Then, without warning, he let his gaze drop and stared at his laptop. Slowly, he opened it again. He pressed a button, and with the low hum of hardware booting, the screen lit up brightly. His email window, which he had been checking until just moments before, appeared.“……I’ve received information that orders were exchanged to identify your work, gather context, and expose it. We haven’t determined who that individual is yet, but it’s assumed they’re currently within the UNHRDO Asia branch. I’ll contact you again as soon as we confirm. Until then, be cautious in your movements. I hope this deal also concludes without issue.”“…….”He silently traced the few lines added under the routine startup message. A faint crease appeared between his brows.This is bad. A bad omen.Should he walk away from this job? For short-term safety, that’d be far better.But the pay for this gig was high. Above all, opportunities to enter a UNHRDO branch as an outsider weren’t common; he couldn’t know if another would come along. And once suspicion had been aroused, quitting now wouldn’t stop the surveillance next time.Better to be cautious this time, finish the job properly, and rest for a while afterward. No—better that way.“Jeong… Tae-ui…-ra.”After one last scan of the email, Hogan permanently deleted it and picked up the file Lieutenant Kyoho had handed him—materials on his target. It contained only surface-level info, but he read it again: age, nationality, history.He’d heard the man had been abroad until recently. Yet he’d come here specifically to take on the lieutenant role; odd, not usual. When Hogan asked Kyoho why, he’d replied that the man knew the duties well, had no language issues, and would suit someone currently in Korea—meaning Hogan’s target—perfectly.But…“…….”The position of lieutenant was ideal for monitoring all his movements. His unknown watcher could glare at him from that perfect vantage. And that outsider occupied that place.Could anything fit better?Hogan clicked his tongue. How irritating. He muttered it under his breath, glaring at the wall—and beyond it, at Taeui.After showering just enough to wash away the sweat, Taeui peeked toward the living room. Hogan must still be inside; he hadn’t heard him leave. Sure enough, he hadn’t seen Hogan exit while he showered.Taeui tapped the glass shower door with a knuckle, then rubbed his wet hair with a towel.He burst out laughing—how comical to have to shower naked inside a glass stall with the door wide open, stealing glances outside. If Hogan stepped out while he was showering and caught his eye, it’d be mortifying—he’d look like an exhibitionist showering with the door wide open…If it had been Lieutenant Kim—now a captain, but Taeui still couldn’t bring himself to call that tight-fisted bastard “Captain”—he’d have screamed some homophobic slurs and cursed him out.“……Ah, damn, why do I think such nasty thoughts again…”Trying to keep only proper thoughts in his head, Taeui grumbled and shook his head.Thinking of “jeon-do da-nan” made him open the fridge. Inside: just a bottle of water and a can of cola. He left the fridge door open and sank into gloom. Come to think of it, that beer he drank last night had been the last one.How nice it’d be to have just one draft beer instead of this 350-ml can of cola that was in Africa… Finishing a refreshing shower only to find no beer waiting was deeply sad.While he stared at the empty fridge in his melancholy, the pager on the table beeped.Why a page during this free time after regular duties were done? Taeui, soured by the empty fridge, rose grumbling.The blinking number on the pager read 18.“…….”For a moment he thought Lieutenant Kim was cursing at him through the pager, but he quickly reminded himself that Kim couldn’t know his pager number. His foggy mind landed on the source of the page.Room 8 on Basement Level 1. Two doors down from his. And the only people on B1 besides instructors or Kyoho were external visitors.“……I didn’t see anything.”Taeui muttered, as if planting a suggestion in his own mind, and set the pager aside, looking away. Whoever was in Room 8—though he had a guess—made him feel uneasy.He might as well drink the cola. Approaching the fridge again, he picked out the can and popped the tab. The pager beeped again. He forcibly ignored it—“I didn’t hear it, I didn’t hear it”—but it sounded every minute, relentlessly.“……Ugh, really.”Setting down the half-drunk cola with a frown, Taeui picked up the pager. The screen displayed 18181818… in repetition, and he scowled further.Whoever sent that probably meant no harm, but to someone born and raised in Korea, that precise sequence carried another meaning. Taeui’s mouth turned bitter.He’d call that guy “Number 18.” Yes—that was perfect. Even if the man understood some Korean, what more would he derive from that label beyond his room number?Happily, without offending, he tossed the pager aside and grabbed the phone.Dialing the internal extension, he heard a voice pick up before the line even rang properly.