The house in Hwayang Valley had never known this kind of terror.
Usually, its nights were filled with the quiet hum of crickets, the faint whisper of wind through bamboo, the warmth of memories Dahlia kept close.
Tonight, it shook with violence.
Jin stepped forward, the moonlight slicing across his scarred jaw.
Lee—Jaemin—pushed Dahlia behind him, one arm bracing her back as he shielded her with his body.
"Stay inside," he murmured without looking at her.
"Jaemin—" she breathed, terrified.
But he was gone in a heartbeat.
Jin lunged first.
Lee met him mid-air, their clash shaking the wooden floor.
Fists. Blades. Breathless speed.
Both shadows trained under the same darkness but carrying opposite destinies.
Jin's movements were brutal and efficient, shaped by killing with no hesitation.
Lee's movements were swift, restrained, controlled—shaped by protecting what he cherished.
Their footsteps cracked the floorboards as they moved toward the yard.
Lee blocked a downward strike—metal scraping sparks.
Jin kicked him hard across the ribs, sending him crashing into a wooden pillar.
A grunt escaped him.
He stood again.
He always stood again.
"You betrayed us, Lee."
Jin spat blood, his grin feral.
"You should've died with our brothers that night."
Lee didn't respond.
He couldn't waste breath.
Jin sneered, circling him.
"You killed Red."
He tilted his head. "For her."
Lee's jaw tightened.
Jin laughed. "Ah. So it's true. You care for this woman."
Dahlia, trembling behind the doorway, felt her heart drop.
Jin licked the blood from his lip.
"Then killing you won't be enough. I'll bring her to the Viper myself."
The moment he said it—
Lee attacked.
A blur of fury.
A roar trapped in silence.
Their blades clashed again and again—
Jin's strikes chopping deep, heavy, meant to crush.
Lee's strikes smooth, lightning-fast—
every move a shield for Dahlia.
They slammed into the stone pathway outside, rolling, punching, kicking.
Jin pinned Lee with a knee on his chest—
Lee twisted, flipped him, slammed him down.
Jin wiped sweat from his brow.
"You've grown strong, Lee."
Then his eyes darkened.
"But weakness always returns."
He suddenly feinted left—
then drove a hidden dagger forward.
Lee reacted too late.
The blade sank deep into his side.
Dahlia screamed.
"JAEMIN!"
He staggered, blood soaking through his black shirt.
Jin twisted the blade cruelly.
Lee gasped, the pain tearing through his entire body as his knees buckled.
"You die tonight," Jin hissed.
"For choosing the wrong side."
He pushed Lee backward.
But Lee—
still stood.
Barely.
Panting.
Blood dripping from his fingers.
Dahlia ran toward him.
"Jaemin—no, no—please—"
"Stay back!" he choked out, pushing her away with the last of his strength.
Jin lifted another blade.
Lee tried to raise his arm.
But his vision blurred.
His legs collapsed.
Dahlia caught him before he hit the ground.
"Jaemin-ah—wake up—please—PLEASE—"
Her voice cracked, breaking into sobs.
His blood spread across her hands, warm and terrifying.
He blinked weakly, his voice barely a breath.
"…Dahlia… run…"
She shook her head violently, tears falling on his cheeks.
Then—
A gunshot split the air.
Jin moved back.
Not from fear—
but because someone else had arrived.
"HEY! STEP AWAY FROM HER!"
Dojoon stood behind the fence, gun raised, eyes blazing with fury.
Jin smirked.
"So the little detective finally shows up."
Dojoon aimed at his head.
"You take one more step, I'll shoot."
But Jin only tilted his head, amused.
"You have no idea what you're dealing with, boy."
He snapped his fingers—
Two shadows moved in the darkness behind him.
Dojoon's grip tightened.
Before Jin could flank him, Dojoon fired again—forcing the assassins to retreat.
Jin hissed in annoyance.
"Tonight is not the end."
His eyes slid to Lee bleeding in Dahlia's arms.
"Let him die slowly."
With a final smirk, Jin and the two assassins vanished into the woods.
"DOJOON!" Dahlia cried, voice trembling. "Help him—please—he's dying—he's dying—"
Dojoon dropped to his knees beside them, his expression shifting from rage to pure horror.
"Holy—Jaemin…? Noona, he—no, not like this—"
He pressed his hand against Lee's wound, trembling.
"Stay with us," Dojoon said through clenched teeth. "Don't you dare die again."
Lee's breathing grew shallow.
Dahlia held his head against her chest, tears falling uncontrollably.
"Jaemin—don't leave me again… don't you dare…"
Dojoon called the ambulance.
Within minutes, medics rushed into the yard.
Blood trailed behind them as they lifted Lee onto the stretcher.
His hand slipped from Dahlia's grasp.
She ran beside him until the doors closed.
Hours felt like years.
Dahlia sat outside the ER, her clothes stained with his blood, her body shaking violently.
Dojoon sat beside her, jaw clenched, eyes burning.
"Noona…" he whispered.
"You love him."
She couldn't answer.
Her chest hurt too much.
Her tears wouldn't stop.
She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
"I can't lose him again, Dojoon-ah…
Not after fifteen years…
Not when I just found him…"
Dojoon wrapped an arm around her trembling shoulders.
"We'll fight for him," he said quietly.
"Together."
Inside the ER, the doctors fought to keep Jaemin alive.
Outside, Dahlia collapsed into Dojoon's arms, whispering his name over and over.
MEANWHILE…
At an undisclosed location—
A long table.
Black suits.
Cold faces.
The Black Viper higher-ups gathered, their voices sharp with irritation.
"Lee has compromised two missions."
"He interferes with clean operations."
"He reveals himself to civilians."
"He killed one of our own—Red."
Then—
A calm, chilling voice from the head of the table:
"Bring Lee back."
A pause.
"Alive or dead?"
The leader's lips curved.
"…Either is fine."
A single order echoed through the room:
"Mobilize the hunters."
The storm has just begun.