The grandfather's gaze was a weight, a blade, a judgment Yu could feel pressing into his very bones. Those sharp eyes flicked from Theo to Yu, then back again, measuring every detail as though he were appraising an investment rather than acknowledging a future granddaughter-in-law.
"How did you meet?"
His tone was clipped, perfunctory.
Theo's grip on Yu's hand tightened—subtle, firm, warning him to stay silent.
"Through Joy."
Theo answered smoothly, voice as polished as marble.
"She and Yu were close from childhood."
Yu's heart lurched at the sound of the name Yu—like a lightning strike in the middle of the lie. He prayed the old man had not noticed, that his brilliant, brittle smile hadn't cracked yet but was dangerously close to.
The grandfather's brow furrowed faintly, but he said nothing, simply moved to the next cut.
"And her family status?"
"Average."
Theo supplied without hesitation. His voice carried not shame but confidence, as if he were the one lifting Yu above his station.
"Ordinary, but respectable."
Yu's nails bit crescents into his palm where his free hand curled behind his back. His chest burned.
'Average? Ordinary?'
"And the engagement?"
The old man pressed, leaning forward slightly on his cane.
"How soon?"
Theo's voice was low, but steady.
"As soon as you grant your blessing."
Silence stretched. Heavy. Crushing. Yu's brilliant mask ached with the effort of holding.
At last, the grandfather gave a slow nod.
"Mm. Very well."
He waved his hand like dismissing servants.
"That is enough. Go."
The dismissal struck harder than words. Theo bowed his head slightly and pulled Yu with him, guiding him back toward the door as though nothing were amiss, as though he hadn't just shackled Yu to a lie so profound it threatened to choke him.
Outside, the cold air bit at Yu's skin, but it did nothing to cool the fire in his chest. Theo's voice was warm, relieved, almost boyish.
"Well, that was quick."
He said, a little laugh slipping through as he squeezed Yu's hand.
"I'm sorry I didn't warn you properly, but it went well, didn't it? He approved. That's what matters."
Yu's lips stretched again, another bright, brittle smile. His throat ached from swallowing back the scream inside him.
Theo leaned closer as they reached the car, lowering his voice like a conspirator.
"Now, since that's done, I rented the whole theater for us tonight. Just the two of us. No interruptions."
Yu slid into the car beside him, every inch of his body stiff, his smile still locked in place like porcelain. But the moment the door closed, it fractured.
"I'm… not feeling well."
Yu said softly, politely, the sweetness in his tone edged sharp with exhaustion. His smile wavered, apologetic but brittle.
"Please, just take me home."
Theo flinched, eyes wide.
"Yuvin—are you alright? You're not getting sick, are you?"
His hand moved instinctively toward Yu's, his whole frame leaning close.
Yu shifted back. Away. His hazel eyes flashed with something that wasn't quite anger and wasn't quite despair, his lips curving in that too-bright smile again, sharper now.
"I said I want to go home. Please."
The please landed like steel.
Theo hesitated, hurt flickering across his face, but he only nodded, the sting not enough to pierce his certainty. He leaned forward, tone clipped.
"Rin. Drive him home. Now."
"Yes, sir."
The engine hummed to life.
The rest of the drive was a silence thick enough to choke on. Yu sat perfectly still, eyes locked on the window, his reflection warped by the glass, his smile collapsing inch by inch.
[Warning!]
DK01's voice crackled in his skull.
[Host, your emotions are spiking too fast. Your stress is getting dangerously high, and it's not just bad for you—it's bad for the baby too.]
Another warning. Sharp and insistent like alarms.
But Yu ignored it. His fists clenched in his lap, nails digging deep into his palms as his whole chest threatened to burst.
'He used me.'
The thought looped endlessly, drowning even DK01's voice.
---
The car rolled to a stop outside Yu's house, the silence inside thick and suffocating. Rin shifted in his seat, glancing nervously at Theo in the rearview mirror. Theo leaned forward, finally breaking it, his hand reaching across the narrow space between them.
"Yu, I—"
But before his fingers could brush Yu's sleeve, Yu had already shoved the door open, bolting from the car with his skirt swishing around his legs. He didn't look back. Didn't wait.
Theo half stumbled after him, calling his name—
"Yu!"
But the only answer was the slam of the front door and the sharp click of the lock sliding into place.
Yu's chest heaved as he leaned against the door, hot tears spilling freely down his cheeks. He barely saw the staircase, his steps frantic as he rushed to his room, feet carrying him on instinct alone. The moment the door shut behind him, he crumbled.
He tore off the soft blouse, fabric catching roughly against his skin, and dragged his nails over his arms as though he could scrape Theo's touch away. The mirror caught him, half made-up, eyes smeared, lips still glossy, and the sight of himself cracked something deeper. With a guttural sob, he clawed at his hairpins, yanking them free until his bun collapsed, strands falling wild and tangled.
