Ajin's Perspective
A few days passed.
The scandal storm died down just enough for whispering to take over.
Everywhere I went—cafés, hallways, even the late-night convenience store—people spoke about the same name.
Do Myun-hyuk.
At first, I thought it was just another celebrity rumor. But the more I listened, the more the picture sharpened.
> "He donated half a billion won to the rehab center."
"No, did you hear? He's funding scholarships for kids with no records."
"He's got money, but he doesn't act like the rich. He actually helps people."
I kept hearing his name like a song stuck on repeat.
Soft, warm, annoyingly persistent.
I tried to ignore it… but the irony scraped at me:
A man who used his wealth to heal people—
When I was someone who used my influence to protect only myself.
I didn't expect some philanthropist to affect me.
But every story I overheard left a strange sting inside me, like a reminder of who I could've been… if life had twisted a different way.
That morning, at the café where I tried to work quietly, a group of staff from a nearby broadcasting building walked in.
One of the guys spotted me, froze, then whispered a little too loudly.
> "Isn't that Ajin…?"
"Didn't she manipulate half the industry?"
"I heard Do Myun-hyuk still said she deserved another chance. Crazy, right?"
My eyes snapped up.
What?
My breath hitched.
Another chance?
From a man who didn't even know me?
The girl at their table nodded eagerly.
> "Yeah—Hyuk-nim said in that interview,
'Everyone deserves a second chance if they want to rebuild.'
When the reporter asked if he meant the fallen influencer group,
he said,
'Especially them.'"
A chill shot through me.
Why… why would a stranger defend me?
I didn't want to care.
I didn't even have the right to care.
But something about the way they spoke his name—
with respect, with warmth—
made me feel something unbelievably unfamiliar.
Hope.
A hope I instantly tried to crush.
I gathered my things, ready to flee—
—and that's when I heard a calm, low voice behind me:
> "Are you leaving because of what they said… or because of what you feel?"
I froze.
That voice…
It was smooth, controlled, too gentle for this brutal world.
I turned slowly.
A man stood there—tall, dressed simply but expensively, with eyes that looked like they had seen people break… and helped them up anyway.
His expression didn't judge.
Didn't pity.
Just… saw me.
For the first time in a long time, I felt naked.
He extended a hand.
> "I'm Do Myun-hyuk.
I've been looking for you."
My throat tightened.
> "…Why?"
His gaze softened with something dangerously kind.
> "Because people like you don't fall by themselves.
And you shouldn't stand up alone, either."
My heart—
the one I thought I had buried—
gave a painful, trembling beat.
---
Ajin pov
The days blurred into one another after that disastrous confrontation with Jao and the others. My apartment felt quieter than usual—not peaceful quiet, but the kind that presses against your ears, reminding you of everything you've lost.
I had gotten used to being hated.
I had gotten used to being feared.
But being forgotten…
That was new.
People stopped calling. Studios dropped her from shortlists. Even reporters didn't bother to stalk her anymore. Her face had become old news; her scandals no longer profitable.
She thought she had learned how to survive loneliness.
She was wrong.
Every morning, when I opened my cracked phone screen, the same name appeared again and again in people's whispers, articles, and posts:
Do Myun-hyuk.
At first it annoyed me.
Why were people suddenly obsessed with some rich guy?
But then I listened closer.
He wasn't a typical chaebol heir.
He wasn't a sponsor.
He wasn't a man looking for publicity.
He was a contradiction.
A CEO who sat on sidewalks with homeless teenagers, listening to their stories.
A man who anonymously paid hospital bills for strangers.
A donor who refused to attach his name to any charity plaque.
Rumors said he had climbed out of a brutal past—poverty, violence, abandonment—and built an empire with nothing but grit and an iron will.
Rumors also said he never smiled.
Some said he didn't know how.
Others said he simply didn't feel the need to—until he met someone worth smiling for.
Ajin pov
I first heard his voice inside a small café near my daughter's kindergarten.
I had stopped by only for a warm drink, something to hold onto against the steady ache inside my chest.
A few tables away, two elderly women whispered over coffee.
"That Do Myun-hyuk… he saved the bakery owner's son last week."
