GCT 21

‘Why, what, what do you want me to do about it.’

Yohan pouted and held back the words he wanted to say to Lear. It was because he couldn’t curse him in front of his father.

“Anyway, you’re leaving again, right?”

“Anyone would think I was a tenant in this house.”

“If you say it like that, it makes it sound like I’m still mooching off the house.”

“Technically speaking…”

Before Patrick could say something unnecessary, Lear hastily cut him off and said what he wanted to say.

“More importantly, it’s chaotic outside these days, so please be careful. By the way, when are you leaving?”

At Lear’s contradictory words, Patrick looked dumbfounded.

“What kind of tone is that to your father…”

“Stop it. So you’re leaving right now, right?”

“Yes. That’s why I stopped by at dawn like this.”

At Patrick’s words, Lear nodded his head without enthusiasm.

“Anyway, I’m off. You and your boyfriend stay quietly at home. Don’t cause any trouble.”

Lear said it as if for Yohan to hear.

“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a person who’s crazy about me.”

“Hey, when did I… You’re really twisting your words, you know?”

Yohan, who had been listening quietly from the side, said in a small voice and poked Lear in the side with his hand.

‘Anyone hearing this would think I’m a stalker.’

Even at Yohan’s words, Lear, with a nonchalant face, said it hurt, and arbitrarily grabbed his hand tightly, interlaced their fingers, laughed with a “heu heu,” and kissed the back of his hand.

“Putting on a show so early in the morning.”

“That’s so informal of you. What do you mean, ‘putting on a show’?”

“Who do you take after…”

Lear raised his eyebrows and looked at Patrick as if to ask who else he could have taken after. Patrick sighed deeply and said he was really leaving. At that, Lear threw a single phrase at Patrick.

“More importantly, are you seeing anyone these days, father?”

Patrick’s shoulders, who was turning to leave, flinched. And he turned his head to look at Lear. At that, Lear kissed the back of Yohan’s hand with a series of jjok jjok sounds and said.

“If not, then never mind. It’s not like I want to know about your love life or who you’re seeing anyway…”

Lear stuck his tongue out slightly and acted as if he were disgusted with a “wek.” At the sight of his immature son, Patrick scoffed. But inwardly, he was relieved that Lear seemed to have found someone to give his heart to. Though he had no intention of revealing that thought to Lear.

“Why don’t you worry about yourself?”

“Please help me do that.”

“It’s not something to say to someone who was about to leave, but I’m really going now.”

Patrick, who was looking at his watch as he spoke, actually seemed quite busy. Lear also had no intention of holding him back any longer, so he waved his hand at Patrick to hurry up and go. At that moment, Yohan, whose eyes met Patrick’s, gave him an awkward greeting.

“He’s finally gone.”

“Hey, you’re so…”

As Yohan was about to scold him with an incredulous look, Lear grabbed Yohan’s hand even tighter and pulled him towards him. Yohan, who ended up in Lear’s embrace, was about to push his chest away when he said a word.

“I was surprised you suddenly disappeared.”

“……”

At Lear’s words, Yohan looked at him as if he couldn’t believe it, but seeing his sullen face, his own face flushed.

“Where would I go…”

“That’s a relief, but… you have a colorful history of running away. You’ve screwed me over before, too.”

“That’s, well… Hey, being this clingy isn’t attractive.”

“You said you liked me.”

“Hey!”

“Isn’t it better when the person you like is clingy?”

Instead of answering his question, Yohan turned his head sharply and avoided his gaze. At that, Lear seemed to fix his gaze close to Yohan’s face, then suddenly lifted him up in his arms. Yohan, whose feet were suddenly off the ground, was startled and grabbed Lear’s shoulders, clinging to him as he said.

“Are you crazy?”

“Yohan’s face is red.”

“Th-this is just…”

“And I thought you might have trouble moving.”

“I’m fine, so put me down.”

Lear ignored Yohan’s words and strode forward. At that, Yohan sighed deeply with a puk, and leaned his head against Lear’s shoulder. He didn’t like the always self-willed Lear, but for some reason, he didn’t dislike this situation, but he hated himself for feeling that way about him.

As soon as his body recovered a little, Yohan could no longer stay cooped up at home.

Yohan nagged Lear, who was lying on the sofa leisurely playing a game on his phone, saying they needed to check O’Connell’s house again.

On the day of O’Connell’s funeral, a whole bunch of unexpected things had happened, so he hadn’t been able to properly examine O’Connell’s study, and he had a feeling that he might see something if he went there again.

Really, why did misfortunes come in clusters like this. He could treat it as a happening now, but when Yohan thought about the long road ahead, his head throbbed.

“I never thought I’d come here twice.”

Lear said as he parked the car on the side of the road, responding to Yohan’s words.

“Same here.”

He had come to O’Connell’s house again with Yohan, and Yohan’s words weren’t wrong, but actually, while saying this, Lear wished Yohan would rest a little more.

After all, quite some time had passed since O’Connell’s funeral, and it was possible that any truly important items had already been stolen by the hitman. Besides, he was worried that something terrible might happen today, just like last time.

Still, it was something they couldn’t just let go, and knowing Yohan’s personality, he had to see it with his own two eyes to be sure, so the two got out of the car and stood in front of O’Connell’s house.

O’Connell’s house was the same as before. The house, which looked like it could be from a drama, had the typical middle-class feel that you would see in <Desperate Housewives>. O’Connell’s end was not ordinary, but looking at this house alone, it was filled with the feeling that a happy family lived and prospered here.

Even so, it couldn’t compare to Lear’s Bel Air house. Lear’s house was the kind of house that Beyoncé or Ariana Grande would live in.

“Yohan, don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried, you know?”

