fragile alliances
PAIRING. park jonggun x selectivemutism!reader
SYNOPSIS. Park Jonggun is a remarkable prodigy from the Yamazaki family. Born into a yakuza lineage, he's expected to excel in every way. It all hinges on Yamazaki Shintaro marrying him off to a yakuza heiress at such a young age, in the hope of preserving their traditional strength. And the chosen one was no other than you, Yamamoto [Name].
CW. spoilers from the manhwa, slight angst, slow burn, slight nsfw, probably a lot of grammatical errors cause eng ain't my first language.
Gunβs life was never idyllic. At a young age, he already understood the gap between himself and the happy children he saw with their parents. He had to endure years of systematic abuse and impossible expectations just to earn a name for himself under his supposed father, Yamazaki Shingen.
βHis memories of the younger days are a hazy cocktail of resentment mixed with the brief, stolen kindness of a cousin now long gone. Gun knows exactly how the underworld functions, and he has no intention of being a victim of it.
To him, the weak are nothing but a bore... Hence he is driven by a singular, violent ambition to stand at the top.
It came as a surprise one day when a maid fetched young Gun from his chambers. Her voice hushed as she delivered the message wherein Yamazaki Shintaro had requested his presence immediately. Whatever the reason was, the urgency was palpable and Gun knew better than to keep him waiting.
βWhen he stepped into the room, the air felt thick. His eyes swept over the guests. They were unfamiliar faces with the unmistakable signs of another Yakuza family.
Gun didn't utter a wordβ he never did. Because living in a world like his, silence is the greatest armor.
He crossed the room while βmaintaining a perfect, unreadable mask. The only sound was the faint rustle of his movements as he took his place on the tatami mat. Shintaro sat like a statue beside him, eyes glued to his nephew from the moment he stepped inside the room. The heavy silence stretched until Gun was fully settled as the weight of a dozen unspoken threats hanging in the air.
βSo, this is him?" the elder guest mused, his voice cutting through the heavy silence. Shintaro offered a sharp, singular nod. "Now that you've seen him for yourself, what are your thoughts? Surely you wouldn't reject such a generous offer?"
βWhat offer? Gun wondered as his mind raced. He fought to keep his expression a perfect blank, stifling the urge to let confusion or disdain flicker across his face.
βA slight movement caught his peripheral vision immediately. Tucked beside the older stranger sat a girl, appearing no older than Gun himself.
She looked timid at first glance but as their gazes locked, she stared back with a haunting, shameless intensity. Gun felt a sneer threatening to break his composure. What is a weak girl like her doing in a room like this?
The guest chuckled this time. It was a sound of pure greed as if he had just hit the jackpot. He looked like a shameless creature who would willingly trade his own blood like livestock in exchange for a payout.
ββHe is more than I could have hoped for. Very well, the deal stands,β the man declared. Shintaro offered a thin, knowing smirk.
It was the kind he would wear whenever heβd orchestrated something iniquitous for the sake of the clan. It was a look of satisfaction that rarely boded well for Gun.
ββAnd the wedding?β the guest pressed. βWhen shall it be?β
ββPatience. We have only just reached an agreement... The details can wait,β Shintaro hummed. His gaze finally shifted toward Gun and the poor boy felt himself flinch.
He could never truly stomach ShintaroΚΌs icy stare.
ββGun, this is the Yamamoto family. Surely youβve heard of them from the Ghost Brothers?β Gun offered a silent nod. As a six-year-old, what else could he do? He was trapped.
ββGood. That girl before you is their daughter. You are to be wed to her,β Shintaro stated, his voice devoid of any regard for the boyβs life.
βGun didn't know what to feel. Anger, resentment, sadnessβ they all surged at once before settling into a cold and hollow numbness. His gaze drifted back to the girl.
She hadn't moved. She simply stared at him, as hollow and silent as a marionette.
That day, a pact was sealed in blood and ink. All of it just to gained a stronghold against Kim Gapryong. To Gun, such logic was flawed. If the Yamazaki were truly the strongest, why did they need to hide behind alliances?
βHe couldn't understand why Shintaro would tether him to someone else when he was being trained to be a singular force of nature. Gun didn't need a companion to navigate the underworld. He was perfectly capable of carving his own path.
βWhenever the Yamamoto visited, Shintaro forced them to spend time together. It was a task Gun found utterly gruelling because according to him, the girl was an enigma he had no desire to solve.
Everything about her was strange. Her speech was incoherent, her stares were unnervingly intense and above all, she was fragile. Seeing her trip over her own kimono and bleed so easily turned his stomach.
βIβm supposed to marry this? Gun would think as a wave of disgust washing over him. He would rather break every bone in his body through training than spend another minute bound to someone so fragile.
Everything shifted when Shintaro uncovered the truth of their origins and betrayed Shingen. In an instant, the world collapsed. One by one, the clan turned their backs on Yamazaki Shingen. All except Gun.
βThe bloodbath ended with his fatherβs death and his motherβs betrayal. Realizing Japan was no longer safe, Gun fled to Korea with the help of the very woman who had abandoned him.
βYears bled into one another until Gun finally returned to Japan to usurp the throne from Shintaro. He succeeded in claiming his birthright with lethal precision, but the victory was hollow.
He had no family left. His mother had sacrificed herself to ensure his survival, and the loss stung more than he cared to admit.
It was a feeling he despised... A raw, human ache that had no place in the heart of the Yamazaki patriarch.
