CHAPTER 16: THE DARK MIRROR GAME

The night draped its quiet veil, deep and still. In the dojo's basement, only the sound of an old fan spinning slowly accompanied Jung Kok, sitting cross-legged on the dusty floor. Before him, old files were scattered—some torn, moldy, and others handwritten in his father's script that he still recognized.

Jung Kok opened a file bearing a mysterious symbol—the same symbol he had found etched into the concrete floor the other day. His hand froze on a faded photo—black and white, showing a group of men with serious faces. One of them was his father, Hwang. But there was another face that troubled him... someone he thought he recognized, but couldn't quite remember.

He sighed and glanced at the small mirror in the corner of the room. Just a moment ago, he was sure he saw the shadow of someone—but now, there was only his own reflection. His breath grew heavy. He knew that the enemy they were facing wasn't just a human, but the shadow of the past that wanted to resurrect itself.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. Min peeked in with his usual smile.

"You're still here?" he remarked.

"I couldn't sleep," Jung Kok replied, not looking up.

"Tomorrow, there's team training. They need you as their leader."

Jung Kok nodded slowly. "Min... have you ever heard of the Elysium Project?"

Min furrowed his brow. "Never. What's that?"

"I'm not sure. But my father... he's connected to this project. And this symbol," Jung Kok held up the file in his hands, "I saw it when I was a child. In my father's secret room."

Min feigned interest, taking the file and flipping through it.

"If this is all connected, we need to be careful. There might be someone inside trying to bring us down from within."

Jung Kok glanced at him briefly, his eyes sharp, but his lips silent. Outside the room, Hana watched from behind the stairs. Her heart raced—not out of fear, but because she had just seen Min take something from his pocket and slip it into the sleeve of his shirt. A subtle move, but enough to make Hana suspicious.

A few hours later, Hana sneaked into the old file storage room. There, she found a copy of the note Jung Kok had read—except this version had Min's signature. Her hands trembled, and her mind raced—who exactly was this man? Why was he secretly keeping this confidential copy?

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Jung Joon stood in front of the large window of his penthouse. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair disheveled. Rina entered and tossed her phone onto the sofa.

"Drinking again?" she scolded sharply.

"I feel like everything's a lie," Jung Joon responded quietly. "Min. Father. Even you."

Rina scoffed. "You're the weak one. You can't even tell who the real enemy is."

"What are you hiding, father... and what does Min really want?" Jung Joon mumbled, almost to himself.

Rina left without saying a word. A few hours later, she sat in a quiet café—facing Min.

"I need to ask you something," Rina said.

"Go ahead." Min casually took a bite of cake.

"Who are you really?"

Min smiled calmly. "You ask as if you know something."

"I know more than you think."

Min looked at her for a long moment before replying, "If that's true, you should know, sometimes... it's better not to know at all."

Rina suppressed her anger. But Min remained calm, finishing his drink before standing up to leave. His final words echoed in her mind—was it a subtle threat, or just a warning?

That night, atop a hill overlooking the dojo, a tattooed man watched from afar. The tattoo on his arm resembled the symbol Jung Kok had found. In his hand—a file labeled "Elysium Project." On the last page, a picture of Min was crossed out in red ink. Beside it, a picture of Jung Kok...

And one more picture—blurred, but with handwritten words:

"Instigator."

The shadows of the past were rising. And Min was not the only player in this game.