He had deliberately chosen the most common Korean family name and given name to create his passport and other documents, but only now did he think it might have been better to pick a name that was easier to pronounce. As expected, the man seemed to struggle with the unfamiliar pronunciation, tilting his head and opening his mouth.

“Kim Young-soo…?”

“Haha, since it’s hard to pronounce, just call me Kim.”

Tae-ui smiled as he said this. The man murmured “Kim,” nodded, and asked,

“Are you of Korean descent?”

“Rather than just descent, I’m Korean. How do you know so well? Usually Europeans can’t tell East Asian nationalities just by hearing names.”

“I have several Korean friends. Especially one classmate I’m very close with is Korean. He likes old books too, so we share the same hobby. That’s why we keep in touch often.”

The man said proudly. Tae-ui nodded appropriately while driving. Europe’s roads were well maintained and there weren’t many cars, so driving was easy. Even if he got distracted or lost focus a bit, the chance of an accident was much lower than when he drove in Korean big cities, which put him at ease. A Korean friend who liked old books. The world of maniacs was narrow but deep, so maybe his uncle knew that person too. Tae-ui nodded absently, giving a casual reply.

“I see. I only know a little about old books, but my uncle has that kind of hobby. If you’re interested, I can introduce you later. You could swap books you don’t have with each other…”

The man fell silent for a moment, then sighed and shook his head.

“No. Rare books aren’t lent out. They’re either sold or, if two people exchange books that are rare but not their preferred kind to read, maybe. Especially with old books, you have to handle them carefully.”

“Oh, yes…”

He didn’t seem like a bad person, but maniacs were maniacs. He had some points in common with Morro. Tae-ui was slightly relieved his uncle wasn’t as extreme as this man. But ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ soon the man smiled faintly and changed the subject.

“However, meeting people who share the same hobby is a joy. I’d like to meet your uncle someday.”

“Yes, me too,” Tae-ui answered, continuing.

“My uncle seems to have friends who like old books, so it must be fun when many get together to talk about what they like.”

The man said happily, “Ah, that’s right. Although I do something else now, I used to deal with old books. Through that work, I met many people in this field. I still keep in touch because it’s easy to talk with them.”

“If you dealt with old books, was it something like a used bookstore?”

“No, I saved that for when I got older. When I was younger, I ran a business. It was about reprinting hard-to-find old books, but since the demand was small, it was hard to keep the company running.”

“Ah… yes…”

Tae-ui gave an ambiguous reply and fell silent. Suddenly, his chest felt heavy, as if a stone had rolled onto it. A sigh was about to escape.

What was it? Some bad premonition flickered through his mind. If it matched, it would be far from good…

“But now that I think about it, I haven’t heard your name yet. Your name is…?”

While the man paused, Tae-ui quietly asked. The man looked briefly surprised, then shook his head bitterly and laughed.

“I didn’t even tell you the most basic thing. Sorry, Kim. Just call me Kyle.”

“Oh, yes. Kyle… that’s a good name.”

Tae-ui said with a smile, saying the name out loud once. The stone in his chest lifted. Yeah. I was worrying too much for no reason. Surely, I’m not that unlucky.

“People often confuse it with a first name. Usually Kyle is used as a first name.”

“But among people I know, there is someone who uses Kyle as a family name,” Tae-ui added, continuing.

The man said nonchalantly,

“Ah. It’s my first name. I put my full name on my business cards, but when speaking, I always use just my first name. Whether it’s someone I’m meeting for the first time or someone I’ve met many times. That’s because in my family, my younger brother practically monopolized the family name.”

“Ah…”

“My younger brother hates being called by his first name. If someone other than those he allows calls him by his first name, even by mistake, he throws such a tantrum that it’s embarrassing to tell others. So in our family, only he is called by the family name, and everyone else is called by their first names. Even in official matters, they call him Kyle now.”

“……”

Somehow Tae-ui felt dizzy. The ominous premonition fit perfectly and layered up neatly. He was too afraid to ask further and kept his mouth shut. But the words he did not want to hear were always the ones he heard best.

