7 – Chapter 7 Part 2

Woo-jin opened the door to the observation room.

The stern faces of the Deputy Chief Prosecutor and Head of Department Lee Seung-min, who had been waiting for him, turned simultaneously. As Woo-jin bowed his head in greeting, a bundle of documents held in the Deputy Chief Prosecutor’s hand flew unexpectedly towards his face. The papers that struck Woo-jin’s cheek scattered messily onto the floor.

Woo-jin bent his knee and picked up the fallen documents. He roughly sorted them in order, placed them on the desk, and stood before them as if nothing had happened.

“Are you insane? Prosecutor Hyun, have you lost your mind?”

“It’s a phrase I’ve been hearing a lot lately.”

“What?!”

Lee Seung-min, who hadn’t managed to stop the Deputy Chief in time, urgently grabbed the Deputy Chief’s arm, which was flailing as if he were about to seize Woo-jin by the collar. Lee Seung-min was looking at the thin cut on Woo-jin’s cheek.

Woo-jin confirmed Lee Seok-joong sitting alone on the other side of the one-way mirror and spoke.

“There won’t be a problem. If you’re that concerned, cut off the tail. Just let one person fall away, that should do it.”

“Where on earth do you see someone attacking their own people?! And not just some low-level guy, why are you trying to strip the High Prosecutor General of his position?!”

If it were just anyone in a vaguely similar position, it might be possible, but this was the High Prosecutor General of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office. A position no one could touch, and since it was an act carried out by the Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Special Investigation Division, the responsibility inevitably fell on him as the Deputy Chief Prosecutor.

“I’m just doing my job. Whoever it is, if they’ve committed a crime, they must be punished.”

“Do you think you’ll come out clean if we dig into you? Is that why you’re talking like that?”

“Go ahead and dig. I won’t stop you.”

The cold gaze and expression, unbelievable for someone who had initially bowed his head upon entering, eager to please and work hard, now bore down on him, the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Special Investigation Division, as if pressing him down.

Woo-jin was not only far below him in seniority but also merely the Head of the Investigation Command Section, a position whose rank was vastly inferior. An attitude so arrogant and insolent that not even the President’s grandfather could make him flinch pushed the Deputy Chief’s already boiling rage to the brink of explosion.

“You fucking son of a bitch…!”

His face turned pale. Lee Seung-min pulled the Deputy Chief Prosecutor’s arm, which he was holding back. Giving a firm look signaling to avoid useless arguments, he spoke to Woo-jin.

“For now, since everyone else says they can’t do it, Woo-jin, you start the interrogation of Lee Seok-joong. We’ll handle High Prosecutor General Lee Dae-young quietly. Prepare thoroughly in advance. If this goes wrong, it’s not just you who’s fucked, we’re all fucked. It won’t end with just you losing your position. You know that, right?”

“Yes.”

Woo-jin gave a brief reply to the intimidating Lee Seung-min and crossed over to the interrogation room.

Woo-jin pulled out the chair placed before Lee Seok-joong, took off his jacket, and hung it on the backrest.

Lee Seung-min, standing in the observation room watching Woo-jin’s ordinary actions, subtly spoke to the Deputy Chief Prosecutor.

“If this leaks to the press, it’ll be a huge problem. You need to enforce strict gag orders.”

“Get that bastard under control properly. Is it this hard to manage the people under you?”

“He wasn’t someone who followed the chain of command from the start. He doesn’t listen to anyone. He’s the type who has to chop down whatever he’s targeted, no matter what, to feel satisfied.”

Lee Seung-min raised his voice, frustrated by the Deputy Chief’s foolishness, still debating the trivial matter of whether such a person would listen or not.

“So what are you saying we should do? Are you saying he’ll actually indict the High Prosecutor General?”

“If he won’t listen, we have to make him listen. Don’t you have someone in the Ministry of Justice’s Inspection Bureau who can work with us?”

“Why that?”

“That bastard Woo-jin has plenty of dirty stuff too. He must have let one slip.”

There was no way the conversation in the observation room could be heard in the interrogation room, but Lee Seung-min whispered in a rapidly lowered voice. The Deputy Chief Prosecutor’s eyes opened with interest.

“What’s your intention in bringing this up now, at this point?”

“… That meticulous bastard must have something on my corruption too. I’m also caught by the ankle. So we need someone from the Inspection Bureau who can quietly and reliably cover for us.”

“It’s really dirty stuff, right?”

Worried that poking unnecessarily might make things bigger, he confirmed again.

Lee Seung-min also could no longer do anything about Woo-jin.

He wasn’t this reckless before. He wasn’t the person who used to move coldly, even to himself, at the necessary moment while watching things appropriately.

In the past, he would have subtly leaked corruption to shape public opinion or passed it on to someone like Kim Hanse, who charges in without looking ahead or behind, setting up the board so that no one would know whose doing it was.

Woo-jin had changed. He wasn’t the Hyun Woo-jin he knew. He was impulsive and rash. He was running amok at an uncontrollable level.

Lee Seung-min drove the nail in for the Deputy Chief, who was half-doubting his words.

“The bastard who stabbed Kim Jeong-geun in the back is Prosecutor Hyun.”

“What?”

“He’s the bastard Kim Jeong-geun has been sharpening his knife for years to send to prison. His engagement to that daughter is probably for the same reason.”

“Wow… I knew he wasn’t a normal human, but he’s completely insane.”

The Deputy Chief Prosecutor looked at Woo-jin sitting in the interrogation room with a gaze beyond surprise, almost wondrous, and marveled. Remembering that he had thrown a bundle of papers at such a person and even caused a cut on his face made his hair stand on end.

“I told you the Chief of Staff didn’t come looking for Prosecutor Hyun for no reason. He has some connection with Kim Jeong-geun. They say Kim Jeong-geun even entrusted his shares to him, and he trusts him immensely, not even knowing that the one who got him detained is that bastard.”

“He’s not human, he’s not human.”

“It’s highly likely Kim Jeong-geun even arranged the court to send him. That’s the kind of person he is.”

“…”

“We have to dig that up. He deliberately stirred up trouble by pitting Chief Prosecutor Park Hyung-soo and CEO Kim Jeong-geun against each other. Because we need to send him away for good, with no way out.”

“Was it that bastard who made Prosecutor Park slip? What, doesn’t want to dirty his own hands?”

“He probably tried not to leave traces. Prepare the audit as quickly as possible. Start the investigation with Prosecutor Jeong Ho-myung first. Since Hyun Woo-jin used him as his foot-wiper, something will come out, whatever it is.”

Woo-jin beyond the mirror still looked serious and cautious, but Lee Seung-min shook his head. Woo-jin was no longer the strategist who would pull him to higher places. He was a mad dog, gone insane and running wild.

“That bastard has lost it now. We need to discard him quickly.”

Preparing for the interrogation, Woo-jin opened his laptop.

Seok-jung, sitting relaxed across from him, tapped his own cheek.

“Bleeding, here.”

Woo-jin rubbed his cheek. Blood came off on his hand. It seemed he had been cut by the edge of the paper from the bundle the Deputy Chief Prosecutor had thrown earlier. He roughly wiped it with his hand and asked with eyes and a tone devoid of any emotion, like minerals.

“Mr. Lee Seok-joong.”

“What’s wrong with your neck? It looks like it was cut by a knife.”

Seok-jung fidgeted with his own neck, looking at the wound on Woo-jin’s neck and slightly furrowing his brow.

“Where were you on the afternoon of the 11th at eight o’clock?”

“You know the right to remain silent is a suspect’s right, right?”

“According to credit card records and CCTV, you were dining at Wooilgwan in Seocho-dong. You had dinner with High Prosecutor General Lee Dae-young, right? Entered at seven PM, left at eight forty-five PM, payment was made with the corporate card you possess.”

“I will exercise my right to remain silent.”

“According to employee testimony, you and High Prosecutor General Lee Dae-young dined alone, and at that table, you requested High Prosecutor General Lee Dae-young to drop the charges regarding the illegal trading case of K-One Securities’ stake investment, correct?”

“No. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t even remember eating there, and I don’t know who Lee Dae-young is.”

“There is a circumstance where your driver, Shim Myeong-seop, deposited 300 million won in cash into the account of High Prosecutor General Lee Dae-young’s wife’s younger brother at D Bank’s Seolleung branch on the 15th. Did you instruct this?”

“No. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“…”

Woo-jin scratched his forehead. He lowered his hand and turned off the power to the microphone connected to the observation room under the table.

“Have you heard the recording of the bribery solicitation?”

“No.”

“They haven’t played it for you yet?”

Woo-jin didn’t even look incredulous; he turned his gaze with a bewildered expression towards the Deputy Chief Prosecutor and Lee Seung-min standing in the observation room, looking at the one-way mirror.

“Seok-jung, your voice is clearly asking to drop the stake investment case, saying you’ll take care of his son’s study abroad funds, that you also graduated from that school so his son and the High Prosecutor General’s son are alumni. Said you want to nurture a good junior.”

“Don’t know who it is, but his son got into a good school. I have decent academic credentials, you know.”

“Persisting with denial won’t work. This isn’t a system that runs conveniently for you like the world you lived in. We can keep bothering you for days, no, months, or even longer if needed, even if we can’t process you, we can detain you. Make it so you can’t do anything.”

“…”

“How far should we go? I have plenty of time.”

“You insignificant prosecutor bastard, who do you think you’re threatening? Don’t you know who I am?”

“There’s a recording of you offering money and soliciting, there’s evidence, so what do you want me to do? Even if I wanted to save you, I can’t. Do you think I want to do this?”

“Right, you’re acting like this because this is your front yard. I don’t know much else, but I know this one thing.”

“…”

“That you set that place on fire because of Moon Hae-won.”

“…”

“Did that piss you off that much, Woo-jin-ah? Did I sleep with him? I just had him sit on my lap for a bit. Really didn’t lay a hand on him.”

The voice pleading innocence grew gradually louder.

Woo-jin showed no reaction. He maintained the same expression and tone as when he first entered the interrogation room. It was a trained method of pressuring the opponent.

“Do you know the basic principle of prosecution investigations?”

“I’m not some prosecutor lackey, so I don’t really know.”

“It’s non-detention.”

“…”

“It’s not common for suspects to be detained during investigations. Usually, they’re let go, unless it’s extreme. Especially chaebols like you.”

“…Fuck.”

“But being detained means it’s almost at the level of a flagrant offense and the crime is so heavy that no one can intervene. This won’t be resolved even if the K-One Chairman steps in. If you think your grandfather can just slip a few billion won and get you out, that’s a huge miscalculation.”

Woo-jin calmly explained the situation he was in.

As if he didn’t understand, Woo-jin even tapped the table with his finger at the part about miscalculation to emphasize.

“You think just because I’m locked up here, I can’t do anything?”

The corner of Seok-jung’s mouth rose in a sneer.

Woo-jin stared straight at him. Seok-jung continued speaking, leisurely enjoying the sharp eyes that burned his flesh like a fiery mirror.

“Your cousin has been appearing on TV a lot lately, huh?”

“…”

The area around Woo-jin’s eyes twitched in a spasm. But he showed no further reaction. Woo-jin even let out a sigh as if in pity. As if he didn’t care how many times Hae-won’s name was mentioned by that filthy mouth.

He left Seok-jung’s answer blank and tapped on the laptop keyboard, writing the questions first.

