Chapter 2

"Minni? You're not ready?" Yoongi said softly, looking at the tear-streaked, red eyes of Jimin, who was dressed in a simple white suit. "In university, you kept talking about your birthday all the things you would do."

"When a person has a frenemy like you in this house, only mourning is possible, birthday or not," Jimin replied loudly. The words were exactly what Yoongi expected, making it nearly impossible for him to hide his teasing smile.

"I don't understand, Jimin. What kind of language are you using with your hyung? You don't show a bit of decency while speaking," Hoseok said, his displeasure evident as he looked at Jimin's lowered eyelids.

"Let it be, hyung. He is still young," Yoongi felt it necessary to add some spice to the situation.

"You both go I'll bring him," Hoseok said. Jimin's gaze followed him to the lounge, but before he left, Jimin didn't forget to glance at the shopping bag in Hoseok's hand.

Seeing Min Ha-Jeong and Min Eun-je in the lounge, Jimin and Yoongi stopped.

"Appa, eomma, you're here?" Yoongi called out. Mr. and Mrs. Min smiled.

"We thought we'd join this beautiful gathering and surprise you all. How about that?" Min Eun-je said with a smile.

"But instead, we got surprised here," she said joyfully, looking at Jimin.

"Aunty," Jimin said, approaching to hug her.

"Oh, why are there tears in our Angel's eyes on such a happy occasion?" Min Eun-je asked, stroking his head.

"Aunty, why do you think this is a happy occasion?" Jimin asked.

"Why should we celebrate the happiness of those who do not understand joy?" Yoongi's face grew displeased with Jimin's words, and Min Ha-Jeong and Min Eun-je also remained silent.

"Why should we try to make those who devour our happiness happy, Uncle?" he sobbed into his chest.

"Stop it, Jimin. If you can't be happy, at least don't create a dispute," Yoongi said, and Jimin glared at him.

"I'm not here to celebrate. I've come to see how well others can enjoy themselves by consuming someone else's happiness," he said, wiping his tears and sitting on a chair. Yoongi watched him with regret.

"The decoration is very nice for such a short time," Min Eun-je said, looking around the lounge to change the topic.

"Yes, indeed. I can't help but praise this work," Min Ha-Jeong agreed.

"Well, appa, my skills demand praise even from the best," Yoongi said, puffing out his chest. His words made everyone smile except Jimin, who missed Hoseok's presence.

"And what's the point of this decoration?" Jimin asked sarcastically, looking at Yoongi with a raised eyebrow.

"Enough, Jimin," Min Eun-je scolded, clearly displeased by the outburst.

"Please, sit down, appa and eomma," Yoongi said, and they both sat on the sofa.

"I don't know what's so special about that blind. Why is there such a celebration for him?" he muttered with clenched lips. "If I had my way, I would've throw this witch into a deep ravine, far from all of us especially from Hoseok hyung and me," jimin thought with hatred, looking in the mirror.

Hoseok knocked on the door and called out, "Taehyung?" but there was no response. He tried again.

Taehyung, with his face buried in a pillow, held his lips tightly and squeezed his eyes shut, knowing why his hyung had come.

"Taehyung, I need to talk to you about Jimin," Hoseok said with a smile. At the mention of Jimin's name, Taehyung's heart raced.

"Jimin... Come here, hyung," his heart filled with hope.

He sat up, adjusted his clothes, and wiped his wet face. With his permission, Hoseok opened the door and stepped inside. His eyes fell on the young figure on the bed, who had been listening with bated breath.

Kim Taehyung and Kim Jimin were fraternal twin brothers. Like all twins, their faces shared some resemblance, but due to being fraternal, they had their own distinct features.

For instance, Jimin had long, shoulder-length, light brown hair, while Taehyung should-length hairs were platinum blond in color. Jimin had dark, shiny orbs as the color of a moonless night. Meanwhile, Taehyung's blue eyes were the color of a clear sky, a perfect raindrop on a blue aster, the color of a river rushing to join the great ocean. Both brothers had pink complexions.

