Prélude.
In his previous life, Lloyd was an ordinary Korean guy named Yeo Kyubok. He was studying at the prestigious Seoul National University. He was also working part-time in his neighbor's pet store to pay up his rent.
His family on Earth wasn't rich, but the love and care he received from his parents were more important than anything else in his eyes.
On a cold day in January, while he was in the middle of a class, Kyubok received a phone call that would change his life forever.
His parents died while hiking in Iwangside Mountain.
This terrible landslide accident made the first page of the local news for a week ; four people perished under the falling rocks, while two have been gravely wounded.
Among those four unfortunate souls that left this world, two were of his parents.
When the police officer reported this news to him over the phone and expressed his condolences, Kyubok's entire body compulsively shivered.
He dropped the phone, his sight went blank, and he couldn't hear anything anymore.
Noticing that something was wrong, the student next to him called their professor in a hurry, but it was too late.
Kyubok lost consciousness.
He woke up half a day later inside a hospital room, both his body and mind depleted of all strength.
His entire world crumbled with just a phone call.
During his parents' funeral, Kyubok had a frightening face.
His visage was pale, his cheeks sunken and he had dark circles under his eyes. Since he awakened in the unfamiliar hospital room, he didn't sleep even a minute for an entire week.
The people who attended the funerals were worrying about him, but they were only distant friends and co-workers of his parents.
They didn't know their son well enough to be too private with him. They could only comfort him with formal expressions of condolences.
In Kyubok's current state, no words could heal the deep wound left in his heart.
A few months later, in the middle of summer, Kyubok dropped out of university.
While he used to be one of the best students in his promo, he has never been able to overcome the shock of losing his parents.
His grades drastically dropped ; Kyubok didn't even bother to attend classes anymore.
While the university's dean understood the pain of his student losing his parents so violently, he could not prevent him from dropping out.
It was Seoul National University after all. Although it was cruel, the dean couldn't make an exception for any student, no matter how serious were their circumstances.
Kyubok was suffering from severe depression.
He lost his appetite, couldn't sleep for more than an hour per day, and spent his time confined inside his now-empty house.
Overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, he was on the verge of ending his own life, but a single person, the only one who still cared about him, prevented him from doing so.
Kyubok would have left this bland world that had lost all taste and color after his parents' deaths if it hadn't been for Cheon In-Su, the old man who lived next door and who was also the pet store owner.
He visited Kyubok every day in the evening to eat dinner and keep him company.
Old man Cheon had known Kyubok since he was a kid and thought of him as his own grandson.
Witnessing this once bright and joyful child fall so low into despair was hurting him as much as when he learned about his parents' death.
The old man couldn't watch him sink more into depression with each passing day without doing everything he could to help him.
Determined to not let this youngster waste his life, old man Cheon asked Kyubok to come back to work in his store. He knew it wouldn't help heal his wound, but he hoped that working all day would at least keep Kyubok's mind occupied.
Thanks to the old man's efforts day after day, Kyubok has been able to slowly get his head above the murky water that was his sorrow.
While his condition was still worrying, he at least showed signs of improvement.
Slowly, Kyubok started to heal.
He recovered his lost appetite, he slept longer than just a few hours each day, and the grandpa next door would continue to visit him every evening to eat dinner with him.
When Christmas came close, as old man Cheon's health was deteriorating due to the cold, Kyubok decided to work full-time in the pet store to thank him for his care.
From January to December, it took him a whole year to move forward with his life.
While Kyubok was missing his parents every day, he knew that he couldn't continue to dwell on his past. He now wanted to repay his not blood-related grandpa's favor.
Unfortunately, as if fate was mocking him, he didn't have the opportunity to do so.
Six months after Christmas, the pet store owner died of old age. Kyubok knew the old man passed away peacefully during his sleep, yet it didn't lower the pain and sadness he felt once again.
It seemed like the wheels of fate were set upon Kyubok, but this time, he tried his best to endure the ordeal.
Kyubok heart's ached, but after remembering Cheon In-Su's cheerful face, he realized that the greatest way to honor the old man who took care of him like his own grandson was to live as blissfully as he had during his lifetime.
