“Strange…”Taeui forced a wry smile as he saw someone outside the gate waving at him with a bright grin.“Long time no see, Taeui. You must’ve had a hard time getting here.”“‘Hard time getting here’… even though this wasn’t actually my destination.”Taeui glanced past the man at the airport interior, invaded by unfamiliar scripts. At least he was sure those characters weren’t Hangul.“What are you talking about? You came all the way here and thought you’d leave without seeing me? How unfeeling.”“You thought you could come all this way and not see me? No chance of that—wouldn’t that be more accurate, Uncle?”“Ha ha ha, someone might misunderstand if they heard you.”His uncle patted Taeui’s shoulder lightly and laughed, wearing that same ominous uniform as always—one he’d never once found comforting.Something about it felt off. In fact, just before exiting the gate, Taeui had already guessed who would be waiting for him beyond that door. Yes, it could only be this man—someone capable of pulling a stunt like this.When he’d departed Berlin, he’d even been issued a through-boarding pass, with his luggage sent straight to Incheon Airport, and boarded without issue. Yet at the Hong Kong layover, out of nowhere, he’d been detained.Standing in front of the departure gate, pass in hand, he’d been told, “There’s an issue with your boarding pass, sir,” and escorted out—of course, he was the only one. He watched blankly as others peeked back at him in confusion and disappeared through the gate. He, on the other hand, was led out, sputtering “Huh? Huh?”“Sir, your flight date has been changed to one month later.”When the counter attendant stammered that explanation, Taeui rattled the ticket in his hand, insisting he hadn’t made any changes—but to no avail. The plane had already departed. He’d asked to be rebooked on the next flight, but somehow it was apparently impossible.“So you expect me to stay stuck in Hong Kong for a whole month?”He’d argued and complained everywhere he could, until at last he heard the merciless verdict. The attendant, bewildered and apologetic—yet with a look of deep suspicion—kept bowing her head, but the result didn’t change.His luggage, which should have reunited with him at Incheon, was left behind in Hong Kong. In the end, he trudged out of the gate dragging his own bags.Waiting for him beyond was his uncle, face split in a smile.“No wonder I felt something was off when you told me you were connecting through Hong Kong…”Taeui wondered why he hadn’t taken a direct flight. Still, he never expected to be stranded mid-journey after boarding normally.“Sorry about all this.”A man standing just behind his uncle offered an apologetic, awkward smile and bowed. Though they hadn’t met in years, he looked exactly the same, instantly recognizable as his uncle’s lieutenant. He must have handled the practical arrangements at his uncle’s command.Taeui shook his head with a smooth smile.“Must’ve been my uncle using his superior’s authority to force Lieutenant Kang’s hand. I can only imagine how hard it must’ve been for him.”“Ha ha, Lieutenant Kang was overjoyed when he heard you were coming. He was phoning everyone, saying how great it was.”“…?”When his uncle laughed, Lieutenant Kang forced a bitter smile. Taeui cocked his head in mild surprise, rubbed his chin for a moment, and then let out a light laugh.“Have you missed me that much, Lieutenant Kang? I’m honored.”“I’ve missed you more than he has, my nephew. Aren’t you happy?”“Hm…? That remains to be seen.”“Did you hate coming to see me that much?”His uncle smiled slyly, narrowing his eyes. Taeui fell silent, then muttered with a sigh,“I never thought about it before, but now that I’m here, I can’t help but think I’d have been far better off not meeting you at all. I find the reason you went to such lengths to block my path incredibly suspicious.”“Ha ha, it’s nothing so grand—no need to give me such wary looks. Oh, have you eaten? You must’ve been stuck with those miserable in-flight meals.”His uncle stepped ahead, suggesting they go for a proper meal. Lieutenant Kang, carrying Taeui’s luggage, strode purposefully toward the parking lot. Taeui shrugged as if he had no choice but to follow behind them.“This place really never changes.”Taeui muttered as he watched the scenery blur past the car window—glittering streets, bustling crowds, endless streams of traffic. Yet lift his gaze above that vast cityscape, and the crumbling, timeworn buildings seemed ready to collapse at a tap, their soot-darkened walls providing backdrop to long lines of laundry hung on poles strung between alleys.Where else could a city so strikingly juxtapose freshly booming prosperity with decades-old decay, earth and sky laid bare in contrast?“Really? Lately I thought they’d been renovating even around Kowloon.”“It’s just the same as when I lived here.”His uncle laughed at that remark. Taeui kept his eyes fixed on the view outside, then glanced at his uncle skeptically.“It seems we’re heading toward the harbor.”“Mm. Since we’ve eaten, we should head in soon.”“…Where, exactly?”“Where else?”Taeui stared intently at his uncle’s ever-grinning face. The UNHRDO badge on his uniform gleamed sharply in his sight.“For me too?”