Chapter 4: Blood Never Lies
The old Kang Estate stood like a ghost in the night.
Jinwoo hadn't been here in seven years, not since the fire that had consumed their childhood and shattered everything he once believed in. The house was barely standing now—burnt walls, broken windows, the scent of ash and forgotten memories lingering in the cold air.
The past wasn't just buried here. It was waiting.
He stepped forward, adjusting the grip on his gun. Midnight had come, but Kyung-ho wasn't here.
Not yet.
A soft click echoed behind him. Jinwoo stilled.
"Turn around, slowly," a voice ordered.
Jinwoo smirked. "That's a lot of confidence for someone who doesn't know if I'm faster than him."
"I know you, hyung. You wouldn't risk it."
Jinwoo exhaled, then turned.
And there he was.
Kyung-ho.
Dressed in a sleek black suit, his brother looked nothing like the reckless kid Jinwoo once protected. His face was calm, unreadable, but his eyes—those same cold, calculating eyes Jinwoo had seen in the mirror—held something dangerous.
"Look at you," Jinwoo said, tilting his head. "Expensive suit, armed men in the shadows… You've done well for yourself."
Kyung-ho's smirk was barely there. "And you? Still the same. Still reckless. Still alone."
Jinwoo clenched his jaw. "You should be dead."
Kyung-ho chuckled. "So should you. Yet here we are."
A long silence stretched between them. The air was thick with unspoken words, the weight of their past pressing down on both of them.
Then Kyung-ho sighed. "I didn't come here to kill you, Jinwoo."
Jinwoo raised an eyebrow. "Then why the sniper attack? The ambush?"
Kyung-ho's smirk faded. "That wasn't me."
Jinwoo's fingers tightened around his gun. "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not," Kyung-ho said, stepping closer. "Someone wants us both dead."
Jinwoo studied him carefully. The Kyung-ho he knew was a master manipulator, but there was no deception in his eyes now.
And that was worse.
Because it meant the truth was uglier than he thought.
---
FLASHBACK: SEVEN YEARS AGO
The fire was everywhere.
Jinwoo stumbled through the collapsing house, smoke choking his lungs as flames ate away at their home.
"KYUNG-HO!" he screamed.
No answer.
He turned a corner—then froze.
His father lay in a pool of blood, his throat slit open.
Jinwoo's heart stopped.
"Hyung…"
Jinwoo spun around.
Kyung-ho stood in the shadows, his hands stained red.
A knife gleamed in his grip.
"You…" Jinwoo's voice shook. "You did this?"
Kyung-ho's expression was empty. "He had to die."
Jinwoo's world collapsed.
The fire, the betrayal, the weight of his father's lifeless body—it all came crashing down on him.
He ran.
And never looked back.
---
PRESENT
Jinwoo's grip on his gun tightened. "You expect me to believe someone else is after us?"
Kyung-ho sighed. "I knew you wouldn't trust me. That's why I brought proof."
He pulled out his phone and tossed it to Jinwoo.
Jinwoo caught it, frowning. On the screen was a live video feed.
A warehouse. Dozens of armed men—Hanseong Clan assassins—preparing for war.
Jinwoo narrowed his eyes. "Where is this?"
"Gangnam District," Kyung-ho replied. "They're moving in tomorrow night. Their target isn't just you… It's me too."
Jinwoo's pulse quickened.
If this was real, it meant one thing—someone wanted the Kang brothers wiped out completely.
And that wasn't something he could ignore.
"Who's behind it?" Jinwoo asked.
Kyung-ho's jaw tightened. "We'll find out. Together."
Jinwoo stared at him. The man he swore to kill was now his only ally.
This wasn't just about revenge anymore.
It was about survival.
And in the streets of Seoul, only the strongest survived.
---
End of Chapter 4