The other major difference which Yoongi used to tease Jimin, much to his fury was that at eighteen, Taehyung was taller and Jimin was shorter. Despite their differences, their hearts were worlds apart.

"Hyung, you wanted to say something about Jimin," Taehyung said with a smile, blinking his eyes to sense his presence.

Seeing his tearful smile, Hoseok also began to smile.

"Yes, there is great news, but before that, you need to do something," Hoseok said as he took out a black outfit from a shopping bag.

"What can I do, hyung?" Taehyung asked sarcastically, revealing his pain. At his words, Hoseok looked at him, tears flowing from his eyes.

"Don't cry, Tae. I've tried very hard to heal the old wounds. Don't reopen them," he pleaded, wiping Taehyung's tears with a tissue. Taehyung turned his face away and gave a faint smile.

"Hyung, why do you want me to forget?" His face turned red with restraint.

"Because I want to forget too," he said, and his words, for some reason, sounded unpleasant, making Taehyung give a faint smile.

"Now, go quickly and change into this suit," he said, handing him the black suit he had brought.

"W-what... does Jimin also want to forget?" he asked hesitantly, waiting for a "yes."

At Taehyung's words, Hoseok bit his lips and looked at his innocent face. He had no fault in any of this, yet he was suffering so much.

"Because of your constant insistence, I'm telling you that the surprise is ruined," Hoseok said, causing fireflies to flicker in Taehyung's heart.

"I don't know about forgetting, but hopefully, he will forget as well," he said.

"Then what could be a bigger surprise, hyung?" His beautiful eyes started shedding tears with the collapse of hope.

"Tae, please," Hoseok said, collecting a tear on his fingers. "Just listen."

"Jimin wants to celebrate his birthday with you. Isn't that a big reason for your happiness?" he asked. "Or for your hope to be rekindled?"

Taehyung could hardly believe Hoseok's words. "Is this true, hyung?" He asked, twisting his fingers in happiness.

"Yes, my heart, it is true. Now quickly get ready before his mood changes," Hoseok said, and Taehyung laughed and went into the bathroom.

As soon as he left, Hoseok closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's not that I hate you, Jimin," he thought, hatred filling his expression as he looked in the mirror. "But you are the sole enemy of taehyung's happiness."

_________________________________

Lee Do-kyun sagged against the chair, his arms bound so tightly the ropes chewed into bone. Every breath rattled in his chest, shallow and broken. His body was nothing but bruises and swelling he had been beaten into pulp.

Blood crusted at the corners of his lips, copper filling his mouth. He no longer knew when the blows had stopped, only that faceless men had worked him over until he no longer felt human.

He had been under police protection. Officers had sworn he was safe. Yet somehow, in the dead of night, unseen hands had ripped him from his house and dragged him into the shadows. Now he sat in a windowless room that stank of sweat, rust, and old blood.

Then, the door groaned open.

A figure stepped through. Tall. Broad. A white shirt and black trousers, every step echoing slow, deliberate, merciless. He did not rush. He did not need to. Darkness clung to him like a veil, yet his presence pressed heavier than the ropes biting into Do-kyun's wrists.

"I must say, Lee Do-kyun..." The voice rolled calm and low, almost conversational. "Your confidence is... admirable, though misplaced. Hiding behind police protection of all things."

The man chuckled, his laughter sharp, cruel, cutting through the silence.

"I heard once," he continued, tilting his head slightly, "that when a man learns of his death, he claws, bites, begs—anything to survive. But you... you only tremble. You don't even fight."

"P-please, B...Beast..." Do-kyun's throat cracked, desperation seeping through his words. "I don't know anything. Please let me go."

A lilting voice came from behind him, playful yet dripping with venom. "Oh, baby... just wait. In a few minutes, you'll understand everything. I promise you'll be free."

