Lee ChangIn, a man who was well respected with a vision to change the world. He inspired a lot of others to do the same. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth but that only made him feel more strongly about changing the world with his fortune. However, as much as people respected him, there were just as many people who didn't. And those who didn't agree with him would always aim to harm him.

But he never let that affect him. He knew he was stronger than that.

That is, until the day his own son and daughter-in-law conspired against him.

The company he worked so hard to raise, with all the people he thought he could trust eventually betrayed him. The entire board was against him. In the end, it was a lonely battle which ChangIn had grown old and weary to fight any further. Especially not against his own son. An eye-for-an-eye, maybe if he was younger he might have had more energy for this kind of thing but ChangIn was not that kind of man.

Feeling all alone, ChangIn left Korea and went abroad. He has always been fascinated with the world but when his business started to pick up, all of his travels eventually became work-related. This time, it wasn't though. Left heartbroken, ChangIn wanted to run away. So, he went on a long journey but that journey was longer than he anticipated. It took him a long time before he remembered that the only one who fought this lonely battle wasn't him.

"Sir? Finally! We've been looking for you," his old secretary and friend came knocking on his door all the way in Bucharest.

"Come in first, Hyungjoon," ChangIn said calmly and walked back into the living room. "Tea or coffee?"

"W-what? There's no time for that, sir," Hyungjoon looked frantic and couldn't settle down at all. "Don't you realize how many of us have been trying to look for you these past few years?"

"I know that and it's exactly the reason I didn't want to be found."

ChangIn sighed as poured himself a cup of tea and sat down in the living room, tired and couldn't even stand still for long.

"I'm tired, Hyungjoon-ah. I just want to live quietly and peacefully until my time is up. I don't want to be disturbed."

"Huh?" Hyungjoon wasn't looking happy. "How can you say something so irresponsible? Do you know how many people's lives have been turned upside down because of your son? And you just decide to run away because you can't fight it?"

"I know. I'm a coward but I don't have the energy to fight back anymore. I've dragged enough people down from the Apostles. I never knew that Jinhwan would dare to do something like that."

"We've always warned you that Jinhwan can't be trusted, even if he's your son. His jealousy and thirst for power, it's so apparent yet you kept defending him saying that he'll eventually change. And look what happened. False accusations, defamation, anything you can imagine and yet, he can still get away with it. Why? Because he's your son, Lee Jinhwan. Did you remember your promise to us when we joined the Apostles? That you will correct what is wrong with this society and release it from corruption. Just because he's your son, you're just going to give up and turn a blindeye?"

Hyungjoon made a valid point.

All these years, ChangIn thought he knew about the world very well and his vision to change society would be realized. However, he miscalculated the obstacles, one which was called 'family'.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Hyungjoon-ah. No matter what I did or what I said, Jinhwan would not listen to me. How much more do I have to beg?" ChangIn pleaded.

"It's not about your son anymore. Don't you get it? There is so much more at stake here. Have you thought about everyone else that's involved? Yes, some people betrayed your trust but what about those that still believe in you?"

"Is there really anyone left?"

"Are you serious? Sure there are a lot of people who might go against you, but even if there's one person left who believes in you, don't you think you're responsible for them? Shouldn't you answer them? Throwing everything away just because the odds were against you. Are you still the same man that took us in?" Hyungjoon wasn't giving up.

After a long persuasion, ChangIn eventually decided to go back to Seoul.

When he landed in Korea, he had to find a place to go back to. He decided to live more in the quiet countryside of Jeju, where no one will bother to look for him unless they really want to. Leaving Seoul and cutting all ties for the past few years meant that he also had a lot of catching up to do. But one thing he never saw coming was the change in Cha Yoojae.

"W-what?" ChangIn couldn't believe it when he heard about what happened. "He couldn't have..."

"Ever since you left, ever since he got framed for embezzlement and ended up in jail, he's changed. Your departure hit him harder than we thought. I couldn't believe it when I heard about it at first either. He was in prison for a bit and then was released thankfully but it turns out that it was your daughter-in-law that sent someone to release him so that they can monitor him closely. They were ready to throw him under a bus again if anything were to happen. But after that, just like you, he decided to cut all ties with the rest of the organization."

