đź“– Chapter 10: If You're In, I'm In
694 Words
“Who is it?” Jae-min whispered.
“My old commander.”
Joon-ho's tone was clipped. Cold. But beneath it—something else. Fear?
He unlocked the door but didn’t open it wide. Just enough for his voice to cut through.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
A rough voice answered. “Neither should your boy. But you brought him into this, didn’t you?”
Jae-min’s spine stiffened. He couldn’t see the man’s face, but the voice was gravel and venom, soaked in power.
“Let me in, Jeon,” the commander said.
“Talk outside.”
“No. You’ll want to hear this.”
Minutes later, in the living room
Jae-min stood near the wall, watching the man who once controlled Joon-ho’s life like a puppet master.
He was tall. Greying. His military jacket hung off him like history he hadn’t let go of. He looked at Jae-min like he was a problem, not a person.
“So this is the boy,” the commander said. “The reason you’re bleeding again.”
Joon-ho stepped in front of Jae-min, shielding him instinctively.
“You said you had a message. Deliver it.”
The commander smirked. “Your ex-superior. The one you exposed? He’s back. But he’s not after you anymore. You were always just the warm-up.”
“Then who?”
“Everyone who ever worked with you. Everyone who didn’t die when you broke that mission. You didn’t just ruin him. You made him want revenge.”
“What does that have to do with Jae-min?”
“You’re not listening,” the man growled. “He doesn’t want to kill the boy. He wants to watch you lose him. Publicly. Painfully. Over and over again.”
Silence.
“You need to leave him,” the commander said. “Tonight.”
Jae-min’s heart dropped.
But Joon-ho didn’t move.
Didn’t nod.
Didn’t agree.
“I’m done following orders,” Joon-ho said.
“Then he’ll die.”
“So will I.”
The commander’s eyes narrowed. “You’ll regret that.”
“Maybe. But I’ve regretted worse.”
The man scoffed, turned, and left.
Later that night
The apartment was quiet again.
Jae-min stood by the kitchen counter where, just hours ago, Joon-ho had kissed him like his life depended on it.
Now it was silent. Like the world was holding its breath.
“So... that guy used to command you?” Jae-min asked.
“Yeah.”
“And he thinks I’m a liability.”
“You’re not.”
“You sure?”
Joon-ho looked up, eyes soft now. “You’re not a liability. You’re the only thing keeping me from turning back into the weapon he trained me to be.”
Jae-min crossed the room and stood in front of him.
“Then let me help you. Not just be protected. I want to be part of this.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“I do. You just think I’m too soft to survive your world.”
“You are soft.”
“So soften with me,” Jae-min whispered.
He cupped Joon-ho’s face gently — a first. Not lustful. Not rushed. Just warm. Real.
Joon-ho closed his eyes under the touch.
“You can’t promise me safety,” Jae-min murmured. “But can you promise me truth? That if this ends tomorrow, I at least knew what we were.”
Joon-ho opened his eyes slowly. “We’re real.”
“Then prove it.”
“How?”
“Stay with me tonight. Not as a bodyguard. As... Joon-ho.”
That night, they didn’t kiss like fire.
They touched like truth.
Slow. Unhurried. Under the sheets and silence.
And as Jae-min drifted to sleep in his arms, Joon-ho whispered into his hair:
“If I die for you, I’ll do it knowing I finally lived.”
[End of Chapter 10]
đź“Ś Next Chapter Tease (Chapter 11):
Joon-ho’s past resurfaces in the form of an encrypted message
Jae-min secretly follows Joon-ho to a meeting — and what he sees shatters him
The first real crack in their bond… and a desperate night that might tear them apart
- Writer
