Caesar hadn’t told him the time. Lee Won didn’t bother calling again to ask when the car would come. A man as meticulous as Caesar didn’t just forget to mention something like that.
He could pretend to forget, sure. He was probably waiting to see Lee Won anxiously glancing at the clock, wondering when the car would show up. But Lee Won had no intention of wasting time on something so unnecessary.
Having stayed up until dawn at the hospital with Nikolai, Lee Won returned home and grabbed a few broken hours of sleep. He came down the stairs at his usual time, had a light breakfast with his grandmother, and then returned to his room to immerse himself once again in preparing for Nikolai’s trial.
Whatever it was that Caesar was planning to hand over, Lee Won had to ensure everything else was airtight. As he combed through precedent and reviewed the results of earlier hearings, time slipped away—before he knew it, it was noon.
“Uh, excuse me…”
A hesitant voice and a gentle tap on his shoulder. So focused he nearly gasped, Lee Won looked up to find his grandmother giving him a wry smile.
“You have a visitor.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Nodding belatedly, Lee Won glanced back at the documents he’d been reading. After throwing on his coat, he went downstairs to find a familiar face: one of Caesar’s men.
“Leaving without lunch?” his grandmother asked, looking at him.
Before Lee Won could respond, the man spoke up first.
“He’s waiting.”
His voice betrayed clear anxiety. It was obvious he was nervous about keeping Caesar waiting. Lee Won turned to his grandmother and smiled.
“I have a client meeting, sorry. I’ll come back for dinner.”
He gave her a light kiss before turning around. The man visibly relaxed and quickly exited the café. Without asking anything, Lee Won stepped into the waiting car. Amid the trams and traffic, the sedan drove skillfully through the chaos.
He must have dozed off for a moment. The change in the car’s speed stirred him from sleep. Lee Won opened his eyes and stared out the window with a dazed expression. He didn’t recognize the place. Was there always a park here?
Tall, dense woods flanked the smoothly paved road. Just as he was wondering about the unfamiliarity, it clicked—it was private property.
The car came to a stop, and a butler opened the door.
“Welcome.”
With a polite bow, the butler greeted him. Lee Won responded with a nod and looked up.
The scale of the mansion before him was absurd. A single unit of the apartment building he lived in could fit into it multiple times over. The massive estate seemed to look down on its guests with scorn.
“This way, please.”
At Lee Won’s glance, the butler turned and took the lead. As they approached the entrance, men in black suits along either side threw him discreet glances. An oppressive silence blanketed the space. Something felt… off.
Living in Russia for over seven years—where ethnic tensions were constant—had honed Lee Won’s instincts. What he sensed from the men was blatant hostility.
As he passed the threshold, his gaze met that of one of the guards standing watch. Lee Won held the stare and kept walking. The man twisted his lips.
Bang.
He mimicked the sound of a gun with his mouth and pointed a finger at Lee Won like a pistol. Lee Won walked past him with his usual blank expression.
The parlor resembled a greenhouse—walls and ceiling made of glass, flooding the space with rare northern sunlight. The furniture was minimal: a worn but cozy couch, a table, and a few antique items like a clock.
The floor and walls were all natural materials—soil, grass, and wood. There, Lee Won spotted something unusual: a chair suspended from the ceiling by a cord, shaped like a vertically sliced egg, floating like a cocoon. It looked comfortable, even at first glance.
Then he noticed the long legs stretched out beneath it. Just as he did, the butler spoke quietly, requesting Lee Won’s patience. He approached the chair and whispered something to its occupant. The chair slowly stopped swinging, and a tall figure began to rise.
“Welcome, Counselor.”
Caesar greeted him with a faint smile, silver hair glinting under the filtered northern sunlight.
“Was the ride comfortable?”
He led Lee Won to another parlor and sat across from him. Without a word, the butler returned and placed teacups in front of them.
“Not really.”
Lee Won answered curtly. Caesar chuckled quietly and sipped his tea. He frowned slightly but didn’t comment. Only after the butler left did Lee Won understand why.
“Lyudmila’s tea really is impossible to match.”
Lee Won merely stared at him.
Today, Caesar wasn’t wearing his usual suit. Instead, he was in a relaxed knit sweater and slacks. His usually sleek, platinum hair was loosely tousled. As Lee Won observed the rare sight of a powerful man in repose, he finally spoke.
“Is this your house?”
Caesar replied casually.
“Do you like it?”
Lee Won answered honestly.
“Must cost a fortune to heat.”
Caesar blinked, then cracked a grin.
“Not more than I can handle.”
“Of course.”
Lee Won dismissed the comment and got to the point.
“So what’s the job?”
Caesar reached out—not toward Lee Won, but toward the humidor.
“Nothing major. Just a little property dispute…”
He picked through cigars as he spoke. Lee Won frowned, but Caesar continued nonchalantly.
“You know the name Berdyaev?”
The former mayor. Now just a cold corpse buried underground. Lee Won narrowed his eyes and stared at Caesar’s elegant fingers as they rifled through cigars.
Despite Lee Won’s scowl, Caesar ignored him completely, focused on his selection. It was aggravating—and Lee Won wasn’t in the mood to tolerate it.
