Chapter 105: The Price of Blood and Silence

For the first time since waking up, real fear hit me.

This guy’s eyes are completely unhinged.

Just then, No Jae-sik stepped in from outside, ending a long call. The psycho greeted him like an old friend.

“Uncle, how much did you ask for?”

“A hundred billion. All cash.”

“Wow~ Ex-girlfriend, huh? Must really love her to name that price.”

The guy whistled. I was so stunned I couldn’t even laugh.

“…Are you insane? You think a hundred billion just appears overnight?”

“Doesn’t matter. Your mother loves you enough—she’ll make it happen fast.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it. The police will get here first.”

“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”

He chuckled low. The yellow bulb glinted off his glasses. If I smashed those, the shards might be sharp enough…

He continued, “If the police come, your mother’s secret hits the news nationwide before I’m even cuffed.”

This bastard… using that as leverage?

No Jae-sik scanned me, then turned to the psycho.

“Step out for a bit. Don’t come back till I call.”

“Roger.”

The iron door clanged shut. Now it was just the two of us.

He flipped the chair around properly and sat across from me on the mat, leaning forward, eyes gleaming.

“If your mother had just picked up her damn phone, none of this would’ve happened.”

I glared.

“You really think you’ll walk away from this?”

“If I don’t walk, neither do you.”

He was eerily calm—way more than at the cafe. Kidnapping me had clearly settled his nerves. I kept rubbing my wrists against the pillar and threw out random questions.

“So the painting story—was that all a lie?”

“Not all of it. Choi Young-gil used to do it now and then. He’s out of the art game now, but still.”

Damn it. No wonder the details felt so real.

I was furious—at myself for falling for it.

I’d only prepared for birth-secret blackmail. Never imagined he’d stoop to kidnapping his own son. My fatal mistake: assuming blood meant anything to him.

I bit my lip hard enough to taste iron and kept sawing the tape. Let this corner be a blade.

“So you hired that lunatic to grab me?”

“Poor kid. Tons of talent, born dirt-poor, can’t use it. He’s genuinely furious at this unfair world. Reminds me of young me.”

Birds of a feather. I forced the conversation.

“What if I hadn’t shown up tonight?”

“Wouldn’t matter. I’d have done this eventually.”

He planned this.

“You know this makes the entire Haewon family your enemy, right?”

“I’m dead without money anyway. Doesn’t matter.”

I fought the urge to scream.

“This isn’t your first time, is it? You showed up at the gallery years ago for cash.”

“Yeah.”

No shame, no guilt. I was past scared—now just dumbfounded.

“What makes you so damn confident?”

He looked genuinely surprised.

“You’re the fearless one. Aren’t you terrified what happens next?”

Of course I’m terrified. But not as much as he wanted.

In the original story, he was a throwaway extra—mentioned once or twice. I’m a supporting character, sure, but not one who gets done in by a nobody like him. Among villains, I’m top-tier.

“I’ve never been the scared type.”

“Guess that’s my blood in you.”

Please. I snorted.

He actually looked shocked.

“You… knew?”

“Knew what—that you’re my biological father?”

He burst out laughing.

“No wonder… That’s why you’re so bold. You’ve got a card to play.”

My only card is the damn original plot, you idiot. If you actually saw me as your son, you wouldn’t be doing this.

He stopped laughing, face hardening.

“Then talking will be easier.”

“What?”

His eyes turned dark.

“How do you think you grew up as Vice Chairman Choi Young-gil’s son? Someone forged your paternity results.”

“You?”

“Yeah. Handing my own son over… felt like dying.”

I was genuinely annoyed. This guy loved casting himself as the tragic hero. My least favorite type.

“Cut the sob story. What kind of father kidnaps his kid? You don’t see me or the woman you ‘loved’ as people—just ATMs.”

“Love…”

His eyes softened at the word.

“Right. I even killed for the woman I loved.”

What?

I froze. He smiled faintly.

“You know how many doctors Haewon pays to fake paternity tests? I silenced them one by one. But years later, one turned around and blackmailed me. Said he’d tell the Chairman. Wanted money, of course.”

A story the original never touched.

“Guess what I did?”

“…No.”

“Yeah. Killed him.”

Flat. Casual.

“I didn’t want Mi-sun in trouble. We agreed from the start—accident baby, register under Choi Young-gil. Couldn’t let some greedy doctor ruin it. I’d be dead, but my son had to live well.”

I couldn’t speak.

“If he’d talked, I’d be the one buried. Mi-sun had her family’s power—she’d survive divorce. Me? Nothing.”

My mouth hung open.

“Made it look like an accident, but rushed it—cleanup wasn’t perfect. I panicked. Mi-sun said she’d handle it, told me to leave Korea. Promised full support. We held each other and cried. Next day, I quit, claiming family emergency. Been gone ever since.”

His gaze drifted far away, lost in memory. His voice dropped.

“But… Mi-sun started dodging my calls. Eventually, I became a nuisance. You can’t imagine how that felt.”

He suddenly grabbed his hair, yanking.

“No more living expenses. When I finally got through, she’d snap—stop calling. I killed for her, left my home… and she discarded me.”

I muttered without thinking, “So that’s why you came back…”

“Exactly. Showed up at the gallery—she nearly fainted. Really thought I’d never return. That’s when I knew: she wanted me gone. Can you imagine the betrayal?”

“…”

“I was an idiot. Killers don’t all flee abroad. And the money kept coming—so I knew love was dead. Then months ago, she stopped answering again.”

“…So you kidnapped me.”

“Just holding you for a bit. You’re my son too. I won’t hurt you bad—think of it as filial piety to the dad who gave you life. You lived well because of me, right?”

I stared silently, then spoke.

“Let me get this straight: for over twenty years, you bled Mother dry. When she cut you off, you kidnapped your own son.”

His tragic mask cracked. I sighed.

“You say you killed to protect her—but really, you were just scared of Father and Grandfather. Otherwise, why not ask her to divorce Choi Young-gil and marry you when I was born?”

He flinched.

“I—I had nothing. She was a chaebol heiress. How could I dare? She’d have said no first.”

“So you never even asked? Fine. But you could’ve raised me yourself.”

“I—!”

“Why make the ‘accident’ in the first place?”

“She… she was lonely…”

“You both made the baby, then got scared and you convinced her to register me under Choi. Then committed an unnecessary murder, and used it as an excuse to latch on like a leech. Fine—say it was love. Then what did you do with twenty years of cash? I’d have opened a corner store.”