Upstairs, the room fell quiet the moment Ethan closed the door behind him. For a few seconds, he just stood there, unmoving, as if the weight of everything he had been holding back finally had space to settle. Then, slowly, he reached for his shirt, pulling it off and letting it fall aside, followed by the rest of his clothes, each movement automatic, detached.
When he stepped into the shower, the cold water hit his skin first, then gradually warmed, steam beginning to rise around him. He tilted his head back slightly, letting the water run over his face, his eyes closing as his mind—despite everything—refused to stay quiet.
It went back to her.
To Yuna.
To the way she had run to him.
The way she had hugged him without hesitation.
The softness in her voice when she said welcome back.
That wasn't how she usually was—not with him, not like that. There had always been something guarded between them, something unspoken that kept a slight distance. But today… today was different.
His hand pressed lightly against the tiled wall as he exhaled.
"I don't want to lose her…" he murmured under his breath, the words barely audible beneath the sound of water.
The thought came uninvited—but once it was there, it didn't leave.
No matter what happened.
No matter what he had to do.
He didn't want Yuna to walk away from him.
Didn't want her to look at him differently.
Didn't want that distance to return—worse than before.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Because the mission—
The name—
Richard Blackwood—
It wasn't just another target.
It was her father.
And even if Yuna hated him… even if she carried anger for what he had done—especially for the way her mother had died—this was different. Hate didn't always erase blood. It didn't always make things simple.
"How will she react…" Ethan muttered quietly, his voice low, almost lost.
Would she understand?
Would she accept it?
Or would this be the thing that finally broke whatever existed between them?
The water kept running, but it didn't wash those thoughts away.
Because deep down—
He already knew.
There was no outcome here that left everything untouched.
And yet—
"I still want her with me," he said again, more firmly this time, as if trying to convince himself.
No matter what it cost.
Eventually, he turned the water off, the silence returning as he stepped out, grabbing a towel and running it through his hair. His expression had returned to that usual controlled calm—but his thoughts were anything but settled.
—
Downstairs, the atmosphere felt completely different.
Warm light filled the dining area, the table set neatly, the smell of food spreading through the room. Elena and Yuna were already seated beside each other, talking softly, their voices carrying a lightness that hadn't existed earlier in the day.
Yuna laughed quietly at something Elena said, her expression relaxed, almost glowing.
Across from them, Luca leaned back in his chair, watching them with a faint smirk. "I still don't believe you two actually cooked all this," he said.
Elena rolled her eyes. "You're about to eat it, so maybe don't complain."
"I'm not complaining," Luca replied casually. "I'm just… cautious."
Yuna smiled slightly, shaking her head. "Just try it first."
The sound of footsteps drew their attention.
Ethan entered the room, his presence immediately noticed. His hair was still slightly damp, his expression composed—but his eyes moved instinctively toward Yuna.
And for a moment—
Everything else faded.
She looked happy.
Genuinely.
There was a softness in her that hadn't been there before, something lighter, something almost… peaceful.
It caught him off guard again.
"You took your time," Luca said, breaking the moment.
Ethan pulled his gaze away, taking his seat without responding to the comment. But even as he sat down, his attention remained half on Yuna.
"You should eat," Yuna said, glancing at him briefly. "It'll get cold."
Her tone was normal.
Natural.
As if nothing had changed.
As if there wasn't a secret sitting quietly inside her.
As if there wasn't another secret sitting just as heavily with him.
Ethan gave a small nod, reaching for the food, but his mind wasn't fully there.
Because as he watched her—listened to her talk, saw the way she smiled, the way she seemed… lighter—
A single thought kept repeating in his head.
What happens when she finds out?
What happens when the truth reaches her?
The laughter around the table continued, Elena teasing Luca, Yuna responding with small, amused comments. From the outside, it looked like something simple.
Normal.
Like a moment of peace.
But Ethan knew better.
Because underneath that calm—
Everything was already shifting.
And if Yuna ever learned what he and Luca were planning—
If she ever found out that the man they were preparing to take down was her father—
This moment—
This table—
This fragile sense of togetherness—
It would shatter.
And they would all be standing on opposite sides again.
Separated.
Not by distance—
But by something much harder to fix.
Ethan's grip tightened slightly around the fork in his hand before he forced himself to relax.
He looked at Yuna again.
At her smile.
At the way she seemed completely unaware.
And for the first time since the mission had been assigned—
He felt something heavier than pressure.
Something closer to fear.
Because losing a mission—
Was nothing.
But losing her—
That was something he wasn't sure he could handle.
For a while, the conversation carried on as if nothing in the world could touch them. Elena kept teasing Luca about his "serious face," insisting he looked like he was reviewing contracts even while eating, and Luca shot back with dry remarks that made Yuna laugh more than she expected. The sound of that laughter lingered, light and genuine, filling the space in a way that felt rare.
Yuna reached for another bite, pausing for a second as the taste settled, then smiled again. "See? It's good," she said, almost proud.
Luca raised his hands slightly in surrender. "Alright, I admit it. It's better than I expected."
"Wow," Elena muttered. "That's the highest compliment you've ever given."
Across the table, Ethan remained quieter than the rest, but not distant. His gaze lifted every now and then, drawn back to Yuna without him realizing it. There was a softness in how she spoke tonight, a warmth that hadn't been there before—and instead of questioning it out loud, he simply observed.
At one point, Yuna glanced at him and caught his eyes on her. "What?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Nothing," Ethan replied, almost immediately, though his tone was gentler than usual.
She narrowed her eyes playfully. "You're acting strange."
Ethan almost let out a quiet breath at that, the irony not lost on him. "You're the one who's different today."
For a second, Yuna paused—just a fraction—but then she smiled again, brushing it off. "Maybe I'm just in a good mood."
"Let's hope it stays that way," Luca added casually, though the words carried a faint undertone only Ethan seemed to notice.
The moment passed quickly, buried under another round of conversation, but Ethan didn't miss it. None of this—her mood, the calm, the way everything felt almost… normal—it all felt temporary.
Like something fragile.
Like something that could break with a single truth.
Yuna leaned back slightly after finishing, her hand once again drifting to rest over her stomach without her thinking about it. Her smile lingered, softer now, quieter.
Ethan noticed that too.
He didn't say anything.
But he saw it.
And somewhere deep down—
That feeling returned.
That something was changing.
And he was running out of time to decide what to do before everything collided.