LONG CHAPTER AHEAD
Even when she was injured, she didn’t so much as flinch. No pain, no expression. Like a doll.
Red blood ran freely down her body, but she acted as if she didn’t even feel it.
That grotesque contrast—between the blood and her blank face—sent a chill down everyone’s spines.
It was why the other members of the organization never dared to mess with her.
Every time they met those black, glass-like eyes, a cold sweat would slide down the back of their necks.
Even now, facing off against a man who looked twice her size, she showed not a hint of hesitation.
It was as if she lacked the fear that humans were supposed to have.
At that moment, a huge man was flung past Haener, crashing into the corner of the lot.
Yoon lowered her leg casually after the spinning kick and looked at Haener.
“You playing around right now?”
The sharpness in her passing voice made every muscle in Haener’s body tense up.
“N-No, ma’am!”
The situation was cleaned up with startling speed.
Yoon calmly scanned the men strewn across the ground before speaking.
Her pale face was spattered again with blood.
“The first guy I shot—he their boss?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Christ, even the bugs are crawling out of the cracks now.”
“…I think it’s because the Young Master’s new legalization project made them believe we’re ignoring our usual revenue zones. That’s probably why they’re swarming in like this.”
Haener cautiously shared his thoughts.
“Just because Lucas is branching into new business doesn’t mean anything’s changed. Expansion is expansion. Maintenance is maintenance. Get your head on straight and keep the underlings in line. You should’ve crushed them from the start—don’t let them step foot in our turf like this.”
Yoon clicked her tongue sharply and spoke with a touch of irritation.
“Yes, ma’am!”
Her voice was like a blade of frost in midwinter, and Haener barked out his reply with renewed fervor.
“Gather the injured and get them out. I’ll let the doc know.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Yoon tore a flyer off a nearby streetlamp and wiped the blood from her hands with it before walking away.
Haener watched the crumpled flyer fall to the ground and held back the urge to tell her she’d missed a spot on her face.
Instead, he turned to the others.
“Let’s move out!”
“Yes, sir!”
* * *
Not long after the phone started ringing, a sly voice answered.
—What’s the occasion, Yoon? You actually called me?
There was a subtle excitement in his voice, as if genuinely surprised by the unexpected call.
“My people are coming. Get your medical staff ready.”
Yoon spoke in a flat, unbothered tone.
—You’re not coming?
“I’m not going. Not to you.”
—With the way you throw yourself into fights, there’s no way you didn’t get hurt. Just come in. I’ll patch you up nice and gentle.
The doctor replied cheerfully.
—Ah, right—you don’t feel pain, huh? But you’ll still bleed. So come in. I’ll stitch you up pretty.
His voice turned mockingly smooth, as if he’d just remembered something amusing. Yoon’s reply came sharp and threatening.
“Say one more word and I’ll rip that mouth of yours open.”
Despite the chilling warning, the doctor chuckled playfully.
—Wow, you’d rip my mouth open without even seeing my face? Impressive.
Why don’t you give it a try, then? I’m curious.
His voice brushed past her ear like a teasing whisper. Yoon scowled instantly, her brow furrowing in irritation.
As if he could see her expression, the doctor burst into laughter.
—Let me ask one thing as your doctor. Any of those injuries from gunshots?
“What if they are?”
—Then that’s perfect. I like it when you bleed all over and end up in my treatment room.
Oh, what a shame. If you were actually on death’s doorstep, you’d have no choice but to crawl in here, huh?
He licked his lips like he’d just missed the deal of a lifetime.
“You sick bastard.”
Yoon muttered the insult, utterly dumbfounded.
—Just come in. Wouldn’t it be better than having me call the Young Master and tell him you’re hurt?
His voice softened like he was trying to soothe a child, but the threat beneath was unmistakable.
“Piss off.”
Yoon snapped back in a vicious tone and hung up without a second thought.
* * *
With the call ending in a harsh click, the doctor smacked his lips, sounding disappointed.
He turned to the nurse who had been organizing medicine bottles.
“Get the medical team ready.”
“Yes, sir.”
She gave a short reply and left the treatment room.
The doctor rolled his eyes for a moment, then suddenly grinned, as if something amusing had just come to mind.
Wearing a sly, twisted smile, he picked up his phone.
Before long, a blunt, cold voice answered.
—What is it?
