The cool air heightened the tension in the atmosphere, her body shivering from both the cold and the unspoken emotions lingering between them. As she waited for him to return, she tugged Jeonggukk's shirt further down her legs, trying to maintain her composure and dignity despite the storm of feelings brewing inside her. His ever-present seductive smirk lingered in her mind.

"Here." Jeonggukk's hoarse, deep voice cut through the silence, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine.

Jeonggukk stood before her, his bare chest gleaming in the dim light, every inch of him exuding strength and control. In his hand, he held a makeshift container, carved from a coconut shell. She stared at him in confusion, unsure of where he had found it. "Where did you get this?" she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

He sighed, the simple act causing the muscles in his arms and chest to flex. His gaze flicked to her, sharp with a touch of irritation. "The proper response should be 'thank you,'" he muttered under his breath, extending the coconut shell toward her.

"But where did you find a coconut?" she asked again, her curiosity overriding her caution.

Jeonggukk's jaw tightened as he handed her the coconut meat he had scraped. "Ms. Park, focus on eating and drinking, not asking questions," he replied, his voice edged with impatience. His mocking brow lifted, clearly not in the mood for explanations.

She frowned, feeling a spark of frustration at his attitude. "I just asked a question," she muttered under her breath, taking the coconut shell from him.

Without further argument, she began drinking the coconut water and eating the meat, savoring the brief respite despite the tension still simmering between them.

The silence between them swelled, thick with unspoken tension. The moment demanded words, but their lips remained sealed—caught between their stubborn dominance and silent ignorance of each other's vulnerability.

"How are we going to get out of this?" she muttered under her breath, her brows furrowed in worry. His sharp eyes followed her every movement, sensing the fear and uncertainty gnawing at her. It wasn't just the fear of being stranded—it was the dread of never being found, of being forgotten in the abyss they found themselves in.

Unbeknownst to her, the demon beside her, ever cunning and calculating, had already prepared for this. Tucked inside his shoes was a discreet location tracker. No matter how ruthless, lethal, or damaging he appeared to the world, Jeon Jeongguk was always one step ahead—ready for any danger. He thrived in chaos, always prepared to turn the tables on his enemies.

𝘿𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣｡

"Hello, dear brother," a voice echoed through the tense air.

And now, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮｡

Lights flooded the surroundings as an imposing figure emerged with ten men in tow. The air shifted with their arrival—dominating, confident, powerful. Torchlights cut through the dark as cars surrounded the drenched pair.

Jiwon blinked, shocked yet undeniably impressed by the grand entrance of Jeon Jungkook.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting, Ms. Park," Jungkook's voice drawled, his smirk lingering on his lips while his eyes remained locked on her soaked figure. He moved with a smooth, calculated precision, taking off his tuxedo jacket and draping it over her shoulders, covering her where Jeongguk's shirt had managed to cover her lower body.

Jungkook's gaze then flickered to his brother, who stood nearby, watching the exchange with a raised brow and a dangerous glint in his eyes. Standing tall, Jeongguk cast his steely gaze over the men surrounding them, his expression dark and unreadable. The tension was palpable, thickening the air between them.

Jimin appeared then, stepping forward with a fresh shirt in hand. "Here you go, boss," he said with a smile, handing it over to Jeonggukk before Jimin's gaze shifted to Jiwon, his sister, who looked stunned and exhausted from the ordeal.

"How did you find us?" she asked, her voice laced with lingering disbelief.

"Oh, the boss had a tracker under his shoes but we had second thoughts if it would track you both in these deep woods," Jimin replied proudly, but his smile faltered as Jeonggukk's sharp, predatory gaze zeroed in on him. "And still couldn't come in time," Jeonggukk replied, his voice biting, as his eyes shifted back to Jungkook, who was still holding Jiwon close.

Jimin swallowed, his confidence wavering. He forced an awkward laugh, trying to ease the tension. "Ha, yeah... baby sis, come on. Let's get you into some warm clothes, yeah?" he quipped, his smile returning as he gently motioned for Jiwon to follow. Too tired to react, she simply nodded, letting her brother lead her away.

