Chapter 137
‘1 hour ago.’
“Are you planning to leave me behind and go alone?”
It was just as I was looking at the warehouse from a distance, where Ivy’s location had been marked. Yugeom, who had followed me, blocked my path.
“I can’t let you go alone.”
He must have sensed that I was thinking of going there alone.
“You said you would go if I told you.”
Yugeom barely managed to suppress a frustrated expression.
“You promised you wouldn’t let go of my hand. I’ve already told you everything, so now you’re going to break your promise?”
His words, almost pleading, made me bite the inside of my lip before I replied.
“You know too.”
I, too, was afraid to face Doshiyu, and if possible, I wanted to avoid him. I still couldn’t believe that it was Doshiyu who had shot me.
Even now, I knew this wasn’t the time to be swayed by emotions, yet my mind and heart always moved separately.
“If Doshiyu is really in there…”
But, more than that fear, saving Ivy was more important.
I was the one who reached out to the child first. If it hadn’t been for me, Ivy might not have had to face Doshiyu. She might not have gotten involved in such a thing.
That’s why I had to save her. If I lost Ivy now, I would never be able to forget it for the rest of my life.
“If Doshiyu uses Ivy’s life as a hostage, there’s almost nothing we can do.”
Doshiyu would surely try to kill Ivy.
Right now, it seemed unlikely that the child could clear her father’s name and reveal Doshiyu’s crimes, but Doshiyu wouldn’t leave any loose ends regarding the organization.
“If we let them lead us around, we’ll lose everything.”
If Doshiyu takes Ivy as a hostage, we wouldn’t be able to refuse whatever he demands.
But I couldn’t carelessly call other members of Baekcheon to confront Doshiyu, one of its leaders.
Going into that place together would just play into Doshiyu’s hands.
“We have to strike first, before they harm us.”
I stared at a four-story building quite far from the warehouse.
If I went up to the rooftop, I thought I might be able to see inside the warehouse through the window on its wall.
If only I could turn on the lights.
“You’re the only one who can do that.”
There was only one way to save Ivy.
“You can hit the target even from this distance.”
Before Doshiyu uses Ivy’s life as leverage, I had to kill Doshiyu.
“I’ll do what I can do.”
We couldn’t both be there.
One of us had to shoot Doshiyu, and the other had to enter the warehouse, check the situation, and turn on the lights.
“You’ll do what you have to do.”
I knew asking Yugeom for this was selfish.
But it felt as if this was how the story had been written from the start, and I couldn’t think of any other way.
“The moment Doshiyu lays a hand on Ivy…”
I said softly, making eye contact with Yugeom.
The faint moonlight in the dark amusement park illuminated Yugeom’s eyes. His thin hair swayed listlessly in the wind.
“Pull the trigger.”
His drowsy eyes, filled with moonlight, grew heavier.
The sound of the wind, sharp like a blade, kept ringing in my ears.
“Gyeom-ah.”
“…”
“Kill Doshiyu.”
My heart pounded strangely, as if I had spoken forbidden words.
I clenched my trembling fist. My nails dug painfully into my palm.
I tried not to imagine anything—how late the situation already was, or how Doshiyu would die before me.
“I understand.”
To my surprise, his acceptance came easily, and I looked up at Yugeom with wide eyes.
“But…”
His voice grew quieter, almost a whisper, and a chill ran down my spine.
“If I do what you want, what will you give me in return?”
The smile that lingered on his face out of habit was faint.
His eyes, the same color as his hair, looked down at me from just a few steps away.
“What… would I give you?”
I stammered, unable to find the right words, and my speech faltered.
Yugeom, sensing my unease, tilted his head. The darkness seemed to swallow me.
“Kiss me.”
He whispered, his face no longer smiling.
My mind froze.
“One now. And two when we come back safely.”
His hand, glowing faintly in the moonlight, slowly moved upward. The fingertips that stopped by my hair brushed against it.
“Even if I’m scared, I’ll let go for a moment.”
It took me a beat to understand Yugeom’s words. Even after I understood, nothing changed.
I still stared at him, blinking, eyes wide open.
