Certainly. Here's Chapter 8, written in a deeply humanized, emotionally resonant style, wh
Chapter 9 : Stolen Words
Yunjun stood outside her door for a long time.
Long enough for the coffee in his hand to go cold.
He'd spent the entire night thinking.
About her silence. Her trembling voice.
About every moment he'd let her believe she was just an obligation.
He was done being silent.
He was going to tell her.
Everything.
But when he knocked softly, there was no answer.
He frowned. Knocked again.
Still nothing.
He opened the door.
The room was empty.
No coat.
No shoes.
No Yeri.
His chest tightened.
He turned sharply, calling out down the hallway. "Soojin! Have you seen Yeri?"
Soojin looked up from the kitchen, startled. "No, I thought she was resting. Why?"
"She's not in her room."
A pause. Then panic bloomed behind Soojin's eyes.
"Her phone is still here," she whispered, picking it up from the counter.
Yunjun's blood went cold.
The next few hours blurred.
Security footage. Calls. Streets scanned.
One of the guards finally found the scuff marks near the side gate.
A struggle.
Yeri hadn't just walked away.
She had been taken.
Somewhere in the city, in a warehouse that smelled like rust and rot, Yeri hung from chains that bit into her wrists.
Her lip was split. One eye swollen.
But she refused to scream.
Jack stood in front of her, arms crossed, his grin like poison.
"You're quieter than I expected," he said, circling her. "Most girls beg."
Yeri spat blood onto the floor. "I'm not most girls."
Jack chuckled. "No. You're his. That makes you interesting."
She didn't speak.
"You know what I hate about Yunjun?" Jack continued. "He walks like the world owes him peace. Like he's above the dirt he crawled from."
He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "But I'll drag him through the filth to get what I want. And you, sweetheart…" He leaned in. "You're my message."
Yeri didn't flinch.
But her knees buckled slightly.
Pain laced through every breath. But worse than the broken ribs, the bruises, the blood—
was the thought of Yunjun finding her like this.
Not because she was ashamed.
But because she knew what it would do to him.
Back at the mansion, Yunjun stared at the location ping that finally came through.
Abandoned factory. East district. No police. No waiting.
He was already in the car.
Sia tried to stop him. "Let the guards go first!"
But he shook his head. "I have to be there."
His voice cracked.
The building was a shadow of rust and silence.
Yunjun moved through it like a ghost, gun at his side, heart in his throat.
And then—he heard it.
A cough. A soft, pained sound.
Faint. But hers.
"Yeri?"
He turned a corner and saw her.
Suspended from chains. Barely conscious. Bloodied.
He dropped the weapon, ran.
"Yeri—hey—look at me—"
Her head rolled slightly. "Yun…jun?"
He reached up, unhooked the chains, catching her before she could fall.
She sobbed from the movement, the pain cracking her voice.
"I'm here," he whispered. "You're okay now. I've got you."
Her fingers weakly clutched his shirt. "He… he said you wouldn't come…"
His jaw tightened. "He was wrong."
Sirens wailed in the distance—Sia must've called for help.
Yunjun carried her out into the light like she was made of glass.
He didn't let go even when the medics tried to take her.
Her blood soaked into his sleeves, her breath warm and shallow against his neck.
He whispered something over and over again—
Not to her, not really.
To himself. To the sky. To whoever was listening.
"I should've told you sooner. I should've told you…"
At the hospital, Yeri was wheeled into surgery.
Internal bleeding. Fractured ribs.
She wasn't conscious enough to hear him say the words.
But he stayed outside her room anyway, watching the red light above the door like it held his fate.
Soojin sat beside him, silent.
After a while, she spoke. "This is my fault too."
Yunjun didn't look at her. "No. Jack was mine."
"You pushed her away," Soojin said softly. "And she still came back to you. That's not weakness, you know."
He exhaled shakily. "I was going to tell her today."
Soojin's eyes softened. "Then tell her tomorrow."
"What if she doesn't wake up?"
Soojin took his hand, the way she hadn't in years.
"Then you keep telling her until she does."
Hours passed.
Then a nurse stepped out, removing her gloves.
"She's stable," she said gently. "But she's still unconscious. You can see her."
Yunjun nodded once. Quiet. Numb.
He walked into the room like a man returning to church.
The machines beeped in slow, steady rhythms.
Yeri's face was pale, but her breathing was stronger.
He pulled the chair beside her bed and sat. His hands trembled as he reached out.
"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered.
His thumb brushed her knuckles, so carefully.
"Yeri… I don't know when it happened. Or how. But it did. I love you."
A pause. His voice broke.
"I don't know if you'll hear this, but I need you to."
"I love you," he said again, tears slipping free. "And I'm sorry I didn't say it when you could answer me."
Outside, dawn broke across the sky.
But in that quiet hospital room, Yunjun kept whispering her name—
like a prayer he refused to let go unanswered.
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