Shadows Of Desire | ✓

Chapter 3

Lisa awoke to the buzz of her phone vibrating on the nightstand. Eyes still half-shut, she reached for it and blinked at the screen.

Unknown Number.

She hesitated, thumb hovering above the answer button. On instinct, she pressed decline and rolled over.

Not five seconds later, a message came through.

UNKNOWN: Careful where you walk. The Jeons don't play fair.

She sat up straight, fully awake now. A chill slithered up her spine. She reread the message three times, but no name appeared. Just a grey bubble with a warning that felt like it had teeth.

Before she could reply, another buzz.

UNKNOWN: Don't say I didn't warn you.

Lisa jumped out of bed and threw on a sweatshirt. She didn't feel fear exactly—not yet—but something colder: unease. A gut feeling she couldn't brush off.

She texted one person.

Lisa: You up?

Jungkook: Always.

Lisa: Can we talk?

Jungkook: I'll come to you.

Twenty-five minutes later, he was knocking at her door. He looked rumpled and unshaven, like he hadn't slept. Still, the sight of him steadied something inside her.

Lisa didn't waste time. She handed him her phone wordlessly.

Jungkook's jaw tightened as he read the messages. "Did you reply?"

"No."

"Good." He looked up. "Do you recognize the number?"

She shook her head. "Should I?"

"No. But I might."

His tone changed—lower, sharper. Not cold, but edged with something unfamiliar.

Lisa narrowed her eyes. "What does that mean?"

Jungkook handed the phone back and exhaled. "There are people in my orbit who don't like... deviation."

"You mean me."

"I mean change," he clarified. "And you represent that."

Lisa crossed her arms. "Are we being watched?"

"I wouldn't doubt it."

A beat passed.

Then she said, "You should go."

His eyes snapped to her. "What?"

"You heard me." She stepped back slightly. "I don't need this kind of danger knocking on my door in the middle of the night."

"Lisa—"

"No," she cut in, voice firmer now. "I like you. I do. But I also like peace. Sanity. I spent years building a life that was mine, not something dragged out of some upper-class drama."

Jungkook looked like he'd been slapped. "So that's what this is?"

"I'm not accusing you," she said, softer now. "I'm just saying... maybe we hit pause."

He didn't move for a long time. Then, quietly, "Okay."

She hated the way her heart ached hearing him say that.

Later that morning, Jungkook sat in his office with his assistant Hana standing stiffly across the desk.

"You're telling me we've had a tail on her since day one?" he asked.