Chapter 2

"What, 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 kid. Why is there such a celebration for him?" he muttered with clenched lips. "If I had my way, I would throw this witch into a deep ravine, far from all of us—especially from Hoseok hyung and me," he 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 have platinumblond hairs. Jimin had dark, shiny eyes 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 with the help of his stick.

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 our happiness."

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Bound to the chair, Lee Do-kyun was sweating profusely. The shivering caused his heart to contract with pain, as if someone had squeezed it in a fist.

"I do say, Lee Do-kyun, you have such unfounded confidence in yourself," a tall, broad figure dressed in a white shirt and black pants said. He entered through the door, but his face could not be seen due to the darkness.

"I had heard that when a person learns about their death in advance, they make every possible effort to save themselves, but you..." he said, laughing loudly as he leaned slightly forward.

"P-please, Beast, I don't know anything. Let me go," Lee Do-kyun pleaded.

"Ohh baby, just wait for two minutes, and you'll know everything," a girl's voice came from behind.

Fear caused his complexion to turn pale. His screams increased when he saw the Beast cutting off the tips of his own fingers with a cutter, letting them fall to the ground.

"Ahh... Let me go, for God's sake, Beast," he cried out as strange marks from the blood dripping from his fingers formed on the white shirt.

"We will let you go when you start talking," he said, pulling him by his hair and dragging him backward, laughing. But when Lee Do-kyun’s eyes met the two dark, golden-brown eyes looking at him, a heart-wrenching scream escaped his mouth.

"Ahh... y-yes... this is... Beast," he stuttered.

In the world of crime, everyone had heard of the Beast, and those who had seen him had not lived to tell the tale. But today... today it was this face.

Pale complexion, honey-colored hair, light stubble, dark tattooed arms and neck, and most terrifying were the deep cutting marks on his face—as if someone had used a dagger to turn a beautiful statue into a monstrous Beast.

"I don't know much, Beast, only that there were six young girls and a thirteen-year-old b-b-girl," he said.

At the mention of the girl, Ji-eun, standing behind, drove a small blade in her nail into his flesh. "What happened to the girl? What did you do with her?" the Beast asked.

Ji-eun slammed his head against the back of the chair, causing it to jerk. "With the girl... with..." His incomplete words caused a venomous smile to appear on the Beast's face.

Listening to his pleas, she cut off his hands and then his tongue with a gleaming dagger. He had become unconscious, writhing in the dreadful scene, with blood flowing and spilling onto the ground. Soon after, his body parts were thrown onto the ground.

Ji-eun watched the entire scene with pleasure. "Tell Hawk to send the parcel to DCG Min Hoseok," she said, cleaning the blood from the dagger with her thumb and finger. "And add that no amount of black ink can hide the Beast's sight in politics."

"Let's prepare the parcel for Mr. Hoseok," she said, wearing gloves and kneeling to put the body parts into a bag.

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