By Zephyria 
“What, what is it!”
“What is this!”
The burly men, instantly trapped in the hazy smoke, shouted, waving their arms. Some coughed, having inhaled the smoke. Park Se-yong also panicked, holding his breath and narrowing his eyes to assess the situation.
Not only the swirling fire extinguisher dust, but also stone powder rained down from the ceiling. Perhaps because a large fire had occurred and then rapidly contracted due to the rain, the building, which already looked unstable and corroded, shook with the commotion.
Then, from behind the hazy smoke, someone shouted loudly. It was a high, sharp voice.
“Do Yun-hyeok!”
Do Yun-hyeok, whose name was called, immediately sprang up. He then dashed forward like lightning and knocked Park Se-yong down.
“Ugh!”
He didn’t even have time to process what had happened. Do Yun-hyeok grabbed the back of the fallen Park Se-yong’s head and slammed it into the concrete without hesitation.
“Kuaaak!”
With Park Se-yong’s scream, the knife in his hand fell uselessly to the floor. Do Yun-hyeok nimbly kicked the knife, sending it flying towards Lee Beom. Lee Beom instinctively caught the knife.
Do Yun-hyeok moved with explosive speed, unbelievable for someone who had just been beaten. Before anyone could react, Do Yun-hyeok was the only one in the room who showed no hesitation. It was as if he had prepared for this situation.
Do Yun-hyeok grinned, his face covered in blood. Even through the fire extinguisher dust, his smile was clear.
Realizing the meaning, Lee Beom immediately came to his senses and handed the knife to Jeon Jae-hyung. Jeon Jae-hyung nodded and put the knife away. At the same time, those who had been watching Park Se-yong’s atrocities helplessly rushed forward.
The inside of the thick dust became a mess. But even within it, the advantage was clear. Lee Beom and Min Si-hu cooperated to beat down the thugs who were belatedly trying to restrain Seong Hae-jun, and Seong Hae-min, quickly slipping between them, rushed to Seong Hae-jun. Seong Hae-min, supporting Seong Hae-jun, led him to safety.
The entire process happened in an instant. Seong Hae-jun still had a bewildered look on his face.
When the thick air that had filled the construction site settled, the situation had completely reversed.
It didn’t take long for them to subdue Park Se-yong and his gang. The thugs who had been eagerly carrying out Park Se-yong’s orders lay scattered everywhere like defeated soldiers, and Park Se-yong himself was completely subdued by Do Yun-hyeok.
Do Yun-hyeok, with his foot on Park Se-yong’s shoulder, sat astride him and spat bloody saliva onto the ground. Lee Beom approached and stood beside him. Park Se-yong struggled from below, but Do Yun-hyeok was not an easy opponent. His head, pressed to the ground, was stained with pain and humiliation.
“You guys…!”
Park Se-yong shouted, slamming his arm against the ground. It was a struggle that seemed unwilling to accept the dream of a three-day reign. He also seemed to have fallen into a panic upon seeing his own blood soaking the floor.
“You think you’ll get away with this?”
Realizing he couldn’t overpower Do Yun-hyeok, Park Se-yong gritted his teeth and attempted to threaten him. But these were not the kind of people who would be swayed. Do Yun-hyeok, regaining his composure, snorted.
“Why wouldn’t we get away with it?”
“That… Yeon Su-hwan, I was also targeted by Yeon Su-hwan! If you let me go, I’ll tell you, so just release me for now!”
Having confirmed his threats were meaningless, Park Se-yong, flustered, now attempted negotiation. The unexpected name made the Four Heavenly Kings pause for a moment. Seeing their naive agitation, Park Se-yong’s face lit up.
Above him, Do Yun-hyeok coldly retorted.
“We’re not curious.”
“If you listen, you’ll change your mind. This is related to you too, Do Yun-hyeok.”
CRASH!
Before Park Se-yong could finish speaking, Do Yun-hyeok stomped his foot down hard. Right in front of Park Se-yong’s face, dust billowed up with white fire extinguisher powder. It was stomped so hard that it felt like stone powder was falling from the ceiling.
Everyone held their breath in surprise. Only Park Se-yong, who thought his head was being crushed, gasped in terror, took a breath, and then choked on the dust, coughing.
“Blah blah blah. So noisy, I could die.”
Do Yun-hyeok clicked his tongue. Park Se-yong, now quietly shut, unlike before, could only swallow. He seemed to remember Do Yun-hyeok’s long-standing nickname: “mad dog.”
“So what?”
Do Yun-hyeok, who had captivated his audience, casually and exaggeratedly picked at his ear. Then, he winced as his wound stung.
Do Yun-hyeok’s face was swollen and scraped all over from being beaten earlier. Dried blood on his forehead made his appearance messy, yet there was an atmosphere that dared no one to object.
“What’s important right now?”
“……”
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
“Uh, uh?”
“What’s important right now!”
Do Yun-hyeok stomped his foot again, even harder. Once more, white dust swirled. Park Se-yong let out a yelp and squeezed his eyes shut. His frightened lips trembled.
“Hae-jun is hurt. Nothing else matters.”
Seong Hae-jun, watching from afar, blinked. His eyes felt dry and stinging. Stone dust from above had settled in his hair. Seong Hae-jun patted his head.