“Thanks to that, I’ve never had to add titles before my last name. Like Mister Riegrow.”

Damn it.

Tae-ui gripped the steering wheel tightly. Without realizing it, he must have pressed the accelerator because the car roared and sped up. The man looked at him with a puzzled face, so Tae-ui quickly took his foot off the pedal.

“Ah… so, Kyle Riegrow, sir…?”

“That’s right. It’s rare to be called by the full name. Haha, just call me Kyle comfortably. Everyone does. Also, if you call Riegrow, it means my younger brother in my family, so it would confuse people.”

“I see.”

Tae-ui nodded absentmindedly, not quite sure what he was thinking. Suddenly, the road ahead looked white. Fortunately, it was almost a straight road and almost no cars were around. If it had been a big city in a small country, there would have definitely been an accident by now.

With nervous hands, Tae-ui searched the dashboard and turned on the radio. He thought he needed to hear any other sound to distract himself. Otherwise, he’d surely crash by hitting the guardrail.

Suddenly, a strange forgotten thought came to mind. I have to get back the 50 euros I lent. Begging money my ass. To someone born with a diamond in their mouth.

The man suddenly turned on the radio and looked at the silent Tae-ui with a puzzled face. But he didn’t seem to mind, quietly humming along to the old pop playing. Tae-ui held the steering wheel with one hand and rested his chin on the window frame with the other, sinking into gloom.

Why is my life always full of obstacles these days? The person I thought was decent who I gave a ride to turned out to be closely related to someone I hate—or rather someone I shouldn’t be associated with.

Maybe it’s all coincidence. This man is Kyle Riegrow, but maybe his younger brother isn’t the person Tae-ui knows. Maybe the other circumstances fitting so neatly together are all just coincidence.

Thinking that, Tae-ui returned to reality and sank into gloom again. The elder brother of Ilay who ran an old book reprinting business but lost the capital and now works as a weapons dealer.

Kyle who quit the old book business because it didn’t work out and now does something else.

The family name—of course—Riegrow.

Kyle Riegrow, full name.

The madman Riegrow of UNHRDO, whose name no one dares to say carelessly.

Kyle’s younger brother, who throws a tantrum if called by his first name.

If all these fit so perfectly, it would be more surprising if he were a complete stranger. Tae-ui wanted to bury his head in the steering wheel. If only Kyle wasn’t beside him, he would have pulled over by the roadside, no matter if the police came or not, and collapsed on the wheel.

—The exact words Kyle had said just a moment ago: “If someone other than those I allow mistakenly calls me by my first name, I throw a tantrum so bad it’s embarrassing to tell others.”

Of course. If Kyle’s younger brother was the madman Tae-ui knew, he’d throw such a bloody tantrum that he’d have to secretly plead only with the police or psychiatrists without telling anyone else.

Tae-ui barely glanced at the passing scenery and thought about how he could get rid of this man as soon as possible. Ilay’s personality probably meant he didn’t keep close contact with family, but just in case this man called them and something went wrong, it would be a nightmare.

He regretted ever saying he’d give the man a ride to Berlin. But now that it was like this, he resolved to speed at the maximum limit to get there fast. After dropping the man off, he’d run without looking back.

Tae-ui steeled his heart and glanced briefly in the rearview mirror at Kyle. He saw him humming along to the radio, staring out the window.

 

He didn’t resemble Ilay much. If you looked closely, maybe some parts were similar, but overall, he didn’t seem alike. Well, there was quite an age gap. Since this man said he was friends with his uncle, he was more than one generation apart from his younger brother. Tae-ui hesitated a moment, then casually asked,

“But if everything was stolen from you… why didn’t you call home for help? Didn’t you leave your phone or something?”

“Huh? No, that’s not it. Except for my passport, they took everything. But I’m grateful they left me the passport at least.”

Kyle added with a smile that seemed to widen just thinking about the treasure trove of books he had gotten in that village.

