PROLOGUE

In the small town of Noryang, nestled between mist-covered hills and forgotten legends, two boys once dreamed of running away.

Lee Seokmin, known to everyone as DK, was sunshine incarnate—always smiling, always dreaming. He was the type who believed in freedom, in trust, in promises whispered under stars. Raised by his kind-hearted uncle after losing his parents young,  seokmin had one true constant in life—his best friend.

Hong Joshua, the quiet, observant boy with soft eyes and a gentle voice, was that constant. But Joshua held secrets beneath his calm exterior—secrets he never dared to share, even with seokmin. Because Joshua wasn’t just a boy in a sleepy town.

He was a ninja.

Bound by an ancient clan and trained in silence and shadows, Joshua had been sent to the town for a mission. But somewhere along the way, that mission blurred. Because seokmin wasn’t just a friend—he was everything.

They made a promise seventeen years ago from now. “On the night of graduation, we leave together. No looking back.”

But that night never came.

Seokmin waited at the station with his backpack and beating heart. He waited as the clock ticked past the promised hour. Rain poured. Thunder cracked. But Joshua never came.

Instead, the news of Seokmin's uncle’s murder spread like wildfire.

And Joshua was gone—like he’d never existed at all.

Seventeen Years Later

Seokmin doesn’t smile anymore. Now a grown man, he walks the world with a hardened heart and a name weighed down by rumors and betrayal. He never forgave Joshua—and will never.

Lee seokmin (Dk)

Now 33

Joshua.. The one who is obsessed with seokmin, who worships the ground seokmin walks in, is ready to sacrifice anything and everything to make seokmin his once again.. Even himself, even his identity, even his disciplines and rules.

Joshua Hong (日陰- shade)

Now 35

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