Always watching

They hadn't finished building a roof over the incomplete apartment.

The floor I stepped onto was exposed to the open night sky, moonlight spilling across the unfinished concrete. Wind whistled through the steel framework, carrying the distant hum of the city below.

But I wasn't here for the view.

I wasn't here for the stars.

I was here for Seokyoung.

He stood in the middle of the rooftop, hands in the pockets of the same aviator jacket and black workwear pants he'd been wearing the first time I met him. His posture was relaxed, unfazed, like he'd just been waiting for me to arrive.

Of course, he was still as short as when I first met him, too.

Our eyes met at the same time.

He spoke first.

"I trust you didn't injure my men too badly."

I scoffed. "Don't talk shit. Let's just get started. You're not giving me the video… why?"

Seokyoung tilted his head, considering me. "Not giving it to you…? If that were the case, why would I have called you here?"

I exhaled sharply. "Seokyoung, you had your people try and maul me."

He barely blinked. "Not that hard. And besides, you told me what the video would be about. And then you said something interesting. "

I frowned. "What?"

"You said something was coming."

My heart slowed.

Seokyoung kept going. "So I obtained the video. It was sent to me by an anonymous number. And then I looked into it."

His next words hit like a brick to the ribs.

"Ha Jinoh. Founder of the Sunshine Foundation. A reformation center for delinquents, iljins, and lost youths alike."

I clenched my jaw.

He noticed.

"At first, I wondered how you even knew this video would be sent to me. Was it you who sent it?" His eyes flicked over my expression. "Or maybe the video held something. A clue. A key. So, I had it analyzed."

I stiffened.

"Foreign experts, of course. Didn't want any attention drawn to Gwanak. I had to use my family for that."

My fists unclenched, and I found myself listening.

He exhaled, watching me closely. "Something tells me you already know exactly what's in the video. So I started wondering… was it you?"

I stepped forward sharply, my voice flaring with anger. "You think I killed my own—"

"No." Seokyoung cut in smoothly, his expression unreadable. "No, I don't."

I froze.

"But as I said, I looked into the video." His voice was lower now, deliberate. "And then I looked into who sent it to me."

He gestured vaguely to the open skyline, his fingers curled. "They're always watching."

I felt something cold settle in my stomach.

"They'd know if I handed it over."

His eyes flicked back to mine. "But they wouldn't be able to do anything if you took it."

I stared at him. Who?

The traitors? Was he talking about them? Or someone else?

Seokyoung didn't clarify.

Instead, he just straightened his shoulders.

Seokyoung continued. "So you're going to fight me, and you're going to take the video. That's all this is."

You have spoken to Jeong Seokyoung. [1/1]

Hidden objective: Fight and defeat him. [0/1]

I exhaled sharply.

"I don't understand you, but you're right."

My arm flexed as I rolled up my sleeves. 

"I am going to fight you."

My legs tensed. 

"And I'm taking that video with me."

6 weeks ago, Seokyoung would've destroyed me with his hands behind his back. Now?

I rushed forwards, my fists rearing back.

It wouldn't be that easy.

***

Sehun rolled his shoulders, locking eyes with Baekchang Ji.

The last time they fought, Baekchang had given him trouble. He was slippery, always attacking from the least expected angles. His footwork was fluid, his timing unpredictable. He wasn't the strongest or the fastest… but with the way he fought, he didn't need to be.

That was months ago.

Sehun wasn't the same.

Still, Baekchang just smiled in that creepy way of his. "Haven't forgotten last time, have you?"

Sehun cracked his neck. "You talk too much."

Ilseok moved first.

Sehun barely paid him any mind, just a guy rushing in with zero technique. He pivoted, twisting his hip… and smashed a right hook into Ilseok's jaw.

Crack.

Ilseok's head snapped to the side. His legs buckled instantly as he collapsed to the floor.

One down.

Sehun barely had time to process it before Baekchang exploded forward.

A blur, then a kick shot toward his ribs.

Sehun blocked, only for Baekchang to twist mid-air, shifting his weight, his other leg snapping toward Sehun's face.

Sehun barely brought his forearm up in time. Fast bastard. 

