"Ji-hyuk, tell everyone this is the new plan," said Suhyeon, handing him the tablet with all the information about the North and the movents his leader had thought out.
Ji-hyuk slid his finger across the screen, surprised. "My lord… how did you get all this?"
Suhyeon lifted his gaze slightly, cold as always. "Easy… with soone's help."
His mind traveled for an instant to the past:
"Seeing you again, Suhyeon…" said Daniel, number 2 of the North, with a half-smile that was neither a threat nor a welco.
Suhyeon didn't flinch. "Good… did you get what I asked for? I need the information on all the executives, from 19 down to 3."
Daniel nodded. "Yes, it was complicated, but here it is." He pulled out a note and handed it over.
Suhyeon took it, analyzed it calmly, without letting anything show on his face. "Good job… After all this, I'll personally go to your forr leader and bring him back."
The mory faded. Suhyeon returned to the present, the tablet still in Ji-hyuk's hands, and without wasting a second, he was already preparing his second move.
ssage from Suhyeon:
"Mr. Jang. I need to talk to you about so matters in Gangbuk. I want you to arrest 17 people."
Hours later.
Without another word, he closed the door behind him.
The air outside was different: colder. He loosened the collar of his coat and calmly went down the entrance steps. His phone vibrated in his pocket.
He pulled it out.
ssage from contact: Inspector Yang.
"I told you not to contact for small things."
"But this… this deserves a conversation."
"Do you have ti tonight?"
Suhyeon read in silence, without surprise. His fingers responded chanically.
"Tell place and ti."
He put the phone away and walked away from the house, with the sa calm steps he had arrived with, but his eyes… no longer looked back.
[Scene change]: Daeheon Restaurant, Gangnam district – 9:30 p.m.
"That requires more than coordination. I need legal justification, forged evidence, a believable narrative. We can't arrest executives without a solid accusation: trafficking, embezzlent, smuggling… sothing that won't collapse if it goes to trial."
Suhyeon nodded slowly, without losing composure.
"I've already considered it. I have recordings, locations tied to substance movents, and accounts linked to irregular paynts. I can make it all look authentic. I just need you to complete the script from your side."
Juncheol remained silent, thoughtful. Crossing one leg.
"What you're asking for isn't an intervention. It's a full covert operation."
"And what I'm offering isn't just a favor," replied Suhyeon in a calm tone. "It's the start of a useful relationship. You know as well as I do that contacts weigh more than titles. If you take my side now… tomorrow you'll have soone with presence in Gangbuk, with no emotional ties or chains."
Yang finally drew a slight smile. Not of satisfaction, but of recognition.
"Ambitious."
"Just efficient… Mr. Yang."
"Fine… then I'll ready my n. And the day… when will this be?"
"In two days. We'll attack the North's main base to defeat their leader. anwhile, all your n will capture their executives."
"But why don't I do it myself? Wouldn't it be easier to arrest him too?" he asked, sowhat confused.
"I have so unfinished business with him, so you can't touch him." replied Suhyeon, firm, leaving no room for discussion.
—
[System]: Conquer Gangbuk.
1. Have Juncheol Yang capture all the North's executives.
2. Have your executives defeat the North's leader, Choyun.
3. Deliver the finishing blow.
Reward: ???
—
"Unfinished business…?" he asked, as he raised his wine glass and swirled it calmly, as if trying to read in Suhyeon's reflection.
Two days later.
In front of the 24-hour café Project Bloom, the outdoor tables were full of murmurs.
So custors left their cups half-finished, pointing their phones toward the street.
From there, you could see a group of students being handcuffed next to a convenience store.
"What the hell is going on?" muttered one of the baristas, drying his hands with his apron.
"Are they… students?" asked an older woman, huddled in her coat.
In the back, a television showed the live coverage:
"...the so-called Operation Northern Shield has deployed more than 200 officers simultaneously. The list of detainees hasn't been confird, but several are high school students linked to an extortion network…"
The image changed.
A rooftop, streets with flashing lights, a sidewalk full of handcuffed teenagers, lined up, while photographers pointed and snapped pictures.
The people in the café stopped talking.
They simply watched as if it were a show, sipping their coffee cups.
"It's the kid who cos in the mornings in the blue uniform," said a gray-haired custor, pointing at the screen.
"That one? The one who always ordered coffee with two sugars?" murmured another.
"Yeah… What's he doing mixed up in that?"
anwhile, a few blocks further north, in front of a small park, dozens of reporters pushed against the security barriers.
"Why are so many students being arrested?"
"What's happening with North Gangbuk?"
"We demand an official explanation now!" shouted one.
"Is it true they infiltrated high schools?"
"We demand answers!" cried another.
"Are the detainees minors?!"
But there was no response. The officers only walked with heads down and faces hidden.
A little farther back, leaning against the door of a black police car, Juncheol Yang watched everything in silence. A lit cigarette between his fingers, the ember glowing with each drag he took, while the smoke vanished into the cold night air.
Around him, two rows of police ford a human wall, shielding their captain from the press trying to force their way in.
The cara flashes lit his profile, but Juncheol didn't seem bothered. He only watched the chaos in front of him with a cold calm, as if he had already anticipated every shout, every question, every lens focused on the handcuffed teenagers.
