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Chapter Text

The surrounding space was filled with cold air and murky fog, the strangeness sometimes made people wonder if it was due to the thick smoke of gunpowder? Everything seemed to be covered with a pale but large veil, from the ruined buildings to the deserted, slimy dirt roads were all immersed in the air of death, as if there was no one else wandering around except the soldiers. The military posts were set up around the cities and suburbs in dim green patches, dotted with self-propelled guns and some makeshift fences and anti-tank hedgehogs.

The soldiers were breathing heavily and yawning, their pale skin showing dark circles under their eyes, a sign of their unstable mental health. Even though international organization staff and logistics soldiers were constantly coming and going to transport supplies, the atmosphere was not chaotic in the slightest. A fierce battle had taken place here, leaving everyone exhausted.

A Lieutenant in charge of the barracks couldn't help but rub his heavy eyelids with his arm, losing his usual solemn stance, looking at the strange man coming out of the mist. It was a Westerner with deep eye sockets and high cheekbones, wearing a pair of thick black glasses and being led here by a corporal. He was dressed like a diligent office worker or civil servant.

“Who are you?” the lieutenant asked firmly.

The man slowly raised his hand to his chest and introduced himself slowly:
“Yes, I am a government-employed maintenance engineer, Officer Selivan assigned me here.”

The man introduced himself in a tired voice, the long journey must have worn him out, this man's entire person exuded a quiet, introverted aura, perhaps anyone involved in this battlefield was not in good physical condition.

"Please show me your papers."

The lieutenant tried to shake off his lethargy and asked seriously, the man slowly took out a stack of documents from his briefcase.

The paperwork said that this person's name was Dermot Lagan, an American who worked for a fairly well-known international arms trading company. He was probably there to inspect the batches of weapons purchased from the other group and to maintain previously damaged weapons, including those not supplied by the company. At first glance, he seemed to be a highly skilled person and sought after by many places.

“Mr. Lagan, please follow me.”

The lieutenant, after checking the verification stamps and authenticating the documents, returned the dispatch, gestured for Dermot to follow him, and handed the place over to another soldier.

Passing through the military tents and the dull look of many people, the musty smell rising, the Lieutenant led Dermot into a military equipment warehouse, he opened the warehouse door and told Dermot that if there was anything, he could contact him via walkie-talkie or meet him directly.

Inside the warehouse was like a workshop with many workers busy going back and forth to repair weapons from small to large. The smell of oil and steel was everywhere. Many items were thrown around and no one cleaned them up. Dermot had to walk and avoid them, so he bumped into the staff several times.
He looked around once and then continued to follow the staff in charge to his area, which was the small arms storage area - his specialty.

“I wonder if there are any omissions or errors, sir?” Dermot asked the officer in charge.

“The weapons we purchased from your company have been briefly inspected and there are no problems, however, after the ceasefire was implemented, many weapons were damaged or malfunctioned, so the military side hopes that they can be maintained as soon as possible to avoid unforeseen situations.”

The staff in charge smiled and showed him the shelves for materials and support tools.

“Thank you, I will try.” Dermot nodded in thanks and immediately got to work, his movements quick and steady on the technical table.
…
The air gradually condensed, and in a flash he got used to the stuffy atmosphere here. It seemed that it was early morning so the air was fresher. Taekjoo still worked at a normal pace and wrote the reports that needed to be written according to his own duties. Everything was arranged very carefully and tightly.

Kwon Taekjoo silently adjusted the communication device integrated into his glasses to hear the sound from the other side more clearly. Currently, there was no trace of North Korea's intelligence, but Taekjoo was not in a hurry. He raised the rather heavy anti-tank grenade launcher and looked it over. The scope was cracked and the fuse was blown, so Taekjoo had to replace it with other parts.

He only picked things that he could fix himself to avoid suspicion, Taekjoo wasn't really Dermot so he couldn't touch anything too complicated. When he touched wrenches and screwdrivers again and put them together, he was reminded of the university he was studying in, although it wasn't exactly the same, it was all related to engineering.

Perhaps if Zegna was here, he would do these things faster than him, after all, he was known as a 'weapons expert', Taekjoo smiled inwardly as he remembered his kid doing something insignificant in Korea.

According to the regional headquarters, North Korean agents are hiding in the military camp, but your mission is only to find out their identities and clarify North Korea's weapons aid to Russia, not to eliminate them.
Originally, spying should not have been conducted like this, but the US side was having some problems with the host country during the presidential election period, so it could not openly cooperate or collect intelligence, so South Korea stepped in.

He had been observing the light weapons section by pretending to rummage through the rubble for spare parts for a few days but most of it was either allied or Russian so it was probably on the heavy weapons side, which was the expertise of the upper half, North Korea wasn't exactly known for guns.

The atmosphere here was terrible and stifling, most of the people had serious expressions or were in a bad mood, as far as Taekjoo knew, the working environment here was not very good or even very bad in his personal opinion. Everything was lacking, security was lax, benefits were lacking, and most seriously, there was robbery and abuse. But that was the problem of the soldiers, the technical staff were still treated quite well despite the many shortcomings that made them dissatisfied, however, there was still one person who kept a rare cheerful mood.

“Excuse me, can I borrow that wrench? It doesn't look like you're using it.”

Someone suddenly came and talked to Taekjoo.
He raised his head to look at the person, it was a young Westerner with freckled skin, Taekjoo smiled and nodded:
“You take it, I don't need it now.”

“Thank you, it seems you are not from around here, Agent Kwon Taekjoo.”

The man deliberately twisted the last words of the sentence, responding to him with a vague smile as he reached out his hand. He was slightly stunned but not confused at all when his identity was exposed.

“Your name.” Taekjoo's voice was low and not much different from Dermot's usual tone.

“Lebed.”

Kwon Taekjoo handed the wrench to 'Lebed' while shaking hands with the young man opposite, giving him his contact frequency code, he nodded to 'Lebed' and slowly

“I am an American from a German company and was hired here, I will need it soon so I might need it right away.”

“I see, NATO has sent quite a few technicians over recently, there are also French and Polish people here, but if you say it’s a German private enterprise, I can guess.” Lebed smiled, his face was highlighted by bright dimples, his way of talking coupled with his easy-going appearance easily won the sympathy and trust of others.

“Good luck adjusting to your new surroundings, bye.” He said, squinting and walking away after just having a brief and not-so-remarkable conversation.

That man was a standout in this warehouse, he was quite friendly and easy to talk to, every break or meal time he had quite a few friends to talk to but he had yet to strike up a conversation with him.

Lebed is the code name of Kwon Taekjoo's NIS comrade and a rare agent who knows the country's native language, but he has never heard Headquarters mention his support comrade, however he still confirms his identity with the opponent when 'Lebed' gives the signal and command.

It was a questionable thing but not necessarily a bad thing, at least Kwon Taekjoo wouldn't let it get worse.
Kwon Taekjoo frowned as he looked at the SAW in front of him, it was a jet black machine gun that gave off a quiet yet heavy feeling due to its dark alloy color, at first glance there was no major problem as the external parts were quite new and the base had no damage. However, it seemed that the magazine holder was jammed, causing the automatic fire to be severely interrupted, fortunately, although the SAW had a complex and tight structure, it was very easy to maintain and replace.

The M249 SAW originated from Belgium and was supplied to the Army by the United States government. These supplies have caused much controversy and discord within NATO and criticism from Russia, despite the strong support, the war situation is still not very positive due to the lack of discipline and chaos from many crises.

While he was setting up the SAW for easy disassembly, some staticky noises coming from the communication device caught his attention, through various listening devices there was nothing to be concerned about so far.

『Hello sir, Major Wenceslas.』The staff member in charge's voice came out in a deep voice.

『Hello, I wonder how much progress the repairs at the military warehouse have made?』Just then, a man replied with a characteristically stern tone.

『The damage from the war this time is quite heavy so it might take quite a while, there are also many weapons that cannot be restored, because there are some more engineers so it's about 70% for light weapons, 63% for heavy weapons』

『It sure is difficult, so has the engineer from the German company that Officer Selivan appointed arrived yet, I heard he is quite well regarded by his company.』Taekjoo heard a creaking sound like a door opening.

『He's here, his speed is very fast and he's also very diligent, barely resting.』

The employee did not hesitate to give him a good evaluation in front of his superiors, perhaps he was a good-natured person or Kwon Taekjoo really had an impressive performance.

The other side did not answer immediately but was silent for a while. The staff in charge saw that something was wrong and asked in a low voice.

『Is something wrong, Major?』

『Nothing, it's just that I think the purchased weapons are quite good, the military side also had a more positive response than expected so I wanted to meet him to discuss it further, his name is Dermot Lagan right?』It seems Major Wenceslas gave a slight smile.

The two superiors and subordinates said goodbye and continued to do their own tasks.

Soon after, Lebed also returned and returned the wrench to him and left as if nothing had happened. He also quietly turned the chip on the person in charge into small dust particles that no one could notice

Chapter Text

After the night fell, all the engineers returned to their assigned sleeping quarters and prepared for dinner. The engineers were treated very well, having their own tents. Lebed also returned to his tent and took a shower. The logistics staff's shower area was not the same as the military's. It was a surprisingly spacious place, but it was not very clean for personal hygiene. Many people complained about it, but they were all dismissed as if nothing had happened.

He had just lifted the moldy tent after returning from a bath when he saw a figure standing there, seemingly holding something black, heavy, deformed, and cold in his hand.

"You came earlier than I thought, senior Taekjoo." Lebed smiled and remained standing in place while holding the towel, standing still as if he had no intention of going in to look straight at the face wearing the artificial skin.

“And, I would have been happier if you hadn't held the Colt with the safety off and pointed it at me like that.” He looked at the Colt in Kwon Taekjoo's hand with a complicated gaze.

In Taekjoo's hand was a Colt 45, a legendary old gun. With superior performance compared to many other handguns on the market despite being over 100 years old, it was a symbol of the free and wild spirit of prosperous America. The most heartbreaking thing for Lebed was that the gun still had a silencer attached to the muzzle.

"Sorry for scaring you, come in." Although he apologized to Lebed in an apologetic tone, Taekjoo had no intention of lowering his gun, he only stepped back to let the other man enter while aiming the barrel at the person in front of him.

"Cruel bastard." Lebed muttered and also walked in silently.

"So what? Are you a North Korean spy who wants to kill me or did I do something to displease you?" He gradually raised his hands, letting the towel fall to the ground and stared at the gun two hands away from him.

"I was trained to deal with gunmen, are you sure you can stop me?" Lebed said in a challenging tone.

"If it's that credit, I've taken it, but did your instructor teach you that if you want to use chokes and armbars on a gunner, you need terrain that's advantageous to you?"

If he wanted to use close combat in the current situation, he would need a hiding place and enough space to grapple. At the current distance, if he wanted to stop the man, unless Lebed was faster than the speed of a bullet, or he would have to accept sacrificing a part of his body.

Lebed: "..."

Taekjoo didn't say much and instead opened the phone that had been carefully locked in front of him, causing even the tense Lebed to stiffen a bit.

"Contact your Section Chief." Kwon Taekjoo said coldly and tapped on the contacts.

"Why? Didn't you check with your superiors before coming here to harass me? I just found out that I have to work with you?" Lebed was so surprised that he leaned towards Taekjoo, looking quite angry and frustrated.

Kwon Taekjoo raised his eyebrows and raised his hand higher, his index finger seemed to lightly press on the trigger, ignoring the resistance that was pouring out.

Lebed saw that and also shrank his neck, he could only keep his distance from the person holding the gun opposite him carefully and then raised his hands higher as if to prove his innocence, suppressing his anger, watching Taekjoo press the call button, the screen changed from waiting interface to listening interface.

