Ajin didn't move.
For the first time tonight, she looked shaken.
Not by Jao.
Not by the bruises forming on her ribs.
Not by the metal pipe that had nearly crushed her skull.
But by him.
By Jun-seo standing there with that stubborn fire in his eyes -
the same fire he used to look at her with when he said he'd ruin anyone who hurt her.
The same fire he had before she walked out of his life without leaving even a shadow behind.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"...Don't say things like that."
Jun-seo stepped closer, closing the gap that her fear kept trying to create.
"I'm not saying it because you want to hear it."
His jaw clenched.
"I'm saying it because it's the truth."
Ajin looked away sharply, but he caught the tremble in her lashes.
And suddenly-
a rough voice echoed behind them:
"Y... you're both dead."
Jao.
He was pushing himself up on shaking arms, blood running down his cheek, fury twisting his face.
His men groaned awake around him.
Ajin's shoulders stiffened.
Jun-seo moved instantly, placing himself in front of her without hesitation - like his body remembered exactly where it belonged.
Ajin hated that it still made her chest tighten.
"Tch... idiots who run away always come crawling back,"
Jao spat, wiping blood from his mouth.
His glare slid to Ajin.
"You think you can disappear for three years and I'd let it go?"
Ajin didn't blink.
Her expression turned icy.
"I didn't ask you to let anything go."
Jao laughed, short and ugly.
"Still playing tough. You made a fool out of me... used me... lied to me..."
His eyes burned.
"...and you really thought I wouldn't break you for it?"
Ajin stayed silent.
Because the truth tasted bitter.
Yes, she used him.
Yes, she lied.
Yes, she manipulated him.
For survival.
For escape.
For her daughter.
But she would never say that.
Jun-seo, however, felt his blood boil.
"You touch her again-"
Jao cut him off with a sneer.
"Ah. So this is the famous ex-boyfriend. The one she abandoned."
Jun-seo's fists tightened.
Ajin's expression didn't change, but her heartbeat betrayed her - a painful, sharp rhythm she couldn't silence.
Jao took one step closer.
"Don't worry."
He smirked.
"I won't kill her yet."
Jun-seo's voice dropped to something darker, lower, more dangerous than Ajin had heard in years.
"You won't touch her at all."
Even Jao hesitated.
Because that tone...
that tone belonged to someone who could destroy a life without blinking.
Ajin's breath hitched.
The Jun-seo she knew had grown sharper, colder - yet somehow even more frighteningly protective.
Jao snorted.
"Big words. But can you back them u-"
He didn't finish.
Because Jun-seo moved.
Fast.
The next few seconds cracked like lightning:
A punch to Jao's jaw.
A blow to his ribs.
Jao crashing into the metal crates.
His men lunging forward but stumbling when Ajin kicked one straight in the knee, sending him down screaming.
Jun-seo grabbed Ajin's wrist.
"We're leaving."
She yanked her hand back.
"I can handle myself."
He stared at her - wounded in a way that had nothing to do with fists or blood.
"I know you can."
His voice lowered.
"But you don't have to anymore."
Something deep inside her cracked.
For one second -
just one -
she looked at him the way she used to:
Soft.
Hurting.
Wanting.
But she broke the gaze first.
Because wanting him was dangerous.
Because being loved by him was even more dangerous.
"Fine."
Ajin muttered, brushing past him.
"Let's go."
But as they ran toward the exit, dodging the groans of defeated men-
Jun-seo whispered behind her:
"...It really has been too long, Ajin."
And Ajin, without turning her head, answered quietly:
"Yeah."
A breath.
A crack in her voice.
"It really has."
They burst out of the warehouse doors and into the cold night air.
Ajin stumbled the moment her feet hit the pavement, a sharp pain shooting up her leg. She caught herself on the wall, breath trembling through clenched teeth.
Jun-seo immediately reached for her.
She slapped his hand away.
"Don't."
Her voice was too thin, too strained for the word to have any power.
Her knees shook.
Jun-seo's eyes narrowed.
"You're hurt."
Ajin straightened stubbornly.
"I'm always hurt. It's not new."
That sentence hit him like a knife.
He stepped forward anyway, grabbing her wrist-not hard, but firm enough to stop her from walking away again.
"Stop pretending nothing happened."
She met his eyes, defiant.
"Nothing happened."
"Ajin."
His voice was low, trembling with anger he was trying to contain.
"You took on five men alone."
"So?"
"You're bleeding."
She froze.
