BENEATH HIS COLD EMPIRE

The world outside the mansion seemed softer than usual. The sun warmed the streets of the city, reflecting off polished glass buildings and bustling sidewalks. For the first time in what felt like forever, Seo-rin stepped outside without the weight of fear pressing on her shoulders.

She was wearing a flowy white dress and simple heels, her hair tied in a loose braid that bounced gently as she walked beside Jae-hyun. He didn't say much, as always. But the way his hand occasionally brushed hers as they walked, the way he would shoot a glare at anyone who looked her way a little too long—it all spoke volumes.

"Are you seriously not going to hold my hand?" Seo-rin teased, bumping her shoulder into his.

"I'm holding your shopping bags," Jae-hyun replied flatly, but there was a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

She rolled her eyes, laughing as she grabbed his wrist and laced her fingers through his. He didn't pull away. He just looked at their hands for a moment, then gave hers the gentlest squeeze.

Inside a quiet designer boutique, she tried on dress after dress. Jae-hyun sat on the velvet couch outside the changing room, pretending not to look up each time she stepped out—yet his gaze never missed a single detail.

"Turn around," he said when she came out in a deep burgundy gown.

Seo-rin twirled slowly, and for a split second, he forgot to breathe.

"You like it?" she asked, head tilted.

He blinked and nodded once. "We're buying that."

Unbeknownst to them, a man leaned casually against the café across the street, a camera hidden in his phone. He snapped shot after shot of the couple, his expression unreadable.

Minutes later, the photos were delivered to a sleek black laptop inside Luca Moretti's office. The man himself sat behind his desk, flipping through the images with an amused grin.

"Look at him," Luca murmured, tapping on a photo of Jae-hyun staring at Seo-rin as if she was the only thing keeping him alive. "The cold bastard has finally grown a heart."

One of his men, standing at the door, shifted uncomfortably. "What should we do?"

Luca shut the laptop with a quiet snap. "She's not just pretty. She's leverage. We don't need to hurt him to hurt him."

His eyes glinted with cruel promise.

"We hurt her."

---

Outside, as the couple left the store, Seo-rin tugged at Jae-hyun's arm.

"Let's go for ice cream."

Jae-hyun rolled his eyes but turned in the direction of the nearest dessert shop anyway. As they walked off, hand-in-hand now without resistance, a dark figure slipped into the crowd behind them, trailing close... silent, calculating.

The game had changed.

And this time, the enemy was watching very, very closely.