Three Eight-Chapter 75

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"Uh, uh..."

A faint moan seeped through Guppping's blood-soaked lips. Mukyeong had slapped him so hard his palm stung.

Thwack! It almost sounded like a punch landing. As he released the grip on Guppping's collar, Guppping collapsed to the floor.

"Ha, ha..."

Guppping winced, touching his mouth. Mukyeong ran a trembling hand through his tousled hair. He felt like stomping Guppping into the ground until his bones shattered.

"...Phew."

It wasn't yet time. Just a little longer and he could wrap up the business perfectly and trample this bastard as much as he wanted. Annoying as it was, this was a moment to hold back. Mukyeong clenched his tingling hand, suppressing the impulse.

"I haven’t settled all accounts with Gu Madam, you know."

Bending one knee, Mukyeong tilted his head slightly. His gaze met with Guppping, who was half sprawled on the floor.

"Aren’t you thankful?"

"..."

Normally, Guppping would have responded with a smug, disgusting smile. Now, he just trembled his lips slightly and nodded weakly.

"Between us, well."

Mukyeong raised his hand again. At this, Guppping flinched back, staring at Mukyeong's fingertips.

"Gu Hongju says, the more scared you show you are, the more they want to hit you. That's why he always got beaten during collections. To get hit less."

Hongju's face had been full of wounds as he muttered this. His lips were split pitifully, and his eyes were resigned.

"..."

Guppping was in the same situation, but he just trembled with fearful eyes. Probably, Hongju had started out like this too. Looking up at Guppping or Manager Yang with such an expression, getting beaten more...

"Maybe it's because Gu Madam hasn’t been hit much before. You lack the know-how."

It was Hongju who had grown up getting hit, but hatred surged from deep within Mukyeong. His hands trembled with rage as he forcefully slapped Guppping's bruised cheek again. Then he stood up.

"We have three days until D-day. Get treated by then."

He turned away and walked past the corridor where Hongju had been carried out. As he descended the stairs, he couldn't suppress the boiling anger inside him.

"Ah, this is bullshit."

Managing his emotions was not difficult for Mukyeong. If he wanted something, he bought it with money, and if he was paid, he returned the favor as expected. He had realized that mechanically killing his emotions was the way to live comfortably.

"..."

But seeing Hongju's condition had rekindled all the emotions he had been suppressing, now raging fiercely.

Mukyeong stopped as he stepped out of the House, staring back at the dilapidated, musty building.

"I’ll make you the same."

No, even more. Enough to cover all of Hongju’s fifteen years. Mukyeong clenched his teeth as he got into his car.

Hongju, dressed in a hospital gown, looked especially frail. Mukyeong knew he was naturally thin, but today he seemed even more so. Holding his phone to his ear, Mukyeong’s gaze did not waver from Hongju.

"Just wrap things up for now."

He hung up the phone and irritably tousled his hair. He knew why Hongju had recklessly stormed the House with a knife. A few documents scattered in the study. He must have found out about his father.

"..."

He had felt the glances every time he talked on the phone or carried documents to and from the office. But he hadn’t expected Hongju to step foot into the study. He had thought Hongju wouldn't care much, that he would stop at that.

"I didn’t expect you to find that."

Even if he had gone to Guppping, if he was going to get beaten without a trace left intact, he should have stabbed him properly. To shake off at least one of the burdens on his heart. Mukyeong leaned his head back and massaged his neck.

Hongju woke up a few hours later. It was around dawn, as the light began to peek through the window. His swollen eyes felt heavy, blinking several times before finally focusing on Mukyeong.

"You need to break this habit of taking the hits."

The only response was a quiet breath. His thin chest rose and fell slightly.

"...Where’s Guppping?"

His voice cracked, asking about Guppping's whereabouts. The whites of his eyes were threaded with red veins.

"He’s probably sprawled out at home."

"I’m going to kill him."

Hongju’s eyes squeezed shut then opened fiercely. He tried to sit up, but Mukyeong gently pressed down on his shoulder. The look he shot back was fiery, similar to the first time Mukyeong had seen him.

"Don’t do anything rash."

"It’s not rash. You know it too. That bastard, he let our father die. He locked me away like trash, demanding payment for raising me... You know he did that to my father!"

Tears and anger mixed in his trembling voice. Hongju ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) reached to pull out the IV stuck in his hand, but Mukyeong grabbed his wrist faster.

"...You knew he was dead, why did you hide it?"

