"Who could've done this?" Tae-gun asked Min-chul as they sat on their infirmary beds.
"I'm sure it wasn't the Order," Min-chul replied.
Just then, Sera stepped into the room holding a phone. "Sir, you have a call."
"Who is it?" Min-chul asked.
"Mr. Moon," she said. "The Regional Commissioner."
"Ah," Min-chul sighed. "He's probably calling about today's incident."
"Give me the phone," Tae-gun said, reaching for it. Sera walked over and handed it to him. Tae-gun answered with a serious expression.
"Mr. Kang, what exactly happened out there today? The higher-ups are demanding answers, but I have nothing to tell them."
"It was an assassination attempt on my life," Tae-gun replied. "But I don't know who's behind it."
"Just an assassination attempt?" Mr. Moon sounded stunned. "The city's in shambles—countless properties were damaged, and although no one died, there were injuries. I know this sounds bad, but we need a narrative—something to calm the people of Seoul."
"I wish I had more to say," Tae-gun shook his head. "Has the investigation uncovered anything?"
"Not yet," Mr. Moon said. "But the man Crusher killed was a foreigner."
Tae-gun narrowed his eyes, recalling the Black Lamborghini he had seen from the van that came to pick him and Min-chul up.
"Mr. Moon, have you heard of the Black Crown?" he asked.
"Black Crown?" Mr. Moon repeated. "Are you talking about the Order?"
"So you do know them?"
"I've heard the name, but I don't know much," he admitted. "Are they involved?"
"I'm not sure," Tae-gun replied. "But I think I have an idea who is. I'll call you back."
Min-chul squinted. "Don't tell me... you think it's him?"
Tae-gun didn't answer. He just muttered, "Jun…"
At that moment, the door creaked open. Seyeon rushed in, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Dad!" she cried, running into his arms.
He hugged her gently, patting her back. "It's alright. I'm fine."
"Do you know who did this?" she asked, eyes filled with worry.
"Not yet," he said softly. "But we'll find out—sooner or later."
His eyes shifted to the doorway, where Jihoon stood silently.
"Is something wrong?" Tae-gun asked.
Jihoon shook his head and approached Seyeon. "There's something I need to do."
"What is it?"
"Nothing important," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her cheeks flushed red, while Tae-gun blinked in surprise, staring at the two.
"Wait... are you guys... like, a thing?" he asked awkwardly.
"Umm... Well, it wasn't an official date or anything, but yeah—we're sort of a thing," Seyeon replied, blushing.
Without another word, Jihoon turned and walked out. He flagged a taxi and headed back to the Lee mansion, taking out the golden safe.
With the golden safe in his hands, Jihoon closed his eyes to recall the full poem. When he was sure everything was correct, he recited it:
..
My little prince,
Is sick with a disease,
Born into this cursed family,
He's not much for history,
My little prince, Oh my little prince,
Forgive this mother for she pleads,
Having you was her greatest sin,
A fight with death, you couldn't win,
My little prince, Oh my little prince,
I do not wish to see you suffer,
To save you, my life I would offer,
As a saddened mother, I wish to end your story,
But I love you so much, please forgive me,
My little prince, Oh my little prince,
There is a sword! Pick it up and fight this curse!
Like your father did, and his father before him,
Emerge a winner, emerge a King,
For you can only be happy when you breathe...
..
After reciting the poem, Jihoon felt a peculiar sense of relief. He sighed inwardly, 'Grandma must have really loved Father.'
The poem was so heartfelt it brought him to tears, triggering flashes of long-lost memories. He finally understood why his father always sang it.
The safe responded with a low beep and clicked open, revealing Tae-shin's journal and a drive.
Jihoon raised a brow at the drive, wondering what its contents were. He closed the smaller safe and returned it to the bigger one. After tucking the journal into his pocket, he proceeded to leave the room.
He had to show Tae-gun the journal. The dream where Tae-gun was stabbed still haunted him, and he had a strong feeling something bad was coming. Before that happened, Tae-gun needed to see the journal.
Just as Jihoon opened the door to leave, he spotted a man standing behind it—wearing a black mask with a crown attached.
The man blew a black substance into Jihoon's face, causing him to stumble.
Jihoon grabbed the man's collar, gritting his teeth. "Why…"
He collapsed seconds later. The masked man squatted beside him, studying his face.
"What a handsome face you have," he said.
---
"I just got a call from the Black Crown," Min-chul said to Tae-gun. They were sitting outside on one of the hospital benches, taking in some fresh air.
"They want the drive, don't they?" Tae-gun asked.
Min-chul nodded with a sigh. "They might ask you to join them. If they do, I beg you—join them. Otherwise, they'll kill you."
Tae-gun glanced up at the stars. "Do you know where they usually hold their meetings?"
"I don't," Min-chul replied, shaking his head. "They have various rendezvous locations and hold meetings at random."
"I see," Tae-gun nodded, revealing his phone and dialing a number. "Mr. Han, I need you to do me a favour. Where can we meet?"
