“I’m quitting.”
The young man spoke curtly, but no one truly believed he would quit. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have chased them all the way here. Relieved that the situation seemed to be calming down for now, Yuri stepped back and, for once, simply watched them. For a very brief moment, the young man’s gaze flicked toward him.
The instant their eyes met, Yuri caught the cold, bleak sharpness in the young man’s eyes, even if only for a fleeting moment, and sealed his lips tight. His heart felt a chill.
Right. A warning to remember. After all, no one expected there’d be no trouble after shooting at a proud young master like him. Yuri thought he’d have to find some way to handle this.
But soon the young man’s gaze returned to Jung Tae-ui, and as if nothing had happened, softened into a gentle smile.
“I’ll wait. I’ll stay close to you and wait patiently.”
Until his brother comes, the young man whispered to Jung Tae-ui.
Damn... Yuri clicked his tongue inwardly with a casual expression. It looked like that young master was going to linger around them for a while, watching for any opening.
Troublesome, he thought.
One fierce beast like Ligrow was already more than enough to handle.
Fortunately, Yuri knew how to deal with such dangerous creatures — by never stepping into their territory. Keeping a proper distance and fulfilling each other’s needs was best. That was how Yuri had managed to stay unharmed for quite a long time dealing with Ligrow.
But that youngest master was already a lost cause. He had just fired a gun moments ago.
Yuri smoothed out the wrinkle forming between his brows and thought that as soon as he returned to the lodging, he’d better seek out some help.
Eventually, it seemed the dispute between them was somewhat settled for the time being. Jung Tae-ui said he would leave, aware that escaping alone might lead to uncontrollable consequences, so he made sure to take Ligrow with him.
Yuri followed the two as they walked away.
Relieved that no serious incident had occurred here, Yuri thought tonight’s report to headquarters would be very rich with material. In other words, more work for himself — which made him sigh internally. His evening swim time would be cut short.
“Brother, I like you,” a faint voice came from behind. Jung Tae-ui nodded almost imperceptibly and resumed his brisk steps ahead. Yuri followed his footsteps, glancing back once.
The young man sat on the sand, looking toward them with a face as if holding back tears.
That wasn’t a fake expression. Revealing his inner feelings plainly, the young man looked at Jung Tae-ui’s retreating figure like a sorrowful, wronged child. As soon as they disappeared from view, he seemed ready to burst into tears.
Unconsciously, Yuri hesitated in his steps. He felt as if he had abandoned a lost child.
As Yuri slowed down, the young man’s gaze crossed over.
"........"
A flicker of regret passed across the young man’s face. At the same time, Yuri realized that this expression was one the young man did not want others to see. His true face — emotions laid bare. Rapidly, the temperature in the young man’s eyes dropped sharply, as if plunging to absolute zero, and with those icy eyes, he stared at Yuri. Now fully aware, he seemed to say, “Let me see properly the face of the bastard who just shot at me.”
Yuri quickly turned away as if nothing had happened, but inside, he felt defeated. He hadn’t intended to turn back. It was seeing that vulnerable face revealing its fragile heart that disturbed him. Just the fact that such a face was shown to a complete stranger would hurt its pride.
Yuri clicked his tongue. The fierce gaze burning into his nape felt like it could pierce a bullet through his head. Half of that anger was probably misdirected frustration, but it was a real threat nonetheless — a real nuisance.
“How did it come to this?!”
A sigh of trouble escaped over the phone.
“I didn’t want this either. But the employer’s safety was the priority anyway.”
Yuri’s excuse was met with a groan of distress.
“Why that kid, of all people? My words won’t work on him at all.”
“Sorry.”
But the apology, with a meaning of ‘please take care,’ was followed by a long, heavy sigh. Eventually, the voice weakly replied, “Alright, but don’t expect much.”
The man was obviously uneasy about his youngest brother, who was almost as much younger as a rich family’s typical sibling gap.
Like father, like son — Ring Huireong’s eldest son was no pushover. Yuri had felt this when they had worked together before. Unlike his father’s infamous ruthlessness and coldness, he was more patient and persuasive, though some called him soft. He was more of a sly fox than a fool.
Yuri Gable’s relationship with this man came about by chance. It was not long after Yuri began working in earnest at T&R, about a dozen years ago. Back then, when Yuri was still young and green, many would sneer and scoff, “That rookie is a full-time employee from T&R?” Only this man had not judged Yuri by his appearance and had said, “I have a younger brother like you. Much younger, though.” They had worked together briefly in dangerous areas, sharing their lives, and formed a fairly close relationship in that short time. Later, when the man’s son visited Europe, Yuri had helped him stay at his place for a couple of months, and even now, they maintained a friendly relationship.
