Kiss the Stranger

The situation unfolded in a direction I had never expected. A call in the middle of the night had left Steward looking utterly bewildered. When I’d hurriedly driven him here, he’d said, “Thank you,” then rubbed his forehead as if it ached. I waited until he was ready. Drawing out the time, Steward gave me a rough outline of what was happening.
“Something came up before I got here. It’s a case under investigation in the United States, so I can’t go into details… Anyway, I need to go and check it out. But I don’t know how long it’s going to take…”

He groaned and took a hasty sip of hot tea, only to yelp in pain. Even then, I felt no urge to laugh at his discomfort.
“So, Steward—what you’re saying is… you have no idea when you’ll be back?”
My voice trembled with tension. Steward met my gaze and forced a wry smile.

“It’s fine, Yohan. Don’t worry. I’ll make arrangements so you can come with me. I won’t leave you here alone in the palace.”
He patted my shoulder as if to reassure me, but I only bowed my head in silence. The next morning, Steward, who had requested an early audience, returned with a furious expression.
“Why on earth won’t they let me go?”

He slammed the laboratory door behind him and shouted, startling me into clutching Rikal tightly. I hurriedly freed the cat and approached him.
“They said you can’t go out? Even you, Steward?”
“No, it’s not that—…I can go. I can leave.”
“Oh.”

I wasn’t as disappointed as he looked to be. But Steward reacted as if he’d never imagined such an outcome, pacing the room in anger.
“They don’t care whether you’re here or not! I swear, even if I stuffed you in the trunk and drove out of this palace, they wouldn’t suspect a thing!”
I managed an awkward laugh. Watching him storm back and forth, he suddenly halted and glared at me.

“But why are you so calm, Yohan? As if you expected this.”
His sudden accusation made me wince, and I looked down in embarrassment. He muttered to himself.
“Maybe you don’t trust me. Well, I can’t blame you—who am I to complain about not even being allowed out of the palace…”

“No, that’s not what I mean!”
I hurried to deny it and raised my head. Steward still scowled at me. I decided to speak honestly.
“In the first place… I’m practically invisible here. I’ve heard you need identification to leave the country. But even if I had it….”

“Yohan, you don’t have a passport? You could just get one made, right?”
He sounded genuinely surprised. But that was impossible. I hadn’t told Steward—or anyone—why Kamar and I had been living in hiding.
A shiver ran down my spine as images of Salman’s bloodied face and the scattered stains flashed through my mind, along with the motionless men. I didn’t even know if they were dead or alive. But if the truth came out, I’d be held responsible.

Would the royal family forgive murder?
I thought. If someone had to answer for it, it should be me. It all happened because of me.
It would be fine if it ended with me. But if Kamar got implicated too…

The thought left me icy all over. I shook my head and found my voice with difficulty.
“It’s complicated… And even with ID, they’d never grant permission. It wouldn’t matter.”
“Yeah…”

Steward sighed again and wandered the lab. There was nothing he could do. Only the Crown Prince could resolve this—and the prince had already refused. There was no other outcome.
“Steward, please, don’t worry about me. Go and do what you must. I’ll stay here in the lab and wait.”
I tried to comfort him. He exhaled a deep, drawn-out sigh.
“I never meant for you to come here in the first place…”

“Please don’t think that way.”
I hurried to reassure him.
“I insisted on coming. You only helped me. I’m the one who should be apologizing—for all the trouble I’ve caused you… It’s okay. I’ll stay out of sight and quietly wait for you.”

I smiled and added, “After all, as you said, no one even knows whether I’m here or not.”
“…Haa.”
Steward couldn’t find words to agree or object and sighed again. I patted his arm to show he needn’t worry. He frowned and said,

“You seem remarkably calm about your own fate, Yohan.”
I laughed.
“I am worried… but there’s nothing else I can do.”

