Present 

27| "A little victory" 

Taehyung's shoes slapped the cold tiles as he took a turn in the first corner, greeting the servants. They immediately bowed in his grace. With every step, his guts were contorting and curling like a feral creature. Nonetheless, the quietness slithering in the space provided him with better comfort. Mr. Kim's office never felt so far away. Never-ending windows, half a dozen halls, more rooms than Taehyung could bother to count, and large chandeliers lining the curved ceilings. 

All of it was luxurious irksome for him, fortunately, Taehyung was used to it.

The disdain Taehyung was carrying was ruthlessly larger than the actual size of this so-called mansion. Things would be so easy only if he could put flames around it and watch it burn to the ground, exactly the way his world got burned right in front of his eyes. He would gladly warm his hands on them— That could be possibly a pleasurable sight to behold for the monster snarling under his skin.

Taehyung's hands were shoved inside his pockets as he breezed past the paintings, not bothering to glance at them. They were his father's favourite works from his favourite artists across the world. Those cold, lifeless eyes in the paintings were tracking him, mocking him, always mocking him since he was a kid. 

Everything belonging to this mansion made him realise how he didn't fit in this place, how he was not born for the luxury that miraculously plunged into his palms. 

The sound of music dawdles downstairs, allowing the dreadful silence to chase him like a shadow. The moonlight ripped through the hands of the sky and poured over him through the massive windows. The walls of this mansion had a familiarity, reminding him of the day when he moved into this hell, all dragging and screaming while clenching the chunk of restraint between his teeth. It wasn't a very likeable memory, so he mostly dodged it before it infiltrated his mind with bitterness. 

Approximately five minutes later Taehyung found himself standing outside of his father's office. A very rare, awkward occurrence. The faint hissing and scathing voices slithered out from the gap of the door, freezing his body with hefty shoulders. Looked like things wouldn't go as delightful as he plotted, though deep down Taehyung figured out, for him the night was going to be darker than usual.

"You think you and your so-called son can get rid of me? No, I won't lose." Mr. Kim growled out in urgency. His chest frantically heaved up and down as he cast off an accusing, dirty stare at his wife. 

"You have already been defeated in this game, Mr. Failure. Admit it with a little bit of dignity you have left with." Taehyung implied, standing in the doorway with his well-practised smirk as he coolly fixed his shirt cuffs. His smirk dilated, reaching his sultry eyes upon seeing Mr. Kim's face sapped all the colour as if he had encountered a devil. 

"Don't worry, father. You'll survive this downfall." Almost calmly, Taehyung closed the door behind him. The door hissed in response, wiping the unfriendly silence.

"Mom, you look lovely. Gosh, are you even real?" Taehyung puffed up, affectionately kissing Seon's cheek, livening up her eyes with merriment. It wasn't hidden that he was a mommy's boy. For very few people Taehyung's heart became a sluggish liquid and one of them was Seon.

"Am I more lovely than your date? I'd like to hear an honest answer, son." Seon teased him, which didn't much influence the sour flavor glossing his tongue since he got face to face with his supposed father. However, the mere mention of Nina ticked off his ember eyes with joviality. 

Absurd, she was not present there yet she had the power of doing things with him. 

Taehyung was a haughty man, he might take a thousand flogs but would not accept that Nina had surely made a slave of him. How outrageous, this woman was something else. Probably, his spellbinding descent.

"Of course, you are." Taehyung circled his arm around her shoulder, avoiding Hyeon's fuming eyes spearing their faces. "It's another thing that her vivacity leaves me in pieces, she is vaguely threatening. I so much disdain her for that." Taehyung snickered in delight, his golden eyes had a feline grin.

"Sure." Seon playfully elbowed his stomach, having a hard time believing that her son was able to sound so unnaturally romantic for a woman who he claims to loathe with every sliver of his being. 

"What's all of this supposed to mean?" Hyeon's rough voice took hold of their attention. Taehyung clicked his tongue, catching sight of him being frantic nearly made Taehyung laugh in hilarity though Hyeon's simple talking even bugged Taehyung. He relished those transitory moments when his father was helpless before him. 

The vulnerable look on his face reminded Taehyung of his mother— Nabbi. He remembered how helpless she was, destroyed beyond words, begging him for mercy but to her dismay, Hyeon was pitiless enough to push her into the pit of demolition that landed her in a mental asylum with laden traumas and inevitable pain. Thinking about her condition fueled Taehyung's rage, searing the microscopic humanity that he had somehow restored within him.

