By Zephyria 
It was a meat processing factory for torture where people were taken whenever Kwon Hyeon-oh played tricks.
And what was visible on the screen was a bloody mess impaled on a skewer and hung on a rail. A lump that was hard to recognize as a human because its limbs were cut off was writhing and screaming.
“Can you see it well? That’s our second brother.”
“……You, you did this.”
“Hmm, should I turn up the brightness a bit more? Turn up the sound too.”
Kwon Rae-i manipulated the pad screen. The clear bloody mess became more prominent in the brightened screen. The volume also increased, and Kwon Hyeon-oh’s rough screams echoed even louder. The guy without arms and legs was now a torso with only his body and face left. The sight of him dangling and twitching was terribly gruesome. His enlarged face had no hair left, and all his teeth and eyeballs were gone.
“Hyeon-oh hyung happened to touch Tae-hwon. If he had just picked a fight with me, I would have sent him away painlessly in an instant. Like Sang-oh hyung.”
“Okay. Kwon Rae-i. So you’re going to threaten me after all……. But even so, I can’t give you the words you want to hear. The one who killed my father, the chairman of Gyeongjeong, is Woo Tae-hwon.”
Kwon Tae-oh puffed out his breath. Every time he exhaled, the pain of his broken ribs tormented him, and his upturned eyes were filled with blood.
But he didn’t stop. Overcoming the pain and pressure, he looked Kwon Rae-i in the eye and continued to speak.
“You won’t be able to prove it. You won’t be able to refute it. When I die, Woo Tae-hwon will be bound to that sin forever. Who would believe him even if he shouted that it was a false charge! Even if you rise to the highest position and take the chairman’s seat, you will only be a shallow opportunist who takes in traitors as close aides and tells lies. Woo Tae-hwon will also be a vile traitor who doesn’t know loyalty and righteousness. On the other hand, what about me? I will remain in history as a true legitimate successor of Gyeongjeong who protects noble honor and carries on my father’s legacy.”
This was Kwon Tae-oh’s last desperate struggle, risking his life. Even if he was tortured and killed as miserably as Kwon Hyeon-oh, it was a resolution to inflict a fatal wound on Kwon Rae-i in the end.
“Whatever achievements you make after this, my victory will follow as a tag. Doubts will constantly be the subject of gossip, and they will flare up like a wildfire the moment you let your guard down. If someone tries to betray you, that will be the excuse, and that will be your only weakness. Do you understand? With this, you must live as a loser who killed his brothers, killed his father, and destroyed Gyeongjeong……!”
His voice echoed sharply and frighteningly.
Seeing Kwon Tae-oh shouting, Kwon Rae-i slowly lowered his head. He dropped his head down and remained silent for a moment.
For a moment, Kwon Tae-oh mistook that he was going to beg and plead.
“……Keuk.”
But what came back was ridicule.
“Keukeuk, put……. Hahahaha!”
Kwon Rae-i burst into a loud and cheerful laugh. As if he had seen a truly funny sight for the first time in a long time. The space echoed so much that the lamp shook, and the sweet voice continued with a long lingering sound. Kwon Tae-oh’s face gradually stiffened as he watched Kwon Rae-i laughing alone. His eyes trembled slightly.
Kwon Rae-i slowly took a step closer with a face full of laughter. His footsteps grew closer, and a soft gesture touched Kwon Tae-oh’s head. Tuktuk, as if stroking a commendable puppy. A large palm crushed and swept down the neatly styled black hair. Then he laughed again.
“Tae-oh hyung. I don’t understand what you’re saying at all.”
He said in a whisper. And he slowly bent down to Kwon Tae-oh’s eye level. Their eyes met. Ice-cold and relaxed eyes pierced him.
“Have you forgotten how you framed Tae-hwon? A bag of money, a passport, a fake identity, and tracking and wanted status…….”
He lightly patted Kwon Tae-oh’s shoulder. It was a friendly gesture as if comforting him, but the touch contained an undisguised sneer.
“But do you think the truth necessarily has to come out of your mouth?”
Kwon Rae-i murmured in a sweet voice as if singing.
“We can fabricate it. Just like you did.”
“……!”
“It’s enough to create a few witnesses.”
Only then did the blood drain from Kwon Tae-oh’s face.