“Your cute face was all scrunched up.”

“It’s just that… I didn’t expect to come back here.”

“Ah. I see. I thought you were trying to seduce me on purpose.”

Yohan lightly ignored Lear’s words and moved on.

“More importantly… there’s no one around?”

At Yohan’s words, Lear took a cigarette from his jacket, put it in his mouth, and said.

“It’s time for the kids to go to school and the adults to go to work.”

“Ah. Right.”

“Besides, O’Connell’s wife went on a trip with her family.”

In front of O’Connell’s house, Yohan, who was about to knock on the door, stopped and looked at Lear, saying.

“You spied on them again?”

“Don’t say it in such a blaming tone. Yohan, it’s not like you can get a warrant issued separately.”

“That’s… true, but.”

“Besides, digging up reservation records is nothing to me.”

“……”

“Anyway, it doesn’t look like she’ll be back for a while. Her husband died suddenly, so she must have been heartbroken in many ways. She rented a villa in Malibu for about a month.”

“If that’s the case, then that’s a relief, but…”

Yohan clicked his tongue once, but just in case, he formally pounded on the front door with his fist with a kwang kwang and identified himself as FBI. Lear watched Yohan and glanced around for no particular reason. There wasn’t a single person on the street, not even an ant.

“I guess I’ll have to open it myself.”

Yohan held out his hand to Lear. Lear raised one eyebrow, and without a word, he took out a small Swiss-made multi-tool with a cheok and placed it in Yohan’s hand.

“Without breaking it?”

“There’s no need for that. You just keep a lookout.”

Lear nodded and did as Yohan told him. In the meantime, Yohan quickly picked the lock on O’Connell’s house and opened the door naturally.

“Darling. You’re so natural at picking locks. With you, we could film <Ocean’s One> instead of <Ocean’s Eleven>.”

At Lear’s excessive praise, Yohan shrugged his shoulders and said.

“At that point, shouldn’t we change the genre to <Mission: Impossible>?”

“Yohan. You’re not the Tom Cruise type.”

“Geez, even if I’m not as skilled in action as Tom Cruise… I’m probably better at things like this. Especially, when it comes to picking things, I can do anything excellently.”

At Yohan’s words, Lear nodded and said.

“Ah, right. I forgot. Every night you devour me like that, and the next morning, you discard me so well, as if to ask where all that passion went.”

At the sight of Lear speaking as if he knew from experience, Yohan frowned and glared at him intensely.

“You said you liked me…. Is this what they call being taken for a ride? Or is this some kind of honey trap? Besides the SERE training, do they do that kind of training at the FBI too?”

“The carrot and stick strategy is good, but cut it out. There’s a limit to how much I can put up with.”

“That’s harsh. You won’t let me say anything. Really.”

Yohan, feeling like he was about to stab Lear with the multi-tool, handed what he was holding back to him and said.

“Forget it. I’ll cover you, so shut up and follow me quietly.”

Lear made a zipping motion over his lips as if to show him. Yohan clicked his tongue once, then stepped into O’Connell’s house with a tense expression. Even then, in preparation for the unknown, Yohan slyly drew the gun from his hip and carefully entered the house, scanning the surroundings. Lear, who had been holding the unlit cigarette in his mouth, fiddled with it again with his hand and said.

“I told you, there’s no one.”

At Lear’s voice, Yohan glared at him once to be quiet, and then carefully scanned the surroundings again.

“An assailant could jump out at any moment.”

Yohan, speaking in a worried voice, reached out and pushed Lear further behind him for protection. Lear sighed slightly as he looked at Yohan’s back. Who was protecting whom… But he didn’t want to escape Yohan’s protection and concern.

“Definitely… there’s no one here.”

“I told you there wasn’t. Besides, if there was anything to steal, it would have all been stolen already, right? I saw when we came here after O’Connell’s funeral, some of them had sticky fingers.”

“You saw that well.”

“It wasn’t a very pleasant task to talk to O’Connell’s wife.”

Yohan clicked his tongue at Lear’s words, then changed the subject to the cigarette he was fiddling with.

“More importantly, why have you been holding that cigarette without smoking it since a while ago?”

At Yohan’s words, Lear lifted the cigarette he was holding and said nonchalantly.

“Someone dislikes the smell of cigarettes, so I’m trying my best to quit.”

“……”

“There’s someone who says they like me, so I’m trying to make them like me more.”

Lear stuck the cigarette he was holding behind Yohan’s ear, then ran a hand through his hair and grinned.

“It’s been really hard lately because of that. I think it would be okay if you would kiss me on cue at times like that.”

“Get lost.”

At the sight of Lear starting to sidle up to him, Yohan pushed his chest away and strode towards O’Connell’s study. Lear chuckled with a pssh at the sight of Yohan’s back, which was filled with dissatisfaction from his very walk.

At Lear’s slick demeanor, Yohan shook his head from side to side, put the gun he was holding back in its holster, and headed towards the study.

“Don’t just stand there gawking, see if there’s anything worth salvaging.”

As soon as Yohan entered O’Connell’s study, he started rummaging around. Lear just stood there, looking around, and said.

“First of all… it seems there’s no laptop in O’Connell’s study.”

At Lear’s words, Yohan finally realized that there was no computer in O’Connell’s study.

“No matter how thorough O’Connell was with security, unless he was a Stone Age man, he would use a laptop.”

“…That’s right.”

“Well, he was the type to try not to leave a trace on the internet as much as possible.”

Suddenly, Lear strode over to the bookshelf and picked up a small doll. At that, a wire came out from behind the doll, and after Lear fiddled with it a few times, a small camera was revealed.

“He may not be from the Stone Age, but he seems to use quite a classic method.”

