Jeong Taeui sighed and went downstairs. The living room lights were already on, indicating that the landlady was awake. The girl walked to the front door, glanced through the glass into the living room, then opened a drawer and took out a notebook. She smiled brightly when she saw Jeong Taeui and exchanged a few greetings with him.

It seemed she wasn’t the only one awake. There were sounds of doors opening and closing in the hallway, followed by footsteps heading toward the bathroom in the back. It seemed the rooms on the first floor didn’t have private bathrooms, and the person who just woke up was probably Gable.

Such diligent people. Jeong Taeui admired them silently as he opened the front door and stepped outside.

A gloomy day. The sky wasn’t too overcast, but there was no sign of the sun, probably because of the fog. The dew-soaked grass brushed lightly against his sandals, wetting his toes. Jeong Taeui walked into the garden, enjoying the rustling grass beneath his feet. The pleasant stillness of early dawn filled the air. Somewhere in the distance, the weak creak of a door hinge echoed. Was that the sound of the eldest son of a family heading to work early in the morning?

Jeong Taeui approached the hammock strung between the fruit trees. The hammock was loosely woven with thin straw, looking fragile as if it might break at any moment, but it was actually much sturdier than it appeared. Jeong Taeui lay on it but immediately froze because the hammock was soaked with night dew, making the seat of his pants wet.

‘What the heck!!!’

Jeong Taeui quickly brushed off his damp pants, but it was too late. In the end, he gave up on brushing his pants and sat back down on the hammock, picking up an overripe mango that had fallen at his feet. Taeui swung the hammock like a rocking chair and bit into the mango.

A peaceful and quiet morning. Occasionally, someone in the house would wake up and walk around, the sound drifting across the still garden.

Jeong Taeui’s mood naturally improved. In this peaceful yet unpredictable place, a new day was about to begin.

Jeong Taeui lay on the hammock. Not only his hips but also his back, waist, and head were wet, but he didn’t mind. Above him was the clear dawn sky.

Even the buzzing of insects near his ears was pleasant now. There were footsteps approaching from the other side of the road outside the gate. The sound stopped in front of the house. Click, the old wooden door slowly opened with a creak. And then a familiar girl stepped in. It was the young black girl working in the house whom he had seen last night while looking down at the garden from the second floor.

She walked in, her chest heaving as if she had run here. She suddenly froze when she saw Jeong Taeui lying on the hammock with a mango in his mouth. Soon, her eyes showed a hint of shyness.

Jeong Taeui sat up. Finding her hesitation endearing, he smiled and motioned for her to come closer. Taeui wondered if she would startle and run into the house like the day before, but despite hesitating slightly, she cautiously approached him. After taking four or five steps, she paused again. Jeong Taeui motioned for her to come closer, and she took another step before stopping.

Those unfamiliar, shy, but bright and lovely eyes looked like those of a little sister. Jeong Taeui picked up a ripe mango that had fallen nearby, brushed off the dirt, wiped it on his pants to clean it, and handed it to her. She frowned slightly but still accepted the mango from him.

“You’re here early.”

Jeong Taeui said with a smile, but it seemed she didn’t understand. How awkward.

“Live nearby? Home.”

This time Taeui spoke slower with simpler words, and it seemed she understood. No, to be precise, she understood one simple word in his sentence. “Nearby” She pointed past the fence and stammered. Maybe her house was in that direction. Jeong Taeui smiled and nodded.

“Breakfast? Morning meal? Food?”

She tilted her head, looking confused, so Jeong Taeui mimed eating. The girl nodded with a bright face.

If he had a little sister, would it feel like this?

Jeong Taeui thought, looking at the girl with an age gap, since he only had an older brother. He couldn’t help but say a few more words to her. Even if they didn’t understand each other’s language, gestures were a simple and effective way to communicate.

The girl smiled shyly but warmly at Jeong Taeui, and he smiled back. It felt good to talk to her like this, and it was easy because her emotions seemed to be written all over her face.

When Taeui was about to say more, the front door opened. Gable slowly walked in. He saw Jeong Taeui and the girl and said something to her that Taeui couldn’t understand. The girl responded with a smile, waved gently at Taeui, and hurried into the house.

Gable passed by her, stood on the porch for a moment, and then slowly walked into the garden. Jeong Taeui held a wrinkled mango in his hand after sucking out all the juicy flesh. Gable approached and sat on a wooden chair by the pool, and Jeong Taeui asked in lieu of a greeting.

“Do you want one?”

Gable shook his head. Jeong Taeui made a sound of acknowledgment in his throat and continued sucking on his mango.

The moments of awkward silence passed slowly.

Although Jeong Taeui usually didn’t feel uncomfortable or embarrassed being silent with someone, this time, it felt like there were pins under the hammock he was sitting on. He finally finished the mango, leaving nothing more to eat, and glanced at Gable. Even with just a side view, it was enough to gauge his emotions.

