Chapter 41
⚠️DISTURBING SCENE AHEAD⚠️
The silence that reigned in the rundown warehouse was heavy, stagnant with the scent of mildew and the sharp, metallic tang of Haru's own blood where the zip-ties had finally broken the skin.
So, that was the truth. That was how the original Haru had managed to keep the wolves from his father's door. He hadn't just paid with his sweat and his meager earnings; he had offered himself as a living sacrifice. Sunghoon felt a surge of white-hot nausea at the revelation. How could one young man be dealt such a horrific hand? The pressure must have been a crushing, suffocating weight, driving him to offer the only thing he had left - his dignity - to a man as despicable as this.
Sunghoon's heart bled for the ghost of the boy who had occupied this body before him. But as he looked up at the man, the pity transformed into a cold, diamond-hard resolve.
The man, whose name - Kang Min-hyuk - suited his calculating, ruthless demeanor, stared down at Haru with a smirk. He looked like a man who had already won, a puppeteer who had just reminded his puppet which strings were being pulled.
"I don't care," Haru said, his voice firm, vibrating with a strength that shouldn't have been there. "Whatever arrangement you had... it's over."
Min-hyuk's smirk didn't just fade; it dropped. His expression darkened into something jagged and dangerous. "You think you can just walk away like that?" Min-hyuk snarled, leaning in so close that Haru could see the broken capillaries in his eyes. He gripped the sides of Haru's chair until his knuckles turned white. "You think a head injury gives you a clean slate?"
"I am not responsible for who you choose to give your money to," Haru repeated, his tone flat.
He could see how much his resistance was unraveling Min-hyuk. Veins throbbed on the surface of the man's temples. Min-hyuk didn't want the money; he wanted the leash. He wanted the power of holding a human life in a cage crafted from that person's own sense of duty toward a parasitic father.
"What? Did you like fucking me that much?" Haru sneered, the words a jagged glass edge. He scoffed and looked away, refusing to give Min-hyuk the satisfaction of a fearful gaze.
Sunghoon realized in that moment that perhaps this was why he had been sent back. To save this broken soul that the world had stomped on so many times he was shattered. He would not be a pushover. If saving Haru meant cutting out a parasite like his father, he would do it without a second thought.
Min-hyuk stepped back, his chest heaving. He slammed his fist against a nearby concrete pillar, the sound echoing like a gunshot, before turning back to Haru. But Haru didn't flinch.
Min-hyuk could see the meticulous control he had exerted for years crumbling into dust. The boy who had stepped into his office, trembling and offering his life to save a worthless gambler, was gone. In his place was a man who looked at him with nothing but bored contempt.
Suddenly, Min-hyuk lunged. He grabbed Haru by the collar of his shirt, hauling him upward along with the chair before shoving him forcefully onto the lone, stained couch in the center of the warehouse.
Panic, primal and cold, finally sparked in Haru's bones as Min-hyuk hovered over him.
"What are you doing!?" Haru shouted, his heart hammering against his ribs as he watched Min-hyuk's hands move with merciless intent toward the fastening of Haru's pants.
Haru scrambled, his bound hands making it impossible to push off, but he used his legs to kick out, trying to create space on the grimy cushions. Min-hyuk caught his ankles, dragging him back toward the center of the couch with a grunt of effort.
"Was this always what you did?" Haru roared, his eyes blazing with a fury that made Min-hyuk's movements stall.
The man froze, hovering inches above him. His hand reached out, not to strike, but to ghost over Haru's hair. "I told you... not to cut your hair," Min-hyuk breathed, his voice sounding disturbingly hollow.
Haru closed his eyes, forcing himself to breathe through the terror. He needed to get out. He needed a window, a weapon, anything. "Let me go," Haru said, his voice shaking but the command behind it still absolute.
"You've changed," Min-hyuk whispered, and for a fleeting, sickening second, a hint of genuine sadness laced his voice.
Suddenly, a loud commotion erupted from outside before the sound of heavy doors being forced open echoes throughout the warehouse.
The warehouse door hit the wall with a deafening bang.
Standing in the silhouette of the floodlights was Raiven.
Haru's breath hitched. How? How had he found this place? Raiven was supposed to be miles away, yet here he was. He hadn't even thought of the possibility of him showing up.
Raiven didn't wait. He crossed the floor in seconds, his hand catching Min-hyuk's shoulder and shoving him off Haru with such force that the older man stumbled back several feet. Raiven stepped between them, his back to Haru, his entire frame radiating a lethal, predatory energy.
"What are you doing?" Raiven seethed, his voice a low, vibrating growl as he glared at Min-hyuk.
Min-hyuk's expression hardened into a mask of professional coldness as he straightened his suit jacket. He didn't look surprised to see Raiven ,he looked annoyed. They clearly knew each other, a realization that sent a fresh shiver down Haru's spine.
"What are you doing here?" Min-hyuk countered, his tone familiar, almost mocking.
Raiven didn't give him the satisfaction of an answer. He knelt down, his movements hurried but gentle, and began to slash through the zip-ties around Haru's wrists with a pocketknife. Once free, Raiven immediately shed his jacket, draping it over Haru's frame and helping him sit up.
"What is he doing here?" Raiven asked again, turning his head back to Min-hyuk. His tone was indifferent, but there was a terrifying power laced behind each word ,the kind of power that only comes from someone who knows they hold all the cards.
"You have no right to interfere in my business!" Min-hyuk spat, his face contorting with rage.
Raiven stood up slowly, meeting Min-hyuk toe-to-toe. The height difference was negligible, but Raiven seemed to tower over him.
"I will pay whatever he owes," Raiven said. The sentence hit the room like a physical weight, shocking Min-hyuk into a stunned silence.
Before the man could recover or offer a rebuttal, Raiven turned, hooked an arm under Haru's, and pulled him up. He didn't look back as he led Haru toward the exit, his grip on Haru's arm protective and unshakable.
As they cleared the threshold of the warehouse, a younger lackey scurried into the room, coming to a halt beside Min-hyuk.
"The boss isn't going to be happy with this," the lackey whispered, his voice trembling.
Kang Min-hyuk didn't answer. He simply shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at the empty doorway where Haru had vanished, his jaw tight with a resentment that promised this was far from over.