"What's the use of going back to a place where the man who founded it is no longer there? He left us and gave up on us."

"That's what he said when I last visited him. But to think he would end up killing someone."

"He thinks I've abandoned him..." ChangIn was feeling too weak to stand as he continued to listen.

"We all did," Hyungjoon was blunt. "You left without a way for us to contact you. We were lost. But I think Yoojae took it the hardest. I just didn't think he would end up being so abusive to the point he'd kill his own wife though."

"It can't be. He's not like that," ChangIn tried to convince himself.

"That man has changed. He had the eyes of a dead man when I saw him."

"And I'm responsible for it..."

After learning about what happened to Yoojae, ChangIn could not bring himself to face the man. There were countless times where ChangIn wanted to pay a visit to Yoojae but he held back. He also feared that direct contact with Yoojae would bring more harm due to his own son, Jinhwan. Instead, ChangIn tried his best to support Yoojae during his time of sentence by having Hyungjoon visit Yoojae from time to time. But Yoojae refused every visit.

ChangIn tried to make amends in the shadows, while living a life full of regrets. He just couldn't bring himself to face others anymore and cowered away.

He couldn't change his son and he ended up abandoning the man who once looked up to him. ChangIn had accomplished nothing and he could only blame himself. Yet, there was still a small ray of light amongst the chaos, his youngest grandson - Lee Jaehwan.

Unlike his father and brothers, Jaehwan was different. He was smart but he sought freedom more than anything. He knew clearly what was black and white. He defied everything his father wanted him to do and he didn't allow his rich background to get the best of him. For some reason, ChangIn found resemblance in Jaehwan but when he was still young and ambitious.

I can't let Jaehwan turn into me, ChangIn thought each time he looked at Jaehwan. He can definitely do what I couldn't.

While trying to cultivate his grandson with his visions and stories, ChangIn found out a disturbing truth behind the boy that was suddenly adopted into the Lee family as the fourth son.

Cha Hakyeon.

"How dare you take in Yoojae's child?!" ChangIn was furious for the first time in his life. "We ruined Yoojae's life already and yet, y-you insolent fool!"

"Don't look at me like that father. You can only blame yourself," Jinhwan stood there aloof with an intimidating aura. "You shouldn't have left that poor soul you took in behind. Why did you take him in when you were just going to throw him away in the end?"

Jinhwan was referring to Yoojae.

"What I do now is all because of you. I've learned a great deal because I have a great father like you," Jinhwan said sarcastically.

"I get it. I know I'm not a good father. Your mother died young and I was too busy with work to take care of you and your brother. But I did my best. I thought you'd understand," ChangIn was having a hard time even to stay standing.

"Understand? You're the one that doesn't understand!" Jinhwan finally raised his voice back. "All my life, you have only compared me to my brother. You never looked my way no matter what I tried to do. Because I wasn't perfect enough in your eyes. I'll always be the bad one in this family!"

"No. You're wrong."

"I'm not. And how could you be willing to give everything up so easily? Charity? Volunteers? You're willing to abandon everything you've worked for to those who didn't! You taught me ambition but you're the least ambitious man I've known. Don't you get it? We could achieve so much more with the money and power we have."

"Those aren't everything."

"Yes they are! Wake up already. Don't you understand the world we live in? Everything revolves around money and power. Without those, we're nothing. We'll be stomped on by those who have the power and we'll be laughing stock just because of our misfortune. No one is willing to listen to you if you don't have either of those. This is the kind of world we live in now. This is reality," Jinhwan continued. "Plus, isn't that the reason why you created the Apostles in the first place?"

"Huh?"

"Bringing in all those who have wealth and influence to do your bidding. You did that because you know damn well that you won't even be able to touch the higher society if you're not a part of it already. If money and power isn't everything, why didn't you gather people who have nothing for your little organization? It's because you know well that the only way to reach us is to be like us."