For the first time, his expression began to distort, and his jawline trembled slightly. His whole body bound in chains tightened. His arms, legs, and even his neck. Kwon Tae-oh trembled his fingertips like a trapped mouse. His eyes were also shaking.
“We don’t have to go far. Park Chan, who served you, will testify. And these days, technology is so good that we can produce more than enough evidence. Frankly, it’s not like we’re going to have a police investigation, it’s just for disciplining the organization members, so does the truth matter?”
“Gwo…… Kwon Rae-i. How dare you.”
“How is it? Do you feel it now?”
Kwon Rae-i stood up, straightening his body. His face was full of joy. Everything was in his palm from the beginning. There was no room for Kwon Tae-oh to escape, no matter how much he struggled. The self he firmly believed in, the self he had deceived as a perfect crime, and even the self he was convinced was the way for Gyeongjeong, began to collapse in an instant.
“What were you babbling about? A shallow opportunist who tells lies? A vile traitor who doesn’t know loyalty and righteousness? Yes. That’s your share, big brother. You’ll have to carry the tag of a cowardly loser who killed his father and tried to frame a loyal subject.”
At the moment when defeat was engraved into his bones, Kwon Tae-oh was overwhelmed by pure fear for the first time.
He said, trembling his lips.
“Don’t be mistaken……. Even so, Woo Tae-hwon is no different from an accomplice.”
“An accomplice?”
“That day, do you think Woo Tae-hwon was falsely accused against his will? He took the bag of money and left Gyeongjeong of his own accord. He didn’t hesitate to accept the offer as soon as he was offered a large sum of money. He sold his soul, and I bought it. He’s a guy who has nothing to be proud of. So that’s why he’s been keeping his mouth shut all this time……!”
“He accepted the offer?”
“Yes, Woo Tae-hwon supported me as chairman. Not you……! The moment he saw your name in Father’s will, he refused more vehemently than I, the person involved. Have you ever seen Managing Director Woo angry like a bear……? Moreover, he demanded that you be kicked out of Gyeongjeong. You must never, ever set foot in this Gyeongjeong! He shouted, spitting blood……!”
Kwon Tae-oh’s voice was hoarse and cracked. He was still trying not to lose his momentum, glaring with his eyes, but it was clear that he had already lost the initiative.
Kwon Tae-oh gritted his teeth. He repeated to himself as if brainwashing himself that the trembling of his whole body was due to anger, not fear. And he bared his teeth with difficulty like a trapped beast. His bloodshot eyes were filled with a sense of inferiority and fear.
“Do you understand, Kwon Rae-i? He was just using you to survive. He was just relying on you temporarily because he was afraid of becoming a wanted man and being killed by me, but his true feelings never acknowledged you. As chairman, as a member of Gyeongjeong, Managing Director Woo has never accepted a son of a concubine like you into the organization for a moment. So how could he possibly serve you as a superior?”
“…….”
“Yes! That’s right. You have a look that reminds you of something. Heuhaha! Then you’re the one who might get stabbed in the back at any moment. Woo Tae-hwon might betray you right now. If only you disappear, now, Gyeongjeong will all be his……!”
Kwon Rae-i watched Kwon Tae-oh’s struggle with bright eyes. As if he had never smiled, his expression was cold again. It seemed that he was bothered by the fact that Woo Tae-hwon was daring to be mentioned in Kwon Tae-oh’s mouth. Moreover, he was still slandering him until the end.
“You little brat, dirty blood with no roots! The ringleader who took the initiative to kick you out of Gyeongjeong was that Woo Tae-hwon!”
The moment the cry of spitting blood echoed.
The heavy sound of footsteps brushing against the cold wooden floor was heard. Someone was approaching from the end of the hallway.
Kwon Tae-oh, who was on edge, reflexively tried to turn his head, but his neck, tightly bound by chains, was stiff and could not move. Wriggling would only tighten his breath.
The shadow was getting closer and closer. Another silhouette was revealed behind the white paper door. The faint lamp on the ceiling lengthened the shadow. It flickered, leaving afterimages. And the sliding door slowly slid open.
Kwon Tae-oh swallowed his breath.
The cold sweat that had been flowing down his back turned cold.
‘……Woo Tae-hwon.’
The man he had been criticizing and mentioning until just now was standing before his eyes.