They ended up at some fancy hotel, surrounded by tight security and even police stationed near the entrance. Despite that, Jenna insisted they all stay together in the same suite.

Yohan paid for the presidential suite—two separate bedrooms, a spacious living room, and enough luxury to make it feel more like a private apartment than a hotel room.

Izumi quietly headed to one of the bedrooms to freshen up, leaving Yohan alone with Jenna in the exquisite living room.

Soft golden lights reflected off the polished furniture, and the city skyline stretched beyond the tall glass windows.

"Want a drink?" Jenna asked, already standing by the mini bar as she poured herself a glass.

"Yeah, thanks."

She handed him one, and he sat beside her on the couch.

They both took a sip, the strong sting of alcohol settling heavily on their tongues.

Jenna leaned back slightly, swirling the drink in her hand.

"Now," she said, her voice calmer but far more serious, "it’s time to get down to it."

Yohan already knew where this was going.

Her eyes fixed on him.

"What were you doing with Izumi when she got captured?"

"You didn’t even wait," he said playfully, but her indifferent gaze remained the same.

"I’m just going to be honest..." he sighed, thinking of a good lie but nothing came to mind.

"Were you doing... dirty things with her?" Jenna could not help but turn red as she asked, even with all her composure.

"I’d say we were doing it to ourselves, it wasn’t just me..."

"You... perverted animal!" her brows furrowed as she picked up a bottle and was about to toss it at him.

"Jenna..." the room door pushed open, and Izumi came out with her hair wet and a towel wrapped around her body.

She glanced at the both of them, "I need some clothes"

"I’ll go get some," Jenna said rather calmly before standing up to leave.

"Thank goodness, I thought she was actually going to kill me," he let out a playful sigh of relief.

"Why?"

Izumi stepped beside him and poured herself a drink.

"You two know each other, don’t you?"

"N–No... not really." Yohan was caught off guard.

Now it was Izumi’s turn.

But after everything that had happened, she was surprisingly calm. Maybe it was because she had just survived something life-changing.

"If you know her, then I guess it’s true..." she said quietly. "You really were just using me to get to my grandfather."

Her voice wasn’t heartbroken, just... disappointed.

She turned to face him.

"And what happened between us... was that part of your plan too?"

Yohan hesitated.

The question hit harder than he expected. He hadn’t even realized she felt anything about those moments they shared.

Then again, Jenna had mentioned that Izumi had only ever been with Freddie.

Maybe... she’d never been with someone who actually cared.

"I should’ve known," she sighed.

Then she looked at him again "Aren’t you going to say anything?"

"What do you want me to say?" Yohan replied. "You’ve already made up your mind."

He paused, then added,

"Even after I just put my life on the line to save you."

Her expression shifted, his words landing harder than expected.

"T-Thank you for that," she said, her tone awkwardly stiff now. "My grandfather will reward you handsomely."

"I don’t think so."

"Why?" she frowned. "He’s really not as bad as you think."

"It’s not that..."

"Then what do you mean?"

Yohan met her eyes.

"Izumi... your grandfather killed both my parents and now wants me dead just because I refused to give him what he wants,"

"T-That’s... not true..." she stammered.

"You know he’s a mob boss, right?" Yohan said, his voice steady. "What do you think he actually does? Don’t tell me you believe Hatoru is a good person."

She bit her tongue. The truth was right in front of her, but she couldn’t bring herself to accept.

"He is," she insisted quietly. "I would’ve known if he was that kind of person."

Yohan let out a faint, humorless breath.

"And yet... you don’t. Why don’t you ask Jenna, maybe you’d believe if you heard it from her mouth,"

He got up and headed for the front door.

"Where are you going?" She asked, her voice rising with concern.

"Well, I’d rather get out before Jenna gets back. I don’t think I have any energy left to face her,"

_____

At the start of the new week, Yohan resumed school like nothing happened. He walked into the class to find Minji teaching.

"Good morning," she waved at him with a casual, nervous smile.

Her friendly reaction, although shaky, was vastly different from the previous week. Helen had told him that she handled everything with Minji but this was the first time he was seeing her since then so he didn’t know what to expect.

’What could Helen have said?’

Or did she simply not care anymore that he had killed a person.

After class, Yohan followed her to her office without a word.

She noticed, of course. Her shoulders stiffened slightly, but she didn’t tell him to leave.

They sat across from each other.

Silence stretched between them, thick and uncomfortable.

Minji was the first to break.

"Yohan... I have something to tell you."

He didn’t respond. Just watched her.

"The other day... I saw something. And instead of coming to you, I went to your boss and almost got you in trouble."

"My boss?" he repeated, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah. Deputy Inspector Helen. Isn’t she one of the senior officials in the police force?"

"Yes, but she isn’t—"

He stopped himself, as he reasoned.

So that was it.

Helen had lied.

And not just casually, she used her position to shield him, placing herself between him and suspicion without even confirming the truth.

That goes to show how much she really did care about him.

A faint smirk tugged at his lips.

"You met my boss, huh?" he said, his tone shifting, smoother now. "You should’ve just come to me. I would’ve answered anything you wanted."

"I know," Minji said quickly. "And I’m sorry. It was my first time seeing something like that. I didn’t know what to think."

Yohan studied her for a moment. Her voice was steady, but her hands weren’t.

"I understand," he said.

Then he leaned back slightly, his gaze sharpening.

"But if you want my forgiveness... you’ll have to do something for me"