By Zephyria 
His gaze had changed. His eyes, shining a bright blue, were fixed on the acacia branches swaying slowly outside the window. Tiny buds, no bigger than fingernails, would soon burst into bloom. He would sit side by side with Woo Tae-hwon and watch the moment those pure white, star-like flowers reached full bloom.
And what else?
Plant sweet potatoes too. And potatoes. And release plump ducks into the pond, which held unpleasant memories, and raise them.
It would be fun.
It would be joyful.
Really…
“Tae-hwon, you’ll wake up soon, right? Do you believe me?”
Yes. Woo Tae-hwon would shake it off and get up as if he had never been sick. Because he was a man who wouldn’t even show a sign of pain even when stabbed with a knife or pierced by a bullet. Even in pain, he would stand firm, keep moving forward, and bring joy to Kwon Rae-i.
“Until then, I’ll keep fighting. The end is really in sight now.”
When Woo Tae-hwon opened his eyes, he had to clean everything up so that there would be no other worries.
At that time, even if Woo Tae-hwon stood next to Kwon Rae-i, no one would be able to object.
Kwon Rae-i would not forgive those who criticized and doubted.
‘All that’s left is Kwon Tae-oh.’
The time had come to see the end of the long, drawn-out fight.
Once Kwon Tae-oh was dealt with, Gyeongjeong would become a smooth plain. The rugged wilderness would be transformed into a peaceful garden for Kwon Rae-i.
‘And…’
Kwon Rae-i took Woo Tae-hwon’s hand. He stroked the rough, calloused hand alone, continuing his thoughts.
‘Maybe Tae-hwon can’t wake up because of the memories entangled with that bastard Kwon Tae-oh.’
Indeed, what was the truth of that night?
What did Woo Tae-hwon know that he was trying so desperately to convey?
Of course, for Kwon Rae-i, any inside story or secret was unimportant; Woo Tae-hwon’s existence was the top priority. But if Woo Tae-hwon was trapped in this sleep because of that unrevealed memory, he had to find out.
‘Then I’ll have to grill Kwon Tae-oh and get the truth.’
Kwon Rae-i had come this far looking only at Woo Tae-hwon.
He didn’t care if Woo Tae-hwon was a murderer, a traitor, or a villain with any kind of sin. He just hoped. Endlessly.
Kwon Rae-i took Tae-hwon’s hand and lightly kissed the back of it. After that, he continued to caress and kiss his hand, acting affectionately. He massaged it to prevent the muscles from stiffening and rubbed it with care.
His gaze as he looked at Woo Tae-hwon’s fingers was extraordinary.
Especially the gaze he gave to the ring finger of his left hand was deep.
After staring intently at his hand for a long time, he rummaged in his pocket and took out a small ring case. He carefully opened the leather box, and inside, a pair of rings rested peacefully. Kwon Rae-i put one on his own finger and tried the other on Tae-hwon’s finger, measuring the size.
He had already checked it several times, so there was no need to measure it again.
He checked if the size was perfect, if it had become a little loose in the meantime, put it on, took it off, turned it gently, and held it up to the sunlight, making a fuss quietly by himself.
He had painstakingly prepared the rings.
But Woo Tae-hwon had fallen asleep, so he couldn’t even give them as a gift…
Kwon Rae-i sighed repeatedly. Because Tae-hwon wasn’t watching, he pouted his lips more freely and pinched his cheeks, secretly complaining.
He wished Woo Tae-hwon would wake up soon. Right now, he wished he would just wake up. There were so many things he wanted to say to him. And so many things he wanted to hear.
He had returned to the Separate House.
Now, finally, the two of them could be here together.
“Haha…”
Kwon Rae-i, who had been lost in thought for a long time, let out a burst of laughter, like air escaping. He had prepared everything thoroughly, but who could have guessed it would turn out like this?
“I certainly didn’t expect this. We thought Tae-hwon would change completely once he regained his memories. That a bomb would explode.”
And in the worst case, he would even try to kill Kwon Rae-i, so he had braced himself. He had vowed to tie up and lock up the attacking Woo Tae-hwon to keep him by his side. But in the end, the tranquilizers and leashes would all be useless.
“I didn’t expect this… I was really prepared to fight with Tae-hwon every day. I thought Woo Tae-hwon would be angry at me, hate me, but.”