Taehyung couldn't undo what had done a long time ago. He couldn't rewrite his story. He couldn't turn the time, the past, the present but hell, he would give himself a new future with red ink smudges all over his fate. No one could stop him from eradicating Hyeon.

"You are gonna tell him or I should tell him?" Taehyung zeroed his soulless eyes on Hyeon, his tone was dry as dust. 

"He would love to find out from you, son." Seon couldn't obscure her smirk, tipping her chin she gracefully trod toward the trendy mini bar adorned beside the bookshelf. Her gown subtly glided across the carpeted floor as she coolly poured herself her favourite wine. Today, she was going to celebrate.

"You don't look fine, dad." Taehyung feigned concern, appearing like an angel that he wasn't. Hyeon remained tight-lipped, his amber eyes were like laser beams. 

"What happened, you aren't gonna answer me? Geez, you are so uncivil." Taehyung ridiculed the older man, jutting his lower lip out like a sulky child.

"Drop this act of being a considerate son, you are not even a good man." Said the one who was born with monstrosity implanted from the very core of his being. Taehyung didn't appreciate the hypocrisy reeking through Hyeon. 

The atmosphere of the room turned cataclysmic and pitch black, heavy with conflict. They glared at each in an unnerving silence as if their eyes would work like sharpening daggers on each other's necks.

"Of course, I'm not. Being a good man means having a good heart and if I have got a good heart then how would I be able to snatch things that I desire? And fulfilling your desire isn't selfish, it's necessary." A  smirk augmented Taehyung's wickedness, he flicked his wrist and checked his Rolex. 

He had to go back to his princess, she must be feeling tired and bored without him. Did she eat anything or not? Taehyung thought.

"Right mom?" Then his eyes lazily fleeted at his mother, who was relishing her wine.

"Do what makes you happy, just don't get into trouble." Her smiling lips pressed the rim of the glass as she sipped the wine, amassing a teasing 'aw' from Taehyung. 

"Where is the file?" Taehyung asked, stopping Seon from taking another sip. With ease, she set the glass down on the counter and moved toward the desk in the center of the office. Her fingers were jittery while grabbing the file setting on the desk and the pen from the holder. For a brief moment, she clutched the pen for a punishing grip, and her eyes skimmed the file, hardening the refinement of her face.

"Here." Seon handed him the file and pen, earning a polite thank you. Taehyung turned to Hyeon with an expression that was tucking away some malicious intentions. By the look, he could tell Taehyung was up to something bad. 

Yes, Hyeon was terrified of his own son.

Taehyung reminded him so much of an animal who had no mercy under his ribs, he only understood savagery, he would use his claws to gauge your insides and twist your petrified heart out. Then with a blinding smile, he would feast on it— Hyeon's heart was flapping at a killing pace. He didn't want this beast of his son to even skim his finger over him.

"Sign this." Taehyung ordered, slanting his head sideways, a few strands of his hair falling to kiss his forehead.

"What's this?" A glimmer of confusion in Hyeon's unsteady voice.

"Divorce papers, I want you to free my Mother. You've destroyed her enough."

Taehyung confirmed this with indifference and callousness. In spite and loathe.

"And why would I do that? Why would I free her?" Hyeon sneered, his face contorted in disgust, volleying his eyes at Seon and then at Taehyung.

"And why would you not do that?" Seon smiled at him, oh so kindly that it made Taehyung snicker. "You have nothing left, not this property, no bank balance, not even your hotels, and companies. My father married me off to you because of your wealth and now you have none, why would I waste my time on junk like you?" Seon uttered in repulsion, and Taehyung couldn't help but whistle to heighten her fierce spirit.

"Because you both stole it away from me!" Hyeon growled out, his anger was obvious in every detail of his face.

"Whaaaaaattttt?!" Both gasped, mocking the man. 

"We didn't. I don't remember, do you remember?" Taehyung deadpanned, pretending clueless as he gasped again, this time way too dramatically. 

"That's a very heavy accusation, Hyeon." Seyon shook her head, faking an offended expression.

"Yes, we didn't take your consent before making the property documents. Yes, we didn't inform you that we are going to snatch everything from you, even your happiness and classiness. Yes, we schemed everything and took advantage of your inebriated state and forced you to sign the papers but it's your actual signatures here that say you've named all your fortune to my mother." Taehyung circled his arm around Seon's shoulder, a wolfish twinkle in his golden eyes. 

" That's your wedding anniversary gift mom. You are a billionaire now." A guttural laugh abandoned Taehyung's throat. 

