“By phone――――.”

But before the uniformed man could finish speaking, Ilay cut him off sharply. The man, who was about to speak politely yet firmly, closed his mouth and tilted his head at Ilay’s words.

“They must have contacted you already. Have the orders not been given properly yet? Then let me tell you—this is just a ‘trivial quarrel between friends,’ so there’s nothing to worry about or pay attention to. You just need to prepare a room «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» for them to reconcile.”

Ilay paused briefly and looked back at Jeong Tae-ui.

“You wouldn’t want your room smelling like blood, would you?”

“Of course not.”

Jeong Tae-ui answered immediately. Knowing full well what would happen in that room, he had absolutely no intention of giving up his room.

The uniformed man hesitated briefly at Ilay’s calm attitude but soon lifted his head. A faint crease appeared between his brows—the look of someone accustomed to dealing with troublemakers causing a disturbance in the hotel.

“Sorry, but according to our hotel policy, it will be difficult to accommodate your request. Moreover, public disturbances—”

The uniformed man spoke firmly, like reading from a manual. Behind him, the burly men who had followed took positions around Ilay’s sides and back. It was threatening enough, but Ilay didn’t even blink. He merely frowned as if annoyed.

“Tae-i. Do you have an extra pair of gloves?”

Ilay asked abruptly. Hearing this, Jeong Tae-ui pressed his thumb firmly against his throbbing temple.

“No... I’m not your assistant instructor anymore. Why would I carry spare gloves?”

It seemed Ilay wasn’t going to stop at just catching one person. The police were already about to storm in, so how many did he plan to catch?

Jeong Tae-ui felt the cold gazes of the uniformed man and others directed even at him, and it was unbearably unfair. He wanted to plead that he had nothing to do with this madman.

In the distance, sirens grew louder. Tae-ui couldn’t tell if it was police or an ambulance.

The bloodied man lying in front of Ilay showed a faint sign of color returning to his face. He seemed to think he had barely survived. But that hope was all he had.

The man’s hope was shattered the moment the uniformed man’s phone rang.

After answering, the uniformed man said, “Yes, I’m at the lobby now. There’s a small disturbance. I’ll sort it out and come up shortly.” He paused for a moment, then looked at Ilay with a strange expression. As he replied “Yes, yes,” his face gradually took on a defeated look. He waved his hand anxiously at the burly men approaching Ilay.

“Can I go to the room first?”

Jeong Tae-ui muttered, knowing full well the answer would be no. He was used to cold stares since his days as Ilay’s assistant instructor at UNHRDO, but the hostile gazes from ordinary people felt even harsher.

“It’ll be over soon. Breaking every bone doesn’t take that long. — Liu. If it’s the police, send them away. If it’s an ambulance, have them wait. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Ilay spoke as if to no one in particular. The man sitting on a sofa across the room answered briefly and turned away. Tae-ui recognized him as one of the tails shadowing him.

The uniformed man scowled like he’d bitten into a worm, dismissing the men around Ilay, muttering bitterly.

“Get them a room... then, sir, please take your time talking with your friend. And if possible, please consider our hotel’s reputation...”

But contrary to the bitter tone, his face held a polite commercial smile. Tae-ui thought to himself, that man was no joke either, and suddenly tapped his chest in frustration.

A hotel staff member arrived with a key after receiving Ilay’s call. Ilay nodded lightly, then looked back at the pale, bloodied man.

“Come on. Let’s go upstairs and have a quiet talk, friend.”

Ilay grabbed the bloodied man’s collar and effortlessly pulled him up. The man’s broken, dangling leg scraped the floor as he trembled uncontrollably. His lips, hands, and feet shook violently until his whole body shook. With a mouth missing most teeth, he spat blood like a dying beast.

“Li—...”

The man desperately muttered something. Blood poured out every time he opened his mouth, making it hard to understand. Ilay smiled awkwardly and lightly slapped the man’s cheek—a sharp slap with a sound like tearing flesh.

“I can’t understand you.”

Ilay said briefly. The man strained and forced out words, one by one.

“Ling... elder... is... ...”

His slow, slurred speech was somewhat unclear but mostly understandable. That was all.

Jeong Tae-ui blinked, staring blankly at the man.

“Elder Ling...? Who’s that?”

Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head and murmured. He had never heard of such a person. Separately from Ilay, he wondered if someone was tailing him due to his uncle or older brother.

Should I ask my uncle? Tae-ui thought as the bloodied man struggled to continue speaking in front of him.

“Li, Ling ga... little young master... bring... that man...”

“...?”

The man’s blood-soaked hand pointed at Jeong Tae-ui. Startled by the bloodied hand stretching toward him, Tae-ui instinctively stepped back and tilted his head.

“Me? Well, obviously. I was being followed. But who is that?”

Wondering if this was someone chasing his missing older brother, Tae-ui asked, tilting his head in puzzlement. Then he glanced at Ilay.

Ilay was smiling. His lips curled into a slight smile. Suddenly, Tae-ui realized Ilay might have known the answer even before the man spoke.

“Il—...”

Before Tae-ui could say Ilay’s name, Ilay muttered “Indeed,” and slapped the man’s other cheek. More blood and screams burst forth.

“You should’ve answered in time. It’s already too late... I was going to say that, but I’m in a good mood today. Also, there’s one guy eager to get to the room. — Chie. Take him away.”

