Selen House - That Evening
The apartment smelled like vanilla and old books-her favorite comfort.
Her sanctuary.
Selen burst through the door, practically floating, the bell above the entrance giving a cheerful little chime as her smile lit up the room.
Elira, curled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, lifted a brow.
"Why are you glowing like some Disney princess who just got kissed?"
Selen grinned mischievously.
"Guess what happened today?"
Nyra, sprawled beside Elira with her hair tied up in a messy knot, perked up with a smirk. "Wait-don't tell me. The crush?"
Selen twirled dramatically, letting her bag slip to the floor as she dropped to her knees like a stage performance. "He came to Dad's café. He ordered coffee-from me."
Her cheeks flushed pink.
"Oooohhh!!!" Elira and Nyra shrieked in unison, clapping like witches around a cauldron of gossip.
Selen laughed. "He was wearing this dark coat-mafia CEO vibes-and his voice? Ugh. Coffee wasn't the only thing hot in that café, okay?"
She collapsed onto the rug, kicking her legs like a teenager high on fantasy.
"You're down bad," Nyra teased, cackling. "Did he say your name?"
Selen covered her face with a pillow, voice muffled. "Yes. Twice."
Elira gasped dramatically. "This is it. You're naming your firstborn after him."
"Shut up!" Selen giggled, face still buried.
The room bloomed with laughter and warm light, like the universe was holding its breath for them-for just a moment. Teasing. Dreaming. Planning fake weddings and late-night texts that didn't exist yet.
And for a little while, everything was soft.
Everything was safe.
---
Kim Enterprise - That Night
The black monolith of a building sliced into the sky like a blade. On the outside, it looked impenetrable.
Inside?
The storm was already tearing through.
Taehyung stood in the center of his private office, the glass walls reflecting fractured lines of city light across his face.
He didn't move.
Didn't blink.
A file lay open on his desk-red stamps, classified headers, blacked-out names. But one name was circled in red.
Her name.
"Who gave the order?" he asked, cold and flat, without looking up.
Jimin stood on the other side of the desk, shifting.
"We're still tracking it. It bypassed top-layer security. Might've come from someone internal... someone with old ties."
Taehyung's jaw flexed. "She was supposed to be untouchable."
"You said to keep our distance," Jimin said carefully. "Let her live quietly."
"I said not to mark her," Taehyung snapped. "I never said to let her die."
His fists clenched tight enough that the leather of his gloves creaked like bone under strain.
"Pull the files. Cross-check every ex-operative, every debt still breathing. Someone leaked her location," he ordered. "Find out who."
Jimin nodded once and left in silence, tension thick in the room even after he was gone.
Taehyung exhaled, a whisper barely meant for himself.
"Not again. I won't lose another one."
The storm wasn't loud. But-
it was already here.
---
Thirty Minutes Later
The office was dim now. The city outside blurred behind glass, neon lights bleeding into shadows. His jacket was off. His tie loose. A full tumbler of whiskey sat untouched beside his keyboard.
He hadn't moved.
The desk lamp cast a narrow pool of light over the same file he'd opened a hundred times. Her face stared back at him-soft, unaware. Beautiful.
Page after page.
Her past.
Her father's enemies.
The ones who remembered.
The ones who wanted revenge.
His gaze flicked to the live feed. Her apartment. Her street.
Her.
He didn't deserve to watch her like this. Not with the blood on his hands.
But he couldn't stop.
Because every time she smiled, it felt like a stitch holding him together.
A crackle over the intercom.
"Boss," Eunwoo said. "New intel. Someone placed a bounty. Low-barely enough to pull serious weight."
Taehyung's voice dropped to a murmur. "Desperate is more dangerous."
He took a sip of the whiskey. It burned going down.
But not as much as the ache in his chest.
He'd built an empire out of smoke and ruin.
But the girl behind the screen?
She was the only real thing he couldn't afford to lose.
---
Back at Selen's Apartment
Laughter still hung in the air like incense.
Elira had passed out under a blanket, popcorn bowl abandoned. Nyra was half-dozing, legs tucked under her as she hummed softly to herself.
Selen stood by the window, both hands wrapped around a warm cup of tea pressed to her chest.
The city looked peaceful from here.
Safe.
Her heartbeat was quicker than it should've been.
But she blamed the boy in the café.
The way he said her name.
Soft, Intentional. Like it meant something.
She smiled to herself. Just a little.
Down on the street, a black car rolled past.
Windows tinted. Engine low. Slow enough to notice-
But not stop.
It disappeared into the night like a ghost still deciding whether to haunt.
She brought her fingers to her lips.
"was that really just .... a crush?"