Hot Summer Rays on a Cold Winter Day

The mansion’s entrance was more crowded than usual—flashes bursting, cameras clicking, voices overlapping into noise.

John’s mind jumped a thousand places at once. Then it hit him. “Damn it.” He slammed his fist into his knee.

“What is it?” Mei asked.

“All this drama made me forget to talk to Al,” he replied.

“Al? About what?”

“I wanted to know if he had anything to do with the gate last night,” John said. “Did he open it on Samuel’s orders?”

His thoughts drifted to Aria—her smile, her laughter, the warmth that had quietly rooted itself in his heart. “It’s all my fault,” John said, burying his face in his hands. “I ruined her career. I ruined another girl’s life again.”

“Don’t put all the blame on yourself,” Mei said calmly. “We’re all responsible for this.”

The rest of the drive to the airport was quiet.

*****

They arrived at the airport hangar, where the jet already waited outside on the tarmac.  Before stepping out, Mei put in her earpiece.

John glanced at her. “Is something going on?”

“Just make sure they get inside quickly,” Mei said. “And don’t stay in open areas.”

John got out immediately, rushed to their car, and grabbed the luggage. “Move inside the jet—now,” he said.

Rina frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know,” John replied. “I’m not getting briefed anymore. Just go. Quickly.”

As they moved, Mei scanned the rooftops close to the airport, quietly communicating with AEGIS agents positioned on top of them.

Once inside the jet, Rina approached John.“ This is where we part ways,” she said. “Thank you—for everything you’ve done over the past few months. It would be unfair not to give you proper credit.” She extended her hand.

“Take care, John.”

He shook it. Rina turned and walked toward the back of the jet. Then John looked at Aria. Her head was down.

He walked closer to her. “Hey… this is our goodbye,” John said softly. “I’ll miss you, Aria.”

Aria spoke without lifting her gaze.

“Do you remember the first time we met? In the office. I thought, I don’t need a bodyguard—why is he here?” She let out a shaky breath. “Then that same night, I was proven wrong. I realized how desperately I needed one.”

She finally raised her head, tears filling her eyes. “And when you started to warm your way into my heart, I thought again—I already have someone I can call my partner. Once more, I was wrong.” 

Her voice trembled. “All this time, I knew this wouldn’t work. I knew that one day we’d have to go our separate ways. But now…”

“Now I want you to prove me wrong for the third time. Tell me you love me. Tell me you can’t live without me. Take my hand and say you won’t let me go—that you’ll stay by my side for the rest of your life.”

John lowered his voice to a whisper. “You know I can’t ask for that, Aria. I’m just a bodyguard. You’re an idol. A famous actress.”

Tears streamed down her face. “Just because I’m an idol, does that mean I’m not allowed to choose my own life?”

“Why does my private life matter so much to everyone else? I want to throw it all away. I can’t do this anymore.”

“No—don’t say that,” John said, gripping her hands.

“You worked so hard to get here. All those daily dance and fitness exercises. You didn’t get here by accident. And it's not just you. Do you know how much your sister sacrificed behind the scenes so your career wouldn’t end the way hers did?”

His voice softened. “This isn’t just your effort. It belongs to everyone who believed in you. Don’t let it go to waste.”

Rina stood frozen, her fingers digging into the top of the seat as she listened. Aria stepped forward and wrapped her arms around John. “I wish I mattered to you as much as you matter to me,” she whispered, sobbing. “Then you wouldn’t let me go so easily.”

John held her tightly. “But you already do.”

He drew in a breath. “After Alexis and Dylan, I never thought I’d ever be in love again. Then I blinked—and suddenly, you were filling a spot I thought would stay empty forever.” He hesitated. “Even my nightmares stopped once we were together.”

She stiffened.

“So yes—you matter to me,” John said. “And that’s why I’m letting you go.”

His voice broke. “I love you too much to hold you back. I want you to succeed. I want you to live.”

Aria froze as John lifted her hand, pressed a gentle kiss to it, and whispered, “Goodbye, Aria.”

Then he turned and walked out of the jet—without looking back.

She stood there, watching him disappear, her hand pressed tightly against her chest.

This warmth in my heart… it comes from him.

I noticed it when he placed his coat over my shoulders and told me it was okay to cry. 

You let me cry the way I had forbidden myself to for years—ever since that night with my father. You freed me. Never have I felt so safe relying on someone. Someone I could be my true self with and still be loved.

Aria turned to Rina, her voice shaking. “I need him. I need to be with him.”

Rina studied her carefully. “Have you thought about the repercussions of that decision?”

“I don’t care,” Aria said without hesitation. “I just don’t want to lose this feeling in my heart.”

Rina smiled, a tear slipping down her cheek. “Then go for it,” she said softly. “I’ll always support you in whatever makes you happy, Ari.”

Aria didn’t wait another second. She ran out of the jet after John. He heard her footsteps and turned just in time for her to crash into him. She grabbed his jacket, breathless—and then she kissed him.“ If you’re not going to ask me to stay,” she said, her voice trembling but sure, “then I guess I have to say it.” She looked straight into his eyes. “I need you and I can’t live without you, John Mercer.”

His eyes filled with tears. “What about your career?” he asked quietly.

She cupped his face, her thumb brushing his cheek. “We’ll figure it out,” she said.

“Together.” They kissed again.

A few steps away, Mei deliberately looked in the opposite direction—though a small smile curved her lips.

“Take me to your house,” Aria said.

John nodded. He took her hand, and without another word, they walked toward the car together.

*****

“My, my… today is my lucky day,” Vincent murmured from afar, watching them through his rifle’s scope.

“If she’s choosing someone else over me, then I’d rather have her dead than see her with another man.” Ryo said coldly as he ended the call.

“I told you, John,” Vincent whispered. “I shoot straight through your heart.”

His crosshairs settled on John’s chest. Then shifted.

To Aria.

Bang.

*****

John and Aria were walking toward the car when he heard it.

A sound he knew too well. The sharp crack of a high-velocity round tearing into flesh.

John turned—

And Aria collapsed backward.

“No—”

*****

“The gods are smiling at me,” Vincent said as he stood, resting the rifle on his shoulder. “That makes us even, Johnny boy.”

He smirked. “Next fight will decide the winner our little game.”

*****

What… what was that…?

Aria lay on the ground, staring up at the sky.

The world spun slowly. Shapes blurred into motion—people running, shouting. Rina’s scream cut through the noise as she dropped beside her. Mei’s shouting orders into a phone. John’s face hovered above her, pale, terrified. His hands pressed against her chest.

Why… are they… like this…?

She lifted her hand weakly and touched John’s face. Warmth spread beneath her fingers as blood poured from her chest, down her neck.

So warm… Just like the sun’s rays… On a hot… summer day…

Aria smiled faintly as her vision dimmed, her eyes fixed on John’s face—

And then they slowly closed.