Lloyd, the head of the company formerly known as Gu Hayes Trading and now renamed JJ Trading, was wasting away day by day.

When he first took over JJ Trading in place of Cain, he thought it would be challenging but manageable.

Cain had meticulously planned out every detail of the path and plans JJ Trading should take, and Lloyd just had to follow the markers he had laid out.

Then it started to become overwhelming.

Thanks to Cain’s brilliantly crafted plans, the company grew larger by the day.

In addition, as the country was reorganized, more work came into JJ Trading.

Lloyd tried to avoid taking on new work as much as possible, but it was difficult to refuse requests from Cedric.

In the end, JJ Trading achieved growth of nearly tenfold in scale and twentyfold in sales compared to the former Gu Hayes Trading.

JJ Trading had become a veritable dinosaur of a company, and Lloyd, its ultimate decision maker, was managing a schedule where even four hours of sleep a day seemed like a luxury.

Naturally, it had been a full year since he was able to do the research he loved.

At least when Cain was in the capital, he could occasionally visit him to complain and get help with difficult decisions, which was a mental comfort.

But after Cain left for the island where Jane was, that became impossible.

Moreover, Cain left Lloyd this note before departing:

If you want your friend’s happy life, don’t contact me.

It was a request made by the cold-hearted Cain, referring to Lloyd not as a business partner or colleague, but as a ‘friend’.

Lloyd sincerely wanted to protect Cain and Jane’s modest time together.

However, he hit his limit, and problems eventually erupted.

A train derailment resulted in dozens of casualties.

Up to this point, it was an incident Lloyd could handle.

The problem came afterwards.

Knowing Lloyd was busy, the staff quietly tried to cover up the incident without being instructed to do so.

They attempted to reach individual settlements with the injured parties.

When competitors noticed this and tipped off the newspapers, criticism of JJ Trading spread like wildfire.

By the time Lloyd tried to clean up the mess, JJ Trading’s image had already plummeted, and rumors spread uncontrollably.

The blow to the railway business affected other operations as well.

JJ Transportation, JJ Hotels, and even the trading business, which could be called JJ’s foundational business.

Some partners demanding high moral standards requested contract terminations.

Honestly, Lloyd wanted to accept the contract termination conditions and use this opportunity to streamline the octopus-like expanded business and reduce the scale of JJ Trading.

However, the reason Lloyd didn’t choose that path was purely because of the people employed by JJ Trading.

He knew that laying off one person meant pushing their family of four into poverty.

It wasn’t just a matter of hunger. The worst situation for those who lost their jobs and fell into financial hardship was losing the right to dream of a future.

Before being a businessman, Lloyd was a romantic researcher who dreamed of changing the world for the better.

Unable to give up that temperament, he reluctantly held onto the growing business at the forefront, despite it being overwhelming.

But now he’s reached his limit.

Forced to move forward while being held by all four limbs, his arms and legs were about to be torn from his body.

So he contacted Cain.

Cain, please come and help me.

Lloyd begged earnestly, very earnestly.

* * *

While Lloyd was desperately calling out for Cain, searching for all the gods in the world, he was lying with his head on Jane’s thigh.

“…More important than the fact that the soul has shattered is where those fragmented pieces have flowed. As the pieces that have reached somewhere will still be connected to you…”

Cain liked this time. This moment of lying in bed listening to Jane’s recitation.

How could it be so peaceful?

There were no worries, no immediate tasks to be done. He was simply content to fill his time with a cozy moment with the person he loved.

Cain closed his eyes, feeling Jane’s body heat and using her voice as a lullaby.

He thought it would be nice to fall asleep like this, but Jane’s voice suddenly stopped.

“Are you going to sleep?”

Cain turned his body, propping himself up on his arm to look up at Jane. Jane, who had placed the book on the bedside table, was staring intently at him.

“Bring it here.”

“What?”

“Lloyd’s letter.”

“I threw it away.”

Cain answered immediately and then groaned, “Ugh.” Even to his own ears, it was too obvious a lie.

Jane raised both eyebrows.

Cain sat up straight and ran his dry hand over his face.

“Saying I threw it away was a lie, Jane. I’m sorry.”

In living with Jane, Cain had learned the very simple truth that one should apologize immediately for wrongdoings.

Then the open-hearted Jane would often forgive easily.

“Okay. I’ll let that pass.”

Like this time.

“So, will you bring the letter, Cain?”

“Jane, it really wasn’t anything important.”

“Is there something written in it that you can’t show me? Are you hiding something from me?”

“There couldn’t possibly be anything like that.”

Cain jumped up. He didn’t want even the slightest misunderstanding to arise between him and Jane. He wanted things between them to be completely transparent.

“Then there’s no reason you can’t show me.”

Cain sighed. There was no flaw in her argument.

He reluctantly got up and took the letter out of the bedside table. When Jane tried to take it, Cain raised his hand holding the letter. Jane’s brow furrowed.

“Before you read it, make one promise.”

“The more you try not to show it, the more suspicious it seems.”

“Promise.”

“Alright, I will. What is it?”

Cain pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Whatever choice you make, you should be at the center of it.”

“What do you mean?”

Jane opened her eyes wide.

“I want you to only think about how to live happily. Be selfish.”

“That’s nothing new. I’ve always been selfish.”

Jane laughed lightly, shrugging her shoulders.

Cain didn’t believe Jane’s words, but he handed over the letter as promised.

Jane took the letter out of the envelope, which had been neatly slit open with a paper knife. The letter wasn’t just one page.

Jane read through the rather thick bundle of letters in one go, without even taking a breath. Her expression grew increasingly serious.

After reading to the end of the letter, which concluded with ‘From your inadequate friend’, Jane put it down.

“Pack your bags right now.”

“Oh, Jane. That’s why I didn’t want to show you. There’s no need to make hasty decisions. And even less need to go up there.”

“Did you actually read the letter properly?”

Jane’s voice trembled slightly.

The company to which Cain had devoted his youth was in a precarious situation. So much so that even the capable Lloyd couldn’t escape it despite Cedric’s help.

JJ Trading absolutely needed Cain right now.

When Jane stared at him, demanding an answer, Cain slowly nodded.

“You saw it and still won’t go?”

At her accusing tone, Cain scratched his forehead.

“Jane, the most important thing to me is-”

“I know. It’s me and Joseph. That’s why you should go.”

“Huh?”

“JJ Trading, isn’t it named after mine and Joseph’s initials?”

Cain was taken aback.

How did she know?

He had told them to change the name long after he went to prison, trying to keep it a secret from Jane and Joseph.

“Even a fool would know. I’m sure everyone knows. I don’t want to create a situation where Joseph is resented by countless people.”

“How many people would know that the J in JJ stands for Joseph? You can ignore it.”

“I don’t like it even if it’s just one person. At least Lloyd would resent him.”

“Then I’ll fi-”

The word ‘fire’ rose to his throat, but Cain quickly swallowed it.

The fact that Cain was the real owner of JJ Trading was a secret known only to Lloyd and Cedric.

Though Jane seemed to know as well.

“Pack your bags right now. We’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Jane, if we go, it’ll be busy. And we don’t know when we’ll be able to return here.”

That statement seemed unexpected, and she hesitated. However, Jane didn’t back down.

She never intended to keep Cain on this small island for life.

She had been thinking of moving to the city soon for Joseph’s education as well.

“It’s okay. Did you think I wouldn’t understand that?”

Jane’s voice, much softer than before, was tinged with regret. Cain sighed and embraced her.

As expected, she wasn’t ready to leave the island yet.

Cain hesitated before asking.

“Should I go up alone?”