“Let’s stop the useless talk and continue. Is the source of the 300 million won transferred to High Prosecutor General Lee Dae-young’s wife’s younger brother’s account correct, Mr. Lee Seok-joong?”

“Do you think you’re the only one pissed off because you set that place on fire? I almost died, you think I’d just let that go? Are Hyo-sang and Ki-jae idiots? They’re also precious guys who grew up loved in their own homes, so they’re sensitive to that kind of thing. Someone trying to burn them to death, that sort of thing.”

“…”

Woo-jin’s pupils, which had been looking only at the laptop screen, looked at him, who was sneering.

“Hyo-sang acts all innocent and pretty, but how much does he love that smooth face while stabbing from behind? Ki-jae also clings to kids he’s attracted to. You think they’ll leave Moon Hae-won alone?”

“…”

“Turns out this guy has an unexpectedly naive side. You think I’d just sit here doing nothing? Common sense, wouldn’t I have contacted Hyo-sang? We have to hold onto Moon Hae-won to make Woo-jin listen. We all saw with our own eyes how that bastard Hyun Woo-jin had his eyes rolled back, even setting fires, trembling at the thought of anyone touching that troublesome treasure, what choice did I have? Of course I’d handle what’s necessary.”

The hand tapping the keyboard hesitated.

As the clattering sound stopped, Seok-jung’s lips curved into a smirk.

Seok-jung didn’t stop talking. Leaning his upper body back against the chair back, half-lying down, he rambled on.

“Your cousin’s face is smooth and pretty, so it’s fun to look at. He appears on TV often, so he’s probably quite known by now. There must be people who recognize him. I’m thinking of taking him and making a nice, intense movie.”

“…”

“If I take Moon Hae-won and film it, it’ll probably come out really arousing. He’s known by face now, what if that video is broadcast live nationwide? Violinist Moon Hae-won’s sexual offering scene. How’s that for a title? Should we go more intense? The ass everyone’s sucked, Moon Hae-won’s. The violinist’s incredible hole, no, the slimy wet hole.”

“…”

“Moon Hae-won’s mom and dad would love to see that, right?”

Woo-jin’s gaze changed in an instant. He shot up.

The chair fell backward with a crash as it toppled over. He walked around the table straight to Seok-jung. His hand grabbed the back of Seok-jung’s head and without hesitation slammed it down onto the table.

“Ugh!”

Bang, a loud impact and the sound of something breaking. He yanked up the hair gripped so tightly that the heated scalp could be felt.

“What did you just say. Say it again.”

A lump of blood gushed out from under Seok-jung’s hand clutching his nose. As Woo-jin tried to slam it down again, he thrashed convulsively. The chair overturned, and the laptop and documents on the table crashed to the floor.

“Say it again. What did you say.”

He slammed the gripped head down onto the table, bang bang. With an expressionless face showing no change in complexion, he kept asking the same thing in the same tone while slamming Seok-jung down.

The interrogation room door burst open. Head of Department Lee Seung-min and several prosecutors rushed in, shouting.

“What are you doing?!”

“Say it again. You son of a bitch.”

“Hyun Woo-jin, are you insane?! Let go of this?! Hey! This bastard?!”

“Say it again. What did you say.”

“Grrrugh…”

Since he showed no intention of letting go, they had to pry Woo-jin’s fingers off Seok-jung’s hair one by one. Only then did Woo-jin pant. His expression contorted. Prosecutors grabbed Woo-jin’s arms and forcefully pushed him against the wall.

“Let go, let go of this. Hey, what did you say. What? What are you going to do? You son of a bitch, let go! Not letting go?!”

“Prosecutor Hyun!”

“Seonbae!”

“Let go, let me go. I’m not done with the interrogation yet.”

“Hyun Woo-jin, you crazy bastard! Drag him out! Drag him out now!”

“Fuck, let go!”

Woo-jin caused a commotion, shouting to let go, that he’d kill the suspect.

It was chaos. With the added brute force of those gathered due to the uproar, they barely managed to drag Woo-jin out of the interrogation room.

Lee Seung-min pulled out several tissues, pressed them against Lee Seok-joong’s face, and shouted to call an ambulance.

Hae-won’s manager wasn’t even that surprised now to see Woo-jin standing in front of the officetel door. He didn’t even care what relationship he and Hae-won had.

It was just that the person’s atmosphere was so terrifying that he disliked being in the same space, and when Woo-jin stood there like that looking at them, he unconsciously spoke faster and acted more hurriedly.

“Here, take this. Have this for dinner later. The President says he wants to have dinner together the day after tomorrow evening, what should we do?”

The manager handed over the food bag he had brought for Hae-won and asked.

“If you tell me the place and time, I’ll go on my own. No need to pick me up.”

“Yes, then. I’ll go in now. Rest well.”

Quickly saying goodbye, the manager disappeared into the elevator as if fleeing.

Hae-won didn’t even look at whether Woo-jin was standing or not and unlocked the door lock. As he tried to go inside, Woo-jin grabbed the door and followed him in.

The actual owner hadn’t entered yet, but Woo-jin took off his shoes and went inside. Hae-won stood holding the door, watching his back.

“Come in. I have something to say.”

“Sorry, but I have nothing to say to you.”

“Hae-won-ah.”

“Please leave now.”

“I’ll talk briefly and go.”

“If you won’t turn it off, I’ll leave.”

Hae-won closed the door. He pressed the button for the elevator that had gone down to the basement and waited, but Woo-jin came out and stood beside him. When Hae-won turned to leave, he blocked his way again. Hae-won raised a sharp gaze towards him standing like a wall.

“What are you doing.”

“Go to New York where Seo Okhwa is. I’ll talk to her.”

“…You’re really, refreshingly, a crazy bastard. What did you say?”

It wasn’t anger, but sheer disbelief. Hae-won’s eyes, which had been sharply fixed on him, suddenly blazed.

“Go to New York.”

“You want me to live with that woman you were two-timing? Great. She probably doesn’t know yet that you were two-timing her, I should tell her.”

“Fine.”

“…….”

He was just spouting more and more incomprehensible things. Just being in this face-to-face situation was already torturous, but he kept shaking Hae-won up with unbearable words.

He didn’t want to be entangled with him, or with anything related to him. His dead fiancée and Kim So-young, whom he had worked so hard to possess, even selling his body to get Han-gyeong, were people he never wanted to think about again.

Even just burying it all like that was impossible, and he tossed and turned in agony every night, and now Woo-jin was stirring it all up again like this. The blood in his entire body boiled and bubbled.

“Lee Seok-joong is under arrest and investigation, and he’s plotting to lay a hand on you.”

He had decided to stop lying now. If he had known Hae-won hated lies this much, he wouldn’t have done it. Woo-jin knew he had ruined everything. So he told the truth.

Hae-won’s eyes widened.

“I had him arrested? Why take it out on me?”

“Because he knows I like you. He’s trying to use that.”

“…….”

He bit his lip tightly, his eyes brimming with resentment as he glared at Woo-jin. Now he was just hurling any words that came to mind.

I like you, I love you, I shouldn’t have liked you, I shouldn’t have loved you……

It wasn’t liking, it wasn’t loving……

He really didn’t know what to do.

He knew better than anyone that it was over with Woo-jin, and that he couldn’t live without cutting him off, yet every time the man made any kind of declaration, his chest ached as if a rock had slammed into it. When the man who didn’t understand those feelings said such things with a blank face, Hae-won truly felt at a loss.

It was completely unlike him. He didn’t make ambiguous statements, or abstract, emotional statements whose implications were hard to trace.

Seeing that man, not even knowing what he was saying, pouring out emotional words and swaying precariously like a candle in a raging wind, Hae-won wanted to end his life right then.

“He’s going to threaten you using me?”

“He’ll probably try to use you that way.”

“Then just don’t get threatened. Don’t worry about it. No matter what happens to me, just ignore it and focus on your own precious affairs.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not? If you can’t, then make it so you can.”

It was a plea to stop liking him, to stop loving him, to forget him, to discard him. He had made Hae-won, who had loved him more than anyone, say these things.

“Those bastards are trash. Who knows what they’ll do, you tell me not to worry.”

“You’re one of them too.”

“…….”

“You’re the filthiest trash among that trash.”

He fired back decisively, trying to hurt him, but the reaction he got back was disappointingly flat.

“Well, that’s true enough. Anyway, go to New York. If you’re with your mother, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“Mother? Your loose mouth really talks well, doesn’t it.”

“It’s just a habit. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“I should just expose everything now. I’ll tell them how Hyun Woo-jin swallowed up Han-gyeong, and how you’re threatening people with your connections. I’ll tell them everything about how you used Kim So-young too.”

“Fine, do as you please.”

“…….”

He was definitely determined to provoke and anger him. No matter what vicious things Hae-won said or what fuss he made, Woo-jin didn’t even blink and accepted it all.

The more Woo-jin acted like that, the more Hae-won’s hatred for him grew, to the point where he felt suffocated.

Since when had he become so magnanimous? Putting on an act of overflowing tolerance and understanding, Woo-jin was pulling all sorts of tricks today to drive Hae-won crazy.

He drove him crazy by coming to the concert hall and pretending to listen intently to the performance, and today he was driving him crazy by pretending to worry, telling him to go somewhere safe out of fear that something might happen to him.

“I’ll book a flight. Leave tomorrow if you can.”

“…….”

“I’ll take care of everything while you’re gone so nothing happens to you.”

“By killing them?”

“……If necessary. I don’t like anyone laying a hand on you.”

Hae-won swallowed. Instantly, his throat burned as if he had swallowed a fireball.

“Why are you like this?! Why are you like this to me!”

Resentment and resentment exploded.

“……Hae-won-ah.”

“Just leave me alone! Let me live! Please, please just……, let me forget, please……!”

He hated him. He hit him, begging him to disappear from his sight. He hit his shoulders, hit his chest, screaming for him to just leave him alone, please let him forget.

In the struggle of punching and shouting, the violin case slung over his shoulder slipped with a thud and fell to the ground.

“Why are you doing this! Why are you driving me crazy like this!”

The vicious fit gradually lost its strength. Even hitting his arms and shoulders grew tiring, and Hae-won grabbed the front of his chest and hit him anyway until the end.

“I want to forget now. Please……, just leave me alone. Please.”

Tears streamed down, blurring his vision.

He really wanted to stop now.

More painful than the betrayal he suffered from Woo-jin was the sight of Woo-jin now not hiding his true feelings—no, unable to hide them. Hae-won couldn’t forgive Woo-jin. He didn’t even have the right to.

The guilt and remorse of abandoning Tae-shin back then, and his own petty, unwilling heart that didn’t want to let Woo-jin go even though he should, all mixed together chaotically, and his consciousness melted away like wax.

He really had to end it now. Whether he died or Hae-won died, someone had to be destroyed for it to end.

“Don’t stay here today, go to Kim Jae-min’s place.”

Woo-jin, staggering as if he might collapse at any moment, couldn’t bring himself to touch Hae-won, who was leaning against him, and just looked at him as he spoke.

He picked up the fallen violin case instead. Hae-won, clutching the front of Woo-jin’s shirt so hard it wrinkled, gasped for breath. The crying and ragged breathing gradually subsided.

The surroundings grew quiet. Hae-won slowly raised his head and looked at him.

“……Can’t Hyung stay with me?”

“……What?”