He adjusted the volume and pressed the speaker, then held out the phone so Lebed could talk more easily.

"Hyungsuk, how is it on your side?" The middle-aged male voice on the other end of the line rang out.

"It's fine, but why didn't Chief tell me that Kwon Taekjoo was also on the same mission as me." Hyungsuk seemed to complain but tried to hold back in front of the cold Colt.

"Oh, I haven't reported it yet, the office should have reported it already, so have you met Kwon Taekjoo yet?" Chief Lee's voice was a bit confused but quickly calmed down.

Hyungsuk saw him nod and responded.

"Okay, if anything happens in the future, the Head of Department should tell the department to be more professional because this job is very taboo for these kinds of things."

The consequences are right in front of him, he thought as he looked at Taekjoo. Perhaps out of dissatisfaction, he was also speaking more rudely to his superiors.

"Sorry, two departments taking on the same mission caused unnecessary chaos. I will report to Chief Kwak. Oh, recently the political world in Eastern Europe is very unstable under the influence of Russia, so you guys should be careful. They are ready to open fire and fight at any time."

Manager Lee said goodbye, not forgetting to give instructions and hung up immediately. Perhaps he was a rather open-minded man, not showing any discomfort when his subordinates were dissatisfied with him.

The departments were used to working independently, however the world political situation was gradually becoming more complicated so the agency director decided to closely link the departments to form a chain of intelligence and human resource links to increase completion time.

However, things were very chaotic and lacked cooperation, especially in terms of ideology, as many employees were used to being let loose, a typical example being Kwon Taekjoo.

"You heard me, I'm completely innocent, can you let me go?"

Hyungsuk raised his eyebrows in dissatisfaction when the person opposite him showed no intention of dropping the gun while his hand was already a bit numb.

"There's only one last step left, so bear with it." Taekjoo shrugged slightly and looked at his teammates.

Just then, Taekjoo reached out to touch his communication device, talking to the person on the other end of the line while his eyes were still looking straight ahead.

"...I understand, next time try to give me a heads up, updating information requires accuracy and speed." It seemed he was contacting his superior.

However, Kwon Taekjoo still didn't put down the gun and took out another phone from his pocket. When Hyungsuk saw that phone, his expression showed more discomfort than before.

"Why did you say there was only one step left?" He questioned him in an extremely dissatisfied tone.

"There's a phone number you've been using to contact me recently, right after meeting me, don't tell me it's your parents or girlfriend or something, Hyungsuk." Taekjoo ignored Hyungsuk's question and went straight to the point.

"What? You even touched my personal phone number? Are you a superior or something that you want to know my personal matters? Don't you think you're going a bit too far?" He frowned and threw a hateful look at the other side.

"I'm sorry to intrude on your privacy, but unfortunately I have the right to doubt the confidentiality of the mission, isn't it a bit suspicious to contact me via personal phone right after meeting me?"

“If I was wrong, I will personally punish myself with my superiors, so you just need to be honest.” He shrugged and chatted politely while the gun was still in his hand.

Kwon Taekjoo was a wise and skillful person, perhaps he felt that there was a problem with this phone number when he could not extract the call history and origin from it. Hyungsuk was actually quite afraid of this gentle and elegant looking man.

Who knows what that person is thinking, and his background is also very scary, even though he is being protected, he only dares to do everything shyly.

"...! I hate you."

"You can hate me all you want."

Hyungsuk sighed and muttered an apology to someone.

"I am a member of Department 2 under Chief Lee, but in this mission, the person directly in charge of me is the deputy chief of Department 2."

Kwon Taekjoo stared at Hyungsuk, he closed his eyes tightly and tilted his head to the side to avoid the gaze from his beloved senior.

"...I understand what you're thinking, deputy manager 2 is not like the former deputy manager 1, I have my own duties! You may not know, but deputy manager 3 knows! Why don't you call and ask again, I can't reveal it, and I also didn't know I would meet you here, so I'm also a victim!"

Hyungsuk spoke very quickly and looked pitiful when he couldn't immediately provide clear evidence, he cringed and his face wore a mask of hardship, well, he was at the end of his rope so he just said a few random things to make excuses, let the superiors handle it themselves, as long as he could survive.

He was afraid that Taekjoo would feel sensitive about a deputy section chief personally associating with an individual who was on the same mission as him, after all he had been tricked by the previous section chief so he couldn't help but make a big deal out of it, Hyungsuk would have thought so and sympathized with him if the person being pointed at with a gun wasn't himself.

Taekjoo squinted at the phone thoughtfully, the action as if he was calculating how to dispose of and dismember Hyungsuk made his neck crawl.

The suspicious phone number, the approval from the National Assembly, and the reluctant teammate, all of these are strange events to the point of being shady.

However, he had no intention of questioning further for some reason, it seemed like Taekjoo truly believed that Hyungsuk had no intention of causing trouble.

“Fine, I believe you, it seems I’ve been meddling in too many things.” His voice had suddenly loosened, as if all the hostility and dark suspicion had evaporated into the night.

After that conversation, Kwon Taekjoo resolutely put down the gun, his eyes also became more spirited and lovable (?) even though his gaze didn't change at all. Guns are indeed something that can not only cause physical pressure but also mental pressure.

"Huh...? Didn't you ask your superiors?"

Hyungsuk silently breathed a sigh of relief when the gun was put down and asked in confusion. He didn't believe Taekjoo would let him go so easily, that indifferent attitude was completely different from the cold expression he imagined, Hyungsuk had even prepared hundreds of excuses to cover up the matter.

"No, I'll confirm later, or do you want me to continue holding a gun to your head and calling that number, anyway my authority isn't that level yet, I still want to work smoothly in this industry so I won't directly confront another department superior, that's the unspoken rule, do you understand?"

He laughed, that laugh hid a flickering light, it was true that sometimes there would be cases where other departments would play cross-mission tricks, filling this and digging that, but something that didn't fit the current situation blossomed in the young man's heart. It was clear that Kwon Taekjoo knew something but acted like he didn't care about it, he didn't even care what Hyungsuk thought, as if everything was already in the palm of his hand.

"..." Hyungsuk was silent for a few seconds at his senior's words, then scratched the back of his neck and spoke, his voice like it was hanging 100 heavy weights.

"I really want to kick you in the head right now, senior."

He was sullen and didn't dare to ask anymore. Although he was very suspicious and upset, if he persisted in speaking, that hateful senior would do something unnecessary again.

There was definitely something wrong here as Kwon Taekjoo was unexpectedly gentle, but he could only swallow his doubts and pretend to trust Taekjoo no matter what schemes he had, it was better to be patient than to turn against each other right in the middle of a mission.

Hyungsuk sat down on the floor and said in frustration, only God knew how he felt at that moment, maybe if Chief Lee didn't pick up the phone or he did something strange, the brain fragments would have been thrown onto the tent.

"You can do that but only after completing the mission."

Taekjoo reached out to Hyungsuk, his face wasn't the friendly type, but his smile (even though it was just a faint smile) brought a very new feeling, like a new wind blowing in, unfortunately it was the Northeast monsoon.

"That's not so bad, next time talk to your superiors first!"

He grabbed Taekjoo's hand and used it as a support to stand up, not forgetting to complain.

"Better safe than sorry."

Speechless at Taekjoo's statement, Hyungsuk questioned him again in an annoyed tone.

"Be careful, I just see you as reckless, and if I really was a North Korean spy, you would have shot me in the head with a Colt, and then the gunshot, oh shit, you were wearing a silencer!"

His co-worker was about to make a sarcastic remark about how Taekjoo would probably shoot him dead and make a loud noise, but then remembered that the guy in front of him had a silencer attached.

If Hyungsuk's gun had a silencer attached, he would definitely take it out to scare Kwon Taekjoo.

Hyungsuk sighed, in the NIS, Kwon Taekjoo was a person who stood out not only because of his long streak of achievements but also because of his unique working style. After he cleared his name when he was framed by North Korean spies, he became even more famous, was trusted for more missions, and became even more vigilant in hiding.

Perhaps among all the employees, he may not be the most outstanding, but he is definitely the most mysterious. Despite being a colleague, very few people know any personal information about Kwon Taekjoo, even though they have been drinking together several times.

But what everyone always understood was that his lover was very controlling, he rarely changed his schedule suddenly, most people had to give Taekjoo 2-3 days notice so that Taekjoo had time to arrange. His lover always called and texted regularly throughout the day to check on the situation, perhaps to urge, perhaps to complain, but he never showed any signs of being upset.

Kwon Taekjoo also doesn't drink too much anymore, he just warms himself up to stay sober when he gets home, he seems to listen to his lover more than his appearance. Perhaps Taekjoo must love his lover very much because people in this industry often neglect their families, and during their free time they only focus on themselves and rarely think about others. I wonder if the two of them have conflicts with each other about work-related matters?

"So what did you get?"

Kwon Taekjoo interrupted Hyungsuk's stray train of thought with an emotionless tone.

Hyungsuk grimaced and sat down on his moldy bed, but still replied,
"There's nothing but scrap North Korean artillery shells and ballistic missiles, maybe some Chinese parts that Russia used, and the amount of damage."

“Give me the specific information you know, all of it.” Taekjoo nodded.

"The Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line is quite tense. Although a ceasefire agreement has been reached, both Ukraine and Russia are still having some minor disputes that occur regularly. Currently, the east of Kharkiv and the south of Belgord have become a gray zone." Hyungsuk calmly reported the incident.

"Have you ever been there, or do you plan to?"

"No, in my plan, that's not necessary. It's dangerous and doesn't guarantee the ability to increase speed, are you planning to go out? Don't do that." Hyungsuk looked up at Taekjoo and a worried expression appeared on his face again as he remembered his glorious achievement.

"No, this wasn't in my plan either, there's no need to be so reckless. First, tell me the specific meaning of this recording, I can only understand about 55%, I'm not good at Ukrainian."

“What is it?” Hyungsuk asked curiously, did he find something valuable?

"A Major's recording."

Chapter Text

After Kwon Taekjoo talked to his mother and was told to eat properly, he glanced at the phone, his eyes hesitantly looking through Zegna's contacts, his heart was a little turbulent.

It was already past midnight here so it must have been morning in Korea, the nights here were quite strange and cold, he wondered what Zegna was doing, he didn't have the habit of sleeping in so he was probably eating breakfast or exercising, reading. Most of the times when Taekjoo and he slept past their biological clock were times when they were rolling around in bed, both he and Zegna were strict and had clear schedules so it wasn't hard to guess what anyone was doing if they had their schedules.

But if you're lucky, you might even see Zegna come to the Embassy in a bad mood, mostly because of the pressing deadline or the screaming and crying of his subordinates, then he reluctantly starts to carry his body to complete his duty. He mostly only does the top priority things and then puts them aside, which shows that he doesn't value and put this job in his eyes. Kwon Taekjoo also knows that his subordinates are afraid of Zegna, his glorious achievements from Russia to Korea, they must be extremely poor for them to be so jumpy.

Anyway, he thought he sympathized with them somewhat, they all had difficult and unpredictable bosses, it was said that the Embassy didn't like him very much because 'an umbrella shielding others', actually Taekjoo thought he had no right to criticize that brat because he couldn't do anything but be a front.

Putting aside extraneous thoughts, it had been a while since he had contacted that guy, causing him to fall into deep thought. Before leaving, he had given him very strict instructions not to actively contact or follow him. This mission was something that Zegna absolutely should not get involved in. It was clear that he had obediently followed it, which somewhat reassured Taekjoo. Should we say this was a miracle?