“That’s…”

“Well, he seems to have his own security standards… isn’t that a relief for us?”

It was a jackpot if there ever was one. To think there would be such an item in O’Connell’s house. Yohan’s eyes sparkled as he urged Lear on. At that, Lear examined the camera, then took out his own phone and seemed to be looking for something, then clicked his tongue.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“I’ll have to check it at home.”

“You can’t see it here?”

“Judging by the model, it’s a system that automatically saves the videos to the cloud.”

“Ah.”

“Anyway, the important item was probably taken by the person you saw, Yohan.”

Even though they found the camera O’Connell had hidden, he somehow felt uneasy. It wasn’t as if they had discovered anything else either.

“If we take this and then find out who the hitman is…”

“We might find out a lot of other information.”

“Like who ordered him, and what he took.”

Yohan nodded at Lear’s words.

“Still, I’m glad it wasn’t a complete waste of a trip.”

The two left O’Connell’s house and headed straight for Lear’s Bel Air mansion. The two, who had returned home in silence for the first time in a while, gave a cursory reply to Sheridan’s offer to bring snacks and headed to the study.

Lear casually placed the camera disguised as a doll on the desk, opened his laptop, found O’Connell’s cloud account, and immediately hacked into it. At that moment, feeling Yohan’s hot gaze as he sat quietly next to him, Lear said.

“Too sexy?”

“……”

“You’re handsome and good at your job, so you feel like you’re going crazy because I’m so sexy, right?”

“You… it’s that mouth of yours that’s the problem.”

“What to do…. How about you give me a kiss instead? Kisses are the best for canker sores.”

“What are you talking about? Stop with the nonsense and hurry up and check the video.”

Lear pouted with a disappointed look. Then, he clicked on the date of the funeral among the videos that were neatly auto-saved by date and opened the file.

“Hmm.”

The boring video continued for about 30 minutes. It was at that moment. The person who suddenly appeared on the screen was none other than Yohan’s hyung, Philip. He had entered O’Connell’s study and was looking around.

Yohan frowned deeply and stared intently at his hyung, who was inside O’Connell’s study. He was already feeling unsettled because he was attending Esprit, and what the hell was he doing there.

“Heok.”

“……”

Suddenly, O’Connell’s wife entered the study. At first, it seemed like the two were talking about something, but then they suddenly started kissing passionately. The two couldn’t stop their bewilderment, and Yohan reached out and skipped the screen. No matter how much they were estranged, he was reluctant to see his hyung kissing someone, and he couldn’t bear to watch an affair scene even more.

“I guess I’ve lived a long time. I’m really seeing all sorts of things.”

“See, reality is more dramatic. This is why drama ratings are falling.”

“…Fuck.”

“Darling. Let’s not curse, though. Every time you say such rough words, my lower half gets sore.”

“Why did I… to a bastard like this…”

“Say you liked me?”

Yohan clicked his tongue. He never thought a momentary slip of the tongue would cause such a stir. Yohan blamed himself and pinched Lear’s thigh.

“Let’s cut the bullshit and focus.”

“Who talks to someone they like like that.”

Lear grumbled and then skipped the screen a little further. With that, the shameless act of O’Connell’s wife and Philip was passed over. For a while, it seemed no one was coming into the study, but just as it was getting boring, a familiar face appeared.

“That bastard Franco…”

On the screen, Franco was rummaging through O’Connell’s study and then putting something in his pocket. At that moment, Yohan and Lear, as if by agreement, looked into each other’s eyes simultaneously. They knew without saying a word. That for once, they were of the same opinion.

“He shows up when you forget about him.”

“Haah… I think it would be best to meet with Franco and talk… For now, let’s skip a little further.”

At Yohan’s words, Lear nodded and skipped through the screen in 30-second increments with a hwik hwik. It was because the hitman hadn’t appeared yet.

Really, it was dumbfounding to realize that so many things had happened in such a short period of time, as if that day was jinxed.

Regardless of whether O’Connell was a good or bad person, a person had died, and yet such shameless things were happening in the beautiful house where the sad funeral had just been held. Yohan wanted to pluck out his eyes and wash them.

“Yohan.”

Lear, who had been skipping through the screen, called Yohan’s name. Yohan stopped rubbing his eyes and focused on the screen.

“The main character finally makes his appearance.”

Franco stealing something was absurd, but what was even more absurd was that the masked hitman opened the window, entered the room nonchalantly, and took O’Connell’s laptop, just as Lear had said. It was a shame that it was impossible to clearly identify who the hitman was from the screen. Yohan was extremely annoyed with the question of why that guy took O’Connell’s laptop and was still hiding his identity so well.

“Why didn’t a guy who installs a camera in his room put security bars on his windows?”

“I know, right. He probably made a lot of money from kickbacks.”

“For now…. rewind it.”

As Yohan said, Lear rewound the screen several times from the part where the hitman appeared. Yohan opened his eyes wide and tried his best to find clues to identify the hitman. It was difficult to recognize who the person on the screen was with only the information visible, but he couldn’t just let it go.

At Yohan’s words, Lear nodded and said.

“Ah, right. I forgot. Every night you devour me like that, and the next morning, you discard me so well, as if to ask where all that passion went.”

At the sight of Lear speaking as if he knew from experience, Yohan frowned and glared at him intensely.

“You said you liked me…. Is this what they call being taken for a ride? Or is this some kind of honey trap? Besides the SERE training, do they do that kind of training at the FBI too?”

“The carrot and stick strategy is good, but cut it out. There’s a limit to how much I can put up with.”

“That’s harsh. You won’t let me say anything. Really.”

Yohan, feeling like he was about to stab Lear with the multi-tool, handed what he was holding back to him and said.

