The air in the room was thick with the kind of silence that only comes after a storm. Joon-won stood by the door, looking at Ji-hoon, whose face remained a mask of concentration. Ji-hoon's usual calm demeanor was different today; there was an edge to him, a quiet storm waiting to break.
"Joon-won, you found something," Ji-hoon's voice was low, almost flat. It was the kind of voice one uses when they've heard too much truth, and they don't know how to digest it.
Joon-won walked forward, his footsteps measured, careful. He knew what he was about to say would shake Ji-hoon in ways that might be hard to recover from. "I talked to Detective Han, the one who investigated your mother's case."
Ji-hoon's breath caught. His mother's death was a scar he wore on his soul every waking moment. The fact that the investigation into her death had always been shrouded in confusion, half-truths, and lies, had only added to the pain. He had never fully trusted the conclusions drawn about her death—part of him had always known something was wrong, something was hidden just beneath the surface.
"What did he say?" Ji-hoon asked, the calmness in his voice betraying the turmoil inside.
Joon-won pulled out a chair and sat down, facing Ji-hoon. He didn't speak immediately, letting the gravity of his words sink in. "It's more complicated than we thought. You're right. There were things about the case that never quite added up."
Ji-hoon's heart pounded in his chest. He leaned forward slightly, his fingers curling into fists on his lap. "What do you mean?"
Joon-won paused, searching for the right words. "When Detective Han was first assigned to your mother's case, he noticed a pattern in the evidence. The reports, the way everything had been handled, didn't make sense. At first, it seemed like a straightforward murder. But there were inconsistencies in the physical evidence, the timing of her death...and the most disturbing thing he found—"
Ji-hoon's breath quickened, the anticipation unbearable. "What did he find?"
Joon-won let out a slow breath, clearly weighing the impact of the words. "Your mother wasn't just a victim. She was targeted. And the person who killed her was someone who knew her well. They were close to her. She trusted them."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence. Ji-hoon could feel his heart racing, the edges of his vision blurring as anger swelled in his chest. His mother—who had given him everything, who had protected him, who had loved him without question—had been betrayed. She had sacrificed everything for him, only to be killed by someone she had trusted.
"Si-wan," Ji-hoon whispered under his breath, as if the name had been burned into his soul.
Joon-won didn't have to answer; the expression on his face was all the confirmation Ji-hoon needed. Detective Han had suspected it from the beginning. He'd known there were people close to Ji-hoon's family who had been involved, and Si-wan had always been at the top of the list. The closeness, the way Si-wan had wormed his way into Ji-hoon's mother's life, pretending to be her ally, her confidante—it had all been a façade.
"What else did the detective say?" Ji-hoon asked, his voice shaking now, though he fought to keep it steady.
Joon-won shifted in his seat, his eyes narrowing as he remembered what the detective had told him. "There were notes found, hidden in a place no one would've thought to look—beneath the floorboards of your old house. The detective found them when he was revisiting the crime scene, years after your mother's death. They were letters, written by your mother. They were meant to be kept secret, but they detailed everything—the danger she was in, the threats she'd received, and the knowledge she had about the people involved in her murder."
Ji-hoon's head spun. His mother, the woman he'd always thought of as a saint, had known she was in danger. She had known that her life was on the line. And yet, she had still fought to protect him, to keep him safe. Even at the cost of her own life.
"She knew," Ji-hoon whispered, his voice breaking. "She knew the whole time. And she still—she still protected me."
Joon-won placed a hand on Ji-hoon's shoulder, trying to offer some semblance of comfort, though he knew there was little he could do to ease the raw pain in Ji-hoon's heart. "She loved you, Ji-hoon. That's the thing. Your mother loved you more than anyone else in the world. Even if it meant sacrificing her own life to protect you, she would have done it."
Tears welled up in Ji-hoon's eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He didn't want to appear weak, not now, not when he had finally uncovered the truth about his mother's death. But the truth was bitter—bitter like ash in his mouth. His mother had loved him so much, and she had paid the ultimate price for it. She had died so he could live, so he could survive in a world that had been so cruel to both of them.
The weight of it hit him all at once. The guilt, the regret, the anger—it all overwhelmed him in a rush of emotions. He wanted to scream, to rage against the world, to punish those who had taken his mother from him. But most of all, he wanted to take back every moment he had ever taken for granted, every second he had ever spent without truly appreciating the woman who had given him everything.
"I should have known," Ji-hoon said softly, his voice cracking. "I should have known something was wrong. I should have seen it, felt it."
Joon-won's eyes softened with understanding. "You couldn't have known, Ji-hoon. You were a kid. You were blind. You trusted the people around you, just like anyone would."
"I trusted Si-wan," Ji-hoon said, his voice hardening with anger. "I let him in. I let him get close to my mother. I let him get close to me. And now, she's gone."
The room was silent, except for the faint sound of Ji-hoon's labored breathing. Joon-won stood up, his movements deliberate, and placed a hand on Ji-hoon's back.
"You'll get justice for her," Joon-won said firmly. "We'll make sure of it."
Ji-hoon nodded, his fists clenched at his sides. His mother's death had been a tragedy, but it was also a wound that had festered for too long. It was time for the truth to come out. It was time for the people who had taken her from him to pay the price. No more lies. No more pretending.
The detective's revelations had uncovered the first real lead in the case, but Ji-hoon knew that this was just the beginning. The journey ahead would be filled with darkness, with pain, and with a hunger for vengeance that would consume him. But he wouldn't stop. Not until every single person responsible for his mother's death was brought to justice.
