Yoon So-yeon sat on the living room sofa, her eyes fixed on an old childhood photo of Geon-woo. As her finger traced the photo the memory of faint scar on his cheek resurfacd in her mind. A single tear escaped and rolled down her face.
The silence was broken by the sharp chime of the doorbell. So-yeon quickly wiped her eyes and stood up.
"Geon-woo, is that you?"
She peered through the peephole, but the hallway was a void of darkness. No one answered. Frowning in confusion, she cautiously unlatched the door.
"Geon-woo?"
The door hadn't even fully opened before the frame was filled with the heavy breathing of three men. They barged inside.
"Wh-who are you?!"
So-yeon screamed, stumbling backward. The man in the lead approached her with a chilling, predatory smile.
"Get back! Stay away from me!"
Instead of answering, the man reached out, grabbed her by the hair, and pressed a cloth soaked in chloroform over her nose and mouth.
"Shh... it'll be over soon. Just stay still."
So-yeon's body went limp. The leader handed her off to a hulking brute standing behind him.
"Get her to the SUV downstairs. Put her in the trunk. We can't let the boss down."
The brute nodded, hoisted So-yeon over his shoulder, and headed out.
Downstairs, an SUV sat in the darkness with its engine killed. The brute reached the vehicle and popped the trunk. But a long minute passed, and the sound of the trunk slamming shut never came.
The leader, sitting inside the car, leaned out the window and hissed with irritation.
"Hey! What are you doing? Load her up and let's move!"
Silence. He shouted louder.
"Hey! Did you hear me? Move it!"
Still, there was no response. The leader nudged the subordinate sitting next to him.
"Go out and check. Did that idiot stop to take a leak or something?"
The man grumbled and stepped out of the car. He walked toward the rear, scanning the shadows. "Where the hell did he go?"
Then, he saw him. A man dressed in all black, wearing a dark mask, stood behind the vehicle like a phantom. The goon recoiled in shock.
"Goddammit, who the hell are you supposed to be?"
The man didn't reply. Agitated, the goon stepped forward to throw a punch. "You're starting to annoy me, you prick!"
Before the punch could land, a kick caught the goon square in the chest, sending him flying toward the trunk.
THUD.
He scrambled to get up, only to freeze in pure terror. The brute who had come down earlier was sprawled inside the trunk, blood pooling from a jagged slit in his throat.
"F-fuck!"
Hearing the commotion, the leader scrambled out of the car. "What happened?!"
He arrived just in time to see the stranger draw the blade across the second goon's throat with the clinical precision of a professional killer.
"Shit! You crazy bastard!"
The stranger turned, the knife dripping red as he took a slow, deliberate step toward the leader.
"Who are you?! Who the hell are you?!"
The stranger didn't offer a word. Instead, he exploded forward.
"Oh, fuck—!"
The leader hit the pavement with a sharp cry. He didn't stop there; with eyes wide in primal terror, he scrambled backward, away from the glint of the stranger's sashimi knife.
'This... this crazy bastard!'
The moment the leader reached into his coat for a weapon, the stranger's boot slammed into his chest.
THUD.
"H-hurrk...!"
The leader was thrown against the car door, collapsing in a heap. As he gasped for air and tried to lift his head, the stranger drove the blade deep into his shoulder.
CRUNCH.
"GAH-AAAAAGH!"
The agonized scream was cut short. The stranger systematically moved the blade, his movements cold and efficient, leaving the leader's body a ruined map of shallow cuts and deep gashes. The screaming faded into a wet wheeze, and then into a heavy, absolute silence. The leader lay facedown on the blood-slicked asphalt, motionless.
Once the air had stilled, the man wiped the crimson from his blade, pulled a phone from his pocket, and dialed.
"President Choi. The target is safe."
---
At the same time, deep in Gaehwa Station, Geon-woo was finishing off the last of the thugs, entirely unaware of the nightmare his mother had just escaped.
A black sports bike screeched to a halt at the station entrance. A rider in an all-black suit and helmet stepped inside. He peered over the mezzanine and narrowed his eyes. Three guys had just dismantled more than thirty experienced goons.
'I guess I wasn't needed.'
As he turned to leave, he bumped into three reinforcements heading down.
"Hey! Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?"
The rider sighed, his voice muffled by the helmet. "Just passing through. Out of my way."
One of the men blocked his path, reaching for the rider's collar. "Passing through? You think this is a joke? Take that helmet off before I kill you!"
The biker let out a low, weary sigh.
"I told you to move."
Before the words had even fully left his lips, his body blurred, leaving a ghost of an afterimage as he lunged. He snatched the wrist of the man reaching for his collar, twisting it outward with a sickening pop.
SNAP.
"GAH—!"
The scream was cut short. The biker's elbow drove upward, burying itself into the man's chin with clinical precision.
THUD.
The man's head snapped back, his consciousness flickering out before his body even hit the concrete. Using the momentum, the biker dropped low, sweeping the back of the second goon's knee. As the man buckled, the biker drove a knee into his descending face in a single, seamless motion. It didn't even take a full second.
CRUNCH.
"Y-you little—!"
The last man standing scrambled for the blade at his waist. The biker was faster. He brought the edge of his hand down on the goon's wrist, forcing the knife to clatter to the floor, before burying a straight punch into the man's solar plexus.
WHACK.
The goon doubled over, gasping for air as foam gathered at the corners of his mouth.
Having dismantled the trio in a heartbeat, the biker shoved his hands into his pockets and crouched over the first man who had blocked his path. He reached out with a gloved hand, lightly tapping the cheek of the twitching body.
"Sleep tight."
With that, the biker vanished.
Inside the station, Joe, Geon-woo, and Woo-jin stood amidst the carnage, heaving for air. They were covered in bruises, but as they looked at each other's battered faces, they shared a tired laugh.
"Man... I really thought I was a goner," Woo-jin wheezed.
Hyeon-ju came running into the station, having abandoned the car. "Guys! Are you okay?"
As they turned to her, a goon who had somehow crawled back to his feet lunged at her from the shadows, a knife glinting in his hand.
"Juju, watch out!"
They were too far away to bridge the gap. But Hyeon-ju didn't panic. She spun on her heel, drawing a retractable baton from her belt. Like a Kendo master, she delivered a series of sharp, stinging strikes to the man's wrist and temple.
CLANG. CRACK.
The man collapsed into a heap. Hyeon-ju offered a playful smile to the three stunned boys.
"What? Didn't you call me Batwoman? Since when does Batwoman need a bodyguard?"
A small smile finally broke across Geon-woo's face. But it vanished the second his phone vibrated in his pocket.
[ MY LOVELY MOM ]
Geon-woo answered immediately. "Yeah, Mom?"
"Geon-woo..."
So-yeon's voice was trembling, her breath hitching between ragged sobs. Geon-woo's face went deathly pale.
"Mom? What's wrong? What happened? Why are you crying?!"
"..."
The sobbing was replaced by the low, heavy breathing of a stranger. Then, a voice came through the speaker—cold and level.
"Where are you boys right now?"