“Forget it. I’ll cover you, so shut up and follow me quietly.”

Lear made a zipping motion over his lips as if to show him. Yohan clicked his tongue once, then stepped into O’Connell’s house with a tense expression. Even then, in preparation for the unknown, Yohan slyly drew the gun from his hip and carefully entered the house, scanning the surroundings. Lear, who had been holding the unlit cigarette in his mouth, fiddled with it again with his hand and said.

“I told you, there’s no one.”

At Lear’s voice, Yohan glared at him once to be quiet, and then carefully scanned the surroundings again.

“An assailant could jump out at any moment.”

Yohan, speaking in a worried voice, reached out and pushed Lear further behind him for protection. Lear sighed slightly as he looked at Yohan’s back. Who was protecting whom… But he didn’t want to escape Yohan’s protection and concern.

“Definitely… there’s no one here.”

“I told you there wasn’t. Besides, if there was anything to steal, it would have all been stolen already, right? I saw when we came here after O’Connell’s funeral, some of them had sticky fingers.”

“You saw that well.”

“It wasn’t a very pleasant task to talk to O’Connell’s wife.”

Yohan clicked his tongue at Lear’s words, then changed the subject to the cigarette he was fiddling with.

“More importantly, why have you been holding that cigarette without smoking it since a while ago?”

At Yohan’s words, Lear lifted the cigarette he was holding and said nonchalantly.

“Someone dislikes the smell of cigarettes, so I’m trying my best to quit.”

“……”

“There’s someone who says they like me, so I’m trying to make them like me more.”

Lear stuck the cigarette he was holding behind Yohan’s ear, then ran a hand through his hair and grinned.

“It’s been really hard lately because of that. I think it would be okay if you would kiss me on cue at times like that.”

“Get lost.”

At the sight of Lear starting to sidle up to him, Yohan pushed his chest away and strode towards O’Connell’s study. Lear chuckled with a pssh at the sight of Yohan’s back, which was filled with dissatisfaction from his very walk.

At Lear’s slick demeanor, Yohan shook his head from side to side, put the gun he was holding back in its holster, and headed towards the study.

“Don’t just stand there gawking, see if there’s anything worth salvaging.”

As soon as Yohan entered O’Connell’s study, he started rummaging around. Lear just stood there, looking around, and said.

“First of all… it seems there’s no laptop in O’Connell’s study.”

At Lear’s words, Yohan finally realized that there was no computer in O’Connell’s study.

“No matter how thorough O’Connell was with security, unless he was a Stone Age man, he would use a laptop.”

“…That’s right.”

“Well, he was the type to try not to leave a trace on the internet as much as possible.”

Suddenly, Lear strode over to the bookshelf and picked up a small doll. At that, a wire came out from behind the doll, and after Lear fiddled with it a few times, a small camera was revealed.

“He may not be from the Stone Age, but he seems to use quite a classic method.”

“That’s…”

“Well, he seems to have his own security standards… isn’t that a relief for us?”

It was a jackpot if there ever was one. To think there would be such an item in O’Connell’s house. Yohan’s eyes sparkled as he urged Lear on. At that, Lear examined the camera, then took out his own phone and seemed to be looking for something, then clicked his tongue.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“I’ll have to check it at home.”

“You can’t see it here?”

“Judging by the model, it’s a system that automatically saves the videos to the cloud.”

“Ah.”

“Anyway, the important item was probably taken by the person you saw, Yohan.”

Even though they found the camera O’Connell had hidden, he somehow felt uneasy. It wasn’t as if they had discovered anything else either.

“If we take this and then find out who the hitman is…”

“We might find out a lot of other information.”

“Like who ordered him, and what he took.”

Yohan nodded at Lear’s words.

“Still, I’m glad it wasn’t a complete waste of a trip.”

The two left O’Connell’s house and headed straight for Lear’s Bel Air mansion. The two, who had returned home in silence for the first time in a while, gave a cursory reply to Sheridan’s offer to bring snacks and headed to the study.

Lear casually placed the camera disguised as a doll on the desk, opened his laptop, found O’Connell’s cloud account, and immediately hacked into it. At that moment, feeling Yohan’s hot gaze as he sat quietly next to him, Lear said.

“Too sexy?”

“……”

“You’re handsome and good at your job, so you feel like you’re going crazy because I’m so sexy, right?”

“You… it’s that mouth of yours that’s the problem.”

“What to do…. How about you give me a kiss instead? Kisses are the best for canker sores.”

“What are you talking about? Stop with the nonsense and hurry up and check the video.”

Lear pouted with a disappointed look. Then, he clicked on the date of the funeral among the videos that were neatly auto-saved by date and opened the file.

“Hmm.”

The boring video continued for about 30 minutes. It was at that moment. The person who suddenly appeared on the screen was none other than Yohan’s hyung, Philip. He had entered O’Connell’s study and was looking around.

Yohan frowned deeply and stared intently at his hyung, who was inside O’Connell’s study. He was already feeling unsettled because he was attending Esprit, and what the hell was he doing there.

“Heok.”

“……”

Suddenly, O’Connell’s wife entered the study. At first, it seemed like the two were talking about something, but then they suddenly started kissing passionately. The two couldn’t stop their bewilderment, and Yohan reached out and skipped the screen. No matter how much they were estranged, he was reluctant to see his hyung kissing someone, and he couldn’t bear to watch an affair scene even more.

“I guess I’ve lived a long time. I’m really seeing all sorts of things.”

“See, reality is more dramatic. This is why drama ratings are falling.”

“…Fuck.”

“Darling. Let’s not curse, though. Every time you say such rough words, my lower half gets sore.”

“Why did I… to a bastard like this…”

“Say you liked me?”