“Hyung, stay with me.”

“…….”

“Stay with me.”

His tear-drenched eyes looked up at Woo-jin blankly. Woo-jin, who had been staring at Hae-won dazedly, shook his head as if he had misheard. Hae-won was still clutching his clothes, begging him to stay with him.

“Is that really okay? You said you hated even breathing the same air as me.”

Woo-jin asked, truly not understanding. It was Hae-won who had said he hated breathing the same air, hated seeing his face in the same space. Woo-jin had only intended to relay urgent matters and watch from afar to ensure Hae-won left safely.

“Hyung, stay with me.”

Hae-won whispered, asking him to stay, as if he hadn’t heard his words. He didn’t seem to be mistaking him for someone else or talking nonsense.

“Stay by my side.”

At the tearful voice, Woo-jin nodded as if under a spell, agreeing.

Hae-won, who couldn’t sleep well unless it was on a specific brand of bed, had been living with a mattress topper laid out on the floor.

While Hae-won showered, Woo-jin sat on the bed and quietly gazed at the mattress topper placed by the window and the disheveled bedding on top of it, bearing the marks of someone having slept and risen.

The noisy sound of water falling from the showerhead abruptly stopped.

It seemed he was done washing.

It was a bit absurd that Hae-won, who was so particular he had to shower after going out even when vicious people who could do unspeakable things were targeting him, but Woo-jin, being in a position where he was hated, couldn’t say anything and just waited.

Anyway, as long as he was by his side, nothing could happen right away.

Not just right away—if he was by his side, nothing would ever happen. Nothing would happen, and they could be at peace together, but Hae-won vehemently rejected Woo-jin.

Woo-jin pretended to be tense as he looked at the bathroom door.

A little later, the door clicked open and Hae-won walked out wearing a bathrobe.

They had lived together until not long ago.

The sight of Hae-won coming out wearing a bathrobe after a shower was familiar to him.

What he had been accustomed to enjoying was snatched away overnight. If he could just recover it, Woo-jin would truly do anything, but he wasn’t even granted that chance.

The area around his eyes, where he had stopped crying, was swollen and red.

Hae-won shook out his hair with a towel. His hair had grown quite long without him noticing, and as the long strands fell, he swept them behind his ears, revealing his face.

Woo-jin preferred neatly trimmed styles, but Hae-won suited any look.

He silently watched Hae-won approach, following his trajectory with his eyes. Hae-won, having roughly shaken off the moisture from his hair, walked over to where Woo-jin was sitting on the bed.

“…….”

Hae-won’s hand carefully caressed his hair and cheek. Woo-jin flinched and froze. They just stared at each other, unmoving.

The damp fingers, the delicate fingers he loved most, fumbled and touched Woo-jin. A welcome weight settled onto his lap.

It was Hae-won, who had ruthlessly pushed him away, saying he would never forgive him, that they were already broken up, that it would only end with death.

There was no reason for Woo-jin to be tense over someone as insignificant as Hae-won, yet his spine stiffened rigidly.

He gazed endlessly at Hae-won’s face looking down at him.

The face he had watched all night on the TV screen, the face that made his heart pound and brought pain as if he had swallowed needles.

The face that had pushed Woo-jin into an endless abyss.

The hand that had been touching the cheek of someone who didn’t even realize it was his first love undid the buttons of his shirt. It tugged at one end of his tie. Licking the nape of his neck, the fabric brushed against his collar with a chilling sensation and slipped away.

“…….”

He undid the shirt buttons one by one. He undid the buttons down to his navel, opening his chest, and pulled the shirt off over his shoulders. His right shoulder, blackened with bruises, was revealed.

Hae-won’s eyes fell on the shoulder. The still-unhealed wound was raised in reddish-purple patches, and the surrounding area was bruised in a vicious color.

He carefully touched the wound, and Woo-jin’s eyes flinched, his face contorting each time the hand made contact. The hand, careful not to hurt him, curled as if it would dig its nails in and tear his flesh, then relaxed again.

Each time Hae-won’s chest rose with a shallow sigh, a warm, clean scent of skin wafted out. Woo-jin inhaled. As long and as deeply as possible.

Hae-won tilted his head and pressed his lips to Woo-jin’s.

Woo-jin received the kiss with his eyes slightly open. The hand cupping his cheek stroked him, and the damp lips rubbed softly before a tender tongue tickled his lips.

Enchanted by the sensation, Woo-jin unconsciously parted his lips. Hae-won’s tongue slipped inside. The angle tilted, and the kiss deepened.

He had said he would never forgive him no matter what he did.

His rational mind clearly reminded him it was a trick and a provocation, but Woo-jin didn’t move as his head instructed. He suddenly thought it would be fine to die like this.

Everything was bothersome and complicated.

He didn’t even want to think about Hae-won’s existence, which gave him a headache, at this moment. He only thought of the softness stimulating the sensitive sensation of his lips, the weight on his lap holding his cheek, and the body temperature.

A faint feverishness blurred around his eyes and temples.

“Mmm…….”

Even though they were just rubbing lips and tongues, an overwhelming pleasure was felt. He rarely experienced such a state of rapture, completely captivated by a kiss, even with Hae-won.

He remembered the first time he kissed Hae-won for a long time. Back then, Hae-won had also climbed onto his lap, touching him like this, pressing their lips together.

The subtly rubbing movement of the lower body was dizzying. As he raised his hand to remove Hae-won’s robe and touch his back, the lips suddenly parted, and the body heat that had been touching him grew distant.

He opened his eyes.

“Don’t touch my body.”

“……Then how am I supposed to touch you?”

“Don’t touch.”

“I want to touch.”

“Don’t lay a hand on me. I’ll put you to sleep.”

“…….”

“Just stay still. And sleep. You said you haven’t been sleeping…….”

It wasn’t a dream. In the dream, Hae-won was lying next to Lee Tae-shin, being gang-raped by the members of the bunker.

Woo-jin’s two hands pressed against the bed, supporting his upper body.

Hae-won tilted his head and pressed his lips again. The body temperature and pulse that made him human transferred from body to body. A sweet stimulation rose softly along the flesh and muscles.

“Haa…….”

“Mmm, mmm…….”

Each time their overlapping lips parted, heightened breaths scattered.

Hae-won was holding his face with both hands. He licked the warmly heated lips and mixed tongues wetly. The sound of sucking and swallowing Woo-jin’s thick tongue broke the quietly settled silence. The two masses of flesh, licking mucous membranes and tangling, gasped urgently, swallowing breaths as if trying to suck each other in even a little more.

Woo-jin was fully erect, to the point of feeling pain. As he twitched below, Hae-won lowered his hand while their lips were still pressed together. He stroked the firm, muscular chest and touched the twitching abs as if licking them. Leaning to the left, he groped and grasped his genitals, hard as a club, following the outline over his pants. Woo-jin’s chest heaved rapidly.

As Hae-won let out a pained moan, his lips trembled and quivered.

“……I’ll put you to sleep.”

He undid his belt and lowered the zipper. He slipped his hand inside the pants and touched over the underwear filled with hot moisture. The sensation was even clearer. The stimulated genitals writhed as if they were a living being with a will of their own.

His flesh trembled like lips. The cap-shaped glans hardened distinctly. The finger traced over the briefs, gently caressing the sensitive mass of flesh, and Woo-jin couldn’t hold back and came.

“Hhuut…….”

His entire body twitched. Woo-jin’s chin jerked sharply toward the ceiling.

Since Hae-won left, he hadn’t engaged in any act besides masturbation, and after he couldn’t sleep, he did nothing at all. Semen had accumulated heavily.

Woo-jin’s cheeks flushed red as he came, soaking his underwear. Hae-won slipped his hand inside the briefs, groping the pelvic bone and grasping the genitals. He stroked up the shaft that fit tightly in his hand. Woo-jin convulsed lightly as if in pain.

“Haa, haa……. Ugh.”

“…….”

Hae-won began stroking him in earnest. Even though he had already come, the penis, still oozing pre-cum, was painfully handled by the hand Woo-jin loved—Hae-won’s hand. As the sharp grip held and shook, Woo-jin bent his back as if punched in the stomach. He buried his face and lips, heatedly flushed, in Hae-won’s shoulder and gasped.

The palm covering the urethral opening grasped the glans all at once and pressed down from above, and his bent back twitched and shook, his eyes fluttering.

“Ugh, haa, haa.”

The second orgasm arrived. He spilled thin fluid, dirtying the stroking hand and lower body. Hae-won used the semen he had ejaculated as lubricant and continued to touch him below.

“Stop, stop…….”

“…….”

It was because it had been too long. Just smelling Hae-won’s scent made him erect, and now he was being touched by the hand he loved most. Sexual desire and pleasure strongly dominated and overwhelmed his entire body.

His mind grew completely hazy. He pressed his lips to Hae-won’s neck and rubbed vaguely. Hae-won tilted his head and embraced his face against his shoulder.

“……Want to come more?”

“Hae-won-ah, wait a moment. Wait……, stop.”

“Just stay still. I’ll do it. You said you wanted to sleep, Hyung.”

“Haa, haa.”

As if thrown into flames alone, his entire body was hot, and the genitals held by Hae-won felt even hotter, as if melting. The rock-hard erect penis twitched, and his lower abdomen tightened together.

Hae-won lifted his shoulder and let go of his forehead, which had been leaning against him. Woo-jin stared blankly at Hae-won with eyes drenched to the brain.

“…….”

Hae-won lowered both hands and grasped his flesh. The penis, which had come twice, stood straight and responded to the touch. The semen he had spilled gave off the sour smell of a beast.

Hae-won, with closed eyes, pressed his lips frantically against his parted lips and rubbed his tongue. His hand moved quickly.

The hand that couldn’t touch Hae-won clutched the bedding, and the sheet was sucked between his fingers, crumpling sharply into a spiral shape.

“Ugh……, ugh.”

Woo-jin spilled thin fluid. His vision blurred. A precarious sense of exhaustion washed over his entire body after the climax.

Hae-won wiped Woo-jin’s lower body with the towel he had used to dry his own hair and lay down beside him.

He had never used the bedding since he returned it, but now he lay on it with him.

He thought he would fall asleep, but Woo-jin had his eyes slightly open. Hae-won lay with his head on his arm, facing Woo-jin.

“……Sleepy?”

“…….”

“Sleep.”

“You’re going to leave. You’re going to disappear.”

“Just sleep.”

“I……, I was wrong.”

“Don’t think about anything, just sleep.”

Cupping his cheek, Hae-won whispered softly. Woo-jin shook his head, saying no.

“Don’t go.”

“…….”

“Don’t go. Don’t go anywhere.”

“Close your eyes, quickly. I promised I’d make you want to die, didn’t I?”

“……Yeah.”

“Now sleep.”

Woo-jin closed his eyes. As if under a spell, he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Hae-won’s back in his embrace, pulling him desperately against his chest.

Only now could he sleep. Only now could he fall asleep.

Woo-jin let go of all the strength in his body like a doll with its limbs severed and was sucked into a deep slumber.

Gentle sunlight filtered through the window. Woo-jin opened his eyes. He had slept deeply, releasing all the tension in his body. This was the first time he had slept so soundly since Hae-won abandoned him and left.

In the end, without Hae-won, he couldn’t even sleep comfortably. It wasn’t him who had been controlling and possessing someone—it was Hae-won.

