Jay-jay's POV
Everything stopped. Literally stopped. The man in the black suit in front of me—the same one holding the gun pointed at me—was glaring at me.
"Pull the trigger!" I repeated.
The man in front of me glanced at both Keifer's father and me.
"Jay! Shut up!" Aries shouted at me.
I ignored him. I kept my eyes locked on this bastard in front of me.
"Go ahead….Pull it." I commanded.
"What the hell are you doing, Jay?!" Yuri asked angrily.
I didn't answer him either. Neither of us even blinked as I stared down the man before me.
Just try it. If he even flinches, I'll flick his damn eyelids off.
"Pull it now!" I shouted. "...You can't, can you?" I smirked when he didn't answer. "...What will people say when they find out a student was killed because of the Watsons? That would be a huge disgrace for you."
The whole room fell silent. It seemed they understood what I was implying.
"...Can you really kill a defenseless student?" I added, pressing further.
Even the other men in black suits holding guns seemed to hesitate.
"...What will your business partners say? What will the public say? And what will my father say about you?"
Dead silence.
The others exchanged glances. Some turned to look at Keifer's father. But the one in front of me? He was determined to keep up this staring contest.
Suddenly, Keifer's father started slow clapping as he walked toward me.
"Put the gun down..." he ordered, then faced me. "...You're a brave woman, you know that?"
If only he knew. The entire year's worth of courage I had been saving up to face my older brother—I think I just used it all up.
I didn't respond to him. He simply walked over to Keifer and picked up the paper.
"I thought I had the upper hand this time... But I guess I was wrong," he said, then looked at me. "...You and your friends can leave now. I'll talk to you again next time."
He turned and walked away, followed by the men in black suits. But the one in front of me? He gave me one last glare before leaving.
Keep staring, bastard!
The moment they were out of sight, my knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the floor. Ci-N and David rushed over to help me.
The fear I had been fighting so hard to suppress finally surged through me. My body couldn't take it anymore. My heart was racing so fast it felt like it was about to jump out of my chest.
"Are you okay, Jay?" David asked.
I clung to his arm. "Jesus! I thought I was going to die!"
I turned to see Yuri, who was struggling to help the King. The guy was too proud, constantly refusing assistance.
"You were so brave earlier... I'm really proud of you," Ci-N said.
Wow!
I couldn't help but smile. While everyone was checking on me, I didn't even realize that Keifer had already approached us.
"Are you out of your mind?!" he asked angrily. Now everyone was looking at us. "...Do you even know who you just challenged?!"
I shook my head. I had no clue who that was—just another one of Keifer's father's men.
"That is Dylan! He is a professional hitman!"
H-h-h-hitman?!
I challenged a professional hitman? I challenged him? I CHALLENGED HIM?!
Once again, my knees turned to jelly, and I collapsed straight onto the floor.
"JAY!" they all called out, rushing to help me. But this time, I had no strength left to even stand.
I just came face-to-face with Death!
And I had the nerve to act all high and mighty. Damn it! If he hadn't spared me, I would've gone home as a cold corpse.
"I-I-I almost died back there," I muttered, still trembling.
"It's okay... You didn't actually die, did you?" Ci-N said.
As much as I wanted to smack this kid, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't get what I had done out of my head.
"Where's Keiren?" Keigan suddenly asked.
With my still-shaking hand, I pointed to the table where I had hidden him.
Keigan immediately rushed over, peeking under the table. Keiren crawled out and hugged him tightly. Keifer walked over, too, immediately wrapping both of his siblings in a firm embrace.
To others, that might have looked cheesy, but to me? That was incredibly heartwarming.
"We should get out of here," Drew suggested.
Everyone agreed. David helped me walk as we made our way outside.
I glanced at Aries and Ella. They were just watching me, as if they were silently discussing something.
Once we were outside, Keifer helped Keigan and Keiren into the car. Then, he turned to us—and shot me a glare.
"Don't ever do that again!" he snapped.
"Keifer! She only did it to help you!" Felix defended me.
"What if Dylan actually followed through with what he said?!" Keifer shot back.
Silence.
He had a point. What if Dylan had really pulled the trigger? But if I hadn't done anything, Keifer might have already signed that paper, and everything his mother worked for would've been gone.
"...You just gave them a new idea of what they should do next!"
My chest tightened at his words. I felt like I had only made things worse when all I wanted was to help.
"...Next time, think before you act so recklessly!" he added before getting into his car and driving off.
"Don't mind him... He's just worried about you," David tried to comfort me.
I nodded, but it didn't feel that simple. It hurt knowing my attempt to help only seemed to add to the problem.
"Don't think too much about it. Even I would've been mad if I were in his shoes," Yuri said. "...But thank you for doing that."
I smiled at him. At least he appreciated what I did.
Though... he wasn't exactly the person I was hoping to hear that from.
Third Person's POV
1... 2... 3...
Dylan counted in his mind, keeping track of the bullets in the gun he had held earlier.
The same gun he had pointed at Jay-jay. His palms itched—not because of money, as the rumors suggested—but because he was itching to pull the trigger.
Killing was his livelihood. But even without payment, he could still kill. It was never about the money.
It was about the feeling he got when he took a life—that was what he truly craved.
"How many times do you need to count those bullets?" his boss asked.
Keifer's father.
The man stood silently, gazing out the window. From there, he had a clear view of Keifer's classmates driving away.
"Sorry, sir..." Dylan muttered, tucking the gun away. "...But may I ask why you didn't let us finish them all off?"
His boss chuckled lightly.
Kaizer Watson. The heartless father of Keifer.
For reasons Dylan couldn't understand, Kaizer had refused to let them kill Keifer's classmates, even though it would have been so easy.
"Because of that girl... She has a point," Kaizer answered. "...I'm amazed by her."
Dylan pondered over this. That girl was undoubtedly brave, but despite that, he had seen the fear in her eyes.
And fear—was something he loved seeing in his victims.
"You know Jeana, right?" Keifer's father continued. "...Somehow, I see her in that girl. They really are mother and daughter."
Dylan had only encountered Jeana once, briefly, and it was a long time ago. He didn't fully grasp what his boss meant.
"What's your plan for Keifer?" Dylan asked, changing the subject.
"I need to get Keiren. That woman's financial holder is clever. I can't get my hands on their money unless I have them with me," Kaizer explained, pouring himself a drink from the nearby table.
"...I need to fool Keifer. I can't control him through violence or brute force."
"What about Keigan?" Dylan asked.
If there was one shred of humanity left in Dylan, it was his concern for the boy he had once taken care of.
"I have no use for that kid. I already took his money. What I need is Keifer and Keiren's wealth."
Dylan lowered his head. The amount of money at stake was massive. Since the children were minors, all the wealth their mother had left behind was under a financial holder's management. They only received allowances.
Kaizer had already drained Keigan's funds when the boy fell under his control. Once he got what he needed, he discarded Keigan like trash.
There was no love in his boss—not for his children, not even for his former wife.
"Call my lawyer. I need to speak with them," Kaizer ordered.
Dylan bowed slightly and left the room. He did as he was told, pulling out his phone and dialing a number.
But he didn't call the lawyer.
"Hello..."
["Next time, let us know about his plan ahead of time."]
A voice snapped at him from the other end.
"I'm sorry... I didn't have time to send a message."
["We just stood there like idiots, completely clueless!"] the caller shouted angrily.
"I'm really sorry..."
["We'll let that slide. But what you did to Jay-jay? We won't! We'll talk about this when we see you!"]
The call ended before Dylan could say another word.
This was right.
He wanted to make up for his sins—and helping those kids was the only way he saw to do it.