While Viktor was displaying his madness in Alia's room, a secret story was unfolding at the other end of the mansion. Elena had run out of her mother's room in tears, heading straight for the secluded balcony facing the garden. The boy was already standing there, waiting.
The boy wore a black hoodie, his calm yet sharp gaze fixed on Elena. Seeing her cry, he couldn't remain still. He approached her and pulled her close to comfort her.
Without hesitation, Elena rested her head on his lap. In a mansion where every brick reeks of conspiracy and blood, Elena finds a strange peace with this boy. Their relationship isn't just a simple friendship; it's something deeper—a kind of forbidden love.
Elena: (Sobbing) "I can't take it anymore... Dad and that man (Anashia) were saying such vile things about Mom. They're all crazy!"
The boy ran his fingers through Elena's hair and spoke in a slow, deep voice:
Boy: "Calm down, Elena. What's in your parents' blood is out of our control. But our future is in our own hands. I will get you out of this hell, I promise."
There was a primal pull in their conversation. When Elena looked up from his lap into his eyes, even in the dark night, the boy's pupils shimmered with a strange bluish glow—just like Viktor's. Elena wondered: was the person she loved also a secret part of that same lab project?
While Viktor and Alia's toxic love played out on the ground floor, a new generation's romantic rebellion was beginning on the balcony above. If Viktor ever found out that his precious daughter was in love with someone like this, a river of blood would flow through the mansion.
Clutching the boy's hand, Elena thought to herself that if her mother could see her now, perhaps Alia would be happy because at least Elena had found the freedom to choose for herself. As Elena sought peace on the boy's chest, his face became clear under the moonlight. This boy was none other than Min Jun.
In the Seoul underworld, Min Jun's name is as mysterious as it is fearsome. But to Elena, he is simply her protector. Min Jun gently tilted Elena's chin up. The bluish tint in his eyes looked even more enigmatic in the darkness of the night.
Min Jun: "Don't cry, Elena. Your tears are more precious than the stones of this mansion. Your father, Viktor Petrov, might think he controls everything, but he has no idea that his greatest treasure is now in my hands."
Elena shivered as she looked into Min Jun's eyes. She knew there was an old rivalry between Min Jun and her father, but the truth of their love was even greater than that enmity.
Elena: "Min Jun, will you really take me away from here? Mom is in so much pain; I can't leave without her."
Min Jun: (With a subtle, wicked smile) "We will free Alia too. But first, Viktor and Anashia must realize that the lab's DNA doesn't just know how to destroy—it knows how to love. I never break my word to you, Elena."
Min Jun kissed Elena's forehead softly. There was a sense of possessive authority in his touch. While Viktor was displaying his madness to Alia downstairs, he had no clue that his ultimate rival, Min Jun, had captured his daughter's heart right inside his own mansion.
Though Elena felt safe in Min Jun's presence, she knew the consequences of this love would be catastrophic. If Viktor ever discovered that Elena a part of his 'Project Shadow' was in love with Min Jun, all of Seoul would erupt like a volcano.
Clutching Elena tighter, Min Jun looked into the darkness of the garden and thought "Viktor, your game is nearing its end. Your empire and your daughter... they are mine now." The private moment between Min Jun and Elena didn't last long. A long shadow sliced through the darkness toward them, accompanied by Anashia's familiar, mocking voice.
Anashia: "Well, well... what am I hearing? A marketplace of love inside Viktor's own palace?"
Anashia stepped into the light. Under the moon, his sharp features, glowing skin, and that wicked yet charming smile made him look incredibly handsome but lethal. His expensive linen shirt was partially unbuttoned, and his hair fluttered in the breeze. Anashia was undeniably good-looking, but there was poison behind that beauty.
He looked at Min Jun and smirked, raising an eyebrow.
Anashia: "Min Jun... you're quite the player. While Viktor is downstairs playing 'DNA games' with Alia, you're here weaving dreams with his future heir? If Viktor finds out Min Jun has broken into his home, he'll turn Seoul into a graveyard tonight."
Elena hid behind Min Jun in fear. Min Jun remained unfazed. He looked Anashia straight in the eye and responded calmly.
Min Jun: "Anashia, you hear a lot, but you don't have the stomach to digest it all. I'm here to end the filthy game you and Viktor are playing."
Anashia burst into laughter. He reached out to touch Elena's cheek, but Min Jun caught his wrist mid-air.
Anashia: "Don't worry, Min Jun, I'm not running to Viktor just yet. This 'cops and robbers' game between the old enemy and the new generation is far more entertaining than that love triangle downstairs. But remember, Elena isn't just Viktor's daughter... she's the most perfect creation of our lab project. Taking her won't be that easy."
Anashia pulled another apple from his pocket and, with a demonic gesture toward Min Jun, began to walk away, saying "A good move, Min Jun. But remember, I am the only spectator who knows who gets the last laugh."
Anashia's presence left a deep, dark shadow over Elena and Min Jun's romance. After that toxic storm, the room was now completely silent, but the silence felt heavier than before. A faint trail of tears lingered at the corners of Alia's eyes, speaking of the agony in her heart.
The cool air from the AC filled the room. Viktor was calm now, his intoxicated aggression seemingly exhausted. He lay on the bed shirtless, the old laboratory scars on his broad back and chest faintly visible in the dim light. Alia lay there as well, wrapped in a soft white blanket. Her disheveled hair and devastated expression made it clear that a fierce mental and physical conflict had taken place between them just moments ago.
Yes, behind that locked door, they had intimacy. But this union was not an expression of ordinary love; it was a primal battle to conquer one another.
