Kiss the Stranger

I jolted awake at the sharp thud. Lifting my head, I realized I’d been knocked to the ground. Before I could even gather myself, a flurry of kicks rained down. I couldn’t fight back—only curled up and took the blows. My mind swam, vision flashing white, yet even as I hunched and screamed, his scent still lingered around me. Kamar’s sweet scent.

Through blurred eyes I saw him beyond the men beating me. He stood expressionless, as if I meant nothing to him, watching me. My heart felt like it shattered.
How much I’d missed him.
A sudden kick to my gut made me retch. As I coughed up bile, the men hurled insults and shouted.

“You filthy brat!”
“How dare you—who are you? Identify yourself!”
“Just lock him up for ten days in the cells; he’ll confess on his own.”

Then I heard a familiar voice.
“Yohan!”
The steward. The kicks stopped, and he yanked me up. Clutching me, he panted.

“Yohan, are you all right? Snap out of it!”
His voice was ragged—he must have run here for me. I vaguely thought that without him, I might have been beaten to death. I forced my eyes open and saw the steward’s face. Slanting my gaze, I noticed the men forming a circle around us. The one at the front bellowed.
“How dare you—who are you? Identify yourself!”
The thunderous shout sent chills down my spine, freezing me in place. My whole body shook, and the steward cried out in defense, just as loud.

“Dive, do you doubt me? This is my party member—my assistant!”
He sounded angry, but the guard Dive sneered, still looking down on me.
“Do you know what that bastard was about to do? If you brought him, you should have watched him. How dare he lunge at His Highness!”

I felt the steward go stiff. After a moment’s hesitation, he answered.
“He’s unwell.”
He spoke smoothly, without hesitation.

“That’s why I took him as my assistant for reagent testing. I’d actually requested an audience to introduce him, but was told His Highness was out, so we were returning to our quarters when he came back. This boy got too excited when he heard the Crown Prince had returned. Can’t you understand something so simple?”
At his protest, the men glanced at one another uncertainly. Dive frowned and stared back. Then they parted to either side, and Dive stepped back hurriedly. In the clear space appeared him—
Kamar.

Dressed in a black suit, he was unlike any image I’d known. One hand in his pocket, the other holding a cigarette, he stood with short-cropped hair, a crisp glossy shirt, and a jewel-encrusted tie pin. His wristwatch gleamed as though it housed a sun.
But most of all, it was his gaze upon me—so cold, so unmoved—it pierced my heart. I stared up at him, stunned.
How long I’d waited for this day.

I’d lived for the hope of seeing Kamar again, yet now that dream was a nightmare. He was clearly Kamar—and yet he was not. I wanted to deny reality. He couldn’t be looking at me with such eyes.
Slowly, he brought the cigarette to his lips. After a breath, he exhaled and twisted his mouth in cynical amusement, speaking for the first time.
“Doctor, if you commit such rudeness, even though you’re American, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

Ah.
His voice shattered my heart. Could someone truly look like him and speak with the same voice? The same sweet scent, the same violet eyes, the same lips were all his.
But why did he look at me as if I were a stranger?
The steward spoke above us.

“Your Highness, please forgive this rudeness. This boy… came here to see you, and in his excitement committed this grave breach. I beg your mercy.”
Kamar said nothing, bringing the cigarette again to his mouth. A heavy silence fell. No one dared speak until he did. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled so slowly it felt eternal. At last he spoke.
“This is the first and last time, doctor. Next time, I will have your neck hung alongside your body.”

That bone-chilling warning made the steward bow his head.
“Thank you, Your Highness. May God bless your mercy.”
At that, Kamar laughed silently.

“Steward.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
He narrowed his eyes and spoke in a lower tone than before.

“I am God.”
My mind went blank. I couldn’t breathe, could only look at him. But for the men present, his words seemed ordinary; they bowed instantly. Only Kamar remained upright, looking down on us. My lips trembled as I bit them, and the steward spoke again.
“Most holy Highness, I have one request.”

Kamar frowned as though wondering what it was. The steward glanced at me and pleaded,
“Please bestow a blessing on this boy.”
“…”

Kamar’s gaze shifted to me. Startled, I looked up, and the steward continued.
“As I told you, he is ill. A blessing would aid his recovery.”
Kamar said nothing. I was too afraid to speak, only watched him. He removed the cigarette and answered.

“So be it.”
I widened my eyes in surprise at his unexpected accord. The steward seized the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ moment to help me up, then stepped back. Before I knew it, I was kneeling, and Kamar approached. Step by step he drew closer, and I stared dazedly.
He stopped just a few paces away and looked down at me. To see his face so high above, I had to tilt my head back completely. He lowered his right hand and held it just above my head, then spoke.

“May God’s blessing descend upon you, and all your anxieties vanish.”
His cool words fell more like a sentence than a benediction. I could only look up at him in a daze.
So close.

His scent was so strong it numbed my senses. Never before had I smelled him so intensely. Even when he held me as I slept, his scent had never been this potent.
So near, yet so far.
Realization blurred my eyes again.

“Why are you crying?”
Kamar asked. His voice sounded puzzled, even a little displeased. The steward answered from behind.
“He weeps from the emotion of meeting God’s representative. Please understand.”

Kamar said nothing, only watched me. I blinked tears away, only for more to come. When my vision cleared briefly, he said,
“What was your name again?”
“Yohan.”

The steward answered again.
“Yohan.”
Kamar spoke my name. Though his tone was gentle, it sounded unfamiliar, as if hearing it for the first time.

“If you ever touch me again, I will cut off your arm. Remember that.”
His soft voice delivered a grim warning. Then he turned and walked away. The men hurried after him, and I was left alone with the steward. Once they’d all disappeared, he rushed to me and examined my face and body.
“My goodness, how could anyone beat you so… Yohan, are you all right? Can you walk? Let’s go back to my quarters. I’ll treat you. Ugh, those ignorant brutes—what could you do against them, you’re only a boy. All they have is brute strength…”

He was outraged, but all I could hear was Kamar’s gaze and cool voice echoing in my mind.
That wasn’t Kamar.
Kamar would never look at me that way or say those things.

I bit my lip, but I couldn’t stop sobbing. Tears poured again, and I cried out loud.
He’s not Kamar…!