CHAPTER 30 – ASHES WE CHOOSE
Seoul Private Medical Center – 2:17 a.m.
Seo-Ah
The scent of antiseptic burned her nose as she walked briskly beside the gurney. Min-Jun's blood soaked through the side of the blanket, a steady crimson patch that sent panic pulsing through her with every glance.
She kept her hand wrapped tightly around his.
His grip was weak.
But still there.
Still him.
He didn't say much. Just looked at her like she was the only real thing left in a world that was trying to crush him.
The nurses rushed him into an operating room, and Seo-Ah was left standing outside, hands shaking, breath shallow.
Dong-Hwan appeared beside her moments later. "It missed any vital organs," he said quietly. "But he's lost a lot of blood."
She nodded, wordless.
Her mind was spinning, but her feet wouldn't move. She remained outside the room for nearly an hour, staring at the double doors like she could will them to open.
When they finally did, a nurse appeared.
"He's awake," she said. "But weak."
Seo-Ah didn't wait for permission.
She rushed inside.
---
Min-Jun
The pain came in waves. Hot. Dull. Then sharp again.
But when Seo-Ah walked into the room, the pain slipped to the background like fog under sunlight.
She moved toward him slowly, eyes red-rimmed, lower lip trembling slightly.
"You look like hell," she whispered.
He tried to smile. "Thanks. I was going for 'tragically handsome.'"
She let out a shaky laugh and sat beside him. Her fingers hovered near his hand, unsure — then slowly intertwined with his.
"You scared me," she said.
"I scare myself sometimes."
Silence.
Then her voice dropped. "You bled for me again."
Min-Jun looked at her — really looked — and something inside him broke open.
"I would burn the world for you."
Seo-Ah swallowed. "Then what do we do now?"
He closed his eyes briefly. "We survive. One more time."
---
Elsewhere – 3:11 a.m.
Yeon-Hwa
The flames danced in her eyes long before they reached the sky.
She stood in front of a monitor inside a private surveillance bunker hidden beneath one of her family's abandoned estates.
On the screen: the hospital's emergency wing.
Beside her, a mercenary leaned over a control panel. "Timed ignition systems are in place. Gas lines rerouted through the west utility."
"You're sure the brother is inside?" she asked coldly.
He nodded. "Confirmed. And so is Lee Min-Jun."
Her expression didn't flicker.
"Anyone else?"
"His assistant. The girl. Seo-Ah."
The silence stretched.
"You're asking me to torch a building full of staff," he added. "Innocents."
Yeon-Hwa smiled faintly. "There's no such thing."
He hesitated. "And your brother?"
She looked at the screen.
Then away.
"He chose Min-Jun over me the moment he walked out that door. If Jin-Woo dies, then I lose my last weakness."
She lifted her hand.
"Do it."
---
Hospital – 3:22 a.m.
Seo-Ah
Min-Jun was half-sitting up in the hospital bed, refusing to rest, when the room shuddered faintly.
It was subtle. A hum. A tremor.
The lights flickered.
Seo-Ah looked toward the window.
"Did you feel that?" she asked.
Min-Jun's eyes sharpened instantly. "Help me up."
"You need rest—"
"Seo-Ah." His voice was low, firm. "Help me. Now."
She grabbed his arm, looping it over her shoulders. He winced but stood, blood seeping through the bandages. He reached for his discarded jacket and pulled a phone from the pocket.
He called Dong-Hwan.
"Something's wrong," Min-Jun said. "The building just shook."
Dong-Hwan's voice was tight. "Get out. Now. There's a gas fire spreading from the west wing. Fire crews are locked out. It's… coordinated."
Min-Jun's jaw clenched. "It's her."
Seo-Ah's breath hitched.
Min-Jun turned to her. "She's going to bury us all in this building."
---
3:28 a.m. – Hospital Hallway
The hallway was chaos.
Smoke began curling under the edges of doors. Alarms screeched. Patients screamed. Nurses rushed from room to room trying to move those who couldn't walk.
Seo-Ah helped Min-Jun into the corridor, ducking their heads from the smoke overhead.
The lights cut out.
Emergency red strobes blinked like heartbeats.
"We need to go now!" a voice shouted down the hallway.
Dong-Hwan appeared from the stairwell, face smeared with soot, two agents behind him.
"There's an explosion risk!" he shouted. "North stairwell only — rest are blocked!"
Min-Jun nodded. "Get Jin-Woo."
"He's already in the truck," Dong-Hwan replied. "He asked if you made it. Said he'd wait."
Min-Jun almost smiled.
Almost.
Then another boom sounded from the west wing. Flames burst through the hallway ceiling several yards down.
Everything shook.
Seo-Ah stumbled, coughing.
Min-Jun pulled her against him protectively, even as blood soaked through his shirt again.
They ran.
---
3:36 a.m. – Rooftop
They didn't make it to the north stairwell.
Flames blocked their path.
So Dong-Hwan forced the roof door open.
Rain poured down, extinguishing nothing, just adding steam to the inferno below.
The evac helicopter hovered overhead — but only for a moment. Then gunfire rang out from a nearby rooftop.
Snipers.
"She planned this all the way," Min-Jun said bitterly. "She wanted to watch us burn."
Seo-Ah looked at him, soaked and shaking.
"Then we give her something else to watch."
---
3:42 a.m. – Rooftop Final Stand
Dong-Hwan threw a smoke grenade into the air — a signal flare for their emergency extract crew.
The helicopter dipped low, fireproof shields raised.
Gunfire cracked again — but the wind made aiming difficult.
Min-Jun shoved Seo-Ah toward the rope ladder as it dropped. "You go first."
She grabbed his arm. "Not without you."
