Kai sat silently at the edge of the pier with his legs hanging over the edge. In his hands he held the letter he read for thousands of times during the year that has passed together with a small blue flower that was completely dried up. It seemed as fragile as his wavering heart. As he stared into the distance and let the last remaining rays of the sun that was slowly setting illuminate his tired face, he recited the words in his head. 

 

   Hold on… Don’t forget me… I will come back… 

 

   “Lies,” he mumbled bitterly but couldn’t bring himself to crumble up that piece of paper like he wanted to so many times. 

 

   Today was one of those days when his sourness made him want to scream at the whole world. The loneliness he was left with made it impossible for him to try and keep living his life like he used to. He was robbed of his peaceful days together with the hope that there are better days coming his way. With that man half of his world left. He was left with half of everything.

   Half the joy, half the light, half the love, half the heart. 

 

   “I am not sure how much longer I can wait,” he whispered as if the ocean breeze could catch the words and carry them far away for that man to hear. Would he even listen? 

 

   Blinking away the tears that welled up in his eyes, Kai slowly stood up to leave. The sun had set and he was ready to head back to that house that he avoided so much. He dreaded the thought of coming back into that empty space that no longer felt like sweet home but rather as a cold shell he survived in. He realized that yet again something took away the warm feeling of the familiar sanctuary from him. It happened when he was forced to leave his family’s mansion and later had to come back but it no longer felt like the house he grew up in. Yet this time it was worse because he didn’t even have to leave for that feeling to disappear- someone else did. 

 

   Someone who only spend a short amount of time with him compared to the time they were apart. Yet he managed to steal almost everything from him, including his heart. The only reminder that he was once there was the gaping hole inside his chest that kept growing with each passing day. 

 

   His blurry vision made it impossible for Kai to continue in his steps and he was forced to halt. Cursing himself for being so pathetic he angrily wiped the tears from his face but froze once he heard someone’s approaching footsteps that echoed on the wooden surface of the pier. Not daring to look up he waited for the person to come close enough until he could see the tips of his shoes. To his surprise they were not the sandals his friend usually wore but expensive black oxford shoes. A person would rarely see a pair of these on the island. 

 

   With racing heart Kai let his hands fall to his sides and slowly inch by inch raised his eyes, scanning the body in front of him. It wasn’t just the shoes. The man’s whole outfit was quite unsuitable for the place. He was wearing a well fitting and probably expensive grey suit with a vest and a white shirt buttoned up all the way to his neck. Due to the hot weather the man was forced to take of the grey jacket that hung over his arm.

 

   “Grey.” 

 

   It was the last person Kai expected to see on this island. 

 

   “Young master,” the man with glasses nodded as a greeting with his usual stern expression written in his handsome face that didn’t bare any signs of aging by a single year. 

 

   “What are you doing here?” Kai blurted out, taking in the sight in front of him just in case he was hallucinating. 

 

   “It’s time to go home, young master,” Grey spoke with unreadable tone. He wasn’t as cold as Kai remembered him yet he didn’t seem too thrilled to be at such place. 

 

   “What happened?” 

 

   “I will explain further when we’re on our way.”

 

   Of course he wouldn’t let him have it the easy way. Kai almost rolled his eyes when he heard the answer. He quickly adjusted his composure, pushing his sadness aside to not let Grey see his pitiful state. 

 

   “We haven’t seen each other for four years and this is how you greet me?” he folded his arms as he still observed the looks of the man in front of him. His brother’s most trusted secretary and bodyguard was standing right there and he didn’t seem to change one bit since Kai last saw him. He actually had to remind himself that the man in front of him was actually in his late thirties. If it wasn’t for his ever present unapproachable expression written on his slim face making his features seem even sharper, Kai would be able to say they’re the same age. He would even easily pass as a student traveling the world if it wasn’t the outstanding classy outfit he wore despite the hot climate on the island.

 

   “I am afraid there’s no time to waste, young master,” Grey replied and gestured towards the other end of the pier that led back to the beach. “Shall we?” 

 

   “What if we discuss it over a drink?” Kai offered instead. 

 

   “Pardon me?” Grey was obviously caught off guard. During those years he must’ve forgotten how difficult it was to deal with this young man. 

 

   “Well… you just showed up out of nowhere after years. I think we have a lot to talk about,” Kai shrugged and put on his shoes that he was holding in his hand. He then neatly folded the letter he had in the other one and carefully placed it in one of his pockets, making sure the flower was safe. 

