So Eun balked at Lay who was still sitting in the metal chair across her. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. 

Is this guy NUTS? 

“You are not serious. Please tell me this is a joke.” So Eun glared at the male, raising her voice with every word. 

Lay didn’t say anything but simply raised his eyebrows in amusement. 

So Eun plonked back onto the chair with agape in disbelief. “I can’t believe it. Are you trying to be my professional stalker? Are you a freaking creep like that DC dude too?” 

At the comparison with DC, Lay’s jaws tightened. This So Eun girl is seriously getting on my nerves. He lowered his voice so only she could hear him, “First off, do not EVER compare me with DC. Second, all I’m doing is to make sure you’re protected so you don’t get killed. If anything, you should be thanking me.” 

“Thank you? huh,” So Eun snickered, “You make it sound its no big deal. Why don’t I list the things you’re trying to put me through?” So Eun challenged Lay as she crossed her arms and glared at him, trying her best to ignore the slight tinge of fear crawling in from the intensity of the stare he returned. 

“Be my guest.” 

“Right, so you decide that it would be fine to casually insert yourself in my family tree as my distant cousin from China.” So Eun had to prevent herself from raising her voice when she got to the last 5 words.  Her blood boiled as she thought back to how he dared to make such a decision without her permission. 

Lay rolled his eyes. “Come on, you’re exaggerating this whole thing. I’m just asking you to introduce me as your distant cousin, not change your family register.”

So Eun ignored his comment and let out a huge breath to compose herself before continuing, “You then used that to get a job beside me in the café. And lastly, you are gonna have your minions, which mind you, are utter strangers, tail me around all day.” 

Lay shrugged nonchalantly, “That seems pretty much accurate. Except, those whom you claim are my minions, are my friends and they will only watch you when I have things to settle.”

So Eun scoffed at how Lay seemed to take this situation so casually. This guy really has no idea how much he is intruding into my life. How can he make such changes to my life and expect me to be okay with it? 

“Why do you even care so much about me anyway? I’m just a stranger to you, so there’s no need for you to bother about me or whether I’m safe or not,” So Eun confronted Lay as she folded her arms over her chest. She was not going to let this guy just take control of her life like that, if anything, he had to try way harder. 

Realisation hit Lay as he processed what So Eun had just said. He himself did not know the answer to her question for he had never displayed such a desire to protect someone ever since…he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, Yiming. 

Instead, Lay brushed off her spiteful remark. “I’m not sure if you’re oblivious or really that stupid, but the last person you would want to question is me. So, I suggest you just accept what is going on now instead of trying to reject my help which is going to send to straight to your deathbed.” 

He abruptly stood up from the metal chair and managed a more than amicable smile at the fuming girl glaring at him from the other side of the table. “I’m sure we have now reached a settlement. I’ll see you later at the café, colleague,” Lay emphasised on the last word and stalked off. 

So Eun let out a cry of exasperation as she watched the back of the male who was moving further into the distance. His snobby attitude is annoying, but he’s right about me having to accept my situation. This is really frustrating. WHY OH WHY did I even try to save this guy in the first place??? At that moment, So Eun recalled the café shift she was supposed to begin in a mere 15 minutes. Her eyes widened as she swept her belongings off the table into the bag. , I’m gonna be late. I’m gonna be late. So Eun frantically grabbed her bag and ran off, not noticing someone stepping out from the shadow of the pillar behind her. 

The lone lightbulb that lit up the dingy old train carriage swung precariously as a strong gust of wind blew through the open doors. 

Lay walked over to the furthest wall of the train carriage that was enveloped in darkness. He bent down and pulled up a loose square panel from the rusty metal floor. Stretching his hands into the hole, he felt around until he felt a sturdy plastic briefcase and pulled it out. 

Lay lugged the heavy briefcase to the wooden coffee table and flipped open the metal clasp to reveal a whole row of weapons. His eyes ran past all the arms as he contemplated which the best for his upcoming operation. 

