Chapter 136: The Price of Sin

It looked as if a massive earthquake had torn through the area.

The roads and buildings alike had collapsed into ruins.

People trapped inside cars, corpses scattered everywhere.

At a glance, the scale of the damage was obvious.

The hotel where I was supposed to have dinner with my brother hadn’t escaped the disaster either.

The hotel building, once the tallest commercial facility in the area, was tilted precariously, as if it might topple at any moment.

“Tell me properly, you bastard!”

It was rare to see Team Leader Oh Seong-gyu this furious.

I hadn’t seen him vent emotions this violently since a team member died at a gate.

I was the one who wanted to lose my temper, yet Oh Seong-gyu grabbed me by the collar and shook me instead.

“You took him with you! I saw it clearly with my own eyes.
That’s why I let Jin Sehyun go!”

This was the story Oh Seong-gyu told me.

My brother bought a bouquet at a nearby flower shop and headed toward the hotel.

But around the time he was crossing the crosswalk at the intersection, an artificial attack rained down.

A group of monsters using flame skills appeared out of nowhere and devastated the intersection.

Oh Seong-gyu immediately ran toward my brother, but because of the flames and clouds of dust, it took some time to find him.

And when he finally did, my brother was already holding my hand and heading somewhere.

“Do I really look that much like him?”

“It’s not that you look alike, it was you, you!
Do you think I wouldn’t recognize you!”

It was hard to believe, but I had no choice but to believe it.

It seemed to connect with what my brother had told me before.

The person who looked like me that he first saw on the night of the Light Bomb attack.

The person on the street today giving off pheromones identical to mine.

And now… the bastard who abducted my brother.

Maybe the gaze that had been clinging to my brother all this time belonged to that same bastard.

Thump, thump, thump.

The moment I thought about my brother being missing, taken by some unknown bastard, my heart started pounding wildly.

How hard I’d worked to protect him.

How much I’d done just to make sure he wouldn’t get hurt by my side.

‘Welcome, Jaeyul!’

Hah… that smell.

It was definitely an expensive perfume, but the stench was sharp, like a cheap public restroom air freshener.

Guess the problem is the one wearing it.

If I imagine that scent coming from my brother…

Well, it wouldn’t be the absolute worst.

Of course, my brother’s natural scent is far better.

‘Can I come in?’

‘Of course!
Did you eat dinner?
I’ve got some meal kits—want me to cook for you?
I’m actually really good at cooking!’

‘It’s fine, Rihyun.
Why don’t we sit down comfortably and talk first?’

‘H-Huh?
Where…?’

‘Hmm… the bed?’

If it’s a meal kit, that’s not cooking, that’s just heating food.

There’s no way I could eat anything while looking at your face anyway.

Suppressing my emotions as much as possible, I forced a smile at Lee Rihyun.

This idiot seemed pleased just from me smiling at him and started blushing.

Holding back the urge to vomit, I gently brushed his cheek with my thumb.

‘S-Shall we…?
Ah, I don’t know why it’s so hot in here… haha.’

I’d known from the start that Lee Rihyun liked me.

He’d been making a fuss about it since academy days—there was no way I wouldn’t know.

The only reason I’d pretended not to notice was because I had zero interest in him.

Whether someone likes me or not is their own business.
Why should I interfere.

But if someone pushes those worthless feelings and ends up harming someone else, that’s unforgivable.

And if that someone is my brother, Jin Sehyun, then absolutely not.

If there was a mistake on my part, it was giving Lee Rihyun far too many chances just because he was annoying and insignificant.

If I’d killed him when he first showed hostility toward my brother.

No—if I’d killed him even when he insisted the guiding accident was my brother’s fault.

Then this mess wouldn’t have happened.

To be honest, back then I even enjoyed the situation a little.

Every time Lee Rihyun showed interest in me, my brother would flare up, and that felt good.

That was as far as I was willing to tolerate it as a joke.

How dare he try to trap my brother in a gate and kill him.

After committing a sin that can never be forgiven, he dares to live this comfortable life and flash a filthy smile, trying to win my heart.

Using the excuse that it’s hot, he unbuttons several buttons of his oversized shirt.

The sight is exactly like a male prostitute selling himself on the street.

‘Our Rihyun… must be really hot.’

Spending a moment indulging him should be fine.

I gently traced my fingers along the body revealed between the open shirt, exactly as Lee Rihyun wanted.

Perhaps because the bedroom was lit with soft lighting, he heated up instantly from even that small touch.

Every time my fingers passed over him, he seemed to lose his mind.

‘M-Mm….’

What a vulgar moan.

I almost feel the urge to punch my fist straight into his chest.

‘Rihyun, you didn’t tell anyone I was coming here, right?
I’d feel pressured if your uncle or other people found out.’

‘Never!
I didn’t tell anyone!
…It’s a secret, just between you and me….’

‘Is that so?
Nice.’

‘W-What’s nice…?’

That you’re about to die.

‘There’s something like that.
But Rihyun, do you really like me that much?’

‘Huh…?
Of course!
You know I’ve liked you for a really long time….’

‘Enough to do anything?’

I asked while teasing his neck.