“Do you not want to?”
His low question, as if he had been waiting for my answer, sent a shiver down my spine. I quickly opened my mouth.
“No, I…”
“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”
Yugeom, who had interrupted my words, slowly removed his hand from my hair, which he had been gently twirling.
It felt like he was moving farther away, though in reality, it was just a trick of my mind.
I realized that this was the moment I had to yield to him.
Though, in the end, this might be another instance of Yugeom giving in to me.
“I, anyway…”
This time, I interrupted Yugeom’s words and moved.
Rising on tiptoe, I stretched my arm to wrap it around his neck. His cold body pressed against mine, and our faces grew closer as his slightly stiff eyes locked with mine.
Yugeom, now silent, looked down at me without moving a finger.
In his gaze, I could feel a whirlwind of emotions.
“There’s no way you’d hate this.”
I pulled him closer by tightening my grip around his neck.
Then, I carefully pressed my lips to his.
The warmth of his body, in contrast to the tight embrace, made me feel as if I too was becoming feverish.
The heat, like a wave, crashed over me, and the more intense, more precise flame-like gaze made me shut my eyes tightly.
I realized that I was never truly in control of the situation, but for some reason, today, my mind was full of thoughts, possibly because of the cold wind blowing.
The problem was, I couldn’t grasp any of those thoughts properly.
Then our lips parted. My heels, which had lost all strength, fell with a sharp sound to the ground.
In that brief moment, I felt as though I were plummeting off a cliff, and I opened my eyes.
Yugeom, still leaning forward, his head bowed, kept his lips close to mine.
It felt like our lips might meet again at any moment, as if my breath would be taken away.
When our eyes met, my mind went completely blank.
In his half-covered gaze, there was a mix of thirst and restraint.
Whether he had no intention of hiding it or simply didn’t care, his gaze was so direct, so raw, that I couldn’t look away.
“…Are you just going to keep moving your lips?”
Yugeom whispered softly. His voice, tinged with a hint of laughter, tickled deep inside my chest.
“The more you do that, the harder it is to resist.”
Each time he whispered, his lips brushed against mine. Every time they barely touched, my heart trembled uncontrollably.
I was completely unable to move, my neck firmly held in his hand.
“I have to do what I did to you.”
Yugeom’s other hand gripped my waist firmly, pulling me closer. It felt more like being trapped than embraced.
His intense gaze landed on my lips, which I had unknowingly been biting.
Yugeom’s hand, which had been supporting my neck, cupped my cheek. During the silent moments as our eyes met, a fiery sensation surged up to my chin.
I didn’t hesitate any longer. I stretched my arms out again and pulled Yugeom’s face toward mine.
Yugeom bent down, moving closer. The deep darkness surrounding us made no difference; I wasn’t afraid.
I had pulled him in first, but it was Yugeom who urgently pressed his lips to mine.
Hot breath flowed between our parted lips, pushing deeper and deeper, exploring every corner of me.
I released a heated sigh, but before it even left my lips, it was swallowed up by his.
My mind went blank. I knew the feeling of relief would be short-lived, but for now, it was enough.
Urgency and roughness took over, and I lost my balance as my back arched more and more.
A firm hand, traveling up my spine, supported my back. My head twisted as our contact deepened.
It felt as though the ground beneath me might crumble any second, but the more anxious and scared I felt, the harder I pulled Yugeom toward me.
My world was within my arms.
“Come back safely.”
Yugeom buried his face in my neck. His heated breath scattered across my warm skin.
“But there’s something you need to know.”
The hand that had been supporting my back fell away. Without hesitation, it reached out and grabbed my hand.
“There’s nothing more important to me than you.”
It was like cold fire, hot ice. There was no other way to describe it.
It was cold, yet it felt like it might burn me at any moment. I might already have been burned, with scars left behind.
“Whether it’s an enemy or an ally.”
A quick breath that I swallowed passed by my ear. The breath that pooled in my neck etched itself onto my rapidly beating heart.
“So as long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”
Yugeom’s voice, low and heavy, echoed from deep inside him as he let go of my hand.
