Chapter 248 - Comeback (8): Mirrors

Ash watched with a bored expression as the Board of Directors blabbed on about the impending comebacks. 

"Kwon Jiwon had announced his own comeback!" one of the directors exclaimed. "That too on the same day. He even wrapped up the shoot for his music video in a short time! Our new group has no chance against the Nation's Idol! I say we postpone the debut of these trainees." 

"We have invested way too much!" another director spoke up. "If we postpone then it'll cost us more." 

"But we will make major losses if the debut goes through," an elderly director pointed out. 

"What about chart manipulation? We can hire a firm to do that." 

"Youtube views can be bought too. And Kwon Jiwon is getting old anyway. People were looking forward to Six X. But the scandal caused Kwon Jiwon to finish his own album and…" 

The directors went on and on about the new girl group. They debated amongst themselves about the situation. Ash simply leaned back, watching in amus.e.m.e.nt as the old men fought like children. 

"This is not funny," Junhyung hissed from the seat next to him. "Jiwon's comeback is putting a dent on our plan!" 

"No, it's going exactly how I wanted it to be," Ash smirked. He had an acquaintance put the idea of the fake scandal in Dami's head. He banked on Mystic Entertainment to bail him out of the scandal and replace Six X's comeback with KJ's one instead. He wanted KJ to go on stage again. So far, his plan went flawlessly. 

And now, it was time to strike. 

"The debut of 7A will go on as planned," Ash announced. The Board of Directors looked at him in dismay. 

"Chart manipulation, view buying, fake sellouts…do whatever you want," he said lazily. "But the debut will go ahead as planned. If needed, we'll compete with Kwon Jiwon on one stage. But there will be no delays."

His words resonated throughout the room with absolute finality. The directors did not dare to protest. 

"That will be all, gentlemen," he said, dismissing them. Slowly, the directors began to exit the room. All except one. 

"You want to say something, Mr. Song?" Ash asked Song Tamlin. 

"I do," Tamlin replied. He glanced at Junhyung with his beady eyes. 

"Leave Junhyung," Ash ordered. 

"I want to hear what he'll say," Junhyung protested. 

"Leave. Don't make me repeat myself." 

Junhyung glared at him before turning on his heels and leaving the room, slamming the door behind him. 

"Now that the pests are out," Ash said. "What do you want to know?" 

"Why are you so adamant on having 7A debut on the same day as KJ's comeback?" Tamlin asked. 

"I will have my enemy right where I wanted him to be," Ash replied coolly. 

"Even if it means jeopardising your own company?"

Ash let out a loud laugh. "I don't give a rat's ass about this company," he snickered. "I only set it up to compete with Mystic Entertainment. 7A can fail for all I care. I only want KJ on that stage. And I have to be there when he stands on it." 

He gave a mysterious grin. Song Tamlin studied him for a moment. 

"You know," he said. "I really hated my brother. From the moment he was born, he took away my birthright. I was an illegitimate child, you see."

He stood up and walked towards a small sangria station in the corner of the room. He poured himself a glass of whiskey. 

"But he was the legitimate heir," Tamlin went on. "The apple of everyone's eyes. He took away everything which should have been mine. My father's love, my wealth, my identity and my status. But I didn't truly despise him then. I disliked him but not to the extent of loathing. Until…he took away someone very precious to me. He killed my fiance."

Tamlin's eyes were glazed. There was a strange burning in them as he recalled the past. "That was when I had decided, enough was enough," Tamlin whispered. "So I vowed to destroy him. One by one, I took away everything that mattered to him. First it was his wealth. Then his identity. Then his family. And lastly…" 

He turned around to face Ash. "His life," Tamlin finally said. "But you know what the irony was? After I wiped my brother off from this earth, I found out my fiance was not dead. She faked her death to run away with someone else. She simply framed my brother for it." 

He gulped down his entire drink. He gripped the glass so tightly that it broke into pieces. His face contorted with pain and fury as the past flooded into his mind. "The woman for whom I  was about to give up everything. I wanted to take her and run away from this miserable life. I gave her my heart. But she did not just crush it beneath her heels. She destroyed what was left of me. When I saw her, alive and well, I kept on staring at my hands."

He stared at his bleeding hand. "These hands had once held my baby brother," he went on. "Even if he took away my inheritance, there was a time when he was my little brother. The first time I held him was when he was born. At that time, I didn't know that I would be a second fiddle to him. All I remembered was the pure and innocent joy of having a brother. And years later, I killed him with my bare hands."

He let out an ironic laugh. Ash sat there, silently listening to the old man. 

"What happened to your fiance?" Ash finally asked. 

"She lives," Tamlin revealed. "Still alive." 

"You didn't punish her?" 

"I did. I killed that piece of shit she had run away with. In front of her own eyes. And warned her that all her loved ones will die. Anyone she will date will be killed. Her punishment is to live alone for the rest of her life." 

The two men stared at each other. " You're my mirror, Ash," Tamlin noted. "You're like me. About to take down a brother who had done you no harm. That too for a person who will never love you." 

Tamlin was amused at the irony of their destinies. Ash stood up, still looking at Tamlin in the eye. 

"He's not a brother to me," Ash stated. "And I don't seek anyone's love. The only thing I want is my-" 

"Birthright," Tamlin finished for him. "But then again..." 

He poured himself another drink before turning to leave. 

"Was it ever yours?" he questioned as he left the room. Ash pondered on that question for a while. 

"It will be," he decided.