"I'll do whatever it takes," Ji-hoon said quietly, his voice filled with determination. "I'll make them pay."
Joon-won gave him a grim nod. "We'll make them pay together."
The road ahead would be long, but Ji-hoon was ready. He had been living in the shadows of his mother's death for too long. It was time to step into the light, to confront the people who had betrayed him, and to finally lay his mother's ghost to rest.
And he would do it, no matter the cost.
The tension in the room was unbearable as Ji-hoon absorbed the full weight of the revelation. His heart hammered against his chest, each beat feeling like an echo of the anger building inside him. The truth had been right in front of him all along, hidden in plain sight, and yet, he had been blind to it—blind to the man who had wormed his way into his life, into his mother's trust, only to tear her away from him.
Joon-won's words, though comforting, couldn't ease the burning rage that was bubbling inside him. The guilt, the sorrow, the loss—it all mixed into a volatile cocktail of emotions that threatened to swallow him whole. His mother had been taken from him, and now the very man he had once considered a friend, someone who had shared his life and his hopes, had been the one who orchestrated her death.
"I trusted him," Ji-hoon whispered, the words laced with venom. His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He could feel the cold edge of his own fury, coiling like a serpent, waiting to strike.
Joon-won didn't respond immediately, allowing Ji-hoon to process the weight of what he had just learned. There was no easy way to soften this blow, no way to undo the damage done by Si-wan's treachery. But Ji-hoon didn't want softness. He didn't want comfort. What he wanted—what he needed—was vengeance.
"Where is he, Joon-won?" Ji-hoon's voice was low, dangerous. "Where is Si-wan?"
Joon-won's expression faltered. He knew that Ji-hoon was no longer the same person he had been just hours ago. The calm, collected blind pianist had disappeared, replaced by a man who had tasted the bitter fruit of betrayal and was now ready to exact his revenge. "He's still out there, Ji-hoon. But we need to be careful. He's dangerous, and you know that."
"I don't care," Ji-hoon snapped, standing up suddenly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. His body was shaking with the force of his emotions, the need to act, to lash out. He needed to do something, anything to bring justice to his mother. "I need him to pay. I'll make him pay for everything. For her. For all of it."
Joon-won watched him carefully, sensing the storm that was brewing inside his friend. He had seen Ji-hoon like this before, driven by an all-consuming need for vengeance. But this time, it was different. This time, the stakes were higher. This time, it was personal.
"Listen to me," Joon-won said, his voice steady but firm. "I understand what you're feeling right now, but we need to plan this carefully. We can't just rush in and hope for the best. We need to get to him before he gets to us. Do you understand?"
Ji-hoon didn't answer right away. He stared out the window, his mind racing as he thought about the many ways he could make Si-wan suffer. He had always known, deep down, that something wasn't right. He had always known that Si-wan's kindness had been a façade, a mask to hide his true nature. But he had never suspected that it went this far. That Si-wan had not only betrayed him but had destroyed the one person who had meant everything to him. His mother.
"I'll make him suffer," Ji-hoon finally said, his voice a low growl, filled with the kind of promise that could only come from a man who had lost everything. "He deserves to die. He deserves to feel every ounce of pain my mother felt. And I'm going to be the one to make him feel it."
Joon-won stepped forward, placing a hand on Ji-hoon's shoulder, trying to calm him, trying to reason with him. "This isn't just about pain, Ji-hoon. It's about justice. It's about making sure he pays for what he did, not letting your anger cloud your judgment. We have to be smart about this."
But Ji-hoon wasn't listening. The rage inside him was too powerful, too consuming. He had lost his mother to a man who had been nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing. And now, he was ready to rip that mask off, to expose Si-wan for the monster he truly was. He had a plan, and it didn't involve waiting for justice to be served through any formal system. No, this was personal. This was about him making sure Si-wan suffered.
"I don't care about your plan, Joon-won," Ji-hoon said coldly, brushing off his friend's hand. "I'll do it myself. I'll make sure he suffers."
Joon-won's face hardened. He could see where this was going, and he knew that no amount of reasoning would change Ji-hoon's mind now. The blind pianist was determined, and once Ji-hoon made up his mind, there was no stopping him.
"Fine," Joon-won said after a long pause. "If you're going to do this, you're going to need more than just anger. You're going to need to be strategic. You can't let your emotions get the best of you. This has to be precise. Every move, every action has to count."
Ji-hoon nodded, his jaw set in determination. He was done waiting. The time for planning was over. His mother had been taken from him, and it was time for him to take back control.
"I know what I have to do," Ji-hoon said quietly, his voice now steely with resolve. "And I'll do it alone if I have to. No one is going to stop me."
Without another word, Ji-hoon turned and left the room, his footsteps echoing in the hallway like the ticking of a clock, marking the moments until he would face the man who had destroyed everything he held dear.
Joon-won watched him go, his face etched with concern. He knew that Ji-hoon was no longer the same man who had sat with him just hours ago. The fire inside him had changed, had shifted into something darker, something dangerous.
The question now was not whether Ji-hoon would make Si-wan pay, but how far he would go to exact that vengeance. Would he lose himself in the process? Would his need for retribution blind him to everything else?
Joon-won could only hope that Ji-hoon would find a way to keep his humanity intact as he walked down this dark path. Because if not, there would be no coming back.