CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 36

Park min’s POV

Every time I caught Rin’s small gaze flick to him, my teeth ground together. My son. My blood. My child, and yet here was someone else, acting like he had the right to him.

I clenched my fists, knuckles turning white. I hated how calm Woo Min always seemed. How controlled he could be when everyone else was snapping, panicking, losing it. He made me look... angry, and not in a sexy, fiery way. He made me look weak, desperate, and I hated it.

Yu Jin stood near the doorway, Rin cradled against him, jaw tight, eyes tense. He was exhausted, and I could see it the dark circles under his eyes, the way he flinched if I even moved too fast. And yet, he still had this fire in him, a stubborn streak that refused to bend for anyone. Even me.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down.

I stepped closer. "Yu Jin," I said quietly, almost gentle. His head snapped to me, wary. I forced a soft smile. "Can we... talk?"

His eyes narrowed. "About what? I don’t like the way you’re acting." His voice was sharp but tired. He was tired of me, tired of everything. I could feel it. And that made my chest ache somehow ^^.

"About... us," I said. I swallowed hard. "About... how I screwed up. How I... want to fix things."

Yu Jin blinked slowly. "Fix things? You mean... apologize?" There was a mixture of sarcasm and disbelief in his tone. I could feel it. "I’ve apologized," I said quickly. "Hundreds of times. But I don’t mean that kind of fix. I mean... I want to do better. For you. For Rin. For... us."

He stared at me, silent.

"You remember the conditions I gave?" I asked. "When I... when I first asked you to work with me. The way I made you prove yourself... all those tests, all those rules, all that..." I trailed off.

Yu Jin’s eyes narrowed further. "You mean the ridiculous things you forced me to do to prove I could... survive under your control? That was insane, Park Min."

I nodded. "I know. I know it was. And I take it back." My voice was firm and steady. I took another step closer. "All of it. The possessiveness, the... controlling things... I take it back. I want you to work with me... genuinely. Because you want to, not because I forced it. Not because I expect it. Not because I think I can own you, also don’t you think Rin deserves to have everything we own, why don’t we just give it to him."

His expression softened slightly, just the tiniest crack in the wall he’d built around himself. I noticed it. I noticed everything. His skeptical tilt of the head, the small part of him that wanted to believe me but couldn’t yet.

"Genuinely?" he said, voice low. "You mean... you’re not going to try to control me anymore?"

I shook my head. "I’m not. I just... I want a chance. A real chance. To be... better. To show you I can be... someone you trust. Someone who... makes your life easier, not harder. Someone who makes Rin feel safe, not... nervous."

Yu Jin’s lips pressed together. He looked down at Rin, who was sleeping lightly.

"I... I don’t know," he said quietly. "I want to believe you, Park Min. I really do. But you’ve... you’ve hurt me so many times. You’ve... made me feel like I had no choice, like I had to fight you at every turn."

"I know," I said, voice barely above a whisper. "And I’m sorry. I can’t undo the past. I can’t make you forget. But I can... try. I can try to be better. I can try to... be someone you want beside you, not someone you fear."

He looked up at me then, eyes searching mine.

"And you promise? No more games? No more possessive rules?"

I stepped closer, voice firm. "I promise. I won’t hold you to the conditions anymore. You don’t have to prove anything."

Yu Jin’s eyes lingered on mine, searching for lies. I could feel the tension crack just slightly. The tiny hint of hope that maybe... maybe I could do this. Maybe I could make him forgive me. Maybe I could make him... love me again.

"I... appreciate that," he said finally. "Really. It’s a lot to take in, butbokay. We’ll try. We’ll work together genuinely."

I felt my chest loosen, a tiny spark of relief igniting inside me. "Thank you," I said softly. "That means more than you know."

I exhaled slowly, then my expression brightened slightly. "And actually," I said, voice a little lighter now. "We’ve been given a business trip. Right away. They want us to leave tomorrow morning."

His eyebrows shot up. "Business trip?" I asked, genuinely surprised.

I nodded, a small smile tugging at my lips. "Yeah. They want me to collaborate on the project with someone out. You know put all the past nonsense aside. And focus on results."

He laughed softly, tension breaking a little. "Well I can’t complain. Work together genuinely and a business trip to test our collaboration. Perfect timing."

Yu Jin rolled his eyes, smirking slightly, but I could see the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement. "Don’t get too excited. This isn’t a honeymoon. And you still have a lot to prove... in a non-controlling way."

I held up my hands. "Non-controlling. Got it. Crystal clear."

He shook his head. "You better remember this promise, Park Min."

"I remember," I said, voice firm. "And I’ll stick to it. I swear."

"You know," Yu Jin said after a moment, eyes flicking to me, "You’re actually quite attractive and hot when you’re this calm and nice."

I laughed quietly, tension easing. "I know right, so better use it before I start charging you."

Yu Jin exhaled, a small smile now fully present, and I felt the smallest flicker of hope. Maybe this could work.

"Hey... little man," I whispered softly. "I’ll protect you. I’ll do better. I promise."

Yu Jin watched silently. "You better," he said quietly.

I smiled faintly. "I will."

"So business trip tomorrow?"

"Yes business trip tomorrow he said.