Actually, Kwon Taekjoo also wanted to see Zegna face to face, the mission was much longer than expected, he decided to call the kid who was doing something at home, on the international roaming number that could be contacted regardless of Zegna's country.

After checking the anti-eavesdropping device and the surrounding tent, he called the other person. The call waiting sound was very short and quickly stopped because the other end picked up. The speed was so fast that it was as if the listener was sitting next to him and watching the phone. That magical speed made Taekjoo feel guilty. He should have contacted him sooner.

Kwon Taekjoo was about to speak first but when he heard the rapid breathing, he froze as confusion welled up in his chest.

[Haah– ha...-!]

[What's wrong? What's wrong? Hey, the signal's still good...Zegna!]

He started to feel uneasy with the other end of the line, the breathing continued and became longer. What was there to worry about for someone like Zegna, even if he was kidnapped he would be able to handle it himself, knowing that, Taekjoo still hesitated, could it be that he was sick or had a fever?

[Taekjoo...]

When he heard Zegna's voice, he felt a little more at ease, although it was very heavy, there was something strange about the sudden drop in tone along with the rustling sounds of fabric, were they in bed, it was almost 9am in Korea?

[Why are you breathing so heavily? Even if you're exercising or being kidnapped by terrorists, it can't be that bad.]

He was asking a question that sounded like a joke, but it was clearly a serious question for someone like Zegna. Anyone who knew this core man and heard that question would find it extremely reasonable and sympathetic.

[...]

[...]

The silence stretched on until the other person spoke, a mysterious pause in what should have been a lively conversation.

[...]

[Go home.]

[I want your hole]

[...] There was too much silence in this conversation.

[...Zegna, are you masturbating?] He asked a completely redundant question.

Taekjoo checked her earphones, thankfully they were still in place.

[Fuck...!]

The cursing started to get louder, it was said in a harsh tone, thinking back it had been a while since he had called him, since then this domineering brat had been acting annoyed and frustrated, perhaps if Taekjoo and Zegna were together now they would have some harsh sex.

[Are you okay, Zegna?]

This is a question that shows concern but is completely different from the concern just now.

[Ugh...! I'll be there, you stay there, don't run away anymore.]

Taekjoo could see Zegna's eyebrows knit together, the blush on his porcelain skin, and the discomfort in his expression. He was struggling with unsatisfied desire, rarely did he appear in such a hurry.

[Don't come, tell me your problem and let me solve it.]

Zegna was in the prime of his youth, it wouldn't be strange if he felt lust, but Yevgeny was an abnormal man with terrible physiological needs.

[Bring your ass here and I'll solve it, I can't even cum, because of you my penis is stiff and can't do anything.]

Zegna spoke in a low, hoarse voice, a slight hiss coming from his throat, the roar of a carnivorous beast. Along with that was the sound of his fingertips tapping lightly on a wooden surface, the rhythm was pleasant to the ears but it was getting faster and more sensitive.

Taekjoo sighed, it's not that he didn't want to see Zegna, it's just that he couldn't, he also wanted to do something to make this kid more comfortable. After all, forcing him to endure for months was really his fault.

Kwon Taekjoo felt a little helpless while switching the call to FaceTime, he had thought that this was just a normal phone call, about how Zegna would complain and what he would tell them, he should have thought that morning was a dangerous time for men.

"You've been holding it in for a long time, haven't you? Are you having trouble getting it out? You should go see a doctor, kid."

He sighed, unbuckled his belt, and pulled down his zipper, even his boxers were pulled down to his ankles hesitantly. Taekjoo half lay on the precarious military bed, half spread his legs, revealing what was still silent.

[Open your legs Taekjoo, don't be so half-assed, take off that ugly artificial mask, let me see.]

There was a soft, very light licking of lips, the sound was like dry rose petals rubbing together, he saw a blue pupil tremble like the sea.

[Look and shoot, you damn brat.]

Kwon Taekjoo cracked his neck, his joints cracking, his eyes glaring at the phone. The artificial mask was removed to reveal a familiar appearance. Call sex was something the Korean man did not like, because he was an agent, it would not be a good thing to do while on duty. But it was something Zegna liked, it was unclear whether he really liked it or just wanted to ruin Taekjoo's work.

At first, he just intended to leave it like that and let Zegna shoot however he wanted, but Zegna kept complaining about how when they made love he used his blow job technique to help satisfy him or if he couldn't see him masturbating, everything would lack authenticity, complaining that Taekjoo was just doing it for the sake of it and not putting his heart into it.

If this continued to drag on, it would affect the mission. He could only reluctantly accept his request. Why did he have to masturbate for another guy to watch closely?

Kwon Taekjoo reached out and took his own cock and rubbed it against his palm, he slowly stroked from the base to the tip, gently rubbing his testicles, he maintained a moderate pace without being as aggressive as when someone else did it for him, whenever Zegna masturbated him he did it so fast that it was hard for him to control himself.

Kwon Taekjoo looked up irritably and said before the invasive gaze like fire and the bulging muscles, being a special agent in the morning and making love at night was a strange thing.

_________

"Hello, Lagan. Sorry to bother you this early in the morning."

Officer Selivan sat across from Taekjoo on the sofa in his office, it was a modern room with a minimalist style and much cleaner than those military barracks and ragged buildings, perhaps its owner preferred the airy and light atmosphere and also possessed a high position in the state apparatus.

“Oh, it's okay, nice to meet you, officer.” He took a sip of tea to dispel the early morning chill.

"No need to be polite, I want to see you because of your company's need to import more weapons." Officer Selivan smiled and looked at him, his hand tapping lightly on the table.

"Perhaps the Company will be very pleased to be trusted by the military here, I will pass on this compliment." He added a lump of sugar to the cup of tea and slowly stirred it.

“But what else does the officer need to provide?” Taekjoo looked straight into Selivan’s eyes with eyes brighter than usual.

Kwon Taekjoo's eyes shone with clarity as if piercing through the man's roundabout way of speaking, directly getting to the point.

He suddenly relaxed his eyebrows and subtly crossed his legs at Dermot's urging.

"I want to import more weapons, right? But weapons go hand in hand with manpower, I need 'volunteers'

Chapter Text

"I want to import more weapons, right? But weapons go hand in hand with manpower, I need 'volunteers'."

'Volunteer.' He thought.

“You know, our country is currently going through war and unrest, we need human resources to support.” Selivan gently conversed with Taekjoo without showing any urgency.

"So how can I help you, even though I'm just an engineer."

“Well, I need a contact, right?” He smiled slightly, but the corners of his eyes never lifted.

"Contact T&R Riot Squad, liaison officer Dermot Lagan."

Kwon Taekjoo sat watching Officer Selivan brazenly requesting an armed force.

'Volunteers' is sometimes a euphemism for mercenaries. They are a controversial force with most countries banning their operation or participation, due to issues related to crime and desertion.

But.

It is a lucrative bait to support the dispute, so many countries have been using mercenaries, whether openly or secretly. To avoid international sensitivity, they often call themselves 'volunteers' to legitimize the use of mercenaries on their side and call them 'mercenaries' to criticize the illegal presence of the enemy side, which is an implicit double standard.

"Unfortunately, the T&R Riot Team has disbanded. I'm sorry that I couldn't be of any help to you." Taekjoo shrugged slightly, looking helpless.

“Oh, that's a shame! So when can T&R provide me with 'weapons'?” Selivan stared and continued his roundabout way of talking.

"We are always available, where would you like to 'put' them?"

"Of course, in my place, I will prevent the triggers of war. " The corners of Selivan's mouth curved deeply.

Ukraine already had mercenaries from a private American military company as a counterweight to Russian mercenaries, and the country also had an International Corps that recruited thousands of war enthusiasts, opponents of Russian aggression, or veterans. They did not necessarily have to rush and secretly meet with a T&R liaison officer instead of the Minister of Defense.

There's just one thing, rebels, they've always been there.

The country currently appears to be a unified entity against Russia, but in reality it is deeply divided internally. Being an Eastern European country with a history closely tied to Russia and a close relationship with the former Soviet Union has made internal enemies more difficult to deal with than external enemies.

Selivan, a former Rada MP, was a hidden card of the current President who followed the 'pro-Russian' path, perhaps after the assassination of his ally, a 'pro-Russian' politician in Slovakia, he quickly made the allies become hasty.

Officer Selivan wants to create violence within his own army by using mercenaries, but now public opinion is overwhelmingly in favor of separating from Russia and following NATO, making his path increasingly uncertain.

Through some documents, phone calls and illegal arms transactions, it can be seen that Selivan's side wanted to form a rebel army during this sensitive period.

And the T&R Riot Squad was a logical choice, a special place, prioritizing quality with equipment on par with globally renowned special operations units, due to some legal issues, it was declared disbanded. Although it was said to be disbanded, except for the time it was disbanded, they were always active.

That's it. No matter how much public opinion curses them, they just disband for the sake of it, the rest still take jobs regularly. When they're sad, they disband, when they're happy, they reunite. Perhaps because there are a few big shots acting as umbrellas, even though Human Rights organizations scream their lungs out about the humanitarian issue of a private arms company owning its own armed forces, it only leads to a superficial reaction.

Still, they were a professional and useful mercenary team trusted for their speed and neat handling, so it was no surprise that Selivan decided to hire them. The T&R Riot Squad had quite a lot of positive feedback in the industry, with some even comparing them to GSG9*.

(*) German anti-terrorist unit.

Zegna himself considered hiring them for something but he seems to have changed his mind.

Kwon Taekjoo was a little absent-minded, wondering who came up with the name 'riot squad' when most of their mission was to cause riots.

"Mr. Lagan?"

"Sorry, I'm thinking a bit, it might take a while but I'll try to respond to your request as soon as possible."

"First, please read this contract. I don't know who else will be on the same boat as you, but once you sign it, it can't be taken back easily, officer."

He took out from his school bag and handed Selivan the pen that hid the recording and listening device with a serious expression.

However, Taekjoo had the opposite thought in his heart, T&R had to be mercenaries for the rebels? What did Selivan have that could sway T&R from such a crazy adventure? Nothing, only the imposter Kwon Taekjoo. There was no way a company with vision would choose such a weak faction, anyone with knowledge could see that, but Selivan was caught up in his own cycle.

But it's better for T&R to cooperate with him than for Zegna and T&R to meet one day, this treaty will turn the world upside down.

...

Late night.

Before that, Kwon Taekjoo tried to convince Zegna to try kimbap and kongguksu. Kimbap is an easy-to-eat dish that is not spicy (if you don't add spicy ingredients) and kongguksu is cold soybean noodles, which he doesn't like because it's too rich but seems to suit someone with a light taste and is used to eating Western food like Zegna.

Kwon Taekjoo has been living with Zegna's complaints about Korean food and he's been trying to get him used to his home country's cuisine. But it seems like Zegna's trust in him is fading as he's been tricking him into eating spicy food too much, so it's hard to be serious now. (There are times when he eats spicy food even though it's cute.)

[Really?] Zegna asked doubtfully, he was like a child afraid that his parents would trick him into eating something he didn't like.

[Really! It's not spicy! Unless you intentionally put chili in it!] Kwon Taekjoo nodded while there was no one in front of him.

[Huh?]

Zegna still looked skeptical, he didn't like the spicy feeling on the tip of his tongue at all, sometimes he wondered if people who liked spicy food liked to be tortured because the spicy taste was actually just the feeling of the nerves in the tongue being affected, causing physical pain.

But Taekjoo liked it and often coaxed Zegna to eat it.

He only eats those foods when Taekjoo feeds him.

If he's good at spicy food, he's probably good at sex too, especially since Taekjoo can take pain better than anyone Zegna has ever met.