"Seo-Ah, please—"
"I lost you once," she said, voice thick. "I'm not doing it again."
He didn't argue after that.
Together, they climbed.
Behind them, the rooftop gave way in a fiery roar — swallowing the place where they once lay together, whispered promises, touched each other like they still had time.
As the helicopter ascended, Min-Jun collapsed against the wall, bleeding, breathless.
But he was alive.
She was alive.
And Yeon-Hwa had failed.
---
Elsewhere – 4:01 a.m.
Yeon-Hwa
She stood in silence.
The monitor had gone black.
No confirmation.
No bodies.
Just smoke.
Failure.
For the first time in years, Yeon-Hwa's hands shook.
She turned to her mercenary.
"Double the bounty," she whispered. "I want them hunted. I want them gone."
The mercenary nodded.
"But leave him for last," she added. "He needs to watch her die first."
Then she smiled.
"Ashes are beautiful when you're the one who lights the match."
Hidden Safehouse – Somewhere in the Mountains – 8:12 a.m.
Seo-Ah
She sat on the edge of the bed, watching him sleep.
The small cabin was quiet except for the distant rustle of trees and the occasional chirp of birds still unaware of the war that had followed them into this secluded part of the world.
Min-Jun's chest rose and fell slowly beneath the thin white sheet, bandages wrapping around his torso like a reminder he was still made of flesh — not steel.
He hadn't spoken much during the evacuation. Just clutched her hand with quiet desperation and closed his eyes the second the door of the armored van had sealed them away from smoke and flame.
Now, hours later, his body finally gave in.
He looked younger in sleep. Tired, but at peace. For once, not the CEO. Not the weapon. Just… Min-Jun.
Her Min-Jun.
A scar lined his collarbone. Another near his hip. She reached out and gently brushed her fingers over the one along his ribs. He winced.
His eyes opened slowly.
And when they met hers — warm, raw, bleeding from everything they'd endured — she felt the dam inside her finally break.
"I thought I lost you," she whispered, voice shaking.
He reached for her hand, weaving his fingers through hers, his grip firmer than before.
"You never did."
She leaned forward and kissed him softly — not hungrily, not urgently, but like she was remembering him, all over again.
He kissed her back just the same.
---
Later – After Noon
He was sitting upright now, sipping hot broth while she changed his bandages.
Min-Jun hissed slightly as her fingers pressed against the bruising along his ribs.
"You're healing slower," she said.
"I'm older than I was two weeks ago."
She smiled faintly, eyes on the gauze. "You almost died again."
He touched her wrist gently. "But you didn't run this time."
"I couldn't." Her voice cracked. "Not from you."
There was silence between them — soft, shared.
Then Seo-Ah looked up. "What happens now?"
Min-Jun's expression hardened. "We don't hide anymore."
She set down the gauze. "What do you mean?"
"I mean we end this."
He rose, despite the ache in his bones, moving toward the desk where Dong-Hwan had left a tablet, files, and a new phone. He opened it and scanned the documents — bank records, offshore accounts, fake charities. All tied to Yeon-Hwa's empire.
"She tried to kill her own brother. That was her last thread of humanity," he said. "Now she's nothing but a target."
Seo-Ah walked over and stood beside him. "So what's the plan?"
Min-Jun turned to her. "We take everything."
---
Dong-Hwan's War Room – 4:40 p.m.
The room in the safehouse basement buzzed with quiet energy. Screens glowed. Maps flickered. Strings of red lines connected cities, storage units, shell companies, private airports.
Dong-Hwan stood at the center, arms folded.
Min-Jun entered, Seo-Ah behind him. His limp was still there, but his voice was back to its full power.
"I want all of it," Min-Jun said. "Every illegal transaction. Every hidden warehouse. Every name that has ever worked for her father, her, or her ghosts."
Dong-Hwan handed him a tablet. "She's planning something bigger. You saw what she did to the hospital — that wasn't just a hit. That was a statement."
"She's scared," Min-Jun replied. "She should be."
Dong-Hwan nodded grimly. "We can hit her in five places at once. But we'll need Seo-Ah's help."
Min-Jun turned.
Seo-Ah raised her chin. "Tell me what to do."
---
That Night – 11:17 p.m.
The safehouse was quiet again. Outside, the wind stirred the leaves. Inside, Seo-Ah stood by the window, arms crossed, eyes lost in the night.
Min-Jun stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned into him instantly.
"I was useless back there," she said.
"No, you weren't," he said against her shoulder. "You were everything."
"I keep thinking about the people in that hospital. The nurses, the patients…"
His arms tightened.
"She won't stop," Seo-Ah whispered. "She'd burn the world to make you suffer."
Min-Jun kissed her temple. "Then we'll give her nothing left to burn."
She turned in his arms and looked up at him.
"You really think we can win?"
Min-Jun nodded once. "We're not alone anymore."
They kissed again — and this time, it was everything.
Years of aching silence. Of late-night stares. Of walking past each other pretending not to feel. Of hospitals, fire, blood, and longing.
And this time, they didn't stop.
They moved to the bed slowly, hands sliding beneath clothing with reverence, not hunger. His touch was tender, careful of her, even in his brokenness. Her body melted into his like it had always known the way.
When he finally entered her, it wasn't just need. It was coming home.
He moved slowly, as if memorizing her again. As if afraid she might vanish with the dawn.
She held him close, whispered his name into his neck like a prayer.
And when they came undone together, it wasn't loud.
It was sacred.
---
Postlude – 2:01 a.m.
Min-Jun lay beside her, fingers running through her hair as she rested her head on his chest.
They didn't speak.
They didn't need to.
But in his mind, pieces were moving.
He'd burn her empire down.
And this time, he wouldn't stop until Yeon-Hwa had nothing left.