#87

Kwon Ki-hyuk curled the corners of his mouth into a smile and leaned back completely against the sofa. He flicked his finger at the man sitting beside him. As if accustomed to the gesture, the man handed over the cigarette he had been smoking to Ki-hyuk.

“Little brother, that’s not how you make a request.”

Ki-hyuk put the wet filter in his mouth, inhaled deeply until his cheeks hollowed, and then exhaled. Now that he noticed, the smell wasn’t that of an ordinary cigarette. It was sweeter and more acrid. Marijuana.

“You need to show more desperation. That’s the only way to make me consider something I hadn’t thought of. Don’t you agree?”

Jung-hyun looked at his half-brother’s face with sunken eyes. Within that face sat a twisted child who hadn’t grown at all compared to fifteen years ago.

A child who, unable to forgive the father and grandfather who had turned their backs on him in an instant, had redirected that arrow toward his half-brother.

He recalled the day they first met.

It was the first day he had entered the Seongbuk-dong mansion as the successor of the Myeong-jeong family. Having a room of his own for the first time in his life, Jung-hyun had found it difficult to fall asleep.

His mother had disappeared somewhere into this massive house, and the bed he used for the first time was too soft, making it uncomfortable. It was a night where everything felt unfamiliar and anxious.

Then, he heard the sound of the door opening quietly. In his happiness, Jung-hyun thought he had asked, “Mom?”

However, the shadow that entered and closed the door was too large to be his mother, and too small to be the man who was his father, whom he had met for the first time today. Only when that shadow climbed on top of him and strangled his neck did Jung-hyun see for the first time that face, which bore a strange resemblance to his own. A vivid hatred was etched in those eyes.

After that day, Kwon Ki-hyuk would sneak into his room in the middle of the night to strangle him, staring blankly as Jung-hyun coughed in agony before disappearing. Because Ki-hyuk had threatened him not to tell anyone, Jung-hyun kept silent about it for a long time.

But there was no way he could be unfazed. His mother, who had always been by his side, was now difficult to see even once a day, and his father and the servants were too strict. Jung-hyun became afraid of the nights he spent falling asleep alone, and the ties that tightened around his neck became horrific.

So, one night, he gathered his courage and told his mother. That his half-brother came to his room every night. That he was so scared he couldn’t bear it.

His mother, whom he naturally thought would take his side, unexpectedly looked troubled. She only told him that he had to be nicer to his brother. That if he endured it just a little longer, everything would become his, so he just had to bear it.

He was deeply saddened, but he could understand her. Jung-hyun knew that his mother had devoted her life to being called the Madame of Myeong-jeong. Because of that, he couldn’t blame her.

In that vast mansion, the only place Jung-hyun could breathe was the stadium he occasionally visited with his grandfather. He liked his grandfather. He was the only person in that house who indulged his whims.

That was why, after his half-brother manifested as an Alpha, the thing that shocked Jung-hyun the most was not his father or mother turning their backs on him.

It was a day when Jung-hyun had received a large wound on his face after being beaten by Ki-hyuk, who had become arrogant following his manifestation. Since it was the first time a noticeable injury had appeared on his face, even Kwon Ki-hyuk was subtly mindful of the family’s reaction.

However, his grandfather merely glanced at his face and did not scold Ki-hyuk. Following his parents, even his grandfather had tacitly accepted Kwon Ki-hyuk’s violence.

The reason Jung-hyun ended up going to the United States was due to his grandfather’s concern that if things continued this way, the precious successor would end up with a criminal record. The violence was becoming more severe by the day.

Yet, until the moment he lost consciousness from being strangled, Jung-hyun never once begged Ki-hyuk for forgiveness. He had done nothing wrong. He was born as his mother’s son, strove to become an Alpha, and had only now become the son of Myeong-jeong as a reward for that effort.

But in truth, it was also his last remaining shred of pride.

But what use was that now?

Jung-hyun looked directly at Kwon Ki-hyuk and slowly bent one leg.

The reason Jung-hyun had first decided to acquire the Blue Wolves was clearly because of Shin Ho-jae alone.

However, while watching the sweat and effort of the players, coaches, and staff from the closest vantage point, the Blue Wolves had become something larger than just ‘Shin Ho-jae’s club’ within Jung-hyun. He had no choice but to admit it.

There were only four months left until the end of the season. The words of the gossips, saying that they could realistically aim for the championship at this rate, were by no means an exaggeration. Therefore, he could never let it stop here under a disgraceful stigma.

“…I beg of you.”

Jung-hyun knelt completely on both knees on the floor and placed his clenched fists on his knees. Kwon Ki-hyuk’s joyful laughter echoed above his head.

“Haha! To think I’d see my little brother on his knees!”

Looking down at the sticky, dirty floor covered in filth, Jung-hyun recalled the face of Shin Ho-jae, who had once knelt before him.

Was this the emotion he had felt back then? And how had he been at that time? He had been preoccupied with using such a Shin Ho-jae to satisfy his own filthy desires.

All that karma had returned to him in full. Thinking that made his heart feel unexpectedly at peace.

“Since my little brother wants it that badly, I have no choice. I’ll hand over the photos. And on the condition that you don’t touch the club, there’s something you’ll have to take care of for me.”

Kwon Ki-hyuk handed the cigarette back to the man beside him and stood up. The gesture of grabbing the hem of his vest and smoothing it out was as natural as flowing water.

The man who took the cigarette Ki-hyuk had been smoking was looking down at Jung-hyun with a strange gaze.

He was exactly the type of man Kwon Ki-hyuk always messed with. An Alpha… with a face that somewhat resembled his own. It was unsettling.

“What are you doing? Get up.”

At Ki-hyuk’s urging, Jung-hyun straightened his kneeling legs and followed him.

