FLIA 160

“This is all your fault!”

Park Seungmin jumped to his feet and shouted. Yohan stood still, wanting to hear what he had to say, but Park’s face turned bright red as he began to rage.

“You son of a bitch! You knew everything from the start! You knew you were a purifier and kept your mouth shut! Just to screw me over!”

After the Gwacheon cult incident, Park Seungmin had endured a hellish time. His face was plastered all over the country, so he couldn’t go out anywhere and had to stay home. The government sued him for fraudulent contracts, and revelations from people around him, including his secretary, kept coming.

Having tasted the peak of happiness like a dream, the entire process of plummeting to the bottom was horrific. His extravagance had left him with no savings. What little he had was about to be seized. He was painfully aware of how agonizing it was to be socially destroyed. He resented Yang Yohan intensely. If only he had hinted from the start that he was a high-level purifier, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad…!

“What are you going to do about this! Take responsibility! Take responsibility, right now! It’s because of you I’m in this mess!”

Park Seungmin, half-mad with rage and despair, threw a tantrum that was clearly unreasonable to anyone watching. Yohan watched calmly as his opponent ranted and raved, blaming him, then opened his mouth.

“What am I supposed to do? How much did I want this to happen? Didn’t I tell you to go to hell, just like you said?”

“…Wh-what?”

Park Seungmin, who had been gasping for breath, faltered. Yang Yohan’s gaze fixed on him was not just cold, it was utterly ruthless.

Facing that gaze filled with hatred, a long-buried assumption resurfaced. The assumption that Yang Yohan… had never truly lost his memory.

“Did you really believe me when I said I didn’t remember pushing you into the Abyss? Did you think I wouldn’t seek revenge after a friend I trusted betrayed me to the point of death?”

“Wh-what… you…?”

“But calling this revenge is embarrassing. You know this situation is entirely your own doing, right? If you’d just been a little kinder, wouldn’t someone have helped you? Even if it’s low-level , you’re still a purifier.”

Yohan thought what he’d done was actually too light to be called revenge. And rightly so, he’d merely forced Park Seungmin to awaken as a purifier and Lee Chanha’s hallucinations caused him to misinterpret things. Everything that followed was karma he’d piled up himself.

“So, so what are you gonna do about it! What are you gonna do! Fuck, what difference does it make whether you remember or not!”

Park Seungmin, cornered, yelled back,. Yet Yang Yohan, whom he’d constantly looked down on and ignored until now, suddenly felt overwhelmingly formidable. He’d finally grasped reality. He was merely a low-level purifier, deeply hated in Korea… while Yang Yohan was a high-level purifier, a new hero welcomed not just in Korea but anywhere in the world, protected by the Taeyang Guild.

And this opponent clearly remembered being pushed into the Abyss by him, showing no intention of helping him, but rather a clear desire to drive him deeper into despair. Park Seungmin’s vision darkened at Yang Yohan’s next words.

“Well… I wonder what delicious food you went to eat with Team Leader Kim Hyunwoo on the day you threw that unlucky bastard of a friend into the Abyss.” “

Park Seungmin froze. Team Leader Kim Hyunwoo, who had suddenly gone off the grid, came to mind. The unease he’d been trying to deny, that things couldn’t possibly be that bad, grew even stronger. Yang Yohan knew about the conversation he’d had with Team Leader Kim Hyunwoo right after falling into the Abyss. What this meant was… Yohan spoke to his old friend, who was unconsciously stumbling and retreating.

“Actually, I have that day’s video.”

“Ah, no… No!”

“Do you really think both State Councilor Lee Sungho and Hwang Yeongcheol ould have expected a contract killing video to be exposed?”

“Liar…!”

Yang Yohan gave him a look of utter disgust. The man he once thought of as a friend was even more pathetic and despicable than he’d imagined. Under that gaze filled with hatred, disgust, and contempt, Park Seungmin hastily dropped to his knees. Yang Yohan simply remembering it and having evidence footage were worlds apart.

“You… you’re lying about having the footage, right? Huh?”

“Whether it’s a lie or not, you’ll find out when you see the news tomorrow.”

The more he looked at the other man, the more sickening he became. Was it even worth dealing with this guy anymore? With that thought, Yohan turned to leave. He planned to have security escort him out and request a permanent ban on his access. But then Park Seungmin desperately clung to Yohan’s leg.

“No! Please, please…!”

His current situation was terrible enough, but becoming a murderer was another story entirely. Park Seungmin cried and begged profusely.

“Yohan! Yohan! I was wrong. I was really wrong! I just got blinded by jealousy for a moment!”

He threw himself down, flat on his stomach in front of Yang Johan. Rubbing his hands together, he begged desperately.