Baekchang landed, grinning, already moving again. "So, you're his dog now?"

He feinted a punch, then suddenly shot for Sehun's legs.

Sehun reacted instantly… but too late.

Baekchang's elbow slammed into the side of his knee, and Sehun staggered.

"He beats you by tricking you and then caving in your loser head and you just follow him now?"

The second his balance wavered, Baekchang disappeared.

Where—?!

Pain. A kick hammered into Sehun's ribs.

"I fucking hate loser bastards like you!"

He growled, twisting, swinging an elbow but Baekchang was already behind him.

Tch. Slippery as ever.

Sehun exhaled sharply, planting his feet. Alright. No more testing the waters.

"He may have been weaker back then–"

Baekchang moved in again, Sehun saw it this time.

His fist rocketed forward. Baekchang leaned back… too predictable. He thought Sehun would overextend. He thought Sehun would lose balance.

But Sehun was already shifting.

He realized too late.

A knee slammed into his gut. His breath exploded out of him as he staggered back.

"But he never stops getting stronger."

Sehun stepped forward, fist rearing back–

Something grabbed his leg. Sehun glanced down.

Ilseok.

He was already back up.

Sehun didn't hesitate. He drove his heel down into Ilseok's face.

Thud.

Ilseok hit the floor. Again.

Sehun turned back to Baekchang, but the bastard was already moving.

A quick step, a sudden shift, then a flicker of movement from below.

Sehun knew this one.

Baekchang pretended to slow down just to catch him off guard.

Not this time.

Once again, Sehun didn't dodge. He didn't block.

He just swung.

His fist crashed into Baekchang's cheek.

Hard.

Baekchang's head snapped back. His feet left the ground for a second, then he crashed onto his back.

"And I got stronger with him. You may have been the same as me back then… but now you don't stand a chance."

Ilseok groaned.

Sehun turned. No way.

Ilseok was pushing himself up. His legs were shaking, his face was a mess, but he just wouldn't stay down.

Sehun stared.

"The fuck is wrong with you?"

Ilseok cracked his neck. "Dunno." He wiped blood from his nose. "Doesn't matter."

Sehun clenched his jaw. Annoying.

Baekchang groaned behind him, rolling onto his stomach and kicking himself back into standing position. "Yeah, Ilseok's a fucking zombie, you'll never take him down. Even I've never done it."

Sehun glanced between them. "I see, so you're just weak."

Baekchang snarled. "Just like your loser Representative!"

"Woah, reaction much."

Baekchang sneered, his muscles tensing. He shot forward, the air crackling with the sudden intensity. Sehun didn't wait. He stepped in close, avoiding the wild first strike as he twisted, his body an extension of his anger.

Baekchang's left hook aimed for Sehun's temple. But Sehun had already anticipated it. 

He dropped lower, enduring the punch and lifting his leg, his knee slamming upwards into Baekchang's gut.

The air rushed out of Baekchang's lungs. Ilseok rushed in, seeing an opening.

Sehun didn't let up. His boot caught Ilseok's chest, knocking the breath from him and sending him stumbling backward.

The constant back-and-forth continued, Sehun feeling his muscles ache as the battle stretched on. Every move felt deliberate now, each strike and dodge building on the one before. The rhythm of the fight was his own.

Baekchang and Ilseok were still relentless, but Sehun's confidence had grown. He wasn't just reacting anymore. He was controlling the flow. Every counterattack, every blow, he landed with a force that felt as though it would shatter them both.

But as Baekchang's foot swept the floor beneath him, Sehun saw something different in the way he moved. Baekchang wasn't just fighting; he was getting desperate. 

Sehun paused, rolling his shoulder, just as Baekchang leaped back. 

"I guess I'll just have to finally beat it into you then, the difference between me and you."

Baekchang wiped the blood off his chin. "And what's that?"

Sehun rolled back his arm and then grinned.

"You just aren't on my level."

[Name: Kang Sehun]

[Height: 183 cm]

[Weight: 80 kg]

[Strength: SSS+] up!

[Speed: SS-] up!

[Potential: B]

[Intelligence: C]

[Endurance: SR+] up!

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