 

   “Young master, I really don’t think that’s-“

 

  “This way.” Kai passed right by him and headed in the direction where the beach bar was.

 

   Grey let out a deep sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He then adjusted the glasses back to their place and obediently followed the steps of his young master, having a feeling of deja vu. 

   “Kai?? What are you doing here? I thought it’s your day off— and who the hell is this??” Ava stood in shock when she spotted the tall handsome man in a suit following her friend. 

 

   “Don’t tell me you got into more trouble?” she rubbed her face, fearing that Kai got caught up in another incident. 

 

   “What does she mean by more trouble?” Grey frowned, ignoring the curious looks the woman kept sending his way. 

 

   “Ava, wanna have a drink with us? It’s on me,” Kai asked casually as he made his way towards the bar. “Ash is coming?”

 

   “Yes- I mean - Wait!” She quickly followed with confusion written all over her face. “What’s going on??”

 

   Kai sat on one of the bar stools and patted the one next to him, beckoning Grey to sit. He purposefully ignored the displeased expression he wore and turned to his friend.

 

   “Give me the usual and for my friend here the same,” he grinned as he tapped his fingers against the bar counter. “So when is Ash coming?” 

 

   “He should-“

 

   “Did someone call me?” A man appeared out of nowhere and hugged Kai around the shoulders from behind, causing Grey to almost jump up from his seat. 

 

   Grey shifted uncomfortably as he eyed the newcomer with detached look. 

 

   “Who’s this?” Ash whispered to Kai, not minding the fact that he wasn’t whispering at all. 

 

   “Now that we’re all here, I’d like to introduce you to someone,” Kai began to say, “So guys, meet Grey,” he gestured towards the man who looked like a rich business man and turned to him. “Grey, these are my friends,” he first nodded his head towards the woman with curly hair and freckles all over her bright face who was standing behind the bar, “Ava,” and then he turned to her older brother by his side, “and Ash.”

 

   “Nice to meet you, Grey,” Ava smiled politely and waved at him. 

 

   The man just nodded, seemingly feeling out of place. 

 

   “Is this who I think it is?” Ash furrowed his eyebrow as he slowly started to connect the dots. 

 

   Kai still hasn’t uncovered a large portion of his past to Ash, but he managed to open up about certain things here and there. One of the people he did talk about however, was his head bodyguard who was his main caretaker after his mother’s death. Kai has never mentioned the name, but by his looks and cold behavior he was able to find the answer himself. 

 

   “I’d love to say I heard a lot about you, but it’s quite the opposite,” Ash grinned and reached out his hand. “Still, it’s nice to meet you.”

 

   Grey’s cold eyes traveled from Ash’s smiling face to his hand and back up, without seeming like he was planning on accepting the friendly gesture. 

 

   “What a ray of sunshine,” Ash uttered under his breath and took a seat next to Kai who was observing their interaction. “So what’s the occasion?” 

 

   “Seems like Grey wants to take me home,” Kai replied nonchalantly and took a sip of the drink Ava handed him. 

 

   Grey just carefully sniffed his, looking for traces of alcohol and when the smell of vodka hit him he cleared his throat and put the drink down. 

 

   “Young master, you make it sound as if I wanted to kidnap you,” he noted. 

 

   “Young master??” Ash bursted out laughing, while Ava was left speechless. This was the kind of scene she would usually watch in drama and she never expected that she would hear this in real life. 

 

   “See? You’re embarrassing me in front of my friends,” Kai complained. 

 

   “Should I call you ‘Master Caelum’ instead?” Grey lifted one eyebrow, letting his sassy side show. 

 

   This time it was Ava who bursted out laughing. “Caelum? Who’s that?”

 

   “Me,”  Kai retorted, pointing daggers with his eyes at Grey. “That’s my name.”

 

   “Damn,” Ash grimaced. “You’re full of secrets, aren’t you?” 

 

   “You haven’t gotten used to it yet?” Kai raised his eyebrows. 

 

   “I don’t know what’s more weird to be honest. The fact that he calls you ‘young master’ or that Caelum is your real name,” Ash kept giggling, nudging his friend with his shoulder. 

 

   “Shut up,” Kai growled, seemingly annoyed with his friend’s behavior. 

 

   “But what do you mean by taking you home?” Ava tilted her head in confusion, after she came back from serving a customer who just sat down at a table nearby. 

