CH 86

When Il-hyun entered the house, the eyes looking at him were not friendly. Kim Seon-young, who was in the living room, opened her sharp eye and glared at Il-hyun.

“How are you?”

“You didn’t call, what’s going on?”

In a situation where no one welcomed him, Il-hyun smiled calmly.

“I came to see my father. He’s upstairs, right?”

“He’s busy right now. Come back later.”

Il-hyun didn’t even pretend to listen and went upstairs. Kim Seon-young did not like his behavior, but she could not find a reason to stop him. Il-hyun went upstairs and went straight to Chairman Kang’s study. After knocking, he opened the door and went in without waiting for an answer.

While talking with Director Kim, Chairman Kang’s gaze shifted to Il-hyun. It was a very brief moment, but he could see the displeasure in his eyes. Il-hyun undid the buttons on his suit and sat across from Chairman Kang.

“You didn’t even call.”

“You’re saying the same thing as mother. Does a son need to have a reason to visit his father?”

“I’m not in the mood to talk to you today. Go back.”

Il-hyun didn’t respond and looked at Chairman Kang blankly. The eyes of the two were tightly intertwined, and Chairman Kang could not stand it and signaled to Director Kim to take him out. Director Kim approached and bowed his head.

“CEO Kang, I think it would be better if you go home today.”

Director Kim grabbed Il-hyun’s arm as he sat motionless on the sofa. At the moment he asked, “CEO Kang?,” Il-hyun pulled a gun from his arms and aimed it at Director Kim’s foot. He screamed and fell forward after a deafening explosion and a bullet lodged in his foot.

Chairman Kang jumped up from his seat with a surprised face, and after a while, hearing gunshots, three men hurriedly rushed in and kicked in the door. Il-hyun casually tossed the gun on the table and brushed off the part of the arm that Director Kim had just touched.

One of the bodyguards rushed to help Director Kim to go outside, while the other two stood behind Il-hyun’s back, waiting for Chairman Kang’s instructions. Il-hyun put his arms on the sofa and smiled with a relaxed face.

“Don’t touch me. If you touch me, I’ll cut you all to pieces right here.”

It was said to the bodyguards, but his serpent-like glare was directed at Chairman Kang. Chairman Kang angrily picked up the gun that Il-hyun had thrown. And he aimed it at Il-hyun.

Il-hyun smiled without blinking an eye.

“Shoot.”

Chairman Kang, who was angry, trembled under his eyes.

“You! This bastard. You are completely insane!”

“Are you afraid of me?”

Chairman Kang’s lower jaw stiffened as if his intentions had been revealed. His lips twitched and his gray eyes glowed with a murderous aura. Il-hyun repeated the same question with a smile on his face.

“Tell me. Did father find this son scary like monsters?”

Chairman Kang’s finger caught the trigger and twitched. Il-hyun smiled and got up from his seat.

“I definitely gave you a chance.”

He pulled the front of his top to adjust his clothes and then walked leisurely around the sofa toward the door. When Il-hyun reached for the door to leave, he heard a click and a trigger pulled behind him. Il-hyun turned around slowly. Chairman Kang, who had just pulled the trigger, stood puzzledly with his gun pointed at Il-hyun. Chairman Kang’s cheeks trembled and Il-hyun, who saw that, smirked.

“My father has lost his senses.”

The only loaded bullet was fired at Director Kim. Nonetheless, Chairman Kang pulled the trigger on Il-hyun several times. Only the empty cylinder rotated, but no bullets were fired. Chairman Kang’s rage erupted when he realized he had been mocked. He threw the gun at Il-hyun without hesitation with his face flushed red.

Bang. The gun hit the door and fell to the floor, and Il-hyun looked at it with an emotionless expression.

“Family members should never hurt each other.”

“…”

“However, if you injure them first, you must accept any punishment.”

He recited the family rules as if reading a sentence. Then he smiled eerily at Chairman Kang.

“My father shot me today, so it’s my turn next.”

Chairman Kang picked up an ashtray this time and threw it. Il-hyun dodged lightly, then moved only his neck to bid his farewell, opened the door, and left. A thunderous roar and a crashing sound can be heard. The smile slowly faded from his face as he walked down the hallway, and anger and hatred mixed in his eyes.

***

Ja-kyung looked out the window with a serious face and continued to smoke. Wang Lun was still completely unaware that his girlfriend had betrayed him. He asked acquaintances who could be contacted, but the answer came back that they did not know.

They’ve been in love for years, but how can she betray him like this? After arriving home, he and Wang Han put their heads together and pondered, but nothing came of it. In the end, a rock-paper-scissors game was used to decide who would tell Wang Lun, and fortunately, Wang Han won.

