by Con Template
Oh God, Soo Jin thought dreadfully, no longer listening to her brother.
She was too distracted with this explosive revelation.
She had spent countless days wondering to herself why out of everyone, it was her mortal enemy, Kwon Ho Young, who saved her that night and hid her. She couldn’t understand why he did it. She didn’t understand his actions until now.
My brother. My older brother, she thought, feeling every ounce of her heart clench in unfathomable pain.
She had once believed that finding out that Young Jae was the one behind her father’s death was earthshattering, but now, as she processed this newfound revelation, she couldn’t help but truly hate her life. Her older brothers were the ones who killed her father. Her father had somehow implanted Ho Young into the Kwon family, probably killing the real Kwon Ho Young as an infant before infiltrating his own son. It also was painful to process that her own brother was dead because she was the one who spread the news to Tae Hyun about Ho Young raping Hae Jin.
Swallowing tightly at the thought of Tae Hyun, she sneaked a furtive glance at him. He was quiet, his solemn eyes staring into a vast space in the city vista. She could only imagine how he felt. He had been through a lot with Ho Young. He grew up and looked up to him as a role model his whole life. Even after killing him, Soo Jin knew that Tae Hyun still loved Ho Young dearly. To find out so casually that the one he grew up with wasn’t actually his older brother and that his real brother was more than likely dead must have been ripping Tae Hyun to shreds. Although he was doing a valiant job of concealing his emotions, Soo Jin knew the news must have been devastating for him.
She did not get to delve further into her thoughts about Tae Hyun when Young Jae forged on.
“This was the reason why Ho Young never bothered to hurt you or punish you for all those times you disrespected him. Despite everything, he understood the binds of blood, and he allowed you to live, even after you so stupidly told him that you killed his mother.”
“You had Soo Jin kill my mother because you wanted to start breaking Ho Young away from the ties of the Serpents,” Tae Hyun said mindlessly at last. Even though both he and Soo Jin knew that she wasn’t the one who killed his mother, he did not share this information with Young Jae.
“Ho Young was a very complicated person,” Young Jae confirmed, oblivious to the crucial information. “In a sense, he was a wildcard in how he behaved. Ever since he was young, he had a sexual attraction to Hae Jin. To prevent himself from going after her, he decided to completely shut himself out with alcohol and drugs. However, after finding out that she wasn’t related to him by blood, he decided to have his fun with her.” He regarded Tae Hyun with sympathetic eyes. “But with you, even after finding out that you weren’t related to him by blood, he still adored and loved you. The same was true for your mother. And the simple fact was: I couldn’t have that. I couldn’t have my brother, my main ally, bestow his loyalty to others when they weren’t even related to him by blood. That was when I knew I had to have Soo Jin kill your mother—because it was one of the only ways to break him away from the bonds of the Serpents family.” He sighed lethargically. “Unfortunately Soo Jin had to brag about it to him, even when it was agreed between us that we would keep it a secret to further break their family.”
“He realized what you did,” Soo Jin noted thoughtlessly, still trying to absorb everything.
“He was pissed, but Ho Young knew blood was thicker than water. Regardless of how upset he was, he couldn’t kill me. Much to my own displeasure, he had this same mentality with our baby sister.”
Soo Jin and Tae Hyun lifted their gaze and stared at Young Jae with unblinking eyes.
“What happened that night?” they both asked, the colors continuously draining from their faces.
Determined to unearth every secret about the past before the end came, Young Jae closed his eyes and recounted the story, finally revealing what really happened in the alley that pivotal night.
“It is only fitting that you see your end in it.”
11: Kwon Ho Young
Three Years Prior . . .
“I killed her.”
“What?” Ji Hoon yelled over the other line. “I told you to give her to me when you were done!”
“It’s too late,” Young Jae lied into the phone. His angry eyes fastened on his sister’s immobile, yet still breathing body. He wiped his tears away as the rain continued to hammer over him. “I’m hiding the body now.”
“What the fuck, Young Jae?” Ji Hoon was outraged. “You were supposed to give her to me!”
