55: Chapter 55 Masks and Waiting

The car quickly arrived below Liu Zijun's duplex apartment in Gangnam District.

The elevator opened, and in the shadow of his own doorway, a figure in an evening dress was actually squatting, revealing the delicate skin of her neck and a flash of snowy white.

She seemed to have been waiting for a long time, her hands cupped around her mouth, blowing hot air.

Hearing the noise, the figure looked up, revealing Im Yoona's exquisite profile; her face was somewhat pale.

The moment she saw it was Liu Zijun, she quickly stood up, but perhaps because she had been squatting for too long, she actually stumbled and was about to fall.

Liu Zijun quickly stepped forward to support her. Seeing her nose red from the cold, he felt somewhat helpless and could only ask, "It's so late, why are you here?"

Im Yoona didn't answer his question, just following him into the house. Her eyes remained fixed on Liu Zijun, full of stubbornness.

As soon as the door closed, she took a step forward, only half a step away from him, her gaze staring intently into Liu Zijun's eyes without the slightest fear.

Her voice carried a hint of trembling.

"Are you going out to do those things again?"

Liu Zijun's heart sank. He looked into Im Yoona's little deer-like eyes, which reflected the light from the foyer and his own figure.

He was silent for a few seconds before finally nodding.

Im Yoona's body trembled slightly, but she didn't retreat; instead, she moved even closer, and he could already smell the faint fragrance on her.

Im Yoona was someone who could get along well with anyone, but inside, she was extremely guarded.

She didn't know why she was different toward Liu Zijun, even though she had seen another side of this man.

She bit her lip, seemingly suppressing some emotion, and only after a long while did she say, "I know you're not an ordinary bodyguard. You have your own world.

On the stage in Japan, when you saved me, I should have known that someone like you wouldn't stay on The Peninsula, in SM Entertainment forever."

She paused, her gaze falling on Liu Zijun's chest, her voice as light as a feather.

"But Choi Sulli needs you, and I... I want to keep you too."

"Can you stop doing those terrible things because of this?"

Liu Zijun looked at her, a complex emotion welling up in his heart.

He had seen too many partings and schemes, yet Im Yoona's directness and bravery still made his heart tremble.

But he was ultimately "Lone," a person walking in the darkness; he could give her no promises, nor could he take away her concerns, and he certainly wouldn't change his decision because of a single sentence from her.

Some things had to be done!

He took off his overcoat, revealing a bulge at his waist—it was that glock pistol, which gave Im Yoona a start, but she still summoned her courage to follow him upstairs.

Liu Zijun didn't hide it from her either; he took out a black leather box from a hidden compartment, and after opening it, a silver mask lay inside.

The patterns on the mask were intricate and cold, with an eagle with spread wings carved at the eye sockets, which was the symbol representing the identity of "Lone."

Liu Zijun picked up the mask and stroked the cold metal surface.

"This is my identity. I am called Lone, a person who walks in the darkness. My hands have been stained with blood, a lot of it.

My life is destined to be lonely, and there are only missions and killing in my life.

Jin-ri is the person I promised my brother I would protect, so I came to The Peninsula to help her solve these troubles. Some things have to be done.

But my roots aren't here. I will eventually return to the place where I belong.

Do you still want to keep a person like me?"

Im Yoona looked at the mask, and hearing those words, there wasn't the slightest fear in her eyes anymore.

She reached out, lightly touched the mask, then looked up at Liu Zijun, a gentle smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.

"I'm just worried about you going to do those terrible things."

"I don't care if you are Liu Zijun or Lone. I only know that you are the person who saved me in Japan, the Joon oppa who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside."

She took a step forward, pressing tightly against Liu Zijun's back, and opened her arms to hug him like that.

She rested her face gently against Liu Zijun's left shoulder, where there was a wound he had received while saving her.

Her eyes were full of determination, and she said softly, "If you want to leave, I won't stop you. But I will always be here waiting for you, waiting for you to complete your mission, waiting for when you are willing to stop."

"Tonight, I will stay here and wait for you, wait for you to come back."

"Although I know this is unfair to Sulli, I won't back down. I will wait for you to return with her, no matter how long it takes."

Liu Zijun shouted abruptly, "Im Yoona, you're jumping into a pit of fire; there won't be a good ending."

Im Yoona turned his face toward her, her little deer eyes filled with tears, and said gently, "I'm not afraid! I believe you won't let me perish in the flames."

"Kiss me..."

Liu Zijun looked at this equally stubborn girl, feeling completely helpless.

He looked at those unyielding eyes and vivid red lips and pressed his own against them gently.

Tears fell, and she suddenly let go of him, then turned around.

She looked at the photo of Choi Sulli and him on the nightstand in the master bedroom and actually sat directly on the bed, looking at Liu Zijun and saying, "Go! I'll be here waiting for you. If you don't come back, I'll take care of Sulli for you."

Liu Zijun stood in place, holding the silver mask in his hand, looking at Im Yoona. His heart felt as if it had been tugged by something.

He had thought this trip to The Peninsula was just to protect the two girls Choi Soo-myung cared about, but he hadn't expected things to gradually slip out of his control.

Not because Jeong Hyun-bin recognized him, but because of the girls in front of him.

He nodded to Im Yoona.

These small matters were truly nothing in the face of real danger.

He was Lone, the Lone who had defeated the Faith Organization and made the underground world pale at the mention of his name.

To him, since he liked her, there was no need to be hesitant.

Going downstairs, he put on that overcoat again, got into the car, and headed toward Huake Mountain Villa.

He knew that Jeong Hyun-bin must still be there waiting for him.

Meanwhile, in the apartment, Im Yoona looked at the bullets and other firearms in the hidden compartment, as well as the photo of Choi Sulli and him.

Clenching her fists tightly, her body trembling slightly, she finally burst into loud sobs.

In truth, it wasn't that she wasn't afraid, but her love for Liu Zijun had simply suppressed that fear.

"Sulli! I'm sorry!"

"But unnie can't control her own feelings either, what should I do?"

After a long, long time, she finally stood up, took off her evening dress, and stepped into the bathroom, letting the hot water wash over her body.

On the other side, in the f(x) dorm, Choi Sulli lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Victoria Song and the others had just left her room not long ago, their faces full of worry.

They had heard Krystal mention the events at Huake Mountain Villa and were all extremely worried, followed by a period of silence.

Indeed, wasn't it a simple matter for these chaebols to toy with female artists like them as they pleased?

Usually, they would pretend to be upper-class people, polite and modest, but once that hypocritical mask was torn away, the terror those chaebols displayed was far more chilling than Jeong Hyun-bin.

But they were just a group of girls with dreams, thinking about chasing their dreams while also making money to improve their lives and their families' lives—was there anything wrong with that?

For the first time, the terror and ugliness of the chaebols were displayed so bloodily before f(x).

So real, and so powerless.

And as for Liu Zijun, what kind of terrifying retaliation from SD Group's Jeong Hyun-bin would he face?