by Con Template
Young Jae nodded his head at his men when they reached the center of the roof. “We’ll be fine here. Please go back downstairs.”
As his Scorpions obediently filed out, Young Jae took a seat on the opposite sofa with his wife. Beside him, Ji Hoon went to the further end of the sofa and pressed his back against the cushion. Once the last Scorpion vacated the premise, Young Jae began to speak.
“My apologies for this modest meeting. I actually had a grander dinner planned for tomorrow night. I wish you came during the designated time to experience it.”
“We couldn’t wait,” Tae Hyun said simply, giving Young Jae an artificial smile. He glanced at Soo Jin. “I was eager to reunite the Queen with her long lost brother.”
With this, Young Jae finally turned to look directly at Soo Jin. He took a moment to stare at her up and down. When he was done with his appraisal, he casually said, “It must have been quite a shock for you to regain your memories after so many years of living as Choi Yoori.”
Soo Jin smirked. It made sense that Young Jae would begin this night with such a sour topic. “Quite the contrary, my recovery was an easy one.”
“It must be difficult for you to endure this, Tae Hyun,” Young Jae empathized quietly, continuing with his plan to fracture their united front. There was no one better to destroy them than Choi Yoori. “I know how deeply you cared for Yoori.”
Tae Hyun did not fall for the bait. “You do not need to worry about me.”
“How can I not?” Young Jae insisted. “Even when I was with Yoori, I loved her. I could’ve killed her numerous times when she was with me, but I did not have the heart to.” He regarded Soo Jin with pity in his eyes. “To have Yoori leave you with someone like my sister is a tragedy.”
“If I wanted your opinion, I would ask for it,” Tae Hyun said in dismissive boredom. “We came all the way here from Korea, Young Jae. Let’s stop with the bullshit and have the conversation now.”
As Young Jae prepared to respond, Soo Jin found herself unable to control her resentment towards Anna. She may have been lashing out her ire on the leather upholstery, but that did not mean she wanted to deal with the traitorous bitch’s existence.
“If this is a conversation for Royals,” she incited, glaring directly at Anna, who had been avoiding her gaze this entire time, “why is this cockroach here?”
“Watch your mouth, Soo Jin,” Young Jae warned gravely, finally shedding his cool demeanor.
“You forget, big brother,” Soo Jin reminded coolly, inwardly pleased to see his poise cracking. “I am no longer a Scorpion. I am the Queen of Siberian Tigers. I am no longer below you. If anything, pretty soon, I’ll be above you.”
“Three years have passed, and you’re still the same pompous bitch,” Anna muttered in disgust, finally staring Soo Jin in the eyes. If looks could kill, then Soo Jin would have died a million times over under Anna’s scorching gaze. Reversely, if Soo Jin’s looks could kill, then Ji Hoon, Young Jae, and Anna would have been rotting six feet under already.
“Shut the fuck up, you backstabbing bitch,” Soo Jin growled at Anna, unable to regulate her rage. She had never felt angrier. Out of all the people who could betray her, it was the girl whose life she saved. If she hadn’t recruited Anna into the Scorpions, then the bitch would have died on the streets years ago. She saved her life, and this was how Anna repaid her? By betraying her? “I had always suspected that you had a thing for my brother, but I didn’t think you’d ever go as far as betraying me to get into his bed.”
That was when An Young Jae lost the last vestige of his composure.
“You have some fucking nerve calling my wife a backstabbing bitch when you were the one who betrayed me first,” Young Jae spat with disgust. Fire erupted in his eyes like a raging inferno. After three years of repressed resentment, he finally released every animosity he harbored for her. “After all I’ve done for you, giving you the role as second in command and spoiling the fuck out of you, you still managed to find time to betray me.”