That man was Ring Huireong’s eldest son, Ring Tangwin, now solidly established in his position in his fifties.
“How’s that kid?”
“So far, so good.”
“Why ‘so far’?”
“He’s been picking fights with Rick — Kyle Ligrow from T&R.”
“Why’s he involved with him?!”
Ring Tangwin had already heard of Kyle’s notorious madness and shouted loudly. Yuri lowered the receiver slightly.
“He seems to covet someone close to Rick.”
There was no answer for a moment.
“They said he caused a ruckus looking for someone... What kind of person is he?”
Ah, it seemed the young man had upended the house to find Jung Tae-ui. Yuri looked out the window. Jung Tae-ui lay stretched in a hammock tied to a mango tree trunk, sucking on ripe mangoes.
When asked about someone, Yuri found it hard to describe one person in a few words.
Watching Jung Tae-ui gently shaking the hammock and reaching for his second mango, Yuri answered briefly,
“He’s a good young man.”
“A young man?!”
“Yes... Didn’t you know? Your brother’s embroiled in a homoerotic melodrama.”
Ring Tangwin groaned as if the uproar was ridiculous. Though the house was in chaos, he still didn’t know what kind of person his brother was.
Hoping the family’s dignity would make them quickly take the youngest master back, Ring Tangwin sighed and seemed to have doubts about that.
“You’re not taking him back? I’m serious. He looks dangerous.”
This was no idle warning. Ring Tangwin knew Yuri wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.
Just then, Ligrow suddenly appeared from nowhere and grabbed Jung Tae-ui’s hand covered in mango juice, licking it eagerly. Yuri frowned deeply, seriously worried about the future.
The young man, like a venomous peony, showed no signs of backing down, and Ligrow didn’t look like he would let go of that hand.
“He’s not the kind you can take away at will. He’s... how should I say... different inside and out.”
“Seems so.”
Yuri nodded calmly.
His eyes were capable of hurting people without hesitation. Though as lovely as a flower luring butterflies, he radiated a dangerous aura.
“If he’s not convinced himself, he won’t budge. For now, we have to watch... Yuri, I have a favor. That’s your father’s cherished child. Take good care that he doesn’t get seriously hurt.”
Yuri frowned but didn’t respond. Knowing Yuri’s nature, Ring Tangwin clicked his tongue and added in a gloomy voice, “I’ll contact your side too.”
Yuri found it strange. He had often wondered about this younger brother story when hearing it from him. Ring Tangwin, while not as fierce as the angry tiger Ring Huireong, was no one to bow down to others. Even if that youngest son was the cherished gem of the old father, from Ring Tangwin’s perspective, he was still a much younger subordinate. So treating him strictly like a stern elder brother was reasonable.
Yet whenever he spoke about his youngest brother, he kept a vague distance. Different from the old father’s dislike and suspicion of the favored son, it felt like a wary troublemaker was being handled delicately — awkward and troublesome, but not seriously hated or displeased.
...Maybe because he’s so pretty? When faced with such a beautiful face, any ill will tends to vanish. Anyway, that charming young master was certainly a difficult person even for the elders of the Ringa family to touch lightly.
“By the way, after this job ends, your contract with T&R also ends, right? What will you do then?”
“Well, I’ll take a break and think about it for a while.”
The contract expiration day was near.
Confirming Jung Jae-ui was here would complete the contract. Finding and locating him was Yuri’s job; bringing him back was not.
“Then come visit sometime.”
“There’s no beautiful sea there, so I’m not keen.”
“Ha ha, still the same. Pay sometimes talks about you, anyway, come visit when you’re free. Let’s have a drink.”
“I probably can’t keep up with your drinking... By the way, did Pay return from the U.S.? Seems like he’s about to graduate.”
“Oh, he’s due to graduate this spring. Not to brag, but his graduation exam scores...”
Ring Tangwin proudly boasted about his son. Loving one’s own son seemed to be a family trait of Ringa. Yuri also listened attentively and joined the conversation, interested because of the boy who had stayed with him for a couple of months before.
Meanwhile, outside the window, Jung Tae-ui suddenly tossed a mango with a bitter look, and Ligrow looked down at him with a subtle smile — probably chatting about some trivial matter. Yuri quietly sighed, sensing the youngest brother’s rough heartbreak.
That place was an island famed for its beautiful sea.
Not only the view of the sea from the water, but the underwater ecosystem was so rich that everyone who had been there named it the most beautiful sea they had ever seen.