After finishing his cigarette, he opened the window to get some fresh air and went to bed. Ja-kyung had been awake all night, and as soon as he lay down, drowsiness set in. The previous night’s scene was vividly recreated in his dream. The young man in the mask abruptly changed into himself and collapsed, vomiting blood. Then he was startled awake by the sound of footsteps and the door opening. He saw Kang Il-hyun as he raised his head in a daze.

He brought a chair and sat down next to the bed. He looked very tired and exhausted.

“I heard you were sleeping without eating, so I came here.”

When Ja-kyung checked the time, it was already past 8 pm. He slept for a long time. He rubbed his face to wake himself up and frowned because his arm hurt. Il-hyun took his hand in his and examined it. The back of his arm was ripped and stitched up, but it wasn’t a big wound.

“Wasn’t it uncomfortable to wash it?”

He asked in a sweet voice.

“My brother gave me a quick wash.”

One of Il-hyun’s eyebrows raised as soon as he finished speaking. Kang Il-hyun grabbed Ja-kyung’s shoulder as he tried to put on a T-shirt. Something must have irritated him because his eyes were becoming increasingly aggressive.

“Do you brothers always wash each other?”

“It often happens when I get hurt. Besides, when I was young, my older brother always washed me.”

After sitting down with a displeased face, he stood up and went to the table to bring memo pads and a ballpoint pen. Ja-kyung had no idea what he was doing. He spits out unexpected words after handing Ja-kyung the paper and pen.

“Write them down in order of importance to you.”

“What?”

“Wang Han, Wang Lun, me, write them in order of importance.”

Ja-kyung frowned. This came as a complete surprise to him because he had just woken up, and he didn’t know what other bullshit this was. Ja-kyung stared at him with a puzzled expression, as Il-hyun held out the pen and pressed him with his gaze to write quickly. Il-hyun forced Ja-kyung to take the pen and write despite his protests.

Ah, seriously. What’s wrong with him again. Ja-kyung wrote Wang Han at the top. He then wrote Wang Lun and scribbled Kang Il-hyun at the bottom. When Ja-kyung held it out, Il-hyun gritted his teeth.

He took out his pen and drew a line through the names of Wang Han and Wang Lun, smiling brightly.

“If I kill both of them, I will be number one. Right?”

Ja-kyung hated it and snatched the pen and crumpled the paper. He was a little bit excited when Il-hyun acted like a normal sane person in the morning… Fuck it. Il-hyun went back to being crazy. Ja-kyung was too tired to respond, so he ignored him and lay on his bed, covering himself with the blanket.

“Get out. I want to sleep more.”

“Tell me. What do you need?”

Ja-kyung pulled the blanket over his head, and Il-hyun’s hand slowly dug in.

“Shall I give you money? Eung? Honey, you like money, right?”

“…”

“I have tons of money.”

“…”

“Will you think of me first if I give you all the money I have?”

Ja-kyung got up, shoved Il-hyun’s shoulder, and climbed out of bed. He opened the hidden safe below, took three bundles of money, and pulled Il-hyun’s shirt. When the button was ripped off and a gap appeared, he stuffed the bundle of money into it.

Ja-kyung didn’t care whether his face frowned or not.

“I will give you the money. Seriously, get out.”

Il-hyun’s eyes turned into daggers as he pulled the bundle of money out of his shirt.

“Why are you so good? Have you ever put some money in a man before?”

Il-hyun climbed on top of Ja-kyung after throwing away the bundle of money. Il-hyun quickly let go of Ja-kyung’s injured arm and apologized when he screamed. He apologized and burrowed his head like a spoiled brat into Ja-kyung’s arms, who kept pushing him away. Ja-kyung, who was about to grab Il-hyun’s hair, let it go.

“Don’t do that, just hug me. Something made me really upset today.”

It was ridiculous to see a man of 190 cm tall hanging in your arms. Ja-kyung expected him to let go soon, but he stayed put and refused to budge. There was no response when Ja-kyung asked what was upsetting him. Ja-kyung carefully moved his aching arm over his shoulder.

Ten minutes passed, then twenty minutes passed, and he was still quiet.

“Lee Ja-kyung.”

After a long silence, he spoke.

“Tell me. I’m listening.”

Ja-kyung was going to beat him up if he brought up money again.

“I have a vacation home in Hawaii.”

After bragging about money, he was bragging about a villa this time.

“Would you like to stay there for a while?”

Ja-kyung’s eyes widened at the unexpected words. Were they going on a vacation? Kang Il-hyun raised his face at the same time as Ja-kyung lowered his gaze. His lips were smiling, but his eyes were dark and still, like the calm before a typhoon.

“A month is enough. Think of it as a vacation.”