Jeong Taeui didn’t know if what he was doing was right. Until he reached the first floor, Jeong Taeui didn’t stop even once, silently looking down at his feet in the elevator. Maybe he was regretting it. Could this prickling worry in his heart be called regret?

“…….Do I really want to do this?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a heavy weight.

This wasn’t simply about caring for or looking after someone. It wasn’t a one-sided thing, it had to come from both sides. A person would need a lot of energy to care for someone continuously. And he didn’t know how much energy he would need to always be there for someone like that.

Basically, each person is an individual, with completely different thoughts and behaviors. Even those who seem similar at first glance will have different thoughts and decisions. And even deciding to stay with a normal person would require a lot of consideration and effort to get along. Jeong Taeui didn’t even know who was the right person for him and who wasn’t.

For a normal person, one would have to be well-prepared to face this, let alone……. well, he didn’t even know if the person he wanted to be with for life could be considered human.

“Why am I losing my spirit like this…….”

Jeong Taeui muttered sadly.

Ilay Riegrow. That man was truly a madman. Anyone who had ever met him would come to that conclusion.

Maybe it would be better if he followed Xinlu’s advice. Maybe he should live a stable life away from that madman.

But.

Jeong Taeui knew.

Even if Xinlu held him back and let him choose again. He would still choose the same.

He would choose to stay with Ilay Riegrow.

The elevator reached the first floor. Jeong Taeui stepped into the lobby; it was still early morning.

In the end, Jeong Taeui had silently sat by Xinlu’s side all night, and Xinlu hadn’t opened his eyes again until he left. Occasionally, he would think about something else, look at Xinlu, think about this and that, and then look at Xinlu again.

And then he left the room without closing his eyes. The thought of going back to him kept swirling in his mind.

It was still early, and there were very few people in the lobby. As soon as he saw others, Jeong Taeui remembered his thoughts from the previous night. There was one issue he had forgotten.

“Yeah……. I definitely need to buy a hat first…….”

Jeong Taeui reached into his pocket and took out the card he had taken from Xinlu’s wallet.

After all, it was Xinlu who brought him here, so it wasn’t unreasonable for him to take some responsibility. Besides, he planned to return the card later.

In the large hotel lobby, Jeong Taeui suddenly froze.

Come to think of it, there were more than one or two problems at hand. The most important thing was that now he couldn’t do anything. Even though he had a card full of money in his pocket (although it wasn’t his) – aside from that, he had nothing else. Without a passport, he couldn’t leave. Or even if he had a passport, he couldn’t rush to the airport because now he was a globally wanted terrorist. Therefore, he needed to be very careful about how he revealed himself at this moment.

“This is the first time I’ve been in such a hopeless situation…….”

Jeong Taeui scratched his head. In this situation, what he could do was…….

Suddenly, Jeong Taeui’s eyes landed on a public phone booth in the corner of the lobby, and he quickly walked towards it, but then stopped again. All he had in his pocket was the card. Going to a bank to withdraw money and exchange it for coins might cause even more trouble. If he had known this, he would have taken out some cash…….

Jeong Taeui regretted it too late and looked around worriedly. There was a 24-hour convenience store near the lobby. Since it was still too early, there was only one employee sitting there, with all sorts of advertisements pasted on the glass door.

Jeong Taeui nodded to himself and walked over.

He opened the glass door and stepped in. The employee who had been yawning continuously sat up straight and smiled friendly.

Jeong Taeui handed over the card and picked up the phone. A moment of silence passed, he glanced at the numbers displayed on the phone screen and dialed the numbers he remembered in his head.

Calculating the time difference, it was probably almost lunchtime over there.

The long beeping signals, there was no sign of anyone picking up on the other end, but just as Jeong Taeui started to worry, the phone stopped ringing, replaced by a familiar voice.

[“Hello, this is Jeong Changin…….”]

“Uncle, it’s Taeui.”

Jeong Taeui interrupted before his uncle could finish speaking. There was silence on the other end for a moment, and then laughter rang through the phone.

[“Oh, isn’t this the second nephew of ours who’s proudly wanted for terrorism?”]

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue bitterly. That label would haunt him for the rest of his life. No, it was still better than being caught.

“Uncle……. please help me.”

Jeong Taeui mumbled dejectedly. Normally, he would happily respond to his uncle’s jokes, but now he had no energy left. His uncle laughed for a while before replying with a slightly tired voice.

[“If it’s something I can help with, I’d be happy to. What do you need? A fake passport? Or a cop willing to take a bribe so you don’t get caught at the airport?”]

Jeong Taeui smiled. His uncle’s words sounded like a joke, but they weren’t. His uncle always knew exactly what he needed.

“Both.”

[“Alright. When do you need it?”]

“Right now. I plan to go to the airport immediately. Is that possible?”