“...Your family must be worried since they can’t reach you. Your younger brother, for example…”

Relieved somewhat because there was now no chance Ilay would call him, Tae-ui said. Kyle’s eyes widened, then suddenly burst out laughing.

Tae-ui wasn’t surprised at all since he well understood why the man laughed. He just waited for his laughter to die down. Of course, if it were him hearing such things, he’d laugh too.

He imagined a worried Ilay for a moment.

…It was almost laughable.

Just as Tae-ui was about to burst out laughing at the thought, Kyle’s words, as his laughter quieted, stopped him.

“Well, he’s not the type to worry about much… My younger brother is, how should I say, peculiar… He’s lacking in affection compared to most people.”

Tae-ui thought Ilay must have been lucky to have such a good older brother. To describe someone’s personality as peculiar or affectionally lacking suggested a family bond strong enough to notice such things. Or maybe he was softening his words out of shame to have such a person as family.

“So, that guy hardly comes home. No, rather, he dislikes coming home. He’s working abroad now, and even when he comes back occasionally for business, he doesn’t visit home.”

Tae-ui’s laugh abruptly stopped and his ears perked up.

“He doesn’t come home? Even though it’s his own house…”

“No, no, well… You probably haven’t seen my brother, so it’s hard to imagine, but he really has little sense of that. There’s an old woman who looks after the housework, but he hates her nagging so he hasn’t been home in a long time. Recently, he came to the same neighborhood saying he was meeting someone, but didn’t even show his face at home and left.”

Kyle added quietly that Rita had tried to scold him by calling him, but he cleverly knew and didn’t pick up.

Tae-ui thought maybe his luck was turning around. To know a place where that guy absolutely wouldn’t go—well, probably wouldn’t, at least—was a relief. By that logic, it was probably safer than most hotels. There was that saying about “no one knows what happens at home.”

He glanced at Kyle, whose demeanor had changed 180 degrees from a few minutes ago. Tae-ui earnestly hoped Kyle’s invitation to stay at his place in Berlin was not an empty promise. Now, it seemed Kyle’s home was the only way out for him.

“By the way, Kim, who exactly are you running from?”

Suddenly, Anton’s abrupt question snapped Tae-ui out of his brief reverie. Somehow the plate was empty, the chicken dish gone. At least no one else had eaten it, so he was full. Tae-ui wiped his lips with his thumb and licked it clean — Rita frowned behind him — and murmured,

“Rather than running away, there’s just someone I shouldn’t meet.”

“Right, what kind of person? Let me guess—if you shouldn’t meet them, it’s either a woman problem or money problem?”

Anton counted on his fingers as he spoke. Then Alsvelt, sitting next to Tae-ui, spoke casually.

“Either way, it’s bad, really bad… For example, if you stole a woman from a Southern Italian guy, you never know when you’ll get shot.”

Anton nodded, adding that money grudges in Southern Italy were a real headache. Listening to their nonchalant, chuckling conversation, Tae-ui suddenly imagined himself as the main character who had traveled to Sicily, fallen in love with a seductive gypsy woman who belonged to a mafia boss, stolen the boss’s money with her, and fled in a love escape.

Tae-ui plucked a piece of fish from the steamed dish Rita served and muttered absurdly,

“All good, but where’d the gypsy woman and stolen money go then?”

“Already dead by the hand of the assassin the boss sent ahead.”

“Yeah, and you become a lonely wolf burning with revenge.”

“……”

The two clicked perfectly. Anton and Alsvelt spoke with serious faces, not laughing at all. Kyle chuckled beside them, then nodded toward Anton and asked,

“So, what happened to that Katarina you mentioned before?”

“Huh? That’s been over for a while. By now, she’s probably happily with Mark. Inside a fish’s belly.”

Anton frowned and waved his hand. Tae-ui stopped mid-forkful of fish meat. His appetite suddenly vanished. Come to think of it, he’d vaguely heard that Anton was running a gang. Alsvelt, who clicked well with Anton, was said to be similar.

A weapons dealer and a gang boss — quite the combination.

