The air in the abandoned auditorium was thick with cigarette smoke and tension.
The place had been cleaned out weeks ago by teachers, but tonight it was alive again—alive with the sound of heavy footsteps, the clatter of bats against walls, the mutter of boys sizing each other up.
Every faction in the school had come.
The Steel Fangs, Kang Do-jun's crew—broad-shouldered boys with scarred fists and busted noses, leaning on the walls like predators.
The Red Claws, a pack of street-runners known for knives hidden in their socks.
The Razorbacks, notorious for their sheer numbers and dirty tricks—spitting, clawing, gouging.
Even the scattered remnants of Logan Lee's old crew, still nursing bruises but desperate to find new footing.
The factions didn't trust each other, and they sure as hell didn't trust the boy who called this meeting.
But they came.
Because fear travels faster than reason.
---
At the center of the room, seated in a folding chair like a judge on a throne, was Daniel Park.
He wore no uniform jacket tonight. Just a crisp white shirt, collar unbuttoned, sleeves rolled to his elbows. A small detail—but in the eyes of every faction leader, it screamed defiance. Authority.
His eyes scanned the room. Cold. Calculating.
When he finally spoke, his voice wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.
> Daniel: "Good. You all came. That means you understand what's happening."
Murmurs rose and fell. Someone snorted. Someone else muttered, "Cocky little bastard."
Daniel stood slowly, dragging the chair legs across the floor. The screech echoed like nails on glass.
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> Daniel: "You've all fought for scraps. Beaten each other bloody for hallways and lunch tables. But now the rules have changed."
His eyes moved across the room, landing briefly on Kang Do-jun, then sliding to the Red Claws' leader, then the Razorbacks. Each boy stiffened under his gaze.
> Daniel: "I didn't call you here to beg. I didn't call you here to play nice. I called you here to give you one choice."
He raised one finger.
> Daniel: "Stand with me… or get buried under me."
The silence snapped. Leaders growled, fists clenched, threats spat across the floor.
"You think we'll kneel to a freshman?!"
"You'll regret calling us here, Park!"
"I'll fucking kill you before I follow you!"
The room buzzed with rage.
And Daniel smiled.
---
> Daniel: "Good. Anger is better than silence. But before you waste your breath—look around."
They did.
And slowly, uneasily, the factions realized his words had weight.
Half their boys weren't watching Daniel. They were watching their own leaders, unsure. Waiting.
Fear had already crept in.
> Daniel: "You all saw what happened to Logan. You all saw Kang Do-jun step aside. You all felt it—the shift."
His voice dropped, calm and sharp as a blade.
> Daniel: "Logan ruled by noise. Do-jun ruled by fists. I don't need either. I rule by inevitability."
The words sank in. Heavy. Absolute.
---
Daniel stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.
> Daniel: "If you stand with me, your crews survive. Your names survive. You'll have money, protection, territory. Respect."
His eyes narrowed, the smile fading into something colder.
> Daniel: "If you stand against me… you'll watch everything you built rot. Your boys will leave you. Your enemies will feast on what's left. And when you finally crawl to me begging for mercy, I'll remind you—"
He leaned forward slightly.
> Daniel: "—mercy is a luxury I don't waste on the weak."
The auditorium was silent now. Dead silent.
---
Kang Do-jun exhaled hard through his nose, the sound like a growl. He wanted to protest, but his own crew was staring at Daniel—not at him. The Red Claws' leader adjusted his collar nervously. The Razorbacks' boys shuffled, glancing at each other with unease.
They were wolves, all of them. But wolves know when a new alpha walks into the den.
Finally, someone muttered, almost under his breath:
> Faction leader: "…I'm in."
The ripple was instant. Another voice followed. Then another.
One by one, like dominoes, the factions began to nod, murmur, bow their heads ever so slightly.
Daniel straightened, hands clasped behind his back, his cold smile returning.
---
> Daniel: "Good. Then remember this night. The night your chaos became order. The night your scraps became an empire."
He turned, walking toward the doors as the factions parted like a sea before him.
> Daniel: "From this day on… Cheongryong rules this school."
The dragon had spread its wings.
And the age of Daniel Park had begun.
---