Scarlet sat rigid in the corner of the diner, hands cuffed behind his back, his breath misting slightly in the cold interior. The broken heater in the corner buzzed uselessly. The cracked window to his right gave him a clear view of Kai speaking with the two policemen in hushed tones near the far booth — behind glass, under flickering fluorescent lights.
He couldn't hear a word, but he could see everything.
Kai leaned back in the booth like he owned the damn country — legs crossed, one arm slung lazily over the backrest, a thin smile playing on his lips. The cops, both still a little winded and bruised from earlier, seemed oddly... compliant. One of them even laughed at something Kai said.
Scarlet's eyes narrowed.
"Why are they laughing?"
"This guy was seconds away from being throttled to death, and now he's laughing?"
One of the officers subtly accepted something under the table — a small envelope, maybe? A folded wad of bills? Scarlet couldn't quite tell, but he saw it. Whatever it was, it vanished fast.
Kai stood.
The officers followed suit.
Scarlet watched through the glass, tension crawling up his spine like slow, icy fingers. The diner's world moved in surreal slow motion — the creaking of the door hinge as it opened again, the scrape of boots on linoleum as they approached him.
The younger officer — the one who'd tried to punch him earlier — looked anywhere but at his face.
"Release him."
The command was curt. Barely a sentence. But it made Scarlet's blood stir.
The second officer rushed to obey, fumbling with the key and quickly unlocking the cuffs with trembling fingers.
CLINK.
The metal restraints fell to the table.
Scarlet flexed his wrists slowly, the red grooves biting into his pale skin.
The officers gave a stiff nod to Kai — not Scarlet — then turned and exited the diner without another word.
The bell above the door jingled once, then silence.
Scarlet stayed seated for a moment, just... staring. His eyes flicked between the retreating silhouettes and the man standing across from him — relaxed, unbothered, as usual.
Kai.
Still wearing that same lazy, satisfied smirk, like everything had gone exactly how he wanted.
"What did you do?" Scarlet asked, voice low, steady, but laced with suspicion.
Kai tilted his head like a cat who had just finished playing with a dying mouse.
"Nothing major. Just gave them a little something to buy drinks."
He winked.
"No biggie."
Scarlet's jaw tensed.
"Bullshit."
He leaned back in his seat, still rubbing the sting from his wrists, heart thudding like war drums behind his ribcage. And in that moment, his mind — always razor sharp, always working — began stitching the pieces together.
"I should've known."
"I should have known this whole thing was too calculated."
"He knew I'd use that card. He knew I'd end up in trouble. It was bait. That card — that damn black card — was a leash, and I just walked right into the trap like some idiot on a leash."
He glanced at Kai, who had casually stolen a piece of his half-eaten dumpling and was chewing it with a hum.
"So his plan was to find me by tracking the card usage. If I strayed too far, or did something he didn't like — report the card stolen. Turn the law against me."
Scarlet's fists clenched under the table.
"He doesn't care what happens to me. I could've been beaten, shot, detained for weeks. And for what? To make sure I stayed within his little radius of control?"
"Manipulative doesn't even begin to cover it. This guy... he's a sadist in silk gloves. Cold. Precise. And utterly unbothered by consequences — as long as they don't touch him."
"He didn't even flinch when shooting Tsar's car."
"Tsar Nochi's personal vehicle. He knew. He knew it was theirs. And he shot anyway — even with me still inside."
Scarlet exhaled slowly, deeply. The heat from his earlier anger now simmered into something darker — a low, grinding resolve.
"He's a demon with a pretty face. And he's going to keep playing this game until I either outwit him… or I'm six feet under."
Kai sat across from him now, finally finished chewing. He rested his chin on one hand, eyes glittering under the diner's sad little ceiling fan.
"You're staring," Kai said, chewing the last bite of food like it was a romantic gesture. His smirk was pure sin. "Do I have something on my face? Or are you just that into me?"
Rin's expression didn't twitch.
He just blinked slowly.
Like a predator trying to decide whether to lunge or walk away.
"No, asshole. I wanna punch that stupidly pretty face of yours, you dumb bitch."
"I swear to god, if I stare any longer, my fist might act before my brain does."
Kai just grinned wider — like he knew.
Rin was about to open his mouth when—
Movement.
Just outside the stained windowpane.
It was quick. Subtle. A figure—barely visible—slipping past the edge of the glass like a shadow cut from darkness itself.
Rin's breath hitched.
"We're being watched."
He didn't say it out loud.
Instead, his instincts snapped to attention. His body moved before his mind caught up.
SMACK.
He grabbed Kai by the collar and yanked him forward.
Their faces were suddenly inches apart across the table.
