#135

A heavy sigh escaped Myung-chul’s lips.

He took off his glasses and pressed firmly against his temples. His father, who possessed a grand build and an impression like a tiger—much like his grandfather—now looked like an old, sick tiger. Normally, he would have been delighted that it was finally time for the old man to kick the bucket, but since things had turned out this way, he felt only anxiety.

“Public opinion is volatile. This time, you won’t be able to avoid standing in court.”

Myung-chul spoke quietly. His tone was like that of someone soothing a child.

“It is common for the head of a corporation to take responsibility for various matters and go to prison. Think of it as a way to quiet the public, not because you actually committed a crime. Your grandfather did it, and so did I. The legal team is doing their best to reduce the sentence, so don’t worry too much…”

“Public opinion? You’re telling me I have to stand in the defendant’s seat because I’m afraid of those vermin who aren’t even fit to share a table with me? That’s absolute nonsense…”

“Ki-hyuk.”

Myung-chul cut him off. His voice was heavy.

“Let’s stop this now.”

“…Fuck, stop what?!”

Ki-hyuk, who had been shaking his leg incessantly, finally shouted. There was an ominous energy emanating from his father’s attitude. Perhaps that was why his mouth kept going dry.

“Father, I’ll take care of everything. I said I would! So just find that bastard Kwon Jung-hyun!”

Leaning his back completely against the recliner sofa, his father remained silent for a long time. Under the crushing pressure of the atmosphere, Ki-hyuk’s mouth, which had been moving without a moment’s rest, naturally fell silent. After a heavy silence flowed, unbelievable words came from Myung-chul’s mouth.

“It was my mistake.”

“Right, if you had just given me Kwon Jung-hyun’s contact info from the start, this wouldn’t have—”

“I should never have put you in the position of successor. Yes, I should have known.”

The color drained from Ki-hyuk’s face. His facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.

“…Father, did you not know I was a son of a bitch? Why the hell are you acting like you’ve just discovered it now?”

Indeed, it was ridiculous.

Kwon Myung-chul had not been ignorant. Knowing full well, hadn’t he covered for him over and over again for many years, all for the sake of having an ‘Alpha successor’? For Ki-hyuk, that had been a way to confirm his father’s love.

“Yes, I knew. I knew everything. But I never imagined you would go as far as murder…”

“I told you I didn’t kill him!”

Ki-hyuk shouted, the veins in his neck bulging. However, Myung-chul only shook his head slowly, looking exhausted.

“I feel as though I’ve turned a blind eye to too many things over the years.”

“…”

“That’s why I regret it. Putting you in the position of successor, and the decisions that followed. Looking at how things are going now, rather than you…”

Bang! Ki-hyuk slammed his fist violently onto the table. The surface of the solid wood table, said to be made from a lightning-struck ginkgo tree, shuddered from the force.

“Rather than me, what?”

“…”

“Are you saying you’ll give it to someone else? Who? Don’t tell me it’s Kwon Jung-hyun? That joke isn’t funny.”

Ki-hyuk’s voice was savage. As if he had no intention of soothing the growling Kwon Ki-hyuk from the start, Myung-chul looked him straight in the eye and spat out the words Ki-hyuk least wanted to hear.

“Yes, I should have given that position to Jung-hyun instead.”

“…”

“If I had, at least this disaster wouldn’t have happened.”

Ki-hyuk’s eyes turned bloodshot with a slowly simmering rage. His clenched fists trembled. He wanted to respond with a sneer, but his voice was difficult to control, as if it no longer belonged to him.

“No? You’re wrong this time too, Father. If that had happened, neither I nor Kwon Jung-hyun would be here. If you had chosen Kwon Jung-hyun over me, I would have strangled that bastard until his last breath finally left him.”

The result was pathetic. His voice came out trembling, like a terrified child. Yet, Ki-hyuk spat out the words until the end.

Myung-chul said nothing. He simply closed his eyes with a long sigh, as if he no longer wished to deal with him.

Suddenly, Ki-hyuk wanted to make his father look at him, even if it meant slapping him across the face. He wanted to climb onto the table and grab his father by the collar.

The reason he couldn’t was that deep inside him, there was still a child who craved his father’s love and recognition.

In the end, Ki-hyuk stood up, his fists still trembling. Even at the sound of the door slamming shut as if to break, his father did not open his eyes or look at him.

Looking at his father, something inside Ki-hyuk snapped and fell away. Ki-hyuk himself didn’t know what it was. The only thing certain was that his father had finally given up on him.

Murder? I’m being re-investigated on murder charges? Even if not that, I’m going to prison for stock manipulation?

Fuck, what’s wrong with you, Father? This is all because of you. So you should take responsibility until the end. Not throw me away like I’m nothing!

He smoked until the pack was empty before entering the house. He desperately craved a stronger drug than cigarettes, but following his father’s advice to keep a low profile until the incident was settled, he hadn’t seen a single drug in several months. Fucking hell.

Muttering curses at an unknown target, Ki-hyuk headed to the dressing room, unbuttoning the vest of his three-piece suit with one hand. It was just as he stepped into the dressing room that something irritating entered his field of vision. In the middle of a display case divided into sections for about fifty expensive watches, there was a single piece of paper. Curses spilled from Ki-hyuk’s mouth as he picked up the paper.

“Fuck… what the hell is this?”

Just then, he sensed someone behind him.

“You’re home? I thought you weren’t coming back today either.”