He sat up. Sunlight and wind seeped in through the slightly open window. The clock pointed to ten in the morning. The gradually bustling noise of the city could be heard from afar.

Woo-jin got up and showered as usual. He changed his clothes and brewed coffee. The aroma of premium beans filled the officetel. Hae-won’s figure was nowhere to be seen, but he didn’t bother looking for him.

He had known of Hae-won’s absence since he fell asleep.

There was no way Hae-won would let him sleep beside him. It was a relationship that would only end with death, one where he’d rather he die.

Just as he had done when staying here, he drank coffee, changed his clothes, looked around the officetel without Hae-won, and then stepped out.

Woo-jin picked up his phone to contact Jeong Ho-myung. Just as he was searching for his contact in his address book, a call came in from him.

“Yeah.”

―Where are you? If you don’t come in after causing that commotion yesterday, what are we going to do? Lee Seok-joong is going crazy, saying he’ll sue the violent prosecutor—no, he’ll sue the entire prosecution service.

“I’m on my way now.”

―Didn’t you know that Head of department Lee Seung-min requested an internal investigation to discipline you? I’m just coming out from being questioned.

Jeong Ho-myung’s voice grew quiet, conscious of his surroundings. It felt like he was treating the situation seriously, keenly sharpening his senses.

Starting the car, he let out a shallow sigh. It was a mistake to provoke the chief prosecutor. Instead of doing it himself, he should have leaked it to the media first or borrowed someone else’s hand to do it for him. The problem was that he had acted too hastily and impulsively on things he shouldn’t have taken the lead on.

“How much did you say?”

―I only mentioned what was connected to Head of department Lee Seung-min. I deliberately only brought up the head of department, but they were digging into you specifically. Seeing the internal affairs department probing whether you were involved in assigning Kim Jeong-geun’s first trial, it’s clearly Head of department Lee Seung-min’s doing. Only the head of department, you, and I know about that, right?

“I get it for now, so keep your mouth shut. And I’ll send you a phone number, so try tracking the location.”

―This isn’t the time to worry about other things. The Blue House Chief of Staff came by. He was talking with Deputy Chief prosecutor and Head of department Lee Seung-min for a long time and just left. Did something happen between you and the Chief of Staff? The three of them are definitely plotting something together now. They’re clearly trying to combine the Lee Seok-joong incident to hit you with a heavy disciplinary action.

“…….”

―Seonbae.

Exiting the parking lot and entering the road, Woo-jin stopped the car at a traffic signal.

He knew it would turn into a mess.

He knew this would happen if he tripped over Lee Seok-joong.

He knew everything would fall apart. That he would be dragged down to the bottom and stirred into chaos.

Even knowing, he acted irrationally. The things he did to get Hae-won back had trapped him, and he vaguely foresaw that it would eventually destroy everything he had built up over a lifetime, enough to kill him.

He just didn’t know it would come this quickly. He didn’t know it would accelerate uncontrollably and collapse so futilely. He thought he could hold on a little longer.

―Seonbae.

“I’m listening.”

―You have the materials about the investigation Head of department Lee Seung-min was commissioned for, right? Use that to make a deal.

“I’ll give you the number, so track the location first.”

―Seonbae……!

Jeong Ho-myung urged him impatiently.

“I can’t let anything happen to you either. Don’t get anxious, just track the location and send it.”

To the unresponsive man, he recited Hae-won’s phone number and hung up.

Sitting in the car, he waited for Jeong Ho-myung’s contact. Woo-jin leaned the back of his head against the seat and let the energy drain from his body.

He recalled last night. Hae-won’s touch made him want to die right then and there. That he would make him want to die—he knew well that those words weren’t a metaphor……. He knew too well that Hae-won meant it sincerely, and last night, in Hae-won’s embrace, he truly wanted to die.

Something so good it made him want to die—he had treated it so carelessly.

If he had known it would become this precious, he wouldn’t have done such things from the start…….

His heart pounded painfully hard. Woo-jin’s first love was excessively destructive, painful, and sad.

If he had known it was love beforehand, he might have been careful. He wouldn’t have broken it to this extent.

A message arrived from Jeong Ho-myung. Woo-jin groaned as he read the address.

It was where the second bunker had been built.

When Seok-jung was indicted and detained, they deliberately halted construction. The hotel remained unfinished, left abandoned long past its scheduled opening date.

In the hotel’s parking lot, the cars of the bunker members were parked, just like at the Yangpyeong villa.

As soon as Woo-jin got out of the car, he practically ran inside.

He took the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor where the suite was located. The elevator, offering a panoramic view of the sea on the opposite side, crawled upward.

He chewed on his lip. Anxiously watching the ascending floor numbers, he stepped out as if running before the doors fully opened. He repeatedly rang the bell of the only suite on the top floor. At the same time, he knocked on the door.

Bang, bang—even pounding the door with his fist, there was no response from inside. Woo-jin was on the verge of exploding. Recalling the things Lee Seok-joong had said and thinking of Im Hyo-sang, who was particularly fond of men, made his heart feel like it would burst.

The fear that something unacceptable, something he could never tolerate, might be happening inside.

Even though he was the worst among those trash, his biggest mistake was not cleaning up that trash beforehand.

He looked around frantically. He needed something to strike with, something to break the door down. He stomped on the solid wood shelf attached to the wall for decorative purposes. The walnut display shelf attached to the wall cracked loudly, its seams splitting. He stomped on it again, breaking the shelf off.

He began striking the door handle with the shelf. Instead of the doorknob breaking, the wooden shelf shattered. He kept striking until his face flushed red and he was panting, only belatedly realizing it wouldn’t open by force.

Woo-jin took the elevator down to the lobby. He rummaged through the reception desk and found a card key.

Before hurrying back up, Woo-jin picked up an iron pipe used as a construction site support.

He clearly knew that picking up the iron pipe was an act of madness, but he felt no disconnect in his irrational behavior. Right now, he was utterly rational, and he saw nothing else.

Arriving in front of the suite, he opened the door with the card key. He wedged a piece of the broken shelf between the door and the frame to prevent it from locking, then went inside.

As long as it wasn’t the scene he had seen under the scissors.

As long as Hae-won wasn’t tied to a pole.

Hae-won was sitting on the sofa with them. Panting and roughly opening the door, Woo-jin’s abrupt entrance made them all turn their eyes to look at him. Hae-won even smiled.

Hae-won and Woo-jin’s eyes met.

“Did you crawl here desperately on all fours?”

“…….”

It was a completely unexpected picture.

The owner of the bunker now was not Woo-jin but Hae-won. Im Hyo-sang was pouring pale yellow champagne into a tall-stemmed glass. Hae-won brought the champagne to his lips.

He was even more dazed than when he had seen Hae-won sitting on Lee Seok-joong’s lap. Woo-jin shook his head as if denying the situation before his eyes.

“Want some champagne?”

Hae-won asked. Only then did Woo-jin regain his senses as if doused with ice water. He shifted his grip on the iron pipe he was holding tightly, clutching it even harder.

“I was going to contact you separately, but there’s no need now. I didn’t think you’d chase after us this quickly……. Even after hearing Seok-jung’s words, I thought, ‘No way, no way.’ Does it make sense for that heartless bastard to set fires because of someone? Does it make sense to have a friend detained because of someone?”

To think he was friends with such a fool—Woo-jin was genuinely displeased. His expression revealed his disgust, not wanting to be associated as friends with any of them.

He walked toward Hae-won sitting on the sofa. Staring intently at him, he grabbed Hae-won’s wrist as he drank champagne and pulled him up.

“Let’s go.”

“Let go.”

“I said let’s go.”

“Let go, I said!”

The Hae-won who had gently embraced him last night sharply retorted and shook off his hand. Yu Gi-jae stood up, grabbed Hae-won’s forearm, and sat him down beside him.

Woo-jin looked at them feeling like a monkey in a zoo. Standing foolishly before them, who were determined to mock him and treat him like a fool, suddenly felt cursed. The bones on the back of his hand gripping the iron pipe stood out white.

Im Hyo-sang frowned and spoke in a contemptuous tone.

“When your cousin said that if he held onto himself, Hyun Woo-jin would crawl here desperately on all fours, I didn’t believe it either. Are you really crazy?”

It wasn’t about interrogating him for detaining Seok-jung and driving them to the brink of death.

It was a question of whether someone like him dared to do such things to them if he were sane. Without even knowing the bigger picture Woo-jin had drawn with them, Im Hyo-sang was still saying things that showed he hadn’t grasped reality. The one who found it absurd was Woo-jin.

He gave a dry smile. His pupils were fixed on Hae-won, who was mocking him.

“Why are so many people asking me that question lately?”

“Is this funny? Is this funny, you crazy bastard?”

“I’m not crazy. I wish I were crazy, but I’ve always been like this.”

“Listen to this crazy bastard talk. What, did you bring that to beat us to death? You’re really not in your right mind. Do you even know who I am?”

As if dealing with an irredeemable, hopeless case, Im Hyo-sang twisted his eyes in displeasure.

“Ah, this.”

Woo-jin looked intently at the iron pipe in his hand. As if lost in thought, he stared at the iron pipe for quite a while before muttering like he was talking to himself.

“If I hadn’t held back and had just swung this around since I was young, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

Woo-jin walked behind the sofa where they were sitting and swung the iron pipe at the glass bottle on the desk. It was a place where cameras were installed.

Not just that, he smashed all the hidden cameras everywhere. He recklessly broke things and stomped on them as if venting resentment.

“Hah, hah. Yeah, if I had just swung this around without thinking, I wouldn’t have had to meet trash like you.”

After smashing them into unrecognizable pieces, he returned to the front and grabbed Hae-won’s arm. This time, he pulled him up with brute force.

“Get up. Let’s go.”

Hae-won shook him off. He pushed him away. He acted disgusted at being touched. Yu Gi-jae grabbed Woo-jin’s hand holding Hae-won and pushed it away. Hae-won looked at Woo-jin as if he were some monster and hid behind Yu Gi-jae. Hae-won knew exactly how much that made Woo-jin powerless and miserable.

“Moon Hae-won.”

“Go alone.”

“Don’t do this.”

“Don’t do what.”

It was a continuous back-and-forth. Woo-jin felt like he was really going crazy. Im Hyo-sang watched uneasily as he hysterically grabbed his hair and swept it back. Im Hyo-sang glanced furtively toward the bedroom door.

Having reached the limit of his patience, Woo-jin swallowed his anger and spoke in a lowered voice.

“Fine, I’ll die. I’ll do as you say.”

“I don’t need that now. I don’t care anymore whether you die or not.”

“…….”

Woo-jin’s chin clenched tightly, his lips trembling as if curses were about to spill out.

“Who says you can take someone away as you please?”

Yu Gi-jae stepped away from the debris Woo-jin had destroyed. He opened the bedroom door. Four or five hired thugs he had called in advance shuffled out from inside.

“Please take care of this person. He’s completely lost it, so be careful. Oh, and since he’s a prosecutor, if you hit him, things will get complicated. Just keep him with you until we’re done with our business.”

The hired thugs swarmed in and restrained Woo-jin. They also took the iron pipe from his hand. He struggled, but it was impossible to overpower several large men. Hae-won spoke to Woo-jin, who was held tightly and couldn’t move.

“Think it over carefully inside.”

“Moon Hae-won!”

