Kangwoo watched them argue like men arguing over territory already soaked in blood.
"Aren't you tired of hiding behind your followers' backs?" Dohyun asked. His tone was light, conversational. "You are one cowardly leader."
Taeyang didn't bristle. He didn't even straighten.
"They've been with me since the beginning," he replied calmly. "I don't discard them when things get inconvenient."
His gaze slid toward Dohyun, sharp beneath the curtain of hair.
"Countless followers of yours die every year," Taeyang continued. "What other explanation is there rather than poor leadership?"
For a moment, neither spoke.
They stared at each other, unmoving.
Dohyun chuckled, low and mocking, as if he'd just heard a bad joke. Taeyang's mouth curved into something smug, satisfied. Neither of them looked away.
…
"There's no need to argue."
The voice came from the far end of the arc.
The man seated furthest from Kangwoo finally spoke.
"Let the kid decide for himself."
His eyes remained on Kangwoo.
The weight of the room shifted, not toward Kangwoo, but onto him.
Taeyang lifted his thumb to his lips, pressing it lightly against his mouth as if considering something amusing. He paused, then smiled and turned toward the man.
"Oh," he said lightly. "Right, Jaewon."
Jaewon didn't respond.
Taeyang waited.
Only when Jaewon's gaze finally slid to him did Taeyang lower his hand.
"I killed Hajoon."
The words dropped cleanly into the room.
Jaewon's eyes widened.
Taeyang continued before the silence could settle.
"Cheolwoo was with me," he added. "There's no doubt he also took care of Dara and Jeongdo."
The smugness was gone now.
This wasn't provocation. It was a disclosure.
For a second, Jaewon didn't move.
Then his jaw tightened.
He surged forward.
The chair clattered backward as Jaewon crossed the distance in two strides and slammed his fist into Taeyang's face. The impact drove them both to the floor, the sound sharp and wet. Taeyang's head snapped to the side as they hit concrete.
Jaewon straddled him instantly.
Punch.
Another.
Another.
Each blow landed with pitiful rage, knuckles splitting skin, breath punched out of Taeyang's chest in short bursts. Blood streaked across Taeyang's cheekbone, smeared beneath his eye.
No one in the room intervened.
Jaewon's shoulders heaved as he struck again, teeth bared, breath ragged. Rage stripped clean of theatrics.
Taeyang raised a hand–
Kangwoo noticed it immediately.
It wasn't out of panic, or pain.
The hand lifted halfway, fingers flexing,
Then stopped.
Slowly, deliberately, Taeyang placed his hand back against the floor.
He didn't block the next punch.
Or the one after that.
Blood continued spattering the concrete.
And Kangwoo, chained and silent, watched the men who would decide his future reveal exactly what kind of world he was being recruited into.
Kangwoo opened his mouth, but any words refused to come out.
These weren't his allies.
They were strangers, who were associated with the attack against him and his sister.
He had no obligation to intervene.
Jaewon finally stopped, chest heaving.
Taeyang's face was bloodied, swollen.
"…Still hesitating?" Taeyang murmured.
"You really never learn."
Jaewon pulled a handgun from his belt.
His jaw worked like he was trying to crush the thought before it finished forming, swallowing hard.
He pressed the gun to Taeyang's forehead.
Not to threaten him, but to stop his own hands from shaking.
Taeyang closed his eyes as Jaewon cocked the gun.
…
"STOP!"
The word ripped out of Kangwoo's chest before he could reconsider.
The chains rattled violently as his body surged forward on instinct, iron slamming against concrete with a sharp, echoing clang.
Jaewon flinched, just enough for the gun to dip a fraction of an inch, his eyes snapping toward Kangwoo
Taeyang didn't flinch.
His eyes opened slowly.
Blood ran down the side of his face, dark and wet against pale skin, dripping from his brow to his cheek. His gaze settled on Kangwoo with quiet interest as the corner of his mouth twitched.
Every gaze snapped to Kangwoo.
"I'll join you," Kangwoo said.
"Your division… Jaewon."