Yohan clicked his tongue. He never thought a momentary slip of the tongue would cause such a stir. Yohan blamed himself and pinched Lear’s thigh.

“Let’s cut the bullshit and focus.”

“Who talks to someone they like like that.”

Lear grumbled and then skipped the screen a little further. With that, the shameless act of O’Connell’s wife and Philip was passed over. For a while, it seemed no one was coming into the study, but just as it was getting boring, a familiar face appeared.

“That bastard Franco…”

On the screen, Franco was rummaging through O’Connell’s study and then putting something in his pocket. At that moment, Yohan and Lear, as if by agreement, looked into each other’s eyes simultaneously. They knew without saying a word. That for once, they were of the same opinion.

“He shows up when you forget about him.”

“Haah… I think it would be best to meet with Franco and talk… For now, let’s skip a little further.”

At Yohan’s words, Lear nodded and skipped through the screen in 30-second increments with a hwik hwik. It was because the hitman hadn’t appeared yet.

Really, it was dumbfounding to realize that so many things had happened in such a short period of time, as if that day was jinxed.

Regardless of whether O’Connell was a good or bad person, a person had died, and yet such shameless things were happening in the beautiful house where the sad funeral had just been held. Yohan wanted to pluck out his eyes and wash them.

“Yohan.”

Lear, who had been skipping through the screen, called Yohan’s name. Yohan stopped rubbing his eyes and focused on the screen.

“The main character finally makes his appearance.”

Franco stealing something was absurd, but what was even more absurd was that the masked hitman opened the window, entered the room nonchalantly, and took O’Connell’s laptop, just as Lear had said. It was a shame that it was impossible to clearly identify who the hitman was from the screen. Yohan was extremely annoyed with the question of why that guy took O’Connell’s laptop and was still hiding his identity so well.

“Why didn’t a guy who installs a camera in his room put security bars on his windows?”

“I know, right. He probably made a lot of money from kickbacks.”

“For now…. rewind it.”

As Yohan said, Lear rewound the screen several times from the part where the hitman appeared. Yohan opened his eyes wide and tried his best to find clues to identify the hitman. It was difficult to recognize who the person on the screen was with only the information visible, but he couldn’t just let it go.

“Just from the screen, I honestly can’t tell much other than that the hitman is Caucasian and a woman.”

“They probably took that into consideration. It’s not like it’s their first time.”

“Haah…. Still, rewind it again. We might find something. No matter how good they are, they’re still human… they can’t be perfect.”

Yohan replayed the video, which Lear had cleaned up to improve the image quality, several times. Just when he thought he had seen it as many times as there were pixels, Yohan grabbed Lear’s arm and said.

“Wait.”

“Huh?”

“Can you zoom in on the wrist part?”

“Why?”

“I don’t know if I’m mistaken, but I think I saw something.”

“It’s not because you’ve watched it too many times?”

“No.”

Lear typed on the keyboard a few times, and soon the wrist part was magnified, and as Yohan said, something did appear.

“It’s hard to see because it’s covered by clothes…”

“Looks like a scorpion, right? The part that’s sticking out a little.”

“You’re right.”

“And it looks like a tattoo was done over a scar.”

Lear immediately searched the criminal database for a white woman in her 20s or 30s with a scorpion tattoo or a scar on her wrist, well over 180 cm tall, and whose primary area of activity was California, but all the lists that came up were subtly different from the person Yohan had encountered. In fact, Yohan hadn’t gotten a clear look at the hitman’s face at that time either, and since she was wearing a mask, it was ambiguous to judge.

“Damn it.”

It was the same even when the search results were slightly modified. Yohan, who couldn’t stand it anymore, finally cursed and washed his face with his dry hands.

“Who the hell is it? From what I can see, she doesn’t seem to have a criminal record…. The scorpion tattoo is also subtly different from what was on the screen.”

“It might be because the image quality is so poor.”

Lear was just as frustrated. The situation was not under control as he wished, and obtaining information was not as easy as he had thought. On the other hand, he also found that point enjoyable.

“Well, even so, I didn’t think it would be this hard to get a grasp…”

“Whether the hitman is acting on Shadow’s orders or someone else’s. And for what other reason they’re doing things that catch our eye. I really don’t know.”

Lear, seeing Yohan extremely angry because the case wasn’t being solved, tapped him on the back and said.

“Let’s go out.”

“Now?”

At the sight of Yohan, who was looking at him with wide, round eyes as if he had never been frowning a moment ago, Lear felt the urge to kiss him, but he calmed himself and said.

“It’s not even five o’clock yet. And we just went out and came back.”

“Yohan, has your butt gotten heavy from gaining some years of experience?”

“What are you talking about. You didn’t even tell me where we’re going.”

At Yohan’s words, Lear said, as if disappointed.

“Darling. At this point, even if I speak gibberish, you should be able to get the hint. Hmm?”

“I’m a human, so I can’t quite understand what a beast says. I should probably download a dog language translator from the App Store.”

“Haha. My darling, really. Dog play wasn’t on my wish list, but if you keep talking like that, I’ll have no choice.”

As if he couldn’t lose, Lear suddenly tried to unbuckle his pants, and Yohan, saying it was gross, kicked him in the leg and said.

“Are you crazy?”

“You’re the one who suggested it first.”

“Ugh, forget it. So where are we going?”

“Let’s just go on a drive date.”

“Suddenly?”

Lear reached out his hand, grabbed Yohan’s arm with a deobseok, and forcibly pulled him to his feet.

“Darling. I understand that your bottom is still swollen and sore… but it’s not good to be cooped up at home like that.”

“What are you talking about. What about the time we went out earlier.”

Yohan shook off Lear’s hand.

“Such a tantrum.”