He looked like he was thinking for a moment, then nodded hard, as if making some grand resolve.

‘Yeah!
For you, I can do anything!’

Of course you can.

You even tried to kill someone over that pathetic emotion.

‘Just as I thought.
I can understand your feelings perfectly, Rihyun.’

‘R-Really?
You really… understand how I feel?’

Lee Rihyun smiled brightly, as if he believed I’d accepted his feelings.

His eyes even filled with tears.

‘Of course.
I can do anything for the person I love too.
Like this.’

Whoosh!

‘Huh…?’

Lee Rihyun didn’t even seem to realize what had happened to him.

That the blade of a sharp dagger made of special material had sliced across his neck.

‘J-Jaeyul!
Aaaah…!’

A beat later, blood burst from the wound, and Lee Rihyun let out a torn scream.

How fortunate.

This expensive penthouse is perfectly soundproof—no matter how much he screams, nothing will leak outside.

‘Why?
Does it hurt?
It’s just a scratch.
You won’t die from something like that, so don’t worry, Rihyun.’

This was only the beginning.

Thinking of how my brother—and I—had suffered, I couldn’t kill him so easily.

Lee Rihyun stared at me with eyes that couldn’t accept what was happening.

‘Why don’t you try using your ability?
If it’s wind-type, you could probably escape faster.
Ah, right.
Your mentality is trash, so you can’t use skills in situations like this.’

‘Aaaah!
Stop, Jaeyul, Jaeyul please… aaagh!’

Chest, arms, abdomen, legs.

I cut through every muscle in Lee Rihyun’s body as he collapsed onto the bed.

Now, even if he wanted to run, he couldn’t move, and of course he couldn’t use his abilities either.

‘You should’ve known when to stop.
I gave you chances again and again, and you still didn’t come to your senses.
How dare you try to kill my brother?’

‘T-That was… please!
I know I was wrong, just once… sob….’

‘If you were wrong, pay for it with your body.
You like throwing your body at people, don’t you?
I’ll be nice and avoid your face.
From now on, reflect properly.
If you truly repent, maybe my anger will cool down.’

I kept carving cuts into Lee Rihyun’s body.

Blood poured out, soaking the bedding, yet I didn’t stop.

The stupid bastard seemed to believe my words, crying and screaming apologies, begging for forgiveness.

At least in this moment, he must be sincere.

When death is right in front of you, wouldn’t even Satan repent with all his heart.

‘P-Please….’

Of course, I never intended to let Lee Rihyun live.

I didn’t want to hear his apology either.

I simply wanted him to end his life in regret, pain, and fear.

Only when his voice faded and the room fell into silence did my stabbing finally stop.

‘Hah… hah….’

If I’d used my ability, I wouldn’t have had to struggle like this.

But that would’ve been too easy.

That bastard doesn’t deserve a painless death, so I had no choice but to put in the effort myself.

My entire body was smeared with filthy blood, making me deeply uncomfortable.

I wanted to wash it off immediately, but there was still something left to do.

I arranged the corpse so everyone could see the price Lee Rihyun paid for his sins, and erased all traces of myself.

As I was about to leave the room, I took Lee Rihyun’s hand.

I should send it as a gift to that bastard director of the support agency.

A message that you’ll soon end up just like your nephew.

‘By the way, hyung, what’s this?
Poppy was playing with it in his mouth, so I took it away.’

Why did my brother have this?

No matter how I looked at it, it was my badge.

And I knew exactly when I’d lost it.

It had to be when I went to kill Lee Rihyun.

I habitually put the badge in my pocket and roll it between my fingers, but I hadn’t been able to find it since that day.

So why did my brother have it?

‘I-It looks like my badge…?’

Oh?
Now he’s even lying.

His eyes lose focus and wander around.

‘Did Poppy bring it in from outside?’

Now it’s nonsense.

I don’t know how he can be so bad at lying.

It’s practically the same as announcing he’s lying outright.

‘Then I’ll keep it.
That’s okay, right?’

‘Uh, y-Yeah…
It’s not mine anyway….’

Cute.

Anyway, this means my brother had been there on the night Lee Rihyun died.

And it seems he didn’t see me.

He probably intended to kill him himself.

I can’t let my brother witness something like that.

Those dirty, brutal things are my responsibility.

My brother should only see and touch beautiful, good things.

‘If, hypothetically…
If I really did kill Lee Rihyun, what would you think?’

Why ask something like that?

And with such a serious expression.

It’s not even worth answering, but since my brother asked, I suppose I should think about it.

Hmm….

‘If you had killed Lee Rihyun, hyung, I don’t think I’d feel very good about it.’

How could I feel good about my brother doing something so awful.

‘No, I would’ve been angry.’

Angry at myself for not acting until my brother had to step in.

Thankfully, this time I protected him before it was too late.

Next is… the director of the support agency.

It seems like my brother wants to act himself this time.

Well, he almost died, so of course he’d want revenge.

In that case, I’ll set the stage.

My brother can take as much revenge as he wants, and Poppy and I will handle the hard and dirty work.

He’s a brother who requires a lot of care, but that’s fine.

Just knowing that there’s something I can do for him makes me incredibly happy.

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