「I gotta pick up the pieces
I gotta bury 'em deep
And when the dirt hits your coffin
just go to sleep 」

♫ hollywood undead; i don't wanna die

✩ s a n ✩

Blood.

That was the only thing San wanted to see. Red, warm blood splattered on his clothes, covering his hands and streaming across the floor - and his brother's face; pale with bleak eyes.

He wanted Seonghwa dead, simple as that and nothing less would do. While the thought had run through his head at least one million times before, he now wanted it more than ever.

"I have the new information you asked for," Yunho spoke through the phone. "Meet me at the usual spot tomorrow at 10pm."

"Thanks Yunho," San replied, before hanging up.

The night view outside became a big blur of light, as he intensely stared out the window - as if the whole city was on fire, set ablaze with the hatred for his brother.

While San finally felt like he was finding the last pieces to fulfill his plan, he was oblivious to the fact that he was running against time - he wasn't the only one who was getting ready for war.

✩

Every other person around him seemed so distant and dull - like faceless mannequins sitting around the big oval table in the conference room. Seonghwa's face was the only one San saw clearly, and the older's voice was thundering through his ears, causing him to clench his hands under the table.

It was a struggle like never before; with every little part of him wanting to just reach out, put his hands around his older brother's neck and squeeze it until there was no air left - to smash his head against the ground, and let him bleed out just like he had done to Ren.

San moved around uneasily on his chair, at the thought of the person who made him feel love for the first and only time in his life. Seonghwa had taken many things from San over the years, but being able to recall this particular memory, which had been buried so deep underneath the trauma of what happened afterwards, had ignited a hatred that could not be held back much longer.

During the meeting, Jongho side eyed him several times but San didn't react to it - his mind was too busy planning his revenge. Seonghwa was presenting some investment ideas for the board, one Jongho had come up with - which had pleased the oldest brother, but only put San in an even worse light for his lack of work commitment.

What felt like hours later, Seonghwa was finally wrapping up and everyone left the room. Everyone, except San and the evil in the black suit.

"I know what you did..." San spoke slowly, in a low voice, as Seonghwa was heading for the door.

The older turned to face him, his eyes narrowing down while he looked at San, but a disgustingly smug smirk soon started to show on his face. With his fingertips running along the surface of the table, he slowly walked around it to stand daringly close to San, who still fought with himself not to strangle his brother to death right in that moment.

"You'll have to need a bit more specific than that, San."

A strange lump had suddenly formed in San's throat, as he was about to speak the name his mind had kept hidden from him for years. Staring into Seonghwa's eyes, the darkness that would swallow you whole and never let you out alive again, San briefly questioned himself if he actually wanted to go through with this or not.

Closing his hands into hard fists, he cleared his throat, and spoke the words that would start the most fatal battle between the brothers; "I know what you did, to Ren."

It was only a small move, but Seonghwa did tilt his head slightly to the side when the words came out. San was not even sure how he had expected the older to react, but if he had even dare to hope for Seonghwa to act surprised or with any sign of guilt, he sure would have been disappointed.

"Took you long enough," Seonghwa simply chuckled.

"Is that all you have to say?" San felt his heart racing in his chest from pure anger, but he kept his calm the best he could. "You killed an innocent boy, and you don't feel any remorse at all?"

Seonghwa folded his arms in front of his chest, and the smirk on his face had come to stay. "You know how it is; you take some of mine, and I will take some of yours."

"Taking and killing are two completely different things!" A low growl pulled the words out from San's mouth, as he was reaching the limit of holding back his anger. "He did nothing wrong! I didn't do anything wrong! I was punished for shit you did, I-"

"Why are you bringing all this up now?" Seonghwa cut him off. "Do you want me to feel sorry for something that happened years ago, and that you didn't even remember until now? If you want me to feel sympathy for you, you're wasting your time. It is not like you're a saint yourself, Sannie."

San exhaled sharply at his brother's words - he knew it was the truth, his days of innocence had passed many years ago, but to him it wasn't relevant for the current conversation. Despite that, it seemed like Seonghwa had a completely different idea of what was relevant and not.

"Wonder what Hongjoong would say, if he knew the things you have done."

But San did not let himself be intimidated by that, Seonghwa had already tried to come between him and Hongjoong before - and San had managed to save everything, before it was too late. What else could he possibly say to scare Hongjoong away by now? And at one point, San told himself he wouldn't even care if he lost the pretty faced stripper. He had let Seonghwa touch him now, and therefore San felt disgusted just thinking about him.

Or so, he tried to convince himself to believe.

"I thought you already told him everything," San heard himself grumble, although he was still caught up in the thought of not giving a shit about Hongjoong and his opinion.

Just like San didn't show any sign of intimidating - just as determined did the older seem, and it actually confused San.

"New information has recently come to the surface, and I am sure Hongjoong would be very interested in knowing this about you. It will hurt him a lot, but it will also help him to finally see things clearly."

San squinted his eyes in confusion; he had an idea of what Seonghwa was talking about, but the older was full of surprises, so what he actually meant could be anything really.

"I get that you hate me, and you know the feeling is very mutual," San sneered, "and I get that you got jealous that someone you liked chose me over you. But why are you spending so much time and energy on Hongjoong now? To hurt me? Why don't you just shoot me in the face, it'll be a lot faster."

His daring idea had the opposite affect on the older, than what San had expected. Instead of Seonghwa lighting up by the idea of killing his brother that easily, a deep frown replaced the smirk and raging fire shot up in his eyes.

"As I said; you take some of mine, and I'll take some of yours," he repeated, growling like a blood thirsty tiger, and San would very soon find out that that was exactly what the older was.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Hongjoong was never yours!"

"I am not talking about him, you fucking moron!" Seonghwa shouted, with an exploding rage. He rarely broke his cold facade, the one that seemed so collected and under control - he did often speak with angry and demeaning words, but he never reacted the way he did just now.

The sudden outburst made San flinch in surprise. Seonghwa pulled out his phone and found something on the screen before throwing it on the table, right in front of San.

Everything inside of him turned, as he stared at the screen. San didn't feel any guilt during the night that was showing through the video clip, but he never thought anyone would now about it either. He had been fueled by the rush of power he felt at that time, and he had done what he felt like he was entitled to. The younger brunette had cried, but never told San to stop - Yeosang knew he didn't have a choice anyway, and that was what had made feel San so incredible powerful.

"How... Did you get this?" he asked, almost in a whisper, as he turned his head away.

He didn't need to see more of it, he knew what happened that night - and many nights after that, and he didn't a reminder of it at all.

"I understand why someone like you, who thinks way too highly about himself, would think surveillance cameras would be a good idea for his home," Seonghwa scoffed, while picking up his phone again. "But you probably should check up on the reliability of the people who work for you."

Seonghwa took one step forward, now standing so uncomfortably close that it made shivers run down San's back. Still trapped inside a hurricane of bewilderment, San did not move, instead he stood like frozen - and the second he realized what Seonghwa was so riled up about, the older confirmed it as well.

"Not only did you take something of mine," the older whispered, voice low and eyes ready to kill. "You hurt him in ways  I will never forgive you for. And I will make sure that you will pay for every single second, that you've put your filthy hands on what belongs to me!"