Chapter 10: You're a Fire

The wind howled softly beyond the glass, brushing against the penthouse windows like a forgotten ghost.

So-yeon stood still, arms folded tightly, her bare feet cold against the marble floor. Outside, Busan shimmered — neon lights and sea winds colliding in a beautiful illusion of peace. But inside these walls, peace was a stranger.

Her eyes reflected only fury.

Kang Ryu-jin had just returned from another violent night — his coat stained faintly with something darker than wine. His presence carried that same storm. Controlled. Dangerous. Absolute.

She didn't turn to look at him when he entered. She didn't need to.

She felt him — like a shift in gravity.

"You tried to run again," he said calmly.

No greeting. No question. Just a sentence. A verdict.

So-yeon laughed bitterly, her back still facing him. "I didn't know my legs needed your permission."

"They do," he replied, unblinking. "As long as you wear my ring."

She turned then — slow, deliberate. Her hands were trembling, but she masked it with rage.

"This ring is a shackle," she hissed. "A pretty little lie tied around my finger."

He walked past her, loosened his blood-streaked tie, and poured a glass of whisky. The sharp scent of oak and smoke filled the air.

"You don't get to play victim, So-yeon," he said, his tone low and venom-laced. "You made a deal the moment you walked down that aisle."

"I didn't walk," she snapped. "I was dragged."

Something flickered in his eyes. Annoyance? Guilt? He blinked it away too quickly.

"I've killed for less than that tone," he warned.

"Then kill me," she said.

The words sliced through the room like a blade.

Ryu-jin turned slowly, his eyes darkening as he stepped toward her. "You think death is your escape? Is that what you want, So-yeon? To end like your father?"

Her mouth parted. He rarely mentioned her father. It was taboo — a bleeding wound neither dared touch.

"I am nothing like him," she snapped.

"But he gambled you. Sold you to me like you were nothing."

"I didn't choose to be born his daughter!" Her voice cracked. "Why am I paying for his sins?"

"Because this world doesn't care about innocence. It never has."

She looked away, jaw trembling. He stepped closer, towering over her, but she refused to cower.

"I see you, So-yeon," he murmured. "You fight everything — me, this life, yourself. But you don't realize something yet."

She glared up at him. "What?"

"You're not a bird in a cage. You're a fire."

She blinked.

"I thought I could control you," he continued. "Domesticate you. But you keep burning. Even when you're scared."

"I'm not scared of you."

He smirked faintly. "Then you're foolish."

Suddenly — he reached for her wrist, pulling her forward.

She gasped, heart pounding as her body collided with his. The scent of him — leather, smoke, danger — surrounded her like a storm.

He stared into her eyes. "I could end you. Break you. But I don't."

"Because you need me?" she whispered.

"No." He leaned in, voice cold against her skin. "Because you remind me of something I lost."

For a moment, the façade cracked.

There it was. That flicker again — not cruelty, but pain.

"My brother's wife," he said quietly. "Yuri. She tried to escape the mafia world too. Tried to drag my brother out of it."

"What happened to her?"

"She bled to death in his arms. And he followed her not long after."

So-yeon's breath caught.

His grip loosened, and he turned away, stepping into the shadows.

"You think I'm your jailer," he said. "But I'm your shield. The only thing keeping this world from devouring you."

"No," she said softly. "You're both. And I'm sick of being caged by the man who claims to protect me."

He faced her again, slowly.

"You think running will save you?" he asked. "Every time you leave, you walk straight into wolves. Men worse than me. People who wouldn't think twice before selling your body or cutting your throat."

She flinched. He never sugarcoated things.

But he stepped closer again, softer this time.

"I know I'm cruel," he admitted. "But I've kept you alive."

"That's not enough," she whispered.

"What do you want then, So-yeon?"

She looked up at him, eyes burning.

"I want to matter."

Silence.

Then — he did something unexpected.

He cupped her face.

His thumb brushed her cheek, gentle, as if afraid she might shatter.

And maybe… she would.

"I see you," he said.

Her heart stuttered.

"You're not invisible here," he murmured. "You're not a pawn. Not anymore."

She searched his face, looking for a lie.

But all she saw was a man who had lost too much and didn't know how to love without hurting.

A man trying — failing — to protect without destroying.

Her walls trembled.

"I hate you," she whispered.

"I know."

And then — he kissed her.

Not like a tyrant. Not like a conqueror.

But like a man drowning in regret, clinging to the only thing that felt real.

She didn't kiss him back. Not at first.

But she didn't pull away either.

Because in that moment — in the fire and ashes of everything they hated — something fragile bloomed.

Not love.

Not yet.

But something close.

Something that ached.

When he finally pulled away, his forehead rested against hers. His breath was shallow.

"I told myself I'd never feel again," he murmured. "That love was weakness."

She closed her eyes.

"Then stop breaking what you want to protect."

His arms dropped. The moment shattered like glass.

He walked away, leaving her breathless, alone in the storm he carried with him.

But even as he disappeared down the hall, she felt it.

The shift.

The war between them had changed.

This wasn't about escape anymore.

This was about power. Pain. Possession.

And maybe — redemption.

So-yeon stood alone, staring at the door he had left through.

Her hand brushed her lips, still warm from the kiss.

"You're a fire," he had said.

She looked at her reflection in the glass.

No.

She was the explosion.

And Kang Ryu-jin had just lit the fuse.

The End Of Chapter 10 .