Despite this, the island was not well known because most of the nearby archipelago islands were privately owned, and even those not privately owned had poor shipping routes making access difficult, and strong currents made swimming near the island hard unless you were very skilled.
However, Yuri Gable met all the conditions to enter that sea.
Ring Tangwin’s family — to be exact, his house — owned one of those islands and granted Yuri permission to enter. Tangwin himself was also planning to take a rare break there with his wife and children and had arrived ahead to send a boat to pick Yuri up, making the journey easy. Despite the strong currents, Yuri was an experienced swimmer who could handle the conditions.
Apart from the caretakers living or traveling to the island on Ringa’s behalf, no one else was in the sea. And inside, it was even more beautiful than Yuri had heard — so beautiful he thought he might die there, while submerged.
“But you guys can’t go in.”
As Yuri dried his hair with a towel after coming out of the water, Ring Tangwin’s young son, Pay, pouted and complained.
“Why not?! I can swim well, too.”
“The currents are very strong.”
“Cur...?”
The boy wrinkled his lips, not understanding. Yuri put it in simpler terms.
“The water flows very fast and is dangerous.”
“But there are no waves.”
The boy pointed at the calm sea and whined like a spoiled child.
“There are currents under the surface you can’t see from outside.”
“...Tch. I want to go in too.”
Yuri wrapped a towel around the boy’s red shoulders, grumbling but giving in gently.
“Your skin’s very red. It’ll hurt at night, so don’t run around under the sun too much. Don’t go beyond the black rock out there.”
“Yes!” the boy shouted and immediately jumped into the water. Yuri watched him splash nearby, thinking Pay was mischievous and sometimes hard to handle but not disobedient.
“Oh, the mermaid finally came up. I was wondering whether to send someone for you.”
Ring Tangwin, sitting on the lush grass a little above the white sandy beach under a parasol, smiled and handed Pay a beer. Pay waved him off lightly and drank water instead.
“The currents are strong? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Near the surface it’s okay. Once you go a few meters deep, you have to be careful... But up to there is fine.”
Yuri glanced at Pay playing with his little sister and settled into a chair.
“That’s a shame. So I can’t go deep either?”
“If you have equipment and some help, it wouldn’t be hard, but you didn’t bring any, right?”
“Nope,” Tangwin clicked his tongue.
“That’s too bad. I was looking forward to seeing the underwater beauty here, but the currents are strong.”
“The currents make it beautiful. Because the flow is active, many creatures come to feed.”
Yuri finished his drink quickly and leaned back in his chair.
Checking the time, quite a while had passed. Immersed in the underwater scenery, coming up and down multiple times, he felt unusually drowsy. Swimming against the currents had been tiring.
At the edge of his pleasantly rising fatigue, his eyes caught a small shadow diving confidently into the water. It was refreshing to see such good form and speed.
“Wait, isn’t that dangerous?”
Tangwin’s tone grew serious. Yuri shrugged and refilled his glass.
“Actually, even if he goes far out, as long as he stays near the surface, it’s mostly fine. If he cramps, though, that’d be a problem. I’ll keep an eye.”
Yuri wasn’t planning to leave anytime soon anyway. He didn’t want to take his eyes off the sea for even a moment. Though he had just arrived this afternoon, he would have to go back early tomorrow morning. He had come to take a short break from work and couldn’t stay long.
Tangwin clicked his tongue at the extra travel time but Yuri shook his head. Even half a day was worth it to visit this beautiful place.
“Is that the youngest brother?”
Yuri saw the small child he had only heard about before. From afar, he wasn’t clear, but he’d heard Pay was two years older, yet the kid was much smaller, seeming three or four years younger. He looked like a small, delicate girl.
“Hmm...”
The man who always furrowed his brow when talking about the youngest brother was the child’s older brother, already in his forties.
“Why did you bring your youngest brother along?”
Knowing the man didn’t like his youngest brother much, Yuri asked in surprise.
“Well, the father was originally supposed to take him to Hong Kong, but a few days ago the kid suddenly said he wanted to see an island in the South Pacific. So, what could we do? Since I was coming here anyway, I brought him. The kid seemed to want to go there from the start.”
Tangwin sipped his beer with a bitter face, saying he was unfairly the one resented by their father.
“Since the eldest brother is so much older, he probably thinks of him like a father.”
“Hey, don’t say that too.”
Tangwin suddenly groaned, clutching his head. Yuri glanced at him.
“The kid sometimes tells me I’m like a dad, right in front of our father, and the father looks at me disapprovingly. Do you know how uncomfortable that is?”
