In the room
Sion was sitting on the bed, shirtless, IV in his arm, bandages on his ribs, split lip, a massive bruise on his cheekbone.
The harsh light emphasized every mark.
He looked up.
And his face lit up.
— Nari.
That single word broke her.
She rushed to him, threw herself into his arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face in his injured shoulder, sobbing silently.
He winced, teeth clenched — pain — but he didn't push her away.
On the contrary, he slipped a hand into her hair, slowly, gently, as if he were the one meant to comfort her.
— Hey… easy… I'm in one piece, see…
She lifted her head, eyes red, trembling.
— How can you say that? You… you could have…
Her voice broke.
He rested his forehead against hers.
— It's fine.
A whisper.
A gentle lie.
— He'll get over it. Don't think about him.
She wanted to insist, to ask questions, to understand what had just shattered their night —
but he dodged it with a movement, a smile, a nearly childlike wink.
Sion slid his fingers under her chin, a slow, almost insolent caress that forced her to lift her eyes to him.
A small smile pulled at his split lip, a smile too proud for someone covered in bruises, but so him, so Sion.
— Wanna hear something? he murmured, voice low, soft, gravelly.
She sniffed, managed a muffled "what?"
He leaned closer, close enough that his warm breath brushed her mouth, close enough that she smelled the disinfectant cream mixed with his scent.
— The nurse… you know, the one with the black bob…
An amused smirk colored his voice.
— She asked me if I was a model.
Nari blinked, surprised despite everything.
Sion chuckled softly.
A tired, still-painful laugh, but vibrating with a nearly childish pride.
— I told her no.
He stroked her cheek with his thumb, slowly, as if tracing an invisible line.
— That I was already someone's personal model.
His golden eyes slid over her like a soft, intense, possessive burn.
— Yours.
A whisper that sounded like a vow.
— Only yours.
He let himself fall back against the pillow with a satisfied sigh.
— If you had seen her face…
A smile stretched his split mouth.
— She stared at me like I was insane.
He shrugged, falsely nonchalant.
— But I don't care. As long as you…
His gaze caught hers, softer, more fragile.
— …you know it.
And look at you.
He brushed her face with a finger.
— You cried for me again. You're too cute.
She let out a small laugh despite herself.
A nervous, fragile laugh, but real.
He smiled.
A smile so sincere and beautiful she almost forgot the bruises.
He sat up — despite the pain — and pulled Nari against him in the bed.
She climbed gently, slid under his arm, rested her head on his bandaged chest.
His fingers played with hers.
He intertwined their hands like a lock snapping shut.
— See? he whispered.
I'm okay.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Slow.
Long.
Soothing.
Then he chuckled under his breath.
— Though… the stretcher… I thought I was gonna die when they lifted me.
He grimaced.
— I groaned like an old grandma.
He imitated himself:
— "Ow, my hips… ow, wait, slow down…"
Nari burst into a shaky laugh.
She covered her mouth, still crying.
— Stop… you're gonna make me cry-laugh and I already look horrible—
He placed a finger on her lips.
— You're gorgeous. Even wrecked. Especially wrecked. Makes me want to keep you against me forever.
She nestled closer.
Her heart calmed.
Her breathing too.
They stayed like that.
For a long time.
Holding each other.
Breathing together.
Curled into one another as if the outside world no longer existed.
Because in that room, despite the violence, despite the fear, despite the night —
there was only this:
the two of them.
Still.
Always.
⸻
7:00 p.m.
The Black Orchid was glowing, alive, loud, perfumed…
And Nari, she was the intruder.
A ghost trying to walk straight.
Her dark circles hollowed her face.
Her skin was pale, almost translucent under the neon lights.
Her lips still trembled from tears that had never truly stopped.
Aera walked past her without slowing, a tray in hand, eyes glued to the floor as if the tiles had suddenly become fascinating.
Just a breath.
Barely audible.
— …hey.
No smile this time.
No joke.
None of her usual bright voice.
Just that small, broken word, strangled between breaths to stay polite.
Because despite everything, she was still Aera.
But when she lifted her head for one second — one single second — she saw Nari.
And her heart stopped.
— Oh… Nari…
Her eyes widened, pupils trembling with shock.
The Nari in front of her wasn't the friend she knew.
She was a shadow.
A walking corpse.
She wanted to say something.
Anything.
A "are you okay?", a "come here", a "talk to me"…
But nothing came out.
Because their bond was broken.
Because she no longer had the right.
Because her place had been ripped from her.
So she stood there a half-second, mouth open.
Then she quickly looked away, as if meeting Nari's eyes burned her skin.
— …good luck tonight, she murmured, voice flat, strangled, so far from who she used to be.
And she walked away.
Fast.
Too fast.
Head lowered, shoulders tense, avoiding Nari's gaze even for a second.
As if standing near her hurt.
As if they were now two strangers sharing only a bar.
⸻
Nari kept working.
Or rather… she tried.
Her hands shook.
Glasses slipped.
Bottles felt like they weighed a ton.
CLINK.
The first bottle shattered on the floor.
She bent to pick up the pieces, but her vision blurred.
She nearly fell forward.
Aera took a step toward her — then stopped.
Kai had just appeared.
Cold. Straight. Dangerous.
His presence made a corner of the bar fall silent, like someone had cut the sound in everyone's head.
Nari kept fumbling…
Then CLINK.
The second bottle broke, alcohol flooding their shoes.
Kai stepped forward slowly.
Placed a firm hand on the counter beside her, the surface vibrating under the impact.
His voice dropped, sharp.
— Go home.
Silence.
A huge silence.
Heavy.
Humiliating.