[No, why would I lie to you? Although Korea has a lot of spicy food and Koreans are very good at eating spicy food, not all food is spicy. You should try it.]

[Let's leave this for later, when will I come back?] The brat suddenly changed the subject in a straightforward manner.

He listened to the movement from the other end of the line, it seemed like the emotions over there were nothing strange, this topic finally came up, he had tried to avoid it as much as possible, Zegna probably didn't intend to let him off.

Kwon Taekjoo hesitated for a moment.

[I can't give you a specific time but just this week.]

[Come home quickly, don't play around for too long.]

Zegna's tone was stern, as if if he didn't come back within a week, he could actually fly a helicopter here and drag him back, well, that wasn't entirely impossible, damn it, he treated his mission as if it was a vacation.

[Don't think of this as a trip, you know it's important.] Taekjoo said slowly

[Don't talk nonsense like that, for me there's no such thing as a trivial mission that's not important.]

[Remember that I'm only flying freely because you're maintaining your patience, value your life because it's not just yours.]

The tone of his voice didn't change at all, but the sentence itself was already a kind of invisible pressure. Zegna spoke as if he was stating the obvious. He could imagine the kid crossing his legs, smoking, holding some top secret document, and tapping his fingers on the table, creating a catchy clacking sound.

He was a cunning and good planner, anything Zegna dared to say meant he could and would do, never take words lightly was one of the lessons he learned the first few times he met him, bitterly enough that lesson was never in vain.

[Okay, thanks for your patience, I'll be fine and back soon, don't scare me like that, have breakfast.]

It's already Wednesday, Kwon Taekjoo sighed and put his phone away, he scratched his head and started to move out of the military tent quietly.

Chapter Text

It was 3am outside so it was dark, only a few hanging lights outside were still on and a few night watchmen patrolled with military flashlights.

Taekjoo had the duty list and the military camp map, so he was prepared. He locked a patrolling soldier in a hidden alley, gagged him with a Sevoflurane-soaked towel , hid him in a nearby storage tent, and took his military equipment.

The reason he chose that soldier was because he had a similar build to him, and he was in charge of storing equipment so he could use the password and key properly.

Kwon Taekjoo thought silently in his heart.

'If you feel angry, please blame my superiors.'

The people of this country were not enemies so Taekjoo did not want to affect them, but in order to complete the mission this was a must, this was not necessarily the fault of the superiors but it could not be said that they were innocent, this was the result of an intelligence chain.

Kwon Taekjoo put on his military uniform, put on a pre-made artificial skin, and slowly walked into the military equipment warehouse calmly.

However, he was actually trying to finish everything as quickly as possible because the amount he soaked in the towel was not much and it would only take about 15 to 20 minutes for the soldier to wake up.

『What are you doing, this warehouse has just been checked』

A military associate spoke up when he saw him get his fingerprints and irises scanned.

『I just saw something move in here, it seems like there's something wrong with the electronic lock history.』

Kwon Taekjoo pushed open the iron door, he went inside and told his partner to listen to his hand signals, the other person also nodded heavily without any doubt.

At night, this place is in complete contrast to the hustle and bustle of the day. The smell of benzene is still there, but the fishy smell of iron is strangely like human blood.

Kwon Taekjoo's footsteps were lost in the massiveness of the machines and hot weapons, the flashlights flickered in front of the NATO equipment, every evening the staff cleaned up so it was very airy, completely different from the chaos 10 hours ago.

Everything was clear in the quiet space, Taekjoo put his hand behind his waist and moved his fingers flexibly. As soon as he saw the signal being transmitted, his partner immediately disappeared, no matter how urgent it was, no one was allowed to shoot in a place filled with weapons and explosives like this.

Meanwhile, Hyungsuk, who was in disguise, received Kwon Taekjoo's signal from afar. He performed firewall hacking operations on the disguised laptop case. Binary codes continuously jumped up on the liquid crystal screen, covering the blue-black screen.

Hyungsuk's eyes gradually lit up when he was able to infiltrate the rebels' internal network system. Right when he was about to back up the data to the USB and send it, he paused slightly, hesitating as if remembering some nightmare. His expression became gloomy and filled with disappointment.

That look was as if a hero had given up before a villain.

Before even sending the documents to Taekjoo and the National Intelligence Service, he held back his tears and connected the male-to-male USB cable, sending it to a completely different place using the second phone, his fingers placed on the keyboard as white as if all the blood had been drained.

He looked around to make sure no one had discovered him, then furtively placed his hand on his ear, his heart unconsciously beating faster, his hand sweating coldly when he heard the sound of the machine connecting to the other side, perhaps the other end of the line was an extremely formidable person.

"M-Mr. Ambassador, I just sent you the documents, everything is fine... Senior Kwon has a lot of experience so there's nothing to worry about."

Hyungsuk's voice became overly submissive and stuttering, perhaps he had never been so cautious towards his superiors before.

"Send Selivan an email, no need to hide your identity too much, just let GUR find your IP address in the Russian government."

Immediately after that, the phone was quickly hung up. He looked at the phone, his soul still not fully recovered. His heart repeated a question, why does such a man exist in this world?

...

Selivan took out a tall glass and picked up the Gin bottle, slowly pouring out the clear liquid, the sound of the water flowing softly echoed in the quiet room, creating a deep atmosphere, everything seemed to be submerged in the bottom of the ocean.

He looked at the window, the only source of light in the room, the scene of ruined and ragged houses from the destruction was taken into view, this place was bustling with business but now it was gloomy and desolate. Not long ago, Ukraine expressed its desire to trade Iron Dome with Israel. It was disappointing that Israel had politely refused, so the sky was now too thin for a country in military chaos.

Compared to relying on Russia, clinging to NATO, which has been hesitant to provide aid to Ukraine, is even more hopeless. Even he felt something breaking in his heart when he saw his country isolated between the West and the Russian Federation, the image of the devastated country always appeared in his mind.

So a decisive step is needed to escape this siege.

The officer opened his laptop, making the room a little brighter, the light shining on his handsome middle-aged face. Just as he was about to access the internal data, a notification rang out. It was a strange email with an unknown sender, but it was not classified as spam.

Sevilan moved the mouse and opened the mail, he was not worried about the possibility of being infected with a virus because his computer had very good security, the mail was not curses or complaints from the people, it was a short, truncated text in Russian with no title, its content was nothing special but quite strange.

'В гостя́х хорошо́, а до́ма лу́чше.'

'Coming as a guest from afar is not as good as staying in a thatched hut at home.'

This is a Russian proverb, what does this guy mean? Trying to provoke him, it's useless, it seems like this is just some kind of tasteless prank by someone who hates him, as a politician Selivan has often had to endure these childish things.

Just as he exited Gmail and was about to pour himself some more wine in confusion, there was a knock on the door from outside. Selivan's heart suddenly jumped. Perhaps the other guy had completed the mission, but why so quickly?

“Go ahead.” He reached for the computer and placed it on the table.

"..."

There was no movement outside, making Selivan even more suspicious.

"I didn't lock the door, come in."

"..."

The door remained silent, but from here came some small noises.

"Hey! Who's out there!"

Selivan felt more and more restless.

Just then.

BOOM.

Countless riot police officers holding riot shields rushed in at the same time, causing the doors and hinges to shatter. The sound of furniture being broken continuously echoed in the quiet room. The wine bottle shook violently and fell to the floor, spilling wine everywhere. The scene was like a swarm of black ants swarming into a nest.

A police officer stepped forward, he was wearing a military uniform embroidered with the armed forces emblem on his right arm, without waiting for Selivan to speak, he gently pulled the hot lock making it make a crisp 'click' sound, pointing the Glock 17 at Selivan, the policemen behind raised their transparent shields with the golden eagle printed on them, dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on the officer.

Chapter Text

A police officer stepped forward, he was wearing a military uniform embroidered with the armed forces emblem on his right arm, without waiting for Selivan to speak, he gently pulled the hot lock making it make a crisp 'click' sound, pointing the Glock 17 at Selivan, the policemen behind raised their transparent shields with the golden eagle printed on them, dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on the officer.

That is the special police force of Ukraine - Berkut with the proud golden eagle logo.

"The statement on the dismissal of officer Selivan Andreevych Kovalchuk was passed by the parliament, cooperation with North Korean spies; plotting to destroy military equipment and diplomatic relations with NATO member countries; assassination of heads of state; opposition to incitement calling for anti-government protests."

The officer read Selivan's charges in a round manner that made him dizzy and weak in the knees from such a great surprise, but regardless, he continued to say what he needed to say like a machine, his eyes shining and his index finger on the trigger as if it would always be pulled back.

"You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to have a lawyer present before you speak to the police, and to have a lawyer present when the police question you."

"...If you are unable to find an attorney, you will be provided with one before answering questions. You may answer questions without an attorney present, but you have the right to stop answering at any time until an attorney is present."

Being granted Miranda rights is a humane thing for the defendant, but their actions don't seem to grant that humanity, their gazes are as tight as needles.

Selivan was stunned by the scene before his eyes, his heart was suffocated by the stiffness in his blood circulation, he slowly turned around, so slowly that the joints in his body seemed to creak. Selivan looked out the window, saw a thin, elegant red light shining straight at his chest, it seemed like there was more than one ray of light.

Invite a lawyer? Can it really wait until then, the officer could be silenced for life right here or in just a few hours, compassion would not come to him, for a person who is considered a traitor to his people, there will never be any mercy.

Selivan knows how much hatred there is from the current presidential government and radical Russophobics for politicians who take a pro-Russian path, so perhaps justice in the court will not come to him.

Even though they are all East Slavic, it does not mean that Ukrainians accept being considered part of Russia, even Russophobic people like Selivan would not agree with being considered Russian, let alone others.

Those who dared to betray him, either no one, or him - who had never been his man, the only outsider, plus that email, the data quickly poured down Selivan's brain like Victoria Falls, along with boundless anger.

"DERMOTTT—————!!"

Selivan's eyes were fierce like a wild animal, his hands were clenched, everything was in that man's hands, full of deceitful tricks to push all involved into a trap.

Meanwhile, the person he was thinking about had already run away.

...

"Phew."

Hyungsuk breathed a sigh of relief as if a thousand pound burden had been lifted, his entire muscle mass was limp as mud.

The two men are currently sitting in a military SUV and have taken advantage of the chaos to leave the Kharkiv border area.

"Why are you so reckless, senior Taekjoo? My heart is so scared that it almost fell out of my chest?" The questioning voice was filled with resentment, this voice almost revealed all of its true emotions.

Kwon Taekjoo kept driving without paying any attention to his surroundings.

"What the hell! Why can't you wait patiently! Our mission is just to find out the identity of the North Korean spy, why do you have to make such a mess just to quickly find that guy, huh, huh!"

The screams grew louder and louder, Hyungsuk's face became redder and redder as if it would explode at any moment.

Kwon Taekjoo incited the Ukrainian reactionaries to make Selivan hastily destroy the weapons aid from NATO with North Korean spies, colluding with Russia to eliminate the heads of state, just because of a fake contract, the two acted as fast as the wind.

He scratched his broken hair, one hand on the steering wheel, his eyes never changing emotion looking at the road ahead, complaining to his juniors:

"Speak softly, it's not safe here yet. I've determined that Major Wenceslas is a spy, but I don't have solid evidence yet, so it'll be quicker this way. I have a lot of work to do, I can't stay here forever."

There were originally many unidentified spies in Ukraine, not only from North Korea but also from Russia. Selivan - who was not the highest-ranking person but was a link in the entire pro-Russian official system - and Wenceslas, who had been appointed as the foreign liaison, had already taken down half of the network, and had netted quite a few.

