The evening sun was losing its grip on the day as the group of four—Death, Alice, Mel, and Teek—walked home with bags full of meat and groceries, their voices mixing with easy laughter. Light conversation drifted between them, creating the kind of warmth that felt like real family.
"Come on, Death! I'll get the grill going myself!" Mel called out, racing into the kitchen.
Teek shuffled after her awkwardly, trying to help with the plates. "Uh... where should I put these, Mel?"
Alice laughed softly before helping set up the table on the porch, while Death stood there with a slight smile, then moved to arrange the charcoal grill with practiced ease—even if cooking wasn't his thing, he knew his way around fire.
"What about Grandpa? Did you call him?" Death asked his younger sister while flipping a piece of pork.
"I called, but he said he wanted to rest. He's not coming," Mel replied with a grin, then whispered to Alice, "I think Grandpa's embarrassed. He thinks my brother actually has a girlfriend."
Alice blushed slightly. "No... we're just coworkers..."
Death caught that and smiled sheepishly, quickly changing the subject. "Teek, take this pan and wash it, will you?"
"Y-yeah! Got it!" Teek responded in a high voice, stealing glances at Mel who was laughing nearby, then looking at Death and Alice with a faint smile.
The atmosphere was filled with laughter and warmth that couldn't be found in fighting or pain. Everyone ate, joked around together, as if they'd forgotten the darkness that had once consumed their lives.
But in the distant shadows...
Something began to stir.
While laughter still echoed in the yard, Teek walked out carrying the pan to the back kitchen as Death had instructed. The cool air and the sMel of rising charcoal smoke made him feel strangely good.
*CLANG!*
The sound of metal crashing rang out as something yanked him hard from behind. Teek's body was slammed against the wall with brutal force.
"Hey punk, you been staring at me too much or what?" A rough voice growled from a tall, broad-shouldered young man with a face that screamed trouble. Behind him stood two more friends holding a baseball bat and a short knife.
"Jake...!" Teek whispered softly—he remembered this name and face well. This was "Jake," son of a high-ranking police officer in town. Everyone knew what a piece of shit he was, but no one ever dared do anything about it.
"Heard you were sitting around laughing with the woman I've got my eye on, right? You little shit..." Jake spoke with a cruel smile before raising his fist.
*THUD!*
"That's enough." A deep, ice-cold voice cut through the darkness from the side before Jake's punch could reach Teek.
A dark shadow stepped slowly out of the corner.
Death.
His black tank top was slightly stained with smoke from grilling meat, but his eyes and posture were cold as a blade's edge.
"Anyone who touches a kid in my house... dies." Death spoke softly, but his eyes reflected a seriousness that sent chills down the spine.
Jake laughed. "Hah, who the fuck do you think you are? You know my dad is—"
*CRACK!*
Death's fist slammed full force into Jake's face before the words could finish. The cop's son's body flew into a pile of garbage behind the house.
His friends hesitated to step forward... but just one look from Death made them retreat without hesitation.
Teek stood frozen, gripping the pan tightly. His heart pounded hard—not from fear, but from something he'd never seen before: someone who truly dared to protect him.
Death turned to him and spoke calmly:
"Hurry up with that pan. My sister's hungry."
Jake struggled to his feet, stumbling as he ran out, blood streaming from his mouth and a split eyebrow from Death's punch. He spat blood on the ground and cursed like a madman.
"That fucking blank-faced bastard... how dare he mess with my Mel..." Jake snarled, then turned to look at his lackeys who were helping each other up from the ground.
"You guys see that... see how Mel smiled at him! Fuck, I've been watching her since middle school!"
He pulled out his phone, his blood-stained hands still shaking with rage, dialing the number labeled "Dad."
The voice that answered was that of an older man who sounded powerful. "What is it, Jake?"
"Dad... I've got a problem. Some piece of shit from nowhere just interfered with Mel. He hit me! I want to deal with him... help me out."
