* * *
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I appreciate it.”
“…What?”
For the first time, Cha Yoonjae looked genuinely taken aback, his face betraying a rare moment of confusion.
Or rather than confusion, it was closer to disbelief.
“I’ve learned something new thanks to you. Even without that drug, I believe things would have turned out the same way. So, I’ll just think of it as a supplement.”
It was a drastic prescription, but an effective one—at least for the Junhee of that moment.
Leaving behind a dazed Cha Yoonjae, Junhee swept his gaze across the others.
“There was a time when you all felt like people from another world. Unlike me, you were Alpha—superior, just by birthright.”
The bright days seemed to exist only for them, while the pitch-dark night, where not even a step ahead was visible, was all that was left for someone like him.
He had believed that without question.
“If I had known you were nothing but disgusting trash, I wouldn’t have been so afraid.”
There is no such thing as an eternal day. Just as there is no eternal night.
There are only different time zones.
“What the hell is he saying? Junhee, have you lost your mind? Hanging around that freak must have messed you up too.”
Baek Seunggyo sneered, laughing as usual, but this time, no one followed suit.
Kang Heesung, his expression chillingly hardened, muttered in a low voice.
“This bastard… did he come here knowing something?”
Ki Taebeom abruptly stood up, staggered around the table, and stopped in front of Junhee.
Lifting Junhee’s chin with a single finger, he smirked.
“So, what? Are you here to negotiate with us?”
Junhee coldly swatted his hand away.
“I only negotiate when it benefits me. And I didn’t come here to negotiate.”
I came to threaten you.
A taut silence filled the air at Junhee’s words.
It remained unbroken until Junhee slowly pulled out a gray burner phone from his pocket and placed it in the center of the table.
“Do you know what this is?”
“What, that piece of junk?”
“This is the phone Ki Taeseong used.”
“…What?”
“How the hell do you know Ki Taeseong?”
At the mention of that name, the four men failed to hide their shock.
Ki Taeseong had disappeared five years ago.
Or at least, that’s what they believed.
He vanished after the death of Ki Bucheon—the firstborn son of Chairman Ki and the father of the siblings.
“The news reported that Ki Bucheon died in a car accident, crashing into a guardrail while driving under the influence. The footage from the black box couldn’t be recovered due to the fire.”
“…Why the hell are you bringing that up now? What does that have to do with us?”
Junhee gazed down at Baek Seunggyo’s face, which was blinking rapidly.
Now, he understood—just a little—how Ki Taeryu always seemed to sense his unease like a ghost.
The pheromones in the air had shifted.
“Fuck… So what? What are you trying to pull?”
Ki Taebeom took a threatening step forward, eyes blazing.
“This phone has the black box footage from that night.”
“…What?”
“Bullshit. What the fuck is this guy talking about? He doesn’t even know what he’s saying—just spouting nonsense.”
Ki Taebeom snatched the gray phone and played the video.
Nervous eyes gathered toward the screen.
Junhee, too, thought of Ki Taeseong—the man who had given him the choice.
“What… What are you saying, sir?”
Junhee’s eyes wavered with unease.
He had just heard something utterly unbelievable.
Taeseong, looking bitter, stared down the cliff.
“I didn’t know what to do back then, either.”
“A staged accident? If you knew it was staged, you should’ve reported it. He was your father.”
“My mother was involved too.”
“You mean Hong Yeonggyeong? What does she have to do with this…?”
“She lived her whole life for me. Even taking part in my father’s murder—it was for my sake. So I ran away. I couldn’t bear to harm my own mother.”
“……”
If Junhee had understood correctly, Ki Taeseong had fled, holding onto evidence, to cover up the fact that his mother had killed his father.
And from the way he said “took part in it,” it wasn’t just her.
Suddenly, an image of Ki Taeryu flashed through Junhee’s mind.
“Don’t tell me… Ki Taeryu’s been looking for you because—”
“Yeah. Taeryu knew it wasn’t just an accident. He just never had solid proof. That’s why he was looking for me.”
By now, it was impossible to tell who was the villain and who was the hero.
The line had been completely erased.
“I felt like I turned my mother into a monster. I wished she would confess and repent, but the next day, my mind would change again. It wasn’t fair to Taeryu, but as long as I had this as leverage, my uncle and Taebeom wouldn’t dare act recklessly.”
Taeseong looked like he could fall off the cliff at any moment.
If Seo Junghee had killed Junhee’s father for his sake, and if the evidence was in his hands…
…What choice would Junhee have made?
That thought alone rendered him speechless, unable to cast blame.
He wasn’t perfect either.
“But what does it matter now? Those who deserve punishment should be punished. Those who should live should live. I’m just a coward. See? Even now, I’m dumping this on you.”
Crash!
