Jaewon sat alone in his car, the engine off, the night air pressing quietly against the windows. The mansion loomed ahead behind tall iron gates, its lights glowing faintly against the dark like something distant and untouchable. The gates looked less like protection and more like a warning. Like something meant to keep people like him out. On the passenger seat lay the folder Seo-young had given him, spread open and spilling its contents across the leather. Photographs, copied documents, schedules, records of private meetings.
Every page felt heavier than paper had any right to be. It felt less like evidence and more like a key to a door he was already afraid to open.
He picked up one photo and stared at it longer than necessary. Faces, locations, dates. Pieces of a life he did not recognize. A version of Taesan that felt foreign, calculated, almost powerful. Nothing like the quiet, gullible boy he used to tease. But what unsettled him most was not the evidence itself. It was the memory that followed. Old days. Shared meals. Easy laughter. Trust given without question. And then his own betrayal, small at first, then deliberate. The moment he chose convenience over loyalty. The moment something between them cracked and never healed. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel until his knuckles paled. For years he had convinced himself Taesan was too soft to survive, too naïve to ever fight back. Yet the proof in front of him said otherwise. Somehow, Taesan had changed. Grown sharper. Stronger. Maybe even dangerous.
"This is everything I could find about the mansion," Seo-young said from the seat beside him, her voice low but steady. "As far as I know, this is the place. And tonight's event should be happening inside."
Jaewon did not answer right away. His eyes remained fixed on the estate beyond the gates, on the tall walls and guarded entrance. The building looked less like a house and more like a boundary he had already crossed once in the past.
***
Inside the mansion, the grand ballroom stretched wide beneath crystal chandeliers, their light spilling across polished marble floors like liquid gold. Long tables were dressed in silk and glass, every detail arranged with deliberate care. Staff moved quietly in the background, adjusting centerpieces and checking placements. The event had been planned down to the smallest detail. Tonight was not simply a gathering. It was a stage. And every light, every table, every locked case in the room moved only when Taesan allowed it.
Taesan stood at the center of it all, hands folded behind his back, eyes scanning the room with measured focus. Nothing escaped him. The lighting, the seating, the timing. Everything had to unfold exactly as intended.
Footsteps approached.
"Thinking again?" Joshua asked softly.
His voice carried a calm warmth that cut through the tension. He stepped close and slipped an arm around Taesan's waist, grounding him.
Taesan leaned into the touch without hesitation, the edge in his expression easing just a little. "Just checking the details," he said. "If something goes wrong, the whole night falls apart."
Joshua smiled. "You've checked this place ten times already."
"It still isn't enough," Taesan replied. His lips curved faintly. "He deserves a perfect ending. Nothing less."
Joshua let out a quiet laugh and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his head. "You're terrifying when you talk like that. Do you know that?"
"Do you hate it?"
"Not even a little."
Taesan turned to face him fully, his gaze softening in a way it never did around anyone else. "You're the reason I can do this. Before… I used to hesitate."
Joshua cupped his face, firm and steady. "You were never weak. You just trusted the wrong person. That's not weakness. That's kindness."
For a moment, Taesan said nothing.
Then the softness faded.
His eyes returned to the ballroom, sharp and unreadable again, like glass catching light.
"Then let's show him," he said quietly. "Let's show him exactly how strong I've become."
At that moment, the heavy doors at the entrance opened. Several staff members stepped in, carefully carrying black velvet cases under tight security. The locks gleamed under the chandelier light. Each click of metal sounded final, like something sealing shut for good.
Something expensive. Something important.
Something meant for tonight.
***
Inside the car, the engine idled softly.
Jaewon had just reached for the keys when his phone buzzed in his hand. A banking notification.
He frowned and unlocked the screen, tapping the app without much thought. The page loaded.His breath stalled.
Balance: 0.
For a second, he thought the app had glitched.
"…What?"
He refreshed.
Still zero.
His jaw tightened as he opened the transaction history. Line after line scrolled past his eyes. Withdrawals. Transfers. Smaller amounts at first, then larger ones. Repeated. Consistent. Months' worth. Maybe longer.
Thousands. No. More than that.
His stomach twisted. His hands went cold on the steering wheel.
"How did I not see this…" he muttered.
His thumb shook as he refreshed again and again, as if the numbers might magically return.
