"You motherfucker!"

Hongjoong had been waiting up for Seonghwa and was startled as bright light filled the room.

"Seonghwa? What—what's going on?"

"Don't you fucking lie to me. I'm sick of your lies!"

"Hwa?"

"You're a fucking spy!"

Hongjoong felt his heart sink. He knew. How did he know? He was going to tell him—he just needed another day—he wasn't ready.

"How could you? You—all this time? You've been lying to me?!"

"Seonghwa! No—please—I'm sorry!"

"You're sorry!? You've been working behind my back to take my father's company down!? This whole time? You've been lying to me about everything! I don't even know who you are!"

"Seonghwa!" Hongjoong sobbed, trying to reach out a hand.

Seonghwa pulled back in repulsion.

"No. I can't even look at you. All this time, you've been kissing me and holding my hand and last night—it was all just—a lie!?"

"No! I never lied about my feelings for you!"

"How can I possibly trust you?!"

"I don't know."

"How could you...how could you do this to my family? To me?"

"I couldn't! That's why I was going to tell you! I swear!"

"But you didn't."

"Seonghwa—"

"Please—just go back to your own company. Let them know everything you've learned about me. Tell them you failed to seduce me so you'll have to take another approach."

"Seonghwa! I was never forced to fall for you! I didn't even mean to it just happened!"

"Oh, so it would have been so much easier for you if you hadn't? So you regret it? You regret me?"

"No! That's not what I meant—"

"Why are you still here!? Get out!"

"Hwa..."

"I'm asking nicely."

"Let me explain!"

"Please. Hongjoong, don't make this any harder for me. Maybe it was fake for you but it was real for me."

"It was real to me too! Damn it, Seonghwa, I gave up everything because I'm crazy about you!"

"What did you possibly give up?"

"I threw the entire case away! I had all of the information to take you down but I hid all of it! That's why they're coming after both of us now."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I love you!"

"Stop. Lying."

"I'm not."

"Yes. You are. If you really loved me you would have told me."

"Hwa—you don't understand what I sacrificed for you."

"What the hell did you sacrifice?? Your fancy title and high-paying corporate career??"

"Justice for my mother!"

Finally, Seonghwa paused a moment steadying his breathing.

"Your mother? I thought she was in the hospital? What does she have anything to do with this?"

"She's not in the hospital. She—she died fifteen years ago."

Seonghwa wasn't sure he had any reason to believe him but Hongjoong's eyes seemed sincere. He could see the pain in his gaze. But he resisted.

"Just another thing you lied to me about."

"She died working in a KQ clothing factory."

"What?"

Hongjoong wiped as many tears off his cheeks as he could before attempting to continue.

"The factory conditions were awful. Her hours were unreasonable and the factory didn't follow proper safety protocol. So at the end of her fourth eighteen hour shift of the week she didn't have enough strength left in her to evacuate the burning factory and she got trapped inside. She died before the firemen even arrived because they were called ten minutes after it started."

Seonghwa felt a tear roll down his cheek.

He couldn't be telling the truth. His father would never let that happen.

"You're lying, you're—you're just trying to manipulate me again with some—some tragic sob story—"

"I'm done lying. I'm too tired. I can't do it anymore."

"No, I know my father he wouldn't—he's fair to all of his workers—he wouldn't let this happen!"

"I'm sorry. This is why I didn't tell you."

"No! You're lying!"

"Seonghwa, look at me."

Seonghwa looked at him and felt his heart sink at the broken man before him. Hongjoong's eyes were red-rimmed and empty, his face dripping with tears.

He wasn't lying. He really wasn't.

His father had caused this. He'd caused murder.

His own father.

The man who'd raised him.

A murderer.

Seonghwa fell to the ground, running his hands through his hair. It was all true.

"No, no, no, no, no," he sobbed quietly.

"I'm sorry, Hwa."

Seonghwa processed the information for a while before his eyes dried and he didn't have any more tears to spill. Finally, he came to his senses.

He looked back at Hongjoong who hadn't moved from the bed and he slowly made his way over, picking up his pace as he got closer.

Hongjoong looked up at him and bit his lip to hold back another round of sobs but they poured out of him as soon as Seonghwa had wrapped him in his arms.

The two laid backwards onto the bed, holding onto each other with every ounce of strength they had. Hongjoong heaved into Seonghwa's chest, and Seonghwa sniffled as he stroked Hongjoong's hair.

"I'm so sorry, Hongjoong."

"It—it's not your fault. You didn't know."

"I should have known. I should have figured out and done something. Anything."

"You couldn't have done anything."

"But I can now."

Hongjoong took a deep breath before pulling away to look up at Seonghwa's face. He placed a hand on his cheek, thumbing away his tears.

"Hwa—you don't have to—"

"Yes I do. If I'm going to run this company, I'm going to make sure I run it right. We need to take responsibility."

"Hwa it'll bring your company down. You'll have nothing!"

"I don't care. As long as I have you."

Hongjoong felt a tear drop down his cheek onto the bed below him.

"Hwa..."

"I love you, too."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You don't have to."

"I can't be responsible for you losing your entire inheritance—"

"It's not your fault. It's my choice. I know what I'm doing."

Hongjoong wrapped his arms around Seonghwa again, and the two held each other until they fell asleep.