“Of course. I came to meet you.”Ahead, the road opened wide to reveal the sea. The car would soon turn right and stop, where a vessel bearing the UNHRDO mark would await. And Taeui already knew where that ship would take him—a ship he’d boarded many times before, to a place he’d been.“Can an outsider just go on board?”“Why would you be an outsider?”…Taeui looked wordlessly at his uncle’s smiling face. A faint crease formed between his uncle’s brows as he watched, his smile flickering slightly.“Uncle.”“I need your help with something, Taeui.”Only then did his uncle’s smile soften a bit.When he smiles like that, you can almost glimpse Father’s features and my resolve weakens. But even if I told myself that, I’ve never once beaten this man.Still, though he knew it was a fight he couldn’t win, a premonition told him it wasn’t going to be good, and Taeui frowned, scratching his head.“Jaeui is in Riyadh. When I called five days ago, he was still there. You should be able to reach him easily.”“Of course I know Jaeui’s doing well. I’ve heard he’s living in luxury fit for royalty. A colleague who visited recently said they’d provide him with anything he wanted—except women.”It was true that country was particular about that, his uncle added, and Taeui couldn’t help but press his lips together bitterly. They’re not withholding women for that reason, Uncle, he murmured in his mind.“Unless it’s something directly related to him, there shouldn’t be anything I can help you with.”“Why wouldn’t there be? There’s something perfect for you. Passing through Hong Kong at this time—what better timing for you?”“…What is that?”He sounded suspicious. Though he didn’t want to ask, the car had already stopped at the pier and the dedicated vessel, ready to depart at any moment, waited ahead.“It’s nothing major. I want you to serve as deputy instructor for about two weeks. You have plenty of time, right?”Knowing there was a deadline, resistance was pointless. Taeui raised both hands. But one word caught his ear.“Deputy instructor? For whom? And why me?”Deputy instructor must mean assisting the UNHRDO trainers. But why drag in an outsider for just two weeks? He couldn’t think of any reason.“Training exchange starts next weekend. For two weeks.”Ah. Taeui recalled past events. UNHRDO regularly held joint exercises with other branches. The time had come again.“But this time, headquarters reorganized things and canceled the usual inter-branch exchange. Instead, they invited volunteers from neighboring countries for a joint exercise. The program is the same as the exchange training.”“You’ll mix non-UNHRDO personnel into training?”“Not exactly non-UNHRDO. We sent official requests to governments and public agencies—so they’ll be on par with civil servants. And someone at the European branch sent invitations to organizations in both Israel and Hamas.”“…That’ll be rough over there too.”“Of course. Meanwhile, our branch only sent requests to peaceful Asian countries, so it’ll be the coziest joint exercise ever.”“So? What role would I have in that cozy joint exercise?”Taeui stared at his uncle as he climbed out of the car, but it was no use—Lieutenant Kang yanked him out from behind.“Oh, it’s simple. Among the VIP-level attendees coming to our branch are members of the Korean military. As you know, trainer-level personnel get a deputy instructor assigned. Though they’re technically part of the Korean military, their actual affiliation is with the U.S., since U.S. forces are stationed in Korea. So it’d be ideal to assign someone fluent in both Korean and English as deputy instructor—someone who already knows what the role entails. In other words—”Ah. Now the story made sense.Taeui murmured his reluctant understanding. Indeed, it would be hard to find someone more qualified than himself. Someone who knew exactly what deputy instructors did—preferably someone who’d held the role before and spoke English. That alone wasn’t too hard, but adding Korean proficiency made it rare.He glanced at Lieutenant Kang, who raised an inquisitive brow and gave his habitual half-smile. Kang fit those strict criteria too, but he was already his uncle’s deputy.“Two weeks, you said?”“Yes. During the joint exercise.”“…Fine. It shouldn’t be difficult. But…”Watching Lieutenant Kang board the vessel first with his luggage, Taeui sighed and held his hands up to his uncle. His uncle smiled, “Thanks for helping me,” and grinned.“So, but?”“Though it’s been lifted now, wasn’t I once wanted as an international terrorist, disgracing UNHRDO’s reputation? Is it really appropriate for someone formerly in exile to serve as deputy instructor—especially for distinguished external guests?”“Ha ha ha, why would that bother you? That was more Regrow’s problem than yours. And it’s been resolved. Even if Regrow himself wanted to return as an instructor, there’d be no issue.”“Every time I hear that, I feel I’m discovering another absurdity of this world…”Taeui muttered to himself, but his uncle just laughed calmly, as though it were no surprise.Well, it didn’t much matter. Aunt Dango wouldn’t move to the countryside until the end of next month, so two weeks of leave wouldn’t be an issue. He’d already told Ilrey he was heading out.Taeui could now freely decide his own course.“Alright. Then I’ll be in your care for the next two weeks. Aside from deputy instructor duties, there’s nothing else I need to do, right?”

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