"I've registered your name for the pre-selection, just like you wanted. Compared to the others, you'll be starting one step ahead."
.
I was ready for anything.
For every possible outcome.
Because I was chasing something too big to let go of.
Çetin had helped me more than anyone.
If I managed to enter that company as a bodyguard, it would be because of him.
"Sir… no matter how much I thank you, it won't be enough."
He smiled and patted my shoulder.
"Finish the job first. You can thank me after, kid."
I lifted my head and smiled.
To reach this moment, I had worked harder than ever before.
It might sound unbelievable, but…
I wanted to prove how much I was willing to risk.
Just for him.
I wanted to become Ender Bey's bodyguard.
From the very first day we met.
"So, when are you leaving?"
"As early as possible," I said. "That's what I prefer."
He scratched his beard and studied me.
"I'm not asking out of curiosity. After all those years of work, joining a company like that as a guard is dangerous. I could've found you a different job."
I couldn't tell him the truth.
Of course I didn't want to put myself in danger.
I just wanted the man I loved.
If you call that risking my life, then so be it.
"I appreciate it, sir. But things aren't as simple as you think. I'm sorry. If it doesn't work out the way I want… I'll accept your offer."
He nodded in agreement, sighed, and stood up.
"Alright. Take care of yourself. And let me know how it goes, okay?"
Çetin wasn't my family by blood.
But he was the name of the family I never had.
He had raised me with his own hands.
I never ignored his advice—because so far, he had never been wrong.
I stood up, slung my bag over my shoulder, and headed toward the area where the company would select its guards.
My goal wasn't to become an ordinary bodyguard.
My real goal was to get close to Ender Bey.
To become his chief guard.
Eventually, I arrived at the recruitment site.
The hangar was crowded with men.
Tall. Broad. Built like tanks.
I leaned against the wall and began to observe.
That one favors his left foot—old injury.
Shorter, but solid.
Not overweight.
None of them looked particularly confident.
Most were probably men who had trained at the gym for a few months.
The kind who'd only held guns in video games.
As I was thinking that, one of the officers looked at me and shouted:
"Hey! You here to sit around? Want us to bring you some tea?!"
…Alright. My turn.
They entered my information into a tablet.
Height. Weight. Age. Injury history. Blood samples. Strength tests.
Hands everywhere—checking, measuring, testing.
Finally, they handed us firearms.
As the officer explained how to hold the gun,
I had already picked it up and fired—shot after shot—straight at the target.
One of the officers stepped closer and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Alright, alright. That's enough. You're good. Leave the range. Go upstairs and tell the staff there that Mr. X sent you."
While most of the accepted candidates were set aside,
they told me to go upstairs.
Come on… I can do this. I will.
I nodded and started walking up.
Just as I turned—
A gun flew through the air.
I turned back and caught it.
"Your reflexes are good too," he said.
What was that supposed to mean?
I smiled and continued upstairs.
Inside the elevator, I examined the gun they had given me.
The company's emblem was engraved on it.
I ran my thumb over the metal and smiled.
Almost there.
When I reached the upper floor, I noticed a few other men waiting.
Their builds were similar to mine.
One of them looked at me and motioned for me to come closer.
I walked over calmly and greeted them.
"Sir. Mr. X sent me."
He nodded.
"Let me start by explaining why you were called here separately."
He stepped back and sat on the desk, then pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
He tossed the lighter onto the floor.
Some of the men glanced at it.
"Pick it up. Immediately."
Several of them were dismissed on the spot—for losing focus.
He took a drag from his cigarette.
"Your job is to protect the person assigned to you from all external threats."
After the others were sent away, his gaze locked onto me.
One of his men came up from behind, grabbed my hair, and slammed me to the floor.
"Why do you want to be a bodyguard?"
My head was forced down so hard I couldn't even see his face.
"I don't have a reason."
He laughed, tapped ash into the tray, and spoke again.
"A bodyguard should recognize lies. I don't need to explain that, do I?"
He stepped closer, grabbed my face, and turned it to the side.
"Plenty of men like you have come here. Every single one of them was taken apart piece by piece. Your place is in TV dramas, not here."
I didn't understand what he was talking about.
"Does it look like that's my intention, sir?"
He released my face and smiled.
"Why should I accept a man who claims to have no motive? You could be a spy."
I laughed softly.
"If I were a spy, why would I approach you in such an obvious way?"
His expression hardened.
He dropped the cigarette and crushed it under his shoe.
"Your family. Are they alive?"
I shook my head.
"No, sir."
"Siblings?"
"No, sir."
"A spouse? Someone you love?"
"No, sir."
"Any debts you can't pay off?"
"N—"
His fist hit my face before I could finish.
"No one walks into death smiling when they've got nothing to lose.
Are you fucking insane?!"