They arrived at a small room on the first floor. The inside was dark. Before the lights illuminated the surroundings, the first thing to hit his sense of smell was the fishy scent of blood. Jung-hyun faintly furrowed his brow.

“Do you two know each other? Say hello. This is my little rat.”

Then, snap, the lights came on. Only then did the shape of a person lying crushed on the floor beneath his feet become visible. It was Kim In-jung.

Jung-hyun took a small breath. Had Kwon Ki-hyuk finally done something irreversible?

He leaned down and placed a finger under the man’s nose. Fortunately, he was still breathing, however faintly.

Ki-hyuk leaned against the table and tapped the bottom of a cigarette pack.

“Those photos you saw today. They were worth twenty million.”

Ki-hyuk put a cigarette in his mouth and spoke in a nonchalant tone.

“It would have been better if that rat had just taken the twenty million and disappeared, but he tried to blackmail me. Not knowing that the thing I hate most is a bastard who doesn’t know his place and acts out.”

He then took a lighter from his pocket and lit it. In the face inhaling the smoke, there was no trace of guilt or anxiety.

“My hand just went out a few times first. I didn’t know the weakling would pass out just like that. So, since it turned out this way, I decided to make a deal and pay him for the beating. Five hundred thousand per hit. He was the one calculating that he took eight hits before collapsing, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“…You paid him for the beating.”

“It’s a proposal that beggars can never refuse.”

“…This is too much.”

Jung-hyun spoke, turning his gaze away from Kim In-jung.

“Even if he isn’t now, he is a former journalist. You don’t know who he might be connected to; you should have been more cautious.”

At those words, Ki-hyuk curved his snake-like eyes as if he had heard an interesting story.

“Why would I worry? I have a little brother who can take the fall for me.”

“…….”

“And I have a father-in-law who owns a broadcasting station.”

“……Is the matter I’m taking over the assault of reporter Kim In-jung?”

Kwon Ki-hyuk inhaled the smoke and pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile.

“It would be boring to just take the assault charge.”

“…….”

“This time, I’m going to have Kim In-jung write this as an article. Including everything—the assault, sexual harassment, and power abuse controversies that were previously only rumors. How about it? Sounds fun, right?”

Jung-hyun’s face froze.

The reason the things Jung-hyun had taken the fall for on behalf of Kwon Ki-hyuk had remained as rumors was that they had never been officially announced.

“…That is different from what you said.”

However, if an article was published in the form of the victim, Kim In-jung, speaking out directly, the name Kwon Jung-hyun would be explicitly mentioned.

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t touch the club?”

At that, Ki-hyuk laughed, his throat vibrating. He then took a step closer to Jung-hyun and whispered in his ear as if sharing a secret.

“Little brother. What are you talking about? What damage would the club suffer from an assault case committed by the owner as an individual?”

“…….”

“The person responsible for the incident will take responsibility and resign anyway. Right?”

As he spoke, Ki-hyuk placed a hand on Jung-hyun’s shoulder. Jung-hyun clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

“……It won’t end just because I resign. It will also damage the Myeong-jeong Group.”

It was obvious that the stock price would fluctuate. Hadn’t the shareholders, sensitive to bad news, been shaken every time by mere ‘rumors’?

“Great things come with great risks.”

Ki-hyuk’s voice was calm, as if he were talking about something trivial.

“Father might make a fuss, but what can he do? It’s something his only successor did.”

Jung-hyun fell silent.

From Ki-hyuk’s perspective, what Jung-hyun had said was neither a threat nor anything significant. It was true.

There would be a blow, but it wouldn’t be enough to shake a giant corporation like Myeong-jeong. It would rebound quickly as if nothing had happened.

He decided to stop the threat that wouldn’t work.

“Why… are you going this far?”

Jung-hyun asked, staring quietly at Ki-hyuk. It was a question that had continued to haunt him for fifteen years.

“You already have everything, even without going this far.”

All he had was a representative position with only four months left, a small, useless reputation, and his frail, thin mother.

Hadn’t Kwon Ki-hyuk already obtained the position of Myeong-jeong’s successor he so desired, the Alpha trait, his father’s attention, and a stable home?

Ki-hyuk smiled, his eyes curving, and scratched his brow with a finger.

“Little brother. You see, I hate it when my little brother has something.”

Then, licking his dry lips, he spoke in a slow voice.

“It feels like you’ve stolen it from me. No matter what it is.”

“…….”

“That’s why I destroy them—everything you’ve achieved.”

Ki-hyuk looked at Jung-hyun while sucking on the filter. That face looked exactly like a cruel child about to play a fun prank.

Jung-hyun felt himself slowly sinking from the bottom up. There was no way he could say anything.

Slowly, he began to suffocate. Jung-hyun let out shallow, wheezing breaths. In this one regard, Kwon Ki-hyuk had succeeded.

Now he could strangle a person without even touching them.

“That’s why I told you to live within your means, little brother.”

Is that so? Did I make the wrong choice?

Should I not have acquired the club? If I hadn’t, would I not have provoked Kwon Ki-hyuk? If I had lived within my means as he said, would all of this have been avoided?

No, that’s not it. If he had, the Blue Wolves would have been disbanded last summer. Twenty-two players and even more staff would have lost their jobs.

He couldn’t let that happen. The one thing he could say with certainty was that even if he went back to that time, he would make the same choice.

Compared to the entire club, something like his own dishonor was not important at all. He had never had anything resembling honor anyway, so what was the problem? Thinking that made his heart feel perfectly at peace.

Jung-hyun slowly opened his tightly clenched fists. He had been gripping so hard that red, crescent-shaped nail marks were etched into his palms.

“Just make sure the club and the players can finish the season without any problems.”

Kwon Ki-hyuk smiled quietly, showing his teeth.

88 – Puck Drop