Angel Smile 163 Scene 163

Clap, clap, clap.

Ji Yeong Gi came out from his hiding place. The show was over, and as the playwright, he must come out and give the credits.

Hyuk's eyes hardened as he looked at the newcomer. 

"Why are you here?!" Hyuk barked. He stood up straight abruptly, s.h.i.+fting his feet so Yeo Ri was hidden securely behind his back.

"The knight in s.h.i.+ning armour comes swooping in to save the princess; isn't that sweet?" Yeong Gi went on to say. He ignored Hyuk's cautious look and smiled deeply with mirth. "I didn't know you loved your sister that much, Lee Hyuk," he said suggestively, as if he knew something that no one else knew.

Hyuk tensed. What did he mean by those words...? Could Bomi have told him about that day?

"What do you want?"

Yeo Ri looked between the two guys. So he wasn't lying about being Hyuk's friend. But from the way her brother was acting, it was apparent that Hyuk did not share the same sentiment. She tugged his clothes lightly, whispering, "Oppa, he's the one who brought me here."

Hyuk's eyes darkened. "Ji Yeong Gi, you dared!"

"Now, now, calm down. She's fine, isn't she?" Yeong Gi laughed, waving his hand dismissively. What's the problem, he seemed to be thinking. It wasn't like she got hurt, right? 

"Ji Yeong Gi, I knew you were a bad guy," In Guk said, similarly glaring at the boy. 

Yeong Gi narrowed his eyes in displeasure at In Guk and Jin Goo."It was just a little prank; no need to get so mad."

"F*cking b*stard, shut your d*mned trap!" Hyuk cussed. He glanced at In Guk and Jin Goo. "Hey, send Yeo Ri home. This is my problem; I'll deal with him myself."

The two paused, staring at Hyuk with complex looks. Finally, Jin Goo nodded. "Okay. We'll take her home safely. C'mon, In Guk-ah, let's go." He nudged In Guk before pulling Yeo Ri away from her brother.

"Oppa!" Yeo Ri's eyes glistened, filled with panic. She reached her arm out towards Hyuk but the man shook his head. 

"Wait for Oppa at home, okay?" He told her. "Go!"

In Guk frowned, wondering what Hyuk was planning to do. Another fight? Whatever, since the guy had spoken, he'll help him take his sister home. He probably didn't want her to see him get into another fight.

With Yeo Ri now gone, Hyuk was finally able to freely speak to Ji Yeong Gi. He was worried that the guy might say something he should not have said to Yeo Ri.

He confronted Yeong Gi.

"Why?!" Hyuk could not understand why Ji Yeong Gi would target him. Just because he refused to be friends? How childish could this guy get? How could he use an innocent girl just to get back at him?

Ji Yeong Gi laughed.

He laughed for a long time.

"Don't you get it?" He asked between chuckles. "Because we're the same—"

He smiled at Hyuk with amus.e.m.e.nt, his eyes revealing the crazy inside, "—we're both monsters."

"The same as you? You must be blind. I'm not a lunatic like you." Hyuk refuted. There was nothing similar about the two of them, he thought.

"Haha," Ji Yeong Gi laughed again, as if he found Hyuk's words funny. "You don't think so? I thought we're pretty similar, you and I. I knew it since the first time I saw you."

"What kind of bullsh*t are you spouting?"

"Don't try to pretend, Lee Hyuk. I can see it; that bloodthirstiness of yours. You hate them, don't you? Those people... this world... everything." Yeong Gi said. His eyes glazed, as if he was reminiscing a memory. 

Ji Yeong Gi could feel it. Hyuk and him—they were the same type of person. It was a feeling that was hard to explain, but it was the reason why he was so drawn to Hyuk. That same darkness, that same haunted look in their eyes, that same antagonism. He was sure their history was rather similar as well—he could tell; Hyuk carried a loneliness and a sense of solitariness that was common to those who came from a broken home. But most importantly—Hyuk was not weak. He was a fighter just like him. Yeong Gi felt that Hyuk was deserving of being equal to him.

"Get your head out of the gutters. I'm nothing like you," Hyuk coldly said. Without warning, Hyuk punched Yeong Gi.

Ji Yeong Gi giggled as he held his pained jaw. "F*ck," he cursed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He'd cut his cheek from Hyuk's punch. "I told you to calm down, didn't I?"

"..."

Seeing Hyuk's unmoving state, he continued to speak, "I'm sorry, okay? I swear this is the first and last time I touch your sister. Just promise me—stop hanging out with those two losers and come back to me, okay, friend?"

"F*ck off, sh*thead," Hyuk replied with another punch. "You think an apology is enough? Yeo Ri almost got hurt because of you!"

Yeong Gi didn't dodge Hyuk's blow and landed on the ground. He groaned as he pushed himself upright. 

Seeing the boy trying to get up, Hyuk kicked his stomach several times, making sure he stayed down.

"...You'll regret this, Lee Hyuk." Yeong Gi wheezed, his tone dripped with warning. He looked up only to see Hyuk walking away from him. A crazed look flashed in his eyes. 'This is the second time...! The second time he turned his back to me!'

"Hey, are you really leaving me here?!" He shouted, part of him hoping that Hyuk would turn back. Any other person would have; his lackeys would have, but Hyuk was not one of his lackeys.

"Hey!"

"Lee Hyuk!"

"If you leave, I swear I'll kill you the next time I see you!"

"Lee Hyuk—!"

And just like that, Hyuk completely broke off their relations.

Ji Yeong Gi ended up in juvenile prison after getting caught for underaged drinking that very night. He had been venting his anger at the pub late at night when the police suddenly raided the place. 

Several years pa.s.sed, yet they never had the opportunity to cross paths... until now.

Back to the present.

"Back to your cells! Back to your cells!" The guards ushered the inmates out of the workshop, ending the work period early due to the unexpected fight between the two young men.

Aside from Hyuk, two other people from his cell was a.s.signed to the workshop. Since Hyuk had initiated the fight, he was taken away by a guard for disciplinary action, and the two returned together.

However—

"Hey, take this guy with you—he's your new cellmate," a guard had said.

The guard roughly pushed Ji Yeong Gi towards the two inmates. The guard seemed eager to wash his hands off from the troublemaker as he dismissed the inmates.

Lee Moon Deok and Soo Tae Gyu exchanged glances, both murmuring the same thing.

"Oh, sh*t."