He suddenly reached out and grabbed Caesar’s wrist.
Startled, Caesar turned his gaze. Their eyes locked.
“It’s polite to look at someone when you’re talking.”
Caesar didn’t respond—he just looked at him. Under Lee Won’s grip, he could feel the strength in the man’s bones. The silver lashes around Caesar’s gray eyes cast long shadows. His lips parted lazily, as if inviting something.
“My apologies.”
With a faint smile, Caesar pulled back. Lee Won released his grip and leaned into the sofa. Caesar gave up on the humidor.
“About the ex-mayor…”
“I know.”
Lee Won interrupted.
“They said the cause of death was suspicious.”
Casually, Lee Won glanced sideways. Caesar gave a faint smile.
“People die one way or another.”
True—but how they die matters. At Lee Won’s scrutinizing gaze, Caesar spoke again, slowly.
“You know, not all mafia business is illegal.”
Technically correct. Still, Lee Won didn’t let his suspicion drop. Caesar leaned back, resting an arm on the sofa.
“The mayor had many women but never married. No children, no family.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Just a mountain of real estate and cash left behind.”
Lee Won realized what this was about.
“So, you’re planning to take it?”
“Why not?” Caesar replied smoothly.
“If I don’t, someone else will.”
As much as he hated to admit it—it was true. Rumors had long swirled that a powerful mafia backed the mayor’s wealth. Lee Won asked again.
“What does that have to do with the trial I’m handling?”
“Not directly.”
Caesar chuckled softly.
“But no one commits corruption alone.”
He looked down at his empty hand, then shrugged toward the humidor.
“Flies always swarm in groups.”
Suddenly, the puzzle pieces clicked into place. Lee Won furrowed his brow and spoke slowly.
“You’re saying the mayor was involved in corruption with Zhdanov?”
Instead of answering, Caesar asked,
“Now you see why you’re the one for this job?”
His silent smile said everything. Lee Won went quiet, deep in thought. If they could drag Zhdanov’s crimes into the light, the impact alone could ruin him. Proper media pressure could even cost him his seat—or land him in prison. That would give them the upper hand in Nikolai’s case.
Lee Won was convinced. Corruption is always a liability. The grotesque creations of power-hungry politicians would boomerang right back at them.
Watching Lee Won’s expression, Caesar smiled.
“You’ve got the eyes of a tiger ready to pounce.”
Lee Won frowned. What the hell is that supposed to mean? But Caesar moved on.
“Now then, let me show you your room.”
“My room?”
Surprised, Lee Won blinked. Caesar nodded.
“Igor probably put the urgent documents there already. The rest are in the study next door. It’s connected—you can check whenever you want.”
“Wait.”
Lee Won quickly cut in.
“I’m not staying here. I’ll look them over and get back to you. Have the materials sent to my place.”
Caesar looked surprised—but Lee Won could tell it was an act.
“You’re joking, right? If we put all that in your cramped little apartment, you’ll end up sleeping in the hallway.”
The way he said it made it sound like he’d seen Lee Won’s place. Maybe he had.
“I’ve lived in that house for seven years. Hard to believe, huh? Why don’t you move somewhere better?”
Lee Won answered plainly.
“Because each room has its own bathroom.”
Caesar laughed in disbelief.
“That’s just basic, isn’t it?”
Not in Russia. Most shared bathrooms and toilets. Lee Won had never moved since arriving in the country. The friendship with his landlady was important—but the private bathroom had been just as vital.
Still, he wasn’t about to explain all that.
“It’s not.”
That single line made Caesar frown.
“Really?”
He seemed genuinely surprised. For a man who spouted endless trivia, finding something he didn’t know didn’t make Lee Won happy. That man would probably never understand.
He recalled a winter, years ago, when the pipes had frozen. The whole building panicked. Afterwards, his landlady had collected money and installed a shared heated bathroom for emergencies. Every year, when the pipes froze again, tenants queued up like clockwork.
At least this year it hasn’t frozen yet, Lee Won thought. Then he added,
“I’ll commute from home. Just leave the materials here.”
“You’re commuting?”
Caesar repeated the words, and Lee Won stood up.
“I’ll work from 9 to 5. Lunch is on you.”
With that simple condition, he nodded.
“I’ll be back tomorrow. See you.”
Caesar looked up at him.
“I can’t pick you up every day.”
Lee Won replied with a blank face.
“That’s fine. I’ll take the tram.”
Caesar’s expression twisted oddly. Though Lee Won hadn’t seen the estate properly due to his drowsy ride, Caesar’s reaction confirmed it: the grounds were massive. As if to prove it, Caesar chuckled.
“Too bad. No tram stop goes to my front door. I could build one if you’d like.”
“No thanks. I’ll manage.”
At Lee Won’s curt reply, Caesar shrugged, as if to say, Whatever you want. With no expression, Lee Won turned and walked out of the room. The butler waiting outside hurried to catch up.
Suit yourself, Caesar thought.
He brought the half-smoked cigar to his lips, a faint smile tugging at his mouth.
This should be fun.
