After School Pickup – Late Afternoon,
P.O.V . Ho in- su
The sleek black Mercedes-Maybach waited just beyond the school gates, engine idling quietly under the steady hand of Seo Jin at the wheel. Sunglasses in place, posture rigid, Seo Jin barely glanced up as he spotted In-su stepping out of the school building.
Yohan, seated in the back, had already opened the rear door before In-su reached them.
"You're early," In-su said as he slipped into the car.
"I'm always early when it comes to you," Yohan replied, his tone low and direct.
Seo Jin nodded once in greeting through the rearview mirror and pulled smoothly into traffic, leaving the chaos of school dismissal behind.
In-su sighed and loosened his tie. "Felt like a week today. One of the kids drew a deformed chicken and insisted it was me."
Yohan reached across the seat and plucked In-su's bag from his shoulder, resting it on his own lap. "I'll have it framed."
"You'd hang it in your office, wouldn't you?"
"If I could lock the door and keep you in the office with me too, yes."
In-su rolled his eyes, though the corner of his mouth twitched up in reluctant amusement.
They rode in companionable silence for several minutes, city noise muffled behind soundproofed glass. Then Yohan's phone buzzed.
He glanced at the screen.
Kwon do- Yoon.
The name alone made Yohan's eyes narrow slightly. He answered with a clipped, "Talk."
Kwon-do's voice was sharp. "You need to come to the club. Tonight. Now, if possible."
"What's going on?"
"Not over the phone. Just you. Bring no one. It's critical, Yohan."
There was a rare edge to his tone—one Yohan didn't ignore.
"I'll be there soon," Yohan said and ended the call.
Next to him, In-su raised an eyebrow. "Something bad?"
"Kwon do- yoon never calls unless it is." Yohan stared out the window for a long moment before adding, "He wants to meet at his club. Alone."
"Do you trust him?"
"I trust him enough to listen."
As Seo Jin turned off the expressway and the trees lining their estate's private drive came into view, Yohan leaned forward. "We'll drop in-su off at home and you'll take me to kwon do's club…
"Yes, boss," Seo Jin replied smoothly.
When they reached the estate's gate, it opened on silent hydraulics, revealing the long, curved driveway and the modern fortress ,steel, stone, and glass blended with serene landscaping and guarded perimeter tech.
As the car rolled to a stop in front of the house, Yohan stepped out first and held the door open for In-su.
"Something's happening," In-su said softly, reading his face.
"Maybe." Yohan glanced at the sky, as if sensing a storm behind clear skies. Then he looked back at him. "But I won't be long."
"You said that before."
"I meant it then too."
In-su stepped up onto the porch and looked back. Yohan followed him with his eyes, watching until In-su stopped at the threshold.
"You'll lock the door?" Yohan asked.
"Yes."
"And you won't open it for anyone but me or Seo Jin."
"Yohan , you know this place is crawling with guards right? What could possibly happen?.
That finally earned the smallest of smiles.
Yohan closed the distance between them and touched In-su's face, knuckles grazing along his jaw. "I'll be back soon."
In-su nodded once, and with that, turned and stepped inside. The heavy door clicked shut behind him.
Yohan returned to the car.
"Take me to the club," he told Seo Jin.
The car pulled away, tires whispering against the pavement as the estate receded into the distance behind them.
__________
Nightfall: kwon do's club , Eon, yongsan district.
The rain had started on the drive over, lashing against the armored car as Seo Jin maneuvered it through backstreets like a ghost. Yohan barely looked out the window. His mind was already ahead—at Eon, at whatever the hell Kwon do -Yoon thought was urgent enough to call him in personally.
The club's facade was sleek and anonymous, like it was trying not to be noticed but, everyone in the underworld knew Eon was a nest of quiet violence , and gruesome death.
Seo Jin pulled up near the rear entrance. "I'll be parked nearby.
Yohan stepped out without replying.
He moved through the rear hallway like a shadow—security nodded and stepped aside without question. In the back VIP lounge, Kwon-do was already seated at a table surrounded by soundproof velvet curtains, a glass of dark liquor in hand, face grim.
Yohan," he greeted. "Took you long enough."
"You'd better make this worth my time," Yohan replied, voice low, unreadable. He sat across from him, leaned back, legs crossed.
Kwon-do didn't bother with small talk. He slid a manila folder across the table. "One of my warehouses was hit last night."
Yohan didn't blink. "Which one?"
"Yeongdeungpo. Dockside."
Yohan opened the folder. Inside were gruesome photos . Four men dead. One with his throat cut. One plastered to a wall probably with a shot gun . Blood staining the floor like paint. And the cargo?
Gone.
"Armaments," Kwon-do said. "Heavy ones. The type we're not supposed to have on this side of the world ."
Yohan's jaw flexed. "How the fuck did you get these photos before I did?"
