The convention center building, where the forum was being held, was a semi-open-air twin tower structure. Two massive central blocks were built stacked on top of each other like bricks, with a space running through the middle, forming two buildings standing side-by-side. For the security team, this was a troublesome structure.

Whether the target’s location could be exposed or not depended heavily on small differences in direction and distance. If they were unlucky, they had to deploy guards on every floor, both above and below, relative to the target’s floor. Not to mention, due to the structure being connected to the adjacent building through various open and closed connecting corridors, the scope of the adjacent building also had to be considered. As the Captain put it: “If we’re going to destroy the twin towers, we might as well destroy this whole building, this damn structure.”

Fortunately, the VIP seating area of the hall was located on the opposite side of the lobby, so they didn’t need to deploy guards on every floor. However, there were still certain points that had to be secured.

And currently, Christoph was stationed at one of those points, the sky garden outside the opposite building. This position overlooked the entire hall and even the external emergency exits, an ideal location to target the hall. Throughout the forum, as long as Al-Faisal was inside the hall, Christoph would be here with binoculars. Only about 3-4 hours, but 3-4 hours without a break was much longer than one might imagine.

Anyway, Christoph liked this open-air, breezy garden on the 15th floor. Not a bad workplace. There was just one thing.

“Well, anyway, outside surveillance is better than close protection, right? I can sneak in a little rest.”

Moreover, this time, there were no prior danger warnings, so he felt somewhat relieved. If only every job were like this. If only there wasn’t the young man chattering next to him.

The schedules of those invited to the forum were mostly the same. The basic schedule was identical, with only slight differences in individual appointments. Richard’s schedule was also similar to Al-Faisal’s. And he also had his own security detail in addition to the security provided by the organizers.

The young man chattering away next to Christoph was a member of Richard’s security detail, assigned to outside surveillance. Despite his incessant chatter, his long-range weapon skills seemed quite good.

“Ah, our chairman is talking to the chairman over there. That chairman over there is a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family, right? Wow, oil money, so enviable. Oil prices have been skyrocketing lately.”

If only he would be quiet.

Christoph didn’t bother looking at the young man who was looking through his binoculars. But seeing him still chattering away even without being acknowledged, Christoph thought he was quite persistent.

Looking through the binoculars, just as the young man had said, Richard was chatting with Al-Faisal. They were sitting next to each other. Throughout the four days of the forum, unless there was a special reason, the seating arrangements wouldn’t change, so they would probably continue sitting like that.

“Our chairman is a really good person. Before departing for here, my mother suddenly fell ill, so I was late. I arrived last night. And this morning, when I met the chairman, he didn’t scold me or get upset that I was late due to personal matters, but instead inquired about my mother’s health. Among people of such high standing, it’s rare to find someone who cares about their subordinates like him.”

Certainly, the young man who had just joined Tarten a few months prior was innocently praising Richard to Christoph.

“I guess your previous superior was a real bastard. That’s what you call a good boss, huh?”

Christoph muttered without taking his eyes off the binoculars. The young man went: “Huh?” and looked at Christoph. He must have misheard. Christoph pretended not to know what was going on, and continued looking through the binoculars.

Richard in the binoculars, as usual when appearing before a crowd, was wearing a dignified yet gentle smile, looking every bit the excellent boss. But Christoph had no intention of wasting his breath saying something like: ‘Do you know how dark his insides are?’ Because it wasn’t his business anyway, nor were they close enough for him to care. He should just keep hypnotizing himself or something.

Christoph was indifferently observing the person who hired him and the Captain along with a few colleagues standing discreetly nearby when,

“Our chairman, you see, is different from the typical high-ranking executive—he’s friendly, down-to-earth, and even very dedicated and loyal.”

Christoph, who had been looking through the binoculars without moving a muscle, now froze, unable to move.

He wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him, or if the guy next to him was delusional. Christoph creakily turned his head to look at the young man, who continued: “It’s rare to find someone like that these days”, and concluded that this guy was definitely crazy. Either him or Christoph, one of them was speaking a language that sounded like German but wasn’t.

