Chapter 218  

Jin-Woo stood at the entrance of an abandoned factory near the Incheon waterfront, breathing in the brackish and salty air. He was surrounded by ten hunters who he trusted and valued the most; they were all at least A-rank, with even two S-ranks among them.

With his reliable supporters standing behind him, he gazed at the sun setting on the horizon with a wavering gaze and exhaled rough breaths.

This conflict between In-Young and Yu-Seong, which had culminated in their factional divide, was the final act in their internal power struggle that was intended by Woo-Jae.

‘This fight should have been between Choi In-Young and I.’

Why had Jin-Woo expended so much effort and resources for so long? After Ji-Ho's collapse, he had wanted to prepare for any opportunities that might have come his way. However, neither Mi-Na nor Jin-Woo himself had been chosen as Woo-Jae's final pick; it was Yu-Seong.

‘No matter how well the ninth kid has performed lately…! That's not the point... Father has crossed the line.’

Jin-Woo clenched his fists, suppressing his anger toward Woo-Jae.

‘How long have I made a commitment to myself since that day…?’

The day when Ji-Ho, who he had thought would unconditionally take over the Chairman position, collapsed, Jin-Woo himself had been in the same dungeon.

More precisely, Ji-Ho had jumped into the dungeon to save Jin-Woo. As for Jin-Woo, he had left behind his older brother, who he had so respected and followed until then, to run away alone and survive the crisis.

It was a bitter past, a memory Jin-Woo didn't want to recall. However, with Ji-Ho's return and Yu-Seong standing by his side, all the memories returned like a recurring nightmare.

‘It was my job to stand beside Ji-Ho hyung-nim!’

Just as the fire burned fiercely in his eyes, Jin-Woo heard the loud noise of a car engine revving up from the nearby waterfront. Yu-Seong's sedan, which he often rode in, then came into view.

Jin-Woo turned his head and his eyebrows twitched again at the sight.

‘Just one sedan?’

Shouldn't Yu-Seong have brought five or six vans to fight him?

‘This guy, really...!’

While Jin-Woo's anger skyrocketed to the top of his head, the engine of the car stopped and the driver's seat door opened. Jin-Woo naturally thought that Do-Yoon would get out of the car just then.

‘Since that damn werewolf always follows Choi Yu-Seong like a puppy…’

However, an unexpected sight greeted Jin-Woo instead. When the driver's seat door opened, the person who confidently stepped out of the car was none other than Yu-Seong. No one else had followed him.

"You...?" Bewildered, Jin-Woo stepped forward between his subordinates. He yelled at his younger brother, "Are you crazy? Don't you care about your life?"

"Is there anyone who doesn't care about their life?" Yu-Seong tilted his head and replied, as if he didn't understand what Jin-Woo was mad about.

"But why did you come alone?"

"Who said I came alone?" said Yu-Seong.

He moved slowly and opened the car trunk as if he was dumbfounded by Jin-Woo’s assumption.

Spotting a partially folded electric wheelchair inside the trunk, Jin-Woo couldn't help but be taken aback. He murmured, "No way..."

"Your thoughts are exactly right.” Yu-Seong smirked and lifted Ji-Ho, who was sitting in the back seat.

“Oh my, it's quite embarrassing to be carried like this even though I’m your hyung-nim," said Ji-Ho.

"I don’t do this for just anyone. Enjoy it," responded Yu-Seong as he smirked.

Yu-Seong placed Ji-Ho in the wheelchair before looking back at Jin-Woo, whose gaze wavered. Seeing the man think about the past, Yu-Seong breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

‘I was worried about whether he had relieved himself of his own guilt, but…’

Yu-Seong had felt it during their brief meeting in Woo-Jae's office. He noticed that Jin-Woo still found it difficult to face Ji-Ho. ‘As it was written in the original novel, Jin-Woo was the one who cried the loudest at Ji-Ho's funeral…’

The description that the two were closer than anyone else before Ji-Ho had fallen seemed to be true.

