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Anton impatiently approached the gates of the Riegrow Mansion. Raising his hand, he rang the doorbell and stepped back, eagerly waiting in place.
It wasn't long before someone approached the gate. Anton perked up at the sound of footsteps, a wide grin tugging on his lips in excitement, before deflating in disappointment.
Instead of who he expected, he was answered by the gardener of the mansion. The older man in front of him greeted him with a kind smile on his face. "Can I help you?"
Not wanting to seem impolite, Anton straightened himself up and softly cleared his throat. "Excuse me, could Taei play ball with us this afternoon?"
"Just wait right here, I'll ask Taei for you right now." The old gardener turned back and walked away from the gate. Anton heard faint voices from far away, and it didn't take long for footsteps to near.
At the sight of the familiar man, Anton couldn't help but excitedly wave his arms. With a fond smile, the approaching man returned his greeting while taking off one of his muddy gloves. Using his bare hand, he wiped the sweat off his brow.
"Anton, what brings you here?" Taeui walked closer and opened the gate.
"Can you play football with us right now?" Anton asked.
"Sure. I'll clean up a bit and join you. Come wait under the shade."
Stepping aside, Taeui gestured for Anton to come in. Without hesitation, the boy stepped through the gate and followed Taeui along the path. Setting his sunhat and gloves out on the patio table, Taeui entered through the side door and disappeared inside the mansion.
As the boy took a seat on the porch steps, he admired the tall trees and the blooming flowers growing in the garden. Watching the leaves gently rustling in the wind, his mind wandered to what his parents had advised him years ago.
When they'd moved to their current home in Berlin, his parents had continuously ordered him to keep his distance from the Riegrow mansion. The reasons for why weren't entirely known to him, but Anton had caught mentions of some "monster" living inside.
His younger sister, Elise, had once asked him if they'd been referring to a genuine monster, comparable to the type in storybooks. At the time, Anton had nodded and agreed with naivety.
Even as he realized now that the monster in the Riegrow mansion wasn't some warty or ugly creature, Anton knew that his human appearance didn't take away from his brutality and intimidation. Really, he considered the opposite. With that sort of deceptive appearance, neither he nor Elise would immediately realize the danger before it was too late.
Yet despite the warnings he'd heard about the Riegrow mansion, Anton decided that it couldn't be terrible if Taeui lived there. So, against his parents' instructions, Anton became a regular visitor of the mansion.
"Anton, have some juice. The walk from your house must've been far," Taeui said, breaking the boy out of his thoughts. Anton thanked him with a smile and gratefully took the glass with both hands.
After taking a big gulp, Anton licked his lips with satisfaction and glanced at the man beside him. As he observed Taeui sip his own glass, Anton tilted his head in confusion.
"Taei, why is yours bubbly?" he asked, pointing to the carbonation at the top of the cup. Taeui froze mid-sip, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Uh…"
Anton continued to watch the suddenly silent man, even as he tilted his head back to finish his glass of juice. Upon gulping down the final drops, Taeui immediately jumped to his feet and offered to take his glass back inside.
With his question remaining unanswered, Anton sulkily stared at Taeui's retreating back. Adults never answered any of his questions.
Even while he remained bitter for a few more minutes, by the time that Taeui had returned—this time with a ball in his arms—Anton's good mood was fully restored.
With Taeui beside him, Anton walked around the neighborhood and gathered a sizable group of boys to play football with.
Immediately, the boys had fought among themselves to have Taeui on their team. The matter was finally resolved when Mark, the second oldest of the group after Taeui, suggested that they let Taeui decide.
The man in question held his hands in surrender and shook his head. "I can't choose favorites. Why don't we just rotate teams in between games? That way, we can all have a chance to play with each other."
That compromise settled the boys enough, and they began their first few matches.
For most of the rounds, Taeui positioned himself as the goalie. Each time he blocked or caught the ball, the boys on his team would cheer in excitement and wave their arms. When the ball left the boundaries, all of the boys would wildly run around in anticipation as they watched Taeui rear back his arm to launch the ball into the air.