The young man, seemingly sensing Christoph’s gaze, turned his head. His innocent eyes shifted to Christoph’s clenched fist. Probably not understanding why Christoph was clenching his fist like that, he innocently said,

“Oh, are you married? Wow, I wouldn’t have thought you were the type. ……Ah, no, I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just…… handsome people—especially handsome like you—they usually have a hard time getting married early. It’s really impressive.”

Christoph stared coldly at the young man who was giving a compliment that didn’t sound like one at all, then looked down at his hand. A ring-shaped tracking device was on his finger. It was a bit loose on his ring finger, so he wore it on his index finger, even on his right hand, and this guy could still say that, proving he wasn’t crazy, just stupid.

The thing that his ‘faithful and devoted chairman’ threw at him. Of course, it originally came from the Captain on their side. His colleagues had suddenly all become family men.

Christoph looked the young man up and down, pausing for a moment at the pocket calculator he had clipped to his breast pocket. That was it over there. The same shape, just a different material.

“Marriage really doesn’t go as planned. Our chairman, such a perfect and flawless person, is still single.”

“He’s divorced.”

Christoph couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke up. And this time, the young man heard him clearly, so he looked at Christoph with slight surprise and nodded: “Ah, you knew. It’s quite well known.”

“But what’s more surprising is that even though it’s been almost ten years, our chairman is still living alone. I heard he has no intention of remarrying.”

“Probably afraid that if he remarries, his wife will run away again.”

This guy must not have heard the rumor that Catherine couldn’t stand his perversion and left. Christoph scoffed with an impassive face, and this time, the young man seemed to hear it, the smile disappearing from his face. There was a hint of displeasure in his eyes as he looked at Christoph.

“That’s not it. He’s a very affectionate person. I heard that after his wife remarried, he couldn’t forget her, so he decided to raise his child alone. He’s truly a faithful and devoted person.”

Now Christoph understood why those two absurd words had appeared. But the process leading up to it was preposterous. Christoph unconsciously stared at the young man with wide eyes. If the tabloids and weekly magazines that published novel-like articles (or article-like novels) knew about this young man’s existence, they would surely rush to recruit him.

“I never knew that living alone and raising a child was considered faithful and devoted.”

Christoph, who had been persistently ignoring him until now, had started responding to the young man at some point. He realized: Even absurdity has its limits; if it goes too far, it can’t be ignored.

The young man, realizing Christoph’s sarcasm, frowned. “That’s not it,” – He lowered his voice and leaned slightly towards Christoph. Although they were three or four steps apart and couldn’t touch each other, Christoph still unconsciously leaned in the other direction.

“When I was newly hired by Tarten, there was a rumor that the chairman told the former chairman and the elders during a meal that he had no intention of remarrying because there was someone in his heart. At that time, a server who was carrying the food—my close friend who referred me to that place—heard every word clearly. The chairman muttered to himself: ‘It can’t be done anyway.’ What does that mean?”

The young man’s eyes sparkled as he whispered as if telling a secret.

“Someone in his heart but can’t get married——besides his ex-wife, who else could it be?”

“If he’s having an affair, even if there’s someone in his heart, he can’t get married, according to German law. Or it could be a minor. A man in his thirties, if he has a conscience, couldn’t say something like: ‘Wait for the minor to grow up and then get married.’ Or it could be……”

Perhaps a family member, a close relative, or even a man.

Christoph suddenly fell silent.

“……, ……Do you have some kind of grudge against our chairman?”

The smile had disappeared from the young man’s face; he was glaring at Christoph. “Nothing.” – Christoph replied curtly and nonchalantly touched his face.

He suddenly saw his reflection in the glass door. On the shiny, mirror-like glass surface, Christoph’s face was as impassive as usual. But somehow, he looked bewildered, and that irritated him.

“That’s not it. He said it was someone who already belonged to him.”

