“Don’t you remember? What kind of expression did you have at your family’s funeral…….”
The moment I heard those words, it felt as if a knife had been driven into the pouch I had tightly sealed and shoved into a corner so it wouldn’t be seen. Long-buried memories I’d tried so hard not to recall began to pour out through the cracks.
That place, where tears and arguments never ceased, felt like hell itself.
“Gosh, does it even make sense for a husband not to show his face even once when his own wife has died?”
“Did they say what the cause of death was?”
“Doesn’t it seem like there’s something a bit off about their second child? I mean, how can he just stand there with such an indifferent expression after being told his mother died?”
“He’s still just a kid. He probably doesn’t fully understand what’s happened yet.”
“Still, it’s a relief that the eldest son is taking on the father’s role. Indeed, every family does need at least one person who’s got their head on straight. Tsk tsk, even so, it’s sad to see someone that young wearing the chief mourner’s armband.”
“Did she have life insurance? Did you hear how much they’re getting?”
The despair and sorrow of never being able to see a loved one again, the crushing uncertainty about how to go on living. These were feelings that, if only circumstances had allowed, were best left unexperienced for someone so young.
‘No.’
I couldn’t let myself waver. I knew Kang Hyukwoo was deliberately trying to provoke me, so I didn’t want to show any sign of agitation. And yet, before I could stop it, I felt my heart begin to race.
Then, a twisted expression turned toward me; one born from a mix of inner satisfaction at having hurt me, and the forced performance of resentment and grief. I wondered, did Kang Hyukwoo have any idea just how ridiculous and grotesque his face looked.
“Please, I’m begging you. You’ve seen it with your own eyes. Our Chaeyul is such a kind and sweet kid. Don’t take it out on my son ……. What did he ever do wrong? No matter how much you hate me, there are still basic decencies a person should uphold.” 1
“…What?”
“What do I have to do for you to save my child? Should I get down on my knees? Huh?”
Seeing how shaken I was, he seemed to think the tide turning in his favor and immediately dropped to his knees in front of me with a dramatic thud. It was so deliberately theatrical that it was obvious he was exaggerating his movements just to make sure I noticed he was kneeling.
“I’ll do whatever you say. As long as I can live happily with Chaeyul, the two of us together, I’ll do anything.”
As I stood there blankly staring down at him, he finally began to beg, clutching the hem of my pants.
“Today is my last chance. If I don’t make it past today, I have to die. Even if I try to run, they’ll catch me soon enough … and I’ll die a disgraceful death.”
And the eyes that had been desperately looking up at me occasionally flicked over to his son, as if checking to see how the child was reacting.
“Chaeyul-ah! Chaeyul-ah, you don’t want me to die either, right? Dad loves you so, so much! I only raised my hand to you because I was so startled, that’s all. I’ll never do something like that again. So let’s live together with Dad…….”
“Dad…….”
The child, clearly shaken by the sight of his parents, who had once been the fence that sheltered his world, falling apart so miserably, could do nothing but dart his gaze around in confusion, unable to reach out to either his father or to me.
Seeing that, I realized that Kang Hyukwoo was acting even more dramatically because his son was present. He didn’t mention a single thing about what he had done. Instead, he poured out vague, emotional pleas like, “I really love my son. I want to be with him. You’re the one tormenting me. I might die because of you.”
The reason he was doing all this was obvious. Anyone who avoided speaking the truth logically and relied solely on emotional appeal had to be approached with caution. But children weren’t yet capable of making such judgments on their own, which was likely why he had been trying to manipulate Chaeyul into siding with him.
It was all to make the child believe, ‘The real bad guy wasn’t Kang Hyukwoo, it was Seo Yutae‘, in order to lessen the resentment directed at himself and redirect that hostility toward me instead.
Either that, or he was trying to get the child to say, “Please save my dad.”
This was a gamble built entirely on the possibility that ‘Seo Yutae wouldn’t be able to ruin an innocent child’s life‘. It was a form of blackmail only possible because he knew everything about my childhood and my trauma.
“…Is Dad going to die?”
The child only looked up at me with a face clouded by vague fear. It was inevitable. Even if he still hadn’t forgiven him, believing that he deserved to die was an entirely different matter.
It was always the same with people who used their own life as a means to threaten those around them. It reeked of cowardice; the kind that came from being unable to fix the situation or repair relationships on their own, so they tried to take a shortcut by triggering fear in others.
“Hyung, what-what should I do? What should I do…….”
But the child, who had no way of knowing that, began to panic, stomping his feet in distress.
All of this was Kang Hyukwoo’s scheme.
He was trying to use me to get out of this crisis.
After all, I was the only one who held all the evidence of his wrongdoings, the only one who could calm the fans who were relentlessly attacking him, and the only one who could remove the pressure Choi Jeokhyeon was putting on the police and the media.
“I’m really going to change this time, so please forgive me just this once. You don’t want to make Chaeyul unhappy either, do you?”
