(ONE WEEK BEFORE THE STORM)
The name "Helena" echoed through the room, pulling invisible strings of tension taut between every soul present.
Chairs creaked slightly as bodies shifted.
Hyunsik raised an eyebrow, Haejoon's gaze sharpened. Dohyun leaned in imperceptibly, his instincts kicking in. Hyunjae finally stopped sharpening his knife, his dark eyes lifting to pierce straight into his father. Seungho's fingers hovered over the laptop, mid-keystroke.
Junseo was the first to speak, voice shifting into pure business mode, stark contrast to his earlier display of playful mischief.
"Wasn't she traced to be in New York? We've tracked her activities there since the beginning."
But little did he know...
That the masked woman was the same noona he had met ten years ago, the same noona who had treated his wounds and provided him comfort when he was broken, both physically and emotionally.
Jaehyun's lips curled downward.
"Their South Korean branch has been handling significant deals recently," he said coldly.
Seungho immediately got to work, even though no one had told him to. His fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard as he roughly tracked the activity—nothing too detailed. Not that Hana, their hacker, would ever allow anyone to dig too deep. But it was enough. Enough to confirm that the Black Panthers had indeed shifted their focus toward the Korean branch.
He gave a curt nod, silently confirming the verification of the intel.
"But just from the syndicate's increased activity… how can you conclude that she is here? In Korea?" Hyunjae asked, raising a brow as he rhythmically snapped his knife open and shut.
Jaehyun's jaw twitched. He clearly didn't appreciate being questioned—especially by his own pawns. But for once, he answered.
"My sources received photos. Five masked women in a recent ambush—each wearing their signature emblem masks."
"As always, the source was MH."
"If the other inner circle members are here," Dohyun murmured, brows furrowed, "then the queen is either already here… or arriving very soon."
Haejoon's mind worked quickly, piecing information together.
"So... she's planning to make Seoul her primary base? Shift the center of her power from New York?"
"Exactly," Jaehyun confirmed lazily. "Which means the Black Panther is becoming a direct threat to us."
"But shouldn't we observe for a while? See what her real motive is before jumping to conclusions?" Seungho spoke up, his voice frosty, each word clipped and precise. It was rare for him to offer more than a few words at once.
Jaehyun shot him a glare that could freeze hell over.
"Wait too long, and we'll be the hunted. In this world, there are only predators and prey. We either strike first... or we get wiped out," he growled.
Taeyang pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek but stayed silent.
The thought flickered in his mind—Like we give a damn about you or your precious syndicate.
"So what do you want us to do?" Hyunsik asked, his voice neutral but sharp.
Jaehyun's eyes gleamed. Gleamed with menace
"First, trace their every move. I want their main base located, their network uncovered-every property, legitimate or disguised.
And lastly... find out who the woman behind the mask really is. You track her. You unmask her. Or I'll remind you what failure costs."
The brothers exchanged glances. They all knew the truth: Helena was a ghost. Finding her was like catching smoke.
They knew—not just through rumors, but from experience. Countless encounters had confirmed it.
In Asia, some countries had Black Panthers reigning as the top syndicate, while in others, the Red Dragons held more power. The rivalry was a battlefield spread across borders.
Once, during a mission in France, Taeyang had spotted her—just a silhouette, but unmistakable. Her mask was unique: the initials BP adorned with a red serpent curling around them. He had chased her through the shadows, certain he'd finally caught up when he saw someone wearing the same outfit. But as he approached, it turned out to be a statue. A mocking note was pinned to it:
"You've got some determination. But don't even think of haunting this pretty lady again… unless you've decided to accept your death."
The handwriting had been all too familiar—belonging to the childhood savior of the youngest brother.
But Junseo never saw the note.
Taeyang had torn it up and thrown it into a dustbin in France the moment he read it, oblivious.
And then, there was the mafia gala—just a year ago. Helena and her inner crew had made their first appearance.
All seven brothers had tried to corner at least one of the six women that night. The result?
Hyunjae ended up tied with bras. Dohyun was knocked out with just a light dose of drugged perfume. And the most humiliating?
Hyunsik. In an elegant gown. With full makeup.
They had to silence the entire gala from even whispering a word about it.
The Black Panthers must have thought that was enough. But of course no.
Just eight months ago, Junseo had crossed paths with Areum—their masked right hand. He had planned to uncover her identity by the end of their encounter.
Instead, she trapped him. Viciously. Beautifully. Twisting him into her web with nothing but words.
By the time he realized, she was gone.
He had stormed into the Kim Mansion fuming—only to end up whining and pleading with Hyunsik:
"Hyung, at least teach me how to protect myself from cruel, manipulative and beautiful negotiators!"
Once, while Dohyun was surveying the other snipers at their base in Singapore, his eyes caught a glimpse of a silhouette—not in the signature red serpent mask, but a green one. That meant she was one of the six… but not Helena.
