Alain unexpectedly appeared in front of Jeong Taeui while he was leisurely lying under a beach umbrella, enjoying a football broadcast and sipping beer. In short, Taeui was in paradise, and it was at that moment that the man appeared, bringing with him a sense of foreboding.

As soon as Jeong Taeui saw Alain, who had appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of him with an unwavering smile, he felt something was amiss. So when Alain opened his mouth to say: “Hi, Tay”, Taeui immediately stood up, packed his scant belongings, and prepared to leave.

But as he stood up and responded curtly: “Oh, hi”, Alain quickly blocked his way. After a moment of silence, Jeong Taeui wisely abandoned his resistance.

“Ilay’s not here. He’s gone to work.”

“Yeah, I know. I came here to see you, Tay.”

Indeed, just as he had anticipated. Because of this sense of foreboding, he had tried to escape quickly.

Jeong Taeui was experiencing a very precious time.

After months of living in the cold and gloom of Northern Europe, Ilay suddenly announced that he had urgent business to attend to and brought Jeong Taeui to the south of France. Less than a week had passed since then.

Ilay left Jeong Taeui at a beautiful seaside resort, promising to return in ten days before disappearing. And for Jeong Taeui, this was indeed a valuable time, a rare opportunity to enjoy days entirely his own, and he was eagerly savoring every moment with a heart full of excitement.

Living with Ilay wasn’t too difficult – though they shared the same house, it wasn’t uncommon for both to have separate days – but being completely free, completely alone, and unbound, brought a distinctly different feeling…… Thinking this way, he spent the entire day enjoying the fullest laziness and joy.

“Tay, help me.”

Jeong Taeui was busy thinking about what Alain intended to say and how to pretend not to know while skillfully escaping, but all his efforts became futile when Alain unexpectedly got straight to the point. Jeong Taeui just blinked at him for a moment, then bluntly replied: “No.” He told himself that refusing like this might be easier.

“No, you have to help me.”

Alain continued to speak, the smile on his face unwavering, deepening the ominous feeling within Jeong Taeui. No, he couldn’t waver, Taeui told himself he would resolutely refuse for the sake of a peaceful world. No matter what Alain said, he would not agree. With such determination, Taeui responded firmly:  

“Why should I help?”

Alain kept smiling brightly and gently said:  

“For me, for you, and for Rick.”

When Alain pointed to himself and then to Jeong Taeui, spreading both arms and mentioning Rick, Jeong Taeui frowned. It would be a lie to say it was entirely unexpected, but that name gave Taeui a clear sense that he wouldn’t be able to refuse this request.  

“What does that guy who’s at work have to do with this?” 

“The work Rick is doing is exactly what I need your help with.”

Alain smiled so radiantly it was almost aggravating, then lightly patted Jeong Taeui, who squinted in irritation.  

“Brather, three days is enough. Everything will be done in just three days.”

“……”

Three days…… and it coincided exactly with the time Ilay said he’d be back. Meaning, Jeong Taeui’s precious free time officially ended today.  

“What exactly is it about…… No, does Ilay even know you’re asking me for help right now?”

He intended to ask what he had to help with but stopped midway, realizing he was still lucid enough to know that if he learned the reason, every escape route for himself would be completely blocked. And as the ominous premonition was now almost certain, he tried to find one last chance to see if he could get out of this.  

“Hmm——probably not?”

Seeing Alain’s smile become slightly vague and his head tilt, Jeong Taeui guessed that Ilay likely had no idea about this. And this was his last chance.  

Jeong Taeui sprang up from his chair and quickly walked toward the hotel, leaving Alain behind. As if anticipating this, Alain immediately followed.  

“But if you don’t help, Rick will be in trouble. It’s all because Rick killed someone.”  

“He hasn’t just killed once or twice, so what’s the big deal? Your people, your problem.” 

Once you get involved in those people’s affairs, it’s no different than a small fish caught in the battle of whales, and the consequences are not insignificant. So for a small shrimp like Taeui here, knowing full well that to avoid breaking his back, it’s best not to meddle from the start. Therefore, no matter how persistently Alain followed him, he didn’t turn his head but continued walking quickly forward.

But then……

“This matter also involves Jeong Jay.”

When Alain let that name slip, Jeong Taeui unconsciously furrowed his brows this time. The moment that unexpected name was mentioned, a thought flashed through his mind: ‘Oh no, my back is definitely going to break.’…… A sense of foreboding struck him too clearly.

“What now with him! He is living peacefully, why not leave him alone?”