The evidence Kwon Taekjoo obtained would be used against a political faction so it needed to be authentic, although it was not obtained by clean means but that was not his business but the United States', he did not have the patience to slowly collect it.

There was still a kid who had been waiting for him from the end of the third quarter to the middle of the fourth quarter. Taekjoo didn't know how much patience he had used in his body to obediently wait for him to come back. This thought made him feel like a warm current was flowing into his heart, and at the same time, that current was like boiling water, alarmingly hot.

"Yes, you are the best, you are the best, I understand now why Yoon Jong Woo is afraid of doing missions with you."

He hesitated and then resolutely raised his middle finger to Taekjoo and expressed his bad mood. Although this mission was much shorter, thanks to someone, his lifespan was also shortened. This was a quick way to do it, but it was easy to reveal his identity and be easily counterattacked. Just the fact that Kwon Taekjoo was willing to report directly to the Ukrainian Security Service was something that normal people would never do.

"Okay, this is why I like to do solo, it's a headache."

Taekjoo shrugged his shoulders, looking tired and at his junior's rudeness. Although he sympathized with Hyungsuk's frustration, what had happened was done, and complaining wouldn't help.

"If you say that, I'm scared of you." Hyungsuk raised his hands in surrender to Taekjoo's stubbornness. How could there be such a heartless person? This question kept lingering in his mind.

"How do you think the NIS will handle the impersonation of a T&R employee? It's troublesome to cause trouble with an arms trafficking organization. I don't know where the headquarters got the confidence to choose such a fancy identity for you."

Hyungsuk while being upset is still curious about other things, he is the type of person who easily changes his emotions in many situations, even when Taekjoo pointed a gun at his head, a few minutes later Hyungsuk can still laugh at him.

"I'm just doing as asked, if there's any difficulty, my superiors will take care of it, what can a small civil servant like me do?" Kwon Taekjoo leaned against the window frame in frustration and appeared familiar with Hyungsuk's personality.

"That's too unfair, but not too unfair, you're using someone else's identity thoroughly, oh, if you already have Russian, you should take the opportunity to learn Ukrainian, you might have to stay here for a long time in the future." Hyungsuk gave advice, until the war between the two countries ends, otherwise Ukraine will become a regular place to work.

Russian and Ukrainian have some similarities in pronunciation and grammar, so it wasn't too difficult for Taekjoo to switch over.

He just nodded lazily and drove in circles to avoid being followed.

Kwon Taekjoo was concentrating on driving when he suddenly turned to Hyungsuk with a voice and expression that had nothing special.

"Hyungsuk, do you like to turn left or right?"

“No… I want to go home… damn it, don’t ask me!” Hyungsuk closed his eyes and cursed the world.

Chapter Text

After Kwon Taekjoo was brought back to Ajinoki Island by Zegna after a series of missions in Iran under unjustified means, he appeared very tired and slept soundly until past noon the next day, which was a miracle since he ignored his strict biological clock and slept late on the big, soft bed.

He slept so much that Zegna was surprised and checked by placing his hand on his left chest and philtrum, feeling his pulse and breathing to see if Taekjoo would suddenly have a stroke or an accident in bed.

But that wasn't impossible when that bastard had been fucking him continuously from the morning before until noon the next day. He was already very tired before that, so after being fed something by the bastard, he fell asleep without knowing anything. Regardless of whether his body was being tormented or devoured, Taekjoo was already unconscious at that time.

And now Kwon Taekjoo was suffering the consequences of that long sleep, mentally stable and physically strong, he was too alert to fall asleep even though everything was so quiet and depressing.

Taekjoo was wrapped in a quilt that was warmed by the human body he had stolen from Zegna, and sat cross-legged in front of the Victorian-style fireplace, feeling the warmth surrounding him against the cold of the lonely island, yet his eyes were wide open and showed no signs of sleepiness.

He stared into the stove and watched the black logs collapse and the fire crackle inside. Zegna loved the natural scent so he seemed to enjoy the smell of wood, so Zegna also hated the smell of coal (because coal is artificial?) so he never used it in the house even though he found it to be no different.

Kwon Taekjoo was currently too free and had nothing to do, he started lying around on the floor and rolling around like a sunbathing cat, rolling from place to place to enjoy his terrifyingly free vacation on the soft furry carpet.

There was nothing for him to do here, no books, no internet, no games or anything. Even the things he used to do with Zegna became boring because he repeated them too much.

Taekjoo was thinking about what he could do, like cooking, painting, embroidery, learning to play the piano or something like that, although he was an active person, he wasn't averse to picking up other talents. If so, would he be able to blend in with the upper class as easily as Zegna?

It is an inimitable temperament, a superiority that is ingrained in the bones.

"Zegna." Taekjoo called out.

"Huh?"

Zegna was sitting on the sofa and looking at him with his exposed belly, his eyes were like he was watching a school of aquarium fish with interest, if he were a dog or a cat he would probably reach out and rub his belly enthusiastically.

"M1911 or M9?" He asked a question that was out of place, and also out of place in the current warm atmosphere.

“Why are you comparing outdated things to each other, both have been eliminated from many units so there isn’t much to judge.” Zegna lazily commented, not at all surprised that Taekjoo asked such a strange question.

"Well, I used the M9, although it had less firepower than the Colt, the M9 had a larger magazine capacity and lower recoil than the M1911." Taekjoo shrugged, but the Colt was always considered higher due to its popularity and solid reputation in history.

When the brat heard his assessment, he sneered and rested his chin on his hand in a dignified and elegant posture.

"Glock 19, surely NIS isn't stingy enough to let their employees use only used stuff, tell your directors to update more."

Zegna has maintained a steady disdain for South Korea's key intelligence headquarters that has been extremely clear and consistent since their first meeting.

Kwon Taekjoo nodded to show that he had taken note of his opinion and automatically skipped the following part, despite his asshole personality, everyone had to appreciate Zegna's ability and knowledge about weapons, if he gave such advice then it must be really good. Taekjoo liked to talk about weapons related things with Zegna because that nuclear man had a vast amount of knowledge with crazy ideas.

The atmosphere fell silent again while he was thinking about something.

The whistling of the snowy wind mixed with the rustling of dry branches, the ragged chaos contrasting with the quiet serenity of the house.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the soft texture of the carpet, the warm wool gently touching the exposed areas.

After he established a relationship with Zegna and returned to Ajinoki Island, the luxurious woven carpet was replaced with a shag carpet. He used to feel uncomfortable making love in the living room because the woven carpet was too rough to roll around on, so after repairing the bombed-out house, he changed the precious carpet to a more comfortable one.

It was so comfortable that he had also formed the habit of lying down on the carpet, although Zegna would occasionally sit next to him, he would never lie flat on the floor, his aristocratic demeanor did not allow that to happen, if he did, he would just lie on his lap or lean on his body like a king being pampered.

"So if you don't choose Bugatti, what kind of car will you choose?" Taekjoo continued to question to dispel the boredom.

"Koenigsegg."

Koenigsegg is a fierce rival of Buggati in the speed war in the megacar segment, both are famous sports car brands with great performance and fierce appearance, which really suits Zegna's wild personality. He himself also has an expensive Bugatti Centodieci, the price of that Bugatti is enough to make people avoid it for hundreds of meters but still look at it with extremely jealous eyes.

If he were to drive a Koenigsegg Regera with the roof down and down the Autobahn, the visual effect would be amazing and not inferior to the Bugatti Centodieci. Just imagining it makes me feel terrible, it feels like my lungs are being pressured.

"Quite suitable."

It was a compliment from the bottom of his heart, without any sarcasm, Taekjoo couldn't think of any criticism for that image, capitalist?

This guy was also a speeder, but just because he was an Ambassador and had diplomatic immunity, all the petty mistakes were overlooked. When Taekjoo sat in the car and tried to hide his face somewhere, he heard a loud clicking of the tongue from the traffic police.

They were helpless when they saw the monster hypercar roaring and rushing like crazy on the streets of Korea and could only gently remind them. They couldn't do anything but let it go. Even though they weren't on the same team, he understood a little bit of their feelings.

Suddenly Kwon Taekjoo heard the rustling of fabric behind him, waking the Korean man from his rambling thoughts. He raised his head and saw Zegna sitting cross-legged and yawning lightly with a bored expression while leaning back in his chair, his face not forgetting to tilt up as he enjoyed Taekjoo's compliment.

"Are you in the mood to talk today?"

Zegna spoke in a lazy voice and returned Taekjoo's gaze as he continued to engage him with questions.

When Zegna imprisoned him on Ajinoki Island, there were also many times when he had free time like this with him, however, they would sit far apart like strangers and not say anything, the stiff atmosphere was difficult to get along with, everything was like gunpowder, just a spark would cause a dispute, but sometimes it was just small drops of water that were harmless and cold.

Unlike now, at that time Zegna didn't talk much, sometimes he would intentionally ignore his questions if he felt lazy or annoyed and there were also few things for Taekjoo to actively talk about so he also treated that brat like air.

The two of them had a lot of quiet moments back then, but it wasn't as peaceful as it is now, or in other words, mentally distant, the South Pole and the North Pole.

And now, even though the two of them were together, they didn't have much time to get to know each other, no, it should be said that only Taekjoo didn't have time, and Zegna had already learned a lot about him.

He suddenly realized how little he knew about Zegna, his normal interests, things that not only lovers but even normal friends should know.

“No? You feel uncomfortable about this?” Taekjoo asked back.

"Not really, you rarely take the initiative to ask so I'm a bit surprised, like an interrogation, do you have anything else to be curious about?" He took something from the bag beside him, lit his cigar and put it in his mouth.

Zegna chuckled with the corners of his mouth curling up while he was smoking his cigar, the smoke slowly drifting, sometimes his smile looked like a smirk even though Zegna didn't mean it that way, he thought many people misunderstood but perhaps this guy didn't bother to explain anything.

“What kind of books do you read? I guess it won’t be any kind of realism, self-help, or spiritual healing?” Taekjoo guessed, the tip of his nose twitching slightly when he caught a familiar scent in the air.

"Approximately, I've read Éric Vuillard (The Agenda), Mein Kampf (My Struggle) and Das Kapital (Capital), the rest are mostly specialized books."

"Oh, and One Hundred Years of Solitude."

Zegna didn't know when he had picked up the contrabass from a corner and leisurely tuned the strings. The sounds of the strings were quite pleasant to the ears and he spoke calmly. This kid even deliberately hid his teasing voice to a deeper level. What was there to be surprised about?

"One Hundred... Years of Solitude...?"

Taekjoo slightly glared at the ceiling while listening to Zegna, surprisingly, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a classic of magical realism, it really doesn't suit Zegna (very very, very, at least he thinks so). He said that he read Adolf Hitler's autobiography and he didn't even seem that surprised, the prejudice between people is quite scary.

"Is there a problem?"

"Nothing, I'm really surprised." He rubbed his forehead slightly. Maybe if he continued like this, he would take it for granted that he read Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Zegna just shrugged at Taekjoo's reaction.

“So, do you know how to dance?” He thought of something to ask, clearing the fog in his mind.

Chapter Text

“So, do you know how to dance?” He thought of something to ask, clearing the fog in his mind.

"Yes, want to try?"

This is not hard to guess, he is very good at mingling with the upper class so these tricks will probably be very proficient.

"No, thanks."

Taekjoo immediately shook his head to decline the invitation, but he still tried to imagine this elegant-looking man dancing in the middle of an expensive banquet, what a splendid sight.

