❅ 𝗙𝗔𝗡 𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 ❅
As he saw the helpless man weeping for the love of his family, Namjoon asked himself, "So who is to blame now?" He had also lost the person he called home after all. His mother and sister did too.
But when his mind drifted...
Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on.
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The amber liquid swirled lazily in Minseo's glass, tilting and rolling as his hand moved in subtle circles. He watched it, mesmerized, as if it held some secret he was desperate to uncover. It reminded him of a marionette-he concluded-lifeless, a mere puppet pulled by invisible strings, powerless to resist its master's whim.
He suddenly hated the image because he saw himself in that puppet.
Being controlled was the deepest kind of humiliation, an ever-present reminder of his own helplessness.
He was supposed to lead, to carry forward the company he had dedicated his life to. Yet even after Hyejun's calculated death, he couldn't claim the position that should have been his. Instead, he had been left to scrape by, kept just close enough to the seat of power to feel its heat but always kept out of reach.
Two years had passed since he'd been the head at MY GALAXY, and he still hadn't moved an inch closer to the top. He remained trapped under the thumb of Kim Jiwoo and the Board's stupid decisions, his ambitions snuffed out each time he reached for more.
The thought burned in him like a fever.
He had tried persuading the Board, even appealing to them directly, to see that Hyejun's son was an unfit leader-a young, inexperienced fool with no grasp of business and even less understanding of required knowledge. But instead of listening to his secret desire, they replaced him with the boy's mother, a woman whose quiet, kind methods were as dangerous as her son's obliviousness. The injustice was bitter, searing, and when he'd heard the news, he had wanted to tear down anyone who stood in his way of reclaiming MY GALAXY. But he had held back; a plan had begun to take shape.
One day, in his mind's eye, he and his family would hold MY GALAXY in an unbreakable grip, a legacy that would ensure no one ever looked down on him again. After all, everything he did was for his love, for the life they had dreamed of and shaped into human form, for the legacy they deserved.
It cost sacrificing years of hard work and passing up dreams of luxurious holidays, like trips to Jeju or romantic getaways in far-flung, exotic places with Hae Ji and their son. Yet he would throw it all away without hesitation if it meant realizing his vision. If anyone dared stand in his path, they would be swept aside without mercy.
"Everything is fair in love and war," he often muttered to himself, a mantra that had taken on new weight over the past few years.
He had plans, schemes bubbling in his mind, though he knew the current timing wasn't right. For now, he would sit in this poor Cheongdo hotel room, savor his bourbon, and refine the plans that would bring the Kims' reign to a fitting end.
With one quick, decisive motion, he downed the last of his drink, a sigh escaping his lips as he savored the bitter warmth. It was early for drinking, but who could judge a man imprisoned by forces beyond his control, chained away from what he loved most-his family and the son he longed to raise rather than spend his days navigating tedious company functions and lifeless boardrooms.