"He's a cold man, but his kindness is real. The boy's mother cried at the hospital."
"If only there were more people like him…"
Their voices tangled into the soft chime of teacups, and something in my heart twisted.
A man like that—someone who helped without expecting bows or applause—felt unreal to me.
Maybe because I had lived so long manipulating everything and everyone.
Maybe because kindness felt foreign.
I didn't want to be curious.
But I was.
Later that afternoon, as I was picking up my daughter, I saw a black car parked near the school entrance.
Not the showy kind celebrities used.
A quiet one—polished, understated, elegant.
A tall man stood beside it, speaking with a teacher.
Black coat.
Sharp jawline.
Eyes as still as winter water.
He wasn't smiling.
He wasn't even trying to look approachable.
And yet the teacher looked relieved—like she was standing in front of someone trustworthy.
I didn't know who he was at first…
Not until a few parents whispered his name as they passed by:
"That's Do Myun-hyuk…"
I froze.
He was right in front of me.
A man so widely praised for his kindness—
—yet he looked carved from stone.
My daughter tugged at my sleeve, wanting to run toward her friends.
But my eyes remained fixed on him.
He didn't know me.
He didn't even glance my way.
But something in his posture…
Something about the way he listened without blinking, without shifting, without showing a hint of impatience—
It struck something in me I didn't expect.
A strange, quiet thought whispered inside me:
What kind of man carries that much weight alone…
and still chooses to help others?
Ajin's Perspective
Do Myun-hyuk's office didn't look like it belonged to a billionaire.
No gold.
No marble.
No pretentious chandeliers.
Just sunlight, clean lines, and a single watercolor painting of a boy holding an umbrella over a stray dog.
So he's exactly who the world says he is, I thought.
A good man.
Dangerously good.
His secretary bowed and vanished, leaving me standing in front of him. He rose from his seat as if greeting royalty, not a disgraced ex-idol whose scandals were still being debated online.
"Ajin-ssi," he said with a warm smile that felt too gentle for reality. "It's an honor to finally meet the woman the whole industry underestimated."
I felt my throat tighten—not with flattery, but with caution.
Men who treat me kindly… always want something later.
But his eyes.
They didn't hold greed.
They held fascination.
"I've watched your interviews," he continued. "The way you read people, your instinct for opportunities, your emotional intelligence… it's exceptional. And you're…" His gaze softened. "You're breathtaking in person."
I smiled the smile I used to wear like armor.
"Thank you. I didn't expect someone like you to call for me."
He laughed softly. "Someone like me? You mean a man with more money than time, and more responsibilities than friends?"
His honesty disarmed me for a moment.
Then he leaned back, studying me.
"Ajin-ssi… you're not the villain they painted. You survived in an industry that eats people alive."
His voice lowered.
"And I admire you."
Those words…
Those simple, soft words…
They were the exact kind I used to weaponize.
But now?
They felt sharp. Cutting. Because I wasn't sure if I still had the strength to manipulate someone who didn't deserve it.
Still.
I needed power again.
I needed protection from Jao.
I needed financial stability for my daughter.
And I needed—
No. Wanted.
A shield between Jun-seo and my chaos.
So when Do Myun-hyuk stood up and walked toward me with slow, deliberate steps, I stayed still.
"Ajin," he said quietly, as though we were already something more intimate, "I want to offer you a partnership. A future."
My pulse skipped.
"A future?" I repeated, cautious.
His eyes never left mine.
"A marriage."
For one second—just one—my breath stopped.
Marriage.
A man like him.
A man adored.
A man loved.
A man trusted.
He wanted me.
"You're talented, intelligent, beautiful… and misunderstood."
He lifted my hand gently, brushing his thumb over my knuckles.
"I want to give you comfort, stability, and a chance to start over. With me."
The old Ajin—the one who climbed on people's backs to survive—woke up inside me like a ghost stretching after a long sleep.
This is your chance.
Your comeback.
Your shield.
Take it.
So I smiled slowly, lifting my chin the way I used to when sealing a deal.
"If you want me," I whispered, "then… I'll accept."
But inside?
A quiet voice trembled.
