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(Seo-rin's POV)
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He didn't speak as he led her through the marble halls, his hand still wrapped tightly around hers.
There was blood on his sleeve.
Her knees were shaking.
But neither of them let go.
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They entered a quiet room—dim, warm, unfamiliar. A fireplace glowed in the corner. The farthest wing of his estate.
Jae-hyun gestured for her to sit.
She didn't.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, voice low.
Seo-rin blinked. "I don't know."
Her voice cracked.
Only then did she realize she was crying.
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Without a word, he stepped closer.
His hand brushed her hair back, gentle but hesitant, like he wasn't used to softness.
He touched her shoulder, eyes scanning for blood, bruises—anything.
She didn't know what broke her more: the fact that someone tried to kill her…
Or the way he was looking at her.
Like she mattered.
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"I thought I was safe here," she whispered.
"You were."
"No," she said, sharper now. "I wasn't. You promised me I would be."
A long pause.
Jae-hyun stared at her.
Then, slowly—he dropped to his knees in front of her.
Not as an apology. Not as surrender.
But as a man who had no other way to show regret.
> "I should've known they'd come for you. The second I—"
He stopped himself.
Seo-rin leaned in.
"The second you what?"
He looked up, expression unreadable.
> "The second you became something I couldn't afford to lose."
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The silence swallowed them.
And in it—
Something shifted.
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> He reached up again, this time slower.
> His thumb wiped a tear from her cheek.
> His voice, barely audible—
"I've never protected anyone before. Not like this."
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And even though her body still trembled—
Even though danger lurked just outside—
Seo-rin whispered, "You did protect me."
Jae-hyun didn't reply.
He just stared at her lips…
And for a second, it felt like the world stopped breathing.
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But he stood up.
Too fast. Too cold.
Back to being the emperor again.
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"Rest," he said.
And left.
But the warmth of his touch stayed with her—
Like a bruise she didn't want to heal.
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