Beneath the polished streets of Seoul lies a hidden syndicate known only to those who have exhausted all legal avenues—The Silent Verdict. Operating as an underground organization that solves the cases the police have abandoned, their methods are brutal, precise, and unforgiving. They don’t just deliver justice—they are justice.

Led by the charismatic yet calculating Choi San and his equally ruthless husband Choi Wooyoung, the group doubles as a mafia when needed. Their operations are cloaked in secrecy and blood. Third in command is Hwang Hyunjin—quiet, unreadable, and deadly. His word is second only to the leaders’. The team also includes Ryujin, Yeji, Jihyun, Yugyeom, and Bambam—each a master in their field, bound by loyalty and silence.

Kim Seungmin is a young CEO working alongside his father in a prestigious corporate tower, admired for his intellect and unshakable charm. What most don’t know is the pain he hides behind his composed smile—a five-year-old son, Ahin, born from a night Seungmin never consented to. Assaulted at a high school party, Seungmin was left to pick up the shattered pieces alone.

Now 20, Seungmin is thriving in the eyes of the world but breaking silently beneath it. Until one night… he crosses paths with those who never look away from pain.

⸻

The streets glimmered under the soft glow of neon signs and the pulse of city life. A black van rolled down the boulevard, its windows tinted and wheels hushed by the night. Inside sat six people—focused, armed, and dressed in layered black.

“Two minutes out,” Ryujin muttered from the passenger seat, eyes locked on a tablet displaying security grids.

“Deal’s going to be clean,” Yeji added, checking the straps on her thigh holster. “No hiccups this time.”

Wooyoung smirked from the back. “You said that last time, right before a grenade went through the window.”

“That was Bambam’s fault,” Yugyeom deadpanned.

“I told you that guy looked sketchy!” Bambam shot back.

“Quiet,” Hyunjin said coldly from the middle seat, voice low but slicing through the chatter like a blade. He didn’t need to raise his tone. When he spoke, they listened.

Choi San leaned forward between the seats, calm but alert. “Eyes up. We’re passing the ChoCorp HQ. The drop site’s in the alley behind it.”

As they slowed near the towering glass building, the group’s attention was drawn by an unusual sight.

Right outside the entrance, under the soft streetlight, was a man in a tailored navy coat, crouched low on the pavement. His phone was lit in one hand, trembling. His other hand covered half his face—but they could see the way his shoulders shook.

Seungmin.

Hyunjin’s brows twitched. “Stop the van.”

“What?” Wooyoung asked. “We’re thirty seconds from the location.”

“I said stop,” Hyunjin repeated. The van pulled over.

They all watched as Hyunjin opened the door and stepped into the cold air.

He didn’t rush. Just walked quietly, the way predators did—silent and firm. His boots echoed once on the pavement before softening into the snow-dusted ground.

Seungmin didn’t notice him until his shadow fell over the phone screen.

Startled, Seungmin looked up—and immediately tried to wipe his face. The tears betrayed him anyway, shining against the dim light.

Hyunjin crouched to meet his eyes. “Kim Seungmin?”