Kai's eyes widened in momentary surprise, a rare crack in his constant smugness.
Rin's voice dropped to a low, harsh whisper, lips barely moving.
"I think we're being watched. Someone followed you here — or maybe they've been tailing both of us this whole time."
Kai blinked. His expression stilled. His grin faded, just for a second — only to return slower, sharper.
"Tch. You could've just said so instead of grabbing my face like a jealous ex," he whispered, voice soft but electric with tension.
Rin didn't even dignify it with a response.
"This isn't the time for his shitty jokes."
He let go of Kai's shirt, shoving him lightly back into his seat.
Kai adjusted his collar, smoothing it down with theatrical flair like he hadn't just had his life threatened with someone's grip.
"So," Kai murmured, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips again, "what should we do about them?"
His tone was laced with amusement. Like this was all a game. Like there weren't real consequences. Like Rin hadn't nearly been arrested thirty minutes ago thanks to him.
Rin kept his tone even, commanding.
"Take care of them. Of course."
Kai grinned wider at that, slowly pushing his chair back with a deliberate screech against the grimy floor.
"Mmhmm... I'll be right back, darling," he said, already moving.
Rin didn't reply.
He just sat there, eyes fixed on the spot where the figure had moved.
"This was supposed to be a break. Just food. Just breathing room. But no—of course it couldn't be that simple."
"Kai's movements were probably being tracked the second he left wherever the hell he was. Or worse—someone might be tracking me."
He leaned back in the booth and took a slow breath. The smell of old grease and moldy ceiling tiles filled his lungs.
"If Kai gets himself killed out there... well. That'd be a problem. I still need the bastard."
"But if he's the one who set this whole thing up just to test me... I swear I'll cut out his pretty little tongue."
The lock clicked softly.
The door creaked open.
And just like that, Kai stepped in.
No dramatic fanfare. No breathless rush.
Just Kai — calm, controlled, like he'd just gone out to smoke a cigarette instead of potentially murdering two police officers.
Rin sat cross-legged on the creaking bed, arms folded, face blank but eyes sharp.
"He's back already..."
"What the hell did he even do out there in those few minutes?"
"So... what happened?" Rin asked, voice low, carefully measured.
Kai didn't answer right away. He walked over to the dusty chair by the small table and sat down with a loose, languid grace — like a panther stretching after a nap.
"I handled them. Like you asked." he replied coolly, adjusting the collar of his coat like it had gotten slightly ruffled.
Rin's gaze dropped.
The back of Kai's hand... it was red.
Swollen.
He stared.
That hand... That exact hand—last time it made contact with a person's face, it didn't just bruise it.
It ripped it apart.
He didn't even flinch when he did it... didn't look away... just stared while blood hit the wall like paint from a brush.
What the fuck did he do to those people?
Rin's stomach turned at the thought.
"Honestly," he thought grimly, "he's more of a Tsar nochi Romanov than that guy we supposedly dumped in the river..."
His thoughts spiraled deeper, eyes losing focus—
SNAP.
The sound cracked like a whip in the silence.
Kai's fingers.
"Hey, printsessa."
The corner of Kai's mouth curled.
"This isn't the time to daydream. Look at this."
He pulled a sleek, white envelope from his coat pocket and slid it across the dusty table toward Rin with a flick of his fingers.
Rin blinked, snapping out of his thoughts.
"What is it?"
"An invitation."
Kai leaned back with a smug smile.
"A banquet at Peterhof Palace. To celebrate the signing of that new contract between Russia and Korea. Big deal. Lots of suits and secrets."
Rin's eyes narrowed as he carefully opened the envelope and read the golden calligraphy.
"Oh right... I was supposed to attend that event as Choi Beom-Gyu. Back before everything went to hell. The bombing ruined everything."
His pulse quickened.
"Wait... the date's different."
"They changed it. Moved it. Probably because of the attack. Of course they did. Security's going to be insane now."
He groaned internally.
"How the hell am I supposed to infiltrate that now? It's a fortress... especially after the incident at the hotel. No way in without a miracle or a massacre."
Just as he was sinking further into his anxiety, Kai suddenly snatched the invitation from his hand and twirled it between his fingers like a coin.
"This banquet's just the appetizer. The real party happens after."
Rin blinked.
"A real party?"
He sounded as tired as he felt.
"Mhmm."
Kai's voice was silky smooth. He rested his chin on one knuckle.
"The Romanovs have a mansion just a little ways from Peterhof. It's practically beside the palace. That's where the real event is."
Kai's tone darkened with something... amused, maybe even nostalgic.
"The head of the family is the CEO of GazEnergo. You might've heard of it. Dirty empire. Endless cash. Second son's tight with the Russian President. Old money. New power."
