FATAL TROUBLE (REVERSE HAREM)

Part 126: Bound by Fire

Milan Fashion Week: The Grand Festive

7th September

Inside one of the restricted-access rooms tucked behind the glass rooms of the Milan Fashion event building, two men sat in silence, their gazes fixed on the screen in front of them. The muted monitor displayed a live hallway feed—a camera angle pointed toward one of the VIP entrances where chaos had not yet arrived, but tension lingered in the air like a storm waiting to break.

Jaehyun leaned forward, arms resting on his knees, jaw tightly clenched.

"Can you believe it?" he muttered, his voice low and laced with contempt. "They actually showed up."

Across from him, Yeonjun sipped from a glass of dark espresso, legs crossed, calm as ever. His eyes didn't leave the screen. "It's been two years. People are expecting them to resurface."

Jaehyun scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "Not like this. They look like damn ghosts." He pointed to the screen as the camera caught a flicker of Jungwon entering the hallway first—his expression drawn, his shoulders tight with control.

"They look like they've been mourning her every day since she died."

Yeonjun didn't reply.

Jaehyun sat back with a frustrated breath. "Do you remember how close we were last time? She was supposed to die. Winter tried to stop it—and still she died. At the hospital, Winter told us that she was unconscious and breathless. That should've been the end. Two bodies were found all burned. I still remember the day."

"But it wasn't," Yeonjun replied simply.

Jaehyun's voice darkened. "No. Because instead of falling apart, those bastards named the entire company after her. Restructured the brand under her initials. Turned every investment into a tribute."

He stood abruptly, pacing the room, fists clenched.

"They became worse. Untouchable. Obsessed. Like they were still trying to bring her back through contracts and expansion."

His voice lowered to a bitter growl. "I thought if I took her out of the picture, their grip would weaken. That their fathers would have no choice but to hand it all over to someone competent. But instead—it made them stronger."

Yeonjun finally set the cup down, his voice steady. "That was then. This is now."

Jaehyun turned towards him, eyes burning.

Yeonjun folded his hands neatly. "This time, we do everything by the plan. We've got every board member softened. We've got financial leverage. We've got control over two key clients. And we've got the insider routes through the marketing division that Heeseung still doesn't even know about."

He smiled faintly. "This time... it ends with us on top. All we need is for one of them to snap. And they're already halfway there."

Jaehyun exhaled through his nose, trying to push the bitterness down. "They think they've buried her," he muttered. "They have no idea."

He paused, then added coldly, "If she shows up again magically... I'll make sure there's no hospital bed this time."

Yeonjun looked at him silently for a moment, then stood. He straightened the lapels of his jacket and glanced one last time at the screen.

"Come on. Event will be starting soon."

And with that, the two slipped from the room—smiling as if they didn't have a major big plan for tonight.

....*....

The sun had barely risen over Milan, painting the hotel curtains with soft gold and lavender streaks. The city below was beginning to stir, but inside the quiet room on the eighth floor, time moved slower—gentler.