Blood, Power and Fear

The room reeked of blood and gunpowder. The scent of death clung to the air like a ghost, heavy, suffocating. The bodies of her guards were strewn across the floor, lifeless, disposable, like trash. And in the middle of it all stood him.

Mr. Kang.

Yeijin pressed herself against the cold wall, her heart hammering so loudly she was sure he could hear it. He had to hear it. She wasn't sure what terrified her more—the way he had just massacred an entire squad of highly trained bodyguards like they were fucking nothing, or the way he was looking at her now.

Calm. Amused. As if she were some little stray cat that had wandered into the path of a tiger.

"You're shaking." Kang murmured, tilting his head, his voice smooth, low. "Are you scared, little princess?"

Yeijin swallowed hard, her breath hitching in her throat. He was taller than she'd thought, lean but strong, his sharp features shadowed by the dim neon lights bleeding through the windows. His black suit was perfectly fitted, not a wrinkle in sight—except for the dark splatters of blood marring the crisp fabric.

Her father's men.

Dead.

She should be screaming, fighting, anything—but she was frozen, trapped under the weight of his presence.

His eyes—dark, predatory—dragged over her trembling form, and something flickered in them. Not cruelty, not the detached boredom she expected from a man who had just slaughtered without hesitation. No, this was something worse.

Interest.

"P-please…" she choked out, hating the way her voice broke.

Kang's lips curled, the ghost of a smirk playing at the corners. "Please what?" He took a step closer, slow, deliberate. She flinched.

He chuckled. "You beg so sweetly, Yeijin. What do you think I'm going to do to you?"

Her stomach twisted. "You killed them."

"They were in my way."

She sucked in a breath as he reached out, his fingers brushing a stray curl from her face. It was such a gentle gesture, so at odds with the monster she had just witnessed. His fingertips were warm. The same hands that had pulled a trigger, slit throats, broken bones—now caressed her skin like she was made of porcelain.

"Relax" Kang murmured, his voice almost soothing. "I'm not going to kill you."

A new kind of fear jolted through her.

He wasn't going to kill her.

Which meant he had plans for her.

Kang chuckled again, soft, dark. "I wonder how long it'll take for you to stop shaking."

His hand trailed down, catching her chin, tilting her face up to meet his gaze. "I think I'd like to find out."

"What do you want?!"

"You."

Yeijin's breath hitched as the single word left his lips.

It echoed in her head, drowning out the distant hum of the city beyond the shattered windows. She could still hear the sirens in the distance, the frantic horns of traffic, oblivious to the bloodbath that had unfolded here. Oblivious to the monster standing inches from her, watching her like a wolf sizing up his prey.

Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, nails digging into her own palms. She needed to stay calm. She needed to think.

"You see…" Kang continued, his voice velvety smooth, deliberate, amused. "Your father likes to challenge me."

He stepped closer.

Yeijin instinctively pressed herself back against the wall, her breath quickening. Her entire body was trembling, and she hated it. Hated how fucking helpless she felt.

Mr. Kang smirked. He liked that.

"He's stubborn, your old man" he went on, as if they were discussing politics over a casual drink. "Keeps making the same mistake, over and over." He sighed, shaking his head. "And I'm getting very tired of correcting him."

Yeijin swallowed hard. She knew what kind of man her father was. He was powerful, ruthless in his own way—but he was not invincible. And standing in front of her now was the proof of that.

He had underestimated Kang.

And now she was the price.

"I-I'm just his daughter" she forced out, hating the stammer in her voice. "I have nothing to do with this."

Kang chuckled. A soft, dark sound that sent shivers down her spine.

"Oh, sweetheart.." he murmured, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. His touch was deceptively gentle, the same hand that had pulled a trigger mere minutes ago now caressing her like she was something precious. "You don't get it, do you?"

Yeijin flinched, but Kang didn't pull away.

"You are everything to do with this."

His fingers trailed lower, grazing her jawline, her throat. Her pulse was hammering wildly beneath his touch.

"You see" he went on, "your father is… what's the word? Proud. He likes to pretend he can control things. Control me."

His eyes darkened.

"He needed a reminder."

Yeijin's stomach twisted. "A reminder of what?"

Kang tilted his head, his smirk widening.

"That I can take anything from him."

The implication hit her like a slap. Her breath came out in short, shallow bursts, her vision blurring at the edges.

No. No, no, no.

Kang leaned in slightly, close enough that she could smell the faint hint of smoke on his clothes, the metallic tang of blood still clinging to the fabric.

"Relax" he murmured, his voice almost teasing. "You're shaking again."

Her fingers dug harder into her palms. She would not break in front of him.

He was toying with her. He liked this.

"Go to hell." she hissed through clenched teeth.

Something in his expression shifted. The smirk remained, but there was something sharper beneath it. Something that burned.

Kang chuckled, shaking his head. "See, this is why I find you so interesting, Yeijin."

Her chest tightened.

"I just painted the walls with your father's men" he mused, glancing around at the carnage like it was an afterthought. "And yet, here you are. Still fighting."

Yeijin swallowed.

She was fighting, wasn't she?

But how long could she last?

"You have two choices, sweetheart" Kang said, his voice soft, almost gentle. "You can keep standing there, trembling, pretending you have a way out of this." He stepped even closer, his lips brushing the shell of her ear.

