From Reluctance to Desire: A Mafia Story [JJK]

✨WOUNDED TRUST✨

The forest swallowed us.

Blood soaked through Jungkook's shirt as we stumbled through the trees, breath ragged, hearts pounding. Gunfire had faded behind us, but fear still rang loud in our ears. His steps were growing heavier, weaker with each stride.

"Jungkook, just a little more," I whispered, voice trembling, "please."

He didn't respond—just nodded faintly, teeth clenched in pain.

Branches clawed at our skin as the cold air bit through the silence. And then, in the distance, I saw it—an old structure, hidden behind vines and broken wood.

A cabin. Abandoned.

We rushed toward it like it was salvation.

I kicked the door open. The inside was cloaked in dust and shadows. Cobwebs clung to the corners. A long-forgotten fireplace sat empty, but the roof was intact. No one had been here in years.

"Come on," I urged, dragging Jungkook in. He collapsed onto the floor, breath shallow, blood dripping onto the cracked wooden boards.

"This place isn't safe," he muttered, eyes darting to the door.

"I don't care," I snapped. "You're bleeding."

"I've had worse." He winced as he tried to sit up, his hand clutching his side.

"Stop pretending you're fine!" I yelled, my voice breaking. "You're not fine!"

He looked at me then—really looked at me. Like he didn't recognize me anymore. Like I was a stranger.

Maybe I was.

I grabbed an old towel, some clean water I'd found in a rusted tank, and a needle from a first-aid kit in a drawer. Thank god someone had left it behind.

"Don't," Jungkook said lowly, backing away as I approached him.

"You can't clean this yourself."

"I don't want your help."

I paused, hurt flashing across my face. "You'd rather bleed to death?"

He gritted his teeth and yanked his shirt over his head, exposing the gash across his side. "I'll handle it."

He tried. Shaking hands. Clumsy movements. The second he pressed the cloth to his wound, his hand slipped. Blood soaked through again.

I rushed to him and grabbed his wrist.

"Let go!" he barked.

"No!" I yelled back, forcing him down gently, almost trembling. "You protected me back there. Let me do the same. Just this once."

He stared at me, jaw locked. Rage simmered in his eyes, but he didn't resist again.

I cleaned the wound in silence. He flinched, breathing harshly through his nose. His eyes were on the ceiling, but I could feel the tension in his body.

Each time the needle pierced his skin, it felt like I was sewing the broken pieces of us back together—and knowing they might never fit again.

"You lived a lie," he said suddenly. Cold. Sharp.

I froze. My hands stilled on the wound. He looked at me. "You were never Y/N."

"No..." I whispered, my throat tight. "I'm Areum."