“Does this look like a tantrum to you?”

“Darling. Even if you do that, you just look like an angry kitten.

“What?”

Before Yohan could add another word, Lear reached out and grabbed his shoulders. Then he led Yohan towards the entrance.

“Now, now, let’s not get worked up over nothing and just go for a refreshing drive.”

“Tell me properly. Stop getting on my nerves like that. I know you’re not the type to suddenly suggest a date or anything.”

“Why? I’m quite the romanticist, you know.”

“Has the dictionary definition of romanticist changed?”

“For now…. you’ll know when we get there.”

The place Lear suddenly dragged Yohan to was none other than the crime research institute where Lucas Franco was the director, thanks to O’Connell. It seemed Franco wasn’t entirely wrong when he said the budget was low, as there was only one security guard working half-heartedly at the entrance.

In fact, many people didn’t even know the crime research institute existed, and even if they did, few knew what it actually did, so it was understandable. Even in movies and dramas, you only see police officers, lawyers, or agents, and no one would want to watch the boring sight of a bench chemist examining evidence cooped up in a lab. Of course, it was disheartening to see things become so lax again after so much time had passed, despite the Annie Dookhan3) incident.

“It’s quiet.”

“It’s still the middle of the workday.”

“Let’s say that’s true. How can you spout bullshit every time you just want to come here, instead of just saying we’re coming here?”

“Didn’t you say you liked me like this too?”

“……”

“Relax your expression. Darling.”

Yohan said nothing more to Lear, got out of the car, and went into the building. There, he showed his badge once more, and Lear smiled the whole time as he followed Yohan, who was heading straight for the floor where the director’s office was.

Before knocking on the director’s office door, Yohan suddenly turned around and looked at Lear.

“Don’t say anything unnecessary.”

“I have always told only the truth… Euk!”

As if he couldn’t listen to Lear’s words anymore, Yohan kicked him in the shin. Then, ignoring Lear who was whining that it hurt like hell, Yohan knocked on the director’s office door. As soon as he heard Franco’s cheerful voice from beyond the door, Yohan threw the door open with a beolkeok, forced a smile, and greeted him.

“Long time no see, Franco.”

“Heok!”

Franco, who saw Yohan and Lear’s faces as soon as the door opened, was terrified and couldn’t stand up or sit down properly. Yohan, feeling sorry for his trembling state, said to Franco in a calm voice.

“Stay seated.”

“…You’re alive.”

“Did you wish for me to be dead?”

“What? No. That’s not it… It’s just, things were a bit like that, weren’t they?”

“Well, thanks to you, I survived. And I’ve decided to change the way I stab people.”

At his words, Lucas mumbled and looked completely intimidated. Yohan sighed and discreetly showed him the badge on his waist.

Franco naturally looked at the badge Yohan showed him. Yohan, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, looked quite far from an FBI agent, but judging by his eyes, it didn’t seem like a lie. Besides, if he said the wrong thing, he felt like the silver-haired guy would pierce his other finger too.

“S-so you had such circumstances. To think you were an agent…”

“You don’t need to know my name.”

“Ah, I’m not curious! Never. Wh-what would I do with that information… haha.”

Franco, thinking he’d rather not know about the beings in front of him forever, just denied it first. Then he looked at Lear and asked slyly. No matter how he looked at him, he didn’t seem to fit in with an FBI agent.

“Then this person is also…”

Lear clicked his tongue and said.

“Not my partner.”

“Detective?”

“Do I look like a cop to you?”

“What? Th-that’s not what I meant…”

“Scaredy-cat.”

“……”

“Just, how should I put it. He’s a consultant for our agent. You know <The Mentalist>?”

“Is he a psychic?”

“He’s not related to that… but think of it as something similar.”

Annoyed with Franco, Lear let out a bit of his threatening pheromone and spoke.

“Stop asking useless questions. If you don’t want to go to jail this time for real, you’d better answer my questions obediently.”

At the sight of Lear saying the lines he was supposed to say, Yohan glared at him, but Lear did not even blink and maintained his brazenness.

“You’re well aware that perjury against a federal agent is a felony, right? At least….”

The words “Mind your own business” rose to the tip of his tongue, but Yohan held them back. He did not want to be seen bickering with Lear in front of Franco.

“Ah, I get it! I don’t know why you’re here, but if there’s anything I can tell you, I will. You remember what I told you for your sake last time, don’t you, agent?”

“I know. You know what will happen if you say anything unnecessary, too, right?”

As Lear was about to take something out of his pocket, Franco was startled and pulled his body back. The movement caused his chair to hit the bookshelf, making a ‘thud’ sound. Yohan reached out his hand to Lear to stop him and spoke to Franco.

“You see? Our consultant here isn’t the type to go easy on you just because you’re an omega.”

“Being called a consultant feels different and I like it so much, honey.”

Yohan pinched Lear’s side. Regardless of whether Lear whined that it hurt, Yohan took his phone out of his pocket and showed the footage of Franco stealing something from O’Connell’s room.

“Th, that’s.”

Franco’s eyes shook violently.

“Tell me. What did you take.”

“I just, well… took something to serve as a memento. It’s really nothing.”

“Do my words look like a joke to you?”

Yohan kicked Franco’s desk. A loud bang echoed, and at the same time, Franco shrieked in terror and immediately began to spill everything.

“No matter how I thought about it, it was a shame, so I went to O’Connell’s house after the funeral. I wanted to keep a memory of her, so I was trying to find a suitable object….”

Listening to the words of the perverted bastard made him feel sick to his stomach, but Yohan endured it and continued to listen to O’Connell’s story.

“As I was rummaging through the room, I found a list of names she had written down. Eily had a severe history with omegas… so I tried to look into it a little.”