 

   “Good question,” Kai agreed and suddenly all three pairs of eyes turned to Grey who just wished he could disappear. He knew that coming here wouldn’t be an easy task, especially when it came to persuading his young master that he needs to come back. But he still didn’t count on the fact that he would be dragged into a situation like this. 

 

   He cleared his throat and fixed the glasses on the bridge of his nose before speaking,”Young master, I don’t think this is the place where we should discuss it.”

 

   “Then where else?” Kai asked. 

 

   “Yes, where else?” The siblings joined in. 

 

   Yet another deep sigh escaped Grey’s lips and he finally reached for the drink he put aside before, taking a big gulp. That gesture surprised everyone, especially Kai who was sure that Grey and alcohol were sworn enemies. 

 

   “Your brother is missing.”

 

   “What??” Kai’s eyes widened in shock.

 

   The siblings just stared at the man who so suddenly mentioned Kai’s family and neither of them dared to speak another word. 

 

   “Right now it’s…” Grey took a look at his watch, “around seventy two hours since I last heard from him.”

 

   Kai took a moment to think. Initially he wanted to say that it’s normal for his brother to not come home for so long but he would never leave Grey in the dark. 

 

   “What’s worse, after twenty four hours since I last saw him, we received an intel that he was attacked at one of our warehouses. The whole group of bodyguards that were with him that day was found dead.” After finishing the last sentence, Grey took another big gulp of his drink. 

 

   Kai gave him a compassionate look, knowing very well what this meant for Grey. He took pride in training and taking care of the bodyguards of their family and he was quite close to all of them, despite his cold approach. This had to be extremely tough for him to bear. 

 

   “Why…”  Kai had to clear his throat before continuing, “why weren’t you with him?”

 

   “He specifically assigned me to a different task at that time. Something he could trust with only me and his head bodyguard. So we weren’t by his side when it happened,” Grey explained with guilt that was deeply set into his face. 

 

   “Kai, I think this is important. You need to go back and look for him,” Ava was the first to speak as she reached over the bar to hold her friend’s hand. 

 

   “Ava’s right. You should go,” Ash agreed, although the heavy feeling clutching his chest made him want to hold onto him and never let him go back to that world. But this was Kai’s older brother. Ash was very well aware of how much he meant to Kai, even though his friend rarely talked about him. 

 

   Kai wanted to object but as he opened his mouth, Ash placed his hand over it to silence him. 

 

   “You have waited here for long enough,” Ash said with pitiful eyes. He knew that Kai was still desperately waiting for that man to come back, but he was glad that there was finally an opportunity that could take him away from here. It also meant that Kai would leave them behind, but he was willing to endure that for his sake. 

 

   “Come here, buddy,” Ash pulled him into a tight embrace. “You’re going to be okay.”

 

   Both Ava and Grey watched the two in silence, not daring to break that precious moment. 

 

   “Hey, Grey,” Ash pointed towards the dark haired man with a fierce expression. “You look after him, you hear me?” 

 

   “Of course. That’s my job, after all,” Grey replied sternly. He didn’t like the way Ash spoke to him one bit. 

 

   “Well you let him run away once already. Don’t you dare to lose him for the second time,” Ash pointed out, not caring about how rude he sounded. 

 

    “It was actually more than once,” Kai admitted and immediately bit his lip when he saw Grey glaring at him.

 

   “You’re not helping, Kai,” Ash growled and slowly started to hesitate whether Kai would be in good hands. 

 

   “Don’t worry, I will be okay,” Kai tried to calm his friend down and patted his shoulder. “Right, Grey?” 

 

   Grey was once again a subject to three pairs of eyes who stared at him in anticipation. He’s gone through a brutal training and many difficult situations in his life, but this was a new level of discomfort. It was like dealing with three young masters at once.

 

   Instead of answering, he downed the rest of his drink and stood up. 

 

   “We should go, young master. There’s a car that will take us to the docks is waiting for us.”

 

   “He really came all prepared to take you away from here,” Ava noted as she watched Grey who put his jacket back on and neatly buttoned it up, dusting himself off. 

 

   “Tell me, Grey. What would you do if I were to refuse?” Kai asked curiously as he was finishing his drink.

 

   “Would you really kidnap him?” Ash joined in, doubting whether he should just go with them to make sure that Kai is safe. 

 

   The fact that Grey ignored them and took his leave wasn’t helping. 

 

   “I will let you say your goodbyes, young master,” he said over his shoulder and walked out of the beach bar. 