Without a word, he swiftly picked out a pistol and hid it in a secret pocket he sewed inside the leg of his pants. He then stashed a few knives in between his shoe above the rubber sole. 

Lay was going to begin his plan today. It was only supposed to be carried out the next week but the intrusion of the So Eun girl made it imperative to deal with DC and his men ahead of schedule. Yiming, don’t you worry. I will get revenge for you. I will not let any of them live happy lives when they left us so miserable. Lay fought back tears as he thought back to the unprivileged yet happy life he had that was crushed by the disgusting animals in a single night. 

// 5 years ago

“Hyung! Hyung, I’m back from school! Where are you?” A young boy shouted as he ran into the train carriage, his oversized schoolbag bouncing behind him. 

A much younger Lay walked towards the young boy, chuckling. “Yiming, I’m here.” 

“HYUNG!!!” The boy cried as he ran straight into Lay’s outstretched arms, hugging him tightly. 

Laughing, Lay pulled back and lightly knocked the boy’s head. “Yah, you’re already 12. You shouldn’t be hugging your hyung like that.” 

“Why not? Hyung is my favourite person in the whole wide world,” Yiming said as he pouted. 

A mischievous glint appeared in Lay’s eyes as a playful thought popped up. “Am I still your favourite person in the world if I do…this?” As the last word left Lay’s lips, he began tickling the younger boy in his sides. 

Yiming let out peals of laughter as he rolled on the floor, trying to escape from his elder brother’s ‘attacks’. “Hyung…” He managed to choke out in between his laughter, “stop! It’s ticklish!” 

“Why should I stop?” Lay laughed out as he continued his relentless tickle attacks on Yiming. //

Lay pulled the hood of his hoodie over his blonde mop of hair and grabbed his motorcycle keys sitting on the table, stalking out of his home with a strong resolve and a hardened heart. DC, enjoy your last few months alive. I will personally come for you once all your little pawns are taken down. 

Lay swung his legs over his sleek black motorcycle and sped off towards Lotus Casino. He hid his motorcycle behind a clump of tall trees and stealthily snuck past the main entrance to come to a rusty metal door to the casino kitchen. 

Gently, he pushed down the handle and slipped past the door silently. He directed his gaze to the kitchen floor tiles to allow the hood over his head to fall over his eyes, and quickly but quietly made his way towards the far corner of the kitchen where a cargo lift was. 

The door lift slid shut and slowly ascended to the 2nd level. Lay smiled darkly to himself as he thought about the events that were about to unravel in a couple of minutes. Hyungmin…here I come. Don’t you dare try hiding from me. 

The lift doors opened at the 2nd level and what greeted Lay was a long hallway with rows of numbered doors that line both sides of the hallway. Beige wallpaper covered the corridor and small chandeliers hung at intervals from the ceiling. Soft jazz music was playing in the background as Lay stepped out onto the smooth red carpeted floors. He looked around his surroundings and snickered. If not for the fact that I know what these dirty bastards do in those rooms, they could have fooled me into thinking this was a hotel. Just the thought of the dirty acts going on behind the closed doors made Lay want to gag. 

He tucked his hands into his pant pockets and stalked down the hallway, occasionally hearing loud grunting and sounds from behind some doors. Lay scrunched his face up in disgust and increased his pace. Money and women are all these disgusting lackeys know and care about. 

Lay unfolded his clenched fist and looked down at the small piece of paper scrunched up in his palms that read ‘B09’. He stopped in front of a door and smirked when he saw B09 spelt out on the door in front of him in gold lettering. Enjoy your last few moments, Hyungmin hyung. 

At that instance, the door in front pushed open to reveal a stout man half a head shorter than Lay. The man, noticing a presence in front of him looked up and his eyes widened in terror as he recognised the figure who stood before him with a threatening smile and eyes glazed with hatred. 

“Hyungmin hyung, how do you do?” 

Hyungmin stumbled back into the room and shakily made out, “W-what are you doing here? How d-did you find me?” 

