Love Born of Pity Chapter 115

“Have you arrived? I’ve been waiting for you since last time, you know.”

The man who strode over opened the back seat door and spoke cheerfully.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yes, Director. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Have you been well?”

“Of course. Thanks to your concern, I’ve been doing well.”

The man, who had an easygoing impression despite his large build, led them into the mountain cabin from which a dim light was leaking.

“He was making a racket on the first day, so I gave him a little scare and he quieted down. The day before yesterday, he was begging for his life all day, so I asked him if he thought I wouldn’t have killed him already if I’d brought him here to kill him, and he pissed himself. He hadn’t even eaten much since he got here, but he pissed a lot. It was a pain to clean up.”

Do Yeonjae smirked indifferently at the brief commotion of the past few days, which was recounted in a calm tone.

“You did well.”

“Oh, and they were raising a fuss between themselves and somehow broke a front tooth. Filthy bastards. Such a fucking mess, what a mess. I figured if I left them together, one of them would get beaten to death, so I separated them. The way they kept fighting… I gathered the broken tooth just in case you might need it.”

“Just throw it away. I have no intention of getting it fixed.”

Unlike his rough exterior, he was a soft-hearted person who never used direct violence. You could tell just by seeing that he had collected the broken tooth in case it might be needed. How soft-hearted he was. The image of him picking up the scattered tooth from the floor with his hands that were like cauldron lids came to mind.

“Team Leader Kang, you’ve been through a lot.”

“Not at all. It’s not a difficult thing to keep one or two people in a mountain cabin.”

He smiled cheerfully and opened the door. The interior, barely five pyeong, had nothing but a small table and no other furniture.

“Shall we go down?”

“Yes, it’s dark. I need to turn on a light. Just a moment.”

Team Leader Kang led the way. He bent his knees, sat down, and put his fingers into a small groove in the floor. When he hooked his fingers and pulled, the wooden board slid up.

“It’s a shabby place for a distinguished person to descend into, that’s for sure.”

“It can’t be helped. I’m dying to get rid of them quickly myself.”

Following Team Leader Kang, who had gone down while exchanging light jokes, Do Yeonjae covered his nose. He had been fine for a while, but his stomach was churning again. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket, covered half of his face, and frowned. He could tolerate the musty smell, but the ammonia smell stinging his nose was truly hard to bear.

At Do Yeonjae’s action, Team Leader Kang scratched his cheek. He even blushed as if embarrassed.

“Because it’s a basement, the smell is a bit…”

“It’s strong.”

“Just tell me how you want to handle them, and then I can just take my time and do the rest by myself.”

Team Leader Kang quickened his pace. He went down first, fumbled along the wall, and pressed a switch, and the dark interior instantly brightened. The floor was strewn with dirt and dust, and only the walls were roughly finished with concrete, leaving the rough surface fully visible. Separated by steel bars were Kwon Yoon Taek and his gigolo, each in their own cell.

“Hello there.”

Kwon Yoon Taek, who had been crumpled in a corner, terrified, crawled over like a four-legged beast as soon as he saw Do Yeonjae. He was a complete mess. His eyes, cheeks, and forehead—there wasn’t a single spot that wasn’t bruised from being beaten so much. It was a sight that made one frown instinctively.

With his face caked in blood and filth, Kwon Yoon Taek clung to the bars and complained about how much pain he was in and how hard it was. He begged to be allowed to see Jiho, reaching out his hand.

Every time he opened his mouth, his broken front tooth was visible. Suddenly catching an unpleasant smell, Do Yeonjae took a step back. Frightened that he might just leave, Kwon Yoon Taek burst into tears, and the filth streamed down with his tears.

“I-it was all my fault. I’ll apologize to Jiho, Jiho. I was trying to pay back the debt, the money, all of it. But that bastard over there, he spent all the money. That fucking bastard, that son of a bitch, gambled it away…! He’s the one who suggested we extort money from Jiho.”

“…”

“I… I said I wouldn’t do it, because Jiho… my nephew… I felt sorry for him, but that bastard! He was even licking his lips at Jiho, looking for a chance to try something. That bug-like bastard. That piece of trash!”

At the voice that was wailing pitifully and slandering the other, the man who had been listening quietly on the side spewed curses. He shook the bars as if to rip them out and screamed that he would kill him.

“That fucking son of a bug! Get your story straight. You were the one who suggested extorting your nephew first, weren’t you? Huh? You said he’s a total stranger to you! You said his brother and sister-in-law all fucking died because of his bullshit antics, and you resented him for it! Huh?”

“When did I ever!”

“I should’ve just ripped that fucker’s mouth right off. Now look at the mess I’m in because of you! Just you wait until I get out. I’ll rip out all your intestines and throw them to the wild dogs!”

It was noisy with both of them shouting at the top of their lungs. Do Yeonjae raised his palm towards them as if to calm them down.

“The last time I saw you, you were dying of love for each other, and now you’re dying to kill each other. How amusing.”

At Do Yeonjae’s characteristically polite sarcasm, both men fell silent.

“Now… I came because I can’t keep you two locked up here forever. Don’t expect that you’ll be able to leave quietly and live as if you don’t exist, because you can’t.”

“H-hey! I was dragged here because I met the wrong person, so shouldn’t you let me go! Fuck, because of that bastard, I! I’m an innocent party! Fuck! Let me out!”

“You put drugs in Jiho’s mouth, didn’t you?”