 

   “What a great guy,” Ash sneered, following the man out with his gaze. 

 

   “Shame. He’s really handsome,” Ava pouted with her head leaning on her hand. “Hey, Kai.”

 

   “Hm?” The man in question looked up from his drink and lit one last cigarette. 

 

   “Are all the bodyguards in your family this handsome?”

 

   “And are all of them this rude?” Ash added another question and gestured towards her sister, signaling that he wanted another drink. 

 

   “When the situation settles I will invite you guys  over,” Kai promised, exhaling a large cloud of smoke. 

 

   “Not sure if I wanna go into the mafia’s mansion, no offense,” Ava grimaced as she poured her brother another drink. She still couldn’t believe what kind of past Kai was hiding from them. When Ash started to fill her in, after Kai’s approval of course, it took her a while to comprehend the sudden news. But in the end she took the same approach as Ash did. No matter how dark Kai’s past was, she still saw him as her younger brother and was willing to accept it.

 

   “But if you need me, just call, okay?” Ash squeezed his friend’s shoulder. 

 

   “Of course I will.. But let’s hope I won’t need you as a doctor,” Kai chuckled, earning a light slap on the back of his head. 

 

   “Don’t you dare!”

 

   “Copy that,” Kai nodded, laughing at the warning look his friend gave him. 

   Without the three of them knowing, Grey stood there watching from afar with a hint of smile on his lips. Their laughter rang in his ears and he wished for the master to see what kind of life his young master had built for himself. It was breaking his heart to force him to leave it all behind under such grave conditions but he really didn’t have any other choice. He was desperate. 

   After Kai said his goodbyes, he made his way out of the beach bar where he found Gray standing by a black SUV car with no signs of being annoyed by the fact that he made him wait. 

 

   “Before I went to find you, I packed some of your belongings at your house, young master,” Grey stated, pointing at the black bag that laid on one of the seats. 

 

   “You went to my house??” Kai frowned, uncomfortable with the fact how easily Grey found the place he lived in and even went through his stuff.

 

   “I thought I would find you there, but when I saw you were not home I took the opportunity to pack your things in case we would have to leave right away. Which we do, thanks to your little farewell party,” Grey replied, not bearing any signs of remorse for breaching Kai’s privacy like that or how casually he spoke. 

 

   Kai slowly stepped closer to him, thinking about the way he should react but when he realized that Grey was just trying to take all the necessary measures to go back as soon as possible, he understood the boldness behind his rude behavior. He just wanted to go back and continue his search for Cassius, the sooner the better.

 

   “Let’s go home I guess,” Kai mumbled as he made peace with the fact that they were already playing by Grey’s rules.

 

   Grey nodded and stepped aside, opening  the door for him. 

 

   “We have a lot to discuss,” the young man stated as he got into the car and waited for Grey to get in as well. “Luckily the trip back to the capital will take a while so we have time to catch up,” he winked, attempting to keep his carefree facade up for as long as possible. 

 

   But his trusted bodyguard already caught the glimpse of the concern that flashed across his young master’s face. After all, he's known him for long enough to be able to see through the mask Kai put up and spot the anxiety set deep in his eyes.

 

   “Grey?” 

 

   “Yes, young master?” Grey turned to the young man after he gave the instructions to the driver. 

 

   “I never got to apologize for disappearing like that,” Kai mumbled, fidgeting with his fingers nervously. 

 

   “I never blamed you, young master. I quite understand the choices you made,” Grey replied with an understanding look and even attempted to smile, which was quite an unusual sight to see. He knew that his young master had suffered enough during his time in the family and he deserved to have a life of his own, even though he personally didn’t agree with the way he handled the situation. But that could be because the years that followed after Kai’s disappearance were almost unbearable. Especially since Cassius' moods changed drastically without any warning and working under him became even more difficult than the first time the brothers were separated. But Grey would never say this out loud, partially because he was too proud to admit how exhausting it was for him to do his job.

 

   “What about my brother? Did he think the same?” It was as if Kai knew exactly where Grey’s thoughts were headed.

 

   “You will have to ask master Cassius yourself,” Grey avoided speaking his mind and instead turned on his tablet where he started opening all the files with the information he had to share with Kai. In his mind he excused it as necessary to move on with their plan, instead of admitting he wanted to change the subject.

 

   “We will have to find him first,” Kai sighed and started to mentally prepare for everything that is yet to come as he listened to Grey explaining the beginning steps of something that would turn his whole world upside down.