"But if you could jump over that wall, I'd really want to see it."

Hearing Ilay’s flat voice, Jeong Tae-ui followed the direction he was looking. To put it somewhat exaggeratedly, there was a wall so high that ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) even a bird couldn’t fly over it, surrounding the area like an iron fortress.

"So I told you I couldn’t do it, that I couldn’t."

Tae-ui muttered reluctantly. Ilay glanced at his sulky face and snorted quietly.

They had come here thinking it would be good to look around and, if lucky, hear some news about his older brother. But seeing the place now, it felt bleak.

There were hardly any people walking around. Only cars were moving. When the gate of the palace-like villa opened, it was cars—not people—that came out. And all the windows were so darkly tinted that one couldn’t see inside.

"In movies, you often see this. Why, they grab a servant going to the market and either bribe or threaten them to get information."

"They say delivery trucks come in every dawn. If you can hitch a ride on one, then try to get in that way."

Tae-ui’s words were met with the usual indifferent answer, again from Ilay’s voice. Tae-ui stared at him, eyes wide open.

"Do you even intend to search?"

"If he were the kind of person you could find just by looking, Gable wouldn’t have had such a hard time tracking him down."

Tae-ui sighed, thinking bitterly he wished he could punch that lazy voice in the throat. But the words were true. If there had been any chance, any situation where trying something would work, all those countless people wouldn’t have failed to lift a finger until now.

Tae-ui clicked his tongue. That was why he came here—believing only in luck. The only thing he could hope for was fortune.

But no matter how much you call it luck or fortune, the one who depended on that was not Tae-ui—it was Jeong Jae-ui. Unless Jeong Jae-ui wanted it, even if Tae-ui entered that mansion’s main room, not the Serlinge, he wouldn’t be able to meet him.

While sighing and scratching his head, Ilay beside him said casually, showing no enthusiasm to actually search.

"Just rest for five weeks and then go back."

"You're the one who got five weeks of leave, so you can rest and plan on going back, but I didn’t come because of leave. I came because I want to meet my brother…!"

Tae-ui suddenly choked up and stopped walking, blurted out.

Two women walking ahead flinched and slowed their steps. Clutching the edges of their hijabs, they looked at Tae-ui with wary eyes. A strange stranger suddenly stopping alone in the alley and suddenly losing temper made them uneasy passing by.

Seeing them whispering to each other, Tae-ui felt awkward. There was no way to convince them he had no intention to threaten them even the slightest bit—and they wouldn’t believe him anyway. After all, strangers were both objects of curiosity and suspicion.

Their eyes met. The women stopped altogether. Things got even more awkward.

When Tae-ui tried to take a step, they flinched and stepped back. But turning back home seemed silly. Since they didn’t speak the same language, he couldn’t reassure them with "I’m just passing by." (Even if he said that, they wouldn’t believe it, given he was already marked as suspicious.)

What to do? Just dash past them quickly? But then they’d probably scream. Or just go home—if Ilay found out, he’d laugh and say, "That’s why I told you not to go out on your own," damn it.

After a brief fierce mental debate, Tae-ui, who had set a principle to at least be kind to the women, decided to postpone the neighborhood walk and head home. Just as he was about to turn around—

"If you’re going to the beach, this way works too."

A hesitant voice with broken English came from a narrow alley beside him. When Tae-ui looked that way, a black boy stood there. He looked three or four years older than the black girl who helped around the house.

"Oh, thanks."

Tae-ui greeted him cheerfully and entered the alley, avoiding the suspicious glances of the women. The sharp gaze stabbing at his back was hidden by the stone wall. Soon he sensed them hesitating, then briskly passing by. After a moment, glancing back, they had already gone far.

Just taking a neighborhood walk wasn’t that easy, he thought, then looked back at the boy standing in front of him. Suddenly, he tilted his head in thought.

He felt like he had seen him somewhere before. Actually, just as Westerners often can’t distinguish East Asian faces, Tae-ui also found many faces of other races looked similar. Maybe this boy’s face resembled someone he had seen elsewhere.

Still, Tae-ui searched his memory. Without much digging, he remembered: this was the boy who looked up at him outside the house’s fence the day he arrived on this island.

"…Hello. I’m Tae-i."

"I’m Totu. …I’ve seen you before. I’m staying at the house where Vivi works."

The black boy rubbed his nostrils and spoke hesitantly. Tae-ui nodded, recalling the shy black girl who greeted him this morning.

"Is she your friend?"

"No. Just the name… uh… we’re somewhat close. Actually, we’re very close."

Tae-ui looked down at the boy quietly, trying to understand the meaning behind his broken, grammar-flawed but earnest words.

"…Alright, friend. Please keep getting along well with her."

Tae-ui smiled calmly and lightly tapped the boy’s shoulder. The boy muttered, "Okay, no problem," grinding his lips, then suddenly turned around.

"Going to the sea, right? This way. Just follow me. I’ll show you."

The women they met earlier had disappeared far away, and Tae-ui could continue on his path. After a few steps, he quietly watched the boy turn back. Suddenly he chuckled and followed behind.

"Alright, let’s go. The path’s a bit different from what I had in mind, but since it’s the way I was going anyway."

Tae-ui smiled, the boy looked up nervously several times. As if to reassure him, Tae-ui gently patted the boy’s shoulder. The boy glanced at the hand and awkwardly walked a few steps ahead.

They walked together. The narrow alley, barely wide enough for two to walk side by side, had no one else on it. Only the sound of their footsteps echoed side by side—his soft steps and the boy’s heavier ones.

"Where did you go this morning? Riding in a fancy car."

