Frustration boiled over. He grabbed a pillow and hurled it across the room with enough force that it hit the wall and flopped to the floor with a pathetic little plop. It wasn't satisfying enough. Nothing was.
He let out a deep exhale, shaking his head as he leaned forward, rubbing his temples. He needed to calm down before he gave himself an aneurysm.
Opening his laptop, he flipped it on with more force than necessary, the bright screen illuminating his still-scowling face.
But then, something nagged at him.
His eyes darted around the room.
"Wait a damn minute… Where the hell is Hyun-ji?"
The younger man had been there before, hadn't he? Eun-jae distinctly remembered his presence. But now? Silence. Emptiness.
His stomach twisted uncomfortably. His gut instincts had never failed him before.
"Maybe he just went to the bathroom or something. No big deal. I'll wait."
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Then thirty.
Eun-jae clicked his tongue in growing annoyance, tapping his fingers against his knee.
"Okay, what is he doing in there? Shitting out his entire soul? Is he composing a goddamn novel while on the toilet?!"
His irritation turned into full-fledged suspicion. Hyun-ji wasn't the type to just vanish without a word.
"That's it. I'm checking."
His movements were swift, efficient. Jacket on. Gun retrieved. Safety off.
He didn't like carrying his gun around unless absolutely necessary, but something about this situation made his instincts scream at him. He wasn't going to ignore that feeling—not when it had kept him alive this long.
Stepping out into the corridor, he moved with practiced ease, his sharp gaze scanning every inch of his surroundings.
"Not here," he muttered under his breath, moving past a few empty compartments.
The further he walked, the louder the train's restaurant car became. As soon as he stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted—chatter, the clinking of glasses, the low murmur of passengers too wrapped up in their meals and conversations to notice anything else.
The smell of food lingered in the air, but Eun-jae barely noticed it. His focus was razor-sharp.
"So damn noisy. How the hell am I supposed to find him in this mess? And, more importantly, where the fuck is Caesar?"
Eun-jae's jaw tightened. Of course, when he actually needed that bastard, he was nowhere to be found. Typical.
"Useless blond menace."
His gaze swept across the room, but there was no sign of Hyun-ji. His frown deepened.
Then, his eyes landed on something else—a restroom door at the far end of the train car.
Suspicion gnawed at his gut.
"Could he be in there? Maybe he passed out or—"
A presence.
Behind him.
His instincts screamed danger.
Eun-jae reacted in an instant, twisting his body just as something sharp sliced through the air, barely missing his throat.
"Shit—!"
His heart slammed against his ribs as he stumbled back, hand flying to his gun. His vision locked onto his attacker, and for a split second, his breath hitched.
"Wait… Hyun-ji?"
What the hell was going on?
Eun-jae's mind scrambled for answers, but he didn't get the chance to react further before—
THWACK.
A sudden, brutal pain exploded at the back of his skull. His vision blurred, his body swaying as the world spun violently around him.
"Motherf—fuck! Why is it always my goddamn head?!"
His knees buckled. His fingers twitched. He tried to hold onto consciousness, tried to move, but his body wasn't cooperating. His senses were fading fast, drowning in the overwhelming dizziness.
Through the haze, through the suffocating darkness creeping in, he caught a glimpse of something.
No—someone.
A figure standing just beyond his reach.
Blond hair.
Tall. Unmistakably familiar.
His vision swam, but he forced his lips to move, his voice barely a whisper.
"Wait… Caesar?"
His mind screamed at him to stay awake, to fight it off, to not succumb to the darkness.
But it was useless.
That was the last thing he saw before everything faded to black.
Thick, suffocating, and endless. It swallowed everything whole, pressing down on his chest like an iron weight. His body felt trapped—no, pinned—like he was sinking into something heavy and inescapable. His breath came in short, ragged gasps, his throat raw from screaming, his arms burning from struggling.
"No—NO! STOP!"
His younger self's voice cracked as he thrashed beneath the suffocating force. His fingers clawed desperately, gripping at anything—fabric, skin, air—but it was useless. The pressure wouldn't let up. It only pressed harder.
"I HATE IT! PLEASE—PLEASE STOP!"
Tears burned down his cheeks, hot and shameful. His small hands pushed with all the strength he had, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough. The air smelled wrong, thick with something that made his stomach churn. The world around him blurred—faces melting into the shadows, voices warping into a sickening, muffled mess. His heartbeat pounded against his ribs like a wild animal trying to escape its cage.
"No... no... stop..."
His voice grew weaker, his body exhausted, his limbs trembling. The fear coiled deep inside him, wrapping around his chest like a vice. It felt endless. It felt like he was drowning. It felt—
A voice.
Deep. Familiar. Cutting through the suffocating void.
"Hey, Eun-jae—wake up."
His body jerked.
The world twisted, the darkness peeling away in shreds.
"Wake up, dammit."
