The drive back from the warehouse was silent. Kenta sat in the passenger seat of Riku's car, staring blankly out the window, his mind a storm of conflicting thoughts. The satisfaction he had expected to feel after destroying Mayu's life never fully came. Instead, a heavy emptiness settled inside him, like the quiet after a storm.
Mayu's broken cries still echoed in his mind, and the image of her collapsing on the cold ground haunted him. He had wanted her to suffer, to feel the same pain he had endured. But now that it was done, all he could think about was how hollow the victory felt.
Riku, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected. His hands were steady on the steering wheel, his face calm, as if nothing significant had happened.
"It's over now," Riku said suddenly, breaking the silence. "Takeshi's life will unravel in the coming weeks, and Mayu... well, she'll never recover from this. You've won."
Kenta didn't respond immediately. He had won? Then why did it feel like he had lost something even more important? After everything he had done, after crossing so many lines, was this all there was?
The words hung in the air between them, and Kenta found himself glancing at Riku out of the corner of his eye. Riku had been the architect of all of this, the one who had pushed Kenta down this dark path. But now that it was over, Kenta realized how little he actually knew about the man who had guided him.
"Riku," Kenta said, his voice quiet. "Why do you do this?"
Riku didn't turn his head, but Kenta saw the brief flicker of something in his eyes—an emotion he couldn't quite place. For a moment, the car was filled with a tense silence.
"You've never told me anything about yourself," Kenta continued, his curiosity piqued. "You helped me, but you don't seem to care about the outcome. What's your story? What happened to you?"
Riku kept his gaze on the road, his jaw tightening ever so slightly. When he finally spoke, his voice was cold and detached.
"You're only my client, Kenta," Riku said, his tone flat. "I help people with their revenge. That's it. My past is irrelevant."
Kenta frowned, unsatisfied with the response. "But there has to be a reason. No one just does this without a reason. What happened to you?"
Riku's grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white. For a brief moment, Kenta thought he saw something raw flicker in Riku's eyes—pain, perhaps, or regret. But just as quickly, it was gone, replaced by the cold, unreadable mask Riku always wore.
"My past doesn't concern you," Riku said, his voice colder now. "Focus on your own life, Kenta. You got what you wanted. Now move on."
The finality in Riku's tone made it clear that the conversation was over. Kenta sat back in his seat, frustration gnawing at him. Riku's evasiveness only made him more curious, but he knew pressing further would be pointless. Riku wasn't going to open up—at least not to him.
A few days later, Kenta stood at the entrance of the park where it had all begun. The place where he had first met Riku. The wind blew softly through the trees, and the sound of children playing in the distance contrasted sharply with the darkness that still lingered in Kenta's heart.
He had done what he set out to do. Takeshi's life was in shambles—news of the investigation had already begun circulating, and it was only a matter of time before the media caught wind of it. Mayu had disappeared from social media entirely, her reputation destroyed. In the end, Kenta had gotten his revenge.
But what had it cost him?
Kenta watched the children laughing and running through the park, their innocent joy so foreign to him now. He realized that in his pursuit of revenge, he had lost something important—his sense of self. He had become consumed by hatred, and in the process, had become someone he didn't recognize.
As he stood there, the weight of everything he had done began to press down on him. The satisfaction he had once craved felt empty now. He had won, but at what cost?
"Maybe Riku was right," Kenta thought, bitterness creeping into his mind. "Maybe revenge never really gives you closure."
With a deep sigh, Kenta turned and walked away from the park, unsure of where his life would lead now. The revenge was over, but the wounds remained.