Jiah stirred in her bed, a sudden flush of embarrassment rising to her face as her eyes fluttered open.
"What the—was I hugging Ryuhwan… in my dream?" she mumbled, blinking rapidly.
Her cheeks burned as she sat up, trying to shake off the strange warmth settling in her chest.
"Ugh... Whatever happened last night definitely left a deeper mark on me than I thought," she sighed.
Her fingers instinctively reached up to her neck — the very spot where Ryuhwan had left that mark.
And just touching it triggered a vivid flashback, painting last night across her mind in startling clarity.
The mere memory of it made her groan, blushing so hard she buried her face in her blanket.
"This is insane... What's happening to me?"
---
Meanwhile, Ryuhwan was still passed out at his kitchen counter, a half-empty glass by his side.
His phone buzzed, jarring him awake.
He groaned, barely able to open his eyes.
"Who the hell is calling this early… do they want to die today?"
But the moment he checked his screen, his half-sleepy expression snapped into disbelief.
Everything started clicking at once.
"An alarm? Since when do I set alarms? Bottles… empty. Two glasses. Don't tell me I drank that much and passed out right here like a fool?"
He quickly silenced the alarm, only for his gaze to fall on a sticky note stuck to the fridge.
He peeled it off and read the handwriting:
"Haejang-guk (Hangover Soup) — I made some. Don't forget to drink it when you wake up."
A soft smile tugged at his lips.
He turned toward the stove and lifted the lid of the pot — the warm, comforting smell hit him immediately.
"So you were that worried about me... You even made me hangover soup before leaving," he murmured with a gentle expression.
Now cleaned up and slightly more composed, Ryuhwan sat at the same spot where he had been drinking last night, sipping the soup silently.
He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply.
"In 1,200 years, this is the first time I've made such a stupid mistake… Letting myself look jealous. What am I, some teenager boy ?"
He groaned and dropped his head to the counter for a moment, replaying the night's events.
The image of him pressing that kiss to her neck—his mark—flooded back.
"Did I… actually do that? I really marked her?"
Blushing, Ryuhwan shook his head.
"No no no, I'm probably overthinking. Jiah's bold — she'd never let me get away with something like that unless she wanted it. There's no way she'd just let me—"
Trying to collect himself, he forced his thoughts away.
"I need to talk to Seira. We have to decide our next move before this escalates. If I use my full powers again..."
He stopped mid-thought, picked up his phone, and dialed.
"Hello, my boys. Come to Seoul. Now."
With that, he ended the call.
---
On the other side, Jiah was drowning in old files and dusty archives, searching for any clue about that mysterious core.
"There has to be something... How can an association this large not mention a core like that anywhere?"
She flipped through pages, books, scanned digital logs—but found nothing.
Disheartened, she sat at her study table, running a hand through her hair.
Her phone pinged.
> "Come upstairs. Please."
Reading it, Jiah's body jolted as if someone had thrown cold water on her.
"Upstairs? Again? What does this dragon want now? After marking my neck like that, he still has the nerve to say please?"
Grumbling, she stood and glanced at her reflection, adjusting her top so the mark wouldn't show.
But the moment her eyes landed on the spot again, a deep blush crept over her face.
She shook it off.
"Ignore it. It's not a big deal. He should be the one embarrassed! I didn't do anything. I'm the victim here, he's the culprit!"
Muttering under her breath, she left her apartment and headed upstairs.
The door was already open, so she walked in — only to find the twin brothers and Ember chatting in the living room.
"Hi, Noona!" they called out playfully.
Jiah blinked.
"Noona? From that girl to Noona? Wow. Looks like someone finally found some manners."
The twins laughed, and she joined them, sitting down across from them.
"Why are you guys here? And if you're all here, who's keeping an eye on Ryuhwan's place?"
Ha-Rin replied with a grin,
"That entire area's Boss's domain. Not just the house — the whole N1N Zone. Who would even dare to sneak into a dragon's home?"
Just then, Ha-Jin narrowed his eyes at her, cutting his twin off.
"Hey Noona… what's that on your neck? You tried really hard to hide it with makeup, but… it's kind of obvious."
Jiah's heart sank.
Oh no. No no no. Not this. Not now.
As Ha-Rin also noticed, Jiah felt like crawling under the couch.
Before she could respond, Ryuhwan walked out from another room, overhearing everything.
Both twins turned in sync.
"Wait... did something happen between you and the Boss last night? Hmm?"
Even Ember tilted his head with curious eyes, as if silently judging.
"This is bad. I have no excuse and no explanation. Why is this my life right now?" Jiah panicked internally.
Ryuhwan cleared his throat.
"What's going on here?"
Then turned to her, smiling.
"Oh, Jiah. You're here."
His gaze immediately dropped to her neck, and the smirk that tugged at his lips made her want to slap it off.
He looked proud. As if flaunting it " so you let me do this with you last night" he muttered under his breath.
"Why is he smirking like that?" she fumed, looking away to avoid his eyes.
Ember hopped onto Ryuhwan's shoulder, chirping softly like he wanted to join the teasing.
Turning serious, Ryuhwan addressed the twins:
"Until I return, stay with Jiah at all times. Don't let her go anywhere alone, understood?"
The instruction made Jiah frown.
"Wait, he's leaving? Without telling me anything?"
He walked toward her. She tried not to make eye contact, but his tone was gentle.
"I'm not trying to control you, Jiah. This isn't a cage. But until I return, I want you to stay with them, I want you to be safe . You're free to go wherever… just not without them."
Jiah simply nodded, saying nothing.
He paused, then added,
"And don't think I'm hiding anything from you. I just don't want to give you half-truths. When I have the full picture — you'll be
the first to know. Please, trust me."
With that, Ryuhwan took a step back.
And in the blink of an eye, vanished into flames.