The photo stayed on Rin's kitchen table all night.
He didn't touch it. Didn't flip it over. But he stared at it long enough to memorize the edges, the way Jun's hand was tucked into his coat pocket, the way Than's smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
They looked like friends. Maybe more.
Maybe not.
He didn't know what scared him more.The idea that Than had loved someone before him, or the possibility that Jun had been the test run.
---
"You look like someone who hasn't slept in three days," Kieran said the next morning, sliding into the opposite seat at the library archive like he belonged there.
"I haven't," Rin replied without looking up from the faded news clipping in front of him.
"Let me guess. Than sent you another ghost from the past?"
Rin didn't answer. But that was answer enough.
Kieran sighed, folding his arms. "You know what the problem is, right? You don't want to believe Than is capable of the worst version of himself."
Rin turned the page. "And you want me to believe you're the good guy?"
"I don't believe in good guys." Kieran's voice was steady. "Only people with agendas. Mine just happens to align with yours for now."
Rin looked up, expression hard. "What was Jun to you?"
Kieran blinked, thrown for half a second. "He was... complicated."
"That's not an answer."
"He mattered. That's all I'll say."
Rin stared at him. "You talk a lot for someone who never actually says anything."
Kieran leaned forward, gaze sharp. "And you keep giving chances to someone who's already rewriting your story in permanent ink."
Silence stretched.
Kieran stood. "Be careful, Rin. Than doesn't just erase people. He replaces them."
---
The message came an hour later.
Unknown Number: Come to my office. It's time you knew the rest.
Rin shouldn't have gone. Every logical nerve in his body screamed no. But curiosity was its own kind of poison and Than had always been the sweetest dose.
---
Than's office was dark when Rin stepped in.
The only light came from the blinds cracked slightly open, casting long shadows across the floor. Than stood by the window, back turned, coat draped over the chair like he'd been waiting hours.
"You sent the photo," Rin said quietly.
Than didn't deny it. "Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you still don't understand what happened with Jun."
Rin folded his arms. "Then explain it."
Than turned slowly, eyes darker than usual. "Jun came to me the same way you did. Angry. Curious. Brave enough to think he could change things."
"Was he in love with you?"
A pause.
"I don't know," Than said. "But I think I wanted him to be."
"And you used that."
"No." Than stepped forward. "I needed it. Because loving me made him trust me. And I needed him to trust me to protect him."
"Protect him from what?"
Than looked down. "From my father. From the board. From himself."
"That sounds like control," Rin said.
Than's eyes lifted. "No. That was survival."
Rin's voice was colder now. "And when he stopped being useful?"
"I tried to keep him alive," Than said flatly. "He went digging where he shouldn't have. He pushed too far."
"So he paid the price."
Than didn't answer.
Didn't have to.
Rin stepped back. "You're doing the same thing to me."
"No." Than reached out, almost touching. "You're different."
"I'm not," Rin said quietly. "I'm just next."
---
That night, Rin found a drive in his mailbox.
No name. Just a note: Watch this before you decide who to believe.
Inside were video clips, grainy surveillance footage, partial audio logs. All labeled with dates that traced back to the weeks before Jun's death.
In one, Jun sat across from Than in a different office. He looked scared. Angry.
In another, he shouted something about being watched. Being followed.
But it was the final clip that made Rin's hands go numb.
Than's voice, cold and measured: If you keep pushing, I won't be able to save you anymore.
And Jun's reply: Then stop pretending you ever tried.
---
To be continued..