Hades had known they were coming. He had bought the amusement park the day before, arriving before the gates even opened to settle into the surveillance room. He watched the monitors with a predatory stillness, his fingers tightening around the metal handle of his chair.
As he watched Mikael press a kiss to Ken's forehead, the metal groaned. Under the sheer force of his suppressed fury, the heavy handle squeezed and deformed like soft clay. He was livid seeing them together, but more annoyed by the fact that he couldn't simply reach through the screen and tear them apart without breaking the "game."
Suddenly, the sky above the park bruised a deep purple. Rain began to lash down in a violent, sudden torrent. In a city where the season made rain common, no one thought it was a miracle—except those who knew better.
Inside the cafeteria, Ken and Mikael finished their meal. Ken ordered some takeaway, and by the time they stepped outside, the rain had stopped as abruptly as it had begun. Mikael drove Ken back to his apartment so he could prepare for his mid-day shift at the restaurant.
Mikael stood by his SUV for a moment, watching Ken walk into the building. He really needs to stop overworking himself, Mikael thought. I should tell him to stop. After all, I can take care of him... no, no. That would be too controlling. He already quit the morning job for me. I'll leave it for now. Maybe in the future, we'll change things. He climbed back into his car and drove off, feeling like a savior.
Back at the headquarters of Luther Corp, Lance was leafing through acquisition documents when a knock sounded.
"Come in," he called.
Sylvia walked in, her heels clicking rhythmically on the marble floor. She sat across from him with a regal grace. "You seem busy."
"I am. So, tell me, what brings you here today?"
"It rained at The Great Horizon today," Sylvia said, her voice dropping.
"And?" Lance replied, not looking up from his files.
"Only at the park, Lance. It rained only at the park."
Lance dropped the folder, finally looking at her. "It's Lord Hades, isn't it?"
"Yes. I think his obsession with that kid is getting out of hand. It must be stopped."
"You know that's not possible," Lance countered. "There is no one alive who can challenge him. But..."
"But what?"
"If Lord Hades gets the kid, everything returns to normal," Lance sighed. "His personality shifted the moment the boy got a boyfriend. He used to pretend to care only when it served a purpose. Now, he pretends not to care while the world literally weeps around him. If he claims the boy, the storm stops."
"So you suggest making them break up?"
Lance passed a new file across the desk. "The best way to ruin a relationship is to introduce a love rival. And Lord Hades has already figured that out."
Later 그날 밤 (that night), Mikael sat in his room, restless. He knew Ken's shift at the Black Bull ended at midnight and that the club's strict rules forbade phone use. It was only 9:00 PM. He scrolled through the photos they had taken at the park, a bright, genuine smile lighting up his face.
A knock interrupted his thoughts. "Master Mikael, your father wants to speak with you," a maid called from the hallway.
He shut his screen and headed downstairs. His parents were already seated at the long mahogany dining table. The atmosphere was cold. As the firstborn and only son of the Newman legacy, Mikael knew this look. His ten-year-old sister, Michelle, was nowhere to be seen—likely tucked away from the coming storm.
"Take a seat," his father, Leonard Newman, commanded.
"Is there a problem?" Mikael asked, sitting down.
"Yes. Explain this," Leonard said, sliding a high-resolution photograph across the table.
Mikael picked it up. It was the shot of him kissing Ken at the park. To Leonard's fury, Mikael didn't flinch; he smiled. The photo captured the love he felt perfectly.
"Young man!" Leonard shouted. "We agreed: no more dating until you are out of school. And certainly no dating boys. What is this?"
"No," Mikael countered firmly. "We agreed there was no dating throughout high school. No one said anything about college, and no one said anything about gender. You can't decide who I choose to love."
"We can," his mother, Sara, interrupted. "We are your parents. We gave birth to you; we have a say in who, when, and how you date."
"No, you don't. You said relationships were a distraction because my grades dropped once. Well, my grades are up, and I'm in a relationship. I can handle both. I've grown up."
"You've grown up?" Leonard's voice was a low growl. "You said the same thing before she left. You ended up spending two weeks in the hospital, six months in a psychiatric ward, and over three hundred thousand dollars of our money. Your grades were in the dirt. You did not grow up, Mikael!"
Mikael flinched at the mention of the past. "That was six years ago! It's different now!"
"Don't talk to your father in that tone," Sara snapped.
"Why are you trying to control me?" Mikael stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. "Why do you hate seeing me happy? I'm not giving him up. No one is changing my mind!"
He turned and stormed up the stairs.
"Come back here, young man!" Leonard roared, but Mikael ignored him, slamming his bedroom door.
Downstairs, Leonard sank back into his chair. "This kid will drive me to my grave."
Sara leaned forward, her eyes cold. "His grades don't matter right now. This relationship is the problem. Our son is not marrying a man. Our legacy, everything we worked for, will be ruined—or worse, given to an outsider."
"What do you suggest we do?" Leonard asked.
Sara smiled thinly. "Ruin the relationship. Just like we did the others."
Mikael paced his room, his emotions raw. He wanted to talk to Ken, but he didn't want Ken to sense his anger through the phone. He wasn't good at hiding his feelings. He sent a brief text: "Good night, bae. I have to go to bed early because I'm exhausted. I promise I'll make it up to you tomorrow. Sweet dreams." He turned off his phone and collapsed into bed, trying to block out his father's voice.
At the club, Ken finished his shift. It had been five days since Delvon's strange message, and Ken was still looking for the "catch." He had even snuck a look at the club's security footage to see if Lucien had been there, but the man in black hadn't appeared once. He decided to stop looking for ghosts and just accept his luck.
He turned on his phone as he walked toward the exit. Mikael's message popped up first. Ken smiled, texting back: "Alright, sleep tight, bae. I love you."
Suddenly, another notification buzzed. This one was from the hospital, sent an hour ago.
"Come quickly. Your mother's health is declining. We need to see you immediately."
Ken's heart plummeted. It was past midnight. The hospital was miles away, and at this hour, the streets were empty. There were no buses, no taxis.
He dialed Mikael, his hands shaking. Switch off. He tried again. Switch off.
Panic set in. Ken began to run. He sprinted down the dark pavement, his lungs burning, desperate to reach the hospital. He had only gone a few hundred meters when he heard the low, powerful hum of an engine behind him.
He stopped, turning around to wave his arms, ready to beg a stranger for a ride. He was willing to pay every cent he had.
The car—a sleek, obsidian SUV—slowed down as it approached. It pulled over perfectly beside him. The window rolled down with a soft hiss, revealing the pale, sharp features of the man in black.
Hades looked at the sweating, terrified boy. "Do you need a ride?"