A smile will get you far but
A smile with a gun will take you farther.

It had been a week since her father left for Australia. Taesoo wondered why he needed to go to another country while she and Mom stayed behind. The little one had no concept of family beyond her parents; uncles and cousins existed only as distant, unfamiliar ideas. It was an injustice imposed upon her by her parents, but they believed that her ignorance was for the best.

She missed Taehyung immensely. How will I live when I get married to him? her little brain pondered. She always wished to grow into a gorgeous woman like her mother so that she could marry Taehyung. Speaking of whom, her mom seemed to be stricter these days. She was overprotective, hardly letting Taesoo out of her sight except for school.

Taesoo hadn't seen any of her friends for a week. She wasn't even allowed to step outside the flat without permission. Feeling confined, she wondered why her mother had changed. Was it because Mommy missed Daddy? But Taehyung had gone away many times before, and her mother had never acted like this.

"Soo??" Sri's voice called out, breaking her thoughts. Taesoo turned around and pretended to be asleep. After a few moments, she heard the door open, followed by a gentle shaking. "Wake up, Soo. You're going to be late for school."

Sri quickly realized that the little girl was too stiff to be asleep. Upon closer inspection, she noticed Taesoo's eyes moving beneath her eyelids and her lips slightly stretching. Sri narrowed her eyes at her pretentious daughter. "It seems Taesoo will not wake up today..." she said dramatically. "Okay, then I'll go to the ice cream shop alone."

In an instant, Taesoo was sitting up with wide eyes. "Mommy is not fooled so easily," Sri said, pinching her rosy cheeks. "Now get ready for school. Your uniform is on the table."

"But my ice cream...??"

"We'll buy it on the way home. But you need to promise me to behave well and not whine about playing with your friends after school."

"Why, Mommy? What's wrong with playing with my friends?"

"Why do you question so much?? I have my reasons for not letting you. Just bear with it until Dad is back." Her voice rose slightly, frustration creeping in. How could she explain to a toddler about the unseen dangers lurking around them?

Taesoo didn't question further. Instead, she looked down with a pout. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Sri dropped Taesoo off at school and went grocery shopping. On her way back, she spotted the same man spying on her in the parking lot. He was still hiding his identity. Since Taesoo was not with her, she felt empowered to confront him. She needed to know his intentions. As soon as the stranger sensed her alertness, he began to run away. But he halted when Sri blocked his path.

Sri's eyes shot ice daggers, her jaw clenched, and her head tilted slightly. The man's eyes widened in fear. He gulped and took a step back, trying to escape her intimidating aura. The last thing he wanted was to confront S.

"Why are you following me?" A shiver ran down his spine at the dark, commanding tone of her voice. Sri repeated her question, stepping closer. The man shifted his gaze, searching for an escape. Finding none, he lunged at her.

In an instant, Sri blocked his punch and kneed him in the stomach. He stumbled back, coughing. To her surprise, she remembered hand-to-hand combat from years ago. She followed up with another punch. "Don't mess with me or my family." She yanked off his mask, revealing a boy in his twenties. His pale demeanor indicated he was scared out of his mind, but he managed to point a gun at her.

Sri quickly assessed the situation and recognized his inexperience by the way his hand trembled. In a flash, the gun was in her hand, and she pointed the muzzle at his head, demanding in a razor-sharp tone, "Tell me your name. And for whom do you work?"

"I don't know anything!!" he cried, panic lacing his voice.

"Tell me!" She fired a shot that grazed his arm, bursting the skin in the process.

He screamed in pain. "I-I really don't know!"

"Then say goodbye to your life." Sri's eyes darkened, her voice cold as ice. She fought back the darker side of herself, the part she had always referred to as 'S.' She knew she couldn't kill him; she had promised herself never to take another life.

"I'll tell! I work for—" GUNSHOT!

The guy lay dead in a pool of blood. Sri turned around in horror. It was certainly not her who had shot him. Someone else was present. She heard a click, and the next thing she knew, a bullet struck the pillar behind her. Had she not relied on her reflexes to dodge it, she might have been bleeding out on the ground. More clicks followed, and she quickly ran behind the pillar for cover.

Her heart raced. She didn't know how many assailants were there. Moreover, she was exposed. The gun only had five bullets left; fighting them would be suicide. She had no idea who her enemies were or why they were targeting her. They had never given her a reason!

Her eyes darted around the parking lot, spotting her car not too far away. She hesitated for a moment, then crawled out, using the darkness as an advantage. The grocery bag lay forgotten in a corner of the parking lot; it was the least of her concerns.

As soon as she reached the car, she turned the engine on. A shadow moved, and she could see a muzzle aimed at her wheel. Wasting no time, she pressed both the accelerator and brake simultaneously. A huge cloud of smoke erupted from the engine, obscuring their vision. She released the brake and changed gears, making the car spin in two complete circles, the smoke blending with the dust around her. When the cloud finally cleared, only the grocery bag remained behind.

