Min didn't stop practicing.
Not after the warehouse.
Not after the cheers.
Not after the word Gosu followed him home like a ghost.
He played until his wrists burned and his eyes refused to focus. Matches blurred together, build orders drilled into muscle memory, losses dissected, wins dismantled just as ruthlessly. Sleep came in fragments, broken by dreams of flickering screens and collapsing bases.
Chan-Sik watched it all quietly.
He saw the fire in Min's eyes, the same one he'd seen years ago, before the self-exile, before Mapo turned hostile. This was the moment Min had been dreaming about, whether he'd admit it or not.
Chan-Sik hadn't really played since then. Stress had settled into his bones, arthritis creeping into his right hand, dull and unforgiving. He couldn't keep up mechanically anymore—not the way he once had, but when he did play, he played smart. Insightful. Ruthless in timing.
And when he had to fight, he still came out swinging.
The rest of the Warlocks were rising too.
Sung-Woo had started grinding Random after watching The Wolf play. He lost a lot at first, but learned faster. Min coached him between matches, quietly pointing out patterns, tendencies. Hye-Jin, once barely holding a twenty percent win rate, was now pushing sixty against Sung-Woo.
Both were sharper. More confident.
MC ORCA and Chan-Sik exchanged looks more than once.
This team had legs.
Still… something was off.
Chan-Sik noticed it when Min thought no one was looking. The hesitation between matches. The way his gaze lingered just a second too long on empty space.
Sadness.
And Chan-Sik knew exactly why.
Donghae Park.
Min's best friend.
Donghae had been there the night everything collapsed. When Min's brother died. When Mapo turned cold. When the Warlocks fractured.
And then he vanished.
Chan-Sik and MC ORCA had searched. Asked around. Hit old rooftops, basements, back rooms. Nothing.
Eventually, they stopped asking.
Min never brought him up after returning. Chan-Sik thought, hoped, that meant he'd made peace with it.
He was wrong.
Min finally leaned back from the desk, hands trembling slightly.
"I need air," he muttered.
Chan-Sik nodded. "I'm out anyway. Cigarettes."
They walked together, the night quiet but restless. A small convenience store glowed at the corner, fluorescent lights humming like tired insects.
"This place sells 'em cheap," Chan-Sik said.
"Good," Min replied flatly. "My lungs appreciate the budget option."
They stepped inside.
The door chimed.
Chan-Sik stopped mid-sentence.
His face drained of color.
Min followed his gaze.
The world tilted.
"Donghae…?" Min said.
The man near the counter turned.
For a split second, Min thought he'd see relief. Guilt. Anything human.
Instead, Donghae smiled.
"Min," he said coolly. "Didn't think you'd crawl back."
Min's chest tightened. "We looked for you."
Chan-Sik stepped forward. "Everywhere."
Donghae laughed under his breath. "After that night? You two fell apart. Weak. Pathetic."
Min shook his head. "That's not…"
"I wasted my time with you," Donghae snapped. "All that talk about the Warlocks owning Mapo. About your brother. About you."
His eyes hardened.
"No future. Just nostalgia."
Chan-Sik's fist clenched.
Before he could move
The door chimed again.
"Oppa," a familiar voice said lightly. "There you are."
Soo-Yeon stepped inside.
She looked… relaxed. Comfortable.
"Oh," she added when she saw Min. "It's you."
Min stared. "What are you doing here?"
Donghae laughed louder now, shrugging off his jacket.
Red Pulse colors flashed underneath.
"Guess you're finding out."
Soo-Yeon smiled. "Power matters, Min. You always knew that."
Another chime.
The girl from the warehouse stepped in, quiet, observant.
"You weren't supposed to last that long," she said plainly.
Chan-Sik exhaled sharply.
"They drugged you," he said.
Min's eyes snapped to him. "What?"
"They planned it," Chan-Sik continued. "Wanted you broken before the street could notice."
Donghae shrugged. "Didn't expect you to adapt."
Soo-Yeon tilted her head. "The Wolf calling you Gosu wasn't part of the script."
Min felt something inside him lock.
"You did all this… because you were afraid?" he asked quietly.
Donghae sneered. "Don't flatter yourself."
"Then why plan so hard?" Chan-Sik shot back.
Silence.
Donghae's smile faded. Just a little.
"I'm Red Pulse's Enforcer now," he said. "And next Saturday? We finish this."
He leaned closer.
"I hope you're ready to see your brother again."
They walked out, stealing from the shelves like the place belonged to them.
The door chimed.
Then silence.
Min stood frozen.
"I thought she was just a pawn," he said hoarsely. "But she helped plan it…"
Chan-Sik paid the clerk and guided Min outside.
"They're afraid," Chan-Sik said.
Min shook his head. "No way."
"Why sabotage a quiet player?" Chan-Sik asked. "Why now?"
Min didn't answer.
"Because they see it," Chan-Sik continued. "What you can become."
He put an arm around Min's shoulders.
"Mapo doesn't need another king," he said. "It needs a Gosu."
Min exhaled slowly.
Rage settled where grief used to live.
"…Let's fucking do this."
And just like that, betrayal became fuel.