Taeui used one hand to find the control panel and turn on the radio. Try to distract yourself from your troubled thoughts by listening to something. Otherwise, even if you walk on a road with guardrails, accidents will still happen.

He suddenly thought of a strange idea that he had forgotten. That’s right, the 50 euros that man borrowed, he must definitely get back without missing a penny.

For a beggar, he will not calculate, but for those born with the diamond spoon in their mouth, he will take enough.

Faced with Taeui’s confusion when he suddenly turned on the radio, the man was silent for a moment. Taeui looked at him in the rearview mirror, he didn’t seem to think much of anything and was humming along to the old pop music playing on the radio.

Jeong Taeui sank into depression, one hand controlling the steering wheel, the other hand raised to rest his chin on the window sill.

Why has his life been such shit lately? He thought the person getting in the car with him would be a good person, but he didn’t expect that he had a consanguinity with that bastard he never wanted to see again.

Is it all just a coincidence or not? His name is Kyle Riegrow, but who knows, maybe his younger brother isn’t the man you’re thinking of. Maybe it’s all just such a coincidence that all the pieces fit so subtly.

With that thought, Taeui looked back at the cruel reality and fell into depression once again.

Ilay’s brother, who once ran an old book republishing company, now runs an arms trading company.

Kyle, who used to have a business republishing old books, has now stopped doing business and is doing another job.

Riegrow, a crazy man at UNHRDO,  who no one dares to call his name directly.

He is Kyle’s younger brother, the guy who got mad when his brother called him by his name.

The pieces fit together so well that if the man now said he had no relationship with Ilay, it would make him even more speechless.

Jeong Taeui wanted to bang his own head on the steering wheel. If Kyle wasn’t here, he would have caused an accident long ago, regardless of whether the police came or not.

“If someone without his permission accidentally calls my brother by his name, that person will be in big trouble. His behavior is also not very nice, so I’m afraid to tell others. …”

Taeui remembered what Kyle said just now.

It doesn’t matter if Kyle’s younger brother is actually the crazy guy Taeui knows. The guy who always proudly displays his ugly side to the point where his brother can only silently deal with all his trash. Kyle even had to admit his disabled personality and didn’t even dare tell it to others.

Anyway, he had to think of a way to get away from this man as quickly as possible. The picturesque prospects that had just formed between the two quickly faded away. With Ilay’s personality, it’s unlikely he would contact his family on a regular basis. But what if he makes a mistake and calls Kyle now? If the two people’s story goes astray and something goes wrong, what should he do? Then there won’t be any more disappointment, but he’ll be desperate.

Suddenly he wanted to rip out his mouth for proactively offering to take him to Berlin. But whatever had happened, he could only use all his strength to ride at lightning speed to get to Berlin and leave immediately.

Once there, he would immediately throw this man down and leave without looking back. Jeong Taeui made up his mind and glanced at Kyle through the rearview mirror.

He was comfortably looking out the window and humming the melody of the song on the old radio.

He doesn’t look much like Ilay. Although if you look closely at every detail you will see some similarities, he doesn’t think they are too similar. There is also a big difference in age. At that time, he said that Kyle was his uncle’s friend, so there must be more than a year difference in age.

Jeong Taeui fell into deep thoughts and then cast a bait.

“But if everything was stolen, you could call home and ask for help, right? Do you still have a phone or anything like that?”

“Ah? No, I don’t even have my phone anymore. That guy took everything from me except my passport. However, I also have to thank him for leaving my passport behind.”

Moreover, in misfortune there is luck. Wasn’t it thanks to that thief that he had the opportunity to go to that village and bring back a pile of precious books?

“…… If I can’t contact you, your family will be very worried, especially your younger brother…”

Jeong Taeui retracted his hook and suddenly felt relieved that the possibility of Ilay calling had disappeared. Kyle opened his eyes and suddenly burst into laughter.

He knew clearly why Kyle was laughing like that, so he wasn’t too confused and just waited for his laughter to subside. If in return, he heard such words, he would burst out laughing.

‘Ilay is worried?’

Taeui imagined his worried expression for a moment.

….He thought he would die of laughter.

Just imagining it makes him feel so absurd that he wants to laugh out loud. Fortunately, Kyle’s words in that breathless laughter extinguished Taeui’s smile that had not yet bloomed.

“Well, this isn’t something big that my younger brother has to worry about but…… how should I say it, should I say it’s very special? Kind of like someone who’s a bit lacking in affection compared to other normal people.” 

