Transformation happens on the other side of surrender.

"Shall we prepare a team to save Taesoo?" Officer Soobin asked, standing straight in front of the commissioner, who was rocking back in his armchair.

Hoseok, who seemed lost in thought, responded after a few moments, "No."

"Y-Yes?" Soobin was taken aback, confused by the unexpected reply.

"We won't attack them," Hoseok clarified, adding an ironic pause before finishing, "now." Soobin's confusion only grew. The commissioner let out a dry, humorless chuckle before calling in the remaining members of his trusted team.

Once Cyber Head Officer Yeonjun, Narcotics Head Officer Beomgyu, Psychic Head Officer Taeyang, Criminal Sub-Head Officer HyKai, and Criminal Head Officer Soobin were all gathered, Hoseok began to lay out his strategy.

"We don't have enough resources to take down both gangs at once," Hoseok explained, his tone measured. "So we'll wait until they're weakened from fighting each other. The gang that loses will be mostly dead, and the winners will be too fatigued to put up a strong resistance. When that moment comes, we'll move in and arrest them without risking the lives of our men. Does everyone understand the plan?"

Hoseok's sharp gaze swept over his officers as he sought their confirmation.

"Sir," Kai spoke up, his eyes steely and unwavering. The youngest officer, Huening Kai was known for his boldness and wasn't one to shy away from challenging authority. "Are you going to put Sri up as bait? She came to us for help. What if she gets killed?"

Hoseok let out a sigh, his gaze hardening as he looked back at Kai. "Officer Huening, a criminal is still a criminal. The dark shadow above their head never disappears. Sri has blood on her hands. Innocent blood. Aligning with the law doesn't absolve her past. She's committed countless crimes, and she has yet to face true justice."

Kai's mouth opened as if to argue, but no words came out. Hoseok's logic, though cold, was undeniable. Kai now understood the commissioner's calculated ruthlessness. Hoseok had planned to exploit the enmity between the gangs from the start, letting them destroy each other, leaving the police to swoop in at the end, clean up, and arrest whoever remained. It was a diplomatic yet merciless tactic, befitting a man as dedicated to the law as Hoseok.

"Prepare your teams, officers," Hoseok declared, clapping his hands together as he rose. "We have a gang to capture. Dismissed!"

"Mommy?"

The small, trembling voice made Sri freeze, her knife still poised in mid-air. Jongki's eyes widened slightly as he exhaled, realizing just how close he had come to a brutal end. The close brush with death only deepened his fascination with S.

"Mommy?" Taesoo took a few unsteady steps toward her mother, the lingering effects of the drug beginning to wear off.

Sri's heart twisted painfully at the sight of her daughter. Her grip on the knife loosened, and it clattered to the ground as tears filled her eyes. Bloodstained hands outstretched, she moved forward, ready to embrace her child. "Soo..."

But the reunion was short-lived. An Eclipse man stepped in, seizing Taesoo just as she was about to reach her mother. "Mommy! Let go! Let me go to my mother!" Taesoo's shrill cries echoed, her legs kicking frantically.

"Let her go!" Sri's voice cracked with fury, her desperation clawing at her. She scanned for any of her own men, but they were nowhere in sight. "Soo, hold on! I'll get you back!" Sri shouted, moving toward the man holding her daughter—until a searing pain erupted in her back.

She twisted around, instinctively swinging a punch, but Jongki dodged it with ease, stepping back with a smug grin, the blade in his hand dripping with her blood.

Sri gasped as the warm wetness spread across her back. Before she could fully react, Jongki struck again, plunging the knife into her stomach. She doubled over, her vision blurring, yet managed to elbow him hard in the chest. Through gritted teeth, she pulled the blade from her abdomen, blood spurting from the wound. Her daughter's screams pierced through her haze of pain, fueling her to move toward her.

But Jongki wasn't done. Three Eclipse men emerged from hiding and seized her, holding her firmly from all sides. She writhed and struggled, but her injuries weakened her. These men had been trained to handle her, lying in wait all along.

They dragged both Sri and Taesoo to opposite ends of the bridge. Taesoo was held captive on the right side, while Sri was restrained on the left, helpless. Her eyes flickered to Jimin lying still a short distance away. She couldn't tell if he was alive. The remaining Titan men were either dead or incapacitated, leaving her alone. Desperation filled her as she tried to shake free of her captors, Taesoo's cries tearing at her heart.

