Chapter 11 : The Fire That Followed
The night air was cold, but Yunjun felt nothing.
Not the bite of the wind against his skin, not the sting in his bruised knuckles from hours of training, not even the voice in his head that had once warned him about becoming like the men he hated.
He had already crossed that line the moment he saw Yeri in that warehouse—bloodied, limp, and barely breathing.
Jack had made his choice.
Now it was Yunjun's turn.
**Two Weeks Earlier.**
He'd sat beside Yeri's hospital bed, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest. Her fingers, once pale and still, now curled slightly as she slept.
Yunjun leaned in and whispered, "I'm going to make sure he never touches you—or anyone—ever again."
She stirred, but didn't wake. Maybe it was better that way.
Because what he was planning?
It wasn't justice.
It was war.
**He started by going quiet.**
No calls. No texts. Even Soojin noticed.
"What are you doing?" she asked one night, cornering him in the hallway of the estate.
He didn't look at her. "What I should've done the moment Jack came back."
"This isn't just about Yeri anymore," she said, her voice softer than usual. "This is about you."
"I know."
"That's what scares me."
But he walked away, and she didn't follow.
**Jack had a new empire now.**
After being exiled from the city's main syndicates, he'd built something dirtier. More violent. He had hands in underground trafficking, back-alley fights, debt collections that left families shattered.
He also had arrogance.
He thought no one could touch him.
Until Yunjun stepped into his club.
The place reeked of smoke, liquor, and cruelty. Neon lights buzzed overhead like wasps.
Yunjun walked in alone—no guards, no warning. Just a black coat and fury coiled in his spine.
Jack was on the balcony, laughing with two women draped over him like props. His smile faded the second he saw him.
"Well, well," Jack said, standing slowly. "Didn't expect to see *you* here. Heard your little doll survived."
Yunjun didn't flinch. "I came to return the favor."
Before Jack could reply, the lights went out.
Screams. Crashes. Chaos.
Yunjun had planned it perfectly. Every exit blocked. Every guard neutralized.
And in the confusion, he moved—silent, focused.
He found Jack in the back hallway, trying to escape through a service door.
"Going somewhere?" Yunjun asked coldly.
Jack turned, drawing a pistol, but Yunjun was faster.
A single shot.
Right to the hand.
Jack dropped the gun, screaming.
Yunjun walked up, calm, steady. "This is for her."
He slammed him into the wall, knuckles cracking as they collided with Jack's jaw.
"Do you know what it's like," Yunjun growled, "to find someone you love half-dead because *you* were too late?"
Punch.
"To hear her cry in her sleep because of what *you* did?"
Punch.
"To hold her hand while she flinches from shadows?"
Jack spat blood, laughing. "Oh, so it's *love* now, huh? That's cute."
Yunjun grabbed him by the collar. "Don't say her name."
"I didn't."
That smirk.
Even now.
Yunjun's hand trembled. Not with hesitation.
With rage.
But something stopped him.
Yeri's face—bruised, battered—but still *her*. Still kind. Still warm. Still capable of mercy.
"I should kill you," Yunjun whispered. "Right here. Right now."
Jack sneered. "Then do it."
Yunjun stared at him. For a long, long time.
Then he stepped back.
"No."
Jack blinked. "What?"
"I'm not letting you off that easy."
**The takedown was methodical.**
Within days, Jack's bank accounts were frozen. His businesses raided. His partners exposed. His entire network—dismantled.
Yunjun didn't just destroy him.
He made sure Jack *watched* it all happen.
Sitting in a jail cell.
Alone.
Forgotten.
Exactly the way Yeri had felt.
**Back at the estate**, Yeri stood in the garden, sunlight glinting off the leaves. She was stronger now—walking on her own, smiling more often.
But her eyes still carried shadows.
When Yunjun returned, she was waiting.
"I heard what happened," she said quietly, not turning to face him.
"I didn't kill him," he said. "I wanted to. But I didn't."
She looked over her shoulder. "Why not?"
"Because you wouldn't have."
Yeri studied him. "You did it for me?"
He stepped closer. "I did it for both of us."
There was silence. Wind rustled the trees above.
Then she asked, "Do you regret it?"
"No."
She nodded slowly. "Good."
They stood there, side by side.
And for the first time in a long time, there was peace.
**That night**, Yunjun found her on the balcony, watching the stars.
He walked over, holding two cups of tea.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, handing her one.
"Not really," she said. "The stars are loud tonight."
He chuckled. "Loud?"
"They remind me I'm still here."
He sat beside her. "I'm glad you are."
She glanced at him. "So am I."
They sipped in silence.
Then, softly, she said, "You scare me sometimes."
He froze.
"Not because I think you'll hurt me," she clarified. "But because of how far you're willing to go for me."
He looked down. "Would you rather I didn't?"
"No," she said. "But I need you to promise something."
"Anything."
"Promise me that no matter how dark it gets… you won't lose the part of you that loves."
His breath caught in his chest.
Because that was what she saw in him.
Not the monster he feared becoming.
But the boy who stayed. The man who chose love over revenge.
"I promise," he whispered.
She smiled.
And for the first time since that horrible night…
She leaned her head on his shoulder.
**Elsewhere**, Soojin stood by the window, watching them.
She saw the way Yeri leaned into him. The way Yunjun held her like she was his anchor.
And for the first time in a long time, Soojin felt something break in her chest—not jealousy, but something deeper.
*Peace.*
She turned away.
Let them have this.
They had earned it.
**In the quiet**, Yunjun wrapped an arm around Yeri, his voice low.
"You once asked why I brought you here."
She looked up. "I remember."
He met her eyes.
"I didn't know it then," he said. "But it wasn't because you reminded me of someone. Or because I was lonely. It was because something in me knew… I'd never find peace without you."
Her eyes filled.
"You didn't just survive, Yeri," he said. "You saved me."
And under a sky full of stars, still healing, still scarred—
They began again.
Together.
To be continued.....
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