Jeong Tae-ui slowly covered his face with both hands. The heat rising from his neck flowed over his earlobes and cheeks, spreading across his entire face. It was probably flushed bright red all over.

He got down from the hammock and ran to the pool, plunging his entire head into the water. Cold water enveloped his face, head, and neck.

Bubbles rose to the surface with each breath, but he wasn’t out of breath. Not like before. Even after holding his face submerged for a long time, his face wouldn’t cool down. It almost felt like the pool water was heating up instead.

This isn’t good.

“...Puh…—!”

Just before he felt like he was about to lose his breath, he pulled his face out of the water. Still, his face was burning hot, so he rubbed it vigorously with his hands. Suddenly, it felt like a fire was lit inside his head—bright and sparkling. Several things he hadn’t understood until now connected in a straight line. He thought he could see the origin of those connections buried in darkness.

“That bastard… no way… could it be that he’s… trying to….”

“What are you doing?”

Muttering to himself in a daze, Tae-ui’s eyes followed the tip of a shoe that appeared in front of him and then looked up at the person standing a few steps ahead. Gable was there, his hair still wet as if he had just returned from the sea, looking refreshed. He raised his eyebrows slightly and looked down at Tae-ui.

“That just won’t do, you know…”

Tae-ui mumbled suddenly, like a man out of his mind. Yeah, that would be a disaster. If the sudden thought that popped into Tae-ui’s mind was correct, it would be a real mess. Then there would be no escaping.

“What should I do….”

“Your complexion doesn’t look good. Are you alright?”

Hearing Tae-ui’s strange words, Gable frowned slightly, then squatted down and touched Tae-ui’s forehead. Seeing his face flushed red and soaked with water made him worried.

But none of that mattered. That wasn’t what Tae-ui was truly worried about.

He rubbed his burning hot face again and again and muttered, “Ah, what should I do…”

Selinge was vast. At least, it was big enough that finding one person quietly would be difficult. If someone had been told to find one person somewhere on this island, they might have felt overwhelmed.

The fortunate thing was that the island’s population was divided into three main villages. One of them was a commercial district, bustling during the day but quiet at night. So, there were three main populated areas.

One was where Tae-ui stayed—near the southwestern coast, closest to the airstrip for small planes traveling to and from the mainland. It was also the busiest area, home to over half of Selinge’s entire population.

Another was a small street near the west coast, mainly inhabited by natives. Agriculture and fishing were the main incomes there. Young people often left for work elsewhere and came back only on holidays. The area wasn’t very safe, so outsiders avoided it, but crimes were mostly limited to petty theft and pickpocketing—rarely anything life-threatening.

The last was along the southeastern coast. Known for stunning sea colors and coral reefs, it was a famously beautiful but little-known scuba diving spot.

Few had actually seen that beautiful scenery. That was because most of this area was private beach, so nobody could enter freely. The grand villas lining the coast were all surrounded by high walls guarded by gatekeepers at every entrance.

They belonged to wealthy people from Arab countries or Europe. Of course, that didn’t mean no one could walk the roads there.

Anyone was free to walk along the streets, but the only freely walkable parts were the roads themselves. There were no shops or restaurants, only wide roads flanked by tall walls.

“No parks, resorts, or stables for rich people to play at or anything?”

When Tae-ui asked this absurd question, the answer came back:

“They all have such facilities inside the villa walls, so there’s no need to go outside.”

He remembered losing his words for a moment at Gable’s calm reply. Tae-ui sat on the hammock sucking on a mango and studied the map of the southeastern area he got from Gable. He looked at it enough to memorize it.

But actually, there was no need to memorize much. The map was useless for navigation. It simply showed individual houses as squares with only narrow lines connecting them like branches.

The area was neatly divided, house after house, nothing else.

“What kind of map is this? They sell this for money? …Huh, 3,000 silings?! Damn thieves!”

Tae-ui flipped the map over and was shocked to see a sticker reading “3000 Tsh.” Given the local prices and this meaningless content, it was an absurdly high cost.

“Can’t be helped. Because almost no one looks for it, you should be grateful they even printed it. Besides, that company went bankrupt and doesn’t publish it anymore.”

Splashing water sounds followed by Gable’s voice. Tae-ui had been staring blankly at the map for a long time, occasionally circling or diving repeatedly in the not-so-large pool. Suddenly, Gable [N O V E L I G H T] called out if he hadn’t drowned, then came out of the pool looking refreshed. He roughly wiped off his upper body dripping with water and stepped barefoot onto the grass, heading to a bench to sit.

It was a leisurely afternoon.

That day, Tae-ui had seen Gable emerge from the pool three times—once at dawn, once in the morning, and now.

Folding the flimsy paper that barely qualified as a map, Tae-ui said:

“You really like swimming, don’t you?”

“Yes…”

He replied briefly, glancing at Tae-ui’s leg. He had probably intended to encourage Tae-ui to swim, but seeing the cast on his leg, he kept silent. Tae-ui noticed the glance and muttered, “I’ll probably be able to take it off soon. At least before leaving Selinge. I definitely want to see that amazing underwater view before I go.”

Tae-ui smiled, and for the first time in a while, a slight smile appeared on Gable’s usually stern face. His short “yes” carried a hint of a smile.

Feeling lighter and drier, Gable stood up, gave Tae-ui a slight nod, and walked inside. Then, stopping at the entrance, he hesitated and turned back.

“Tae-i.”

“Huh?”

Tae-ui was distracted by his smile but responded in a dazed voice when called. Quickly, he corrected himself with a proper “Yes.”

