Jihoon gazed down at Hyun-woo, murderous intent burning in his eyes. It was as if he had become a completely different person.
"You know, I could kill you right now," Jihoon said coldly.
"Then do it," Hyun-woo snapped, glaring back.
"Your fighting technique... I don't recognize it," Jihoon muttered, analyzing him. "It must be foreign. You must come from a very powerful family."
Hyun-woo held his glare. "If you want to kill me, do it."
"I won't," Jihoon shook his head. "I can't afford to offend any powerful family at the moment."
Hyun-woo lowered his gaze in embarrassment. He had come here to help his sister get revenge, yet he'd been badly beaten.
"I'm sorry if I hurt your sister," Jihoon said suddenly, catching Hyun-woo off guard.
"Why apologize?" Hyun-woo asked, confused. "You've already beaten me."
"I see no reason to become your enemy," Jihoon said, then squinted at him. "You don't seem to belong to any of the families."
"I belong to the Wang family," Hyun-woo replied.
"Really?" Jihoon scoffed. "In that case, you must be adopted."
'What? How did he know?' Hyun-woo's heart skipped. "How do you know?"
"That's not important," Jihoon replied. "Leave."
As Jihoon turned, he caught sight of Seyeon standing behind him. Her eyes locked with his, searching deeply, almost desperately.
"What?" Jihoon asked, confused by her gaze.
Then her eyes widened, as if she had found something. "Who are you?"
"What do you mean? I'm Jihoon," he said.
"You're not him," Seyeon said with certainty. "You act differently whenever you fight."
Jihoon remained silent. Then, blood began to trickle from his nose. He touched under it with his fingers... and saw red.
"You're right," he said, his voice low. "I'm not Jihoon."
His eyes turned blurry just before he slumped unconscious.
---
Min-chul gripped the wheel tightly, racing through traffic with Tae-gun in the back seat. They had just discovered the location of the drive. If word got out, others would come for it—people who wouldn't hesitate to kill them.
"There's a car following us," Tae-gun said, eyes locked on the rearview mirror.
"I see it," Min-chul replied, pressing harder on the accelerator.
"You think they're Black Crown?" Tae-gun asked.
"Highly doubtful," Min-chul said. "The Order always keeps its word."
"Then who the hell are they?" Tae-gun gritted his teeth. Things were escalating fast.
"Should I call Crusher?" Min-chul asked.
"If you think that's an option—then yes!" Tae-gun snapped.
Just then, a rocket exploded beside their car, the shockwave shaking them violently.
"Who fired that?!" Tae-gun barked.
"There!" Min-chul pointed at an armored vehicle charging at them from the front.
Min-chul yanked the wheel and slammed the brakes, sending the car into a sharp drift. It barely avoided the armored vehicle, which barreled past them—its front lined with deadly steel spikes. A direct hit would've meant instant death.
But just as they escaped that, several motorbikes roared onto the scene, guns blazing.
Min-chul wasted no time. He called the BSS and requested immediate backup. Within minutes, helicopters took to the skies and armored vans tore through the streets.
Police units swarmed in—but were instantly overwhelmed. Bazookas turned their vehicles into fireballs. The city had erupted into a full-blown war zone as BSS choppers rained bullets down on the attackers.
"Seriously! Who are these people?!" Tae-gun yelled over the chaos.
Suddenly, a massive truck rammed into them, flipping the BMW into a brutal tumble. When it finally skidded to a halt, smoke and sparks filled the air.
From the wreckage, a figure emerged from the truck—a man in a dark outfit, walking calmly with a dagger glinting in his right hand. His presence oozed death.
Min-chul and Tae-gun crawled out of the ruined car, bloodied and dazed. The motorbike riders surrounded them, guns raised. Above, the BSS choppers had crashed into a building after being struck by explosive rounds.
"Who sent you?" Tae-gun asked as he struggled to his feet, blood dripping from his brow.
The man in front of him wore a black mask, his expression unreadable. He tilted his head to the side, raising his dagger slowly into the air.
Just as he was about to strike, a powerful fist smashed into the side of his head. The blow was so devastating it separated the man's head from his body, blood spraying from his neck.
"Crusher! Look out!" Min-chul yelled as the motorcyclists opened fire on him.
But Crusher didn't flinch. The bullets clanged against his skin, bouncing off as if hitting solid steel. The sight left everyone in shock.