The boy who was walking a few steps ahead asked. Tae-ui thought of the old, beat-up four-wheel drive prepared at the lodging and hummed.

"Yeah, to another town. Wondering if maybe my brother’s there."

"Brother?"

"Yeah. I have a brother. Maybe he’s on this island, maybe not. I’m looking for him. Have you seen a man who looks like me recently?"

The boy thought for a moment, then shook his head. Tae-ui nodded. Since East Asians were rare here, anyone would remember if they saw him. The boy had his own reason for thinking.

Every time the boy nervously looked back, Tae-ui smiled warmly. Seeing him quickly turn his head away without meeting his smile gave Tae-ui a somewhat tender feeling.

Nothing much happened. Tae-ui leisurely followed behind the boy.

The boy took several turns through the maze-like narrow alleys. Although it was a shortcut, it didn’t take long. The alley ended in the distance; a low, crumbling fence broke off. Behind it stood short trees lining the roadside.

"Over there, beyond those trees, there’s the sea. It’s very beautiful."

The boy stopped in front of the trees, pointing beyond. As he said, the sea was visible ahead. Beyond the scattered trees, a white sandy beach stretched out, and beyond that was the sea.

Tae-ui couldn’t help but admire it. The color was extremely beautiful. Just like the color he saw from high above the sky when he came to this island by light aircraft, the water was endlessly transparent with a bluish tint.

On the white sandy shore, a few young men in shorts appeared to be pulling a small boat ashore, as if they had just returned. Further out, tiny boats floated here and there on the shallow sea, looking like dots.

Step by step, the dirt road ended and white sand appeared beneath their feet. The wind blew. The sharp smell of the sea seeped through his hair. It fluttered his clothes and pleasantly touched his skin.

At some point while walking toward the sea, Tae-ui suddenly stopped and looked back. It really was a beautiful place, he was about to say. But the boy was gone.

"…I should have at least said goodbye."

Tae-ui muttered regretfully, then sighed and put his hands in his pockets. There was nothing to grab except a few worthless coins jangling.

Muttering "This is troublesome," Tae-ui looked down at his feet. His shoe was half buried in the white, fine sand. There was no suitable stone to pick up.

A few steps away, a tiny seashell the size of a finger caught his eye. He picked up the thin cracked piece from the sand. He lightly ran his fingers over the cracked edge. It was sharp enough but fragile. It would break if pressed a bit harder.

"If you need something suitable as a weapon, Tae-i hyung, I’ll lend you mine."

A voice sounded behind him, over his shoulder.

It was a familiar voice. One he had heard many times.

Tae-ui shook the sand off his hands and straightened his back. Then he turned around.

"I don’t think you’d do anything to me that would need a weapon, and I wouldn’t do anything to you either."

About seven or eight steps ahead stood a familiar face. It was Shin Lu. She looked a bit thinner and more subdued than in Tae-ui’s memories, but it was definitely her.

Tae-ui raised his eyebrows slightly.

Only a few months had passed, yet the fresh and lovely girl seemed completely gone. Her gaunt face gave off a distinctly masculine scent.

"Something that needs a weapon…"

Shin Lu muttered, smiling awkwardly. It was not the bright, radiant smile he remembered, but a low and calm one. A strange expression on a familiar face.

"Why? Are you going to do it?"

Tae-ui asked quietly. Then muttered, "Nangpande," to himself. He had nothing that could be used as a weapon. The few worthless coins were utterly useless.

"I’m usually not picky about means. If it’s something that can be done properly, I follow the rules well. But if not, achieving the goal is the top priority."

"That’s a necessary attitude for living. So, have you been well?"

Tae-ui asked and then plopped down right there. The soft sand formed a small mound beside where he sat. Seeing Tae-ui lightly pat his chest pocket, Shin Lu quietly smiled and pulled out a cigarette.

Tae-ui took the cigarette she offered and looked up at her.

"You smoked, Shin Lu?"

"At UNHRDO? Not much. Sometimes I felt like smoking, so I kept one in case, but inside it was almost useless. Not enough to buy intentionally, but occasionally I did."

"Uh-huh. But smoking increased a lot at UNHRDO, me..."

Tae-ui muttered unhappily, wishing there was at least one person who didn’t make him worry—except for her. Shin Lu rummaged through her clothes and took out a lighter. Click, she lit it and handed it to Tae-ui. The wind blew and it went out. She lit it again, shielding it with her hand and offered it to him.

"..."

The hand holding the lighter was defenselessly extended. A hand that could be grabbed and broken if one wanted. Tae-ui knew that, Shin Lu knew that too. And they both knew he wouldn’t do such a thing.

Smoke rose from the cigarette tip.

"Come to think of it, this is probably the first time I’ve smoked since leaving UNHRDO."

"Really?"

"Hmm... I don’t really remember if I smoked before, but since leaving UNHRDO, I almost never smoked. At least I don’t remember buying cigarettes with my own money."

"Maybe you didn’t have many chances to smoke. I’ve been smoking constantly since I left UNHRDO."

Shin Lu pulled out a cigarette and put it in her mouth, sitting beside Tae-ui. Click—the sound of the lighter, and another thin line of smoke rose.

"By the way, is that person okay?"

"That person?"

"The one who followed me from Hong Kong. Got caught by Ilay and was sent to the hospital."

"Oh. That guy? He died."

Hearing Shin Lu’s indifferent answer, Tae-ui froze. He looked at her with strange eyes. For a moment, it sounded like "he killed him." But Shin Lu was calmly staring at the sea, and Tae-ui silently flicked the ash off. He thought it best not to ask further. He just muttered, "That’s too bad." And got a half-hearted reply, "Yeah, it’s too bad."

"You must have had a hard time getting here."