Kill Your X Chapter 39

The 2 billion won I received from Si Yeonho before naturally came to mind. I added another zero to that amount.

“H-Hyung?”

Kim Minseok’s eyes widened, and he snatched the check from me. His petty behavior contrasted sharply with his earlier posturing.

“What? You said to write down as much as I wanted. Didn’t you give me a blank check for that reason?”

“Th-That’s… I thought if you were the hyung I knew, you wouldn’t ask for such an absurd amount. You hate wasting money, Hyung. Even before, you scolded me a lot for using my card so freely.”

My sneer deepened. Seeing him bluff without taking responsibility, Kim Minseok really hadn’t changed one bit.

“Minseok, how much did you think I would write? Be honest.”

“At most, like 200 million?”

I guess in his mind, if I asked for a large amount, Kim Minseok would magnanimously give me the money and end our uncomfortable relationship. While praising himself for being so capable.

But what to do? I had already met someone even more extravagant and had become immune to reckless spending. Along with the realization that an eye for an eye, crazy for crazy, is the way to go.

“You need to get castrated. With such small balls, how are you going to do business in the future? Aren’t you going to screw everything up as soon as you get your position back?”

“Hyung, that’s too harsh.”

“So, you can’t give me 20 billion? Because you don’t have the money?”

“Uh, umm, 20 billion, hmm…”

Kim Minseok’s face flushed red and blue at my provocation. He was a guy who knew nothing but pride, even though he hadn’t achieved anything on his own. I was genuinely worried about the future of KNT Entertainment, thinking that with someone like him at the helm, the business’s decline was only a matter of time.

“Pathetic bastard.”

I snatched the check back from him. I stood up and ripped it right above him, the long, jagged pieces of paper falling messily.

“I’ll consider the 50 million won I was scammed out of before as charity to a beggar. I hope I never see your face again.”

“Hyung! Hyung Gyujin!”

Leaving his calls behind, I exited the cafe, and the cold night air enveloped me. The beautiful scenery I saw during the day was gone, and only the road, dirty with trampled colorful flowers, came into view.

“Ha…”

Too exhausted even to curse, I just let out a heavy sigh. The way home felt endless.

✽✽✽

“I’m going crazy.”

I opened my eyes a few hours after falling asleep. It was still dark.

The recurring nightmares were rapidly breaking me down. Even if I told myself to stop wondering, my unconscious mind had its own way when I fell asleep, and there was nothing I could do about it. I felt like someone refusing a shamanic calling.

It was better than before, but my memory still wasn’t complete. I felt like my subconscious curiosity was making it worse. If so, would these nightmares end once I remembered everything?

‘I have to return the 2 billion won anyway, so I should contact him one last time…’

I pulled at my hair at the thought that entered my mind unbidden. It was ridiculous to block his number first and then contact him again. Moreover, the reason for contacting him being,

‘I keep having nightmares about you, so can you tell me one last time in detail what happened in the past?’

I refused to do anything that made it seem like I still had feelings for him.

I washed my sweat-drenched body and lay back in bed. Since I had to go to work, I could only sleep for three hours even if I fell asleep now. I decided to just stay up all night rather than risk being late.

‘So I have to keep living like this.’

Even though time heals all wounds, it was difficult to stay sane with the repeated days of terrible sleep quality. I tossed and turned meaninglessly, and the card I left on the nightstand glittered in the pre-dawn light. It was the item Ma Yubin, the celebrity, gave me at Jerome.

“If you have any more questions about Seo Seunghan, contact the number written there. I can give you more reliable information than the person you mistakenly know as Kim Minseok.”

Ma Yubin’s words replayed in my ears.

Presumably, Ma Yubin and Seo Seunghan weren’t on good terms. Whether it was to manage his agency’s celebrity image, Seo Seunghan seemed displeased with Ma Yubin throwing parties everywhere, going so far as to frequently try to stop him.

The private party at Jerome was surprisingly ordinary, so perhaps Seo Seunghan was the type to worry unnecessarily.

Ma Yubin seemed like the only person who could solve my problem. Even if I met Seo Seunghan again, there was no guarantee that he would openly tell me his story.

After several more days of contemplation, I decided to contact Ma Yubin. Without knowing that it would be the worst decision of my life.

✽✽✽

“Hello?”

Surprisingly, Ma Yubin answered the phone directly when I called the number on the card.