As far as Kyubok remembered, the old man has always been living alone. Since he couldn't find any of his family members, Kyubok decided to send a notice to all the people he recalled interacting with the old man.
During the private funerals, excluding himself only two people attended, and none was of his family.
The first was the elderly lady who ran the candy business on the same street, just in front of the old man's pet store.
She was bickering with him every morning for trivial reasons, yet now she had warm tears streaming down her cheeks. This showed how much she cared for him.
The second person, to Kyubok's surprise, was a regular customer.
He was the perfect cliché of a gentleman : a middle-aged western man who always wore a neat tuxedo and a homburg hat, no matter the day.
He seemed to be a wealthy foreigner, but Kyubok didn't know much about him.
Kyubok only saw him a few times entering the store, and every time he visited, the old man brought him to the rear store, where Kyubok was not allowed to enter.
As if the cruel wheels of fate were not satiated enough, rain began to pour just as the old man's coffin was being buried.
After the ceremony was done, the middle-aged man fixed the place where old man Cheon has been buried and said in a low voice, but with a strong accent.
"He was a great man."
Kyubok didn't know how to reply to such an unexpected remark from an unknown man, but deep down, he was relieved that at least one more person realized how wonderful his grandpa was.
"...Yes, he was." Kyubok muttered.
"He lived a solitary life, yet he has always been keen to help those in need. He helped me a lot during his youth." The middle-aged man said, with a sorrowful tone.
"..."
Kyubok didn't know that this foreigner knew the old man for so long.
When organizing the old man's funeral, Kyubok didn't find any related family no matter how hard he searched.
Usually, the elders who live alone still have children or grandchildren somewhere. If they haven't been married, they at least have siblings or cousins.
Yet, in the old man's case, Kyubok hasn't been able to find a single person related to him by blood, which greatly saddened him.
He now understood, with regrets, why the old man and his late parents were so close. He probably considered them as his own children, thus why he took care of Kyudok as if he was his grandson when his parents died.
"Please forgive my discourtesy, I haven't introduced myself." The gentleman removed and elegantly lowered his homburg hat.
He slightly bowed his head toward Kyudok, before saying.
"My name is Igor. I am a long-time friend of Sir Cheon."
"Sir ?..." The words used by the man startled Kyubok, but he just assumed that it was a mistake due to the language barrier.
The gentleman's Korean was near perfect, but his strong occidental accent proved that he was a foreigner.
"Are you perhaps... young master Yeo Kyubok ?" The gentleman asked with a smile.
Once again, the choice of words was weird, but Kyubok just thought it was another lexical mistake.
Korean was one of the hardest languages to learn, after all.
Kyubok didn't correct the man and just answered.
"Yes, I am... Did grandpa Cheon talked to you about me ?"
Kyubok seemed curious about it.
"Haha, oh yes he did, certainly." The man couldn't help but let a small laugh escape.
"Not only did he talk a lot about you, but he was happy to have such a kind grandson, although not blood-related. After your parents' death, you were his only family."
"..."
Kyubok's eyes watered.
"He may have never said it out loud because of his pride as a man, but I knew him well enough to notice how proud he was of you." The old man said with a gentle smile, while delicatly putting his hand on Kyubok's shoulder.
"I-... I will forever be in his debt..." Kyubok could no longer hold back his emotions.
Having someone to talk to about his grandpa helped him open up, but it also made all his inner sorrow resurface.
The gentleman kept a gentle smile and waited for Kyubok to wipe away his tears, before asking.
"I apologize if this is an inappropriate moment to question, but are you aware that Sir Cheon named you as his successor in his will ?"
Kyubok who regained control of his emotions was startled by the man's words.
"What do you mean successor ? I can't accept it, he has already done so much for me..."
"While I have been one of Sir Cheon's customers and friends for many years, I also happen to be his notary. He named you as his successor a year and a half ago."
"A year and a half..."
It coincides perfectly with Kyubok's parents' death.
At the realization that old man Cheon named him in his will just after his parents died, Kyubok couldn't help but feel emotional again.