Alia: (In a very low, broken voice) "Do you think by possessing me like this, I will become yours? You've only touched my body, Viktor, not my hatred."
Viktor didn't answer. He stared into the darkness and let out a long sigh. His intoxication had mostly faded, replaced by a deep void. He reached out toward Alia but stopped himself.
Viktor: "I didn't want to conquer you, Alia. I just wanted to see where this cursed blood of ours finally takes us. Tonight, no one won. We both lost."
Alia clutched the blanket tighter. She could feel the lingering scent of Viktor's strong wine and the marks of his touch on her skin. This intimacy brought no peace; instead, the hatred and defiance between them seemed to multiply. Though they lay side by side on the same bed, a vast abyss had opened up between them.
Outside, the first light of dawn began to break. As a new day started in this luxury mansion, Alia and Viktor remained drowned in their own darkness. They couldn't tell where this relationship would end in destruction or in a new form of madness. Alia pulled the blanket closer and sat up slightly. Her eyes were still red, but now they held a thirst for the truth rather than tears. Viktor lay there shirtless, staring at the ceiling, his face a mask of stony silence.
Alia: (In a serious, steady voice) "Viktor, I want to know everything today. What is the actual relationship between you and Anashia? How did you meet? Why does he roam this mansion as if it's his own? Tell me everything."
Viktor let out a long sigh. In the silence of the room, even the sound of his breath felt heavy. He began to speak without any pretense.
Viktor: "We met in that hell... the place everyone knows as the 'laboratory.' When we were very young, when we didn't even know what games were being played with our blood, Anashia was in the cell right next to mine."
He paused for a moment, as if gathering those painful old memories.
Viktor: "Experiments were performed on both of us at the same time. When I screamed in pain, he would laugh. He was 'psycho' even back then. He used to tell me, 'Stop crying, Viktor; one day we will make this world cry.' We plotted our escape together. You could say he is the only companion who knows exactly how every scar on my body was formed."
Alia listened intently. She hadn't realized the roots of their friendship were buried so deep in the darkness.
Viktor: "After getting out of the lab, we drifted apart. I began managing my father's mafia empire, and he disappeared into another dark corner of the underworld. But the DNA in our blood brought us back together. He isn't just my friend, Alia; he is a mirror of my own dark past. That's why I can't push him away, and he can't leave me."
Alia let out a scornful laugh.
Alia: "So you two are basically two predators from the same cage. But remember, Viktor, when two predators share the same forest, they never truly trust each other. Anashia doesn't love you as much as he hates you I've seen it in his eyes."
Viktor said nothing. He knew Alia wasn't wrong. His relationship with Anashia wasn't just friendship; it was a primal and destructive pact Viktor finally raised his head from the pillow and looked directly at Alia. The intoxication and aggression in his eyes had been replaced by a deep, guilt-ridden sorrow. He stared at her shoulder, where the invisible marks of those inhuman laboratory tests still lingered.
Viktor: (In a choked voice) "You're right, Alia. We were residents of the same hell. But there was a difference... the amount of 'Blue Blood' injected into you was the highest. They wanted to mold you into a perfect, immortal creation."
He leaned in slightly closer but didn't dare to touch her this time.
Viktor: "Anashia and I could somewhat endure it, but the pain they put you through... it still makes my mafia blood run cold. I used to hear your screams from the next room when they mixed that blue blood into your veins. They didn't see you as human; they saw you as a project. And me? Despite having the power to save you, I just stood there and watched."
Alia listened to his words, frozen. The memories of that old agony seemed to come alive within her. The poison of that blue blood still flows through her veins today, keeping her young and beautiful, but it has turned her heart to stone from the inside.
Viktor: "They tortured you more because your DNA was the purest. This defiance you show me today, this regal way you speak it's actually the arrogance of that blue blood. I've kept you in this cage because I'm afraid, Alia. I'm afraid that one day, that blue blood will turn you into a complete monster, and I'll never be able to find you again."
Alia pulled the blanket tighter with a scornful look. She realized that Viktor's confession was actually a long-repressed sigh. The three of them Viktor, Anashia, and Alia were prisoners in a triangular hell bound by the curse of that blue blood.
Alia: (In a cold voice) "You speak of pain, Viktor? The blue blood didn't give me pain; your sense of ownership did. You wanted to make me a goddess, but in the end, I remained only a suffering human being."
The silence in the room grew even deeper. In the faint light of dawn, their two shadows on the bed stood as a long history of shared agony. Without a word, Viktor stared into the stone-cold depths of Alia's eyes for a long moment. Then, with a heavy sigh and as if fearing he might break something fragile, he pulled her carefully into his chest.
Alia didn't resist at first, though her body remained rigid. But amidst the warmth of Viktor's body and the faint, familiar scent of wine, her long-standing, exhausting hatred seemed to yield for just a second. Viktor buried his face in her hair and whispered, "Just for tonight, forget everything, Alia. Let us find at least a few hours of peace amidst this cursed blue blood."
Alia gradually relaxed. She rested her hands on Viktor's bare back. In the warmth of the blanket and the sound of each other's breathing, the toxic atmosphere of the room finally calmed. Viktor held Alia tightly in his arms a strange blend of possessiveness and sanctuary.
Outside, the dawn began to break over the city of Seoul, but inside this room, time seemed to stand still. Leaving behind the agony of the blue blood, Anashia's wicked smile, and the mansion's conspiracies, they both drifted into a deep sleep. The bitten apple on the bed and Viktor's discarded blazer on the floor remained the only witnesses to their night of madness and exhaustion.