"All thanks to you, son." She chuckled, her eyes softening on seeing Taehyung so awfully content. This wasn't a whole victory, it was just a chunk yet Taehyung was intent on celebrating it. Hyeon scrutinized the duo, their triumphed faces creeping under his skin like diseases.

"Oh, that's stealing." Taehyung wheezed with widening eyes. "Father, this is just the beginning. I'll make your life a living hell, I'll do the same things that you have done to me." The threat was a promise that was worth looking forward to and he slapped the file on Hyeon's chest, mouthing him to sign.

"I'm not going to sign the paper, Taehyung." Hyeon clipped out between his gritted teeth, he couldn't set them free.   

"You know father." Taehyung's voice lowered to a dangerous edge, he opened the pen cap. His lips set in a thick line and he stared at it with a manic glint, accepting Hyeon's incensed refusal as a challenge. 

"The carotid arteries are major vessels in the neck that supply blood to our brain, neck, and face." Taehyung drawled, tapping the pen on Hyeon'a head, neck and then his face. "So, if I pierce this pen in your neck and hit your carotid arteries, you won't fucking survive and you are fully aware of how terrible I am as a person. You'll be dead and not even a single soul will know about it." There was no trace of a lie in Taehyung's ominous tone, the humor had also long gone.

Mr. Kim inhaled sharply when Taehyung's malicious eyes slid on his neck to his eyes, seemed like Taehyung was planning. 

Taehyung's hands were clean but if he would make up his mind to go beyond a limit then killing someone and burying them on the ground wouldn't be a big issue for him. Kim Taehyung was a dangerous man, his viciousness knew no limitations and Hyeon was mindful of this fact.

"Now don't scratch my temper, I'm in a good mood today." Taehyung arched his left brow, tipping his chin down at the file.

"If I've known you'd deceive me then I'd kill you a long time ago. After all of this time, you've become what you truly are, a serpent. You'd not care who you would devour on your way." Hyeon's jaw set hard and he snatched the file, opened it, and with shaking fingers held the pen.   

Taehyung's lips twisted.

"Of course, after all, we have the same blood running in our veins. But there is a difference. I'm not a serpent, I'm a wolf and the right time to fete on your crippled dignity is close." Taehyung whispered in his ear, forcing a great amount of fear in his veins as he closely watched Hyeon signing the papers, indulging in the sight of him quivering in fright and despair. 

When he was done, Taehyung snared the file and pen from his tight grip and handed them to his mother. 

"Happy marriage anniversary, ex-husband." Seon chirped, waving the file in a taunting manner. "And yeah, this mansion is mine now and I don't want to see unwelcome people here, so grab your things and get out of here." She hissed, adding the burn to Hyeon's fresh injury. However, he just glowered at her silently, he was a defeated man with bruised pride and he had nothing good to say. 

"I'll marry the girl who you bought for yourself years ago." This nailed Hyeon's body in his place, he hurled a horrific stare at Taehyung, not believing what Taehyung was spouting with so frankly. And when he caught a glimpse of Taehyung's face, he felt his bones jostling and crumbling in trepidation. 

At the moment, Taehyung was menacing, every inch of his face was dripping with midnight darkness. 

"Yes, father, I knew that his aunt had vend Nina to you. It wasn't your goodwill towards her, you were selfish and disgusting, you were burdening Nina with your insincere kindness. I was behind the office door when you were trading the innocent girl. I heard how you were pathetically waiting for her to bloom into a woman but the opportunity never came. Before you could take advantage of her inferior situation and trap her in your sick games she left the Kim mansion with her aunt and disappeared from our lives." Taehyung shoved his hands inside his pockets, his face was blank like a canvas. 

"And here is a goddamn tragedy, that girl was never yours, she was always mine. From the flesh to the bones, from the blood to the soul, every inch is mine." And that was the cut-throat declaration with no room for arguments— Taehyung could not stand the thought of another man having her or even slightly thinking about her in the improper way. 

There were murderous, hazardous thoughts gyrating in Taehyung's head that set fire to his hunger for slaughtering, he had this need to assault and perform bloodshed and do something vicious— maybe tear Hyeon from limbs to limbs. The protective, possessive piece that he inhabited for Nina was growing like a wildflower. 

Hyeon said nothing, turning his body he walked out with stuffy shoulders, still ruffled by the darkness he had witnessed in Taehyung's eyes.