"Long time no see, Jin-Woo," said Ji-Ho.

Listening to the composed greeting from Ji-Ho, Jin-Woo's burning gaze immediately turned toward Yu-Seong. He seemingly didn’t dare to respond to his older brother.

"You… What are you thinking, bringing hyung-nim here?" shouted Jin-Woo.

"I said I would come with him," replied Ji-Ho.

"If you're begging for your life and asking me to save face for hyung-nim…”

"Jin-Woo, you still have lots of fears," Ji-Ho commented.

Jin-Woo scowled and shouted, "Do you still see me as a child?!"

It was only then that the two men's gaze met in mid-air.

'Choi Jin-Woo is hot, and Ji-Ho hyung-nim is cold.'?

Perhaps that was why their gaze meeting in mid-air felt truly strange.

"You finally meet my gaze," said Ji-Ho.

“Why, Hyung-nim…!” cried Jin-Woo.

“Are you asking me why I suddenly appeared and took Yu-Seong's side?" Ji-Ho asked.

"You seem to already know my reasons. Have you thought about what the cost would be?"

“Well… I think I have already paid enough for what I have done," said Ji-Ho.

"..."

Seeing Jin-Woo speechless, Ji-Ho let out a deep sigh again. He said, "I know you don't like In-Young very much, but you still decided to stand by her. You simply hate Yu-Seong even more than her.”

"You're mistaken, hyung-nim. I do like Choi In-Young," Jin-Woo said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,”Jin-Woo said firmly, but his trembling gaze betrayed his words.

In fact, Jin-Woo had always been this kind of person from the beginning.

‘He can’t be honest with himself and even has difficulty managing his emotions.’

However, contrary to his cold exterior, the man possessed a considerable capacity for warmth and affection that he solely reserved for those closest to him. That was why he couldn't forgive himself for having abandoned Ji-Ho and running away at the last moment.

‘From now on, it can't be solved just by conversation alone.’

Yu-Seong thought it was time for him to step forward. He said, "Well, no matter the situation, I am the one fighting with you right now, am I not?"

“You know that, but still decided to come here alone?”

"I said I’m not alone, right? Why do you keep avoiding Ji-Ho hyung-nim?” said Yu-Seong.

"Do you think hyung-nim can fight?" asked Jin-Woo.

With a shrug of his shoulders, Yu-Seong said, “I believe he will be stronger than you, since you only hide behind your subordinates and shout orders, hyung-nim.”

“Choi Yu-Seong!” shouted Jin-Woo.

"Let's not drag this out. You do understand the saying ‘Let’s not spill more blood than necessary,' right? Despite that, seeing your subordinates following you one after another, it seems like you are quite afraid of your little brother," said Yu-Seong.

“You little brat…!”

Jin-Woo exuded a fierce aura in a single breath, more intense than what Yu-Seong had imagined. For a moment, Yu-Seong felt like he couldn't breathe, but it wasn’t something that he couldn’t bear. Rather, the situation was more favorable to him this way.

‘The more excited he gets, the more weaknesses he will reveal.’

In that sense, Jin-Woo was too emotional.

"Let's do a clean two-man duel match, just the two of us," said Yu-Seong. "Why should I? It would be easier to catch the one who came alone and seize your position," replied Jin-Woo.

"If you want to do that, go ahead. There would be decent rumors that hyung-nim, who reached the S-rank, was scared of facing his younger brother, an A-rank. Even if I die, I at least have someone who would announce what happened, right?"

"You..." said Jin-Woo, his lips curling up in a perplexed smile. "Alright, I’ll let you off this time.”

In fact, Jin-Woo knew that Yu-Seong was consistently trying to manipulate his emotions. If Jin-Woo could just calm down a little more, he would find tons of easier solutions at hand. Despite that, Jin-Woo found himself unable to resist Yu-Seong's provocations. It wasn't just a simple matter of pride, after all.

‘Ji-Ho hyung-nim, watch me.’