It was still that cold, emotionless face. Just like what he saw yesterday. It wasn’t an unpleasant face, but it reminded him of the friendly smile he had seen Gable give the girl earlier. In fact, he had seen Gable smile briefly yesterday, which had surprised him or rather caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected someone with such an emotionless face to have that side.

When he smiled, he was easier to talk to, and much more handsome. Jeong Taeui inadvertently voiced his thoughts.

“You look much more approachable when you smile.”

Gable looked at Jeong Taeui, thought for a moment, then spoke.

“It’s hard because many things will look down on me when I smile.”

“….”

No. His nature when smiling seemed friendly and kind, but that didn’t mean he should be looked down on for it. But thinking back, if he had worked with James (though Jeong Taeui didn’t know his exact age), he must have joined T&R at a very young age. He might have been treated condescendingly because of his age at times.

Jeong Taeui nodded, contemplating the painful past this man might have endured. Suddenly, something flew right in front of his eyes. Jeong Taeui reflexively caught it—it was a ripe yellow mango. *Pop* The mango in his hand split open, juice dripping all over.

“You can eat any ripe fallen mango and leave the seed by the tree.”

Gable said curtly. Jeong Taeui looked at the round mango he had thrown over and smiled. “Thanks” – He said, then bit into the fresh mango.

“Rick…”

Gable started to say something, but when he mentioned that ugly name, he stopped. Just for a moment, the delicious taste of the mango vanished. Jeong Taeui hesitated with a piece of mango still in his mouth.

He had forgotten. Gable had seen everything yesterday.

Jeong Taeui tried to suppress those memories from resurfacing.

“He’s taking a shower, so he’ll probably be out of the room soon. If you have something urgent, you can come to my room.”

“No, I don’t have anything urgent. But… do you mean he’s in your room, Taeui?”

“Huh? Oh… yes. The shampoo and soap in my bathroom are fresher.”

Offering an explanation that even he found strange, Jeong Taeui sucked on the mango. The soft, golden flesh spread sweetly in his mouth.

Gable’s curious gaze lingered. After all, the reason for the ‘freshness’ of the shampoo and soap sounded bizarre. But Taeui wanted to remind him that those words had come from Ilay, not him. So he added.

“Ilay said so.”

Thinking that he couldn’t bear to be wrongly accused, Gable nodded. Now there were no strange looks directed at him, and the name Ilay didn’t come up again in their conversation.

Yes, it was a topic better left untouched.

Jeong Taeui sighed softly, thinking about the man named Ilay Riegrow. There was nothing good to say about him other than to gossip and speak ill behind his back. Jeong Taeui turned his head.

“By the way, do you know what kind of person the wealthy Middle Eastern man holding my brother captive is?”

Come to think of it, they had said that the man in front of him had found clues about Jeong Jaeui’s whereabouts and where he had gone. Jeong Taeui had very little information about it. All he knew was that someone in the Middle East seemed to be holding his brother captive in his villa on this island.

Even though Jeong Taeui was Jeong Jaeui’s younger brother, to them, he was just an outsider. Nevertheless, Gable answered without any reluctance.

“There’s a man named Raumaan Abid Al Saud. Do you know him?”

Jeong Taeui searched his memory, but then immediately shook his head. He didn’t know anyone from Arabia to begin with. If he had heard about it, it would have been just fleeting news in the media, and he couldn’t remember any of those long and unfamiliar names.

“Then do you know Al-Faisal?”

Gable asked again, and Jeong Taeui still shook his head. Gable looked at him, shook his head too, and said,

“Currently, the Foreign Minister of Arabia is Prince Bandar Al Fahd. He’s very shrewd but has been in poor health since birth. Because of this, Prince Rashid and Prince Ali have been contending for that position. Prince Al-Faisal is Ali’s son. Al-Faisal has a half-brother, and their relationship is quite close. He decided early on to leave the power struggle and focus on business….”

Gable was speaking slowly, but he suddenly fell silent. He realized that Jeong Taeui seemed to be struggling to follow the convoluted relationships and complicated family tree. Although Jeong Taeui looked attentive, his brows had been furrowed for a while.

Gable was quiet for a moment, then spoke concisely.

“Al-Faisal is the guardian of his late half-brother’s only son, Raumaan. Raumaan has been sickly since birth and rarely appears in public. Sometimes, he accompanies Al-Faisal to important family events.”

“Ah….”

Jeong Taeui elongated his response, not fully understanding but getting the gist of it…

“So it seems he got involved in the power struggle with his other siblings.”

“To be honest, that’s correct. The Middle East is very sensitive regarding weapons, both internally and with external forces, so anyone with the support of a researcher like Jeong Jaeui would certainly have a significant advantage.”

“….”

Jeong Taeui removed the mango from his mouth. He had lost his appetite.

How wonderful. His brother was suffering because of getting involved in a power struggle within an international organization, and now his other brother was being held captive after being dragged into a power struggle within a foreign royal family. How splendid it was to see siblings sticking together in such a way.