“And so?”

“After looking into it, it didn’t seem like they were her lovers. There were a few betas mixed in… and some people who came to the funeral.”

Lear, who had been staying quiet at Yohan’s behest, stepped forward. His sharp pheromones made Franco’s face grow even more tense.

“So where is the list?”

“I shred…ded it.”

Lear’s eyebrow twitched. In the face of his intimidating presence, which looked like it would pierce through his other hand right away, Franco was terrified and said.

“P, please hear a person out until the end!”

Lear clicked his tongue at Franco, who was speaking while flailing. He did not like Franco from head to toe, but Lear decided to endure it for now.

“I told you I looked into it a bit.”

“Right, stalker.”

As Lear gestured for him to hurry up and speak, Franco’s lips parted and he continued.

“It seemed like they were people Eily was looking out for. There were also things about the dealers she had asked me about before….”

“And?”

“Most of them were Esprit people. I didn’t know what kind of business it was for… but looking at the candy ingredients that have come into our lab recently, there are a few forms that have been modified unlike before.”

“Modified forms?”

“Yes. Candy has been a hot topic again lately, and with Eily gone like that, I wondered if it was related, so I looked into it a bit more. Since Eily also ended up that way because of candy….”

Yohan gestured with his chin for him to continue speaking. Then, Franco glanced at Yohan and Lear and continued his story in a trembling voice.

“So… these days, candy is said to draw out an alpha’s traits to the maximum, unlike in the past, but looking at what comes into the lab, you can see the ingredients are gradually being modified.”

Franco cautiously asked if he could show the ingredient analysis report for the candy. Yohan sighed and nodded his head. Then, with a tense face, Franco reached out, tapped on his keyboard, and slightly turned the monitor.

“Even in the 80s, the main ingredient of the basic candy recipe was a heat cycle inducer.”

“But?”

Yohan recalled the story Avon had once told him. He knew that candy was already being modified, but it seemed there was something more to it than just a drug case.

“That alone is enough to destroy the brain, but the candy that has come in recently has all sorts of substances added to it, not just rut inducers. In particular, a surprising substance has been appearing in small quantities recently….”

“What is it?”

“Perchlorate.”

“Speak more simply.”

“It’s common to mix absurd substances into drugs, but this is the first time I’ve seen them use a substance that is mainly found in things like fireworks, detonators, matches, and lubricants. It’s a toxic substance that causes various cancers… but well… when you’re doing drugs, what’s the point of worrying about cancer.”

Lear, who had been quietly listening to Franco’s story and racking his brain, stroked his chin and said a word.

“Isn’t perchlorate also used in military explosives and rocket propellants?”

At Lear’s words, Franco’s lips parted and he nodded his head.

“Th, that’s right. It’s also a substance that’s easy to obtain if you want to. Even so, it is surprising.”

“Besides, for Esprit, it would be easy to obtain it in large quantities for research purposes.”

“What the consultant says is correct. But is Esprit producing the candy? I heard they already hit it big with narcotic drugs….”

“You don’t need to know the details. You should stop your useless acts and stay quietly at home for a while if you don’t want to go to prison.”

Yohan, who was listening to Lear’s words from the side, asked him what was going on. Lear gestured with his head to Yohan that it would be best to head back for now. At that, Yohan sighed, looked back at Franco, and pointed his finger at him in a warning.

“Don’t forget what he said. Behave. Otherwise, I’ll make it so you can’t hold your head up, let alone keep your director position. You know there are a lot of people who hate you if you go to prison, right?”

Franco recalled the time when he was passionately in love with O’Connell, acting like a second Annie Doukhan, and he nodded. Honestly, he had let a bad guy out on the streets by fabricating evidence, but he had also sent an innocent person away, so if he went to prison, he would surely be killed with a knife made of sharpened plastic. And he absolutely did not want to die like that.

“What is it?”

As soon as they left the director’s office where Franco had been, Yohan frowned and asked Lear. At that, Lear stopped walking, looked at Yohan, and then grabbed his hand and said.

“It’s a bit hard to talk about it here.”

Yohan could not understand why he was acting like that, but for now, he quietly went along with Lear. And as soon as they got in the car, Lear started the engine and spoke to Yohan.

“You know about the Eric Rosenberg case from three years ago, right?”

“Do I just know about it?”

He could not possibly not know. Yohan and his partner, Diane, had been in charge of the horrific case where Eric Rosenberg’s house was not just blown up, but his dismembered body parts were found in different locations. Diane died because of that incident, and Yohan’s life was also ruined. How could he forget that? It would be one of the cases he would never forget in his lifetime.

“You know how the house exploded back then, right? The items recovered at the time.”

“It was a pipe bomb.”

“The main ingredient of a pipe bomb is?”

He did not know the pipe bomb recipe by heart, but Yohan always carried the records of the case from that time. As soon as he heard Lear’s words, Yohan took out his phone and opened the saved document. It was a list of some of the pipe bomb fragments found at the time.

“Copper wire and a PVC hose and….”

“Perchlorate.”

Yohan looked at Lear with a stunned face. Lear, feeling Yohan’s gaze, pulled the car over to a secluded spot and said.

“Shadow was around back then, too. It means that everything happening now is not a coincidence.”

“Haah…. On top of that, we might find evidence that Esprit didn’t partner with Declan just to manufacture and sell candy. And it also seems like they’re up to something far greater than we thought.”

Lear grabbed one of Yohan’s thighs firmly and said.

“Don’t we need to dig into Esprit a little more? First, what kind of research are they doing that they’re using not only candy but also perchlorate? And why O’Connell had a list of Esprit personnel.”

“It would be clearer if we knew the candy recipe, but to get a warrant….”