Jeong Taeui really thought that Ilay had an extremely good brother compared to his shitty personality. No one can say that he is just a ‘slightly lacking in emotions’ person, it’s just too wild, unless that person is blinded by many, many ‘bean shells*’.. Or maybe Kyle is embarrassed to have such a younger brother in the family so he tries to say it understatement.

(*사랑에 빠진 대상의 모든 점이 좋게만 보이다: The bean shell covers the eyes/ idiom/ so blinded by love that you only see the person’s advantages and ignore all the shortcomings of that person*)

“So my younger brother rarely comes home. No, it’s more like he hates coming home. My younger brother is working abroad and has some things to deal with. But even when he comes home, he won’t come to the house either.”

Jeong Taeui tried to hold back his laughter. His ears seem sharper than ever.

“Isn’t he going home? After all, it’s his home…”

“No no, um…… Because maybe you’ve never met my younger brother so you don’t know, but he really rarely comes home. At my house, there is an old lady who is the housekeeper , and my younger brother said he didn’t want to hear any nagging from the old lady, so he hadn’t been home in a while. Once he returned to the country and met someone in the same town as his family, he didn’t even bother to show his face and go home.”

That’s why Rita called him to complain about it, but he already predicted that so he didn’t answer the phone, Kyle muttered.

Jeong Taeui thought to himself that perhaps his luck had come. Now he knew a place he would never go, and it was the perfect place to hide from Ilay’s clutches. Isn’t that place safer than any other hotel? That’s right, if you think about it carefully, it seems like you just almost missed a great opportunity. Jeong Taeui glanced at Kyle. Just a few minutes ago, his thinking had changed 180 degrees. Right now, he really hoped that Kyle’s invitation for him to stay at his house when he came to Berlin wasn’t just empty talk. It turned out that that place was his only way to live.

“By the way, Kim, who is chasing you?”

Suddenly Anton’s question broke his short recollection. The plate was empty and the chicken was long gone. But because he was full, it was probably him and not someone else who ate it unconsciously.

Jeong Taeui used his thumb to wipe his lips and then licked it and immediately received Rita’s frown looking at him from behind along with an “Ummmm” not very comfortable.

It’s true that rumors always have a tale never lost in the telling to fail when spread.

“Rather than being chased….it’s more like there’s someone I shouldn’t encounter.”

“Yeah, who is that? Let me guess, if you say it’s someone you shouldn’t meet, is it a woman who has a relationship with you? Or is it a financial relationship?”

Anton said excitedly. Alsvelt, who was sitting next to Jeong Taeui, replied indifferently.

“Whatever the case, it must be pretty bad…… For example, if you happen to get involved with some Southern Italian man’s woman, you wouldn’t expect to get shot at and die somewhere.”

“Especially in the south of Italy, if it’s about money, it’s even scarier.” – Anton nodded and said in agreement.

In the middle of their conversation, Taeui heard him talk about the time he traveled to Sicily and accidentally fell in love with a seductive Gypsy woman. And unfortunately, that was the woman of the famous Mafia boss there, that woman stole that Mafia boss’s money and he became the main character in the story of running away for love in that way. .

Taeui muttered stupidly as he picked up a piece of meat from the steamed fish that Rita brought and put it in his mouth.

“And where did that pile of money that Gypsy woman stole with you go….”

“Before she could do anything, that girl died at the hands of an assassin sent one step ahead by that Mafia guy.”

“And then you became a lone wolf with a sky-high spirit of revenge, right?”

“…..”

Anton and Alssvelt were happy, but their faces were still very serious and they didn’t even laugh. Meanwhile, Kyle next to him was giggling. Then, he nodded to Anton and asked.

“Now, think back to that time in Catarina, what happened.”

“Aha, luckily it’s over. Mark and I should be happy together in the fish’s belly now.”

Anton frowned and waved his hand. Jeong Taeui stopped the fork that was cutting the steamed fish, and suddenly he felt a loss of appetite. Thinking back, he seemed to have heard this before, that this American guy named Anton had a gang, and what’s more, the same was true of Alsveld, who was very close to Anton.