Yuri briefly felt sorry for Ring Huireong, whose cherished son treated another like a father, but Tangwin must have been troubled by the awkward feelings too. Yuri shrugged.
“Well... kids are kids.”
Most fathers of kids that age were probably as young as Tangwin, so the kids might prefer the older brother to a grandfather-like father. That was normal at that age — kids comparing whose mom was prettier or whose dad was cooler.
Tangwin didn’t quite agree with Yuri but didn’t add anything more. He looked away at the youngest brother splashing around far off, shaking his head and saying he’d be furious if the kid got hurt.
Yuri smiled at Tangwin and looked back to the sea.
Ah, what a dazzlingly beautiful sea.
The shimmering transparent water, the endlessly spreading deep blue sky, the dazzling white clouds.
He regretted having to leave soon.
He wished he could quit work and stay here forever, but he couldn’t. Kyle had suddenly disappeared — probably off at some rural book festival — and James was grinding his teeth, saying if Yuri added more trouble, Kyle would really get sick.
He’d have to wait for another chance.
Yuri gazed absentmindedly at the endless blue water.
He lost track of how long he stayed.
Though not asleep, time seemed to vanish from his consciousness as if he had been asleep. His body was in the water, but his mind was submerged.
He thought he heard water sounds.
'.........'
Yuri saw the child. The child had been happily diving in and out of the water, apparently enjoying himself. The water was so clear that the bottom was visible, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful underwater world. The small child, unable to hold his breath long, was panting eagerly as he dived.
Then the child paused briefly to look down at something on the seabed, took a deep breath, gave a strong push with his body, and dived again.
'......'
Yuri frowned slightly. Beside him, Tangwin smiled calmly, saying, “He must really like it. The kids don’t want to come out of the water.”
“Why?”
Tangwin gave Yuri a curious look as Yuri half-raised himself.
“Your youngest brother...?”
“Hmm? Oh. He’s been diving in and out since earlier. He’s usually lively but rarely this excited. He must really like it. He just went down again.”
From afar, they heard Pay shouting in excitement. “Wow, it’s a turtle! It’s so big!” He and his little sister shouted in delight.
“Dad, it’s swimming right under us!”
Pay’s shout was mixed with surprise and joy. Tangwin, replying casually, suddenly saw Yuri get up and looked puzzled.
“Why? Is the turtle dangerous?”
“No, not if you don’t touch it. Usually, the turtle will avoid you.”
Still, Yuri’s face remained serious — it was his usual expression — as he hurried toward the sea. Just as he stepped forward, he saw the youngest child dive energetically like before. The little sister, Xiaoqun, tried several times to enter the water but swallowed water and began crying.
“Xiaoqun, stay there.”
Saying that, Yuri dove into the water.
He quickly reached the little girl floating helplessly in a tube. Wiping her tears, he quietly told her to hold tight to the tube and looked downward.
A large turtle was calmly swimming below. It was about 60 to 70 centimeters long, unusually large and rarely seen so close to the surface. Pay was diving down toward it eagerly.
Perhaps that was why the youngest child had entered the water earlier — to see the turtle. But...
Yuri went underwater.
The water was so clear the seabed was visible. The turtle looked close enough to touch, but the depth was still several meters. As Pay dove down, he held his nose a few times to relieve pressure.
At some depth, Pay lost his balance and swayed as if hitting something invisible.
As expected.
At that depth, currents existed. The strong current was enough to overwhelm even an experienced adult. It wrapped around Pay quickly, who, startled by his body not responding, exhaled the air in his lungs and began struggling for breath.
'......!'
Yuri reached Pay just in time. The terrified child, frozen in fear, ignored Yuri’s gestures and clung wildly to his shoulders, arms, and waist.
Even a child’s strength when paralyzed by fear is difficult for an adult to resist. Had Pay gone deeper or the current been stronger, Yuri might not have reached him so quickly.
It’s still okay. I can handle this much.
Though almost unable to use half his body from Pay’s frantic clinging, Yuri managed to surface. He was glad he hadn’t gone too deep.
After getting out of the water, Pay clung to Yuri as if dazed. Breathing heavily, coughing as if choking, he sobbed uncontrollably.
“It’s okay, Pay. Calm down. It’s alright now.”
Yuri slowly swam toward the little sister, Xiaoqun, who was watching fearfully with wide eyes. Carefully, he helped move Pay onto Xiaoqun’s tube. Pay flinched, trying to cling to Yuri again, but soon seemed to regain his composure and moved onto the tube.