The warehouse smelled of rust, old oil, and fear.

Chains clinked softly from the ceiling like wind chimes in hell. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and the heavier stench of something worse — dread. It hung in the air like a storm cloud, heavy and suffocating.

And in the center of that storm stood Jeon Jeonggukk.

The Mafia King.

Clad in black from head to toe — a tailored suit, gloves soaked in someone else's blood, and eyes that bore into souls like a predator who didn't hunt to eat, but to destroy.

"Did I ask you to speak?" Jeonggukk's voice cut through the silence like a blade.

The man tied to the chair whimpered, a bloody mess of a human being who had once been an ambitious traitor. His mouth moved, stammering words of apology, but it was already too late.

Jeonggukk wasn't here for mercy. He didn't offer second chances.

He circled the man like a lion circles a dying deer, calm but terrifying in his grace. He wiped the blood from his gloved fingers with a silk handkerchief that had his initials embroidered in gold.

"So let me get this straight," he murmured with deadly calm, "You sold intel from my syndicate to that cheap bastard from Osaka... and thought I wouldn't find out?"

He leaned in close, crouching so he was eye-level with the man. His voice dropped into something far more sinister.

"I built this empire on the screams of people smarter than you. And I burned every last one of them."

One nod to his men, and in a flash, a hot blade pressed against the traitor's collarbone, making him shriek as the skin sizzled.

Jeonggukk didn't blink.

"Beg louder," he whispered.

The man wailed in agony, tears and blood mingling down his face. Jeonggukk stood up slowly, adjusted his cuffs, and turned his back to the man like he was already dead.

"Dump him in the canal. Alive. Let the rats finish what I started," he commanded his men, voice dry and casual, like discussing wine.

Suddenly—

BANG!

The warehouse door flew open, one of his most trusted men sprinting in, out of breath, eyes wide with panic. Jeonggukk's hand immediately went to the gun strapped beneath his coat.

"You've got three seconds to explain why you're not dead," Jeonggukk warned, not even turning fully to face him.

"Master..." The man stopped, gulped. "It's about Boss Jungkook—your twin brother. He's been taken to the hospital."

Time froze.

The entire warehouse fell silent. Even the rats seemed to hold their breath.

Jeonggukk turned around slowly, his expression unreadable—but his eyes, those infernal black pits, flickered for the first time in years.

"What the fuck did you just say?"

The man's voice shook. "Boss Jungkook... he's unconscious. He's at xxxxxx Hospital right now."

No one dared breathe.

Jeonggukk's jaw clenched. The cold fury that usually simmered in him now roared to life. But this wasn't his usual fury—the kind that tore men apart limb by limb.

This was different.

This was chaos bottled behind a single breath.

He didn't say a word.

Instead, he grabbed his coat, tossed his bloodied gloves to the floor, and stormed out. The sound of his boots on concrete echoed like war drums. His guards immediately followed, but he raised a hand.

"Stay. All of you."

"Master—"

"I said stay!" he barked, turning with such venom in his voice that even the demons might have paused.

He got into the blacked-out Rolls Royce himself, slamming the door shut before his driver could speak.

His Jungkook.
His twin brother.
His blood.

They fought. A lot. Sometimes didn't speak for days. But Jungkook was the one person Jeonggukk would burn the whole damn world for without blinking.

Who dared touch him? Who the fuck would be bold enough to hurt him like this his twin ?

His knuckles went white as he gripped the wheel tighter.

"Whoever did this..." he muttered under his breath, teeth grinding. "They won't just die. They'll wish they'd never been born."

The streets blurred past as he sped toward the hospital like a storm descending on a battlefield — but for the first time, Jeonggukk wasn't thinking about vengeance.

He was thinking about his twin, lying unconscious somewhere, maybe dying, and for the first time in years...

His cold, black heart cracked.

And inside, something burned that felt a lot like fear.

flash back end●●●●●

Jiwon was restless—perhaps for the first time in her life, she was truly broken. Yes, Park Jiwon was broken. She hadn't shattered when life had torn her apart. She didn't fall when she lost her parents, when she lost everything she had, even the will to survive. But today, watching her best friend—more like a sister—Jangfei, sobbing and broken, shook her to the core.

Jiwon had never known what love felt like. She never tried to find it, never hoped to fall—for anything or anyone. But now, when her heart had finally begun to crave the man lying unconscious on a hospital bed, clinging to life, she lost all control. Everything collapsed around her. The weight of it all crushed her spirit, and the sight of Jeon Jungkook like that—lifeless, fragile—hurt more than anything she'd ever imagined pain could be.