At Yohan’s words, Lear grinned and said.

“Hey, since when did we ever play by the book? Are you going to act like a stuffy public servant every time this happens?”

“Then what other way is there?”

“There’s one more person who knows Esprit well, isn’t there?”

Lear grabbed the steering wheel again and drove. The sun was setting, and a beautiful sunset decorated the sky. And the place Lear’s car arrived at was none other than Calabasas.

“Why the doghouse.”

“What do you mean, doghouse.”

“The title is in your dog’s name. So it’s a doghouse.”

“My Luke Meisel is not a dog. He’s my son.”

“…Yeah. Let’s just say that.”

Lear sighed at Yohan’s lukewarm reaction.

“Did I not mention that I have a son? Have you come to like me less because of that?”

“I knew you were a son of a bitch, but finding out you’re a dog’s father, not just a son of a dog, makes it feel new, that’s all.”

“Thank you. But I have one more thing to confess.”

Although it was bothersome, Yohan fluttered his hand as if to tell him to go on and say it. Then Lear smiled and said.

“I’ve recently been keeping a new dog. Don’t be too surprised.”

Lear led Yohan somewhere inside the house. And what appeared before their eyes was Miguel Kouri, playing loud Latin-style music, dancing, and drinking a coke. Lear, with a look of disgust, turned off the music, and only then did Miguel, who noticed the two men who had come to see him, spit out the coke he was drinking.

Yohan clicked his tongue at the sight of Miguel and said.

“A dog’s life is the best life, I see.”

Miguel wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and approached Lear and Yohan.

“You’re here? I didn’t hear you were coming.”

Lear, as if annoyed, smacked Miguel on the head and said.

“Do I have to report to you every time I come to my own house?”

“That’s not it, but….”

Miguel’s eyes darted around before landing on Yohan. Yohan clicked his tongue and spoke to Miguel.

“So explain what the hell you’re doing here, living such a comfortable life.”

“To be honest, I don’t really know either. Of course, it was sad that I couldn’t go to my hyung’s funeral… but if things had gone wrong, I could have been in God’s embrace before my hyung was. En el nombre del Padre, y del Hijo, y del Espíritu Santo, Amén.”

Miguel, with a suddenly sad face, recited a prayer in Spanish and made the sign of the cross. Looking at him, it seemed that the stories about Mexican drug lords or gang bosses having too much money and nowhere to spend it, so they decorate religious facilities and make their tombs as extravagant as a pharaoh’s, were not entirely lies. Moreover, Miguel shamelessly continued with his sentiments.

“Anyway, my mind is much more at ease. My hyung went to hell, and I’m doing well here without going to prison. I guess that’s enough.”

Lear clicked his tongue.

“Is my house an Airbnb? Did I lend it to you so you could heal and atone? For free, at that?”

“Th, that’s not it, but… I am grateful in many ways. Being confined here has made me think about a lot of things. I’ve reflected on how foolishly I’ve behaved until now.”

Watching Miguel, who was thoroughly intimidated by a few words from Lear yet continued to spout nonsense, Yohan was dumbfounded.

“You can turn to religion later. You need to pay for the house and your meals.”

Miguel’s eyes went wide at Lear’s words.

“What? Right now?”

“Don’t worry, I have no intention of taking cash.”

Just when he was wondering if he needed to take out a loan, Miguel breathed a sigh of relief at Lear’s words. However, Lear soon said something even more terrifying.

“Instead, I’d like you to go to Esprit and do some snooping.”

“Snooping?”

“Yes. Bring back some useful information.”

“But… since that day, it’s as if I’ve disappeared, isn’t it? If I show up, the people at Esprit might shift the blame for Prosecutor O’Connell’s death onto me. All I did was give her the candy they gave me…. I’d rather die than go to prison!”

Yohan, who had been quietly listening to Miguel’s words, slightly lifted his shirt to show his FBI badge.

“Don’t worry. About that.”

As soon as Miguel realized Yohan was an FBI agent, he trembled, his face turning from pale to deathly white, looking as if he would piss himself at any moment.

“I’m not saying I’m going to arrest you.”

“The Kouri family has a generational allergy to the police.”

Yohan was dumbfounded by Miguel’s remark. And Lear, who was watching, spoke to Miguel with a stern face.

“Don’t tire out our agent.”

“……”

“Besides, if you become an informant for Yohan, you won’t have to go to prison, so don’t worry.”

“But….”

At the sight of the thoroughly frightened Miguel, Lear clicked his tongue.

“Do you think I’d say something like that to you without any thought?”

“……”

“I looked into it, and it seems your supervisor has been given a special vacation.”

“A vacation?”

“Yes. On top of that, nothing has been officially said about the matter concerning Prosecutor O’Connell and you. It’s not like they would increase the risk by informing every rank-and-file employee about such an incident in the first place, though.”

“That… is true.”

“Think a little. Just think.”

Lear clicked his tongue and cursed at Miguel’s stupidity, then took out his phone, looked at the screen, and said.

“Your supervisor… right, his vacation starts this Friday. And you’re on standby for a new assignment.”

It was a job he really did not want to do, but for Miguel, there was no way to avoid it.

“There won’t be any problems, so come up with a good excuse yourself. Go to the Esprit headquarters and dig up something about the research lab. I’ll prepare everything else.”

Miguel’s shoulders slumped, but in reality, he could not escape Lear’s command. It was because Lear had already made all sorts of threats to him from the moment he had locked Miguel up in the Calabasas house.

“Don’t get any useless ideas, and I’ll say it again, make it something useful, please.”

Lear did not say the rest, but the thought that if he brought back useless information, he might end up like his hyung, made Miguel flinch and shiver. He had no choice.