I didn’t stop. Not until he was in front of me, blocking my path. The tension between us crackled like stormlight. Too loud. Too dangerous.
“I told you not to come near me.”
“I needed to see you,” he said.
“And what? Say sorry again. You think that’ll erase the betrayal?” My voice shook, but I held my ground. “You let them take her.”
“I didn’t know what to do,” he whispered, stepping closer. “They would have killed you—”
“Don’t put this on me!” I snapped. “You didn’t betray the mission for me. You betrayedus. You betrayedher.”
“I regret it every second.”
“Good,” I hissed.
And then… he grabbed my wrist.
The bond mark burned like fire beneath his fingers.
I gasped, trying to pull back—but then I saw it in his eyes. That unbearable yearning. That ache I felt mirrored in myown chest. His thumb brushed the pulse on my wrist, and the bond surged. Heat pulsed between us.
“Don’t,” I said, but my voice trembled.
He didn’t listen.
Jisoo leaned in, mouth brushing mine with desperate reverence.
“I dream about you,” he whispered. “Even when I’m awake. I can’t breathe when you’re not near.”
Then his lips met mine.
It wasn’t gentle.
It was hunger. It was guilt. It was every ounce of torment we’d both been drowning in.
I shoved at his chest.
“Stop—this isn’t the time—”
He dropped to his knees before me.
Fallen.
As if every part of him had shattered.
“I’m not asking for forever,” he said. “Just tell me there’s still something left. That I didn’t lose everything.”
My heart cracked.
And yet… I shook my head.
“Save her first,” I said, voice hoarse. “Bring Seori back. And then—”
I paused, watching him look up at me like I was already salvation.
“Then we’ll see what’s left to save.”
Seori
