Sweat prickled his neck. His heart galloped.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
He shoved the blanket off, stumbled into the bathroom, flicked the switch too hard. The light was brutal, yellow, cheap.
He splashed water on his face. Blinked.
Then stared into the mirror, trying to find the line between skin and dream.
His hands were shaking.
So were his knees.
It took him too long to notice.
And when he did, he didn’t know why.
??????
Chapter 11 – Ashes Don’t Melt Snow
New Year’s Eve dripped opulence from every window of the tallest towers.
In Gangnam, the skyline wore gold sequins. Fireworks bristled in the distant fog, teeth of color gnawing at midnight. Inside the party, laughter rang false against glass. Men in tailored suits exchanged glances like shares, and women shimmered like a second currency. The air reeked of power and well-aged whisky.
Seungho stood apart. Crimson tie, charcoal suit. Perfect as always. Towering. Impeccable.
A glass of scotch rested untouched in his hand. He hadn’t blinked in over a minute.
He had nodded where required. Smiled where it didn’t matter. Endured toasts and chatter and polite inquiries from men who measured loyalty in quarterly returns.
Then she arrived.
Shin Hye-jin, in gold silk that clung like prophecy. Her hair up. Her eyes sharp. Her mouth curved like she already knew how this night would end.
"You’re still the most impossible man in this room," she said, brushing a phantom speck from his shoulder. "This could be our year, Seungho."
He didn’t answer.
The glass left his hand.
His feet were already moving.
??????
Outside, theair bit.
Seoul had turned to bone and breath and refrozen snow. The city crackled beneath his soles. Skyscrapers loomed like frozen gods. Behind him, the party dissolved into glass and echoes.
His driver started toward him. "Sir? Where to?"
Seungho didn’t stop walking.
"I’ll walk."
He didn’t know why his body moved the way it did. The chill scraped his throat. The red in him stirred, howled, burned clean through his chest like something old and clawed, too long buried.
He walked.
