Baku sat alone on the chair, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands clenched tightly.
Why…?
The question echoed again and again inside his head.
Why did she do that?
Why did she leave him?
Why did she marry another man?
No matter how many times he asked himself, the answers never came.
His eyes slowly lost focus as his memories dragged him back into the past—to the day his world had collapsed.
Back then, life had been cruel to him. Brutal. Empty.
Until she appeared.
When Baku first met her, she had nothing. No money. No protection. No future. She was poor, fragile, and yet… when she smiled, something inside him changed.
For the first time in his life, Baku felt hope.
He married her despite everything—despite the danger, despite the blood on his hands. He promised her something no one had ever promised him.
"I'll become rich," he had said. "I'll give you a good life."
She smiled at him that day.
That smile became his reason to live.
To protect it, Baku chose the path of blood.
He became a killer.
Not out of madness—but out of purpose.
He was strong. Skilled. Cold when he needed to be. The underworld suited him perfectly. He killed for money, and the money kept coming. His name spread like a shadow through the dark streets. Jobs became bigger. Payments became heavier.
Within a single year, Baku earned more money than he had ever imagined.
He would return home twice a month, exhausted but proud, believing every kill was worth it—as long as she waited for him.
In the last month of that year, Baku decided to surprise her.
He bought a diamond necklace—one so expensive that even holding it made him uneasy. He imagined her eyes lighting up, her hands trembling as she touched it.
He smiled the entire way home.
But when he opened the door—
Silence.
The house was empty.
Too empty.
No footsteps. No warmth. No familiar scent.
"…?"
He called her name once.
No answer
Again.
Nothing.
His heartbeat began to race.
Baku searched every corner of the house—every room, every shadow, every memory.
She was nowhere.
Then he saw it.
A letter.
Placed neatly on the table.
With shaking hands, Baku picked it up and read.
"I'm sorry, Baku.
You deserve someone better than me.
Please… live a happy life."
The words blurred as his vision shook.
His legs gave up.
Baku fell to the ground, the letter slipping from his fingers.
"No…" he whispered. "No… this isn't real."
He refused to believe it.
She wouldn't leave him like this.
She wouldn't disappear without a reason.
That night, Baku swore to himself that he would find her—no matter how long it took.
Years passed.
Blood followed blood.
Then one day, he met two boys—Nobu and Beru.
Broken. Lost. Just like he once was.
For the first time since her disappearance, something inside Baku softened. He gave them everything—his money, his influence, his protection. He raised them, trained them, trusted them.
They became his family.
But fate struck again.
When the world believed Nobu had died, Baku's empire collapsed into Beru's hands. His power slipped away, piece by piece.
And now—
The past had returned.
In the present, Baku sat in silence, staring at the floor, the memory of seeing her at the party still burning inside his chest.
A hand suddenly rested on his shoulder.
Baku flinched.
Nobu stood behind him.
"I don't know what you went through back then," Nobu said quietly. "I don't know your pain… but you're not alone anymore."
Baku didn't look up.
"We'll face it together," Nobu continued.
For a moment, something strange stirred inside Baku.
For the first time in years, he didn't see a subordinate behind him.
He saw a rival.
An equal.
A man strong enough to stand beside him.
Baku let out a slow breath—and smiled.
But deep inside his heart, another truth surfaced.
That woman…
That child…
That man she stood beside—
None of it was coincidence.
And somewhere in the darkness, a force long forgotten had begun to move again.
The past wasn't over.
It had only just returned.