He continued to ask Zegna trivial questions related to his daily life such as 'do you like IOS or Android more', 'which football team do you like' etc., when Taekjoo was still in school, many people asked him these questions, it was sometimes a funny argument between friends when they argued with each other.

But it was only now that he asked Zegna, and he didn't seem too excited or interested in those things, only answering very briefly. At first glance, his life seemed too monotonous, however, he didn't ignore his questions and answered attentively.

Zegna finished testing the contrabass, the cigar was burnt out, he stuck it in the ashtray, started staring at him and that look made his hair stand on end, Kwon Taekjoo scratched his neck to show that he knew he was staring at him.

“Come up here.” Zegna raised his eyebrows slightly.

Taekjoo turned around and looked across at Zegna, who was sitting comfortably on the sofa with a colder expression than usual, his eyes slightly closed. After teasing him for being lazy and sleeping too much, this bastard had already started to feel sleepy, Russians don't have the habit of taking naps but maybe he was influenced by the Korean nap culture?

“Are you sleepy already? It’s a bit early now?” Taekjoo gave a mocking smile and pretended to look at the clock.

Zegna didn't want to argue so he stood up and walked towards him, he picked up the blanket that he was wrapped around himself. Because he was clinging to the soft blanket, he was also pulled up, Zegna used one hand to pull the 1m8+ man and threw him onto the sofa as light as air.

Kwon Taekjoo looked bored, to be honest, he didn't really want to sit on the sofa. Even though it was on the floor, it was spacious and covered with thick carpet, so it was very comfortable. As for the sofa, although it was very thick and soft, two tall men lying on it was quite an eyesore, especially when Zegna often tried to take his spot.

"You're rolling around on the floor like a rabbit digging a hole. It looks like the temperature has dropped and you need a place to hibernate, right?"

Zegna threw more wood into the stove and checked the heating system to prepare for a comfortable sleep outside the living room, Ajinoki Island also had seasonal divisions and it was almost winter now so the temperature dropped unexpectedly.

"You should be taking a nap right now, not lying around on the floor, annoying me like this, you annoying brat."

Taekjoo glared at Zegna then sat cross-legged and continued to wrap the blanket around himself, it seemed that due to having to carry Taekjoo for a short time under Zegna's strength, the blanket was a bit stretched.

"I never said I was annoyed, I never said I hated seeing a rabbit burrow, never, I just found a new nest that suits you better than down there." Zegna sat down on the chair and snatched the blanket from him, or rather took it back.

Kwon Taekjoo muttered curses and looked annoyed as the blanket he had been friends with for a while was roughly snatched away.

"If you're sleepy then go to sleep, don't bother me." Taekjoo stood up and intended to find a book to kill time, maybe there would be something interesting in Zegna's study.

Just then Zegna pulled him down onto the chair and looked at him with a displeased expression.

"Go to bed."

"So? I can't sleep anymore."

"Then let me sleep."

"Like you wouldn't let me sleep?" Taekjoo looked at the person who was holding his wrist with a bewildered expression.

Zegna didn't explain anything but forced Taekjoo to sit down on the sofa, he stood up and sat on top of him, his arms went under Taekjoo's arms and squeezed his waist and chest, Zegna's thighs also clamped his hips and his head was buried in the hollow of his neck, their chests and shoulders were close together, his crotch was right next to his stomach making him a bit nervous.

The enormous weight of the Russian giant pressed down on Taekjoo, making it hard for him to breathe. He felt like his internal organs were about to be crushed. Zegna's entire body leaned against him and pressed him tightly against the back of the chair.

"I don't know if I'm too heavy or what, why am I lying like this?"

Kwon Taekjoo shook his head and tried to move away, his nose was filled with the strong scent of Zegna, especially since he had just finished smoking.

"Don't call other people heavy, girls will think it's disrespectful." That's what the arrogant bastard said.

Zegna was really heavy and this lying position almost put all his weight on him, Taekjoo didn't have time to feel the softness of Zegna's muscles before having to endure the pressure from this huge body, this position was really not only heavy but it also gave people the feeling of completely locking away their ability to escape.

"And I was curious why you like to sit down and lean on me like a cushion, it's not bad at all."

Hmm, Taekjoo was depressed, he liked this warmth but didn't like the weight of it. ah but didn't like the weight pressing down on the cage.

"Don't blame me or say things like you need respect for your weight. I was just leaning on you, not on you! And you've been on top of me plenty of times, don't act like it's never happened before."

"That's sex, this is sleeping on the sofa."

Taekjoo sighed and slowly got used to the weight on his body, he rubbed Zegna's back and slightly shook him so that Zegna could be closer to the sofa and lie in a more comfortable position, it seemed Taekjoo had compromised with Zegna easily.

His immunity to this brat was getting worse and worse, he didn't know whether to say this was a good or bad sign.

'This way, I'll be the one looking for a new nest, not you.' Kwon Taekjoo muttered and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling, would he have to endure this strange position all day without being able to sleep?

Zegna snuggled closer to Taekjoo as if he wanted to become one with him, the warmth of both of them spreading to each other. But it seemed like he still couldn't get enough, Zegna started to lift his shirt and put his hands inside his shirt, placing his palms on Taekjoo's back and enjoying the heating that was powered by blood circulation.

Zegna's hand wasn't cold or hot, it was simply dry and large, and when it touched his back, the strange temperature caught Taekjoo's attention.

Who would have imagined that this brutal nuclear man would have such a childish side? Actually, Zegna has many strange habits and behaviors, whether childishly innocent or childishly cruel, he has it all.

He showed that side of him a lot in front of Taekjoo and he was easily aware of it. Sometimes Zegna unconsciously considered Taekjoo as his mother and made unreasonable demands, and he sometimes considered Zegna as his naughty child who threw tantrums and reluctantly indulged him, sometimes not.

In the case of a baby whining and wanting to sleep in its mother's arms like this, usually the mother would smile and sing a lullaby to them, right? His mother used to sing a lullaby to him in the past, but that was a long time ago, and Taekjoo rarely whined anymore.

Kwon Taekjoo wondered and tried to remember.

Anyway, he wouldn't sing a lullaby to Zegna because he wasn't good at singing and Zegna was no longer a baby to be coaxed like that.

He tried to move to grab the blanket that had been thrown aside and draped it over Zegna's back, Taekjoo put his chin near his temple and started massaging from the first vertebra of his neck to his waist. His hard breathing had long since become even, he had already nodded off so it was extremely easy to fall asleep.

Zegna falls asleep easily and wakes up easily, but sometimes when he sleeps alone with you, he becomes lazy and won't move until you leave.

Even though his body was trying to rebel, Kwon Taekjoo had no intention of waking Zegna up from his sleep, he thought this was better than making love more.

Zegna's body temperature was quite high but it suited this space, the indifference and cruelty of his muscles had disappeared, replaced by a rare relaxation.

Kwon Taekjoo used his other hand to rhythmically stroke Zegna's head, closing his eyes and feeling the weight on his body.

'Little boy, next time say what you want to say.'

Taekjoo couldn't tell if he was thinking or saying it out loud, but perhaps those were the things he wanted to do.

'Let's play games together next time.'

Kwon Taekjoo didn't care if Zegna heard or not, he only cared that he would definitely be with this kid more.

At this rate, Taekjoo will never be able to return to normal without Zegna, because his mind is full of this troublemaker.

He leaned on the hair that was on his neck, saying words he didn't understand and enjoying things he never thought of.

....

-Zegna tends to read books that are not very personal, he seems to like specialized books related to physics, medicine, anatomy and chemistry.

-Between IOS and Android, Zegna will choose IOS.

-Zegna doesn't particularly like any team, but his brother Bazim seems to like Liverpool so he invited him to watch with him several times but he was ignored. He had heard Bazim gossip about Liverpool so he knew a little bit.

–Zegna knows how to dance the Slow Foxtrot and the Viennese Waltz, Kwon Taekjoo hasn't seen him dance so he doesn't know if he can dance well. But with that appearance then everything won't be a problem, I heard Zegna once danced with Olga, it sounds quite disastrous.

-If they play games, they will play Outlast 3, CS:GO (Taekjoo will usually be the supporter and Zegna will like to be the lurker) or Dota 2 (they will compete for the carry position). Taekjoo has decided to buy a PS4.

-Zegna often plays on his laptop because it's convenient, and partly because Taekjoo often uses his PC. Zegna only plays when Taekjoo invites him.

–They don't play games often, but one time while on a mission, Taekjoo invited Zegna to join the game.

Chapter Text

"Hyungsuk, do you like to turn left or right?"

“No… I want to go home… damn it, don’t ask me!” Hyungsuk closed his eyes and cursed the world.

Ahead was not a fork or a road to choose from, it was a bend in a mountain pass.

Taekjoo adjusted the rearview mirror to see clearly behind, not far away was a Jeep following them silently, always keeping a certain distance from them, the bright headlights reflecting made him squint slightly to see clearly into the other person's windshield.

It had been following them for a while now, and showed no signs of stopping.

Kwon Taekjoo was a bit pensive and kept his silence as money.

“On the count of three, act.” He looked straight toward the corner as he spoke, his eyes showing no concern at all, his face like a calm lake.

"OK!"

It was obvious that Hyungsuk had also realized that someone was following him. Although he still had a lot to say, he swallowed it back into his chest. He bent down, moved his hands down to his sides, and turned around gently, leaning against the door frame and leaning his shoulder against the chair.

"1-"

"2-"

"3-"

The car window rolled down and the wind blew into the car like a whistle, Hyungsuk immediately pulled out the gun and held it with both hands, he fired continuously towards the Jeep, regardless of the wind and the inconvenient aiming position, the bullets still followed the owner's wishes, the fire flashed, the deafening sound of gunfire rang out along with the strong smell of gunpowder. The bullets hit the headlights once, the tires twice, causing it to lose control and wobble. The other side reacted very quickly when they saw the Walther sticking out, they tried to slow down to avoid it but failed.

The Jeep driver seemed to be a talented person, he controlled the car very well when he controlled it so that it did not deviate from the pass, immediately braked the car, the car moved forward by inertia and stopped, the smell of burnt rubber and black marks appeared on the asphalt, the SUV was almost horizontal on the road.

However, their gunner was not very good, the bullets kept deviating from their trajectory, the bullets randomly hit the back of the SUV without much effect on maintaining speed, perhaps he was not used to using a pistol in a dark space at long range.

At that moment, the SUV that Taekjoo got from the army was close to the security fence, without hesitation, the car broke through the fence and left a loud noise and fire, leaving the Jeep behind and rushing down to the road below.

The car shook violently, Hyungsuk felt like his butt was floating in the air and then slamming into the seat, the space around him collapsed and then rose again. Everything was stagnant and upside down for a few seconds but Kwon Taekjoo quickly regained his composure and continued to charge forward despite the front of the car being crushed like scrap metal and some smoke rising.

"I underestimated your recklessness, highway killer?"

Hyungsuk sighed and rubbed his waist, this scary senior, did he act like his wife was about to give birth on every mission, or was he trying to make this spy job as Hollywood-like as possible? This military SUV was of good quality but nothing could guarantee a 100% safe landing.

"And I've had my eyes opened to your marksmanship, oh, really."

After making sure he had lost the others, he left his speed at medium speed. Taekjoo only glanced at his frightened juniors before looking straight at the road ahead.

Hyungsuk is the highest rated in the current batch and in the shooting tests. His aiming and target control are uncanny, even his movements are extremely precise and flexible in any difficult situation.

If it was him, he could easily shoot at the car, but the chances of accurately hitting the tires of the car that was swaying in the dark were not very high. Since they were from the Ukrainian government, they did not dare to cause too much trouble, so it was most reasonable for a skilled shooter like Hyungsuk to avoid hitting the windshield.

