The hospital corridors still hummed with panic, but Taeho had silenced the worst of it.
The head of security sat slumped on a bench, lip split and dignity shattered. Staff whispered, avoiding Taeho's path as he strode through the hallway, suit jacket tossed over one shoulder, jaw clenched tight enough to snap.
His hands were shaking. He hated that they were shaking.
"Get me the latest update," Taeho snapped at a young guard who scurried off without making eye contact. The others stayed frozen.
In the corner, Haru was holding his phone, texting furiously with one hand and rubbing his temple with the other.
"Taeho," he said gently, catching up beside him. "You're scaring people."
"I should scare them," Taeho said, voice sharp. "If they had done their jobs right, none of this would've happened. He wouldn't be—"
His voice broke. Just for a second. Just enough to betray the weight behind it all.
"He's not dead, Taeho," Haru reminded, more softly now. "He's alive. And Vasilliy's people aren't stupid enough to leave evidence. We'll get him back."
Taeho didn't answer. His eyes drifted to the closed ICU door where Baek Hyun sat slumped outside, looking older than ever. Eun-Kyung hadn't spoken since they arrived. She sat on a chair with her knees hugged to her chest, her coat still wrapped tightly around her even inside the heated building. Her lips moved sometimes—but not to speak. Just to pray, maybe. Or remember.
Taeho exhaled harshly through his nose.
"I need to call the embassy," Haru said, trying to fill the silence. "And Taehyun's legal team. If Vasilliy tries to smuggle him out of Russian jurisdiction—"
"He wouldn't," Taeho muttered. "Not yet. He's too proud. He wants Taehyun to break first. To come crawling back."
"You think he'll succeed?"
Taeho looked down at his hands. They were steady now, finally.
"No," he said. "But Taehyun won't come back the same."
---
Inside the ICU Room
Baek Hyun stirred from his restless doze, eyelids fluttering.
Beeping machines filled the sterile room with a slow, steady rhythm. He turned his head, wincing, and saw Eun-Kyung sitting by the bed, her fingers laced with his.
She hadn't said a word in hours.
He gave her hand a faint squeeze.
"Did you… sleep at all?" he rasped.
Her eyes, puffy and hollow, drifted to meet his. "You scared me," she whispered. "You always pretend you're stronger than you are."
"I am strong," he tried to joke. "Just… not against bullets."
Eun-Kyung's lip quivered. "Don't."
Baek Hyun looked away, swallowing his guilt.
"I should've seen it coming," he murmured. "Should've known Vasilliy wouldn't let him go."
---
Vasilliy's Mansion somewhere in Siberia.
The storm outside howled like it was mourning.
Inside, the silence was worse.
The room looked like a warzone—broken furniture, shattered glass, curtains ripped off the rods. A once-luxurious mirror now lay in shards across the carpet.
Taehyun sat in the center of it all, barefoot, hair tangled, eyes hollow. His fist bled freely where it had met the wall—again and again until the pain stopped feeling real.
He hadn't spoken since they locked the doors.
He hadn't eaten.
He hadn't cried.
A plate of untouched food sat by the door, cold and useless. A maid had tried to speak to him earlier—just a soft, trembling "Please eat, sir"—but his scream had sent her running. The echo still lingered in the corners.
He paced now, dragging one foot after another like he was fighting gravity.
"You can't lock a person like a secret," he muttered. His voice cracked from disuse. "Eventually, they rot."
He kicked over a chair, breathing heavy.
He'd planned for this. Contingencies. Backdoors. Allies. But Vasilliy had outmaneuvered them all.
He remembered the night before
He touched his lips unconsciously. He hated that he still remembered the feel of Vasilliy's mouth.
He hated more that his heart still ached.
"I hate you," he whispered. "I hope you burn."
---
The Mafia Meeting was held beneath Moscow.
The table was long, carved of obsidian, with veins of gold running through it—just like the people seated around it: cold, old, and dangerous.
Yelena Popova, white-haired and sharp-eyed, tapped a single finger on the table as she eyed Vasilliy across the room.
"This is not just a family matter anymore, Vasilliy Romanov. You kidnapped a Park heir. Do you understand the storm you've invited?"
"I didn't kidnap him," Vasilliy said simply, sipping from a glass of vodka. "I took back what's mine."
"He ran," snapped Dmitri, a thick-necked brute from the Smirnov family. "You don't take back someone who runs. You bury them or let them go."
"He's not an object," Yelena added coldly. "He's a symbol. The Koreans are watching. And we won't bleed for your obsession."
Another man chimed in. "Your actions risk our trade routes. Are you prepared to answer for the chaos that will follow?"
Vasilliy stood then, slowly, like a beast uncoiling.
The room went still.
"I'm not asking for permission," he said. "Just your silence."
"You're not that untouchable," Yelena warned.
Vasilliy's eyes darkened. "Do you want me to prove it?"
A younger boss at the end of the table whispered, "He'll hate you forever."
Vasilliy met his gaze. "He already does."
A chill settled into the air.
Then he turned and left, silent and terrifying, the room behind him too afraid to follow.
---
Later That Night in Vasilliy's Mansion
Valdamer found him out on the snow-dusted balcony.
"You're going to lose him for real," Valdamer said quietly.
Vasilliy didn't turn. "I already did."
"You think keeping him caged will bring him back?"
"I think it will keep him alive," Vasilliy replied. "They want him dead. This is the only place he's safe."
"From others, maybe. But not from you."
That one made Vasilliy flinch.
Valdamer sighed. "When Marina died, I thought locking the world out would keep my son safe. But he grew up scared of shadows. And I wasn't the man he needed."
Vasilliy's grip tightened on the balcony rail.
"You're not beyond saving, cousin," Valdamer murmured. "But you're running out of time."
Inside, Taehyun screamed again—raw and ragged—and a crash followed.
Neither of them moved.
---
Hospital — Rooftop
Taeho stood under the night sky, staring out over the city lights. Haru stepped up beside him, holding out a warm drink.
"You'll freeze."
"Better that than boiling over," Taeho muttered.
"Your mom asked about you. She's worried."
"She's always worried. And I'm always pretending I'm fine."
Haru didn't argue. Just stood beside him in silence.
Taeho's voice came again, quieter this time. "He told me, you know... Taehyun... that he thinks Vasiliy likes him secretly, and then he laughed, saying that he's a person who everyone wants. ."
"I think… in his own broken way, he still does," Haru said. "But that kind of love—it's not love if it cages you."
Taeho's jaw tightened.
"We'll find him," Haru said.
"We better," Taeho said softly. "Or I'll burn everything Vasilliy loves to the ground."
---
To Be Continued