“Says the man who still has your contract in his safe. The one you signed while shaking, half-naked, and desperate to be seen.”

That shut Haneul up.
For a second.

Then—
“Fuck you.”

Minjae turned to him.
Unflinching.

“You already did.”

Silence stretched.

The streetlights flickered past in a blur—white, gold, gone.
Haneul blinked slowly. His head lolled to the side.

And then—
He slumped forward.

“Shit.”

Minjae pulled the car over, hard.
Unbuckled him. Checked his pulse.
Still there. But faint.

Minjae’s jaw clenched.
“This is what you wanted, huh?” he muttered.
But his hands were careful.
Urgent.

He hit the gas.

[Interior – Emergency Room – 1:24 A.M.]
Fluorescent lights. White walls. A nurse rushing him inside.
Minjae stayed back, pacing like a caged animal.

He watched the doctors disappear behind a curtain.
He didn’t sit.
Didn’t breathe.

Didn’t admit it scared him.

End of Chapter 2.