The city of Nampo disappeared behind them as the car sped down the empty highway, its headlights slicing through the night. No one spoke. No one even breathed too loudly. The weight of everything they had lost, their homes, their people, their safety, clung to the air like dust that refused to settle.
Sang-ho kept his hands firm on the steering wheel. His charisma had returned, sure, but even charisma couldn't hide the exhaustion in his eyes. Vlad sat beside him in the front seat, arms crossed, staring out the window at the dark countryside. Tae-min and Soo-jin sat in the back, both silent, both deep in thought.
They didn't know exactly where they were going. Only that anywhere away from Nampo was better than staying.
For the first hour, everyone kept their guard up. Every pair of headlights approaching from the opposite lane felt like danger. Every roadside shadow looked like an ambush. Only when they passed through the first small town, a sleepy place with shuttered restaurants and flickering street lamps, did their shoulders loosen a little.
But not for long.
They kept moving west, switching highways and backroads at random, avoiding any direct route that could be predicted. Tae-min glanced behind them again and again, his instincts still sharp. Soo-jin checked his phone every few minutes even though he knew the messages he wanted would never come.
After several hours of driving, the neon signs of a mid-sized town glowed ahead. Sang-ho drove through it slowly, eyeing everyone on the street. Finally, he spoke.
"No good. Too many people. Too many eyes."
Vlad nodded. "Keep going north."
Tae-min frowned. "North? North is nothing but..."
"Nothing is good for us," Vlad said coldly.
So they turned north. The road became more rural, trees gathering on both sides. Fog rolled in, thin at first, then thick like smoke.
It wasn't until dawn when they saw the first sign:
Haneul City - 32 km
Soo-jin leaned forward. "Haneul… I've heard things. Gangs everywhere. No structure. No boss at the top."
"Perfect," Sang-ho muttered. "Chaos is safer than control."
Another hour passed before they reached the outskirts of the city. Haneul looked nothing like Nampo or Seongrim. It was sprawling, unorganized, rough around the edges. Buildings were stacked awkwardly, streets were cracked, graffiti covered the walls. Even early in the morning, people were outside, arguing, trading, gambling, shouting. Police cars passed occasionally, but no one paid them much attention.
It was a city that breathed anarchy.
They parked the car in an alley and stepped out quietly, taking in their surroundings. The air smelled of rain, smoke, and cheap food. A group of masked youths watched them from a distance, whispering among themselves.
"Feels welcoming," Vlad muttered.
Tae-min scanned the area. "We can hide here. No one in Seongrim or Nampo will think to look for us in a place like this."
They found a cramped, run-down apartment for rent above a convenience store. The owner didn't ask questions, didn't ask for ID, didn't even ask for their names. He only looked at the cash Sang-ho handed him and gave them the key.
Inside, the apartment was small, dusty, mismatched furniture, a cracked kitchen counter, dim lights, but it was shelter. And most importantly, it was quiet.
For a while.
A Few Weeks Later
,
Life in Haneul became a routine of survival.
The four men stayed inside most days, heading out only when absolutely necessary. Sang-ho kept track of rumors in the city, mapping out which groups controlled what territory. Soo-jin studied the streets, memorizing escape routes and safe spots. Tae-min spent hours staring at the ceiling, thinking, replaying everything in his head. Vlad was restless from the moment they arrived.
A month passed. News slowly drifted in from Nampo through whispered stories, anonymous messages, and unreliable sources.
Chairman Seo had put a bounty on all four of them.
A high one.
A bounty big enough to make strangers in both Nampo and Seongrim hungry.
That changed everything.
Suddenly, they couldn't go anywhere without feeling watched. People eyed them longer than before. Strangers lingered nearby. And though no one attacked them directly, the tension in the room rose with each day.
Vlad grew the most restless.
He paced the apartment every night. His uncle's last words echoed in his mindn words Tae-min understood but never repeated aloud. The weight of responsibility and vengeance drove him to the edge.
Finally, one night, long after the others had gone to sleep, Vlad stood up and grabbed his jacket.
Sang-ho woke up immediately, eyes sharp in the darkness.
"You're leaving," he said quietly.
Vlad didn't deny it.
"I need to go to Seoul," Vlad said. "Family friend. Someone who owes my uncle. Someone who can help."
Soo-jin sat up next. "This is stupid. This is exactly what Seo wants, split us up, isolate us."
Vlad shook his head. "Sitting here won't change anything. Seo thinks he can take everything from us? I'm not running forever."
Tae-min stared at him for a long moment. "Vlad… maybe wait. We don't have a plan yet."
Vlad's expression softened only slightly. "I'll be back. I promise. I'm not dying before I take back what he took from me."
He slung his small bag over his shoulder and walked to the door. The three watched silently, each expression heavy in a different way.
Before leaving, Vlad turned back.
"Stay alive. Until I return."
Then he was gone.
His footsteps faded down the stairwell, then down the street, then swallowed by the city.
Time Passed
Weeks passed after Vlad's departure. Weeks blurred into months. The apartment in Haneul became less of a refuge and more of a cage. With one of them missing, the room felt emptier, more fragile, more uncertain.
Sang-ho did his best to keep spirits up, but even his charisma couldn't mask how strained things were.
Soo-jin grew colder, quieter, more isolated.
And Tae-min…
Tae-min felt hollow.
He slept little, ate little, spoke even less. Not out of despair, but because he was lost in thought, trying to piece together a path forward. Everything he once had. Normalcy, home, safety, purpose, had been burned or ripped away.
One night, long past midnight, he lay awake staring at the ceiling. The cracked paint above him looked like branching roads, each one leading somewhere unknown. He followed them with his eyes, imagining where they might lead.
What was next?
Where could they go?
How long could they run?
He didn't know.
But he knew one thing:
Something would break soon, the silence, their hiding, the waiting, something would give way.
Because men like Chairman Seo didn't forget.
And people like them didn't get to disappear quietly.
As the moonlight filtered through the thin curtains, Tae-min exhaled slowly.
"What's next…?" he whispered.
And for the first time in a long while, he realized he didn't have an answer.