Hwang Hyunjin, 23, is the ruthless and elegant CEO of an underground business that deals with mafias, wannabe gangsters, and those foolish enough to cross the wrong line in Seoul. Alongside his best friend, the equally respected and deadly Choi San, they’ve built a reputation from the shadows — feared by rivals, but quietly admired by the underground elite.

But even kings have ghosts.

One ghost, in particular, still lingers in Hyunjin’s chest — Kim Seungmin. His high school sweetheart. The boy with a warm laugh and a gentle heart, who vanished from his life years ago after a traumatic chain of events left him with something unexpected: a child. A child born from pain, abandoned by the mother, and raised by Seungmin alone.

Now, years later, as Hyunjin and San talk business in a sleek, glass-walled office, Hyunjin’s phone rings. A name he hadn’t seen on his screen in years flashes before his eyes.

“Seungmin.”

And the voice that follows is soft… but broken.

⸻

The city lights below blinked like secrets no one wanted to keep. Hyunjin sat behind his black marble desk, sleeves rolled up, rings gleaming under the low light. San stood at the window, arms crossed, talking about a group of rookie punks trying to muscle into their territory.

“We’ll corner them at the docks. Make a statement,” San said, tilting his head. “Just like old times.”

Hyunjin was barely listening. His fingers tapped idly against his glass of whiskey, ice clinking gently — until his phone lit up.

Kim Seungmin.

His chest tightened.

San turned around. “Is that—”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin answered, barely above a whisper before he hit accept and held the phone to his ear.

“Hyunjinah…”

The name—spoken so softly, so familiarly—sent a chill through him. That voice… still soft like snowfall, but now it carried something heavy. Something fragile.

Hyunjin sat forward slowly. “Seungmin?”

There was silence for a second, and then a shaky exhale.