By Zephyria 
***
A luxury club with the lights of the city at its feet. At the very top floor, a man was pouring down whiskey.
This place, which operates on a membership basis and pretends to be a normal business on the outside, but is actually an illegal entertainment establishment, was managed by Kwon Sang-oh, the third son of Chairman Kwon Jung-il of the Gyeongjeong Faction.
“Those fucking bastards, there’s not a single bastard who does his job properly, you fucking maggot sons of bitches!”
He drank the whiskey and threw the ashtray, ranting. The crystal ashtray hit the back of one of the men in suits who was standing at attention in front of him and rolled across the marble floor. White ashes fluttered and cigarette butts rolled around.
“Woo Tae-hwon, did that bastard grow wings? Why isn’t there a trace, you bastard, where the hell would that bastard have flown to?”
Kwon Sang-oh screamed at the top of his lungs and scratched his chest as if he was frustrated. His flamboyant tiger-patterned shirt was crumpled, and a wide gold necklace glittered between the loose collar with three buttons undone. The ornaments that wrapped around him like chains seemed to be meant to prove his own authority and value.
Drunk, Kwon Sang-oh continued to throw whatever was on the table at his subordinates as he pleased. Glasses and water glasses, ice, etc. flew indiscriminately. Still not relieved, he finally got up from the luxurious sofa and started kicking the men who were prostrating themselves on the floor.
“You fucking bastards, you’re just leeches who waste the operating costs, you bastards. You think I’m a joke? You think I’m fucking easy, huh? Is Gyeongjeong your ATM that gives you money? I have to kill all you bastards, you fuckers!”
Kwon Sang-oh struggled, venting all the stress and resentment that had been built up over the years. He looked cornered. He no longer had the luxury to bluff.
It was understandable. It had been almost three months since he started looking for Woo Tae-hwon, but there had been no progress.
Now he was even starting to suspect that he had left Korea through a route that Gyeongjeong hadn’t figured out.
How could there be no trace, not a single footprint?
Especially for a guy like Woo Tae-hwon who had a conspicuous appearance.
Woo Tae-hwon was muscular with scars all over his body, as befitting a swordsman. At first glance, he was no ordinary human being. Even if such a guy mixed in with ordinary people, he would obviously stick out like a sore thumb. It was normal for his whereabouts to be caught.
If not, he must have a hidden hideout somewhere and be hiding like a bear hibernating in a cave. He searched all the places that were suspected to be Woo Tae-hwon’s hideout, but found nothing.
‘Where the hell is that bastard hiding!’
Kwon Sang-oh, his face flushed with drunkenness, vented his anger on his subordinates. One by one, the people being kicked groaned and suffered. The chin that was kicked by the shoe was tilted upwards, blood splattered, and teeth were broken and flew away.
As you can see, Kwon Sang-oh’s personality was that of a vulgar gangster, but his fist skills were quite excellent. Kwon Sang-oh had grown up trampling on and bullying children who were considered weaker than him since he was young. He couldn’t help but be confident in his punching skills. That’s why he volunteered to be a muscle-bound action leader by clinging to his eldest brother, Kwon Tae-oh.
For a long time, those who were weaker than Kwon Sang-oh couldn’t even raise their heads in front of him.
And, of course, his first victim was Kwon Rae-i.
‘Woo Tae-hwon… that fucking bastard. Yeah, that guy has been annoying me since before.’
He suddenly remembered that it was fun to find Kwon Rae-i, who was hiding in the Separate House like a rat, and beat him up when he was young, but the memory was twisted when Woo Tae-hwon intervened without knowing his place.
He didn’t know why he remembered that now. But once the memory was revived, he became more focused on it.
“What, wait a minute.”
That’s right. It’s Kwon Rae-i.
A long time ago, before Woo Tae-hwon rose to prominence as his father’s direct subordinate, he was clearly stuck with Kwon Rae-i in the Separate House when he was a mere subordinate. Why had he completely forgotten about Woo Tae-hwon in his days as a subordinate? Of course, that was about 10 years ago, and Kwon Rae-i and Woo Tae-hwon had been separated for a long time, so there would be no contact between them…
“No. No. You never know? You never fucking know?”
Maybe that dirty bastard Kwon Rae-i knows something. Like, clues that Woo Tae-hwon might have dropped in the past. Could there be something like that? A hometown where he could hide, relatives he hasn’t told anyone about, his first love, or a benefactor he could rely on.
