Indeed, at this point, UNHRDO had enough to boast about its security measures.

Taeui whistled softly as he entered the exhibition area.

The sign nearby indicated that the [International Aviation Technology Forum] was being held on the third floor.

However, even at the entrance of the exhibition hall, strict security measures were already in place.

The familiar uniforms seen everywhere showed that UNHRDO had deployed a large number of personnel to ensure the security of the event. If the security outside was this tight, it was likely that the technical rooms or support areas would be even more heavily guarded.

“If security is this tight before the forum, there’s probably nothing to worry about.” – Taeui murmured in admiration, but Christoph, walking behind him, whispered in response.

“With security at this level, it’s nothing to worry about unless you encounter a ‘special person.’ But if we do meet ‘that person,’ things will escalate, right?”

“Yeah… hearing you say that makes my heart even heavier…” – Taeui responded with a forced smile, lightly waving the temporary badge he had received at the entrance as if it were a fan.

“So, where is your troublesome brother that UNHRDO is trying so hard to protect? Didn’t you say you’d meet him in the lobby on the first floor at 5 PM?”

Christoph, who had long since tucked his badge into his pocket, looked around and asked.

“Yeah, it seems he hasn’t arrived yet.”

Taeui glanced at his watch. The hour hand pointed exactly to 5 o’clock. The arranged time and place for their meeting was the first-floor lobby of the exhibition center – where the forum was being held – at 5 PM.

Given Jeong Jaeui’s habit of being punctual, he should have already appeared by now.

As the second hand continued to tick past 5 o’clock, Jeong Taeui tilted his head, beginning to feel a bit uneasy. Although it was normal for someone to be a few minutes late, it was unusual for Jeong Jaeui. He looked around once more, but there was still no sign of his brother.

“Hmm… maybe he’s stuck in traffic?”

“We drove here as well, and the roads were clear.” – Christoph responded, frowning.

Taeui scratched his head and said: “Well, sometimes things like this happen.” shrugging as if he wasn’t too worried.

In reality, getting in touch with Jeong Jaeui wasn’t difficult.

But more accurately, it wasn’t Jeong Jaeui they reached—it was his uncle, Jeong Changin.

He had heard that Jaeui would be arriving on a flight this morning, so he called the number Kyle had given him. After a few rings, his uncle’s voice answered.

Reflecting on how long it had been since they last spoke on the phone, he said: “Uncle, it’s me.” His uncle immediately recognized him without hesitation, as if they had just spoken yesterday, and responded cheerfully: [“It’s Taeui, isn’t it?”]

His uncle said that he had just finished some paperwork, contacted the UNHRDO branch in Berlin to handle some work, returned to the hotel, and was currently unpacking his luggage. He also mentioned that he needed to go to the exhibition center to register for tomorrow’s forum, as today was the last day for registration.

“Is your brother the one registering for the forum?”

[“Yeah, it’s Jaeui.”]

“Haha, busy as always. Can you pass the phone to him for a moment?”

[“Oh, he just went out to take care of some formalities, so he’s not here right now. But does this mean you’re in Frankfurt too?”]

It seemed that Alain’s home phone number had appeared on the screen.

When Taeui smiled and replied: “Yes,” his uncle happily suggested: [“Then let’s have dinner together.”]

Since he had wanted to meet Jaeui from the beginning, Taeui readily agreed and set up the meeting. Later, he left Alain’s house on time and had just arrived.

“Running a bit late… Oh, maybe it’s because of forum registration. He mentioned he might stop by here, so that could explain the delay.”

Taeui said as he glanced at his watch, noting that the hands had tilted slightly past five o’clock.

Christoph, who had been looking at the exhibition brochure, remained silent for a moment before suddenly exclaiming: “They’re following us again.”

Surprised, Taeui looked at Christoph and mumbled: “Ah…”

Hearing this, Taeui carefully surveyed the surroundings. From a distance, he could sense several eyes watching them. It was obvious now – many were following.

Taeui sighed. It was similar to the situation on the way from Alain’s house to here. Fortunately, they had passed through crowded areas, so nothing had happened yet, but he couldn’t help but worry.

“They’re like cockroaches. They show up everywhere we go.”

