HEYA

“No way,” Yujin said, her voice cracking before the door even fully shut behind us. She pressed her back against it, arms locked across her chest. “You can’t trust him.”

“I have to go,” I said, pacing back and forth the room because standing just still made everything worse. “If that’s where she is, then I—”

“He’s luring you into a trap.” She stepped forward, the fear in her eyes almost nearing on anger. “She’s probably not even there. I mean, what on earth is a Blackjack Auction? I’ve never heard of that in my life.”

“So then why is every Ace on a break this week?” I shot back. “Isn’t that suspicious to you?”

“I don’t know!” Her voice pitched higher. “But just because you don’t know something doesn’t mean that someone else’s explanation is automatically the truth. What if you fall right into his hands—”

“What hands? Why would he need to lure me there to harm me?” I snapped, my voice shaking. “I’ve already met him in person once before.”

“At a pocha, Wonbin,” she said, sharply. “This is a random address. We don’t even know where it is yet.”

“Why would he suddenly want to hurt me now?”

“Why would he suddenly want to help you now?”

I exhaled hard, sinking onto the edge of her bed, elbows digging into my knees. “Maybe he’s been planning something. Some way to save her, and this is the only time we can.”

Her steps grew quieter as she crossed the room toward me. “So say he’s telling the truth. He’s asking you to infiltrate this event, and what, rescue her?”

“He didn’t say exactly what we’re doing—”

“What can you do? What can he do?” She shook her head and sat beside me, close enough that our shoulders brushed. “Listen to me—you’re blinded by love, Wonbin. I know you’re scared, I know you care about her, but please. Please think this through.”

“I’ll be fine—”

“You don’t know that!” she shouted, the sound ricocheting off the walls. “You have no clue what you’re walking into! If this is actually an event where every single Ace is gathered in one place—what do you think that looks like? A house party in Hongdae?”

I turned away, dragging my hands over my face, but the panic only tightened, squeezing my ribs from the inside.

“These people,” she continued, voice dropping to a trembling whisper. “They can make you disappear with a snap of their fingers and no one would ever find out—”

“What do you expect me to do then?!” I exploded. The words ripped out of me before I could stop them. “Stay home and keep having sex with you while Wonyoung is missing?! How many times are we going to do that before we admit that we’re just running away from our problems?”

Her lips parted. For a moment, she just stared at me like I’d slapped her. “Is that what you think we’re doing?” she whispered. “Running away together?”

The silence felt like we had both stepped onto a landmine, like even the smallest movement would kill us.

“I have to go, Yujin,” I said, barely managing the words. “I can’t live like this. You know that.”

She closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. “And if something happens to you tomorrow—can I live with that?” Her voice was barely audible. “Could Wonyoung?”

Tears ran down my face without warning. I knew that she was right. I knew she wasn’t being dramatic or unreasonable. But the world felt so dark and cold that I just wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out.

“I just have to do something,” I said, forcing the words past the thickness in my throat. “Whatever it takes. I’ll go crazy otherwise.”

She didn’t argue this time.

Her jaw quivered before she clenched it tight. She looked like she wanted to scream. Or cry. Or break something. Or slap me across the face. Maybe all of it.

“Fine.” She let out a long, shaky breath as her fists unclenched. “Let’s go then. Tomorrow. You and me.”

“No,” I said, immediately. “You can’t. Just me.”

“He told both of us to come.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“Oh, so now it’s dangerous.”

“I’m serious, Yujin.”

“We’re in this together.” She grabbed my hand, fingers tightening. “You asked me to help you, remember? When you showed me that first video.”

“No way.” I shook my head, backing away from her. “I can’t risk something happening to you.”

Her eyes hardened into something absolute. “Either we both go, or neither of us goes,” she said, firmly.

My mouth opened, but nothing came out. Because once again, she was right. And I knew that there was nothing I could’ve said that would’ve changed her mind.

All I could do was shake my head.

“I can’t lose you, too,” I said, the words slipping right out of me.

She froze. For a moment, it felt like she stopped breathing.

“I’m not your girlfriend, Wonbin, you can’t tell me what I can and can’t do,” she said, stepping closer, so close that I could feel her breath on my face. “If you’re going, then I’m going with you.”

“Please—”

Before I could finish, she kissed me.

Not like she’d ever done before. Not playfully. Not patiently. Not carefully. She crashed into me, like she’d been holding herself back for months. Like every kiss before this one wasn’t even real.

Her hands slid into my hair, pulling me down with an urgency that stole the air from my lungs. Her lips moved against mine, tasting like fear itself. Fear of losing me, fear of losing herself, fear of everything we were about to willingly walk into.

By the time she finally pulled back, both of us were shaking.

I stared at her, my chest burning with something I couldn’t quite understand. “I’m not your boyfriend,” I whispered, hands trembling around her waist. “You can’t kiss me like that.”

Her fingers trailed down my jaw. “Then don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

There was a short pause as her eyes searched for something in mine. “Like losing me scares you more than whatever’s waiting at that auction.”

“Yujin—”