Not the least bit nervous, after all, his Zhan was back with him and he was holding him in his arms, Yibo looked his parents in the eye one by one and was ready for a firework of reproaches or whatever they could think of. He was ready to defend his Zhan and his relationship with him come hell or high water! But, things turned out differently.

Yibo's dad smiled and handed Zhan a bag of his favorite gummy bears and asked him, "How old are you? How do you earn your money? And how did you meet our son?"

"I am 26 years old. I'm a graphic designer with my own business. And I met Yibo after his last concert when I won the top prize in a surprise lottery. Um, I guess I should mention that the whole thing was faked by Yibo's agency because they obviously thought it would be smarter to ask for my help in a sneaky way instead of just coming to my office and talking to me like normal people do."

Yibo's face turned red. "That wasn't my idea." He said apologetically.

"But you were there!" Replied Zhan, looking at him stubbornly.

"Sure. It was my team and they knew you'd be more likely to help us if I asked you to. Because you're my fan."

"Still, I think it would have been easier if you had approached me directly and not put on this show. Do you know how disappointing it was when it turned out that I wasn't lucky at all, but fell into your trap? I was so happy and you made a fool of me!"

"Sorry." Yibo mumbled, looking guiltily at Zhan, and Zhan immediately calmed down.

"Interesting to listen to you two. And I can see that you get on really well. I also like the fact that you're so normal with my son. He's a secret agent and idol and many people treat him like a raw egg. But you don't do that. And that's a good thing." Said Yibo's mom. Yibo and Zhan had almost forgotten that Yibo's parents were with them.

Yibo's dad couldn't help but laugh at how familiar a discussion like Zhan and Yibo were having. "Your mom and I were like that back then. Your mom was always right, of course."

Yibo's mom looked at her husband with an angry glint in her eyes and asked, "Do you want to die today?" Yibo's dad shook his head vigorously. "Then stop saying things like that. Don't make me angry!"

"I'm sorry." Yibo's dad replied, and yes, Yibo and Zhan recognized a certain similarity to their skirmish just now. Even if it was about a completely different topic.

After it had been clarified that Yibo's dad wanted to live on and Yibo's mom had leaned back again with satisfaction, the two of them told them about the current mission they were working on. At least the parts of it that weren't absolutely secret. And Yibo's parents were immediately worried again. This time, however, they were worried about their son and Zhan. They told them to always be careful and to always turn around twice to make sure no one was following them.

When Yibo told his parents that it was still completely unclear whether they were also after Zhan, Yibo's mom explained: "That's obvious, isn't it? The murderers are on the run. They will need a lot of money. Every runaway is dependent on money. And they certainly know where they can get the money from this dead agent! Maybe they were working together and then, when he didn't want to share his money with them, they killed him. Or that was their plan from the start. You have to reckon with everything."

Yibo nodded. "We know that mom. We're being careful. And because we hardly know anything, I have to stay by Zhan's side. Although I have the impression that he's more by my side. He always keeps a cool head in all situations. Like the evening with Youn and Seok when we saw the drone. Youn and I freaked out and Zhan stayed calm, adjusted our mindset, distributed tasks and calmed us down. To be honest, I've felt a few times that Zhan is not a simple citizen. He knows things he shouldn't know. He pays attention to things that ordinary citizens would never pay attention to. He asks the right questions and gives the right answers."

"Do you know the crime series like Criminal Minds and stuff like that? I love watching those shows and I've actually learned a lot from watching different shows like that. I've already told you that I also studied photography, so I quickly notice certain things that others might ignore or not even see." Zhan explained calmly.

"But I still find it strange, Zhan. I think it's good, even really good, how much you are capable of. However, you have now repeatedly combined and switched better than some agents with many years of professional experience." Yibo replied with appreciation and a little scepticism. Because it's true. He had already asked himself several times whether Zhan might not also be a secret agent? And he didn't believe that Zhan had learned all that from watching series!

"But I'm not an agent." Zhan replied, after thinking a little too long about Yibo's suspicions. He noticed the way Yibo and his parents were looking at him. "I'm really not an agent. But, well, I guess I didn't grow up the way kids usually do."

"What do you mean?" Yibo's dad wanted to know.

"My parents were always worried about me. I was small, petite and totally shy. So they raised me differently than other parents raise their children." Zhan replied vaguely.

"Of course they did. But what do you mean?" Now Yibo asked.

