The Filth Behind the Screens
Midnight.
Tae-jun’s study was dim except for the blue glow of three monitors.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlq9XUkDYX
Yize typed rapidly, fingers flying, while Min-jun sat beside him with two cups of black coffee—and a bucket, because he already had a bad feeling.
Beep.
“Access granted,” Yize muttered.
They hacked into the private cloud server linked to the secret house Yize tracked earlier.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZ5tbjZm9Q
Encrypted files.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7SlSmxBcP
Hidden message chains.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWlYGPeO0O
Financial trails.
Yize clicked one folder.
A video opened.
And both brothers froze.
“…hyung—what—what the actual hell is this—”
The footage showed Kang Hae-jin and Ryu Su-ah.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbbzvhqeD4
Together.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCtNtkptoB
Way too close.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrh5klx1kWw
Way too intimate.
Disgustingly intimate.
Min-jun slapped the table.
“AISH—WHY ARE OLD PEOPLE LIKE THIS?! PUT SOME CLOTHES ON, DAMMIT!”
Yize immediately closed the footage, face turning green.
“That… that wasn’t the worst part,” he whispered, voice shaking.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwf3CAB9O3L
“Look at the hospital documents.”
Min-jun opened the next file.
Prenatal checkups.
Ultrasound appointments.
Expected delivery date.
Mother: Ryu Su-ah22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKnMQ5lCLS
Father: — blank —
But attached at the bottom—
‘Guardian attending: Kang Hae-jin’
Min-jun threw the coffee away and grabbed the trash bin.
Yize rubbed his face aggressively.
“This is worse than corruption.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOUZCoaL3Z
This is… . Political madness. Absolute filth.”
Min-jun wiped his mouth.
“A pregnant actress—carrying Kang Hae-jin’s child.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vqSN8qvSS
So this is her leash on Hae-jin.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tXV5MT56v
And she used Ji-ho and Han-se like toys.”
Yize keyed in the final encryption.
“Now we know why Su-ah moves like she owns everyone.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RjSa6hd4t
She literally holds Hae-jin in her fist.”
“And she's using that child,” Min-jun added, disgusted, “as her bargaining chip.”
They didn’t notice—but Tae-jun was standing silently in the doorway.
Expression unreadable.
Eyes full of ice.
“Good,” he said softly.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwU4CojD7v
“You both did well.”
Because now he knew exactly who he was going to burn next.
A Complicated Thread — Hae-won
The next morning at SNU, spring wind brushing the courtyard, Kang Hae-won was reading at the stone bench.
She sensed someone staring and looked up—
Tae-jun.
His expression was calm, clean, unreadable… but she felt that faint pull again.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2gF9axtB9
The one that made her heart race for no reason.
“Morning,” she said, trying to act normal.
He took the seat beside her—but too close.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUIZPn7Pws
Close enough she could feel the warmth of his shoulder.
“You didn’t sleep last night,” he said without even glancing.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AQiehq3Vl
“You’re tired.”
“…how did you know?”
“You blink slower when you’re exhausted.”
Her face heated instantly.
“Why… do you watch me that closely?”
He turned his head just slightly.
Not too much.
Just enough for her breath to catch.
“So I don’t miss anything,” he murmured.
Her heartbeat jumped so hard she nearly dropped her pen.
But then—
He leaned back slightly, gaze sharp.
“But Hae-won… don’t misunderstand something.”
She looked at him.
He said quietly:
“You’re innocent.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ME6lvBNss
No matter what your family does behind the curtains… I know you’re not part of it.”
She froze in disbelief.
He added, softer:
“So don’t fear me.”
Her throat tightened.
Because she had feared him.
Feared what he might discover.
But the sincerity in his voice knocked down a wall she didn’t know she’d built.
Before she could respond—
Ha-neul ran toward them.
“Yah! Both of you! We’re grouped together for the Business Ethics presentation!”
Hae-won blinked.
“Us… together....Again?”
Tae-jun’s lips curved—barely.
“Looks like we’ll meet often,” he said.
Her heart skipped again.
And she hated that she liked it.
Dragging Ji-ho Out of the Shadows
Later that week, inside Ryu Cultural Innovations’ conference room, Tae-jun, Yize, and Min-jun arranged a bundle of documents, emails, underground business registries, and transaction proofs.
Everything belonged to—
Ryu Ji-ho.
Illegal subcontracting.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3W7ay9j0pQ
Embezzlement.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1GpMAlVpV
Distribution of banned substances.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMgPjg2h7L
Connections with their secret entertainment-slave ring.
They made one anonymous drop.
To the police.
Within 12 hours—
A warrant was issued.
Ji-ho was dragged in for prosecution.
His mother, Kang Mi-ra, a famous lawyer, arrived instantly, screaming at officers to retry, re-examine, re-evaluate.
But the evidence was airtight.
The police officer said coldly:
“We received full transaction history, hidden ownership scanned with timestamps, and videos of illegal meetings. We are proceeding.”
Ji-ho crumbled.
“What—WHAT THE FUCK—WHO DID THIS?! WHY ME?!”
Next to him, Han-se’s eyes widened.
“…why him and not me…?”
Ji-ho screamed at his cousin:
“I wasn’t working alone! WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE?!”
Han-se snapped back panic-stricken:
“HOW DID YOU GET CAUGHT IDIOT?! WHY NOT ME?!”
The court lawyers froze.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4h6SE7TMy
The family froze.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7A9ChHDJv
Reporters froze.
They were basically confessing to more sins without realising.
From the back—
Tae-jun smirked.
Just enough for Su-ah, sitting beside other celebrities pretending to be worried, to see.
Her face drained of color.
For the first time—
She knew.
He’s my enemy.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDHcUY8uPQ
He’s the one behind this.
The Perfect Payback — Arrest No. 2
After the trial, reporters swarmed.
Camera flashes everywhere.
The family walked out in chaos.
Ji-ho was cursing like a madman.
Han-se was panting.
But then—
A police car screeched to a stop.
“RYU HAN-SE!22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuaPkKbiYNm
YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!”
Handcuffs.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UiRkqVbAS
Rights read.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3A3NuQtQYl
Camera flashes exploded.
Ji-ho burst into laughter like someone gone insane.
“I WAS WAITING FOR YOU, BUDDY!”
His laughter echoed across the courthouse steps.
Two fallen in one day.
A perfect blow.
But the media storm was brutal.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WeupUZt8M
Stocks plummeted.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhVMd69mPq
Shareholders panicked.
That evening, Chairman Ryu Tae-ho stepped onto the podium, voice authoritative:
“Do not fear.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTsaWiSbcm
Our Chinese aides will secure our stabilization fund and reorganize investments.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjfi8FgiwO
The Ryu family will not collapse.”
The reporters calmed.
The market steadied.
But behind him—
Tae-jun stood with a perfectly unreadable face.
Because this was only the beginning.
The puppets fell first.
But their puppeteer—
Ryu Su-ah22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcZUgaoejt
and22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7zOo7Q7Jn
Kang Hae-jin
—were waiting in the shadows.
And Tae-jun was going to drag them out into the light.
One.
By.
One.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.