“Th-that’s right! You have a good family, you’re doing well, your life is smooth sailing, but me, only me! I’m living like a beggar. Huh? Being best friends means we’re compared, what can you do! That’s why I did it! Just have a little pity on me. We’ve been good friends for so long. Just this once! If that gets out, I’m dead…! I’ll really die!”

Yang Yohan knew well that he was a soft-hearted, sentimental person. Yet, facing the pleading Park Seungmin, he felt no sympathy. Not only was this bastard pushing him to his death, but he’d also scammed his own family. The image of his brother, severely corrupted and trapped in the basement while searching for him, still flickered before his eyes.

“I actually died and came back to life. But you’re better off than that. Compared to the Abyss, this place feels like heaven.”

“No, no, please…! I really messed up, okay?! Okay?! I’m begging you!”

Park Seungmin frantically waved his hands, then banged his head hard on the floor. But the more he did it, the more repulsive he became. After spending a good time with Lee Hyunmook, seeing a scene like this was exhausting. Yohan glanced up at the ceiling for a moment before speaking.

“Here’s the deal. If you go to the Abyss once, I’ll forgive you.”

“…Huh? Wha-what?”

Yohan pushed Park Seungmin, who was clinging to his leg, away with his foot and said in a soft voice.

“Since you have purification abilities, it won’t be the worst. If you stay there for a full year like me and come out, I’ll make it all go away.”

Hearing this absurd demand, Park Seungmin asked in a trembling voice.

“How am I supposed to do that… Besides, how are we even supposed to know where the Abyss will open?”

“Just go in when the Great Rift opens, right?”

Thinking it was an absurd demand, he looked up, only to meet Yang Yohan’s earnest gaze. Enter the Abyss? Spend a full year there? To Park Seungmin, that was a demand tantamount to a death sentence.

“No, I can’t. Please, please…”

Park Seungmin started begging again. Yang Yohan was soft-hearted, so he calculated that if he begged enough, Yang Yohan might relent. If it meant escaping this crisis, pretending to cry was nothing. No, it wasn’t even pretending. Tears flowed naturally from his desperation. Yang Yohan stared at the pleading Park Seungmin and said.

“Pay back the money you extorted from my parents first. Five billion plus interest makes ten billion. I’ll give you exactly one week.”

Park Seungmin turned his head up. To Yohan, this seemed like a remarkably generous offer compared to the Abyss he’d been facing, but Seungmin immediately started whining.

“How am I supposed to pay that back in just one week…!”

“If you can’t pay it back, then forget it.”

As Yang Yohan turned without hesitation to open the door and leave, Park Seungmin cried out urgently.

“I’ll pay! I’ll pay! I’ll pay it back! Hey? I said I’ll pay! I’ll pay it back…! Then you won’t release that video! You promise?”

Yohan glanced at the humiliated Park Seungmin without a word, then walked out silently. He instructed the guard.

“Please don’t let Park Seungmin in again, even if he comes looking for you.”

“Of course. I’ll have him escorted out immediately.”

Park Seungmin’s situation was so well-known that the guard responded instantly. Hearing Park Seungmin being noisily led away by the guard, Yohan reflexively looked for Lee Hyunmook. He was waiting nearby.

Exhausted, Yohan rushed to his lover, ignoring the stares, and buried his face in his embrace. Most people staying in this building were members of the Taeyang Guild, and having witnessed the commotion Park Seungmin had just caused, they simply shrugged it off and pretended not to notice. This time, Lee Hyunmook tenderly patted his back, offering comfort. Back home, Yohan let out a deep sigh.

“I guess I’m not really the vengeful type. I just want to forget about it all…”

“Should hyung take care of everything for you?”

While Yohan usually called Hyunmook “hyung”, Lee Hyunmook had never before referred to himself so affectionately as ‘hyung’ like this. His voice was unusually soft and gentle. Temptation flickered, but after a moment’s hesitation, Yohan slowly shook his head.

“He’ll just pay me back in a week, if not, I’ll upload the video. After that, I’m done. I’m treating him like he never existed in my life.”

“Alright. I’ll make sure he never shows his face to you again. Don’t worry about him anymore.”

Seeing Lee Hyunmook make that promise, Yohan felt considerably more relaxed. He gained confidence that Park Seungmin really would never appear before him again.

“I’m always grateful. You’ve done so much for me…”

To Yohan’s sincere thanks, Lee Hyunmook smiled and replied.

“It’s nothing, really.”

Compared to saving Yohan from that horrific living hell, dealing with a nuisance like Park Seungmin was nothing. And just as he had promised, this day was the last time Yohan ever saw Park Seungmin in person.