"Damn it," he hissed under his breath. "No, no, no…"
His hands tightened around the steering wheel, knuckles whitening. His pulse thudded in his ears. His breathing turned shallow, like the air inside the car had suddenly run out. This was not a mistake. It was systematic.
Someone had been draining him slowly.
Right beside him, Seo-young was still searching through files on her tablet. "Hold on," she murmured, distracted. "I'm still checking something."
"My account's empty," Jaewon said flatly.
She paused. "What do you mean empty?"
"Zero. Everything's gone."
She turned sharply. "Show me."
He shoved the phone toward her. Her expression changed almost instantly."…Jaewon," she said quietly. "I've been digging into Taesan's recent activity."
His heart skipped. "Why would he?"
"Because you're in deeper trouble than you think." She swallowed. "Your accounts weren't just drained. They were accessed."
"What are you saying?"
She looked him straight in the eye. "He hacked you."
Jaewon stared at her like she had just spoken another language. "That's insane. Taesan doesn't even know how to do that."
"You'd be surprised what people learn when they have time and a reason," she replied.
His laugh came out hollow. "No. There's no way. Not him."
"That's not all," she continued, scrolling quickly. "Remember the mansion sale?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"It wasn't legitimate. The buyer is connected to him."
Jaewon blinked. "Connected how?"
"Paper trails. Shell companies. Same contacts. Everything loops back to Taesan."
Silence filled the car.
"And the sale money," she added slowly, "it never came to you. It was redirected. Straight into accounts under his control."
Jaewon's fingers trembled. "He's… using my money?"
"All of it," she said grimly. "And it doesn't look like he's finished."
His throat went dry. "Finished with what?"
"Tonight the mansion is being transferred again. Sold to some high profile persona from Canada. Official documents list Taesan and Joshua as partners."
"Hyung and that Joshua?" Jaewon's voice cracked. "What are you talking about?"
"They bought the property cheap through illegal channels, cleaned everything up, made it look legitimate, and flipped it for profit," she said. "No names. No signatures. Nothing that could trace back."
Jaewon stared ahead, mind racing. "Since when were they even working together…?"
Seo-young swiped to another photo and held it up.
"And there's more. As part of the deal, they're gifting the buyer's wife something expensive. A statement piece. It just arrived today."
On the screen was a necklace.
Layers of luminous pearls wrapped tightly into a choker. Silver filigree woven between them. Clusters of crystals catching the light. Teardrop pendants of diamond cascading down like falling stars. Every inch screamed wealth. Royal. Untouchable.
It looked obscene.
Jaewon whispered, "That thing probably costs more than my entire account…"
"It probably does," she said quietly. "And it's paid for with your money."
The words hit harder than anything else. The car fell silent. Both of them just stared at the screen, the glow reflecting in their eyes. Shock slowly turning into fear.
"Jaewon," Seo-young said under her breath, "I don't think you understand."
He swallowed. "Understand what?"
"You're not getting scammed." She looked at him, voice barely above a whisper.
"You're being played."
***
Meanwhile, Taesan and Joshua sit in the grand dining hall of the mansion.
Joshua swirls his wine glass lazily, smirking. "The money from the mansion's sale came through this morning. Jaewon's bank account? Barely enough left for a pack of gum."
Taesan leans back in his chair, a cold satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. "Good. Let him feel what it's like to have everything taken away. He always thought he was untouchable."
Joshua chuckles. "You're ruthless, Tae."
"Learned from the best," Taesan replies, raising his glass in a mock toast.
Later as the event was signing its end, Joshua walked to Taesan, draping an arm around Taesan's shoulders. "Still thinking about Jaewon?"
Taesan's lips curl into a cold smirk. "Not thinking—planning. The car will be the final blow and he thinks we share it, but I'm not that old hyung of his. It's the only thing he has left to cling to, and when it's gone, he'll know what it feels like to lose everything."
Joshua frowns slightly. "You've already taken so much from him. Are you sure this isn't just becoming an obsession?"
Taesan's gaze hardens. "He made me feel powerless. I'm just returning the favor."
Joshua sighs, brushing his thumb across Taesan's cheek. "Just promise me this: Don't lose yourself in this revenge. When it's done, we move on."
Taesan doesn't respond, his thoughts elsewhere.
"Don't worry. I won't lose myself."
Pause.
"But I won't spare him either."
——————— TO BE CONTINUED