“You’re late. Showering, or did the pager beep ring automatically past your ears?”That faintly amused voice was still uncanny.Yeah—I knew it was him. Ilrey Regrow.Taeui bitterly wet his lips and murmured, “Both.” Then, raising an eyebrow slightly, he said:“Why bother calling when you could just ring me, Number 18?”“Number 18?”“That's your room number. That's how it showed on the pager.”“I see. Right. Have you exchanged greetings with Hogan? I paged in case you were still talking with him. If he’s not around, paging would be useless.”Still hasn’t figured it out. Still hasn’t.Taeui chuckled darkly. He banished any self-pity for silently cursing at someone who wouldn’t understand. If he’d let himself feel ashamed by such small pleasures, he wouldn’t have survived this long with Ilrey.He’d earned this tiny joy, he told himself, then asked, “So why…”“I brought you a present for our reunion after a few days apart—a fine dark beer.”“You… don’t need it.”It cost him significant effort and pain to spit out those words.A stout. If Ilrey had gone out of his way to bring it, it’d undoubtedly be delicious—far beyond this discarded cola.His throat tightened and he grabbed a glass of water instead. Damn. Why did water have no taste?“I see. What a shame. I ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) bought several kinds of stouts.”“…….”The lilt of deep regret in Ilrey’s voice struck his heart like an arrow.Rich, full flavor lingered like a vision in his mind. His throat dried as if scorched. Damn it.“What did you plan to do while I’m away from Hogan?”Taeui murmured, lowering his voice at the closed door of Hogan’s room. From the line came a soft chuckle.“Did you forget our agreement? I said I’d only move in when I caught him extracting information.”“…….”He remembered. Ilrey would catch Hogan in the act and crush him. And having just arrived, Hogan wouldn’t act rashly before he’d scoped everything out. He’d likely scheme in the latter half of the fortnight at the earliest.But the unexpected can happen anytime—and it could be today. Besides, even setting Ilrey aside, it wasn’t wise for a lieutenant to leave his instructor unwatched.…But work hours were already over.“Damn it… Fine, Number 18. Fine—go, then!”Taeui threw up his hands. Ilrey, as if having expected this, laughed softly through the phone. It irked him.“But after Hogan falls asleep. You should at least keep that much, right?”“Hmm. I think it’s a waste of time, but if you really insist, I won’t stop you. All right—see you shortly then.”“Okay. I’ll come once Hogan is in bed. Wait for me, Number 18.”Taeui spoke as calmly as possible and hung up. He didn’t remove his hand from the handset for a while, staring at it.Stouts. Several kinds of stout.The words echoed in his ears. Even the word itself, compared to bitter cola or tasteless water, felt beautiful beyond measure.Taeui let out a low groan. He shouldn’t have feigned diligence—he should have said he’d go immediately. But calling back to say “Never mind, I changed my mind. I’ll go right now.” was impossible.All he could do was pray that Hogan would fall asleep quickly, his throat burning with thirst.He waited as if each moment stretched a year for the sounds to stop from Hogan’s room. The moment the light through the door crack went out, Taeui went to Ilrey’s room. It had already been about half an hour since he’d hung up.It felt like an age. He opened Ilrey’s door.He was about to say, I’m here, then stopped—because Ilrey sat on the sofa straight ahead. He’d sunk into the plush cushions, propping his chin lightly on his hand, eyes closed.“…….”Ilrey was very sensitive to movement. Maybe he was only pretending to sleep, or was lost in thought.But he didn’t open his eyes even as Taeui approached; he really was asleep. And, contrary to the slight nodding look of a doze, he seemed to be in a fairly deep slumber.Hey—where’s my beer…?He couldn’t wake a sleeping person and shake him for beer, so Taeui crouched down and stared at him. He knew this sensitive man would wake immediately if he stayed like that.Ilrey frowned, as if dreaming. If he really was dreaming, it must be a bad dream. Maybe it’d be better to wake him.“Ilrey.”When he called softly, Ilrey opened his eyes. They were cool, as if he’d merely been resting with his eyes shut. Those cool eyes stared at Taeui.“Slept?”Taeui asked. Ilrey, who hadn’t moved a muscle, reached out and lightly brushed Taeui’s cheek.“Any injuries?”Taeui blinked twice at the unexpected words. He must have been dreaming—an eerily realistic dream.He shrugged lightly.“No. As you see, I’m fine.”“I see. …Come here.”Ilrey pulled Taeui close and hugged him so tightly his breath caught. Taeui gasped, wiggled a little, then gave up and relaxed. He knew Ilrey would let go soon.Lately it had happened sometimes. Not very long, but for some time now, Ilrey’s dreams had been restless.Taeui tilted his head and bumped Ilrey’s forehead lightly with his own. Tap. A few seconds later, another tap.Ilrey’s arms loosened around him. As if nothing had happened, he said, “Sit.” Taeui sat on the opposite sofa as directed and asked,“Do you have nightmares too?”

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