rigor samsa
n. a kind of psychological exoskeleton that can protect you from pain and contain your anxieties, but always ends up cracking under pressure or hollowed out by time—and will keep growing back again and again, until you develop a more sophisticated emotional structure, held up by a strong and flexible spine, built less like a fortress than a cluster of treehouses.

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After the sudden death of his father, Taemin is left in charge of the largest crime organization in the country. Being young and terribly inexperienced, he has close to no idea how to handle his new position. It doesn't help that he doesn't trust Jinki, his father's (and now his) advisor. The pressure is extreme, and all Taemin can do is try his hardest not to break under it.

Key is Taemin's right hand man, and while he tries to assist the new boss as much as he can, he's kept extremely busy by his division of their organization. It's certainly time-consuming being the head of an entire drug operation, and of course, he has to balance other aspects of his life along with his work. There's always challenges, but currently, the hardest thing to balance in his life is a certain someone named Jonghyun.

Very new to gang life, is Minho. He probably picked the worst time possible to join them, considering the power shift and the fact that some major changes might be coming to the organization. But Minho is bright and capable, and determined to make the best out of whatever his new occupation might throw his way. After all, anything is better than going back there. 

Jonghyun has been in the life for nearly five years, and he can't imagine ever doing anything else. His ambition and bravery have gotten him a relatively decent place in the gang's hierarchy, but he's still aiming for a higher spot on the ladder. And he knows just how to get there: with some help from Key, of course. 

Jinki has loyally served Taemin's father as his advisor for the past ten years. Personally, he thinks he deserved to inherit the boss position instead of Taemin. But of course his former boss's favorite little brat just had to ruin things for him. He's infinitely more capable of leading the organization than Taemin, and he'll be damned if he doesn't get the power he deserves. He killed the old boss to get what he wanted, and he'll do the same to this new one. He just needs the right opportunity...

This is a fic that rotates between five POVs, with each chapter being the perspective of a different character. Through the perspectives of five very different people, the events that occurred after the death of the most prominent crime boss in the nation will be shown.