It was 10:50 PM.
The house was quiet, the lights dim, and the air held that stillness that came when the night deepened but sleep hadn't arrived yet.
Cherry stood near the main door, shifting from one foot to another, nervously watching the clock. His hands clutched the sleeves of his shirt. He was waiting—for someone who barely spoke, barely looked his way, but still... someone he now called husband.
Suddenly, the lock clicked, and the door creaked open.
Cherry straightened up with a small smile. "Welcome hom— sniff… ahh you smell like alcohol."
Akira stepped inside, his movements sluggish. His sharp jaw was softened by the flush of drunkenness, and his eyes were hazy as they landed on Cherry.
"Where is Aki?" he muttered.
Cherry tilted his head in confusion. "I am Cherry, not Aki? Who is this Aki?"
He leaned back slightly and whispered to the guards behind him, "Who is he?"
K stepped closer to Akira and quietly reminded, "Boss, he is your wife... marriage, you know."
Akira paused for a beat before straightening up, swaying a little. "Ohh."
He leaned toward Cherry with a slow blink. "Hello."
Cherry replied awkwardly, "Uhh… Hello."
"Now out of my way," Akira said, brushing past.
On his way to the bedroom, he began pulling off his shirt and let it fall to the floor without a second thought. Cherry and the guards stood by, unsure whether to speak or pretend none of it was happening.
Akira vanished into the room and collapsed on the bed, out cold the moment his head hit the pillow.
Cherry stepped in carefully, his footsteps light. He looked at the shirt on the floor, then at the figure lying across the bed.
He heard something soft.
Akira, in his sleep, was mumbling—pain in his voice, raw and exposed in his most vulnerable state.
"Please Aki… don't leave me… Aki…"
Cherry's chest tightened. For a moment, he simply stood there, watching.
Then slowly, he walked to the bed and sat down at the edge. His hand moved on its own, gently brushing back Akira's dark hair.
He whispered, voice low and tender, "I am here."
The morning sun spilled softly through the windows. Cherry stepped out of the bathroom, cheeks flushed pink from the hot shower, his soft, damp hair clinging to his face as he rubbed it with a towel.
On the bed, Akira suddenly stirred, sitting up with a sharp breath. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he blinked in confusion.
Cherry looked at him, concerned. "You ok, honey?"
Akira squinted. His voice still heavy with the hangover. "Ya... ya. What are you doing here in my room?"
Cherry blinked innocently. "I sleep here last night."
Akira's expression twisted. "Huh... where is my shirt? What did you...?"
"You took off your shirt and threw it on the floor last night, saying it was hot, remember?" Cherry replied, blushing slightly, his eyes darting to Akira's well-built chest.
"Is that so..."
Later, Akira, fresh from a shower, stepped out into the hall. J, dressed in a full black suit under an apron, his tall frame towering like a mountain, was busy at the stove. His glasses glinted as he smiled warmly.
"Good morning, Boss. Breakfast is ready."
Akira sat down at the bar-style counter. "Oye, J. Why didn't you inform me that I'm sleeping with him, huh?"
J blinked innocently. "But Boss, I did. You were too drunk."
Akira growled. "Then take me to your home, idiot."
J dropped to the floor dramatically. "My house?! No no Boss—you live in this luxury," he wailed, fake sobbing. "And me, in that small house... with Boss? Noooo, I will kill myself!"
Akira watched him blankly while chewing his omelette.
Cherry walked in and sat beside him. "What is going on?"
J stood up instantly, wiping his fake tears away and smiling again.
"I am done eating," Akira announced, getting up and grabbing his coat. "J, take care of the house."
J nodded like a perfect housewife.
As Cherry sipped the tea J gave him, he glanced curiously. "J, what do you think of your boss?"
With a radiant smile that could rival the sun, J replied, "He is cool!"
Cherry hummed, remembering the previous night, the way he had cuddled with a shirtless, drunk Akira... his face turning red with the thought. J tilted his head, confused.
Finishing breakfast, Cherry stood up. "J, let's go to shopping. I want to buy some stuff."
J beamed. "I'll get the car ready then, Bosslady."
---
Meanwhile, Akira was finishing a deal in an abandoned warehouse. The opposing gang, however, had other plans.
As the meeting ended, the gang leader suddenly pulled out a gun, aiming it straight at Akira's head.
"Hah! Look at you, all alone, Reaper. Now what'll you do, huh?"
Their laughter echoed, mocking. But Akira only chuckled darkly.
"Hahaha... Who said I am alone?"
Suddenly, Aki appeared beside him. The light bulbs around them exploded one by one, glass scattering, sending the room into chaos.
The gang leader blinked, distracted. When he looked back—Akira was gone. A second later, the cold barrel of a gun pressed against his head from behind.
Akira's voice whispered, "Didn't your mama tell you to keep your eyes open when playing with the dark?"
"Kill this bastard!" the leader roared.
Gunfire erupted. The rest of Akira's gang, who had been waiting outside, stormed in. Chains, blades, and screams clashed in the air.
"K, throw the axe!" Akira commanded mid-fight, cracking a gangster's neck.
K flung the axe perfectly. Akira caught it mid-air and, in one swing, decapitated a thug rushing at him. Blood sprayed, and the head flew.
---
Meanwhile, in the car halfway to the shopping mall, Akira called.
"J, come fast, it's an emergency."
J spun the car in a perfect 180°. Cherry clutched his seat. "J-J-J ahhh what are you doing?!"
"Seat tight, Bosslady—it's an emergency," J replied, fixing his glasses.
They arrived at the warehouse. J stepped out in his black suit, sunglasses on, and walked toward the chaos.
Cherry hesitated. As soon as he stepped out, something wet slapped into his hands. It was a head.
"AHHHH!" Cherry screamed and fainted.
"Uhh," J sighed.
Akira, soaked in blood, still crushing throats, glared. "Idiot! Why did you bring him here?!"
"I... I-I..." J stammered.
At the Happy Life Hospital, Dr. Yuke, Akira's younger brother, stood by Cherry's bedside, checking the IV.
"He just fainted from shock. He'll be fine."
Aki and some of the gang listened quietly from the door.
Soon, Cherry stirred. He sat up suddenly, panicked. "Ahh no ahhh!"
Yuke rushed to hug him. "There, there. Don't worry, Cherry. You're fine."
Cherry clung to him. "Where am I, Doctor?"
"At my hospital," Yuke said kindly.
"But I saw blood... and heads... bodies—"
"Shh, Cherry. You were watching a movie. Everything's fine. Look, I'm here, and even all the gang—err, I mean, family—is here. No one's covered in blood, see? Rest now, you're in good hands."
Outside, Aki frowned. "Where is Akira? How could he leave his wife like this?"
Meanwhile, Akira stood quietly outside a patient room, peeking in through the small glass panel, biting his lip to stop his tears.
Aki searched, then paused. Just steps away from the room, he found he couldn't move forward. Something—an invisible wall?—held him back.
"What the hell? I can enter temples, but not this area?"
Just then, Akira appeared beside him, wiping his face.
Aki stared. "Akira, did you cry?"
Akira turned away. "What? Who said? Get your eyes checked."
Aki blinked. "Wait... my eyes? But I'm already dead... My eyesight can't go bad..."
He froze, brain catching up. "Oye! Wait a minute!!"