Vampire and His Pleasant Companions: Volume 4 - Extra

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Dad and the Bodyguard

["Ah, Henry."] 

Called by Martha in the hallway of the mansion, Henry Wood had a bad feeling. He sensed he was about to be asked to do some errand, like retrieving something from a high place or carrying something heavy. He didn’t mind helping since Martha was elderly, but there was one problem—she was utterly unreserved. Whether it was wiping windows she couldn’t reach, unclogging the toilet, or being asked, "Could you pick up some milk for me?" the final straw was when he had to plead with his employer, Richard, "Please, could you hire another housekeeper?" His request was granted, and a new housekeeper—more of an odd-job worker—was brought in, but unfortunately, Martha’s relentless use of people hadn’t changed.

As Henry braced himself, wondering what she might ask him to do this time, Martha surprised him by saying, ["Akira was looking for you. Haven’t you seen him?"]

["Akira was looking for me?"[

["Yes, he was."]

["I haven’t seen him today."]

Muttering something about how the house was too big, Martha climbed the stairs with a rag in hand. Relieved that he hadn’t been tasked with anything, Henry wondered what Akira wanted with him. He hadn't spoken much with Akira.

Henry had come to LA four years ago and had been working as a bodyguard ever since. Before that, he was a police officer. Although the job was dangerous, he enjoyed being a cop—it suited him well. He even had a girlfriend who was also a police officer, and both his professional and personal life were fulfilling. However, everything fell apart when his girlfriend was stolen away by one of his colleagues, his best friend, no less.

"Stolen" might not be the right word, since his girlfriend had broken up with him, saying she’d found someone else. But seeing her kissing that very friend at a pub the day after the breakup was a shock. Their obvious affection didn’t seem new; it was clear there had been an overlap. It hit Henry that he had lost the "romance race" to his colleague, and he began to resent everything.

As he grew increasingly disillusioned with his job, where he constantly ran into his ex-girlfriend and former friend, he remembered that his uncle, a former soldier living in LA, had started a bodyguard company. Knowing that the company prioritized hiring ex-cops and ex-military personnel, Henry consulted his uncle, who was happy to bring him on board.

Half a year after starting fresh in LA as a bodyguard, Henry was assigned to protect movie producer Richard Carlisle at a premiere event for his new film. Though he knew Richard was famous, Henry wasn’t particularly interested in the types of movies Richard produced—mostly social dramas and love stories, not the action films Henry preferred.

Despite Richard’s fame, he had been attacked by fans twice before. However, according to Henry’s uncle, "Guarding celebrities isn’t as bad as guarding politicians or business moguls. The attackers are amateurs, so their actions are limited. But with politicians or the heads of major corporations, they might hire professionals to target you, which is much more dangerous."

On the final day of the three-day event, Richard received a death threat, prompting an increase in security. Bodyguards were stationed inside and outside the dressing room, and Henry stood near the door inside. Richard, sitting on the sofa with a coffee, seemed unfazed by the death threat, as if he was used to it.

Suddenly, Richard looked at Henry. 

["Weren't you here yesterday too? Are you assigned to me?"] 

["No, I'm not."] 

["Really? I noticed your accent is a bit different. Where are you from?"] 

Thinking he was being subtly mocked for being a country boy, Henry replied, ["North Dakota."] 

["Do bodyguard companies tend to hire a lot of ex-military and ex-cops?"] 

["Yes, I used to be a police officer myself."] 

["That’s reassuring. You’ve got a good build—did you do any martial arts?"] 

["Some judo."] 

For some reason, Richard grinned and then turned on the TV. As he flipped through the channels, he stopped on a drama. The characters all had black hair, and their clothing was distinctive... Was it an Asian drama?

["Are you interested in Japan?"] 

Richard asked, perhaps noticing Henry glancing at the TV. 

["Not at all. I actually dislike Asia, including Japan."] 

The words escaped Henry at lightning speed. 

["Really? I find Asian culture fascinating, and the people charming. I love it."] 

["I don’t."]

The conversation ended there. Henry worried that he might have offended Richard, but since they didn’t usually talk much, he brushed it off. Still, the conversation lingered in his mind, and when he got home, he searched for Richard Carlisle online. He found a profile that mentioned Richard had a long-term relationship with an Asian actress, who had passed away due to illness. Since then, Richard had remained single. Reading that, Henry buried his face in his hands.

Two weeks later, Richard requested protection from Henry's uncle’s company for a film award event where he would serve as a judge. Knowing this, Henry asked his uncle to assign him to Richard’s security detail. When he found himself alone with Richard in the dressing room, he finally mustered the courage to speak up.