Tae-ui had lost his appetite and was full, so he put down his fork and knife. Then he rubbed his lips with the back of his hand and caught Rita’s sharp glare.

The owner, who loved people so much that guests always overflowed, was now accompanied by Tae-ui, Anton, and Alsvelt. Yesterday morning’s table had Tae-ui, Alsvelt, and an Englishman who left yesterday afternoon. The day before, it was Tae-ui, that Englishman, and a German who also left by now. And Alsvelt was leaving this afternoon, so tomorrow Tae-ui and Anton were expected to remain. Of course, if new guests came today, they would add to the number.

“Kyle, you’re going to the office today?”

Alsvelt had finished eating, put down his fork, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Kyle nodded,

“I think I need to go out for a bit this afternoon. Alsvelt, when are you leaving?”

“Hmm. My flight’s at 1, so I need to leave before lunch. But you said you’d rest until the weekend, so why are you going back to work already? Workaholic, huh.”

“No. I try to avoid work as much as possible. It’s not that I want to go, but Ilay must have contacted the company and pushed for something. Since he doesn’t pick up calls at home, I have to check at the office. Also, an old acquaintance is coming after a long time.”

Tae-ui silently listened to their conversation while drinking the last of the tea Rita served. The name that came up was one he didn’t want to hear.

Ilay. But hearing that name from someone else felt strangely unfamiliar. Tae-ui had never seen anyone call Ilay by that name before. Well, if he ordered family members to call him by the family name, that would be a bit much...

Tae-ui nodded to himself and wondered why Ilay had taught him that name. But even before, he had briefly thought about it and found no answer. What could one expect from a capricious guy whose mind he wanted to probe?

“If an old acquaintance is coming after a long time, then someone might come to the house this afternoon too.”

Not liking the ominous name, Tae-ui tried to change the subject. Kyle answered, “Huh? No, that friend has separate business, so probably just a phone call to the office this afternoon. We arranged to meet tomorrow morning, so if that friend agrees, he’ll stay here tomorrow.”

“I see,” said Tae-ui, nodding. It seemed daily arrivals of guests had become a routine in this house. From bits and pieces he’d heard from the gardener and other servants, the house’s owners—Kyle’s parents—had moved to the suburbs, and since then there had always been guests. More precisely, even before that, Kyle’s guests came and went often, but after he took charge of the house, it got worse. Usually people stayed for two or three days but sometimes guests stayed for months. Kyle was said to be very happy when guests stayed long, so that made sense.

At this point, the concept of guests no longer seemed appropriate. It was more like a family that was always there, except the faces and personalities changed daily.

Tae-ui thought about it briefly but couldn’t imagine such a family for himself. He had only one older brother whose appearance and personality hadn’t changed since birth, aside from growth.

An older brother… But how on earth would he find that person?

Everyone in this mansion already knew Tae-ui was looking for someone and was on the run. He hadn’t deliberately said so, but with the atmosphere here—guests too—the information naturally leaked out.

Kyle said he would help as much as he could, but Tae-ui shook his head.

Asking Kyle to find his brother? No way. If it were someone else, maybe, but never this man. The moment the name Jeong Jae-ui came up, Kyle’s ears would perk up. Then the chance Ilay found out would increase exponentially.

No way, absolutely not.

Tae-ui smiled calmly and refused smoothly, saying, “I can’t impose that much... I’ll try to find him myself.”

“But tell me, Kim, why are you polite only to Kyle and not to us?”

Tae-ui, who was getting dirty looks from Rita for loudly sipping tea, raised an eyebrow at Anton’s suddenly discontent question. He slowly put down his teacup and said nonchalantly,

“Because Kyle is a thankful owner who would never tell me to leave the house even if he met me face to face or talked on the phone. And you guys are just guests like me.”

Anton groaned with no comeback. Kyle turned his head slightly and chuckled. Tae-ui thought his face looked a little bit like Ilay’s.

For a moment, Tae-ui silently looked at Kyle and then turned his head. He finished the remaining tea.