"May I please offer you a drink ? We have a lot to talk about, and as much as I would like to wait for you to mourn your loss first, I am very short on time." The unknown man asked, with a respectful tone.
Kyubok hesitated at first, but after remembering that this man was a good friend of his grandpa and he was also his notary, he decided to accept his invitation.
In silence, he followed the gentleman out of the cemetery, contemplating what he would do now that he was alone.
When they left the cemetery's gates, a tall and bulky man dressed in old-school driver's garb stepped out of the luxurious limousine parked in front, a black umbrella in hand.
He had dark tanned skin, a rugged face, and round but piercing eyes, which was rare to see in Korea.
What surprised Kyubok the most was how muscular this man was. The bulging muscles of his huge frame seemed like they were about to burst out of his clothes.
He bowed to the gentleman and came closer to protect him from the rain with the umbrella, before saying something in a language Kyubok didn't understand.
It sounded like a European language, but Kyubok only knew a few words in English and this language sounded completely different.
Kyubok noticed a stunning blonde woman with a pale face in the back seat of the limousine. She was patiently waiting inside, looking at the falling raindrop through the window.
She was so beautiful that for a short moment, Kyubok completely forgot about his surrounding.
She had a natural charm that was akin to magic.
"I came as fast as I could when I heard that Sir Cheon passed away, but unfortunately, I can not linger here for too long." Seeing Kyubok hypnotized and lost in thought, the gentleman broke the silence to bring him back to earth.
"cough... ah, excuse me..." Kyubok was embarrassed.
The gentleman smiled at him, then added.
"Sir Yeo, please join me at this address tomorrow at the earliest hour." The gentleman wrote something on a small piece of paper and gave it to Kyubok.
"I originally planned to share a drink with you tonight, but unfortunately, my driver informed me of a last-minute impediment." The man had an apologetic look.
"I understand, it's fine don't worry." Kyubok lightly smiled back at the man, before looking at the paper in his hands.
The address written was a famous restaurant that wasn't too far from his home. He could be there in only ten minutes of walking.
"Perfect. On that note, I wish you a pleasant evening, and once again, all my condolences." The gentleman once again removed his hat and bowed his head, before entering the limousine.
"Thank you."
Kyubok stood there watching the limousine leave, before digging in his pockets to find his pack of cigarettes.
He lit the last cigarette in the pack and began to slowly stroll toward his house.
The rain was still falling fiercely, and his house was a long distance away, but he didn't mind just walking back.
It would help him change his mind.
On the way back, warm memories of his parents and grandpa Cheon surged back into his mind.
If one looked closely, one could see the salty tears mixed in with the raindrops falling on his face.
Leaving but a trail of tobacco smoke behind, Kyubok lifelessly went back to his now even more empty home.
___
The next morning.
When the sun was chasing away the darkness of the night, warming the cold granite that was still wet from the rain, Kyubok left his house.
He first went to the grocery store to buy a snack to eat on the way.
He then bought a pack of cigarettes and headed toward the address written on the small piece of paper.
Due to the rain last night, the ink became wet, making the address nearly illegible. He'd probably have no idea what was written if I hadn't looked at it yesterday.
"Le Sang D'Or... What a weird name for a restaurant."
This place was quite famous in the neighborhood. It was a well-known restaurant specializing in French gastronomie, but much more affordable than the Michelin stars restaurants.
It was said that the food served there was better than even the most reputed 3-stars restaurants in Gangnam.
Their cheap price, despite the high quality of their plats, made them quite popular shortly after their opening, so much so that even the shut-in Kyubok heard about it.
After quickly searching for the restaurant's name on his phone, Kyubok found out that it closed a few weeks ago.
'Is the gentleman from yesterday the owner of this restaurant ?' Kyubok couldn't help but think about the mysterious man he talked with yesterday.
He had a gut feeling that this man was more than meets the eye.
After walking for a dozen minutes, Kyubok arrived at the rendez-vous.
He remembered the man asking him to come early in the morning, but he didn't know if he was too early or too late.
It was 8am already.
After finishing his cigarette in front of the restaurant, Kyubok approached the entrance and was about to knock when the door suddenly opened on its own.