"Or" he murmured, "you can accept the truth."

Yeijin forced herself to keep breathing, keep standing. "And what's the truth?"

Mr. Kang smiled.

"That you're mine now."

The words sent ice through her veins.

"No" she whispered.

"Yes."

Kang pulled back slightly, just enough to look her in the eyes. His gaze was unreadable, dark and bottomless, like a void she could fall into and never escape.

He meant it.

He wasn't going to kill her.

He was going to keep her.

Her pulse pounded so hard she thought she might faint.

Kang studied her for a moment, his smirk fading into something more unreadable. Then, as if deciding something, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

She watched, frozen, as he dialed a number.

"Mr. Minister" Kang greeted smoothly.

Yeijin's breath caught.

Her father.

There was a long pause, then a sharp intake of breath on the other end.

"What have you done?" her father's voice came through, strained, furious.

Kang's smirk returned. "What I had to do." He glanced at Yeijin, his gaze lingering on her face before he added, "And now… we negotiate."

Yeijin felt her knees weaken.

She was nothing more than a chess piece in their game.

And Kang?

He never lost.

The line crackled, heavy with tension. Kang stood there, the phone pressed to his ear, his smirk unwavering as he listened to the Minister's ragged breathing on the other end.

Yeijin could hear it, too—the sharp inhale of a man who had just realized he had lost before the game had even begun.

Kang chuckled, slow and amused. "Oh? Is that so?"

Another pause. A low hum of consideration. Then—

"You'll kill me?" Kang repeated, voice dripping with mockery. "Minister, Minister… You have no idea who you're threatening, do you?"

Yeijin felt herself shrinking against the wall, her body cold, stiff. She wasn't sure if it was terror or something else keeping her frozen in place.

She could only hear one side of the conversation, but she didn't need to hear her father's words to know what was happening.

He was panicking.

He was grasping at straws, making empty threats he had no chance of backing up.

Kang let out a quiet sigh, rubbing his temple like he was bored. "You're embarrassing yourself" he murmured, almost pitying. "We both know you don't have the balls to do a damn thing."

Yeijin flinched as Kang suddenly moved—too fast—grabbing her wrist and yanking her forward before she could react.

She gasped as he pressed the phone against her ear, his fingers gripping the back of her neck, firm, unyielding.

"Go on, sweetheart" Kang whispered, lips grazing the shell of her ear. "Say hello to Daddy."

Yeijin's blood ran ice cold.

Her mouth went dry, her breath caught somewhere in her throat.

She couldn't—

Kang's grip tightened ever so slightly, a silent warning.

She had to.

Swallowing, she forced the words out, barely above a whisper.

"… H-hello, Papa."

Silence.

Then, a sharp inhale from the other end.

"Yeijin." Her father's voice was shaking.

Her heart clenched. She could hear the sheer panic in his tone, the way it wavered with something almost close to desperation.

Not for her.

For himself.

"I-I'm so sorry, sweetheart" the Minister stammered. "Did he hurt you? Are you—"

Kang sighed dramatically, yanking the phone away from her for a moment. "Oh, don't bullshit me" he muttered, rolling his eyes. "We both know you don't give a damn about the girl."

Yeijin flinched at the words, but—

They weren't a lie.

Kang turned back to her, smirk curling at the corner of his lips.

"Tell him, sweetheart."

Yeijin stared at him, wide-eyed.

His thumb brushed the nape of her neck, his touch deceptively gentle, coaxing her, taunting her.

"Tell him." Kang repeated, softer this time, his voice dripping with something dark, something knowing. "Tell him how scared you are."

Yeijin's throat closed up.

She was scared.

Terrified.

And the worst part?

She wasn't sure if it was because of Kang—

Or because she knew her father wouldn't save her.

"… I-I'm scared" she whispered.

Another sharp breath from the Minister. "I—I'll give you whatever you want!"he blurted suddenly, voice cracking. "Money? Power? Just—just let her go!"

Yeijin squeezed her eyes shut.

No.

He wasn't bargaining for her.

He was bargaining for himself.

Kang's smirk widened, satisfied. "That's the problem with men like you" he murmured. "You think everything has a price."

Yeijin felt the weight of his presence against her, his hand still resting on the back of her neck, holding her in place.

"But me?" Kang exhaled, tilting his head. "I don't want your money."

A pause.

"I want you to suffer."

Yeijin felt her stomach twist.

Kang turned the phone back to her. "Tell him, sweetheart."

She blinked up at him. "Tell him what?"

Kang smiled.

"That you belong to me now."

Yeijin's breath hitched.

Her body went rigid, her pulse roaring in her ears.

She wanted to scream, wanted to fight—but her voice had abandoned her, leaving her standing there, helpless, as Kang pressed the phone against her lips.

"Say it."

Yeijin swallowed.

Her father was silent on the other end. Waiting.

Waiting for her to obey.

Waiting for her to accept it.

Kang's grip tightened, a silent promise that he wouldn't ask again.

Yeijin's lips trembled.

"… I belong to him now."

Silence.

A choked, strangled sound from her father.

And then—

The call ended.

Kang lowered the phone, slipping it back into his pocket.

Yeijin stood there, unmoving.

Shaking.

She had just sealed her own fate.

And Mr.Kang?

He was smiling.

Like a predator who had finally caught its prey.

The game had begun.

And she had already lost.