Ji-eun stepped into view, her lips curled into a chilling smile. Her fingers, sharpened into cruel blades, raked across his scalp. Thin rivulets of blood trickled down his forehead. Then, with a sudden, merciless strike, she drove her nails deep into his flesh, dragging them down as if tearing paper. Do-kyun shrieked as skin split and blood poured in dark streams down his face.

The Beast watched with patient amusement. Producing a cutter, he took Do-kyun's hand and, with dreadful slowness, began severing the tips of each finger. One by one, they dropped to the floor with wet, sickening thuds. He studied them as though crafting ornaments, not mutilating flesh. Blood splattered his pristine shirt, blooming red across the white fabric.

"Ahhhhhh! Please! Please, God…ahhhhhh!" Do-kyun's voice cracked into raw, animal howls.

The Beast laughed, low and humorless, before fisting Do-kyun's hair and yanking his head back until their eyes met. In that instant, Do-kyun knew death was already written into his bones. Those golden-brown eyes endless, merciless were not human.

"Y-yes..." his sobs spilled. "This... this is... the Beast."

Everyone in the underworld had heard of the monster. None who saw him lived to tell the tale.

The shadows shifted, unveiling his face in its entirety. His hair, dark as midnight and damp with sweat, clung to his temples. Cold onyx eyes fixed on him, devoid of even a flicker of emotion. A faint stubble traced the sharp line of his jaw, while tattoos coiled like serpents across his arms and throat. Yet it was the scars deep dagger gashes one cutting from eye to cheek, another crossing his lips carved into once-handsome features that stole the breath from the room.

Beauty that had been butchered into monstrosity.

"I-I don't know much!" Do-kyun stammered, his voice shaking. "Six young girls... and four o-older ones..."

At the mention, Ji-eun's nails pierced deeper into his scalp, blood dripping from his hairline. Her voice was cold steel. "What happened to them? What did you do?"

Do-kyun sobbed harder. "Th-the younger ones... s-sold to politicians. What they did...I don't know. And the two... the two older ones, I…I kept them for…."

His cowardice silenced him, but it was enough.

The Beast's lips curved into a venomous smile. The dagger gleamed as he set to work.

The room filled with shrieks as steel carved flesh. Fingers, strips of skin, and finally his manhood sliced, severed, discarded like refuse. Ji-eun took her turn, dragging her dagger across his thighs and peeling strips of flesh, one piece at a time. She laughed softly with every slice, eyes glittering with delight as his body convulsed and his throat tore itself raw with screaming. Blood gushed in sheets, spraying the floor and pooling beneath the chair until it looked as if he sat on an altar drowning in red.

At last, silence fell. Do-kyun's broken body slumped lifeless, his blood still dripping in steady rivulets.

The Beast stood still for a moment, as though admiring a finished masterpiece. Then, with effortless grace, he dropped the dagger onto the table. Peeling off his bloodied gloves, he let them fall beside the blade. Without a backward glance, he turned and walked out, calm and unhurried, as if he had completed nothing more than a mundane chore.

Ji-eun's smile widened. She crouched by the corpse, dragging her dagger across the man's shirt to clean it. Then she turn around and look at the subordinates standing at the side. "Tell Hawk to deliver the parcel to DCG Min Hoseok," she said, her tone cold. "And remind him no amount of ink can blot out the Beast's gaze in politics."

He nodded and moved toward the phone while Ji-eun slid black gloves onto her hands. The other subordinates began dismembering him, packing the remains into a heavy bag. Each wet thud of flesh against plastic echoed like a funeral bell.

"Let's prepare the parcel," Ji-eun murmured, her voice a silken threat.

"Mr. Hoseok will understand the message."

_________________________________

That's it for now! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

How are you finding the characters so far?

Which one has caught your attention the most, and what are you thinking about them? I'd love to hear your thoughts!🌸🌸🌸🌸

— AeraVale-tk

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***