The air inside the warehouse was thick with sweat, smoke, and the kind of silence that screamed louder than bullets.
Jae-hyun stood in front of the rusted steel doors, his black hoodie pulled low over his brow, concealing the fire in his eyes. His fists were clenched, the envelope still hidden in his pocket. He hadn't told Ra-hee the whole truth.
This wasn't just a mission.
This was a reckoning.
He took a deep breath, pushed the doors open—and walked into hell.
Inside, nothing had changed. The same flickering lights, the stench of gunpowder and cheap whiskey. The Black Lanterns still claimed this place like roaches in a forgotten ruin. A dozen pairs of eyes turned to him as he stepped into the room, but no one moved.
Not until a voice cut through the silence.
"Well, well. Look what the wind dragged in."
A man stepped from the shadows—lean, gray-haired, with a serpent tattoo slithering down his neck. His presence poisoned the air. Jae-hyun remembered that voice—how it used to lull him to sleep before slamming him awake with a fist.
Chairman Baek.
"You're either bold or stupid, boy," the man drawled, smirking. "Or both."
Jae-hyun didn't flinch. "You called. I came."
Baek stepped closer, inspecting him like a butcher sizing up a cow. "You've changed."
"You haven't."
That earned him a slow chuckle. "Still got that mouth. I thought time in the clean world would turn you soft."
"Don't worry," Jae-hyun said coldly. "I didn't forget how to kill."
Baek's eyes glittered. "Good. Because I've got a job for you. And if you pull it off, I might even let your little girlfriend live."
Jae-hyun's pulse pounded—but he didn't show it.
"What do you want?"
Baek threw a folder on the table. "There's a traitor in my ranks. Someone's been feeding information to the police. I want them rooted out and dealt with. Quietly."
"And if I say no?"
Baek smiled, pulling out a photo from his pocket. It was Ra-hee—leaving the hospital, smiling faintly at something on her phone. Jae-hyun's breath stopped.
"She doesn't even know she's being followed," Baek whispered. "So fragile. So soft. Imagine what I could do to her if you failed me."
Jae-hyun's hand twitched at his side. He wanted to draw his gun, put a bullet through the man's skull. But not yet.
"I'll do it," he said flatly.
Baek grinned. "Atta boy."
As Jae-hyun took the folder and turned away, a memory crashed into him like a wave—Ra-hee's voice in the dark, whispering, "Promise me you'll come back."
He gritted his teeth. I will, he vowed. Even if I have to burn this entire place to the ground.
Meanwhile...
Ra-hee sat alone in her apartment, the silence a living thing around her. Her phone hadn't buzzed in hours. No messages. No sign of him.
She couldn't sit still. She walked to the window for the tenth time, peering into the street. No Jae-hyun. No car.
Worry clawed at her chest. Was he safe? Was he bleeding? Was he… gone?
The worst part wasn't the fear. It was the helplessness.
She was a doctor—trained to fix what was broken. But how do you heal someone who's willingly walking into darkness?
Suddenly, her phone rang.
She scrambled to grab it—unknown number.
"Hello?"
A raspy voice answered. "You must be the pretty doctor."
Her blood ran cold.
"Who is this?"
"Let's just say I'm a friend of Jae-hyun. He's fine. For now. But if you want to keep him that way… you'll stay quiet. No police. No questions."
Click.
Ra-hee stood frozen, the phone trembling in her hand.
They had her number.
They knew her name.
And Jae-hyun was in deeper than he let on.
Back at the warehouse
Night had fallen. Jae-hyun sat on a crate, flipping through the files Baek had given him. Pictures, names, addresses. He didn't care about the traitor. He only cared about buying time—figuring out how deep Baek's network still ran.
But one thing stood out—a photo of a girl. Not older than sixteen. Marked for death.
His blood ran cold. She looked like Ra-hee. Same gentle eyes. Same quiet sadness.
He closed the file slowly. His fists shook.
Baek wasn't just running a gang. He was still recruiting. Still breaking lives. Still feeding the monster he'd always been.
Jae-hyun stood, fire in his veins. He wasn't going to play Baek's game. Not anymore.
Tomorrow… he would find the traitor.
But tonight?
Tonight, he would send a message.
He slipped into the back room, where Baek's ammunition stash was hidden. Silently, he set a timer on a small explosive—one he'd carried in his boot since entering.
Ten minutes.
That's all he needed.
As he walked back into the main room, his expression was blank, controlled.
But inside?
Jae-hyun was already burning.
And the Black Lanterns were about to learn what happened when you threatened the only person who'd ever made a monster feel human.
To Be Continued...