Jeong Taeui glared at Alain with furious eyes, but Alain only nodded and flashed a radiant smile.

“Ohhh, of course. As long as you help me a little, Jay won’t face any issues.”

“And if I don’t help?”

“Probably also no issue.”

‘What the hell……’

Jeong Taeui rolled his eyes dramatically, then turned his head and continued walking. The hotel was just ahead. But his steady steps began to slow down.

Jeong Taeui wanted to ask what this was about, but he knew too well that just asking would be the end of everything. In this world, listening to the whole story and then saying: ‘Understood, I refuse. Alright, goodbye’, was something utterly impossible.

“Under Al Saud’s protection, no one would dare to touch him. But whether intelligence agencies or organizations take notice is another story. Of course, Jeong Jay is already a target of interest for many countries, but avoiding extra trouble is still better, right?”

Eventually, Jeong Taeui stopped walking. Alain, who had been cheerfully rambling on, stopped as well, as if he had been waiting for it. Seeing that carefree smile on Alain’s face again, Jeong Taeui shot him a glare, but in the end,…… he could only sigh, his face deflating in resignation, and ask quietly, dejectedly:

“What is it that you want me to do?”  

**************

It is rumored that the man was an extraordinary code-breaking genius.  

Before even reaching adolescence, he gained fame by decrypting one of the military codes from World War II that had remained unsolved for decades. Since then, he continuously unraveled a series of other long-abandoned codes and became one of the leading figures in the field.  

Because of his resounding reputation, he could not avoid threats and encountered many troublesome situations. Therefore, as soon as his name began to spread, he led an extremely reclusive life, to the point that only very few people knew his whereabouts.  

And now, that illustrious man was standing in front of Jeong Taeui.  

In the form of a dead body……  

“Shima Qinwei. Thirty years old. Born in Shanghai, China. Family includes parents and a younger brother, but he cut ties with them upon reaching adulthood.”

Jeong Taeui listened to the continuous narrative Alain was firing off beside him, while simultaneously glancing at the naked corpse lying right in front of his eyes. He truly did not dare to look directly, as the body was not only exposed but also revealed a slimy genital area, smeared with a cloudy liquid that evidenced what had happened right before death.

That alone was horrifying enough, but what was even more horrifying was another corpse lying right next to it. It was the body of a woman, also in a similar naked state. Her condition was even more terrifying; not only was her groin soaked, but her entire body was covered in bruises and whip marks, indicating that the man had brutally beaten her. Worse still, there was a clear handprint around her neck, suggesting she had been strangled to death.

But the most terrifying of all was Ilay, sitting in front of the two corpses with an incredibly cold expression, staring straight at Jeong Taeui.

“The suitable person you mentioned—is it Taei?”

Ilay smirked with disbelief mixed with mockery, then shifted his icy gaze towards Alain. Alain slightly flinched under the pressure but then shrugged as if he had no other choice.

“Who could be more suitable? An Asian man with an average-looking face, about 1.80 meters tall, weighing around 70 kilograms, quick and perceptive in his actions. Most importantly, his ability to protect himself exceeds the average person’s. Do you have anyone better? If you do, suggest a better way.”

When Alain responded, Ilay remained silent and merely directed his frigid eyes towards Jeong Taeui instead of replying. Meanwhile, Taeui sat upright across from Ilay, trying to maintain composure, feeling like a prisoner dragged into the hideout of a ruthless gang.

The place Alain brought Jeong Taeui to couldn’t exactly be called a ‘gang hideout’, as it was far too luxurious for such a label. Initially, with the sense of being a creature herded to the slaughterhouse, Taeui somewhat reassured himself upon seeing a magnificent wooden mansion in the middle of a sprawling estate, resembling a high-class vacation villa. But unexpectedly, after entering the beautiful house, he was led down to a very suspicious basement. And even more suspicious was that the basement was a soundproofed room…… a place where he never thought he would witness such a horrific scene.

Recalling the room where Ilay was sitting in front of two corpses – a room with a bed scattered with all sorts of strange tools clearly designed for sexual purposes – Taeui involuntarily shuddered.

And Ilay himself, silently pondering with an expressionless face – but in Jeong Taeui’s eyes, it was clearly an expression of reluctance and discomfort – before Alain’s suspicious words. Although this wasn’t too dangerous, his muttering voice still exuded dissatisfaction.