“Cockroaches everywhere… Doesn’t Kyle’s house have regular pest control services?”

“No, not in that sense…”

Taeui hastily waved his hands before Christoph’s skeptical gaze. Sometimes, simple metaphors didn’t work with this guy.

Taeui scratched his head, feeling the prying eyes on his back growing stronger.

“If this keeps up, the hotel won’t be safe either. I wonder if we’ll even be able to sleep peacefully tonight.”

Well, thinking about it more, no place really seemed safe at this point.

“The safest place to spend the night might be… the police station?” – Christoph innocently suggested, making Taeui shake his head once more.

But after thinking for a moment, Christoph nonchalantly added: “If necessary, we could call Alain and crash at his place.”

“No, I’d rather not.”

“It would ensure our safety.”

“I refuse!”

Taeui firmly shook his head. Christoph was right—riding in Alain’s car and staying at his house would certainly help them escape the stalkers’ threats. But it would also introduce new dangers.

/Flashback/

In the short time it took to get from Alain’s house to here, Taeui had encountered two new threats.

The first was right after they stepped out of Alain’s house and got into the car parked on the street in the residential area. Their pursuers weren’t just keeping an eye on them – they had a more sinister intention. As soon as the three of them stepped outside – Alain had cheerfully offered to drive the group – they were surrounded.

The stalkers outside weren’t particularly scary. They were amateurs, easy to spot. If it were just Taeui alone, he could have easily escaped without any trouble.

At that moment, Alain had smiled calmly, grabbed one of the stalkers by the hair, and slammed his head against the wall.

When the guy struggled to resist, Alain merely twisted his shoulder slightly and overpowered him with ease. He kept smashing the man’s head against the wall until blood poured out, and the head almost burst open.

With a wide grin, Alain continued smashing the man’s head into the wall until the scalp split, revealing the stark white skull beneath. After reducing the man to an unrecognizable pulp, Alain casually tossed the body aside. And when he was about to grab another stalker, the ones who couldn’t overpower Taeui and Christoph quickly chose to flee, leaving Alain to deal with just one.

Alain had then pushed a pale-faced, muttering Taeui – who was insisting they take the injured man to a hospital – into the car and, with a nonchalant smile, said: “When we get back, they’ll be gone. They take care of each other.” Then, he started the car, his expression relaxed.

Taeui had thought to himself that Alain wasn’t just bluffing when he claimed to have ties with those people. And the second threat appeared on their way here.

This time, the pursuers weren’t as clumsy as before.

Right from the start, there was a car tailing them from behind. As their vehicle entered a quieter road, the tailing car quickly accelerated and approached from the side. At the moment when both cars were parallel, there was a sharp crack as the driver’s side window splintered.

If the window hadn’t been bulletproof, it would have shattered long ago from the shot fired by someone in the car next to them, who had aimed directly at the driver’s seat without hesitation.

“Wow, they’re hitting harder this time. Well, taking out the driver first does make things easier.”

The driver – Alain – smiled brightly and casually remarked. Then, he reached under his seat and pulled something out. The moment Taeui saw it, he immediately felt disaster approaching and could only clutch his forehead.

“I swear I will never get in a car where the driver has a .50 caliber Barrett rifle* stashed under the seat.”

(*A Barrett .50 caliber: typically refers to the Barrett M82 or Barrett M107, a heavy sniper rifle. It’s a large-caliber firearm that uses .50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun) ammunition, one of the most powerful rounds used in rifles and sniper rifles.)

Taeui stated firmly while thinking to himself that it would be best never to get involved with people like Alain, a former member of the long-disbanded T&R Special Task Forces.

/End Flashback/

“Hmm, did Rick let you drive the car?”

Right after that, a voice responded to Taeui’s question.

Taeui quickly turned around in the direction of the voice and immediately recognized a familiar face standing there. He beamed and looked at the man who hadn’t changed much despite the time that had passed.

“Uncle, you’re here already.”

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? How have you been? Sorry for being late. I was on my way, but something urgent came up, and even though I tried to rearrange my schedule, I still arrived a bit late.”