Another hard shake.
And then—
"AAAAAAAHHHH—NO!!"
Eun-jae's scream ripped through the air, raw and primal, like a wounded animal in a trap. His body shot upright, hands gripping at nothing, chest heaving as if he'd just run a marathon. His skin was clammy, his breath uneven, and his vision was a blurry mess of colors and lights.
His surroundings snapped into focus all at once.
A car.
The dim glow of dashboard lights. The hum of the engine vibrating through the seats. Cold air from the AC prickling against his sweat-drenched skin.
And then—Caesar.
The blonde was gripping the steering wheel with one hand, rubbing his temple with the other, an expression torn between irritation and mild concern. His brows were furrowed, and for once, there was no smirk, no teasing glint in those sharp blue eyes.
"Owwww… my fucking head," Eun-jae groaned, pressing the heel of his palm against his forehead. His skull felt like it had been cracked open, the pounding headache making his vision swim. His whole body was still shaking, but he forced himself to ignore it.
"Jesus fucking Christ, Eun-jae—what the hell was that?" Caesar snapped, his voice sharper now. "You almost made me crash this damn car!"
Eun-jae barely registered his words. His mind was still stuck in that nightmare, the phantom sensation of hands pinning him down making his stomach twist. Sweat clung to his skin, his clothes sticking uncomfortably to his back. His throat was dry—aching, raw from the scream.
His fingers twitched against his lap. He hated this. He hated this.
With a sharp inhale, he turned away, forcing his expression into something blank, something cold. He wouldn't let Caesar see. He wouldn't let anyone see.
"I… I'm sorry," he muttered, barely recognizing his own voice. It sounded hoarse, small.
There was a heavy silence.
Caesar didn't respond right away, and Eun-jae could feel the weight of his stare, analyzing him, reading him in a way that made his skin crawl.
"Fucking bastard," Eun-jae thought bitterly, clenching his jaw. "What, you think I need your damn pity? Tch. As if."
"Get it together. You're not that weak little kid anymore. You don't cry. You don't break."
His body still trembled slightly. A pathetic reminder that no matter how much he willed himself to forget, his body never did.
And that pissed him off more than anything else.
weight of exhaustion sat heavy on his bones, but that wasn't what irked him the most. It was the unmistakable presence of Caesar's voice grating against his already frayed nerves.
"You looked like you were having a goddamn nightmare. Are you fine?" Caesar's voice cut through the tense silence, laced with an unusual edge of concern.
Eun-jae groaned, pressing his fingers against his temples before running them through his hair. "What happened?" he asked, deliberately sidestepping the question.
Caesar arched a brow, eyeing him like he was trying to gauge whether he was lying. "You really don't remember anything?"
"Nope. Nothing." Eun-jae let out a low groan, shifting his weight slightly as he sat up. His muscles ached, his mind felt foggy, and worst of all, he had a sinking feeling in his gut that something was horribly off.
"Well, then it's for the better. You might be embarrassed."
Eun-jae's eye twitched. "Quit beating around the bush and tell me what happened, Caesar." His patience was already hanging by a thread, and this insufferable man was playing coy with him.
Caesar hummed, clearly enjoying himself before he finally relented. "Well, I went back to our cabin, and guess what? You weren't there. Thought you might've been in the shower, but nope. You were gone. So, being the kind and caring soul that I am, I went looking for you. And lo and behold, I found you laid out on the bathroom floor like a tragic damsel in distress."
Eun-jae scoffed, rolling his eyes. "First of all, I am not a damsel. Second, I wasn't just 'laid out'—I was attacked." He rubbed at his sore neck, recalling flashes of what had happened before everything went black. "I went out looking for Hyun-ji because he wasn't in his room, but then someone jumped me. I don't know if it was Hyun-ji himself or someone working with him."
Caesar tilted his head, thoughtful. "Did you get a good look at their faces?"
"No," Eun-jae admitted begrudgingly. "Everything happened too fast."
"Well, that makes two of us." Caesar leaned back, stretching his arms behind his head. "I didn't get to see their face either. And honestly? What if they were armed? I had to put myself first."
Eun-jae inhaled sharply, forcing himself to unclench his fists before he did something regrettable—like rearrange Caesar's smug face. "This guy is of no help at all," he seethed internally. His jaw tightened, and his fingers twitched as he strained to resist the overwhelming urge to punch him square in the nose. "Useless. Absolutely useless."
"But did you at least confirm if they were men sent by the Karpov-Troitsky?" Eun-jae pressed.
Caesar waved a dismissive hand. "Nah, I think they were just thugs."
Eun-jae narrowed his eyes. "And what makes you say that?"
Caesar hesitated for a second before shrugging. "Well… they kinda… seemed like white supremacists."
Eun-jae blinked. "Huh?"
