui was even more amazed by how they looked the same.
"Genetics are scary," Taeui mumbled as he stared at the three-year-old, shorter than him, looking down on him from below. He looked sideways at Ilay, and when their eyes met, he said, "You shouldn't be teaching stuff like this to your niece."
"Are you scared of being our prey?" asked Ilay with his own mean face. The problem was that his face was indeed scary and cold. Taeui felt a shiver run through his spine, but he straightened up and glared at Ilay, smirking.
"Do you worst."