As they made their way toward the separate car that would take Jimin and Jiwon home, two pairs of eyes remained locked in a silent battle.

Jeongguk's gaze was predatory, his eyes narrowing in a challenge as they met Jungkook's. Jungkook's gaze was just as sharp, a cunning glint flickering within as the tension between the brothers swelled, crashing like waves of dominance against one another.

They were locked in an unspoken struggle—both powerful, both relentless, both fueled by the same dark passions. But where Jeongguk's methods were raw, instinctual, and predatory, Jungkook's were calculated, cold, and smart. They clashed in silence, both fighting for control, yet nothing could break the stalemate.

Despite their rivalry, there was a bond between them—one forged in the fires of shared madness and power. Though they battled against each other, trying to pull apart, fate always seemed to bind them together, tightening the threads of their twisted connection.

Jeongguk stepped forward toward the car, his pace calm, not bothering to spare a glance at Jungkook, who trailed behind, seemingly unaffected by the cold shoulder. As Jeongguk settled into the passenger seat, he began buttoning up the silk shirt Jimin had given him, his movements unhurried. Jungkook followed, as he always had—following his twin's steps equally since childhood.

That's what Jungkook had done for so long: followed. He trusted Jeongguk implicitly, letting their powerful bond guide him through life. But that trust had shattered, crumbled by a shimmer of misunderstanding. The bond that had once been their greatest strength had been severed, leaving them estranged for five long years, divided by miscommunication and silence.

Jungkook's eyes flicked toward his brother as he gripped the steering wheel tightly, the tension in his knuckles mirroring the tension in the car. His fingertips blanched under the pressure, and his mind raced. He could feel the weight of unresolved frustration gnawing at him, only heightened by the situation, the growing silence made him relentless and also the reminder that his secretary had been allowed to take a day off—without his permission.

The rain poured down relentlessly, beating against the windshield as the car sliced through the darkness. Inside, the silence between Jeonggukk and Jungkook was as heavy as the storm outside. They had spent years perfecting this quiet—a void where words died before they were ever spoken.

Jeonggukk sat motionless in the passenger seat, his gaze fixed forward, not acknowledging his twin beside him. Jungkook's hands gripped the steering wheel, tension visible in every muscle, though his expression was cold and distant.

"You look like dead," Jungkook said, his voice low, the words abrupt but not laced with his usual venom. It wasn't meant to mock—it was an observation.

Jeonggukk's eyes flickered, but he didn't turn his head. "Still breathing," he replied, his tone flat, indifferent. "Which is more than you expected, I'm sure."

Jungkook's jaw tightened, his gaze locked on the road ahead. "I didn't say that."

"Didn't have to." Jeonggukk shifted slightly, finally glancing sideways at his twin. "What are you really trying to ask, Jungkook?"

The question hung between them, the underlying tension stretching taut. Jungkook's face remained hard, but his eyes briefly betrayed something else—something he wasn't ready to admit.

"I'm not asking anything." His voice was colder this time, defensive. He didn't like how quickly Jeonggukk could see through him. "If you want to die, that's your business. I'm not here to stop you."

Jeonggukk's lips twitched in a half-smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Then why come at all?"

Jungkook's grip tightened on the wheel, the silence that followed feeling like a missed opportunity. For a moment, it seemed like he might respond, but he bit back the words, letting the hum of the engine fill the space instead.

"Don't flatter yourself," Jungkook finally muttered, eyes flicking briefly toward his brother. "I came because leaving you out there would've been a waste. Nothing more." Jungkook said coldly.

Jeonggukk leaned back in his seat, his gaze still fixed on Jungkook, as if trying to extract something that wasn't being said. "A waste, huh? How pragmatic."

"Don't make this into something it's not," Jungkook snapped, his voice tightening with irritation. "I don't owe you anything."

"Didn't say you did." Jeonggukk's tone was calm, unsettling in its quietness. He turned back to the window, his eyes tracking the rain as it streaked down the glass. "You're just not as detached as you pretend to be."

Jungkook's jaw clenched, his frustration flaring. "And you're as reckless as ever. It's not my job to clean up your messes."

Jeonggukk chuckled under his breath, though there was no humor in it. "Maybe not. But here you are."