β"What? Are you serious?" one of the Yamazaki underlings barked, furrowing his brow and crossing his arms in defiance. "You want us to act as proxies for the clan?"
βGun who was draped in a loose yukata, gave a sidelong glance as he dressed. The years had been transformative to him. His frame was a map of rippling muscle and jagged scars, and his arms heavily decorated with intricate tattoos.
He had grown into a man who was as lethal as he was striking.
β"That was the plan. Do you have a problem with it?" Gunβs voice was low, dangerous.
β"Itβs not that, but... how should we answer the Yamamoto leader when she finds out about your return? If we lie, we'd be dead. She's been asking us to track you down since your disappearance. Shintaro doesn't know about this, of course,"
Yamamoto.
βIt was a familiar name, but Gun didn't pay it any mind at first. "I thought that clan was wiped out the day they sided with Shintaro to annihilate Shingen."
β"Mostly wiped out by Shingen," the underling corrected.
...And Shintaro used to say Yamamoto is their strongest ally. What a joke.
"The only survivors were the elder and his daughter. But the elder was assassinated not long after the battle ended,"
βGun paused, his hands hovering over the silk of his robe. "Assassinated? By whom?"
β"His own daughter who abolished the Yamamoto organization. The very girl Shintaro betrothed you to, I believe."
Gun went still, his eyes tracking the path of the kunai that had barely missed him. At the entrance stood his betrothed.
βTime had been just as kind to you as it had to him. You had matured into a beautiful woman yet your eyes remained the same. Except now, they carried a weight he couldn't name.
βHe stared at you in stunned silence. The fragile girl who once bled from a simple trip was gone. You watched him with a detached and clinical gaze, treating him like just another target.
β"You..." Gun started, but the word died in his throat. He searched his memory, only to find a hollow space where your name should have been.
Had he ever even asked? The silence in the room grew heavy, fueled by his own embarrassment. He was the head of the Yamazaki clan yet he was standing in front of his wife, unable to even address you properly.
ββPut that down,β Gun commanded, gesturing to the blade in your hand. You merely tilted your head upon hearing his tone. βYouβll hurt yourself with that,β he added, his voice low. But you didn't move and instead, your grip remained firm.
βClicking his tongue in irritation, Gun stepped into your space. He reached out, his large hands gently but firmly untangling your fingers from the hilt. Once the steel was free, he tossed it across the room... far out of your reach.
βWhen you looked up at him, he felt a rare moment of uncertainty. His muscles twitched when your hand covered his calloused fingers, but he didn't pull away.
The contact was light, almost fragile.
βHe had come here to see the Yamamoto remnants for himself, unable to reconcile the image of the clumsy girl from his youth with the rumors of a cold-blooded patricide. Looking at you now, you're so silent and observant... just like you used to.
The idea of you murdering anyone felt impossible. Yet, he didn't truly care about the morality of it.
If your father had been anything like his own, Gun felt a flicker of grim pride that you had been the one to annihilate your tormentor.
βThrough the silence, your eyes softened as they locked onto his. In that wordless gaze, Gun felt a message he hadn't expected... Welcome back.
βBeautiful, Gun thought as his fingers deftly plucked a stray flower. He never imagined the day he would willingly walk beside a woman while simply admiring her in silence. But that was the reality of life with you.
Three years had passed since he returned and in that time, he had made a definitive choice. He decided to keep the marriage.
βAt first, his decision hadn't been born of love. It was driven by cold curiosity and his duty as the head of the clan. He had viewed you as a responsibility, a piece of the Yamamoto legacy to be managed.
βBut three years of shared quiet had taught him that a partnership wasn't the burden he once feared. You were more endearing than he ever expected.
After learning from a Yamamoto maid about your selective mutism, the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. Gun understood the math of it all too well. Your father who found joy in the abuse of his own children was a monster he recognized.
βNow, he didn't just tolerate the silence. He embraced it. Your presence was a peaceful, rare sanctuary in his violent world. In his mind, you were still weird of course... but oddly enough, that was exactly what made him adore you more.
βA soft smile touched your lips as Gun tucked the flower behind your ear. The way your eyes twinkled with excitement made his stomach churn.
It was a foreign, fluttering sensation he still struggled to name. When heβd described it to Goo, his friend had simply laughed and called it giddiness. Calling it love.
βLove? Gun wondered. Could a monster like him truly feel it? Was he even worthy of it?
βThose questions haunted the corners of his mind until one night, under a moon that turned the world to silver and a sea of stars that sparkled with mischief...
Your lips met in a kiss that began softly before igniting into a desperate, passionate flame. The tension broke the moment you climbed onto his lap. Your arms winding around his neck as your kimono slipped, baring your shoulders to the cool night air.
βThere was no hesitation in his touch anymore. He moved with you and his skin was hot against yours. You clung to him, your soft sobs of pleasure the only soundtrack to your union... until the silence finally broke.
"I love you,"
βA word slipped from your lips like a mantra, breathless and holy.
βIt was the first time he had ever heard you speak, and the very first thing you gave him was your heart.
β"Jonggun... I love you," you whispered again.
βThe sound of his name left Gun short-circuited and his breath hitching in his throat. After all, he was just a man.
He crushed his mouth to yours, growling out his own devotion between gasps. As the rhythm of your bodies intensified, the silence of the room was finally filled with the music of your pleasure.
AN. free my man, gun. even tho he did everything he was accused of π