Arms dealers and star mafia gangs. What a great combination. Taeui felt pale but still a little hungry, so he put the knife and fork down on the table. Then, he used the back of his hand to wipe his lips and immediately received Rita’s sharp eyes. Today, the guests in a house are never short of people because the owner’s favorite person is only Taeui, Anton and Alsvelt. At the breakfast table yesterday were Taeui, Alsvetl and an English guest who left in the afternoon. Before that, it was just Taeui and that British guest. Just like that, no German guests have come here yet. And since Alsvelt will also leave this afternoon, tomorrow only Taeui and Anton will be left. He wondered if any other guests would come today.

“Are you going to work today, Kyle?”

He put down his fork and wiped his mouth with a napkin to show that he was done eating in front of Rita. Kyle said: “Let’s see….”, and nodded.

“I think I need to go out for a bit this afternoon. Alsfeld, when are you leaving?”

“Let’s see, the flight leaves at 1 o’clock so I’ll probably have to leave before lunch. But didn’t you say you’d rest until the weekend, and now you’re back to work already—like a proper workaholic ….”

“No way! I was actually trying to avoid it as much as possible. I didn’t go to work because I wanted to. Ilay called the company about something. He never calls the house. If anyone wants to reach me, even if it’s important, I have to go to the company to check. The staff also mentioned that an old acquaintance of mine will be visiting after a long time.

Jeong Taeui drank the last cup of tea Rita gave him and listened to their conversation without saying a word. Because a name he didn’t want to be associated with was mentioned. Ilay. Anyway, it was strange to hear that name come out of someone else’s mouth.

Jeong Taeui has never seen anyone call Ilay by that name.

After all, forcing the whole family to call you by your last name is really…

Jeong Taeui shook his head. But then, a thought crossed his mind. Why did Ilay tell him that he was ‘Ilay’ from the first time we talked? He had thought about it once before but couldn’t find the answer. It’s hard to dig into this erratic bastard’s head to see what he’s thinking.

“If an old friend has come after a long time, surely he will stay at your house today too, right?”

Taeui didn’t want to think about that bastard anymore so he suddenly changed the subject.

‘So what about Kyle?’

After that, Kyle shook his head.

“No, he just came for work so he probably only called the company this afternoon. We have already arranged to meet tomorrow morning, so if he agrees, he will probably stay here the next day”

“I see” – Taeui said and nodded. It seems like witnessing people coming and going every day has become a hobby of this house. From what he heard from the seasonal gardeners and other helpers, it seemed like it was the same even when Kyle’s parents lived here before they moved to the suburbs, to be more precise. At that time, Kyle’s guests still came and went from time to time, but after he took over this house, the situation became worse and worse.

Usually they only stay for two or three days, but some people even stay for several months. Meanwhile, Kyle seemed very happy when his guests said they would stay here for a long time because to him this place is truly worthy of everyone staying for such a long time.

Nowadays, the concept of guests is not just guests anymore, but it is more like a normal family. Is it the feeling that your family members change in appearance and personality every day?

Jeong Taeui pondered for a moment, but his family wasn’t like that so he couldn’t imagine it. Now he only has one older brother, but since birth, except for the change in maturity, even his appearance and personality have not been much different.

That’s his brother….. But how the hell is Taeui going to find him now.

Everyone in this mansion knows that Taeui is looking for someone and at the same time is being chased by someone. Although he had no intention of revealing information about himself, with the atmosphere where everyone kept confiding as if there were no secrets in this house, that amount of information came naturally and poured out unconsciously when everyone talked. And all the guests were like that.

Kyle said he would help as much as he could if he wanted to find someone, but Taeui shook his head in refusal.

Asking Kyle to find his older brother…

Even if he wanted to ask this man thousands of questions, as soon as the name Jeong Jaeui rang out, Kyle’s ears would definitely stand up like a donkey’s, then he would most likely take him crashing right into Ilay also increased exponentially.

No, impossible…..

Jeong Taeui smiled calmly and said : “I can’t owe you that much……, I’ll just search for it myself.”

“By the way, Kim, why are you only polite to Kyle but not to us?”

Jeong Taeui secretly glanced at Rita again after taking a sip of tea a little loudly and then raised his eyebrows at Anton’s sudden question as if he was dissatisfied. He slowly put down the tea cup and said jokingly.

“Ah, it’s because Kyle is such a compassionate host that he couldn’t tell me to leave even if he met me in person or took my phone call. We’re both guests, right?”

Anton had nothing left to refute. “Ughhhhhhh” – He groaned while Kyle turned his head slightly and chuckled. Suddenly he saw that this face also looked a bit like Ilay.

Jeong Taeui looked at Kyle without saying a word, then turned around and sipped the rest of his black tea.