Chapter 29
“How can I make you not hate me?”
A piercing sound echoed in my head as if it were a dream or reality.
It felt like boiling lava flowing through my veins.
I couldn’t tell if all of this was just a recurring dream haunting me or if it was real.
All I knew was that I was falling, plunging into darkness.
To the very end, to a abyss of nothingness.
A blurry face emerged in my collapsing vision.
Were these tangled emotions truly mine, or just remnants clinging to this ‘body’?
The situation felt absurd and hateful.
Yet, at the same time, I could understand how it could be possible.
The fate of Yeon-byeol whispered incessantly in my mind, feeling so intimately tied to me.
Ironically.
At the brink of it all, I wanted to laugh out loud.
“….Yeon-byeol. Yeon-byeol! Snap out of it!”
Reality’s outcry blurred the remnants of the nightmare.
And the agony of being thrown into hellfire surged back.
Each exhale felt like my last breath, agonizing as if it were my final one. I struggled to lift my eyelids, feeling like I was catching a cold.
The trembling of the body enveloping me was palpable.
Emptiness, or a vivid madness shining brightly in the eyes.
It was as surreal as facing the sun up close.
As if possessed, I reached out towards him, clutching onto the fabric of his clothes tightly.
Even with a hole pierced through my chest, the remaining strength was surprisingly formidable.
His face collapsed towards me without resistance.
“…Don’t die.”
And that whispered plea felt like my last breath.
***
Baek Cheon had been a Korean, and since its inception in Hong Kong by the first leader, it had been passed down through generations for over 50 years.
An island with immeasurable resources buried beneath the Pacific, its worth was immense.
Within their untouchable realm, Baek Cheon grew even stronger.
They operated independently, without forming alliances with other organizations, solely for their own benefit.
Baek Cheon’s internal hierarchy was strict, with strong bonds among its members and high loyalty.
The ruler of all these aspects was Baek Hawon.
From the moment he ascended, he knew the ins and outs of every alley in the organization’s hierarchy.
When Hawon was sixteen, during a revolt by the shares under Baekcheon, his mother died.
She was someone who didn’t fit in with the darkness.
Pure, lovely. With a bright smile untouched by a speck.
She possessed things they could never have even if they were reborn.
They were too dazzling. Hence, the love stemming from a sort of self-loathing was inevitable.
As she died and his father went mad in front of her death, the young boy could do nothing.
In the end, Baekcheon seemed finished.
Four years later, when Baekcheon’s boss died alongside the woman resembling his deceased wife, it was deemed the final nail in the coffin.
Who would’ve known?
That the boy who spent his life hiding in his parents’ shadows would become so ruthless and cruel.
That it wasn’t hiding but rather concealing.
“What… What is this…?”
When the head of the family returned to his mansion, he was greeted by his still living family and subordinates, all displayed as if merely exhibited, a work prepared for him. The living beings screamed in agony.
Afterwards, crimson flames engulfed the entire family mansion. Thick smoke obscured the sky, like a dark canopy.
That’s when hell began.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
A boy emerged from the thick darkness, smiling beautifully. Though just turning twenty, he still had a youthful appearance.
His smile, juxtaposed against the background, was excessively beautiful, distancing itself from reality.
“You…! Why you?”
Bang!
Without warning, his son vanished.
One by one, sometimes two at a time, with every word spoken.
The boy eliminated those he cherished from this world, without even a glance.
The twisted mouth of the man, whose despair was suffocating, contorted in anguish.
Within his eyes, a glaring madness shone crimson.
There was no mercy.
Those who had harmed his mother were killed in the same manner. From those who directly inflicted harm to those who mocked from the sidelines, none were spared.
Anyone even remotely associated with them could not escape death.
And their deaths were displayed for all to see.
So that no one would ever dare to look up again.
***
“Fortunately, the heart was spared, so the surgery went well, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens next in terms of recovery…”
Fear was evident in the doctor’s eyes as he glanced at Jiwoon.
It meant that the patient’s condition wasn’t very hopeful.
Baekcheon appeared to be a giant corporation on the surface, and this hospital, one of the largest in Hong Kong, was also part of its business.
But it was the first time Ha-won had visited in person.
With black-suited guards scattered throughout, the atmosphere inside the hospital was unsettling.
“When can we transfer her to the island?”
“It might be difficult to move her long-distance until the patient regains consciousness. Considering her weak condition and the need to monitor her progress.”
Jiwoon nodded without saying a word.
The doctor left the room with an air of someone chased by a ghost.
Jiwoon turned his gaze to Yeonbyeol, who lay with pale lips tightly closed and eyes shut.
The thin tube inserted into her slender arm looked burdensome. She seemed no different from a corpse at first glance.
The moment she collapsed was vivid in his memory.
It was when he confirmed Yeonbyeol’s absence at Utopia’s headquarters and just arrived there.
It was an attempt to kill her outright. The fact that she survived was a miracle in itself.
Jiwoon walked over to Ha-won, who was sitting on the sofa next to the bed. The hospital room, located on the top floor of the hospital, was more like a penthouse than a room.
“Boss. They say it’s only possible to move the lady to the island after she regains consciousness. What should we do?”
“….”
“….Boss?”
Ha-won, who had been staring at Yeonbyeol expressionlessly, suddenly looked away from her as if awakening from a dream.
“What did you say?”
His low voice scraped out.
The languidly raised gaze was quiet yet heavy.
“It seems it’ll be difficult to move the lady to the island until she regains consciousness. It might be risky,” Ha-won unbuttoned the top buttons of his tightly buttoned shirt, loosening his tie underneath.
“What about the doctor?”
The hand of the doctor, who accompanied him just in case, was useless now.
It was a blatant attack, targeting precisely the doctor. Judging by the fact that only the hand was targeted, it showed considerable skill and composure.
“He should be able to handle light daily activities, but therapy or surgery might be difficult.”
Although the appearance was fixed, severe tremors remained due to the phobia, preventing him from ever holding a scalpel again.
“The likelihood of Utopia’s involvement seems high.”
“I’m curious as to why specifically target the doctor.”
Ha-won leaned back on the sofa, lightly mocking.
He was indeed curious, merely an observation.
Normally, he would have taken action himself, but for some reason, he didn’t feel inclined to do so now. Perhaps it was better to stay put and not leave this place.
“For now, bring in another doctor in charge of the other building. Replace all the nurses with our people.”
The silver metal watch on his wrist caught the light as he brushed his hair back.
Feeling the weight, he paused, seeing the dried blood on his hand that had turned red.
He thought he had become numb to both killing and being killed.
But the blood oozing from the small body.
It flooded his mind with red, leaving no room for other thoughts.
It was the same that day.
“She liked you.”
“But this is too much.”
Staring with those eyes.
The mad whisper was no longer about himself, the shock or relief that it wasn’t aimed at him. It wasn’t that kind of emotion.
The image reflected in the glass window overlapped with his father who had gone mad in front of his mother’s death, a love bordering on obsession. It was a fleeting moment, but it held him captive.
No. It wasn’t his feet that were bound but something else. Since then, he felt like he might go mad at any moment.
When he was disarmed and the gun was thrown away.
When he was shot without warning and collapsed.
When blood gushed from the shirt he had carefully put on.
The moment he became unable to move, held by pale hands, the flood of memories swept over him like a wave.
The color of that memory remained vivid even after twelve years.
“Shall I call a helicopter?”
Ha-won leaned his body back against the wall and covered his eyes with his hand.
The yellow light loomed large and enveloped his delicate fingers.
“Go back first. I want to rest for a bit.”
