Night lingered stubbornly over the hospital, refusing to give way to dawn.
The ICU hallway was dim, sterile, and heavy with a suffocating silence broken only by the rhythmic beep of machines keeping Jaemin alive.
Dahlia slept fitfully in a private room nearby, feverish and emotionally drained.
Judge Choi and Coach Insung sat outside the ICU, each lost in their own storms.
Dojoon stood next to the window, hands in his pockets, jaw tight as he watched the police swarm the grounds outside in heightened security.
He still heard the radio call echoing in his skull:
> "Ambush… Black Viper… prisoner dead…"
Seo Gwan was gone.
The last loose thread from 2010 had been cut—violently.
And that meant only one thing:
The syndicate is covering their tracks.
They're preparing for something bigger.
---------------------
Jaemin lay motionless on the bed—ashen, hooked to multiple IV lines, his breathing shallow beneath the ventilator.
His chest was wrapped in thick bandages hiding the deep stab wound from Jin.
Insung stood at the foot of the bed, fingers trembling as he stared at the boy he had once trained… once protected like a son.
"Jaemin-ah…" his voice cracked. "What have they done to you… What did you go through all these years…"
Judge Choi gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We will protect him now. No matter what it takes."
Insung nodded, wiping his eyes quickly.
But despite the assurances—
Jaemin's fingers twitched.
Both men froze.
His hand tightened weakly… then fell limp.
A subtle sign of fighting—clinging to life—but he was still too far from waking.
Insung whispered a silent prayer.
-
The early light filtered softly through the curtains.
Dahlia stirred, sweating despite the heater, her fever finally breaking.
Her first conscious thought—
Jaemin.
She sat up too quickly, dizziness washing over her.
Mrs. Kim's words from the night before echoed in her mind:
> "Your friend found you… he saved you…"
She placed a hand over her chest.
"I knew it," she whispered.
She slid off the bed, ignoring her remaining weakness, slipped into warm clothes, and headed to the door—
Only to find Dojoon standing there with takeout coffee.
He nearly dropped the cups.
"Noona—! You should be resting!"
She shook her head.
"I need to see him."
Dojoon sighed, stepping aside.
"…I knew you'd say that."
---
Back to the ICU
When Dahlia walked into the room, Insung immediately stepped toward her, eyes softening with relief.
"You gave us quite the scare," he murmured.
But Dahlia didn't answer.
Her eyes were fixed on the man lying unconscious.
She walked slowly to his bedside, her trembling hand reaching out—hovering—finally resting gently over his unmoving fingers.
"Jaemin-ah…" she whispered.
"I'm here."
No response.
Only the steady beep… beep… beep…
Tears gathered again.
She lowered her forehead to their joined hands.
"I should've protected you too," she choked. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
Behind her, Judge Choi quietly turned away, unable to bear the sight.
Insung covered his mouth, overwhelmed.
Dojoon stood guard silently by the door, his eyes burning—not from anger, but from helplessness.
---------
Later, Judge Choi called for a private meeting with Dojoon and Insung.
The blinds were pulled shut.
Police officers guarded the hallway.
"Seo Gwan's death," Judge Choi began, "was not a rescue mission. It was silencing."
Dojoon nodded grimly.
"They made it clear: they don't want him to speak. They don't want us connecting Black Viper to the Haerang disappearances."
Insung's fists clenched.
"And Jaemin?"
Judge Choi exhaled shakily.
"He is our only living witness now—whether he wants to be or not."
Dojoon tightened his jaw.
"And that puts a giant target on his back… and Dahlia's."
Insung slammed a hand on the table.
"Then we protect them. At all costs."
Judge Choi nodded.
"I will request special federal agents for hospital protection. No one gets in without clearance."
---
Meanwhile… elsewhere in the city
A tall woman in a black coat stepped onto a rooftop overlooking the skyline.
Sharp eyes. Cold demeanor. A tattoo of a serpent coiling around her wrist.
She answered a call.
"This is Shadow Assassin Min —report."
A distorted voice responded:
> "Lee survived the assault."
Her jaw tightened.
"And Jin?"
> "He returned injured but alive."
"Good."
She paused.
"The Master wants Lee retrieved. Alive if possible."
"And if resistance is met?"
Her lips curved slightly.
"Kill everyone protecting him."
She hung up.
The assassins hidden behind her bowed silently.
Black Viper was already moving.
---
Dahlia knew the moment she stepped outside the ICU that she was beginning to fall apart.
The adrenaline of fear, guilt, shock… everything finally weighed on her.
She sank onto a bench, pulling her knees close, burying her face.
Dojoon approached and sat beside her quietly.
"Noona… you should rest…"
She shook her head hard.
"I can't. I won't leave him again."
Dojoon swallowed.
"…Noona. You really… love him, don't you?"
Her breath hitched.
"Yes," she whispered.
"I never stopped."
Dojoon closed his eyes, nodding slowly—accepting it, protecting it.
"I'll keep you both safe," he said softly. "I promise."
---
Inside the ICU — a flicker of life
Jaemin's heart monitor skipped—
once.
Twice.
A small tremor passed through his eyelids.
His fingers twitched again.
Then—
His lips parted, barely moving, the faintest breath escaping:
"…Da… hlia…"
A whisper so fragile it vanished instantly.
The nurse didn't hear it.
But his heartbeat steadied.
He was fighting his way back.
---
And outside, in the parking structure…
A man in a black hoodie stood between the cars.
Face hidden.
Eyes familiar—cold, sharp, murderous.
Jin.
Blood still dried on his collar.
He stared up at the hospital window where Dahlia's light was on.
"You saved him tonight, Detective Choi," he murmured.
"But next time… no one will."
He turned away, blending into the shadows.
The war for Jaemin had begun.
And the threads of fate tightened—unstoppable, unraveling toward a darker storm.