SECRETS & LIES | VKOOK ✓ [EDITING]

two.

Jeongguk leaned back in his chair, his chin resting on his palm as he plugged the USB flash drive into the computer. The screen flickered to life, displaying a labyrinth of folders meticulously organized by case, target, and operation. Each folder represented a conquest, a takedown, a life extinguished in the name of power. As he scrolled through the digital graveyard of his enemies, his eyes landed on a familiar name: Lee SeHyuk. Another rival who had fallen victim to Jeongguk's unrelenting ambition.

Lee SeHyuk had been a thorn in Jeongguk's side, a fellow mafia member who dared to betray him. He had stolen drugs from Jeongguk's supply and tried to resell them, a cardinal sin in their world. Jeongguk had made sure SeHyuk paid the ultimate price for his betrayal. The folder was filled with evidence of SeHyuk's demise—financial records, transaction histories, and photos of the aftermath. Everything SeHyuk had built over the years was now Jeongguk's, adding to his already vast fortune.

As Jeongguk perused the files, his mind calculated the potential gains. The information within was worth millions, and soon, his wealth would grow even more. His eyes scanned each document, noting the meticulous details Yoongi had gathered. But as he clicked on a seemingly ordinary file, something caught his attention. He sat up straighter, raising his chin from his palm, and zoomed in to take a closer look.

The author of the pack was listed as Kim Taehyung.

Jeongguk's breath caught in his throat. The file was dated January 1st, 2021, the current year. His heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the screen, disbelief washing over him. This better be a joke... he muttered under his breath, his voice tinged with a mix of anger and confusion. He clicked on the document, only to be met with a screen full of unknown codes and symbols—nonsense, at least to him. It wasn't the valuable information he had expected. It was a dead end, a waste of time.

But the name—Kim Taehyung—echoed in his mind, bringing with it a flood of memories he had tried so hard to bury. Taehyung had been more than just a lover; he had been Jeongguk's world. They were young, barely adults, and yet the connection between them had been intense, consuming. Jeongguk had never expected to lose him, especially not so violently, so suddenly. Taehyung was only eighteen, just a few days past his birthday, when Jeongguk received the news that shattered his world.

The pain of losing Taehyung had been unbearable. For months, Jeongguk had been a shell of his former self, going through the motions of his dangerous life with a heart that felt like it had been ripped from his chest. Moving on had seemed impossible, but eventually, he had found some semblance of solace in the arms of Park Jimin. Jimin was everything Taehyung wasn't—brash, demanding, and intoxicating in his own way. 

But no matter how much he cared for Jimin, there was a part of him that would always belong to Taehyung.

Jeongguk closed his eyes, trying to push away the memories that threatened to overwhelm him. Taehyung's smile, that boxy grin that could light up a room, flashed in his mind. It was a smile that had warmed his heart and broken it at the same time. He knew he should leave the past where it belonged, buried and forgotten. But some memories were harder to erase than others. No matter what kind of monster he had become, no matter who he was with, Jeongguk couldn't stop loving or thinking about Taehyung.