Prior to this night, Young Jae and Ji Hoon had agreed that they would erase Soo Jin’s memories when she gave the formula to Young Jae. It was a plan that Ji Hoon concocted because he was still emotionally attached to her. He wanted to spare her life, give her amnesia, and hide her somewhere else because he still cared for her. Although Young Jae had verbally agreed to this pact, he had every intention of breaking it. There was no way in hell he was giving his backstabbing sister to Ji Hoon. He could not risk her regaining her memories and coming after him. He could not risk her ever being a threat to him again.
“Did you really think I was going to give her to you when she wanted to betray and kill me?” Young Jae asked in disbelief. “Get over it, Ji Hoon. We have bigger things to worry about!”
He hung up the phone just as Ji Hoon’s curses spilled through the receiver. He didn’t have time to deal with Ji Hoon; he had a sister to punish. He bestowed his full attention to the woman at the root of all this. Soo Jin was lying in a puddle of water, rain pouring mercilessly over her body as thunder boomed overhead. In such an anarchic environment, she was the only one who exuded innocence.
Young Jae squared his shoulders, stowing away all the pained emotions that came with seeing his sister in this state. It ripped his soul apart to see her so helpless, so vulnerable. Nevertheless, he rationalized that she deserved it. It would hurt him to torture her, but she had hurt him more by planning his assassination. She started this war and now, he would finish it.
Resolve teeming in his once tear-filled eyes, he bent down and lifted her into his arms. With the rain dripping from their bodies, he began to run off with her. He did not get far when someone appeared out of nowhere and kicked him on the side of his face. Young Jae groaned, his vision darkening for a few seconds as he stumbled backwards. He was barely able to regain his equilibrium when that person snatched his sister’s body from him.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Young Jae roared, his eyes enlarging when he saw that it was his fraternal twin brother, Kwon Ho Young, who appeared out of nowhere and stole Soo Jin from his grasp.
Ho Young stood across from Young Jae, holding an unconscious Soo Jin close to his body as he rested his eyes on his brother. His dark suit was drenched from head to toe, indicating to Young Jae that he had been out in the rain for a while. Young Jae feared it might mean Ho Young had overheard everything.
“What were you planning to do to our sister, Young Jae?” Ho Young asked sternly. Even though he posed the question, it was clear that he already knew the answer.
The tears in Young Jae’s eyes started to dry. In its place came anger. “Don’t look at me like that, Ho Young,” he growled, resenting the look of disappointment on his brother’s face. Ho Young was the last person who could judge him. “You raped a thirteen-year-old girl as soon as you found out that she was no longer your sister. You have no right to act pious with me.”
Ho Young smirked, showing no remorse. “What I do to that girl is my own personal business. I spent years torturing myself because I thought she was my sister. I made up for lost time, and I don’t need you to get into my business. With that said, you’re not hurting our sister, Young Jae.”
“She knows everything!” Young Jae screamed, losing the last vestige of his control. “She knows what we did, and she was planning on betraying me—killing me after all that I’ve done for her! That ungrateful bitch would’ve never gotten this
far in life if it weren’t for me. I spoiled her. I gave her everything, and now she does this? She betrays me for our bastard of a father and for the throne?” He laughed to himself, his anger manifesting into unforgiving fury. Every sentence he spoke reminded him of how much he despised her. He had given her everything, and she still had the heart to betray him. That bitch had another thing coming. “She’s going to die of torture before I let her off so easily.”
“Give her amnesia then,” Ho Young suggested, unwilling to permit Young Jae to hurt Soo Jin.
“Ji Hoon’s formula will not work,” Young Jae spat out at once. “I know it won’t.”
“I know underground doctors who can make it work and it will be permanent.”
“I don’t want any other alternative!” Young Jae snapped, finally releasing all his pent-up resentment. “All I want is for her to wake up again so I can torture her!”
“This world has fucked her up,” Ho Young contested with conviction. He gazed down at her, watching as the rain cascaded down her pale face. “Let’s give her the life she wants—one that’s far away from here.”