“What do you think someone who looks like they’d enjoy spreading their legs would do? Imagine it with those people inside. And if you start wanting to die, let me know.”

“Don’t do this. I was wrong. Okay? I was wrong. I’ll die. I’ll die, so please stop. I was wrong.”

“You were wrong? About what?”

“Hae-won.”

“I was wondering why something like that was there. Now I know.”

Hae-won’s eyes were fixed on the pole. Only then did Woo-jin realize with his skin what he had done.

What he had done to Tae-shin was like this. He had left him, who liked him, to be broken by them. This was the price.

Hae-won should have definitely run away from him, who was no different from a slaughterer. As Tae-shin said, meeting Hae-won was something that shouldn’t have happened.

Woo-jin pushed the shoulders holding him. They didn’t budge.

“Let go of this. Let go, let go, I said let go. Hah, I said let go!”

“Just stay inside for a while.”

“Okay. Let me go for a moment. Just a moment. I have something to say, so let me go for a moment.”

Woo-jin’s chest heaved violently as he was dragged into the bedroom. He looked pitifully at Hae-won, who deliberately avoided his gaze. He felt like he was burning inside, as if he had swallowed red-hot lava.

You said you’d make me want to die……, is this all it is? Is this how it is? If you wanted that, you should have just given me a knife……

Not like this. No, not with Hae-won. Not with Moon Hae-won.

“Leave while I’m asking nicely.”

Woo-jin frowned and warned with sincerity.

“Who are you talking to? Surely not me?”

Yu Gi-jae pointed at his own chest and asked. Woo-jin nodded.

“Yeah, you and you. You too.”

“I called them. Why should I leave just because you say so?”

Hae-won must have been determined to break. He knew exactly what Woo-jin couldn’t endure. What frightened Woo-jin more than his own collapse was Hae-won’s breaking. Hae-won knew that fact well.

I’ll make you want to die…….

He was trying to kill himself to inflict irreparable damage on Woo-jin.

He wasn’t worth that. Woo-jin was trash. The dirtiest trash among this trash. Hae-won had no reason to do that.

“Leave while I’m asking nicely.”

“Doesn’t it seem like the positions are quite reversed right now?”

“Tell me what you want. I’ll release Lee Seok-joong too.”

Woo-jin repeated, tell me what you want, tell me what you desire, I’ll give you everything, so don’t touch Hae-won and just leave like this. Yu Gi-jae chuckled. A vile laugh struck Woo-jin’s eyes like a knife.

“That bastard has nothing to do with it. It’s just what we always do. Your cousin is especially pretty too.”

Yu Gi-jae grabbed Hae-won’s cheek and turned his gaze toward himself. Hae-won stared straight at his face. Though he acted nonchalant, it was as clear as fire that if something happened, Hae-won wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Hae-won had always detested coercive relationships, even when he liked someone or claimed to love them. There had been times when he got angry and yelled to stop just because the back of his head was pressed. Hae-won couldn’t endure this kind of violence. It was in his nature. It was the life he had lived. He hadn’t crawled through mud but had walked only on silk roads. He had never experienced such things, so he was overlooking the consequences. If something happened, it wasn’t Woo-jin who would die—it felt like Hae-won would be the one to die.

Only then did he realize why Tae-shin had taken his own life.

Ah…….

Woo-jin’s blue blood boiled and bubbled. It was anger directed at himself.

“Don’t escalate things and just stop.”

“Don’t escalate things? Who escalated things? Who was it that blew up what Seok-jung blabbed about at the gathering to the prosecution and stirred things up?”

“…….”

As if Woo-jin’s warning was absurd, Im Hyo-sang spoke. Woo-jin, whose every intention had been seen through, gave no answer.

“You dare say such things when even kneeling and begging wouldn’t be enough now? Is that all? If we were even a little late, we all might have burned to death. You almost got us burned alive.”

“I’ll kneel and beg.”

Hae-won looked at Woo-jin. Im Hyo-sang and Yu Gi-jae also fixed their eyes on him.

“What did you say?”

“I said I’ll kneel and beg.”

“Your attitude is messed up. An insincere apology isn’t an apology.”

“Then what do you want me to do? I’ll do whatever you say, just tell me.”

He pleaded, saying he would do everything as told, so please don’t cause any trouble.

“I’ll do whatever you ask.”

“There’s not much you can do for me. Gi-jae, what do you want Woo-jin to do for you?”

“Hand over your shares in this hotel.”

Yu Gi-jae quickly spoke as if this was the opportunity.

“Take them. I’ll hand over everything.”

Woo-jin hastily replied. Their eyes lit up with interest and they laughed. They were mocking him.

“Hmm……. What else could there be? There’s not much I covet among what Woo-jin has. Ah, you know the person I was dating until recently? Turns out they were seeing someone else on the side. The guy is apparently the president of some entertainment agency—can you take care of that bastard? If he gets detained like Seok-jung, I couldn’t ask for more.”

“Who is it? I’ll handle it.”

Just give me the name, he said, promising to frame them with false charges and take care of it, boasting that they should trust him. His breathing grew increasingly rapid.

“Haha, ah, this is driving me crazy. No wonder people in the old days kept servants. This is incredibly convenient.”

“To make sure our current agreement sticks, we’ll have to make a movie, I guess. It’d be troublesome if you talk differently later.”

“Take him away. Don’t even think about making a scene outside.”

A thug-like enforcer, built like a wrestler, nodded once and dragged Woo-jin away. Three or four of them grabbed him at once.

Hah, Woo-jin let out a sigh. Even with a pitiful face, begging and pleading, it was no use. If words didn’t work, it meant things had really come to an end.

“Let go of this. Let go while we’re still talking.”

“It’s getting noisy, so take him away.”

“Let go, I said let go! Let go! Fuck, let go!”

Woo-jin’s calm tone gradually grew rough. No matter what commotion he caused, they didn’t budge. No persuasion or threats worked.

Woo-jin had never felt this powerless before. Completely crushed by sheer strength, he couldn’t do anything—nothing at all. It felt as if his very existence had become an insect. He was gradually realizing what it meant to want to die. It was the first time his heart raced as if he were actually sprinting.

“Don’t lay a hand on Hae-won. If you do, I’ll really kill you.”

“We’ll handle it ourselves. Stay inside for a bit.”

“I’m not lying. I mean it. I’ll really kill you. Don’t make me kill anyone.”

He couldn’t acknowledge, and had desperately struggled not to acknowledge, the existence of the monster crouching and hiding within him. It was the fear that if something happened to Hae-won, the thing he had barely suppressed would writhe and awaken. Woo-jin was telling them out of pity.

“Alright, alright. Get lost, quickly.”

Yu Gi-jae flapped his hand, gesturing to the enforcers to take Woo-jin inside quickly.

“Let go, I said let go! Fuck, let go!”

They dragged away Woo-jin, who was struggling and shouting, grunting as they went. Even after the bedroom door closed, the commotion he caused spread like faint, distant noise.

Im Hyo-sang sighed. He shook his head.

“Wow, even that reptile-like bastard has lost his mind. Persistent bastard. Ugh. Looks like Woo-jin really likes Hae-won.”

“I told you. I really like him…….”

Hae-won recalled Woo-jin from last night, who had fallen asleep completely exhausted, nestled in his embrace, leaning against his chest.

He wanted to stop time.

Even though such a terrible thing had happened to Tae-shin, and he himself had been left with an indelible wound, he wanted to fall asleep just like that with Woo-jin. He wanted time to stop right there, to hold him like that forever. That clingy, wretched attachment was love.

That disgusting feeling was love. Even though it was completely crumpled and broken, it was love.

Hae-won looked at the closed door. Wanting to carve a clear knife mark on Woo-jin’s chest, wanting to end it now, he contacted the man in front of him first.

Woo-jin had warned him this would happen. He knew he would appear. But he never imagined he would break down like that. It was completely unexpected.

So, he’s going to leave one deep scar on him, who can’t feel emotions.

Hae-won laughed inwardly.

After all, they had already crossed to a point of no return. If his trace remained on Woo-jin, that was enough.

Im Hyo-sang grabbed Hae-won’s hand, who was sitting vacantly.

Hae-won was someone who would reflexively reject even if someone just gripped his wrist hard or pressed painfully. There was even a guy who nearly went blind. Hae-won, who tried to break his own fingers to ruin that guy’s eyes.

But now, Hae-won didn’t want to do anything. He just wanted to disappear from the world like this.

Yu Gi-jae brought Hae-won’s wrists behind his back and tied them to a pole, saying,

“I didn’t really want to go this far……, but Woo-jin has been so stubborn, we need some insurance.”

“Drink this.”

Im Hyo-sang held out a pill bottle with an unnervingly kind tone. It was the same drug that had flowed down his throat at the Yangpyeong villa. Hae-won clenched his teeth.

“Wouldn’t it be better to drink it? It’ll be very difficult later.”

“Get lost.”

“Yeah, alright.”

He put down the pill bottle and brought alcohol. Yu Gi-jae turned on music. Jazz flowed out. Im Hyo-sang, unbuttoning Hae-won’s shirt, seemed to get annoyed and tore it. Buttons popped off and fell to the floor. His body shook. The skin on his tightly bound wrists stung with every shift of his weight, with no slack or room.

“Smile a bit while looking at the camera. Don’t cry.”

“…….”

“I absolutely hate whining. Did I force you to come? You followed. You came here knowing, right?”

Im Hyo-sang grabbed Hae-won’s crown and lifted him, asking with an unfamiliar face. His head was jerked up. Holding his head in place, Im Hyo-sang pressed his lips to Hae-won’s neck. An inhale, as if smelling him, made his skin tingle.

They took off their clothes. Yu Gi-jae, wearing only briefs, approached from behind, unbuckled Hae-won’s pants belt, and pulled down his pants along with his underwear in one go.

Pressing his groin against Hae-won’s buttocks and arching his back, Yu Gi-jae scanned the unusually clean skin with admiring eyes.

“There’s a reason Woo-jin lost his mind.”

“Exactly. No matter who he brought, he was indifferent—there was a reason. The claim about having gonorrhea was probably a complete lie too.”

“Cute bastard. Who do you think you’re messing with?”

His clenched jaw trembled. Tears that had sharply cut across his cheeks gathered on his chin and streamed down his neck. Im Hyo-sang’s lips and tongue, which had been sucking Hae-won’s neck, moved down to his chest. Hae-won’s lower back arched. With his arms tied, even if he struggled, he remained in place.

“Haven’t you done this before?”

“……Get lost.”

“You keep telling me to get lost since earlier. Even if I wanted to, there’s nowhere to go.”

“He’s bleeding from the mouth.”

Blood flowed from the seam of his tightly pressed lips, wetting the corners of his mouth. Im Hyo-sang took a swig of alcohol and made a face. He squeezed a generous amount of gel onto his hand. Licking the blood flowing from Hae-won’s mouth with his tongue, he pulled Hae-won’s arms back as if embracing him. He slathered something cold between the cleft of his buttocks. Hae-won’s naked body shuddered like an aspen leaf.

“Ever had two in one hole?”

“Huu……, ugh, don’t. Don’t……, don’t.”

“Do you want to kneel and beg too?”

An unfamiliar hand touched his perineum. Hae-won trembled, trapped in Im Hyo-sang’s embrace.

“It’s soft here, feels good.”

“Getting excited after so long.”

“Want to go first?”

