I approached slowly, like he was a wounded animal that might bolt. "Min-jae, what's going on? Why were you with Yuna yesterday?"

He turned then, and what I saw on his face made me stop in my tracks. Not hurt or anger, but something darker. Something that felt dangerously alive... same chilling glare Jin-Seok fixes on Min Jae.

"She asked me to come" he said, his voice eerily calm.

"Do you know what she said to that?" He kept advancing until my back hit the wall. "She said maybe you should have a choice. Maybe you should get to decide for yourself instead of having me make decisions for you."

"And what did you tell her?"i said.

"I told her the truth." He stepped closer, and I instinctively stepped back. "I told her that you belong to me."

The possessiveness in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. "Min-jae—"

"She's wrong—"

"Is she?" His hands came up to bracket my head against the wall, trapping me. "Because from where I'm standing, it seems like everyone thinks they know what's best for you. Yuna thinks you should choose freely. Your parents probably think you should date a nice girl. Even Woo-sung thinks I should give you space to figure things out."

"I don't care what anyone else thinks—"- I

"But I do." His voice dropped to a whisper, but somehow it was more intimidating than if he'd been shouting. "I care that there are people who think you'd be better off without me. I care that there are girls like Yuna who think they can offer you something I can't."

He leaned in closer, his breath warm against my ear.

"So I had to make something very clear to that bitch."

Without warning, his hands moved to grab my collar, fingers twisting in the fabric as he pulled me closer. The movement was sudden, almost violent, and for a split second I saw something in his eyes that I'd never seen before ,something wild and possessive and completely unhinged.

"I grabbed her collar just like this," he said, his voice still deadly calm even as his grip tightened on my shirt. "And I told her that if she ever, ever approached you again, if she so much as looked at you in a way I didn't like, I would make sure she regretted it."

My breath caught in my throat. This wasn't the gentle, patient Min-jae I knew. This was someone else entirely.someone who looked like Min-jae but had the predatory intensity of a wolf protecting its territory.

"I told her that you weren't available for her little experiments in romance," he continued, his grip on my collar pulling me up slightly so I had to stand on my tiptoes. "I told her that you were mine, and that anyone who tried to come between us would have to go through me first."

"Min-jae," I whispered, not sure if I was scared or thrilled or both.

"And do you know what she said then?" His free hand came up to cup my face, the gesture tender in stark contrast to the way he was still gripping my shirt. "She said she was sorry. She said she didn't know I felt so strongly about you. She said she'd stay away."

He leaned in until our foreheads were almost touching.

"But then she said something that really pissed me off." His thumb traced my lips, and I could feel the tremor in his hand—anger, or maybe something else. "She said maybe I should ask myself why I felt the need to threaten her instead of just trusting you to make the right choice."

The question hung in the air between us, loaded with implications I wasn't sure I was ready to unpack.

"So I'm asking you now, Ji-hoon." His voice dropped even lower, barely above a whisper. "Should I trust you to make the right choice? Or should I make sure no one else ever gets the chance to offer you alternatives?"

The intensity in his eyes was unlike anything I'd ever seen from him. This wasn't jealousy ,this was possession, raw and unfiltered and completely overwhelming. It should have scared me. It should have made me want to push him away, to tell him he was being ridiculous.

Instead, it sent heat racing through my veins like liquid fire.

"What choice?" I managed to ask, my voice barely working.

"The choice to be mine." His grip on my collar tightened. "Completely. Not just when it's convenient, not just when there's no one else around, not just until someone better comes along."

"Min-jae—"

"I'm not Jin-seok," he said suddenly, and this name hit like a slap. "I'm not going to stalk you or manipulate you or use my family's money to control your life. But I'm also not going to pretend I'm okay with sharing you.I'm not okay with other people thinking they have a claim on you. I'm not okay with girls like Yuna writing you love letters. I'm not okay with anyone else thinking they might have a chance."

"So what's it going to be, Ji-hoon?" His voice was rough now, all pretense of calm gone. "Are you going to tell me I'm being crazy? Are you going to say I'm overreacting, that Yuna was just being friendly, that I should learn to trust you more?"

I stared into his eyes, seeing something wild and desperate there, something that looked like it might consume everything in its path. The smart thing to do would be to de-escalate, to calm him down, to have a rational conversation about boundaries and trust.But I didn't want to be smart. I didn't want to be rational.

I wanted to be claimed. I wanted to be marked.

"The right choice is you," I said, my voice coming out stronger than I expected. "It's always been you. It's only ever going to be you."

Something shifted in his expression—surprise, maybe, or relief.

"Even if it means dealing with this?" He gestured to himself, to the possessive grip he still had on my shirt. "Even if it means being with someone who gets jealous and territorial and maybe a little bit crazy when it comes to you?"

"Especially then," I said, and I meant it. "Min-jae, I don't want someone who's going to politely step aside when competition shows up. I don't want someone who's going to share me or let other people think they might have a chance."

His grip on my collar loosened slightly, but he didn't let go."I want someone who's going to fight for me," I continued, my voice growing stronger with each word. "I want someone who's going to make it crystal clear that I'm not available. I want someone who's going to grab girls by their collars and tell them to back off if that's what it takes."

"Ji-hoon..."

"I want you, Min-jae. All of you.Your every body part. your every gentle part and your possessive parts as well." I reached up to cover his hands with mine, feeling the tension in his fingers. "And I want you to know that you don't have to threaten anyone to keep me. You already have me. You've had me for longer than you know."

For a moment, we just stared at each other, the air between us crackling with tension and something that felt like electricity. Then, slowly, his grip on my shirt loosened, his hands moving to cup my face instead.

"Promise me," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "Promise me you're not going to change your mind. Promise me you're not going to decide this is too intense or too complicated or too risky."

"I promise," I said without hesitation. "Min-jae, I promise. It's you. It's only ever going to be you."

He kissed me hard, desperate, possessive like he was trying to brand me with his touch. I kissed him back just as fiercely, pouring everything I had —all my love, my certainty, my complete and utter devotion to whatever this was between us.

When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, he rested his forehead against mine.

"I love you" he said, the words barely a whisper. "I love you so much it scares me sometimes. The thought of losing you, of someone else taking you away... it makes me want to do crazy things."

"Then do crazy things," I said, surprising myself with the words. "Be possessive. Be territorial. Be completely unreasonable about me. I don't mind. I like it."

He pulled back to look at me, something like wonder in his eyes.

"Really?" - Min- jae

"Really." I smiled, feeling lighter. "Just... maybe warn me before you grab any more girls by their collars. I want to watch next time."

His laugh was surprised and delighted and completely genuine.

"You're perfect," he said, pulling me into another kiss. "You're absolutely perfect, and you're mine."

"Yours," I agreed against his lips. "Completely, absolutely."

As the sun set over the city skyline, painting everything in shades of gold and orange, I realized that this fierce, possessive, all-consuming love was exactly what I'd been afraid of and exactly what I needed.

Min-jae was right. He wasn't Jin-seok. He wasn't going to manipulate or control or stalk.But he also wasn't going to let anyone else have me without a fight.

To be continued..