Seoul Dome, Early Morning
The city was still vibrating from Monarch's storm. Social media exploded overnight: clips of their "Takedown"-inspired stage went viral, fan edits flooding every corner of the internet. Hashtags trended across continents:
#MONARCHSTORM#TakedownLive#REXUnleashed
At the dorm, the team lounged in varying states of exhaustion and euphoria. EO sprawled on the couch, still watching clips on his phone, grinning from ear to ear.
Kai, half lying on the floor, waved a hand: "Do we even sleep? Or just keep performing forever?"
Min, sitting quietly by the window, stared at the sunlight creeping through the curtains. His eyes were thoughtful, distant. "I keep seeing… movements. Flashes of light in my head. Not ours. Someone else's."
Zayn, practical as ever, leaned back, rubbing his neck. "Whatever it is, we handle it. Right, hyung?" His gaze flicked to Jiwon.
Jiwon, perched on the edge of the dining table, fingers drumming absently on the wood, didn't answer at first. The adrenaline of the performance had faded, replaced by something warmer—and dangerously magnetic. He was thinking about Yul. The memory of golden eyes, that faint teasing smile on the rooftop last week, and the way Yul had leaned just slightly too close… it was stuck under his skin.
The Call
It wasn't until Jiwon's phone buzzed with an unknown number that he felt the pull again.
"Meet me — the rooftop. Now."
No signature. No hint of irony. Just Yul.
Jiwon's pulse picked up. He slipped into a fitted black jacket over a simple shirt, checked himself in the mirror, and left the dorm quietly.
Rooftop, Mid-Morning
The city sprawled beneath them, sunlight sparkling on the glass towers. Jiwon stepped onto the rooftop, wind teasing his hair, and there he was: Yul, arms crossed, leaning against the railing. Calm. Deadly. Irresistible.
"You came," Yul said, voice low, carrying that same teasing lilt that made Jiwon's chest tighten.
"I always come," Jiwon replied smoothly, though his fingers flexed near the belt buckle, subconsciously aware of the hidden blade beneath his jacket.
For a moment, they just stood. Two kings of their worlds, worlds apart yet magnetic.
Then Yul took a step closer, slow, deliberate.
"You really performed," Yul said softly, eyes tracking every line of Jiwon's jaw. "I watched. Every second."
Jiwon felt heat crawl up his neck. "And?"
"You… were magnificent," Yul murmured, almost too close. His fingers brushed against Jiwon's arm—light, teasing, electric.
Jiwon's breath hitched. He knew he should recoil, should remind himself of the hunter's code. But… he didn't.
"You feel it too," Yul said, eyes dropping to Jiwon's lips for a heartbeat before glancing back to meet his gaze. "That… tension."
"Yeah," Jiwon admitted, voice low. "And it's dangerous."
Yul tilted his head, smile softening. "So are you."
The wind whipped between them. The city felt distant, irrelevant, as though the rooftop had become a world entirely theirs.
Yul's hand found the side of Jiwon's face, thumb brushing along his cheekbone. The contact was light, almost casual—but it sent a pulse through Jiwon that had nothing to do with adrenaline.
"You could kill me," Yul whispered, lips so close Jiwon could feel his breath.
"I won't," Jiwon said, a hint of steel and desire in his tone. "Not yet."
Yul leaned even closer, just enough for their foreheads to brush. "Then let me show you… something else."
Jiwon's hand went to Yul's wrist, feeling the pulse beneath his skin. Strong. Alive. Tempting.
For a long, charged moment, they just held each other there—rivals, hunters, demons, idols—teetering on the edge of everything forbidden.
The air was thick with promise, danger, and something sweeter—something almost like hope.
Then Yul finally pulled back, just enough to smile. "You've got to go back to them," he said. "But… remember this."
Jiwon's lips parted, but no words came. Only a slow, measured exhale, and the echo of a heartbeat shared across a rooftop in Seoul.
The moment lingered long after Yul turned and disappeared down the stairs, leaving Jiwon staring at the skyline, cheeks tinged with heat, and a smile that didn't quite match the tension in his chest.
Because he knew one thing:
He wanted Yul.And he would chase that desire… no matter how dangerous.