Jongki approached her, wiping blood from his nose with a sinister smirk. "One last offer, S. Join me."

"Let my daughter go," Sri spat, her voice raw.

In response, Jongki stabbed her in the stomach again, twisting the blade as he did. She jerked, blood pooling in her mouth. "Only if you obey me."

Sri's gaze narrowed as she forced out, "What do you even want from me? I don't remember you ever being significant in the underworld. Why us?"

Jongki's smile turned cold, his eyes glinting with malice. "Does a deer provoke a tiger? No. But the tiger still hunts it to grow stronger." With that, he drove the knife into her again, and her strangled scream echoed across the bridge, mingling with the night air.

As she struggled against the pain, her attention snapped to Taesoo, who was thrashing in the grip of one of the Eclipse men, tears streaming down her face. Blood pooled around Sri's feet, her legs trembling as she leaned heavily against the men restraining her. But even as her strength waned, her defiance burned bright. "In this game, you're the deer disturbing a tiger from its rest," she sneered weakly.

Jongki's grin faltered momentarily, but rage quickly overtook him as he retaliated by plunging the knife in once more, punishing her for her defiance.

"You won't listen, will you?" Jongki chuckled darkly, turning away from her to approach Taesoo.

Sri's eyes widened in horror as adrenaline surged through her veins. "Don't you dare touch her!" She kicked the man on her right and shoved the other away from her, momentarily breaking free. She tried to run, but pain shot through her, causing her to stumble and fall to her knees on the second step. Blood pooled in her mouth, and she could taste the iron as she vomited. Taesoo's cries echoed in her ears, fueling her desperation to push through the agony.

Jongki's voice rang out again, malicious and clear. "Throw the child off the bridge. I already got S. She is of no need now."

"No! Don't! I surrender!" she begged for the first time that night, her voice breaking. "I'll serve you! Just please, free my daughter!" Her pleas echoed through the darkness, a haunting cry of a mother facing the impossible.

Jongki knelt in front of her, brushing hair from her forehead with a sickly sweet smile. Sri felt a wave of disgust wash over her but remained silent, her heart pounding. "Good girl," he murmured, but then his expression shifted to a smirk, chilling her to the core. "But too late. I've already got you." Rising, he commanded, "Throw her."

"NO! DON'T—" The words were ripped from her throat as she heard a splash. Her heart felt as if it had stopped. The sight of Taesoo's small figure being hurled into the depths was seared into her mind. An ear-piercing scream escaped her lips, the sound mingling with the rippling water below. She was a helpless mother, witnessing the worst nightmare unfold.

Rough hands pulled her back to her feet, a masculine voice calling out, "We got her. Now she is ours." But Sri could barely process the words; all that filled her mind was the vision of her daughter disappearing into the dark water, the pain in her chest far surpassing any physical wound.

With a surge of desperation, she pushed against her captors with everything she had and darted toward the railing. She could still see the ripples expanding across the surface of the dark water, and before she could think, she leaped toward it.

But she felt a force restraining her, pulling her back. "Get her!" someone shouted. She fought like a wild animal, her body fueled by adrenaline and grief, but exhaustion overwhelmed her. Faces blurred in her vision, voices became muffled, and as her strength drained away, she slipped into darkness, wishing she could vanish into the depths with her daughter.

Meanwhile, the police reached the bridge just as Hoseok's plan unfolded as he had anticipated. The Titan men lay dead, their ex-boss fatally wounded, while the Eclipse men were too fatigued to put up a fight. But his heart sank in disappointment; not a single gangster was captured. He hadn't known that nearly half of the Titans had been diverted to Busan by the Eclipse.

Before the police could take any further action, Hoseok shouted, "Retreat! Fast, get on your jeeps!"

The warning echoed across the scene, and the officers fell back in unison, the weight of their failure settling heavily in the air. They understood that Hoseok's plan had failed this time, leaving behind a bridge stained with blood and grief.

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Belated Happy Birthday Yoongi. My man turned 30.🤧🤧

He thinks torturing us is fun. 🥰

Btw, this is the way I imagine Park Jimin of Titans.