The Shadows (Underworld 4) JH

15: Off to Dublin

With her wounds barely healed and the pain still fresh in her body, Yulan knew she had to disappear—quickly and completely. The Midnight gang was relentless, and their recent attack had proven just how dangerous they were. Seungcheol's men had come too close, and she couldn't afford to underestimate them again.

As the first light of dawn broke over the city, Yulan made her move. She knew staying in Seoul, or anywhere nearby, would be suicide. The safest option was to vanish into the shadows, to a place where even her enemies wouldn't think to look. Dublin—a city far from the reach of the Midnight gang and Seungcheol's watchful eye—seemed the perfect hideaway.

In the early morning hours, Yulan slipped out of her Seoul mansion, her every step calculated to avoid detection. Despite her injuries, she moved with the grace of someone accustomed to danger, her eyes scanning every corner for potential threats. Lin, her loyal secretary, had arranged everything: a private jet, discreet doctors in Dublin, and a new safe house where she could recover in peace.

The flight to Dublin was long and excruciating. Each jolt of turbulence sent fresh waves of pain through her body, but Yulan gritted her teeth and endured it in silence. She couldn't afford to show weakness—not now, not ever. As the plane crossed into European airspace, Yulan allowed herself a brief moment of relief. She had escaped—again—but the danger was far from over. She knew the Midnight gang wouldn't stop hunting her. Seungcheol was nothing if not persistent.

Landing in Dublin, Yulan was greeted by the cold, damp air of the Irish morning. The weather was a stark contrast to the heat of Seoul, but it suited her mood. The gray skies and mist felt like a fitting backdrop for her current state—bruised, battered, but not broken.

Lin had been efficient in her arrangements. A car was waiting on the tarmac, along with a discreet doctor who would tend to her wounds as they made their way to the safe house. Yulan settled into the backseat, her mind already turning to the next phase of her plan. Dublin was just a temporary refuge, a place to regroup and recover. She would heal, and then she would strike back. The Midnight gang had made a grave mistake by coming after her, and they would pay dearly for it.

As the car wound its way through the narrow streets of Dublin, Yulan allowed herself to relax, if only slightly. The city was foreign to her, but that was an advantage. Here, she was just another face in the crowd, another immigrant with a past too dark to be spoken of. The safe house was a modest but secure estate on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by high walls and thick, ancient trees that offered both privacy and protection.

Once inside, Yulan wasted no time. The doctor, a silent, efficient man, began treating her wounds immediately. As he worked, Yulan's mind drifted back to Seoul, to the chaos she had left behind. She thought of Junhui—how much she despised him, more than even Seungcheol. There was something about him, something that made her blood boil. Maybe it was the way he had always managed to stay one step ahead of her, or maybe it was the fact that he seemed to be the only one who could see through her carefully crafted persona. Whatever it was, Yulan knew that she hated him more than any of her other enemies.

As the doctor finished his work and left her alone, Yulan stared out the window at the fog rolling in over the Irish countryside. She was safe for now, but Dublin would only be a temporary refuge. Once she was fully healed, she would return to Seoul, and when she did, she would be ready to take on the Midnight gang, Junhui, and anyone else who stood in her way.

For now, though, Yulan would wait, biding her time in the shadows of Dublin. The city's cold, wet embrace would be her sanctuary, a place to heal and plan her revenge. She would come back stronger, and when she did, the Midnight gang wouldn't know what hit them.