Flashback

"The product is clean."

Daniel nervously watched the men in suits in front of him.

One of them, after carefully examining one of the samples in the bag he had just given him and testing it for purity, said, "It's quite high quality." He said and put the small bottle back into the bag.

Daniel forced a calm expression onto his face. In such situations, he should have been more self-confident and appeared confident. However, this was his first transaction. He was new to this industry and very young. He would have turned 17 in a few months.

At least, that's what an outsider would think. Because Daniel played his role perfectly.

He had been preparing for a very long time for the scene taking place in front of him. He had been trying to gain the trust of a major drug lord for months.

By playing a double game, he took down the reliable men around his boss one by one, and in this way, he got the big job, even though he did not yet have the necessary qualifications and had not yet proven himself completely.

And now here he was. He was acting as an intermediary in a transaction worth millions of dollars. He was on a luxury cruise ship and surrounded by enemies.

Of course, he was not assigned alone for such a important operation. He was accompanied by four other people who had infiltrated the underground with him. They were narcotics cops who were much more experienced than Daniel. One of them was even the commissioner and he could never understand why a rookie like Daniel was brought into the mix. He had objected a lot in the beginning, but in the end he still had to follow the orders from above.

Afterwards, Daniel proved himself by surpassing everyone in the team and becoming the person who could get closest to the big boss and have the most contact with him.

First, he attracted attention with his physical strength by playing on people's primitive instincts. Afterwards, he polished the attention he attracted by displaying his brilliant intelligence. Of course, this was not as easy a process as described. He was mostly harassed everywhere he went because of his age and appearance. There were many people who thought that he was not suitable for this violent environment they were in. They constantly made their job difficult, as if they took it upon themselves to dissuade him.

Despite everything they did, no one could stop his rise. They only managed to slow it down. Daniel had taken steps, all of which were quite appropriate, and had risen steadily. Of course, he did not forget to ruthlessly eliminate the obstacles that came his way.

The man sitting across from him didn't leave even when everything there was to talk about the product and delivery. He began to examine Daniel from where he sat, "I don't remember seeing you before. Are you new?"

Daniel nodded slightly. His rookie moves were clear as day.

When the middle-aged man saw his situation, he raised his eyebrows with interest. He initially thought of leaving as soon as the procedure was completed, but after taking a branch of cigarette from one of the guards next to him and lighting it, he sat back.

"You look very young. How old are you?"

Daniel replied in a low voice, "16."

He could understand what the man was thinking just from his tone of voice. This disgusted him. Luckily, his mission was coming to an end soon and he wouldn't have to endure this anymore.

"Oh. So that's it. You really are young." After blowing thick smoke, the man said in a voice full of hidden meanings, "Unless you encounter any setbacks, you still have a long road ahead of you." Said.

Daniel smiled nervously, looking like he didn't know how to play along with this conversation, "Right."

Even the stupidest person could detect the hidden threat in the words. Still he had to ignore it.

"Daniel, don't talk back."

He wanted to laugh when he heard the sound coming from his headphones. It was crazy to think that at a moment like this he would ignore everything he had worked for.

Even so, Daniel knew very well why he received this warning.

By now, he had already lost his temper a few times and ruined missions that would have been impossible to fail under normal circumstances. Of course, he was severely punished in return.

When he realized that this man in front of him would not leave him easily, he had to take the initiative to leave. It was going to turn into an apocalypse very soon anyway. If this incident had happened a few days ago, even if he hated himself, he might have had to get over it.

"Now that the transaction is completed, I am leaving. With your permission." After expressing himself, he stood up and bowed respectfully. Without waiting for an answer, he turned to leave. He had no intention of being stopped.

The man he left behind didn't seem to expect him to leave without fear despite being openly threatened. He shouted to stop him.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

Daniel hesitated. He had a bad feeling inside him.

He didn't dare to turn around.

"It's a shame. But the fun was just beginning."

The man finishing his sentence, Min Joon's voice echoing in his head, and the gunshots. It all happened at the same time.

Daniel knew his end was coming when he felt the pain starting in his chest and spreading to the rest of his body. At that time, Min Joon, not knowing that it was too late for everything, was still shouting, "Your identity has been exposed! Get to a safe place quickly..."