His sense of taste turned bitter. Jeong Taeui threw the mango peel into a small trash bin nearby and wiped the mango juice from his lips with his thumb.

“So that’s why he’s being held in that royal mansion.”

“I’m not sure, but it’s highly likely.”

Jeong Taeui scratched his head. Although he was also being held in a sense, he didn’t understand why his brother was involved in something so absurd. In hindsight, even his own situation wasn’t easy.

“When I followed my uncle to UNHRDO, I never thought I’d meet Ilay Riegrow, that bastard.”

Jeong Taeui sighed, thinking, “I didn’t even know there was a man like him in this world.”

Gable looked at the fruit trees across the garden and suddenly asked,

“If you’re Jeong Jaeui’s brother, then Instructor Jeong Changin must be your uncle.”

“Ah…—Yes, that’s right. Do you know my uncle?”

“No. But he’s close to the boss, so he occasionally visits us, and I’ve seen him a few times…—Did you meet Rick through UNHRDO, or was it through the introduction of the boss or Instructor Jeong Changin?”

“Ah. It was through UNHRDO.”

UNHRDO, the place so many people in this world aspired to be part of, became the beginning of his misfortune. Jeong Taeui gazed at the sky with distant eyes.

Thinking back, the man’s question seemed foolish. There would never be a situation where Kyle or Jeong Changin would introduce Ilay to Jeong Taeui. If they ever did, they should be prepared to hear his grievances for the rest of their lives.

Jeong Taeui looked at Gable and thought. Gable nodded with an indifferent expression, leaving Jeong Taeui unsure of what he was thinking. Jeong Taeui asked with a strange smile.

“It’s surprising that you’re curious about this. I thought you wouldn’t be interested in other people’s affairs.”

After speaking, he realized it might sound sarcastic, so he quickly added: “Oh, I don’t mean any offense. It’s just genuinely surprising.”

Gable was very reserved and seemed indifferent, so Jeong Taeui didn’t think he would care about other people’s matters. Gable remained silent with a sympathetic look and then shrugged.

“I apologize. I didn’t mean anything by it. But Rick…—He’s not the type to get along with others, so I found it strange.”

Jeong Taeui fell into deep thought. He couldn’t respond immediately because there was too much to consider in what Gable had said.

This man was like Kyle in a way. He spoke very casually about the man named Ilay Riegrow. Clearly, Ilay wasn’t just ‘not the type to get along with others’. By saying that, Gable seemed to imply that Jeong Taeui got along well with Ilay Riegrow.

…Or was he talking about “getting along” in a sexual sense? Given what had happened yesterday, it could be interpreted that way. But even if he tried to explain it that way, it felt forced.

Even if Gable didn’t mean ‘getting along’ with everyone, Jeong Taeui couldn’t think of anyone else in the world who was as straightforward about sex as Ilay.

Jeong Taeui seriously contemplated the two seemingly simple but incredibly complex words from Gable for a while but couldn’t come to any conclusion. So he gave up trying to understand and spoke with a sigh.

“Well… he’s not sociable, but he’s not that bad.”

Half sincere, half pretending, Jeong Taeui tried to reflect on what he had just said. Yes, he wasn’t lying. Ilay always knew how to attract others when he wanted to – although there were issues with his methods, and he had many issues with his personality, Jeong Taeui didn’t think it was entirely bad.

Gable nodded indifferently at Jeong Taeui’s words.

“Yes, even a serial killer usually has at least one person who mourns them when they die.”

“….”

Jeong Taeui looked at Gable with a somber expression for a moment, but Gable’s face remained impassive, as if he didn’t care about what he had just said.

“Ha… It seems like your relationship with Ilay isn’t very good.”

Jeong Taeui smiled and asked, but Gable just shrugged indifferently, as if to suggest that it was better not to talk much about this matter.

Gable might be an unusual person. But aside from the context of the conversation, what he said wasn’t entirely wrong. Even if Ilay was a serial killer condemned by the whole world, or even if he was a savage criminal or a traitor, or even a ruthless Nazi figure who massacred millions, there would still be someone who, knowing all that, would still pity him. There would be someone like that… for example… someone like Jeong Taeui who would always treat him the same no matter where he was or what he did.

Even a man like Ilay Riegrow, when the whole world knows what he’s like, would ultimately have at least one person willing to comfort him. He was clearly a bad guy, but somehow, Jeong Taeui didn’t hate that man.

“….Hmm….?”

Jeong Taeui suddenly tilted his head. For a moment, an invisible thought passed through his mind, but when he turned around, it had vanished without a trace. What was it?

A thought appeared in his mind, making his heart flutter, but he couldn’t grasp it. Jeong Taeui rubbed the wrinkle between his brows and thought: “Ummm.”

But before he could ponder what had just appeared, someone interrupted his train of thought.

“What interesting conversation are you two having?”

A cold, deep voice came from the front door. A voice he didn’t need to turn around to recognize, slowly making its way toward them.