Weakness (Jang Hanseok x fem OC)

58

Chapter 58: A Devil's Promise

Part 1: The Calm Before the Chaos

The suite was an oasis of cold perfection-quiet, sterile, like everything had come to a halt.

The world outside was trembling, unsure of itself after the Babel Tower auction and things changed in Babel. And yet, in the stillness of their hotel suite, the only thing that mattered was the tension between them.

Kiara sat by the window, her gaze locked onto the cityscape.

The lights blurred into one another, but her mind was elsewhere-back to the chaos.

The auction. The gunshot. The way Vincenzo had tried to break them, to make her fear. But more than anything, she couldn't shake the feeling that, somehow, the gun had been more than just a threat to Hanseok.

It had been a test.

The kind of test that made her question everything she had always believed about him. And yet... when it mattered most, it wasn't Vincenzo who had held her attention had been Hanseok's presence, his quiet resolve.

Her thoughts were interrupted by his voice, a low murmur that cut through the air like a razor

Her thoughts were interrupted by his voice, a low murmur that cut through the air like a razor.

Part 2: The Fracture

"Say something," Hanseok's tone was sharp, demanding, as he leaned casually against the dresser. His form was perfect-too perfect, even in the silence that pressed between them.

Kiara didn't respond immediately. Her lips were sealed, but she could feel his eyes on her, the weight of his gaze pressing against her skin, pulling her in. She swallowed, trying to ignore the unspoken words that hung between them, thick and heavy.

"What do you want me to say?" she finally muttered, her voice carrying the sharpness of a woman struggling to hold herself together.

A muscle in Hanseok's jaw twitched. "That you still trust me."

Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "This isn't about trust, Hanseok."

He took one step toward her, his movements slow, calculated. He was in front of her now, his presence consuming the space.

"Then what is it?" His voice dropped, a touch lower, like a dark whisper meant only for her. "Because it sure as hell looks like you're doubting me."

Kiara turned her head sharply, her eyes locking with his. The cold fury in his gaze was unmistakable, but so was the subtle vulnerability that lingered beneath it. He wasn't just angry. He was... unsettled.

She took a deep breath, staring him down. "You know why."

Her voice was quieter now, but it was enough. The gunshot. The panic. The fear that had raced through her veins the moment she saw the barrel aimed at him. The way he had shielded her-not himself, but her.

And that was when it all clicked. The weight of it, the burden. His silence had not been one of indifference. It had been a promise. A warning.

Hanseok stepped closer still, his breath brushing against her skin. His lips curled into something dangerously close to a smile, but his eyes were ice.

"You were scared," he said, his words soft but cutting. "Not for yourself. For me."

Her pulse quickened at the truth of his statement, the truth of what he had seen in her. She had tried to hide it-tried to convince herself it was nothing. But he knew.

He always knew.

He reached out, his fingers tracing the curve of her wrist, the soft, almost affectionate touch sending a shiver down her spine. "You love me that much?" His words were a dark tease, as though he already knew the answer.