‘I’ll find out once I dig into it. Whether it’s a dud or a jackpot.’
He hadn’t been able to find a trace of Woo Tae-hwon for over three months, so he couldn’t afford to be picky right now. He had to cling to any straw to save face with his eldest brother, Tae-oh. If he couldn’t handle things properly, he wouldn’t have the justification to stand tall in front of Tae-oh. How long would he have to suck up, cater to his whims, and be mindful of his every move?
“Hey. Go out and get the car ready.”
Kwon Sang-oh ordered, stomping on the head of his subordinate who was coughing up blood.
Honestly, he didn’t think Kwon Rae-i would have any useful information, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.
And he wanted to take this opportunity to teach that cowardly bastard a lesson for running away from the main house with his tail between his legs as soon as their father’s funeral was over.
Woo Tae-hwon was already pissed off because of that traitorous bastard, and Kwon Rae-i had been involved with Woo Tae-hwon in the past anyway, so what, was it some kind of joint responsibility? Wasn’t it? Now that Woo Tae-hwon wasn’t around to interfere and protect Kwon Rae-i, even if Kwon Sang-oh beat the half-dead Kwon Rae-i, no one would be able to stop him.
It was a good opportunity.
He was getting tired of only scolding his subordinates every day. He thought he should go and tear up Kwon Rae-i’s pretty face for a change.
Soon, he received a report that the car was ready, and Kwon Sang-oh strode out, chugging the remaining whiskey straight from the bottle.
* * *
“Tae-hwon, Tae-hwon, try this on this time.”
A cream-colored sweater was held out in front of him. It was a brand new product with the tags still on, and the logo of a luxury brand was prominently displayed.
“That’s enough. Winter will be over before I can wear them all.”
Tae-hwon pushed away the clinging Kwon Rae-i. He had already worn Kwon Rae-i’s newly bought clothes to the point of exhaustion. Being confined and unable to go outside, and then being presented with shoes, coats, turtlenecks, gloves, and even expensive watches, Tae-hwon was dumbfounded.
For a while, Kwon Rae-i had been thrilled by the fact that Tae-hwon was wearing his clothes, but at some point, he had brought a bunch of new clothes as if on a whim. Then, he grabbed Woo Tae-hwon and became engrossed in dressing him up like a doll.
“Come on. Just try this one on. I thought it would suit Tae-hwon.”
“This fluffy sweater on me? It would suit you, young master.”
“Haha, then we can wear it together.”
“Excuse me? What are you talking about again?”
“It’s a couple sweater. I bought two.”
Kwon Rae-i opened the closed box as if showing off a hidden gift. Inside, the same cream-colored sweater popped out.
“I wanted Tae-hwon and me to wear it together. How is it?”
Kwon Rae-i held the sweater up to his neck. Seeing his innocent smile as he curved his eyes, Tae-hwon couldn’t help but lose his words.
And he suspected, though he wasn’t sure…
“Young master.”
“Yes.”
“Did you perhaps buy all of these things in pairs?”
“Yes.”
Tae-hwon’s neck stiffened because Kwon Rae-i answered so casually and naturally. Buying winter clothes that he couldn’t even wear all of, and even an expensive watch that would cost hundreds of millions of won, was too much of a waste of money. No wonder he was suddenly buying him new clothes.
“Haa…”
Oh, my head.
Tae-hwon took off the black turtleneck he was wearing, wondering where to start scolding him. He crossed his arms and grabbed the hem, pulling it up to reveal his scarred body.
“Please return them.”
Tae-hwon neatly folded the turtleneck and put it in the box.
Until just now, he thought Kwon Rae-i had bought the clothes for himself. He had been quiet because he thought he was just having Tae-hwon try on his belongings, but if there were two of each, it was a different story. Tae-hwon didn’t need so many clothes and expensive watches.
“I don’t want to. I won’t.”
“You’re being stubborn again. I won’t wear them anyway. Please return them.”
“No, I can’t. I knew you’d say that, so I threw away all the receipts.”
“No, young master. Why are you being so unreasonable? Don’t you think about me?”
“It’s just clothes, though. Clothes and a watch. Is it such a problem for you to wear couple clothes with me?”
“It’s because you’re forcing me to take on things that are too expensive and useless. And so many of them.”
“It’s a gift, so I have to give you something especially good. And I want to wear them with you a lot, that’s why I got so many.”
Kwon Rae-i muttered discontentedly as he watched Tae-hwon neatly folding the clothes he had been wearing.