With a final drag, he dropped the ash to the ground, murmuring sothing almost inaudible:
"This is how it begins, Gangbuk. Partner… the rest I'll leave to you."
While the streets filled with sirens and caras, elsewhere in Gangbuk, in an abandoned building, exactly on the second floor, several bodies lay scattered. Wounded, gasping, too weak to move.
And then… the footsteps.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Slow, elegant, constant.
Soone clapped. His shadow appeared at the edge of the hallway.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The moonlight drew his silhouette. Calm and upright. Not a single stain on his clothes.
And he smiled.
Not out of courtesy.
He smiled like soone who had been watching from the beginning… knowing everything would turn out as planned.
Gukja, with busted lips and his body about to collapse, barely lifted his head.
"Who…?"
Choyun, on the other hand, recognized him instantly.
His face, swollen and covered in blood, twisted.
It wasn't fear that crossed his gaze.
It was defeat.
Suhyeon stopped in front of him. Looked at him for a few seconds. Then… bent one knee.
A bow.
But it wasn't of respect, nor recognition.
A silent mockery, as if to say "you gave it all, and it wasn't enough."
"Choyun… Congratulations. You lasted longer than I thought. Longer than many would have lasted… loser."
Suhyeon rose slowly, brushing dust off his sleeve with elegance.
"But that changes nothing."
Choyun clenched his teeth. His body trembled, barely held together by sheer rage.
"Suhyeon… you bastard…"
Suhyeon looked down on him. His shadow covered almost all of Choyun's body.
"You never had a single chance of defeating ."
And then he smiled. A faint curve, without warmth.
The moonlight traced half his face. The other… was lost in shadow.
"I didn't even have to fight you!"
Sothing inside Choyun broke.
"SUHYEON!" he shouted with the last strength he had left. He took a staggering step. Tried to lunge.
But he didn't make it.
Suhyeon moved like a blink.
His fist crashed into Choyun's face. The ground cracked. A fissure spread beneath their feet.
And Choyun collapsed. Without a scream… knocked unconscious with a single punch.
Falling to the concrete. Like dead weight.
—
[System – Choyun]: You have failed a main mission.
—
—
[System – Choyun]: You automatically lose the system and all your progress.
—
—
[System]: You have completed the main mission Conquer Gangbuk.
Reward: Your potential increases to SSS.
—
—
[Suhyeon Kim]
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 81 kg
Strength: SX
Speed: SX
Potential: SSS
Intelligence: S
Endurance: SX
—
Suhyeon exhaled. Not a drop of sweat. Not a stain on his clothes.
He calmly pulled his phone from the inside pocket of his coat.
A single notification on the screen.
Contact: Inspector Yang.
"Operation completed."
"Twelve executives in custody. Five more surrendered when surrounded."
"A couple tried to run. They're in surgery now, but alive."
"And you? Did you have fun?"
Suhyeon smiled. Just a thin line on his lips.
Another ssage arrived before he could reply.
"When we et, I want you to buy so drinks."
"Nothing cheap. Maybe a couple bottles of Cheongju Gyodong Daechung 1932… or sothing even more embarrassingly expensive."
"After all, this already seems like a tradition."
Suhyeon pocketed his phone with that smile of his: calm, elegant, not revealing if it was mockery, respect… or both.
His footsteps echoed as he walked out among the rubble, leaving Choyun unconscious on the broken ground.
Two days later.
"Have a prosperous trip, my lord," said Ji-hyuk, giving a courteous bow.
Suhyeon accepted the keys and got into the driver's seat.
"Rest, Ji-hyuk."
He always drove when sothing important was about to begin.
The door closed with a perfect click. The engine answered with a whisper.
He turned on the lights. A blue neon line crossed the dashboard.
And then…
Beep.
The phone vibrated softly in the center mount.
Suhyeon glanced at it out of the corner of his eye. A single notification.
[Mom]: "Son, co ho. I have sothing to talk to you about."
No emojis. Just clear words… and the tone of a mother who rarely asked for anything.
Suhyeon read it. Once.
Then he flicked the left signal and rged into the lane.
He didn't even think about replying.
He simply… drove calmly.
But then another ssage ca.
Contact: Inspector Yang.
"Suhyeon, I have to tell you sothing important."
"Maybe I shouldn't tell you, but now that we're working together… I will."
"Eugene captured one of your allies: Johan Seong. Don't tell Eugene I told you this, it's a favor I'm doing you."
Suhyeon read the lines once, twice. Stared at the screen for a few seconds, then raised an eyebrow, barely surprised. It wasn't the news, it was the speed.
"So the mont has co," he thought. "I didn't expect it so soon; my plans are changing unexpectedly this ti…"
His fingers brushed the edge of the steering wheel.
"I'll have to prepare," he murmured to himself, unhurried. "It's ti to move to a greater scale."
---
Author's Note:
This chapter mainly serves to clarify certain points and show key monts that needed to be seen.
The next chapter will mark the end of Volu 2: Before I Was .
Stay tuned, because several truths will co to light and nothing will ever be the sa.
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