Llewllellyn stood before the vast stretch of beach, its shifting waves echoing the silence inside him. The beach and the man staring at it seemed to hold secrets too deep for anyone else, as if it belonged to someone dear to him. His black suit fluttered lightly in the cold breeze, but nothing about him screamed wealth or danger. Instead, he radiated a quiet kind of mourning, a loneliness carved into bone.
The wind brushed against his face, tossing strands of hair across his eyes and the ridge of his straight nose. He exhaled slowly, like letting go of a pain he'd held too long. His gaze drifted over the restless water.
Footsteps approached from behind, smooth, almost lazy, yet carrying the rebellious energy he knew too well. Llewllellyn didn't turn.
"Why are you here?" he asked flatly. He didn't need to look to recognize Rick.
"This is the only place you disappear to," Rick replied, coming to stand beside him.
Llewllellyn said nothing, looking straight ahead. Rick watched him for a moment, then asked quietly, "Are you okay?"
He knew what the question meant. Every time Llewllellyn met with his father, he returned bruised in spirit, but today—after a meeting with both his father and Ana's older brother—he looked worse than Rick had ever seen him.
Llewllellyn forced a small smile. "Of course. What do you take me for?"
"A rascal," Rick answered teasing.
The wind washed over them again, stretching the silence between them. Only the crash of waves filled the air.
Then Llewllellyn finally spoke, voice flat and emotionless.
"I'm taking full control of the institute."
Rick snapped his head toward him. Llewllellyn hated responsibilities—meetings, decisions, leadership. He avoided anything that chained him to power. Hearing him say he would take over the entire institute was almost unbelievable.
"Will your dad even let you? That man is..."
"Treaky and cunning," Llewllellyn finished in his mind, but he didn't answer aloud. He simply kept staring at the water.
Suddenly a shout cut through the air.
"Boss!"
Heavy footsteps pounded their way toward them. Neither man turned. They already knew the voice.
Jecey.
He jogged up, bent slightly as he caught his breath. "Good evening, Boss."
Then he immediately spun to Rick.
"Hey! What was with the text you sent me?"
Llewllellyn exhaled, shaking his head. Not again.
"I sent it because I sent it," Rick replied, cool and sharp.
"What?" Jecey barked. He stepped back, laughing—not from humor, but from barely contained anger. "Look at this punk."
He stormed forward until their faces were inches apart. Rick didn't move, didn't blink, didn't even straighten from his lazy posture with his hands in his pockets. Jecey tightened his jaw, trying to intimidate him.
"Why did you send me that text, Rick? I'm asking you nicely. Tell me!"
Before Rick could speak, Llewllellyn lifted two fingers without looking at either of them.
"Enough," Llewllellyn said, lifting two fingers without even turning. "Stop the children's fight."
He turned and started walking away, leaving them frozen mid–face off.
"Boss..where are we going?" Jecey asked.
Llewllellyn didn't answer.
Jecey looked back and shot Rick a hostile growl, reminding him their argument wasn't settled. Rick ignored him completely.
They arrived at a luxury mall, the kind that might as well have a sign saying: If you're poor, turn back.
The moment Llewllellyn entered, attendants bowed and greeted him in a foreign language he understood perfectly. Jecey, meanwhile, stared at the woman's lips instead of listening.
Rick elbowed him. "Get yourself together, man."
"HEY...don't think we're done. Don't make me crush you, you shrimp!" Jecey snapped.
Rick just shook his head.
Llewllellyn was asked what section he wanted to see, but he barely glanced at the expensive suits. Instead, he walked straight into the women's section. He scanned the dresses, rejecting each one with a frown.
Too long. Too plain. Too boring. Not attractive enough.
Then his eyes stopped on one.
"That," he said simply.
It was displayed like a treasure—new arrival, costly, elegant in the dangerous way he preferred. He ordered it immediately.
Rick eyed the dress. "You sure that suits Diane?"
Llewllellyn didn't reply. His mind was already racing with what else to buy.
He picked shoes. Perfume. Makeup. A necklace whose price alone could crush someone's soul. None of it slowed him down.
Later, while Rick and Jecey waited, Llewllellyn stepped into a quiet waiting room, where a woman soon walked up to him, staring shamelessly. She smiled.
The woman who appeared in the waiting room kept her eyes on Llewllellyn—once, twice, again. She didn't bother to hide it. When he finally lifted his gaze to her, she smiled and glided closer, confidence dripping from every step.