No matter what ChangIn said, it could not reach his son. Jinhwan's anger and ambition was far too intense. And not long after, ChangIn suffered from a stroke and ended up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

"Grandpa, what happened?" Jaehwan came to visit him one summer.

As soon as Jaehwan heard about his grandfather's conditions, he called him to make sure. And as soon as he could visit, Jaehwan flew all the way to Jeju to do so.

"I'm alright," ChangIn tried to reassure him even though deep down, he was far from alright.

That summer was the summer that Jaehwan told his grandfather about everyone and in the following summer, ChangIn told Jaehwan about the Apostles. Though it was simply a wish, he hoped for Jaehwan to inherit his will to do the things he couldn't. Maybe, in some ways, his grandson would do better than him.

However, while confining himself in solitude from the rest of the world, ChangIn came to the realization of another horror...

✣

"Lee ChangIn, as great of a man he was thought to be, turned into a coward who could only hide in the shadows while others did his bidding. He thought that you could do what he couldn't because you were stronger than he was," Ilhoon told the story. "But little did he know, his own son was not only conspiring against him but also willing to kill him just so that he wouldn't get in the way. Both the bodyguard and the caretaker at his place were sent by Lee Jinhwan. Even the physician could not be trusted. Going back to Korea only meant stepping into a tiger's den."

"Why..." Hakyeon couldn't believe it.

"Because my father knew that aside from me, no one will inherit even a speck of my grandfather's assets," Jaehwan stepped in. "By the time my grandfather realized his medication was switched, and that his every move was monitored by my parents, he knew he was running out of time. He couldn't trust anyone. If he donated it to charity, my father would just try to interfere. But if he gave it to me, no one can say anything else."

"Lee ChangIn's favorite grandson, Lee Jaehwan," Ilhoon scoffed as he spoke.

"When my grandfather told me about the inheritance, I couldn't believe it either. Then I found out the cause of his death, I exploded. How could they do something so terrifying? Are they really my parents?" Jaehwan clenched his fist angrily. "Jaeho-hyung and Jaegwan-hyung both knew about it as well but they didn't step in and even tried to stop me from making a scene. How am I supposed to stay with a family that's willing to sacrifice one another because of greed? In a family of murderers?"

Jaehwan's voice cracked as he spoke. Though years have passed, the truth was still a shock. He did all he could to find the evidence behind his grandfather's death. But not only did the bodyguard go missing but also the caretaker. There were no receipts on how his grandfather was killed and how the death was linked to his own parents. Without concrete evidence, even if Jaehwan were to report this to the press, it wouldn't be long before his parents pay someone off and brush the whole thing off. Then, not only will they get away with the murder but Jaehwan would forever be labeled as a traitor of the family. Who would believe the youngest son of the family who ran away from home? Jaehwan was not like his two brothers, Jaeho and Jaehwan, who were both in line to inherit the family business.

That was, until the evidence was only an arms length away from Jaehwan's reach.

"Then..." Hakyeon looked at Jaehwan for a second. The two's gaze met. Then... we're the same? He thought.

"Funny, isn't it?" Ilhoon interrupted. "How the son of a man who killed his own wife eventually meets the son of a mother and father who's also willing to kill their own father? It's almost ironic just looking at the two of you."

"And?" Hakyeon spoke up again. "How did you know all of this?"

The older was right.

Nowhere in this story did Ilhoon have a part in it all. Not when he was only a boy back then.

"It's because of his father, Hyungjoon," Minhyuk finally walked into the room. He was not pleased to see that Ilhoon had not only been spouting nonsense to the two captives but it seems that even parts of Jaehwan's ropes were untied.

"Jung Hyungjoon?" Jaehwan has definitely heard of that name before. "Your father was my grandfather's secretary then?"

"..." Ilhoon's face grew dark at the mention of his father's name, his identity slowly being revealed. "I'd appreciate it if you'd be quiet."

Ilhoon glared at Minhyuk.

"I would if you didn't stop interfering all the time. Keeping them captured was our only agreement. I never agreed to you running your mouth either," Minhyuk glared back. The two were definitely working together but at the same time, weren't. "I've always hated how you do things. Always playing with your food. It's going to bite back at you one day."