Her body was drenched in cold sweat, not just from the attack but from the realization that she didn't know the reason behind it or who the target truly was. She couldn't risk the lives of her loved ones. The cold water calmed her frayed nerves. She closed her eyes and faced the shower, trying to drown out the chaos in her mind. Why was everything provoking her after all these years? She fought desperately to keep her inner demon at bay. Losing Taehyung or Taesoo was a thought she couldn't bear.

Inhaling sharply, she let the tears blend with the water cascading down her face. Whatever the reason for this chaos, 'S' must not return. Damn it! Everything is falling apart! She punched the white-tiled wall in frustration.

Once she had dried off and changed into clean clothes, she knew it was time to share her thoughts. She needed to alert Taehyung. Dialing his number, she anxiously waited for him to pick up. The sun was bright, and a crow began softly pecking at the glass window. After a couple of rings, Taehyung's husky voice resonated through the speaker.

"Hello?"

Jungkook and Jimin were sitting in their office, stress lines etched on their foreheads. Jungkook absentmindedly played with an expensive golden pen that rested in his palm, a gift from Jimin on his last birthday.

Name: Jeon Jungkook (JK)

Profession: Leader of The Titans. Golden King of the Mafias.

Likes: Guns. Can do anything for Sri.

Dislikes: Betrayal
and dishonesty.

Name: Park Jimin

Profession: Spy and manipulator of Titans.

Likes: Women and sneaky things.

Dislike: disloyalty and anyone who hurts Jungkook.

 For Jungkook, birthdays were the most unwanted days of the year. It was on his birthday that he and Sri had left their father's house, the same day when she was... Jimin was unaware of the horrors that had transpired 26 years ago; all he knew was that the siblings had endured abuse at the hands of their father.

Jungkook didn't want anyone to know about that traumatic incident. He had been too young to grasp the gravity of it at the time, but the moment he realized what they had done to her, he lost it. He remembered blaming his cowardice, how he had locked himself in the gym for an entire day. He recalled punching the heavy bag until his body gave out, his eyes burning with tears and his bloody knuckles begging for mercy. Jungkook had made sure that the monster he called 'father' paid for his sins.

"Kookie, what do you plan to do now?" Jimin asked, his hair now glowing pink under the dim office lights, while Jungkook's remained raven black.

Jungkook leaned back in his chair and sighed, "We have to do something. We can't let them have what they want."

A newly formed gang, Eclipse, had been creating unnecessary trouble for the Titans. They had risen to power while the Titans were undergoing a regeneration phase. Their leader, Song Jongki, wanted Jungkook to give up his position. The Titans had once been the most powerful gang in the underworld, but Eclipse had amassed more influence in the current timeline.

Name: Song Jongki

Profession: The leader of Eclipse Gangs

Likes: Power, respect and his gang. A man of perfection.

Dislikes: Only the TITANS.

Jimin sniffed, "What if we attack head-on?"

"How can that possibly be our advantage?" Jungkook replied, his brow furrowed.

"Jongki won't think we'd be so reckless. He might get caught off guard."

"And what if he anticipates our plan?" Jk countered.

Frustrated, Jimin flipped back his hair and stood up. He realized that the plan he had just suggested could very well be a suicide mission.

"Don't stress too much. We'll find a way," Jungkook said, placing a reassuring hand on Jimin's shoulder. "I need some time. I'm creating a special force just to deal with them. The Titans need to regain their lost prestige." He was about to leave the room when one of his assistants entered.

"Boss, someone wants to talk to you via video call."

"Who is it?"

"An unknown person. He claims to have something important to tell you." Jungkook nodded and gestured for him to bring in the laptop. Within moments, the room darkened as a white screen appeared to project the video.

Jungkook's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he took in the sight of the masked figure on the screen. The background was blurry, adding to the ominous atmosphere.

"JK," the figure spoke, his voice filtered and unrecognizable. "I'll ask you once more to give up, or else she will die."

"Who will die?" Jimin whispered anxiously in Jungkook's ear.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jungkook responded, his voice low and growly, deliberately ignoring Jimin's question.

"You'll find out very soon." The figure stepped aside, and the camera focused on a clearer background. Jungkook's heart dropped as the image came into view: a little girl tied to a chair.

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I am back sooner than expected. My phone broke down. I lost all my datas and contacts. Lukckily, my drafts were saved but all the pictures and banners were lost. So I thought it would take some weeks to restore everything. But I managed everything sooner than expected and here I am. Thank you for your patience. I'll be more online and upload other books too.

Oh and belated HAPPY KOOKIE DAY CHIMES.🐰💗

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