The drive from Nampo to Seongrim felt like crossing into another world. The moment they reached the city, the streets shimmered with light, neon blues, violet reflections on glass towers, advertisements pulsing with energy. Even at night, Seongrim didn't sleep; it simply changed masks.
Tae-min stared out the window, the black RMW gliding through the traffic like a predator in the dark. The closer they got to downtown, the louder everything became. Laughter, horns, the thump of distant music.
"Welcome to Seongrim," Sang-ho said, smirking. "The city that eats you alive if you're not careful."
They stopped in front of a club so bright it almost hurt Tae-min's eyes. Lines of people dressed in designer clothes waited to get in, but the moment the bouncers saw Sang-ho, the ropes parted. Tae-min caught a few whispers, "That's Sang-ho, from Nampo… he's here again?", before the bass swallowed the noise.
Inside, the place was chaos. Strobes cut through the smoke, a DJ shouted over the music, and bodies moved like a single living organism. For the first time in a long while, Tae-min allowed himself to breathe. He laughed, drank, and danced like he wasn't carrying the weight of debt, blood, and violence on his back.
For a while, he even forgot who he was.
Then, the yelling started.
Tae-min's head snapped toward the VIP section near the bar. Sang-ho stood face-to-face with another man, voices sharp and dangerous. Around them, people stopped dancing. The air changed, thick with the electricity that always comes before a fight.
When Tae-min pushed closer, he caught a glimpse of the man shouting. He was tall, tattoo crawling up his neck, his jaw clenched.
"You think you can dance with my woman, huh?" the man roared, jabbing a finger at Sang-ho. "You think this is Nampo? You're in Seongrim now."
Sang-ho's smirk barely moved. "Maybe you should keep a better eye on your woman, then."
The man swung first.
The fight exploded like gunfire. Sang-ho's punch cracked against the man's nose, blood sprayed, people screamed, and within seconds a gang of men stormed in behind the stranger. Tae-min didn't think — instinct took over. He grabbed the first guy that came at Sang-ho, slamming him into a table, sending glasses and liquor shattering across the floor.
It wasn't a fight so much as a storm. Sang-ho moved like someone who'd done this a thousand times before. Brutal, efficient, confident. Every strike was meant to hurt, to humiliate. Tae-min fought beside him, and for a strange second, he felt it, the rush, the thrill, the twisted sense of belonging.
Then, above the chaos, a woman's voice cut through the air.
"Are you really causing a scene in my city?"
The shouting stopped. Everyone turned.
She stood by the entrance, a woman in a sleek red dress, her expression unreadable. She wasn't tall, but her presence filled the room. Even Sang-ho froze, his smirk faltering for a split second.
"R-Rina?" Tae-min muttered instinctively, but this wasn't Rina. The woman before him had danger written all over her eyes.
Sang-ho wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "They started it," he said.
The woman didn't respond. She just sighed, motioned for her men to drag the beaten ones away, then turned toward Sang-ho. "Follow me. Both of you."
They exited the club through a side door that led into a sleek, modern building next door. Inside was a quiet lobby with marble floors, golden light, and an elevator humming softly.
"You wait here," she told Tae-min, pointing to a couch near the glass wall.
Sang-ho followed her up the stairs into an office overlooking the city. Inside waited another woman, tall, strikingly beautiful, with jet-black hair that caught the light like silk. Dressed in leather pants and a jacket, she looked more like a queen than a gangster.
When Sang-ho saw her, his posture shifted. The playful confidence vanished.
"Didn't think I'd see you here," she said. Her voice was calm, almost melodic.
"Wasn't planning on it," Sang-ho replied carefully.
The woman's lips curled into a half-smile. "You should have stayed in Nampo."
She turned and walked out, brushing past him. Even from the doorway, Tae-min could feel the temperature drop as she passed. The air seemed to bend around her presence.
The first woman, , the one who brought them in, leaned against the desk, arms crossed. "She's waiting for me when I'm done here," she said.
Sang-ho nodded, still staring at the door. "The Mob princess of Seongrim, Baek Ha-ryun... she still scares the hell out of me."
He turned back to the woman. "Anyway, I came to talk business. Things are heating up in Nampo, I might need your help soon."
She tilted her head, studying him. "You always need something from someone."
He smiled. "And you always help me anyway."
When he leaned in and kissed her, she resisted for a second, then let him. But her eyes didn't close. "You danced with another woman tonight," she murmured.
Sang-ho chuckled. "That was just to get your attention."
She shook her head, half amused, half annoyed. "You're impossible."
Down in the lobby, Tae-min sat in silence. Across from him, the Mob princess, Baek Ha-ryun, the same woman who'd just walked out of the office, sat elegantly on the couch. Her expression was calm, her eyes sharp.
For a long time, neither spoke. Then she looked at him.
"You're with Sang-ho?"
"Something like that," he said.
"His brother?"
"No. Just… someone who works with him."
Her gaze dropped to his hands, then to the small scar on his knuckle. "You fight."
He shrugged. "When I have to."
She leaned back, a faint smile forming. Tae-min noticed the tattoo on her hand. A small motorcycle inked just above the wrist.
"You ride?" he asked.
She lifted her arm slightly, letting him see the tattoo properly. "Sometimes. You?"
He smirked. "Not lately. But I'd like to."
She laughed softly, the sound disarming. "Maybe I'll let you ride mine someday."
Tae-min met her gaze, a hint of challenge in his tone. "Maybe I'll take that as a promise."
For the first time that night, she looked genuinely amused.
When the elevator doors opened, Sang-ho stepped out. The princess glanced at him, then back at Tae-min, and with a knowing smile, she walked away, her heels echoing across the marble.
Outside, as they got into the car, Sang-ho burst out laughing.
"You're insane, Tae-min," he said, shaking his head. "Do you know who that was?"
Tae-min frowned. "She said she rides bikes."
"She also rides people straight to their graves if they cross her," Sang-ho said, still laughing. "You just flirted with the most dangerous woman in the whole of Seongrim."
Tae-min leaned back, staring at the passing lights of the city as they drove off.
He didn't know why, but for the first time since coming to Seongrim, he couldn't tell if the chill he felt was fear, or excitement.