"Taehyung." Seon placed her hand on his shoulder, her touch was soft and her voice was tender in his ear. "You should tell Nina." And by her words a pointed arrow nestled in the center of his chest, cracking him open.

"Tell what?" Taehyung was nonchalant despite having a big stone sticking in the back of his throat. He sauntered out of the office, Seon followed him behind, knowing that her stubborn son would not appreciate her nosiness. Everything was too much for him, his thoughts entangled and his ear was hot and buzzing with swelling anger. 

"About Hyeon's ill intentions, about Nabbi, and your past." She stood beside Taehyung, gaping at the side of his impassive face. A muscle of his jaw came to life, ticking harshly as his fingers latched on the railing for a punishing grip.

"Nina doesn't need to know anything, mom. I don't want her to peek at the rotten part of my past. I can deal with my problems, she shouldn't be involved in this." Taehyung hissed, licking the corner of his lips. The silkiness of her tongue and the softness of her luscious lips were still coating his mouth, stirring a lewd need in his blood.

"I'm gonna marry her for my reasons." There was nothing good to peek at, Taehyung was toxic and ugly from the inside, and like every venomous disease, he would destroy everything in its wake. Taehyung's life was always drenched in darkness, sometimes he felt he was part of the dark and wickedness

"And what's the reason?" Seon placed her elbow on the railing, frowning at her son's stubborn attitude. 

"There is a . . . reason. I wanna rub the defeat on Hyeon's face, to show him that he can't have anything now." Seon gave him a long, stinging stare. For the first time, Taehyung was hesitant and confused and not sure of his answer. Like always, he was going to blame Nina for that, he was going to accuse her of messing with his head and the solitary beats of his  heart.

"It's not needed, Taehyung. You've already won. The property is ours, Nabbi is recovering and we will find your sister soon and after that, we will get rid of Hyeon for good. I don't see the poor girl fitting in your plan anywhere." Seon was disappointed, the wrinkles of her forehead worsening as she followed Taehyung's hooded eyes that stopped right at a particular redhead.

Nina was with Mo, her arm was linked to the secretary as they were chatting with some guests. Mo said something in Nina's ear, and it brightened Nina's face with the smile that made her ten times more glorious in his eyes. Taehyung craved to reach her, touch her, kiss her, kiss her deep until she only breaths his name.

Taehyung swallowed, he was perfectly aware that getting close to her, kissing her, touching her, marrying her wasn't needed in his ploy— Nina was never part of his plan— it just happened, it occurred when his eyes caught her again. He was spellbound by her grace, hooked by the intense desire to have her, to own her. His feral heart tethered and twisted, begging to rip out of his chest to fall in front of Nina's feet as he hoped, he wished– he prayed that Nina notices his black, black heart.

Hyeon was a mere excuse to get closer to Nina.

"Don't involve her in your sick games, Taehyung. She isn't a leisure, let her go." Seon mumbled, a soft smile breaking across her lips for Nina, she had always adored this witty girl.

"I can't let her go." Taehyung grinned at Seon, all white teeth and pretty lips, looking like a teenage boy who was dazed in love. "I'm gonna put a ring on her finger and make her mine, she is bound to be my wife." And electricity buzzed through his veins and reached behind his eyes, thrumming the golden of his eyes flaring. 

He wanted her so much that it nearly ached him physically. 

"Why her?" 

"Because she is my Red. The missing color of my cluster fuck world. Nothing and no one can convince me this woman isn't for me. I'll stoop down right low for her. Look at her, she is just standing there, talking and laughing and smiling and I feel so fucking alive. She is a part of me now, one that I can't rip out and throw somewhere. No mom, can't take the risk to let her leave me again." His chest, skin, pulses coiled with a roaring pang of realization, and agony poured into his veins like reckless waves. 

Taehyung was ruined by the hand of his own desires, and he was ruined for her, always was.

"She is a sweet girl, she has the right to be happy." Seon patted his shoulder, her eyes crinkling from the corners. "Tonight, change a few certain things between each other. Let her know, you aren't as bad as she thinks of you. Show her that you are capable of loving her." Her assurance was like an ointment laying over his wounds, smooth and cold and comforting.

"Will she understand, mom?" Taehyung gulped, his eyes flared with varied emotions. "Will she understand my feelings? She isn't very fond of my douchebag attitude." Taehyung chuckled to conceal the despair prowling on the tip of his tongue.

He detested those moments when he was fragile and overwhelmed and didn't know how to deal with his sheer emotions, exactly like the boy he used to be. 

"Of course, she will understand your feelings, she is your red after all."