vengeful

The gun was slippery in his hands. His palms were sweaty and he found it difficult to keep a firm grip on the plastic. Especially since his hands were shaking so badly, his aim was wild. Yet he only had eyes for one person. His gaze was steady, if a bit frantic -- filled with all the desperation and hopelessness of a man who had lost everything.
 
"You've finally come to kill me then?" The man across from him said.
 
His eyes were sad. He had no right to feel that way. The grip on the gun tightened. After what he'd put him through, he had no right to look so broken.
 
"Are you finally here to end it all, Yonghwa?" He repeated.
 
"Shut up!" Yonghwa hissed, hands shaking harder. "Just shut up!"
 
The sad-eyed man simply shook his head. His arms rested by his sides. He made no move to shield himself from the aim of the gun. That only made Yonghwa angrier. The coward deserved death, yes. But he didn't deserve the peace that came with it. He should be frightened, begging for his life. Instead, he was defeated. This was not the man he'd known.
 
"Well," he said, turning until his whole body faced Yonghwa. He opened his arms out. His torso was an open target. "Get on with it, then."
 
Yonghwa grit his teeth, catching the side of his cheeks between his molars. The faint, metallic tang of blood coated his tongue. Soon, he mused, the air would be filled with it.
 
"You aren't even going to fight back, coward?" Yonghwa sneered.
 
The man shook his head. "I have resigned myself to my fate." The smile he sent Yonghwa's way was filled with bitterness. "You've taken far to long to find me."
 
Laughter bubbled up in his throat. The backs of his eyes burned. Incredulity filled his voice as he asked, "I have searched years for you, brother. I've spent countless, sleepless nights hoping to catch even the slightest glimpse of your face. My dreams have been plagued with you and what you did..." His voice caught in his throat. Memories flooded to the front most corner of his mind.
 
"I am not asking for forgiveness. I am asking for death."
 
"Why? Why should I grant you death? I should stretch this out as slowly and painfully as possible. I should make you feel every ounce of pain that you inflicted on her. You don't deserve a peaceful death, brother. That's the last thing you deserve."
 
His brother sent him an almost fond smile. Strange, considering his blatant threats of torture. "You haven't changed at all, Yonghwa."
 
Yonghwa strode forward, placing the the tip of the gun against his brother's sternum. He jabbed it into the soft flesh of his brother's chest with as much force as he could muster with his shaking hands. To his brother's credit, he only managed to flinch the tiniest bit. That only served to anger Yonghwa more.
 
"I want you to suffer," he hissed.
 
His brother smiled. "And I want to die," he replied.
 
"Before I kill you," Yonghwa said, mustering up the courage to say his next words. "Tell me... why. Why did you kill her?"
 
There was a brief moment of silence. His brother's eyes narrowed. He cocked his head and stared straight into Yonghwa's eyes. Whatever he saw in them made him smile; the quirk of his lips carried not even the tiniest traces of humor.
 
"Are you sure you wish to know? Can your heart handle it?"
 
Yonghwa growled. "Do I appear that weak to you?"
 
"Yes."
 
He pulled one hand away from the gun, drawing back his fist and delivering a harsh punch to his brother's gut. The older man grunted, falling to his knees. The sound of his coughing filled the small room.
 
"You actually hit me," he said in awe.
 
Yonghwa laughed bitterly. "I'll do more than that by the day's end, brother. Now, tell me why." When his brother didn't answer right away, he grabbed a handful of curly hair and yanked. "NOW, Joowon!"
 
"Dropping formalities already? You really must hate me, then," Joowon laughed.
 
His fingers shook with barely controlled rage. He could almost feel the traces of red blurring his vision. Anger coursed through his veins until all he wanted to do was kill the man kneeling in front of him. He twisted the gun around in his hands, ramming the butt of the gun into his brother's cheek. A painful crack echoed through the room, but Joowon didn't so much as whimper.
 
"Talk!" Yonghwa snarled.
 
Joowon stared up at his brother. So much had changed. Grief and anger had fueled his younger brother his whole life that he no longer looked like the young boy who would trail after him, begging to play. No, this was a man -- a hopelessly broken man with nothing left to cling to but his own rage and hopelessness.
 
Lost in thought, he failed to see the next blow hitting the same spot as before. This time, he did cry out. Yonghwa seemed to take satisfaction in his. He ground the heel of his shoes into the kneeling man's hand, feeling the strain of bones and skin through the leather of his shoe. It was oddly empowering. A heady rush filled his head, clouding his thoughts.
 
"Are you that determined to die in silence?" Yonghwa demanded. "Are you that much of a coward?"
 