After the first match, however, tension between the teams began to grow more heated. Taeui remained oblivious to it all, with him positioned far from the conflict as the goalkeeper.
Anton wrestled with Tim, roughly elbowing the other boy away as he tried to pass the ball toward Mark. Just as he'd prepared to kick the ball hard, another boy, Noah, unexpectedly bumped into his side. Anton lost his balance and accidentally landed on someone behind him.
The built-up aggression that had accumulated finally burst into a chaotic pile of pushing and shoving. Anton grit his teeth as someone dug their nails into his side just as an elbow was painfully nudged in between his ribs.
"Woah—hey, hey!"
Just as it grew suffocating, the crowd finally separated when a gentle push pushed them apart. The boys farther out the circle were able to escape the most intact while the ones closer to the center continued to wrestle on the ground.
Taeui managed to pull most of the boys off of each other, but Anton, who had been in the middle of the pile, was desperately flailing on the ground. With his eyes scrunched shut, Anton failed to notice the helping presence and accidentally elbowed Taeui in the stomach.
"Ugh—!" Hearing a pained grunt above him, Anton finally opened his scrunched eyes and froze. He could hardly register the throbbing pain on his arm.
Around him, the other boys had finally gone silent, mirroring his shock. Calling out his name, the boys crowded around Taeui, who was rubbing his stomach with a strained expression.
Frozen, Anton didn't register the small fists angrily shaking his collar.
"Anton, you hurt Taei!"
At the accusation, Anton pushed himself off the ground, intending to apologize to Taeui. But when the other boys pushed him back to the ground and turned against him, he couldn't help the hot tears that welled up in his eyes.
"Anton, don't come closer!"
"Don't hurt Taei anymore!"
"Stop it—I didn't mean to!" Anton countered back, his voice thick. Though he wanted to shove his way toward Taeui, the other boys had formed a protective barrier around him, preventing access.
A gentle hand parted the barrier for him. There was a slight cringe of discomfort on his face, but Taeui still managed a smile.
"Anton, it's okay. I know it was an accident," Taeui said. Over the heads of the boys crowding around him, his arm reached out to pat Anton's shoulder. Anton sniffled once and quickly scrubbed his eyes with his hand.
"Don't worry, it didn't hurt that much. I was just surprised," Taeui reassured, ruffling Anton's hair. He frowned, eying the dirt stains on his clothes. "Are you okay? You were in the middle of all that."
"Yes, but you…" Anton started, his voice caught in his throat. Taeui smiled comfortingly and squeezed his shoulder. He straightened up to glance around the rest of the circle of boys.
"I'll run back to Kyle's mansion to grab some towels and bandaids. Stick together, alright?"
In response, a few boys whined at their game being further delayed while some excitedly jumped and volunteered to follow. Just as Taeui was about to leave, he jolted and staggered back in surprise.
At his strange reaction, one of the other boys hesitantly withdrew his hand. He had just poked Taeui's side with his finger, attempting to draw his attention. With an uncomfortable frown, Taeui rubbed the spot with his hand.
Curious, the boys began to investigate the matter. Half of the boys began to loudly question and crowd closer to Taeui, while the other half quietly observed from a few steps away.
"Taei, does it hurt there?"
Taeui tried to calm the boys' curiosity by repeating his earlier point and convincing them to return to the game, but they were persistent. A few continued to poke and prod at more places, causing Taeui to jump in surprise again and gently brush their probing hands away.
It wasn't until someone had accidentally pulled up part of Taeui's shirt that the crowd of boys finally quieted.
Beneath the fabric, there were multiple dark bruises littering his skin. A strange mark with indents that resembled teeth rested just above his hips. Beside it was a faint pattern of thick lines, almost as if someone's fingers had been burned on his hips.
It wasn't visible for long before Taeui hastily tugged down his shirt, but it was enough for the boys to come to a horrible conclusion.