“Oh dear, Young Master,”
The doctor spoke in a tone dripping with concern—completely at odds with the delight tugging at the corners of his mouth.
* * *
It was dusk—the hour when the sun had dipped below the horizon and every storefront was shutting down for the night.
Roel, closing up shop later than usual, made one final, thorough sweep through the store to check for anything he might have missed. Satisfied, he locked the door with a click.
As he dusted his hands and straightened up, his blue eyes suddenly met a pair of black ones.
Roel froze like he’d turned to stone.
He looked at the woman in front of him, a complicated expression settling on his face.
‘She’s here again.’
She, too, seemed startled by the sudden eye contact and hesitated mid-step.
Roel studied her with a strange look, unable to fathom what was driving her to seek him out like this.
He’d thought they’d never run into each other again.
But this nameless visitor kept showing up—again and again.
Contrary to his expectations, she never entered the store or struck up a conversation.
She only stood outside the window, quietly watching him before vanishing.
At first, he assumed it was a coincidence.
But the number of sightings kept increasing.
Her cryptic behavior had Roel seriously wondering.
‘Is she… coming here for me?’
The more he thought about it, the clearer it became.
Even though she avoided his gaze and walked away the moment their eyes met, there was no denying it.
She was definitely coming to see him.
Roel let out a brief sigh and looked at her.
At first, he’d just been thrown off.
If she had simply stepped inside and spoken, maybe they could’ve had a real conversation.
But instead, she did nothing.
Just stared, then disappeared.
She didn’t disturb his business, didn’t act overbearing—
So he hadn’t said anything. But still… he couldn’t help being constantly aware of her.
Tonight, he resolved to speak to her properly.
Just as he parted his lips to do so, his blue eyes caught something.
‘…Blood?’
It was dark, but not so dark he couldn’t tell.
His gaze naturally dropped to her sleeve.
The fabric was stained—deep red, as though it had forgotten its original color.
Roel’s face gradually lost all color.
“You’re hurt—aren’t you…?”
He stepped forward in a rush.
But the moment he did, she stepped back.
A clear motion of retreat.
Roel froze mid-movement.
He couldn’t bring himself to go any closer, yet couldn’t walk away either.
He just stood there, watching her.
Yoon felt her heart lurch in her chest.
She hadn’t planned to run into him tonight—
She only meant to catch a glimpse from afar.
But here he was, right in front of her.
She couldn’t hide her surprise and stood rooted in place.
She felt his gaze trail down her face… and land on her sleeve.
She glanced down too.
There was some blood.
Not much. The whole shirt wasn’t soaked—just the sleeve had reddened a bit.
She’d figured it wasn’t a big deal.
It was only a graze from a bullet.
Because of where it hit, it bled more than it should’ve, but that was all.
She was used to this kind of thing.
So used to it, she hadn’t once considered how someone else—
a normal person—might react.
In her world, this kind of wound barely even registered.
Especially if it was her.
Even Lucas, the only person in the organization who ever worried about her, had never turned that pale.
So she hadn’t expected a face like this—
He looked like he was the one who got hurt.
So pale it seemed like he might faint at any moment.
Before anything else could happen, Yoon turned sharply and disappeared at a quick pace.
She vanished so fast, Roel didn’t even have a chance to stop her.
He lowered his head with a sigh.
That’s when he noticed a drop of blood on the ground.
His long lashes trembled faintly.
‘What is she doing to herself…?’
A strange heaviness settled in his chest.
Roel rubbed his face with both hands, sighing deeply.
His blue eyes, now filled with worry, remained fixed on the direction she had gone.
* * *
“You did well.”
At Lucas’s words, Turner stood with the nearly completed documents in hand, sorting them as he spoke.
“Now that this new venture is nearly wrapped up, and our existing operations are running smoothly too… if this legalization project actually succeeds, we’re looking at some serious profit.”
Lucas gave a silent nod.
Even just considering the income from the legalization side—excluding their existing empire—the profit was substantial.
It wasn’t on the level of the older, well-established ventures built over generations, but it was enough to justify a few sleepless nights.
“I’ve seen the strike team guys moving around lately. It’s no joke out there. Yoon must be working herself to death.”
Turner gave a tired sigh, remembering the complaints and groaning from the strike team every time they returned from a mission.