His uncle was silent for a moment after hearing this, seemingly contemplating something, but then he quickly responded in a light-hearted manner.

[“A bribable cop is easy, but the passport might be a bit difficult if you need it immediately. However, if you’re only using it once, it’s simple enough.”]

“Yes, that’s fine.”

[“Good. I’ll arrange it and send the passport to the airport right away. I’ll give you a contact number when you get to the airport, so call me when you arrive.”]

“Yes, thank you, uncle.”

[“You’re welcome……. But if it’s this, Xinlu could have done it too.”]

Jeong Taeui hesitated in silence. After all, it wasn’t something he couldn’t tell his uncle, plus he had something he needed to ask.

“I’m not with Xinlu anymore. I have somewhere I want to go, so I can’t go with Xinlu.”

For a moment, no words came from the phone. However, unexpectedly, his uncle asked.

[“Somewhere you want to go……. Where are you planning to go?”]

“That’s what I wanted to ask you.”

Jeong Taeui spoke hesitantly. His uncle didn’t say anything, just waited for Jeong Taeui’s next question. Jeong Taeui hesitated a bit more before speaking.

“Do you know where Ilay is?”

The other end of the line didn’t respond immediately. It was quite a while before Jeong Taeui mumbled: “Hello?” again, but there was still no answer.

[“…….”]

“Hello, uncle, is your phone disconnected?”

After Jeong Taeui asked again, he finally received a response: [“No, it’s not disconnected.”]

However, after that, his uncle remained silent for a long time before speaking heavily.

[“Are you planning to go to him?”]

“Yes.”

Jeong Taeui answered without hesitation. Then he smiled.

“It’ll be okay……. although I’m a little worried.”

[“A little worried…….”]

His uncle mumbled vaguely as if talking to himself. Not too worried, just a little worried?

Jeong Taeui suddenly recalled what his uncle had told him the previous night.

“Jeong Taeui. You have to be careful with your life. Do you realize you’ve turned Rick into a chicken-chasing dog?”

The expression on Jeong Taeui’s face went blank.

For whatever reason, he had turned his back on Ilay.

Even if he could go back to that moment, Jeong Taeui would still make the same choice. In that situation, his priority couldn’t be Ilay. But now, belatedly, Jeong Taeui remembered that man.

What had Ilay thought when Jeong Taeui turned his back on him after he had accepted leaving everything behind to urgently search for him?

“…….If only he had kept his inhuman nature a bit longer.”

Jeong Taeui murmured sadly. If only.

If only that had been the case, he wouldn’t have had to see that face, full of happiness, suddenly turn to extreme worry. And if that had been the case, he wouldn’t have been haunted by this for so long.

Jeong Taeui remembered Ilay’s face back then, repeatedly tapping his chest to calm his thumping heart.

He carefully asked his uncle.

“Was he very angry?”

[“Well, I didn’t see it firsthand, so it’s hard to say, but if I were you, I’d rather run away from Rieg forever than go back. It’s better than dying as soon as you meet him again.”]

Jeong Taeui frowned.

“Uncle, you’re scaring me……. Alright, I’m already scared, so I’m trying not to think about it.”

His heart was pounding. Surely, if he went back, things wouldn’t end well for him. Still, he probably wouldn’t be killed immediately. But if not sooner, then definitely later.

Jeong Taeui steeled himself. If Ilay threw punches, he would have no choice but to take them all, so he would have to quickly explain everything to him before getting beaten to death.

Thinking about being beaten and cursed at while trying to explain made the prospect seem bleak, but with the strong belief that he wouldn’t die, he managed to somewhat soothe his thumping heart.

“So, where is he?”

When Jeong Taeui asked, his uncle mumbled: [“So, you’ve decided to go after all?”]

Jeong Taeui laughed, feeling the concern from his uncle.

“Anyway, I have to go back. I told him I would return.”

Although he couldn’t hear it at the time. Jeong Taeui sighed.

[“Now, I’m not sure. I heard he caused a ruckus in Saudi Arabia and then went to Seringe, but after that, I was busy dealing with that mess.”]

“Handling it……. wasn’t it just about dismissing Ilay?”

[“Just that alone required writing seven reports.”]

Since the terrorist attacks began, his uncle probably had to stay up at night, which is why he sounded so tired from lack of sleep. Aigoo, it’s probably best not to press him further. Jeong Taeui stopped pestering his uncle and asked again.

[“Anyway, I’ll have more information soon, so call me when you get to the airport.”]

“I’ll have to make a lot of calls when I get there, huh? The passport broker, the corrupt police officer, and you…….”

[“The police will hold the passport, so you only need to make one call when you get there.”]

“…….Isn’t it a serious problem if even the police are involved in using fake passports?”

[“That’s why they’re called corrupt cops.”]