“……”
“That would have been hurtful in its own way, but it would still be better than now. At least I could have talked to Tae-hwon. I could have seen his black eyes.”
“……”
“He would have reacted if I touched him. Even if it was in a bad way, he would have recognized me, been aware of me…”
Kwon Rae-i gently stroked the ring on Woo Tae-hwon’s finger. He stared at it until the sun went down, swallowed the lingering regrets that flowed down, and took the ring off his hand. He wanted to put this on Woo Tae-hwon himself when he woke up. While looking into his eyes.
“So wake up quickly.”
“……”
“Put Kwon Rae-i in Woo Tae-hwon’s world.”
Kwon Rae-i carefully returned the pair of rings to the ring case. And he carefully put the ring case back in his pocket. He would cherish it and wait.
Finally, Kwon Rae-i kissed Tae-hwon’s lips and got off the bed. Tonight, he had a lot of work to do.
***
Creak, creak.
On the ceiling of the abandoned building, rusty steel frames groaned as if screaming.
The fluorescent lights seemed to have long since reached the end of their lifespan, flickering, and even that faint light could not spread properly from within the dust-covered glass tube. Even the walls were stained with moisture and mold, and on the floor, the blood that someone had spilled in the past had dried up. Damp moisture rose from the peeling cement floor.
The entire building was dead.
Just like the fate of Kwon Tae-oh and his followers…
In one corner of the building, in a dim corner, people were huddled together. Some were smoking cigarettes, and gray smoke slowly rose into the air under the faint light. Some sat with their backs against the wall, silently watching each other with hardened faces.
‘…Ha.’
Shit. This sucks.
‘Could it be that the great Kwon Tae-oh is ending like this?’
For those who firmly believed that Kwon Tae-oh was the definite successor of Gyeongjeong, it was nothing short of a shock. A chilling atmosphere pervaded the abandoned building, filled with cold air.
The situation was not good.
In fact, it was beyond not good; it was the worst.
Kwon Tae-oh’s position was narrowing day by day. Even in the midst of this, Kwon Rae-i was seizing Gyeongjeong as if it were his own.
‘I didn’t know that Kwon Rae-i, that young brat, would be such a meticulous bastard…’
The shock still hadn’t worn off. His throbbing head hurt.
It was one thing for him to have Woo Tae-hwon on his back, but to control the elders by using Kwon Hyeon-oh and even use the Jeun Faction as his henchmen… Kwon Tae-oh’s subordinates all had headaches because of Kwon Rae-i’s achievements that were heard day by day. Already, some had taken advantage of the dark night to betray Kwon Tae-oh and go to Kwon Rae-i.
The quiet air sank even more heavily. So much so that the sound of someone swallowing could be heard.
And at that very moment, a low, heavy voice was heard.
“Hyung-nim. The Busan guys have come up. Should I let them in?”
Park Chan, who had become Kwon Tae-oh’s right-hand man in place of the dead second-in-command, spoke with difficulty. Kwon Tae-oh, who had been standing in front of the table, slowly turned around. On that table, photos of key figures such as Kwon Rae-i and Woo Tae-hwon, Hwang Jin-soo, Jeon Ho-chang and Kim Woo-shik, and a map of the Gyeongjeong Faction site were scattered haphazardly.
“Let them in. Are the guys who went to China coming? What about the Philippines?”
“Yes. China will arrive soon too. The Philippines is still having trouble entering the country…”
“Those bastards, they’re testing the waters. Forget it. Cut off their tails.”
“Understood. I’ll tell them to handle it promptly.”
Park Chan manipulated his smartphone and sent a message. No one in the building could open their mouths carelessly. The meaning of cutting off their tails was to remove them from the organization’s roster. The guys who had gone to the Philippines would never set foot on Korean soil again.
The final moments of Byun Jun-seok, who had collapsed before his eyes, came to mind again. He, who had been Kwon Tae-oh’s closest aide, had been cut off with a single stroke, and there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t be too.
Anyone here who went against Kwon Tae-oh would be retaliated against without hesitation.
“The end of this month.”
Kwon Tae-oh muttered coldly. All eyes were focused on him.
“We will take back Gyeongjeong.”
As if trampling on the hardened eyes of the organization members and rising above them, he declared with anger.