Did she love Jungkook? She wasn't sure. But she was going crazy seeing this man in pain. Yet, at the same time, she felt safe in Jeonggukk's arms. She was finding solace in the embrace of another man, and strangely—this man, too, felt like home. Just like Jungkook's arms once did.

She was holding on to Jeonggukk—the ruthless mafia demon king—as if he were her last breath of air, clutching onto him like her entire existence depended on the warmth radiating from his body. Her fingers trembled as they gripped his expensive shirt, her face buried deep into his chest, soaking it with her broken sobs.

"Mr. Jeonggukk... I can't... it hurts—I can't take this anymore... Why is life so cruel to me? What have I done to deserve this?" Her voice cracked with each word, trembling with anguish as her tears spilled freely, each one laced with despair and devastation.

Jeonggukk froze.

For the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do. The woman he had always wanted to break—Park Jiwon—was now crumbling, right there in his arms. The same woman who stood tall before him time and again, unbending, unyielding, filled with fire and pride, now sobbed against his chest like a shattered doll.

He had always loved the game they played—the constant battle of ego, the war of power between them. It thrilled him. He wanted to own her, to see her fall, to make her submit to him. But never like this. Never through this kind of pain.

He held her tightly, his arms slowly wrapping around her small, trembling frame, unsure if he was trying to comfort her or himself. Her cries echoed in his ears, piercing deeper than any bullet ever had. Jeonggukk never imagined that the moment she'd finally break wouldn't be because of him, but because of his own twin brother—Jeon Jungkook.

And in that moment, something shifted.

Because no matter how cold his heart was, watching Park Jiwon fall apart for another man—his brother—made him feel something dangerously unfamiliar. A rage. A helplessness. A sting he wasn't ready to admit.

Unconsciously, Jeonggukk's hands moved to her back, his touch surprisingly gentle—as if trying to silently tell her that she wasn't alone. That yes, she was broken, but she wasn't scattered beyond repair. He was there. He would hold her together, piece by piece, if that's what it took.

Jeonggukk had never been good with words—unlike his twin. Emotions didn't come naturally to him. He didn't know how to comfort someone, never had the patience nor the softness for it. Yet here he was, finding himself trying. Trying for her.

The same woman who, without even knowing it, had stirred something buried deep within him. A flicker of warmth in a heart he thought long frozen. She had shaken a few forgotten strings in his soul—just like his Choco once did.

"Jiwonah... look at me." Jeonggukk's voice was low, steady, yet laced with emotion as he gently cupped her shoulders, guiding her to meet his eyes. "I won't ask you to stop crying—let it out. Cry as much as you need to."

He paused, rubbing her back in slow, comforting circles, grounding her shaking body against his own.

"I'm not even sure what exactly is tearing you apart... or maybe I do know," he said softly, his gaze never leaving hers. "But right now, I want you to listen to me."

"Kook is strong. No one knows him better than I do. He'll fight—he will come back to us. He'll be fine... for you, for us. He's more than strong enough. Just trust me on this, okay?"

His words didn't promise miracles—but they carried the weight of someone who had seen hell and still believed in hope. And maybe, just maybe, that was enough for her to hold on a little longer.

"I... you really think so?" Her voice trembled, barely above a whisper. "He'll be fine, right?" Her eyes searched his face desperately, almost pleading. "And me? What about me, Mr. Jeon? Will I ever get to live normally?"

A broken laugh escaped her lips—half disbelief, half despair. "I thought I was unbreakable... I thought I was strong. Then why?" Her voice cracked with every word, eyes clouded with confusion as she looked at him—lost, the same way Jangfei once did.

Jeonggukk stared at her, momentarily speechless. At this point, he didn't even know why he always ended up in moments like this—buried under the weight of emotions he never signed up to carry.

Without a word, he gently dragged her toward the balcony, the silence between them loud and aching. He made them sit on the bench there, the cold air brushing past, the night heavy with unspoken pain. It wasn't a solution. But for now, it was enough to just sit—together, wounded, and waiting for the storm to pass.

Jeonggukk didn't understand it—couldn't understand it.

Why him?

Why did he, the cruel, heartless monster, always end up being the one forced to console and support the ones falling apart?

First, it was Jangfei. And now, Park Jiwon.

Wasn't he supposed to be the malicious demon? The cold-blooded bastard with no room for softness, no space for sympathy? That was who he had always been. That was who the world feared.

