“As soon as you saw me, you ran away. Isn’t that suspicious? Did you do something bad that I don’t know about?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Then there’s no reason to run away.”

“I wasn’t running away.”

“Did you actually see me running away the moment I saw you?”

Yuri was momentarily at a loss for words.

He had never thought of it as running away, but after hearing those words, he realized that he did indeed turn away the moment he saw him. So, it might look like he was fleeing. But that wasn’t the case……

Without even waiting 1-2 seconds for Yuri to process his momentary confusion, he fired off his words like rapid machine-gun shots.

“Why did you run? Did you do something wrong to me? Was it my older brother who told you to keep an eye on me? Or did you just badmouth Taei-hyung? If not, why would you run away like a guilty criminal the moment you saw me?”

“No…… No, that’s not it……”

He had no idea how to shut him up.

Yuri flustered, then frowned and tried to say something, but when the young man noticed his expression, he turned his eyes like a cat’s with satisfaction. Yuri had already sensed it the moment he saw him. He came here to tease him. But why him?

While Yuri stood there confused, the guy studied every inch of his expression before tilting his head. Then, suddenly, he laughed and said: “Oh my god.”

After taking a step back, he seemed reasonably satisfied as the venomous mischief in his eyes faded, and he spoke in a breezy tone:

“You’re so hard to read, yet why are you so quick to pick up on others? You read everyone’s expressions like it’s nothing. And then, when you’ve read mine completely, you immediately show that disappointed look on your face. It hurts people even more, you know.”

“……Did I really do that? I honestly didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

Yuri obediently bowed his head. He hadn’t intended to hurt him, but if it had upset him enough to chase after him, then apologizing was the least he could do.

The young man seemed to despise anyone witnessing his vulnerable side – whether it was envy, disappointment, or sadness – those were emotions he didn’t want anyone to see.

Well, was it the same for everyone? After all, it’s not exactly pleasant to have your weaknesses exposed.

Yuri nodded and tried to convince himself.

“Wow, you’re stronger than I thought. How on earth did you manage to run with those two watermelons? I honestly thought you were holding rubber balls that just looked like watermelons…… Man, they’re heavy.”

Suddenly, one of Yuri’s hands felt lightened. When he looked down, the watermelon in his right hand had vanished. The watermelon now in the young man’s hand looked suspiciously like the one Yuri had just been holding.

“Huh?” – Before Yuri could say anything, the young man cheerfully started walking ahead. “Wait a second.” – Yuri called out. The young man turned back with a puzzled expression.

“Aren’t you heading to your inn now? Isn’t it this way?”

“Yeah, that’s right, but…… why aren’t you going back to the market?”

“You want me to go back there?……Strange, do I look that annoying to you? Or is there something wrong? My face?”

The young man tilted his head repeatedly, frowning as if he found something truly strange. Muttering to himself: “No one’s ever been this wary of me before.”

Then, noticing Yuri standing a few steps behind him, blankly staring while holding the watermelons in his arms, the young man turned to look at him. With a faint smile, he spoke curtly and decisively.

“I think I’ll call it a day. I’d love to see Taei-hyung a bit more, but there’s something unpleasant sticking by his side that’s just unbearable. It’s making me sick to my stomach.”

“……Ling Xinlu, your lodging isn’t this way, is it?”

“How did you know that?”

As he saw the innocent blinking and feigned surprise on his face, Yuri fell silent.

It’s a basic instinct to learn more about someone who might be dangerous. Even though the young man probably didn’t expect anyone to care after he appeared before them.

“It’s pretty rude to suspect a kind-hearted person who just happened to help you carry such a heavy watermelon” – Xinlu said.

“……”

“Did you tell Taei-hyung everything when you met me?”

The young man asked as he walked past Yuri, who had slowed down behind him. Yuri shook his head. He had no intention of helping Xinlu achieve his goals, but he also wasn’t actively sabotaging him by sharing everything with others. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder how bad things might get if everything were revealed.

In truth, as long as it didn’t interfere with finding Jeong Jaeui, Yuri had no intention of meddling.

“Yuri Gable. Age 36. Born on March 30th, under the Aries zodiac sign. Blood type O. The only child of Gustav Gable, a German, and Natalie Wasson, an Englishwoman. Born in Cape Town – South Africa, but moved to Berlin – Germany, before his first birthday. His parents divorced when he was 13, and he spent his adolescence in Birmingham – England, before returning to Berlin to attend Freie Universität. However, he dropped out after only six months and briefly worked at T&R. At 27, he joined the National Intelligence Service (NIS). After two years, he resigned and returned to T&R, where he continues to work under his current name.”

Xinlu’s words spilled out with ease, like he was reciting from a file.