At that, Steward gave in and averted his gaze. Two days later, he left the palace for the United States. He hurriedly tidied the lab, gathered his materials, and worried over me until the last moment. At the door, I couldn’t follow him far, so I watched him from just outside the lab, and [N O V E L I G H T] he paused to pull me into a tight embrace before letting go.
“I’ll be back within a month at the latest.”
“Yes.”

I smiled and saw him off, though I scarcely expected him to return. Instead, I kept his departing figure in view through the crack in the door, thinking this might be the last time I saw him. When Steward finally disappeared from sight, I closed the door and turned away.
Only Rikal and I remained in the lab. Though I was used to being alone after Steward left each day, this time felt different. He wasn’t coming back, and I’d remain alone like this. But I knew loneliness would be brief. Steward wasn’t from this country and was always ready to leave. Maybe now was that moment.
It’s okay.

I picked up Rikal and thought. I was used to seeing people leave.
A few quiet days passed. With Steward gone, Zahara’s visits with meals gradually dwindled—sometimes once a day, sometimes not at all.
The palace must be terribly busy.

I opened the leftovers Zahara had brought the day before and prepared my meal. It had been a while since I’d eaten one meal in several sittings, but it wasn’t impossible. The problem was Rikal—his food supply was slimmer now, and that worried me.
If I went to the workshop and finished some work, I could earn money….
Then I could ask Zahara to buy cat food again.

Maybe pay her a fee….
After refilling the water bowl, I crouched down to watch Rikal eat eagerly. I thought how Rikal was the only one who always stayed by my side.
If even Rikal disappeared….

My chest tightened. Just then, I heard hurried footsteps in the corridor. I sprang up, startled—the footsteps weren’t Zahara’s, and there were several of them. I ran to the door but the other side beat me to it, flinging it open so suddenly I collided with it and fell to the floor. Rikal sprang to me in alarm, and as I hugged him, I looked up into the faces of a group of men.
“You the one they say is that bastard’s assistant?”
The rough voice made me flinch as I struggled to my feet.

“That bastard… you mean Steward?”
“Yeah, that runaway American.”
He spat on the floor right in front of me. Fear gripped me, but I summoned courage to correct him.

“He didn’t run away.”
“What?”
The men paused and stared. In the ensuing silence, I swallowed dryly and continued.

“He didn’t run away. He went on urgent business, and he said he’d return.”
Though I didn’t truly believe it, I thought they had no right to slander Steward. At least it was true that he hadn’t fled. The men, however, weren’t convinced; one of them’s face contorted in fury as he raised a hand and slapped me across the cheek.
With a loud crack, my vision flashed white, and I collapsed again as curses rained down.

“You traitor, siding with a foreigner! What country are you from, you betrayer!”
Dazed, I blinked up at him. My cheek was swelling and one eye barely opened, but there was no time to protest. The others spread out and began rifling the lab. I could only watch helplessly. Then I realized some of them were the medics who had treated Kamar that day.
Had something happened to Kamar?

Anyway, Steward would have taken all the important documents. I watched anxiously, and as I’d expected, they soon shook their heads in frustration and turned to leave. The man who’d struck me loomed over me again.
“Where are the documents he was researching for His Highness? If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll kill you!”
They meant it. Even if they killed me, no one would object—I’d be gone before anyone noticed. I answered.

“They took everything. None of it’s here.”
“What? Is that true?”
“Yes.”

I spoke briefly and fell silent. They exchanged looks—though they didn’t fully believe me, they didn’t have time to argue. Whispering among themselves, they soon faced me again. The lead man spoke.
“Fine. Then we’ll take you instead.”
“Huh?”

I cried out in surprise. He went on.
“We don’t know when that man will return, and His Highness’s condition worsens by the day. We have to act. It’s not like we can’t do this without him.”
He glanced back and strode away. Another man stepped forward and grabbed my arm. I couldn’t resist as they dragged me out.

“What… what are you doing? Why are you…?”
I shouted, and at that moment a familiar scent washed over me—so sweet I might die.
It was rut.

“It’s inducing a rut.”
I remembered Steward’s words as the firmly closed door burst open and the fragrance flooded the room, enveloping me completely.