June 7th, 2025.
South Korea, Tongyeong - 6:20 pm
Hyun-Woo, who stood at 177 cm / 5'10, was standing before another assassin who stood at 203 cm / 6'8. Hyun-Woo's eyes glowed intensely as he looked up at the man. Without wasting time, Hyun-Woo began throwing a barrage of punches at the man. "This guy probably relies on strength. My speed will crush him," Hyun-Woo thought. The punches seemed like they were never going to end. Suddenly, as another punch was about to land, it was stopped.
Hyun-Woo's eyes widened as he saw the man had stopped his punch by grabbing the wrist of his right hand. Hyun-Woo threw another punch with his left hand, but it was also stopped in the same way. "You may be a prodigy, but talent can only get you so far," the man said. Suddenly, the man threw Hyun-Woo's arms into the air, leaving him exposed. The man threw a powerful punch that connected to Hyun-Woo's stomach.
Hyun-Woo was sent into the wall, and the wall cracked. All the other assassins had stopped to watch the scene. Hyun-Woo's body slid down, and eventually, he sat against the wall, covered in blood. The man took a few steps toward him and grinned down at him before kicking Hyun-Woo in the stomach. The wall cracked even further as Hyun-Woo spat out blood and screamed in pain. "You may be considered a prodigy, but you're still less than an ant in the assassin world."
The man's eyes widened as Hyun-Woo slowly got back on his feet. His eyes were even more determined, filled with rage. "I won't let you get away with hurting my friend. I'll at least break one of your bones…" Hyun-Woo said weakly as he limped. The man's mouth formed into a giant smile that spread from cheek to cheek. "You're determined, that's nice. Now let me destroy that determination."
"Both of you, stop it." Everyone in the hallway turned to look. Kang-Dae was walking down the hallway from his office with an annoyed expression on his face. "I was really hoping one of the other executives would've stepped in, but I guessed wrong… I do not want to deal with this," Kang-Dae said to himself.
"Kang-Dae… let me beat the shit out of this guy, please…" Hyun-Woo said with a weak voice. Kang-Dae sighed, "I like your determination, Hyun-Woo. But right now, you're being delusional. That man you're fighting is Mu-San, one of the top five strongest assassins in 'The Pale Choir'—excluding executives." Hyun-Woo's eyes widened once he heard the name.
"This is the Mu-San? I see… I do stand no chance," Hyun-Woo thought before speaking out loud, "Fine, I'll stop." Hyun-Woo stepped back and sat against the wall, exhausted. Mu-San looked down at Hyun-Woo before walking away. Kang-Dae walked up to Hyun-Woo and looked down at him. "You're lucky there's a no-killing rule inside 'The Pale Choir.' If you guys fought outside, he would've killed your dumbass, Hyun-Woo."
Hyun-Woo chuckled, "This sure was a reality check. In the world of assassins, I'm still nothing…" Kang-Dae shook his head before reassuring Hyun-Woo. "Just three months ago, you were a regular person. Now you're out fighting drug gangs. The average new assassin would take at least seven months to get to where you are now. Don't bring yourself too down."
Hyun-Woo smiled. "Look at you, Kang-Dae… you can say some kind things." Kang-Dae sighed before walking away, "Shut the hell up."
June 7th, 2025.
South Korea, Tongyeong - 6:38 pm
A black car drove down the streets of Tongyeong City. Hyun-Woo had one hand on the steering wheel, still covered in blood. Jisoo sat in the passenger seat with dried-up blood all over his face.
"Bro… this hurts so bad. Do you have painkillers at your house?" Hyun-Woo nodded before replying, "I do, but I'm planning on chugging them all down when I get home. I'm in pain." Jisoo looked over at Hyun-Woo in shock, "Hey, you can't do that to me!"
Suddenly, Hyun-Woo pulled into a garage of a house near the outskirts of the city. The house was made of a light wood material. Hyun-Woo and Jisoo both got out of the car and walked along the stone pathway leading to the front door. Hyun-Woo grabbed the yellow doorknob and twisted it before pushing the door open. Inside the home, it gave a warm and cozy atmosphere.
A woman sat on the red couch watching TV. Her attention turned to the door when she heard it open. The woman had jet-black hair that cascaded down to her waist. She had pale, soft, clear skin like the snow, and black eyes that held vulnerability behind them. She wore a white shirt with brown pajama pants. She was barefoot. Her eyes lit up when she saw Hyun-Woo. She jumped over the back of the couch and ran to Hyun-Woo to hug him, her arms around his waist and her face against his chest.
"HONEY, I MISSED YOU!" she yelled out with happiness. Hyun-Woo softly smiled as he hugged his girlfriend. "I missed you as well, love." Jisoo smiled as he waved at Hyun-Woo's girlfriend, "Hello, Min-Seo." Min-Seo ignored Jisoo. Instead, she looked up at Hyun-Woo. She smiled at him before kissing him.
Min-Seo stepped back and noticed Jisoo. "Oh, hey Jisoo." Jisoo sighed before awkwardly replying, "Hey… Min-Seo…" Hyun-Woo patted Min-Seo before walking over to the couch and sitting down. Min-Seo sat to his right and Jisoo to his left. Hyun-Woo took out the rolled-out paper and placed it on the small wooden table in front of the couch.
