“……”
“……”
A heavy silence stretched between them.
Even though Kang Hyungwoo had confidently closed the distance, he couldn’t bring himself to move.
He couldn’t admit it, but he was overwhelmed.
‘This bastard… Was he always this big?’
No.
He’d put on some muscle, but his height was the same.
174 cm.
There was a nearly 20 cm difference between Hyungwoo, who was close to 190 cm, and Yunseok. And Hyungwoo, being an athlete, had more muscle mass.
But…
‘It’s those eyes…’
Clenching his teeth, Hyungwoo recalled third grade.
The truth was, Yunseok had never been a loser.
On the contrary, he was a gifted kid.
Unlike Hyungwoo’s gloomy personality, Yunseok was cheerful and good-looking, everyone in class liked him.
Hyungwoo had been jealous of that.
He hadn’t refused when Yunseok reached out to include him, but he was always secretly envious.
That envy exploded the day a girl confessed her feelings to Yunseok, a girl Hyungwoo had secretly liked.
From that day on, Hyungwoo started needling Yunseok.
But maybe because they were too young, Yunseok didn’t pick up on the malice and just smiled good-naturedly.
However, as Hyungwoo’s taunts grew more vicious, their relationship fell apart and eventually turned into a fistfight.
Hyungwoo had been confident.
Looking back, it was laughable, but he’d taken taekwondo and was pretty athletic.
But he was no match.
Was that what talent was?
Even for a kids’ fight, there was a clear difference.
It was like Yunseok had been born to fight, he dodged Hyungwoo’s punches like a pro boxer.
And he beat Hyungwoo mercilessly, without an ounce of hesitation.
When it came to fighting, Yunseok was like a machine with a broken limiter.
Hyungwoo was terrified.
He really thought he might die.
So he begged for mercy.
It was the most humiliating memory of Hyungwoo’s life, the one he wanted to forget but never could.
Even now, sometimes he’d wake up shuddering from a nightmare of Yunseok’s eyes on that day.
“How… how could I ever forget that? How dare you look at me like that again?”
Fear fueled him to overcome his fear.
That contradiction was the only way to explain it.
It was how Hyungwoo could throw a punch at Yunseok.
Whoosh!
His fist shot toward Yunseok, sharp and fast, almost like a semi-pro.
But Yunseok’s [Agility] was at F+ rank, far beyond a normal human.
And even if it was only four times, he had actual combat experience where his life was on the line.
So Yunseok dodged the punch easily.
And he proved it wasn’t a fluke, he kept dodging again and again.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! You bastard!”
Hyungwoo cursed, swinging wildly.
He was going insane.
He’d worked so hard to make sure this day never came!
But in the end, it had.
“You bastard! Who the hell do you think you are! Who do you think you are!”
Ten years ago, their fight ended when a teacher showed up.
Both sets of parents were called to the school, and Hyungwoo realized his family’s social standing compared to Yunseok’s.
From that day, Yunseok started bowing his head, and Hyungwoo tormented him viciously, thinking it was the only way to erase the defeat branded on his soul.
Those days went on and on.
To the selfish Hyungwoo, they were perfect, he even stole away Yunseok’s popularity, making the once-proud kid bow and scrape.
But at the same time, he was anxious.
The Yunseok he’d seen that day was a wild beast that couldn’t be tamed.
What if the leash broke?
That anxiety only grew as puberty hit and their bodies changed.
So when they reached middle school, Hyungwoo gave lame excuses to keep Yunseok from eating school lunches.
At night, he forced Yunseok to grind levels in a game he didn’t even care about, making sure he couldn’t sleep.
Maybe that actually worked, Yunseok’s growth stopped at 174 cm.
Meanwhile, Hyungwoo took up boxing.
He worked like a madman to escape his anxiety. He turned out to have talent, too, and his skills improved quickly thanks to his effort.
But when they reached high school, the supposedly tamed Yunseok rebelled for the first time.
He made it clear that he wanted nothing more to do with Hyungwoo.
He didn’t even want revenge, he just wanted to be left alone.
But that terrified Hyungwoo.
He was afraid their relationship would flip.
He was scared Yunseok would take revenge.
So Hyungwoo set the fire.
He burned down Yunseok’s father’s factory.
Just so he could put the leash back on Yunseok.
So he could keep him underfoot forever.
“And yet you keep getting back up! You stubborn weed!”
With a scream, Hyungwoo threw another punch.
And as Yunseok kept dodging with minimal movement, he finally grabbed Hyungwoo’s fist.
Grip.
“Let go! I said let go!”
“So it really was you?”
“Let go!”
Yunseok released Hyungwoo’s arm.
Then, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him close, he asked, genuine killing intent in his voice,
“You set the fire at my father’s factory, didn’t you?”
“S-So what if I did? You going to k-kill me over that?”
Maybe it was the murderous aura, Hyungwoo looked completely unhinged.
Yunseok smirked.
“Why would I kill you? You’re going to cough up every cent we paid back, plus a hefty bonus for damages.”
“I didn’t set the fire! Where’s your proof, you bastard?!”
Maybe regaining some composure, Hyungwoo started denying it, despite half-admitting it before.
Yunseok had even prepared a recorder, but he knew that wouldn’t count as evidence.
Even he could tell that what Hyungwoo said was too ambiguous.
He needed to push further.
Grip.
There was no need to throw a punch.
Yunseok reached out and grabbed Kang Hyungwoo by the throat.
“Keuhk!”
Even with the huge difference in height, Hyungwoo couldn’t even muster up any resistance.
Their muscle mass wasn’t that different, but the aura Yunseok gave off made Hyungwoo’s mind go blank.