"Damn you, Theo!"
Yu spat, voice hoarse as tears dripped hot down his chin.
"Damn you!"
His words ripped out like curses, each heavier than the last.
He smeared at his makeup with the heel of his hand, streaking mascara down his cheeks, foundation staining his palms. The more he wiped, the uglier the mess became, until his reflection blurred and warped into something monstrous, unfamiliar.
[Why are you upset?]
DK01's voice broke into the storm of his sobs, clinical, toneless.
[Theo's grandfather thought you were a girl. Back when you were Yukio, the entire school thought you were a girl. You were fine with it then.]
Yu spun toward the invisible voice, chest burning, throat raw.
"That—"
He gasped, his words trembling between sobs.
"That and this are not the same!"
His fists shook, slamming against his thighs.
"Back then, I chose it! I chose the uniform, the hair, the way I wanted to be seen. It was me! Mine! But this time—this time he used it. He twisted it into a lie, made me his little fucking puppet just to—just to sell an image of me to his grandfather!"
His words cracked into a scream, his chest rattling.
"He took what I love—what makes me feel like me—and turned it into something ugly!"
He staggered back, falling onto his knees, hands clutching at his belly as if shielding it. His voice softened but broke on every word.
"I can't forgive him for that. I can't… I can't see a future with him. Not like this."
Silence hung heavy, only broken by his sniffles, the uneven rasp of his breath.
Finally, Yu looked up, tear-streaked, his hazel eyes burning faint red.
"Please, DK01…"
His voice cracked with desperation.
"Change the Tragic Target. Let me choose Adrian. Or—or hell, even Callen! Just not Theo. Anyone but Theo."
The room felt too small, suffocating, his pleas bouncing against the four walls like trapped birds.
Yu's sobs tore ragged through the room, raw and broken, echoing against the walls he'd stripped bare in his storm of despair. He collapsed forward onto his hands, the floor cold against his palms, tears dripping dark spots into the wood. His whole frame shook, shoulders rising and falling in violent tremors.
"I hate him!"
Yu whispered into the floorboards, voice fractured.
"I hate him so much… I can't—"
His words dissolved into another sob, his breath hitching painfully in his chest. He dragged his nails over his thighs, gripping until the crescents of his nails burned against his skin.
"Anyone but Theo. Please. Please."
His belly pressed against his legs where he curled, and instinctively he wrapped both arms around it, holding himself together even as his heart shattered. His forehead pressed to the floor, and he whispered, broken.
"Talo… why does it have to be like this…?"
The silence that followed was suffocating. His sobs quieted to uneven hitches, his chest tight and aching. His lashes stuck together with salt and wetness. He almost prayed DK01 wouldn't answer at all—that maybe his screams could vanish into nothing.
But then the sterile hum of the system's voice cut through the ruin of his grief.
[Request denied.]
The words were ice water, blunt and clinical, but… not entirely. There was something almost fragile, an undercurrent the system couldn't smother.
[The Tragic Target cannot be changed. Parameters are fixed. This is the mission you were bound to, Host. I…]
A pause, so brief it almost didn't exist,
[…I regret that it causes you pain. But there is literally nothing I can do. Not without divine intervention. Not without nullifying your child. You understand that.]
Yu's eyes widened, lips parting. The weight of DK01's words crushed over him, leaving him trembling and small on the floor.
[My only advice:
Endure.]
The voice was colder again, shoring up its walls.
[Get through this mission as quickly as you can. Secure Theo's heart, collect the soul scrap, complete the main goal. The sooner you do… the sooner you are free.]
The lilac glow of its screen flickered once in the corner of his vision. Then it dimmed, retreating into standby mode, leaving Yu drowning in silence once more—sore, hollow, his tears still streaking hot down his cheeks.
Yu dragged himself upright, body heavy as if gravity had doubled. His legs trembled as he stumbled to his bed, every motion clumsy from exhaustion and emotional ruin. The blanket was still tangled from the night before, but he didn't care—he just collapsed onto it, curling instinctively around the swell of his belly. His breath hitched once, twice, then steadied into shallow, uneven pulls as sleep swallowed him whole. His lashes stuck with dried tears, his lips faintly parted, the exhaustion of both body and heart finally forcing him under.
---
Across town, the Kingsley estate was restless. Theo sat at the edge of his bed, phone in hand, the screen lighting his furrowed features with each failed attempt.
Call ended. No answer.
Again. And again. And again.
"Damn it, Yu…"
Theo muttered under his breath, raking a hand through his hair. His thumb hovered over the call button once more, his chest tight with unease. He could still see Yu's face when he'd smiled so brightly at his grandfather, could still feel the strange bite in Yu's tone in the car. He hadn't been himself. He hadn't been alright.
