The moon cast a soft glow through the large windows of the office as Jin Woo stood near the door, his eyes never leaving Isla. The tension between them hung thick in the air, but tonight, something was different. No sharp words were exchanged, no sarcastic remarks. Instead, there was silence—heavy and full of meaning.
Isla leaned against the edge of the wooden desk, arms crossed, her expression guarded but more open than usual. She didn't avert her gaze this time. Instead, her eyes met Jin Woo's with a mix of confusion and curiosity. For weeks, their interactions had been cold and combative, but now, something had shifted. The lines between enemy and... something else were becoming blurry.
"You didn't have to step in earlier," Isla finally spoke, recalling how Jin Woo had intervened during the heated argument with the board. It had caught her off guard. She had expected him to leave her to fend for herself, as he always did, but he had surprised her by speaking up in her defense.
Jin Woo's jaw tightened as he looked away momentarily. His face was unreadable, but tension flickered beneath his calm exterior. "You wouldn't have won that fight on your own."
Isla gave a soft, sarcastic chuckle, though there was no real humor in it. "Is that what you think of me? That I can't handle myself?"
His gaze snapped back to hers, his expression intense. "No. You're strong, Isla. Stronger than most people. But even you can't take on everyone by yourself."
Silence fell between them again, the crackle of the fire in the corner the only sound. Isla felt her heart race in a way that unnerved her. She had always known Jin Woo was formidable, but this—this unexpected side of him—made her feel something unfamiliar. She had spent so long seeing him as her adversary, but now...
"I don't understand you, Jin Woo," she said quietly, taking a small step toward him. "One minute, you're undermining everything I do, and the next, you're—" She hesitated, searching for the right word. "—protecting me."
Jin Woo's lips pressed into a thin line as he raked a hand through his hair, frustration visible in the tension of his shoulders. "Believe me, Isla, I don't understand myself either."
His words hit her unexpectedly hard, the honesty behind them making her chest tighten. She had anticipated another cold, calculated response, not this kind of vulnerability. Not from him.
"What are we even doing?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "We're supposed to hate each other, right?"
Jin Woo's gaze softened slightly, and for the first time, she saw a flicker of something else in his eyes—something that wasn't anger or disdain. "Maybe we've been wrong about that," he murmured, stepping closer, his voice low and almost gentle.
Isla's heart skipped a beat as he closed the distance between them. There was a shift in the air between them, something that made her pulse quicken and her walls start to crumble. She had always thought of Jin Woo as her enemy, someone who stood in her way, but now, standing so close to him, she could no longer deny the truth—something had changed.
"We can't..." she began, her voice trembling as her resolve wavered.
Jin Woo's hand lifted slowly, his fingers brushing against her cheek, sending a shiver down her spine. "Tell me you don't feel it too," he whispered, his breath warm against her skin.
Isla's heart pounded in her chest. She wanted to deny it, to push him away and retreat to the safety of their rivalry. But instead, she found herself leaning into his touch, her defenses weakening in a way she hadn't expected.
"I don't know what I feel," she admitted quietly, her voice barely audible.
Jin Woo's hand slid down her cheek and rested at her neck, his thumb gently brushing her skin. "Maybe it's time to stop fighting it."
Isla closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the conflicting emotions swirling inside her. She had always been certain of her hatred for Jin Woo, but this moment—this closeness—was unraveling everything she thought she knew.
"I can't..." she whispered, though even as the words left her mouth, she wasn't sure if she believed them.
Jin Woo leaned closer, his lips hovering just above hers, his breath warm against her face. "Then stop trying," he murmured.
Time seemed to freeze in that moment, the weight of their shared history and the intensity of their connection pressing down on both of them. Isla's breath hitched as she felt herself being pulled toward him, her carefully constructed walls crumbling around her.
And then, just as quickly as it had started, Isla pulled away. Her heart pounded, and she turned from him, breaking the spell between them.
"No," she said softly, her voice steady but strained. "This... this is wrong."
Jin Woo stood there, his hand still suspended in the air where it had been touching her, his expression unreadable. "You're lying to yourself, Isla."
She shook her head, refusing to look at him. "You're still the enemy," she said, though even she could hear the uncertainty in her own voice.
"And yet, here we are," Jin Woo replied, his voice low, laced with frustration and something more—a longing he hadn't meant to reveal.
Isla turned toward the door, every step she took away from him feeling heavier than the last. "We're on opposite sides, Jin Woo. We always have been."
"And maybe that's the problem," Jin Woo whispered to himself, watching as Isla disappeared into the shadows of the hallway, leaving him standing alone in the dimly lit room.
The tension between them had reached a breaking point, but neither knew what lay on the other side of it. Only time would tell whether they would fall deeper into their rivalry—or into something else entirely.