Jungkook's knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. He could feel the anger rising, but it wasn't the usual rage he felt toward Jeonggukk. It was something more complicated. Something he didn't want to face.

"You're impossible," Jungkook muttered, shaking his head. He wanted to let the conversation die, to fall back into the silence they were both so comfortable with. But something gnawed at him.

"You're hurt," Jungkook finally said further, his voice lower, almost grudgingly. "I can see it."

Jeonggukk's gaze didn't shift, but his smirk faded. "Nothing I can't handle."

"Right," Jungkook scoffed. "Because you're invincible, aren't you?"

Jeonggukk didn't answer immediately. When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter, darker. "We both know no one is invincible. Not even both of us."

Jungkook's eyes flicked toward him again, something sharp and unspoken in his expression. For a moment, the hostility between them seemed to dim, replaced by an uneasy recognition. They both knew the truth of what Jeonggukk had said. They'd both danced too close to death too many times to believe in invulnerability.

But even that moment of understanding couldn't bridge the gulf between them. They were too broken, too hardened by their own paths.

"I never said we were untouchable, Jungkook. We just don't break like everyone else."

Another silence fell between them, but this time it was heavier, more suffocating. The rain outside continued to hammer against the car, but neither brother noticed. They were locked in their own unspoken battle, a war that had been waged for years but had never truly ended.

"Why do you do this?" Jungkook muttered, his voice a quiet snarl. "You act like nothing matters. Like nothing can touch you, even when you're bleeding."

Jeonggukk turned his head to fully face his twin for the first time, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Because if I didn't, you'd be burying me by now. And we both know it." Jeonggukk completed his words with venom dripping in his voice and the cold deadly look in his gaze.

Jungkook's jaw tightened again, but he said nothing. The truth of Jeonggukk's words was undeniable. It was how they had both survived—by refusing to let anything, or anyone, break them. But that same refusal had torn them apart.

"You should've left me," Jeonggukk said, quieter this time. His voice wasn't cold or mocking—it was flat, emotionless.

Jungkook exhaled, the weight of everything pressing on him. "Maybe next time, but for now all that matters to me is that you're safe." he muttered, though they both knew it wasn't true. And the last words made Jeonggukk's cold heart to twitch, somewhere in the corner of their hearts of their buried bond, Jungkook still cared for him and this made Jeonggukk to look at his twin with unspoken emotions and tension. Jeonggukk wanted to say something but he could only mutter a small 'hmmmm' his cold heart felt the warmth of something when Jungkook said that but he wasn't going to show that. And for the first time he placed his hand on Jungkook's shoulder, who didn't expect this sudden gesture of may be affection? after years of their detachment. Jungkook felt weird when Jeonggukk placed his hand on his shoulder his entire body got tensed and he felt different emotions rising in his chest.

They sat in that tense silence once more, both aware that, despite the years of hatred and the shattered bond between them, they were all they had left. Even if neither of them would ever admit it.

"Why did you allow Ms. Wang to take leave?" Jungkook's voice cut through the silence, a harsh snarl lacing his words.

Jeongguk remained unbothered, barely sparing him a glance. His predatory eyes flickered with amusement as a soft smirk played on his lips. Leaning back in the seat, Jeongguk closed his eyes, his voice smooth and calm. "I didn't find it necessary to inform you," he muttered, dismissing the question.

Jungkook's eyes darkened, frustration boiling beneath the surface. Why was it always Jeongguk who decided things? Why did his word always hold the final say? The unspoken tension and lingering resentment that had festered over the years churned in Jungkook's mind, pulling him deeper into the chaos of their fractured relationship.

The freezing atmosphere in the car was thick with tension, an invisible wall rising between them. Jungkook's gaze bore into Jeongguk, his voice low and pensive as he growled, "But she's my secretary, Jeongguk. You can't make decisions for her without my permission." The words were harsh, echoing the conflict that had been brewing for too long, unspoken but always present in his heart.

Jeongguk's nonchalance only made it worse, intensifying the bitterness Jungkook couldn't shake. Even in moments like these, his twin remained a force he couldn't fully grasp—ruthless, confident, and always a step ahead.