“She’s seriously something, that one. She even got stuck with managing the old sites besides 5th Avenue, and yet… she’s handling all of it without falling apart.”
He clicked his tongue, genuinely impressed.
“……”
Turner wasn’t wrong. As strike team leader, Yoon had been handling the noise coming from the older operations personally. Sure, she had a whole team working under her, but she bore full responsibility at the top.
It was part of a generational shift.
The previous strike leaders and tacticians who’d worked with Canux had stepped back quietly, watching from the sidelines to see how the younger ones would run things.
There was an unspoken rule—they wouldn’t intervene unless absolutely necessary.
Yoon had sensed the crushing weight of everything about to land on her shoulders and tried to vanish beforehand.
But before she could escape, Canux had caught her by the collar.
‘Hahaha! And where do you think you’re going, brat? You still owe me your life.’
Grinning broadly, Canux had clapped her on the shoulder and said in a tone that was far too gentle,
‘Didn’t you say it yourself? That using your head’s not your job? Then just use your body.’
Yoon had thrown a fit, yelling that she wanted nothing to do with it.
But Canux just smiled and tossed her a list of business locations.
‘That’s the price for buying that 1.5 billion won painting for 3.5 billion, you brat.’
The shouting that followed about what a grudge-holding old man he was had gone ignored.
And just like that, Yoon had ended up stuck with the very position she’d tried to avoid—forced to manage major operations excluding 5th Avenue herself.
Lucas tossed his pen onto the desk and leaned back.
His chair creaked under the weight as it tilted to its limit, but he paid it no mind.
Everything was going smoothly.
If there was one issue…
It was that he hadn’t had time to see Yoon’s face.
He glanced at the calendar and did a rough calculation.
It had already been three weeks.
Sure, she’d given him updates through phone calls and texts, but that didn’t ease the worry in the slightest.
He was about to consider calling her when his phone rang.
He checked the caller ID and raised an eyebrow slightly.
“What is it?”
—What should I do, Young Master?
The doctor’s voice came through, dripping with mock concern.
—Yoon’s hurt. She was bleeding like crazy, sent the strike team over, and then just disappeared. Almost collapsed from blood loss last time, and now this again…
* * *
Before the doctor could even finish his sentence, the call abruptly ended with a click.
He raised an eyebrow and smiled, clearly pleased.
Just as he expected—Young Master’s reaction had been immediate.
Glancing down at the documents in his hand, he let out a soft hum and slid them neatly into a drawer, lips still curled in amusement.
“When will he get here, I wonder?”
Just imagining the look of utter disgust that would be on Lucas’s face already brought him joy.
Ah, how refreshing.
Without bothering to hide the grin spreading across his face, the doctor pulled on his gloves.
* * *
Yoon quickly got into the car and took a moment to catch her breath. She peeled off her outer layer and checked her arm. Her right sleeve was soaked in blood.
For just a graze, the bleeding hadn’t been insignificant.
Clicking her tongue, she reached for a handkerchief—she wasn’t sure how long it had been sitting there—and tightly wrapped it around her shoulder.
Just as she started the engine to drive off, her phone rang.
“Hello—”
—Where are you? Why weren’t you answering?!
The voice on the other end was filled with urgency and worry.
Startled, Yoon glanced at the call log. She clicked her tongue again—there had already been several missed calls.
“I was in the middle of something. I didn’t see.”
—Haa… I heard you were hurt. How bad is it?
Of course. That damn doctor ran his mouth again—he was always quick in the worst ways.
Yoon immediately understood the reason for the panic in Lucas’s voice.
“It just grazed me.”
—Grazed? By what? A knife?
And now came the real dilemma. What would happen if she said gunshot?
Judging from his current tone, things were already heated.
“……”
Yoon stayed silent, knowing all too well how Lucas reacted when it came to her injuries.
Even now, her ears were already ringing from the scolding she could hear brewing in his voice.
—Why aren’t you answering?
His tone was sharp, like a blade barely sheathed.
Yoon sighed in resignation.
“…A gun.”
—You—!
The second the word left her mouth, his voice exploded with fury.
She didn’t need to hear the rest to know what was coming, so she kept her mouth shut.
—Where are you. No—doesn’t matter. Just get to the doctor, now.
“I can treat this myself.”
—Is this your first time being shot? Quit it and just go.
Even through the call, she could feel his anger.
When she didn’t respond right away, he spoke again, voice hard and commanding.