Gable was silent for a moment, then sighed quietly and said shortly:

“It looks peaceful, but it’s not as safe as you might think. Don’t go wandering around freely.”

Tae-ui looked at Gable. Meeting his steady gaze, he smiled and nodded at some point.

“Thanks for worrying about me.”

“You’re welcome.”

Gable replied gruffly but without coldness and turned to go inside.

A little disappointing. He wanted to see that smile again.

It was rare for such a harsh and cold face to change so completely with a smile, and even rarer for someone to smile so gently and happily. He wished Gable smiled more often.

But Tae-ui realized during his few days here when Gable smiled most happily. Mostly when talking about water or the sea. He loved water so much that if he wasn’t seen at home, he was either out running errands or at the sea.

Come to think of it, when Tae-ui once asked if the sea was really beautiful here, Gable’s indifferent expression suddenly softened, and he smiled faintly. Then he told Tae-ui that the especially beautiful beaches here were almost all private and inaccessible to outsiders, but he knew some wonderful secret spots. He promised to show them once Tae-ui took off his cast.

“...”

When he said that, Ilay’s faint gaze beside him seemed ominous. Tae-ui gnawed on the map and thought. Damn. My face is going to turn red again.

He fanned his face vigorously with the map.

Since returning from his outing that morning, Ilay had stayed locked in his room. Even if it was a five-week vacation, it wasn’t really a proper break—after all, who would really grant him sick leave?—and all day long, work arrived by fax. Whenever the fax was quiet, his inbox overflowed.

But surprisingly, that cursed bastard handled his duties properly. He wasn’t a total wastrel. Professionally. Actually, Tae-ui knew he worked very efficiently without waste. Tae-ui had observed this closely as his assistant instructor. If only his personality were a bit more human, he might actually be helpful to the world.

Yet, thinking this, Tae-ui fanned his face frantically again.

“Damn, what a mess, what a mess…”

Muttering to himself, Tae-ui suddenly stood up. Sitting idle and worrying was pointless, so a walk in town seemed better.

He glanced back at the house. Occasionally, he heard the sound of people moving but no glances flew his way. Tae-ui quickly stepped out the front gate. Whenever Tae-ui tried to go into the garden, Ilay would frown and tell him not to wander about as he pleased.

But he couldn’t stay locked inside forever, nor did he intend to stay quietly indoors. More than anything, he liked this street.

Passing through the wooden gate, an exotic street unfolded before him. The wide dirt road had no cars passing, lined on both sides with earthen or stone walls, and behind them stood unfamiliar-style houses, one by one.

Walking this unorganized maze of alleys, sometimes people’s curious eyes brushed by, and Tae-ui smiled as if unaffected by their interest.

If he went far down this road on the right, the alley widened into a large market street. Going left, small trees appeared sporadically along the dirt road, and the path opened to a sandy beach.

“Which way should I go…”

Hesitating briefly, Tae-ui recalled the cold face that warned him not to wander freely and grumbled as he headed left—the same path he’d walked that morning, though only halfway then.

That morning, he had gone to the southeastern coastal area—the place with the rich people’s villas. From the middle of this road, he turned onto an alley leading to a paved road, where a waiting car took him on a forty-minute drive.

After enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of the streets outside the window, he arrived at a place quite different from the streets he had passed before.

It looked like someone had cut out a city from the Islamic world and brought it here. No, only the luxurious homes from that city.

Looking back, the map was exactly the same.

There was nothing but houses along the road, none to be seen inside due to the high walls. Only the corners of the houses’ rooftops peeked beyond the walls. Few people walked the streets.

It was a quiet place where time seemed frozen.

“Can’t even sneak in here…”

Muttering this, Tae-ui was glanced at by Ilay. Noticing the look, Tae-ui shrugged and added,

“I was planning to sneak over the walls of houses to see if any brothers were inside, if it came to that.”

“Forget it. If you get caught, it’ll be a headache. Do you know what race Muslims are?”

Ilay said bluntly. Tae-ui tried to recall. Although they hadn’t talked much or been close, when at UNHRDO, there had been a man from the Middle East on another team. But he seemed no different. Aside from religious habits like praying at fixed times or observing Ramadan, he laughed normally, ran normally, and spoke normally. At least he didn’t look like someone who’d immediately kill you if caught sneaking in.

Ilay clicked his tongue as if he saw through Tae-ui’s thoughts.

“They’re very clear about where they’re flexible and where they’re not.”

“So sneaking in isn’t a flexible area, huh?”

“No.”

Ilay said flatly. Tae-ui scratched his neck, thinking, “Really…?” But they seemed fairly generous and flexible.

“The rules in their laws are obvious, but it’s best not to touch matters of responsibility and rights.”

Gable, sitting in the passenger seat, added as if joining their conversation.

“Responsibility and rights…”

“In other words, duties and responsibilities, and rights. Duties are the laws they must follow, responsibilities are their family and friends they must protect, and rights are their dignity. Sneaking in risks violating responsibilities.”

Thinking that laws, values, family, friends, and dignity were things anyone should avoid touching regardless of religion, Tae-ui said nothing. But even his expression was apparently seen in the rearview mirror by Gable.

“Depending on the case and situation, the response can be very violent. Moreover, anyone wealthy and powerful enough to own villas here wouldn’t be someone you want to provoke.”

“Oh, I get it.”

Only then did Tae-ui fully understand. Indeed, he knew how troublesome violent reactions could be. Also, how dangerous it was to provoke someone with both money and power. Not far away, right beside Tae-ui, sat exactly such a person.