"Who the f*ck is this guy?" one of the gunmen stammered in fear.
"Let's get out of here!" another shouted.
Crusher chuckled darkly. "You should've kept shooting... because now I'm heated up. And when I'm heated up—I murder."
"Run!"
"Shut up!" their leader growled. "There's no escaping the Crusher."
Without hesitation, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger—on himself.
"Heh?" the others froze, exchanging terrified glances, their minds still processing the horror.
---
Jihoon opened his eyes, spotting Seyeon lying beside him, her eyes locked on his.
"What happened?" he asked groggily.
"You fainted," she said.
"Where's Crusher?"
"He said he had something to do and left."
"So we're the only ones in this mansion?"
"Yeah," Seyeon nodded. "Wanna kiss?"
Jihoon chuckled and sat up, stretching. "Did Crusher say what he was going to do?"
"Nope. Just said it was urgent," she replied. "Why? Something wrong?"
"Not really..." Jihoon said, but his expression darkened.
A memory flashed in his mind—someone stabbing another person. Then suddenly, he saw Tae-gun's face, blood spilling from his mouth.
"Jihoon!" Seyeon's voice snapped him out of the vision.
"Hey... sorry," he muttered, rubbing his temples.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine," he said with a nod.
"What happened back there when you fought that guy?"
"What guy?"
"Wang Hyun-woo? You just fought him."
"Oh... right, him," Jihoon finally remembered. "What about the fight?"
"You were like a whole different person," Seyeon said. "The way you spoke, looked at me, even the way you fought... none of it felt like the real you."
"And how would you define the real me?" Jihoon raised a brow.
"The you that I'm talking to now," Seyeon replied.
Jihoon sighed. "You know, you're right. I do feel a little different whenever I fight. It only happens when I feel the need to protect something."
"Something like me," Seyeon blushed, wrapping her arms around him.
"And your father, yes," Jihoon replied. He examined her eyes. "You seem horny."
"I am," Seyeon nodded. "Wanna do something?"
"Um..." Jihoon looked away. "No, I do not."
"Aren't you a little bit turned on by me?"
Jihoon unwrapped her hands from him. "Shouldn't you call your dad?"
Seyeon frowned. "What's with you and my faHardther? Are you in love with him?"
"Heh?" Jihoon's mouth fell open.
---
The motorcyclists had no idea what to do. Though their leader had implied they end their lives too, they were just too afraid to do it.
A bullet was fired toward Crusher, but before it could touch him, Crusher caught the bullet with his bare hand. The bullet exploded within his grasp, causing fire and smoke to cloud his view. It was during this time that the motorcyclists decided to escape.
They hopped on their bikes and rode away. Meanwhile, the sniper who had fired the exploding bullet kept her gaze on Crusher.
"Even though he's the strongest man in Korea right now, he certainly wouldn't survive that," she shook her head, pitying Crusher.
"Where do you think you're going?" Crusher boomed at the escaping motorcyclists. He jumped into the air and slammed his fist into the ground.
A burst of energy spread out from around his fist, slamming into the escaping motorcyclists. The ground cracked in the process. The motorcyclists were thrown off their bikes, landing on the ground unconscious.
A black van stopped before Tae-gun and Min-chul. They stepped into the van, which took them back to the agency's hospital.
"Impossible," the sniper woman said in disbelief. How Crusher survived the explosion was something she couldn't understand at all.
She disassembled her rifles and turned to escape, but stopped—there was a woman's figure behind her. Sera stood behind the woman with a smile fixated on her face. Then, she swung her palm at the girl's neck, knocking her unconscious.
Lee Jun watched as the black van Tae-gun and Min-chul were in passed him. He slammed his hand on the steering wheel.
"They failed! I've failed!"
---
"Someone attacked Tae-gun," a male voice boomed at the gathering of the Order.
"Lee Jun was behind this, wasn't he?" another voice asked.
"Yes," a woman replied. "This mistake is from my end. I'm sorry."
"Whoa," a young man's voice sounded. "You guys should've seen the city today—everywhere was looking like a battlefield... Bullets were being sprayed everywhere like BAM! BAM! BAM! And the choppers went KABOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
"Will you shut it?" the man frowned.
"Chill, white nigga."
"White nigga?" the man sighed.