Chapter 4 THE FALLOUT

Later that day, Jeff stared at Jay's wound as he stitched it. He worked with quiet precision, but his jaw was tense.

"You don't let anyone get this close."

"I didn't plan on it."

Jeff looked at him. "What happened in that villa?"

Jay didn't answer.

"I'll find out either way," Jeff warned.

Jay exhaled. "I kissed him."

Jeff froze mid-stitch. "You what?"

Jay looked him dead in the eyes. "And he kissed me back."

Jeff didn't speak for a long moment.

Then: "Jay, you do realize what this means, right?"

Jay nodded. "Yeah. I'm in trouble."

Jeff leaned back, running a hand through his hair. "You've done a lot of reckless things. But this... This could get us both killed."

Jay's tone was calm, but there was a tremble beneath. "It's not just a kiss."

Jeff blinked. "So what, then?"

"I don't know. But when I looked at him, it was like-like the world stopped making sense. And for once, I didn't care."

Jeff stood. "You're not thinking clearly."

"No. For the first time, I think I am."

Jeff stared at him a moment longer. Then he shook his head and walked out.

But something was shifting.

He didn't know exactly when it started - maybe the moment their eyes locked at the casino, or when they fought back to back in that warehouse drenched in blood and gunfire - but Jay knew.

He was falling.

And he hated it.

They both knew they had fallen in love with each other, but kept on denying it. Denied it not out of cowardice, but out of care - a twisted kind of protection in a world where love was a weapon waiting to be used. Jay was terrified. Terrified that if his father found out he had kissed Jack, Jack would be dead before the sun rose. Terrified that acknowledging the truth - even to himself - would sign Jack's death warrant.

His inner thoughts overwhelmed him. The walls he had built around his heart trembled. For the first time, he wasn't sure they would hold.

He hated how much he wanted more. Hated how the memory of Jack's lips still lingered on his own like a promise he wasn't allowed to make. It haunted him, tasted like danger - but he craved it.

Jay sat in his darkened room that night, the city glowing beneath him. He pressed a thumb to his bottom lip, closing his eyes. The kiss played again in his mind - slow, sharp, unforgettable.

He wanted more.

And somewhere deep inside, a quiet voice whispered:

Across the city, Jack sat on the floor of his apartment, still in bloodstained clothes. He hadn't moved in hours.

His second-in-command, Rin, knocked gently on the doorframe.

"You need anything, boss?"

Jack didn't answer.

Rin hesitated, then said, "They're saying Jay took a bullet for you."

Jack didn't look up. "He did."

"That true?"

Jack finally raised his eyes. "Yes."

Rin folded his arms. "What does it mean?"

Jack whispered, almost to himself, "I think it means I'm screwed."

And at the safe house....he kissed me, and i kissed him back. This may sound weird but i enjoyed the kiss.

Rin narrowed his eyes. "If you're serious about that... you need to think ten steps ahead. This isn't just about you and Jay anymore."

Jack looked down at his bruised knuckles. "I know."

"You sure?" Rin pressed. "Because if this gets out-your father, the entire organization-they won't just go after Jay. They'll go after anyone who ever stood beside you."

"I'm not scared of my father."

"You should be," Rin said sharply. "You know what Mr. Charlie does to people who embarrass him."

Jack laughed darkly. "Embarrass him? Loving someone is an embarrassment now?"

Rin gave him a look. "In his world? Absolutely."

Jack leaned his head back against the wall. "Then maybe it's time someone burned his world down."

Rin went quiet.

After a beat, Jack asked, voice low, "Do you think I'm losing it?"

Rin sighed. "No. I think you're finally waking up."

Jack looked at him. "I keep thinking about the look in Jay's eyes. Like he saw right through me. And he didn't run."

"Yeah," Rin said carefully. "But what happens when he does?"

Jack blinked.

Rin continued, gentler now. "You're not easy, Jack. You push people away. You test them until they break."

"I didn't push him."

"Not yet," Rin replied. "But you will. Because that's what you've always done when something gets too close."

Jack was silent for a long time. Then: "I don't want to push him away."

"Then don't." Rin stood and tossed him a clean shirt. "Just... be sure. Because once this starts-once the world sees you two? There's no going back."

Jack nodded slowly.

Jack nodded slowly.

"I'll handle my father."

"And Jay?"

Jack's lips quirked. "He can handle himself. The question is... can we handle us?"

After talking with Rin, Jack felt something shift. It wasn't dramatic, but it was real. He felt a sense of relief - light enough to breathe, sharp enough to notice. No one had ever truly understood him, not even the ones who claimed to love him. But Rin... Rin was different. He didn't ask too much or pry too deep. He just stood there, solid and steady, and let Jack be.

And somehow, that was everything.

With Rin, Jack didn't feel like a broken heir or a future king. He felt like a person. A boy who had been hurt. A man trying not to break.

And that, for now, was enough.

Back at Jay"s penthouse, Jeff slammed the folder on Jay's desk, eyes sharp. "That's three of our routes compromised in one week. Guess whose men were spotted nearby?"

Jay didn't even look. "Let me guess. Mr. Charlie's shadows."

Jeff folded his arms. "You still think this thing with Jack is separate from all this?"

Jay leaned back, eyes tired. "I don't think. I know."

"You hope," Jeff corrected. "And you're betting our empire on it."

Jay stood, slow, deliberate. "He saved my life."

"After you saved his first!" Jeff barked. "You bled for him, and now we're bleeding territory."

Jay said nothing.

Jeff lowered his voice. "I'm not questioning your feelings, Jay. I'm questioning your judgment."

Jay finally met his eyes. "What do you want me to do, Jeff? Kill him? Pretend I don't feel anything?"

"No," Jeff said coldly. "I want you to choose. Him-or this."

Jay's jaw clenched. "It's not that simple."

"It is," Jeff shot back. "You know how this ends if you let it drag. We either go to war... or you do."

The room went quiet.

Jay walked over to the window, staring out at the city. "He's not like his father."

"And that's cute," Jeff replied, "but it doesn't change a damn thing. Sooner or later, one of you will have to pull the trigger. Don't let love be the reason you hesitate."

Jay didn't answer.

But deep down, he already knew.

The study smelled like cigars and silence. Jack stood in front of his father's desk, hands behind his back, posture perfect - just the way Mr. Charlie had taught him. But his heart was nowhere near calm.

"Explain to me again," Mr. Charlie said, voice like smoke, "why the Korean shipment failed."

Jack didn't flinch. "Double-cross. Their intel was wrong. They underestimated our response."

"And Jay?"

Jack's eye twitched. "Also ambushed. They turned on him too."

Mr. Charlie leaned forward slowly. "Funny. I heard Jay made it out with minimal losses. Heard someone even dragged him out under fire. Any idea who that might be?"

Jack met his father's gaze. "No."

A lie.

A clean, practiced one. But still, a lie.

Mr. Charlie watched him for a long time. Then stood. Walked around the desk. Circling him like a vulture.

"You two hate each other," he said. "That's the order. That's the law. So tell me, son-why do you sound so careful when you talk about him?"

Jack's mouth was dry. "Because careful is how we survive."

Mr. Charlie's eyes narrowed. "You slipping, Jack?"

"No, sir."