Theo leaned back, staring at the ceiling, his jaw taut with worry. Should he wait until morning? Should he respect Yu's request to be left alone?
The thought of Yu possibly upset—alone, hurting—made his gut twist. His hand clenched around the phone until his knuckles whitened.
'Maybe I should just get in the car, drive to Yu's place, and see for myself.'
He stood, took two steps toward the door—then hesitated. Rin's voice echoed faintly in his mind, warning him not to push, not to ruin what fragile ground he and Yu had finally reached.
Theo froze, torn between impulse and restraint. His heart thudded, loud and restless, as he stared down at the glowing phone in his palm.
---
Morning light was still pale when Theo finally gave in. Dark rings sat beneath his eyes from a sleepless night spent staring at his phone, willing it to ring. The unanswered silence had eaten at him until his chest felt hollow. By dawn, restraint was no longer an option.
He slipped into a crisp suit, barely noticing how his hands trembled when he fastened his cufflinks. Rin asked quietly if he was heading to the office early, but Theo didn't answer—just grabbed his keys and walked out.
The drive blurred by in flashes of street lamps and the cold gleam of glass buildings. All he could think about was Yu's smile cracking, the way he'd pulled back in the car, the sharpness that had slipped into his voice. Something had broken yesterday, and Theo needed to see him, to fix it—whatever it took.
When he reached the shared house, he didn't wait to collect his composure. He strode straight to the door and knocked, sharp and urgent, each rap carrying his restless worry.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
But it wasn't Yu.
A tall, blond figure leaned in the frame, hair rumpled, eyes still heavy with sleep. Callen squinted at Theo, his expression quickly shifting from groggy confusion to irritation.
"The hell are you doing here this early?"
Callen muttered, voice rough with fatigue.
Theo froze, the words he had rehearsed dying in his throat. He hadn't expected him.
And for the first time since leaving the estate, the storm inside Theo sharpened into something more dangerous—an awareness that Yu wasn't the only one in this house he had to contend with.
Theo's hand was still on the doorframe, tense with urgency, when Callen shifted his weight and leaned against it like a barricade.
"I'm here to see Yu."
Theo said flatly, his voice taut but low.
Callen raised a brow, mouth curving into something just short of a smirk.
"Yeah? Well, he's sleeping. Try again later."
"I need to see him now."
Theo's eyes sharpened, his voice laced with command rather than request. He stepped closer, but Callen didn't budge.
"You don't just get to come barging in whenever you feel like it."
Callen drawled, though his shoulders were stiff with the same sore ache that still hadn't fully left his body.
"He's not yours to summon."
Theo's jaw tightened, his hand curling into a fist at his side.
"Move. Aside."
Callen tilted his head, feigning nonchalance.
"Or what? You'll sic your rich-boy bodyguards on me? This is our home, Kingsley. You don't belong here."
The air between them snapped taut, two predators circling the same prize. Theo's chest rose and fell with restrained fury, while Callen's easy posture barely hid his intent to block every inch of the doorway until Yu himself came out.
And then—
A soft shuffle of steps.
Theo and Callen's heads whipped toward the sound at once.
Yu appeared at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his hazel eyes, his damp face still pink from washing away yesterday's makeup. His hair was mussed and unevenly tied back, and the oversized t-shirt hanging from his slim shoulders brushed down to his mid-thighs, leaving his legs pale and bare.
He blinked at them groggily, his voice scratchy with sleep.
"What… are you two yelling about this early?"
Theo's breath caught, all sharpness dissolving into raw worry.
Callen's lips twitched, his smug façade faltering as Yu padded closer in nothing but that baggy shirt, looking every bit like the center of the world they were fighting over.
Yu froze mid-step when his sleepy gaze landed on Theo in the doorway. For a beat his chest locked tight—yesterday's bile still clawed up his throat at the memory of being paraded before Theo's grandfather.
'Endure. Hang in there. Get through the mission as fast as you can.'
DK01's clipped words echoed like a brand across his mind.
His smile came slow, too careful, stretched thin and soft like spun glass.
"Theo? What are you doing here…?"
Theo didn't hesitate. He shouldered past Callen like the blond wasn't even there, his stride quick and direct until he stood just shy of Yu. His voice broke, raw with the fatigue of a restless night.
"I was worried. You left the car so suddenly, and then—"
He exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair.
"I spent all night trying to call you. You didn't answer once. The way you were acting yesterday, I wasn't sure if you were… if you were alright."
Yu's nails dug crescents into his palms, the urge to spit back—
"No, I wasn't alright. And it's your fault"
—boiling at the back of his tongue. But bile burned hotter than words.
'For the mission. For the child. For Talo.'
He forced another smile, lips trembling only for a second before he steadied them. His voice wove gratitude that wasn't there.
"Sorry. My phone died… I forgot to charge it. That's why I couldn't call you back."
Theo's shoulders eased, tension leaking into relief as his eyes softened on Yu.