A warmth trickled down her side, and she finally looked down:
her shirt was ripped, a line of blood pooling beneath the fabric.
Jun-seo's expression changed-
from anger
to fear
to something raw.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Ajin's throat tightened.
Because if she admitted she was weak...
if she admitted she was scared...
then everything she'd built to survive would collapse.
Because weakness in her world meant death.
Because the last time she broke down, she lost everything-including him.
She tried to pull away again.
"I don't need your help."
Jun-seo stepped closer, cornering her gently against the wall-not trapping her, but making her finally look at him.
"But I want to help you."
Ajin's breath caught.
For a moment, everything went silent-
the wind, the distant sirens, the hum of the city.
Just the two of them.
Just the sound of their breathing.
Just the old storm between them waking again.
Ajin swallowed hard.
"Why... why are you doing this?"
Jun-seo stared at her like she was the only person left in the world.
"Because you're injured."
A beat.
"Because you're alone."
Another beat.
"...Because I don't want to lose you twice."
Ajin's hand trembled at her side.
He saw it.
He pretended he didn't.
Jun-seo exhaled, voice dropping even lower.
"Let's get you somewhere safe."
Ajin didn't want to say yes.
Didn't want to depend on him.
Didn't want to be reminded of how much she missed him-
missed the safety, the warmth, the certainty he used to give her without asking for anything back.
But her body betrayed her.
Her legs wobbled.
Jun-seo caught her before she hit the ground, an arm slipping around her waist as if he'd done it yesterday-not years ago.
Ajin's head rested against his shoulder.
She whispered, barely audible:
"...Just for tonight."
Jun-seo nodded, tightening his hold on her.
"Just tonight."
But the look in his eyes said otherwise.
And Ajin felt her walls crack just a little-
the tiniest fracture,
dangerous and familiar.
As he guided her toward his car, she whispered:
"...I didn't want you to see me like this."
He stopped.
Turned.
Met her eyes.
"I never cared about how you looked."
His thumb brushed a streak of blood from her cheek.
"I cared about you."
Ajin closed her eyes.
Because that was the one thing she wasn't ready to face.
Not yet.
Not when everything in her life was falling apart.
Not when Jao wasn't done with her.
Not when she still hadn't told him-
that the daughter he heard on the phone was his.
Here you go, Yuna - direct, seamless continuation.
No time skips.
No softness.
Just raw emotion, tension, and the weight of everything they've been avoiding.
⚡ Continuation & Expansion
Jun-seo helped Ajin into the passenger seat, buckling her in because her fingers were shaking too much to do it herself.
She turned her head away, not wanting him to see the tremor in her jaw.
The moment he closed the door, her vision blurred for a second.
Stupid...
My body always collapses when it knows I'm finally safe...
Jun-seo slid into the driver's seat, started the engine, and stole a glance at her.
She was staring out the window, jaw tight, lips pale.
"Ajin."
She didn't respond.
"Look at me."
She did-slowly-and he saw the truth:
the pain
the exhaustion
the fear she never admitted
and something else beneath it.
Guilt.
A heavy, choking guilt.
His voice softened.
"Talk to me."
Ajin looked away again.
"There's nothing to talk about."
"You're bleeding. You can barely breathe."
"I'm fine."
"You're lying."
Her fingers curled into fists.
"I always lie."
Jun-seo exhaled sharply, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened.
"Don't lie to me."
That sentence-
that tone-
it hit her like a slap.
Because once, long ago, she promised she never would.
But promises were useless in her world.
She shut her eyes.
"Just drive."
Jun-seo did.
But the silence inside the car wasn't calm.
It was electric.
Heavy.
Sharp enough to cut.
Halfway through the ride, Ajin winced and grabbed her side.
The movement was small-barely noticeable.
But he noticed.
He pulled over abruptly.
"Get out."
Ajin stared at him.
"Excuse me?"
"Get out of the car."
His tone was cold, controlled, but his eyes were burning.
Ajin leaned back in the seat, scoffing with weak irritation.
"I'm not in the mood for your-"
He opened her door from the outside.
"Get out."
Her breath hitched.
Not because he was threatening.
Because he wasn't.
He wasn't yelling.
He wasn't angry at her.
He was worried.
And that scared her more than Jao did.
Ajin stepped out reluctantly, the night wind hitting her wounds like needles.
Jun-seo stood in front of her, eyes locked onto her face.
"Tell me why you're living like this."
Ajin looked away.
"Tell me why you ran."
She said nothing.
"Tell me why you're fighting alone."