"Taei… did that scary man hurt you?"
It was Ben who asked. The small, timid boy stood outside the circle beside Mark and nervously watched Taeui with watery eyes. The other boys, wondering the same, waited for Taeui's answer and added their own concerns.
"My mom told me to avoid him…"
"My dad too…"
"He's mean! He always takes you away from us!"
"Is he why you were limping and couldn't play with us last week?"
Anton knew of who they were all referring to. Rather than the owner of the mansion, Kyle, it was the other man who lived there. Though none of them had ever talked to him, the boys had seen him in the park with Taeui on multiple occasions. Each time, despite their desire to greet Taeui, they'd been stopped by their parents and quickly pulled away from the scene.
Taeui didn't immediately respond. There was a complicated, unreadable expression on his face, and he opened his mouth multiple times with no sound coming out. Finally, he averted his gaze, rubbing his nape with his palm, and gave an answer.
"He's really not that mean. We're…" There was an awkward pause as Taeui rubbed his lips in thought. "…friends. Really, don't worry yourself over it. Let's get back to playing football, or if you're tired of it, we can play kickball instead."
While a few of the boys immediately perked up at the mention of kickball, Anton clenched his fist and declared to Taeui,
"I'll beat him up for you, Taei! I'll protect you!"
Taeui froze, staring at Anton with incredulous eyes. Immediately, some of the boys also jumped in with their own declarations.
"We won't let him hurt you!"
"That guy doesn't stand a chance against all of us!"
Speechless, Taeui waved his hands around and tried to speak over the crowd of boys in vain.
"Wait, it's not like that—"
But the boys didn't listen. As the younger boys clung to Taeui's pants, the older boys began to spout out serious battle strategies.
"We'll attack his legs—just like they do to take down the walkers in Star Wars!"
"I'll get his arms!"
A strange expression formed on Taeui's face again as he sighed. His shoulders suddenly slumped down before he began to shake with laughter. The boys paused to observe the unexpected reaction but quickly grumbled in displeasure as Taeui ruffled their hair.
"C'mon, nobody's hurting anybody. I told you, I'm fine. Really." Taeui shook his head with a tired smile and muttered something under his breath in a foreign language.
Anton looked at him curiously. It was a common habit for Taeui to talk to himself in a different language. Initially, the boys had always asked him about what he'd said, but Taeui always refused to answer.
Tim had once asked if he was saying bad words, to which Taeui pursed his lips and didn't reply. The boys, including Anton himself, had all begged Taeui to teach them a few words in his native language. Taeui had agreed but refused to teach them the exact phrases he muttered to himself.
Despite his open and friendly personality, Anton knew that Taeui often hid things from them and refrained from talking about certain topics. Like the name of the alcoholic drink he always drank, the meaning behind his muttered curses, and the reason why he stayed at the Riegrow mansion with that man. Ever since he'd caught a glimpse of them together, Anton had restrained himself from asking to avoid upsetting Taeui, believing it to be an uncomfortable subject for him.
If he asked his parents, he knew that they'd only frown and remind him to stay away from Taeui, even when Taeui did nice things like play with him on weekends and send ribbons to Elise.
As Anton watched Taeui wave to them and run back to the neighborhood, he couldn't help but keep turning over the same questions in his mind. Around him, the other boys didn't waste any time resuming the game and picking up the ball that had rolled off to the edge of the field.
Anton turned around to join the crowd of boys. Running to the center of the field, Anton continued to mull over his thoughts until he came to a conclusion.
Even though Taeui refused to speak about him, Anton was determined to protect Taeui from the man living in the Riegrow mansion.
They played a few more rounds of football before switching to kickball. By the time that they were all worn out, it was nearing sunset, the sky swathed with deep orange and light purple.
While the field wasn't far from the neighborhood, Taeui insisted on walking everybody home as a group. A few of the boys had insisted on remaining with Taeui to keep a lookout for the man. Taeui chuckled at their declarations before promising to play with them again soon.