He chuckled, stretching his arms behind his head.
"After every big state banquet, the Romanovs throw a party at their manor. It's... invitation-only, technically. But the right people always get in. Crime lords. Arms dealers. Kingpins. Oligarchs. People who run the world behind the scenes."
"He's not exaggerating," Rin thought grimly.
"I've heard whispers about those parties. Things not even the agency could confirm. Where intel is traded like poker chips. Where death contracts are signed over vodka and caviar."
Kai leaned in, eyes glittering like a predator in low light.
"You might even hear something about Persephone there."
That name cut through Rin like a blade.
He snapped his gaze up. "The same Romanovs I know of?" he asked, his voice razor-thin with suspicion.
Kai's grin widened. "Yes, princess. Those exact ones."
Rin scowled. "And you're telling me they're just going to throw a party right after one of their own died?"
Kai gave a low, dangerous laugh. Like the question was too naïve to even entertain.
He leaned forward, hands steepled.
"Do you really think he's dead?"
His smile was ice.
"How naive."
Rin stared at him, stunned into silence.
"Wait... what is he saying? That guy in the river—he's not dead?"
Kai sat with one leg casually slung over the other, draped in his obsidian-black coat like royalty in exile. The flickering light caught on the curve of his lip as he grinned — just faintly. His presence was relaxed, but his words... cut like glass.
"Don't be too naive, my dear partner…"
"Unfortunately, the only bodies found in the river were two. Neither of them belonged to Tsar."
Rin froze.
The words hit him like a brick to the chest, momentarily knocking the air from his lungs. He'd wanted to believe it was over — that the monster had bled out and been claimed by the freezing river like some poetic twist of karma.
But deep down, he knew.
He felt it.
"That makes sense…" Rin thought bitterly, clenching his jaw.
"It did feel too easy. Considering the warning I was given… Even so, I assumed his chances of survival were pretty low. That river was freezing — hypothermic levels of cold. And with all the blood he lost?"
"He should've died."
Yet here they were.
"This guy is truly a monster."
He turned slowly toward Kai, arms crossed, voice low.
"How sure are you that we might get information about Persephone?"
Kai said nothing at first.
Instead, with that usual performative flair of his, he reached into his coat pocket — smooth and unhurried — and slid a thick, worn brown envelope across the metal table.
Thump.
It landed between them like a loaded gun.
Kai didn't even look up. He spoke casually, like this was all just part of some amusing game.
"These are the people who participated in the development of that little weapon."
His grin widened.
"Well... apparently, they're all dead."
Rin's brow furrowed. He picked up the envelope, fingers brushing over the crumpled seal. The files inside smelled of dust, of secrets buried under bureaucracy and blood. As he flipped through black-and-white photographs and stamped intelligence memos, his gut twisted.
"How did they die?" Rin asked, voice tight, eyes still on the photos.
Kai rested his chin in his palm, watching Rin like a cat might watch a mouse walking into a trap.
"Mhm... Good question."
"Looks like you're very attentive, Agent Scarlet."
There was something in his tone. Something smug. Like he'd expected Rin to ask that — like he was counting on it.
Kai leaned back slightly, his smile sharpening into something less charming and more... predatory.
"You see, Persephone isn't just any weapon. It's a symbol. A myth, almost. People whisper about it in military bunkers, in boardrooms, in smoke-filled back alleys. They don't even know what it is — and that's what makes it so dangerous."
He paused for effect, letting the weight of the next sentence sink in before delivering it.
"They're afraid of something they haven't got the slightest clue about."
Rin looked up now, eyes narrowing, the weight of what Kai was saying finally slamming into him.
"He's right," Rin thought. "No one knows what Persephone is. Only that it was codenamed after a goddess of death... and that the whispers started after cities went dark. After test subjects stopped being found."
Kai's voice grew silkier, almost reverent.
"No, that's precisely why they're terrified. The mystery. The potential. And once Persephone is completed — truly completed — it will change everything. Every concept of power, every defense strategy, every war game… obsolete."
He uncrossed his legs and sat forward, voice dropping.
"Once it's finished, those who helped create it would've scattered. Retired. Hidden. And with time… they'd talk. You know how people are — give them a few drinks, a whisper of gold, and the secrets pour out like cheap wine."
"That couldn't be allowed."
Rin's stomach dropped. His mouth went dry.
"So…" Kai said, lips curling upward. "They were slaughtered. Efficiently. Every single one. Executed before they could even think of betrayal."
Rin looked down at the photos again — suddenly aware that every one of them was a ghost now. Shot in the head. Burned. Found floating in ditches.
"All of them. Erased."
