ʜᴀɴᴅꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ || ᴋᴛʜ

Chapter 1 || Opposite

The cool breeze from the ocean blew over the fire while soft, rhythmic chants filled the air. The only thing marring the otherwise perfectly peaceful atmosphere was the tortured cries of a man at a distance.

"Please, Tae-hyung! Forgive me. I won't make that mistake again!"

Tae-hyung ignored the cries while continuing to follow the rituals of the ceremony. The cool sea breeze blew over his bare chest as he made the offerings to the fire in front of him. Although he wasn't particularly a religious man, he had deep respect towards tradition.

It was the tenth anniversary of his parents' deaths. And as their only son, he performed the ceremony each year so their souls could rest in peace.

He looked at the picture of his parents' smiling faces, the one he had taken when he was nine years old. They were on their family vacation at that time. He recalled how he used to look forward to those trips. It was the only time his father could pull himself away from the heavy responsibilities and spend it with his wife and son.

His parents had deliberately chosen destinations that were far away, where they were no longer the rich, powerful family that was constantly involved in power struggles. They chose places where they could rent a small home, and their mother cooked their meals while he and his father were her helpers.

But as he grew older, the frequency of those vacations reduced while his father's responsibilities grew even heavier.

And being born a Kim came with a lot of responsibilities.

"Tae-hyung! Please!" the man's voice begged once again. "Spare me this one last time!"

The tortured cries got even louder, but the chants continued without a pause. Being the head priest of the Kim's for decades, the sounds of a man being tortured didn't really faze the older man much. But the other two priests who were the sons following their father's footsteps looked nervous. Not that they would dare to oppose, especially since the Kim's had paid for their education, their weddings, their home and also donated quite generously on many occasions.

By now, the two young priests must have known that the Kim's were beyond redemption, and trying to stop them would only shift the attention to them.

Tae-hyung supposed he should at least feel a twinge of guilt for corrupting the innocents. But guilt and conscience were the first things to go after his parents died, and he took up the reins.

"I'm begging you, Tae-hyung! Call your grandfather. He'll ask you to spare my life!"

A flicker of annoyance passed through Tae-hyung. Although his grandfather was the Kim patriarch, the older man no longer held the reins when it came to final decisions. Ten years ago, Kim Yeol gladly handed the reins over to his grandson after his grandson had begun a bloody carnage, killing most of their rivals who threatened their power.

Tae-hyung turned briefly to signal his men. He would have preferred to kill the man being tortured because of his betrayal. But since it was the anniversary of his parents' death, and his mother was gentle-natured and believed in forgiveness and peace, he decided to spare the life of the traitor.

For now.

The betrayer was going to be punished in a way that would never make him betray again