"And you're always too soft when it comes to Jaehwan," Ilhoon mentioned. "Only a fool would not be able to see that you're head over heels and blinded by him."

Hakyeon glanced at Jaehwan at that remark. Jaehwan couldn't even meet the older's eyes, from guilt.

"That's none of your business," Minhyuk said.

"Oh?" Ilhoon walks around Minhyuk, obviously judging the other as he did. "Who was the one who came asking me for help when Lee Jaehwan asked you to join the Apostles? You knew well that you didn't have any of the resources to help him so you came running to me instead."

"That was..."

"Don't tell me you're going to mention it's for your brother again, are you?" Ilhoon suddenly said.

"Brother?" Jaehwan looked at Minhyuk. "What do you mean?"

"It's none of your business," Minhyuk ignored it.

"Oh c'mon. We've already come this far. The mask has been long gone at this point," Ilhoon smirked. "Do you know how Minhyuk's younger brother died?"

"Wasn't it because of cancer?" Jaehwan asked.

"Shut up-" Minhyuk tried to stop Ilhoon.

"It's because of your parents," Ilhoon revealed to Jaehwan.

"W-what?"

"His parents were also members of the Apostles," Ilhoon continued. "When your parents were aiming to overthrow the entire first generation, his family's business ended up in the reds. They were saving up for his younger brother's surgery and hospital fees for a while even though they knew that it was incurable. But because there was no way they could keep paying for it, they decided to let the young boy go."

"..." Minhyuk's face fell. He turned around, not able to face them as he drowned himself back to the dark past of losing a beloved one.

"It was as simple as pulling the cord for them."

"That's why Minhyuk-hyung always hated talking about his parents?" Jaehwan finally realized that there was much more to Minhyuk's story than he thought.

All this time, Jaehwan only knew of Minhyuk's family being resurrected from the world after a major bankruptcy; however, he didn't know that the cause of Minhyuk's family's fall was his parents.

"Then... why did you help me? To get revenge?" Jaehwan wanted to ask Minhyuk.

"He thought that it would be the perfect opportunity but this poor kid, fell in love," Ilhoon looked at Minhyuk for a moment and laughed at him. "How stupid. Even though you knew his heart would never be yours."

"I-I'm sorry," Jaehwan found himself saying.

"Shut up!" Minhyuk finally exploded. "I don't need your pity! That's right, I approached you at first to get revenge at your parents. You were so stupid that you'd tell me everything without a fail. Why? Because we slept a few times?!"

"Hyung..."

"Don't call me that. I hate you. Why do you have to be the son of the two people I despise the most in this world? And why... why aren't like them? It would have been so much easier to... hate you," Minhyuk sounded as if he was about to cry. His eyes were teary but he held it back. However, it was clear in his voice how broken and torn apart he was inside.

Yet, despite realizing how he felt, there was no way for his feelings to be reciprocated.

"That's why I told you never to approach another member of the Lee Corporation family. Nothing ever good comes out of it," Ilhoon's tone dropped. He was no longer mocking Minhyuk but rather, his voice also had a depth of resentment in it.

"So, I assumed you also joined because you want revenge too?" Hakyeon noticed and intervened finally. "From the sounds of it, your motives is not very different from Minhyuk's. Who was it again? Your father? Hyungjoon, you said?"

"Shut your trap. You're the last person I want to hear my father's name from. You're just an outsider," Ilhoon threatened.

"Then why did you bring me here? You killed my father already, and if anything, you could've simply killed me too but you didn't. Instead, you took me here and tied me up with Jaehwan. It's obvious you're trying to use me as a hostage and you're trying to threaten him using me. Right? How cliche," Hakyeon scoffed at the predictable scenario.

"I have no reason to kill you, to be honest. You're just an outsider. In fact, I feel bad for you. Having a murderer for a father and even being adopted by a family that ruined your own. If anything, I can sympathize with you," Ilhoon said sarcastically. "But what can you do? Nothing."

"Ha," Hakyeon found it ridiculous. "And you think you can do better? Me not being