Chapter 81: The Ghost of Hyun-Seok
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1. A Bullet from the Past
The cold steel pressed against Jinwoo's skull.
Hyun-seok's voice was low and calm, but Jinwoo could feel the venom beneath it.
"You hesitated, Jinwoo."
Jinwoo's pulse remained steady. He had been in worse situations.
"Should've pulled the trigger," Hyun-seok continued, amusement laced in his tone. "But now, we're here."
Jinwoo smirked.
"I don't make the same mistake twice."
Then he moved.
A sharp pivot, his arm snapping up.
He grabbed the gun before the shot fired.
A struggle. Two predators.
Jinwoo twisted Hyun-seok's wrist, forcing the gun away.
But Hyun-seok was faster than before. Stronger.
His knee drove into Jinwoo's ribs, forcing him back.
Jinwoo stumbled—
And Hyun-seok used the moment to slam the butt of his gun into Jinwoo's face.
Pain exploded.
Jinwoo hit the ground.
A second shot fired.
Jinwoo rolled just in time. The bullet grazed his ear.
Too close.
He had underestimated him.
Hyun-seok wasn't just alive.
He was better.
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2. Choi Dae-hyun's Death Wish
Choi Dae-hyun watched the fight like it was a movie.
A drink in his hand. A smirk on his lips.
"You know," he mused, swirling the whiskey in his glass, "I never thought I'd see this reunion."
Jinwoo and Hyun-seok ignored him.
They circled each other, both bloodied, both breathing hard.
Hyun-seok wiped blood from his lip.
"You're getting slow, Jinwoo."
Jinwoo exhaled, calculating.
"You talk too much."
Choi chuckled. "You two are adorable."
Jinwoo shot him a look.
"Shut up before I kill you myself."
Hyun-seok's smirk widened.
"I have a better idea."
He turned his gun on Choi Dae-hyun.
Pulled the trigger.
Blood sprayed across the floor.
Choi's smirk never had the chance to fade.
His body slumped over.
Jinwoo stared.
Then looked back at Hyun-seok.
"You're insane."
Hyun-seok only smiled.
"No, Jinwoo. I'm finally free."
Then—
He vanished.
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3. A City in Chaos
Jinwoo stood over Choi's corpse.
The man had been a monster. A snake.
But now?
Now he was just another body.
And Hyun-seok had gotten away.
Again.
Jinwoo's phone buzzed.
Haneul.
"We have a problem."
Jinwoo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course we do."
"The underworld is in chaos." Haneul's voice was sharp. "Choi Dae-hyun is dead. The power vacuum—"
"I know."
"And there's more," Haneul hesitated. "Hyun-seok is forming an army."
Jinwoo's grip tightened on the phone.
"He's making a move."
A pause.
Then Haneul spoke the words Jinwoo didn't want to hear.
"He's starting a war."
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4. The Last Warning
Jinwoo left the penthouse, stepping into the night.
He could already hear the sirens.
The city was shifting.
The balance of power was broken.
And at the center of it all—
Hyun-seok.
Jinwoo turned a corner, heading toward his car—
Then he saw it.
A red envelope.
Taped to his windshield.
A warning.
Jinwoo ripped it open.
Inside, a simple message.
"Meet me where it all began."
Jinwoo's breath caught.
He knew where that was.
The old boxing gym.
Where he and Hyun-seok trained together.
Before they became monsters.
Jinwoo clenched his fists.
The past was coming for him.
And this time?
Only one of them would survive.
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End of Chapter 81
(Next Chapter: The Final Round.)