“How? It wasn’t that hard. But that isn’t the point, isn’t it?” Lay grinned and slowly advanced into the room. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a half lady cowering in the corner of the room and jabbed his thumb towards the door, “Out. I have some business to settle with this gentleman here.” 

The lady scrambled to gather all her clothes strewn all around the well furnished room and scuttled out of the room, slamming the door behind her. 

“So hyung, now it’s just you and I.”

Hyungmin lifted his hands to wipe the cold sweat that broke out over his face. “W-what do you want from me?” 

“Hyung, you should know better than anyone else why I’m here. And why, today will be the last day you will ever live to see the day.” Lay quietly whispered, as he advanced towards the man.

Hyungmin’s hands started to shake violently as his fate dawned on him.“No..NO. NO!! GO AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME!” Hyungmin cried, vigorously thrashing his arms in front of him in a desperate attempt to save himself, accidentally knocking over the porcelain vase on the coffee table next to him. 

Lay grabbed the long towels from the toilet and swiftly tied Hyungmin to a random chair. Even as the man tried his hardest to escape from Lay, Lay was way too strong for him. Lay secured his last knot and stood back to relish the scene in front of him; a more than terrified Hyungmin desperately trying to release himself from the dead knots, all while letting out tiny anxious whimpers. 

Lay casually walked over to the kettle to boil some water. “Hyung, I’ll let you cheat. I’ll tell you how I’m going to kill you so you can have some mental preparation.”

“NO! PLEASE! PLEASE!! Spare my life! Please…” Hyungmin begged as hot tears spilled out of his eyes. 

Lay however, ignored the man’s pleas and continued, “I’ll do the same thing that you did to my brother. First, I’ll burn you with boiling water and then…if I’m feeling nice, I will just end your suffering by slicing your throat. How about that?” 

“No…no…please don’t do this to me…please…”

“You think your life is more precious than my brother’s? Since you took his life away, I will take yours too,” Lay growled as memories of his poor innocent brother filled his mind. He grabbed the kettle filled with boiling hot water. “Hyung, be prepared.” 

Hyungmin whimpered as Lay advance towards him with the boiling water. He stopped in front of the man and slowly poured the hot water over Hyungmin’s face. 

Hyungmin screamed as the water burned and cooked his flesh. However, Lay remained expressionless as he watched Hyungmin suffer. 

Lay leaned down to match Hyungmin’s height, positioning his face just mere inches in front of the man’s. “Hyung, how does it feel to be burned by boiling water?” 

Hyungmin trembled violently as he watched Lay with pure terror. “I’m…s-s-sorry. S-spare my life. Please…please,” he pleaded, all while keeping his eyes fixed on Lay. 

“Too late.” 

With a kick, Lay toppled the chair Hyungmin was sitting on. He reached into the hidden compartment in his shoes and drew out a small knife, proceeding to slice Hyungmin’s shirt down through the centre, exposing his upper body. 

“W-what are you trying to do?” 

Lay smirked. “You’ll see.”

Lay stood up and poured the remainder of the boiling water from the kettle all over the man’s body, burning the flesh to a raw, deep red. He then knelt down next to the man who was writhing in pain. “I’ll make this quick so no one will ever know you’re dead and you will die and rot here all alone.” Lay hissed. 

“No..please…” Hyungmin managed to make out amidst the horrible amount of pain he was in. 

With a flick of his wrist, Lay sliced the man’s neck open without a word and blood poured out of the open gash. “.” Lay muttered, as he dusted his hands and made his way to the toilet to clean himself up. 

Yiming, your hyung will get revenge for you. This is only the beginning.

A/N

Hi All!!

I am aware that I have not updated since Jan and I am so horribly sorry to all of you precious subbies! I have no excuses, it was just me being plain lazy and having no inspiration. 

But I am so grateful that even so, you guys still continued to support me with your nice comments! 

So here is an action packed chapter for you guys ^^v. Fear not about chapter 5, it will come soon weehoo!