Without turning around, Ilay shouted briefly. A man standing near a pillar came over, lifted the bloody lump that even family would have trouble recognizing, nodded politely, and left.

Amid the subtle silence and murmurs farther away, Ilay calmly—though somewhat displeased—shook the blood from his hands. Then he glanced at the hotel uniformed man standing a few steps away. When Ilay’s sharp, clear gaze fell on him, the uniformed man flinched and straightened his posture.

Ilay approached leisurely and stood right in front of the uniformed man, who was frozen like a frog facing a snake. Ilay pulled out a white handkerchief neatly folded in the man’s breast pocket. The silk handkerchief slowly brushed Ilay’s hand and quickly turned dark red.

“You can cancel the room now.”

Ilay smiled and shoved the dirty handkerchief back into the man’s pocket. Turning away from the pale man frozen in horror, Ilay faced Jeong Tae-ui.

“Well, now that we’ve settled what was bothering us, shall we go up?”

“...”

Jeong Tae-ui really didn’t want to leave side by side with this man, confirming to everyone around that ‘those two know each other,’ but it was obviously better to get out of there quickly.

He nodded vaguely and turned toward the elevator briskly. On the way, he caught eye contact with the broker sitting across a few tables. The broker, staring dumbfounded at Ilay, probably just realized his luck.

You’re really lucky. Look, after this, you’ll never have to meet that guy again. But what about me? How long do I have to stay at this hotel?

Jeong Tae-ui deliberately took the elevator far down the hall leading to the new wing, away from the lobby. Although many gazes that had followed him disappeared, the smell of blood still seemed to cling to his nose.

“Once I get on the elevator, I’ll be saying goodbye to that place anyway, so maybe there’s no need to take a long detour.”

A leisurely voice followed a few steps behind Tae-ui. Standing alone in the empty elevator hall, Tae-ui pressed the button for a high floor, sighed, and looked back.

“Yeah. So――――who was that?”

“That?”

“The elder you mentioned.”

Jeong Tae-ui frowned and asked again.

He couldn’t possibly not know that man. If he didn’t know, he wouldn’t have let him go. (Though, honestly, he hadn’t really let him go.)

“You said Elder Ling. And something else. The little young master of the Ling family told you to bring me.”

He couldn’t say he understood perfectly. His tongue, broken and bloody inside his mouth, didn’t clearly communicate. But that’s what Tae-ui heard.

But...

“I don’t know anyone like that.”

Tae-ui clicked his tongue and tilted his head. Ilay watched him quietly. Then he suddenly chuckled.

“If you say Ling Ga, everyone knows him in the business world. The current head of that family is Ling Huolong, a seventy-year-old old man still famous for his brutal cunning and greed, respected and feared across every field. Never heard of him?”

“No.”

“Really? Then you must not know that when the old man was nearly fifty, he fell in love at first sight with a girl not even twenty, practically kidnapped her, and made her his seventh wife, cherishing her dearly. It’s a very famous story.”

Jeong Tae-ui gave Ilay a strange look as the story grew increasingly absurd. Such a story belonged in a women’s magazine, and it was from over twenty years ago. There was no way Tae-ui would know. Trying to connect the story with the fact that Elder Ling told someone to bring him, Tae-ui pondered briefly and suspiciously said,

“I hope they don’t say my older brother was having an affair with the seventh wife.”

Of course, there was no way his brother would do such a thing. A genius unparalleled in his field, but with no charm to seduce women. Unless he’d tried to seduce her on purpose, Tae-ui knew he had zero interest. Besides, she was married—and significantly older by more than a decade.

Jokingly imagining it, Tae-ui quickly shook his head.

Ilay, watching him, burst out laughing at the unexpected remark.

“Hahaha, Jung Jae-i and that woman? Not a chance. She dotes solely on her son, the youngest who Ling Huolong claims he would not hesitate to harm even if put into his eyes. That old man, harsh enough to be secretly cursed by his own family, dotes on that mother and son. Even though the older brothers are few enough to count on two hands, that youngest son is called the little young master.”

“...”

Jeong Tae-ui looked at Ilay silently. Suddenly, something nagged at him—a vague suspicion stirring and biting his chest.

“Th-that son...”

Just as Tae-ui muttered, the elevator arrived and the doors opened. Bathed in backlight from the elevator’s interior lights, Ilay stared at Tae-ui. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if inspecting every inch of his face.

“You seem to have forgotten the full name? That brat will cry if you’re careless. Or get angry.”

“Ling――――Shin Lu...”

Jeong Tae-ui muttered, half out of it. It felt like half his mind had slipped away.

—And despite everything, that guy came from a very good lineage. He was the son of a prestigious, wealthy family in the Chinese business world, known by reputation.

—That family itself was greedy, though. Tae-ui didn’t expect them to go after Gil Sang-cheon.

—Originally, he was the son of a wealthy, well-established family, so he should have set up a company or something. What’s the worry about someone richer than me?

His uncle’s, Ilay’s, and Morrow’s brief words mixed together in his memory. Shin Lu. Ling Shin Lu. That lovely, cute child. He had forgotten—completely forgotten—since meeting this man again.

Jeong Tae-ui looked at him in disbelief. He really was dazed. How could he have forgotten? How could he have spent so long without even thinking about that lovely child?

“...!”

Jeong Tae-ui turned and started back the way he came, stunned.

He hadn’t seen Shin Lu for a long time. After Tae-ui left the island, Shin Lu had quit UNHRDO. Naturally, there had been no news since.