The next day, just before 9 a.m., Caesar left the mansion—and finally understood what Lee Won had meant.
Just as he was about to step into his car, an unpleasant, mechanical wheeze hit his ears. He stopped and turned his head.
A beat-up scooter came sputtering into view, rattling as it charged forward.
Everyone standing beside Caesar turned their gaze in unison. Surrounded by sharp-suited men, all their eyes now locked on the source of that agonizing noise. The scooter—on the verge of collapse—groaned its way forward and arrived at the mansion's front gate exactly at 9 o’clock.
In the breathless silence, a man in a cheap suit removed his helmet.
A small gasp escaped from somewhere in the group.
Caesar said nothing. He simply stared at Lee Won, who was dismounting the scooter as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
“Right on time,” Lee Won said, looking Caesar straight in the eye.
And then, as if the moment didn’t matter, he walked right past him.
Through the suffocating silence, Lee Won strode with confidence. Not even a flicker of hesitation crossed his face, not even as he walked directly into a crowd of glaring, hostile Ruski men. The open contempt of pure-blooded Russians didn’t faze him in the slightest.
When he stopped in front of the entrance, some of the men flinched under his stare. Turning his head, Lee Won looked at the butler and asked calmly,
“Would you show me the way?”
The butler glanced anxiously between Caesar and Lee Won, as if unsure whether it was okay to let the master leave without a proper sendoff.
At last, Caesar gave a simple order.
“Take him.”
“Yes, Tsar.”
The butler quickly ran ahead to open the door for Lee Won and began to escort him. Caesar remained still, silently watching his back.
As Lee Won disappeared inside, a faint smile surfaced on Caesar’s face.
And in that instant, every man standing nearby froze completely.
The Tsar is smiling.
The hard edges of his eyes softened, his expression relaxed into something almost… warm. It was the first time any of them had ever seen it. In stunned silence, they watched as Caesar finally turned and stepped into his car.
One man, the first to recover, bowed his head in a panic. The others quickly followed, bending in unison. The sedan slipped away from the mansion grounds with a quiet engine hum, leaving behind the pale, sweat-drenched men.
Seated deep in the back, Caesar didn’t reach for his humidor. He remained quiet, lost in thought.
A scooter…
“How irritating,” he muttered to himself.
Startled, the driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
But Caesar said nothing more.
“Welcome.”
The butler greeted Lee Won politely, just as he had every other day that week, right on time.
On the first day, Lee Won had realized Caesar wasn’t exaggerating. The documents were overwhelming. If he had brought them home, he really would have ended up sleeping in the hallway—or on the street.
Through his research, one thing became clear: the dead man had as many skeletons as he had assets. Some of it was so vile, Lee Won found himself briefly thinking, Maybe he deserved to die.
Of course, he quickly pushed the thought aside and focused back on the task.
Caesar always left the house at the same time, returning only after Lee Won had already gone. The concern Lee Won had quietly harbored never came to pass. Their only interaction was in the morning, brushing past each other in the foyer. Thanks to that, Lee Won was able to immerse himself in the work.
“This way.”
Even though he knew the way, Lee Won followed the butler’s lead. The man, with his narrow eyes, unlike most Russians, kept his thoughts to himself. He was always professional—but only just that.
Is he Ruski, too?
Lee Won found himself wondering. Russia was full of chaos—terrorism, conflict—and ethnic strife was one of its sharpest divides. The Ruski and the Russiski constantly undermined each other, riddled with deep-rooted animosity.
Peace among all people? That was just an idealistic fantasy.
Lee Won didn’t need to be told. The hostility he’d felt on his first day had sunk all the way into his bones. It was obvious. This place was filled entirely with pureblooded Ruski who despised outsiders.
Yet Caesar, a high-ranking member of this inner circle, had brought him into his home to work.
What kind of man is he really?
Though he hadn’t felt overtly threatened, it was unbearably unpleasant to move through a space so steeped in hatred. Even the butler—who tended to him out of obligation—couldn’t fully conceal his dislike.
Saying nothing, offering no unnecessary words, the man now led Lee Won once again toward the study. And Lee Won, following along silently, thought to himself:
I need to finish this job quickly. I never want to set foot in this place again.
“If you need anything, please call.”
With that, the butler politely stepped back after leading Lee Won into the study.
Lee Won opened the door and stepped in.
The large room was an utter mess—scattered with all the documents he’d been poring over the day before. Weaving through the piles like stepping stones, he finally managed to take off his jacket, drop his bag, and sit down.
Alright. Today’s the day.
From the chaos of the desk, Lee Won pulled out the unfinished file from yesterday—he’d found it immediately, as if by instinct. It detailed the deceased man’s financial history.
He’d been glued to this one report for three days already.
I’m finishing this. Today.
He furrowed his brows and focused.
Outside the closed door, the butler glanced back and then continued down the hallway. He was carrying out the morning’s orders from his master—and his face made it clear he didn’t like what he was about to do.
Stepping outside, he walked toward the front of the mansion.
Not far from the entrance, the pathetic little scooter sat alone, quietly waiting.
The butler stared at it, displeasure written all over his face.