In the quiet, deserted alley that carried no sense of danger, the young man’s calm and steady voice flowed on for a long time. The sheer length of the information he recited effortlessly made Yuri think it must have been hard to memorize. Yuri glanced at the young man, who hadn’t looked at him once while speaking. It was only after finishing with – “……where he continues to work under his current name” – that the young man finally turned his head. And with a bright smile, he beamed at Yuri.

“Did I get anything wrong?”

“No.”

“Actually, I know more details, but I intentionally shortened it so that it would not be boring to hear.”

Yuri silently observed the youthful face beaming at him, as if waiting for a praise sentence like: ‘Well done?’

Indeed, it implied that the young man had delved deeply into Yuri’s past, just as he must have carefully researched the young man.

Yuri is a person that had never shared such details about his past with anyone, nodded without displaying any sign of discomfort.

“Aren’t you angry?”

The young man studied Yuri’s expression and asked. Lost in thought, Yuri eventually replied calmly.

“If I were Jeong Taeui, I’d say: ‘I’m not upset that you found my personal information, but I am a little sad that you asked if it bothers me.’”

The young man closed his mouth. In an instant, the smile vanished from his face. As he stared at him intently, Yuri casually added a remark.

“But I’m not particularly upset about it.”

“……xxxx……”

The young man muttered something under his breath. Although it was in his native language, Yuri didn’t need to go out of his way to interpret it, but the gist was clear enough. Something along the lines of: ‘You damn bastard’, perhaps.

Yuri somehow felt his mood lighten a little after seeing the young man’s sullen and fierce expression, paired with the harsh muttering in that unfamiliar language

“But you clearly knew that would make me feel bad.”

Yuri didn’t respond to those cold words. The young man glared at him, as if confirming the accusation. However, perhaps realizing that he had provoked Yuri first, the young man seemed to have decided to end the conversation at that point.

“I know a lot about Taei-hyung. No, more than a lot. I know what hospital he was born in; the exact hour, minute, and second he was born; what vaccines he’s had at what age, and on what dates.”

“……You’ve got an amazing memory.”

The young man’s eyes sharpened again, but stopped only after noticing Yuri’s genuinely impressed expression.

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but Taei-hyung originally liked me. Then that crazy guy showed up out of nowhere and stole him away.”

‘Really?’ – Yuri walked alongside the young man, glancing at him with curious eyes.

“Everything was going smoothly between us without any issues, but that guy shamelessly snatched him away. We had even agreed beforehand that he wouldn’t interfere with Taei-hyung, but he broke that promise too.”

“A vile and shameless person with no sense of integrity.” – The young man growled, spitting out curses. His eyes blazed with such intensity that it seemed as though a sharp, piercing light might shoot from them.

“I’ll never forgive him.”

The young man muttered to himself in a voice so quiet it was barely audible. Yuri glanced at him briefly before turning his gaze forward without saying a word.

For a while, silence hung in the air. The only sound was the soft crunch of slow footsteps on the firmly packed dirt road.

“What about you, Mr. Gable*? In your youth, who was your first love?”

(*씨 = ssi = Mister or Miss)

The sudden question caught Yuri off guard. His first love? He tried to recall but couldn’t remember anyone. Instead, he turned to the young man and asked in return.

“Isn’t that information in the data about me?”

“Dolores, the girl next door you used to play with when you were 12? Brenda, the one you dated for two months at 16 before she dumped you for someone else? Or Annette, your coworker back when you were at the Intelligence Agency?”

Upon hearing those names, the emotionally detached Yuri finally recalled the women who had briefly passed through his life. After a moment of thought, he shook his head.

“I don’t think there are any……none”

As he said those words, Yuri felt a small jolt in his heart.

Yuri couldn’t believe that he had never thought about this before. Even after reflecting on it, he still couldn’t wrap his head around it, he had never had a first love with anyone. But that didn’t mean he lived without ever loving someone. While he hadn’t been in love, he had dated women a few times, though those relationships didn’t feel like love. He still recalled the charm and elegance of each woman he had been with.

However, as the young man had described, love that consumed ‘a part of one’s youth entirely’, but nothing came to mind. Yuri realized he had rarely experienced emotions so intense that they swept through his entire being

‘Perhaps I’m an incredibly dull and unfeeling person……’ – Yuri suddenly realized, and the thought made him feel a bit melancholic.

The young man smiled as he watched Yuri. He let out a sly smile. There was something about the way his lips curled upward, as if he had won, that was irritating for no reason. Perhaps sensing Yuri’s skewed emotions, the young man playfully patted Yuri on the shoulder in a mockingly generous attempt at consolation.

“Well, don’t be too down about it. You just don’t remember right now. If you think hard enough, there must have been at least one time—even just for a moment—when you were captivated by someone or couldn’t take your eyes off them.”

“Well, if not, never mind.” – The young man said carelessly, clearly unbothered. He seemed genuinely pleased, as if his mischievous streak had finally been satisfied. What a terribly difficult personality.