"I'm saying you got attacked by a racist," Caesar clarified, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"That is not possible," Eun-jae thought, a deep frown settling on his face. "I'm very sure it was someone working for Hyun-ji, or Hyun-ji himself. But if it wasn't any of them, then where did Hyun-ji disappear to?" His mind raced with a thousand questions, trying to piece together the puzzle. "The train made no stops last night or this morning. So where the hell did he vanish to?"
His thoughts took another sharp turn, and suddenly, he found himself side-eyeing Caesar. "And come to think of it… where was Caesar all this while?" His suspicion mounted, the paranoia gnawing at the back of his mind like a relentless itch. His gaze darkened as he studied the blonde beside him.
"Something isn't adding up here," he mused. "And I'm going to find out what."
The low hum of the engine filled the space between them, a steady rhythm that did little to ease the weight of suspicion lingering in the air. The city lights streaked past the windows in blurs of neon and gold, casting fleeting glows across Caesar's sharp jawline. He had one hand on the wheel, his fingers tapping idly against the leather, his expression unreadable. Not a single glance in Eun-jae's direction. Not even a flicker of acknowledgment.
The silence stretched, thick and heavy, before Caesar finally spoke, his voice smooth, languid, like he had all the time in the world.
"Oh?" he drawled, lips curving ever so slightly. "Are you suspecting me of something? Or is this just because I didn't come rushing in to save you like some fairytale knight?"
Eun-jae scoffed, arms crossed tight over his chest as he slumped back into his seat. "Tch. I went looking for you and Hyun-ji but you two were conveniently nowhere to be found." His tone was clipped, sharp, laced with irritation.
Caesar hummed, the corner of his mouth twitching up in amusement. "That's funny," he murmured, finally sparing Eun-jae a quick, fleeting glance before turning his attention back to the road. "Because you never actually showed up where I was."
Eun-jae's brows furrowed. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"
"The driver's compartment."
Silence.
For a moment, all Eun-jae could do was blink.
"…Huh?" His frown deepened as he straightened in his seat. "Why the hell would you go there? What, you suddenly had the urge to play train conductor in the middle of a mission?"
Caesar let out a quiet chuckle, low and knowing. "Unlike you," he started, drawing out the words, "who conveniently decided to take a little nap on the job—"
Eun-jae's jaw nearly unhinged. "Excuse me?! I did not fall asleep! I was just—"
"—completely unaware?" Caesar finished smoothly, his smirk widening as he cut him off with practiced ease. "Meanwhile, I was actually keeping an eye on Hyunji all night."
Eun-jae huffed, crossing his arms even tighter. "Okay, detective Caesar. And what, exactly, did you see?"
Caesar's smirk didn't waver. "He left his cabin."
Eun-jae rolled his eyes. "Wow. Earth-shattering observation. Maybe he had to piss."
Caesar gave him a look, unimpressed. "At a time when he would normally be reading? And when we hadn't even arrived at his supposed destination yet?"
Eun-jae opened his mouth, then promptly shut it.
Okay. That was actually weird.
Caesar continued, voice still casual, but there was a sharpness to it now, an edge. "It was suspicious. So, naturally, I did what any responsible agent would do and followed up. Went to his cabin, talked to the attendant in charge of that section."
Eun-jae tilted his head slightly. "And?"
"She answered immediately. No hesitation."
That made Eun-jae pause.
Train staff were usually trained to be discreet. If she answered that quickly, it meant something was off.
Caesar glanced at him, as if reading his thoughts. "Exactly. But what she said? Even more interesting."
Eun-jae narrowed his eyes. "Spit it out."
Caesar's fingers drummed lightly against the steering wheel. "She told me Hyunji had asked about changing his destination. Mid-route."
Eun-jae's breath hitched slightly.
"And since it's protocol," Caesar continued, "she told him the only person who could approve such a thing was the train driver."
Eun-jae's stomach twisted. His brain started working overtime, piecing things together.
"But…" he muttered, mostly to himself. "Hyunji should've had a ticket to Moscow from the beginning. Why the hell would he suddenly want to change destinations?"
It didn't make sense. Hyunji wasn't reckless. He was calculating. He planned everything meticulously, down to the second. If he was changing his destination now, it wasn't a whim. It was because something had changed.
Then, suddenly, realization slammed into him like a freight train.
His eyes widened. "No way."
Caesar smirked, his gaze flickering to him before returning to the road. "Oh, yes."
Eun-jae sucked in a sharp breath. "The train driver…"
"Was working for the Karpov-Troitsky."
Eun-jae swore under his breath, running a hand through his hair. "That bastard—"
Caesar chuckled. "He was planning an escape the entire time," he mused, like this was all some elaborate chess game and Hyunji was simply another piece on the board. "Realized we were onto him and tried to disappear before we could close in."
Eun-jae clenched his fists. "I knew something felt off. And here I was, thinking we had him cornered." He shook his head, lips pressing into a thin line. "Tch. He fooled us."