The kite danced against the orange sky, its paper tail cutting through the soft breeze of Haneul Park.A boy ran beneath it, barefoot, laughter echoing through the open field.
His name was Han Dae-Sung, seven years old — all sunlight and innocence, a life untouched by the darkness his father spent years fighting.
"Omma! Appa! Look, it's flying higher!" he shouted, jumping as his kite soared.
His father, Han Gyu-Ho, a detective with the Seoul Metropolitan Police, sat on a wooden bench, tie loosened, eyes finally calm for once. His wife, Mi-Yeon, sat beside him, smiling with the kind of warmth that made even broken men believe in peace again.
"He looks happy," she said softly."He deserves to be," Gyu-Ho replied. "After everything."
For months, he'd been hunting the Jangsu Syndicate, a gang that smuggled weapons, drugs, and death through Seoul's veins. Last week, he'd caught their leader — Jang Kyu-Min's older brother.It had felt like the end of something terrible.
But in Seoul, endings were just beginnings in disguise.
The sun dipped below the skyline, bleeding into crimson.Vendors packed up their carts, and families began to leave. The hum of the city grew distant, replaced by the whispers of wind.
"Let's go home before it rains," Gyu-Ho said, ruffling Dae-Sung's hair."I don't want to," the boy pouted."Rain will make your kite heavy," Mi-Yeon teased. "And then it won't fly tomorrow.""Okay…" he mumbled, carefully rolling the string.
They walked hand in hand to the car, a small white sedan parked under the last flickering lamp of the street.The air felt strange — thick, heavy, as if the city was holding its breath.
They drove through narrow lanes of Noryangjin 3-gil, where neon signs flickered like dying stars and puddles glimmered with reflections of taillights.Inside the car, Dae-Sung hummed softly. Mi-Yeon turned around, smiling.
"You had fun today?""Yes, Omma! Tomorrow, can we go to the zoo?""We'll see," Gyu-Ho said. "If Appa doesn't have another long day."
The laughter faded as they reached their gate.A black sedan stood parked in front of their house — engine off, windows tinted.
Gyu-Ho slowed the car.
"Appa?""Stay in your seat, Dae-Sung."
He looked around. The street was empty. The flickering lamp above them buzzed weakly.Then he saw it — cigarette smoke curling from the shadows beside the fence.
Mi-Yeon's hand went to her husband's arm.
"No…" she whispered. "Not tonight."
"Lock the doors," he said quietly. "And don't come out. No matter what happens."
He stepped out, rain beginning to fall in soft, deliberate drops. The smell of wet asphalt filled the air.
⚡ The Ambush
A man emerged from behind the black car — tall, scarred, smiling like a wolf.
"Detective Han," he drawled. "We've been waiting."
Jang Kyu-Min.Brother of the syndicate boss he'd arrested.Twenty more shadows moved behind him, spreading across the street like ghosts.
"You put my brother in a cage," Kyu-Min said. "You thought we'd forget?""Leave my family out of this," Gyu-Ho warned."Family?" he sneered. "You think cops get families after crossing us?"
He flicked his cigarette away.
The rain came harder.The city went silent.
⚔️ The First Shots
Bang! Bang!
Two bullets tore through the air. Gyu-Ho dove behind the car, glass shattering around him.Mi-Yeon screamed, pushing Dae-Sung flat onto the seat.
"Omma, what's happening?""Stay down, baby! Don't move!"
Gyu-Ho fired back — one clean shot. A gangster dropped, clutching his chest.The rest roared and charged.
Kyu-Min laughed through the downpour.
"Let's see if the hero can fight the storm!"
⚔️ The Storm of Blades
Gyu-Ho ducked as a metal rod slammed into the car hood, sparks bursting. He grabbed the attacker's arm, twisted it, and slammed him onto the wet ground.A knife came next — flashing silver.He caught the wrist, elbowed the man's jaw, kicked him backward into another thug.
Mi-Yeon stepped out then — against his orders — her umbrella's metal shaft gripped like a sword.
"Mi-Yeon! Get back!""I'm not leaving you!"