Please let me be right about you.
Please don't be another mistake.
Here is the full continuation and expansion, dramatic and cinematic, with two parallel storylines:
Ajin & Do Myun-hyuk … and Jao & Jun-seo caught in the explosion.
I'll keep it long, intense, emotional, and full of tension just like a webtoon chapter.
The mansion smelled like sandalwood and old money—smooth, quiet, expensive silence. Ajin walked in with her usual calm smile, the kind that convinced people she wasn't suffocating inside.
Do Myun-hyuk stood near the window, hands behind his back. He looked like someone carved out of calm winter air: elegant, intimidating, and dangerously composed.
When he saw her, his expression softened.
"Miss Ajin," he greeted, stepping closer. "Up close… your beauty is even more striking."
Ajin bowed politely, hiding the flicker of discomfort in her eyes.
"My secretary told me how talented you were," he continued, "but after seeing your past interviews, the way you carried yourself… It is rare to find someone with your presence."
Ajin swallowed, almost forgetting how to speak.
He gestured for her to sit. "I heard about the… incidents. The collapse of your career."
His voice lowered. "And the betrayals."
Ajin's fingers clenched under the table.
"You deserved better," he said simply.
Then the twist.
He placed a velvet ring box on the glass table.
"I can offer you a new life," he said calmly, as if asking for a business deal. "Be my wife."
Ajin's breath stopped.
Do Myun-hyuk leaned in slightly, voice dropping to a whisper that chilled her spine:
"And how about this—"
His eyes darkened, calculating.
"How about I remove everyone from your past… one by one… so you never have to see them again?"
A slow smirk grew on his lips, polite yet terrifying.
"We can start over," he said. "Only you and me."
Ajin kept her expression serene, but inside—
Perfect.
Someone powerful. Easy to control. Easy to use.
Exactly what she needed.
She smiled gently.
"If you wish… I will consider your proposal," she whispered.
"But I have conditions."
His eyebrow lifted. "Name them."
Hooked, she thought.
Good.
Meanwhile — JAO & DRUNKEN JUN-SEO
Jao dragged Jun-seo out of the bar, practically carrying him.
"Bro, you drank like you're trying to die early," Jao muttered.
Jun-seo snorted, half conscious.
"Ajin… she… always runs," he slurred. "Always…"
"Yeah, yeah, cry later. Move your feet."
Jao got him inside a small rented room near the studio. Not fancy, but quiet enough.
Jun-seo fell onto the sofa, staring at the ceiling with red eyes.
"You think… she'll come back?" he whispered.
Jao sighed. "I don't know, man. Maybe. Maybe not. But I know you're killing yourself waiting."
Jun-seo laughed bitterly. "She didn't even tell me—didn't tell me anything—until it was too late."
Before Jao could reply—
A faint click came from outside the door.
Then a strange hiss.
A smell—sharp, chemical, metallic.
Jao froze.
"…what is that?" he whispered.
Jun-seo blinked. "Wh…what smell?"
Jao's instincts screamed. This smell wasn't alcohol.
Not gas from a stove.
Something heavier.
His eyes shot to the small gap under the door—
A thin curl of white smoke drifting inside.
His blood ran cold.
"Get up," Jao ordered, voice suddenly sharp.
"Now."
Jun-seo shook his head. "W-What—?"
"GET UP!" Jao grabbed him violently, dragging him toward the window.
At the same moment—
Footsteps sprinted away down the hall.
Jao didn't have time to think.
He smashed the window with his elbow, ignoring the blood, shoved Jun-seo through the opening, then climbed out after him.
BOOM—
A monstrous explosion ripped through the room they'd just escaped.
Fire swallowed the windows.
The entire building shook.
Jun-seo collapsed on the pavement outside, coughing.
Jao grabbed his collar.
"That wasn't an accident," he growled.
"Someone tried to kill you."
Fire alarms screamed. People shouted. Flames roared.
Jun-seo stared at the inferno swallowing the room where he'd been lying drunk minutes earlier… and his heart stopped.
Someone wanted him gone.
But the question that chilled him to the bone—
Was it someone from his past?
Someone after him…
Or someone chasing Ajin?