The quiet hum of Huweol High had barely faded when Hwang Siyeok's phone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced down, eyes narrowing at the unfamiliar number. Without hesitation, he answered.
"Brother… help me…"
The trembling voice of his sister, Hwang Mina, cut through the line. Behind her, the faint voice of Shy Suya whispered reassurance, yet the fear in their voices was unmistakable.
"Hwang… they've taken everyone," Shy Suya added softly.
Hwang's calm green eyes hardened, a quiet storm brewing beneath his composed exterior. "Tell me exactly what happened," he said, voice steady, unnervingly so.
Through hurried breaths, Mina explained: William Shake, a top-tier assassin with ties to law enforcement and an army of five hundred million powerful allies, had invaded their home. He had kidnapped their parents, Hwang Dae-hyun and Hwang Eun-hee, along with Mina herself, demanding compliance and ensuring no one could interfere.
Hwang exhaled slowly. Anger simmered beneath his calm veneer, but he did not shout, panic, or flinch. Every detail he heard was already being filed, analyzed, and processed in his mind. "Where are they holding you?" he asked.
"A… a warehouse… on the outskirts… please… hurry," Mina stammered.
Hwang's lips pressed into a thin line. His mind raced — layouts, guard rotations, traps, and allies' capabilities all mapped with surgical precision. William Shake was a formidable foe: durability at wall-level, lethal combat skill, and an army so vast it could overwhelm any ordinary person. Yet Hwang Siyeok was far from ordinary.
He slid his phone back into his pocket. "I'll handle this," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. His posture remained calm, shoulders relaxed, as if nothing could rattle him. But beneath that calm, a fire had ignited — a fury tempered by strategy and mastery.
Shy Suya's voice trembled over the line. "B… be careful, Hwang… he's… he's unlike anyone we've ever faced…"
"I know," Hwang replied softly, his mind already calculating. "Stay hidden. Don't make a sound. I'll bring everyone back."
He rose from his chair with quiet determination. Every muscle in his lean, athletic frame moved with precision as he prepared. Parkour routes, escape plans, combat contingencies — all rehearsed mentally in seconds. Nothing would be left to chance.
Outside, the city's streets were silent under the fading sun. To anyone else, it might have seemed like an ordinary evening, but Hwang Siyeok saw the patterns, the flows, the possibilities. Every guard, every drone, every hidden camera was a variable he had already accounted for.
William Shake had thought he could control the situation through fear and sheer numbers. He hadn't counted on Hwang Siyeok. Not just a master of combat, not just a genius strategist, but a human being whose calm precision could outmaneuver even the most impossible odds.
And now, it was time.
Hwang's fingers brushed over the edge of his backpack, feeling the weight of the gadgets, tools, and subtle resources he carried — all ordinary to the untrained eye, yet extensions of his mastery. He stepped into the shadows, blending seamlessly with the environment, a ghost moving with purpose.
The warehouse loomed in the distance, its silhouette a dark promise of danger. Five hundred million allies, one top-tier assassin, a family in peril — yet Hwang Siyeok's heartbeat remained steady, his mind a razor-sharp instrument of planning and control.
Nothing would be left to chance.
Not today.
Not ever.
The calm storm had begun.