“…What? What fucking drugs…”

The languidly curved eyes turned cold. Do Yeonjae’s gaze stared fixedly at the man who was clinging to the bars and shamelessly claiming he had done nothing wrong.

“You gave Jiho drugs. Right? That stimulant. He only turned into an omega… fuck, if only he hadn’t taken that drug back then.”

A murderous intent filled Do Yeonjae’s eyes. If only he hadn’t miscarried, his and Kwon Jiho’s relationship wouldn’t have become this twisted. And yet, he wanted to rip apart the mouth that so brazenly claimed to be an innocent party.

“T-that, that bastard told me to… feed it to him! H-he said if he gets pregnant, we could take him and extort money! So I, I was just swayed by his temptation, really… I really had no intention of doing that! The fact that he’s an uncle, that bastard was thinking of making money off his own fucking nephew’s ass. He said if he didn’t make as much money as he thought, he’d sell him to a brothel, that bastard did!”

“Hah, fuck.”

He had thought he had already seen the bottom, but the Kwon Yoon Taek he was facing in person was far dirtier and more pathetic than he had expected. And to think Kwon Jiho had taken on the debt for something like that, calling it family, repaying it day and night, and had steadfastly believed that the daughter of that less-than-human beast was his sister.

“Alright. I suppose this one’s turn is first. Shall we hear why you hated Jiho so much? Mr. Kwon Yoon Taek. Your nephew, did you not feel sorry for him?”

“…I-I do feel sorry. I’m reflecting on everything I’ve done. I want to apologize. I want to beg. So please let me see Jiho… Let me see Jiho. Please. Please…”

“What I asked to hear was why you hated him. And do you think I would let you meet Jiho?”

“Then… then, why are you here… Weren’t you… weren’t you here to let us go, to let us out?”

Kwon Yoon Taek’s gaze, which had been staring blankly at Do Yeonjae, gradually sharpened. He had been pleading for pity, but upon hearing that Do Yeonjae had no intention of letting him meet Kwon Jiho, his eyes instantly filled with venom. At the clearly distinct emotion, Do Yeonjae clicked his tongue and spat on the floor.

“Then again. I suppose it’s useless to hear why you did it now. Fine. It’s not like you have a choice, but listen carefully and choose.”

“W-wait, wait! If you let me see Jiho, Jiho, if I explain everything to him, our Jiho will—!”

“Jiho will just forgive you if he sees you, Mr. Kwon Yoon Taek. I have no intention of letting that happen. You’ll be forgiven easily for what you’ve done and live like a human, won’t you? Leeching off him again like a parasite. Am I wrong?”

Do Yeonjae said dismissively, swallowing his annoyance. And he’s in a condition where he can’t see things like this right now. He’s pregnant, so he shouldn’t see anything harsh, dirty, grotesque, or ugly, and Kwon Yoon Taek’s current state fit all of those descriptions.

“Enough. You said you like gambling. And an omega… You tried to sell Kwon Jiho to a brothel?”

“N-no, I, that’s not what I…”

“Since you practically lived in a gambling house, Mr. Kwon Yoon Taek, you must know, they have a small back room for the losers to rest in.”

A low voice echoed. Kwon Yoon Taek’s face turned ashen as he shook his head. It was ridiculous that the man who had tried to sell his own nephew to a brothel was frightened by something so minor.

“You’ve taken out loans from loan sharks, so you must know who goes in there. You’re an omega too, aren’t you?”

“N-no! No. I… I’ll work to pay it back! I’ll work! Manual labor or whatever—!”

“You think just anyone can do manual labor? At that rate, when will you ever pay off your debt? Just sell your body and work hard to pay it back.”

Do Yeonjae’s head turned towards the man who was clinging to the bars and cackling about how it served him right. Watching the man who was practically roaring with laughter made him sick to his stomach.

“Fuck, they say there’s affection even in fucking, but you’re being so fucking heartless.”

“L-let me go! I told you I have nothing to do with this! That drug too, that, that bastard—!”

“As for you, I’m thinking of taking out some of your organs to sell. You’re an alpha, so your recovery rate is good, isn’t that fortunate?”

“…What does that…”

The expression on the man who had been smiling, revealing all of his yellowed teeth, froze in an instant. He even dug in his ear as if to check if he had heard correctly.

“One kidney, half a liver. You’ve already saved two people. You did a good thing. As you recover, you’ll be running simple errands at the place where Mr. Kwon Yoon Taek works. You know, things like buying cigarettes, buying alcohol, exchanging chips. You’ve been there, so you must know.”

“Th-that fucking bastard… I’m telling you, it was all him! I, I only did it because that bastard told me to! And, and the math doesn’t add up then. F-fuck. How much are a kidney and a liver worth…!”

“The price of the goods is up to the person taking them. Whether I buy your organs for 100 won or 10 won, isn’t that my call?”

The man shook the bars as if having a seizure. He thrashed about, making ridiculous threats to kill everyone, then collapsed onto the floor, exhausted.

“Either that, or you can try starving to death here. After today, no one is scheduled to come here. And you’d better not hope that a hiker might come by. This mountain, it’s private property. So if you die, do you think you’ll even be found?”

“That son of a bitch. I met the wrong person… Because of that bastard…”

The sight of them blaming only each other until the very end… is this what they call a match made in heaven? If so, they truly met their match.

“Just like the relationship between you two right now, I was going to kill you cleanly and without affection, but I’m letting you live, so live your lives being eternally grateful to Jiho. Isn’t this a better treatment than being ground up with fertilizer and sprinkled on a field?”