Chapter 6:To not die

The room fell silent as the weight of the past began to press down on everyone. One by one, Si Mok and his companions were transported back to a time when their lives had been much different—seven years ago, when they weren't just soldiers, prosecutors, or hackers. Back then, they had been something far more dangerous.

They were a crew, and they were at the top of the food chain.

Each one of them was a leader, with their own territory and members. Their crew, made up of 90 elite fighters, was infamous. Every member was powerful, but the crew heads—Si Mok, Han, Kwak, Osamu, Don, Jiho, and Seo—were in a league of their own. Each of them was skilled enough to take on ten real gangsters without breaking a sweat. Their reputation spread fast, and before long, they became targets for other crews.

It had all come to a head during the infamous "Crew Wars," an all-out battle that had engulfed the underground world of Seoul. It was survival of the fittest, and only the strongest would claim control over the city.

Si Mok's mind wandered back to those chaotic days, and he could tell from the distant looks on the faces of his friends that they were reliving it too.

The battles had been brutal. Each day brought new challenges, with Si Mok's crew fighting for their lives against rival gangs. It was during these battles that they learned to trust one another. They survived life-and-death encounters together, always watching each other's backs.

But despite the endless fighting, there was always one thing keeping them going: they were winning. Every crew they fought against fell. Whether it was through sheer strength, strategy, or a bit of luck, Si Mok's crew managed to come out on top every time. One by one, the crews of Seoul were dismantled.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of bloodshed, there was only one crew left standing in their way. It was the last challenge—the final obstacle to Si Mok and his friends claiming dominance over the underground world of Seoul.

They had been expecting a hard fight, maybe even the hardest they'd ever faced. But when they arrived at the rival crew's hideout—an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city—they were met with a sight that left them speechless.

The hideout was in ruins. The walls were crumbling, windows shattered, and the floors littered with the broken bodies of the rival crew members. Most were injured, some too weak to even stand. Bloodstains smeared the floors, and the air smelled of defeat.

In the center of it all, sitting calmly among the chaos, was a single man.

Si Mok's heart raced at the memory. That man was Goto Suguru.

He had been waiting for them, as if the entire battle up to that point had been nothing more than a warm-up. His casual demeanor, his unshaken confidence—it had sent chills down Si Mok's spine.

Goto had looked at them, not with fear, but with curiosity. His voice was calm, almost bored, as he addressed them.

"It's pretty impressive," he had said, his eyes scanning the group. "You managed to defeat all the crews with only 90 members. But now, to claim the top spot in Seoul, you have two challenges left."

Everyone had braced themselves, ready for the final battle. But Goto's next words had frozen them in place.

"The first one is to defeat me," he had said, his smirk sending a wave of unease through the crew.

"And the second one," he had paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, "is to not die."

Si Mok remembered how those words had hung in the air like a dark omen. Goto wasn't just a fighter—he was something far more terrifying. He had taken down the last crew single-handedly, and they all knew the next fight would be unlike anything they had faced before.

The flashback began to fade, and Si Mok snapped back to the present, but the weight of those words still clung to him.

"Defeat me… and do not die."

He glanced at Osamu, who was staring at the floor, reliving the same memory. The others, too, wore the same haunted expressions. Goto had always been a shadow looming over their past. Even though they had survived that encounter, the fear of facing him had never truly left them.

It had been seven years since that day, and here Goto was again. This time, however, he wasn't the enemy. He was here to help. But that didn't make him any less dangerous.

Si Mok took a deep breath. The past had shaped them, forged their trust in one another, and honed their skills. They had survived Goto once, but now, as allies or something close to it, they would have to walk a fine line.

If they were going to take down the assemblyman and clear Si Mok's name, they would need Goto's help. But none of them had forgotten who Goto Suguru really was, and the reminder of their shared history was enough to keep everyone on edge.