Tae-seong leaned against the steering wheel, watching Ha-jin’s back as he walked up toward the house.
Even as the distance between them grew, he didn’t feel the tight ache in his chest or the sharp pang in his heart like before. It made him realize just how powerful the stabilizing effect of knotting truly was.
Even after Ha-jin disappeared completely from view, he could still picture the rhythm of his steps—there was something unique about the way he walked. Maybe it was just Tae-seong’s imagination. But every time Ha-jin came closer or moved away, Tae-seong’s body reacted on its own.
He sat there for a long time, sending message after message dripping with longing before finally sitting upright again. Just as he was about to turn the car around and leave, his phone rang. It was Kim Dae-hong, right on cue.
“Yeah.”
— Sir! Something’s happened!
Tae-seong squinted at the dashboard screen, his voice indifferent. He constantly nagged Dae-hong about not shouting, yet the man never failed to sound like he’d swallowed a train horn whenever things got urgent.
But the next words shut Tae-seong up in an instant.
— Lee Yushin is missing.
Grabbing his phone, he jumped out of the car. Dae-hong’s frantic report continued as Tae-seong raced toward the building.
— One of the assigned security team just contacted us. They were attacked. And Han-soo—Lim Han-soo’s whereabouts are unknown.
“Wasn’t he the guy you vouched for?”
— …I’m sorry.
Tae-seong hung up and sprinted up the alley, immediately calling Ha-jin. The phone rang, but there was no answer. A wave of dizziness hit him. His heart began to pound, but he couldn’t tell if it was his own fear or if he was picking up on Ha-jin’s panic. Either way, the anxiety grew.
He ran like the wind, unaware that Go Yeon-mok—still in his convenience store vest—was chasing after him. The man nearly tripped over the cracked concrete steps but somehow managed to keep up.
When Tae-seong reached Ha-jin’s apartment, his eyes darted across the scene in an instant. Snacks had spilled out from the dropped grocery bag, littering the floor. Without hesitation, he grabbed the unlocked door and yanked it open. The broken door lock ripped off and clattered loudly to the ground.
“Ha-jin! Lee Ha-jin!”
He stormed into the dark apartment, shoes pounding the floor. Behind him, Go Yeon-mok shrieked like a banshee. “Ack! My house! What the hell is going on?!” Upstairs neighbors were poking their heads out, adding to the chaos.
Tae-seong threw open the door to one room, then another, and collapsed onto his knees.
There, hunched over with his back turned, was Ha-jin. The sight drained every ounce of strength from Tae-seong’s legs.
“…Ha-jin.”
There wasn’t even room for blame—no thought of why didn’t you pick up the phone.
On all fours, he crawled toward Ha-jin and gently wrapped his arms around the man’s small frame. Relief flooded him, followed by a cold, hollow sensation—as if all the blood in his body had drained away.
“…CEO.”
Ha-jin’s voice trembled as he called out.
He turned halfway toward Tae-seong and held something out with shaking hands.
A crumpled scrap of paper with scrawled handwriting: [Tell Cheon Tae-seong we need to talk.] And a clump of hair, roughly chopped.
Ha-jin’s hands shook violently, but not a single strand of that hair slipped from his grip.
“This…”
Tae-seong fell silent as he read the note. He dragged a hand down his jaw, exhaling slowly, then grasped Ha-jin’s shoulders firmly.
“Let’s get out of here. We need to find your brother.”
At those words, Ha-jin shot to his feet like a spring-loaded toy.
Like someone possessed, he brushed past Tae-seong and staggered toward the front door—only to trip over his own feet and fall.
Go Yeon-mok, who had stepped aside just in time, caught Tae-seong’s furious glare and snapped back in outrage.
“What the hell is going on here, Ha-jin?! You wrecked the damn door! What are you gonna do about that, huh?!”
“……”
“If you want to destroy a house, go buy one and break your own! What kind of person does this to someone else’s property? Are you even sane?!”
“Later. Just… move. Please.”
Unlike usual, Ha-jin didn’t smile or apologize. Go Yeon-mok was so stunned by the cold response, he stood there opening and closing his mouth like a fish. He’d even clearly heard Ha-jin mutter, fuck—a rare curse from those sweet lips.
Before the landlord could explode, Tae-seong stepped in. He pulled out his wallet and shoved a wad of bank checks into the man’s hand like they were trash, pushing past him without another word. Then, he turned back to steady Ha-jin, who was barely standing.
