Unevitable | Ryeji |

Chapter 34: Fractured Realities

Ryujin's POV:

The night air whips against my face as we dash through the narrow alleyways, Niki and Han close behind me. My heartbeat thunders in my ears, matching the pounding of our footsteps on the cold pavement. We have to reach the hideout before anyone notices we're missing, before anyone can track us. Every shadow feels like it's watching, every sound like it's coming for us.

I glance back at Niki and Han, their faces set in determination. There's no room for mistakes, no time to lose. The mission has to come first, but my mind keeps wandering-to Yeji, to the mess we've created, to the tangled web of lies we're caught in.

"We're almost there," I whisper, more to myself than them. The familiar sight of our hideout looms ahead, a small comfort in this chaotic world. We just have to make it a little further, a few more steps.

But as we approach, I can't shake the feeling that something is about to go wrong.

We finally reach the entrance to the hideout, and just as I'm about to catch my breath, Niki's voice breaks the silence.

"Umm, Ryujin, that girl Yeji? Who is she?"

His question catches me off guard, and I freeze for a moment, my hand still on the doorknob. My mind races, trying to come up with the right answer. What am I supposed to tell him? That Yeji is the detective hunting us down? That she's the one person who could ruin everything if she ever found out the truth? Or that she's become someone I can't stop thinking about, no matter how much I try?

"She's... complicated," I finally say, turning to face him. "She's someone we need to keep an eye on. Nothing more."

Niki narrows his eyes, clearly not satisfied with my vague response. "You sure? You seem pretty distracted lately."

"I'm fine," I snap, maybe a little too quickly. "Just focus on what we're doing here, okay?"

He nods, but I can tell he's not convinced. As we step into the hideout, I know this conversation is far from over. But for now, I push it to the back of my mind. We have bigger things to worry about-like staying alive.

The door creaks open, and we step inside the dimly lit hideout. My thoughts are already racing when Niki's voice cuts through the tension again.

"I feel like I know her," he says, his tone uncertain but curious.

His words hit me like a ton of bricks. I stop dead in my tracks, my breath catching in my throat. My entire body goes rigid as I process what he just said.

He feels like he knows her.

I try to keep my face neutral, but inside, I'm spiraling. The truth is sitting there, just under the surface, threatening to break through. Niki doesn't know who Yeji really is-his older sister, the one he lost in that horrible accident. The sister who's hunting us down without even realizing she's connected to the very people she's after.

Panic seizes me. If he starts digging, if he finds out the truth, everything could fall apart. I can't let that happen. But how do I keep him from discovering something that's bound to come out eventually?

I force myself to breathe, to keep my voice steady. "Maybe she just reminds you of someone. Don't think too much about it. We've got more important things to deal with."

But even as I say it, I know that this isn't something I can brush off. The past has a way of creeping back into the present, and right now, it's standing right in front of me, in the form of Niki's innocent curiosity.

I watch as Niki stands there, his expression crumbling, tears forming in his eyes. My heart twists painfully at the sight. This isn't the first time I've seen him like this, but it's the first time I've felt so helpless. The truth is right there, hovering on the edge of everything we've built, and it's breaking him without him even knowing why.