killer affection | jaywon

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Park Jongseong, known to the world as Jay, wasn't born into an ordinary life. From the moment he took his first breath, his fate was sealed a destiny entwined with blood, power, and the cold grip of the Korean underworld. His father, a ruthless kingpin at the helm of one of Korea’s largest mafia organizations, had ensured that Jay's life would be anything but normal. As the sole heir, Jay was raised not with love but with expectations, each one more brutal than the last.

Jay’s earliest memories were of training, rigorous, relentless, and unyielding. There were no bedtime stories, no gentle words of encouragement, only the sharp bark of commands and the bruising force of discipline. His father was a stranger to affection, a man whose rare smiles were reserved for moments when Jay proved his worth. And Jay, ever the dutiful son, would do anything to earn even a sliver of that approval, even as it hollowed him out.

At the tender age of six, Jay's world was shattered when he witnessed his father murder his mother. It wasn’t a crime of passion, but one of calculation his father eliminating a potential "weakness" in his heir’s life. Jay had cried, as any child would, but his tears were met with nothing but cold indifference. His father, unfazed, had simply walked away, dragging one of his many girlfriends to his bedroom, leaving Jay to cradle the body of the woman who had loved him. That night, something inside Jay died, and something far darker took its place.

Now, at twenty two, Jay is nearly emotionless a shell of a person shaped by a lifetime of cruelty and violence. His father’s lessons had sunk in deep, and any feelings of compassion or empathy had been smothered under layers of numbness. His father’s voice echoed in his head whenever he looked at his team, the closest thing he had to friends. But friends were dangerous. Friends were a weakness. His father would beat that lesson into him every time he let himself forget.

Heeseung, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-ki each of these boys had been thrust into this world through different circumstances, but they were all bound together by the same chains of fate. Though they were his team, and his father constantly reminded him that they were nothing more, Jay couldn’t help but see them as his true family.

Heeseung, the oldest of the group, had been sold to the mafia when he was just twelve. Jay had grown up with him, relying on Heeseung’s quiet strength more times than he could count. If there was anyone Jay could ever let his guard down around, it was Heeseung. But his father’s voice was always there, a constant reminder: He’s just an underling

Jake and Sunghoon, both born in 2002 like Jay, were his closest in age and in spirit. They often tried to lighten the darkness of their lives with jokes and banter, though the humor was tinged with the harsh reality of their world. Jake, trafficked from Australia at fifteen, had arrived barely able to speak Korean. His struggles to adapt had been a source of endless ribbing among the boys, but there was a camaraderie in their teasing. Sunghoon’s story was even more tragic his father, a loving man who had dared to cross Jay’s father, was executed, leaving Sunghoon to join the mafia at fifteen. Despite this, Sunghoon never blamed Jay, knowing that they were both victims of the same cruel hand.

Sunoo, born in 2003, was Jay’s half-brother, the product of one of his father’s countless affairs. Unlike Jay, Sunoo had been spared the full brutality of their father’s world due to his frail health. Seen as too weak to be a warrior, Sunoo had been relegated to less combative roles within the mafia. But under Jay’s watchful eye, the younger boy had grown stronger, even if he would never match his older brother in the field.

Ni-ki, the youngest, was a prodigy a fourteen-year-old who had been born into the Japanese Yakuza. Brought to Korea by Jay’s father for his potential, Ni-ki’s innocent appearance belied the deadly skills he possessed. Jay had taken to the boy immediately, seeing in him a reflection of the child he once was, and perhaps, the child he could never be again. Ni-ki was adored by all the members, but especially by Jay, who felt a fierce protectiveness over the boy.

Despite the bond they shared, Jay knew that in their world, loyalty was often a thin veneer over deeper currents of fear and necessity. Yet, he couldn’t help but dream of a day when he would take over the mafia, overthrow his father, and eliminate every last threat to his family. And when that day came, Jay's father would be first on the list.

In stark contrast to Jay's dark world was Yang Jungwon a boy who, until recently, had lived a life filled with warmth, love, and the simple joys of being a teenager. Born in 2004, Jungwon’s days were spent attending school, practicing taekwondo, and dealing with the typical annoyances of an older sister who loved to nag. His family was the epitome of happiness, a bright spot in a world that could often be so dark.

But all that changed in a single, horrifying moment.

Jungwon had stayed late at school one day, having gone to watch a soccer match at a nearby school. As he walked home, his mind was preoccupied with coming up with excuses for his tardiness. He imagined his mother’s playful scolding, his father’s knowing smile, and his sister’s inevitable teasing. But as he approached his home, a sense of unease began to creep over him. The lights were off, and the usual sounds of life his mother’s voice on the phone, his sister’s giggles, the TV blaring in the background were absent.

Panic set in as he stepped inside. His heart dropped, and his bags fell from his hands as he took in the scene before him. His sister’s lifeless body lay crumpled near the couch, his father’s in the living room, and his mother’s in the kitchen. The silence was deafening, a void where his world had once been.

Jungwon’s screams echoed through the house as he rushed to each of them, shaking their bodies, pleading with them to wake up. Tears streamed down his face as he cried out apologies for every minor transgression, every little thing he wished he could take back.

“Please… I’m sorry! I’ll do my homework on time, I promise, Dad. I’m sorry, Mom, I’ll eat all the veggies, I swear. Noona, I won’t pull your hair or tease you anymore… Just please, please wake up…”

But there was no answer, no comforting voice to tell him it was all just a bad dream. His family was gone, and with them, the light in Jungwon’s life was snuffed out.

Fate is a cruel master, and in the underworld, paths that should never cross often do. Jay, the boy raised in shadows, and Jungwon, the boy whose light was stolen from him, are destined to collide. As Jay inches closer to his goal of taking over the mafia, eliminating every enemy and threat, Jungwon is drawn deeper into a world of darkness, seeking answers and vengeance for the slaughter of his family.

Their meeting will be inevitable, a clash of innocence lost and ruthlessness born. And in that meeting, both will be forced to confront the demons of their pasts one seeking to destroy, the other to survive. But in a world where nothing is black and white, and every action has a consequence, who will emerge victorious? And at what cost?

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a small preview of my next book ~
I wrote a preview like a week ago for both my jaywon and haobin book but decided to do this one first. I'll be getting busy with uni soon so I'll try to complete the whole book first then post all of them at once.