Chapter 13 : Between Fire and Ash
The city hadn't changed.
The streets still buzzed with noise, and the skyline still cut sharply into the sky. But for Yeri, everything felt different. She was no longer just walking through it; she was now a part of it. Being in Yunjun's world meant understanding the weight behind those quiet stares and shadowy corners.
She returned with him not just as someone to protect, but as someone choosing to stand by his side.
Even if it scared her.
Even if it meant facing those who didn't want her there.
It began quietly.
A man lingering too long at the café she always passed.
A delivery that no one ordered.
A black car parked across the street that hadn't been there before.
Yunjun noticed first. He always noticed first.
His protectiveness tightened around her like a net.
"Don't go out alone," he said one morning, his tone clipped.
"Yunjun…"
"Please."
He didn't raise his voice or force the issue, but the worry in his eyes spoke louder than any threat.
So she nodded. "Okay."
But Yeri wasn't the same girl who flinched at every shadow. She had scars now. And strength.
And questions.
That night, she went to Soojin.
The older girl was in the library alone, flipping through surveillance reports. She looked up when Yeri entered but didn't smile.
Yeri stood there for a moment before speaking. "What are you not telling him?"
Soojin raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"You know something. About this new threat. You haven't told Yunjun everything."
Soojin's fingers paused on the page.
"You're smart," she murmured. "Smarter than I thought."
"Then tell me."
Soojin sighed and closed the file. "There's chatter. Jack's allies weren't just criminals—they were investors. Politicians. Men who feel Yunjun humiliated them by protecting you."
Yeri felt her mouth go dry. "So they want… revenge?"
"They want to erase you. Quietly. Strategically."
Yeri's stomach twisted, but she didn't look away.
"And you didn't tell him?"
"He'd burn the city down," Soojin replied flatly. "He'd turn it into a war."
"Maybe it already is one."
Soojin stared at her, then slowly a small smile appeared on her lips. "You really love him."
"I do."
"Then help me protect him from himself."
The next morning, Yeri asked Yunjun to take her somewhere.
He hesitated at first but finally nodded, slipping his hand into hers.
He took her to the rooftop of the tallest building he owned—a spot he rarely visited unless he needed to think.
The wind up there was cold, and the view stretched wide and endless.
"Why here?" she asked.
"Because this is where I used to imagine peace," he said. "Before I met you, this was the only place I felt it could exist."
Yeri walked to the edge and looked out over the city.
"You built an empire, Yunjun. But the more you protect it, the more enemies you create."
He approached from behind. "Do you regret coming back?"
She turned to him. "No. But I think we need to stop pretending this will just blow over."
He said nothing.
Yeri took a deep breath. "I want to learn. Everything. The business. The enemies. I want to stop being the girl you shield and start being the woman who stands beside you."
He stared at her as if he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.
"You don't have to prove anything to me."
"It's not about proving," she whispered. "It's about surviving. Together."
Something in his eyes shifted.
Not pride.
Not relief.
Respect.
Real, honest, unfiltered respect.
He took her hand. "Then let's start."
The following weeks were a blur of late nights and long conversations.
Yeri trained under Soojin, learning names, patterns, and behaviors. She read files she couldn't have imagined a year ago. She learned how power truly moved in shadows, not under bright lights.
And she was good at it.
Not because she enjoyed the darkness, but because she finally understood how to stand in it without being consumed.
Yunjun watched her grow with quiet awe. He didn't interfere; he offered a steady presence when she needed it.
Sometimes, at night, they lay tangled together in bed, limbs loose, hearts raw.
"I hate this world sometimes," she whispered one night.
"I do too," he said, kissing her temple. "But I don't hate it when you're in it."
Then came the attack.
Subtle. Surgical.
Not on Yunjun.
On Yeri.
A forged document. A scandal planted online. A whisper that she was a spy. That she had always worked for Jack. That she was the real reason everything had happened.
The lie spread quickly.
Yunjun's men were divided. Soojin fought back hard, silencing rumors and countering threats, but the damage had begun.
The worst part?
Yeri wasn't surprised.
She had known it would come.
But it still hurt because it came from within. From people she'd smiled at. Trusted. Thanked.
That night, she sat alone in the library, staring at the glowing screen of her phone, watching as strangers turned her into someone she wasn't.
Yunjun found her there.
He said nothing at first. He knelt in front of her, taking the phone from her hands and setting it aside.
"Look at me," he said.
She didn't.
So he gently took her chin and lifted it.
"I know who you are."
Her eyes brimmed with tears. "Do you?"
"Better than I know myself."
She broke then. The tears came quickly and hot.
He held her as she cried, rocking her slightly and whispering things she couldn't remember but felt deeply.
"I'm tired," she said into his shoulder.
"I know," he said. "But we're almost through this storm."
"How do you know?"
"Because you're still here. And so am I."
A week later, they hosted a gathering—a carefully planned show of unity.
Yeri stood beside Yunjun at the top of the marble staircase, her posture poised, her eyes calm.
She wore no jewelry, no flashy dress.
Just a simple black gown and the truth in her gaze.
As the guests filtered in, eyes flicked to her. Some in judgment. Some in curiosity. Some in fear.
She held her chin high.
Yunjun stood beside her, his hand resting on her back.
Then he spoke.
"To those of you who doubted her," he said calmly, "I forgive your fear. But not your disrespect."
Silence followed.
"She is not my weakness. She is my mirror. And from now on, you treat her as you treat me."
Then he turned to her, before everyone, and whispered, "If this is too much—"
But she shook her head.
"I was made for this," she said.
And he believed her.
Later that night, after the last guest had left, Yeri stood on the balcony in the dress she now hated. Her bare feet were cold, but she didn't care.
She felt hollow. And strong. And very, very alive.
Yunjun joined her, wordless, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
"I think so," she said. "I think I'm becoming someone I never thought I'd be."
"Do you like her?"
She thought about it.
"Not always," she said. "But I respect her."
He kissed her shoulder.
"She's the woman I've been waiting for."
She turned to him. "And who are you, Yunjun? Without the empire. Without the anger."
He thought for a moment, then said, "Just a man. Who loves a woman he doesn't deserve."
She leaned into him. "Then maybe we deserve each other."
And under the hum of city lights, they stood there—no longer prince and prisoner.
But equals.
Alive.
And ready for whatever came next.
To be continued....
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