*Six Months Ago*

A slow music was playing from an old silver gramophone. It was placed right next to a bright fireplace lit with dancing flames. The interior of the room was old fashioned yet very elegant. Red furry wallpaper was plastered on the walls while large pillars of mahogany blocks were placed in between every feet. There was a faux bear carpet on the floor while the furniture was stacked neatly along the walls.

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The mini shelves were made of plain black plywood, carrying fine wine dating to the 1800's. There were pictures of a smiling girl in her early twenties hung on the wall. There were no other pictures and it was like a homage to the girl who beamed at the camera.

In front of the fireplace, sat a portly man in his sixties. He was nearly balding and was short in height but his beady eyes were staring at the fire. On his one hand, he held a wine cup and he was sipping quietly.

The large grandfather clock on the wall began to strike.

1...2...3…the man counted in his head with every strike of the clock. 4…

5…

6…

7…

And then came the final strike. 8.

There was a shuffling of footsteps behind him but the man did not look up. There was no one else in that house. He had sent away all his men and his daughter was also sent away to an institution far away. It pained him to send away his precious daughter. She had begged him to let her stay with him and cried a lot but he was adamant not to show her his tears. It was the last time he would be seeing her and he had to harden his heart. The bulk of sins he carried in his life was too much and they had finally caught up to him.

The least he could do was not to let his daughter find him the next day. It was his only request.

"I knew you'd come," the man said. "SD."

The blue eyed youth stood behind him, wearing a pair of gloves. The old man had left the door open for him and the cameras of the building were also switched off. There was no one else except the two of them.

The atmosphere was solemn and heavy but the man on the chair did not care about it. He had stopped caring about anything. All he wanted to do was to pay off his debts.

"Of course I would," SD said. "Song Tamlin."

Song Tamlin let out a mirthful laughter. He was counted as one of the most dangerous men in the country. Despite not being part of any criminal syndicate, Song Tamlin possessed the power to take down the entire country because he was part of something even bigger. He had seen the country fall and rise from the ashes. Or more specifically, burnt it down himself before reviving its remnants.

He yielded a quiet but dangerous power which was enough to bring calamity to the entire country. The secrets he held, the betrayal he committed was enough to send him straight to all the seven hells. But hell did not scare him. He had been there, no, born in it. No, hell did not scare him.

But the blue eyed man standing in that room was worse than a million hells.

"You're going down a very dangerous path, Kim San," he warned. "They won't let her live if they find out that she is regaining her memories. She already remembers what happened to her parents and took down their killers. What will happen when she finally remembers what happened that night?"

SD did not reply but quietly walked around the chair to face Song Tamlin. The two men stared at each other not in anger or hatred. They pitied one another.

"I know what path I'm walking on," SD said. He took out a small vial and uncorked it before slowly pouring it in Song Tamlin's wine. "But it's too late. I can't go back. I won't go back."

He poured the whole vial of liquid into the wine and said, "Drink."

Tamlin did not argue but smiled and drank it whole. SD sat on the ottoman across him, watching the old man.

"You will be dead in a hour," he went on. "But I am curious about why you're not fighting. I thought people are afraid of death."

"I am very much afraid of death," Tamlin sighed. "I've got cancer. At most I have a few months to live but I'll die a painful death. I'm afraid of that."

"I've also made arrangements for my daughter Soyeon to be adopted by her aunt," Tamlin continued. "She'll be well taken care of."

He gazed lovingly at the picture of the smiling girl. She was a special child who was the apple of his eyes. He loved her dearly and it ached him to be leaving her like this.

"So you're just choosing an easy death," SD sighed. "After all your talks of the guilt and sins you carry, you're letting me take your life because you're too scared of a painful death. And here I thought that you were actually feeling guilty for what you've done to me all those years ago."

He let out an ironic laugh while Tamlin gazed at the boy who had lost his innocence at such an early age. Tamlin was never the remorseful type but he had a code. He would not hesitate to kill people as long as no innocent person was hurt.

But he had broken that code of his and now when it was time for him to face his comeuppance, he chose the easy way out.

"Will you get closure?" he wondered. "Or will you hunt down the Company?"

"Closure?" SD snorted. "No. I'll never get closure. That's a lost hope. But…"

He hesitated before saying, "I was reluctant to kill you. Out of all the perpetrators, you were the only one who felt remorse."

His words made Tamlin frown before realization hit him.

"Of course," he laughed. "You knew about my cancer and yet, you still agreed to my request. You're saving a dying man from a painful death. Nothing wrong in doing that but I did far worse to you."

"You did," SD admitted. "You were the worst one out of the lot. But you showed some remorse. It was unlike you to do that. Yet, you did so I'll be merciful to you. The others...not so much. Anyways. I'll be away for six months to dig up some skeletons so I won't make it to you funeral"

He checked the watch. The effects of the poison would take place soon.

"You're the only person who will die by my own hands," SD mused.

"Ironic."

Even though one of the perpetrators of that night was sitting right in front of SD, it was incredulous to him that he was giving him such an easy death. In a twisted way, he actually liked Song Tamlin as a person not because the man had shown some remorse. He just acted in a way SD had never expected.

SD was about to leave when Tamlin asked, " What about Sunye?"

The elephant in the room was finally addressed. "What are you going to tell her?" Tamlin asked quietly. "If I die, then your real identity dies with me. Aren't you going to tell her the truth?"

SD let out a loud sigh. "Some things are best left unsaid," he remarked. "Both of our lives are hellish enough. Let's not jump into another hell together."

With that, he left the old man alone to die. He could have stayed but knowing Song Tamlin, the man probably wanted to die a lonely death. Was it Tamlin's idea of redemption or punishment, SD never knew.

Once outside, he glanced back at the mansion. He stood there for a while to stare at it. His heart felt strangely empty. He had hoped that there would be some sort of feeling like joy or satisfaction that one of the criminals he had been out to punish, was dead.

But it felt nothing. No joy. No relief. Just emptiness.

"Goodbye, old friend," he whispered before turning away to leave. His path to vengeance had finally begun.

And this time, he was ready to win or die.

...

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Okay. So this book is actually a quasi sequel of my book 'The Idol's Wife'. SD, Sunye and Tamlin were side characters there while Sunye's brother KJ was the main lead. Sunye's past with her parents is explored there and it won't be mentioned here much anymore. This book will focus on her life after she was separated from her parents and her involvement with the royal family.

So do not worry! I won't be attaching too many of Idol's Wife elements here. You'll be able to read the book as a standalone.