CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Hongbin scowls as he ruffles his hair in frustration. He looks at the two of them, his hands tightening into fists. They were losing their resolution – they were wavering. “That’s BS hyung, you know that?” Hongbin asks, looking at Taekwoon straight to the eyes. “There’s no way I’d believe your words. Look at the two of you! You’re wavering. You’re believing the lies he’s feeding you. How, I may not know how, but I do know one thing; I’ll finish this mission, with or without your help,” Hongbin says before grabbing his jacket and leaving.

Wonshik gets up from his bed and calls out to Hongbin before getting pulled back by Taekwoon who shakes his head as he stares at the closing door. “Let him be. He needs time to accept the truth. He has to accept it,” Taekwoon says, his voice low and his face grim. Wonshik furrows his eyebrows before slowly nodding, his eyes never leaving the door Hongbin slammed shut just a few minutes ago.

Hongbin feels his anger intensify as he wraps his jacket tighter around his body. His hands slowly turn into fists as he tries to calm himself down but to no avail. He knew it – he knew Taekwoon was telling the truth. He felt it as well, that feeling of familial nostalgia whenever he saw Hakyeon. It was like seeing a long lost relative. He knew it and yet, a part of him didn’t want to believe; he didn’t want to accept it.

Rounding a corner, Hongbin finds himself in front of a small playground, a hooded and hunched figure was sitting on one of the swings. His hands tighten and he puts up his guard, the figure being familiar to him – Sanghyuk. This was his moment, Hongbin knew that with Sanghyuk’s guard down, he can deal a strike however, as he nears the boy, he notices that he was shaking. Was he…crying?

Sanghyuk tenses as he feels someone walking towards him but as soon as he recognizes the person’s footsteps, he allows his guard to be dropped but keeps his head hung low, even as he stops a few feet in front of him. “Are you going to kill me, hyung?” Sanghyuk asks after a few moments. Hongbin tenses. He grips the blade hidden inside his jacket tighter as he watches Sanghyuk do nothing. “I don’t mind if you kill me, hyung. But if you want to get through with this, please do it as quickly as possible. Hah. I always knew I’d die with your hands,” Sanghyuk dryly laughs.

This strikes a nerve in Hongbin and the next thing he knew, he had grabbed Sanghyuk by the collar and raised him so that they were at the same level. “What the heck is wrong with you?!” Hongbin says as he glares into Sanghyuk’s emotionless eyes. “I’ll really kill you if you don’t fight back, you know,”

“I know, that’s why I’m letting you,” Sanghyuk says, his voice monotonous. This only fuels Hongbin’s anger more as the older male slam the bench beside them with his free hand, smashing the bench into pieces. Hongbin grits his teeth as he tightens his grip on Sanghyuk’s collar. “There’s no reason to live…,” Sanghyuk trails off.

Hongbin widens his eyes as he releases his grip on Sanghyuk’s collar. “What are you talking about? What do you mean? Why are you giving up? Why…,” Hongbin says as he finally releases Sanghyuk who falls to his knees at the lack of support. “You were created for the sake of a better world but you threw all of that away and betrayed the very people who raised-,”

Hongbin finds himself unable to finish as he feels Sanghyuk’s hand against his cheek. He looks up, fuming but falters as he sees Sanghyuk’s tears. “That is a lie! Raised me? They didn’t raise me! They didn’t raise US! Are you so blind that you can’t see the truth? We were USED! Used by the very same people you claim raised us. We were manipulated to do their dirty deeds for them! They didn’t raise us. They broke us!”

“No…,”

like i said in the earlier chapters, this story or at least, part of the story, is nearing it's end. the sequel and conclusion to the story (probably) will be posted after this story is completed.

so. here it is. a hongbin-centric chapter and some HyukBin.

i'm sorry for not updating . i've just been so busy and although i know it's not an excuse, i can't do anything about it.

i can't promise when will the next chapter be. it will come.