By Zephyria 
The burly man carrying Seong Hae-jun walked steadily and stood beside Park Se-yong.
Seong Hae-jun was completely soaked, as if he had been caught in the rain. Everyone seemed eager to rush forward and retrieve Seong Hae-jun, but they hesitated, worried he might be harmed.
Park Se-yong arrogantly gestured with his chin towards Seong Hae-jun and asked, “Injuries?”
“None.”
“Unexpected?”
“Well… he suddenly collapsed on his own before I could subdue him.”
The burly man scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Perhaps surprised by the answer, Park Se-yong’s eyes widened. Then he chuckled and laughed. The only ones in the dark building who couldn’t laugh were those who had come to find Seong Hae-jun. At the news that Seong Hae-jun had fainted, everyone’s faces turned pale.
“Hyung-nim. But… he felt a bit cold, is he alright?”
“Dong-sik.”
“Yes, Hyung-nim!”
“Mind your own business.”
“Yes, yes!”
The burly man blushed and stiffened to attention.
“Put him down for now.”
The burly man set Seong Hae-jun down. Other humans, filled with determination, surrounded the limp Seong Hae-jun. Watching this, Park Se-yong slowly approached Seong Hae-jun. His steps were full of leisure.
“It’s good that you found him. Come to think of it, that arrogant guy was wrong about more than one thing?”
Muttering to himself, Park Se-yong crouched in front of the limp Seong Hae-jun. He gently patted the moisture from the tips of Seong Hae-jun’s hair. Seong Hae-jun’s eyelids, wet from the water, trembled delicately. A small groan escaped his pale lips, as if in pain.
“The little guy has a brilliant mind… To think he’d betray me and run.”
“…Ran?”
“Yes. He even set a fire so cunningly.”
Park Se-yong, answering Lee Beom’s question kindly, pointed a finger towards the ceiling. Darkened scorch marks were clearly visible on the concrete ceiling. Lee Beom’s face hardened as he realized Seong Hae-jun was responsible for the explosion earlier.
“Heaven is on my side too. If it hadn’t rained, I would have missed him completely.”
Park Se-yong poked Seong Hae-jun’s forehead with his index finger. Even though he didn’t hit hard, small red marks appeared on his pale forehead. Seong Hae-min glared, but realizing he could do nothing, he could only tremble helplessly.
As Seong Hae-jun’s safety depended on the opponent, all they could do was clench their fists. Seong Hae-jun was the Four Heavenly Kings’ weakness, and the opponent knew it perfectly.
Watching Seong Hae-jun flinch as his forehead was poked, Park Se-yong curled one side of his lips. It was a smile that seemed to confirm his victory.
At that moment, Seong Hae-jun stirred and struggled to lift his eyelids. His brow furrowed, as if his head ached. Park Se-yong looked down at him and sneered.
“Just when I was about to wake you, how did you know?”
“Hae-jun-ah! Can you hear my voice?”
“Ugh… Seong Hae… min?”
Mumbling, Seong Hae-jun slowly blinked. His thick eyelashes fluttered delicately. The frail person looked even more precarious with his pale face. Everyone who saw him winced with worry.
“Sorry to interrupt your emotional reunion.”
Spouting a line common to third-rate villains, Park Se-yong immediately drew a knife and aimed it at Seong Hae-jun’s neck. Seong Hae-jun, feeling the cold touch against his throat, stopped what he was about to say.
As if paused, everyone watched the scene with pale faces, not even blinking. Seong Hae-jun, unable to believe the situation with the sharp blade against his neck, blinked his eyelids like a broken machine.
With a single movement that captured everyone’s attention, Park Se-yong declared with a relaxed demeanor, “Do you have a sense of whose words you should listen to?”
The reaction to the provocation was immediate.
“I understand, stop that hand.”
“We’ll do as you say, so put the knife away!”
“Sunbae, you promise too. If we obey, you won’t harm Seong Hae-jun.”
Urgent shouts poured in from all directions. Park Se-yong smiled with satisfaction, as if the enthusiastic reaction exceeded his expectations.
“Then, kneel first.”
At Park Se-yong’s single command, everyone knelt down in unison, like controlled Jiangshi. The scene, where none of the prominent figures resisted, felt surreal.
“What…? Why, why is everyone doing this…!”
Seong Hae-jun stammered. His voice, thick with emotion, sounded like metal. Seong Hae-jun, who had been subdued by the burly man, struggled to break free from his restraints. But his weak movements were merely a tantrum.