"Please, come in." With a noticeable accent, a low but powerful voice sounded from deep within the cuisine.
Kyubok recognized the voice's tone : it was the muscular driver he saw yesterday.
The restaurant's lobby was empty.
All of the decorations and furniture were gone, leaving only some fancy tables and chairs squeezed into a corner of the main room.
It did indeed look like a closed restaurant.
Kyubok made his way down the hall and through the wide dining room to the cuisine.
The gentleman from yesterday was seated at a small wooden table, quietly sipping on his tea.
Kyubok noticed the man's plate had some food left on it. He'd most likely just eaten breakfast.
When Kyubok entered the cuisine, the gentleman put down his cup of tea delicately and greeted him.
"Young Master Yeo, what a pleasant surprise ! I didn't expect you to arrive so soon."
"Good morning." Kyubok was again surprised to be called young master, but he decided to just ignore the weird choice of words of this foreigner.
"Young man, do you know why I asked you to meet me today ?"
The air around the gentleman suddenly changed.
The usual gentle smile on his face vanished, replaced by a solemn expression.
"Yesterday, you said that you were grandpa's notary... Is it related to his testament ?"
"Indeed, but most importantly, it is to give you an opportunity."
The mysterious man stood up and took an envelope that was on the edge of a baking tray.
"You may not be aware, but Sir Cheon has been one of my closest associates for quite some time now. While it is true that I used to be his customer, he was also one of my clients."
The gentleman paused briefly and looked Kyubok in the eyes, before continuing.
"Sir Cheon used to work... overseas. We have been associates for a long time and his business has been quite lucrative, but a decade ago, he suddenly decided to retire. I thought it was a pity to stop such a good partnership, but I still respected his choice."
After those words, Kyubok understood that the reason why he couldn't find anyone related to grandpa Cheon was probably because they weren't even in Korea.
"Sir Cheon just wanted to live the rest of his life quietly, in his native country. To thanks him for all those years he spent working with me, I helped him move to Seoul, and I gifted him one of my most prized shops so he could keep working if he wished to."
"You mean... the pet store is yours ?" Kyubok asked, surprised that the gentleman was the real owner of the pet store.
"It used to be mine, yes, but I offered it to Sir Cheon as a sign of gratitude. Since Sir Cheon left this world, the store is now yours, his successor."
"..."
Kyubok was speechless. He didn't expect his grandpa, who always stayed low-profile, to have such relations. Especially with a wealthy foreigner.
'What did the old man do before returning to Seoul ?...' was the thought that lingered in Kyubok's mind.
He was now intrigued as to what his grandfather had done during his life, before opening the pet store next to his house.
"Sir Cheon has been a great... 'merchant', during his youth. He was adventurous and didn't fear exploring the unknown, even alone." As if the mysterious man was reading Kyubok's mind, he answered his questions.
Kyubok felt even more respectful of his grandpa after learning that he went to work overseas alone when he was young.
In comparison, Kyubok was already 20 and the only thing he accomplished so far was to drop out of university.
Thinking about it, Kyubok couldn't help but sigh.
"Anyway, time is running short, so please allow me to be direct." The mysterious man reshifted Kyubok's attention to him.
"Would you like to follow in Sir Cheon's steps and work for me ?" The gentleman asked bluntly, still holding onto the mysterious envelope.
Before Kyubok could answer, he added.
"Rest assured, regardless of your response, the pet store and all of Sir Cheon's belongings are already yours. However, I advise you to think thoroughly about it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will not present itself to you ever again."
"What kind of work do you want me to do exactly ?" Kyubok was curious about what was the job of this man, and what his grandpa did before he came back to Korea.
"I am unable to provide you with any details prior to you signing the contract, due to a confidentiality restriction. Nonetheless, I can guarantee you that it will be quite similar to what you've been doing when working part-time at the pet store."
"What do you mean by 'similar' ?"
The more Kyubok thought about it, the more suspicious this man's proposition was.
"Well, if you wish so, you could manage the same store. However, it won't be in Seoul, nor will it be in Korea... " The gentleman answered mysteriously.