Finally, it was only Anton who remained with Taeui. Unlike the rest of the boys, his house was farther past the Riegrow mansion, requiring them to walk past it to reach his home.
Just as they neared the familiar gate of the Riegrow mansion, however, Anton jumped at the unexpected yelp behind him. When he whipped around, the sight before him made his hair stand on end.
Behind Taeui, a silver-haired man was tightly trapping him in his arms. Frozen, Anton could only silently watch the interaction with wide eyes.
Taeui affectionately patted the firmly muscled arm around his waist and leaned into the embrace of the man, who'd buried his face in Taeui's neck. Tilting his head back with an exasperated but undeniably fond expression, Taeui scolded him.
"I'll die young if you keep sneaking up on me like that. I thought you'd be back later."
There was a slight flush in Taeui's cheeks when the silver-haired man murmured a quiet response. Taeui gazed at the man with an unfamiliar look in his eyes. It seemed as though he'd wanted to say something back, but seeing Anton from the corner of his eye, he stiffened and tried to pull away from the man.
However, the man refused to release him, causing Taeui to grumble and grab at his hands. As if ignoring Anton's presence entirely, the man wound his arms tighter and pulled Taeui closer to his chest, even picking Taeui off the ground by a few centimeters with terrifying ease.
Reminded of what he'd seen earlier today in the field, Anton forced his body to move protectively toward Taeui. With as much strength as he could, he tried to pull away the man's arms from Taeui's waist.
"No, let go of Taei!"
"Anton—!" Taeui called out to him, his voice tinged with surprise and concern.
"Aha." A deep, unconcerned voice rumbled from above. Behind Taeui, the silver-haired man leveled a heavy stare at Anton, which immediately made the boy turn pale and release his grip.
"Taei, he…" Anton frowned, his voice warbling as he thought of the bruises on Taeui's body again.
Taeui, now free from the man's embrace, wedged himself in between Anton and the man. He knelt down to eye level and patted Anton's shoulder with a weary smile.
"There's no need for you to worry about me. C'mon, you need to get home before it turns dark."
Without another word, Taeui took Anton's hand and tugged him away from the man. Anton obediently followed Taeui's lead, his lips pursed into a thin line. When he looked back at the silent, silver-haired man, Anton frowned as he met inky black eyes.
Though the man remained motionless as he watched their retreating backs, there seemed to be a threatening glimmer of annoyance shining in his eyes. Anton, while still fearful of the man, stuck out his tongue toward him before quickly turning back to Taeui.
"You need to restrain yourself! Look at these marks—the neighborhood kids accidentally saw them today!"
"Aha. Is that why that kid attacked me earlier?"
"Don't be mad. He was just worried. Anyway, what's more important are these marks! Letting the kids see was bad enough—I can't let Jaeui-hyung or uncle see them too!"
"Then just don't visit them."
"I already don't see them as it is anyway. Ugh, but it's not just them, though… what if strangers see? It's not like you can keep me cooped up here forever."
"…"
"Hey, I wasn't suggesting you do that."
"If I shouldn't bite there, then where else would be better, Taei?"
"…Is there an option that you just don't bite me?"
"…"
"Think about it from my perspective. I'm sore all the time, and I constantly have to worry about covering up."
"Hah, then to make things even, how about I let you bite me wherever I bite you? Since it was your hips yesterday, I'll let you suck and lick me there as much as you want today."
"Ilay…"
"Taei, consider how I might feel. When you're even charming kids to attack me on your behalf, I feel as though I need to devour you to keep you all to myself. Wouldn't you feel the same with a lover that popular?"
"'Charming' kids?! When did I ever do something like that?! What am I? The Pied Piper?"
"…Taei."
"Ugh. Ilay, sometimes when you act like this… Oh, I told you before, you're the only one for me. It hasn't been that long since I said it… Is your memory getting bad this quickly?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure… Could you say it to me one more time?"
"…"