From Reluctance to Desire: A Mafia Story [JJK]

✨CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE✨

The next morning, I woke up with my heart still hammering against my ribs, the echoes of yesterday's horror refusing to fade. Sleep had been an illusion—a cruel joke—because every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was him.

Jungkook.

His steady hand. His unflinching stare. The way he pulled the trigger without hesitation, without remorse.

The way blood splattered across the pristine floor like it was just another day.

A shiver ran through me as I sat up, gripping the sheets as if they could anchor me to reality. My pulse was erratic, a silent scream reverberating in my chest.

I forced myself to breathe. I couldn't afford to fall apart. Not now.

Pushing away the lingering dread, I got out of bed and quietly made my way to the guest room. My hands were ice-cold as I reached up, fingers blindly searching along the edge of the ceiling panel. The second my fingertips brushed against the file, a lump formed in my throat.

Mission Z.

I pulled it down, clutching it tightly. The weight of it in my hands felt heavier than before, as if the pages themselves carried the burden of a hundred deaths. My fingers trembled as I flipped through them, my eyes skimming over the details that had already burned themselves into my mind.

Zalgo Chernobog.

A name that carried blood, power, and terror. A man my father had been entangled with. A man Jungkook had killed him for.

I swallowed, my gaze landing on the attached photograph. The cold, empty stare of his green eyes sent a chill down my spine. Zalgo was ruthless, a monster in his own right, and my father—my own father—had once intended to sell me off to him like a bargaining chip.

Until Jungkook intervened.

Not out of love. Not out of kindness. But because my father had something he wanted.

And once he had it, he ended him.

My stomach twisted, bile rising in my throat. I was nothing more than collateral. A means to an end.

But now... now I held something that gave me an edge, however small it was. This file—it was the only thing standing between me and complete powerlessness.

A vibration against the nightstand startled me. My phone.

I grabbed it with shaky hands and quickly snapped photos of the most crucial pages—Zalgo's operations, his coded messages, his possible locations. Anything that might give me leverage later.

Once I was done, I carefully sealed the file back and pressed it into its hiding spot. But I couldn't leave it there forever. If Jungkook realized it was missing... if he searched for it... I couldn't even let myself imagine what he would do to me.

I had to put it back.

Now.

The house was eerily silent as I slipped out of the room, my heartbeat echoing in my ears. Each step toward Jungkook's office felt like a step toward my own execution.

The hallway stretched impossibly long, shadows curling against the walls like silent watchers.

I forced myself forward.

Reaching his office door, I carefully turned the handle and slipped inside, my pulse thundering as I moved toward the bookshelf. With trembling hands, I slid the file back into place, pressing it precisely where it had been.