His uncle laughed. Jeong Taeui remained silent for a moment before smiling. Shortly after, his uncle reminded him to call when he arrived at the airport, then hung up.

Jeong Taeui left the convenience store and paused to lament the world’s dark corners for a moment.

While some police are trying their best to catch a wanted criminal, others are doing everything to prevent that and are even involved in handling fake passports under the direction of a member of an international organization. Well, corruption exists everywhere. Jeong Taeui stopped lamenting and left the hotel.

The bus stop for the airport was right across from the hotel. When he asked, the receptionist said there were about three buses an hour, but at such an early hour, there was only one. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be unlucky enough to just miss the bus and have to wait a whole hour for the next one. Jeong Taeui reached the bus stop, checked the expected arrival time, and sat on the bench. The next bus was in 30 minutes.

That was lucky enough, better than arriving just a minute after the previous bus had left and having to wait for an hour. 

Jeong Taeui looked around. There was a public transport card service kiosk and a vending machine next to each other right by the bus stop. He stared at the can of beer in the vending machine.

Immediately, Xinlu’s card was charged the exact amount for the can of beer.

It was early morning, so there were very few people around. The sky was gradually transitioning from the dark of night to the light blue of dawn, but the street remained silent.

Drinking beer while waiting for the bus in this peaceful and blue dawn was quite an interesting experience.

“If I set off now, when will I get there…….? I need to know where he is to set the destination for the flight and at least calculate the travel time.”

Jeong Taeui thought as he sipped his beer.

But.

He had come back.

Jeong Taeui was sitting here now to return to Ilay.

No wonder he felt so strange. A mixture of odd and gloomy feelings. Ever since his schizophrenia acted up, he had felt uneasy. His uncle had also said it might be wiser to try and run away forever. That was exactly what Xinlu had advised him as well.

Yet, after all, despite such advice, his heart still yearned for that man.

“I have to give back what he lost……. He also lost his humanity, so I wish I could reduce that inhumanity a bit.”

Jeong Taeui sighed.

Then suddenly, reality hit him.

If he went to the airport now and managed to reach whatever country Ilay was hiding in – wherever he was hiding – it would still be very difficult to find him since a terrorist like him wouldn’t appear out in the open.

He tried to imagine the scene of their reunion. And it wasn’t hard to picture it.

Surely that moment would give him chills. There was no way he wouldn’t feel terrified in front of that monster. Moreover, his circumstances then would be much more horrifying.

“It’s best to explain as soon as possible when getting hit, even if it means getting hit one less time.”

Even though he was always sure that his life would be threatened upon his return, he never thought he wouldn’t go back to Ilay.

Because that unfamiliar voice and expression of his lingered in his heart.

“…….I will come back soon.”

Jeong Taeui repeated the words he had said to Ilay but which Ilay had never heard. Suddenly, his heart tightened. Jeong Taeui smiled calmly.

A car was moving slowly right in front of the bus stop.

Jeong Taeui looked at his watch, there were still 10 minutes until the bus would arrive.

The car slowed down and stopped a few steps away from the bus stop. He happened to glance up, it was a taxi.

Jeong Taeui waved at the driver, thinking the taxi wanted to pick up a passenger, but that wasn’t the case. The rear door suddenly opened, and a man stepped out. It seemed the taxi had stopped to drop off a passenger, not to pick one up.

It was early, and the man stepping out right in front of the hotel made it seem like he had just come from the airport.

Jeong Taeui casually looked up.

And at that moment.

The beer can in his hand suddenly felt scorching hot, dropping with a thud onto the pavement.

The man who had just stepped out of the car slowly closed the taxi door, his straight back facing him. He tilted his head slightly, slowly putting on the clean gloves from his pocket and giving Jeong Taeui a vague smile. That cold smile looked so unfamiliar.

“Your intuition seems sharp, Taeil. You knew I would come, so you tried to run away, didn’t you?”

The man spoke.

One step…

Two steps…

A calm voice sounded…

Jeong Taeui looked at him with a half-stunned, half-ghostly expression. The man glanced at Jeong Taeui and then at the electronic board showing the bus schedule. Then he smirked.

“If I had been 10 minutes late, I might have missed you again.”

He smiled happily and looked back at Jeong Taeui. The tall man was looking down at him from above and then glanced around him as if it was peculiar.

“Why are you alone? Where’s that kid?”

Jeong Taeui, still dazed, could only shake his head vigorously as he looked at him. The man raised an eyebrow and clicked his tongue but then nodded.

“Alright. Anyway, that kid will die soon. What matters now isn’t him.”

He smiled and gently leaned down, almost touching his forehead to Jeong Taeui’s.

The man whispered into his ear. His lips parted several times to utter each sentence joyfully.

“Got you. Taei.”