// tw //
Hyunjin's p.o.v.
That voice.
The one that filled his nightmares.
The one that had forced him, a child, to do unspeakable things to himself and others.
"Discipline requires pain. You disobeyed me. Now, take the lighter. Yes. Turn it on. Now, which hand did you disobey me with? Hold it over the flame. When can you stop?... until l tell you to stop."
Of course, he wasn't scarred anymore. They never let him be. The constant use of both hands meant he couldn't have considerable wounds or scar tissue, or else his ability to perform well could be inhibited. If it ever went too far, though, Sicarius had excellent doctors.
Hyunjin clenched his hand into a tight fist. The hand that had disobeyed his old master, would be the hand that killed him too.
"Come and get me," he whispered, silently tucking Nari close to the desk before prowling away on the ground, keeping Sungho's shadow in his vision as he mulled the best way to sneak up.
"Come now, Hyunjin. You can't possibly believe that you'll win this?"
He glanced at his gun, counting out how many bullets he had left. Sungho shut the office door and began to slink around the room.
"Even if you could succeed today, Sicarius is a worldwide organization. The richest and most powerful, most disciplined and feared mafia in the world," he crooned, eyes sweeping the shadows for the boy.
Hyunjin maneuvered himself towards another desk behind the man as he continued speaking, shaking the nerves out of his hands.
"If you came back to us, you could be forgiven."
He froze.
"You could be reinstated, given a position that reflected your previous glory. Do you not want that? You were feared, my boy! You have so much power over this place still, you could be magnificent."
Hyunjin slid his index finger against his gun to soothe himself. What the hell was Sungho saying?
"Of course, none of your friends would be able to join, they're much to old to learn our ways now. We could have a place for the girl, Nari, however," Sungho mused. "Strong bloodlines are always a necessity, and you could even keep her for yourself!"
Something hot snapped painfully in his chest, and Hyunjin flew out of his hiding spot and whirled towards Sungho; his gun focused on the back of the man's head for a single moment before getting jerked away. The shot went wide and was a piercing noise in the closed off space.
"Keep her name out of your mouth."
"Oh my," Sungho sneered. "I should've used her as a bargaining chip ages ago."
He shoved Hyunjin away with a grunt and drew his own weapon in a blur of movement, the two mirroring each other. Hyunjin's heart pounded in his chest, but his gun remained steadily focused on his enemy.
"Are you sure you want to turn this offer down? It won't come again."
The boy narrowed his eyes, sick and tired of this psychopath. "Shut up."
He fired again and dove for cover, but didn't hear Sungho make any noise. He had missed.
There was shuffling, and suddenly the man appeared over the desk he was crouched behind. Hyunjin narrowly avoided several of his shots, his own gun getting lost as he rolled and twisted around the scattered desks.
"Give up," Sungho bellowed, throwing his seemingly empty pistol to the ground. "You have nowhere to go, and you can't defeat me."
"Don't underestimate me again, it would be a mistake," Hyunjin snapped back, raising his fists and taking a stance for hand to hand combat.
Sungho immediately began unleashing blows upon him, and they traded punches and jabs at lightening speed. Hyunjin saw an opportunity and caught Sungho in a headlock, flipping them both to the floor in a rough tumble.
"So much wasted potential, all for what," Sungho grunted, repeatedly throwing his elbow into Hyunjin's ribs.
The boy released him, rolling away and shooting to his feet while panting from exertion. Sungho wasn't the superior fighter, but Hyunjin was already fatigued from the continuous exertion of the day, and his adrenaline was running out.
"They're my family," he replied shortly as they fought, cursing as Sungho connected a punch to his jaw.
"Family? You think any of you actually care about each other? Such a pathetic sentiment."
His words were just as painful as the blows to Hyunjin's body. He could barely keep up the pace, confidence waning as Sungho picked him apart piece by piece.
"If you really cared, Hyunjin, you never would have brought them here. They're in danger now because of you."
Hyunjin gagged as he was punched in the stomach, doubling over as Sungho shoved him to the ground, his arms awkwardly catching his weight.
"If you'd never joined them, they would all be safe and happy right now. Especially the girl."
Nari.
He was right. Hyunjin had dragged her into this life and given only himself and his pathetic love in return. And that couldn't save her. He couldn't help her. He hoped she'd forgive him, he hoped they all would.
Sungho straddled Hyunjin's numb body and rained punches down, but the boy stayed unflinching even as his body began shaking from the pain.
"It'll be better this way," Sungho promised, pausing for a moment to gently brush Hyunjin's bloodied hair away from his eyes. "Just give up."
And he did. As Sungho's hands wrapped around his throat and squeezed, Hyunjin gave in. This world was better off without him, his family was. Death would be so peaceful, so calm, so much easier than his life had been. All he had to do was close his eyes.
But then he saw her.
Even though the room was dark, she was the brightest, loveliest thing he'd ever seen in his life. But the wicked knife shining in her hand was brighter.
As he watched, Nari unhesitatingly buried the knife to the hilt in Gwan Sungho's back.
The man gasped in awful surprise, then made a horrible choking sound as she drew the knife out and stabbed him again. And again.
Sungho fell off of the boy and Hyunjin took deep, shuddering breaths, turning and coughing dryly as he regained his senses. Nari's bloody hands landed in his shoulders, on his face as she checked and asked if he was okay over and over. He said nothing, but accepted her help standing up.
His old master was choking on the floor, blood pooling around his body as he stared up at them with wide, unbelieving eyes.
Hyunjin rolled his shoulders slowly, aching to the core with pain. He cast his swelling eyes to the pitiful figure on the floor, tongue tracing his lips as he smirked humorlessly.
"What was that about not caring? About not being able to save each other?"
He deliberately held his hand out, and Nari carefully handed him the knife, still dripping with blood.
The boy crouched down with a hiss, leaning close to Sungho's face. Close enough that he could really see him.
"What I have is what you never did," he whispered to him, knuckles white as he gripped the knife. "You'll die now, unloved and forgotten. The world will forget your name, and Sicarius will fall, that I can assure you."
Dark blood bubbled up from the corner Sungho's mouth, and in a seemingly tender gesture, he raised his hand to Hyunjin's face, barely touching his skin. Hyunjin leaned closer to the man, his lips brushing Sungho's ear as he spoke, his voice dripping with fiery hatred that had built inside of him for so many years.
"Ave Atque Vale, old master."
He plunged the knife into Sungho's chest, staying eye to eye with him as he twisted the blade, until the life had drained from his body; making sure the last thing he ever saw was the face of his undoing.
After an eternity, he stood and swayed, his body beginning to succumb to the abuse he'd endured that day. But Nari was there, steady Nari to keep him sane until they were both safe.
She peered into his face and immediately pulled him into a comforting embrace, squeezing his sore body gently as the blood on their bodies mixed together. His arms hung limply at his sides, but he rested his cheek on her head softly, staring down into the empty eyes of the man he had hated most.
He could dream peacefully now.
listen ik some of you got teary from that
me too
also idc if he doesn't actually speak latin, that line was badass🙏