Kill Your X Chapter 64

How long had I been there so powerlessly? A gang member who had been outside came into the room and reported to Si Seunghwan.

“Hyungnim. The police have arrived outside and are lying in wait.”

“Is that Seunghwan fellow not here yet? We’re holding his precious lover hostage, yet he’s being uncharacteristically sluggish. Or maybe, cough! was our Song Gyujin the only one who was serious?”

Si Seunghwan coughed repeatedly with a frown, as if something was bothering him. The rumor that the Kumto-pa boss’s health was poor seemed to be true, at least.

As more time passed, Si Seunghwan left first.

“I should go and rest. When Seo Seunghan is in our grasp, send that friend home. Tell him I said to keep a good leash on his kid.”

“Yes, Hyungnim!”

“Well… to think things would turn out like this. The old saying that you shouldn’t take in a black-haired beast is certainly true.”

Once the boss was gone, the atmosphere in the room became much more hostile. The vulgar words exchanged about me were the least of my problems.

I wouldn’t resent him, not at all, so I just wished he would run away somewhere far. It would be fine if I could never see his face again for the rest of my life; I desperately hoped he wouldn’t do something as stupid as coming to save me in a situation where the malicious intent was so obvious.

But sadly, the person I loved was a fool.

The moment the outside became noisy, my already unstable breathing grew even more erratic. Even before I saw the door open, I screamed. The more I did, the more the gang members clung to me, binding my limbs even tighter.

“Hey, you fucking idiot! Are you crazy? What are you doing here! I told you not to come!”

“Sunbae!”

His own life was about to be thrown into the abyss, yet the first thing he did upon entering the room was to check if something was wrong with me. His persistent gaze stuck to my face, which was a mess from all the crying. The eye contact didn’t last long due to the thuggery of the other gang members.

Afterward, as if they had been waiting, the police rushed in. That night, Seo Seunghan was arrested as a prime suspect in the current Kumto-pa incident.

✽✽✽

[Next up on the news. Last night, the police arrested a key figure of a certain organization, which has been cited as the root cause of various social problems, including the recent death of a rookie actor. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Chief Song Jeonggun, who directed the case, stated in a briefing this morning that the investigation will proceed without delay based on evidence secured in advance. The police are deliberating on whether suspect Seo will appoint a lawyer….]

I hung my head low after watching the latest news. Although his face was covered by a hat and mask, that silhouette was definitely Seo Seunghan. The sight of him surrounded by reporters who had flocked to cover the story felt unreal, even seeing it with my own eyes.

Late last night, I was brought back to my family’s home by the Kumto-pa members. The only thing that had changed from before was that I was now unable to go out freely for the time being.

Hiding the truth of the incident, my father explained the circumstances of my return home like this. The faint bruises left on my body unintentionally lent weight to his claims.

“It seems Detective Nam has decided to play dirty. It’s a real relief that we detected his move to take my son hostage in advance. We need to handle the complaint against Detective Nam quickly. I was going to let it slide for old times’ sake, but he’s running too wild.”

“Honey. Are we really okay? You’ve been a police officer for so many years, but this is the first time you’ve had bodyguards posted in front of the house. I’m even more worried about Gyuri’s family, since their child is so young.”

“We’ll have to wait and see. Given the situation, Gyujin, you just stay quietly at home. Don’t do anything foolish and create more trouble.”

I didn’t reply to his pointed words. My father looked like he had a lot to say to me since this morning.

“Still, it’s a huge relief the culprit was caught quickly. I heard he wasn’t even hiding in some secluded place but was caught at a luxury restaurant in Gangnam. I guess you have to be that brazen to live a life of wrongdoing.”

“You shouldn’t worry too much and just be comfortable. Just treat the bodyguards outside the house like air. They’re people who will only move if something happens.”

“Yes. You’re going through a lot, dear.”

He wasn’t usually like this, but my father pretended to take good care of me as well because of this incident. I barely ate and was heading up to my room on the second floor when my father followed me.

As soon as the door closed, my father couldn’t contain his anger and started breathing heavily. He couldn’t raise his voice since we were inside, but instead, he spat out each syllable, laced with fury.

“You piece of trash. The fact that you were secretly fooling around with a man behind my back is astounding enough, but to be playing around with a gangster bastard of all people? Was he the reason you rejected every blind date?”

I was the one who should be astounded. It seemed that even in this situation, the fact that I was gay was the biggest problem for my father.

“You’re acting like you care so much. When in reality, you have no interest in me.”