The line went quiet for a moment before answering in a calm voice. "What's his name?"
Jake squinted back toward Mel's house. "His name is... Death."
The voice on the other end laughed dryly. "A name like that... these punks who use cool nicknames usually die first, friend..."
"Good. I'll send our people to investigate. Find out where he lives, his background, everything about him... tonight."
Jake smiled cruelly, his eyes filled with the fire of revenge. He turned to his two injured lackeys.
"You guys remember that. Death... right? He picked the wrong person to mess with what's mine."
Footsteps echoed from the back walkway as Death and Teek returned with the pan in hand. Teek was still breathing a bit hard from the incident, while Death's face remained calm as if nothing had happened, though his eyes still held that sharp edge.
Mel turned around quickly. "What was that loud noise earlier?"
Death set the pan down on the table, turning with a dry smile. "Probably a dog chasing a cat behind the house."
Teek laughed dryly while scratching the back of his neck, trying to hide the nervousness in his eyes. But Alice didn't ask anything. She just stood still, watching Death quietly before speaking softly:
"They'll come back for sure..."
Death nodded slightly, saying nothing, just reaching for the tongs to flip the meat and continue grilling calmly.
"Fuck 'em... they'll get what's coming," he replied briefly before turning toward the fire. "Come on, let's keep eating. The meat's gonna burn."
The sMel of grilled meat began wafting again, the atmosphere returning to cheerful. Mel chopped vegetables with a smile, Teek sat nearby looking tense, while Alice kept stealing glances at Death.
But amid all that warmth, under the front porch light, a car without license plates was parked in the distance. The shadow of a man in a black suit inside the car was silently recording something in a file...
Laughter continued to mix with the sound of meat sizzling on the grill, the aroma filling the entire house. All four sat in a circle, happy under the warm orange light on the porch.
Time flowed by until the clock on the wall struck exactly ten.
"It's late now. I'll walk Teek home," Death said, standing up.
"It's okay, I can walk alone," Teek replied, but before he could get up, Death placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Your house is deep in there, the road's dark. Don't want the local dogs getting stronger jaws from biting the wrong person."
Everyone laughed, except Alice who watched Death carefully. She noticed he'd changed slightly from earlier.
Before leaving the house, Death took a detour into the kitchen, pulling a black-sheathed short knife from a drawer and clipping it smoothly to his waist.
As he walked back to the front door, he paused for just a moment, looking around the neighborhood with watchful eyes. It was too quiet... even the night insects weren't making sound.
He approached Alice, who sat near the door, leaning down to whisper softly:
"Get ready... something sMels wrong."
Alice nodded, her eyes immediately hardening. The cheerfulness from moments before vanished, leaving only the hunter who had once shared the same battlefield with him.
"If anything happens, I'll follow in 3 minutes," she replied.
"Good." Death spoke curtly, then nodded to call Teek. "Let's go. Any later and your mom will call."
Both walked out calmly, but the shadows hiding along the walkway beside the house... didn't intend to let them reach home easily.
The small road stretched quietly under moonlight, the sound of Death and Teek's footsteps walking side by side through the increasingly cool night air.
"Tonight was really fun," Teek said, trying to make conversation despite still feeling nervous inside.
Death nodded slowly, not answering immediately, his eyes still scanning through the darkness without letting Teek notice.
"Death..." Teek called softly. "Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"...Have you ever hated yourself?"
Death glanced over but didn't say anything yet.
"I... honestly never thought I'd be right for anyone... especially someone like Mel," Teek's voice was full of confusion. "I'm just ordinary, scared, never dared to do anything my whole life."
"..."
"But seeing Mel smile when she's with you, with Alice... I realized someone like her deserves happiness."
Death stopped walking suddenly, making Teek halt as well.
"If you really think that way, then stop saying you're 'scared,'" Death turned to look directly at him. "Mel isn't someone who wants to be with the most capable person... she wants to be with someone who's brave enough to change."
