[ it makes him pause, the mention that killing chul might not make anything better. he's been so single-mindedly focused on it that he'd almost convinced himself that one man's death would solve everything. he needed it, that kind of hype fixation to pull him by the throat through every favor he promised for every useless piece of intel. it doesn't stop him from watching vie, nor does it stop him from letting him keep his grip on him. ]

I've never seen you as helpless, Vie. You're still the strongest person I've ever met. Sometimes you have to let yourself be protected, though. It doesn't make you weak. We can do it together if it's smarter.

[ the rest of it is a lot harder to digest. he's been functioning on the idea that whatever that's left between them has been filed down to something sharp, something easier to cut themselves on. he settles his hand over vie's and sighs, a broken thing even as he tries to suppress it. ]

My feelings for you haven't changed either. You'll always have my heart.