"Thank you anyway, it's because of your contributions here that I was able to speed up the progress by a week." He suddenly smiled and tapped the steering wheel, making it make a pleasant rattling sound, showing that he was in a very good mood.

Hyungsuk was not happy at all and shook his head, he would rather work another month than live a miserable life like this. He himself saw that he did not have the personality suitable for an agent due to his lack of decisiveness, but being cautious in everything was also an advantage.

The two of them fell into silence, even Hyungsuk refused to talk or comment.

As they continued walking, dawn finally broke, and the early morning scenery of the land of golden stars appeared like a splendid treasure. The golden light shone through the gaps between the leaves, allowing the naked eye to see the veins behind them, and the condensation also shone like night-bright pearls. All of these made Kwon Taekjoo think of Zegna's golden hair. It was an unexpected association.

Zegna's bright blonde or platinum blonde is due to a lack of melanin in the hair. There is no shortage of blondes in the Caucasian community, but this kind of pure blonde like a fishing line is usually concentrated in Northern Europe, but even in the Northern European group, platinum blonde is rare, let alone someone born in Eastern Europe like that kid, it can be called a natural oddity.

Taekjoo wasn't sure if it could compare to the night pearl, but to his eyes, it was clear that the hair stood out more, because it belonged to Yevgeny.

Hyungsuk couldn't help but be curious when he saw the smile that suddenly appeared on his senior's face, but he didn't say anything. Whether he was overwhelmed by the natural beauty or missed his lover, he didn't want to know.

The two continued on the road and headed to Kiev, they had to change cars once more to avoid being attracted, from here to the capital was not very far if calculated by road and main roads, but if taking unofficial routes it could take almost a day due to the terrain and longer distance.

Chapter Text

In a small room of a motel in the heart of the capital of Ukraine.

After leaving Kharkiv, the two said goodbye to each other in Kiev. Hyungsuk returned to his country while he continued to stay here.

And he didn't kick him in the head in the end? Hyungsuk is easygoing but can be a bit too much sometimes.

After finishing dinner and showering, Kwon Taekjoo put on a white bathrobe and looked at the wedding invitation with a kraft paper cover with dried flowers. He hesitantly opened the invitation in his hand, constantly flipping it from left to right, his eyes filled with a rare conflict.

A college friend of his, Yuna Hyun, gave it to him during the second class reunion, he missed her wedding ceremony in Korea so Yuna was extremely regretful, she complained to him quite a lot. It wasn't because she couldn't meet him, it was because she couldn't meet Zegna, did Yuna Hyun really think that Kwon Taekjoo would bring that kid over and introduce 'This is my boyfriend'?.

Coincidentally, Yuna found out that he had to go on a business trip to Eastern Europe, so she was extremely generous and sponsored his plane ticket to America so that he could attend her and her husband's wedding in the land of the stars and stripes. She had practically bombarded him with calls despite the high cost of international calls, and Yuna had not hesitated to book a first-class ticket for him, but a spy like Kwon Taekjoo would not dare openly ask someone to book a plane ticket for him.

Kwon Taekjoo was extremely shocked and refused repeatedly, but sadly Yuna Huyn was stubborn and responded frankly:

'I'm really looking forward to your girlfriend, and my husband is looking forward to the person who rejected me 11 times. If you don't come, you'll be letting us down.'

He felt a headache coming on, maybe Yuna could gossip about that ridiculous 'Zegna girlfriend' but why would Yuna's fiancé have to wait for him, he had no reason to do so, just out of curiosity, Kwon Taekjoo didn't think the West would be open in this way.

Even the wedding invitation said "Welcome" in neat handwriting, making Kwon Taekjoo feel like a storm was constantly sweeping over his head. Really, the fact that he had a 'lover' wasn't so special that everyone had to fight for a place to look.

Taekjoo finally agreed with his friend but refused the 'welfare sponsorship' package, and paid for himself, but the thing he was most worried about was whether he should bring Zegna along? He had promised to go home with him but couldn't let him go to a friend's wedding.

Zegna is not a cat that you can show off when it's pretty and leave at home when it's naughty.

'No, I bet that brat will come to America and ruin someone else's wedding if things don't go his way.'

He had eliminated the choice that he thought was stupid, deep down he knew what he should do and decided to do it decisively,

Kwon Taekjoo rubbed his forehead repeatedly, but then he sighed as if he had given up on his fate, took out his phone and dialed. The waiting time was over, the other end of the line picked up and spoke:

[Taekjoo.]

Taekjoo heard a quiet voice on the other side calling his name, a strange and familiar feeling welled up in his heart, it had been more than two months since he had known what Korea smelled like.

[Yeah.] He replied.

[Shouldn't you go home early after you finish work? Today is Sunday.]

Zegna silently questioned, at times like this he was strangely gentle, perhaps because he was a bit more reserved, this feeling was really stinging?

It was easy to guess that he had just finished bathing, this was his relaxing time, usually the two of them would exercise together, but probably because he was not in the mood, he only bathed, it seemed like there was even the sound of water dripping through the phone line.

[Um, but I'm afraid something came up so I can't come back, Zegna.]

[...huh?] ....?...?!

The space fell into silence, it seemed like he could still hear the sound of his heart and blood vessels beating without having to put his hand on his chest or wrist, however, Taekjoo couldn't hear any sound from the other side.

[Zegna?] A bad premonition suddenly came rushing in like a rising tide.

[Hey, wait, Zegna!]

[...]

Taekjoo felt his head pounding, this hasty guy, he should have spoken faster, otherwise Zegna wouldn't have hung up so quickly.

Not really, he actually wanted to tease the kid, but this went beyond his judgment because Zegna hung up too quickly.

Kwon Taekjoo gritted his teeth and called back, but it wasn't until the third time that Zegna picked up again..

[This guy, you have to listen to me until the end, don't be so hasty.] Kwon Taekjoo grumbled and listened to the noise on the other side.

[You always make me and that little woman wait , you bastard, isn't the mission that thing gave you completed, quickly leave that place and go home, are you always happy if I come to pick you up?]

[Come pick me up yourself? What are you thinking, going to a place where you could be attacked at any moment? Stay home and wait for me to come back.]

Taekjoo fell silent and spoke at a rapid pace before Zegna hung up.

The kid's voice was strangely emotionless, even though he was blaming him, it didn't give off the feeling of someone being angry but more like a smoldering storm, anxiety gradually welled up in his chest making Taekjoo feel depressed, even though thinking about it over and over again, it wasn't the National Love Institute's fault, maybe there was a part of their fault but it was mainly his.

Even so, Kwon Taekjoo still put his hand on his forehead and wondered, 'am I that bad', anyone could call him a bad person for being too busy with work and neglecting his family but not him, he was Psych Bogdanov, the one who called his sister 'this, that', he wondered what kind of trashy life he had lived to be criticized by that monster.

But thinking back, he always made his mother worry, even deceived her to participate in dangerous missions that she hated, he was also often forced to delay and cancel appointments with Zegna because of his mission. Kwon Taekjoo also felt bad but he did not regret participating in his own work, but now that was not important.

[Yevgeny, don't follow my mission, my mission is very politically sensitive for Russia and you right now, the conflict between both sides is very tense, don't interfere in this mission, okay?]

Kwon Taekjoo gritted his teeth and asked a rhetorical question. Zegna was appearing more and more around his area of ​​responsibility, but this wasn't a good thing. Even though he knew it wouldn't take any of this seriously, he couldn't be so relaxed.

Taekjoo was not capable enough to shield Zegna from a war, nor did he have enough faith in Zegna's abilities. No matter how strong an individual was, he could not go against an entire country, especially when even the Russian side did not like this kid.

Taekjoo tried his best to hide his missions but Zegna would get what he wanted, where did he hide the wiretap or some kind of hacking software, even if he turned everything upside down he still couldn't find anything.

As a professional agent, all the anti-hacking and anti-eavesdropping technology was the best, even his electronic devices were constantly rotating IP addresses, yet nothing changed, his trace erasing skills were like decorations, beautiful to look at but useless in reality.

[I'm at the airport now, see you later, stay there.]

[Don't come, do you know what this is—?-hey, I just—!!]

At that moment, the long ringing sound made Taekjoo's insides turn upside down. Zegna left a short sentence and hung up. No matter how many times he called, there was only a signal that the call was unsuccessful. He was so angry that he turned off the phone. He could only stare blankly at the phone. Was this the time to run away? Would it be able to calm down on its own?

This is his fault and there's no escaping it, look at it from another perspective, that's what Kwon Taekjoo thought.

Chapter Text

When US intelligence reported illegal transactions between Vietnam and North Korea on nuclear technology, he had to go there and confirm as requested because the person in charge of the Southeast Asia region as well as Vietnam had been seriously injured before.

Vietnam has never violated any nuclear proliferation treaties, so this is a news that is quite doubtful in its authenticity, but in the end, because of the special relationship with Russia, no one wants to be subjective and miss anything.

Because he was so focused on counterintelligence, he had struggled to sneak into the annual meeting to approach the Director of the Institute for Nuclear Research, but that bastard had brazenly appeared in his official capacity as the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister.

He asked about the nuclear deal between Vietnam and North Korea in front of the leaders and they actually answered, the leadership frankly denied and replied that Vietnam still advocates denying the ability to manufacture and prevent the spread of nuclear bombs.

Even though he was still listening to their conversation, his heart was in turmoil, he asked himself 'why' many times in his mind, Kwon Taekjoo knew that the diplomatic relationship between Russia and Vietnam was quite good but he didn't think it was this good. Regardless of right or wrong, the fact that they answered seriously instead of questioning back was already something worth pondering.

Then he put his arm around him and hugged him like he was very close to him, causing many people to question their relationship. Luckily, he didn't say 'lover' again, otherwise he would have felt so awkward.

Even though Zegna had really sent him all the information, it still couldn't stop Taekjoo's breakdown when all his efforts suddenly turned into a clown. He tried his best to complete his mission well but he really couldn't stop Zegna from causing havoc everywhere, and that information wasn't free.

At that time, the stomach medicine he bought in advance took effect immediately. He didn't know whether to be thankful for his own carefulness or frustrated with that well-connected kid.

Looking at the dark phone screen, even though he tried to control himself, Taekjoo still couldn't help but sigh heavily and curse at the same time.

Kwon Taekjoo just pulled a prank on Zegna that wasn't funny at all.

'It's nice to have a pair of crocodile shoes, and that crocodile is flying towards me.' Now he'll probably come here no matter what I say, so I might as well just ignore him and do my own thing.

Putting everything aside, Kwon Taekjoo began to prepare a report, a report after the assigned mission. After Ukraine announced that it wanted to join NATO, Russia was worried about the imbalance in the security power balance. Because Ukraine has an important geopolitical position to act as a shield against NATO's influence from the west to Russia.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, having a common enemy in the US, it is no surprise that Russia and North Korea decided to cooperate. There was intelligence suspicion that North Korea had provided weapons to Russia in exchange for supplies, so an outsider like South Korea had to step in to avoid the fire before it got to them.

'...North Korean ballistic missiles were found near the border of Ukraine, some documents have proven that Russia is trading and ordering weapons from North Korea, the Russian Foreign Minister directly met with the Supreme Leader of North Korea.''

Preventing Russia and North Korea from being on the same side is impossible, but South Korea aims to minimize conflict between the countries and stem the floodwaters flowing down to East Asia.

'...North Korea has transported a lot of military equipment to the Belgorod region, raising the city to the yellow terror threat level, even tending to increase to red and always in a state of being able to launch a war...'

