𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞

Episode 65

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Dunk paced anxiously in the living room, fists clenched, eyes red from crying. “I’m coming with you. I don’t care what anyone says—Phuwin is my brother! I have to save him, even if it costs me my life!”

“Dunk!” Mark raised his voice, stepping forward. “You can’t. It’s dangerous. They might be targeting you too. If you go, you’ll only make it worse—for all of us and especially for Phuwin.”

Pond added, his voice laced with concern, “Dunk, please. You’re emotional. I get it—we all are—but this is not the way. Let us handle it.”

But Dunk shook his head violently, tears threatening to spill. “No! I won’t stay here and do nothing while my brother is out there, scared and alone. I’ll go even if I have to crawl there!”

Joong, who had been silent until now, suddenly snapped.

“How can you say that?!” His voice was sharp and trembling. He stormed toward Dunk, eyes burning with emotion. “You talk about dying like it’s nothing! Don’t you ever think about me?! What if something happens to you, huh? What the hell am I supposed to do then?!”

Dunk’s eyes widened.

Joong stepped closer, lowering his voice, but it cracked with pain. “I love you. I can’t lose you, Dunk… please, don’t make this harder.”

But Dunk, stubborn and determined, still didn’t back down.

Joong looked at him for a long second. Then… he exhaled. “Okay… fine. You can come.”

Mark and Pond turned toward Joong, both stunned. “Joong—what are you—?”

But before they could say more, Joong suddenly lifted Dunk off the ground and threw him over his shoulder.

“JOONG!! What the f*** are you doing?! Put me down!!” Dunk screamed, pounding his fists against Joong’s back.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Joong said through gritted teeth, striding toward the hallway. “If I have to protect you from yourself, so be it.”

Reaching their room, Joong placed Dunk gently but firmly on the bed and turned to leave. Before Dunk could even run after him, Joong stepped out and locked the door from the outside.

Dunk banged on the door, shouting Joong’s name.

Downstairs, Joong handed the key to Susan Ma. “No matter what happens, don’t open that door until we’re back.”

Susan Ma held the key tightly, nodding in understanding, though her eyes glistened with tears.

Without another word, Joong turned to Mark and Pond. Their faces were tense, but filled with respect.

They all knew… this wasn’t just a rescue.

This was war.

And they were walking straight into it—for Phuwin.

– Outskirts of the City | Late Evening

The black SUV rolled to a slow stop just outside the rusting gates of a long-forgotten industrial factory. The silence was heavy, broken only by the faint whirring of the wind brushing through the tall, brittle grass. Shadows stretched across the dirt road, painted by the golden remains of the setting sun.

Mark stepped out first, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings. Though older, he moved with the precision of a man who had once lived in the shadows. Pond followed, his jaw clenched, fists tight with both fear and fury. Joong brought up the rear, his heart still heavy with the image of Dunk pounding on the door back home, screaming his name.