Still nothing.
"Ajin-"
Her voice finally broke.
"Because I had no one."
Jun-seo froze.
Her breathing turned shaky, her eyes glimmering with something she refused to let fall.
"I had nothing left. No family. No friends. No future."
She swallowed, each word jagged.
"And I didn't want you to become nothing, too."
Jun-seo stepped closer.
Ajin stepped back.
"Stay away."
"Why?"
Her voice cracked.
"Because if you come any closer... I'll break."
For the first time, Jun-seo didn't listen.
He closed the distance, gently cupping the side of her face that wasn't bruised.
His hand was warm.
Too warm.
Too familiar.
Ajin's eyes fluttered shut.
"You don't have to hold everything alone anymore."
Her breath hitched.
"I do."
"Why?"
A long silence.
Then-
barely audible-
like a confession she didn't want him to hear:
"...Because I've already ruined one life."
His hand tightened slightly on her cheek.
"Whose?"
Ajin's lips trembled.
"Yours."
Jun-seo's breath stopped.
Ajin opened her eyes-a slow, painful motion-revealing a storm of guilt, fear, and something deeper.
"I don't deserve forgiveness."
He whispered:
"You don't get to decide that."
Ajin shook her head weakly.
"If you knew everything..."
"Then tell me."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
Her voice collapsed.
"...Because the truth will hurt you more than the lie ever did."
A chill ran through him.
He didn't understand it yet-
But he knew, instinctively,
that the truth she was hiding
was the one thing that could break him.
He took a slow breath.
"Then let it hurt."
Ajin's eyes widened.
He stepped closer, forehead touching hers.
"I'd rather hurt with the truth... than live without you in a lie."
And that-
that was the first moment Ajin's walls truly cracked.
A tear slid down her cheek.
She didn't wipe it.
Jun-seo gently did.
The wind blew softly around them.
It felt like the world had stopped.
It felt like the universe was holding its breath.
And then-
Ajin whispered something so quiet, so fragile, so broken-
"...I wish I could believe you."
But before he could respond-
A car engine revved violently from down the street.
Headlights flared.
And a familiar voice echoed:
"Well, well... looks like the reunion came early."
Jao.
With reinforcements.
And this time-
he wasn't just here for revenge.
He was here for the final strike.

The moment I heard Jao's voice, my stomach dropped.
That sound -
that lazy, venomous drawl -
it dragged me straight back into every nightmare I thought I'd escaped.
Jun-seo turned instinctively, placing himself between me and the oncoming headlights.
Of course he did.
Of course he would.
And that terrified me more than Jao ever could.
I grabbed his sleeve.
"Don't."
He didn't look back.
"Get behind me."
My throat tightened.
He hadn't said those words to me in years.
I hated that they still made something inside me tremble.
The car jerked to a stop.
Three men got out first - unfamiliar, but I knew the type.
Jao followed, wiping dried blood from the corner of his mouth.
He smirked when he saw me.
"Running again, princess?"
I straightened.
Fear?
I could deal with fear.
I'd breathed it, eaten it, lived in it for years.
But letting Jun-seo get caught in this?
Never.
"This isn't your business anymore, Jao."
My voice was steady.
Sharp.
Cold.
"Walk away."
He laughed - a loud, ugly sound that echoed off the empty street.
"I'm done walking away from you."
He pointed at me with a shaking hand.
"You ruined my life."
I exhaled slowly.
"You ruined yours."
His eyes flared.
"You used me!"
"You let yourself be used."
The men behind him shifted, already preparing to move.
I felt Jun-seo tense beside me.
Jao stepped forward.
"After everything I did for you... after all the money, the connections, the protection-"
"Protection?"
I let out a humorless laugh.
"You were the one I needed protection from."
His face twisted.
"Bitch."
He moved first.
Jun-seo reacted faster.
He blocked the blow meant for me, catching Jao's wrist mid-air. The sound of bone grinding echoed through the quiet street.
Jao groaned.
I grabbed Jun-seo's arm.
"Stop. Don't fight them."
His voice was barely controlled.
"They're not touching you again."
My heart twisted painfully.
I didn't want him to do this.
Not for me.
Not anymore.
Because if he got hurt-
if anything happened to him-
I wouldn't survive it.
"Jun-seo, listen-"
He didn't.
He shoved Jao back, placing himself between me and the three men advancing.
I stepped to the side.
He grabbed my wrist.
"AJIN. Stay behind me."
Those old commands...
from the days when he would throw himself into danger just so I wouldn't get bruised-
They made me feel warm and sick at the same time.
