Shan Wolf walked straight into the Harlon Nightclub Hotel, moving with the practiced ease of someone who had survived childhood as a mercenary. His steps were silent, controlled, and his senses stayed razor sharp.
Every guard, every blind spot, every camera angle registered in his mind. Slipping past security felt almost natural, as though the building itself could not see him.
He made his way down the corridor toward the VIP section. The closer he got, the more the bass from the nightclub above seemed to vibrate through the walls, yet everything around him felt colder, darker.
When he reached the same room as before, he pushed the door open with a hard slam.
Inside, the two thugs hovered over Kim Yeon, their hands greedy and ready. Her small frame lay limp on the bed, her face flushed with alcohol and fear. The sight stabbed through him like a blade.
Gin Chu Won's voice echoed in the room, dripping with the same mocking tone he used earlier, but he never finished his sentence.
Shan moved before the man even realized danger was in front of him. With a swift, brutal motion, Shan grabbed Gin Chu Won by the jaw and neck, twisting sharply. A sickening crack filled the room. Gin's body collapsed without a sound.
The remaining thugs turned in shock, but Shan was already on them. His movements were silent and precise, honed through a lifetime of violence.
One was taken down with a sharp elbow to the throat, cutting off his scream.
The other fell after Shan locked an arm around his neck and squeezed until his body went limp. None of them had time to react, let alone call for help.
When the room finally fell quiet, Shan exhaled slowly. He stepped toward Kim Yeon and knelt down beside her.
Her breathing was shallow, uneven, and her eyes were unfocused. He placed two fingers on her wrist and checked her pulse. She was intoxicated, shaken, but alive.
He muttered under his breath, his voice low and weary. "It was a hassle to find you, kid."
Gently, he scooped her into his arms. She instinctively curled slightly against him, her head leaning into his chest.
Shan lifted her with a firmness that felt protective rather than gentle, then carried her out the back door where security was thinner.
The cool night air brushed against his face as he stepped outside. The noise of the nightclub faded behind him, replaced by distant traffic and the hum of city life.
He walked across the small service lot, holding Kim Yeon tightly to make sure she did not slip or fall.
A car pulled up abruptly. Ingrid Mikage jumped out, her heels clicking against the pavement as she rushed forward.
Her expression was frantic, her breathing almost broken. The moment she recognized her daughter in Shan's arms, her voice cracked.
"What happened to my daughter?" Her hands trembled as she reached toward Kim Yeon but hesitated, too terrified to touch her.
Shan's face remained expressionless, giving nothing away. Only his eyes held a faint glimmer of exhaustion. "Get in the car and I will fill you in."
Ingrid swallowed hard and quickly climbed inside, her heart pounding. Shan settled Kim Yeon in the back seat, making sure her head was supported, then joined them.
As the car pulled away from the nightclub, Shan spoke. His tone remained steady, controlled, just as it had been in his past life. He explained everything.
Gin Chu Won, the fake audition, the trap, the attempted rape. He told her he had originally gone there for Sae Jin Mei and did not know Kim Yeon had been taken to the same place.
Every detail he gave was carefully chosen, every word calculated. He made sure his lie held perfectly.
He could not reveal the truth that he had died once, nor that this time he came back to save a daughter who, in another life, had never survived.
Ingrid listened in stunned silence, gripping her hands tightly until her knuckles turned white.
She kept glancing at her daughter, tears streaming freely, her chest rising and falling with uneven breaths.
Shan stayed silent afterward, staring out the window, knowing he had done what he came to do.
And this time, she was safe.
At the Seoul Hospital, doctors rushed Kim Yeon into the emergency ward. Nurses moved around her quickly, checking vitals, administering fluids, and preparing antidotes.
Ingrid stood outside the glass doors, pacing back and forth with restless steps. Her hands shook each time she stopped to look inside.
Shan Wolf leaned back against the wall, his head slightly lowered. The exhaustion caught up to him the moment he knew she was safe. His eyes felt heavy, his body sluggish from the night's violence and stress.
After several tense minutes, the doctors finally stepped out. Ingrid rushed toward them, her breath trembling.
"Is she alright? Please tell me my daughter is alright."
The doctor offered a reassuring nod. "Your daughter was heavily intoxicated and a mild drug was detected in her system. Fortunately, it was administered early and we managed to neutralize it quickly. She is out of danger."