“Then it must be his ex-wife, what clearer proof is there than that?” – The young man said bluntly. Then he glanced at Christoph with displeasure and looked through his binoculars again. Christoph also looked through his binoculars. He saw Richard smiling calmly, occasionally responding to Al-Faisal.

Christoph could roughly imagine it. Among the Tarten elders, there were a few who were particularly insistent about marriage. Even when Christoph was still in Dresden, despite knowing what kind of person he was, they didn’t dare say it directly to him, but would whisper to others: “That guy should get married.” Those people surely wouldn’t leave him alone.

He must have been quite annoyed. If it were a subordinate, he could just step on them, but they were family elders; given his situation, he couldn’t do that. That’s why he just beat around the bush and then gave a definitive answer. (And Christoph guessed that those old men would still grumble and find ways to bring up marriage.)

“……―.”

Christoph looked away from the binoculars. He took a step back. It felt like he was inside the binoculars, not the building opposite him, but actually inside the binoculars.

A cigarette would be nice at times like these, but he hardly ever smoked because he hated the lingering smell on his clothes. Christoph leaned against the flowerbed and looked at the building opposite him. A spot his naked eye couldn’t clearly see.

“Bastard.”

After a long while, those words escaped like a sigh.

‘Whatever. Forget it. It’s none of your business. Whatever he says, you don’t care anymore. So, just stop.’

Christoph clicked his tongue. He picked up the water bottle placed next to him and wet his dry lips. Only then did his chest ease a little.

Just then. It was intuition. Something that came suddenly, completely unannounced.

Christoph, still drinking his water, glanced up slightly. One of the windows of the building opposite him, 3-4 floors above where he was standing, caught his eye.

Something seemed to glint inside, but it was indistinct to the naked eye. He might have been mistaken; from this position, all he could see were windows reflecting the sky. Christoph didn’t bother using his binoculars, just stared indifferently at that window.

Observing.

From inside that window, a pair of eyes were directed towards him.

No one had told him, nor was there any evidence, but his intuition told him so, and it felt like a certainty.

“……, ……”

Christoph stared at the window for a while, then looked away. He’d lost interest. The gaze was merely observing; there was no indication that anything would come flying over right now, so there was nothing new.

And besides, if it were those who wanted to vent their anger meaninglessly, they wouldn’t think of taking neat revenge with a shot from afar. They would definitely ambush him or something, appear in front of him, and spout some stupid nonsense.

He had never felt threatened by such things. What was gnawing at his mind, making him restless, wasn’t such trivial matters, but……

“Ah, our chairman is yawning. He has moments of carelessness too…… ehe.”

……The noisy mouth beside him kept chattering about things he hadn’t asked about.

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

When Christoph stepped out of the bathroom, Richard was sitting at the table in the living room, intently staring at his laptop. He must have heard the bathroom door open, but Richard didn’t look away from the screen. Christoph walked past him and took a bottle of water from the refrigerator. After cooling down his body with a shower, it was time to quench his thirst with cold water.

Christoph poured himself a full glass of water, slowly drank it, and let out a long, languid breath. It seemed that, having finished a segment of work, Richard closed one of the open windows on his screen.

“Christoph. Ring.”

“Huh?”

“The ring. While you were showering, the assistant captain of Al-Faisal’s security detail came to retrieve it.”

“Oh,” – Christoph removed the ring from his index finger and placed it next to Richard’s laptop. Richard only got up from his seat after pressing the intercom button to call for room service.

“Are you done working?”

“Not yet. Just taking a short break.”

Richard walked over to Christoph, then poured water into the kettle. It seemed he was going to make tea. That tea, though Christoph didn’t know if it actually helped with sleep, he quite liked the taste, and Richard made it for him every night.

“I’m not sleeping yet.”

Christoph glanced at the teapot that Richard usually prepared for him before bed. Richard calmly replied, showing no irritation: “I’m drinking it. To relax. I’ll make yours later.”

While Richard made the tea, Christoph went to sit in front of the computer, glancing through the remaining open windows. Richard gave him a sidelong glance and said casually: “Those are all classified documents.” Christoph also replied nonchalantly, “Oh really?” and continued browsing.