Joowon blinked the tears from his eyes, finding it difficult to begin speaking. The pain coursed through every inch of his body.
 
"I... have nothing to say."
 
Yonghwa grabbed his brother's hair again, using all his strength to pull the older man up until their eyes met. "You have made my life a living hell," he spat, flecks of spittle dotting the corners of his mouth. "The least you can do is give me a reason."
 
Joowon smirked, pain twisting the expression into more of a grimace. "And if I said there was no reason?"
 
Yonghwa released the grip on his hair, letting Joowon fall back to his knees. "I would call you a liar."
 
"You would be right."
 
The silence stretched on. Yonghwa's impatience only seemed to grow. "I grow tired of this, brother. My patience is wearing thin. I have been remarkably merciful on you. Now, tell me..." He knelt down, leaning in close until his breath fanned across the older boy's face. "Why did you kill my wife?" Every word was said with purpose, filled with carefully placed malice. He was through playing games.
 
"I killed her," Joowon began. "Because she was going to kill you."
 
Yonghwa reared back as though he'd been slapped. "Lies," he said, voice wavering. "You lie. She... s-she loved me." His voice grew firmer. "She loved me!"
 
Joowon sneered. "Are you that naive, brother? Were you so in love that you failed to realize that she was destroying you? Slowly, painfully -- she was going to rip you to shreds and toss you out like garbage!"
 
Another loud smack filled the air. Joowon spit a gob of blood onto the carpet. Yonghwa's hand shook, knuckles a painful red. His eyes were wild and every inch of his body screamed of instability. He was going to break.
 
"I didn't come to you to hear lies," Yonghwa said breathlessly.
 
Joowon snorted. "I have told you nothing but the truth. Only you seem too blind to see it."
 
Yonghwa grabbed the front of his brother's shirt, pulling him until the two were nose-to-nose. With his free hand, he fumbled with the gun, pressing it into the soft flesh of his brother's stomach.
 
"I will ask you only once more." His voice shook. "Why did you kill my wife?"
 
"What is it you hope you hear from me, brother? That I killed her to make you miserable? I killed her to make you suffer, break? Or perhaps, you wish to hear that I killed her out of sheer spite? Am I that much of a villain in your eyes?" He smiled. "My words remained unchanged. Had I left her alive, your body would have been floating down the Han River by the next morn--"
 
The gunshot rang through the air. Yonghwa felt the blood staining his suit, warm and sticky. Joowon gasped, pressing one hand over the wound in his stomach to try and staunch the blood flow. He managed to choke out a pained laugh.
 
"You really are that blind, then."
 
Yonghwa repositioned the gun until it lay directly over his brother's heart. His eyes were feverish and his skin was slick with sweat and blood as he gazed at his brother. Flecks of blood dotted his cheeks, only giving further evidence to his appearance as a madman.
 
"You are trying my patience."
 
"And your naivety is wearing thin on mine."
 
The gun moved from over his heart to his shoulder. A second shot rang out. Joowon could feel the bone shatter at such a close range. The sound that came from his mouth sounded entirely inhuman and pained. Yonghwa watched with blank eyes as his brother whimpered in pain. He felt nothing.
 
"You have one last chance." The gun moved back to his heart. "I'm done playing games."
 
Joowon hissed through his teeth, brain clouded with pain. He couldn't think straight. Words formed on his tongue, nonsensical and random, then faded away when he opened his mouth. He grew light-headed. He felt as though any second, he would pass out.
 
"You... don't believe me?" Joowon wheezed. "In my pocket..." He gave a pained jerk towards his front coat pocket. "Proof."
 
Yonghwa's eyes narrowed. He reached slowly with his free hand to reach into the pocket. A thin piece of paper touched his fingertips. As he pulled it out, Joowon took the opening and grabbed onto the hand holding the gun. Before Yonghwa could react, Joowon had pulled the trigger.
 
Red bloomed across his brother's chest, staining his sweater like a Rorschach blot. Yonghwa could only watch with wide eyes as, in an almost comical slowness, Joowon slumped to the floor. The light faded from his eyes until they stared, unseeingly into his own.
 
The gun clattered to the floor, falling into the small puddle of red. His hands shook; the paper in his hands fluttering. He struggled to open it, though his eyes had difficulty seeing.
 
Whatever was in the paper tore an inhuman wail from Yonghwa's throat. The thin, wrinkled sheet fluttered to the floor, becoming just as stained as his brother's sweater. Screams filled the room. He couldn't tear his gaze away from his brother's lifeless one.
 
Finally, Yonghwa was broken.
 
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lol what is this I don't even...
I'm all AU happy today, I guess.