Ilay slowly glanced over at Jeong Taeui, his gaze seemingly considering seriously, as if carefully evaluating the level of suitability. After observing for a while, he muttered: “If it’s him, then there’s probably no need to worry too much.” And then, as if having made a decision, Ilay turned to look at Alain and nodded slightly.

“Alright, since you brought him here, you have to take responsibility. If Taei gets harmed even a single strand of hair, you won’t be at peace, Alain.”

The moment Ilay finished speaking and looked away from Alain, Alain was irresponsibly shouting: “Even if I brought him here, he’s your lover, so you should take care of him, right?” And then, Ilay stood up. Once he made a decision, Ilay never looked back; there was no trace of discomfort or dissatisfaction on his face anymore.

“……Did I make a mistake coming here?”

Jeong Taeui grumbled wearily, and Ilay just shrugged lightly.

“Well, I can’t say you came to the right place, but…… thinking about it, it’s not too bad. It’s been a while since we played together.”

“……Can I go back?”

Jeong Taeui turned to look at Alain, speaking with a hopeful tone, but received no response.

As soon as they returned to the hotel from the beautiful beach, Alain didn’t give him time to go back to his room but dragged him straight to the rooftop, where a helicopter was waiting. And again, without giving him time to consider, Alain almost pulled him onto the helicopter and brought him here. As a result, Jeong Taeui now had nothing: no wallet, no phone, nothing on him. Everything was left in the hotel room. Even the clothes he was wearing now were just knee-length swim trunks and a thin zip-up jacket.

“Alright, Tay. For the next three days, you’ll be this man.”

Alain pointed to the corpse of the dead man as he spoke. Jeong Taeui looked down at the corpse with a reluctant expression.

“Doesn’t look like me at all.”

“It’s okay. The build and age aren’t too different, and Asians often look similar. Most importantly, this person lived very mysteriously, so hardly anyone knows his face.”

Alain lightly kicked the body of the man with a bullet hole through his forehead, which had killed him instantly, and said:

“Despite appearances, he was a genius at decoding and extremely talented in this field. So much so that many people both wanted to possess him and eliminate him. The person who hired me this time is one of them. To put it briefly, they tasked him with decoding an extremely complex code, which is related to something very dangerous. Initially, he knew nothing and happily accepted the job, but when he started working on it, he realized that if he succeeded in decoding it, his identity would be seriously threatened. He was experienced in dealing with many dangerous situations, so he was very good at protecting himself. That’s why he disappeared with the code in hand.”

“This time, he really protected himself in a completely wrong way.” – Alain said while lightly kicking the man’s body once more.

“So the person who hired me came to me, demanding that I find him and force him to decode that code. But as you can see――”

Alain extended his palm towards the man’s body and Ilay. Seeing Ilay raise an eyebrow slightly, Jeong Taeui nodded as if he understood.

“You mean, before anything could be done, Ilay killed him?”

“If you’re talking about that.”

Ilay spoke while tapping lightly on the wall a few times.

“I just stood in front of him, but he panicked to the point of pulling out a gun and shooting at me. As a result, the bullet ricocheted off the bulletproof wall and unfortunately pierced his forehead, killing him on the spot.”

“Thanks to his stupid self-defense system, even the walls are bulletproof, that’s how it turned out.” – Ilay said and clicked his tongue. This meant that his death was an accident that no one could have foreseen.

Jeong Taeui looked down at the unfortunate man’s body and tilted his head.

“But even if you ask me to impersonate him, I don’t know how to decode those kinds of codes.”

“Of course, it’s not about asking you to decode. The decoding task has been assigned to Jeong Jay.”

Jeong Taeui remained silent at Alain’s words. He looked at Alain with coldness, but Alain still smiled brightly as usual.

‘I really want to tear that smile off……’

“Why is Jaeui-hyung involved in this?”

“Among the people whose whereabouts we currently know, only Jeong Jay has the ability to decode that code within the three-day deadline that the client requested.”

“Did hyung agree to that?”

“I told him that you were also involved in this case, and he agreed immediately.”

Alain spoke about his deceit with an incredibly nonchalant attitude, making Jeong Taeui yell out: “HEY, YOU DAMN SWINDLER!!!” But even when insulted, Alain maintained the same calm expression as if nothing had happened.

“The end result is correct anyway, isn’t it? After all, you’re already caught up in this mess.”

In the end, Alain had used both brothers as bait to draw them into his plan.

Jeong Taeui was so furious that he couldn’t control himself, giving Alain a strong, merciless kick to the shin. But even when kicked, Alain’s smile didn’t waver in the slightest, as if it didn’t affect him at all, and he simply said lightly: “Hahaha, that hurts.”