But then why... why did his supposedly heartless chest start to ache every time he saw these women in pain?

Why did something inside him soften at the sound of their broken voices?

He didn't ask for this. He didn't want to be their comfort. And yet, somehow, again and again, he found himself there—in the middle of their storms, holding together pieces of them they could no longer carry.

It was maddening. Infuriating.

And yet... he couldn't walk away.

He didn't know what it meant—didn't even want to question it. But one thing was certain: every time these women broke, Jeonggukk—the monster—ended up being the one trying to hold them together.

And maybe, just maybe, that was the scariest part of all.

"What's breaking you, Jiwon?" Jeonggukk asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper as her head rested gently on his shoulder, her body protectively wrapped in the shelter of his embrace.

"Jangfei and I have known each other since childhood—we grew up in the same orphanage. We were always there for each other, through everything. We laughed, shared secrets, cried... we did it all together. But she was different—softer, like a delicate petal. That softness made everyone fall for her. And I think... I did the same to her. I crushed her, Jeonggukk. I broke her."

"I promised her I'd never leave her," Jiwon whispered, her voice trembling. "But when Jimin's family came to adopt a child, I went with them—breaking the promise I made to her. I was selfish, wanting a family, wanting to be loved. I didn't realize... even Jangfei wanted that too. Yet I broke my promise and left her all alone."

Jeonggukk said nothing. He just listened, holding her closer, letting the silence between them carry the weight of her regret.

"And you know the worst part, Jeonggukk? I was fully aware of her pain, and ashamed—so ashamed—that this guilt kept me from reaching out to her again. All these years... I never even tried to contact Jangfei."

"A few days ago, I reached out to her. I begged for her forgiveness... but I know I don't deserve it. And that's okay. I understand. I'll keep trying—keep fighting—to earn her trust again, to make things right. But, Jeonggukk, I thought I was strong enough. I thought I could handle everything."

Her voice cracked, trembling with pain. "Then I saw him... Jungkook, like that. And something inside me just shattered. I don't know why, but it broke me completely. I can't bear it anymore."

With a desperate sob, she clung to Jeonggukk's chest, clutching his shirt as if holding on to him was the only thing keeping her from falling apart entirely.

Everyone make mistakes, some do it intentionally and some do it unintentionally and monsters like me and Jungkook do sins with every break we take but you know what makes us stand by jiwon ? No matter what happens we never give up ? Be either right or wrong we know how to fight and if we ever doesn't know how to fight we know that one should learn to fight time will heal everything someday times you jsut need to trust the timing. Jiwon.

Jeonggukk stayed silent for a moment, his strong arms wrapped tightly around her as if shielding her from a world that kept tearing her apart. The soft tremble in her body was slowly calming, but her breaths still hitched like aftershocks of a storm that refused to end. His hand moved up to her back—slow, unsure, but firm enough to ground her. It wasn't tenderness in the traditional sense. It was Jeonggukk's version of it—quiet, powerful, and terrifyingly honest.

His fingers brushed lightly over the strands of her hair, tucking a few behind her ear with an unfamiliar gentleness. He didn't speak. He didn't have to. His silence said what his words couldn't—that he was there, in that moment, only for her.

Then, wordlessly, he shifted, guiding her by the small of her back as he turned toward the hallway. She didn't resist. She followed—tired, broken, but leaning into his strength like it was the only solid thing left in her crumbling world.

The corridor to the VIP wing felt endless, every step echoing the weight of what they were about to face. When Jeonggukk pushed open the glass door to the room, the world inside seemed to freeze.

There she was.

Jangfei.

Curled beside the hospital bed, her delicate fingers wrapped around Jungkook's hand as if letting go would steal the last bit of hope from her. Her face was buried in the blanket pulled over his chest, shoulders trembling violently, her sobs muffled but unmistakable. The sound hit Jeonggukk like a blade to the chest—sharp, unexpected, and unbearably raw.

And there, motionless under the dim hospital light, was Jeon Jungkook. His twin. His blood.

His other half.

Tubes ran across his body, machines beeped in rhythm, and yet... he looked lifeless. Pale. Still. And it was that stillness—the absence of fire in the man who had once lit up the underworld—that truly shattered Jeonggukk.

He had just finished holding together one woman's world... and now, another one was breaking right in front of him. And worse—this time, it was his world, too.

Because no matter how far they had drifted, how much rage and silence had passed between them...

That was his brother.

