The rain hadn’t stopped since morning, casting the mansion in a haze of silver and shadow. Hyunjin leaned against the balcony railing, a cigarette between his fingers, the faint curl of smoke twisting toward the cloudy sky. His father hated it, said it made him look like a delinquent, but Hyunjin did it anyway. He liked the burn in his lungs; it was one of the few things he could control in this house.

Behind him, the heavy oak doors opened with a quiet creak. Felix stepped out, hands in the pockets of his black silk pajama pants, hair loose and pale gold against the stormy backdrop.

They weren’t brothers in the way most people thought. They were enemies, first born into rival mafia families, raised to know the other’s name like a curse. But that all changed the day Hyunjin’s father ended things with his mother and brought in Felix’s mother instead. Now, they were stepbrothers… on paper. In reality, they were two predators forced into the same cage.

Hyunjin didn’t turn when Felix came up beside him, but he caught the faint scent of whiskey on his breath.

"You’ve been drinking again," Hyunjin muttered, flicking ash over the balcony edge.

Felix smirked faintly. "Like you don’t."

There was an edge to his voice, a sharpness born of years of pretending, of being underestimated because of his soft freckles and narrow waist. Nobody knew he smoked too. Nobody knew he’d been hiding it since he was sixteen. That was his secret weapon, his quiet rebellion in a house where secrets could get you killed.

Hyunjin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, the sharp angles of his face shadowed by his long black hair. He was handsome in a dangerous way. Some people feared before they even knew him. But Felix could see through him. He saw the tension in his jaw when his father’s voice thundered through the halls. He saw the way Hyunjin clenched his fists when orders came down.

The truth was, Hyunjin’s dark, mean attitude wasn’t just because he liked being feared. It was armor, armor against the man who’d built this empire and now expected him to rule it with the same iron grip.

"Father’s looking for you," Felix said after a moment, his tone deliberately casual.

Hyunjin scoffed, grinding the cigarette out against the stone railing. "He can wait."

Felix tilted his head, a sly smile tugging at his lips. "You know, one day you’re going to push too far."

"And what about you?" Hyunjin’s voice dropped low, dangerous. "Hiding behind that perfect little act? You think no one’s going to notice what you’re really like?"

For a moment, neither of them spoke, the sound of rain filling the gap. Felix’s smirk faded, replaced by something quieter, something that felt like a challenge.