Without hesitation, he snatched a stationed gun from a nearby intern and took aim. He hadn't meant to kill—just catch her off guard. His target was her knees.
But oh, boy.
She slipped into the shadows faster than even Taeyang could.
And that's when he knew—it had to be Harin. The one who, like Taeyang, was practically friends with the darkness.
Still, Dohyun didn't give up. Each time he thought he had her in his sights, she vanished again. And again.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, her masked face popped up in his scope.
She flipped him off with a middle finger… and disappeared once more.
Dohyun let out a groan and massaged his temples in sheer frustration.
Long story short,
They knew that tracing Black Panther's activities could be possible after great efforts. But it was an unspoken fact, Helena's face was shown only if she wished to be seen. No one could hunt down her identity without her will.
But defiance wasn't an option. The brothers nodded without hesitation.
The discussion turned tactical-surveillance strategies, hacking leads, gathering assets. Jaehyun leaned back, smug, watching his chess pieces move, his machines work
But then-
The digital board displaying Helena's masked photo, suddenly glitched.
The eight men in the room flickered their gazes to it. Each of their expression was unreadable, some held rage, some shock, some disbelief, confusion and some held perhaps amusement?
Seungho's head snapped toward his laptop immediately
"Sh*t," he muttered under his breath. "They've breached five out of eight firewalls."
Seungho's fingers flew across the keyboard, trying to shut the breach before it deepened
"Helena," Haejoon whispered, almost in awe.
Everyone else stiffened at the implication.
Jaehyun's breath hitched slightly, in fury.
Silence, a deadly one engulfed the room.
As if she had heard Haejoon across the airwaves, the digital board blacked out-and then a new message flickered to life:
"Mercy is a luxury you won't get twice.
We ain't hunting you - yet.
Push your luck, and we'll erase your bloodline like you never existed.
-H"
Jaehyun's jaw tightened, fury vibrating from him.
Hyunjae's knife slipped from his grip, clattering against the floor.
Hyunsik stared at the screen as if he'd seen a ghost.
Dohyun's eyes narrowed, sharp with unease.
Haejoon, despite the tension, couldn't help but quietly admire the precision of the breach.
Seungho was devastated. His face remained unreadable, but the way his finger pressed hard against a single key—refusing to move—spoke volumes.
Junseo's eyes darkened, a flicker of something dangerous passing through them.
It wasn't the message that had shaken them—it was the fact that Black Panther had hacked into their system. A feat neither side had ever managed before.
For years, both syndicates had tried and failed to outsmart one another. But this breach? It wasn't just skill—it was a declaration.
Jaehyun clenched his fists so tightly, that nails were digging in his palms. Just more slight pressure and blood could be drawn.
Black Panther had never been interested in power plays. And truthfully, neither were the seven brothers. But their father saw Helena's rising gang—so swift and formidable—as a threat. And threats were to be eliminated.
"Damn, she's fast," Taeyang muttered under his breath.
A chorus of sharp glares met him instantly.
Jaehyun slammed his fist into the table with enough force to rattle it.
"Dad," Haejoon said calmly, trying to bring reason back into the burning room, "maybe... we should just observe them first. It's the most logical move-"
Jaehyun's face twisted in rage.
"That kid dared to mock my empire?!"
"No, Warning," Seungho corrected, his voice low.
But Jaehyun scoffed viciously. Nearly ready to take his anger out on the so-called son who had tried to correct him.
But the eldest decided to interrupt.
"Ignoring something like this invites war," Hyunsik said coolly, refusing to back down. "The Black Panthers might be a newer group... but underestimating them would be a fatal mistake. After all that has happened."
The air pulsed with tension.
Jaehyun's eyes burned with veiled fury and the veins in his neck throbbed, as he growled:
"OUT"
The brothers filed out in silence, their father's rage clinging to their backs like smoke. Only when the heavy doors sealed behind them did their postures crack-shoulders slumping, jaws unclenching.
Junseo exhaled sharply. "Well. That... went straight to hell."
Hyunjae flicked his knife shut with a snick. "At least he didn't break any bones. Progess."
Seungho stared at his laptop screen, where Helena's message still glowed.
Then his gaze shifted to a loophole.
His fingers hovered over the keys.
"She left a backdoor," he murmured. "Like she wanted me to follow."
Haejoon's eyes darkened immediately. "Then don't."
As if in reply, the screen flickered-47:00 reset to 00:00. The trail vanished.
~•~
Somewhere in Seoul
The young woman sipped cinnamon hot chocolate. The steam from her cocoa curled like smoke from a snuffed-out candle as the dots blinked out one by one. She gazed at the seven dots lingering over her tablet.
The glow from the tablet caught the slow curl of her lips, highlighting a glint in her eyes—not of threat, but of promise.
She muttered to herself,
"Checkmate, boys."