---
Amidst the dense forest and towering trees, a large, creepy-looking building stood eerily still. The entire structure was cloaked in darkness—not even a shimmer of light escaped its windows.
Somewhere inside, the Six were practicing their fighting skills with only a single candle as their light source. Shadows darted rapidly past the flame, but the candle remained still, as if no one had passed it at all.
"Ouch!" Viper's voice echoed from the darkness. Moments later, the lights flicked on.
Viper clutched her belly while Miran stood in front of her in a fighting stance.
"You've gotten stronger again," Viper said.
"Ha, and here I thought I was slacking off," Lisa retorted with a sigh.
Yerin sat in the corner of the room, meditating in a lotus position. She opened her eyes upon hearing that Miran had gotten stronger.
"At this rate, you'll surpass the leader," Lisa added with a smile. "And you're only twelve… imagine how strong you'll be when you reach my age."
"Can you two leave? I need to talk to Miran alone," Yerin said as she approached them.
"Sure," the girls said in unison before leaving the room.
Once they were gone, Yerin sat next to Miran. "Want to tell me why you're training so hard?"
"Nothing, Mom," Miran replied.
"Now you're lying," Yerin said with a playful frown.
Miran chuckled. "It's because of that Seo Jihoon. He beat me."
"Why are you acting like you've never been defeated before? It was just one loss."
"Mom, how did he know your name?" Miran suddenly asked. "Why were you mentioned in his father's journal?"
"His father and I were once friends," Yerin answered.
"Mom..." Miran called again, hesitating.
"What?"
"Never mind…" Miran mumbled, walking back to the training grounds.
---
A man wearing a black trench coat stepped into the hospital where Tae-gun was staying and headed straight for his ward.
He didn't bother knocking—he just walked in. Inside the room, Tae-gun sat on the bed, already dressed in his suit, while Min-chul sat beside him, still in his patient gown.
"Are you ready to leave?" the man asked nonchalantly.
"I am," Tae-gun replied. "Truth be told, you were a little later than I expected."
Tae-gun got up to follow the man, but Min-chul grabbed his wrist.
"I don't know what you're planning, but don't do anything stupid. Just join them—for LM Holdings, for me, and for Seyeon."
"When she comes back, tell her I went for a stroll," Tae-gun said with a smile before following the man in the trench coat all the way to a black limousine.
The limo's windows were painted completely black, making it impossible to see outside. Eventually, the car came to a stop in a secluded area. Tae-gun looked around, trying to recognize the place, but nothing came to mind.
He was led to an abandoned school he didn't even know existed. That could only mean one thing—he had been taken far from the city. But the drive only took about ten minutes, which left Tae-gun with one assumption: they must've taken a shortcut.
He was led underground and into an elevator that took them even deeper. When the elevator doors finally opened, a large man grabbed him and confiscated his phone, watch, gun, and any other potentially harmful items.
"Lee Tae-gun," a man's voice echoed through the darkness as Tae-gun was shoved into the spotlight. "We finally meet at last."
Tae-gun glanced around, trying to locate the source of the voice, but the blinding light made it impossible. "Show me your face," he demanded.
The man and several others laughed. "Demanding as always... Did you come with the drive?"
"I'll give it to you on one condition," Tae-gun said. "You leave my daughter alone."
The council burst into another round of laughter.
"What's funny?" Tae-gun asked, his tone sharp.
"Your father also died protecting you. And now, you want to die to protect your daughter. Like father, like son."
Tae-gun's jaw clenched. "Why did you kill my father?"
"He tried to leave the Black Crown. Once you join, the only way out is death. Your father and Seo Jisan both died for the same reason," the man explained. "Now, where is the drive? We promise to leave your daughter alone—but if she becomes a nuisance like you, we won't hesitate to break that promise."
"What about Seo Jihoon?" Tae-gun asked.
"He remains with us," the man replied.
"Leave him alone too," Tae-gun said coldly.
Another wave of laughter rang out.
"We already spared your daughter. You should be grateful for that alone," the man sneered.
"Then I won't give you the drive," Tae-gun said firmly.
"Malachi, take the drive from him!"
At the man's command, a dark-suited figure leapt from the shadows and launched at Tae-gun. Tae-gun fought back, but Malachi was far too powerful.
In less than thirty seconds, Tae-gun was beaten to the ground, and the drive was taken from his pocket.
The man chuckled darkly. "Did you actually think you could walk out of here alive?"
"The Lee family has done enough for the Black Crown, and we thank you for that," a woman's voice added coldly. "But now, your existence threatens us. We cannot let you leave."
"Malachi," the man ordered. "Do your thing."
Without a word, Malachi revealed a knife and stabbed Tae-gun in the gut. He stepped away, leaving Tae-gun to bleed out slowly.
"Goodbye, Tae-gun," a familiar voice said from the shadows.
"Goodbye, Jun," Tae-gun muttered, then began to laugh.
"Do you guys hear that?" someone whispered—it was the voice of the newest member. "Beep… beep… beep..."
Everyone turned to look at Tae-gun, disbelief written on their faces.
"He wouldn't dare."
BOOM!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!!
BOOOOOM!!!