The classroom buzzed like a nest of hornets.
Phone screens glowed under desks, each headline screaming louder than the last:
"PTJ Entertainment CEO Ousted Overnight, DG take over.
""Aru Lee Withdraws From Schedules."
"Crystal Choi Seen Leaving With Mystery Boy."
Daniel sat at his desk, heart pounding.
That "mystery boy" wasn't mysterious for him. It was Seong Min.
He clenched his fists, staring at the chalkboard but seeing only flashes of last night: Gun's surgical calm, Goo's manic grin, DG's faint smile, Charles's cold authority. And above them all, Seong Min's violet eyes cutting him open without a word.
For the first time since gaining his second body, Daniel felt small again.
"Eighty-four… eighty-five…"
Daniel blinked and turned. Vasco was squatting right beside his desk, sweat dripping as he counted under his breath.
"Vasco… what are you doing?" Daniel asked.
"Training!" Vasco grunted. "Goo Kim's workout! Twenty kilometers, two hundred squats, two hundred pushups every day!"
Students snickered.
"You're gonna blow your knees out," Zack muttered from the back.
"Shut up!" Vasco snapped, veins bulging as he dropped into another squat. "I'll do it! I'll get stronger!"
Daniel sighed, rubbing his temple. Vasco's determination was admirable, but it didn't close the gap he had seen last night. Not even close.
"Hey, Daniel." A classmate leaned over with a smirk. "Someone's been staring at you all morning. Think you've got a secret admirer?"
Daniel froze. "What?"
The boy snickered, pointing toward the back of the classroom. Daniel turned just in time to see a girl duck her head, scribbling furiously in a notebook.
Her gaze had been locked on him.
Not his old self. Not his ugly body.
This one. His perfect body.
That night, his world shifted.
When his handsome body collapsed into bed, his true body—the bloated, awkward one—stirred awake in the cramped apartment.
He groaned, dragging himself out of bed. Same round cheeks. Same sluggish joints. Same reality.
The convenience store's neon lights buzzed faintly as he pushed through the door in his uniform. He grabbed a bottle of water and a sandwich before clocking in, dropping them on the counter.
The clerk barely glanced at him, scanning the items with a bored hum. Daniel muttered thanks and hurried into the back, slipping on his vest.
The store was quiet that night. Customers trickled in, the hum of the fridge units filling the silence. Daniel stood behind the counter, chin in his palm, fighting exhaustion.
That's when he felt it.
Eyes.
He glanced up, but the glass doors only showed the street outside. Empty, save for the flickering glow of the lampposts.
Still, the sensation didn't fade.
Outside, a girl lingered at the edge of the street, notebook clutched tightly to her chest.
Her bangs shadowed her face, but her eyes gleamed sharp in the dark.
She wrote quickly, her pen scratching across the page.
"Two bodies… but only one that shines…"
Her lips curved into a smile as she watched through the glass.
It wasn't this body she wanted—the slouched, awkward boy manning the counter. No.
It was the other one.
The golden boy. The perfect face. The Daniel who stood at school like he was untouchable.
And yet… here was this body too.
Her Daniel.
Elsewhere, in the depths of Seoul, Dog Pound bent their heads.
The survivors filled a dimly lit room, scars fresh, loyalty unsteady. Fear was the only leash holding them still.
At the head of the table, Seong Min stood with a ledger open before him. Numbers scrawled across the pages—dirty money from gambling, smuggling, protection fees. A network once feeding their backer, now flowing into his hands.
"Reports," Seong Min said simply.
A lieutenant scrambled forward, sliding papers across the table. His voice trembled. "The… the southern blocks still resist, but most have submitted. Your name is spreading, boss."
Seong Min's violet eyes skimmed the reports. "Spreading?"
"They're saying…" The man swallowed. "You're Not A king . Something worse. Something they don't want to cross."
A low murmur rippled through the room.
Seong Min closed the ledger with a snap. "Good."
But another voice spoke, older and rougher.
"The First Generation is asking about you."
The room stilled.
"They know you fought their king. To a draw. They know you survived."
Seong Min's jaw tightened at the memory—the fight that had left his ribs cracked, his blood spilling, the clash that ended without victory but not in defeat either.
"First Generation," he murmured. Not a question.
The word hung heavy, making the lieutenants shift uneasily.
"They'll test you again," the older man warned. "Next time, harder."
Seong Min's eyes burned violet, silencing the room.
"Let them come."
Tom Lee watched from a distance, smoke curling lazily into the air. His smirk was faint, but his eyes were sharp.
"Gun's twin," he muttered. "And already the old monsters are stirring…"
He flicked the ash from his cigarette, gaze narrowing.
"The storm's coming sooner than I thought."
Back at the convenience store, Daniel's ugly body leaned against the counter, exhausted. The shift dragged on, each customer another reminder of his insignificance.
But he couldn't shake the sensation.
Someone was still watching.
And outside, hidden beneath the glow of the lampposts, the Stalker's smile widened.
The ugly body didn't matter.
The golden one was hers.
✨ End of Chapter 54 ✨