I felt a crushing guilt and pressure. It was as if everyone would be happy if I just endured it and forgave Kang Hyukwoo … and if I didn’t, their unhappiness would be my fault.
‘I know perfectly well what’s going on in that bastard’s head … but am I really supposed to just fall for it?’
While I had my eyes tightly shut, trying to quiet my tangled thoughts, the loud crash of waves against the rocks broke through. Drawn by the sound, I turned my gaze toward the sea.
The stars, densely scattered across the night sky, were all reflected in the pitch-black water.
The moment I took that sight in, my cold heart began to beat steadily again, as if it had never faltered.
‘Can I really just let Seo Yuseong’s death pass this way?’
I understood what Kang Hyukwoo was hoping for when he chose this place as our meeting place.
But it was the wrong choice.
‘…No, I can’t. No matter what I have to do, that’s the one thing I can never allow.’
Wouldn’t you agree?
Of all the places he could have chosen, he brought me to the place where my little brother was murdered.
“Go to Ahjussi. Wait in the car and get some rest.”
As I let go of the child’s hand and said that, Kang Hyukwoo’s movement came to an abrupt halt. Perhaps because things weren’t going the way he’d expected, confusion flickered across his face, and soon giving way to complete despair.
The child was still hesitating, stealing glances at his father, so I gave his back another gentle push.
“Hurry.”
And once I was sure he had walked far enough away, I turned to face the sea, its waves crashing violently, and spoke in a quiet voice.
“You said today was the last day, so there can’t be many hours left now. From the looks of it, you haven’t even picked a proper place yet … and it’s far too late to go back home.”
“What…….”
“I came all the way here to give you a chance to properly settle things with the child, and yet you went and threw it away like this…….”
“..Seo Yutae!”
“What about your suicide note?”
The words fell in a dull monotone, as if it were nothing more than casual small talk.
“Write it as if you’re in despair over life. Make it feel intensely depressive, so that anyone who reads it would be convinced your death was a suicide. Do you want me to show you my own suicide note? You can use it as a reference.”
”…….“
“…No, never mind. You must’ve already seen it. After all, you were the one who ordered it to be hidden. That’s why the Prism members couldn’t find it no matter how hard they searched.”
The members of Prism had already regained their freedom.
They were now shining once again, chasing their dreams under a splendid company, with no regrets left to haunt them. Kang Hyukwoo, having faced a crisis of this magnitude, might never repeat his past misdeeds and could simply live out the rest of his life quietly as a good father.
“It’s too late to turn back. Even if my choice makes your son unhappy, I won’t give up.”
But … I just couldn’t bring myself to be satisfied with that alone.
Maybe it was because I was a coward and a selfish bastard. But even so, I found myself thinking that it didn’t matter anymore.
From the moment I dared to lay hands on personal retribution carried out by my own will, I gave up on rationalizing it.
It wasn’t something I needed, nor something I should have wanted.
“Because … I already found out that you killed Seo Yuseong.”
I couldn’t forgive him. It felt like nothing could ever be put to rest unless I witnessed Kang Hyukwoo meet a miserable end with my own eyes.
“So just die. That’s the price for what you’ve done.”
“…….”
“If you just disappear from this world, I’ll take full responsibility for your son and raise him well … I’ll give him so much love, more than a messed-up father like you ever could. So, die with peace of mind.”
“…Why the hell are you going so far just to kill me? Nothing’s going to change. Seo Yuseong is already dead, and Prism is already free! Can’t you just let the ones who are still alive live their lives? What’s even the point of your revenge? It’s all just meaningless.”
I looked Kang Hyukwoo straight in the eyes and asked, “…Why is my revenge meaningless?”
At that, Kang Hyukwoo stiffened and looked up at me, momentarily at a loss for words.
“Knowing that I did nothing wrong.”
At first, my voice came out calm and even, but little by little, emotion crept in, and it began to tremble.
“Knowing that the bastards who trampled my life got the punishment they deserved, that justice still exists in this world. Even just confirming that is enough for me to keep living. So how could this revenge be meaningless?”
There’s neither satisfaction nor pride in my revenge.
It’s simply something I do to stay alive.
“I’m affirming my existence by giving you the worst possible end.”
If proper punishment had been served through the law, I wouldn’t have returned like this. But we live in a world that tramples on the victim’s heart while trying to protect the perpetrator. He should’ve just run off to prison. If he had, maybe things wouldn’t have spiraled this far.
You’re a beneficiary of the failed judicial system, and at the same time, a victim of it.
Look, see how miserable your life has become because of your own wrongdoing.
I will affirm my existence by giving you the worst possible end.
“Being able to see your misery with my own eyes … I’m truly happy.”
With the pitch-black sea behind me, I looked down at Kang Hyukwoo and smiled.
Now, at long last, I felt like I could breathe.
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Translator’s Corner:
Group hug for everyone … we’ve come so far reading a revenge novel with MC that clearly wasn’t born for revenge…..
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