—That’s an order. Go, now.
Yoon froze for a moment.
It wasn’t like him to pull rank like this.
She opened her mouth again, her voice a bit more careful.
“It’s not even embedded. Just a graze. I don’t need to go all the way to the doc.”
—I said go. I’ll check it myself if I have to.
His determination to make sure she got treated was unwavering.
When she still didn’t say anything, his voice turned cold, almost threatening.
—Want me to come get you?
The kind of voice that sounded like he might drag her there by the collar himself.
Yoon finally raised both hands in surrender.
“Alright, I’ll go.”
She sighed and was just about to hang up when he spoke again, quieter this time—voice heavy and low.
—Please. At least pretend to care about yourself. If not for you, then for the sake of the person who worries about you.
The call ended right after that.
Yoon sat in silence, staring at her phone.
Lucas was angry.
* * *
As soon as Yoon arrived, Lucas wasted no time stripping off her outer layer.
His expression was far harder than usual—so much so that Yoon fell quiet without even realizing it.
Her entire right arm was soaked in blood.
The handkerchief she’d tied to stop the bleeding had already been saturated and was no longer effective.
Lucas’s cold eyes locked on her.
She had driven like this.
That’s what his gaze said, wordlessly, and Yoon averted her eyes like she didn’t notice.
His eyes darkened.
When he ended the call, he’d expected her to show up within a few minutes.
Instead, it had been over an hour.
He opened his mouth, ready to ask where the hell she’d been in that state—but something flickered through his mind, stopping him.
Suppressing the emotion rising in his chest, he kept it in check.
Without a word, he unwrapped the bloody handkerchief from her arm and replaced it with his own.
The bleeding was worse than he expected.
Lucas pulled out his phone and called the doctor.
“Prep for stitches.”
Yoon’s brow twitched.
She didn’t like where this was going—being dragged to that damned doctor.
“I’m not going to—”
Just as she started to argue with a scowl, she saw the look on Lucas’s face.
His expression was stone-cold.
Lips pressed tight—pained.
Not a new expression, exactly.
He always looked like this when she was injured.
Only ever when she was injured.
And only ever for her.
Yoon shut her mouth.
It had been a while since she’d started finding a strange sort of satisfaction in that face—
The way his expression would contort only for her.
She’d grown to enjoy it. Sometimes, even welcome it.
And now—
She should’ve felt the same.
She should have.
But today…
The air, his face—nothing about it felt satisfying.
Nothing about it felt good.
She stared at him in silence.
Her chest felt strange.
Tight and dull and heavy.
“Anywhere else?”
His voice broke the silence.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
Yoon looked at him for a moment, then slowly answered.
“…No.”
What was this feeling?
“And injuries before today?”
“Nothing then, either.”
It was unfamiliar.
This emotion twisting in her chest—unidentifiable, strange.
Yoon looked at him again, her expression subtly shifting.
Nothing about him had changed—
His furrowed brow, his low voice, the faint scent she always noticed when he exhaled near her… all the same.
But somehow, he felt like a stranger.
‘Is it because… I haven’t seen him angry in so long?’
Without thinking, Yoon clenched and relaxed her hand.
At that moment, Lucas bent forward, bringing his eyes level with hers.
Under the light, his reddish-brown eyes shone with a glassy crimson hue.
He examined her face intently, trying to see if she was telling the truth.
The closeness of his shadow over her face made Yoon instinctively look away.
“It’s true,” she said, finally.
Only after hearing her answer a few times did Lucas lean back again.
Yoon let out a short breath.
“Get up,” he said.
Just as Yoon was still caught in the confusion of everything, she suddenly found herself lifted.
She gasped in surprise, pressing a hand to his shoulder.
He held her tightly with one arm and stepped out of the room without hesitation—
The way a father might carry a small child.
“What the hell—”
Despite her struggles, Lucas said nothing and kept walking.
The members passing by in the hallway stopped in their tracks, staring in awkward confusion at the scene.
They had no idea where to look, glancing every which way.
“What are you doing? Put me down. I can walk.”
Yoon snapped, her voice sharp.
Lucas’s steps stopped abruptly.
Just as she felt a flicker of relief, his cold voice cut through the air.
“Don’t.”
The weight of his stare made her chest tighten.
“If you don’t want to make me even angrier.”
