moments later
POV: Lee Yohan
Yohan stood still, arms at his sides, but his presence radiated like a loaded gun.
The omega on the other side of the fence was thin, twitchy. Eyes darting. The family resemblance was faint but there—same nose, same high cheekbones—but dulled by fear and poor decisions.
Yohan didn't raise his voice.
Yohan's gaze remained locked on the man who had brought hell to In-su's door.
"You're the one who dragged your brother into this mess."
"I didn't mean to—"
"You never do," Yohan cut in. "You owe money. You stole from the wrong people. And now they're sniffing around my doorstep because of you."
Min Jae swallowed. "But you can protect us—"
Yohan smiled, and it was terrifying.
"I am protection. But I'm not charity."
He stepped closer to the fence, voice low and venomous.
"You don't get to run here like a coward and ask me to clean up your sins. You put In-su in danger. For that alone, I should have you taken somewhere you'll never be found."
Min Jae's face drained of all color.
"Yohan."
The voice—quiet, firm—came from behind.
In-su stepped forward, placing a hand on Yohan's arm. The muscle beneath his fingers was tense, coiled like a panther ready to strike.
"Stop," he said. "Please."
Yohan turned his gaze on him slowly. "In-su—"
"He's my brother," In-su said. "I'm not asking you to forgive him. Or forget. I just..." He swallowed, heart hammering. "I don't want blood spilled in front of my students. Not here."
Yohan's eyes searched his face.
Not angry.
Not yet.
Just dangerous.
"You're still protecting him," he said, low.
"I'm protecting me," In-su replied. "The part of me that remembers when he used to walk me to school. When I thought he'd never lie. I know better now, but I'm not ready to let that part die like this."
The air between them simmered with unsaid things.
Yohan glanced at min jae again, then back at In-su.
"You're too kind for this world," he muttered. "It'll eat you alive."
"Not if I stay beside you," In-su said. "Right?"
Yohan went still.
That was the first time In-su had said it outright—you. As in, them.
Something shifted in Yohan's expression. The fury didn't vanish—but it folded, coiled down into something colder.
More controlled.
Yohan finally spoke to Seo Jin. "Have someone tail him. No contact unless he tries to run."
Seo Jin nodded.
Yohan stepped back from the fence.
"Get off school grounds," he told min Jae . "And if you drag In-su into this again, there won't be a second warning."
Min Jae stumbled away without another word.
⸻
As Yohan and In-su turned to head back inside, Yohan's hand brushed In-su's lower back—gentle, grounding. A silent I'm here.
In-su didn't look back.
But he felt the weight of choices tightening around them.
And knew this wasn't over
———————
At the estate , that evening
POV: Ho In-su
The house was quiet when they got back—too quiet.
Yohan didn't speak. He shed his jacket with sharp, practiced movements, set his gun on the entry table, then poured a glass of whiskey with the same precision he used to kill.
In-su hovered near the living room, arms crossed, still in his school clothes.
He felt... off-kilter. Like the ground had shifted under him.
Yohan stood with his back to him, drink in hand, staring out the window.
"I didn't mean to make it personal," In-su said softly.
"It is personal," Yohan replied. "You're personal."
In-su blinked. "I didn't mean—"
"You shouldn't have to apologize," Yohan interrupted, still facing the glass. "He's your brother. I know that. I knew it the second you told me his name. I just..."
He exhaled slowly, his voice low, rough. "I saw red. You were standing too close to something I couldn't control."
In-su stepped closer, voice firmer now. "But you did control it."
Yohan turned then—just enough for In-su to see his face. The tightness around his eyes. The simmer still in his chest.
"You think that was control?" he asked. "If you hadn't spoken up, I would've dragged him away right there. That's not control, In-su. That's barely leashed instinct."
In-su's throat tightened. "Then why didn't you?"
Yohan's answer came too fast. Too honest.
"Because you looked at me like I was the monster in the room. And for the first time... I didn't want to be."
Silence.
Thick. Raw.
In-su stepped closer, until they were almost touching.
"I don't think you're a monster," he said. "Not when you held back—for me."
Yohan looked down at him, jaw tense. "It shouldn't take that much effort."
"But it does," In-su said gently. "That's the point."
Yohan's expression cracked then—just a little. Like a dam under pressure.
He sat heavily on the couch, running a hand through his hair. In-su moved without thinking, sitting beside him, leaning in close, thigh brushing thigh.
"I'm sorry he showed up like that," In-su whispered. "I should've told you I suspected he might come back."
"I'm not angry about that."
"I know. You're angry because someone touched your line."
Yohan turned to him, gaze unreadable.
"You're my line now?"
"You drew it," In-su said. "Not me."
A beat passed.
Then Yohan reached out, curling a hand gently around the back of In-su's neck, fingers warm and steady.
"I'm scared of how easy it is to care about you," he murmured. "You undo me without even trying."
In-su didn't flinch. He leaned in.
"Then let me keep undoing you. Slowly. So there's no need for monsters."
____________
At the estate , the next morning
POV: Lee Yohan
Yohan woke before the sun.
He wasn't used to sleeping this well. Not in years. Not since the blood and power and walls he'd built around himself.
But now...
The bed was warm beside him. A soft rustle of breath. In-su lay curled slightly toward him, still asleep, one hand resting on Yohan's side like it belonged there.
Yohan didn't move.
He just watched.
Watched the slow rise and fall of In-su's chest. The way his lashes fluttered against his cheek. The faint frown that lingered even in sleep—his mind, always turning.
There were a hundred things Yohan should've been doing. Checking messages. Calling Seo Jin. Reviewing the security around the school. But none of it felt urgent. Not here. Not with this warmth pressed against him, fragile and terrifyingly real.
After a while, In-su stirred.
He blinked awake, brow furrowing until he recognized where he was—and who he was with.
"...You're staring," he mumbled, voice rough from sleep.
"I paid for the view," Yohan said dryly.
In-su rolled his eyes, but a faint smile curled his lips. "Is this how mafia bosses flirt?"
"I don't flirt," Yohan replied. "I threaten. And sometimes cook."
In-su stretched, sitting up slowly. He was wearing one of Yohan's old black t-shirts, far too big, sleeves falling off one shoulder.
Yohan stared again. Couldn't help it.
"What?" In-su asked, brushing his hair from his face.
Yohan shook his head. "Nothing. Just thinking how strange it is to have peace in this place."
"Strange good or strange bad?"
Yohan considered it. "Strange like... I'm not sure I deserve it."
In-su stood, padding barefoot across the floor toward the kitchen. "Too bad," he called over his shoulder. "You're getting it anyway. You hungry?"
Yohan leaned back against the headboard, watching him move.
"Starving."
In-su opened the fridge and made a thoughtful sound. "You bought strawberries?"
"They looked like something you'd like."
"I do." He glanced back, eyes warm. "You remembered."
Yohan didn't reply, but his chest tightened in that unfamiliar way again. The way it did whenever In-su said something kind, like it was the most natural thing in the world to treat him like a man instead of a monster.
Moments later, In-su returned with two mugs of coffee—black for Yohan, sweet for himself—and a small bowl of strawberries.
They sat side by side on the couch, knees touching.