Flowers Are Bait

Chapter 173:

“I’ve received the report on your body and mental state.”

Kwon Chae-woo stared ahead at Kwon Ki-seok, the man who shared many of his features. Without So Lee-yeon, everything else in his life became boring. All he could do was stare and blink.

Kwon Ki-seok continued speaking, “You’ll continue to experience bouts of insomnia and your memory might never be fully intact. Don’t go back to your duties as a hunting dog for now. Focus on building your life, spend some time with the boys. You could even take a picture of the site.”

The boys were the secret children of the various chairmen of important groups or even members of the parliament. They were indebted to the Kwon family, which was why Kwon Chae-woo could do as he pleased around them. He could offer them friendship and backstab them immediately after, it wouldn’t change a thing.

“Now,” Kwon Ki-seok said, “Are you going to be upset about having to stop playing house?”

Kwon Chae-woo narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

The other man shook his head. “So, what was it like being on a leash?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It felt like shit.” Kwon Chae-woo’s lips curled into a smile, but his eyes were unchanged. When he got involved with So Lee-yeon, he was a completely different man. He was someone else, not at all like the young master who used to roam freely.

“Is that still how you really feel?”

“Just what are you trying to imply?”

Sensing his growing frustration, Kwon Ki-seok dared to take a step forward. It was almost as if he was reminding Kwon Chae-woo that they were equals. His eyes shone brightly as he continued to speak, “I’m just curious to know what’s going on in your head.”

Kwon Chae-woo scowled. “Ask the doctor then.”

“But I want to hear it from you.”

Kwon Ki-seok looked at the other man’s eyes. They looked foreign and yet so familiar.

When he first came to the Kwon family’s home, he noticed just how different Kwon Chae-woo was. There were rumors going around about Stockholm syndrome and how he was strange, but he never did much. Kwon Ki-seok was fascinated by him, always finding himself observing the young Kwon Chae-woo.

“Chae-woo,” he said now, looking at the man who had grown to be just as tall as him. “Do you hate So Lee-yeon?”

That was when Kwon Chae-woo finally read what was going through the other man’s mind. It seemed so simple now. Pure, unadulterated jealousy.

“That woman was my mother!” he yelled as he hurled the bottle against the wall. It exploded into shards of glass and streams of alcohol. His hair that was usually so neat had grown into a mess and a few buttons of his shirt had come undone. A strand of hair was plastered on his forehead, stuck to his skin by sweat. It almost looked like his head had cracked.

“You need to speak properly, Chae-woo,” Kwon Ki-seok said.

At that, the enraged man brushed his hand against his face. His fingers dripped with blood when he pulled them away. “Why did you lie?” he demanded. “You said that she died on the scene, that her body was crushed in the car accident. You said that knowing that the people in this house killed my mother by starving her in the basement.” He grabbed Kwon Ki-seok by the collar, searching for an answer.

“I knew,” the man said calmly. His lips were quivering but he managed to reach up and fix his hair with steady hands.

Unable to control his emotions, Kwon Chae-woo loaded his gun and pointed it at the family’s heir.

Until Kwon Ki-seok spoke again, “I know about the student who had a uniform that fit perfectly.” He waited for the other man to still before he continued, “I believe her name was Lee-yeon.”

Kwon Chae-woo’s shoulders grew stiff.

“What do you think she accepted as a reward for telling us about Yoon Joo-ha?”

Why is he mentioning her? The fuming man’s mind had become blank. She was the one thing he had that wasn’t twisted. She was the one beautiful thing he had in his life. He was a broken person, but she had the ability to withstand it all. So why?

“Do you need to punish someone for what has been done to you?” Kwon Ki-seok asked. “Do as you please, but I wouldn’t suggest you point that gun at me.”

“You were the ones who killed my mother.”

Kwon Ki-seok ignored him. “Your button is undone,” he said, reaching up to rub the blood off his brother’s shivering cheek. “Chae-woo, do what you’re best at.”

“Spare me!”

Kwon Chae-woo did as he was told, which was why he ended up in a black raincoat burying someone just as he liked. He had to redirect his anger, that much was certain.

Still, his determination to destroy the Kwon family remained. It would never truly leave him.

The real reason he came down to Hwaido was—

“Please! I’ll tell you everything!”

He was in the process of capturing and burying one of Kwon Ki-seok’s subordinates. An arm popped up from the ground, but he easily stomped it back into the earth.

“No,” he said coldly. “You should really just ask me to kill you instead.” As the man in the ground continued to panic, Kwon Chae-woo just hummed. His face was calm, but his feet were vicious. As he proceeded to stomp the man into the dirt, he heard a crack. He must have broken the man’s finger.

The subordinate screamed.

“Don’t you know your screams only excite me more?” Kwon Chae-woo said. “I enjoy making stupid and persistent bastards like you miserable. In fact, it’s the true reason why I keep doing this, why I can’t stop.”

The screams did not cease.

Then, another sound filled the air. It was faint, but it already annoyed him to no end. It got his attention faster than any scream could.

“Fuck, what was that?” he growled, dropping the shovel and glaring at a bush to the side. He waited for more movement, but there was nothing. “Are you sure you shouldn’t run?”

At that, a figure began to run. For some reason, it intrigued him and he had no idea why.

What he did know was that it would be more difficult if he let a witness go just like that. So, Kwon Chae-woo grabbed a chainsaw and ran after the figure. His eyes were trained on the person’s head and, when he finally caught up to them, he wrapped a cello string around them to keep them from running.

It was a girl, he realized. She squirmed in his grasp, desperately trying to turn her body towards him. She was determined to see the person that was killing her. When their eyes met, he found himself staring at someone drowning in fear and yet, for some reason, she wasn’t truly afraid.

He let go.

He found her.

Should he let her faint? Should he carry her struggling body? How could he make her suffer the same fate? He needed to make her talk first. But would she be able to handle the pain? He was never considerate of his targets.

As he struggled with all his thoughts and tried to figure out what to do next, he sensed someone approaching him.

Something sharp repeatedly smashed into his head. He felt as if his skull was being crushed, but, for some reason, he didn’t feel any pain. All he did was stare at the innocent and lonely eyes that were staring right back at him. She was the last thing he saw before his vision became dark.