—Yawn, what? It’s our dog’s boyfriend, isn’t it? Why are you calling so early? Don’t you sleep? Damn…

I checked my wristwatch. It was 2:00 PM.

“Should I call back later?”

—Chuckle, no… No need for that. But why did Gyujin call me?

Whether sleepy or drunk, Ma Yubin mumbled with a slurred tongue. What am I doing? A sudden sense of emptiness washed over me.

“I called because I wanted to hear about Seo Seunghan. You said you could tell me before, Ma Yubin.”

—Oh, chuckle, right. I know Seo Seunghan very well. So well that I practically know everything about him. I can draw his naked body with my eyes closed. Does Gyujin know that his dick is really fucking huge? Huh?

I was instantly disgusted. How did Ma Yubin know about that bastard’s downstairs situation? I was seriously contemplating whether to continue the call when he said,

—But wait a little bit. The preparations for the next party aren’t complete yet. I haven’t gotten one thing yet…

“What prize?”

—There is, such a thing. Anyway, Gyujin has to, absolutely has to, come to the next party. Something really bad will happen if you don’t… Chuckle, chuckle.

Ma Yubin spewed out incomprehensible words with slurred pronunciation and hung up. He didn’t seem this crazy when I saw him at Jerome. Did I misjudge him? I tried to satisfy my curiosity, but it only made me feel more uneasy.

A few days passed. I was trying to bury the questions surrounding Seo Seunghan when I received a text message. It was from Ma Yubin.

The message contained information about the next party. The date was this coming weekend.

Following the address on the day of the party led me to a villa on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province. The villa seemed hidden deep in the mountains. The scenery would have been quite charming during the day, but it felt eerie at night.

I got out of the car and looked up at the villa. Dazzling lights shone relentlessly through the windows. The loud beat leaking out of the house reminded me of a club, making me flinch.

“Welcome, Gyujin.”

Ma Yubin himself came out to greet me again. We just happened to hang out once at the last party, we weren’t close enough for this. He put his arms around me without permission and brought his smiling face close to mine. Judging by the smell of alcohol, he had already had a few drinks.

“Come inside. All the important people are here.”

“Ma Yubin, I came here to hear about Seo Seunghan. Not to enjoy the party. If you’ve been toying with me, please tell me straight now.”

“Haha!”

Ma Yubin suddenly burst out laughing, bending over. He carelessly tossed his half-empty glass into the bushes and looked at me. A strange madness flickered in his eyes, and my instincts sounded the alarm.

“Gyujin, you have quite a temper, unlike your appearance. Well, a strong person suits someone like Seunghan, who’s practically spineless. Like me.”

At this point, I suspected Ma Yubin was deliberately provoking me. As if he was trying to see if I still had feelings for Seo Seunghan.

Suddenly, I felt a gaze and turned my head. Several people were watching us through the first-floor window of the building. Feeling like I was on display again, my speech became a little faster than usual.

“Ma Yubin, let me ask you one thing first. Did you know that Seo Seunghan is in the mafia? And that the agency you belong to is actually a mafia company?”

Ma Yubin scoffed at my words.

“Of course. I’ve been with KNT Entertainment for eight years now. I renewed my contract last year, you don’t think I would be unaware of the company’s situation, do you?”

So the entertainment industry really isn’t an ordinary world. I was confused by his nonchalant reaction. The fact that the mafia’s hands reached every corner of society wasn’t really a big deal, but I wondered if I was overreacting due to my police officer father’s influence.

“Surely, you didn’t come all the way here just to ask that?”

“No. I want to know about Seo Seunghan’s past. I can’t tell you the details, but it’s important to me. I’d appreciate it if you could tell me everything you know, Ma Yubin.”

“I understand how you feel, Gyujin. Our Seunghan, the closer you get, the more mysterious he becomes, right? He’s obedient, but you never know what he’s thinking inside. And if you look closely, neither his words nor his actions are ordinary.”

Pretending to empathize, Ma Yubin once again urged me to join the party.

“I thought it would be easier for you to understand if you saw it with your own eyes rather than me explaining it to you.”

“Is Siyeon, no, Seo Seunghan in there right now?”

“He’ll be here soon. So come on in. Shouldn’t you hear what other people have to say before you come in and cause a scene? Everyone has a lot to say about Seo Seunghan.”