"Zhi Yi, one of China's assassin prodigies. I was tasked with capturing him," Hyun-Woo said. All of them looked at the profile picture of Zhi Yi displayed on the top left corner of the paper. He had an innocent face and smooth pale skin, as if he had never seen the sun. A light brown eye color accompanied by light brown short hair. They all began to read his profile.
"Name: Zhi Yi An
Age: 21
Birthday: August 2nd, 2003
Blood Type: A
Height: 173 cm / 5'8
Sungaze Rarity: Uncommon
Subject: Zhi Yi An
It is assessed with high confidence that Zhi Yi An will attend a private event hosted at Velvet Tide Nightclub, Goseong County, on 15 June.
The event is expected to run between 21:00 and 04:00 KST. According to credible sources, the subject received a direct invitation.
Reward: ₩5,000,000"
All of them finished reading in their heads. Jisoo pointed out, "He's older than all of us by one year." Min-Seo shook her head before correcting him, "He's older than both of you by one year. I'm still not twenty." Jisoo rolled his eyes, "Just round it up." Jisoo turned to look at the paper again before asking the following, "Twenty-one is like… nine p.m., right?"
Hyun-Woo sighed before shaking his head, "Yeah." Hyun-Woo then reread the paper, his eyes focused. "All the way in Goseong County, and in a nightclub… that might make things difficult."
"Honey, look," Min-Seo said. When Hyun-Woo turned to look, Min-Seo had her phone screen at his face.
"Honey, here it says Velvet Tide spans over three thousand and two hundred square meters. If you were worried about it being too small to fight in and having to worry about hurting people, hopefully, this makes you worry less." Min-Seo took a breath before continuing to speak, "Also, June fifteenth lands on a Sunday."
"A Sunday? Doesn't that mean the nightclub will be more full than usual?" Jisoo asked. Hyun-Woo turned his attention back to Min-Seo; it was obvious he was thinking the same thing. Min-Seo shook her head before scrolling down on her phone. "Look at this…" Hyun-Woo and Jisoo both took a closer look.
"The Velvet Tide Nightclub does not open on Sundays," is what they read. Hyun-Woo looked skeptical about this. "Why would they not open on Sundays?"
Jisoo nodded his head, "Yeah, that's like prime time to go to the club." Hyun-Woo then thought for a moment before looking at Min-Seo, who nodded with a smile. "Unless this nightclub is run by an assassin organization, and they use this place as a way to bring in money and a place to meet up, or something of that sort."
"Or… they could be a religious club?" Jisoo said. Min-Seo shook her head softly, "That is a possibility. But then why would they throw an event on a Sunday?" Min-Seo looked at her phone and started scrolling through the Velvet Tide Nightclub website. She then added on, "There's no information about an event on June fifteenth, even when I search for it."
Hyun-Woo looked back at the paper. "It's most likely that it is run by an assassin organization, and Zhi Yi An has something to do with this organization. I doubt Zhi Yi will be the only assassin we have to worry about in that club." Jisoo leaned his head back on the sofa and sighed, "You know… I'm not sure if I want to go on this mission anymore, bro."
Min-Seo looked at Hyun-Woo. "Honey, you invited Jisoo? You know he's useless, right…?" Jisoo jumped forward at the insult, "WHAT? I'M NOT USELESS!" Jisoo took a small pause before taking a deep breath and looking at Hyun-Woo. "Count me in on this mission!" Hyun-Woo sighed before looking at Min-Seo, "Love, do you also want to come along?"
Min-Seo nodded excitedly. "Anything to help my amazing boyfriend, but only under one condition…" Hyun-Woo looked nervous as he asked, "Yes…?" Min-Seo smiled as she answered, "We'll have a movie night at home when we get back, okay?" Hyun-Woo softly smiled, "My love, we can have a movie night whenever—just ask me." Hyun-Woo then leaned in and they both kissed, Hyun-Woo placing his hand on top of her right hand gently.
Jisoo got up from the couch and sighed. "Happy couples… when will it be my turn?" he said to himself under his breath before walking toward the front door. Suddenly, Jisoo stood still as realization hit. He slowly turned around, and they were still kissing. "Hyun-Woo… isn't my car still at the organization…?" Hyun-Woo pulled away and looked at Jisoo, he awkwardly smiled. "Yeah… you were in no condition to drive, so I put you in my car… I also had no intention of waiting for you woke up."
"Hyun-Woo, take me back this instant… I do not want to spend the night. Last time, you and your girlfriend stayed up until like four a.m. watching movies… I COULD NOT SLEEP! Also, your sofa isn't that comfortable to sleep on."
Hyun-Woo sighed as he stood up. He looked at Min-Seo. "Love, let me go take Jisoo back. You should cook something, or do you want me to order something?" Min-Seo shook her head, "I'll cook something. Do you also want me to make you something?" Hyun-Woo nodded, "Yeah, that'd be nice, thanks."
Jisoo groaned and sighed before opening the door and walking out. Just as Hyun-Woo was about to follow, Min-Seo, with a soft smile, said, "Hyun-Woo, my honey, I love you." Hyun-Woo smiled as he replied, "I love you more, Min-Seo, my love," before walking out of the house and shutting the door behind him.