“If you’re a human, talk like one. Do you have any idea how complicated things have become because of you? Do you know how many people have been harmed?”

I straightened my neck and looked at my father. My bloodshot eyes, from not having slept a wink all night, were reflected in the mirror behind me.

“Why is that my fault? You’ve been filthily involved with gangsters all this time; that came first.”

“How dare you, you bastard!”

“It’s true, isn’t it? All the righteous cops are dead. I may not have known about other things, but I thought you were someone whose work ethic, at least, was respectable. But yesterday, the man who is the boss of the Kumto-pa looked down on you quite a bit. You must have endured that kind of treatment all this time because the gains were greater, right? With your personality?”

Slap! Unable to hold back any longer, my father struck me. My cheek stung as if the skin would tear. Yet his anger didn’t seem to subside as he panted heavily.

“Watch your mouth. Do you think I’ll let you off forever just because you’re my son? And who do you think you have to thank for the comfortable life you’ve lived so far, huh?”

“The police officers who went missing serially ten years ago, you killed them, didn’t you? No matter how you dress it up, you’re just a murderer. Oh, I guess I should add collusion with gangsters to the charges. I saw that with my own eyes yesterday.”

My father lowered the hand he had raised high in the air. He let out a breath that was close to a sigh and glared at me with slightly unfocused eyes. He also seemed a little anxious.

“Hah, this pointless conversation is just dragging on.”

“Father.”

“Even if your crazy talk is true, nothing changes. Do you think you can live with your head held high like you do now if your father is branded a heinous criminal? Your life will be thrown into the gutter along with it. Isn’t the reason you’ve been carefully hiding your preference for men all this time because you’re conscious of society’s eyes?”

So what could someone like me possibly do, my father asked challengingly. It was a confident attitude.

“I’ll consider the fact that you happened to get involved with a dog of the Kumto-pa as just an accident. Cut the crap about who killed whom, and just stay quiet as a mouse until this is over. Don’t make me say the same thing over and over.”

“What if I say, I don’t want to?”

“Huh?”

Our gazes clashed without yielding an inch. My reflection appeared in his turbid eyes, clouded by hiding too many truths.

My cheek was busted, and my eyes were shimmering as if I would cry at any moment. Clenching my fists in that state, the provocation was pathetic.

My father must have felt the exact same way.

“What, are you going to go to the police station and report it yourself? You, a coward.”

My father deliberately shoved my shoulder hard and left the room.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I buried my face in my hands. The pain in my slapped cheek grew worse with time. My heart, unseen, was in an even bigger mess.

“What… can I do?”

My father’s mockery wasn’t entirely wrong, which made me feel miserable.

Previously, when the rookie actor was caught up in the variant gambling case and died, I couldn’t bring myself to go to the police station in the end. I was afraid of letting the world know I was involved in such a thing.

It was the same in the past when I had an early inkling of my father’s evil deeds. I am, by nature, a cowardly and selfish person. Even while pretending not to have big ambitions, I actually didn’t want to lose the environment I had and the leisure I naturally enjoyed.

“Hoo…”

A wave of dizziness washed over me from the bitter self-mockery. Looking back, the life where I secretly enjoyed escapades, complaining that my daily life was boring, was one of such privilege.

I searched for the latest articles related to Seo Seunghan on my phone. Not much time had passed since his arrest by the police, so there wasn’t any significant news yet. His way of speaking was already terrible, so I worried about how much he would be hated inside the police station, where there was no one but his enemies.

I wouldn’t know about before, but now that they knew for sure about his attempt to betray the organization, the Kumto-pa would not protect Seo Seunghan. It wasn’t a matter of going to prison for a few years and then starting a new life; if he was unlucky, there was a possibility he might never get out of there for the rest of his life. The worst-case scenario… I didn’t want to imagine it right now. Whatever it was, this was my last chance to be brave.

Confiding the truth to my mother was out of the question, and I couldn’t contact CEO Kang first because I didn’t have his number. After much deliberation, I thought of a third party who would be a suitable helper for my plan.

‘If it’s that person…’

Since I had no personal acquaintance with him, it was uncertain whether a meeting would even be possible, but having come this far, I had to at least try something. Even if the sky falls, I will prevent the ending where Seo Seunghan gets fucked over alone.

“What do you mean, I can’t do it. Huh? I died and came back to life.”

I went to the window and looked down at the yard. I saw my father giving some instructions to the private bodyguards guarding the front door of the house. It wasn’t tight security, but to move freely, getting past them was the first priority.