“Hayun-ah,” he says very firmly, even as he runs his hand through the boy’s hair. “You’re a part of my life. An important one. I’ll do whatever I can for you when I can. I don’t want to make any promises I know I won’t be able to keep.”

His is a dangerous line of work. Some of the people he deals with are more like him: stable and not endlessly power hungry. Yes, growth is good, but it can’t be infinite. Yohan’s happy to spend the bulk of his energy in maintaining what he has and taking smaller, subtler steps toward expansion. But there are some who are greedy and petty, some who want it all, and some who want to see him fall just because of his success. Some are dangerously unhinged. Those aren’t the types of people Yohan can simply excuse himself from if Hayun’s having a bad day.

“I mean it when I say I will be there for you whenever it’s possible.”