“These, do you have to go through all of them today?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ll probably have to stay up all night then.”

“No. I can probably get about three hours of sleep.”

Richard replied softly. He picked up the steaming mug of hot water, returned to sit opposite Christoph, and pulled the laptop Christoph had been looking at closer to himself. Although he said he was taking a break, his fingers still occasionally tapped on the keyboard.

“Busy, huh?”

“I didn’t come here for a vacation. It’s no busier than usual.”

The workload that would take others 3 or 4 nights to complete, Richard handled in just one night – even having time for a nap – while maintaining a completely normal expression. Just as he said, it seemed like it was just the amount of work he handled daily.

“…….”

Someone as incredibly busy as him, to be able to take a few days of leave every few months, must work diligently to an extent that even workaholics would find daunting. Yet he persistently sought out Christoph. For all these years.

Christoph tried not to think about it, but he knew it well. Even so, when he witnessed it firsthand, he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

“Something like this probably won’t happen again, but if something similar occurs next time, let me know in advance. I’ll arrange my work schedule accordingly then.”

Christoph stared at Richard, who had said that nonchalantly, and blurted out,

“You’re not getting married?”

Richard seemed quite surprised by the question. For a moment, he stared blankly at Christoph. Christoph himself hadn’t expected to ask that. He only realized it after the words had left his mouth.

A short and so awkward silence fell. Soon after, Richard regained his composure, scrutinizing Christoph’s face as if searching for some small clue behind this unexpected question. Christoph frowned, annoyed with himself for saying something so foolish.

“I don’t know yet. I might get married if German law changes. To allow both consanguineous marriage and same-sex marriage.”

“……”

After a moment, Richard said coldly, and Christoph fell silent. He didn’t ask any further. Didn’t ask why, nor who. Instead, he frowned and muttered to himself.

“It would be nice if that loudmouth heard this.”

“It would be great if that loudmouth heard this,” – Christoph muttered. Richard looked at him quizzically. Then, Richard waited silently, his gaze urging Christoph to explain.

“I had to listen to him sing your praises all day today. One of your bodyguards.”

“An outside bodyguard? My bodyguard…… I’m not sure about the duty roster…… Brown hair, brown eyes? Or blond hair, green eyes?”

“Blond hair, blue eyes.”

“Ahh, Halt. A naive young man.”

Richard asked to confirm, then nodded as if he recognized the description. “Naive,” – Christoph snorted.

“Rather than naive, it would be more accurate to say he’s an idiot.”

“Sometimes excessive naiveté can make people seem that way…… But, what does whether or not I get married have to do with Halt?”

Richard narrowed his eyes at Christoph. Christoph remained silent. Ignoring topics he didn’t want to talk about was the best approach. But this method, which was usually quite effective, didn’t seem to work this time. “Christoph?” Richard called his name; clearly, he was going to wait patiently. It seemed that damned question had bothered him.

Christoph clicked his tongue. Whatever, forget it.

“He said you haven’t forgotten Catherine. That’s why you haven’t remarried.”

Richard’s expression vanished. This time, he truly seemed stunned, as if he’d heard something unexpected.

“Catherine……?”

He repeated the name doubtfully, as if unsure who it was, then looked up at the ceiling and hummed in agreement. It seemed he was aware of the rumors about him spreading around. Well, someone who made a living by trading information couldn’t possibly be unaware of information about himself.

Richard chuckled, finding it amusing.

“It seems like while I was busy working, the two of you had quite a pleasant chat. Anything else besides that?”

“What else can you say to an idiot who keeps babbling about how you’re raising a child alone, how faithful and devoted you are to Catherine, and how much you still love her?”

Richard burst out laughing. Well, it was quite funny. Christoph glared at him.

“Faithful and devoted, huh? Thanks. I’ll have to give Halt a handsome reward.”

“Catherine…… I haven’t met her often, but she’s a good woman. The two of you—at least from the outside—looked quite good together…… Your personalities seemed to match, too?”