“That code, you said solving it would be life-threatening, right? And yet you handed it over to Jaeui-hyung to handle? Damn it, you bastard――. Today, you die at my hands.”

Although in reality, if it came to an actual fight, the one who would die would be Jeong Taeui, but in his boiling anger, he grabbed Alain’s collar and shook him violently. However, Alain, shaken to the point his head wobbled, still laughed heartily and said:

“That’s why I brought you here. So that when the decoding is done, people will believe the decoder isn’t ‘Jeong Jay’ but rather ‘Shima Qinwei.’”

“――.”

Jeong Taeui suddenly lost all his strength, let go of Alain’s collar, and slumped into the chair next to him.

“Why not just say he’s dead and find someone else to replace him from the beginning? Like my brother, or someone else?”

“Haha, it’s not that simple, Tay. This code is periodically changed, so the time limit to decode it is very short, and the number of people capable of decoding it within that time frame can be counted on one hand, and hardly anyone dares to take on the task. Even this guy, someone willing to risk his life for money, ran away halfway through.”

“In the end, what is this thing to have turned out like this?”

Alain, who had been grinning widely, suddenly lowered his voice mysteriously:

“It’s a top-secret military document, and depending on the decoded content, it could change the current state of the war. That’s why, in fact, the client had requested that once the decoding was done, he must be killed to eliminate any loose ends. He was already on the list of those who had to die, but everything got messed up because the sequence of events was reversed. For now, I’ll only reveal this much.”

Jeong Taeui could only click his tongue as he witnessed the radiant smile on Alain’s face. Yeah, right, perhaps it’s best not to listen any further.

In this world, there are still countless countries engulfed in war. Maybe the fate of one of them is hanging by a thread here. The money and power involved are certainly immense. Truly dangerous.

“However, if he had been smarter and knew how to negotiate, he could have at least saved his life. Who would’ve thought he’d die such a pointless death like this.”

The light kicks to the corpse of the man, accompanied by a slightly irritated tone, showed that even though Alain was smiling brightly, his mood wasn’t exactly good.

“Three days. The client’s timeframe is three days. Luckily, Jeong Jay said he could handle it during that period, and you, Tay, just need to pretend to be Shima Qinwei for three days.”

“……Pretend with whom?”

Jeong Taeui glanced around at those present – Alain, Ilay, himself, and the two corpses – then asked with a weary expression. Alain smiled radiantly.

“With the supervisor that the client is sending over.”

“Supervisor? What now?”

“The client doesn’t completely trust me, so they decided to send a supervisor. Officially, they’re here to assist me, but in reality…… They’ll arrive tomorrow.”

Jeong Taeui frowned. The more he listened, the worse it sounded.

“Three days, huh……” – Taeui muttered, then asked further:

“I know absolutely nothing about Shima Qinwei. How am I supposed to pretend to be him?”

“Don’t worry. Nobody really knows what he’s like either. There’s hardly any information about him. Just a few notable quirks, like how he’s extremely exceptional at decoding or how he’s obsessed with health to the point of monitoring his biometric indicators daily. Oh, and he takes over twenty-six different kinds of medication as well, or……”

‘Cares for himself so meticulously, yet ends up with such a terrible fate, dying such a meaningless death.’

Jeong Taeui thought almost involuntarily, then asked further:

“If during that time they try something like kidnapping Shima Qinwei’s relatives or friends to pressure him, won’t this whole thing be exposed immediately?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. He lives so isolated that even I find it hard to trace anyone he knows. Moreover, he has cut ties with his family since he was a minor. All the members of his family despise him.”

“……Why?”

Jeong Taeui asked skeptically, but Alain didn’t answer immediately; he just smiled for a while. He mumbled: “That’s one of the ‘special characteristics’ of this man,” then nodded towards the corpse.

“Look at this scene. Don’t you think of anything?”

Jeong Taeui glanced at the bodies again. A man and a woman lay next to each other, their bodies covered in injuries. After frowning for a moment, he reluctantly said:

“Is it something related to sex?”

“BINGO!”

Alain excitedly exclaimed and even snapped his fingers enthusiastically.

“He suffers from severe sexual disorders. He has all kinds of perversions: voyeurism, exhibitionism, sadism, a bit of pedophilia, and even necrophilic tendencies.”

“He’s like a department store of sexual perversions.” – Alain said with a cheerful laugh. But Jeong Taeui’s face darkened, and his heart grew bitter.