Ki-hyuk’s wife, Jeon So-hyun, was standing there with her arms crossed, dressed for going out. A fishy smile played on Ki-hyuk’s lips as he scanned her from head to toe.

“Going somewhere?”

“You saw it, right? The divorce agreement. Sign it by tomorrow and send it to my lawyer.”

Jeon So-hyun didn’t answer Ki-hyuk’s question and instead gestured with her chin toward the paper.

“I don’t want to go through the hassle of a lawsuit, so let’s end it like this. It’s better for both of us.”

Ki-hyuk grit his teeth. He tossed the half-filled divorce agreement back onto the display case and curled the corners of his mouth.

“Divorce? Sure, sounds great. But So-hyun, even if you’re leaving, you should leave my things behind, right?”

As he took a stride forward, Jeon So-hyun stepped back slightly. Kwon Ki-hyuk saw her brow twitch. Though she was pretending to be composed, it seemed she found it quite burdensome to stand face-to-face with a man accused of murder.

“…What are you talking about?”

“Our son. No, my son. You know you married me just to have an Alpha child. So you have to leave my son behind when you go.”

Ki-hyuk, who had been speaking with a smile, eventually growled threateningly.

Unlike her previous flinch, Jeon So-hyun let out a hollow laugh, as if she had regained her confidence at Ki-hyuk’s words.

“Stop talking nonsense. Why is my son yours?”

“Anyone listening would think you have some great maternal instinct, So-hyun. I know that’s not true, so just leave him. You said a divorce lawsuit is a hassle? I find a custody battle a hassle too.”

“It would look pretty pathetic if you filed for custody, wouldn’t it?”

Ki-hyuk’s brow furrowed, not understanding her words. So-hyun smirked.

“My son’s biological father is someone else.”

“…What?”

“He’s a child I had with another man. Not yours.”

She walked further into the dressing room and grabbed her handbag. She took out a lipstick and applied it while looking in the mirror.

“I’m disgusted to death by how you and your father obsess over ‘Alpha, Alpha’ every single time. You should be grateful I put up with it for this long.”

“…”

“Want me to tell you something that was truly hilarious?”

Having finished applying her lipstick, she spun around.

“Just what kind of confidence do you have to be so sure your child would be an Alpha?”

Then, she stepped closer to Ki-hyuk and narrowed her eyes.

“When you’re just a recessive.”

With those words, Jeon So-hyun left the dressing room.

Ki-hyuk slowly turned his head. He saw the back of So-hyun, wearing a pink tweed two-piece.

“Leave my things alone. I’ll call someone when the time is right.”

“…Where are you going?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Should I give you a ride?”

At those words, Jeon So-hyun’s face contorted strangely.

“Are you joking? Are you trying to be nice now or what? I’m calling a taxi, so stop interfering.”

“Ah. A taxi.”

Kwon Ki-hyuk laughed softly.

A taxi, right, a taxi. That means there’s no one waiting for Jeon So-hyun outside right now?

“So-hyun, honey.”

“Ugh, seriously, what are you trying to—!”

So-hyun turned her head back in irritation, her eyes widening like lanterns. But that was all; she couldn’t avoid the massive brass lamp swinging toward her.

Thwack!

So-hyun couldn’t even scream before she collapsed to the floor with a thud. Ki-hyuk threw the object he had been holding to the floor. The heavy brass lamp, rolling toward the end of the hallway, was stained with dark red blood.

Ki-hyuk breathed slowly and looked down. A pool of blood began to fill up around the back of Jeon So-hyun’s head as she lay on her side.

The look in Ki-hyuk’s eyes as he gazed at her was dark and sunken. Out of habit, he fumbled inside his vest, but only an empty cigarette pack came out. Clicking his tongue, Ki-hyuk threw the empty pack on the floor. Instead of a cigarette, he took a bottle of liquor from the display case in the center of the hallway. It was 96-proof Russian vodka. Easily opening the cap, Ki-hyuk drank straight from the bottle, then poured the remainder lavishly over her feet.

“So-hyun, you should speak more prettily in front of your husband, who is like the heavens to you. And you should have managed your body better. Hmm?”

The two-piece So-hyun was wearing began to soak slowly from the hem of the skirt.

“How vulgar…”

Kwon Ki-hyuk threw the empty bottle to the floor and left the scene without hesitation. Just before stepping out the front door, he lit a Zippo lighter and tossed it inside. After confirming that the wallpaper was slowly catching fire, Ki-hyuk immediately got into his black sports car.

Because he slammed the accelerator before the gate could fully open in response to the sensor, the iron gate was half-destroyed with a loud noise.

The sensor inside the car blared loudly, detecting that the seatbelt was not fastened, but Ki-hyuk moved the steering wheel as if he heard nothing. He could feel the engine, sounding like a low-growling beast, heating up. Due to his reckless driving, the sounds of brakes and horns echoed throughout the road.

Perhaps because of the alcohol, the steering wheel kept turning too far. Because of that, Ki-hyuk had to ram into six parked cars to stop the vehicle at his intended destination. Eventually, the airbag deployed. Cursing “fuck,” Ki-hyuk stepped out of the car.

The carnage left by Ki-hyuk’s massive sports car was horrific. He had scraped along the parking lot wall, and all the parked cars were severely damaged. It was a miracle he had emerged with all his limbs intact. Loud beeping sounds came from the half-destroyed vehicles, accompanied by white smoke billowing from an engine somewhere.

At the end of the alley, no one saw a worn-out car quietly come to a stop.

136 – Puck Drop