They stirred Hae-won’s body as they pleased and bargained. To them, Hae-won wasn’t a person. He was an object, a toy.

“Don’t, don’t……!”

“It’s too late for such words.”

Grabbing and spreading his buttocks with both hands. Another trickle of blood flowed from the corner of Hae-won’s lips, which he had bitten. A hot pillar of flesh touched from behind. An unfamiliar scent and hot breath poured over his nape and spine. Goosebumps rose. Hae-won thrashed. It was too horrible, too wretched—he wanted to lose consciousness. He wanted to hurt him, and punish himself for not heeding Tae-shin’s warning. He wanted to die like this. But he was scared. It was horrifying.

“Give me the drug. I’ll take it. That……, that.”

“……You want to?”

Hae-won cried and begged. Im Hyo-sang turned around with his erection standing stiff. Just as he grabbed the pill bottle left on the table and approached—Bang!—the door shattered. Eyes startled by the loud noise turned toward the bedroom.

Staggering out was Woo-jin. His clothes torn, covered in blood with no part unharmed, he kicked the door open and collapsed heavily onto the floor.

Im Hyo-sang and Yu Gi-jae hesitated, intensely gauging each other’s reactions.

“Hah, haak……, hah. Hah…….”

In Woo-jin’s clenched hand was the fountain pen he always carried in his jacket pocket. Someone’s flesh dangled from the nib. The back of his hand gripping the fountain pen like a murder weapon was clenched so tightly that his knuckles stood out white, veins bulging as if about to burst.

Staggering up on his knees, he wiped his face with the back of his hand. Bloodstains smeared wherever his hand passed.

As Woo-jin approached, clutching the pen dripping with blood, Yu Gi-jae hurriedly picked up his pants to put them on. His legs tangled, and he fell clumsily.

“When I said……, hah……, to stop while we could still talk nicely……, did you think I said that for my own good?”

He muttered, eyes terrifyingly calm as if all restraints had broken, saying he did this to avoid such things.

The Montblanc fountain pen with a bluish tint aimed at Yu Gi-jae’s right eyeball as he lay fallen. Yu Gi-jae, startled, dodged and screamed. He called for help, but no one listened.

Thud-!

“Ugh!”

The fountain pen embedded into the carpeted floor with a sound. The nib fell off, and simultaneously, the pen split and broke completely.

His eyes searched for another weapon. Woo-jin picked up an iron pipe lying around. He struck the back of Yu Gi-jae’s head as he crawled away on the floor, then brought it down on his skull several times, his limbs splayed like a frog’s.

Im Hyo-sang, who had been cursing wildly while picking up his pants, stumbled and retreated on his buttocks, trembling convulsively when Woo-jin’s eyes met his.

“Woo-jin, Woo, Woo-jin, wait. Let’s talk. I just did as I was told. As Seok-jung wanted, you know? I just do as I’m told, right? Huh? Woo-jin, Woo-jin, fuck! I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I was wrong. Woo-jin, fuck……, Woo-jin, please, ugh!”

The iron pipe flew wildly, missing the aimed head. The sound of crushing flesh and bone mingled with the jazz melody.

“Hah, those who don’t listen, huh? Haak, have you heard……, fuck, the saying about the stick? The old saying isn’t wrong.”

Thwack, thwack, thwack……!

Im Hyo-sang’s naked body, with his pants only pulled up to his thighs, turned mottled as if whipped countless times.

Screams for mercy, cries, and the occasional curse that burst uncontrollably from Woo-jin’s restrained breathing all poured out at once.

“……Why isn’t this moving. Get up. Talk more. I told you not to do it.”

Nothing was intact. Woo-jin, disheveled as if after a violent fight, lifted his messy head. He raised the iron pipe high toward Im Hyo-sang, who was no longer moving.

Then Hae-won muttered dazedly,

“Stop…….”

Woo-jin flinched at the voice from behind and slowly turned around. Hae-won, half-undressed and disheveled, was still tied to the pole. Throwing the iron pipe he held onto Im Hyo-sang’s body, Woo-jin approached Hae-won.

“…….”

“…….”

He severed the bindings on Hae-won’s wrists. Pulling up the shirt hanging on his arms and fastening it, he held Hae-won’s weight as he slumped down, then helped him into his underwear and pants. He checked Hae-won’s trembling hands. When Woo-jin touched them, blood smeared. Not realizing it was his own blood, Woo-jin kept wiping Hae-won’s hands.

“Where are you hurt?”

Woo-jin asked. Hae-won couldn’t answer, just trembled. Tears kept flowing, blurring Woo-jin’s face. He carefully wiped the blood flowing from the torn corner of Hae-won’s mouth with his fingertips. Hae-won’s tears fell onto the back of his hand with a soft patter.

Yu Gi-jae’s body, lying face down on the floor, twitched. Moans sporadically arose here and there.

When Woo-jin sharply turned his head, Hae-won quickly grabbed him.

“Don’t kill them.”

“…….”

“You mustn’t kill them.”

“……Alright.”

Woo-jin helped Hae-won up. His eyes coldly surveyed the scene of his own actions. Rummaging through his pants pockets and shirt, Woo-jin took out car keys and shoved them into Hae-won’s hand.

“Take this and go. Where’s the violin?”

“I don’t know…….”

“Did you bring it?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

There was no violin in the officetel. Woo-jin searched through the places where the large men lay scattered, looking for Hae-won’s violin case. After searching around, he stepped on Yu Gi-jae’s back and brought the case placed at the study entrance. He slung the violin over Hae-won’s shoulder. Taking his hand, he made him grip the shoulder strap tightly.

“Go quickly.”

“……I don’t want to.”

“Go quickly. Hurry.”

“I, I don’t want to.”

“I won’t kill anyone, so don’t worry and go quickly. Go to Kim Jae-min.”

“…….”

“Don’t cry.”

“…….”

“You wanted to ruin my life, right? It’s happened as you wished, so now listen to me.”

“…….”

He spoke as if encouraging and praising, not sarcastically but genuinely saying he did well, that this much was truly well done, that he worked hard. It was the face and eyes of someone promising ten star stickers.

Ugh, from the bedroom, the enforcers were seen twitching. Im Hyo-sang began crawling on the floor, perhaps not dead.

Woo-jin forcibly lifted Hae-won, who was trying to slump down, and made him walk. He wiped his tear-stained cheeks, but blood kept smearing. Stopping the meaningless action, Woo-jin pushed Hae-won toward the door where a piece of shelf was wedged.

“Hyung can drive, right?”

Hae-won nodded unconsciously. Teardrops fell along with the motion.

“Don’t go to the officetel, go to Father’s house or to Kim Jae-min. Understood?”

This time, he thrashed. His whole body was trembling.

“Go, now.”

He kicked the wooden piece placed in the door gap and tried to close the door. When Hae-won desperately held on, Woo-jin, who was turning away, looked at him.

The fact that Woo-jin had ruined his own life as Hae-won wished remained inside the hotel suite he had built.

“Why escalate things when you can’t even handle the aftermath? Did you hate me that much?”

“…….”

Hae-won nodded. He hated him. He hated him so much.

Woo-jin, who had been stroking Hae-won’s tear-wet cheek, tilted his head and kissed him. He gently overlapped their lips as if handling something precious. The salty taste of tears was strong.

After a brief kiss, he pulled his lips away.

It wasn’t the price of loving someone.

Woo-jin was quick to acknowledge such things. He had no intention of denying or covering up the consequences of his actions now.

He wiped Hae-won’s cheeks, which kept crying, with a sleeve not stained with blood.

“Thank you for letting me sleep yesterday.”

Unconsciously, he pushed away the hand that was clinging and holding on, and he closed the door.

Hae-won pounded on the door, shouting. The tightly shut door didn’t budge, like a massive fortress gate. Hae-won, who had been crying and calling for Woo-jin, left the hotel clutching the blood-stained car keys.

Shuddering, he searched for Woo-jin’s car. Getting into his car, he started it with familiar hands and backed out. Driving away from the parking lot as if fleeing, Hae-won sobbed as he sped down the road.

When the hotel was no longer visible, and the sea could no longer be seen, he pulled over to the shoulder.

Vehicles sped past Hae-won, who was weeping, kicking up coarse dust.

After parting with him, Hae-won had no day without tears drying up, and after parting with Hae-won, Woo-jin had no day without blood drying up.

He stopped by the officetel and washed his body, which was covered in blood. Under the falling water stream, he bowed his head and stared blankly at the streaks of blood being sucked down the drain.

After changing clothes, he headed to the District Prosecutors’ Office. Im Hyo-sang’s car, which attracted as much attention as Seok-jung’s, entered the District Prosecutors’ Office parking lot.

As Woo-jin got out of the car, Secretary Choi, who had been waiting, approached and handed him a shopping bag.

“Did you bring everything?”

“I gathered everything.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Leaving behind Secretary Choi, who was looking curiously at the car he neither preferred nor liked, Woo-jin walked briskly.

He had only roughly wrapped the bruised and scraped areas with bandages without any proper treatment, so with every movement, a sharp pain shot through his ribs as if they were being squeezed. Uncomfortably holding his side, he headed to his office.

Jeong Ho-myung, who had been anxiously waiting for Woo-jin, stiffened his expression and rushed over as soon as he spotted him.

“Seonbae! Why are you only coming now? And why aren’t you answering your phone again?”

“Ah, I left it in the car and forgot.”

It was an uncharacteristic thing for him to say.

“You left it in the car? Should I get it for you? Give me the car keys.”

“……I gave it to someone.”

“Your phone?”

“No, the car. Leave it. There’s nothing there anyway.”

Woo-jin never left any records on his phone. It was an item easily tapped or stolen.

Jeong Ho-myung grabbed Woo-jin’s arm, who was saying incomprehensible things. His expression twisted sharply. Jeong Ho-myung flinched and let go.

“What’s wrong?”

“……It hurts.”

It felt like something was broken. He pressed his side firmly.

“Are you hurt somewhere?”

“It’s fine. Why?”

He urged him to stop bothering and just say what he needed to say quickly.

“I called you, didn’t I? What do you mean, why? Chief Prosecutor Lee Seung-min is determined to bring in the Inspection Department to get you disciplined. Even the Blue House Chief of Staff stepped in.”

Jeong Ho-myung lowered his voice as much as possible, whispering as if afraid someone might hear, but his words carried a metallic tone as he emphasized every word.

“This is why you shouldn’t trust anyone.”

“How can you say that? We need to defend ourselves too.”

“We?”

“Yes, we. You and me, Seonbae.”

“It’s me, not us.”

“Huh? Then what about me?”

“You……, you won’t be affected. Stop talking nonsense and go do your work.”

“…….”

“Don’t even make a sound and keep your head down. Do as I say.”

“……Yes, understood.”

Jeong Ho-myung turned away with a face full of worry despite being told not to worry.

Woo-jin opened the office door. The inside was in disarray. It seemed the Inspection Department had been there. Chief Hwang, who was tidying up the messy office, got angry when he saw Woo-jin.

“Prosecutor, why aren’t you answering your phone?”

“I left my phone in the car……. Anyway, what’s going on?”

“The Inspection Department said they had something to investigate and ransacked the office.”

He said gloomily. Woo-jin simply nodded and entered his private office. His private office was also in disarray, with traces of someone having gone through it. It seemed even the desk drawers had been searched, some left half-open.

