Fair Trade

“Lily White was the lover of Jimmy Servignon, an arms dealer. Even though that’s the past, she’s still closely linked to criminal organizations.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Of course, that doesn’t mean she betrayed you. She might have actually tried to help you. But I couldn’t trust her. Unlike you, she’s not in my line of interest. So I had someone follow her. And then there was a funny situation…”

As Yuri said vaguely, his eyes became fierce. Yuri was a suspicious and meticulous man. Thanks to him, she had been able to live without being on the list of dangerous criminals.

When she picked up her backpack after being forcibly robbed of her appetite, Yuri’s eyes darkened as he tilted his wine glass.

Sei searched her backpack and pulled out a pistol wrapped in thick cloth. She had only taken out one pistol, but the weight of the bag felt as light as a feather.

The surrounding was serene and the lights in New York were far away at this moment. There were no clocks inside the yacht. Besides, she didn’t know where her phone was. She let out a long sigh as she measured time using the wind and the sky.

“This was owned by Uncle Albert. My dad used to often hand over stolen goods instead of rent. It’s the most normal thing left by him, so I packed it… Actually, it was the most abnormal thing.”

With a dejected expression on her face, she put the pistol on the table without hesitation. Then he picked up the pistol. Sei put a fresh-looking salad into her mouth, controlling her nauseous stomach.

Yuri stared still at the sapphire attached to the buttstock, making a new expression of an unknown emotion.

“In this sapphire is the inscription of Petrov family’s crest. Don’t tell me, didn’t you see it?”

“I thought it was some sort of impurity. And… I’ve asked this before, but how am I supposed to know about such a pattern?”

“Ah, I see.”

He nodded his head coolly and disassembled the gun with a few gestures. The barrel and magazine got separated, and the bullets in the bullet chamber fell onto the table. Then the buttstock of the pistol, which she believed would never disintegrate, split in half, revealing a chip the size of two fingers.

“As expected, it’s right there.”

His voice sank to a low. Sei looked away from it, pretending not to be interested.  Maybe she should have done this from the beginning. It was right to hand over the thing to its original owner and throw away the lingering feelings.

But then, his actions forced her to hold onto her racing heart.

Yuri split the chip in half and put it in a wine glass. Then, he filled the glass with wine full.

At the unexpected disposition, Sei swept away her hair with a somewhat dazed face.

“What are you…? Didn’t you try to find it because you needed it?”

“This is a double-edged sword. It’s a sword that could be my boon or bane. It was a useful weapon in my hands, but the other way around it could work against me. When you vaguely trust someone and your judgment is clouded… Anyway, I had to eliminate any threat as soon as possible, so I’ve been looking for it.  Thank you for keeping it safe until now, Sei.”

Did she deserve to be thanked? The man before her sought the thing to eliminate all threats, not out of necessity. She could understand what he was saying, but her despondency remained unchanged.

“Then, while you are grateful, please help me.”

Until the cards in her hand were gone, she didn’t have many options to choose from. Sei thought what she had was a royal straight flash, but she feared if it was just a ordinary pair? If so, what she could only do was bluff. Since she had to keep bluffing, she had no choice but to kill her pride and lie down flat.

“Tell me, anything.”

“Please send my family to Korea.”

He tilted his head, fiddling with the disassembled gun. A vague question lingered in the man’s grayish-blue eyes.

“They still won’t be safe even if they go to Korea.”

“It’s not safe here either. There is one reason why I want them to go to Korea. If they go back to Korea, they can escape from the life of an illegal immigrant. I’m tired of living like a ghost without belonging anywhere. I know it’s a life we chose, but we had no option but to choose this. So… now you’re the only one who can help me.” She said it with resignation, but she was relieved for some reason.

“Giulio has tried to kill me and I’ve got an invitation from McKenzie or something. On top of that, the FBI wants to use me. I don’t have any more cards. You said you wanted to protect me. Protect me, properly.”

Lost in thought, Yuri got up from his seat and approached her. He put the assembled gun down on the table, took a sip from her untouched wine glass, and kissed her.

Sei leaned back and received his kiss.  The wine that trickled down into her mouth was lukewarm but sweet. Without concealing his smile, the man bit her little tongue and untied the knot of her gown, pulling it back behind her shoulder.

Red marks dotted over her milky skin. The cool breeze gave her bare skin goosebumps.

“I would never take my eyes off you.”

“This time do it out of my request.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. Seeing the serious man, Sei swallowed nervously.

“To request something like that… I like it. But I’ll decide how to protect you.

That way we’ll be fair.”