The veil of retribution

Chapter 16: An Unexpected Morning

It was early in the morning when Jihoon stepped out of the shower, still dripping wet, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. His muscles ached from the night before—sprinting through the mansion and the emotional weight of what Yura had revealed. He let out a deep sigh, running his fingers through his wet hair. His mind was so preoccupied with the chaos in his life that he didn’t even hear the knock at the door until the second set of taps came, louder and more insistent.

Assuming it was Jin, who always dropped by unannounced, Jihoon hurried to the door, still shirtless, his body glistening with moisture from the shower. He swung the door open, ready to give Jin some sarcastic remark about barging in so early, but when he looked up, it wasn’t Jin standing there.

It was Yura.

Her eyes widened the moment she saw him. Her cheeks flushed a bright shade of red as her gaze traveled over his exposed, well-toned chest and abs. Jihoon’s damp hair clung to his forehead, water droplets still glistening on his skin. He was only wearing a towel wrapped around his waist, leaving little to the imagination.

Yura’s hands flew up to cover her eyes, her voice stammering. "Oh my god, I didn’t realize—" She was cut off by her own embarrassment, her face heating up as if she were standing next to a bonfire.

Jihoon, equally mortified, gasped and instinctively slammed the door shut. "Yura! Why didn’t you say something?!" he called out from behind the closed door, his voice thick with disbelief.

Yura, standing on the other side of the door, was still trying to recover from what she’d just seen. "How was I supposed to know you’d be... like that?" she muttered, still red-faced, her heart pounding in her chest.

Jihoon scrambled to throw on some clothes. He tugged a T-shirt over his head and quickly slipped into a pair of sweatpants, still reeling from the awkwardness of the situation. Taking a deep breath, he cracked the door open again, this time fully clothed. "Uh, you can come in now."

Yura peeked through her fingers before dropping her hands. She still felt a bit flustered but stepped into the small apartment, trying to regain her composure. Jihoon, looking equally embarrassed, rubbed the back of his neck.

"I thought you were Jin," he admitted sheepishly, his cheeks a faint shade of pink.

Yura glanced at him and tried to suppress a giggle. "Well, I'm definitely not Jin."

For a moment, they stood there, the air thick with awkward tension, but slowly, the absurdity of the situation set in, and both of them broke into laughter. Jihoon’s nervousness began to fade as Yura chuckled softly, covering her mouth.

"Anyway," Yura said after a moment, trying to regain her usual composure, "I didn’t come here just to… see you half-naked. I wanted to talk to you about something important."

Jihoon raised an eyebrow, curious. "What’s up?"

Yura gestured toward the door, signaling for them to leave. "I’ll explain everything on the way. But first, I’m taking you to a training area. You need to learn how to fight and use a gun if you want to stay ahead of these people."

---

The Training Begins

Yura led Jihoon to a private training facility hidden away in an unassuming part of the city. The building was nondescript from the outside, but once they stepped through the doors, Jihoon could see it was a fully equipped combat training area.

"Wow," Jihoon muttered as he took in the sight. Rows of punching bags, mats, weight equipment, and even a shooting range were spread out before them.

"You’re going to need to learn how to defend yourself," Yura said, walking over to a rack of equipment. She tossed him a pair of boxing gloves. "We’ll start with the basics. Then I’ll teach you how to handle a firearm."