Chapter 173:

“I’ve received the report on your body and mental state.”

Kwon Chae-woo stared ahead at Kwon Ki-seok, the man who shared many of his features. Without So Lee-yeon, everything else in his life became boring. All he could do was stare and blink.

Kwon Ki-seok continued speaking, “You’ll continue to experience bouts of insomnia and your memory might never be fully intact. Don’t go back to your duties as a hunting dog for now. Focus on building your life, spend some time with the boys. You could even take a picture of the site.”

The boys were the secret children of the various chairmen of important groups or even members of the parliament. They were indebted to the Kwon family, which was why Kwon Chae-woo could do as he pleased around them. He could offer them friendship and backstab them immediately after, it wouldn’t change a thing.

“Now,” Kwon Ki-seok said, “Are you going to be upset about having to stop playing house?”

Kwon Chae-woo narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

The other man shook his head. “So, what was it like being on a leash?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It felt like shit.” Kwon Chae-woo’s lips curled into a smile, but his eyes were unchanged. When he got involved with So Lee-yeon, he was a completely different man. He was someone else, not at all like the young master who used to roam freely.

“Is that still how you really feel?”

“Just what are you trying to imply?”

Sensing his growing frustration, Kwon Ki-seok dared to take a step forward. It was almost as if he was reminding Kwon Chae-woo that they were equals. His eyes shone brightly as he continued to speak, “I’m just curious to know what’s going on in your head.”

Kwon Chae-woo scowled. “Ask the doctor then.”

“But I want to hear it from you.”

Kwon Ki-seok looked at the other man’s eyes. They looked foreign and yet so familiar.

When he first came to the Kwon family’s home, he noticed just how different Kwon Chae-woo was. There were rumors going around about Stockholm syndrome and how he was strange, but he never did much. Kwon Ki-seok was fascinated by him, always finding himself observing the young Kwon Chae-woo.

“Chae-woo,” he said now, looking at the man who had grown to be just as tall as him. “Do you hate So Lee-yeon?”

“Please! I’ll tell you everything!”

He was in the process of capturing and burying one of Kwon Ki-seok’s subordinates. An arm popped up from the ground, but he easily stomped it back into the earth.

“No,” he said coldly. “You should really just ask me to kill you instead.” As the man in the ground continued to panic, Kwon Chae-woo just hummed. His face was calm, but his feet were vicious. As he proceeded to stomp the man into the dirt, he heard a crack. He must have broken the man’s finger.

The subordinate screamed.

“Don’t you know your screams only excite me more?” Kwon Chae-woo said. “I enjoy making stupid and persistent bastards like you miserable. In fact, it’s the true reason why I keep doing this, why I can’t stop.”

The screams did not cease.

Then, another sound filled the air. It was faint, but it already annoyed him to no end. It got his attention faster than any scream could.

“Fuck, what was that?” he growled, dropping the shovel and glaring at a bush to the side. He waited for more movement, but there was nothing. “Are you sure you shouldn’t run?”

At that, a figure began to run. For some reason, it intrigued him and he had no idea why.

What he did know was that it would be more difficult if he let a witness go just like that. So, Kwon Chae-woo grabbed a chainsaw and ran after the figure. His eyes were trained on the person’s head and, when he finally caught up to them, he wrapped a cello string around them to keep them from running.

It was a girl, he realized. She squirmed in his grasp, desperately trying to turn her body towards him. She was determined to see the person that was killing her. When their eyes met, he found himself staring at someone drowning in fear and yet, for some reason, she wasn’t truly afraid.

He let go.

He found her.

Should he let her faint? Should he carry her struggling body? How could he make her suffer the same fate? He needed to make her talk first. But would she be able to handle the pain? He was never considerate of his targets.

As he struggled with all his thoughts and tried to figure out what to do next, he sensed someone approaching him.

Something sharp repeatedly smashed into his head. He felt as if his skull was being crushed, but, for some reason, he didn’t feel any pain. All he did was stare at the innocent and lonely eyes that were staring right back at him. She was the last thing he saw before his vision became dark.