“She was acting!” Young Jae was incensed that Ho Young couldn’t see beyond her mask of lies. “She didn’t mean any of it!”
“Maybe she was acting with you, but you can’t ignore the yearning in her voice. She wants this—she wants another life.”
“Ho Young,” Young Jae growled with finality. He would no longer endure this. One sibling had already betrayed him; he would not tolerate disloyalty from another. At the going rate, he was willing to kill Ho Young if he continued to go against his wishes. “Give her to me.”
Instead of obliging with Young Jae’s wishes, Ho Young shook his head. He slowly readjusted his grasp on her so that her legs were on the ground while he held one arm around her. As her immobile body leaned on him, he withdrew something from his back pocket.
“I’m sorry, brother,” Ho Young whispered, pointing his black gun at Young Jae.
Young Jae stood frozen, utterly stunned with the scene before him. He stayed rooted in his position because he could see that Ho Young was not bluffing. Ho Young was resolved on keeping Soo Jin alive and if Young Jae so much as made a move to snatch her away, then he would not hesitate to shoot.
Slowly, Ho Young, with Soo Jin in tow, began to back away towards the car he had parked on the street. Young Jae watched carefully, his eyes assessing for any opportunity to attack Ho Young. If he had brought his own gun, he would’ve shot Ho Young already. Regrettably, he hadn’t, and he was afraid that Ho Young was aware of this fact.
To his horror, before he could conjure up a plan of attack, Soo Jin was already in the car.
“Ho Young, don’t do this!” Young Jae shouted, peeling away from his rooted position.
He was no longer afraid of getting shot; he was more afraid of losing the perfect opportunity to kill his sister. He knew how this would all play out. No matter how far away Ho Young hid her, one day, she would return and come after him again. She would not rest until he was dead, which meant that in turn, Young Jae would not be able to rest until she was dead.
Ho Young shot Young Jae an apologetic look as he opened the driver’s door. “I know you want her dead, but I can’t have you kill our sister, Young Jae. I’m sorry, but trust me. You will never see her again.”
“Ho Young!”
And just like that, Ho Young escaped into his car, started the engine, and drove off into the night, taking Soo Jin far away from Young Jae and far away from the Underworld.
■ ■ ■
Young Jae sighed, lifting his eyelids to meet Soo Jin and Tae Hyun’s.
“Ho Young’s sudden death and Tae Hyun’s rise to power was what turned the whole plan upside down. The dynamic was compromised when Tae Hyun was crowned the King of Serpents.” He looked Tae Hyun over with amusement. “You simply had too much support, and it did not help that Ji Hoon and I lost an ally. Because of all these unexpected dents in our plan, my gang and I left to Japan in order to do damage control. I no longer had Ho Young’s support, and Ji Hoon no longer had supreme control over the Korean Underworld. Our alliance was at a standstill until our Queen of the Underworld made her return.” He grinned tauntingly, briefly casting his attention to Soo Jin. “Since I’ve acquired all the power I needed to become a contender for the throne in Japan’s Underworld, I would say that she arrived at the perfect time.”
Young Jae gazed at Tae Hyun with the promise of partnership and camaraderie in his expression. “An Jae Sook started this mess. He not only pitted his two sons against one another, but he was also the reason why my mother died. She was sick with depression because she wanted my twin brother back and wanted to keep her baby daughter from joining the Underworld. She told him this, but my father, being the piece of shit that he was, did not heed any of it. She died from heartache, and he was left to use his children as pawns in his sick game. He was the reason why your real brother—your blood brother—died when he was a baby. Jae Sook killed him after he switched the babies.” His laughter rolled over the roof when he evaluated the two Royals sitting across from him. “And now you’re helping the daughter who is looking to avenge him? To bring justice to his death when he doesn’t deserve any?”
His persuasive eyes tried to reason with Tae Hyun’s dazed ones.
