June 11th, 2025.
South Korea, Tongyeong – 7:20am
Hyun-Woo and Min-Seo sat across from each other at the round wooden dinner table. Both of them looked extremely tired, and both of them had bed hair, completely unstyled and messy. Hyun-Woo was shirtless; his lean, defined physique was stunning. He wore pajama pants and sandals with black socks. Min-Seo wore a different oversized white shirt, this time with only panties underneath. She was barefoot.
The two of them had white coffee mugs in front of them. Min-Seo grabbed hers and took a sip. "I slept horribly, honey…" Hyun-Woo softly chuckled as he also sipped his coffee. "Did you have nightmares? You were the one who wanted to watch that horror movie before sleeping, so don't complain."
She softly smiled as she placed her coffee mug down on the table and looked at it. "My actions have consequences…" Hyun-Woo nodded in agreement. He was obviously too sleepy to even try and speak. Min-Seo stood up from the table and walked toward a backpack placed in one of the corners of the living room. Hyun-Woo just watched. She opened the largest bag and took out a laptop.
Min-Seo walked back to the table, placed down the laptop, and opened it up before logging in. "What are you going to do, love?" Hyun-Woo asked. "I'm going on Instagram, maybe that mohawk guy posted something new," she replied in a tired voice. Hyun-Woo raised an eyebrow. "Why not use your phone?"
"My phone is in our bedroom. I don't feel like walking all the way over there," she replied.
Min-Seo's eyes widened, and she flipped around the laptop to show Hyun-Woo. "Look at his new post," she said. The post was Bong-Woo Nam posing in front of a black sports car. The strange part that caught both of them off guard was the caption:
".- -. . .– .-.. . .- -.. . .-. .– .. .-.. .-.. -… . -… — .-. -."
"Love, I don't suppose you know how to read Morse code?" Hyun-Woo said as he stared at her. Min-Seo shook her head. "Nope, let me look up a Morse code translator." She then turned the laptop back her way and copied and pasted the caption into a translator. She read out loud, "'A new leader will be born' is what it says. Isn't that creepy?"
Hyun-Woo nodded before taking a sip of his coffee. "Do you think he's referring to Zhi Yi?" he asked.
"I don't know. He could either be calling a future leader—I looked through some of his other posts and he seems like someone who would have a big ego, one big enough to say that about himself. Or he could be talking about someone else, possibly—likely—Zhi Yi."
Hyun-Woo just nodded at her, and Min-Seo looked worried. "Honey, why are you looking at me like that?" Hyun-Woo softly smiled. "You seem so passionate about everything you talk about. It's cute. Your voice is also mesmerizing."
Min-Seo became flustered and looked away. "Where the hell did that come from…" Hyun-Woo slid his chair back and stood up before looking down at Min-Seo. "Do I need a reason to compliment my girlfriend?"
Min-Seo sighed as she closed her laptop, her gaze focused on him. "I'm not going to do any research today. I doubt I can really even find more information. But I still am worried about that underground section of the club." Hyun-Woo nodded as he replied, "You've found more than enough information. I think we'll be fine, love."
June 11th, 2025.
South Korea, Tongyeong – 4:20pm
Hyun-Woo and Min-Seo stood outside in the backyard, both of them wearing blue tracksuits with white running shoes. Hyun-Woo put up three fingers. He put down one, he put down another one. He then put down the last finger and said, "Go."
The two of them dashed toward each other, and Hyun-Woo threw a kick, but it was easily blocked. "I only need to land one hit and you'll buy me it, right?" Min-Seo said.
"Uh-huh," Hyun-Woo said before throwing a left hook at her. She dodged with ease but was then suddenly hit by a kick to the side of her waist. Min-Seo was sent flying, and she rolled on the ground. She groaned in pain as she stood up. "When you said no holding back, you meant it…"
Hyun-Woo nodded. "Remember, this is training for both of us. We need to go all out. I don't enjoy beating up my girlfriend, but it's to help you and me." Min-Seo sighed before asking, "No Sungaze allowed, right?" Hyun-Woo nodded before dashing at her and throwing a right hook. She blocked it but was then hit by a left hook. She spat out blood.
"Sorry," Hyun-Woo said before kicking her in the stomach and sending her sliding back. She coughed out blood. As Min-Seo tried to regain her composure, Hyun-Woo was already dashing toward her. He went in for a front kick, and Min-Seo was ready to block, but suddenly it changed to a roundhouse kick at a downward angle. She was slammed into the ground. Hyun-Woo sighed as he stepped back. "Love, I'm so sorry. I'll get you anything after this, even if you don't land a hit."
Min-Seo stood up. "I love you, honey… but I don't need your pity. I know this is to help us get stronger for the mission. If I don't put up a good fight, then you aren't getting any stronger. I'll try more." Hyun-Woo smiled as he saw his girlfriend getting ready to take things more seriously.
They both dashed at each other, and Min-Seo threw a kick aimed at his liver. He raised his knee and blocked the kick with his ankle. While his leg was still up, he kicked her in the face. Min-Seo did a backflip mid-air and landed on her feet. Hyun-Woo was already coming at her. Hyun-Woo threw a kick which was blocked. Min-Seo countered by grabbing his ankle and throwing a right hook. Hyun-Woo caught her punch before countering with his own punch, which struck her right in the face.
She let go of his ankle and was sent flying back, blood flowing out of her nose. Hyun-Woo stood still, looking down at her. She slowly got back on her feet. She got into a Taekwondo stance. Hyun-Woo smiled, "Finally using your main fighting style?"
She smiled. "I was going to try and get better with my punches, but I'm tired of getting my ass kicked." Hyun-Woo dashed at her and threw a punch. Min-Seo went in for a side kick, and he caught it. Hyun-Woo then proceeded to land a left hook on her; she was smashed into the ground. She quickly got up and threw a punch. Hyun-Woo got ready to catch it.
She stopped her punch and spun sharply. Her body moved like fluid, then a kick shot out behind her. Hyun-Woo's eyes widened as he barely blocked it, and he was sent flying back. Once he landed on his feet, she was already dashing at him. Min-Seo went in for a side kick again, and Hyun-Woo was barely able to block it in time. Instead of allowing her foot to touch the ground, she threw another side kick.
"A double side kick… she's not giving me time to recover," he thought before she threw a front kick at him. He blocked with both forearms, barely, and slid back. She dashed at him and threw another side kick, this time aimed at his neck. He managed to block in time, but his defenses were falling.
"If she keeps this rampage of attacks going on, she'll land a clean hit," he thought, but he was smiling. "She's getting stronger. She's way stronger since our last duel."
Suddenly, Min-Seo raised her leg into the air and struck down like an axe. Hyun-Woo raised both of his arms and blocked it; the force of the attack was felt through his entire body. Unexpectedly, Hyun-Woo vanished and appeared behind Min-Seo. He struck her liver from behind and sent her flying. She coughed out blood as she rolled on the ground. She slowly got back on her knees, and she noticed Hyun-Woo's eyes were glowing blue.
"You used Sungaze…" she said. Hyun-Woo nodded. "I'll buy you whatever you want. But let's change the rules—we can now use Sungaze. Let's fight until someone passes out. I can see you're getting stronger. I also feel myself getting stronger. We can't stop now, love."
Min-Seo sighed before smiling. "Fine, honey. Let's both go all out. That means I want you to use your main fighting style—Taekkyeon." He nodded in agreement, and shortly after, Min-Seo's eyes began to glow black. This loving couple was ready to beat the life out of their partner in order for them to get stronger.