Soo Jin scoffed incredulously. She couldn’t believe she was a spectator of this ridiculousness. “You killed our father—the one who raised us, took care of us, and loved us unconditionally. You betrayed—no, murdered—him, and you have the audacity to ask me how could I betray you?” The stupidity of the question rendered her speechless for a few seconds. “You betrayed our family, Young Jae. You betrayed our father by colluding with Ji Hoon and Ho Young. Then you betrayed me by having me take the fall for everything you did to that family in the club. You knew the truth all along. You killed them because they had the videotape. I could forgive you for betraying me, for having me take the fall for what happened in the club. But I cannot forgive you for killing my father—our father!”
“I killed a piece of shit who was a sorry excuse for a father, but I never betrayed you!” Young Jae seethed, his thunderous voice booming across the rooftop. After countless years of wearing a politician’s mask, he, at long last, liberated his true sentiments. “You think I don’t know that you went to see Ju Won before you found out everything? You think I don’t know the type of shit he placed in your head? You and our fucking father are so alike; you let that old bastard plant seeds of doubt in your head, and you listened to his words like he’s a God. In truth, he’s nothing but a senile piece of shit whose glory days are over. I wanted you to be the one to kill that family because you were my second in command, because I trusted you to do it. I thought you would revel in the fact that you could become notorious from that. If I had known you’d be so ungrateful, I would’ve just had P.C. do it!”
Soo Jin reflected back to her meeting with Ju Won. In retrospect, she felt sick knowing that even then, she took too much of what Ju Won suggested to heart. However, refusing to allow that to cloud her judgment about her brother, she went on. She would have forgiven him for betraying her so all of that was a moot point. The only thing that had ever mattered to her was that he killed their father.
“Why would you kill our father?”
“You were always his chosen one,” Young Jae began indignantly. There was no more filter, no more veiling of words. Everything he spoke was a reflection of his true emotions. “The one he had so much pride for, the one he loved more than anything, and the one he was willing to screw his son over for. I was the heir, yet because of Ju Won’s predictions about your ‘legendary’ status, he was willing to take my gang away from me and give it all to you.”
“I told him I didn’t want it!” she snapped, recalling the intense conversation she had with her father.
He wanted to take the crown from Young Jae and hand it over to her instead. No matter how much Soo Jin desired power, she told her father that she couldn’t do that to her own brother. She could not take what was rightfully his. Once she stood her ground, her father let it go, and she thought that was the end of it. She didn’t realize that useless conversation was a discussion that Young Jae was privy to.
She laughed dryly when it hit her that he killed their father because of jealousy—petty jealousy.
“You conspired with Ho Young and Ji Hoon because our father was thinking about giving me the crown?”
“He betrayed me first,” Young Jae stated without remorse. “You know that I’m forgiving when it comes to anything else, but not betrayal, and definitely not betrayal from my own family. He wanted to give away the crown that I gave up my soul for? He wanted to give away my glory because a fucking Advisor told him he should?” Young Jae shook his head, pain immersed in his eyes when recalling his father’s blatant favoritism. “The bastard had another thing coming. I knew I needed to save my glory—to guarantee it—because I knew that wasn’t the end of it. It was only a matter of time before Ju Won screwed with his head more. Ju Won had always despised me because I never revered him like this entire world does, and I knew he wouldn’t stop until he screwed me over completely. My own father was too brainwashed from him, and I couldn’t have that. So I decided to think outside the box. I realized soon that
I needed alliances. I only wanted the Scorpions, and I never once cared about ruling over the Korean Underworld. That was when it all made sense to me. I wanted Japan’s Underworld while Ho Young wanted China’s Underworld. After that, it seemed simple enough to recruit the one who wanted the Korean Underworld.”
He smirked, looking over his shoulder to Ji Hoon, who was still leaning against the sofa with his arms folded.
“You gave Ji Hoon quite a run for his money when you wouldn’t fall for his charms,” Young Jae continued with slight amusement. Beside him, Ji Hoon’s jaw hardened at the reminder of Soo Jin’s unwillingness to be wooed by him. “He was getting frustrated that he wasn’t winning you over, so I offered him a proposition: an Underworld and a trophy Queen by his side. I knew how you were, how’d you get after our father’s death, and how you would be more than happy to accept the power Ji Hoon could offer you to avenge our father.”