Yuri frowned slightly as he watched the young man cheerfully step ahead. Once again, this time with even more urgency than before, he desperately searched through his memories. Had there ever been a moment when he was so captivated by someone that he couldn’t take his eyes off them?

“……”

There was.

He didn’t have to think long; the memory surfaced almost immediately, so vivid it had lingered with him all this time. It was a moment that had resurfaced unexpectedly on several occasions since then.

Before he realized it, his pace had slowed. The young man, who had gotten a few steps ahead, turned back. Seeing Yuri blankly staring at him, the young man raised an eyebrow, his expression curious.

“Have you ever felt that way?”

After having just satisfied his mischievous streak, the young man’s expression clearly showed his disappointment at the anticlimax. Yuri simply nodded and picked up his slowed pace again. A “Tsk” sound clicked audibly from the young man’s tongue.

Yuri glanced at the young man’s slanted profile as he walked ahead.

A radiant and beautiful flower that had bloomed underwater.

Even though it existed for only a fleeting moment, it was more stunning than anything Yuri had ever seen or felt beneath the surface.

Even now, the memory of that moment remained vivid in his mind.

*……Thump*

Suddenly, his heart pounded heavily.

“Huh” – Yuri tilted his head slightly.

It didn’t hurt, but there was a dull resonance somewhere within him. Even so, it was vivid—like a long-forgotten passion from his early youth had momentarily awakened.

Huh……?

As Yuri tilted his head and slowed his pace again, the young man, now a few steps ahead, turned back to look at him. Yuri quietly stared at the young man, who was effortlessly carrying a watermelon in one arm. The young man’s expression seemed to ask: ‘What’s wrong?’

“……Hair.” 

“Huh?”

“There’s a bug in your hair……”

Yuri blurted out something to catch the young man’s attention. The truth was, there wasn’t any bug at all, but his eyes and mouth had reacted instinctively.

The young man frowned and tapped his head with his free hand, brushing off his hair. The grasshopper that had been resting there took flight, only to land on the opposite side moments later.

“Is it gone?”

“No, it’s in another spot.” 

Yuri said automatically, his mouth seemingly working on its own, disconnected from his brain.

As Yuri continued muttering, his mouth seemingly acting independently of his mind, the young man quickly shifted the watermelon to his other arm and shook the other side of his head vigorously. The bug took off again, fluttered in the air for a moment, and then, cunningly landed right back where the young man had just lowered his hand.

Yuri hurriedly moved closer to him. He raised his hand to the young man’s head and pretended to brush away the nonexistent bug. He swept through the air until it flew away.

During all this, Yuri’s gaze remained fixed on the young man. The young man also met Yuri’s eyes directly, his sharp observant gaze almost dissecting him. After a moment, as if he had thought of something, the young man’s lips curled into a sly smile, much like a mischievous cat.

“It’s gone now.” 

Yuri said nothing more and walked ahead. The young man quickly caught up to him from behind and stood next to Yuri.

“Thanks. I hate bugs.”

“Is that so? It was a small grasshopper. Just a harmless little bug.”

“But a bug is still a bug. I don’t like them. Whether it’s a grasshopper, a flying insect, or a larvae.”

“……”

“But depending on the case, ‘human bugs’ aren’t so bad. They’re entertaining.”

Yuri turned to look at the young man. To the one who was cheerfully shifting the watermelon back and forth between his hands as if it were a rubber ball.

“You’re pretty strong……”

“Unlike how I seem?”

The young man smiled brightly and added, clearly aware of what Yuri was implying. He had heard such remarks countless times before.

“Ever since I was young, I’ve always attracted quite a lot of ‘human bugs’. I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it? Good looks, sharp mind, solid background, overflowing wealth, and even a seemingly kind personality. Who wouldn’t be drawn in? Heck, even I’d be charmed if I were someone else. But because of all this, it wasn’t just harmless bugs that came my way. What could I do? I had to work out a bit. And before I knew it, I became stronger than most people.”

“I’ve never lost an arm-wrestling match.” – The young man said while casually waving his arms. Despite being hidden under his clothes, gave off no impression of being overly bulky or brutish—just well-proportioned and strong-looking.

Thinking about it, Yuri recalled Ling Tangyun once mentioning that his youngest brother had joined UNHRDO as a valedictorian. The selection process for UNHRDO was notoriously tough, so if someone scored the highest there, they must have extraordinary physical strength.

“Well, good for you.”

Yuri’s physical condition wasn’t particularly lacking compared to others, but since his work mainly relied on his intellect (and quick thinking), there were times when he felt his stamina wasn’t what it used to be. When he occasionally met and talked with people in similar lines of work, he often found himself envying those with excellent physical endurance. He genuinely envied the young man’s youthful energy. Even now, Yuri’s arms were starting to ache from the weight of the watermelon he was carrying, while this person was casually tossing theirs around like it was a toy ball, completely unfazed.