Park Se-yong scoffed and pushed the knife deeper.
“Prince, don’t you understand the situation yet?”
“……!”
“It’s better if you stay still. It’s not my fault if you get stabbed because you move.”
Seong Hae-jun, who had stopped moving, looked down at the blade against his neck with terrified eyes. He panted weakly. His round eyes were filled with fear.
“Yes, you should listen carefully when I speak like this.”
Park Se-yong smiled with satisfaction. Then, he called out two names to the kneeling figures as if taking attendance.
“Now, Seong Hae-min… and Do Yun-hyeok. Come forward.”
“Do Yun-hyeok has nothing to do with this!”
Seong Hae-min protested in surprise at the delayed names, but Park Se-yong looked unconcerned.
“I received a special request. Why are you complaining?”
After kindly explaining, Park Se-yong waved the hand holding the knife sideways. Seong Hae-min pursed his lips tightly.
With Seong Hae-jun’s life at stake, they couldn’t defeat Park Se-yong no matter what. With Seong Hae-jun as a hostage, Park Se-yong could reign as a tyrant here as long as he wished.
Seong Hae-min and Do Yun-hyeok stepped forward. At Park Se-yong’s nod, the burly men brought out various weapons to meet them. Park Se-yong commanded in a low voice, “Kick them.”
With just two words, countless kicks began to rain down on them. The dull thuds continued incessantly. A baseball bat struck Seong Hae-min’s shoulder, and a metal pipe pierced Do Yun-hyeok’s back. Their rain-soaked clothes were instantly stained black.
“Hae-min-ah! No! Stop!”
As Seong Hae-jun struggled, the burly man beside him pressed down on his back, telling him to stay still. His struggles were easily suppressed. Seong Hae-jun’s lips, already pale, began to tremble. The trembling spread throughout his body.
Even while being beaten, Seong Hae-min seemed to hear Seong Hae-jun’s voice and turned his face towards him. In a brief moment their eyes met, Seong Hae-min mouthed ‘It’s okay’ with his split lips.
Seong Hae-jun’s lips moved, unable to believe the scene before him. Tears slowly welled up in his wide eyes.
Seong Hae-jun instinctively realized this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Beyond his blurred vision, past images of Seong Hae-min arriving with injuries overlapped before his eyes.
Seong Hae-min must have willingly thrown himself into trouble related to Seong Hae-jun like this all along. And he would have returned to Seong Hae-jun, reassuring him that nothing was wrong, as if nothing had happened.
When he knew nothing, he believed Seong Hae-min’s words as it was convenient. But now, witnessing the truth, his heart felt like it was shattering.
Seong Hae-jun couldn’t even blink. With every blow they received, the scene was seared into his brain as if it would never be forgotten.
He tried to find a way to solve the problem, as he always had, but his mind, which had always found a breakthrough in any situation, failed him this time. Only the violent beating scene echoed repeatedly. His mind went blank.
“Stop, stop…”
Only the sound of a wounded, fragile beast kept escaping. All he could do was cry and beg. He just kept murmuring, so much so that anyone who saw Seong Hae-jun would shut their eyes in misery.
“Stop it… Don’t do this…”
As his sad cries followed, a faint sound, as if something was cracking, echoed from the ceiling. Only the sound of the railing rattling violently in the storm-like wind and rain outside seemed to represent Seong Hae-jun’s heart.
At that moment, as if his worries had reached them, Do Yun-hyeok, lying flat on the floor, lifted his bowed head. Do Yun-hyeok looked at Seong Hae-jun and smiled broadly, his eyes forming crescents. Seong Hae-jun blinked.
“Where are you looking, punk.”
The burly man tapped Do Yun-hyeok’s forehead with a tool. Do Yun-hyeok’s head was pushed down obediently. As Do Yun-hyeok’s bleeding head shook, Seong Hae-jun’s eyes shook with it.
Then, Do Yun-hyeok, who had dropped his head to the floor, began to tremble. Before the startled burly man could ask why, Do Yun-hyeok let out a small laugh.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hee… heehee…”
“Has this guy gone mad?”
The burly man began to kick Do Yun-hyeok. But Do Yun-hyeok didn’t stop laughing, even as he coughed in pain. Everyone looked at Do Yun-hyeok in confusion. In that moment, when everyone’s attention was drawn to his sudden, unexpected action.
FWOOSH—!
White powder poured from behind him, engulfing them like a tidal wave.
Someone who had appeared from behind the building was spraying a fire extinguisher at Park Se-yong’s group.