Ki Taebeom hurled the phone to the floor, shattering it.
“Fuck… You think taking that changes anything? You think the cops will believe you?”
“Yeah, seriously. You’re buying into that scammer Ki Taeseong’s bullshit?”
They had been together five years ago too.
Some for power, some for amusement, some for money—monsters united by mutual interest.
Now, Junhee knew.
They were the truly inferior beings.
With a dull thud, Kang Heesung stepped on the shattered screen with his shoe and leaned in close to Junhee.
“So what now? You want us to kill you too?”
Even with the reek of alcohol in his damp voice, Junhee didn’t flinch.
“You sound scared.”
“…What?”
Ignoring him, Junhee picked up a bottle of liquor from the table.
“Three drinks. Then I’ll tell you what I plan to do next.”
He filled a crystal glass to the brim and held it out.
“What the fuck is this supposed to mean…?”
“If you’re curious, drink. Three glasses.”
Fixing an unrelenting gaze on Kang Heesung, Junhee gently swirled the glass.
The amber liquid sloshed against the rim.
A cold stream trickled down Heesung’s stunned face.
“You fucking—! What the hell—!”
“For starters, I’m going to return everything I’ve received. An eye for an eye, a debt repaid in kind—that’s what it means to be human, isn’t it?”
Junhee poured a second glass and turned toward Ki Taebeom, holding it out.
When Junhee gestured with his chin, wordlessly telling Taebeom to drink up, Taebeom muttered a quiet curse before downing the liquor in one go.
Bang.
Slamming the empty glass onto the table, he glared at Junhee as if he wanted to tear him apart.
“You’d better think carefully. If you expose that just to cover up the Taeryu assault case, we all go down together. You hate Taeryu too, don’t you? I’ll give you enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, so just keep quiet—”
“I told you, this isn’t a negotiation. It’s a threat.”
Junhee refilled the glass and placed it in front of Cha Yoonjae.
“I’ve already made a deal with Yoonjae.”
Then, Junhee turned to Baek Seunggyo, who stood beside Yoonjae, and held out another glass.
“Junhee, you… You’ve got this all wrong. Do you really think the police will take your side? No, the police are always on the side of the ones with money. What, do you think you’re some righteous hero or something?”
“No. I just want to live as a person. I don’t want to live like you.”
Junhee tilted the glass downward.
The clear liquid poured onto the floor, soaking Baek Seunggyo’s shoes.
“You little—”
Crash!
Kang Heesung, who had been toying with an empty bottle on the table, suddenly smashed it and lunged at Junhee.
“So you wanna die here, huh?”
He grabbed Junhee by the collar and pressed the jagged glass shards to his throat.
“Killing you would be nothing.”
Junhee silently met Heesung’s eyes, his expression eerily calm.
Looking at him, one would think it was Heesung who had a blade at his throat, not Junhee.
“Even if I disappear, nothing will change.”
“…What?”
“You think I’ll let this happen to me twice?”
The moment Junhee finished speaking, the noise outside grew louder.
Something crashed, and then—
Bang!
The door burst open.
“You can’t go in th—!”
“Junhee hyung!”
“Yoo Junhee!”
Beyond the doorway stood Doyoung and Siwon.
And then—
“Yoonjae…”
Daeheon had arrived, still wearing his white coat, having run straight from the hospital.
“Shit, what the fuck now?”
“What do you think? We came to take you down. Cha Yoonjae, you’ve really lost it, haven’t you?”
Doyoung sauntered toward the table, his heels clicking against the floor.
“Junhee hyung! Are you okay? Ah, hyung! I told you not to just rush in like that!”
Siwon yanked his back behind him, blocking his path.
Doyoung pouted and kneaded his firm forearm.
“Oh my… Siwon, are you trying to protect me? How reliable. What a little cutie you are.”
“The fuck is with these lunatics?”
Cursing under his breath, Kang Heesung hesitated, still holding onto Junhee.
“Yoonjae… This isn’t you, right? You’re not like this.”
Daeheon stepped toward Yoonjae, disbelief written all over his face.
Still seated, Yoonjae slowly lifted his gaze to meet Daeheon’s.
“And what kind of person am I?”
“You’re… You’re kind, smart… Unlike me, you grew up in a good family, loved and cherished.”
“Exactly. So why would someone like me keep seeing an alpha as pathetic as you? Don’t you think, Kim Daeheon?”
Yoonjae smirked.
Daeheon’s jaw trembled.
He clenched his fists as he looked up at the vast, dark sky.
“…But it wasn’t all a lie, was it? Not even for a moment? Did you ever love me, Yoonjae? Just answer that.”
“Hmm… Do you want the truth?”
Yoonjae smiled and picked up a shard of broken glass.
* * *
