{True love }
A heavy silence filled the room, broken only by the steady beeping of the heart monitor.
Ian's words were the final stab to her heart-not because they had hurt her,
but because he truly believed she would abandon him at the moment he needed her more than ever.
Tyla felt his hand slowly slipping from between her fingers, as if the warmth of her entire world was fading away.
Slowly, she rose from her seat. Instead of stepping away,
she moved even closer. She leaned down, wrapped her arms around him, buried her face against his neck, and held him tightly,
as though he might disappear if she let go.
Then she gently cupped the face that had been avoiding her gaze.
Her blood-stained hand rested softly against his cheek,
as if she were wiping away the pain that had consumed his soul.
"You're still doing it... aren't you?" she whispered, her voice choked with emotion, yet unwavering.
Ian slowly opened his eyes. They were clouded with confusion, heartbreak, and uncertainty.
Tyla looked deeply into his eyes.
"You still believe you're the monster Gong Nam Min created.
You still think I only see the blood... and not the man who suffered in silence, who was always afraid of bothering me,
who protected me... and who did everything he could just to make me smile."
His breathing became uneven. He tried to speak...
But Tyla continued.
"SEO joon told me everything, ian. He told me about the monster Gong Nam Min created... about the pain... about the lies... But he forgot to tell me one thing."
She gazed at him as fresh tears streamed down her face, a bittersweet smile appearing through them.
"He forgot to tell me that even after living through all that darkness... you still have a heart that trembles with fear for me... never for yourself."
Ian squeezed his eyes shut, as if her words were a light too bright for someone who had spent his entire life in darkness.
This time, Tyla held his hand firmly, intertwining her fingers with his weakened ones.
"Don't send me away. I'm not going anywhere.
I chose to stay... not beside a monster, but beside the man who fought the entire world just to live freely... even if it meant giving up his own life... just to protect me."
She smiled through her tears before softly saying,
"I'm not afraid of you, ian. The only thing I'm afraid of... is a world that might try to take you away from me again."
She paused for a moment before continuing honestly.
"It's true... I was terrified when I saw you killing someone. I wanted to run away... I really did. But the truth... the whole story... changed everything."
In that moment, ian felt something he had never known in his entire life.
Safety.
Not temporary comfort. Not false reassurance.
For the first time... he felt safe from himself.
He let out a deep breath, his fingers tightening around hers as though she had become the only anchor keeping him from drowning in the storm of his own life.
Then he gently pulled her into his arms and embraced her as tightly as his injuries allowed.
Tyla softly stroked his hair.
And ian cried.
For the first time in his life, he wasn't crying because of pain... or because of someone's orders.
He cried because, despite knowing who he truly was,
someone had finally chosen to hold him with nothing but love and tenderness.
Outside the room...
SEO joon and the doctor tried to enter, but Doo Hwan stopped them.
He quietly closed the door that had been left slightly open
He let out a quiet sigh before smiling.
"Finally... my brother has found peace."
His eyes remained fixed on the closed door as he continued,
"It seems he's finally found his true love... someone who accepts him, loves him for who he is..."
His smile widened.
"Tyla defeated him... She defeated the Black Monster. She's the only person who was ever able to defeat him."
He finished speaking with a proud smile.
Beside him, SEO joon simply smiled as well.
At that moment, they both realized that the man everyone believed could never be saved... had finally found the one person who gave him back his humanity.