Bullets tore the dawn apart. The crack of gunfire echoed off the ruins, shattering glass, chewing through crumbling stone.Soo-ah pressed himself against the low wall, dragging Sang-woo down with him. His heart pounded so violently he thought it would burst from his chest. Each ricochet rang like a death bell, every scream of metal grinding against his skull.Yoon-min was already in motion. He moved like water—fluid, controlled, precise. His gun spat fire, each shot landing with terrifying accuracy. Two of Lazarus’s men fell, their bodies crumpling to the ground before their weapons even hit the dirt.“Stay low!” Yoon-min barked, his voice sharp enough to cut through the chaos.Soo-ah tightened his hold on Sang-woo, who winced with every movement, blood darkening his shirt. His older brother tried to laugh, tried to ease the terror clawing through the air.“Always… dragging me into trouble, huh?” Sang-woo’s words came rough, his lips pale.“Shut up. You’re not allowed to die,” Soo-ah
The stench of iron clung to Soo-ah’s nostrils, burning the back of his throat as they staggered through the tunnel. His hand gripped Sang-woo’s wrist tightly, half out of support, half out of desperation, afraid that if he let go his brother would vanish into the shadows like the masked men had.Behind them, Yoon-min moved with measured precision. His gun remained steady in his hand, his back straight despite the exhaustion flickering across his features. He kept glancing over his shoulder, sharp eyes slicing through the gloom as if expecting another ambush at any moment.The silence was deceptive, pressing down on them like a weight. Each step echoed too loudly, too hollow, reminding them of the blood-stained floor they’d left behind.Soo-ah swallowed hard, his voice breaking the suffocating quiet. “Why… why didn’t they finish it? They had us surrounded.”Yoon-min didn’t answer immediately. His jaw tightened, the muscle in his cheek ticking.Sang-woo, pale and clutching his side, exh
The stairwell stretched downward like a gaping throat swallowing them whole. Each step echoed in the silence, reverberating against the reinforced walls until Soo-ah felt it in his bones. His hand clutched Sang-woo’s arm, steadying him, while Yoon-min led the way with his gun drawn, his movements calculated, sharp.The emergency lights cast a sickly red glow, flickering just enough to turn shadows into lurking phantoms. Soo-ah’s heart pounded with each flicker, his breath uneven. The memory of that single word—Mine—burned in his mind like a scar he couldn’t shake.At the bottom of the stairwell, the tunnel widened. The air grew colder, damp, laced with a metallic tang that made Soo-ah’s stomach tighten. Pipes ran along the ceiling, dripping steadily.“This doesn’t feel right,” Sang-woo muttered, his voice hoarse.Yoon-min raised a hand, signaling them to halt. He crouched, running his fingers along the floor. His expression darkened. “Tracks. Fresh ones. We’re not alone down here.”So
The tunnels echoed long after the word burned into the wall seared itself into Soo-ah’s mind. Mine. The single word radiated with possession, venom, and a promise that made the air taste like ash.Soo-ah’s body trembled, but it wasn’t just fear—it was fury. His fists clenched, nails digging into his palms until they left crescent-shaped marks. For the first time, the shadows Lazarus cast didn’t feel endless. They felt personal.Yoon-min stood beside him, his expression unreadable but his grip on Soo-ah’s wrist unwavering. He pulled him back, away from the wall, away from the haunting word that threatened to consume them both.“We seal this tunnel,” Yoon-min ordered the guards, his tone steel. “Every entrance. No one comes in or out until I say.”The guards scrambled, murmuring quick affirmatives.Soo-ah’s gaze lingered on the blackened letters as they were covered by steel plating. Even hidden, the word pulsed in his chest like a curse.---Back upstairs, the safehouse felt smaller, s
The helicopter blades still roared in Soo-ah’s ears long after they touched down on the outskirts of Istanbul. The city stretched like a tapestry of lights beneath the night sky, but all he felt was exhaustion—the kind that seeped deep into the bones, weighing down every breath.The safehouse wasn’t glamorous. It was a nondescript warehouse, its exterior rusting with age, hidden between abandoned factories that smelled of oil and decay. Inside, however, it was fortified—a place their father’s network had secured long ago. Steel doors, reinforced windows, and a labyrinth of hallways designed for defense rather than comfort.Soo-ah half-carried Sang-woo inside, Yoon-min clearing the path ahead with cold precision. The guards stationed there bowed deeply, their eyes flicking to Sang-woo’s pale face with concern but offering no questions.The moment they entered a dimly lit room converted into a temporary infirmary, Soo-ah laid his brother gently on the cot. Sang-woo grimaced but gave him
The soft hum of machines was the only sound in Sang-woo’s hospital room. It was almost too peaceful, too fragile, as if the universe itself was holding its breath. Soo-ah sat perched on the edge of the chair, his fingers still entwined with his brother’s, his eyes bloodshot from refusing sleep.But beneath that calm veneer, his chest thrummed with a growing unease.Something was wrong.He could feel it.The doctors had said Sang-woo needed rest. Yoon-min had urged him to stay calm. But Soo-ah’s instincts screamed at him—there wasn’t time.As if to answer his fears, the faintest tremor echoed through the hospital walls. The fluorescent lights above flickered once, twice. Then silence again, too heavy, too unnatural.Soo-ah’s head snapped toward the door. His pulse quickened.Moments later, Yoon-min burst in, his expression taut, his hand already reaching for the weapon at his side.“They’re here,” he said grimly.The words dropped like lead into the room.Soo-ah’s stomach lurched. “Who