"It was to ensure there'd never be another like Persephone," Kai continued, his eyes shining with something Rin couldn't name. "Because if there were another… if the formula ever leaked..."
"The balance of the world would shatter."
He tilted his head again.
"But—" he added with a knowing grin, "there are always survivors."
"The Romanovs... they were involved in Project Persephone. Everyone who worked on it? Dead. Bodies buried, records erased. But the Romanovs?"
"Alive. Protected. Untouchable."
He clenched his jaw, his pulse thudding in his ears.
"If that doesn't scream involvement, I don't know what does. That kind of surgical elimination... it had to be them. Kill the researchers, torch the data, then claim the weapon for yourself."
"World's deadliest biotech, and they're the only ones left holding the blueprint."
His grip tightened on the table's edge.
"That's not survival. That's premeditation."
Across from him, Kai sipped the drink like they weren't actively sitting on the edge of global catastrophe. His grin stretched lazily, like a Cheshire cat who'd swallowed the world and was still hungry.
"So what do you say..." Kai cooed, leaning forward, eyes gleaming like twin blades in low light,
"Ready to party?"
Rin groaned softly, dragging a hand down his face.
"Looks like I'll be walking naked straight into the lion's den," he muttered under his breath, sarcasm laced with exhaustion.
Kai winked. "Please. You think HQ didn't already plan this twelve moves ahead? Don't insult our collective intelligence."
The car skidded to a stop in front of what looked like an abandoned chapel choked in fog. The stone walls were cracked, the once-beautiful stained glass now shattered into jagged teeth. Crows perched on the rusted iron fence, watching.
Scarlet stared out the window.
"Cute. Graveyard vibes. Very on brand," he thought grimly.
He stepped out into the cold, following Kai up the broken stone steps. The wooden doors creaked open with a haunted groan, and they entered the dark husk of what used to be a place of worship.
Now it smelled like mold, oil, and secrets.
Kai was humming.
They walked past crumbling pews and a collapsed altar. At the far end of the chapel, there was a stairwell, half-hidden behind a dusty velvet curtain.
They descended into the dark.
The stairs spiraled down for what felt like forever. Rin's boots scraped against concrete with each careful step.
"No security. No surveillance. Just one psycho and his pet operative."
They reached the bottom.
A bare room.
Plain. Empty.
Dust clung to the air like old ghosts.
At the center sat an old, battered cash register—completely out of place, like some bad joke in a horror movie.
Rin squinted.
"Seriously?"
Kai, of course, was already at it. He tapped a sequence into the keys with maddening flair—clack, clack, ding.
"Does he really have to act like he's playing a game of Tetris?" Rin thought, unimpressed.
Then—
CLICK.
Rin instinctively took a step back.
The walls began to groan, vibrating softly.
Panels shifted.
Metal scraped against stone.
Then, like the jaws of a great beast slowly parting, the surrounding walls slid open to reveal—
An arsenal.
Weapons. Gadgets. Tactical gear.
Sleek matte-black rifles, high-tech EMP grenades, retina scanners, biometric vault crackers, silenced pistols lined up like fine china.
Encrypted laptops. Syringes of glowing serum.
And further back, hanging on a rack—identities. Rows of fake passports, IDs from every continent, disguises, wigs, retinal overlays.
Rin's jaw slackened slightly.
"Mama mia…" he whispered without thinking.
Kai spread his arms like he was welcoming someone to an art gallery.
"You like it? Welcome to the party prep room. Codename: Cathedral."
Rin stepped further in, eyes darting across the weapon racks.
"Jesus… this is beyond black-market. This is deep-shadows, back-of-the-world, not-even-on-a-map level. You'd need multiple clearances just to know this place existed."
"No wonder HQ tolerates Kai. This man is a walking violation of international law—but he's useful. Dangerously useful."
Kai leaned against the wall, watching Rin like a snake observing a twitchy mouse.
Rin's fists clenched as he stepped past a rack of syringes labeled in Russian. He didn't even want to guess what was inside them.
"HQ didn't authorize this stash. No way. This is Kai's personal playground. How many missions has he hijacked with his own gear? How many people has he sold out—just to maintain access to this vault?"
He turned toward Kai.
"Is this all yours? Or did you just kill the last guy who owned it?"
Kai's grin didn't waver.
"You're funny. I like when you pretend to have the moral high ground. It's cute."
Rin took a slow breath.
"Don't lose it. Not yet. You need him. You need this. Just until Persephone is destroyed."
"Fine," Rin muttered, brushing dust off a matte-black Glock. "Let's see what party favors we've got."
Kai's voice slid in beside him like smoke.
"Careful, sweetheart. Once you suit up, you can't go back."
Rin didn't look at him.
"I was never planning to."