When Yuri mumbled something under his breath, the young man suddenly burst into laughter. He looked at Yuri, who was staring at him with a mix of confusion and curiosity, his eyes narrowing playfully.

“Mr. Gable, you’re really amusing. If I only heard those words, they might sound like sarcasm. But coming from someone like you, I’m sure they’re not.”

“……I wasn’t being sarcastic.”

“I know.”

The young man smiled cheerfully and waved his hand lightly. Then he lowered his smile.

“Anyway, not all ‘human bugs’ bother me. It’s entertaining to see them buzzing around, saying they like me. Watching them flutter in panic at a single gesture, not knowing what to do, and circling around me, that’s fun too.”

Yuri wondered why the young man had been staring intently at him without looking away for a while now. It wasn’t until a moment later that he realized the gaze might be connected to the things the young man was saying.

“Am I that bug?”

“Hahaha, that’s not what I meant.” 

“Of course not.” – The young man said, waving his hand dismissively. Yet, his gaze remained fixed on Yuri, meticulously scanning every corner of his face, as if searching for something almost imperceptible.

Yuri also locked eyes with the young man and slowly studied his features one by one—his eyes, nose, and lips.

……For some reason, it felt like his heart might thud again.

Eventually, the young man furrowed his brows slightly as he stared at Yuri. It was an odd expression – half a smile, half a frown – as if he couldn’t quite decide how to react. Tilting his head, he spoke.

“Wow……, you really are someone with very little expression. Normally, I can tell instantly when someone’s looking at me, but now I’m not so sure…….Oh, or are you staring for some other reason..?”

The young man muttered to himself, thought for a moment, and then spoke.

“Did my brother ask you to keep an eye on me? Well, I’ll be sure to tell him that you took great care of me and made me feel as comfortable as possible.”

“……He said I should watch over you carefully so you don’t get seriously hurt.”

“Whaaa. So that’s what it was.”

The young man clicked his tongue again, his expression sour as if his mood had suddenly dropped. Although he could have walked faster, he deliberately lagged behind Yuri for a moment, only to catch up in just a few steps. Then tilting his head as though in deep thought, he suddenly turned back to face Yuri.

“This isn’t fun at all. I’m starting to get sleepy. I’m heading back.”

As he said that, he tossed the watermelon in one hand as if it were a basketball.

In a panic, Yuriquickly moved the watermelon with one arm and catched the flying watermelon with his free hand. Luckily, he managed to grab it safely, but the impact slammed into his side, sending a sharp pain through him. The weight of the watermelon was no joke.

“Ugh” – Yuri groaned softly, swallowing a low sound of pain. It took him a few seconds before he could finally straighten his hunched body. By then, the young man was already far away, disappearing down the dim alley without so much as a backward glance. It seemed he had lost all interest in Yuri. Yuri stared at the back of his head, watching him walk away without a second thought. The words Yuri shouted next were something he hadn’t expected himself.

“What’s the standard for distinguishing between a person and a bug?”

The word ‘bug’ itself didn’t particularly bother him. Over the course of his life, especially while working, Yuri had heard every kind of insult imaginable—from expletives to outright curses and malicious wishes. Compared to those, being called a bug was almost endearing. Moreover, Yuri had always believed that such words reflected more on the person saying them than on the one receiving them. As such, it hardly registered as something worth getting upset about.

For some reason, Yuri couldn’t shake off the lingering feeling. It wasn’t discomfort but something closer to regret or bitterness..

The young man stopped walking and looked back at Yuri. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, as though he hadn’t expected such a question. Then, slowly, his eyes narrowed with a smile. “Well, let’s see.” – He said, as if he were considering the question for the first time. He tilted his head, and looked up at the sky thoughtfully.

“The standard between a person and a bug…… In some sense—whether positively or negatively—maybe it’s about whether I take the other person even slightly seriously or not. Oh, did that bother you?”

If Yuri were to ask the calmly smiling young man: ‘Am I the latter?’, he would likely smile and then calmly lie: ‘Of course not.’ Somehow, Yuri felt like he had started to understand the young man just a little.

“……No. Just be careful walking at night.” 

When Yuri said that, the young man smiled even more beautifully and waved his arms widely. Then he turned around and walked away with lighter steps than before.

As silently watched his retreating figure, Yuri felt his honest-hearted nature falter. He realized a truth: For the first time in his memory, his emotions had been influenced by someone else’s reaction.

And so Yuri, with his sharp intuition, quickly realized why he felt so melancholic, why the watermelon seemed unusually heavy, and why his heart had been beating in slow yet unmistakably strong and deliberate thuds since a moment ago.