“Welcome, Major Hyun. And Captain Illum. We’re glad to have you at our company.”
As Lucas Lowell Blake, the CEO of Blake Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals headquartered in London, England, known for his aversion to meeting people, came down to the lobby to personally greet the guests, the employees’ attention was drawn.
Before they could recover from the shock of the CEO’s unusual behavior, the tall man with his entire face hidden behind a mask greeted Iberis and Lucas more politely than usual. He was Thomas Denver, acting as the Viscount Blake.
“Hello, I’m Iberis Hyun. Thank you for inviting us.”
As Thomas’s hospitality was discussed beforehand, Iberis shook hands with him naturally without being flustered.
“It’s been a while, Viscount.”
“Ah, yes, it has been a while, Captain Illum. This is the first time I’ve seen your face since you were assigned to N Zone.”
Lucas and Thomas continued their conversation intimately, as if advertising their good relationship. It wasn’t strange, given that Luke Illum was publicly known as an external researcher and developer for Blake Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals, and had recently been appointed as an external advisor.
“I didn’t expect you to come out to greet us personally.”
“Haha. When the Captain brings such an esteemed guest, I must show at least this much sincerity!”
Thomas deliberately raised his voice as if for others to hear. The expressions of the secretaries and executives accompanying him wavered at the sound of laughter from the CEO known for being cold and brusque. The employees who had come out to secretly observe were the same.
“Well, let’s not talk here. Let’s go to my office. Major Hyun, this way…”
Thomas, disguised as Viscount Blake, ostentatiously guided Iberis and Lucas to the CEO’s office. His actions once again stirred up the people around them.
Success.
Lucas quickly surveyed the surroundings while playing along with Thomas. He smiled faintly, almost imperceptibly, as he boarded the elevator, having confirmed the whispering employees.
Ding.
The elevator carrying the three stopped only when it reached the highest floor. After entering the CEO’s office, Thomas quickly sent away the secretary who brought in refreshments. Then he collapsed onto the sofa as if his legs had given out.
“Whew, that ended well somehow.”
“Good job.”
Lucas praised Thomas, who was sighing in relief. It was Thomas who had proposed the earlier performance. He had suggested staging such a scene to make sure their meeting was clearly known to the outside world.
Saying it would become a topic of conversation, implying that the guests were important enough for Viscount Blake, famous for not appearing in public, to personally greet them.
And Thomas’s strategy hit the mark perfectly. The employees were intrigued by the guests whom the haughty and fastidious CEO treated with such a friendly attitude. Their interest was even more piqued because the guests were the soldiers who had become a hot topic due to an incident at the European branch of the Defense Force about a week ago.
Moreover, one of them, Captain Luke Illum, was already famous within the company not only for his angelic beauty but also as the person who had made the greatest contribution to the company’s rapid growth, naturally drawing attention.
“Do you think the reporters took proper pictures?”
Thomas asked as he loosened his suffocating necktie. He seemed worried about various aspects of the plan he had proposed.
“They probably did. That’s why we put on that show in the lobby. Didn’t you leak information about our meeting to the editor of a newspaper that maintains a friendly relationship with the company?”
“I did. But the attitude was a bit ambiguous…”
“Oh?”
“They showed interest, but unlike before, they didn’t seem eager to jump on it. You know, we’ve been continuously publishing articles about Major Hyun for the past few months on young master’s orders. It seems the Defense Force’s PR office has complained about that.”
“The PR office?”
“Yes, I found out that a conservative figure is the director of the PR office. So I’m not sure if the article will come out tomorrow or not.”
“Hmm, there were about five or six reporters who followed us from the airport to here. One of them will probably write an article.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes. Even if they don’t publish an article, it’ll be fine because General Bismarck has separately contacted some reporters. We’ve also had a few paparazzi following recently.”
Lucas wasn’t particularly surprised as he had somewhat expected the conservative faction of the Defense Force connected to Livio to complain to Thomas. He turned his gaze to Iberis, whose eyes had widened listening to their conversation.
“Please sit down, Major.”
“Oh? Oh.”
Iberis seemed to want to ask something but closed his mouth as if now wasn’t the time, and sat down as Lucas suggested.
