CHAPTER 29 — FACE TO FACE
918 Words
The room fell silent.
Not because the fighting had stopped.
Not because the danger had passed.
But because Chairman Han stood before them.
Finally.
After months of lies.
Years of secrets.
Decades of bloodshed.
The man responsible for everything had stepped out of the shadows.
Smoke lingered in the air.
Gunfire echoed somewhere deeper in the estate.
Bodies lay scattered across the destroyed command center.
Broken glass covered the floor.
Red emergency lights flashed overhead.
Yet none of it mattered.
Because every eye remained fixed on Chairman Han.
The older man looked perfectly composed.
As though he hadn't just invaded a mountain fortress.
As though people weren't dying around him.
As though this was simply another business meeting.
"Aarya."
His gaze never left her.
Not once.
Aarya felt sick.
The way he looked at her wasn't normal.
It wasn't affectionate.
It wasn't caring.
It wasn't even human.
It was ownership.
Like she was an object.
A possession.
Something he had lost and finally found.
Jungkook immediately stepped in front of her.
Blocking Han's view.
Protective.
Possessive.
Dangerous.
The mafia king's dark eyes locked onto Han's.
Murder filled them.
Pure murder.
"You should've stayed hidden."
His voice came out low.
Deadly.
Chairman Han smiled.
Unimpressed.
"And miss this moment?"
He shook his head.
"Never."
The tension became unbearable.
Everyone knew.
One wrong move.
One wrong word.
And the room would explode.
Han's gaze shifted toward Jungkook.
A faint smile appearing.
"You're just like your father."
The sentence hit harder than a bullet.
Jungkook's jaw tightened instantly.
"My father was a better man than you'll ever be."
For the first time—
Han's smile faded.
The room became colder.
"Your father was weak."
Silence.
Dangerous silence.
"He chose morality over progress."
Aarya frowned.
Progress?
What kind of monster described human experimentation as progress?
Apparently—
this one.
Han sighed.
Almost disappointed.
"Do you know how much money was invested into Project Aarya?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody cared.
Except Han.
His eyes found Aarya again.
"You were perfection."
The words made her stomach turn.
"Stop talking about me like that."
Han blinked.
Slowly.
Then smiled.
"There she is."
Aarya hated that smile.
Absolutely hated it.
Because it wasn't the smile of a scientist.
Or a businessman.
Or even a criminal.
It was obsession.
The same obsession she'd seen in Jungkook before.
Except twisted.
Broken.
Wrong.
"You ruined lives."
Aarya's voice shook slightly.
"You killed children."
Han's expression didn't change.
Not even slightly.
"They died advancing science."
The room exploded.
Before anyone could react—
Jungkook moved.
Fast.
Violent.
Terrifying.
His fist slammed directly into Han's face.
The c***k echoed through the room.
Several guards immediately drew weapons.
Han stumbled backward.
Blood appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Silence.
Then—
he laughed.
Actually laughed.
Aarya stared in horror.
The man was insane.
Completely insane.
Jungkook looked ready to kill him.
Right now.
Right here.
Only Aarya's hand gripping his arm stopped him.
Barely.
Han wiped the blood from his mouth.
Still smiling.
"You love her."
The statement wasn't a question.
Jungkook didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Everyone already knew.
Han chuckled softly.
"Interesting."
The word sounded wrong.
Dangerous.
Then—
his gaze shifted toward Aarya again.
"Did your mother ever tell you the truth?"
The room froze.
Aarya's heartbeat accelerated.
"What truth?"
For the first time—
Han's smile became genuine.
Victorious.
Like he'd been waiting years for this moment.
Years.
"Your mother wasn't running from me."
Silence.
Aarya frowned.
"What?"
Han took a step forward.
"She was running from your father."
The room stopped breathing.
No.
No.
That wasn't possible.
"My father would never—"
"He knew."
The interruption came instantly.
Coldly.
Cruelly.
"He knew about the experiments."
Silence.
"He helped fund them."
The words shattered reality.
Aarya stared.
Unable to move.
Unable to think.
Because suddenly—
everything she'd believed about her father was under attack.
Again.
"You're lying."
The words escaped immediately.
Desperately.
Han smiled.
"Am I?"
Then he reached inside his jacket.
Several weapons immediately aimed at him.
Han ignored them.
Slowly—
he removed an old photograph.
And tossed it toward Aarya.
It landed near her feet.
Trembling—
she picked it up.
Then froze.
Because standing beside Chairman Han...
Inside one of the laboratories...
Was her father.
Young.
Smiling.
And wearing an identification badge.
The room spun.
"No."
The photograph slipped from her fingers.
No.
No.
No.
Her father couldn't be involved.
He couldn't.
He couldn't.
Yet the evidence lay right there.
Unforgiving.
Merciless.
Real.
Jungkook immediately moved beside her.
His hand finding hers.
Grounding her.
Protecting her.
Supporting her.
Because he could see it.
The pain.
The heartbreak.
The destruction.
Then—
a gunshot echoed.
The sound exploded through the room.
Everyone froze.
For one horrifying second—
nobody understood what happened.
Then Minho staggered.
Blood spread across his chest.
Aarya gasped.
"No!"
Behind Han—
one of his men lowered a weapon.
The shot hadn't been aimed at Minho.
It had been aimed at Jungkook.
Minho had stepped in front of it.
Silence consumed the room.
Minho looked down.
At the blood.
Then toward Jungkook.
A weak smile appeared.
"You still owe me..."
He coughed.
Blood staining his lips.
"...for breaking my nose."
The joke shattered everyone.
Especially Jungkook.
Because despite everything.
Despite the betrayal.
Despite the hatred.
Minho had just saved his life.
And everyone knew it.
The war had finally taken its first major casualty.
And judging by Chairman Han's satisfied smile—
it wouldn't be the last.
- Writer