"Oh, I don't know how to explain it. For example, my parents took me to the shooting range every weekend, where I learned how to handle handguns. They made me learn jiu jitsu so that I could defend myself. They trained my brain to pay attention to certain things and how to react to them. But I'm not sure if the latter did me any good. Because on the night of Isla Isari's party, when her driver approached me, I froze and couldn't move. I panicked." Zhan said, getting goosebumps at the memory.

"So your parents trained you in a certain way?" Yibo asked, clearly skeptical now."

Zhan shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Does it matter?"

"No, not really. But if it does, I find it very strange. Because as I said, sometimes it seems to me that you're more capable than me or my colleagues. So there's no way this could have been simple defense training." Yibo said and was proved right by his parents.

Zhan shifted more and more restlessly on the sofa. He was visibly uncomfortable with the subject and didn't want to talk about it. Not here, not today and never, ever! "Can we talk about something else now?" Zhan asked, trying to look as innocent and naïve as possible.

"Yes, of course. So you found out who your biological parents were and that there are still living relatives. Grandparents, right?" Yibo's mom asked. Zhan nodded in agreement. "That's really great. But what I don't understand is that you haven't done anything to get to know these grandparents. And from what I understand, you haven't done any more research on your parents either, have you?"

Zhan nodded again in agreement. "I have decided to get to know my grandparents. I even wanted to do it as soon as I found out about them. But now I think I should wait until the mission is over and I have my head clear. I don't want to meet my grandparents with my head full of thoughts about the mission and the problems associated with it. Besides, when I meet them, I want to do so with the news that we have finally found their murderers and that they will finally get their fair punishment."

"It's been 26 years since your parents died in the fire. And there are no new traces, are there? Not even cold traces that could perhaps be investigated again. And you don't know how long your grandparents will live. Is it really right to put off getting to know them? Especially when you don't know if you'll ever find their murderers? Think about it. Not even the missing children have been found yet." Said Yibo's dad.

Zhan wondered if they had told them too much after all and what he should answer? On the one hand, he agreed with Yibo's dad. But on the other hand, he at least wants to try. He hasn't spoken to He Peng, the boy who was also rescued by Isla Isari and who is also looking for his parents' murderers, and he doesn't know whether he might have any new clues about the killers. But there were just too many things to think about. Too many things on his mind. And right now, the mission is the most important thing! Especially because now even worse people have turned up and they know next to nothing about them.

Since Zhan didn't answer, Yibo took over. "I think Zhan has too many other things on his mind at the moment. Tomorrow, for example, we're meeting the other lawyer from Isla Isari. Nobody knew that there was another lawyer and another will. And it feels like there are a thousand other things that are also important and need to be clarified."

"We understand that. We're just interested." Yibo's dad appeased, seeing that Zhan was starting to feel more and more uncomfortable. "We didn't want to back Zhan into a corner."

"It's all right. It's not like that. And Yibo's right. There are so many things going through my head that I don't really know where to start. The mission comes first and everything else will have to wait." Zhan replied.

"You know what? Let's leave this topic for now and focus on what we're going to eat today. What are you hungry for? What do we want to order?" Yibo's mother asked, hoping that this would lighten the mood a little.

"Yibo and I wanted to cook today. We can do that. We've bought enough food." Zhan suggested.

"Good, and I'll help you." Said Yibo's mom with her brightest smile. She already likes Zhan and hopes that the relationship between Yibo and Zhan will last. Because she has the feeling that they are truly a good match. She doesn't get the impression that Zhan is out to achieve fame and fortune through Yibo. She can see from Zhan's face that he really loves Yibo. And her son, she smiled to herself, is totally crazy about Zhan. She can clearly see that too.

Finally, they all went into Yibo's ultra-modern and never-before-used kitchen, which Zhan was totally thrilled with, especially the stove and the American fridge, and started preparing dinner together. Yibo and his dad were responsible for washing and peeling the vegetables, Yibo's mom cut the meat and prepared a salad, while Zhan stood at the stove and conjured up a deliciously tasty meal from the ingredients.

During the dinner that followed, Yibo's parents talked about selling their house and looking for a smaller ground-floor house where they could spend their retirement together. They had even looked at a few houses and found one that suited them. But it was more expensive than they were willing to pay for a small house and too much would have to be done to it. Whereupon Yibo suggested that they also look at apartments, as it doesn't necessarily have to be a house and there are nice apartments where there are lots of great activities and physical activities for people aged 50+.

After dinner, they went back to the living room where they chatted while playing a card game and getting to know each other better through various questions. And when midnight came and they were all pretty knocked out, Yibo's parents went to Yibo's bedroom while Yibo and Zhan made themselves comfortable on the sofa and fell asleep almost immediately.