***
“You’re lucky. Chairman Cheon is safe. That’s the only reason you’re still breathing.”
That’s what they’d said—people who treated others like slabs of meat.
Even when Ha-jin’s wrists were skinned raw and bleeding, they didn’t loosen the ropes. When they finally gave him a sip of water to keep him alive, it was without the slightest trace of mercy. When they ripped off the duct tape, it tore chunks of flesh from his face—but not one of them blinked.
The people who took Yushin couldn’t be any better than that.
Ha-jin clenched his eyes shut, remembering the haphazardly cut locks of his brother’s hair.
These were people who wanted a piece of Cheon Han-jo. If anything, they’d be worse.
The horrifying possibilities came as naturally as breathing.
Smack!
The man was dragged in, bound and beaten. His head snapped to the side with the sound of a sharp blow. Blood trickled from his jaw as he straightened himself again.
There had been more traitors besides the vanished Lim Han-soo, and Kim Dae-hong had caught one of them before he could get away.
Tae-seong stood to the side, speaking with someone over the phone, his expression dark and grave.
Even though Ha-jin had already agreed that going to the police would be pointless, he couldn’t stop his fingers from twitching.
Maybe he shouldn’t just sit still. Maybe he should scream for help—to the police, to rescue workers, to anyone.
Blows. Stifled groans. The metallic scent of blood. Violence unfolding just a few feet away.
Rough demands of “Where did you take him?” followed by denials of “I don’t know.”
Everything felt surreal, like a scene from a movie.
Before, Tae-seong had hidden this kind of world from him. Now, he was showing it all. Raw and unfiltered. Maybe it was because the situation was urgent. Or maybe Tae-seong believed Ha-jin, being directly involved, couldn’t be left out.
Either way, it was enough to drive him insane. It was the stench of blood—something he’d momentarily forgotten under the sweetness and tenderness Tae-seong had shown.
Ha-jin remembered despair.
Yushin became a target because I was too distracted.
There was no such thing as building up immunity to violence.
He’d learned martial arts to protect himself, never to harm others out of malice. He’d never used his fists to break someone’s spirit. A world like this—the people who did this to Yushin—was something Ha-jin could neither accept nor ever understand.
“Ha-jin.”
Tae-seong knelt before him, where he sat dazed on the sofa. He gently massaged Ha-jin’s frozen fingers until he could slip the phone from his grasp.
The screen still showed an emergency call—one Ha-jin didn’t even remember making. Tae-seong explained the mistake to the operator, apologized, and ended the call.
“Ha-jin. Look at me.”
He tilted his head, trying to catch Ha-jin’s gaze, which was fixed on the floor. Finally, Ha-jin looked up.
“…Because of me.”
His voice sounded like metal scraping metal.
“Because of me… why did Yushin have to go through this?”
His eyes were dry. Too much shock, it seemed, could dry up even the tears.
“I told them—don’t lay a finger on him. They want something, so they won’t act recklessly.”
It had been Han Ki-taek who went after Yushin. Now that his mother had regained consciousness, he was desperate enough to make a reckless move.
When they’d asked to talk, Tae-seong had snapped back: Cut the crap and tell me what you want. Along with a brutal warning: If even a scratch is found on the hostage, we all go down together.
Even Tae-seong’s voice had gone hoarse.
There were no excuses—not when Ha-jin had every right to hate him. He had already lost his life in the previous timeline because of this. And now, with so much changed, he wondered—was it Yushin’s turn to be sacrificed instead? If that happened, there was no way Ha-jin could go on. Tae-seong had to stop it.
He reached out and gently rubbed Ha-jin’s thigh, trying to warm his cold body with his own.
“…CEO.”
“Want something warm to drink?”
With the sight of a man being broken to pieces in the background, Tae-seong asked gently.
“…I’ll do anything. Whatever it takes. Just give him what he wants… and bring Yushin back. I know I probably don’t have anything to offer, but… even if he asks for something huge…”
Tae-seong held Ha-jin’s leg close, listening to his small, trembling voice.
“I’ll do anything. Whatever you want, CEO. Anything at all. So please… please save Yushin.”
I’ll do anything.
The whispered plea was heartbreakingly sweet. But it wasn’t at all what Tae-seong wanted to hear.