“Since he was a minor, he was infamous in the neighborhood for depraved acts including child molestation and other perverse behavior, to the point that his family had to move multiple times. But eventually, before reaching adulthood, he raped and murdered a neighbor boy. His sadism was so severe that the victim’s body was mutilated beyond recognition. Even after killing him, he still did those things to the corpse,”

“Stop, that’s enough.”

Jeong Taeui raised his hand and shouted, signaling to stop. Any sympathy he had for this unfortunate man had completely vanished.

“――Anyway, his family had long been exhausted from constantly moving, so in the end, they completely cut ties with him. After that, although occasionally someone came looking for him and asked the family, they always claimed not to know anything and hadn’t been in contact with him since then.”

“So there’s no need to worry about facing his family or old acquaintances, right?”

“Yeah. His family can’t be used as leverage to threaten him. He also has no emotional attachment to his family at all. ……But, Tay, what you need to worry about isn’t this.”

“……Then what exactly should I worry about?”

“I already told you. This guy is such a severe sex addict that if he doesn’t indulge in his perversions daily, he can’t stand it. This fact is just as famous as his decryption skills. You have to impersonate him for three days, and that’s what you should be worried about, shouldn’t you?”

Jeong Taeui’s face immediately turned pale. He vaguely saw Alain still smiling, and in the corner of his eye, he also glimpsed Ilay smirking slightly.

“Wait…… wait a minute!…… But I didn’t―”

“You understand now, Tay? You absolutely cannot reveal your identity. If you do, you will be in danger, and so will I, as well as Rick. Not to mention Jeong Jay―although he is very well protected and supported in every way, in the long run, he will have to be extremely cautious.”

Jeong Taeui stammered, wanting to say that he needed to reconsider the whole situation, but Alain didn’t give him the chance to speak and immediately cut him off. Jeong Taeui glanced at the corpse, his face becoming increasingly pale.

At that moment, Ilay looked at his watch and then stood up.

“Alright, if everything’s been said, I’ll be going.”

“Dealing with this body is your job, Alain.” – Ilay’s words caused Jeong Taeui to look at him in utter confusion.

“Where are you going?”

The answer didn’t come from Ilay but from Alain.

“This is the mission I received. Although I had some trouble locating Shima Qinwei and had to enlist Rick’s help.”

“Didn’t you just say this was also Ilay’s responsibility?”

“That’s right. Which is why Rick will return tomorrow and stay here for the next three days.”

When Jeong Taeui shifted his puzzled gaze from Alain to Ilay, who was heading toward the stairs, Ilay casually explained:

“I’m one of the supervisors hired by the client.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah…… to be precise, my job this time is to uncover the true identity of the client―the one who wants to decode the cipher―because he hasn’t revealed his identity even to us.”

“Same with Alain.” – Ilay said nonchalantly, but Jeong Taeui’s face worsened even further.

“So to put it bluntly, both of you are basically double agents, huh?”

“Alright, I don’t have any more time, I really have to go. So starting tomorrow, we’ll meet again as strangers, Alain Notong and Shima Qinwei.”

Ilay interrupted what Jeong Taeui was about to say, raised his hand for a light wave, and then went up the stairs. Just before stepping through the thick soundproof door at the top of the stairs, Ilay turned back to look at Taeui and gave a faint smile.

“Starting tomorrow should be interesting, Mister Shima Qinwei, the sex addict.”

“――Wait, I was planning to give up too,”

But before Taeui could finish his sentence, Ilay had already left, leaving behind the echoing sound of the closing door, rendering Taeui’s words meaningless.

When Taeui turned to look at Alain with a bewildered expression, Alain still smiled brightly as usual. Catching Taeui’s gaze, Alain shrugged as if this was no big deal.

“Just keep it simple. There’s nothing complicated about it. That guy has exhibitionism, so you just need to wander around without wearing clothes—and anyway, besides the swim trunks you’re wearing, you don’t have any other clothes—and he’s a voyeur, so you just need to go somewhere at night and secretly watch people a bit. Just act like someone whose head is filled with nothing but sex sex sex.”

“WHAT!!!”

Jeong Taeui involuntarily yelled, but Alain, as always, only laughed carefreely without any other reaction. And right after that, he saw Alain muttering: “Haizz, but what to do with this body, such a hassle”, completely ignoring him. Finally, Jeong Taeui couldn’t stand it anymore, so he used all his strength to kick Alain in the shin once again.