She swung the umbrella pole like a kendo stick, smashing one man's nose flat.Another grabbed her from behind — she stomped his foot, spun, and drove the pole into his throat.He fell, choking on blood and rain.
"You married the wrong woman to threaten, bastards!" she yelled, lightning flashing behind her.
Gyu-Ho shot two more — one through the leg, one through the shoulder.Bodies fell in the mud, water turning crimson.
But for every one that dropped, two more came.Knives, chains, pipes — the street filled with metal and fury.
⚔️ Fighting Side by Side
For a moment, husband and wife stood back-to-back in the rain, breath steaming, faces streaked with blood and water.The gangsters circled them like wolves.
"You okay?" Gyu-Ho panted."I told you not to buy me flowers," Mi-Yeon smirked, spinning the pole again. "This is better."
He almost smiled — then they came again.
One man charged with a machete. Gyu-Ho blocked it with his arm, pain slicing through, and fired point-blank.Another swung a steel pipe — Mi-Yeon caught it mid-swing, twisted, and cracked it across the attacker's jaw.He dropped instantly.
A third came with brass knuckles, punching her ribs — she staggered but swung upward, the pole slamming into his temple.
"You should've brought more men," she hissed.
The rain turned to sheets. Thunder shook the street.
Blood mixed with water beneath their feet — a dark stream flowing toward the drain.Eighteen men down.
Only two remained — Kyu-Min and one more with a shotgun.
Kyu-Min spat blood, laughing.
"You think this is over, Detective?""It ends tonight."
He charged. Both men collided, rolling into the mud. The gun fell, sliding away.Kyu-Min punched, Gyu-Ho blocked. Gyu-Ho struck, Kyu-Min dodged.Each blow landed with the weight of years of hatred.
Mi-Yeon ran forward — but the second gangster appeared, shotgun raised.
The blast ripped the air.She twisted — the shot grazed her arm, tearing through flesh. She screamed, but still swung the pole, hitting the gun away.She slammed her knee into the man's stomach, grabbed his collar, and rammed the umbrella shaft through his jaw.
He fell.But so did she.
Blood spread fast across her white blouse, the rain turning it pink.
⚔️ The End of the Fight
"Mi-Yeon!" Gyu-Ho shouted, voice breaking.
That split-second of distraction was enough.Kyu-Min grabbed the fallen knife and drove it into Gyu-Ho's side.He gasped, eyes wide, then struck back — one last desperate swing — his gun barrel crushed Kyu-Min's skull.
Both men collapsed into the mud.
Mi-Yeon crawled toward him, trembling, blood pooling beneath her.Their hands met halfway.
"Gyu-Ho… our son…""I locked the car…" he whispered weakly. "He's safe…""You promise?""Always…"
Lightning flashed.Their eyes met one last time — rain falling between them, endless.
And then — silence.
🌧️ The Boy and the Rain
Inside the car, the boy waited.He couldn't see through the rain.He couldn't hear anything except the roar of thunder and his own heartbeat.
Minutes passed. Maybe hours.Then… nothing. No voices. No movement.
He reached for the lock, hands trembling, and pushed the door open.
The world smelled like metal.Smoke.And silence.
He stepped out barefoot into the rain.
His parents lay in the street — side by side, hands almost touching.The puddles around them were red, rippling with the falling drops.The black sedan was gone. Only broken glass and torn umbrellas remained.
"Appa… Omma…"
He ran to them, shaking their shoulders.
"Wake up! Please wake up!"
No answer.Just the sound of rain hitting the road.
He screamed — a raw, heart-shattering cry that echoed through the empty neighborhood.No neighbors came.No lights turned on.No one cared.
The thunder rolled, distant sirens wailed somewhere far away, and the little boy fell to his knees, crying into the puddles that mirrored the faces he'd never see smile again.
"Appa… don't go…""Omma… I'll be good, please wake up…"
But the city had already moved on.
When the police arrived, the storm had washed most of the blood away.Only the badge remained, glinting weakly under the streetlamp.
Detective Han Gyu-Ho.
The officer who died protecting everything he loved.The woman who stood beside him until her last breath.And the boy who would never forget the sound of rain.
That night, the city didn't hear his cries.But the rain did.And it would remember forever.