✓ GREEDY HEARTS | JAY

20 - Lingering Lips

Y/N'S POV

I'm not thinking straight. I'm. Not. Thinking. Straight.

The wound on my side is pulsating with pain, and the room feels like it's spinning. Fuck, I thought I'd be alright if I just pushed through the pain, but it's becoming increasingly clear that I may have underestimated the severity of the injury.

When I meet his gaze, searching for any signs of deception, there's a sincerity in his eyes that I can't ignore. It's confusing, to say the least. I never thought I'd find myself in a situation where a man like Jay Park would express concern for my life. "You're not making any sense," I hear myself mutter, the words escaping my lips before I can fully process them. His concern feels like an unexpected twist in a plotline I thought I had figured out.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I never make sense, Red. But right now, the only thing that matters is that you're alive and in one piece. You can't just throw your life away like that."

"Why do you even care?" I shift uncomfortably on the bed, trying not to meet his eyes for too long. I cannot just dismiss the fact that he might genuinely care about my well-being. It's a foreign concept, especially coming from someone like Jay Park. "You brought me into this mess, and now you care if I live or die? You're the reason I'm in this condition, it doesn't add up-"

"I don't fully understand it myself, but seeing you hurt... it bothers me more than it should." I scoff, partly out of disbelief and partly out of the pain that lingers with every breath, but all he does is raise an eyebrow, almost as if my reaction amuses him. "You find that amusing, Red?"

"No, I find it confusing. You're not supposed to care. You're supposed to be the cold, calculating businessman who sees people as assets or liabilities and only cares about the bottom line. This," I gesture towards my injured side, "doesn't fit into your playbook so I'm fucking lost on what your game is. I'm not going to believe that you somehow developed a heart overnight. And you know what? I don't need your pity. I don't need anyone's pity."

"It's not pity." He mutters, almost to himself, almost as if trying to convince both of us. "It's not about a heart or sudden sentimentality. It's about practicality. You're an asset, and a damaged one is of no use to me. I need you in peak condition for our plans to work."

"Fuck you, Park." All I can do is suck in a breath and hope the pain in my side doesn't betray me. "Fuck you for dragging me into this mess, for making me question everything, for whatever the hell this is." I spit out the words, both anger and frustration bubbling inside me.

"Feel better now?" The way he utters those words, cool and collected, only fuels my anger. But when I notice the way his hands tremble slightly, when I realize that he's not so different from the rest of us—vulnerable, burdened—I can't help but pause. He was panicking earlier when he was tending to my wound. I never thought someone like him would panic over someone like me. I never thought that Park could be rattled, even if it's just for a moment. It makes me wonder who he really is. It makes me want to know more about him, because his eyes, though they make me uneasy, hold a story that probably unfolded in the shadows.

"No, I don't." My glare softens. "I feel like I've been thrown into a game without knowing the rules, and you're more interested in keeping your cards close to your chest rather than being fucking straightforward."

"Welcome to the real world, Red," His tone is cold and matter-of-fact. "No one hands you a rulebook. You learn as you go, or you get left behind-"

"I can't even figure you out! One second you're threatening to kill me and the next, you're patching up my wounds and acting like you give a damn!" Before I realize it, I'm sitting up while trying to stand up. "You even organized my wardrobe for fuck's sake! How can I take anything you say seriously when you're so damn unpredictable?"

He watches me struggle for a moment before standing up and gently pushing me back onto the bed. "Stay put. You're in no condition to be walking around-"

"Don't touch me! You said you'll keep my sister safe! Where is she? I want to see her!" The desperation in my voice surprises even me, but I can't shake the fear that something might have happened to my sister. That Choi might have found a way to harm her. I can't wait. I can't breathe. I can't fucking think about anything else until I know my sister is safe. But I can't move, because Park holds me in his arms. It takes every ounce of my strength not to lash out, not to show vulnerability, but in this moment, I'm helpless.

A twenty seconds silence joins the conversation and for a moment I wonder if he forgot to respond. I'm too deeply entangled in my own thoughts and fears to even register what he might be thinking. But then, he speaks, his voice softer than I expected, "I'll take you to see your sister, but you need to trust me for just a bit longer." He's given me no reason to trust him, but I'll still take any chance to see my sister. The uncertainty about her well-being eats at me, and if there's a slim chance that Park is telling the truth, I have to take it.

He releases his hold on me, allowing me to sink back onto the bed. His bed. I can't help but wonder about the irony of the situation. Just hours ago, I was on a mission in Kang Joon-ho's mansion, and now I find myself in Jay Park's room, injured and at his mercy. The soft mattress feels soft against my aching body. 

I watch as he sits next to me, his white shirt stained with my blood. Then he sighs. "Get some rest. I'll be working in my office." With that, he stands up and walks towards the door, leaving me alone in his room. It's weird how I feel comfortable in his room, in his bed, but the scent of his cologne lingers and it somehow makes me feel safe. Maybe it's the exhaustion or the pain, but I find myself closing my eyes, giving in to the weariness that envelops me.

The next time I open my eyes, the room is dimly lit, and I find myself alone. I slowly push myself up, wincing at the pain in my side, and look around the room. There's a fresh set of clothes neatly folded on a chair, and I realize that he must have brought them for me. The clock on the bedside table tells me it's been a few hours since he left. It's one in the morning when I decide to look for him. He must be in his office, buried in his work. The mansion is eerily silent as I make my way through the corridors, the only sound being the soft echo of my footsteps on the polished floors.

But before I can reach his office, I find him sleeping in the large, plush armchair at the end of the hallway. The glow of the screen in front of him casts a faint light on his features, revealing a side of Jay Park I hadn't expected to see – vulnerable, human. For a moment, I'm frozen in place, watching him sleep. And I almost smile. 

Slowly approaching him, I gently reach out to close the laptop, careful not to wake him. But as I do, he stirs lightly, like a child who's just about to wake up from a nap. His eyes flutter open, and for a moment, he looks disoriented. When he realizes where he is, he straightens up in the chair, running a hand through his hair to compose himself. "You should be resting. How do you feel?"

"Better." I carefully sit on the couch across from him, trying not to move too much or aggravate the wound on my side. "I could have killed you in your sleep but you looked kind of cute drooling on that expensive shirt of yours."

"You should know... I don't usually let people see me like this." 

I raise an eyebrow, intrigued. "Like what? Human?" When he shakes his head and shrugs, I scoff. "But why are you telling me this? You're supposed to be the mysterious, unapproachable CEO, right? The one who doesn't reveal anything about himself."

He chuckles, a sound that seems out of place in the quiet mansion. "I don't know. Maybe because you've seen a side of me that I usually keep hidden. Maybe because I have something to threaten you with. Maybe because... you're not like the others."

"I broke into your mansion, remember?"

"Yeah, you did. Not many people can say that and live to tell the tale. But here you are, making jokes about killing me and sleeping in my damn room. It's just odd." He leans back in his chair, studying me while I frown. "Baek Y/N, you're a puzzle. And I like puzzles." I chuckle at his words but before I know it, he makes his way towards me and his lips are against mine. Fuck, Park is kissing me and I'm not pushing him away. 

I'm pulling him closer, resting my hands on his chest because the taste of his lips makes me feel like I'm dancing on golden clouds when the sun is setting.