Icing on the Cake Chapter 16

As he opened the closed door and entered, Cheriot had seated Heather in the separated sitting area and was pulling out alcohol from the minibar. Heading that way, Yuri glanced at the minibar and saw miniature liquor bottles and snacks—things he’d never seen in the rundown motels along the highway. They’d be expensive. Even the room rate here far exceeded the monthly rent Yuri had barely managed to scrape together in the past.

“You’ve been through a rough time, but anyway, I’m fine, Heather. You shouldn’t be out this late in dangerous hours—go home now. Should I walk you out?”

“I’m fine. I drove here. I should get home and sleep for tomorrow’s work, but before that, I have something to tell you. I found out some things about the group that’s after you.”

“Really? That’s an unexpected harvest.”

Cheriot replied with a pleased smile, setting a glass down in front of Heather first and pouring whiskey. Heather, too, looked at the filled glass and let out an incredulous laugh.

“I thought you’d be scared, but you’ve got the composure to drink?”

“That’s because the awesome, handsome, capable guy you introduced is my bodyguard.”

Only then did both their gazes turn to Yuri. Heather, still apparently flustered by what had happened earlier, suddenly flushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Mr. Yuri really is capable. Remember what I told you back then? Even when several thugs rushed him at once, he took them all out like something from an action movie.”

Cheriot, staring intently at Heather as she fidgeted with her glasses while explaining, flopped down into a chair across from her. Sitting with his long legs stretched out, lounging as if draped over the seat, he looked up at Yuri with an intrigued expression.

“He’s gentle with women, isn’t he, Yuri? With me, he twisted my arm the moment we met.”

“Oh my, really?”

Heather looked back and forth between them in surprise, then finally pointed at Cheriot.

“I bet you startled him first, though?”

“You’re taking Yuri’s side instead of mine?”

“I’ve known you long enough to know your personality, that’s all.”

The two seemed closer than Yuri had expected. Heather, who didn’t seem to mind that Cheriot’s bathrobe was hanging open to reveal his chest, and Cheriot, grumbling that she wasn’t taking his side—they both seemed accustomed to this dynamic.

“…It’s getting late. Why don’t we just get straight to business.”

Yuri politely suggested to Heather, then set down the suitcase he’d received from Alexei.

“Your belongings are here. Heather, I heard you’ve looked into the group targeting him. I’d appreciate it if you could share the key points.”

“Oh, right! I get so distracted around Cheriot that I sometimes forget. I’m sorry.”

“Not at all.”

Heather straightened her posture and apologized, and Yuri shook his head. Cheriot, lounging in his crooked, slouched position with his legs stretched out, had been listening to their exchange, but when Yuri finished, he voiced his complaint.

“What’s with ‘him’? You should call me ‘Cherry’ like before.”

“That was out of necessity.”

“There’ll be plenty of similar situations ahead, so it’d be good to get used to it in advance.”

That might be true. But he wouldn’t be the one doing it. Yuri kept his mouth shut for a moment, then decided it was better to come clean about who he really was rather than drag things out. Steeling himself, he parted his lips, deliberating how to phrase it.

I’m sorry, but…

No, he didn’t even need to apologize. He’d never intended to take this kind of job from the start. But he did feel sorry toward Heather. After all, she’d introduced him believing he was a good person. It wasn’t a belief he’d cultivated himself, but if he’d given her that impression, then he bore some responsibility.

When Yuri didn’t respond, both their gazes turned to him. Facing Heather’s intelligent brown eyes—clearly reflecting an honest upbringing—and Cheriot’s transparent green eyes that seemed to hide nothing, Yuri was suddenly overcome with anguish. That shame he always felt when confronted with “ordinary” citizens who lived in a world completely different from his own washed over him. His stomach ached.

“Heather, you said earlier in the elevator. That Cheriot hates bad people.”

“Ah, yes.”

Heather answered with a bewildered look. At the sudden shift in topic, Cheriot tilted his head but still smiled with curved eyes.

“You two were talking about me? If you’re curious, you can just ask me directly.”

“No. I brought it up first because I thought Mr. Yuri might have been taken aback.”

“Is that so? You’re always so considerate, Heather.”

Yes, that seemed right. So before he could cause trouble for a truly good person like Heather, he needed to come out with it himself.

“If that’s the reason you introduced me, then I’m afraid I’m not a suitable candidate.”

Yuri decided it was better not to mention Alexei. That was between Alexei and Heather—the issue at hand was that Yuri himself was the one standing beside Cheriot right now. Besides, Alexei’s circumstances were different from his own.

Yuri had simply endured the filthy work given to him in order to survive, while Alexei was someone who’d been forced into a dirty organization because they had leverage over him. Alexei’s parents had tried to escape the organization to avoid killing innocent people, and they’d been executed in the process. Alexei was also the one who’d destroyed the organization with his own hands. The reason Yuri could be on this soil now was all thanks to his friend. He owed Alexei many debts.

“Excuse me? What do you mean by that?”

“Yuri, you already decided to take the job earlier. Don’t just push me away—sometimes you have to pull me in too, or else I’ll get hurt.”

Cheriot didn’t seem to take his words seriously, continuing with his nonsense. Heather looked somewhat uneasy, but it seemed less because she was worried about Yuri’s identity and more because she thought he was being hard on himself. Yuri decided to define himself clearly, so they wouldn’t be confused any longer.

“I’m a criminal. I’ve done plenty of dirty things in the past.”

His own voice echoing in his ears was terrifyingly unfamiliar—Yuri clenched his fists tightly. Speaking his past aloud was horrifying just to hear.

In that moment, silence fell. Heather covered her mouth with her hand in dismay, while Cheriot just blinked, still wearing the same smiling face as he looked up at Yuri. Calmly enduring the suffocating silence, Yuri took small, very small breaths. So quiet that even he couldn’t hear himself breathe.

“…You’re joking, right?”

After a short yet endless silence, Cheriot parted his lips. He was still smiling, but unlike before, his eyes had turned cold and hard.

“No, I guess not. You didn’t seem like the joking type. Hmm…”

Cheriot muttered to himself, then reached for the glass on the table. Heather was watching Yuri’s face, trying to gauge his words. Yuri waited silently for them to process this.

Cheriot, pressing his pink lips—darker than most alphas’—to the glass, didn’t drink but only wet his lips with the liquid. Lost in thought for a moment, he then let out a dry laugh.

“I’m at a loss.”

The voice that had always carried a hint of laughter, light enough to feel casual, was gone—replaced by a flat, dry tone. After speaking, he slowly let the whiskey slip past his lips. The Adam’s apple at the center of his white throat bobbed as the sound of him swallowing rang out loudly.

Heather still couldn’t say anything. Yuri felt deeply sorry for putting her in this situation, but he decided not to open his mouth and do the stupid thing of trying to comfort her. Pretending to be polite, pretending to be good, pretending to care about others—all of that was meaningless from the moment he’d revealed what kind of man he was.

“A misdemeanor? You know, like drunk driving or something… not great, but still that kind of thing. Or robbery?”

Cheriot asked about the nature of his crimes, apparently trying to understand Yuri in his own way. Hearing the question about his past, Yuri quietly recalled the things he’d done.

He’d never… touched ordinary people.