Chapter 5: Stay Close to Me

My hands froze around the phone.

The message stared back at me.

Just like your brother, you should have stayed dead.

A chill ran down my spine.

Noah noticed my expression immediately.

"What happened?"

I couldn't speak.

I simply handed him the phone.

His eyes scanned the screen.

The temperature around him seemed to drop.

For the first time since I'd met him...

Noah looked furious.

Not annoyed.

Not cold.

Furious.

The kind of anger that made people disappear.

"Who sent it?" I asked.

Noah didn't answer.

His jaw tightened.

A muscle ticked in his cheek.

As if he recognized something.

Or someone.

"Do you know?"

Still no answer.

That was answer enough.

"You do know."

His gaze snapped to mine.

"Get in the car."

"No."

"Minjun."

"No."

Three years.

Three years of lies.

Three years of unanswered questions.

I was tired of it.

"You knew my brother."

Silence.

"You know who's after me."

Silence.

"You know why he died."

Noah's eyes darkened.

And for a moment...

I thought he might actually tell me.

Instead, he stepped closer.

"Get in the car."

I laughed bitterly.

"That's all you ever say."

The words hung between us.

Noah stared at me.

Then quietly said—

"If I tell you the truth now..."

His voice was low.

"...you won't be able to sleep tonight."

My heart skipped.

Before I could ask what that meant—

A black car suddenly sped out of the parking garage.

Straight toward us.

Fast.

Too fast.

"MINJUN!"

Everything happened at once.

Noah grabbed me.

The world spun.

Tires screeched.

Metal crashed.

Pain exploded through my shoulder as we hit the ground.

The car missed us by inches.

Only inches.

For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.

Couldn't think.

Couldn't move.

All I could feel was Noah.

One arm around my waist.

The other protecting my head.

Shielding me.

His body covering mine.

As if his first instinct was to protect me.

Not himself.

Me.

The realization hit harder than the fall.

Our eyes met.

Too close.

Far too close.

I could feel his breath.

His heartbeat.

The tension between us suddenly became impossible to ignore.

Then Noah's gaze dropped.

Just for a second.

To my lips.

My heart immediately betrayed me.

The moment stretched.

One second.

Two.

Three.

A car horn blared somewhere nearby.

Reality returned.

Noah immediately pulled away.

His expression closed off.

Cold again.

As if nothing had happened.

As if he hadn't looked at me like that.

An hour later.

We were inside Noah's penthouse.

I nearly laughed at the absurdity.

The most feared CEO in the country had practically kidnapped me for my own safety.

"I'm leaving."

"No."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

I glared at him.

Noah didn't even look up from his laptop.

Infuriating.

"You're not my bodyguard."

"No."

"Then stop acting like one."

Finally, he looked at me.

His eyes were calm.

Too calm.

"Someone just tried to kill you."

That shut me up.

Because unfortunately...

He was right.

Noah stood and walked toward the window.

The city lights reflected in the glass.

For a moment, he looked exhausted.

Not like a CEO.

Not like a powerful man.

Just... tired.

Then he spoke quietly.

"The night your brother died..."

My entire body froze.

Noah rarely talked about him.

Never willingly.

Slowly, he turned toward me.

His expression unreadable.

"He called me."

My breath caught.

"He was scared."

The room felt silent.

Heavy.

"And when I got there..."

Noah's voice stopped.

For the first time...

I saw pain in his eyes.

Real pain.

The kind people spend years trying to hide.

"When I got there..."

He swallowed.

"...he was already dead."

My heart stopped.

Because this was the first real truth Noah had ever given me.

And somehow...

It only created more questions.

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