Jao wiped blood from his lip.
"Touch him," he spat at his men, "but don't touch her. I want her alive."
Something inside me froze.
Alive.
Not safe.
Not unharmed.
Alive.
That meant one thing:
He knew.
He knew something.
Something I never wanted Jun-seo to hear from anyone else.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Jun-seo noticed instantly.
"Ajin... what's wrong?"
I shook my head.
No.
Not here.
Not like this.
I forced my voice steady.
"Jun-seo. Run."
He actually laughed - a soft, disbelieving sound.
"You think I'm leaving you here?"
"If you stay, you'll die."
"Then I die."
My breath caught.
No.
No, no, no.
"Jun-seo, please."
It was the first time I had begged in years.
The first time my voice cracked openly.
He froze.
His eyes widened.
Because he'd never heard me say please like that.
Ever.
I took his hand, gripping it tightly.
"If you stay here... I'll lose you again."
His jaw clenched.
"Ajin-"
"Run."
"I'm not leaving you!"
"Then do it for her."
He blinked.
Confused.
Broken.
Terrified.
Jao grinned behind him.
"Wow. You really haven't told him yet?"
Jun-seo turned sharply.
"Told me what?"
My chest tightened so painfully I could barely inhale.
Not like this.
Not from Jao's mouth.
Not in this moment.
Jao stepped forward, enjoying every second.
"Should I say it?"
Jun-seo's voice turned dangerously soft.
"Say what?"
Jao smirked.
"About the kid."
Everything inside me stopped.
Jun-seo froze.
No breathing.
No blinking.
No sound.
Just a sharp, shattering stillness.
His voice finally came out-quiet, shaky, broken.
"...What kid?"
Jao grinned wider.
"Yours."
But she still disappeared afterward because of her abusive family, Jun-seo's toxic mother, and the industry's pressure.
Now we continue with that truth in mind.
Here is the continuation-rewritten to match that version perfectly:
The moment I said "She's your daughter," I saw something flicker in his eyes-
Not shock.
Not confusion.
Just... resignation.
As if he'd been waiting for this moment for years.
Leaning back against the cold studio wall, he folded his arms.
"You told me once already," he said quietly. "Back then. In Season 1."
My throat tightened.
Because he was right.
I had told him.
I had cried in his arms, holding the positive test with shaking hands.
I had whispered, "I'm scared, Jun-seo... I don't know what to do."
He'd held me so tightly, promising everything would be fine.
But then everything fell apart-
not because of him,
but because of everything around us.
My family.
His mother.
The industry.
"I didn't forget," he said. "You think I could ever forget that day?"
He stepped closer.
"You think I forgot how you cried, how you told me she was mine? Ajin... You think I forgot how I held you until you fell asleep because you were terrified?"
His voice cracked.
My chest tightened painfully.
"So why-" I swallowed hard. "Why didn't you try to find us? To find her?"
He let out a breath that sounded like he'd been holding it for years.
"I did search for you," he said. "Every day. For months."
I blinked.
"You never came."
"Because I couldn't find where you were," he said. "Your mother lied. Mine lied. The company lied. Everyone said you left the country. Everyone said you didn't want me to ruin my career."
I stared at the ground.
Because all of that was true.
My mother had hidden me.
His mother had threatened me.
The company had spread rumors that we were finished.
And I hadn't been brave enough to fight it.
"So you thought I abandoned you," I whispered.
He laughed bitterly.
"Of course not. I thought you were in danger."
The room froze around me.
Danger.
He'd thought I was in danger.
"That's why I didn't push when I saw your daughter today," he continued softly. "I already knew she was mine. The moment she looked at me."
My breath hitched.
"Then why didn't you say it?"
He looked at me with an expression I couldn't handle.
"Because I wanted to hear it from you," he said. "Because I wanted you to trust me again."
My heart cracked open.
And for the first time in years-
I felt small.
Afraid.
Seen.
"Ajin..." He took another step, slowly, carefully. "I'm not the boy you left behind. I'm a grown man now. I can handle the truth. I can handle you. I can handle our daughter."
My lips trembled.
"Then what do you want from me?" I whispered.
He didn't hesitate.
"Your honesty," he said.
"And a chance."
My heartbeat stuttered.
A chance.
To what?
To fix us?
To be a father?
To become part of our lives?
I couldn't answer.
I wasn't ready.
Not yet.
But for the first time...
I wanted to be.
Can.i see her again ? Junseo spoke