His voice was colder than ice.
The fury in him seeped into every word.
Yoon opened her mouth, but no words came.
It felt like she couldn’t breathe—even though she was.
She’d never felt his words and actions strike her so directly before.
In the end, she rested her head against his shoulder and let all the tension drain from her body.
‘What the hell is happening…’
* * *
“Wow, now this is… an unexpected entrance.”
The doctor grinned, eyes gleaming as he took in the sight of the two of them.
Lucas ignored him completely and gently set Yoon down.
There was a strange tension between the two—an unspoken atmosphere that made the doctor’s lips curl upward with interest.
Clap!
“All right! You gonna undress yourself, or should I help?”
The doctor clapped his hands, flashing a playful smile as if to break the mood.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that? I’m asking purely for medical purposes.”
His tone was light, but his eyes gleamed with a sharpness that made it clear he’d strip her down himself if allowed.
“Hand me the scissors.”
Yoon shut it down immediately, her voice curt and dry.
The doctor’s cheek twitched at the unexpected reply, but he handed over the scissors without complaint.
Snip, snip.
The sound of scissors cutting fabric filled the room as Yoon sliced through her sleeve.
The doctor licked his lips with visible regret.
“Would’ve been easier if you just undressed…”
“You think I trust you enough to do that?”
“We’ve been through this before, haven’t we? Nothing I haven’t seen.”
He shrugged casually.
Lucas’s cold stare bored into him, but the doctor only responded with another grin.
He adjusted his glasses with elegant fingers and leaned in to inspect Yoon’s wound.
“Let’s see… no need for anesthesia, obviously…”
He trailed off with a hum, nose twitching as he picked up the needle.
“We’ll start with the sutures.”
Humming a tune, he calmly began stitching the wound.
Yoon, growing irritated with the slow pace, snapped at him.
“Are you a damn slug? What’s taking so long?”
“I’m making sure it heals without scarring. I’d think you’d appreciate that, Yoon.”
“Cut the crap. You think I don’t know you’re dragging it out on purpose?”
Her voice was sharp as ice.
Honestly, she could’ve stitched it herself faster.
“You’re always so harsh. Though… I do like that about you.”
With a smug grin, the doctor finally finished the sutures—far quicker now—and grabbed a syringe.
After expertly flicking out the air bubbles, he smiled wide.
“Time for a shot, Miss Patient. Just a tiny pinch.”
“What the he—”
Before she could finish, he jabbed the needle in.
The doctor’s smile deepened as Yoon’s eyelids fluttered, her vision beginning to blur.
As her consciousness started to slip, she cursed under her breath.
“You bastard… what the hell did you…”
Yoon’s vision blinked out in an instant. As she collapsed forward, the doctor caught her smoothly and laid her down, a satisfied smile curling on his lips.
“You’ll wake up and everything will be over.”
At that moment, Lucas grabbed the doctor by the collar. His burning reddish-brown eyes were locked onto him with a glare.
“What did you inject her with?”
Lucas’s voice came out like he was chewing on every word.
“Well now, looks like I gave our Young Master quite the scare.”
The doctor spoke with unsettling composure.
“You really think I’d do something to Yoon?”
A wide grin tugged at the doctor’s lips.
“Sleeping meds. She looked like she hadn’t slept at all, judging by her face. I mean, I gave her twice the regular dose, sure—but it was still just a sedative.”
As Lucas’s eyes roamed over him, scanning every inch with a heavy, searching glare, the doctor shrugged.
“Would you like one too, Young Master? You look tired. I can knock you out with a shot if you’d like.”
Lucas let go of his collar with a rough shove.
The doctor dusted off his wrinkled coat with a grin.
“I put her under to check for any injuries beyond the shoulder. She’d never let me examine her otherwise.”
As much as he hated to admit it, Lucas knew the doctor had a point.
Yoon hated going to him, and not just because of the doctor himself—though that was definitely a major factor.
Yoon treated injuries as an inconvenience.
She felt no pain, which meant she never saw a reason to treat her wounds.
Even if she were dying, it probably wouldn’t have made a difference to her.
She never took care of herself.
People who couldn’t feel pain needed constant attention from someone else.
That was why Lucas regularly checked her condition himself—to make sure nothing slipped through.
💜 Thank You for Your Support! 💜
Your support helps me keep wanting to update more! ☕💖
