"That was a highly volatile gamble, don’t you think?"

I didn’t flinch. I reached into my pocket, pulled out the folded piece of paper he had left for me in the empty forest hut, and tossed it casually onto the center of the table.

"You left your door wide open," I countered and narrowed my blue eyes as I met his gaze dead-on. "And you already knew I was coming. You’ve been tracking me since the moment I stepped near that Gate wearing that bag on my head. Don’t act like I’m the only one playing games here."

Black stared at the paper, then a chuckle escaped his throat.

"You’re sharper than the average garbage-mask rookie, I’ll give you that," he murmured and also leaned back into his chair. "Most Hunters would have run away the moment they saw my gravity field. But you... you walked straight into my house, ate my wife’s cooking, and sat at my daughter’s table just to prove a point."

"I didn’t come here to threaten your family, Black," I said, and my voice dropped into a serious, cold tone. "If I wanted to do that, I certainly wouldn’t have eaten the cake. I came here to balance the board. You want to kill me, or at least, that’s what the signs say. But now? Now we both have something to lose."

Black’s eyes drifted toward Viora, who was still sitting perfectly still beside me. Her posture was relaxed, but her senses were locked onto his throat.

"A child’s birthday party as a tactical neutral ground," Black mused, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "You really are arrogant, Woo Jin. You think because you found my house, you have leverage over me?"

"I don’t need leverage over you," I replied, leaning forward until we were barely a foot apart across the table. "I just needed to know that you aren’t a ghost. Ghosts are hard to kill. People with wives who scold them for being late? They’re much easier to handle."

Black’s grin widened, and amusement flashed through his eyes.

"Eight o’clock on the twenty-third," Black whispered, tapping his finger against the coordinates on the paper. "Don’t be late. Let’s see if that arrogance of yours holds up when we aren’t sitting in front of a birthday cake."

"I won’t be late," I muttered, standing up from my chair and pulling Viora up with me. "Thanks for the hospitality."

Turning around, I guided Viora toward the front door, leaving him sitting alone in his brightly lit living room. The game was far from over, but as the front gate clicked shut behind us, I knew one thing for certain.

I wasn’t just a piece on his board anymore. I was the player holding the dice.

....

The moment Black’s house was out of sight, the immense psychological weight I had been carrying since entering that home finally lifted from my chest.

Cough.

A sudden, sharp cough escaped through my throat, making me wince. Last night’s rooftop escapade was still very much demanding its toll.

"Woo Jin," Viora murmured beside me.

She hadn’t let go of my hand since we stepped past the threshold of that house. Her grip was tight, almost possessive, and her skin felt incredibly warm against mine.

"Yeah?" I glanced down at her and watched her sightless eyes tilt slightly toward the pavement.

"You were terrifying in there," she said softly as her lips curled into a tiny, elegant smile. "The way you looked at him. The way you spoke to him over that child’s cake. If he had flinched even a bit, I would have torn his head from his shoulders."

I couldn’t help but chuckle, though the sound quickly dissolved into another tiny cough. "I know you would have. But his wife with that spoon was the real vanguard in that room. I think she did more damage to his ego than we ever could."

Viora let out a sweet giggle, and she leaned her body closer to mine. We walked in a comfortable silence for the rest of the way as the city streets gradually faded back into the quiet path leading to our villa.

By the time we reached the front yard, the twilight had already begun to settle over the landscape, casting a deep, romantic blue hue over the water of the pond and the surrounding grass.

Instead of going straight inside the house, I found my footsteps slowing down as we approached the wooden pier extending out into the pond.

"Let’s sit here for a bit," I murmured, gently tugging Viora’s hand toward the edge of the water.

"Okay," Viora whispered with zero hesitation.

We walked to the very end of the wooden pier and sat down side by side, letting our legs dangle over the edge, just a few inches above the still water.

Cough. Cough.

Viora let out soft coughs into her small fist, as her nose and ears flushed into that distinct pink color once again. The walk back had clearly drained the last bit of energy the magical herbs had given her. She looked exhausted, frail, and incredibly beautiful in the fading sunlight.

"Your fever is coming back," I said.

Viora froze for a second as my fingers brushed against her warm skin. Then, she let out a sigh before speaking up.

"I don’t care about the fever," she whispered. "I just like sitting here with you. It is so quiet. There are no heartbeats around us. No monsters. No hidden masterminds. Just the water... and you."

Slowly, she shifted her weight and leaned her head sideways until it rested firmly against my shoulder. Her short hair brushed against my collarbone, and the familiar, intoxicating scent of flower perfume radiating from her body completely overwhelmed the smell of the lake.

I didn’t move. I braced my shoulder so she could lean on me comfortably.

"Woo Jin," she murmured.

"Hm?"

"When you were talking to Black... you said that people with families are easier to handle because they have something to lose." She paused for a moment and continued. "Am I your weakness too? If someone holds a blade to my throat... will you look as pathetic and scared as Black did today?"

Hearing her question, I went completely silent. I looked down at her small, trembling hand locked with mine, and then out toward the deep, endless water.

"You aren’t my weakness, Viora," I whispered, my voice carrying a sharp, absolute certainty that made me seem sure of what I was saying.

I turned my head slightly, my lips almost touching the top of her cap as I continued.

"A weakness is something that makes you fragile. It’s something the enemy can use to break your resolve. But you? You don’t make me weak. Seeing you bleed that day in that Gate... seeing you hurt just to keep me safe... it didn’t break me. It made me want to tear the entire world apart just to ensure you never have to shed a single drop of blood again."

I squeezed her hand even harder, leaning my cheek against the top of her head. "You aren’t my weakness, Viora. You are my absolute resolve. So, don’t you dare belittle yourself like that."

For several long seconds, the only thing I could hear was the sudden, rapid thudding of her heartbeat.

Slowly, she raised her head from my shoulder. She turned her face toward me, and even though her eyes were hidden beneath the brim of her cap, I could practically feel the intense, overwhelming emotion radiating from her.

"You say such dangerous things so casually, Woo Jin," she whispered.

Suddenly, she reached up with her free hand, grabbed the lapel of my shirt, and pulled me down toward her. She shifted her body until she was practically sitting in my lap, her face just inches away from mine.

"You belong to me," she murmured sweetly, her breath feeling warm against my lips. "I told you last night in the rain, and I am telling you again right now. Don’t ever think about leaving me behind. If you ever die... I will turn this entire world into a graveyard and lie down right beside you."

"That seems like a lot of work so I will just avoid dying," I replied with a faint smile forming on my lips.

"Good," she whispered.

Then, moving with a soft, hesitant grace, she leaned forward and pressed her forehead directly against mine. We sat there like that for a long time, completely frozen in the middle of the blue twilight, our foreheads touching while our breathing synchronized in the cold air.

The vast, glass-like pond stretched out beside us, reflecting the deep gray clouds overhead, while the silent, mysterious forest watched over us from the other side.

Cough.

I let out another soft cough, breaking the silence, and Viora immediately chuckled against my forehead.

"We should go inside," she murmured, though she didn’t move an inch to separate our foreheads. "The magical herbs are calling your name, Mister Dumb Mastermind."

"Yeah," I sighed happily, wrapping my arms around her waist to pull her even closer against my chest. "Let’s go drink another batch of that sweet tea."