Then a hand landed on his shoulder. Callen.
The gesture looked harmless—playful even—but the grip was iron. The blond leaned in, his grin crooked and sharp enough to cut.
"Well, you've seen him with your own eyes now. Safe and sound. Time to go, don't you think?"
Theo stiffened, his gaze sliding down to where Callen's fingers pressed into his shoulder like a clamp.
The silence between them sharpened to a blade's edge.
Theo's jaw flexed, his lips twitching toward a snarl, but his eyes burned colder as they slid from Callen's hand back to Yu.
"Time to go?"
His voice was velvet over iron, the kind that coiled tight with barely restrained violence.
"You're telling me when I can and cannot see him?"
Callen's grin widened, sharper, taunting. His fingers only dug harder into Theo's shoulder.
"Exactly that."
The air was seconds from cracking.
Yu's chest seized. If he let this boil any longer, fists would fly—and the thought of Theo and Callen tearing into each other under his roof, in front of his unborn child's presence, snapped him forward. His voice rang out, light but firm.
"That's enough, both of you."
Theo's eyes darted to him at once, the fire dimming to a low, reluctant glow. Callen's grip lingered, then slackened with a scoff, hands falling back to his pockets.
Theo smoothed his jacket, exhaling through his nose, his anger sheathed in civility. He turned toward the door but paused, his voice softer now—almost tender.
"I'll go. I have work."
He took a step, then looked back, and the heat in his eyes softened into something unbearably warm.
"But we'll have to go to the jeweler soon. To pick out rings. I'll text you the time and day."
The words slid through the air like a brand, leaving Yu stunned, still wearing that brittle, too-bright smile.
Theo gave one last look—not at Yu this time, but at Callen and the shadow of Adrian's absence up the stairs, his gaze narrowing with calculation.
'Wolves. I'll get Yu out of here, no matter what it takes.'
Then the door shut behind him.
---
Yu stood frozen where Theo had left him, his small frame trembling under the weight of those last words.
'Rings.'
They echoed, heavy, suffocating, curling around his ribs like iron bands. Engagement. Marriage. A prison with golden bars, disguised as care.
The smile he'd been forcing cracked. His lips twisted, eyes burning until tears slipped hot down his cheeks. He spun, hands searching for something, anything, and his fingers clenched around a throw pillow from the couch. With a small, sharp gasp of rage, he flung it at the door.
The pillow hit with a dull thud, the sound so pitiful compared to the storm inside him.
Yu's chest heaved. His teeth sank into his bottom lip so hard he tasted iron, holding back the raw, breaking sob clawing up his throat. His shoulders curled, every muscle drawn tight as the tears slid faster.
'How dare he!'
Yu's mind spat.
'How dare that man walk in here, say he was worried, smile like nothing was wrong—when he's the one putting me through this hell!'
His hazel eyes, rimmed red, flickered faintly crimson in the dim light. He pressed his hands to his mouth, trembling, fighting the sound of the choked cries threatening to tear free, but they bled out in ragged shivers anyway.
The room felt too small. The air too thin. Theo's words pressed at his skull like a brand he couldn't scrub away, the weight of rings wrapping tighter around his chest until it hurt to breathe.
Callen had been standing near the couch, watching the storm unfold, half-smirk ready to throw another jab at Theo—until Yu hurled the pillow, until the sound that slipped from him wasn't a scoff or quip but a broken, strangled cry.
For a second, Callen froze. He'd never seen Yu like this—cracked open, trembling, the kind of pain that made his chest tighten uncomfortably. The cocky retort he'd had on his tongue turned to dust.
Before he even thought it through, Callen pushed himself forward and wrapped his arms around Yu. It was awkward, clumsy—the blond had never done this before, never been the one to hold someone when they fell apart—but he gathered Yu against his chest anyway.
Yu didn't resist. The moment Callen's arms locked around him, he broke. He buried his face against Callen's chest, sobs muffled into the thin fabric of his shirt. His fists clutched at Callen's back, small and desperate, as if holding on was the only thing keeping him from collapsing completely.
"I hate him!"
Yu choked, the words spilling between ragged gasps.
"I hate him, Callen. It hurts so much—I can't—I just want it to stop."
His voice cracked into another sob, the sound raw, childlike in its honesty.
Callen's jaw worked, silent. He tightened his hold, one hand rising uncertainly to Yu's hair, fingers threading through the soft strands because he didn't know what else to do.
"Then screw him."
Callen muttered, low and rough.
"If he makes you cry like this—screw him. He doesn't get you. He doesn't deserve you."
Yu clung tighter, soaking his shirt with tears, trembling with every word. Callen had no blueprint for comfort, no gentle words like Adrian might've, no finesse—only the raw instinct to shield, to hold, to let Yu's pain bleed into him and stay there until the storm eased.