Those words shattered part of the wall in Teek's heart. His eyes began to waver slightly, but a faint smile appeared instead.
But suddenly... light footsteps echoed from behind, followed by another set from the intersection ahead.
Death narrowed his eyes, pressing his hand to the handle of the short knife under his shirt. The cold touch of metal awakened his hunter's instincts.
"Stay beside me, Teek... don't say anything yet."
Teek didn't fully understand, but nodded quickly without hesitation.
Silence covered everything... before the footsteps stopped simultaneously from both directions.
"Here they come," Death murmured, a cold smile appearing on his face.
Suddenly... a group of footsteps echoed from behind.
Teek froze. Death turned slowly, sighing softly as if he knew who was coming.
Light laughter rang out as three shadows emerged from the darkness.
"Hey Teek... missed you so much."
The mocking voice came from a young man with light-colored hair standing in the center. That was "Jake," the police chief's son. His contemptuous gaze focused on Teek before glancing at Death.
"And who's that? Or is this your new guard dog?" Jake smiled mockingly.
Teek clenched his fists, his eyes trembling slightly.
Death spoke evenly:
"Walk away from here before you can't walk back."
Jake laughed loudly before pointing at Death:
"Hah, you think a blank-faced kid like you can scare me with threats? You don't know who I am..."
He pulled out his phone threateningly. "You know who my dad is? One call and you and that shitty house won't have a place to stand in this town!"
Death's cold smile widened slightly...
"That's exactly why... knowing who your dad is... I won't let a little shit like you walk back easily..."
"Damn, Death..." Teek murmured. He'd never seen this kind of terrifying aura from anyone before.
Jake gritted his teeth and shouted:
"Get him!!"
Two lackeys rushed at Death with metal pipes in hand, but—
*SHLIK!*
The sound of a short knife sliding from its sheath, along with Death's shadow moving like a ghost.
In the blink of an eye, the first lackey had his arm grabbed and twisted until it broke, crumpling to the ground.
The second followed close behind but got kicked in the stomach so hard he doubled over.
Jake's eyes widened. Death leaned in close.
"Your dad... might save you from the law... but he can't save you from me."
The ice-cold voice rang near Jake's ear until his face went pale, quickly turning to run without looking back, shouting:
"You bastard... my dad will deal with this himself!!"
Death sighed, sheathing his knife as if nothing happened, then turned to look at Teek.
"Let's keep going."
Teek nodded slowly, but inside his heart was shaking—not from fear, but from admiration... and some driving force beginning to form in his mind.
**[Late Night – Teek's Room]**
In the quiet room, only moonlight filtering through thin curtains illuminated the faint shadow of a young man tossing and turning on his bed.
"...I'm such a coward..."
A soft murmur came from Teek.
He lay staring at the ceiling, eyes full of confusion and turmoil.
"Today... I couldn't do anything. That guy... Death..."
Memories of when Jake and his lackeys came to attack, the fear, the panic, and... the image of Death standing in front of him with ice-cold eyes, wielding a knife to protect him like a dark shadow that wouldn't let anyone harm even a hair on his head.
"You protected me... even though you barely know me."
Teek's hands clenched into fists.
"My whole life I've just been hiding, knowing people like Jake exist, but never doing anything... but tonight was different..."
He slowly sat up, leaning against the bedroom wall and sighing deeply.
"Mel..." he murmured the name of the person in his heart.
"She can laugh... smile... be close to someone like him... and me? All I can do is stand and watch from far away..."
Teek's eyes began to harden slightly—not from anger, but from some driving force in his heart.
"If I'm going to be by her side... if I want to protect someone the way he did... I have to change myself."
He closed his eyes, pressing his hand to his chest, feeling his heart beating stronger.
"I won't be just 'scared Teek' anymore..."
In the darkness, his small shadow reflected by moonlight on the wall... seemed to stand straighter than before.