Hearing Do Yun-hyeok’s words, he felt his forehead burning like a furnace. His body, realizing the cold, shivered. Seong Hae-min tightly hugged Seong Hae-jun’s shoulder. Seong Hae-jun swayed and leaned against him.
As Do Yun-hyeok was menacing Park Se-yong, a commotion could be heard from behind, and a girl’s loud voice, out of place for the situation, split the air of the construction site.
“Ah! Let go! Let go, you pig! Hey! Aren’t you going to let go?”
“Do, Do, Do, stop!”
A moment later, the thug who had subdued the girl appeared from behind the building, panting. The owner of the voice, held by the thug, was Ban Seo-yi.
“Ban, cough, Ban Seo-yi!”
“Hae-jun! Are you okay? I was so worried!”
Seong Hae-jun, realizing it was Ban Seo-yi who had changed the tide by spraying the fire extinguisher, shouted in a hoarse voice. Ban Seo-yi, held by the thug, also called out to Seong Hae-jun anxiously.
“Let go, you pig!”
Ban Seo-yi kicked the thug wildly as she struggled. While her kicks weren’t strong enough to break free, they seemed to hurt, as the thug scowled and tightened his grip on her arms. Then, as if trying to seize control of the situation, he shouted at Do Yun-hyeok.
“Show me your boss! If you don’t want this girl to die!”
But it wasn’t Do Yun-hyeok who answered that. It was Ban Seo-yi.
“Hey! Pig, ignore him!”
“What, you little—?”
Despite being held by the thug, Ban Seo-yi remained surprisingly calm. She seemed more annoyed by the thug restraining her. The offended thug glared down at Ban Seo-yi, his brows furrowed.
Ban Seo-yi sighed and sneered coldly.
“Seriously. Go ahead and kill me.”
“What?”
“You think I haven’t died before? If you killing me would end it, that would be almost touching.”
Ban Seo-yi spat out. As everyone watched Ban Seo-yi, Seong Hae-jun, who had been suffering from a high fever, slowly opened his eyes.
“Seo-yi…!”
It took a while for what he heard to register. Seong Hae-jun, calling out to Ban Seo-yi, stumbled and tried to stand on his own, but he swayed precariously and almost fell. Seong Hae-min quickly caught him.
Ban Seo-yi glared at the thug holding her and smiled faintly. The sharp corners of her eyes twitched. Her smile was full of confidence.
“Pig. I don’t know what you’re getting paid to follow that pathetic boss of yours, but whatever he offered, I can offer more. And besides, you’re the ones who will be in trouble when the police arrive. I prepared a fire extinguisher, do you think I wouldn’t call the police? If I were you, I’d be running away right now…”
Having finished her calm speech, Ban Seo-yi’s smile vanished in an instant, and she began to threaten the thug instead. Her sharp gaze was chilling.
“Last chance. Are you going to let go or not?”
At her confident command, the thug, who had been hesitantly holding Ban Seo-yi, slowly loosened his grip. Ban Seo-yi, freed by sheer intimidation, calmly brushed off her clothes.
As if her words weren’t false, the sound of police sirens, cutting through the rain, was heard from a distance. Ban Seo-yi shrugged, looking at the thug.
“Not running?”
As some who had regained their senses quickly fled the scene, the police arrived, cutting through the rain.
Park Se-yong and his gang were arrested in an orderly fashion. It turned out Ban Seo-yi had reported them to the police earlier, and the police, arriving at the opportune moment, had properly resolved the situation.
Park Se-yong wore an aggrieved expression, but there was no one to fall for it, as the evidence was undeniable. Moreover, since he had committed this act while already facing disciplinary action at school, Park Se-yong’s punishment would be compounded.
Watching Park Se-yong being led away by the police, Seong Hae-jun murmured like a sigh.
“It’s really over now…”
Seong Hae-jun, finally able to release all his tension, blinked slowly. A wave of relief washed over him.
‘It’s really over.’
The anxiety about the crazy novel plot, the incomprehensible excessive delinquent behavior, the constant threat of Seong Hae-min’s death. This time, all the problems were truly resolved.
Now, truly… there was nothing to worry about.
“Hae-jun!”
The ones who had handed Park Se-yong over to the police and completely resolved the issue called out to Seong Hae-jun with worried faces. Seong Hae-jun, his face flushed with fever, gave a languid smile.
His body was truly at its limit now. He was extremely tired.
Drip, drip.
Just then, stone dust falling from above pricked his eye. Dust had been falling on his head repeatedly since earlier. Seong Hae-jun frowned and looked up at the ceiling, and everyone else’s gaze also turned to the ceiling.
A crack instantly spread across the blackened, scorched ceiling, and concrete began to crumble.
“Seong Hae-jun!!!”
“Huh?”
To the voices calling his name with expressions of shock, Seong Hae-jun replied blankly.
“Uh…?”
Seong Hae-jun blinked slowly.
The people rushing towards him, screaming, looked like a slow-motion replay. Even the stone fragments falling in front of his eyes moved slowly.
Realizing the situation, Seong Hae-jun struggled to get away from his spot, but perhaps due to the slow passage of time or his fever, his burning body wouldn’t cooperate. Or perhaps, he simply didn’t have enough time to escape.
Then, he felt a strong force pull him from behind—Seong Hae-min.
Seong Hae-jun squeezed his eyes shut.
Immediately, a massive roar engulfed them.