Ingrid's knees weakened in relief. She pressed a hand to her chest, exhaling shakily as tears filled her eyes. "Thank you… thank you so much."
As Ingrid finalized the bill and completed the medical forms, Shan quietly followed Kim Yeon to the patient ward.
He moved without a sound, the steady rhythm of his footsteps oddly calming in the quiet corridor.
Inside the room, Kim Yeon slept peacefully on the hospital bed, her face soft and calm. Shan sat in the chair beside her, his arms folded and his eyes closed, resting though not entirely asleep.
"They must have been tired," Ingrid whispered to herself as she stepped inside an hour later.
She took the seat next to him. Tilting her head, she observed his expression. Even in sleep, his face looked serious—almost stern. "You sleep with a face like that? So weird," she muttered with a faint, tired smile.
Her gaze drifted from Shan to her daughter. Seeing Kim Yeon resting safely brought both relief and ache into her chest.
She lowered her eyes and unconsciously clutched her black skirt, gripping the fabric tightly.
"You wanted to know why I live like this, right?" she whispered, even though she believed Shan was asleep. "Why I worked so hard to climb up the ladder."
The quiet room seemed to encourage her to speak.
"I had Kim Yeon when I was young. I was in college. I was twenty…"
Her mind drifted back into memories she rarely touched. The lectures she skipped, the hands she held, the promises she believed.
"I trusted every word he said. I was so stupid."
She remembered her first lover saying he would always be there for her, that he would take care of her and the baby. But months later…
"And of course, he left me," Ingrid said softly, wiping her tears. "Left me alone with a child on the way."
Her voice grew smaller.
"My parents disowned me when they found out. They said I ruined the family name. They kicked me out. I had nowhere to go."
She paused, swallowing thickly as memory tightened her throat.
"But when I finally gave birth in that government hospital… and I saw her tiny face… her eyes… it felt like looking at myself in the mirror."
That moment, fragile and painful, became the foundation of everything she became.
"So I decided to raise her. To make sure she never had to suffer like I did."
Her hands trembled slightly when she continued.
"I even tried an arranged marriage to give her a sense of family. But it didn't last more than a few months. Love wasn't there, and without love… nothing stayed."
When money became too tight, she accepted jobs she swore she never would.
"I became a brothel girl for a while. And sometimes… a human plate for the rich, lying there with food placed on me like an object." Her voice cracked.
"But protecting my daughter was more important than my pride. I thought I was doing the right thing."
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she closed her eyes, her breath warm and shaky.
"How did things come to this…? Why did she have to suffer tonight…?"
The weight of her years pressed on her shoulders. Unable to hold herself up anymore, Ingrid leaned toward Shan. She pressed her forehead to his chest and clutched the fabric of his office shirt tightly.
"If you weren't there today… if something terrible happened to her…" Her voice broke. "I don't know if I could keep on living."
Her body trembled as she cried softly into him.
"You're telling me to all of this… so I guess we're pretty close now."
Her eyes slowly opened, only to see his eyes staring back at her.
"You… you weren't sleeping?" she whispered in surprise.
Shan reached out gently, his touch unexpectedly soft. He brushed her cheek and tucked a strand of her mid-dark brown hair behind her ear. She froze, her breath caught in her throat.
"There is a poem," he said quietly. "Written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson."
His voice lowered as he recited, each line steady and rhythmic.
"Rode the six hundred,
Not to reason why,
But to do and die.
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wondered.
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not…
Not the six hundred."
Ingrid listened, mesmerized by his calm cadence.
Then he added softly, "But they looked back at their comrades, knowing full well that the six hundred had lit the brigade."
He leaned closer, placing a hand on her arm, grounding her.
"Why don't you try stopping once in a while and look back, Ingrid? You have been running all your life."
His words washed over her like warm waves, steady and grounding.
Ingrid felt her heart tremble under the weight of his gentleness. She settled against his chest again, this time with calm acceptance.
"Shan…" she whispered, her voice almost fragile. "Can we stay like this for a while…?"
Shan did not answer with words. Instead, he simply wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a warm, steady embrace.
Ingrid closed her eyes, hearing his heartbeat—a calm, reassuring rhythm.
For the first time in years, she felt peace and safe.
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Chapter 64 — End.