He had moved important things home when he relocated. Inside the shopping bag Secretary Choi brought were documents, including a laptop. It would have been better if Hae-won had taken the ledger, but there wasn’t enough time to go get it. He had to move before the bunker members regained their senses.

Fortunately, he gathered a few more documents the Inspection Department hadn’t touched. Woo-jin picked up the shopping bag and briefcase, then put them down again.

“Ugh…….”

An intense pain stabbed his insides. He held his breath for a moment, then let out a shallow, ragged sigh. His face turned pale, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

“Prosecutor, Deputy Chief Prosecutor is looking for you.”

As the intercom rang loudly, Chief Hwang called him. Woo-jin shook his head with a grimace. Chief Hwang, holding the receiver, sighed and informed the other party of Woo-jin’s absence.

He gathered only what he needed and left the office. Chief Hwang, who had put down the receiver, chased after him.

“What on earth is going on?”

Chief Hwang, who had only worked on important investigations with him, was unaccustomed to the Inspection Department’s scrutiny and such treatment. The playfulness usually seen on his face had completely vanished, replaced by tension.

“They’re trying to stop the investigation into Senior Prosecutor Lee Dae-young.”

“And for that, they’re targeting you?”

“When have they not done that? I’ve been through it too. Step on this when needed, press down on that when needed. That’s how they’ve always operated.”

“……Even so.”

He gloomily lowered his gaze.

“But where are you going?”

Chief Hwang asked, sounding exasperated, asking where he was going at such a critical time, leaving his post again.

“To resign.”

“Huh?”

“I have to quit now.”

“Huh? What did you say, Prosecutor?”

“I’ll go ahead. Everyone, leave work on your own.”

Passing by Chief Hwang, who stood there dumbfounded, he headed to the parking lot.

He got into the sports car, as loud in sound as it was flashy in appearance, and stepped on the accelerator. Though he detested such flamboyance, its quick response was top-notch.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office parking lot was full. Woo-jin parked haphazardly as if abandoning the car anywhere and got out.

He took a long, hard look at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office standing imposingly before him. There was a time when Woo-jin dreamed of realizing his aspirations and plans within this building. Ignoring the employee telling him to move his car, he walked away.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing parking here?! Hey!”

Woo-jin threw the car keys at him. The man, catching the keys mid-air in surprise, shouted.

“Do you think this is some valet service?!”

“Get rid of it.”

“What did you say? Hey!”

With his ID hanging around his neck, he passed through the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office lobby security and went straight up to the tenth floor, where the Anti-Corruption Investigation Command Division was located. As he stepped out of the elevator, someone recognized him and greeted him cheerfully.

“Oh, Prosecutor Hyun Woo-jin?”

“Hello.”

Woo-jin, who had been hurriedly looking around, stopped again. Annoyed by things constantly holding him back, he furrowed his brow.

“What brings you all the way here?”

It was the Investigation Support Section Chief he had worked with a few years ago. The Section Chief’s face brightened in contrast to Woo-jin’s, seemingly happy to see him after so long.

“Do you happen to know which office Prosecutor Kim Hanse is in?”

“You came to see Prosecutor Kim? All that talk about you two not getting along is just nonsense, right?”

“No. We don’t get along. We really dislike each other. No, we loathe each other.”

“Huh? Uh……, I think Prosecutor Kim is in 720 or 721, something like that.”

He said, rubbing under his nose as if sniffing. Woo-jin gave a slight nod of greeting and turned away.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office offices, made of glass doors and walls, had translucent window film, so the shadows moving inside made it clear whether someone was present. Seeing movement inside, Woo-jin opened the door without knocking.

Kim Hanse, who had been working at his desk, looked up at the sound.

“…….”

“…….”

Kim Hanse’s brow slightly furrowed, and when Woo-jin sat in the chair in front of the desk, it creased distinctly.

“……What is this.”

“Handle it according to the law.”

“…….”

With sincere irritation and disgust openly displayed, Hanse took the shopping bag Woo-jin tossed onto the desk. Inside were documents, a laptop, memory sticks, and such things. Without removing his suspicious gaze, Hanse took out the contents.

Evidence of Senior Prosecutor Lee Dae-young’s corruption and bribery, details of K-One Group’s corruption, the actual organizational chart of the Myeongdong loan shark market, bank transaction records, and more were mixed together haphazardly, unorganized. As Hanse roughly flipped through the documents, his expression gradually grew cold and stern. Picking up a memory stick, he asked.

“What’s this.”

“Use it if needed.”

“What is it.”

“……Video.”

“What kind of video.”

“Footage to leash and drag away the bastards you absolutely must catch.”

“You know illegally obtained surveillance evidence has no evidentiary value.”

“You know I have a higher IQ than you, right?”

Woo-jin mocked him, telling him not to ask the obvious.

“What are you going to use it for? It has no evidentiary value at all.”

“If this gets leaked, their mothers and fathers would really love it.”

“You mean to use it for blackmail?”

“Use it effectively if needed. If you don’t want to use it, don’t. Do it your way.”

“…….”

It wasn’t like he was joking, but it didn’t seem like a joke either. It was becoming increasingly incomprehensible. Hanse picked up another bundle of documents. As he examined the contents, his eyes rolled in confusion. He looked at Woo-jin, then stared at the documents, then looked back at Woo-jin.

“Look properly.”

“I am looking properly, but I’m reacting this way because I see your name, so what’s going on? So, it says tax evasion while building this hotel and attempted tax evasion after completion. You’re one of them. This isn’t something that ends with restitution. It’s embezzlement, misappropriation, and everyone involved should be handcuffed.”

“Keep looking.”

At Woo-jin’s request, Hanse continued examining the documents. Spending a long time reading the materials he brought, his brow furrowed seriously. It wasn’t just one or two things; each time, Woo-jin was involved. There were even things that seemed led by him.

Hanse tensed at the new schemes of this human trash. He couldn’t grasp what he was trying to do. The more he examined the materials, the more Woo-jin’s crimes added up.

He must know better than anyone that since I’ve seen this, I can’t just let it go.

He knew Woo-jin conducted illegal investigations, but it was far more criminal than he had anticipated.

Hanse put down what he was reading as if throwing it.

“Chief Prosecutor Park Hyung-soo, I knew it was your doing.”

“Yeah.”

“You knew everything and still helped. A political prosecutor like you is only busy covering your own ass.”

“Well, say that if you want.”

Even though he was deliberately needling, Woo-jin’s reaction was indifferent.

“Stripping a fellow prosecutor of his position isn’t easy for me either.”

After thinking for a moment, Hanse finally let out a deep sigh and tried to gather the materials to return them to him. Woo-jin took the things he pushed away and brought them back in front of him.

“Anyone else won’t do.”

“……Can I ask what on earth this is all about? Have you suddenly gone mad?”

“I’m very sensitive to that word ‘mad.’ From now on, I’d prefer if you didn’t use it if possible.”

“So why are you doing this? Did you get into a car accident or something? Did you get a terminal diagnosis?”

“This is how it ends. Arrest me.”

Please arrest me, let this end, he said with eyes heavy with fatigue.

“……Hey, Prosecutor Hyun.”

It was neither a joke nor a prank. Realizing what Woo-jin was trying to do, Hanse felt a chill in his chest.

“Only if I go in with them will those bastards not be able to crawl out. Especially don’t let Lee Seok-joong go. The same goes for Senior Prosecutor Lee Dae-young. If you’re going to end it just by stripping them of their positions, then you should strip off yours too.”

It was the belief that Kim Hanse, the only one he acknowledged, the only one he trusted, and the one he loathed the most among them, would handle it properly.

Now was the time to put an end to this trashy business.

As time passed, Woo-jin’s heartbeat grew calmer. He was composed. Just tired. He wanted to rest now. He wanted to quit now.

“It’s a welcome thing that the world has turned upside down and you’ve suddenly grown a conscience, but don’t you think going to prison together to catch them is going too far? What’s your scheme?”

Please explain so I can understand, Hanse asked in a calm voice.

It meant to vomit out everything—what he was thinking, what was inside that black heart.

Woo-jin, who had been staring blankly at Hanse, swept back his unusually disheveled hair today. After pondering something for a while, he opened his mouth.

“To grant someone’s wish.”

“There was someone else besides me who wished for your dick to be ruined?”

“Not wishing for my dick to be ruined, but wishing for my death.”

“Who would make such a terrible wish? What kind of good person?”

Even at Hanse’s joke, Woo-jin muttered, lost in his own thoughts.

“There is, such a person.”

“Prosecutor Hyun.”

“My life has to be ruined……, only then will it end. Stop nagging and arrest me.”

Only then would Hae-won stop doing unnecessary things.

Only if Woo-jin is ruined will Hae-won stop. He could no longer bear the sight of Hae-won ruining himself.

If that’s what he wants, he can grant it. If that’s how he can change his mind and receive forgiveness, Woo-jin could ruin his own life a hundred times over.

“With this evidence, you’ll get prison time.”

Hanse became truly serious. Woo-jin remained unmoved.

“Handle it according to the law. If you don’t handle it properly, I’ll kill you.”

“Why are you really like this?”

“Because I’m crazy.”

“Hey!”

“If you let me go, I’ll keep doing the same things, and so will those bastards. If that’s what you want, leave it. I’ll keep living as human trash.”

Woo-jin stood up. As he rose, he clutched his side. With a movement that seemed uncomfortable somewhere, he turned to leave after throwing something enormous at him.

Hanse’s subconscious picked up the receiver. Watching Woo-jin’s retreating back as he opened the door and left, he hurriedly dialed a number.

“This is Kim Hanse from the Anti-Corruption Department. You know Prosecutor Hyun Woo-jin from the Central District Prosecutors’ Office, right? He’s leaving the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office now. Arrest him urgently on suspicion of illegal investigation. Does this sound like a joke to you? I said arrest him urgently! Right now!”

∞ ∞ ∞

“He won’t meet anyone except the assigned prosecutor.”

“He’ll meet his lawyer, right? Please let me go in with the lawyer.”

“Prosecutor Hyun refused visits from his mother too. If he refuses family, do you think he’ll meet a friend?”

“Did you talk to him? Did you mention my name, Moon Hae-won, and ask?”

“Moon Hae-won……, he said he especially doesn’t want to meet. Prosecutor Hyun said to tell you not to come anymore.”

“…….”

“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

The lawyer, who had just returned to the office, brushed past Hae-won, who had been waiting aimlessly in front, and went inside.

Hae-won stared blankly at the closed door.

Especially doesn’t want to meet, don’t come anymore…….

It was hard to stand straight. He leaned his back against the wall.

Since your life is ruined as you wished, since I did as you wished, now let’s really end it.

It was all what Hae-won wanted.

He wanted Woo-jin’s life to be ruined.

He wanted him to realize how he felt about wanting to die.

And he desperately wanted to end things with him.

All of that had come true.

Now it’s over.

Now it’s really over.

Hae-won staggered as he walked. Dragging his heavy legs, he left the building where the lawyer’s office was.

He got into Woo-jin’s car. That day, to let him escape, Woo-jin had pressed his car keys into Hae-won’s hand.

The news said that when they caught wind of the internal whistleblowing, they mobilized organized crime gangs to threaten Woo-jin with force, causing a disturbance. Woo-jin was also seriously injured then.