Soo Jin could feel her veins pop throughout her body. She glared at Ji Hoon with incredulity. “You agreed to be in their alliance and helped kill my father because you wanted to not only win the throne, but also me?”
“We would’ve never gotten your father right where we needed him if Young Jae hadn’t arranged all of that,” Ji Hoon shared smugly. There was no remorse present in his voice. He sighed, staring at her with boredom and growing hostility. “You should be flattered that I cared enough to consider you as a big motivator to work with them.”
She swallowed furiously, scowling at Ji Hoon with pure hatred. “You told him about my plans after the club event. You were the one who told Young Jae everything.”
Ji Hoon’s remorseless eyes rolled at her words. He no longer gave a damn about lying or looking good in front of her. “I told you that it was a stupid idea, yet you wouldn’t listen to me,” Ji Hoon sighed with frustration, recounting what happened. “I told him after you left the car. I couldn’t have you fucking up my future and killing one of the instrumental people in my quest to be the Lord of Korea’s Underworld.”
Soo Jin was ready to lose it and curse the hell out of her backstabber, the person who she couldn’t believe she actually thought she loved. Regrettably, before Soo Jin could utter a spiteful word, Young Jae interrupted her.
“Even after he told me, I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t believe it until Anna told me about your orders for her and your Scorpions to leave the gang and infiltrate other gangs. And you had the audacity to say it was my indirect order?”
Anna was breathing in anger while Young Jae forged on, staring at Soo Jin with genuine disappointment.
“It’s taking all I have right now to not kill you at this moment.”
“You should’ve killed me that night in the alley,” Soo Jin whispered, gazing at Young Jae with unblinking eyes. “All of this would’ve been unnecessary if you had completed the deed.” She looked at Ji Hoon. “Ji Hoon would’ve still been a contender for the Underworld throne.” She then looked at Anna. “Anna would not be living on borrowed time . . .” She faced Tae Hyun. “And the favored King here would’ve never fallen so far from grace.”
“I should’ve killed you the moment you kneeled before me,” Young Jae agreed vehemently. “I should’ve never waited a second longer than that.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because you were my baby sister,” Young Jae confessed simply, honestly. “I didn’t have the heart to hurt you when you had been nothing but loyal to me. Or so I believed.”
There was excruciating pain in his eyes for a fleeting moment before it disappeared.
“I cried that night for you,” he went on quietly. “After I had you cut Tony’s throat, I knew that I was losing you. I knew I was losing the baby sister I once promised to protect with everything I had. Despite knowing that, I kept hoping that you would never go into that alley—that you would never ask me to meet you there. Even when you were fucking kneeling before me, I kept praying to the fates that you would change your mind and not go through with your plan.” He smiled hollowly. “You remember that, don’t you? Me asking you numerous times if you were sure?”
She nodded quietly, remembering clearly that he did ask her numerous times if she wanted to do this.
“And you kept saying that you were sure.” He laughed to himself. “What a good little actress you were with those tears of yours. If I hadn’t known about your plans, I would’ve thought they were real.”
“They were real,” she told him, staring into his eyes with the pain that only both of them could understand. “I cried for you, I cried for what we had, I cried for our family, and I cried for being the one to kill you in the future.”
Young Jae laughed self-deprecatingly. No matter how conflicted he was, her words acted as the final nail on the coffin. There were no more ifs, ands, or buts. He was resolute on killing her, and he would do everything in his power to do it.
“I would’ve protected you until the end if you hadn’t betrayed me, but what’s done is done. I’ve already cut my ties with you, and you will most certainly pay for everything you’ve set in motion.”
“And you will pay for everything that you’ve set in motion,” she replied, sharing in his conviction. She scrutinized all of them with vengeance teeming in her eyes. “All of you will pay.”
The atmosphere fell silent until Tae Hyun’s voice filtered into the air.
“Did you work with my brother to kill my father?”
He was looking directly at Ji Hoon when he asked this.
