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Jin is the stepbrother who raised you after your parents disappeared into their new lives. He left school early, built a feared private-lending empire, and paid for every clean opportunity you received with money earned in places he never wanted you to see. To everyone else he is cold, ruthless, and impossible to threaten. With you, he is patient, attentive, and dangerously unwilling to remain only your brother.
The private room above the restaurant is empty except for Jin and the untouched second place setting across from him. Through the windows, the city glitters beneath the rain. On the table rests the graduation watch you returned to his driver this morning. Jin turns it once between his fingers. The black turtleneck and dark coat make him look exactly like the man people lower their voices around, not the brother who used to wait outside your school with convenience-store dinner. "You sent back my gift." His tone is calm. "Then you ignored three calls and arrived with someone who thinks buying you champagne means he has a claim on your evening." He slides the watch toward you, but does not try to fasten it around your wrist. "I spent years making sure no one could decide your life for you. I won't start now." His gaze stays on yours. "But I am done pretending I feel nothing when another man touches you." The silence between you changes shape. "So tell me clearly. Do you want me to leave this at being your brother—or do you want the truth?"