The war will spread to Asia if Russia still decides to drag North Korea, China and Vietnam into the war. At least China should remain neutral to form a tripod, balancing the power of the three sides: the West, Russia, China. Although the Soviet Union has collapsed, the friendship between the four countries is still maintained at a certain level.

Taekjoo then sent some video files, audio files, and photos to the folder, and made an online report, even though he was supposed to write it at Headquarters. Because he had some business, he asked to submit it online and it was approved. Headquarters usually didn't like this, but perhaps seeing that he had to meet a lot of deadlines recently, they loosened up a bit. He thought the office workers would jump up and beat him up.

Kwon Taekjoo didn't understand why they suddenly became so gentle and easygoing, but at least this wasn't a bad thing.

And because of this mission, Kwon Taekjoo had to travel from North Korea to Russia and then to Ukraine - where, due to a severe shortage of personnel, to collect evidence, from scattered conversations to stray bullet fragments, no one was spared. There were probably up to ten reports, and the censorship and analysis team must have cried while sitting there.

Suddenly Taekjoo frowned as if he was thinking about something terrible. Every time he thought about the SSSA (State Security Agency) of North Korea, he felt sick. Those stubborn people seemed to have no fear of death. Not only did they treat other people's lives as trash, they also despised their own lives.

Immediately after that, a message came from the headquarters. It turned out to be from Department Head Kwak. This fox always looked for his free time to spy on him. Whether it was Department Head Lim or Department Head Kwak, they were both professionals at exploiting the labor of their employees.

[Chief Kwak]: Good, your performance is still fast.

[Chief Kwak]: It's rare to see you asking for an online report, but you still have to report orally when you get back.

[Chief Kwak]: I'm not being picky, you know, without the technical staff, the analysts and consultants won't like it.

He lazily replied and turned off his phone, preparing to cover himself with the blanket and go to sleep. At first, he had planned to take a walk to digest his food, but thinking about Kiev having just suffered from Russia launching Kinzhal ballistic missiles*, he immediately gave up that idea and had to take advantage of the temporary truce to rest. Even the capital of Ukraine was not as safe as many people thought.

But he still couldn't rest assured that Zegna would go to Ukraine, because in essence, it was a stupid thing to do.

Taekjoo does light exercise in the room, doing push-ups, planks, and squats to relieve stress. There is a study that says exercising before bed will make the brain stay awake and reduce the quality of sleep. Kwon Taekjoo doesn't think that's a wrong study, but he has formed this habit for a long time and doesn't want to lose it.

Anyway, this is a very light exercise, I once had a nearly 100-pound dumbbell sit on me while trying to break my plank record and I was flat on my back like a fish out of water, thinking back on it makes me angry.

Whenever Zegna is mentioned, a flood of memories, both good and bad, come flooding back. Has this kid gone too deep into his life, or is it the other way around?

Chapter Text

The night was dense and suffocating. As a covert operative, Kwon Taekjoo rarely fell into deep sleep; the moment a shadow crossed his vision, he was fully alert without hesitation. In the darkness, there was a figure even darker than the night itself not so much lurking as brazenly flaunting its presence before him.

Taekjoo opened his eyes quietly, without a sound. His blurred sight sharpened quickly, fixing on the tall silhouette blocking his view. That distinct, unmistakable scent seeped into the room within moments, filling it completely. That presence always overwhelmed everything else.

“The rising star of the NIS, huh? Do intelligence officers really sleep so soundly that someone can stand over their bed unnoticed? You ought to value your life a bit more.”

Zegna’s voice was mocking as his hand brushed Taekjoo’s waist. Fingers skimmed along his ribs, pressing downward. That voice felt strangely unreal perhaps because it had been some time since he last heard it directly, still grating as ever.

“Then why don’t you do it, you damned brat? Why the hell should I value myself in front of you?”

His eyes flicked toward the door. It was just as he’d left it. Damn it. Not only had this bastard picked the lock, he’d replaced it with a new one. For a man his size, Zegna’s infiltration skills were extraordinary. If he wanted, he could walk into the NIS and they’d take him in without hesitation, if it weren’t for his noble lineage and the endless political entanglements tied to it.

Taekjoo was long accustomed to Zegna appearing like a phantom. He felt neither startled nor fearful. If something this trivial had been enough to frighten him, he’d have died of a stroke long ago.

Zegna chuckled, amused whether at the first half of his words or the second, Taekjoo couldn’t tell.

“No. Why would I ever join the NIS? My standards aren’t that low.”

“What do you think people would say, seeing a Russian aristocrat wandering freely through Kyiv? It wouldn’t be strange if they leveled this place with anti-tank weapons.” Taekjoo propped his chin on his hand, voice dripping with contempt. Yet he still wondered why Zegna so often belittled the NIS. Was it political hostility?

Not that it mattered. Taekjoo knew too well Zegna could never be caught, no matter what anyone tried.

“Whatever. Russia doesn’t shy away from armed confrontation. It’s only a matter of political will.” Zegna’s shrug was careless.

The bastard.

Taekjoo thought it plainly. Zegna wasn’t belittling Ukraine in particular, he despised any state that dared to initiate war with Russia. It wasn’t blind faith; it was sheer arrogance. That arrogance the belief in Russia as the “center” and others as mere “periphery”, was precisely what provoked unease across the international community toward certain strains of Russian nationalism.

In reality, the destruction of Kyiv wasn’t impossible for a nuclear-armed state like the Russian Federation. Yet even Moscow couldn’t withstand the collective wrath of Kyiv’s allies. NATO, despite its internal divisions, would set aside disputes and enforce coordinated sanctions. Which was why Zegna’s words amounted to reckless provocation dangerous nonsense better ignored. Luckily, it was his elder brother in talks with the Kremlin, not him.

Just as Taekjoo was about to respond, the heavy shadow leaned down, covering him completely. The two-meter-tall frame crashed onto the bed, pressing his body down until his chest was pinned against the sheets. Zegna’s legs locked around him, his solid weight crushing him into the mattress. Muscles tensed, clinging to the Korean spy’s frame.

“You’re heavy, Zegna. You should be mindful of your own weight.” Taekjoo frowned, tried to shove him off, then gave up. The man was heavier and stronger and it wasn’t as if Taekjoo truly wanted to push him away. His inner reluctance betrayed his outward words.

Zegna rolled him over, pressing his chin into the crook of Taekjoo’s neck. Taekjoo felt the solid jaw against his shoulder, the high nose brushing his cheek, the damp warmth of breath seeping into his skin. That suffocating scent overwhelmed him like a tide, ivory hair brushing along his jaw. Within moments, he felt short of breath, as if the scent itself had liquefied, drowning his airways and choking off oxygen.

It wasn’t a face-to-face embrace, but an act of domination from behind. Heat radiated into his back, and Taekjoo exhaled silently, his face pressed into the sheets. The brat was angry again. His fault, admittedly. Perhaps he was overthinking it, but Zegna’s temperament sometimes felt oddly feminine though, in a way, that only made him endearing.

“Are my words really that cheap to you?” Zegna’s voice was calm, as frigid as polar ice, despite the oppressive heat radiating between their bodies. The contrast was chilling.

He shifted moods like the wind hatting casually one moment, then cold as a glacier the next.

“Not cheap. They’re costly worth a life.” Taekjoo understood the message but twisted the words anyway, his tone playful without sarcasm.

Zegna tilted his head back, blue eyes like a frozen sea drilling into the nape of Taekjoo’s neck. His pupils seemed to blur and vanish, a strange detail that sent shivers across Taekjoo’s skin.

“Why aren’t you home yet? Is your work done? Or did they pile more missions on you? You know this isn’t good. Stop joking around.”

His voice dropped low, unexpectedly deep, chilling the room like a sudden cold front. The atmosphere reminded Taekjoo of Ajinoki Island though even Ajinoki wasn’t this cold.

He finally understood why people liked teasing adolescents, their reactions were so endearing. Though Zegna was already thirty, his temper could be just as transparent.

Well, perhaps Taekjoo should be grateful Zegna hadn’t yet burned the NIS headquarters to ashes. Otherwise, the real victims wouldn’t be him, but them. The brat wasn’t just irritated, he could be truly destructive.

Zegna still remembered vividly the time they’d quarreled bitterly. Work frustrations had made Taekjoo withdrawn, and he’d even broken a promise to Zegna. Neither of them would back down, and the tension had been unbearable. No wonder Zegna still dragged up that memory to torment him.

If Taekjoo didn’t give him a reasonable explanation or at least some sign of cooperation Zegna might soon lose all patience.

Zegna could be playful, even mocking, but not tonight. A heavy dissatisfaction radiated from his still body.

While Taekjoo pondered, Zegna suddenly lifted his shirt, pressing firmly against his chest. The pressure peake back and chest pinned tight. His fingers toyed with Taekjoo’s nipple, nails digging in, eyes never leaving him. And as if to warn him, Zegna’s teeth hovered dangerously close to his carotid artery, damp breath prickling his skin. Taekjoo tilted his head away instinctively.

Grimacing, he patted Zegna’s solid back, swallowing the pain.

“And if I can’t say? It could be a classified mission. Haven’t you heard the NIS motto? ‘For freedom and truth.’”

Even in a relationship, Taekjoo’s stubbornness remained. If it was top secret, not even Zegna’s relentless pressure would force a word from him.

Zegna paused briefly then slid his hand lower, beneath his shirt and boxer shorts, seizing his cock without hesitation. His rough grip made Taekjoo wince and hiss when the pressure bit into him mercilessly.

Taekjoo scowled, striking the back of Zegna’s neck with force, then twisting to break free. But Zegna’s grip was iron. His hand stroked deliberately, base to tip, even prying at the sensitive head, pressing unflinchingly into the urethra.

Taekjoo writhed under the strange torment. After failing to free himself, he landed a punch to Zegna’s stomach only to have his arm caught and wrenched behind his back, face pressed against the sheets. Zegna’s left hand continued its merciless strokes, friction burning until Taekjoo trembled from the pressure.

“I don’t care about those trash slogans. Be honest with me while we can still talk.”

Zegna’s voice was steady against his nape, breath searing his skin. His crystal clear eyes flicked backward, gauging Taekjoo’s arousal. Taekjoo strained, feet pressing into the sheets to sit up, but Zegna pinned him down harder. Pain lanced through his ankle as though it might snap.

Taekjoo understood why. Zegna had waited months for his return, only to have his plans ruined. Of course he was furious. In this situation, he ought to apologize and explain but the longer he stayed with Zegna, the more he found himself teasing him instead.

Still, he knew if he wanted to survive tomorrow as a normal man, he had to speak. Realizing how much ground he’d lost, he no longer had the luxury of provoking him. Sex with Zegna was only enjoyable when both were in good spirits. Taekjoo sighed and said:

“Fine. If that’s what you want to hear then let go first.”

He seized Zegna’s hand, stopping its torment. If this continued, it would only get harder to endure. He turned to face him speaking through clenched teeth while still being relentlessly stroked.

“An old classmate invited me to a wedding in the U.S. and invited you too. More precisely, they invited my supposed girlfriend. So I thought… you should be there. I was planning to return to Seoul first, but since you’re already here, there’s no need for delays.”

“I’m sorry for making you wait. I didn’t expect it to drag on this long. I’ve got some leave now so let’s treat the trip to America as a holiday, alright?”

Kwon Taekjoo bowed his head slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. His face grew darker as he spoke words like these didn’t suit his usual character. But in front of his lover, teasing or not, he didn’t want to hurt him.

Zegna froze, suddenly ceasing his harassment. Tilting his head, he blinked at Taekjoo in astonishment. That expression, so clean, so rare, was like a child hearing about an upcoming school trip. Innocent. Pure.