"Go ahead. Suck it and I'll answer you."
Ja-kyung grinned viciously, baring his teeth.
"Fine. Come here. I'll tear the flesh off you and chew it bit by bit."
Arrogant bastard. Thwack—before the words even finished, the man's fist and foot flew toward Ja-kyung. Hey, hey, don't—the man beside him tried to stop it, but he didn't cease the violence. Even as his bound body tumbled sideways from the chair, the kicking continued relentlessly. The man who barely managed to pull him away set Ja-kyung upright again. Face split open, Ja-kyung spat blood onto the floor with a "ptui."
After seating him back in the chair, they had bound his hands and feet tightly with rope, making it difficult to break free. Has word reached the hyungs by now? When will Park Tae-soo arrive? There was no time to simply wait. Trying to hide his anxiety, he heard footsteps from outside. The gazes of the two men standing guard turned in that direction.
Ja-kyung's eyes went wide as he looked back.
"Still full of fight even in that state, huh?"
The owner of the chilling voice was none other than Takeya Jun. With one eye gouged out and his broken arm bandaged, he approached while tossing a knife into the air and catching it with his good hand. As the two guards stepped back, he came before Ja-kyung, lowered himself, and examined his face.
"What happened to you? Didn't you go down too easily?"
Ja-kyung swept his eyes up and down over Jun's appearance and sneered.
"Speak for yourself, hyung-nim. You look like hell. Can you even see out of that eye?"
Jun pressed the blade's tip close to Ja-kyung's right eye. Just a slight movement of his head would burst his eyeball. He lowered the blade, scraped it along Ja-kyung's cheek, then aimed it at his throat.
"Should I kill you in one blow? Or should I carve you into pieces and send you to your brother?"
When there was no answer, he gripped Ja-kyung's jaw tight.
"Answer me. Hmm?"
"Do whatever you want, you son of a bitch!"
The moment he shouted, Jun kicked Ja-kyung's body. He stomped on the fallen Ja-kyung repeatedly, and still unsatisfied, stabbed the arm that hadn't fully healed yet with his knife. Then he did the same to the other arm.
Argh—a sharp scream echoed through the empty building.
Drip, drip—blood streaming down his face soaked the floor. Il-hyun twisted with his hands tied behind him. Broken wooden beams lay scattered across the floor. Men still armed with wooden beams and steel pipes surrounded him, and in front, Chairman Kang sat in a chair, looking at his son—who had become a bloody mess—with indifferent eyes.
"There's an old saying. A mad dog needs a beating."
Il-hyun sneered through his blood-covered face.
"There's another saying too. When you get old, you should die."
"My, my. Still not grasping the situation, I see."
Chairman Kang gestured, and one of his subordinates struck Il-hyun's back with a wooden beam. Ugh—Il-hyun fell to his knees. As he glared at Chairman Kang with eyes that could kill, Manager Kim approached from beside him with a piece of paper. He placed a blank paper and ballpoint pen on the floor, then stepped back one pace. The white paper had nothing written on it.
"Write what I tell you."
"Fuck you. Father."
"A suicide note."
Staring at the blank paper, Il-hyun burst out laughing. He rubbed the inside of his mouth with his tongue, then spat onto the floor with a "ptui!" Bright red clots of blood came out mixed in.
"Fuck. If you're going to kill me, just kill me."
"Write it. I, Kang Il-hyun, suffering from worsening mental illness—"
Haha—Il-hyun laughed in disbelief, then suddenly changed his expression and asked with a cold face.
"Was it that obvious?"
Chairman Kang continued speaking without paying him any mind.
"—no longer wish to cause harm to those around me. Therefore, I give up everything I possess and intend to end my life."
Il-hyun added with a laugh:
"P.S. The culprit is Chairman Kang Hoon."
Thwack, thwack—the wooden beam struck his back again. Properly angered this time, Chairman Kang stood up, approached, and struck him across the face with his cane. Crack, crack—impact landed on jaw and face, and a ringing "bzzt" sound filled his right ear. His bruised cheek burst and tore, and blood gushed from his mouth.
Il-hyun raised his head and glared straight at Chairman Kang, laughing like a madman. Seeing his son looking like a vengeful spirit, Chairman Kang's gaze sank like black water. He was his son, yet he feared him. He was his son, yet he wanted to kill him.
No one may covet my seat without my permission, nor take it without permission. He had violated all of that, so even if he was his son, he couldn't simply let it slide.
"I shouldn't have fathered you to begin with. I should have left your mother to die when she threatened to take pills."
Il-hyun enunciated each word clearly.
"You should have."
Just then, Lee Ja-kyung's voice was heard from the next room. Seeing Il-hyun's expression—which had been acting like a madman—suddenly change, a cruel smile spread across Chairman Kang's face. He used the tip of his cane to drag the blank paper thrown on the floor and push it aside. Kang Il-hyun's gaze, which had been fixed on the wall, shifted to Chairman Kang.
"Why. Keep laughing."
"I'll write whatever you want, so please don't touch him."
Even though it was a plea, his voice was chillingly cold. Chairman Kang didn't answer, and Kang Il-hyun couldn't hold back and finally exploded.
