Jin woke up to a room soaked in silence. His eyes blinked open to the dull grey light spilling through the cracked blinds. The plastered ceiling above him was stained and cracked, matching the tired ache in his body.
He sat up with a slow, deliberate breath, wincing as the movement pulled on his injured side. The bruises still throbbed beneath his skin. He rose, staggered slightly, then made his way to the bathroom.
The cold water splashed across his face like a jolt, his hands gripping the rusted sink edge. He watched his reflection blur and settle in the cracked mirror—a pale, hollow-eyed figure with a matted mess of hair and a healing gash just above the eyebrow. His lips were dry. His eyes, restless.
He patted his face dry and returned to the room, settling into the rickety wooden chair beside the small table. He pulled a pen from his coat and flipped open a notepad. The lines were faded, but they would do.
Jin " I cant let myself be broken . "
With a slow breath, he began to write:
1. First Priority – Heal
Get an X-ray. Make sure the bones alignment are okay.
Get the swelling in my right hand checked and treated.
Let the hole in my head heal completely—no rushing this.
Address psychological damage—no use charging forward half-broken.
He paused, chewing the inside of his cheek.
Healing. As if it was that simple.
He flexed his hand; pain still lingered like a memory refusing to fade. But that was nothing compared to feeling in his chest .
He continued:
2. Psychological First – To Kill or Not to Kill
The pen hovered. His hand trembled slightly. Jin stared at the words for a long time before setting the pen down. He leaned back, the chair creaking under his weight.
"I can't move until I solve this."
"Kill or not to kill."
His breath slowed.
That question—more than anything—froze him. It wasn't just about Zero. It was about what kind of man he was becoming and the path he will walk because one the road is taken he can't turn back , he had to move forward even when thing get's tough.
For weeks now, he'd walked the edge of dark even pulled to other side without his permission.
He had been afraid of dying and choosing. That made him weaker , hesitate and leave him to other mercy which he didn't receive .
And the truth was simple, bitter, and unavoidable.
He would have died but--
He didn't want to die. Not yet.
Not when there were still things he wanted to do. Places he wanted to see. Things he wanted to achieve . Memories he hadn't made. and to honour his mother memories .
It is time to let resolve took root, even if it is rough .
"For the sake of my desire to live… for the boy who clawed his way from depth of loneliness…
Anyone who tries to take my life—"
He exhaled.
"—I won't show them mercy."
He picked up the pen again and wrote slowly beneath the second point:
"Because mercy to them is cruelty to myself "
" I will protect myself . No matter the cost."
His fingers steadied. The next line came easier.
3. Take Down Zero – The Plan
This area is under Zero's control. His web runs deep—I need intel.
I must learn the layout of his operation. Money flow, lieutenants, safehouses.
Do I strike him first? Cut the head, let the body wither? Or break the structure first—bleed him dry, let him make a mistake?
Toji and Zero—both are variables. Dangerous ones.
If what i heard i correct , Toji left Zero's gang. If that's true, maybe I can work with one less variable .
But I have no intel on Zero's strength. That is a blind spot.
Jin tapped the notepad with the end of his pen. His mind whirred, gears clicking into place.
The first part—healing—would take time. Weeks. Maybe months. He couldn't rush it. And that was okay.
The second part—coming to terms with his willingness to kill—was the price of survival. He'd paid part of it already. Now he just needed to carry the weight.
The third—taking down Zero—that would never be solved on paper. That was a war waiting to be fought.
He stood up and walked to the window. People moved with hunched shoulders and empty eyes. The streets below breathed with quiet menace.
His fingers ran along the gauze taped around his hand.
"Let's start small," he murmured to himself. "Get the X-ray. Fix the hand. Just one step today."
The rest could wait.
He took one final look at the list before folding the notepad and tucking it into his coat pocket.