But she wasn't just a stranger mesmerized by his beauty.
She was his girlfriend—one out of many.
In fact, she was the same woman who kept calling him earlier when he sat on the rooftop with Rick.
She slipped into the seat beside him and crossed her legs, angling her body toward him.
"Aren't you happy to see me?" she murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
No response.
"I called you several times. You didn't pick up. Did I… upset you?" she tried again.
He didn't answer. He remembered her from nights drenched in heat and recklessness—nights he barely cared to recall. To him, she was a closed chapter. Something he had enjoyed, taken, paid for, and discarded.
Why she still lingered baffled him.
"I needed something," she finally said, lowering her gaze.
Money. She always asked for money after their nights together.
His payment. His price.
"Is that why you called?" Llewllellyn asked, voice flat and edged with irritation.
She opened her mouth, but he stood up coldly, and walked away without giving her another look.
She blinked, stunned.
"Did… did he just dump me?" she whispered to herself, confused and humiliated.
Outside the mall, Jecey was struggling under the weight of all the bags of dresses, shoes, perfumes, jewelry and everything Llewllellyn had bought for Diane. Meanwhile, Llewllellyn and Rick walked out casually, hands completely empty.
"Boss, this is unfair," Jecey protested dramatically.
"What do you mean?" Llewllellyn asked, turning.
"Rick's hands are empty!"
Llewllellyn looked at Rick.
"Why aren't you carrying anything?"
Rick raised an eyebrow.
"Do you have a death wish?"
The tension sparked instantly—those two always danced between sarcasm and violence. Their standoff was instant, intense. Jecey watched them like a referee taking side.
"Punch him, boss," Jecey muttered.
These three had been friends since high school. Llewllellyn the cold leader, Rick the calm danger, and Jecey… the loyal chaos. At least there had been four friends, but one had turned out to be bad news.
Truce.
Llewellyn and Rick are inseparable, the kind of friends who could read each other without a word. Jecey was different. He treated Llewellyn as "boss," not just a friend, taking every gang matter with a seriousness the others sometimes lacked, and respecting the hierarchy above friendship.
Rick, on the other hand, treats Llewellyn simply as Llewellyn, his friend, unless they're in a gang meeting handling serious business. Only then does he switch to "boss." Outside of those moments, Llewellyn is always just Llewellyn to him, anytime, anywhere.
Jecey cleared his throat to ease the tension. "All this stuff… who is it for anyway?"
"For my date," Llewllellyn said simply.
Jecey froze.
"Boss… is THAT why Rick told me to pick her up tomorrow? Because she's your date?!"
"You will pick her up," Rick added. "Then take her to Llewllellyn. It's simple."
"I wasn't talking to you, shrimp..." Jecey barked, then turned back to Llewllellyn.
"But boss, why should I..."
He didn't finish.
Llewllellyn closed the distance between them in a single step. Cold. Sharp. Dangerous.
He leaned one hand on the car bonnet, face inches from Jecey's, his presence swallowing the air.
"It's a simple pick and drop, Jecey," he said quietly, too quietly. "And if anything goes wrong…"
Jecey swallowed. Hard. He knew that tone.
"…I'll kill you."
Llewllellyn straightened, stepping back.
"Yes, boss," Jecey replied instantly, stiff as a soldier. "Sorry, boss."
Llewllellyn tossed him a key.
"Go to my house. Pick the best car. Arrive at her place on time."
"Yes boss!"
With the bags of Diane's gifts, Jecey hurried off.
Llewllellyn pulled open the car door, but Rick stayed still.
"Are you coming?" Llewllellyn asked.
Rick didn't move. Instead, he tilted his head toward something behind them.
Only then did Llewllellyn see her, his discarded girlfriend, staring at him with hurt confusion.
Rick looked back at him, face unreadable.
"Do you like Diane or what?" he asked quietly.
Llewllellyn's jaw tightened. "Why should you care?"
Rick stepped closer.
"Are you going to dump her too?"
Llewllellyn closed the car door and leaned against it, staring at the ground beneath the streetlight glow.
"I don't know," he answered, voice low. "Maybe… we'll see."
Rick exhaled through his nose.
"I'll see you at the party."
He walked away, leaving Llewllellyn standing alone. Llewllellyn remained under the streetlights, lost in shadows and thoughts he refused to name.