“Whew, I’m sweating so much from the tension… Can I take off the mask?”
“Sure, but don’t undo the transformation just in case.”
“Of course not.”
As soon as Lucas gave permission, Thomas took off his mask. A blonde young man with a face almost identical to Lucas’s appeared.
“Ah, now I can breathe.”
Thomas wiped the sweat from his forehead and nose with a handkerchief and reached for a teacup as if thirsty. He paused when he noticed Iberis looking at him with a surprised expression.
“Oh, my. I’ve been rude in front of an honored guest. Let me introduce myself again, Major Hyun. I’m Thomas Denver. I apologize for not being able to show you my true appearance due to circumstances. Please understand.”
“It’s alright. Given the situation, I understand.”
Iberis, finally regaining his composure, awkwardly smiled. He seemed quite surprised by Thomas’s appearance, which was identical to his lover’s except for the hair color, like an identical twin.
“Thank you for coming all this way. When I first received the young master’s call, I was so surprised…”
Thomas trailed off, staring at Iberis. He still couldn’t believe that Iberis was Lucas’s lover.
“What are you staring at? You’ll bore holes in the Major.”
Lucas, seemingly annoyed by Thomas staring at Iberis, raised his hand to create a barrier between the two.
“Come on, looking won’t wear him out.”
“It will. So stop looking.”
“Wow, how childish.”
Thomas whistled as Lucas showed his possessiveness over Iberis. It was shocking enough when he heard about Lucas’s confession from his brother Caleb, but seeing him in person after winning his first love was a different level entirely.
“I never thought I’d see the day. The young master having a lover. When I heard the news, I thought the sun was rising in the west.”
Overcome with emotion, Thomas’s lips and eyes twitched as if he was caught between laughing and crying. To him, Lucas was a childhood friend he had grown up with and a master he would serve for life. He was also a comrade who had been running towards the same goal for 10 years.
That’s why Thomas knew how fiercely and lonely Lucas had lived. So this current situation felt like a miracle to him.
“Stop making weird expressions with my face.”
Lucas was disgusted by Thomas’s emotional state. He looked just like a parent moved by seeing their grown-up child.
“What do you mean? I’m just proud of you, young master.”
“Why are you proud of me?”
“Because I’m your big brother, of course? When you were little, you used to follow me around calling ‘Brother, brother’… I feel hurt now.”
Thomas pretended to wipe his eyes, making sobbing noises.
“That was ages ago.”
Lucas frowned at Thomas’s teasing. It was a foul play to bring up embarrassing childhood stories in front of Iberis.
“…”
Iberis observed Lucas bickering with Thomas with curious eyes. His lover seemed much more relaxed while talking with Thomas than usual. If Lucas was usually like a hedgehog with its quills raised when dealing with others, now he was like a hedgehog with its quills lowered.
Perhaps this is Lucas’s true self?
Iberis bit his lip as he suddenly felt strange. Maybe because Thomas was transformed to look exactly like Lucas, the two looked just like twin brothers.
If misfortune hadn’t befallen Lucas, he probably would have grown up looking closer to Thomas’s appearance. His personality would have been brighter too. Thinking this way made Iberis feel even stranger.
“Alright, enough of this useless talk. Let’s get to the main point.”
At that moment, Lucas, letting out a small sigh, changed the subject. Thomas’s expression became serious as well. The two had planned to use this meeting as an opportunity to discuss the business report they had been postponing and future operational plans.
“Right. Just a moment…”
Thomas got up from his seat and went to the desk to bring back an impressive amount of documents. It seemed he was fully prepared, given how rare it was to have time to discuss leisurely like this.
“Why is there so much?”
“This is already after cutting it down. Please review everything without missing anything, as they all need your approval, young master.”
Thomas replied as he put the stack of documents on the table. His attitude was solemn, as if he had been waiting just for this day.
“Is it okay if I take care of some work?”
“Hm? Of course. Don’t mind me.”
Iberis smiled gently at Lucas, who was asking for his understanding. He hoped his smile didn’t look awkward.
“I’ll finish quickly.”
Fortunately, Lucas didn’t seem to detect anything strange and lightly patted Iberis’s head. Then he picked up one of the documents Thomas had brought.