Christoph had hardly ever met Richard’s ex-wife. Just a few chance encounters from afar at funerals or weddings of acquaintances. From a distance, they looked like the perfect couple. When talking privately, they also seemed close, like good friends. At least, in the few times Christoph had seen them.

Richard silently looked at Christoph. The playful look in his eyes was gone, and he turned away with a slightly displeased expression.

“We were quite compatible work-wise.”

“That’s a shame.”

“……I don’t know what you two talked about, but don’t tell me you believed that nonsense. I haven’t regretted her, not even once.”

“Whatever. It’s none of my business.”

But as soon as he said that, Christoph froze. Because Richard’s face momentarily stiffened.

Just for a fleeting moment. Immediately after, he returned to his usual unreadable, impassive expression. But Christoph couldn’t take his eyes off Richard. ……It happened again. A tightness in his chest.

“Believing in such foolish rumors is the stupidest thing in the world.”

Richard said evenly, as if nothing had happened. “Well……,” – Christoph deflected, replying vaguely. He felt a heavy weight in his chest, as if he’d done something wrong.

“You shouldn’t believe the nonsense that people make up for fun. If so, I’ll have to ask in return. Is it true that you and Al-Saud have a shady relationship?”

“What?”

An unexpected arrow flew from an unforeseen direction. Christoph’s eyes widened, as if he’d been struck in the head. Richard tilted his head, took a sip of his tea, and intently observed Christoph’s expression.

“No matter how you look at it, that handsome man seems more suited to the role of a secret lover than a bodyguard. I heard that Al-Saud pays special attention to him and is very interested in him. Even on weekends, when that person is off duty, Al-Saud frequently inquires about his whereabouts and what he’s doing, then shows up there.”

“Who’s the lover?”

Christoph’s face immediately darkened. Richard narrowed his eyes, his gaze piercing Christoph.

“I’ve been meaning to ask for a while now. Though it’s just a rumor for fun, the information comes from a fairly accurate source.”

Of course, information obtained under the name of Tarten would be highly accurate. In fact, that rumor – if you disregarded the conclusion about a shady relationship – wasn’t entirely untrue. Al-Saud was indeed more interested in Christoph than the other bodyguards and frequently sought him out on weekends. But the reason wasn’t shady at all.

“It’s not because of me, but because I——”

Christoph was about to explain, still reeling from the shock, but then abruptly stopped. Richard raised an eyebrow, a puzzled look on his face. Christoph stared at him for a long moment, then spoke hesitantly, his expression filled with reluctance.

“I often, no, sometimes visit Jeong Jay. Since he’s Taei’s older brother, I was curious, and since I know a lot about Taei, I wanted to hear more…… something like that.”

On his days off, when he had free time, he occasionally went to see Jeong Jaeui. The first couple of times were just brief visits, but the stories about Jeong Taeui from Jeong Jaeui’s perspective were very different from what Christoph knew, so he frequently went to hear those stories afterward.

And for some reason, whenever he was with Jeong Jaeui, Al-Saud would appear. He had no particular impression of the conversations with that man.

So, he had been investigating Christoph’s location to appear whenever Jeong Jaeui was there.

“Seems like he’s really worried that the genius he worked so hard to secure might get snatched away by someone else. Anyone who so much as gets near Jeong Jay gets that sharp, watchful glare from him. It’s like I’m some headhunter sneaking in under the radar or something…… It’s a bit different, but yeah, in that sense, Al-Saud does pay more attention to me than to the other bodyguards.”

Christoph shrugged. A single truth being distorted into countless ridiculous rumors was commonplace, and he didn’t care much, but it seemed that dirty rumors had spread somewhere.

Al-Saud’s lover? That thought had never even crossed his mind. On the contrary, it seemed like he wanted Christoph as far away as possible.

But Richard, facing a frowning Christoph, seemed to be lost in another thought. He silently watched Christoph, then muttered as if to himself.

“Jeong Jay…… Did he tell you a lot of stories about Jeong Tay?”

“Because besides that, we have nothing in common to talk about.”