Ji Hoon smiled dryly. “No,” he replied, not bothering to hide the fact that he hated speaking to Tae Hyun. “I did it all on my own. Ho Young and I rarely spoke during our arrangement of alliances. He was still pissed off at me for killing your father and wanted as few interactions with me as possible. Young Jae was the mediator between the two of us. I didn’t care enough to apologize for killing his father, and I didn’t care enough to trouble myself with whether or not he was comfortable with the arrangement. All I wanted was my throne, and I imagine it was the same for him.”
Soo Jin could feel an exhalation of relief escape from Tae Hyun’s lips when it was confirmed that his brother had nothing to do with their father’s death.
With the reminder of Ho Young, Soo Jin asked, “Why was Ho Young the one who hid me in Taecin?” She had spent countless hours considering all the different possibilities, but nothing made sense. When he was alive, she made it no secret that she despised Ho Young and wanted to kill him. Out of all people, why did he save her? “How was it possible that it was him?”
Young Jae chuckled, shaking his head to himself.
A long, lingering moment passed before he decided to enlighten Soo Jin and the rest of those in attendance with his earth-tilting answer:
“. . . Why wouldn’t your own brother try to save you?”
The air stilled in Soo Jin’s chest, just as she was sure it stilled in Tae Hyun’s chest. She could swear she felt a sledgehammer connect with her gut at this revelation. Although Ji Hoon and Anna also looked stunned with this newly divulged information, it was Soo Jin and Tae Hyun who had the most potent reactions. The blood and color of life drained from their faces as they looked at Young Jae with utter disbelief. Tae Hyun looked like he was about to keel over, and Soo Jin looked like she was about to fall into a black hole.
“What?” she uttered disbelievingly, unable to comprehend the stated words.
“Kwon Ho Young is your older brother,” Young Jae enunciated, stabbing the truth into her and Tae Hyun’s brains, “—my fraternal twin brother.”
Her world felt like it was tipping over. She tried to regulate her breathing with shortened breaths. Despite her efforts, her heart wouldn’t stop racing, and she continuously felt the rush of horror course through her veins. It didn’t help that Tae Hyun also looked as if the world had collapsed all around him.
“Ho Young is not my brother?” Tae Hyun finally breathed out, still looking like he had lost his sense of reality.
“You’re lying,” Soo Jin s
aid breathlessly. Though she voiced this, in the depths of her heart, she knew all too well that he wasn’t lying.
“You think you’re the first genius in our family to hide spies in other gangs?” Young Jae asked critically, offended by her statement that he was fabricating all of this. “Our father did that long before you were ever born. He wanted his bloodline to hold power over the Underworld, and it didn’t matter to him if his sons were battling each other as enemies instead of brothers. I found out the truth while rifling through dad’s files. Once I found out the truth, I knew I was doing the right thing by killing him. He was a ruthless bastard who only favored one child and used his other two children like they were pawns on a chess board.” His gaze intensified with resentment. “So I met up with Ho Young and told him everything. We even took a DNA test to prove it. Of course, Ho Young had his own set of demons—one being that he couldn’t stop lusting after his ‘baby sister’ in his Serpents family. He had been doing drugs and drinking nonstop to help take his mind off of her. After finding out, Ho Young couldn’t be more pissed that his own father put him through all that hell. Ho Young was like me. He didn’t fare well with betrayal. He was more than willing to kill his bastard of a father for abandoning him and putting him through such misery.”
Young Jae turned to Tae Hyun.
“But to answer your question specifically, Tae Hyun,” he stated, staring into Tae Hyun’s stunned eyes, “Ho Young didn’t help Ji Hoon kill your father. Initially, Ho Young didn’t even want to work with Ji Hoon. He loved your father, your mother, you, and in a fucked-up and sick way—even though he raped her repeatedly—he loved your sister as well.” His bitterness for his father continued to pulse in his eyes. “You see, I blame him being sick in the head on our father. In fact, Ho Young blamed him too. Ho Young loved his Serpents family and wasn’t willing to work with Ji Hoon in the beginning.” Ji Hoon smirked smugly in the background as Young Jae continued to speak. “He wasn’t willing until I personally asked him as a brother to help me.”