As Daniel fell to the ground, he thought Min Joon sounded worried. He guess he wasn't thinking clearly.

Daniel was shot multiple times. As he lost consciousness, the last thing he saw was people running around.
.
.
.
.
.
When he woke up in his very comfortable bed, Daniel felt sore in the areas that had already turned into scars. He continued to lie in bed for a while without reacting.

He hadn't had a nightmare like this in a long time. Maybe this was because he had moved away from that environment. He didn't know.

This operation was one of the important missions in which he was involved.

He worked with narcotics. He was the most promising informant on the team.

He would have succeeded if they had not been betrayed. But instead he was wounded to death. It was that injury that got him sent to Seoul.

When Daniel finally got out of bed and went to the sink, he saw his reflection in the mirror covered in sweat. His hair was stuck to his face. Even the long-sleeved thin t-shirt he was wearing was stuck to his body in parts. When he saw this, he started getting ready to take a cold shower. But an unexpected knock on the door caused their actions to pause.

Daniel had not told anyone he knew his home address. That's why the knock on his door was suspicious. As he walked cautiously to the door, he didn't forget to look at the clock. It was only six in the morning.

He didn't know whether he should be relieved or more afraid of the person he saw when he looked through the door hole. Not daring to keep him waiting, he quickly opened the door and bowed.

"Sir."

This man made no move to acknowledge his greeting and simply studied him silently for a moment. Trying not to show his nervousness, Daniel stepped away from the door and invited him inside.

Without saying anything, Min Joon walked directly inside and walked towards the hall that was directly visible from the entrance.

Daniel closed the door and swallowed as he watched him. A person that an ordinary police officer, even a chief, would never see in his life appeared at his house early in the morning. How was he supposed to feel? Even though he interacted with him more than most people, he couldn't get used to it.

He walked quickly and sat in front of him.

"Is there any particular reason you came here, sir?"

Min Joon had his hands in his pockets and his legs crossed. He was wearing a black suit. The first few buttons of the white shirt he was wearing were unbuttoned and his collar was open.
His short black hair was messy and he didn't look as neat as usual. It was clear from his facial expression and eyes that he was tired. So much so that the scar extending from his jawline to just below his eye and the area under his eyes looked much more prominent. Daniel was wondering why, but of course he wasn't going to ask.

Min Joon remained silent for a while longer and looked directly into Daniel's eyes. Daniel was about to be crushed under the intensity of his gaze. He remained silent, not knowing what to do.

Finally, when the air in the atmosphere had become so dense that it was almost tangible, Min Joon spoke,

"I came to see how you're doing."

"..."

"I was planning to come right after you committed murder and caused havoc," he paused, then raised his eyebrows and looked at Daniel's red ears.

"But I've been so busy. I've only just managed to do this."

When he saw Daniel still silently looking at his own hands on his knees, he laughed and changed his position, leaning in and looking at him as if he wanted to make eye contact with Daniel, who lowered his head. His voice was full of sarcasm, "Are you really embarrassed? This isn't the first time you've done this. You've caused much worse things. Stop pretending."

"...sorry."

When Min Joon received his answer, he laughed and stood up again, "Whatever. I didn't come here to scold you. I came to see how you were and to warn you."

Daniel slowly raised his head. What someone like Min Joon wanted to warn him about could be very important or very unimportant. He still couldn't predict what this man would do.

"I'm listening, sir..."

"I heard that you are dealing with matters related to the four major crews."

The moment Daniel heard these words, he realized that the person who said this was Chul Yong. Since refusing wasn't an option from the beginning, he agreed, "Yes."

Just when he thought he was going to be scolded or told to stop doing it, what he heard surprised him, "It's none of my business what you do with those brats. Just watch out for the Workes and don't get in their range. They'll put you seven stories underground in a flash and even I can't get you out."

He frowned and gave Daniel a measuring look. "Sure, I can take you off. But it would be a lot of work. I don't know if you're worth it. So don't get in trouble, brat."

Daniel nodded and took the warning seriously.

"Good, if you understand. Now prepare something. I haven't eaten anything."