["I’m sorry for what I said the other day about disliking Asia."]

Richard tilted his head, puzzled. "Huh? What are you talking about?"]

["I didn’t know about your girlfriend. Even if I hadn’t known, I shouldn’t have said something like that..."]

Richard smiled gently. "Don’t worry about it."]

["...To be honest, I was just venting my anger."]

Richard tilted his head again, ["Huh?"]

["A few months ago, I was dating a Chinese-American woman, but she broke up with me..."]

Henry immediately regretted revealing such personal information. After all, Richard had said he wasn’t offended.

["My girlfriend was Japanese,"] Richard murmured.

["I know. I mean, I found out recently,"] Henry corrected himself.

["I was rejected many times before she finally agreed to be with me. I kept trying until she gave in and we started dating. I was doing fine at first, but in the end, my friend took her away. I guess I just wasn’t attractive enough,"] Henry said, throwing himself into self-pity.

Henry continued, ["It was tough, especially since I had been thinking about marriage down the line. But once I changed jobs and moved to LA, not having to run into her, even by chance, made things easier,"] Henry continued, his tone heavy with resignation.

As he spoke, he glanced at Richard, wondering why he was unloading his personal story on this famous producer. To his surprise, a tear slipped down the cheek of the dapper, distinguished man, whose eyes had seen the passage of years.

["Ah, um..."] Henry began, caught off guard.

["Thinking about what you've gone through brings tears to my eyes,"] Richard said.

["Oh, no, this is just one of those things. It happens all the time,"] Henry replied, trying to play it off.

["Changing jobs because of a broken heart? You must have been really hurt. I think you're more sensitive than you let on. It must have been very painful,"] Richard’s deep, resonant voice echoed in Henry’s chest, and before he knew it, his eyes were beginning to sting with emotion.

When his girlfriend had broken up with him, even then, he hadn’t cried. She had started acting distant a while back, so he had sensed that something was wrong. But he had pretended not to notice and asked her out on dates, not wanting to let her go.

He had been worried about the gossip that might spread at work if he quit, and he hated the idea of becoming distant from his friends back home. But more than that, he couldn’t bear to see her start a relationship with his friend.

["Oh, no, really, it’s not..."] Henry began again, but as the words left his mouth, tears followed, and the two men, both of them, started sniffling together. Richard gently embraced him, stroking his back, which only made the tears fall harder.

By the time they left the waiting room, having been called by the staff, Henry's eyes were so red that a colleague stationed outside for security leaned in and whispered, ["Did you get pepper in your eyes or something?"]

That incident was the start of Richard requesting Henry by name whenever he needed security from his uncle’s company. And soon after, Richard began sharing stories about his lost love, Lily, a woman he considered his fated partner.

Before long, an incident occurred where Richard, while on a private trip, was knocked over by a rush of fans. Though there was no criminal intent, the incident made the news. Concerned, Henry received a request from Richard a few days later: ["Would you sign on as my personal bodyguard?"] His uncle had been thrilled, saying, ["This could be a great connection in the film industry."]

Now, Henry’s schedule was irregular, always being by Richard’s side, but as a single man, it wasn’t a problem. Even traveling overseas with Richard, though it was work, felt like fun.

As the two grew closer, Henry found himself not just a bodyguard but treated like part of the family. Richard was easygoing and social, but surprisingly cautious. And to those he let into his inner circle—his housekeeper, Martha, Henry, and the assistant, Stanley—he was incredibly indulgent.

However, Henry remained wary of Stanley. Richard seemed to like him, and they always had a good rapport when they talked. But the moment Richard wasn't watching, Stanley's gaze would turn icy.

Henry had tried to subtly warn Richard, but because Stanley had already earned Richard’s trust, Richard brushed it off with, ["Isn’t it just your imagination?"]

Richard’s unpredictable schedule meant he didn’t have much time to interact with Stanley, which was a relief for Henry.

Then came the news: the son of Richard’s beloved Japanese actress, Hanae Tamura, known as Lily, was coming to America. Hearing that the son would be staying at Richard’s Chicago mansion, Henry felt uneasy. Though Richard had often talked about Lily’s son, analyzing the situation, Henry suspected the son didn’t particularly like Richard. To be fair, from the son’s perspective, Richard was just his mother’s foreign lover—a complicated figure. Richard had even offered to adopt him, but the offer had been declined.

Henry thought to himself, ["If a famous actor wanted to adopt me, I'd jump at the chance."] The rejection gnawed at him.