“Join us, Tae Hyun,” he advised gently. “Ho Young may not have been your actual brother, but he loved you like you were his brother—even after he found out the truth. He still thought highly of you, still loved you, and spoiled you like you were his little brother. Finish what he couldn’t finish; join us and join our alliance. You can have the Korean Underworld, I’ll take Japan’s, and we’ll give Ji Hoon China’s Underworld.” Though Ji Hoon was bitter, he kept quiet while Young Jae went on. “The only one who stands in our way is An Soo Jin; she is the only one who stands in the way of your throne. She’s the cause of all these problems between us. Work with us, Tae Hyun. Kill her, save yourself from this unnecessary war, and let’s make history together.”
He glanced over to Soo Jin. His expression did not conceal his disgust for her. “An Soo Jin is a ruthless woman. Do you think she would choose you over the throne? No, she will choose her throne and kill you in a heartbeat. Ju Won taught her to be self-serving and in the end, if you choose her, then she will be your death sentence—as well as your executioner. Get rid of her and you will be our ally. Together, the three of us can be an unstoppable force in this society.”
“He’s right,” Soo Jin agreed from the side.
At her words, Tae Hyun turned his surprised gaze to her.
Her eyes on him were cold, challenging, and deadly.
“I have no emotional attachment towards you,” she forged on emotionlessly. “I don’t care about you. The only reason why you’re still here is because I’m waiting for that historic day where I can kill you in front of our world. It doesn’t matter what road you take because in the end, I will be your executioner. I will make a show of your death because that’s all you are to me: a sacrificial prize—a gift to myself before I become an actual God in this world.”
Soo Jin was already set on this. After all that had transpired today, she was still committed on killing Tae Hyun. She was going after the throne because despite everything, the love and desire she had for power would always override anything else in her life.
“Words spoken by the heartless bitch herself,” Anna breathed out in revulsion. She scrutinized Tae Hyun, who was gazing quietly at Soo Jin. “I grew up with Soo Jin, Tae Hyun. I know how she is. She has always been coldblooded. Nothing but power satisfies her. She will use your weakness against you, betray you, and destroy you. I know that you’re infatuated with her, but when it’s all said and done, will she really be worth all of that? Will she really be worth your inevitable death?”
With his eyes fixed on Soo Jin, Tae Hyun did not miss a beat.
“She’s worth every stubborn inch of it.”
Soo Jin felt the pit of dread manifest
in her stomach at his unfiltered and resolute response.
Fool, she thought with disappointment. You’re nothing but a fool.
As Soo Jin shook her head in disbelief, Tae Hyun turned his attention to Anna. “I hope you enjoy the remainder of the days you have left with your husband because his days in this world are limited.” He locked his resolute gaze with Young Jae. “I’m not working with you—not now and not ever.”
A wide grin outlined Ji Hoon’s mouth. He was relieved that Tae Hyun had stupidly declined Young Jae’s proposition. He did not want to work with Tae Hyun and was thrilled by their ongoing war. To the left of him, Young Jae’s cool composure faded as his eyes grew severe with unrelenting fire.
“Very well then,” Young Jae said with finality. He rose from his seat and nodded cordially at them. “May your end be more merciful than your fall. Let’s hope she gets to you before we do because trust me when I say that Ji Hoon and I will not be gracious killers.”
He presented them with a slow, wicked smile that only the devil himself could bequeath. He was done being a politician. It was time to bring forth hell.
“We will see the both of you again soon. Until then, enjoy the remainder of your days.”
With that, he bid goodbye to them and departed from the roof with Anna and Ji Hoon by his side.
For the longest time, all Soo Jin and Tae Hyun could do was sit there in total silence.
Soo Jin couldn’t think; she was too traumatized with everything and she was pissed off with Tae Hyun.
What a stupid fool, she thought as his words echoed in her mind.
She turned to him, ready to berate him for his foolishness when he spoke first.
“Tell me what happened between you and my mother that night.”
“No,” she rejected at once. Who did he think he was telling her what to do? Why on earth would she talk about his mother at a time like this?