He placed the envelope on the wooden table, before adding.
"If it can ease your mind, think of my proposition as a simple job offer for a store manager position. The location is overseas, the salary is fixed with a bonus based on your sales, and the duration of the contract can be adjusted according to your preferences."
The gentleman smiled and pointed to the tall man behind him.
"If you are concerned about leaving your possessions behind in Korea, don't worry. My subordinates can store and transfer anything from your home to your new workplace, free of charge. Furthermore, you are not required to speak another language. I can not tell you why before you sign the contract, but you'll see understand when the time comes."
"...Why do you offer me such a job when you don't even know me ?"
This job offer looked too good to be true.
"This is my way of repaying Sir Cheon's favor." The man answered sincerely, without a second of hesitation.
Kyubok's reason told him to refuse, but his heart wanted to accept.
Sure, this man and his business looked shady, but at the same time, it could also be a way out of this negative spiral in which Kyubok has been stuck since the death of his parents.
If this man really wanted to repay the favors of his deceased friend by helping his grandson, then it was a golden opportunity for Kyubok to start anew.
"I can let you a few days to thin-"
"I accept."
The gentleman thought Kyubok would need some time to think about it, but to his surprise, he accepted right away.
"Very well." The man grinned widely and handed Kyubok the envelope and a black ink pen.
"Please read everything carefully and sign at the end."
Kyubok opened up the envelope and removed the paper inside.
That was incredibly short for a job contract, which is generally a couple of pages long.
After reading all the points one by one, Kyubok didn't find anything wrong and signed at the end.
The moment the tip of the pen rose from the paper, Kyubok felt dizzy.
His eyesight was failing.
His head was spinning.
"What's happen-" Before he could finish his phrase, everything turned black.
The tall man with the driver's attire caught Kyubok's lifeless body before it hit the ground.
"Master, why did you waste our last contract for this century on him ?" The driver asked his boss, who sat back on the wooden chair to finish his cup of tea.
"Even if this young man just achieves a tenth of what Sir Cheon accomplished, it would still be worth investing a contract on him, Balgor."
The tall man didn't ask anything else and silently carried Kyubok on his back, waiting for his master's instructions.
He was here to follow orders after all, not to question them.
His master only uses contracts when he deems the return on investment acceptable.
"You can rest in peace, my dear friend. Your grandson is now under my care." The gentleman muttered, his eyes closed.
As the gentleman was lost in thought, he suddenly stood up and looked at the ceiling with a piercing gaze.
Balgor, who was carrying Kyubok on his back, also looked up with a solemn face.
"Tsk... They arrived sooner than we expected."
As the air around the two men changed, an oppressive aura descended upon the restaurant.
"Balgor, Celestine, it's time to leave."
The gentleman stood up and quickly performed some complicated hand gestures.
A ball of light intertwined with darkness was floating in front of him.
His hands moved so fast that they appeared blurry to the naked eye.
While the mysterious man was performing his weird ritual, the stunning blonde woman that Kyubok previously saw inside the limousine appeared out of nowhere, as if she just teleported.
She nodded at Balgor and nervously stood next to him.
When the gentleman's hands stopped moving, a dark-purple vortex suddenly formed in the middle of the cuisine, at the place where the ball of light was floating.
"Hurry up." The gentleman coldly said with a hint of anxiety, before entering the portal that just opened up.
His two subordinates followed him quietly, and just as they entered the portal, the vortex closed just behind them.
No traces were left of their passage, yet someone has been closely observing them.
A black silhouette was standing in front of the restaurant entrance, calmly looking through the glass window.
"Igor, dear brother... No matter where you flee, you shall not escape our Revered Mother's grace."
When the mysterious man and his two acolytes left the cuisine, the shadow started to fade, as if it was gradually backing away through the curtain of rain that started falling again.
___
Do not hesitate to comment the novel on discord, so I can improve it with your help.
Discord : https://discord.gg/JxytpnN5m2
If you like my novel, feel free to visit my Patreon to read chapters ahead of everyone else.
Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/NobleTalon
The novel is published on Royal Road, Scribblehub and Webnovel.