And he was lying there, caught between life and death.

Jeonggukk took a slow breath, steadying the fire that burned low in his chest. Jiwon clung to his right side like a shattered porcelain doll barely stitched together, while Jangfei — his Choco — trembled against his left like she was holding back the ocean behind her eyes.

For a moment, he just stood there.

Two women.
One twin brother.
A battlefield of emotion.

And somehow, he had to be the shield for them all.

"Jiwon... Jangfei..." His voice was gravel and steel, but it didn't lash — it anchored. "You don't get to fall apart now. Not when he's still fighting. You hear me?"

They didn't answer, only clutched him tighter.

He gently squeezed their shoulders. "You're strong. Both of you. I've seen it. But right now, it's okay to not be. You can be a mess. I'll hold the pieces together."

Jeonggukk hated softness. Hated vulnerability. He'd spent years burying every ounce of it under layers of cruelty, rage, and unrelenting control. But here he was — the most dangerous man in the underworld — offering comfort like it was the most sacred weapon he possessed.

What the fuck is happening to me...?

He looked down at Jangfei, his Choco — the only woman who ever made him feel like more than a monster. And beside her, Jiwon — who had challenged his fire, his ego, and now bled in silence like a warrior laid bare.

He had no idea how these two women managed to carve themselves into the frostbitten cavern he called a heart.

But he knew one thing: He'd kill the world to protect all of them.

With calm strength, he guided them toward the velvet couch in the corner of the VIP room, making them sit as gently as a storm settling over a quiet valley. He walked to the table, grabbed two bottles of water with quiet urgency, and came back.

"Drink," he said, handing them each a bottle.

They obeyed silently, fingers trembling. He crouched down in front of them, eyes locked onto theirs with unusual softness.

"I know pain," he said, tone dropping. "I grew up feeding on it. But trust me... you don't drown in it. You learn to breathe through it. You two look like you've just lost everything. But you haven't. He's breathing. He's here. And that means we fight. Got it?"

He stood again, turning his back for just a second.

And then his eyes found the hospital bed.

His breath caught.

There, pale and motionless, was his twin — Jeon Jungkook.

His other half.

The devil who'd been through hell beside him. The only one who knew every dark corner of his soul and still chose to stay. No matter how far Jeonggukk ran into the fire, Jungkook always followed — always dragged him out.

And now he just lay there.

Lifeless. Silent.
A storm trapped in glass.

Jeonggukk walked toward him, slower than he ever had in his life. His heart — the very thing he thought he buried years ago — thudded like it wanted out of his chest.

He pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed, resting his elbows on his knees, hands folded, eyes fixed on his brother's face.

"You idiot..." he muttered under his breath, voice hoarse.

He reached forward, hesitating for the first time in years, before finally placing his hand over Jungkook's.

His grip was firm, but not forceful — like a promise unspoken.

"Get the fuck up, Kook," he said, eyes narrowing as if trying to command the universe. "You think you get to just lie here while I handle your mess? While they cry like the world's ending? No. That's not how we do shit."

He laughed bitterly under his breath.

"You always called me the reckless one... but look at you now."

His voice cracked — just slightly — and he clenched his jaw to trap it before it bled out.

You don't cry, Jeonggukk. You never cry.

But his hand gripped tighter.

And then...

A twitch.

Barely noticeable. A shift in fingers. A flutter in eyelids.

Jeonggukk's heart slammed against his ribs as his eyes snapped up to Jungkook's face.

"Kook...?" he whispered.

Jungkook's eyelids fluttered again — heavier this time — before slowly, painfully, his lashes lifted to reveal those dark, stormy eyes. Eyes that looked dazed... but alive.

"Hyung...?" came the rasped, broken whisper.

Jeonggukk leaned in, forehead furrowed, fingers squeezing his brother's hand so tightly it could've snapped bones.

"I'm here," he said, voice suddenly rough with emotion. "You scared the fuck out of all of us."

A choked sound came from behind him. Both Jiwon and Jangfei gasped, their bottles forgotten, their eyes wide with disbelief and overflowing tears.

Jungkook blinked again, as if trying to focus on them. And for a second — just a second — a faint curve tugged at the edge of his lips.

He was still in pain.

Still broken.

But alive.

And for Jeonggukk... that was enough to breathe again.

His eyes scanned Jungkook's body—every wire, every bruise, every shadow on his skin. He clenched his jaw. "Whoever did this... they dared touch my twin. Their blood line is vanished into ashes. They just don't know it yet."