Three weeks had passed.
Three strange, dense weeks, where each day seemed to erase a little more of the old Nari and sculpt something new in her place—something more alive, more burning, more real.
She was coming back to life.
Literally.
Piece by piece.
As if her soul, long held underwater, was finally learning how to breathe again.
⸻
Behind the bar of the Black Orchid, the dim lights played along her features, sliding over her skin, catching sometimes a glint in her eyes, sometimes a glossy shine on her lips.
Her hands moved with an almost hypnotic fluidity:
the shaker snapping against her fingers,
the glass filling with precision,
the scent of lemon, warm sugar, amber liquor clinging to her palms.
She had found a rhythm.
A breath.
A role that made her exist differently.
Customers watched her—some with admiration, others with desire—but she stayed inside her own world, a world where her gestures were a dance and where her gaze stayed soft but unreachable.
And she liked that.
Truly.
Her bond with Aera and Ryo grew every day.
Laughter bursting like overfilled bubbles.
Glances shot like playful arrows.
Little touches of friendship that filled the still-fragile cracks in her heart.
Aera, radiant, loud, too alive to be ignored.
Ryo, gentle, steady, a smile that put anyone at ease.
For the first time in a long time, Nari let people get close without fear.
It warmed her chest.
It surprised her.
It did her good.
⸻
Kai, though…
Kai hadn't returned.
No message.
No distant glance.
No silent appearance in the corner of the bar.
As if he didn't exist anymore.
As if he had been a dark mirage, coming only to disturb her once before disappearing again.
But sometimes…
at night, when she wiped a glass,
or tightened her ponytail,
a brief image flashed through her mind:
— his obsidian eyes locked on hers.
— that charged silence.
— that impression that he had already read through her.
She shook her head and returned to her work.
The rest of her time, she spent with Sion.
Always.
He came to see her before every shift, sitting at a discreet table, elbow resting on the back of the chair, head slightly tilted, his golden eyes following her everywhere—like an animal watching its territory.
A silent possession.
An invisible bond vibrating between them.
Then she joined him at night in his apartment, where they almost never slept:
they drank,
they talked,
they laughed,
they loved,
they consumed each other.
Until dawn.
It was violent.
It was tender.
It was too much.
It was perfect.
That day, Sion had decided to take her out to breathe.
They walked through Seoul, the city already swallowed by Christmas lights.
Garlands shaped artificial constellations above their heads.
Shop windows glittered.
The air smelled of roasted chestnuts, sugar, biting cold.
Nari laughed.
Truly.
Fully.
With her head thrown back.
And each laugh melted something inside Sion—something dark, something he usually hid so well.
He spun her around in the middle of the street, without shame, without restraint.
He placed his hands on her waist, turned her, turned her,
her hair flying in the icy air,
her cheeks flushed,
her eyes shining.
She hadn't laughed like that in years.
Without restraint.
Without fear.
Without a mask.
It was soft, almost unreal, almost too beautiful to be true.
⸻
They ate steaming snacks, smoky skewers, their fingers sticky with sauce.
They sheltered under a golden lamppost where snow began to fall in heavy, silent flakes.
Sion cupped her face gently,
as if she were made of glass.
As if she were something he had never believed he could deserve.
Then he kissed her.
A long kiss.
Slow.
Deep.
A kiss that felt like it warmed the entire frozen city.
The world around them blurred,
became unreadable,
invisible.
There was only them.
Their breaths.
Their hearts.
Their bodies pulling closer, too close, too fiercely.
Nari smiled.
A wide smile.
A living smile.
A smile that could have saved any man.
Even a man like Sion.
And then her phone vibrated.
Short.
Sharp.
Cutting through the moment like a blade slicing a dream.
"Tonight, 7 PM — private event. Elegant attire required."
The car stopped in front of the Black Orchid in a warm exhale, headlights slicing through the glass façade like two white blades.
Inside, violet neon lights pulsed in the shadows like wings beating.
Sion turned off the engine.
Silence fell.
A heavy silence, charged, almost too dense for such a small space.
He watched Nari.
For a long time.
Without a word.
His golden eyes slid over her like an invisible touch—
the corner of her mouth,
the line of her jaw,
the curve of her tight black dress.
A dark desire flickered in his gaze.
And just as she opened her mouth to speak, he leaned in, placed his hand on the back of her neck, and murmured against her skin:
— Don't stay too late.
A low, soft sentence… but cut like an order.
Not a threat.
Not a request.
A fact.
He kissed her one last time—
deeply,
slowly,
biting her lip lightly,
as if leaving his mark before letting her go.
Nari stepped out.
The door closed with a muffled click.
She inhaled.
The cold night bit into her immediately, sliding under her dress, whipping her bare legs.
She barely had time to breathe when Aera burst out, a whirlwind of warmth and fruity perfume.
— HEY MY GORGEOUS NARI IS HERE!
Aera literally threw herself at her, hugging her with solar energy, arms tight around her waist, cheek pressed to her shoulder.
Nari laughed—a surprised, sincere laugh that loosened her tense shoulders.
Aera stepped back to look at her from head to toe, her eyes sparkling.
— But… look at this absolute bombshell!
What is this dress?
What are these legs?
What are these lips?
Girl, are you trying to kill someone?!
Nari shrugged, pretending to be embarrassed, her cheeks warming under the compliment.
Truth?
She knew exactly what this dress did.
She wanted that effect.
Owned it.
Loved it.
Ryo arrived, wiping a glass, a calm smile on his lips, his gaze naturally landing on Nari with gentleness.
— Tonight's going to be intense. Politicians, businessmen, important people.
And… the owner will be here.
Aera smacked his arm.
— Stop stressing her out, seriously!
Then she leaned toward Nari, her eyes sparkling like two stars.
— But you HAVE to introduce me to that handsome guy who drops you off every day.
I need to approve him. Threaten him a bit, you know?
— Yeah, I'll be happy to introduce him to you.
Aera grinned even wider.
A soft warmth rose in Nari's chest.
Suddenly, she felt it.
A shiver.
A pinch.
A burn.
She turned around.
And through the large glass windows of the club…
out in the street swallowed by the night…
Sion was watching her.
He had stopped twenty meters away, engine still running.
His golden eyes were locked onto her, like two embers under a black sky.
His fist clenched on the steering wheel.
His jaw tightened.
His breath visible in the cold air.
A raw jealousy.
Volcanic.
Possessive.
Then, abruptly, he turned his head, revved the engine, and disappeared in a sharp growl that sent a shiver down Nari's spine.
Aera grabbed her hand.
— Hey… you okay?
Nari blinked.
— Yeah… yeah.
But her heart was beating faster.
The evening launched at full speed.
Lights.
Music vibrating through bones.
Heavy perfumes.
Dark suits.
Sparkling dresses.
Nari moved between glasses, bottles, outstretched hands.
Her body flowed with a graceful, sensual, professional ease.
Compliments flew.
Eyes lingered.
Smiles caught on her.
She glowed.
But never let it reach her.
And then…
He entered.
As if the air had changed density.
As if someone had slightly lowered the volume of the world.
Kai Ryou.