“Say it. Did you set the fire?”
“Keheuk! Kek!”
The strangled, phlegmy sound came from Hyungwoo’s mouth as he struggled. His hands gripping Yunseok’s arm lost their strength.
Most people can survive up to five minutes with their airway blocked. But in less than ten seconds, the whites of Hyungwoo’s eyes started to show.
Yunseok had pressed precisely on his carotid artery.
As soon as Yunseok let go, Hyungwoo collapsed to the ground.
“Cough! Hah! Huff! Huff…!”
But Yunseok wasn’t done. He reached out again, this time with both hands.
Hyungwoo, terrified, scrambled away.
Sitting on the dirt, he didn’t even have time to worry about how pathetic he looked.
Yunseok slowly approached, closing the distance in moments.
With fear in his eyes, Hyungwoo shouted,
“S-Stop! Stop it! Don’t! I’m sorry, okay?”
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
Yunseok wordlessly reached out his hand again.
Slowly, so Hyungwoo could see, hear, and feel everything.
This wasn’t just a fistfight.
This was the scene of an absurd, overwhelming violence, choking.
But Yunseok’s eyes, as he did it, were eerily calm and cold.
Hyungwoo thought,
He might actually kill me.
“I-I did it! It was me! I set the fire at your family’s factory! I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”
Yunseok stopped his hand.
He looked down at Hyungwoo for a moment.
Maybe because he’d already known deep down, hearing the truth from Hyungwoo’s own mouth didn’t even shock him.
Yunseok took a recorder out of his pocket and pressed the stop button in full view of Hyungwoo.
Then, filled with all the regret of the past, he muttered,
“I wanted to kill you. Really. Not just once or twice, thousands of times…”
“……”
The sincerity in his voice was so heavy, Hyungwoo couldn’t say a word.
He could only stare at Yunseok, barely breathing.
It felt like if he said anything, Yunseok really might kill him.
“But I’m not going to. Maybe not for you, but for me, you’re not even worth it.”
Whether he intended it or not, those words were as good as killing Hyungwoo.
He’d split their relationship into winner and loser and even committed arson out of obsession, but in reality, Yunseok had never cared about those games at all.
He hadn’t lost because of violence or social status.
He’d lost completely, as a human being.
To Choi Yunseok, the person he’d wanted so badly to beat.
“……”
Without any regret, Yunseok turned away.
Maybe it was relief at being spared, or maybe he was still hung up on winning, but from behind, Hyungwoo shouted,
“You think this is the end? You think evidence you got through threats will work?!”
It wouldn’t.
He never thought it would.
No judge in their right mind would rule on this alone.
But…
Yunseok paused and turned his head slightly.
“Your dad will think differently. This is more than enough to show him what you really are.”
Step, step.
Crossing the ochre dirt that looked like an arena floor, Yunseok left the schoolyard.
He didn’t have to look back to know what thoughts and expressions were on Hyungwoo’s face right now.
*
Rrrrr.
His smartphone vibrated.
The caller was Kang Hyungwoo’s younger sister, Kang Hyein.
– Oh, oppa! How have you been?
“Yeah. Long time no see. What’s up?”
– I just thought of you because my idiot brother… I mean, my brother mentioned you today. Want to grab a meal together sometime?
After a moment’s thought, Yunseok agreed, and they quickly set a time and place.
Spacing out at a bus stop far from the elementary school, a line he didn’t even know, Yunseok finally got up.
‘Maybe it’s not over yet. I don’t feel as relieved as I thought I would.’
It wasn’t some grand thing you’d call revenge.
He’d just done what needed to be done to properly untangle the knot of this twisted connection.
And that task was still ongoing.
‘The chairman is probably busy… I can just tell Hyein instead.’
So even with all his complicated feelings, Yunseok didn’t refuse Hyein’s invitation.
“Oppa! Over here! Over here!”
When he arrived at the restaurant, Hyein was already there, waving him over.
He’d seen her in casual clothes plenty, but having just graduated high school, she looked much more like an adult now.
Well, she was only twenty, just barely out of school.
“Been half a year? You look even prettier now, Hyein.”
“You too, oppa! Did you dress up just to see me?”
It had only been an hour since they set the meeting.
Realistically, it wasn’t possible, but when Yunseok just nodded, Hyein beamed.
“Oppa, you really have changed a lot.”
“Me? Well, yeah, I guess.”
“No, not just your looks. It’s other things too. Your vibe, the way you talk. The old you could never have joked about me being prettier.”
“Really?”
Yunseok tilted his head but admitted it to himself.
When he had no self-esteem, he’d always found it hard to talk to Hyein, even though she was nothing like her brother.
“Maybe you’re right. All the things that weighed me down disappeared today.”
“Wow, really? That’s great. But just how hard was it, for you to change this much?”
Just then, their food arrived.
It wasn’t really dinner conversation, but…
“Let’s eat before it gets cold. I’ll tell you slowly.”
Yunseok began eating, and calmly told Hyein everything that had happened.
Of course, as the story went on, Hyein’s face went pale and she could barely touch her food.
Yunseok didn’t try to force her to eat.
She looked like she’d get sick if she did.
As their long meal and Yunseok’s story finally came to an end, Kang Hyein couldn’t hold back and slammed the table.
“Kang Hyungwoo, that fucking bastard?!”
That was the first time Yunseok realized just how rough Hyein’s language could be.
He tried, embarrassed, to calm her down…
“H-Hyein?”
“He needs to die… Yeah, that’s it, he needs to be torn limb from limb… just killed…”
It seemed his words weren’t reaching her at all.
Yunseok thought quietly to himself.
‘Maybe, telling Hyein was the best revenge of all…’