Despite that, Woo-jin, worried that Hae-won might have hurt his hands that day, trembled with his entire body covered in blood. Amidst that, he even retrieved the violin that Hae-won himself had forgotten.

And he urged Hae-won to go quickly, to leave that place, chasing him away.

The last memory was Woo-jin’s retreating back as he turned to handle and bear the consequences of what he had done.

Thank you for letting me sleep…….

That was the last. That, that…….

Now it’s over.

He had to accept it, but Hae-won was completely out of his mind.

It was harder than when they broke up, harder than when he learned everything about Woo-jin was false and deceitful, harder than when he found out what he had done to Tae-shin—those times were hard, but now it was indescribably difficult. It felt as if the brain inside his head had exploded.

He didn’t even have the energy to grieve or cry. He didn’t have any strength left for that.

He started the engine and stepped on the accelerator.

Less than a day after hearing news of Woo-jin, he got a call from Choi Hyun-mi, but he couldn’t answer.

He heard that except for the assigned prosecutor and lawyer, he refused visits from anyone. His mother, of course, and Hae-won were no exception. Choi Hyun-mi must have thought that even if he refused her visit, he would have met Hae-won.

He looked at the phone screen ringing, confirmed it was Choi Hyun-mi, and set it back down.

It was Hae-won who had made Woo-jin like this.

He told him to die. That if he wanted forgiveness, he should die, crawl on all fours like a dog and bark, that he would make him want to die, that he would never forgive him. He poured out every possible curse and vile word, and in the end, tried to tear his own limbs apart and break down in front of him.

He prayed to everything he could pray to. He prayed while offering himself as a sacrifice.

For his downfall… for him to lose everything he had…

Because of me, Woo-jin became like that.

He knew Woo-jin would appear there. To make the anxious Woo-jin even more anxious, to shake him, Hae-won contacted them. He voluntarily got into Im Hyo-sang’s car.

He wanted Woo-jin to see his broken self and want to die. He wanted him to wish for death. He wanted to inflict irreparable damage on him.

It went as he wished. Woo-jin had shattered his own life with his own hands.

The ringing bell urged Hae-won. It asked if he was happy now that he had ruined Woo-jin’s life. Even though things went as he wanted, he wasn’t happy at all. His chest felt like it would burst.

To silence even the bell urging him, he fumbled for the phone he had tossed onto the passenger seat. The moment he gripped the phone, his vision went black.

Hae-won crashed into the rear of the car in front.

The front car’s bumper fell off, and Woo-jin’s car hit hard enough to crumple the hood. Hae-won, who had slammed his head against the steering wheel, groaned and lifted his upper body. His body had been jolted hard, but since he was wearing a seatbelt, he seemed unhurt.

The door of the car in front opened, and the driver staggered out. He grabbed the back of his neck and approached.

“Ah, hey, get out. Ah, ugh… Hey!”

The man pounded on the car window with his fist and shouted. Hae-won lowered the window with trembling hands.

“Were you driving with your eyes closed? Don’t you know what following distance is? Huh?! Can’t you see my second and fifth vertebrae are messed up now… you.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Oh, oh, are you okay?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I’m fine, so don’t cry. I’m not hurt. Bumpers are there to get hit. Are you okay over there?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Tears streamed down, soaking his cheeks. Hae-won burst into sorrowful tears. The man holding the back of his neck became flustered.

“No, when you drive, accidents happen, why are you crying over something like that? Huh? Aigoo… What to do. Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry too much. Which insurance company are you with?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, no, there’s nothing to be that sorry about… Ah, what to do. Hey. Aish.”

The man contacted Hae-won’s insurance company on his behalf. After filing the accident report, the car was towed to a nearby repair shop.

Hae-won just sat dazedly, following along with what those around him handled.

They said the hood was badly damaged and would take time to repair. They said the insurance company would provide a rental car in the meantime. They also packed the items from Woo-jin’s car into a box and handed it over.

“Please check as there seem to be valuables. Even if you later say something is missing, we cannot take responsibility.”

“…”

Hae-won looked inside the box. Inside were business cards, a card wallet, a phone, wet wipes, tissues received from a gas station, a half-folded document, and a small velvet case rolling around.

He picked up Woo-jin’s phone. It was completely dead and wouldn’t turn on.

The person who treated his phone like his life came looking for me that day without even taking this. It seemed he couldn’t even think of reporting it or asking for help.

Hae-won picked up the velvet case, which didn’t seem like Woo-jin’s possession.

It was a ring box.

“…”

Opening the case, two rings of a rugged shape were nestled in the velvet sponge. Hae-won, thinking ‘it can’t be,’ took out the smaller ring and tried it on his ring finger. It was a hand with long fingers for a man, but not as slender as a woman’s.

It was his size. He fiddled with the ring on his finger.

He had said he wanted to live together. He had called our cohabitation a honeymoon.

It was a ring he bought to give to me.

Hot tears plopped down onto the ring.

∞ ∞ ∞

Day after day, news flowed through the media about the Special Investigation Division prosecutor’s confession of conscience, surrender, and whistleblowing. The core of the news was what crimes Woo-jin would be charged with, to what extent, and how much prison time he would receive.

All related figures were summoned, and most were arrested.

They were the men he saw at the Yangpyeong villa.

As Hae-won expected, they were people in positions of latent power who could sway the country. Woo-jin was included among them. They were accomplices.

The arrest of an active-duty prosecutor posed many questions to society.

Panels argued over Woo-jin’s actions, debating to what extent illegal surveillance and illegal investigations for targeted investigations were permissible. Since no objective evidence emerged of him pursuing personal gain, and it was solely another criminal act for the sake of investigation, experts’ opinions were divided on how much of the law to apply.

When someone argued that bribery charges should be breach of trust and bribery receipt, and illegal surveillance should be excessive investigation, making the nature of the crime not significantly bad, others argued that ignoring the prosecutor’s duty of objectivity itself was a serious crime.

One lawyer said that a sentence of less than three years imprisonment was needed to receive a suspended sentence, and even if Woo-jin admitted his crimes, the prosecution would not condone it. She predicted a suspended sentence.

When public interest waned and winter’s threshold was reached, Woo-jin’s trial began. In his final statement, Woo-jin said he would humbly accept the court’s judgment and apologized to all those harmed because of him.

The sentence was finalized. It was two years imprisonment without a suspended sentence and dismissal from the prosecutor’s office.

Those dragged in along with Woo-jin’s surrender received much heavier sentences. Lee Seok-joong was found guilty of bribery offering and sentenced to a heavy punishment, and even his grandfather, the chairman of K-One Financial Holdings, was arrested and indicted for violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, bribery offering, and violations of financial investment business laws.

Woo-jin accepted the first trial verdict and did not appeal, being taken into custody. After the public trial ended, he was transferred to prison.

As Hae-won wished, his life…

Everything he had worked so hard for… was ruined.

The day came when he had to take out and wear a coat.

He touched the goose down coats he had bought in various colors, telling him not to go out dressed too coldly, then put on something else.

On the day Jeong Ho-myung was going to visit Woo-jin, he decided to follow him. Jeong Ho-myung, who met him in the prison parking lot, was surprised to see Hae-won getting out of Woo-jin’s car and asked.

“Seonbae said he had a debt to repay to Hae-won, but it seems he was the one in debt instead. Did you receive his car in his place?”

“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Let’s go in.”

He, being Woo-jin’s junior prosecutor, must have been involved in this matter too, yet he received no charges. Jeong Ho-myung seemed to think Woo-jin had deliberately shielded him. Although Woo-jin wasn’t the type to consider others or keep loyalties, since Jeong Ho-myung still seemed to respect him, Hae-won didn’t tell him the truth. He was rather pleased with Hae-won’s contact.

They entered the visitation room inside the prison. It was a place with much poorer facilities than the prison where Seung-cheol Seonbae had been.

Woo-jin was in a place like this.

Even though it was my doing, my heart ached. Jeong Ho-myung finished the visitation application, looked back at Hae-won who couldn’t manage his expression, and said worriedly.

“Seonbae is healthy. You don’t need to worry too much. He seemed to be doing well.”

“…”

“How should I put it. He’s a bit… become more at ease. He doesn’t make people tense up like before.”

“You didn’t tell him I was coming, right?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Can I go in alone?”

“We’ll go in together first, then I’ll come out early.”

Hae-won nodded. If he knew I had come, he wouldn’t agree to meet.

Sitting in the waiting room, waiting for his turn, he tightly clasped his hands together.

Even he thought it was absurd what face he had to chase after Woo-jin here after breaking him like this. What did he want to say, it’s over now, things went as he wished, what did he want to say to him.

Hae-won just wanted to see Woo-jin. He missed him so much, hated him so much, his whole body ached. He wanted to see him, hold him, embrace him and let him sleep, and at the same time, wanted to strangle him. Even though it was his own heart, he couldn’t understand what kind of emotion it was.

When his visitation turn came, he went inside.

The prison itself was old and worn, and even the visitation room was much bleaker and darker than the place where he saw Seung-cheol Seonbae. Not just a glass wall, but iron bars blocked the way.

After sitting with Jeong Ho-myung and waiting briefly, the door opened and Woo-jin entered.

Hae-won felt like his heart stopped.

Seeing him in prison uniform, tears threatened to burst out. He tried with all his might not to cry, holding back. He bit his lip hard. Remembering what he usually looked like, the shabby sight before him shattered his composure.

It was an ending unbefitting him, but it was the result he had to bear.

Woo-jin’s eyes, moving from Jeong Ho-myung to Hae-won, hesitated for a moment. As he sat down, Jeong Ho-myung bowed his head in greeting.

“I’m sorry. He kept insisting so much…”

“It wasn’t for your sake.”

“Then please talk.”

Avoiding the displeased gaze, Jeong Ho-myung hurriedly went outside as if fleeing.

Hae-won stood awkwardly, looking at him, and when Woo-jin gestured with his chin for him to sit, he slowly sat on the chair. Their eye levels matched, and Woo-jin’s face was visible beyond the transparent wall.

“…”

“…”

Neither opened their mouths.

Without saying a word, they just looked at each other.

Woo-jin’s eyes slowly scanned Hae-won.

They were eyes calmly checking if there was any injury, any pain. Sitting in the cold, gray visitation room, every time his eyes met Woo-jin’s, Hae-won had to grip his clasped hands tightly to suppress the surging emotions.

He was no different from usual. He still wore the cold expression that seemed to observe the other, and wearing prison uniform, he even looked more austere.

The sight of him, shattered as he wished, kept breaking his heart.

Unable to hold back, tears welled up and poured out. Hae-won’s face turned red from holding back the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Woo-jin, who had been silently watching that sight, quietly opened his mouth.

“You said we were over.”

“…”

“Why are you crying?”

“…”

He was asking because he didn’t understand. Hae-won didn’t answer, just looked at Woo-jin. Tears continued to fall, forming patterns.

He sighed. Swept his hair back and rubbed his face with his hands. The rough skin of his face was rubbed this way and that by his large hands.

“I just barely understood that, so why are you crying.”

“…”

“Don’t come again.”

Woo-jin stood up without making eye contact with Hae-won. He told the guard the visitation was over. Without throwing even a glance at Hae-won, Woo-jin left the visitation room just like that.

He went to a place Hae-won couldn’t touch or reach.

Tears plopping down, soaking his chest, clouded his vision.

He and I were over.

And so, Hae-won parted ways with Woo-jin.