Taeui’s uncle, Jeong Changin, who was currently a training officer at the Asian branch of UNHRDO, gently patted Taeui on the shoulder.

Because of his busy job, not only limited by time but also by distance, the two rarely met. Changin was one of the few relatives Taeui had left.

“Every time you go on a business trip, your schedule is always packed, right?”

“Oh——no, not this time. It’s more relaxed. It’s just that there was one thing I hadn’t anticipated. There’s someone I absolutely need to meet, but their important schedule happened to coincide with this forum, so the delay in contact threw me off. I had to rush to adjust my timing right after I called you.”

Changin shrugged as he continued.

“The schedules didn’t align. I’ll be meeting that person a bit later. Would you mind if they joined us?”

Taeui casually nodded in response to his uncle’s suggestion.

“If it doesn’t bother them, then I have no problem. Who is it?”

“Oh?—Oh, right. I was so busy I forgot. Come to think of it, you know this person too.”

Changin laughed and gently tapped his forehead with a fingertip. But just as he was about to speak, he suddenly paused and his mouth hung open.

Taeui noticed his uncle’s sudden silence and followed his gaze, realizing that Christoph was standing out of sight behind a brochure rack.

“Christine!”

Taeui had been watching Christoph when he heard his uncle blurt out a short name. He turned back to his uncle.

But the moment that name was spoken, Christoph’s demeanor suddenly exuded hostility, and, as if sensing it, Changin quickly smiled and waved his hand.

“It’s been a long time, ChrisTOPH! How are you doing these days, ChrisTOPH? How long has it been, ChrisTOPH? What brings you here, ChrisTOPH?”

His uncle kept repeating Christoph’s name, emphasizing the last syllable, before turning to Taeui, who was blinking in confusion, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“But why are the two of you together?”

Changin, looking surprised and puzzled, alternated his gaze between them. Suddenly, his face grew serious as he looked back and forth at the two for a moment, then asked Taeui.

“The friend you mentioned coming with… Is it Christoph?”

“Yes, it’s Christoph. Now that I think about it, I forgot to mention it, but Christoph is also someone you know. Saying I’m with Christoph makes things much clearer, doesn’t it?”

With a light smile on his lips, Taeui grinned as he made arrangements to meet his uncle, stating he would be with a friend.

His uncle slowly nodded, muttering: “I see.” Although there was always a faint smile on his uncle’s face, Taeui knew well that this was the expression he made when he was deep in thought.

“…Is something wrong, Uncle?” – Taeui lowered his voice and asked, and only then did his uncle respond with an awkward smile as if facing a difficult situation.

“Well, I didn’t know your companion was Christoph. If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have arranged the meeting like this.”

His uncle’s words made Taeui furrow his brows, unsure of what he meant. Just then, he saw someone stepping through the security gate and entering the exhibition hall.

A tall man with a striking appearance, one that drew attention wherever he went, scanned the area before his eyes landed on their group. Their gazes locked.

“…..”

Taeui reflexively opened his mouth, then closed it again in silence. The man glanced to the side.

It wasn’t just Taeui who saw him. Christoph had also noticed the man. Immediately, Christoph’s normally emotionless face wiped away any hint of a smile.

“Richard, come over here.”

Taeui hadn’t realized that the man was approaching them until his uncle raised his hand to greet him. The surprise left him momentarily speechless, and Christoph seemed to share the same sentiment.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Jeong Changin. I occasionally hear news from Kyle, but it’s been a few years since we last met.”

Taeui watched as the man calmly greeted his uncle, realizing that this man had known they would be here before arriving.

Whether it was by chance or intentional, Taeui wasn’t sure. His uncle had mentioned that this was someone he absolutely had to meet, so perhaps this encounter was purely coincidental.

“We meet again, Mr. Jeong Tay.”

The man greeted Taeui naturally, and Taeui responded with a slight nod. Richard then turned to face Christoph.

Christoph silently stared back at Richard.

It was unexpected to run into each other so soon after leaving Berlin, especially during a meeting like this.

“I told you, didn’t I? We’d meet again soon, Christoph.”

Richard smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. Although his smile seemed as natural as ever, it didn’t convey warmth.