With Stanley in the picture and now this mysterious son arriving, Henry felt overwhelmed with the number of people to watch out for. Despite that, Richard assured him that no security was needed in Chicago, so Henry wouldn’t accompany him. It made Henry uneasy, but Richard, overjoyed and so distracted by the news, hadn’t noticed Henry’s concerns.

Eventually, Lily’s son, Akira, arrived at Richard’s estate, and later, Henry was called to join them in Chicago. Richard had once shown him a picture of Akira, and though he could understand why people said he had inherited his mother’s beauty, when Henry met him in person, Akira gave off an oddly dark and gloomy vibe. His expression never seemed to change, to the point where Henry wondered if the man’s facial muscles had died. Adding to the strange aura, Akira had brought a pet bat with him from Japan—a fierce creature that he treated like some sort of companion. Meanwhile, Richard was as excited as a puppy, buzzing around Akira.

Since Akira’s arrival, Richard’s behavior had become unpredictable. One minute, he’d announce he wanted to visit the set of a Japanese drama, and the next, he’d return home after being attacked by some thug. Despite Henry’s repeated offers to accompany him, Richard would always leave him behind with a casual ["Take care of Martha."] And every time, chaos followed. Henry had eventually given Richard a firm lecture: ["Next time, I’m coming with you. No exceptions."]

The following days were a nightmare—a string of troubles, one after another, that felt like they added up to a lifetime of disasters. To make things worse, Henry grew increasingly concerned about Akira’s supposed lover, an unusual man with barely any background checks done on him.

Akira’s lover, Albert Irving, had visited Richard’s LA mansion but quickly moved out, saying he was relocating nearby. Irving was easy to read—a handsome but seemingly not-too-bright man who was openly smitten with Akira. His admiration for Richard was evident, full of respect and awe, and there was nothing suspicious about him at first glance.

Soon, Akira would be returning to Japan. Richard, visibly depressed, sighed, ["Akira’s leaving for Japan already."]

As Akira’s departure neared, Henry was curious about what Akira might be up to, but not enough to seek him out and ask. Instead, he busied himself with his usual routine—checking the garden for any unfamiliar changes or signs of intrusion. It was only by keeping a close watch that he could notice any subtle differences around the estate.

[“Henry.”]

Hearing his name, Henry turned around to find Akira standing by the cherry blossom tree.

[“Are you working?”]

[“Oh, no. I’m fine.”]

[“Can we talk?”]

[“Of course.”]

Akira approached him. Though Henry had heard he was thirty-one, Akira looked much younger. His black eyes, striking and beautiful like his mother’s, locked onto Henry’s, and despite Akira being just an ordinary person, Henry found himself inexplicably tense.

[“I’ll be returning to Japan tomorrow.”]

[“Richard told me.”]

Akira cast his eyes downward slightly, lowering his gaze.

[“That man knows he's a celebrity, but sometimes he still does reckless things.”]

[“Yes, that's true.”]

[“The distance between Japan and America is physically far. I can't come here easily. I heard there have been incidents before, and I was relieved when he got a bodyguard, but it seems like he doesn't really listen to your advice.”]

Impressed by Akira’s observation, Henry was caught off guard when Akira bowed his head slightly and said, [“It might be hard to get him to listen, but please, take care of Richard.”]

[“Of course. It’s my job,”] Henry replied.

Akira exhaled softly and began walking back toward the mansion. Henry had wondered what Akira wanted to talk about, and now he understood.

Though Akira was stoic and hard to read, his reaching out to Henry, a mere bodyguard, showed that he cared about Richard. It wasn’t just Richard’s one-sided affection—Akira genuinely cared for him, too.

Perhaps Akira saw Richard as family, more than just his mother’s lover. If that were the case, Henry thought, Akira could easily accept Richard’s offer of adoption and inherit his vast fortune. But since Akira was independent in Japan, it seemed he didn’t need anything more than the affection they already shared.

Finally, Henry began to understand why Richard was so attached to Akira. It wasn’t just because Akira was the son of someone Richard had loved. Akira didn’t care about Richard’s fame or wealth—he cared about him as a person. It was rare to find someone like that outside of family or a lover. Perhaps Richard realized that too.

Henry had suspected it for some time, but now he was certain—there was no need to be wary of Akira anymore.

[“…Still, he could stand to be a bit more approachable,”] Henry muttered to himself.

A part of Henry wanted to share this realization with Richard, but if he did, Richard would surely try to stop Akira from returning to Japan. It was best to wait for the right timing before bringing it up.

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