"Because the bastard who hit it used your docks to move it."
Now that got Yohan's attention. His gaze snapped up. "What?"
"You heard me." Kwon-do leaned forward, voice hard. "Whoever it was, they went through someone with your insignia clearance. Someone on your payroll.
Yohan's voice was ice. "Are you accusing me?"
"No. I'm telling you someone is trying to pit us against each other. And that someone had inside access to both of us."
A long, deadly silence passed between them.
Then Kwon-do added, "I found this in one of the crates they left behind. Sloppy bastards must've been in a rush."
He slid a small item across the table.
A silver pin. Ornate. Symbolic.
Yohan's eyes narrowed.
The Gwangrim Crew.
Arrogant upstarts. Based out of Incheon. Nothing more than bottom-feeding smugglers six months ago. But lately, they'd been moving like someone was pumping real money and muscle into them.
"This wasn't just a raid," Kwon-do said darkly. They want us to bleed each other while they climb the corpses."
Yohan's voice was colder than winter steel. "Then let's cut out their tongue before they finish the sentence."
Kwon-do raised a brow. "You ready for war, Yohan? This isn't about business anymore. This is about reputation."
Yohan stood slowly, folding the photos, pocketing the pin.
"If they wanted war," he said, his voice almost calm, then we'll give it to them .
_______
Yohan stepped out of the club and into the rain, the silver pin still clutched in his palm like a promise.
The door shut behind him with a solid thud, muting the bass thrum of Eon and leaving only the hush of the city, the hiss of rain, and the roar building low in his chest.
Seo Jin was already waiting by the car, umbrella in hand.
"How bad?" he asked, stepping forward.
Yohan didn't answer immediately. Just got in the back seat, dripping water and silence.
Seo Jin slid in up front. The engine purred to life.
"Drive," Yohan said.
"Back to the estate?"
Yohan's voice cut like a blade. Yes , and call yuri . Tell him to get our west harbor team ready. Fully armed. Quiet approach. I want the Gwangrim rat who planned that dock raid—alive."
Seo Jin's brows furrowed. "You're sure it's Gwangrim?"
Yohan opened his palm.
The silver pin gleamed in the low light.
Seo Jin's mouth tightened. "Understood."
"Once yuri confirms position, sweep all known hideouts in Incheon. I want every one of them gone . Make it public."
There was no tremor in Yohan's voice.
He looked out the window as rain smeared neon into blur—distant clubs, distant bodies, distant cities full of fools who thought they could climb by spilling his blood.
"Anyone feeding them info dies," Yohan said quietly. "I don't care if it's someone from Kwon-do's team or ours."
Seo Jin nodded. "
He fell silent after that, one hand resting on his thigh, the other curled into a fist so tight the edges of the pin dug into his palm.
He didn't feel it.
He only saw blood.
Until the estate gates appeared—tall, black, ornate iron slicing through the dark. A familiar light glows through the windows and a warm feeling engulfed him .
Insu stood barefooted in the living room, hair damp, holding a mug of coffee..
Wearing one of Yohan's shirts, sleeves rolled, collar loose. The house smelled faintly of roasted barley and clean soap. The kind of smell Yohan never noticed until it came with someone inside it.
Inside his space.
Waiting.
"Seo Jin said you'd be late," In-su murmured, handing him the mug. "Didn't say why."
Yohan took it silently. His knuckles were still tense, lips tight.
He hadn't said a word since getting out of the car.
"You're soaked," In-su said, softly . "You'll get sick."
Yohan stared at him for a bit longer—then set the mug down on the side table and pulled In-su to him, all at once.
One arm locked around In-su's waist, the other at the back of his neck, and he kissed him.
Fierce. Hot. Possessive.
In-su froze only for a second—then responded just as fiercely, fingers digging into the front of Yohan's soaked dress shirt, kissing back like he'd waited all damn day for this.
Yohan tasted rain and tea on his lips. And something else—something grounding.
Sanctuary.
He backed In-su against the hallway wall, mouths still locked, gasping between kisses that burned and soothed all at once. He pressed their bodies together, every hard line of him demanding closeness, anchoring himself in the one thing that felt real tonight.
In-su broke away just long enough to whisper, "You're shaking."
"Someone hit my business partner's warehouse " Yohan murmured. "Used my docks to transport the stolen weapons . They want to pit me and kwon do against each other.
"You're telling me this why?"
"Because I want you to know why I need to hold you right now. Why I kissed you like that."
In-su's eyes softened, even as his voice stayed sharp. "So this isn't just about calming down, huh?"
"No."
In-su's throat bobbed.
He reached up slowly, cradling Yohan's jaw. "Then go shower. Warm up. And come to bed."
Yohan didn't answer at first.
But he leaned into the touch like it was the only truth he trusted.