ʜᴀɴᴅꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ || ᴋᴛʜ

Chapter 8 || A Man

"That was quite... surprising."

Tae-hyung had just stepped out of Kang's house.

"I wasn't expecting it either." Jungkook echoed Jimin.

Jimin and Jungkook had expected a woman who would be a sobbing mess, pleading for her freedom. They were quite surprised when Kang Y/n swept into her father's office room with her head held high, ready for a battle.

"I wasn't surprised." Tae-hyung had expected her to be that way.

"So, you are going ahead with this?" Jungkook asked.

"Yes." Nothing will stop the wedding from taking place not even his rebellious bride-to-be.

But unfortunately for his bride, he rightfully held the reputation of breaking down his opponents' will until they gave in completely.

"All right. I'll see you both in...." He checked his watch.

"... three hours." They had an arms negotiation deal with a new international supplier.

It was already past midnight, but while the rest of the world slept, the underworld thrived in darkness.

***

The next morning, Tae-hyung entered the Kim mansion.

He went straight to the place where generations of Kims held meetings. Before they stepped into the dark underworld and got involved in multiple power struggles, the Kim mansion was once where people came to disclose their woes to have them solved if they were on the right side.

But over the years, things began changing. Other prominent families purchased power through illegal activities and became rivals for the Kims. The Kims could no longer win purely with people's support or through moral righteousness. So, along with solving people's issues, the Kims descended into the underworld to maintain the power balance. For three decades, they remained at the top.

"If you take a step back, there will be ten others waiting to destroy you and take your place."

Tae-hyung recalled his grandfather's often-repeated words when he taught him why it was important to always remain at the top.

He could hear his grandfather's booming voice from outside the office wing. His grandfather was on the phone shouting at someone or rather issuing dire threats to someone.

The call ended just as he pushed the office door open.

"What the hell happened?" The older man's keen eyes took in his grandson's clothes.

Tae-hyung was wearing a dark suit. But having been in the underworld for too long, the Kim patriarch could literally smell blood.

"A negotiation deal needed more convincing."

The older man's lips compressed. "They are one of the best suppliers in the Asia Pacific. I had already agreed to the price they quoted. It was a good deal."

"Good, but not the best."

His grandfather's nostrils flared. "They agreed to your price?"

"Yes." Although not right away. They needed quite a bit of convincing which involved six bullets and a certain burning ship in the Pacific Ocean. "The contracts are drawn and signed."

A glint of pride shone in the older man's eyes before it disappeared.

"Speaking of contracts. Why the hell would you want to marry a whore's daughter?!"

Tae-hyung didn't react to his grandfather's outburst. He went to the bar area in the office room and poured himself a drink first.

But his grandfather continued to erupt. "Kang has a thousand hits on his head," he blustered. "Most of them are because of you! By declaring to the world that you are marrying his daughter, you more or less protected that weasel!"