"Fuck! I said I'll do what you want!"
Chairman Kang found his son's appearance both strange and fascinating, and an indescribable sadistic urge rose from within him. Perhaps he'd grown curious about the existence that made a man who was always composed and full of leisure become impatient and desperate.
"I've always kept your words engraved in my heart."
"…..."
"There are those I believe will not harm me. I call them corpses."
Il-hyun's gaze went cold with fury. Anger rose from his jaw to the top of his head. No matter how much he moved his hands, the rope showed no sign of loosening. Lee Ja-kyung's shout was heard again, and his heart grew desperate.
Watching his anxious son, Chairman Kang was enjoying himself. Was there ever better prey for disciplining his insolent son who always tried to sit at the head of the table?
"Shall we test those words today?"
Before he could ask what that meant, he gave separate instructions to Manager Kim standing beside him. He disappeared outside, and the noisy room next door went quiet. Il-hyun bit his lower lip hard and looked outside. Quite a high floor. Chairman Kang probably planned to make him write a suicide note here, then push him down below. Through the window left open from unfinished construction, the blue sky was visible. A dazzlingly sunny day.
And before there was even time to think further, Manager Kim dragged Lee Ja-kyung in. Seeing Takeya Jun following behind, Kang Il-hyun's face contorted. He displayed his bloodied knife with a creepy smile, and Ja-kyung—in a complete mess—had blood dripping from his arms.
Dragged in, Ja-kyung was shocked speechless seeing Kang Il-hyun's bloodied state. It seemed to be because of him, and his throat tightened. If he hadn't made that ridiculous confession this morning, if he had finished work at the company and gone home as planned, this wouldn't have happened.
Chairman Kang's subordinate brought Ja-kyung over and made him kneel beside Il-hyun.
After checking Ja-kyung's condition, Il-hyun glared at Chairman Kang. His eyes were filled with rage and hatred.
"I'll do whatever you say, so please untie him."
"Who? You? Or that kid?"
"Lee Ja-kyung."
Chairman Kang's gaze shifted to Ja-kyung. If this guy had just handled the job properly a year ago, it wouldn't have come to this. He wanted to kill him immediately for his audacity, but he wanted to teach his son that life has many bitter flavors.
One of those being betrayal by someone you trusted and cherished.
Chairman Kang gave the order, and one of the subordinates untied Ja-kyung's bound arms. Before he could even understand what was happening, Manager Kim approached, drew an axe from his back, and threw it. The moment he instinctively tried to catch it, Manager Kim drew a gun and aimed it at Ja-kyung.
"That's not for you to play around with."
Ja-kyung took his eyes off the axe and looked at Chairman Kang.
"My son trusted you implicitly."
"…..."
"What about you? Do you trust my son?"
Ja-kyung looked back at Il-hyun. He didn't meet his eyes. Why. How. Before he could even grasp how the situation was unfolding, Chairman Kang made an unimaginable proposal.
"Cut off his right arm. Then I'll let you leave here."
Surprised, Ja-kyung looked at Kang Il-hyun again. He was still glaring straight ahead.
Why. Why won't he look at me.
"Hey, Chairman Kang."
He pretended not to hear and closed his eyes. Ja-kyung finally understood his intent. Fuck. Fuck. He clenched his teeth, turned his head sharply, and glared at Chairman Kang like he would kill him.
The reason he didn't kill his son in one blow wasn't out of affection. Kang Il-hyun's nasty nature of toying with his prey slowly seemed to have been inherited from Chairman Kang after all. Rather than physical pain, he wanted to give him the pain of betrayal by someone he trusted and poured affection into—and enjoy it.
The moment he slowly reached out and grabbed the axe in front of him, gun muzzles all turned toward Ja-kyung in unison. They intended to riddle him with bullets at the slightest provocation. Either way, dead or alive. Ja-kyung gripped the axe handle and stood up.
Il-hyun lowered his head as if resigned. He knew why he wouldn't meet his eyes. Afraid of hesitation and wavering. Afraid that if he hesitated, they'd both die meaningless deaths together.
Sweat soaked the hand gripping the axe.
"Ha. Fuck."
Chairman Kang wasn't the patient type.
"Should I wait longer?"
Ja-kyung called out to Kang Il-hyun in a quiet voice.
"Chairman Kang."
He said nothing. Ja-kyung moved his lips.
"I'm sorry…."
The corner of Il-hyun's stiff lips rose slightly. Like a convict awaiting execution, he didn't move a muscle with his eyes closed. I'm truly sorry. I'll pay for this sin my whole life. The moment Ja-kyung raised the axe high, ecstasy spread across Chairman Kang's face.
Looking at Kang Il-hyun who still didn't move, Ja-kyung spun his body around in a full circle and threw the axe toward Chairman Kang. In an instant, the axe flew and struck Chairman Kang's forehead before anyone could block it—thwack—the sound of his skull splitting rang out.
At the same time, Kang Il-hyun's closed eyes flew open. He watched his father collapse with the axe buried in his forehead, then turned to Ja-kyung.
Ja-kyung smiled with a face full of regret and guilt.
"Sorry. You're an orphan now."