“Oh, that’s right. You two probably didn’t just meet. You must have seen each other recently at the succession ceremony, right?”

At this point, Taeui’s uncle interjected with a smile on his face, though it was clear he was curious. Christoph had been about to say something, but he instantly fell silent when his uncle chimed in. Richard slowly turned to face Changin.

“Yes, that’s correct.” – Taeui awkwardly answered his uncle’s words.

He was sure his uncle knew everything. His uncle had known what happened in Tartten and likely knew that Richard had visited Kyle’s house. There was no reason for him not to know.

Although his uncle smiled as if he were unaware of the situation, no one actually believed he was oblivious. They all remained silent.

“Oh, by the way, where’s your brother?”

Finally remembering, Taeui asked about something he had been wondering about for a while. At first, he thought his brother might have gone to the restroom, but too much time had passed without him returning.

“Oh, right.” – His uncle exclaimed, as if he had also forgotten, then looked at Taeui with an awkward smile.

“He’s not here.”

“…What?”

“Your brother will be arriving on a private jet early tomorrow morning. That was the fastest flight we could arrange.”

“Huh? Why is he arriving separately?” – Taeui asked in surprise, his eyes widening.

“The timing of the end of his contract with UNHRDO coincided exactly. When it comes to Jaeui, dealing with international work means having to submit a pile of paperwork to headquarters. On top of that, the expiration of his contract coincided with his overseas assignment, so everything was very rushed…….. And, well, there seem to be some unpleasant rumors going around.”

Taeui’s uncle shook his head, shrugging with a helpless expression. Taeui nodded, understanding the reason behind all this. That was probably the most important reason.

“I see… So he’ll only be here just before the forum starts tomorrow…” – Taeui, who had been determined to contact and protect his brother, now scratched his head, feeling a bit impatient. He thought:

So if he’s not here, there won’t be any opportunity for harm. At least today, he’ll be safe… Maybe even tomorrow, too.

As he exhaled in a mix of relief and disappointment, Taeui relaxed. But at that very moment, his uncle suddenly grabbed his shoulder and started pulling him somewhere.

With wide eyes and a confused expression, Taeui called out, “Uncle? Uncle?” But his uncle, still smiling cheerfully, responded in a lively tone.

“Well then, let’s go register.”

“Register for what?”

“I told you, today’s the last day to register for the forum. The deadline was supposed to be yesterday, but I managed to extend it until today. I was worried about how I would handle it, but you showed up just in time.”

“When it comes to matters involving Jaeui, there’s no need to worry at all.” – His uncle hummed a tune as he dragged Taeui toward the escalator. As he was being pulled along, Taeui began to grasp part of the situation, but his confusion only grew, and he exclaimed: “I really don’t understand anything!”

“Can someone else register on his behalf?”

“How could you be ‘someone else’? Since the day you were born, you’ve been half of Jaeui, so calling you Jaeui isn’t wrong. For the next ten minutes, you’ll be Jeong Jaeui, got it?”

“But even so――.”

“It’s fine. I have Jaeui’s ID. Even though you two don’t look exactly alike, to a foreigner’s eyes, you’ll look very similar. The identity verification process is quite simple. If you were twins, no one would notice. They’ll just take a little blood; there’s nothing to worry about.”

With a bewildered look on his face, Taeui desperately glanced around, hoping someone might help him.

But Christoph, walking a few steps behind with a hesitant expression, didn’t seem inclined to assist, and Richard, with his impassive face, wasn’t a viable option either.

“What if they ask me to solve some weird mathematical formula to prove that I’m Jaeui? I don’t know anything about that stuff!”

“……It’s actually a good thing you and Jaeui are so easy to tell apart.”

Despite Taeui’s resistance, his uncle easily led him along, even trying to console him.

“When we’re done, let’s go out for a meal. I’ve already booked a room at the hotel where I’ll be staying. Since Jaeui’s reservation was canceled due to the situation, you can stay there. The security in that room is top-notch.”

“……!”

Taeui was about to protest again, but when he realized that one of his smaller worries had just been resolved, he closed his mouth.

Thinking back, he had never won in any of his confrontations with his uncle’s will in the past, so he decided it was best to follow along quietly and take advantage of the situation.