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Instead of answering, Mukyeong firmly pulled Hongju’s hand away from the IV. He forcefully laid Hongju back down and pulled the blanket up to his shoulders. Hongju’s trembling lips began to spill words of resentment.

"Was it because I suited living like an idiot? Or because you could extract information if I was next to Guppping? Or maybe..."

"..."

"Did you regret being with me?"

Tears streamed from the corners of his swollen eyes. His eyes were filled with anger. Mukyeong swallowed his emotions hard before speaking.

"Gu Hongju."

"Was it because you’re too stubborn to tell me outright, that it doesn’t suit your style?"

It was clearly a question, but his voice couldn’t rise sharply. How accustomed must he be to suppressing his emotions to be like this? His clenched eyelashes were wet.

"As you said, I’ve lived richly but without conscience."

"..."

"But I couldn’t tell you that."

Watching and calculating, always receiving more curses than praises, more accustomed to being hit than treated, the one thing he really wanted was to know his father’s whereabouts. He had even been the first to take off his gown wanting to meet his father.

"Did I do it knowing you’d turn out this way?"

Perhaps the only reason Hongju had survived in the House and not died was this. If he was told that such an existence was no longer in this world, Hongju would have broken down. Mukyeong might have known that all along.

"I shouldn’t have looked into it."

Should have just lived as before. Strategically, moving out of necessity, only giving and taking as much as received, living chasing after money. Then Hongju wouldn’t have ended up like this, and he could have continued to hold onto a sliver of hope.

"...now that I know everything, I can’t stick around Guppping humiliatingly anymore. Even if you want to know more, I can’t bring it to you."

Hongju rubbed his eyes with the back of his dry hand. The rough gesture paid no mind to the bandages and gauze on his face.

"You don’t have to pay off my debt. You can pretend you never paid anything now."

Mukyeong had always thought buying and receiving something with money was as easy as breathing.

"I’m going to kill Guppping with my own hands. Make it the most painful death in the world. And then I can follow him in death."

But now, he realized no amount of pouring money would let him possess Hongju. The emotion he was experiencing for the first time was a sticky, gloomy mix of anxiety and unease.

Mukyeong pursed his lips and continued speaking, not hurrying, suppressing any urge to rush out.

"Last time, you asked whether you should be afraid of me or trust me. Can you answer now?"

Silence lingered for a long time before Hongju finally spoke.

"Why does that matter now?"

"I didn’t get an answer then."

"What difference does it make if I’m afraid of you now or if I trust you?"

The usual Hongju returned. A voice void of any hope. He thought it would have been better if it was still quivering with anger. Hongju busied himself wiping his wet eyes.

"It changes."

His firm interjection stopped Hongju’s movements. Eventually, his dark eyes turned towards Mukyeong.

"What’s the use if I trust you? Anyway, I was just someone who moved for money. I trusted you as much as you paid me."

The emotions shared as much as money was paid. Mukyeong felt an indescribable emptiness at that statement. How hollow was it to miss the heart of Gu Hongju? Thinking of a person's feelings as something cheap to buy and sell.

"Then I’ll give more. I’ll keep giving until you say you don’t need it anymore, so keep trusting."

"I told you before. I’ll kill Guppping and then—"

"You don’t have to. The House will be gone soon anyway."

Hongju furrowed his eyebrows and asked back.

"...What do you mean?"

"I’m making it happen."

This too was unplanned. Mukyeong had never thought about revealing his plans to Hongju. In the picture Mukyeong had painted, Hongju was not included.

"We have the same goal now."

But Mukyeong was determined to bring Hongju on board, right beside him where it was safest.

"What do you mean?"

"Wait just two more days. You’ll understand everything without asking then."

Mukyeong marked the day he would strip Guppping of his stakes as the point everything would change.

"..."

Hongju looked extremely confused. He rolled his eyes, sighed, licked his split lips, and swallowed hard. Mukyeong suddenly wondered what it would taste like to press his lips against those blood-stiffened ones.

"If it’s too hard to trust me right now, wait for the results in two days then decide."

It was a similar situation to the first time by the lakeside when he had threatened him. The difference was that back then, Mukyeong was in a position of threatening, and now, he was asking.

"..."

Hongju said nothing, just sending a blank stare. But Mukyeong took that as sufficient answer.

"You won’t regret the decision."

Hongju’s deep, dark eyes were silently screaming. Help me, protect me, get me out of here. Take revenge on Guppping who broke me down. Let me lean on you.

"I didn’t say anything..."

"You did."

"..."

"You don’t realize how you look at me."

Mukyeong was more than willing to grant that request. Even if Gu Hongju paid no price at all.