Jin-Woo was confident that he was no longer the same Jin-Woo in the past. He was no longer a coward who would run away out of fear. Having reached his current position through all the pain and relentless effort, there was no way Yu-Seong could defeat him.

"You may think you're doing well these days, but there's still a clear difference in our levels," said Jin-Woo.

“Instead of doing it here, how about doing it inside?" suggested Yu-Seong.

"Why, are you afraid?" asked Jin-Woo.

"Of course, look at your numbers. It's just Ji-Ho hyung-nim and I against you, but you have close to ten men on your side, Jin-Woo hyung-nim," stated Yu-Seong.

In response to Yu-Seong’s taunts, one of the men guarding Jin-Woo growled, "Young master, the fact that you’ve listened to his suggestions until now is more than enough…."

"It’s fine, Eun-Soo. If that's what my little brother wants, I'll oblige," said Jin-Woo, no longer able to hear anybody else’s opinion.

"Oh, is it okay to have Ji-Ho hyung-nim in the audience?" asked Yu-Seong.

"Of course. There's nothing Ji-Ho hyung-nim can do anyway," replied Jin-Woo.

In fact, Jin-Woo himself had been hoping for such a situation. He raised his head high and walked alone into the large warehouse. Immediately, Yu-Seong and Ji-Ho followed him.

***

The three of them entered the spacious warehouse, which felt empty and hollow inside. Then, they firmly closed the door behind them. Even though the sun was about to set, none of them had any trouble seeing in the slightly dark space.

Jin-Woo confidently walked to the center and turned around. He declared, "I'll let you make the first move, Yu-Seong. Come at me."

.

"If you insist," Yu-Seong said.

This was just as Yu-Seong had planned. Thinking so, he began to step forward.

"No, Yu-Seong, you step back," said Ji-Ho, wheeling his electric wheelchair forward.

“What are you…?”

“What?”

Both Jin-Woo and Yu-Seong had no choice but to raise questions at Ji-Ho’s sudden unexpected behavior.

"It's my job as the big brother to scold my foolish little brother," said Ji-Ho.

"But, hyung-nim, when you asked to come along with me, you didn’t say..." said Yu-Seong.

He quickly moved to stop Ji-Ho, looking flustered. He was particularly concerned for his older brother, who was acting like this unexpectedly, due to his poor health.

Looking at Yu-Seong with a concerned expression, Ji-Ho gently said with a smile, "Yu-Seong, give in to me this time. You've always won against me, haven't you?"

"But..." Yu-Seong hesitated.

Ji-Ho gave him a warm smile and gently stroked Yu-Seong’s head. He said, "You don't have to carry such a heavy burden alone.”

"It's not that heavy for me. If you step forward like this… It's rather…” said Yu-Seong.

"If I don't step forward now, I don't think I'll ever be at peace even if I die. Is that not enough to convince you?" asked Ji-Ho.

"..." Yu-Seong closed his eyes tightly, at a loss for words.

‘Hyung-nim, you won't die.’?

No matter how much Yu-Seong thought of it, Ji-Ho was already preparing for his supposedly inevitable end. Yu-Seong couldn't break that determination easily.

"...Okay," replied Yu-Seong.

In the end, he nodded and took a step back.

Feeling incredulous at the unexpected situation, Jin-Woo demanded, "Choi Yu-Seong, are you really planning to hide behind hyung-nim's back? Did you do all this for that particular reason?"

Anger shot through Jin-Woo's head. A red aura emanated from him as he seethed with heat.

Ji-Ho, on the other hand, had warm air gathering around him. He looked at Jin-Woo calmly and said, "Did you not see? This is my choice, despite being stubborn."

Then, Ji-Ho floated up into the air and said, "Don't underestimate me. I was once considered the most talented person in the family.”

"Choi Yu-Seong! Are you really going to do this?!" shouted Jin-Woo.

"If you don't listen, I'll have to make you feel it," said Ji-Ho.

With a wry smile, he held out his hand. Immediately after, a loud explosion erupted as a gust of wind shot forward.