“Besides, I initially went to see him to talk about that,” Christoph shrugged. Richard hummed, ……as if pondering something, then asked again.

“Do you still keep in touch with Jeong Tay often?”

“No, not very often.”

Christoph’s expression suddenly turned cold. He frowned slightly.

“He travels around a lot, so every time I hear he’s back in Berlin and try to contact him, the timing’s never right.”

He had a feeling that Rick was deliberately getting in the way.

Lately, whenever Rick went out for work, unlike before, he often took Taeui with him, so the number of days they stayed in Berlin had decreased considerably. Yet, every time he heard they had returned to Berlin and tried calling, that guy would definitely be the one to answer the phone, and then he’d just go on and on, saying Taeui was sleeping, in the shower, or had just stepped out and hadn’t noticed the call. —There was even a time when he clearly heard Taeui’s vague but unmistakable voice through the receiver: “Who is it? Isn’t it the person looking for me?”, yet he shamelessly replied loudly for Taeui to hear: “No, it’s someone else”, then turned back to the phone and lied through his teeth: “I think he just went out. I’ll let him know you called when he gets back.” —So, only when he heard that Rick had gone out alone for work did he have a chance of talking to Taeui, even if only briefly.

Just thinking about it made Christoph burn with anger again, and he muttered under his breath: “That despicable……” But then again, that’s the kind of person he’d always been. Someone who added nothing of value to anyone’s life.

Christoph gently rubbed the space between his furrowed brows in frustration, then leaned back in his chair.

“Anyway, the rumors about me and Al-Faisal are fabricated.”

Christoph said bluntly. Richard nodded in agreement.

“From the start, I didn’t believe the rumors that Al-Saud was secretly keeping you as a lover. Because he’s someone who worked very hard to get his lover, and now he’s even living under the same roof with that person.”

“Huh?”

Christoph looked at Richard quizzically. But Richard didn’t seem to want to say anything more about it. Perhaps such things weren’t important to him. He silently watched Christoph, rubbing his chin, lost in thought. “Jeong Tay……,” – He murmured, then chuckled.

“Just a man you’ve known for less than two months.”

Richard’s eyes darkened. Whenever he was angry or in a bad mood, those eyes would become darker, and at such times, they seemed even colder. Cold enough to send shivers down one’s spine.

“Did you know? Back then——yes, even when I didn’t yet know what I truly wanted, I often thought about wanting to erase Jeong Tay from your sight forever.”

Richard spoke as if recounting an everyday occurrence. Christoph narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold look in them.

“Though you’ll probably regret it, Christoph, it’s a good thing Riegrow got him. Otherwise, I really would have done something to him. So that you would never see him again.”

“Why would you do that to Taei?”

Christoph’s cold gaze pierced Richard. Richard silently looked back. A flicker of irritation crossed his usually calm eyes.

“Because of you.”

“—……”

Christoph parted his lips as if to say something, but no words came out. As though something was caught in his throat.

Christoph glared at Richard without saying a word, only his lips moving soundlessly. Richard quietly finished the rest of his tea. In the meantime, he seemed to have regained his usual composure, returning to his usual calm demeanor. Only his lowered voice, as if holding something back, betrayed his inner turmoil.

“No one likes it when what’s theirs keeps looking the other way.”

Mine……What used to be mine.

Christoph suddenly recalled the words the young man had said that afternoon. And at the same time, the tightness in his throat seemed to spread down to his chest, making his heart ache.

“I’m not yours.”

After a period of silence, Christoph finally managed to utter those words. Richard froze for a moment, then murmured: “Right.”

“That’s why.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Richard closed his mouth tightly, looking helpless, though that seemed impossible for him. He lowered his gaze to his cup, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, looking like a sad little boy who had been hurt.

A long silence followed. Both Richard and Christoph sat still, without a word. But neither of them left.

Just then, the room service attendant Richard had called earlier rang the doorbell. Richard picked up the ring from the table, stood up, and went to the door. Christoph silently watched his retreating figure.